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angstyandromanticwriting · 30 days ago

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Harley Quinn X FemWerewolf!Reader Angsty, Cute, and Fluffy Prompt [Full Version - Part 1]

• Inspired by TJ Klune’s Green Greek Book Series as well as Rachel Allen’s Harley Quinn Book Series

• Takes place after the events of the first film (Suicide Squad, 2016)

• This prompt is going to be posted in two parts, due to Tumblr’s text-block limit! (1st today, 2nd tomorrow!)

• There will be more!

!TWs: Implied suffering from depression + anxiety + separation anxiety + PTSD, hints of self doubt, being in prison/imprisoned/in an asylum, self put-down(s), supernatural elements, mention of a break-up/breaking up + carcasses, mention of bullets + presence of poison, mention of death/murder/near-death experience(s), swearing, insult(s), implied elements of tortures/abuse/experimentation, violent connotations; intentions/violence in general, depiction of a prison-break, presence of weaponry, nudity, presence + mention of blood, mention of having an abusive father + grief over a mother’s passing after birth, injury detail, depiction of trespassing/breaking into a building, mention of alcohol/substance abuse, mention of falling unconscious, implied depiction of self-harm, implied sexual occurrence - If I’ve missed any, please feel free to let me know; thank you!

Motes of Dust/Heart Keeps Burning

“Why did you never tell me this before?” Harley questioned, and you winced, trying to avoid looking over at her especially when you could sense that she, too, was struggling not to break down, right now. “Why did you never even think to-”

“B-Because - I’ve - I’ve been-.. years, Harley. I’ve been in love with you. For years,” you managed, each word sounding strained, punched from your gut as if they were painful, your eyes dark, and composure weaker than she’d ever seen it before; she’d always had this effect on you - ever since you’d first met her, she’d-

“You should have told me,” she hissed, and you faltered, a pained expression on your face as you nodded gravely, “why didn’t you? Why wouldn’t you? This is important, okay? N-Not just some stupid little prank or whatever, right? So why didn’t you?”

“I just n-never had-.. never had the guts. To say it,” you admitted dejectedly, “was scared - thought you’d-.. hate me, if you knew. Couldn’t take that risk. Love you, Harleen.”

You tensed up, your heart pounding uncomfortably within your chest as she smiled lovingly in your direction, unable to fight it back anymore. She hastily bowed her head, knowing she couldn’t give in so easily to you, though she longed to do so, body and soul. She sighed, leaning heavily against the bars behind her.

“I just-.. can’t believe you’d keep this from me,” she stated, and you frowned, hearing the pain in her voice, “I thought I meant something to you - something more than that; keeping secrets, like they aren’t the type of ones to destroy everything around you.”

“You. Don’t feel the same - do you?” You guessed, your voice barely audible, and she hesitated, a hurt look on her face as she glanced over her shoulder at you, worried; she could hear you were trying not to cry, too, and it was more painful than anything she’d ever imagined, before. “Tell me,” you practically pleaded, your voice shaking a little, “make me hurt again. I’m not good; you know I’m not good. Just kill me. Put me out of my misery. Know you. Want to. So do it-”

“No,” she interjected sharply, and you faltered, “Y/n, I can’t hurt you; you know I’d never do that to you, right?” Your hesitation was enough to make her heart ache. She scoffed, before shaking her head, her eyes drifting over to the doors to her right. She couldn’t bear this; couldn’t bear seeing you like this. She sighed, before shrugging, and glancing back at you, but you didn’t dare look in her direction, afraid of what she’d think of you, if you did; what she’d be able to determine, if you tried. Instead, you focused on the ground, your throat burning with frustration and hurt, all from your own words, as much as her own. “Look, I’m gonna tell you something, okay? And you’re gonna listen, and not say a word until I’m done, alright? Nod your head, if you understand me,” she instructed, and you hesitated, before nodding slowly. She drew in a barely audible shaky breath, her hands even trembling a little as she crossed her arms over her chest as if trying to shield herself. You sensed the tension; her anxiety - it was enough to make you more alert, warily looking around, before your gaze fell back upon her. You just wanted to protect her; wanted to make her happy. Make her see that you would always be there for her; you’d always be her shadow, for her own good. It was all you’d ever dreamt of, ever since her sweet scent had invaded your nostrils the way it did, that first day. You timidly stepped closer to her, your irises flickering between their usual blue and a bold orange colour. Nothing would threaten her, anytime soon - not whilst you were still here. “You may already know,” she began slowly; cautiously, “I don’t know how you werewolves hear things; h-how easily you might actually be able to hear the betrayal of a small heart beat. Nugget, you.. I’m already making this obvious, aren’t I? Look, I know you might think that our kiss meant nothing, that day. When Winter almost caught us, but it meant everything, to me. Everything. You mean everything, to me. I love you, little wolfy. I always have - a-and I realised I was in love with you as - as soon as-.. when - when all of my decisions began to revolve around you, and I’m sorry, if that’s not what you want, b-because I know you’ve always been weird about me possibly wanting to be with you, and I’m sorry for that, but-”

You couldn’t take it anymore, shaking your head as you got up off of the bed, your heart racing as you lifted your hands up to your face, small tears leaking from your eyes like small pools of fury and weakness. You drew in a shaky breath, and she didn’t know what to do with herself; she just wished she could be in your cell with you, hugging you close to her, and cradling you whilst you cried into her neck, shaking, and cold. Well, probably not cold, being a werewolf with your own personal furnace, but you get the gist, right?

“Stop,” you whispered, “please-”

“Nugget-”

“Hurts,” you managed again, “too much - can’t take it. Won’t take it; stop-”

“You need to hear it,” she insisted, “look at me.”

You couldn’t resist her command, lifting your gaze to her own as you swallowed thickly, your eyes already sore, and hands shaky as you lowered them back down to your sides. Her eyes were almost enough to stall the pain; it felt like a warm blanket enveloping itself around you, to have her holding your frame within her stunning icy blue orbs. You wanted to be lost within them, forever. If only you could be.

“You love me,” you murmured, and she smiled faintly back at you, nodding slowly as she inched even closer to the bars, begging you to come closer; to let her at least hold your hands in her own. She couldn’t take the distance between you both; it was painful, even. It burned, to taste fresh air. She offered you her right hand through the bars, and you timidly glanced down at it, before nodding slowly again, and making forward to take it. She grinned back at you, as soon as her hand was safely enveloped within your own. You smiled softly back at her, glad to be this close to her again, even after how things had been before, between you both. Her and Winter. You flinched at the reminder of the name, but tried not to let it effect you too much. You forced a smile back at her, though your fangs itched to come out of your gums, the wolf within you scratching for you to change into your true form. You grunted quietly, and Harley wondered what you were thinking, wishing she could look into your brain - see what was hiding within it. It had always been something that had captured her interest, like that. “Winter. Back at home - will you-”

“Don’t worry,” she cooed softly, things starting to make sense, now, “consider me and Winter donezo, okay? We’ve been-.. thinking about it for a little while, anyway. It’s you, Nugget - it’s always been you, for me. I just wish I could have told you, before.”

“Wolf. Stone wolf - when we get home-”

“Whenever you’re ready, okay? You don’t have to give it to me right away,” she reassured you, “only when you’re ready to take such a step. I love you, and that’s all that matters, now - just don’t bring me dead animals, okay?” You winced, and she appeared skeptical, before sighing. She knew you much too well. “You’re gonna give me dead animals to try and court me, aren’t you?” She guessed, and you shrugged, before releasing her hand so you could begin to undress yourself, intending to sleep in your wolf form, tonight, to avoid any further complications as well as partial embarrassment. She tried not to eye your body too much, looking away to give you some privacy, until she heard the tell-tale shift of bone and muscle, prompting her to look back over you again once you’d landed back down upon the ground, now on four big white paws, instead of two human feet. “Look, it’s fine if you do, I guess, just - leave them in a sanitary place, okay, so we can actually use them, at least,” she recommended, and you grunted in reply, before lifting your tail a little to bury your face into it, curled up just beside your bed. It wasn’t as comfortable as the floor was, considering it was only a sheet of hard metal. At least the ground was level, to help you keep a level head. She smiled softly - she couldn’t stay mad at you, before she herself laid down upon her own bed, her gaze dancing over for a brief moment longer, until she decided she wouldn’t get anything else out of you tonight, as she bid you ‘goodnight’, before allowing her eyelids to flutter shut. Little did she know, you still weren’t asleep, your eyelids opening slowly as your irises flickered boldly again, your now orange eyes shining in the darkness as soon as lights out fell. You wouldn’t sleep, not until you were absolutely positive she was safe. No matter what.

🜚🜸🜚

The next day, your eyes tracked the decrepit walls of Gotham Asylum. You growled quietly, looking cautious as you trailed behind Harley, breathing out slowly of your nostrils so you could watch your breath as it visibly floated up into the cold air surrounding you both. It was finally courtyard time, where they’d let you out occasionally to get some fresh air. She hummed quietly before you, and you listened closely to her every melody; every step. You smiled softly, remembering how things used to be.

Back at home, you both would often track the perimeter of your old base together. The others would take the surrounding sides, whilst you and Harley were sent off together, though Winter of course protested that she should be the one going with her, and not you. You grunted, feeling you should relieve yourself, soon. You shook your fur, yawned, stretched, before trotting over to the bushes to your right. Harley hadn’t noticed, yet, that you’d stopped shadowing her.

She was too busy trying to think up some escape plan, desperate to get you both back home, somehow. She sighed, not sure what to do, for once, as her eyebrows furrowed a little subconsciously, hands even threatening to tremble, as you peed into the bushes, before noticing a particularly blue berry-looking plant. You tilted your head partially, before sniffing at it, your belly rumbling a little. You guessed it couldn’t do you that much bad, if you just ate it - right?

You cautiously looked around, before sneezing innocently, and making to pick the berry from its thorn. You didn’t get very far, before Harley was rushing up to you, and anxiously looking over you. You winced, the taste of the berry was surprisingly sour; more than you thought it would be. She faltered, noticing this reaction as her blood ran cold, her eyes falling upon the berry bush faster than a bullet had ever been fired. She recognised the berry immediately - belladonna.

Her heart skipped a beat, and she hastily shook her head. If you swallowed anything of that berry, you’d be dead in less than a few hours, that was for sure.

“What the fuck are you doing, Y/n?” She questioned, and you rolled your eyes as she tried to pry your jaws open, but you wouldn’t let her, moving away in a stubborn manner as she wrapped her arms around your neck, desperate to keep you with her, somehow.

‘Trying to eat. Leave me alone. Annoying,’ you commented, though you didn’t mean it, your heart dropping a little as soon as you noticed the brief flicker of hurt showing through her eyes.

“What the hell is in your mouth?” She pried, soon recovering her composure, but you didn’t dare give into her, though you knew you probably should, making sure not to swallow the berry to the best of your ability for as long as you possibly could, wanting to rile her up even more as you found it cute, seeing her all worried, and flustered around you. “Spit it out, Y/n!” She commanded sharply, but you still didn’t listen, bowing your head a little as you dragged her a little further away from the bushes, growling quietly in your throat. Still, she wouldn’t let go. “Nugget, please,” she begged, a little more shakily this time, “you can’t eat that - it’ll kill you, if you-”

You winced, guessing as much, before you spat it out, a mess of blue and spittle trailing from your jaws down onto the last remains of grass below you. She expressed relief, and you grunted, laying down tiredly below her; it could often be quite an effort, dragging people along like you’d just dragged her along, a brief moment ago. She panted barely audibly, her eyelids fluttering shut as she buried her face into the crook of your neck, trying not to break down after she’d got scared that maybe she would lose you, not even after today.

‘You’re scared. Why?’ You asked, and she scoffed, before removing her arms from around you to rest against you, staring up at the sky blankly as if she were trying to hide it, but you knew her too well. You could smell it on her; could sense the blue, as well as green relief flooding off of her body. She’d been under duress, but she was calmer, now. No longer scared now that she knew she wouldn’t be losing you today.

“Why wouldn’t I be? You’re my little wolfy,” she cooed feebly, “Y/n, I - I love you; if I ever lost you-..”

‘Stop,’ you began again weakly, ‘Harley, you - you’ll. Never lose me. Promise. Me? Always here. No matter what - you, too, right?’

“Always,” she cooed, and you would express relief, alongside her, pressing your nose into her right palm as you drew in a soft breath, before exhaling into it, drowning blissfully within her scent you’d grown to love, and crave, so soon after you’d first met her as if you were made for her, and she for you. You sighed again, content, feeling the wind flutter through your fur. Through her hair. You both almost forgot you were stuck here, in this dark place, until shouting rang out on the other side of the yard, separating you both from the others. You didn’t tend to stay on their side, considering you weren’t exactly the ultra trusted party, there. Harley was only being allowed there with you too because she was the only person who could truly calm you down - it did take Waller a while to make such a decision, however. “God, I want my sanity back, when this is all over,” she remarked, and you tilted your head a little in response to her comment, though a glint of amusement did form within your eyes, clear as day.

‘Crazy, but good,’ you rumbled, and she raised her eyebrows over at you, ‘love you, Harleen. Don’t want. You to change. Just want. You.’

“Aww,” she gushed, beaming over at you as she hooked her right arm around your neck again, “you’re so cute - what did I ever do to deserve you, huh?”

‘Everything,’ you answered, licking her cheek, only flustering her even more, ‘you did everything. You are everything. You always will be - no matter what. Stay like this - never change for anyone. Just stay - please.’

“Always,” she vowed, her voice briefly trembling as she did, “I could never go away, not without you knowing that I love you, okay? I’ll fight for you, no matter what - it’s always been you, Nugget, and that will never change, I promise. Just tell me you will never stop, too - will you?”

‘Never,’ you echoed warmly, ‘always here. No matter what. Every night; every day - here, with you. Love you too much. To go.’

“I don’t know what I’d do without you,” she admitted dejectedly, and you frowned, nuzzling at her right cheek as she rested her head upon your neck, listening to the brawling going on in the next half of the courtyard. Guards had started coming out already, shouting at the prisoners involved. If it weren’t for all the commotion, maybe things could truly be peaceful, just like they were, back at home. God, she hoped you could both go back soon. If only the escape plan she needed would come to her faster.

🜚

She guessed she should have known that it would come to her in a dream, the following night. As soon as it became clear to her, she sat up in her bed faster than a bullet could be released from a barrel. You grunted, sensing she was still awake as you slowly lifted your own head, your eyes dark; tired from keeping watch. You didn’t like the idea of possibly falling asleep, only to discover her gone from the cell beside your own.

She beamed over at you, her eyes glinting as you tilted your head partially, but somehow - even though she’d not told you, yet - you knew this was going to be a long night.

“I’ve got it, Nugget,” she remarked, sounding excited as she carefully got up out of the bed, trying not to celebrate too much for fear of getting the attention of the guards outside; she couldn’t risk this going wrong, no matter how much she longed to shout her plan from the rooftops of the establishment, “I’ve finally fucking got it, and I think that if it goes right, we could be going home tomorrow.” You played dumb, your head still cocked, and eyebrows raised a little, prompting her to roll her eyes as she stared back at you expectantly, her eyes full of hope, and a new fire you’d never seen before. “So-? You gonna ask me what the plan is?” She questioned, and you groaned, before turning away from her, your head laying upon your paws as you tried to close your eyes again, wishing she’d just go back to sleep so she could get her energy back already, though it didn’t really seem like she was having any problems with energy, right now. “God, you’re boring sometimes,” she uttered, and your heart sank, a soft growl escaping your throat as your eyes flickered between their usual colour, and a bold orange one again. “Yeah, I said it,” she encouraged, “what you gonna do about it, Nugget? Maul me, from all the way over there?”

‘Go. Sleep,’ you mustered up tiredly, unable to lift your head again though you longed to allow your gaze to meet her own, again, ‘too. Annoying - no energy, if you don’t rest now.’

“I don’t care,” she claimed, “I just wanted to tell you my plan - aren’t you interested? I thought you wanted to go back? Don’t you?”

You hesitated, a pained expression on your face.

‘Miss home. Always,’ you admitted dejectedly, ‘but we need to sleep. You need to sleep, to get back there. Please, don’t. Wasting your energy.’

“Says you,” she retorted, her expression softening a little, “you’re the one always pretending to sleep whenever you think I’m looking at you, but I know you don’t, and as soon as we get out of here, I’m not letting you do it again, okay?”

‘Okay,’ you gave in, and she expressed relief, evidently glad, the green making you smile softly in response to her body relaxing the way that it did, after that brief moment in time, ‘will you sleep, now?’

She sighed, before nodding gravely, though it still pained her that she wouldn’t be able to tell you of her plan, yet, but she guessed she could save it for tomorrow, as long as she conveyed it to you quickly, without any suspicion being arisen in response to it.

“Fine,” she uttered, getting back into her bed, “but don’t think I’m done with you, okay? I’ll scold you about it tomorrow, and then I’ll tell you about my plan, but we’ve gotta act quickly, okay? As soon as we possibly can, or else it’ll never work - can you do that, for me?”

‘Would do - a-anything for you, Harley,’ you answered, your voice close to a whisper. She faltered in response to your statement, her heart skipping a beat. ‘Now. Get some sleep, please. For me, and we’ll work tomorrow,’ you insisted, and she couldn’t help, but smile softly, before nodding, mustering up a soft ‘goodnight’, before she finally allowed her eyelids to flutter shut again. It was no surprise to her at all, that night, how - when she dreamed, all she could dream of was you, all over again.

🜚🜸🜚

As soon as the lights came back on, she began to stir again, her eyelids fluttering open as she smiled softly, stretching, and recalling how you’d been snuggling up with her within the dream. She sighed, wishing she could be that close to you, again - it was more incentive, however, to make sure this plan didn’t fail. She sat up slowly, looking around her, before she rubbed at her eyes, her vision blurry. It was unusually quiet, and it was somewhat unsettling, having the room being as quiet as it would.

You could probably hear a pin drop, if it weren’t for the usual shouting outside.

“Nugget-?” She began timidly, before looking over her shoulder at your cell. She wasn’t prepared for how much it would hurt, to see you suddenly gone, the way that you were.

🜚

You weren’t returned, until the top of the next hour had come around. You snarled weakly, as Flag dragged you back into the room, Harley pacing back and forth, until she heard the beeping of the door being unlocked. Her heart skipped a beat, only to falter as soon as she noticed you in the state that you were.

“What the fuck-?” She spat, gritting her teeth as her blood began to boil, slowly but surely. Flag just ignored her, now wanting to cause any further complications - especially not while Waller was watching, the way that she was, now. “Flag,” she began again a little shakily, a hurt look on her face, “what did you do to her?”

“Only what was necessary,” he answered vaguely, and Harley scowled, her hands balling into fists as she shook her head, stepping closer to the door of her cell subconsciously, but he wouldn’t be threatened, not in a situation like this.

“Not good enough,” she hissed, and he rolled his eyes, opening up the door of your own cell again, “what the fuck did you and those other assholes do to her out there? If you don’t tell me, I swear I’ll-”

“I’m not gonna be telling you anything about my commander’s intentions, Quinzel,” he retorted, and she couldn’t hold it back anymore as she lunged forward, grabbing onto the bars before her, but he wouldn’t even flinch, only smirking over at her knowingly, before shoving you inside, you too weak at that point to even protest as you stumbled further into your cell, your own vision blurry, and ears ringing, your legs shaking beneath you. “Besides, there’s nothing to complain about, right? We brought her back, safe and sound,” he commented, as if it were just a game, “didn’t we?”

“You’re never gonna get away with this,” she threatened lowly, “you will rue the day you were born, you hear me? Nobody touches my little wolfy-”

“Whatever you say, Harls,” he interjected nonchalantly, already walking back toward the door after he’d locked you back into your own cell, beside her’s, “no hard feelings, alright?”

Before she could even so much as shoot a final curse word at him, he was gone. She scowled, before turning back toward you. Her heart dropped, as soon as she saw you close up. Your frame was trembling, eyes were dark; it was almost as if they’d lost their spark, somehow. She grimaced again; she was sure of one thing, now - once you’d made your escape with her, she wouldn’t go back on her word. They would all pay, for what they’d done to you. Especially Waller.

🜚

She’d tried to talk to you. Tried to console you; to tell you she wouldn’t let them get away with it, whatever it was. You never responded; never even dared to look back in her direction. It hurt, to say the least. She was sick of trusting people like she’d momentarily trusted Flag, until he’d brought you back to her in a state like this. You whimpered quietly, curling up in the corner as she frowned over at you, a pained expression on her face.

“Where does it hurt?” She asked, through gritted teeth. You tensed up, wincing as you growled quietly, burying your face back into your tail. “Y/n-”

‘Not telling you. Anything,’ you interjected weakly, ‘doesn’t matter. Back here with you, now. That’s what matters-’

“Sure, that does matter to me a heck of a lot, right now,” she agreed, sounding a little frustrated, “but so does the fact that they hurt you, somehow - I know they did. What did they do to you? Tell me, and I’ll stop, I promise-”

‘Can’t tell you-’

“Nugget, please,” she begged, her voice briefly trembling as she cling to the bars separating her from you, “I can’t just sit by while you’re clearly suffering right there next to me, okay? I just can’t! What the fuck did they do to you, and why did they do it? At least tell me one of those two things-”

‘Needles. So many needles,’ you whispered, your voice shaking as if you were still afraid of what had happened, only making her heart break more for not being able to do more for you, right now, but it did wonders in making her anger surge toward Flag and the others, ‘all stabbing into me. So much liquid; angry voices - all bad. All hurting me. Don’t want to hurt you, too-’

“Why? Y/n, why - why would they do that to you? Do you even know?” She pried, desperate to find out more, but you fell quiet again, trying not to cry as you shifted into your human form, hugging your knees to your chest. “Baby, look at me,” she cooed, your pale frame only making it hurt, more, dragging her closer and closer to the edge of where she knew she’d lose it, if you broke down, too, but still you didn’t dare look in her direction. Instead, you sniffled barely audibly into your arms, wishing the shaking would stop.

Wishing you could feel her arms around you again.

“Have to. Leave this place,” you murmured, and she would nod hastily, certain more than anything that she could get you both out of there, before the day was over, “not safe here-”

“And we will, Nugget, I promise-”

“No,” you hissed, though your throat burned to allow such a response to escape your lips, your fangs itching to come out again, “not - not we. Just you. Have to stay here. You. You need to go. Before. Before they hurt you, too-”

She scoffed, a hurt look on her face as she shook her head. There was no way in hell that she’d ever leave you there. You frowned, sensing this was the case.

“Fuck that,” she retorted, “no, Y/n, y’know what? Fuck you - there’s no way in hell that I’m leaving you here, okay? No fucking way; we’re a team - family.” She grew further exasperated with each word, you clinging silently to each one with resignation and regret, wishing she’d let go of you all the same, no matter how much it would hurt you to lose her, for her own good. “Pack,” she added breathlessly, “s-soon to be even, hopefully, mates-! You can’t take that back, now, and neither can I. So when I leave, you leave, too? Capeesh?”

You grunted, not enough energy to fight with her - clearly, not that you ever even wanted to, it hurting you more than anything to even be hurting her the way you could tell you were, right now.

“Harley-”

“Nope,” she interrupted sharply, her voice full of determination bright and vivid that you simply couldn’t continue, even glancing up at her through half-lidded, still sore from crying eyes, “we’re not doing this, Y/n - we don’t have time for you to have a crisis today, okay?”

You growled, and she had to even try and hide a soft smile from playing at her lips upon hearing that again. She was getting through to you, finally - that much was clear, now.

“So it’s - it’s fine for you? W-What about when. When you’re having one?” You retorted, and she couldn’t do it; she smirked, and you rolled your eyes, before laying your head back down, knowing she wasn’t being serious anymore like she was, before. “Stupid. Plain rude. Dumb,” you muttered, but she paid you no heed, knowing you too well to know you were simply sulking after her previous scolding of your behaviour; she wondered how she’d never noticed that you could be like that, before.

In all honesty, she still found it kinda cute - you pouting; sulking, just because of her teasing you the way she was, now. It meant you still cared, and that she did, too. She always would. That thought used to scare her, but now?

“You wish you meant that,” she teased further, “but, seriously, we’ve got to get a move on with this plan - especially now Waller’s been hurting you.”

🜚

“What do you think? Pretty good, right?” She guessed, watching as you winced, scrunching up your face a little.

‘This. No good,’ you murmured, and she smirked, watching as you tried to get the taste out of your mouth, your tongue lolling out as spittle ran down from your jaws, ‘tastes like. Paint thinner, and - and bad decisions.’

Her eyes glinted a little, and she couldn’t stop it as a soft smile played upon her lips.

“That’s a good thing,” she remarked, evidently excited, “it means they won’t like it, either; if we can distract them long enough-”

You whimpered quietly, shaking your head; it just wouldn’t do, you knew that much, and you certainly feared now more than ever that Waller and Flag would be on both of your cases big time, knowing how protective you both tended to be around each other.

‘They won’t. Fall for it,’ you uttered dejectedly, ‘have to - think of something else. Better plan. No explosions. Just stealth - can we?’

Harley rolled her eyes, before shaking her head, carefully slipping the small bottle back into her orange jeans - custom made ‘specially for prisoners, you see.

“Oh c’mon,” she complained, “it’s fine; we will be fine, I know we will.” You huffed, before lying down upon the grass, your claws digging into the dirt beneath the dying strands. She frowned, noticing you seemed a little down, as her heart sank alongside your own. She smiled sadly over at you, before crouching down beside you. “What ya thinking about?” She asked innocently, and you hesitated, before glancing up at her again.

‘I want to go home,’ you admitted simply, ‘them. I miss them; miss the waterfall. Want the forest; the trees. To protect you. Fight the Omegas. If we don’t-’

“Hey,” she interjected gently, “no doubting me, okay? We’re going home, soon - I know we are; I can feel it-”

‘But-’

“No buts,” she retorted sharply, “this is happening, okay? We just need to go about it the right way - are you with me, or against me?”

You appeared taken aback, a hurt look on your face as you hastily shook your head, before nuzzling softly at her left cheek.

‘With you. Always,’ you cooed, ‘no matter what.’

“Then we’re doing this, tonight,” she stated confidently, “no matter what - now, what’s our exit strategy?”

You faltered, looking more confused than ever.

‘Our what-?’ You murmured, a blank expression on your face as she looked around your and her half of the prison yard. Instead of coming to a conclusion, she winced, and shook her head; she didn’t want you to know yet that she wanted to take quite an intense route out of the establishment. She knew you wouldn’t let her take that risk, so what else could she do?

“Don’t worry about it,” she recovered quickly, and you hesitated, watching her suspiciously, but you didn’t question it for long as she began walking back toward the double doors that led back into the room you’d both been stuck in for a little while now, you trotting behind her as your irises flickered between their usual blue colour and a bold orange again. Waller was nearby, and you’d be damned to drop your guard around her whilst Harley was with you, the way she was, now.

🜚

You’d been surveying her, ever since you’d both been let back into your cells. She seemed anxious, her hands trembling, and you couldn’t help, but wonder what she had in mind. Your heart sank; the possibility of losing her was the most terrifying you’d ever experienced, before. She sighed, sinking down upon the bed, her eyes darkening as if something was playing at her head, making her doubt what she’d already put together, with every passing minute leading up to your and her hopefully great escape.

‘Sometimes - Sometimes I wish the sun wouldn’t go down,’ you murmured, without even realising it, and she frowned, looking over at you. You winced, before hastily bowing your head, your tail thumping slowly against the ground beneath you. It wasn’t enough to distract her - not this time.

“It’s gonna work,” she stated, certain of herself as she made to get up again, “you just need to believe it, okay? Do you trust me? That - That we can get out of this, together?”

You looked back up at her, a hurt look on your face - what kind of question even was that? Of course you trusted her; you always had. You got up off of the ground, before walking up to her - as close as you could, anyway, before the bars separated the rest of the distance from her.

‘Always. Always trusted you,’ you answered, without hesitation, and she smiled softly, reaching her right hand through the bars so you could nuzzle at her fingertips, ‘I-.. Love. You, Harleen. Just you. Never stop; can’t stop - would follow you. Anywhere. Just don’t leave me, okay? Don’t. Get yourself killed, please-’

“Hey,” she interjected gently, before crouching down before you, “I’m never gonna leave you, you know that - right? I could never do that to you - I love you; I always have, and I always will - no matter what. Just do what I say, and we’ll be fine, okay? Can you do that for me, little wolfy?”

‘Piece of cake,’ you remarked, and she grinned, glad, before tickling you behind your left ear, making your chest rumble a little like it would make a cat purr - god, were you adorable. She couldn’t wait to get out of here, with you - to go back home, and be free with you again, this time as your mate, and not having to suffer, thinking about the what-ifs again; everything she’d ever dreamt of doing with you, inaccessible to her whilst she was with Winter, but not anymore. She only hoped Winter would take it well, whenever you both decided to tell her about your feelings for one another.

🜚

When lights out came, she wasted no time, taking out the sheath she’d been working on for a little while. You cautiously eyed her through the bars of your own cell; soon, Waller and Flag were due to hold experiments on you again. Soon, you would both be striking them to the best of your ability. Soon, you would find out if you were both destined to live, or die. You sighed, stretching, before you shifted into your human form, and she tried not to sneak a glance over at your now naked frame; now was not the time to be distracted from her plans, but god was it tempting, knowing that you’d be reaching for your clothes, by now.

She grunted, rubbing at her forehead, before she unsheathed her knife, and cut the drapes down from the ceiling of her own cell. You grinned over at her, sensing the faint hint of arousal radiating off of her body.

“Problem?” You inquired, and she tensed up, wincing as she hastily shook her head, before turning toward the lock upon her cell door.

“None here,” she answered, too brightly, as well as a little exasperatedly, “what, something bugging you?”

“Not really,” you answered simply, but you didn’t give in, inching a little closer to her side as you hugged your clothes to your side, still naked, and curious, your eyes narrowing as she tried not to think about how you were still naked, near her, as if you were trying to catch her out, somehow, or distract her, for reasons unbeknownst to her. “Are you - bothered, by me? My - My body?” You pried, and she faltered, a pained expression on her face, but she didn’t dare give in and look over at you, knowing what would happen, if she did, and how it could gravely endanger your and her plan getting out of here, and fast.

“No,” she answered confidently, “w-why would I be? Y/n, you - everything about you is-..”

“You’re better,” you mused, and she fell quiet, her heart skipping a beat, only making you smile softly upon hearing such an inflection, “always have been. Always will be.”

She wanted to tell you otherwise; wanted to save you the hurt of doubting yourself the way you seemed to do, often, but you didn’t care about the way you saw yourself; you only cared about being enough for her. Before she could even try, there were footsteps drawing closer to the room you were both trapped within. You growled quietly, looking toward the door, your fangs dropping as she winced, quickly wrapping the drapes around her hand after she’d tucked the knife and sheath back into her orange jeans.

She nodded in your direction, and you winced, before tearing your clothes up, hair growing along your cheeks, arms, legs, and back as your half-shift came over you, your tail beginning to grow out again - if you wanted to make it believable, you had to take some risks, right?

The door then swung open, and Harley cried out in pain, leaning heavily against the bars to her right side as you snarled in her direction, flashing your eyes red though it pained you to do so; you could never hurt her, no matter what. Flag faltered, noticing the scene before him, as he cursed quietly, before rushing up to Harley’s cell, a couple of other soldiers following cautiously behind him, their guns on you.

You growled dangerously in their direction, your hackles raising as your claws came out further, prompting blood to begin dripping down from your fingertips to the ground below you, colliding with the small blood puddles already being formed by the red liquid leaking from your toes, where your other claws were, now. Harley winced, warily looking toward you to make sure that you were okay, but she knew she had to portray more fear toward you, now, just whilst you and her were stuck within their presences, currently.

She made mental note to give you a big hug, after this. You roared, backing away anxiously as one of the soldiers banged their gun in warning against the bars concealing you. She didn’t jump, once, but acted as if it did affect her at least a little bit, in response to the sound that escaped you. It was painful, though, having to act like that around you when she could never be scared of you; the only thing she was scared of, now, was losing you - that possibility frightened her most of all.

“What the fuck happened, in here?” Flag questioned, and Harley tensed up, clutching her makeshift bandage as he tilted his head partially, looking between you both suspiciously, for a moment; he still wasn’t sure if he could trust you and her as a duo, right now, especially when you seemed so protective of one another. “Why are you-”

“I - I don’t know why, but - she-.. she turned,” she answered shakily, “she-”

You yelped, barely audible, as if it wounded you to hear it, but you knew it was necessary, to try and get you both out of there, and back home, once and for all. Her heart sank, as soon as she heard it; it hurt her, seeing that you were in pain just because of such a notion. She bowed her head, sniffling barely audibly as Flag made to unlock her cell, but just before she could brandish her knife, one of the other soldiers involved had their walkie-talkie go off.

“Officer No. 312, are you there?” It rang, and she hesitated, Flag cautiously looking back toward him, but she didn’t take out the knife yet. She saw potential, here, whatever it was.

The soldier warily looked over at Flag, before he sighed, and lifted the device to his lips.

“I’m here,” he answered, a little irritably, “what’s the situation?”

“Two loose convicts,” the rough voice answered, “we don’t know who they are, yet-”

“How can you not know?” The soldier questioned sharply, and Flag rolled his eyes - there evidently would never be any rest for the wicked, would there? Not tonight, anyway.

“The cameras haven’t picked up their faces, yet; they’re hiding them, and it’s hard to find any record of them, right now,” the other replied a tad bit apologetically, as if ashamed of himself for letting the strangers go under the radar - Harley couldn’t deny she was curious, though, as to who they might be.

The soldier looked toward Flag again, as if seeking permission to get involved, and he would hesitate, evidently frustrated by the situation, before nodding dismissively, and gesticulating for the other soldier to follow; he guessed he’d just have to try and handle the situation by himself, somehow, stupid though that idea may be.

“We’re on our way,” the soldier stated plainly, before mouthing ‘thank you’ to Flag, and making to leave the room, the other officer hot on his peer’s heels.

Flag sighed, before looking toward Harley again, appearing more tired than she’d ever seen him, before, but this didn’t make her feel sorry for him - not after what he’d let the others do to you, as she instead smirked, and tilted her head partially up at him again, you cautiously watching her as if ready to pounce on him any second, now, if he ever dared touch her and hurt her like he’d done to you, that previous night.

“It’s gonna be a long night, huh?” She remarked, and he appeared taken aback, but before he could react, she took out her knife, and stabbed it deep into his stomach.

He cursed again, groaning as he leaned heavily against the bars behind him.

“Fuck, Harley, what - what are you-” He managed faintly, and she grinned over at him as she got up off of the ground, and neatly removed the bandage from her arm, revealing no blood or wound at all beneath it. You expressed relief, though you’d already known you’d not hurt her like you and her were trying to act as if you did just to get their attention somehow.

“Sorry, Sarge,” she interjected brightly, her eyes glinting as she pried the knife back out of him, allowing the blood to flow faster than it was, before, but she didn’t doubt that they might unfortunately meet again, eventually, due to how fast people seemed to notice things, around here, “but I’m afraid it just had to be this way, y’know - no hard feelings, right?”

“Not cool, Harls,” he uttered, spluttering up blood a little bit as it trailed down his chin in a single thin line, “not cool.”

She shrugged, unperturbed, as she stepped out of her cell, and took up the key that would open your own.

“You ready to do this?” She asked, and you warily lingered closer to the door, your eyes locking with hers as soon as you were stood before her, prompting your heart to pound much too fast all over again; you just hoped she couldn’t hear it, but at the same time, you wondered why her own was doing the same as your’s, a fast but soft thump ringing out within your ears as she tried to catch her breath, a fire in her stunning icy blue eyes that took your breath away without a second glance being prompted.

It was simple: you ached for her - every part of you did, always had, and always would. That was all you knew, now - and god did you love that feeling; the one that made you certain you would do anything just for her; to protect her, make her happy, stay by her side - be her shadow. You drew in a barely audible shaky breath, your half-shift already receding as she beamed over at you, trying not to allow her gaze to drop down any further than your eyes, no matter how much she wished she could let it roam all over your body, almost as much as she wished her hands could, right now, if it didn’t risk you both being caught, before you could even get one step out of this place.

“Always ready,” you cooed, and she smiled lovingly over at you as she unlocked the door, and offered you her left hand, “no matter what. I want-.. everything with you, Harley.”

“Then we’ll do everything together; we’ll be everything together, Nugget, I promise,” she added gently, as you intertwined the fingers of your right hand with the fingers of her left one, prompting your heart to skip a beat again as you winced, wondering why it always felt like a current of electricity was passing between you both, whenever you were touching, like you were, now, “but we can’t do that, until we get out of here, okay? So we better get a move on, before someone realises something is wrong - are you with me? ‘Cause this could get rocky - like, really rocky, even if it goes well-”

“Always with you,” you stated determinedly, sure of yourself; you’d never been more sure of anything, before - you were certain of that, now, “now - now let’s get a move on. Before - Before they find us, and we go boom, okay?”

“Sounds good,” she answered, beaming over at you sheepishly, before she encouraged you toward the door the others had entered through, and Flag quietly cursed again.

🜚

As soon as you’d both cleared the following hallways, she stopped at the closest vent shaft. She grinned, evidently pleased with herself as she crouched down before it, before messing with the screws using the tip of her knife. You anxiously lingered behind her, caught in your half-shift again to cover yourself up a bit, whilst having a tad bit more power if you needed to step in and fight any other soldiers for her. As soon as she’d got open the vent, she sheathed her knife back up, before grinning back at you.

“You’re still good with enclosed spaces, right?” She inquired, and you hesitated, wincing, before you crouched down behind her, and nodded gravely. “Good,” she replied, before gesticulating to the vent before her, “because we gotta get through there, to go where we need to be - you might wanna go full human for this one, though.”

“Why? Want to perv on me, again?” You questioned, and she tensed up, her heart skipping a beat as you raised your eyebrows knowingly.

“W-What? No! Just - follow my lead, okay? Jeez,” she answered, but you could tell you’d struck something within her, especially after her heart had betrayed her, the way that it did, a brief moment ago.

“Don’t trust you,” you murmured, but she knew you didn’t mean it as she carefully crawled into the vent shaft, you following slowly behind her as your tail, fur, and claws began to recede again, leaving you completely and totally naked, as well as cold, all over again. You’d stopped being a personal furnace, ever since you’d lost your crystal, a couple of years ago, now, unfortunately, as well as much to your dismay. “Don’t fart on me,” you added, as you both descended further into the tight crevice, hoping it would get you to where you needed to be, soon.

“I’m not gonna fart on you,” she uttered, “but even if I did, I thought you’d like it - wouldn’t you?”

You tensed up, wincing, before you bowed your head a little.

“Why? Why would I? That’s gross,” you answered simply, and she scoffed, before warily looking around the upcoming left corner. She took a moment to consider the map; the whole blueprint of the establishment, before nodding, certain that it was the right way. “Hurry up,” you whined, impatient to get out; it was starting to get too hot, already, though it had been quite cold, before you’d both got in here together, “starting to smell. Think it’s your fault-”

“Oh, shush,” she interjected, “you love it - I know you do.”

You grunted, though you knew it was true; her scent was sweet, and homely - it reminded you of safety; being back at the waterfall, away from your abusive father, and the truth you’d had to face for years that your mother was never coming back. She’d given birth to you, and that was it; you didn’t come back from death, not physically. Your heart sank, and you almost faltered; almost bumped into her, so you quickly halted, wincing, and timidly glancing up at her again.

“Almost there?” You asked, your voice barely audible, and she would sigh, before looking back at you, but you didn’t dare let her gaze meet your’s, afraid of what she’d think, if she saw the pained expression residing upon your face.

“Yes,” she answered, a little exasperatedly, but she couldn’t stay frustrated at you, smiling softly down at her hands as she thought about how close you both were, now, after everything that had happened, recently, with you both being trapped in neighbourly cells; her relationship with Winter, and secret feelings for you, at the time - she tried not to sigh, looking around another corner as she did, you shuffling awkwardly behind her as you gritted your teeth, grazing your right hand upon a sharp edge of one of the metal panels. It only then occurred to you that you were immensely grateful it wasn’t silver; you expressed relief - that would hurt, immensely, your skin bare, and brushing against each panel without any protection from the usual material of the clothing you tended to wear, whenever you weren’t in your wolf form. “We’ll be there, soon, I promise,” she cooed a little softer, “I know what I’m doing, okay? C’mon, I think it’s this way, now.”

You groaned, before you continued behind her, feeling even more uncomfortable and anxious when the panels seemed to grow a little more unstable than they were, before, beneath you both.

“Harley-” You began timidly, sounding alarmed, when one of the panels groaned beneath your weight, but she lifted her left hand up, prompting you to fall quiet as she winced, and looked over at you, the index finger of her left hand now over her lips, and that was when you heard it. Two voices, one familiar, and another unfamiliar. You tried not to growl softly, reminding yourself of the situation as they rang out, and you forgot all about the panel - for now, anyway.

“Don’t you dare put that in the microwave, Officer Granby,” Waller hissed, “we have work to do - as soon as Flag gets back with the wolf, we will begin with the next procedures; there is no time right now for dilly-dallying, understand?”

The other presence sighed, and you scowled, wishing you could tear the throats out of both of them; you remembered Granby’s scent, and how he’d been the one to shock you whenever you got out of line. It was hard not to dig your claws into the metal, right now, a low rumble threatening to sound out from your jaws, if you weren’t careful, and couldn’t hold it back just enough to stop you from being heard. You bit back the growl, reminding yourself of how Harley was here with you; how her life could be on the line, if you weren’t careful.

You warily glanced back at her, a pained expression on your face as she watched the two through another vent cover, just about being able to make out the two figures talking beneath her. You warily drew closer to her, the panel creaking in warning beneath you, prompting you to tense up, and wince again, as Harley cursed barely audibly, prompting your heart to sink again; you still thought she’d have a better chance of escaping, if you weren’t there with her.

You tried not to sigh, your eyes glistening a little as you bowed your head again, wishing she’d just give up on you, no matter how much it would hurt you, to lose her. She frowned, noticing your demeanour had sunk a little. She’d never intended to hurt you, like she could see she had, somehow. She leaned back as much as she could, allowing her to reach her left hand behind her, before she set it down gently upon your own. Your heart skipped a beat, and you glanced up at her, a small tear being shocked from your eye as she smiled reassuringly back at you, though it pained her to see you crying the way that you were, now.

She resolved that she’d try and make up for it, later; try and distract you from the void within your head as she intertwined her fingers with your own, before begrudgingly glancing back down at the cover, waiting patiently for Waller and the soldier to move along with whatever they were doing, right now.

“Well he isn’t here yet, is he? I’d like to take a quick break, before we proceed,” Granby complained, “it’s only an egg-”

“Exactly,” Waller interjected pointedly, “it’s only an egg - did you know that egg yolks can explode microwaves? Our equipment is expensive, Granby, and I also don’t think it’s worth wasting time over when we have much more important things to be doing, right now.” Waller looked down at her watch, as Granby muttered something under his breath. “Where the hell is he? In fact, why don’t you go and check that everything is running smoothly? We can’t risk these procedures going wrong,” she suggested, and he grunted, before uttering ‘sure’, but he certainly took his time picking his gun back up off of the wall, where it had been previously leaning, before its services were required, again, “well? What are you waiting for?”

Granby rolled his eyes, before walking out of the room, Waller rubbing her forehead as he did; it had clearly been a long day - a frustrating one, at that, and Harley couldn’t wait to make it just that one bit worse for them.

“Let’s go,” she whispered, gesticulating toward the passage before her, and you nodded, making to crawl forward, but the panel decided it had other plans for you, as it began to groan again, before caving in completely, you going down with it, no matter how much you fought to stay up, and she to try and catch you.

🜚•🜚

You woke up, feeling lost again. It was a hazy scene around you; nothing to be seen, but debris - ash. You frowned, trying to get up, but your legs failed beneath you, and a soft whimper escaped your jaws. You’d never felt so weak, before. That was, until you heard a familiar voice calling for you.

“Y/n!?” You tensed up, your ears perking as you allowed your eyelids to open again. A blurry figure was running up to you, her eyes glistening as small rivers ran down her cheeks from them. Your heart sank, at the sight. She faltered before you, her own legs caving beneath her as she fell to her knees beside you, a strained sob escaping her lips as soon as she noticed the scratches all over your body from the fight. You couldn’t let the Omegas hurt her; that was all you knew, now. “Nugget, please, s-say somethin’,” she begged, cupping your cheeks within her hands as she lifted your head a little toward her own, allowing her to affectionately press her forehead to your’s. “Please,” she continued, but you couldn’t do it, groaning feebly as you relaxed into her touch heavier than you should be, only panicking her even more as she shook her head hastily, a hurt look upon her face again. “No,” she whispered, her voice trembling, “no, Y/n, y-you’re not doing this to me, you’re not-”

You grunted, lowering your head a little to nuzzle your wounded chest, and that was when she noticed your crystal was gone. You could no longer heal yourself, without it. She cursed shakily, looking around as if it would appear somewhere close by, but it was already too late. You knew; the Omega had managed to dig it out of your chest, before they smashed it against a boulder, and used the remnants against you to create the cuts upon your face, the rest mostly being from their claws.

‘Can’t - come back now,’ you managed, your eyelids heavy, but she didn’t dare let go of you, cradling your body close to her own even though you were heavier, in your wolf form, ‘Harleen-’

“No,” she retorted through gritted teeth, pressing her face into the back of your neck, “I’m not letting you go, Y/n - no way; you’re staying right here, with me, and we’re gonna sort this out - right here, right now. You’re not leaving me, little wolfy; you promised-”

‘Couldn’t-.. Couldn’t keep..’ You murmured, but she shook her head again, smoothing down your ears using her left hand as you groaned within her embrace again, your breaths growing fainter and fainter by the minute.

“You need to rest now for me, Nugget, okay? Rest, but don’t go to sleep,” she cooed gently, “please, Y/n, I - I can’t lose you, n-not like this - just, please-”

‘I’ve-.. always..’ You faltered, a pained expression on your face as you shook your head, doubting she’d want to hear it, especially not now. ‘Just.. don’t forget me, okay?’ You whispered dejectedly, and she faltered, hastily shaking her head again as you winced, wondering if death would take you away, soon, and what it would be like, to be gone. Just gone. You bowed your head again, but she shook her own hastily, silently begging you to open your eyes more, and look up at her - she couldn’t let you go like this; not now, not ever, but she didn’t know what else to do.

Even if she tried to put pressure on your wounds, there were too many of them, and now they couldn’t even close up again, not without your crystal. She cursed, before looking around again as if she’d be able to see it, somehow. It only hurt more, to realise she might never be able to find it full in time. Not that she’d be able to repair it, now, but she didn’t know that, at the time.

“You’re not doing this to me,” she retorted, “you’re just not, okay? I - I can’t let you, I-..” Her face contorted as she began to cry, and you only felt worse, wishing the pain would go away faster, somehow, but at the same time it scared you to think that soon you might never see her again. “Please,” she begged, her voice close to a feeble whisper, “Nugget, don’t - don’t do this-.. stay with me - just stay-”

‘Need to. Go to - protect you,’ you whined, nuzzling faintly at her chin, but this time she didn’t smile when she felt it; she couldn’t bring herself to, even after all those time she’d told you that it felt ticklish, having you nuzzle her chin like that all the times you’d ever done it for her, before. ‘Can’t do it, any other way-’

“You seriously think you’re protecting me by leaving me? Screw you,” she spat, but she didn’t let you go, “h-how could you even think something like that? How could you do this? You promised me you’d always be here; that we’d always be together, no matter what, and now you’re doing this? You - You’re such a fucking liar; a hypocrite, and you don’t even see that-”

‘I know,’ you corroborated dejectedly, though it hurt to hear such words slipping from her lips, especially when you didn’t doubt them to be true, ‘so you’d be happy to see me go, right? Not good, Harley. Not good for you - I’m-’

“You’re more than good for me,” she contradicted, her voice trembling again, but you could hear that she meant it, body and soul, “Y/n, I-”

A loud snarl sounded out behind her, and you tensed up within her arms. Before you even knew it, and she could even react, a responding growl came a few paces opposite you - they were trying to surround their prey, again, and the worst part was that by hurting her, it would be for nothing. She would die, for nothing, and they would steal your Alpha powers from you. You grimaced, shaking your head - you still had some energy, most likely not enough, but you didn’t dare let them touch a single hair upon her head.

You just wished you’d considered the limits of your choices, before you decided to execute them.

🜚•🜚

It had always been the same problem, over and over again. You came to eventually, your vision blurry as you looked up at Waller, smirking above you. You growled quietly, your half shift slowly coming over you again, but it didn’t get far enough - not before Harley cried out for you shakily, and you dropped your guard, allowing one of the soldiers from before to prod their electric rods at you. You cried out in pain, begging weakly for them to stop, and silently for Harley’s arms to be around you, but they already knew she was in the vent system, now.

You looked up at the now hanging remains of the panel that had broken in beneath you, Harley’s eyes glistening as she looked back at you from the side that still held, the way it did before. You frowned, a pained expression on your face as Granby began to lift you up off of the ground; you always knew there wouldn’t be enough hope, for you. You just wished it wouldn’t hurt as much as it did, as Harley faltered, looking over her shoulder at the remains of the passage, before she mouthed ‘I’m sorry’, and promised she would get you out of there somehow, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to do it outnumbered like that, and feared she would only get you hurt more, somehow, so she decided that - when the time was right, and she had gathered enough of a party - she would come back for you, and make sure Waller and the others paid for what they had done, and were still doing to you, as well as herself.

She only wished fate would intervene sooner, than it seemed to be doing, recently.

🜚🜸🜚

That night had shortly become the only thing she could think about - a pained expression crossed her face, as she tossed and turned within her own bed again. She felt like shit, to say the least. She sighed heavily, wondering what you were doing right now; if you were even still alive - still there. Her heart ached at every possibility. Wherever you were right now, wasn’t with her. She grunted, wishing the thought of you didn’t make her feel so weak all the time.

She rubbed her face against the palms of her hands, listening to the others laughing downstairs; she’d found them again, but she didn’t feel happy. She still hadn’t told Winter about you and her; hadn’t dared even tell Skylar and Vivian, but she feared they already knew, your scent all over her more than it ever had been, before. She groaned, trying to push the thought from her head, but it was harder than anything she’d ever tried to do, before.

Instead, another idea came to mind, and she wondered if it would make her worse than she’d ever been before. She shook her head slowly, a thoughtful expression on her face, before she got up out of bed, and made for her bedroom window.

🜸

The experiments had never ceased, since that day. You’d been in and out of the laboratory they’d set up underneath the institution, and you felt weaker than you’d ever been, before. It didn’t help, seeing Harley’s eyes looking back at you, the way they did that night. You groaned, tightly shutting your eyelids as you turned away from the ceiling of your cell, but nothing about her left your mind. You whimpered quietly, wishing you could see her again.

You wondered if she were happy again, being with Winter. Your heart sank; it even begged the question did she ever even care about you? You sighed heavily, a crestfallen expression on your face, but you were glad she was safe, regardless, no matter where she was, or who she was with, now.

🜸

She didn’t even have to think about it; she threw open the window, tilted her head back, and howled as loud as she could up at the dark sky, hoping more than anything you’d hear her again, and come back home to her. However, if you didn’t, she didn’t doubt she’d be able to get to you, soon, by herself.

🜸

The next thing you knew, you were back in the small cage Waller had assigned to you for whenever you were being experimented on within the laboratory. She grinned at you, and you growled quietly, wishing you could tear her apart, but the muzzle they’d put on you didn’t even allow you to open your jaw an inch. You winced, the feeling uncomfortable, more than anything else had ever been, before. You still saw Harley’s eyes sometimes looking back at you from the ceiling; thought you could hear her voice, even, but you were sure you were just kidding yourself.

Why would she want to come back for a monster like you, right? You sighed heavily, bowing your head as Granby brought in the tray of needles - soon, you’d be under their influence again. Flag even appeared a little guilty as he watched the soldier take up the first needle, and the black liquid inside told you you were already a goner. You didn’t even try and scare him away, your eyes darkening as Waller eagerly watched him crouch down, holding the needle to your neck.

“Hold on, Officer,” Waller requested, crouching down before you, “lost your spirit already, huh? That’s a shame; you’re making it too easy for us, but what if I told you that as soon as we get Quinn back, we’re going to finish what we started, before?” You didn’t even think about it, snarling at her as your eyes flashed red, and she smirked, evidently pleased with herself for achieving such a reaction out of you. “She’s ready, Granby,” she determined, and the soldier grinned back at her sadistically, all while Flag stiffened, and hoped this whole ordeal would be over soon, for your own sake, as much as his, and Harley’s.

��🜸🜚

She didn’t intend for it to take as long, as it did. There were-.. disturbances, along the way. Skylar winced, when Harley came into the living room of their old base, looking exasperated, and positively fuming at having to go out into the garage, only to discover that her car that she had stolen from Canary a couple of years ago now, was gone, as if it has never been there, in the first place.

“Which one of you did it?” She questioned, her hands upon her hips as she skeptically eyed each and every one of them. Their mouths remained to be sealed, Winter looking frustrated as she tried not to glare over at Skylar, acutely aware of what her gang mate had done, recently, while you and her girlfriend were stuck in prison. “Winter? Gonna help me out here, or was it you who’s decided you got bored one day, and decided to trash my car?” She pried, and Winter tensed up, a pained expression on her face in response to the accusation; she evidently didn’t expect it from her, to be suspected by the woman she loved, and thought still loved and trusted her, too.

She wondered if she’d missed anything, whilst you and Harley were in prison together.

“I wouldn’t do anything like that,” Winter defended, “why would I? Harley, you - you know I wouldn’t-”

Harley frowned, before nodding gravely, and bowing her head, her hands returned to her sides as she sighed heavily, and shrugged dejectedly.

“Look, it - it’s fine, guys,” she claimed, and they would all appear taken aback by this change of demeanour, compared to the one she had been sporting, before, “I just.. wish I knew what happened, okay? I guess we can always try and stealth ourselves up there, I just.. the car would’ve been nice to have, okay?”

Skylar stepped forward, and Harley hesitantly glanced up at her, her eyebrows furrowing a little; she couldn’t say it surprised her, though her poor companion hadn’t even made a statement, yet.

“For what it’s worth - we don’t need cars,” she began, her eyes glinting a little, “who would, when you’ve got werewolves on your side?”

Harley sighed again, before lifting her right hand up to her forehead in a strained manner.

“You did something to the car, didn’t you?” She guessed, and she didn’t even need to look up at Skylar again to see the guilty expression flooding over her friend’s face.

“Okay, look - don’t hate me, but-.. I may have sold your car for a piece of lemon cake,” she admitted, her voice smaller than it was before, and much too quickly presented, but not fast enough for her to not be able to understand what her friend was conveying to her.

“You what!?” She responded, dumbfounded as her eyes widened like a deer caught in headlights. Skylar winced, and Vivian timidly stepped closer to her mate in alarm, as well as warning for Harley to stay away, until she proved she was calm enough not to lash out at her companion. “How the fuck do you even-..” She grunted, before shaking her head. “Nevermind,” she uttered, noticing Vivian’s eyes flashing orange for a moment, relaxing her friend a little, as well as serving to be a reminder of the situation at hand, here, “was the cake good, at least?”

Skylar relaxed, a dream-like expression on her face taking over as she nodded hastily, her eyes glinting all over again the way that they were, before - shiny, and full of an unmistakeable innocence that undoubtedly wasn’t there, all the time. It wouldn’t be for anyone, anyway. Her mate smiled softly over at her, her own eyes reflecting something similar to what was conveyed within Skylar’s irises, and certainly a little larger than before pupils.

“So good,” she cooed, “I miss it, already.”

“Then you better get another car to sell, huh?” Harley uttered, and Skylar frowned, before wincing again as she nodded gravely, and looked away from her leader whilst her mate tried to provide comfort to her again.

“Y-Yeah, I - I guess I deserved that one, sorry,” she murmured, and Harley felt a little guilty, her expression softening as she timidly inched closer to her friend, and Vivian would hesitate, before taking a small step backwards to give her and her mate some space, for as long as it was needed, as long as Harley didn’t change her mind, and make Skylar pay for it in a way she didn’t even dare think about.

“I forgive you, okay?” She reassured her gently, as she affectionately connected her forehead to her friend’s one; she guessed she’d learnt from you the importance of touch, among werewolves. What it meant, regarding pack bonds, scent exchanging - ownership, sometimes, but in the warmest sense of the word. She could never force them to do anything they didn’t want to do, no matter how much they tried to insist on doing whatever that may be, to them.

“T-Thank you?” Skylar replied, looking a little puzzled, and Harley grinned, before letting go of her companion, and turning to the others.

“Anyway, we better get a move on, if we wanna get to the asylum before the clock strikes twelve,” she decided, and the others would look over at each other, before nodding toward their leader, and making toward the front door.

Harley would have followed behind them in an instant, if it weren’t for Winter pulling her aside for a brief moment. Her eyes were full of uncertainty; anxiety, and it made her girlfriend’s heart crack a little - she didn’t like thinking Winter still cared about her, especially when she still had feelings for you, and didn’t doubt she always would.

“Is this really what you want?” Her still-currently-girlfriend questioned, and Harley tensed up, a pained expression on her face as she nodded hastily, certain of herself more than she ever had been before.

“Yes,” she answered determinedly, “Winter, I’m not leaving Y/n to suffer in there - she needs me; she needs us - we can’t just abandon her, now-”

“I - I mean.. I get it, babe, but - what if we did?” She mused, and Harley couldn’t help, but scowl, scoffing, as she withdrew from her partner’s hold.

“W-What? Do you really think we’d just up and leave her, like that? After everything? She’s our friend, Winter, n-not some hostage we picked up just to throw away, again,” she retorted, and Winter fell quiet, her eyes darkening as she tried not to show that her girlfriend’s demeanour was painful, to her, especially when she was looking at her the way she currently was, now.

“You’re right,” Winter murmured dejectedly, smiling faintly up at her partner, but she couldn’t stop her voice from trembling the way it did, “you’re always right.”

Harley didn’t know what to do, as Winter meandered around her. She thought about catching her right hand within her left hand; thought about stopping her by wrapping her arms around her waist, but she couldn’t bring herself to do either. Not unless it was you she was doing it to. She sighed, half-turning toward the door as her girlfriend lingered before it, as if waiting for Harley to join her, or to muster up what she could tell she wanted to say, right now, no matter what it may be; how much it might hurt.

Instead, she shook her head, finding she couldn’t do it as Winter continued outside, even as Harley tried to stop her, mustering up a barely audible ‘Snowflake’, no matter how much it hurt her to do so.

🜚

The whole way there, Winter was quiet. She and Harley were perched upon the back of their friend, Vivian, who had offered to carry them while in her wolf form, whilst Skylar was carrying Cleo, trying to stay low as she and her mate drew ever closer to the Asylum. Vivian picked up on your scent, first, growling quietly as she looked toward the building, her chest rumbling.

“Is she still there? Still-.. y’know.. alive?” Harley inquired, swallowing thickly, and Vivian would glance up at her, her eyes glinting as if to reassure her friend that you were still breathing, but there was something-.. off, about the scent she used to know. She huffed, trying to force it from her mind, as she trotted forward, and brushed against Skylar’s side to reassure her mate that she was okay. Skylar, however, didn’t seem too pleased about progressing forward, either, her hackles raising, even as your scent grew stronger, and stronger, with every drop of their paws.

As soon as they reached the fence surrounding the establishment, most likely electrified, Harley raised her bat up to signal that they stop where they were, for now. Winter anxiously looked around; it didn’t evade her, too, that something felt off about the place, today. Well, more off than usual. She tried not to let her suspicions slip from her lips, knowing how much this meant to her girlfriend, and all, but it still hurt to think she would go to such lengths, for you, though she’d probably do the same for her and the others, too.

She was just so passionate about it; about you. She sighed, and watched as Harley carefully dismounted Vivian, the wolf never withdrawing her gaze from the second floor of the building, but Harley was too fixated upon the fence at present, to notice her uneasy demeanour.

“What do you think? Can we go over?” Cleo inquired, still clinging tightly onto Skylar’s fur, evidently scared that she may still fall off, even though the wolf below her wasn’t moving anymore. Not much, anyway.

“That would be our best option, I reckon,” Harley answered, her eyebrows furrowing as she looked around for a tell-tale wire, but there was no such obvious sign in sight - this was going to be slightly harder than she thought it would be, “especially since someone thought it would be a good idea to not bring any explosives for this purpose.”

“We can’t afford to draw attention to ourselves, yet,” Winter replied dejectedly, and Harley frowned, glancing back at her for a brief moment, before she bowed her head, Vivian and Skylar warily watching their companions.

“Don’t worry, I know that,” she cooed, as she made to take her girlfriend’s right hand within her left one, “you just didn’t let me finish, yet - you thought it would be a good idea to not bring any explosives with us, and d’you know what I thought?” Winter hesitated, her eyes locking blissfully with her partner’s stunning icy blue ones. “I thought that was the smartest decision I’ve ever heard anyone make,” she cooed, smiling softly up at her girlfriend, though it pained her to see the soft smile playing on her lips, especially when all she could think about right now, was you, trapped in your cell, and likely to be in pain, almost as much as she was.

“I love you,” Winter replied in a voice close to a shaky whisper, and Harley would falter, her heart dropping again as she tried not to hesitate, though it made her ache to return the phrase, before she turned to face the others again, and smirked as if there were nothing wrong with the world, at present, “so, we got a wire to find, guys! What’re we gonna do about it?”

🜚

The answer was, of course, nothing. You see, the fuse box was more obvious than the wire turned out to be. Before Harley could go on puzzling over a way to cross the fence, Vivian picked up on the unmistakable burning smell of electricity leading around the corner, to her right. She snapped her jaws in the direction of the others, and they didn’t hesitate to rush over to her, Skylar particularly proud of her mate as she licked at her left side, her eyes glinting warmly with passionate affection.

Her chest even rumbled, as well as puffed out at the knowledge that Vivian had been the one to figure out where it was.

“What now?” Cleo asked, her voice barely audible, but strained; she knew that now was the time for hushed voices, considering they were a few paces away from the building, now.

“We blow it; mess it up a little,” Harley remarked, and Cleo raised her eyebrows, “y’know? Play it dirty - then we climb over; c’mon!”

“If you say so,” her friend replied, after carefully climbing off of Skylar’s back, “but just so you know; I don’t like the idea of blowing things, when our lives and time could be at stake here-”

“Trust me; I’ve thought it over so many times, now, and in every alternative, it goes our way - of course it does,” she stated, as she carefully drew open the fuse box, revealing a cacophony of wires. It didn’t take her long, before she drew her blade through the first wire, and the whole thing seemed to just - well, blow. Sparks flew from the scene, before the fence seemed to darken unnaturally, as if previously being illuminated by the electricity protecting it.

“Perfectly planned, as usual,” Winter remarked, as she affectionately wrapped her arms around her girlfriend’s waist, “you’re the smartest girl I know, Quinzel.”

Harley tensed up, before glancing timidly back at her partner, but she couldn’t bring herself to smile even faintly, not when it pained her to think back to her feelings for you, and how she’d had to leave you, before, lost to the outside world around you.

“A-And you are the double smartest girl I know, Snowflake,” she returned warmly, no matter how much it hurt her again to do so.

There was a tell-tale shift of muscle and bone behind the two, as Vivian in her human form materialised before them.

“As much as I’d love to watch you both kiss and make up,” she began slowly, but determinedly, her voice gentle, like it usually was - kind, soft Viv; the way she’d always been. None of you could help, but love her, for everything about her, ever since you’d all first met her, the way you did at Gotham U. “We’ve got a fellow wolf to save,” she reminded the group, gesticulating toward the building to her left, “so are we gonna save her, or just hang around here, waiting either for them to catch us, or for us to find her dead?”

Harley flinched, and Vivian’s expression softened. She sighed, and smiled sadly over at her friend, but Harley shook her head, and lifted her left hand up to her right shoulder as if to reassure her that it was okay, and that she understood what she meant, even if it came out the way it did.

“We’re gonna find her, Viv,” she stated confidently, her eyes reflecting her fiery confidence, “we just need a little more of that lucky girl-power, right? C’mon, we’ve got this, and soon enough - we’ll be riding out of here with our other little wolfy in no time at all, ain’t that right? C’mon, guys - follow me!”

The fence was easy enough for each of them to climb, she only hoped the end goal of her plan would treat her and the others to as much ease - she was blissfully mistaken.

🜚

Once they’d climbed the fence, Harley rushed for the back of the building, remembering the way in which she’d got out, before. The others staggered behind her, evidently not expecting her to move so fast after just landing back upon the ground, no injuries sustained whatsoever. She grinned, seeing the vent shaft still where it was, before. They evidently hadn’t done much to cover it up, the way it was when she first found it in the yard, the day before her escape, and your slow demise.

She looked around cautiously, noticing a searchlight going across the other side of the yard. She couldn’t help, but scowl, taking out her dagger again to pry the vent cover open. Vivian winced at the noises it made, but it wasn’t enough to pry the attention of the guards over to the group - thankfully. She trotted up to her leader, back in her wolf form, though she knew she’d probably soon have to change again, and certainly regretted this change.

She guessed she was just thinking about the safety of her mate; how it was being put at risk, for sure, in a situation like this. Skylar nuzzled at her mate’s side, smiling softly over at her as Vivian flashed her eyes softly back at her, her heart skipping a beat as she did - it was one of the ways she liked to tell her mate she loved her, no matter what, and always would.

“You ready? It’s tight in there, and a little bit of a long way, but we should be able to make it, for sure,” Harley chimed, her voice close to a whisper, but the others didn’t hesitate - if they had a war on their hands to get their friend back, then they guessed there was nothing left to do, but continue swiftly forwards.

🜚

She hadn’t been lying - of course she hadn’t, not to herself; not to the others. The vent was still tight, just as it was before - though, she hadn’t known why she would think it would change, in such a small span of time as past between her escaping, and returning the way she was, now. Vivian grunted, almost bumping into Cleo again, only to get another painful whiff of her shoes and feet combined. She wished the senses of werewolves weren’t heightened the way they tended to be, sometimes.

“Don’t worry, guys,” Harley spoke up again, as she turned another corner to her left, retracing her steps slowly, but surely, all while she hoped it would lead her back to you, somehow, “fuck - I - I thought-”

Winter winced, looking over her girlfriend’s shoulder to see that the panels still hadn’t been repaired after the unfortunate events that had occurred, following her escape, a few days ago, now.

“What is it, Harls? We gonna have to find another way?” She inquired, and Harley grimaced down at the floor of the laboratory beneath her - it pained her to think about the many experiments that had been performed upon you, in there, without her knowing exactly what they were, and why they were being practiced upon you.

“Screw it,” she uttered, making to lower herself into the room; she had to find out, one way or another.

The others panicked, in response to her decision, Winter most of all as she shook her head hastily, trying, and failing, to pull her girlfriend away from the hole before her.

“You can’t-” She tried to argue; Harley wouldn’t have it.

“I’m not continuing until I find out why they were hurting her,” she spat, and Winter would frown, a pained expression on her face in response to her girlfriend’s new demeanour; she guessed it still hurt sometimes to see how passionate she was, about you, even after everything they’d had to go through together, to get to where they were, now.

She sighed heavily, before easing herself down into the laboratory behind her, Cleo following suite as Vivian tensed up, the scent from before growing more intense within her nostrils than it was, before. Skylar even growled quietly, trying to hold her girlfriend back from following the others, but Vivian snapped half-heartedly back at her, and she let go, though it pained her to do so. She landed with a quiet thump, behind the others, half-shifting in the process, before Skylar dropped down behind her a little more clumsily, prompting Harley to wince as a wooden tray topped with vials rattled a little behind her friend, but it didn’t take long for the sound to disappear almost as fast as it came.

She expressed relief, evidently glad that the minor misdemeanour hasn’t led to something more chaotic than it was. Although, she was still considering finding something she could use to blow up this damn place. She was sick of having to see it, the way she was, especially when she knew what they’d been doing to you, within it. God, she wished she could growl, pent up anger coursing through her veins, but she tried not to let it show too much as she examined the different cabinets within the room, her friends watching her cautiously as she did.

Skylar, now gone wolf again, huffed behind her leader, curiously looking over her shoulder at the different folders Harley skimmed through, until she finally - after what felt like an actual age, and more - came across your designated folder, and swiftly slid it out away from the others.

“What are you doing?” Vivian asked, her voice sporting a little more of a lisp as she spoke through her fangs, all while Skylar looked back at her wide wide eyes, and loped back toward her as if she were almost more dog than human, excited to see her owner come back from work, or the shops, or wherever she had been, before.

“It’s Y/n’s file; I found it!” She answered, sounding a tad bit proud of herself as she laid it down upon the counter behind her, and began to read as if the soldiers might not come by and find her and the others any minute, now.

Vivian hesitated, a pained expression on her face as she tried not to sigh, knowing this was important to her leader, especially as it concerned you, and determined what was being done to you. Although, it did scare her to think about what she may be about to find out, now, especially since she’d been for a little while, whilst you’d been stuck here, suffering all over again. It still hurt her to think about it; to think about how things might have been, if she dropped down after you, but she didn’t know what to do.

She didn’t want to make things worse for you, and that was why she’d fled, at the time. But she vowed that cautious moves weren’t something she was about to practice, anymore - not where you were concerned.

“I’m glad you found it and all, but-” Vivian began again, only to be cut off by a tell-tale growl ringing out somewhere outside the room, followed by a much too familiar alarm. If Harley listened close enough, she swore she heard a howl, and - god, it ached - especially when it reminded her of you.

“Fuck, they - they know; they - they’re going to-” Winter started, but Harley shook her head, lifting her hands up to her girlfriend’s shoulders as she tried to calm her down, knowing that - if anything - they were better off together, than they were alone.

“They don’t know - not yet, okay? We’re gonna be okay,” she cooed, and her partner slowly began to calm down, soothed by Harley’s stunning icy blue eyes, and tendency to bring out the best in people - even the most unexpected ones you could possibly find, anywhere, and everywhere you could ever look, “we just need to find her, and get out of here - that’s all, and I think I know exactly where we need to look, first.”

Vivian raised her eyebrows, her hands now rested upon her hips again, but Harley couldn’t help, but love her friend for it; her ability to keep a composed demeanour, even during times like these, and especially when her mate was involved in the mix. It was impressive, to say the least, considering some werewolves - and she wouldn’t name names - were often the most panic-inducing people she’d ever met, whenever their mates were under duress, like Vivian’s could be, if things went anymore wrong than they had, now.

“And where might that be, now?” She questioned, and Harley grinned sheepishly, before gesticulating back up to the vent shaft above her.

“Where do you think that’s gonna be, huh? Mars? Of course we’re going back up there,” she answered, before Vivian could roll her eyes, and protest any further than she was, now, “c’mon - we’ve still got another little wolfy to save, and I’m not leaving here without her, understood?”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say,” Vivian murmured, but she didn’t hesitate to follow her Alpha back up into the vent, even when the progression into the depths of a new hell became increasingly clearer and clearer to her.

🜸

“Is the chamber ready for its first victims?” Waller inquired, standing before a wide window looking down upon a small white room, two double doors just opposite her, followed by a faulty vent cover in the centre of the ceiling above it. Granby was standing behind her, grinning again as he admired his and his peers’ creation - it was quite a sight to behold, although an arguably bland one.

“I believe it is, Commander; the wolf is, too, just behind those doors,” he answered, “she should tear them to shreds, in no time at all. This was an excellent plan you put together, I must say - me and the others were quite impressed, and I’m even more proud to be able to see it come out, like this; it’ll do wonders for the nation, no doubt about that. The killers we don’t need will be done for soon, for sure, as long as this goes well!”

“Oh, it’ll go well,” Waller responded a little coldly, and certainly with the usual sharp edge to her voice, “it’ll have to, Officer, if you want to keep your place here.” She sighed, noticing the worried look on his face, but she tried not to think anything of it, as she made back toward the door leading out of the enclosure they were both currently stood within. “Just - call me when they’re in there, okay? I need to deal with the others, first,” she stated a little exasperatedly, and before Granby could even open his mouth to say anything else, she was gone.

“What a cold-hearted little bitch,” he uttered, once the doors had closed behind her, but it didn’t make him feel any better, especially now that his job was on the line because of you, Harley, and Winter.

🜸

“Would you stop bumping into my foot?” Cleo complained, as Vivian once again faltered too soon behind her.

“I’m trying, okay? It - It’s just - hard,” her friend answered behind her, sounding frustrated, whilst Harley rolled her eyes, trying not to lost her patience too much with them - especially when they were helping her a lot, right now, and had quite the part to play in her escape.

It was something that seemed to slip her mind quite a bit; how she’d discovered Winter and Vivian waiting for her out in the prison yard, wearing dark hoodies, and masks in a similar style to her own; something she’d learnt from Bernice’s original costume that she’d put together for her, before she’d been put into a prison a state away, after what had happened back at Gotham U, at least three years ago, now. Something like that.

She winced at the reminder, before cautiously stopping as soon as she felt that the panels were groaning a bit more with ever move forward they were starting to take, now. This time, Winter almost bumped into her, flustering her a bit as she winced, and quickly bowed her head, whilst Vivian and Skylar cringed at the smell radiating off of their friend.

“Gross,” Skylar complained, her voice barely audible, but Harley didn’t pay any attention, examining the panels carefully, before she took a few further shuffles forward. The panels didn’t groan again - not as much as before, anyway. She shrugged, gesticulating for the others to continue behind her, but as soon as Winter had passed the suspected panel, it dropped behind her, and Cleo came crashing down into the room below.

It looked like another hallway - drenched in darkness; it was past lights out, after all. Harley cursed shakily, as Winter anxiously looked over at Vivian and Skylar, lingering just before where the fallen panel had just been.

“What do we do?” Winter asked, looking back at her girlfriend whilst Cleo sat up, and rubbed her forehead, evidently feeling a little dizzy as she looked around, confused, like she couldn’t make much sense yet of what had just happened, no matter how hard she tried to do so, a droplet of blood trailing slowly down her cheek from a small cut she managed to achieve out of the fall. Harley didn’t know what to do, feeling a little helpless as she looked back toward the passage before her.

“Viv, Sky - stay with Cleo, okay?” She commanded gently, sounding as if she were a little out of breath after the shock of having to hear the panel fall, alongside her friend. “We’ll meet you back in the yard, as soon as we find Y/n, and get the fuck out of here,” she stated determinedly, and Skylar looked like she wanted to protest, but Vivian shook her head back at her, before gesticulating down to Cleo, and lowering herself down into the hallway so she could help her friend up, and give a thumbs-up to Winter just as Skylar dropped down beside her. “Are they okay?” Harley asked her girlfriend, who nodded, and smiled reassuringly back at her - it was all the confirmation she needed, as she managed a faint smile back at her partner, before continuing forward into the next passageway.

She just wished she knew what they were crawling into, before she had decided it may be a good idea to try your and her old cell-room, again.

🜚

It felt like they had been crawling for ages, when it had only been a few minutes since they’d continued on the way they did. Harley groaned, encountering another spider which she narrowly avoided - there were definitely more, since the last time she’d been crawling through here. She didn’t like to think about how it was, before she’d lost you again. She sighed, hoping you could forgive her for what had happened, the night she escaped the way she did.

She timidly checked another corner, before looking back toward Winter, trying to catch her breath a little; if they stayed in there any longer, she didn’t doubt that soon they would die from a lack of oxygen - if they weren’t careful, anyway.

“Okay, I - I think we’re here; it’s this way-”

The panels began to creak again as Harley began upon them, but it didn’t take them long this time, before the faulty vent cover beneath her opened, and the remainder of the vent shaft they were in came down.

🜚

The next few moments happened in something like a blur; there was Harley, falling - Winter following suite. The both of them, hitting the ground beneath them. It was soft, at least, like a padded cell. Her vision was blurry, momentarily, as Winter cursed somewhere to her left, prompting her to groan, before she slowly turned her body to look toward her girlfriend.

“S-Snowflake? A-Are you-?” She began, but a loud beep sounded out before she could continue, and that was when her voice came through.

“I see you’ve both finally decided to join us,” Waller mused, and Harley couldn’t help, but scowl, hearing the grin in her voice.

“A-And I see you’re still as much of a bitch as you were, before,” she retorted, and Winter tensed up, subconsciously inching toward her girlfriend as if she were afraid of her getting hurt, somehow, for talking back the way she just did, a brief moment ago.

“Your opinions of me don’t matter a hell of a lot right now, Quinzel,” she replied slowly; calmly, as if nothing about this situation perturbed her, at all, which only infuriated her more - if only she could really make her oppressor scream, somehow- “in fact, nothing of what you say is going to matter anymore, at all; not now we’ve finally built our first ever death chamber.”

Harley froze, a pained expression on her face as she tried not to look back toward Winter; she wasn’t supposed to be here, right? Why the fuck had she let her come with her? None of this would have-

“Harls,” Winter began, her voice briefly trembling, but her girlfriend didn’t dare look back at her, her eyes already stinging as small tears formed within them, “Harley, please, l-look at me - it’s-”

“It’s not okay, Winter,” she retorted sharply, and she couldn’t stop it as she looked back at her, and her partner’s heart sank, “this - none of this should ever have-”

“Enough, already,” Waller complained, “I don’t have the time, to watch you both going over the ‘what-ifs’ behind your choices. This time, you’re going to let me do the talking - isn’t that right, Granby?”

“You’ve never been more right there, Commander,” the other voice sounded out, rough, and positively ugly, “never more right, at all.”

Waller rolled her eyes in response to his remark, but Harley couldn’t even focus on what was being said, she just stared down at her hands, a little shaky, now that she knew she’d been caught in a trap she didn’t doubt she should have seen coming, the way things had been going, lately. And the worst things about it all? She still hadn’t found you, and Winter was now in danger because of such events. Her demeanour sank a little, whilst Winter looked dejectedly over at her girlfriend, wishing she could do more to help her, somehow, but she didn’t know what to do - not now that they were trapped, and Waller was determined to take them both down, slowly, but surely.

“I hope you both enjoy your time in there - I really do,” she continued determinedly, her voice cold, exactly as it was before, with a strange hint of consideration that Harley had never heard from her before, even when she’d persuaded her to allow her to have a coffee machine within her cell, after the events that had taken place at least two years ago, now, “I would say I look forward to seeing you again, soon, but - things need to be done, and I honestly doubt that you’ll be able to find a way out, now - goodbye, Quinzel. Oh - and I hope neither of you are afraid of the implications of dog bites. Ta-ta.”

The beep sounded out again, as if she’d just let go of a button to deactivate the speaker. Winter cursed again, as Harley shook her head in disbelief, her heart pounding as she tried not to break down; tried not to doubt what she had thought would be a good idea, the way it seemed it would be, before. She couldn’t figure out how Waller would have known she’d return, but she guessed it wouldn’t be a surprise if it were down to how close she could see you and her to be, before she’d managed to escape, a few nights ago, now.

She grunted, trying not to remind herself of the hurt look on your face, when you realised she was running away - well, crawling, but you get the gist; she just wished she could have done more for you, still, so much so that she didn’t notice the double doors slowly opening - not until a low growl rang out from the opposite side of the room.

“Harley!” Winter cried, her voice still weaker than it was, before, but still she didn’t look up, until her girlfriend was on her, and pulling her away from the heavy force that they had just missed, and would have been crushed by, if they hadn’t got out of the way like they just had. There wasn’t enough time to think, or even speak, as the force charged again, even after it had crashed into the wall opposite it. “Fuck!” She bit out, trying to move the two of them again, but this time it wasn’t so easy, as she found herself having to kick out at the white wolf snapping its jaws above her.

It was unlike anything she’d ever seen; its eyes were violet, but it was as big as an Alpha was meant to be. It didn’t take Harley long to realise that this wasn’t just some Omega werewolf; it was you. She could feel it, and she found she wasn’t scared anymore, despite the direness of the situation at hand, with Winter still trying to keep you away from her, somehow.

“Y/n,” she mouthed silently, despite how much you snarled above the two of them, standing upon your hind legs as you waited for the perfect time to make your next move - the worst thing was you would have, if Winter hadn’t leaped up, and knocked you down in time. She didn’t know how she’d managed to do it, though, guessing maybe she’d just got lucky, and startled you enough to knock you down the way she just had.

You roared, evidently angry at her success, but her achievements didn’t take long to be diminished, as you shook your head, throwing her off of you, before you threateningly stood above your attacker again, lifting your front right paw up to hold her down, your claws either side of her neck, making it all the more harder to breathe, without the pressure of your hold upon her already where it was, now. It didn’t stop her, though, from scowling up at you, as she struggled feebly within your grasp.

“Yeah, I - I never liked you, either, bud,” she spat, her voice strained, and close to a whisper.

Harley slowly pressed herself up off of the ground, a pained expression on her face as she slowly walked toward the two of you, small tears leaking down her cheeks again. She knew it was wrong, but the first thing she noticed wasn’t her girlfriend struggling beneath you, it was the lashes and burn marks on your right side, making her heart sink; she guessed she should have known the experiments would continue, even without her there to stabilise you, and keep you grounded the way she had, ever since you’d first met, and found yourself hopelessly falling for everything about her.

“What did they do to you?” She asked, subconsciously, her voice briefly trembling as you faltered a few paces away from her, your body tensing, but violet eyes still locked upon the target beneath you, as if nothing else mattered, right now - at least, you wished that could be the truth, here, almost more than anything. “Nugget-”

“She’s gone, Harley,” Winter managed, even as the air was continuously and dangerously being knocked out of her with every second that passed, you pinning her down the way that you were, right now - big paws, and all, “she’s not your little wolfy anymore; she’s-”

‘Monster,’ you snarled through your fangs, and Harley would falter as soon as she heard your voice within her head - a little more gravelly and strained, but still there, prying at her like nothing else ever had, before, ‘big bad wolf - want to eat you, both of you.’

“No, Y/n,” Harley cooed gently, as if she still believed she could bring you back, somehow, but Winter hastily shook her head over at her, silently begging her to stay where she was, even if it only made your grip on her neck tighten, making it ever so harder than it was to breathe, before, “this is not you; you’re not a monster - they did this to you. I don’t know how, but I know that you aren’t as bad as you think you are, right now - just let Winter go, okay? If you do, we - we can all be together again, l-like the family we were before; the family we still are, no matter what you think, right now. Please, Nugget, come back to me; I-.. we need you - we always have; we always will, so don’t do this; don’t throw us away like that, because we love you, and without you we’re just-”

‘You. Happy; you were happy,’ you uttered, in a fainter voice than before, as if you were trying to fight back against your current conscious; the Omega within you, eating away at your brain, making you go feral. Sometimes, you thought you were going feral anyway, even without the injections that were used upon you. All you needed to see, to feel the pain; the anger; the greed, was Harley looking back at you, before she proceeded to crawl through the vent, like you meant nothing to her anymore. Your heart sank, and it was hard not to let a soft whimper escape you at the sudden surge of pain that ran through you; how it made every part of you ache, at the thought of losing her, and never seeing her again. You growled quietly, trying to push it away; begging for the wolf you were to take the pain away, and make it easier for you to see things clearly again. You’d heard from many like yourself that it was easier to manage pain, in your wolf form; you just wished it could stay that way, somehow, if only it didn’t hurt so much even then, to be reminded of her, and everything you’d ever dreamt of being able to do, beside her. ‘Laughing; could hear you, in my head,’ you added weakly, ‘so loud; too loud - wanted it to stop, never did. You never stopped. Wanted to see you smiling; you. You were never there again. Wanted, but couldn’t get, but I still heard you laugh, and I wanted to hear more. I. Missed - you. So many promises; all.. gone. Broken. Like me - nothing. Just.. in head. Reminders. Don’t want you; don’t want life. Want.. to die. No more pain. No more anything. Just.. dark, void. But no you. I..’

“You’re lying,” she contradicted, her heart still pounding much too fast, “I know you are; that’s not what you want, is it? You want me, right? You said you always have, before; I know you, Nugget, and I know when you’re lying to me - stop trying to lie to me still, okay? You promised me you would stop-”

‘Promises, always promises,’ you murmured, your eyes darkening as your demeanour relaxed a little, ‘too many, only to be broken - you hurt me-’

“It’s not like I wanted to,” she interjected sadly, and you would hesitantly glance over at her, though it pained you to do so, especially after all that had happened between you both, recently, “Nugget, I-.. I’ve never-…”

‘Not - what you want. This; me,’ you mused dejectedly, your ears sinking a little as you bowed your head again, trying not to let the pain get to you; to eat away at you, more than the Omega was, right now, ‘I-.. I - could never.. make you happy; make - make you laugh. She.. makes you happy. Ivy, Bernice - made you happy. Not me; bad wolf, bad person - not good. For you. Let me go.’

“No,” she spat sharply, and you faltered, evidently not expecting it, “look, there - there are tons of things that I know I would do, for you; letting you-.. letting you just go, that’s-.. I would never do that, to you.”

You scoffed, shaking your head, and she frowned, the guilt hitting her again as she thought back to the night she’d had to leave you, to re-think her overall plan. She just wished she could have told you why, without getting herself caught again, alongside you.

‘No problem with it, before - always unclear; never makes sense, with you,’ you complained, but she ignored the remark, knowing you didn’t mean it like that, especially not after you’d both grown closer all over again, before this whole ordeal started the way it did.

“Yeah, yeah - whatever; we’ve established that,” she responded a little lighter, her eyes even glinting a little as she drew a little closer to you and Winter, prompting your heart to skip a beat as you tried not to let her scent get to you too much, though it was pungent, and too hard to ignore a lot of the time, especially when she wasn’t in danger, and you weren’t having to fight to keep her with you all the time - well, almost all the time, anyway, “look, it’s fine if you hate me, now - I’d probably hate me, too, if I did what I did to myself, but-.. Y/n, everything - and I mean everything - that I’ve ever done, has been for you; I did everything I had to, to get where we are, today - you know that, right? It’s okay, if you don’t - of course it is, but-.. please, never forget that I-..” She winced, her eyes briefly flicking toward her girlfriend, before they returned to your frame, currently still above her. “I will never forget you,” she cooed, her voice cracking a little toward the end of her sentence, “nor would I ever abandon you - never for forever, okay? It’s us, and that’s all that matters now, right?”

You hesitated; it wasn’t enough, not yet - she knew that, but she wouldn’t ever give up on what she believed in - especially where you were concerned. You guessed that was why you let Winter go; you didn’t want to see her in pain anymore. Not after everything she’d ever done for you, to keep you alive today. As soon as you released Winter, Harley rushed up to her, cradling her partner’s body close to her as she spluttered within her arms, gasping for breath as if she’d been on the verge of losing it all, somehow.

You tried not to watch them, your heart aching as you laid down in the corner to their left, staring over at the wall as you tried to fight back the invading tears to the best of your ability; you didn’t think anything could ever hurt as much, as everything did, right now. You fought back a corresponding whimper, your irises slowly fading back into their usual deep blue colour.

“We - We should figure a way out of here, and fast-”

“I don’t think that’s a very good idea now, is it?” Granby’s voice sounded out again, but not over the speaker this time. This time, he was stood before the double doors, Sergeant Flag stood to his left, as another soldier stood with Waller to his right.

“Y/n!” Harley cried, as you didn’t hesitate to get up, and snarl in their direction, but before you could lunge at them, the soldier to his right side-stepped to cover Waller as he shot a dart into your neck, prompting you to falter, and growl weakly down at the ground, but it didn’t take you long, before you were stumbling backwards, and collapsing onto your right side. “No-!” She managed weakly, but Winter held her back from you, scared of what they’d do, if she lashed out alongside you; she couldn’t let her get hurt, too - especially not after everything she’d already been through, before. “No! Winter, let - let me go! I can’t let them do this; I can’t-”

“It’s already too late, Harls,” her girlfriend interjected dejectedly, but it didn’t stop Harley from struggling against her hold, especially when Granby came to stand above your currently limp frame.

“Don’t worry; if she’s not going to co-operate, we can always find another one,” Waller stated, before she looked toward Flag, “would you like to do the honours of putting the dog down for us, Sergeant?”

“No!” Harley cried again, and she couldn’t stop it as her face contorted; she began to break down, especially when she looked back at you, to find you weakly looking back at her, somehow a faint spark still there, hiding in your eyes. It didn’t scare you as Flag began walking up to you; as you felt the barrel of his gun pressing against the left side of your head. Not even when you imagined yourself back at home, your father standing threateningly above you all over again.

You remembered what being younger was like, at your house. How things often led to beatings of a vicious nature, no matter how much you cried for your father to stop; to let you re-make the dinner; let you re-make things you accidentally broke when you were too young to understand more than what you did, then. Even when you tried asking him about your mother - who had passed away shortly after giving birth to you - he’d beat you for bringing her up, though you’d never intended to upset him - it was all just out of curiosity as to who she was, before you’d lost her so suddenly.

You hadn’t even been able to feel her presence; to be held within her arms. Your heart dropped, at the reminder - how you were just taken away from her body, her barely breathing as her eyelids fluttered shut like she was giving up, as soon as she had finally managed to birth you. It made you want to howl out a song of sorrow; to shake the house to its foundations. Instead, you growled, flashing your eyes dangerously up at your father after he’d smashed the stone wolf she had left for you, as a token for you to remember her by, even though you didn’t know a lot about her, at the time.

Your father just sneered back at you, leaning down as if he weren’t in the least bit perturbed about what you could do, to him, if you shifted into your wolf form right then are there. You were too young for that, at the time; you didn’t even know werewolves existed. Your aunt hadn’t told you a thing about it, until you’d tethered yourself to Harley, and found the truth to grow steadily uncontainable with each passing day you spent longing for her, more than you’d ever longed for anything else, before.

He didn’t say a word, as you cowered in fear below him, expecting him to hit you, for sure, as he lifted his right hand a little to tease you, and you silently begged for him to leave you alone again; for your mother to come back and find you; to take you away from him, but nobody came. Instead, he was still there, grinning sadistically as if he enjoyed seeing you scared of him; as if he liked to torture you, for the death of your mother that you couldn’t control.

It took him a moment to speak; he crouched down before you, scooping up the pieces of the wolf.

“How does it feel, huh? To lose the thing you loved the most?” He questioned, and you hesitated, trying to find the right words to say, but it was hard to even form them, and you were scared of getting them wrong for fear of him beating you again over it; over how you’d not been able to talk properly, since you were born; since you’d been made to believe everything you ever did or said was wrong. You frowned, your eyebrows furrowing, and he only got angrier. “Huh?” He continued, a little more forceful this time. “Well? Got anything to say for yourself?” He pried, and you shrank a little, hugging your knees to your chest. “Go on, give it a try,” he encouraged, but you knew it would lead to nothing, “give us just one word, and I’ll see if I can make any sense of it, okay? Can you do that? Well, go on - what are you waiting for?”

You whimpered quietly, not sure what to do as you felt a little lost, for a moment, so many words flooding through your mind as you shook your head, burying your face into your knees.

“Stop,” you whispered, but you didn’t think he could hear you.

“You’re pathetic, you are,” he spat, and you flinched as he inched closer, prompting you to have to try and stop yourself from breaking down as you stared down tearfully at the ground, silently begging for help as you awaited the blow you knew was awaiting you, “I should’ve known that a freak was the only thing you could ever become.”

He tantalisingly let the pieces drop from his hands again as he got up off of the ground, muttering under his breath that he was going out for a beer, but you didn’t feel any better, knowing very well what might come, as soon as he got back home from the local bar he was quite the local supporter of.

•

You wished you could tell him how wrong he was; that you still hadn’t lost the true thing you loved - Harley looked panic-stricken, looking back at you like she would soon crumble, and fall apart, if she lost you, somehow. You wouldn’t let her lose herself, because of you. Flag made to pull down upon the trigger, but you managed to snap up at the barrel with a sudden burst of energy, managing to snag it out of his hand as he cried out in shock, you throwing the gun away as you snarled toward him, slowly getting up off of the ground.

Waller sighed, looking toward Granby; he’d get the sack after this, that was for sure.

‘You - all of you. All done, now,’ you growled, lifting yourself up onto your hind legs to appear taller than them, not that that was a matter of much difficulty, ‘will die, if you touch a hair on her head; won’t let you take her away, not again - not for me-’

You then roared, before making to lunge toward them, but Harley managed to break free from her girlfriend’s hold, not hesitating to instead throw her arms around you, taking you aback as you stopped in an instant, your heart skipping a beat when you heard her own so close to your’s; its soft thumping, as she held your body close to her own, you nuzzling gently the top of her head as she smiled weakly against your fur - unable to stop herself, despite the situation at hand, here.

“The gun,” Waller hissed at Granby, and the officer rushed for it, but before he could aim it upon your back, Harley quickly pushed you out of the way, taking the bullet on, herself.

🜚

Everything past that moment seemed to go by in a blur; Harley’s vision grew blurry as blood began seeping out of the wound now resting upon her left side. She groaned, subconsciously hugging herself as she staggered, almost falling if it weren’t for you getting up to catch her, your head holding her up as you growled over at your enemies. Winter anxiously rushed up to Harley, helping you keep her up as you winced, reminding yourself of who she was, to her.

You tried to ignore the pang in your heart, letting Winter take over as you protectively stood in front of them both, your frame still a little lower than it was, before.

“You’re not getting away - not again,” Waller spat, gesticulating for Flag to do something, but you were determined not to let them stop you, as you kicked the gun away using your back left paw, before you threateningly snapped at them again, and ran toward them as if intending to knock them down. Instead, Flag managed to force Waller out of the way, and you quickly took a sharp turn back toward Harley and Winter, gesticulating for them to get onto your back, before you ran back out into the hallway beyond the double doors, as well as the cage they’d previously stationed you within.

🜚🜸🜚

She assumed she’d blacked out, at that point; she couldn’t think of what had taken place, after you’d jumped over your cage - after the sirens had gone off; after the soldiers had tried to shoot you down. She groaned, stretching in what she assumed was her bed, only to wince, and curl herself up a little upon feeling her wound stinging again. It didn’t take her long to allow her eyelids to flutter open, only to find the face of a frightened wolf looking back at her.

She appeared startled, but only for a moment, her heart skipping a beat as you nuzzled gently at her forehead. She expressed relief, realising it was just you, coming to check on her. She smiled warmly up at you, lifting her right hand up to your left cheek. You relaxed alongside her, your eyes glinting as your tail began to wag, her bed creaking beneath your weight.

“Well, that’s quite a sight to behold - ain’t that right, Sky?” Vivian remarked, and you would grunt, hearing them as they lingered before the doorway, amused looks upon each of their faces. You reluctantly withdrew from her bed, knowing you’d probably break it if you weren’t careful, and that was something you knew you didn’t want to do.

“W-What happened? It’s not-..” She faltered, noticing the sun shining bright outside, as if it hadn’t been a sky full of darkness, before, right outside her window. “Wait-.. what the fuck? What day is it? I thought-.. how long have I-?” She fell quiet, looking toward the others, and you faltered, a pained expression on your face as you bowed your head, remembering how you’d been scared you were going to lose her, days before.

Vivian sighed, before stepping closer to the end of Harley’s bed, you watching her carefully though you knew she weren’t about to steal her away from you.

“It’s been days, Harls, since-.. we thought-..” She fell quiet, and you whimpered barely audibly, your chest rumbling a little.

A tell-tale shift of muscle and bone sounded out behind her, and Skylar appeared naked at her mate’s side, but it didn’t perturb Harley in the slightest; she was actually getting used to it, now, seeing so many naked werewolves around almost all of the time.

“After the escape, or rescue mission,” she began slowly, in a voice as gentle as she could muster, right now, “you were wounded - badly; the blood just kept-..” You growled out a soft warning, and Skylar sighed, before nodding gravely in your direction out of respect for the situation; for your feelings, toward the woman looking puzzled before her; how it was still paining you, even in your wolf form, to be reminded of how it had felt, to see her in such a limp state, each and every day, like she were just - gone; a shadow of herself.

You huffed out a barely audible breath, strained and slow. Vivian came to sit beside you, Skylar warily looking after her, but she understood that you needed the comfort, right now, a lot more than she did, during this moment in time.

“We didn’t know what to do,” Vivian murmured, “we-.. well..”

Harley raised her eyebrows, only making her friends tense up even more, Skylar shuffling awkwardly upon her feet as she avoided her friend’s suspicious gaze.

“You gave me the bite, didn’t you?” She guessed, and you growled quietly again, unable to stop yourself. She appeared confused, looking toward you again. “Right? Why else would you-”

“We didn’t give you the bite,” Vivian reassured her calmly, and you relaxed again, though you didn’t dare lift your head to look up at either one of them, “I guess we just-.. in order to tend to you, we had to-.. well, get you almost naked, and you obviously weren’t awake to tell us what you thought, so-”

Harley looked positively perplexed, her eyes glinting as she scoffed; she didn’t think it would be such a big deal to her and the others, considering she saw them naked almost all the time.

“That’s what you were worried about?” She guessed, and you grunted, looked toward Vivian with a frustrated look upon your face again.

“Yeah, yeah - I’m getting to that, okay? Well, we were worried about that, and the fact that Winter insisted we didn’t treat you like that,” she admitted, “but we couldn’t think of any other way, and Y/n got really pissy about it because you were losing blood and we were fighting, and-”

“You had nothing to worry about,” Harley reassured her gently, “look - I’m fine, guys, see? You treated me, and I’m fine - I’m never leaving you, okay? And, trust me, you don’t have anything to worry about in terms of being naked or whatever; if it’s necessary, you can do it, alright? Besides, is it breakfast time? I’m gettin’ kinda hungry.” The others looked awkward, again, whilst you appeared to brighten up, wagging your tail as you licked your chops, excited to show her what you had caught for her. “What-?” She asked, looking nervous again in response to her friend’s reactions. “Have I got somethin’ on my face again?” She pried, but they didn’t answer, and that was when she noticed the smell of blood coming from the bathroom.

🜚

“What the fuck?” Harley began, as soon as she noticed the corpse of what looked like a goat lying upon her bathroom floor. Vivian winced, looking back toward Skylar as the two subconsciously inched closer to one another, you still looking quite proud of what you’d done, considering it had taken you a little while to figure out where the closest farm was, in the first place. Although, you did still feel a little guilty; it probably had a name, but werewolf courtship was complicated.

“Look, we - we know this is probably a shock, but-..” Vivian sighed, bowing her head as you huffed impatiently, desperate to help her make the required preparations upon it alongside the others so she could eat it alongside you. To be honest, you hoped she’d have the entire thing - it wasn’t every day you got to hunt for her, and you’d never been this happy to be able to do so for her before, especially when you knew now about her feelings for you, even if the situation was difficult with her still being Winter’s girlfriend, and all. You tried not to growl quietly at the reminder, gently nipping at Vivian’s right hand as if to say ‘hurry up’; you still couldn’t quite phase properly with her, yet - at least, you thought you couldn’t. “Jesus, okay, we’re getting there, just - give - give me a minute, okay?” She complained, Skylar growling softly in your direction, but she didn’t dare interfere with you as she knew you would probably snap at her if she did, especially when you were still in a quite protective state over Harley, after what happened a few days ago, now. “Look, we-.. couldn’t stop her, okay?” She sighed, gesticulating to you, and as soon as you felt Harley’s eyes on you, you appeared taken aback, whimpering quietly as you looked away, and awkwardly shuffled upon the spot. “She-”

“I mean - I kinda guessed she was the one to do it considering she looks so dang proud of herself, right now,” she commented, and you grunted again, tail thumping still against the bathroom floor, “but why? Why the fuck is there a goat in my bathroom?” You noticed Skylar sniffing at the corpse, and you snarled defensively over at her, as Vivian raised her eyebrows, gesticulating toward you with her head as if it weren’t obvious enough, due to the way you were currently acting around the gift, right now. “Oh,” she began again, a thoughtful expression on her face as she remembered the conversation you’d both had, back in prison; how you’d acted suspicious when she’d told you not to bring her any dead animal corpses.

She couldn’t help, but smile softly, glancing down at it in all its new beauty, you anxiously watching her as if awaiting her sign of approval. Her smile was enough, or it would have been, but what she did next proved it to you even more as she shrugged, and crouched down beside the corpse to help lift it up off of the ground, the blood not deterring her at all. She did, however, struggle a bit, her wound paining her again, but she didn’t stop, even when you tried to take the corpse off her again.

She’d play the part, and do her best to regain your trust again - that was all she was certain of, now. Well, there was that, and the fact that she didn’t exactly know how to even cook a goat like this one. God, did it turn out to be a blast, anyway.

🜚

“Would a bag of explosives help?” Harley asked, as the group puzzled over how the goat should be handled, Vivian awkwardly trying to build up a campfire while Winter awkwardly stuck to her side, still cringing at the sight of the carcass, there in all its glory, especially now that her girlfriend knew that it was meant to be a gift from you, to her, as a sign - or signal, rather, of the beginning of your official courtship of her.

“Er,” Vivian began awkwardly as Skylar trotted back to her with another couple of logs, “probably not.”

“Oh,” Harley responded, looking a little disappointed, but Winter smiled softly over at her, trying to reassure her as she held her girlfriend’s right hand within her left one again.

“Don’t worry - we can find something to use them on, next time,” she cooed, but it didn’t make her feel any better, not when she heard you growl softly from somewhere behind the trees to her right.

You were still wandering the perimeter; they’d tried to insist that you stayed, but you wanted to do all you could to keep her safe, especially after she’d only recently woken up, and all. Although, you were sure that - no matter what state she was in - you would always do all you could to protect her, somehow.

“Yippee,” Harley commented half-heartedly, hoping Winter wouldn’t notice, but her girlfriend knew more about her than she thought - almost as much as you did, even, which was quite impressive, to say the least.

Her heart sank, and so did her smile as she watched Harley sit beside the campfire, opposite Vivian and Skylar, as if she were trying to escape the moment for reasons unbeknownst to her.

“Is-.. everything okay?” She asked, her voice a little softer and more strained than it was before as Winter sat beside her girlfriend, a pained expression on her face.

Vivian and Skylar winced, awkwardly shuffling in place as they looked toward one another, as if they didn’t know what to do with themselves, right now.

“Y-Yeah,” Harley managed, briefly glancing up at her partner, before she allowed her gaze to drop back down again, “w-why wouldn’t it be? I mean - we’re all here now, right? Snowflake, this - this is the happiest I’ve ever been, before.”

Winter raised her eyebrows, even shifting her hand away after Harley rested her right hand dejectedly upon her girlfriend’s left one. You tensed up, listening to their conversation, your aura nothing short of blue, blue, blue, as you tried to fight back a whine, digging your claws into the dirt beneath you.

“But you could be happier,” she murmured, “right?”

Harley faltered, taken aback as she looked toward her girlfriend, a hurt look on her face.

“W-What are you-?” She began, but Winter sighed, before getting up off of the floor beside her.

“Look, I-.. don’t think I don’t know what’s going on between you and Y/n,” she uttered, avoiding eye contact with her partner though it pained her more than she ever thought it would to do so, “I don’t need to catch you guys together or whatever to guess, alright? Before Skylar and Vivian started dating, there were weird moments between them, too, where they’d always bring each other gifts, or whatever; where they’d always make sure to be touching, when they weren’t talking; where they’d-”

“Snowflake, stop, this - this isn’t-”

She moved away, before Harley could get any closer to her.

“No,” she interjected sharply, though her voice still sounded weaker than it had ever been, before, “I don’t want to be lied to anymore, Harls, I-.. I don’t-..” She sighed heavily, her eyes glistening a little as she tried to stay calm; tried not to break down, somehow - not right now; not when she wanted Harley and the others to be happy, again. “Look, I-.. just be happy, okay? ‘Cause you sure as hell aren’t happy being with me,” she murmured, before walking back toward the base, and slipping back inside even before Harley could call for her to stop.

She might not have hesitated after her, if she didn’t hear familiar footfalls sounding out a few paces behind her.

‘Harley,’ you cooed softly in her head, and she frowned, a pained expression on her face as your presence tugged at her, ‘I-’

“I gotta talk to her, okay?” She interjected dejectedly, and you would falter again, a hurt look on your face as you drew back a little, your companions looking over at you with a cautious look on each of their faces. “I’ll be back, in a bit,” she added weakly, her voice strained as she walked toward the base, her heart pounding more than it ever had before.

You wished you never heard it, and fell so deeply in love with it, in the first place, as you growled faintly, before turning sharply, and loping back toward the forest standing tall behind you.

🜸

Harley wasn’t sure what she was expecting to find, when she rushed up the stairs to try and find her girlfriend - or ex, now, whatever Winter had just decided to do. Instead of faltering before the door to her and Winter’s bedroom, she found herself stopping by the door of the bathroom, hearing her partner crying within the room.

“Snowflake? Is - Is that you in there? What are you-”

“Just go, Harls, okay?” Winter spat, her voice weak, and Harley tried to ignore the bad feeling that stirred within her chest, hearing her girlfriend cursing shakily the way she just did, a brief moment ago, now.

“No,” she answered, trying to sound confident, though it pained her to remember the dejected expression on your face, before she’d rushed back into the base after her girlfriend, “not until you tell me why you’re doing this to me; to us - why, Snowflake? I don’t understand why-”

“I told you why,” she uttered, barely audible, “Y/n. She is why; I know you have feelings for her, Harley, you’re just trying to deny it, okay? I know you, and sometimes it hurts to know you, because I know you could never love me, the way you love her!”

Harley faltered, a pained expression on her face as she tried to think of the right words to say; tried to hide that it hurt her, when the next few words slipped from her lips, as untrue as they were.

“But I don’t love her, Snowflake,” she managed, her voice briefly trembling as her throat burned; her heart was pounding too fast - she was even starting to feel sick, “I love you - I always have. Winter, please, just-.. come out, please; I need you, I - I love you, baby, I-”

“You love me?” She mused, her voice close to a whisper, and Harley would fall quiet, small tears leaking from her eyes as she tried not to let a sob escape her lips, no matter how much it was hurting her, to fight it back the way she was, now, the reminder of your pain flickering within her eyes so much that she didn’t know what was real, anymore, and what was truly before her.

She grunted the pain back, lifting her right hand up to the door as she silently begged Winter to come out, and stabilise her somehow before she could break down any further than she already had. Although, it scared her to think that maybe you really were the only one who could keep her truly grounded, the way she did you.

“I love you,” she forced out, and Winter hesitated, lingering before the door as she listening to Harley sniffling barely audibly on the other side of it, “I’ve always loved you, okay? Please, Nug - Winter, come out, please, or I’ll-..”

Winter reluctantly began to unlock the door, her own heart pounding within her chest and ears as the two dejectedly surveyed one another, before she threw her arms around her girlfriend, not caring that it hurt a little to do so after she’d begun leaving small cuts along them after what had happened between them both. It even pained her to know that the slitting had begun before this moment in time, when she’d been scared that maybe her girlfriend wasn’t coming back home - at least, not to be with her, anyway.

“I’m sorry,” she cooed gently, as Harley cried quietly into her girlfriend’s neck, pain radiating throughout the entirety of her body as she wished she could take the words back somehow, without hurting her, and no, she didn’t miss it - at all - when a dejected howl sounded out somewhere in the distance.

🜚

Harley came back out of the base, first, a pained expression on her face, before her girlfriend followed suite. She guessed it didn’t surprise her, when she saw you were no longer where you had been before; she just wished it wouldn’t hurt so much, knowing why you must have run off; what you must have been feeling. She forced a smile over at her partner, not wanting her to know that there were still echoes of pain filling her chest, but she didn’t doubt Vivian and Skylar could sense it; she only hoped they’d stay quiet about it, for her sake, as much as her girlfriend’s.

Vivian appear worried, first, her nostrils flaring as Skylar faltered beside her, looking between their leader and their friend as if something bad had hit, already, without them noticing it doing so. The stench of blood was evident, and it terrified the both of them, especially when they realised it was coming not from the dead goat before them, but instead from the body of one of their companions. Vivian moved first, her eyes narrowing and irises flickering a little between their normal colour, and a bold orange one repeatedly, as if she were trying to maintain control of herself, and not give into her wolf form no matter how much it scratched to get out of her, right now.

“Is that blood?” She questioned, her eyes lingering upon Winter as her irises flashed orange again, her mate dangerously growling quietly behind her as she surveyed the area, as if believing there were possible attackers nearby who had brought such a smell into the atmosphere of the area.

Instead, their companion tensed up, Harley worriedly looking over at her, but Winter didn’t dare glance back at her partner, her eyes glistening a little as she bowed her head, and bit back her tongue all over again; she couldn’t admit it to them - not without hurting them, and she couldn’t allow herself to do that. The cuts along her arms had to remain a secret, for as long as she could get them to be as much, until they were finally gone, and she hopefully never had to think about them ever again.

“No? What are you-”

Her voice was cut off by a piercing cry, and Harley faltered, looking toward the forest opposite her; she knew that sound; the person it was coming from. She shook her head hastily, a pained expression on her face, but she didn’t dare speak; her tongue was too heavy, but it didn’t slip the grasp of the others. Maria the snitch was back, and something had just wounded her. Something, or someone.

🜸

You weren’t thinking, as you trotted low, growling softly as you surveyed the area keenly, looking for something you could hunt, and use your anger on so you didn’t mess up around the others. You could feel the Omega prying at your mind again; the feral side digging back in, as if it knew you might break soon, if you weren’t careful. You grunted, looking back toward the pathway you’d come down; you couldn’t tell if it hurt, or relieved you, to see that the others weren’t trailing behind you, begging you to stop and come back to them.

You scowled, before huffing deeply again, your breath dissipating into the wind; it was already wintertime - you guessed that you’d lost track, in prison, of the hours, days, and months you were almost positive went by. You tried to tell yourself you didn’t care about them, about.. Harley, but it didn’t do many wonders for you. Your eyes darkened, and you dug your claws into the snow, your irises flickering between their usual colour, and a orange with now violet specks as soon as you picked up on the nearby scent of a scared creature.

You grinned; you couldn’t deny it felt good to be able to hunt like a wild animal. Sometimes, at least.

🜸

“What - What exactly is that? I swear one of you is bleeding, and not from your private parts,” Vivian insisted, and Harley rolled her eyes, whilst Skylar couldn’t help, but grin over at her mate, despite the situation at hand, here.

“Who even cares, Viv? We’re focused on something else more important, right now,” Winter uttered, a little defensively, as her girlfriend anxiously trailed a few paces ahead of the group, her eyes keenly surveying the area as the sound of snow crunching beneath each of their feet and paws was the most obvious tether to the earth, right now, as they tried to keep their senses about them, with the possibility of their being an Omega - or even hunters - around the area was quite a strong one, with Maria returning, and all, the way Harley insisted that she had, somehow.

“She’s right,” her girlfriend agreed a little dismissively, “let’s just-.. focus, okay? Please?”

Skylar growled quietly, but Vivian stabilised her by curling the fingers of her right hand within her mate’s hair.

“Jeez, someone clearly didn’t wake up on the right side of the bed this morning,” she remarked as her mate calmed beside her, rubbing her side against her legs as the two shared a secret soft smile with one another, wishing they could go back home already, but Harley didn’t want to let any possible threats slip, especially not when you could be in danger because of them.

“Wait,” she began again a little exasperatedly, lifting her right hand to bring the others to a stop behind her as she faltered before the beginning of quite a heavy blood trail. She winced, narrowing her eyes as the snow falling around them started getting heavier and heavier than it was, before, like a flurry of ice, or miniature snow balls you can’t avoid, even when you want to, like she did - desperately - in a situation like this one. “Shit, is that-”

“Harley!” Vivian cried out behind her, but her leader didn’t heed her warning, even as a pair of purely violet eyes shone before them. Not even as the shadow of a near beast ran toward them, and lunged as if to take her down. Winter was the first to dive for her, Skylar roaring as she ran after her friend, eyes flashing orange in the dark as she collided with the beast, not missing that its scent was virtually identical to your’s, aside from being tainted by the blood you’d recently spilled.

“No!” Harley shouted after her, even after being cut off by her partner’s colliding with her, bringing her down to the ground to avoid the brawl that had just broken out between the two of her companions. “Don’t! Please, don’t - stop them! They’re gonna get hurt! I can’t-.. I can’t lose her, please!” She begged, and Winter faltered, a pained expression as she glanced down at her girlfriend, a knowing look on her face again like the one that had come, before.

She wished it wasn’t so hard to believe her partner when she said that she loved her, and no-one else. Vivian heard it, too, subconsciously grimacing as she shook her head, before tearing into her wolf form so she could try and help her mate stabilise you. If her leader didn’t care about her enough, then she had no problem doing all the caring, herself. As soon as her own body collided, the two were taken down. You snarled up at her, trying to snap at her neck, but Skylar knocked your head back down using her left front paw, snapping her jaws back at you as she did whilst their leader watched helplessly, her body trembling as she struggled desperately against Winter, wanting to make sure you were okay, as well as check on her friends, alongside you.

She guess she also wished she could explain it; how it scared her, to feel that her world might collapse around her, if ever she lost you, somehow. You growled quietly, still trying to escape the two, but eventually you gave in, recognising that you’d lost. Of course you had - two big wolves limp above you, their claws threateningly close to your throat. You sighed, dejected, as your eyes darkened, your irises slowly returning back to their normal colour, now that your hunt had been brought to a disappointing conclusion.

“Shit,” Cleo began, “fuck, what - what the fuck happened? That was-”

“Not right now, Cle,” Winter uttered, as she helped her girlfriend up off of the ground, her partner’s eyes never leaving your limp frame as you stared blankly up at the sky above you, trying to hide the pain on your face as you sensed Harley watching you; as you sensed the disappointment radiating off of her - even the fear. You guessed it didn’t surprise you; you just wished you could tell her everything you knew, now. About everything you wished you could do for her, even after everything that had happened recently between her and Winter; her and you, behind her girlfriend’s back.

You sighed slowly, looking so empty it made Harley’s chest ache more than it ever had before; it was like she could feel it, too - the emptiness; the hopelessness, but she didn’t know what else to do. To even tell you, especially when she didn’t even know what to tell herself, about it. She hadn’t even thought about anything she could tell Winter to make the blow hurt less; it was too hard, especially when she didn’t want to hurt any of her friends, especially not you; her tether, dependant, soul, even - she didn’t know how else to describe you in one word, but she could think of two.

There was only one problem with them; you had always been so much more than an ‘Achilles Heel’ to her.

🜚

“It really scared you, didn’t it? Seeing them fighting,” Winter murmured, and Harley tensed up, sitting a few paces away from her in the basement of their new home.

“Y-Yeah, I mean - of course it did,” she answered simply; a little defensively, even, though she knew she had to tread carefully around her, right now, in regards to your and her feelings for one another, “why wouldn’t it? D-Did it not scare you, too? Seeing them fighting, or-?”

Winter hesitated, before grimacing silently, as she was prompted to think about you and Skylar again.

“Sure, but I was mostly scared for Sky, I mean-.. Y/n was full on going for her, Harls - a-and her eyes, didn’t - didn’t you see them? They were-”

“That’s not her,” she interjected sharply, and her girlfriend fell quiet, a pained expression on her face; she couldn’t stand seeing things breaking down the way they were, between them both, ever since she’d brought you back to rejoin the others a couple of years ago, now, “Snowflake-”

“It’s fine,” she uttered, forcing a smile up at her partner, but she could see through it, and it certainly hurt her more than she ever thought it could, before, “not all of us can understand the love that a human could hold for a werewolf, right?”

Harley sighed, before shaking her head gravely, but Winter didn’t stick around long enough for her to try and dissolve the situation, you staring ahead of you with a pained expression on your face, a long line of silver powder keeping you from getting any closer to her than you were, now.

‘Should have. Told her,’ you mused sadly, and she would frown, trying not to meet your gaze, but it was too hard; your eyes were so bright - too tempting. She grunted, forcing herself up from the chair she had been perched upon, before. ‘Can’t ignore me - Harley, stop!’ You whined, but she didn’t listen, dragging herself from the room as you faltered again, lowering your head back down upon your paws. You guessed you’d just have to live with the pain, no matter how much it bruised you to have to do so.

🜚

Later that night, you cried for many things; howled for her; the moon. You felt - unstable, to say the least, being away from her, and knowing she was most likely with Winter, instead of you. Whenever you were reminded of their relationship, you snarled, pacing back and forth before the line of silver. Oftentimes, however, it was her you thought about. You whimpered barely audibly, curling up in the corner as you looked toward the window, up at the dark sky.

You wondered if she thought about you, too, your heart pounding as you stared dejectedly ahead of you, but you doubted it. Why would she, when she had someone you didn’t doubt to be a better contender for her?

Little did you know, she - too - tossed and turned that same night, her eyes glistening as she tried to force the tears out; as she tried not to break down, all over again. She grunted, whenever she failed, her every thought returning to the woman she loved downstairs. She ran her hands over her eyes, hoping Winter couldn’t tell she was struggling, as much as she was, but her girlfriend was fast asleep, at the time; she’d gone to bed a lot earlier than the others, after what had previously happened between the trio.

Harley sighed, before getting up out of the bed. She knew there was no point in even trying anymore, when all she could think about was you, the exact opposite of what she wanted(?) to do. She awkwardly scratched at the back of her neck, before pouring herself a glass of milk, trying not to acknowledge the sound of you moving downstairs, evidently uncomfortable, the way they’d intended you to be. Her friends, certainly more than her.

It was still snowing outside; that was at least something nice to see - something that made her smile softly, until she was reminded of the situation at hand, here. She groaned, before downing the rest of her drink, and cleaning the glass, intending to go back outside at least for a little while to try and distract herself, somehow, knowing there had to be a way to do so, for longer than she had managed to, so far. It was just too hard, and for no obvious reason - at least, she tried to tell herself that.

The worst part: she wished there were no promises made. Not so soon, anyway; it hurt too much, being able to remember - being reminded. Her heart dropped, as she stepped outside, watching the flakes hover down to the ground before her; it should have made her smile more. They were each so pretty, and the snow was settling like she’d seen in her dreams, but all she could think about as they did was your hand in her’s, and it only brought the pain back to where it always had been, before.

She bit back against the cold, wrapping her arms around herself as she sat down upon the porch of the base, resting her head against the wooden banister to her right. She only hoped that when she woke up, the pain would be gone - one way, or another. Instead, she dreamed.

~~~~~

Hope you enjoyed it, and are looking forward to the dropping of the next part at some point, tomorrow!

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glacialswordsman-a · 7 months ago

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52 + 100 ........... kaea.

∗ 52﹕ sender takes a [ punch / stab / bullet ] meant for receiver . | ∗ 1OO﹕ sender has just died , receiver finds out . | prompt.

Red.

Red is all that Kaya sees, as he watches his twin crumple and collapse to the floor right before him. The skies were burning again, the sun blotted out as flames billowed and hid its shining light. They’ve been here before. They’ve experienced this before when their home was burning. When Khaenri’ah was burning.

Except, they were no longer children. They were older, led their own lives, followed their own paths and allegiances. They were once joined at the hip, their hearts intertwined, and their stars woven together into Geminae Pavonis. But ever since Aether…

Ever since Aether whispered promises to Kaea that they would have everything they’ve lost again, that everything would go back to the way things once were as long as Celestia and Her Children burned, Kaya had lost his brother. He was desperate to bring him back, to make him see reason that Aether was wrong. That things wouldn’t go back to normal, and they’d lose more than they have before, that he’d lose Kaea himself. He wouldn’t have his brother, he would have a monster instead. However, Kaea refused to listen. Refused to see reason. Refused his little brother over and over again and kept trying to convince him that this was the right choice, instead.

… Oh, how wrong Kaea was.

They had started at opposite ends of the field. Across from Mondstadt’s Cavalry Captain, the Ordo Favonius’s Quartermaster, Kaya Ragnivindr, stood Khaenri’ah’s Last Hope, the Eldest Abyssal Prince, Kaea Alberich. Both of their expressions were hardened as their gazes never left one another, their eyes of reversed palettes boring into each other, before they moved in and clashed their blades together. Around them, the Abyss Order and the Ordo fought tooth-and-nail as the twins focused solely on one another, refusing to let anyone else get between them.

It was a fierce duel, cryo against dendro. However, Kaea also had the advantage of the Abyss, while Kaya relied only upon his Vision and battle prowess. It wasn’t hard to tell which of the two had the upper hand, yet Kaya tried with all his might. He refused to let this happen, refused to let his brother be lost to him forever. Even now as he bled and cried, he tried to convince him to stop this, to come back to him. They could fix this; this could all go back to normal.

Kaea denied him once more.

The weaker Kaya got, the bolder the Abyss Order grew. The Knights were being pushed back, their losses ever growing despite the help they were receiving from Lumine. Although, there was a brief lapse in Kaya’s awareness as he focused solely on his brother, and he hadn’t realized the encroaching danger. All he heard was a frantic cry from Lumine to move, yet he didn’t register it. All he registered was a sharp shove before falling.

Kaya was dizzy as he attempted to regain his senses, blinking the haze from his eyes as he tried to figure out what had happened. What he saw was his brother collapsing onto the floor, clutching at his stomach.

There was a gaping hole, and it was dripping ichor onto the already bloodied grass.

“—Kaea,” Kaya would gasp out, his brows permanently stitched upwards as he scrambled over to his fallen brother, his voice pitched octaves higher as panic and dread began to set in. “No… No, nonono. Kaea, please, I—! Oh, why did you—?” he spluttered as he began sobbing, shifting to wrap his arms around his twin star.

He wailed for Lumine, wailed for Aether, anyone, to save his beloved brother. The brother who protected him, who saved him, who loved him, even when their previously intricately woven paths diverged. However, no one heeded him, as they could not save the fallen Heir.

The Princeling watched as the stars faded from his twin’s eyes, his breathing quickening as despair settled within him. “Kaea… Kaea!” he howled, grieving and pressing his forehead to his older brother’s, shaking his head as he held him, drenching himself in the ichor they once shared.

“You said you wouldn’t leave me—you said you wouldn’t abandon me. You promised, Kaea… You promised. You promised…”

#ic. ✧#little twin stars. ✧; twin verse #tw death #tw blood #tw war #tw gore #poswiecenia #i hate u miles.. how could u do this to me..#(answered ask. ✧)#kaya is my twin and kaea is miles's twin #theyre just both kaeya but twins lmfao

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knight--error · 6 months ago

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A random scenario or trope I love to see in fiction is when character A has been beaten to a pulp, totally brought to submission, and is about to be finished off by character B, but before it can happen, C, a much, much weaker character, steps in B's way and says something to the effect of, "I won't let you do this. If you insist on it anyway, you will have to go through me."

You often see this used as a way to humanize villainous characters—or make "heroic" characters much less heroic. In either of these, A is more heroic, B is more villainous, and C is someone B holds dear, usually a child. This can come across as very heavy-handed if done poorly, but when it's executed well, whether A relents or not, it's a gut punch. Seeing your downed enemy, knowing victory is yours, knowing the struggle is over, only to be brought up short by the realization that the person you just defeated is just that. A person. So maybe you stop, you reconsider; or maybe all your considering is done, and the hammer has to come down. Great drama either way.

Personally, I think it's even more interesting and dramatic when it's the hero who is down, and the villain is brought up short by a display of this kind. That's when things get really tasty, because it implies all manner of internal conflict. Your villain isn't the sort to simply blast through a vastly inferior obstacle—why? Is it the power imbalance that makes them think? If C were a fighter in their own right, would your villain just blast through them at once? If C is a child, is that the only thing saving their life? Or is it the simple and powerful display of love that makes them realize they've gone astray?

The power imbalance between A and C—whatever moral lines A falls across—is the real meat of the matter to me. C stands without a hope, without a whisper of a prayer of success. They have put themselves directly between the gun barrel and the person they love, even though they know that bullet can punch straight through them and still hit its mark. All they can hope is that their willingness to sacrifice themselves can make A pause, just for a moment.

Another excellent twist of the knife is when B is conscious enough to try to get C to leave them behind, to not sacrifice themself for B. When C is young, this is especially heartbreaking, because it usually takes the form of B insisting they'll be alright, and they just need C to turn away, go in the next room, go outside—because all B can do is spare C the sight of what's about to happen.

It can also be very effective if C and A have a connection, maybe even a more intense one than C has with A. In that scenario, it's usually C trying to pull A out of a morality spiral before they hit the event horizon, which is great climactic stuff.

I think the thing that makes the whole scenario interesting is how power shifts along unusual lines. C is the weakest of the three, but for a moment, they are the crux of the scene. Then that power passes back to A, because what happens next is up to them—but it's no longer a physical fight, like it was just a second ago when they took down B. It's a moral one. What are you going to do? Are you going to do the right thing? Is the right thing to take down B, whatever else happens? Or is the right thing to not hurt C, even if that means B leaves this place alive? All very juicy stuff, very fun.

#writing #character scenario #character #characters #hero and villain dynamic #hero and villain #trope #tropes #thanks for sitting through my ramblings

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edensungilda · 11 months ago

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Finally finished this today, god I love angst.🥺

BIG spoilers for my story, “FIREWEAVER: A spiderverse story”, so read if you don’t mind lol

Coincides with Chapter Twenty-Two of my story.

"Wake up, Esmita."

Esme blinked her eyes open, though the world didn't look any brighter than before. It was dark. She was lying down on something soft, her hair being combed back by several plush things. Fingers?

"Where... where am I?" her throat felt like a dusty compartment neglected for weeks.

"In the warehouse, you fell asleep. Come on, it's Saturday- we should be spending it doing something fun." His voice wrapped around her like a tight hug, her skin fluttering with the machinations of her heart. She smiled. Oh how lovely it was to wake up in his arms- wait.

She quickly sat up, blinking rapidly to take in the form she had been laying against- taking in his face. This couldn't be real. He couldn't be real.

"G-Gavin? Is it really you?" She reached out, trying to grab any bit of him to make sure she wasn't dreaming.

None of this was right. The last thing she remembered was that she was... wait. Why couldn't she remember? She knew she was somewhere else. Someplace else. With other people- bad people. And Gavin... why was she so shocked to see him?

"It's okay Esme, it's going to be okay. You're here." He spoke but his voice sounded dislocated. Distant. Robotic, almost.

His face was foreign too, only a vague inclination of what Gavin was supposed to look like. Basic blue eyes and fair skin, but not mirrorballs nor cream puffs.

"You're here." He repeated, but his words sounded dislodged. Felt like bullets that vindicated her doubts.

His face began to swirl as she backed up from him. This wasn't right. This wasn't her Gavin. Not her coffee boy. As much as she wished it was, she could never forget what happened. She could never lie to herself no matter how badly she needed to. Or delude herself to think this was a phantom.

Because the honest truth was that Gavin was dead.

Esmerelda gasped awake, coughing and feeling her hot breath bounce back onto her skin. Her arms were held behind her while she sat on something cold. She adjusted to the harsh light, blinkng as rapidly as she pieced together that she was in a lab room, restrained to a metal chair.

A woman stood with her back turned to her, tapping a finger against the silver tip of the yellow filled syringe, a drop seeping from the needle. Ophelia.

"Did you like my hallucinogen? That was just the beta formula, a weaker dose- but I thought I'd prep on you before I tested the final version on your spider friend. He seems to have a higher tolerance than you though, I've assessed his self-healing is more advanced than yours."

Esme narrowed her eyes, glaring at her.

"I'm curious to see what those eyes look like behind the visors, for someone with such intense expressions." Ophelia chuckled. "It would have been delightful to see what they would have looked like as you screamed that boy's name. What was it... Gavin?"

She clenched her fists, lunging forward to punch her stupid face only for a sharp pain to jolt up her arm as her restraints bit into her wrists.

"Careful with that temper, hot head. I haven't even begun the worst yet." Ophelia approached her and gripped her arm, stabbing the needle into her shoulder and injecting the liquid.

Esme gasped in pain. "You'll regret this! You pendeja!"

Ophelia just laughed, watching her with a gleam in her eyes. Esme fought to keep her eyes open- she really did, but the room was already becoming vignette. The hallucinogen worked faster than anything Esme anticipated, black eyes forming in the walls and wide mouths gaping at her in screams. She shook her head, her eyes feeling like bleach.

"What a tenacity." Ophelia laughed, kneeling down and meeting Esme's eyes. Her face tilted, eyes turning purple. "Do you feel it coursing through those veins of yours? Feel it muddling your thoughts?"

Esme groaned, pulling and jerking in her chair for relief. Her head felt like it was going to explode.

"Why... Why..." Esme couldn't speak- bile rising in her throat.

"Why are you here? That's a good question. I'm not sure why he wants you. Let's find out."

The chair she was seated in slowly began to sink into the floor, and no matter how much she thrashed her legs or pulled at her restrains until the chair groaned, she couldn't evade the fall. Couldn't stop as she landed back in that warehouse room.

It wasn't real, but she felt the sunlight filter in through the upper window and wash the walls in watercolor. Esme sat up slowly, acclimating to her new surroundings. It felt like each corner of the loft was reaching for her- faces shrouded in the shadows. She needed to wake up- to fight Ophelia and escape before whatever boss showed up to do who knows what with her. But how was she going to do that?

She felt something tap her shoulder.

"Welcome back." Gavin laughed as she jolted to the other end of the couch, leaning on her hands and kicking her feet.

"You're not Gavin. You're not real." she muttered; eyes locked on his hollow ones.

"No, I suppose I'm not your Gavin. But I do indeed share the same name as him. The same face. And I am as real as you imagine." He chuckled when she made a confused face. "I know all about your Gavin too. How you left him to die."

"I didn't!" She yelled. "You don't know what you're talking about!"

"I don't? You think I'm not aware of how you used him as bait for your little vendetta?"

"W-what?" Esme clutched her forehead, groaning as she felt pressure on her ears. Felt it threaten to pierce straight into her brain. "Agh! S-stop- stop talking!"

"You saw the same thing I did, right? No? Let's go back then and get a refresh. Look up." She felt hands grip her shoulders and her body convulse. "LOOK at what you did!"

The world opened back up to the overhanging streets and sleek reflections of flashing red and blue lights. The sleek cars filtered around her in the street like fish, as if she was a stone in the middle of a river. Gavin melted away with the current, but she stood firmly rooted. Honks filled her ears, muffling the ringing only for a moment.

"Get out of the middle of the street! Crazy!"

If it hadn't been for that policeman's voice she wouldn't have snapped out of her daze. She ran to the sidewalk and lurched over, vomiting in a small absence to the side of a building. What was that? A daydream? It had to be. What a strange dream to be in another world. And in the future?

She checked her watch, confirming it was still the year 2026, May 2nd.

"Earth to Esme~" she jumped- why was her ear speaking? she tapped it and felt stupid when her fingers made contact with an earpiece.

"Y-yeah? Sorry, I think you cut out. Hit a dead zone." Esme cleared her throat.

Sophia sighed. "Right. Gavin and I found out who's employing Halcón. Guess who it is- I'll give you a hint, your favorite group in the whole city~"

Esme clenched her jaw. "Don't tell me..."

"Goliath's gang."

"God damn it." She took a fist full of her hair and pulled, a small shriek suppressed in her throat, so she didn't further agitate any onlookers. "CAN'T this guy stop screwing with this city?!"

"It'll be fine, Esmita." Gavin softly soothed in her ear. "Maybe it's a sign you were meant to stop this guy, since he keeps coming back."

Sophia added, "And he should be easy too- he's not a supervillain or any worse than Halcon who just relies on fancy gadgets. I have faith you can take down this tyrant."

'Is that what you told yourself, too?' a voice whispered.

"What?" Esme looked around.

"I said I have faith you can handle their leader?" Sophia looked to Gavin behind the screen, lifting a brow. Gavin just shrugged.

"Look, we have a plan. We should look into some of the guys my dad has on his list and interrogate them- find the whereabouts of their armory- their drug supply, the smuggling- all of it. Build up enough photo evidence and info for the cops to have enough to keep them in prison once you catch them."

"That sounds dandy and all out loud, but you forget I'm the one that has to actually do all the work- and you're severely overestimating my capabilities. I've only been at this for six months you guys. I'm still getting the hang of the weird strength, the webs and the tingling every time something bad is about to happen." Esme sighed and started walking again. "I appreciate the ideas, but let's start small. Beginning with rehearsals today. It is currently 9:45 and I still have to show up to class at 10 PM sharp or Ms. Veronica will most certainly lash my wrists."

"Alright miss fancy tulle pants." Sophia rolled her eyes. "Didn't know we were in the 1900s again. Hurry up then before renaissance incarnate gets you."

Esme chuckled alongside Gavin and smiled. "Love you two. See you tonight? At the performance?"

"Definitely-You know it!" They each replied. "Kill it my swan princess!" Gavin added.

'Hmm, that's not it. You're fighting back. Suppressing the memory, are we? Don't think you can get out so easily.'

Esme cried out, falling onto her knees. Shadows moved, light turning from orange to white. When she got back up, it was dark out. She was in a hallway. 'I'm back in this dream?! Why won't it stop?!'

'You can't deny what happened forever. You know what you did.'

"I didn't do anything." Esme snapped, "Stop talking- stop impersonating him- I know you're just a figment of my mind."

"A figment? Explain to me then which part of you is lying to yourself? The one that believes you killed me, or the one that doesn't?"

When Esme didn't respond, the hallway brightened- like a stage light queuing the start of the scene. Illuminated where the walls opened out into an open ledge looking out over the entire city.

"Go on then. Go back to that day."

Esme shook her head, trying to back away from it- but the floor lifted to a sharp incline behind her, her feet and hands desperately clawing at it to keep herself from sliding. But down she fell, and felt herself falling into the city.

CHELSEA, NY | 12:00, July 16th 2066

The sun was worse today. Her holowatch wouldn't stop alerting her to the all-time record the heat kept breaking every hour. There was no performance tonight, because with all the technological advances New York had made, they still couldn't prevent Brookyln's breaker from going out from the heat. The outage had already lasted two days, her apartment room a sweltering fry pan. So Esme swung over to Gavin's like usual, his side of town's AC still functioning.

This time though, she couldn't help but notice the car that sat outside his apartment. A black sedan. Cliche, but served its purpose to raise her suspicion. She went around to the back of his building and perched against his window, checking his room for any unwanted roommates before she lifted the panel.

"Honey~ I'm home~" she teased, her feet tapping the floor softly as she slid her mask off of her face.

Arms wrapped around her, lifting her off the ground and flopping onto the bed with her. "RAH! Gotcha!"

Esme playfully shrieked and giggled, squirming out of his hold before Gavin's hands lurched to her sides and tickled her.

"Ack! Stop that! Gavin Maximus Stacy! St-ahehehe- stop!" She cried, grabbing at his fingers that attacked her through her suit.

"The scorching spider-woman- defeated by the amazing Gavin! Quiet as a ghost, she never saw him coming!" He laughed and Esme managed to weasel herself out of his grasp finally.

"You brute! Don't make me web you!"

He lifted his hands in defense, squeezing his eyes shut and pouting his bottom lip in mock fear at her threat. "OH WOE IS ME! Super hero turned villain- whatever will the world do?!"

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned," Esme giggled. She may not be a nerd like Sophia or Gavin, but she knew her literature. "Hey, how long has that car been parked outside your place?"

Gavin lowered his hands, his face quickly turning to stone. "What car?"

"You haven't noticed?" She asked as he walked over to the window. He pulled the curtain over it, and Esme felt herself stiffen.

"No, I haven't. It's probably nothing." He turned back to her and flashed a smile.

"You're lying." Esme crossed her arms. "Gavin, why didn't you tell me?"

He looked away. "I didn't want you to worry. It really is probably nothing. My dad knows, his partner is already casing in on it."

"How long? How long has it been there?"

Gavin sighed, shoulders slumping forward. "I noticed it three weeks ago."

Esme's mind was reeling. How could she have been so oblivious? Who could it be? It had to be a member of Goliath's gang- she had gotten to careless. She must have slipped at some point in her nightly excursions- led them straight to Gavin. It was no surprise that she, yet again, was the cause of putting someone else's life in danger.

"It's my fault." Esme rubbed her temples. "I'm sorry. I'll take care of it- I'll stop seeing you, and maybe they'll assume we're no longer acquainted and leave you alone-"

"No, no Esme don't be like that." He reached forward and grasped her arm, pulling her closer. "Esme, it's going to be alright. Sophia is already looking into it."

"You... You told Sophia, but not me?" Esme pulled away, her eyes wide and lips parted.

"I told you, I didn't want to worry you!" Gavin stepped forward when she continued to move away.

"No- you just didn't trust me." Esme hugged herself. She couldn't handle this. It was too much to grasp. She thought the voices in her head telling her she wasn't good enough were the worst- but hearing it implied that he may think the same felt like a thousand more cuts.

"I never said that! I do trust you!"

She shook her head. "Look, I'm just gonna go. I'll talk to Sophia myself- you stay here tonight. Don't go anywhere until I say it's safe." She pulled her mask back over her face and pulled the curtain back aside.

"Esme-"

She leapt out, her silk finding its mark and swinging her body forward. She swung around the block til she landed on a roof overlooking the street, watching the car until the sun sunk low. It began to move, and Esme moved with it. She felt sorry she left things the way she did with Gavin- but this was for his benefit. She needed to push him away- keep him safe from her. Keep him safe from spider-woman.

'That wouldn't be the last time you hurt me.' The voice spoke. She had grown aware by now that it wasn't her Gavin, but it still felt so close to him.

'So, what next? You going to fast forward to the part it happened? I lived through this already- why are you making me see it again?'

It was meant to be bitter remark, a last effort to snap back at the torturous voice- but he only seemed to laugh in response.

'I was wondering when that snarky attitude would rear its ugly head. If it's the lady's wish...'

The city swung forward, passing through time. She knew where this was going. The call she made to Sophia to push their plans forward. Following the car to a club, hoping to tail the man who was stalking Gavin and be led to his boss.

That was the plan, anyway. She didn't know Sophia and Gavin had gone behind her back with another plan.

The car suddenly pulled to a back alley and went through the side door to a much larger building. She swung over to the large window, peering into the huge interior with slanted roof and catwalk down the middle. There were rows of metal crates filling the room, blocking her vision from this angle. She pushed the windowpane slightly and found it rotated, so she slipped through it and landed on the catwalk, overlooking the group below. She froze in her tracks.

"Sophia what is this- why is Gavin here?!"

"I'm sorry- I wanted to tell you but Gavin made me promise. He said the only way we could get Goliath out in the open was to bait him!"

Esme gripped the rail, trying to center herself as the room seemed to sway. "No- he needs to get out of there right now-"

"We aren't going to find him by ourselves Esme! Gavin has a plan, trust him!"

Esme grit her teeth. She couldn't allow Gavin to put himself in danger like this- she couldn't believe Sophia was even going along with it.

But it was too late. She heard the door open, blue light from outside streaming out onto the wall- illuminating Gavin surrounded by three men.

"I know you've been following me. So I thought I'd make things easier." Gavin spoke. "Where's your boss? Doesn't he want to know where spider-woman is?"

Esme peered over as the first man stepped forward. His head was shiny and bald, eyes dark as they narrowed in on Gavin. Several men poured out behind him, but Esme's eyes caught onto the tall blonde woman beside him, but by no means did she look like she was just arm candy.

She was muscular- a square jaw and rigid nose with narrowed dark eyes. Maybe she was a butterfly. Pretty things could be deadly, after all. She uncrossed her arms and Esme caught the silver glint on her wrist. A rhino tattoo.

Esme's heart thundered. There was more than one? No matter, she just needed to focus on capturing Goliath. Stop him from hurting Gavin.

"Are you suggesting you'll rat out your girl? For what reason?" She hissed.

Gavin flinched slightly but held his ground. "So you leave me and my family alone. Make the call, I won't say anything else til your boss gets here."

"What makes you think we won't just beat the information out of you?" She demanded further.

"Because you don't like to get your hands dirty. And plus- I have too much to lose to just give in that easily. The only reason I'll tell you is if I have your boss give me incentive."

The woman exchanged a look with the man before he tapped his watch.

She waited several, aching moments before the door opened again. A larger man than she had ever seen before filled its frame- having to practically bend over not to hit his head. Esme pressed herself against the floor, craning her neck to get a better view on Gavin. She could not let Goliath do anything.

"So, you're the spider-woman's boyfriend, hmm?" Goliath chuckled. "Why is he still standing? Didn't you fools think to search him for any devices?"

"We did- He's clear." The blonde answered.

Esme gripped the edge, waiting for the right moment to intervene.

"So, I hear you're willing to talk if I give you an offer?"

Gavin nervously shifted. "Perhaps, if its reliable. But you know, I have friends in high places."

Goliath laughed for a moment- then punched Gavin. He landed on the ground with a thud, his hand quickly lifting to his nose to stop the blood.

"Little dirtbag- you think you can come to me and think you have grounds to make a deal with me? No, its on my terms. Not yours. Now, you better tell me where the bitc-"

Esme jumped down faster than she could even think- quickly webbing the first two men who lunged for Gavin. With her white visors narrowed, she dodged a punch then grabbed the extended arm and twisted it with a crack. She turned to Goliath.

"Big mistake." She seethed, lunging for him.

"It was a dirty trap! Get her!"

The blonde leapt at her, knocking her over. She tussled, trying to break free from the grapple while also trying to withstand the kicks from the other men. She had to- she couldn't let them get to Gavin-

'And yet that's what you did. You let them kill me.'

Esme screamed in pain, her head knocked back and hitting the ground hard. Two pairs of arms seemed to hold her down and she heard scuffling down the room- the doors slamming open- tires screeching.

No-no no no- no. No she couldn't let it happen again- even in a dream. She thought she could have stopped it. Stopped him from doing it-

'You ussed me as bait.'

"You- Gavin, Gavin has a mind of his own- I couldn't stop him." Esme panted, kicking off the blonde before scrambling backwards and shooting two webs, then rolled over and hit the next two shoes that tried to kick her.

With them now pinned to the ground, she got up to her feet and looked for Gavin. The room seemed to tilt - Goliath and a few other men dragging Gavin towards the opened doors at the end of the warehouse. A van was parked outside, and Esme chased after them. She ran and shot more webs at the two goons who held Gavin- then landed a kick to one of their sides.

She was quickly snatched from behind- large hands that eclipsed half her torso prying her away and throwing her across the alley. The side of her head collided with the brick hard and she slumped to the ground, fighting her decaying vision. Her interface blinked red- her hearing was ringing. There was no music playing anymore- she couldn't even hear the open mouths of the goons as they opened the back door of the van.

'With all your super powers, you couldn't stop them?' Gavin laughed. 'Lies.'

"Shut up. Just shut up."

She lifted herself to her hands and knees, the alley walls closing in on her. The graffiti seemed to choke her with its colors- a spiderweb tightening itself around her throat. She couldn't let them take him.

She watched Gavin struggle against the goons- saw his eyes connect with hers. And then watched Goliath punch him hard in the gut- Gavin's perfect pink lips sprouting roses that's petals splattered onto the wall. Esme saw it muddle that taunting graffiti- and she felt something snap.

Her hands lifted almost in slow motion. She saw the silk fly through the air- glistening in her chemicals- and latch onto Goliath. And then she tapped her sparker. She didn't realize her second wrist had missed.

"Wake up Esme. This is the truth. You killed me."

She held her ears, trying to drown out his voice. Drown out the sound of the explosion. Drown out the sound of the gunshot.

"I tried to save you- to undo your stupid decision Gavin! I went to that warehouse to save you-"

White seared into her vision and she shielded her eyes. She heard the metal beams groan, heard the glass windows shatter- felt the ground shake from the explosion. She opened her eyes again and saw the van explode. The debris catch the surrounding buildings on fire. The flames in her dream looked so vivid- exactly like that day.

"Did you save me? Did you even try? Wake up Esme."

Her lip quivered, her vision blurred as she stared slack jawed at the vision in front of her. Heard the screams echo down that alleyway. If this was a memory, she would be inside of that alleyway right now- fighting for her life. Fighting to escape the flames she made.

You weren't even sure if I was dead. You gave up so easily. Could have gone back to save me. But you didn't, because you're selfish." Gavin spat. "Wake up."

"No- no that's not true," she felt tears pool at her chin. "I tried everything to bring you back Gavin! I fought and fought but there was too many of Goliath's men- y-you were gone by the time I reached you!"

A red river flooding the alley way, swirling around her feet and pulling at her weight. Blonde hair bobbing against the toe of her shoe. Her hand reached for it while her thoughts screamed 'DON'T REACH DOWN! DON'T REACH DOWN!' all while her fingers took that grasp anyway, and turned over his face.

Two white mirrorballs stared back at her. Ice blue lips began to move.

"You killed me."

Esme screeched, reeling backwards and falling onto something soft. She looked down, propped on her elbows, seated on a couch.

"Welcome back." Gavin sat beside her.

"Just stop- stop with these mind games Gavin- what do you want from me?!" Esme sobbed, holding her head. She couldn't take all these transitions anymore. She didn't want to hop from one memory to the other- or dreamscapes to another. It was all too much- too much-

"I want you to admit the truth and wake up." Gavin spoke.

"What good is that going to do? You're not actually him. You're not real."

"The line between fictional and reality is not comprehensive to the mind. So long as I exist in your mind, then I am as real as you think."

"Will you ever stop existing, then?" She sobbed.

"No. Because you'd have to erase the memory of me completely- and you don't want that. You might think that. But you don't." He tilted her chin.

"I do- I do! I want to forget you! I can't bare this pain in my body. They say grief is in your heart but if it was only that then I'd be fine! It is in all of me- my veins, my lungs, my intestines and bones!" Her shoulders racked with further sobs.

"Pain is good. Pain is how our bodies tells us something is wrong. And feeling, feeling tells us we're alive." He brushed her hair back.

"Just leave me alone." She pushed his hand away, hoping it would ease the grip he had on her heart.

"I can't do that. I need you to say it Esme. I need you to wake up."

She clenched her eyes closed. The bait. The warehouse. Goliath. Gavin. She replayed that memory almost every day since he disappeared. There was no body. Yet the firefighters said the temperature of the fire had been so high that there was really nothing to recover if Gavin did succumb to his wounds. But there was a chance he survived. A small chance.

All their memories. Laughing in the coffee shop. Laying in the warehouse, side by side on the couch talking about their day. Swinging at night and gazing up at the sky pierced by the city lights. Riding his motorcycle. Dancing together after every performance or band session. His hand in hers- her eyes held in his. There had to be a chance.

"He's not dead. I didn't kill him." She sat up, wiping away her tears.

Gavin blankly stared back at her. She couldn't read his expression, but the world was becoming more murky. Less opaque. Like dull watercolors. But through that dreary veil that was beginning to form over his face, she saw his lips twitch. The smallest smile. Like how he used to.

"You still don't get it. We're out of time. I'll be seeing you again though, Esmita."

"Wait-"

She wanted to reach out, to ask him who he really was- but she was pulled back into her chair, waking up to the stark white room she was in before.

#original character #marvel #spider man oc #digital art #across the spiderverse #gwen stacy #Gwen Stacy variant #spiderverse oc #spotify #wattpad #fanfic #spiderverse fanfic #storytelling #love story #tragic love story #dies from canon event #canon event #angst

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jeanjauthor · 1 year ago

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My dad went to see Star Wars when it first came out in the spring of that year. He wanted to see if it was any good. It was so good, he brought ust to see it at the 70mm theater in downtown Seattle (a PITA to get to, because of parking). I was barely halfway through being 5 years old, my sister almost 4 years older. Seeing it in 70mm was absolutely astonishing.

(Also, WE got to see "the fat man in the furry vest!" original version of Jabba the Hutt, because that scene was NOT cut out of the 70mm version that we saw, for some reason...which REALLY CONFUSED ME for decades afterward, until I saw a "deleted scene segment" showcasing it. All showings of the original movie on t.v. that sayd "full / not edited" did NOT have that scene in the broadcast which was really really confusing....but I digress.)

One of the things my father knew he wanted his daughters to see was the scene where Princess Leia is not just rescued, but grabs a gun and rescues herself. Grabs that gun from the heroes, and starts shooting on her own, fiercely and accurately, absolutely courageous and "as brave as any boy!" Doing things that "only boys" ever got to do, prior to that point...aside from Wonder Woman (as portrayed by the fantastic @reallyndacarter, yes, she's here on Tumblr, hi!)

But the difference between Princess Leia and Wonder Woman was that Princess Leia wasn't a superhero. She didn't have magical powers. She didn't have invincibility or strength or magical anti-bullet deflection bracelets. Princess Leia was literally a woman who had grown up to be a Galactic Republic Senator...just as any woman could grow up to be a U.S. Congressional Senator.

...That had a profound impact on girls & women.

The only thing blocking Leia's path of escape was literally a door she couldn't open from the inside of her cell, and a ship to carry her away. Everything else, she had a direct hand in enacting. (Well, that, and the droids who stopped the trash compactor, but by that point it was a group effort to escape the place.)

It was literally the first time "a real woman" took control of her own battles on the big screen. Prior to that, we had a superheroine--and she was fantastic! (waves again, hihi, Lynda!!)--but it was a one-two punch to the collective zeitgeist regarding women's power and women's empowerment. First, a weekly heroine who could lift and throw cars if she wanted...and then a silver screen princess "who grew up to be a general (later on)."

Any guy trying to claim that the original Star Wars didn't have a profound impact on the females watching it isn't a real fan of Star Wars anything.

In fact, I can honestly say that the effects of Star Wars on fandom was weaker on males than it was on females. Yes, there were more males than females who watched it...but remember the Inverse Ninja rule, men:

Quantity is NOT the same as Quality.

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turtlemagnum · 1 year ago

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so, i bit the bullet and played through the main quest and some of the side quests in fallout 3. i did this in order to affirm that it's as bad as i thought. and honestly i was pretty much right; though i will concede that there were some parts i genuinely liked (warning, spoilers for the entire fallout series more or less, and also a good chunk of star wars since i used an analogy)

THE GOOD:

the voice acting for most of the story important characters was pretty good. the actor playing your dad (iirc he's a famous actor but i don't know him because i've intentionally avoided learning as much about celebrities as possible), he makes the dad likeable and less bland than you'd think just by the written dialogue alone. during the whole sequence with escorting dr li to the brotherhood, her voice acting really impressed me with how genuine it felt; despite the writing she really gave it her all and convincingly portrayed somebody who just went through something traumatic.

the core engine itself is arguably pretty solid, a lot of really good stuff was there that was refined and iterated upon in new vegas and i think that new vegas might not be as good if some of that weren't there in the first place

i rarely found myself actively disliking the characters, most of them were likeable enough. moira was fun to talk to, and fawkes is a homie and an true gamere.....

i did really like the vault "dungeon" that you got the G.E.C.K. from. it was one of the only places in the game where you don't have a questmarker pointing you on where to go, so the game designers had to actually design an area that was fun to explore and navigate. and yes, that compliment was intended to be deeply backhanded

in my admittedly somewhat limited experience, the side quests seem to be decently fun. i haven't come across anything mindblowing or revolutionary though.

for all the lack of freedom and borderline cutscene-y vibe of it, the liberty prime tagalong showdown was admittedly pretty fun from a purely spectacle standpoint

the soundtrack is pretty good!

and now onto...

THE BAD:

i can't fault it too hard for this, but a lot of really small things just feel significantly worse than in new vegas. the gunplay, the skill checks, the leveling, honestly pretty much everything gameplay related, just a bunch of little quality of life things that wear at you but you probably wouldn't've noticed too much unless you were accustomed to their absence (like ME).

i think the leveling is, mostly, bunk. i had a pretty low score in pretty much every weapon skill throughout the game and never really felt like i missed out on too much; a low unarmed skill not stopping me from punching raider's heads off with my bare hands or just some brass knuckles i found, a low melee skill allowing me to virtuously baseball bat duel super mutants, hell at level 2 i killed a deathclaw with just a .32 pistol before it could even lay a hand on me (again, low small guns skill). and speaking of small guns, i understand that the small guns/big guns split was in the original 2d games too, but i still feel like that's an ass backwards way to go about a weapon's specialization and i think that new vegas was 1000% right in just merging it into a singular "guns" skill. speaking as a gun nerd, i have about as much interest in and knowledge of big fuckin machineguns as i do of small rifles and pistols, and honestly it doesn't make a lot of sense from a "you're gonna be playing the whole game like this" perspective to specialize exclusively in smaller, weaker guns when eventually you're gonna wanna graduate to something that could kill armored opponents. though, to be fair, the weapon damage was bunk and deeply inconsistent feeling, so i can't say that from a practical perspective in this case you're at too much of a disadvantage (more on that later). another gripe i have with the leveling is that for every useful, interesting perk, there's like 12 that are just "oh, you have at least a 4 in this attribute? take +5 skill points to these skills!". hell, near the end of the game i checked how many perks i had that weren't just stat increases, and half of them didn't even come from fucking leveling up!!! i'm not against there being perks you get by doing quests, but when there's like 3 perks from leveling that do something remotely interesting (imo they're bloody mess, lady killer and animal friend, which happen to be perks you can still get in new vegas because they're fucking good), that's a bad fuckin perk system. or rather, you took a fundamentally neutral system that has the potential to become good if you put actually interesting shit in it, and just asked "but what if you could do medicine and science 5 points better....".

the combat was... bad? at times it was decently fun, but at times it was a slog. sometimes you're punching the head off of bandits with one punch, and sometimes you're emptying 200 rounds of 5mm from a minigun into a super mutant from point blank and you're barely fucking doing anything, even though the minigun says it has a higher damage stat than your brass knuckles, but you try to punch the super mutant and it does more fucking damage somehow??? in what fucking world does that make sense??? in what fucking world is that fun, even, setting aside how utterly stupid it is, how is it fun to waste 200 rounds of ammo barely even killing one enemy??? the enemies tend to come in two varieties: can barely do damage to you and crumple like a piece of paper when you sneeze at them, and bullet sponges that do varying amounts of damage, but usually on the higher end. to be frank, that deathclaw i killed with my pistol outside of a super duper mart shouldn't've been so fuckin easy to kill. i think level scaling is at least partially to blame for this, but that's never been a strong suit of bethesda's and oblivion is similarly bad with level scaling, and i fucking love oblivion. but back to the combat, i think that the damage statistic you get isn't actually indicative of much of anything, and is just the developers ballparking it. maybe part of it is that they don't seem to have separate one shot damage vs DPS displayed like in new vegas, but there were several times where i attacked an enemy, did barely any damage, switched to a weapon that on paper has a lower damage output, and it has significantly more of a god damn impact. this results in it feeling really inconsistent, and rewarding trial and error in terms of what works and what doesn't rather than being able to look at a new gun and go "oh! this does more damage, and has a higher DPS! this is an upgrade!"

the writing.... oh, the writing.... if you thought this was ranty up to now, you know NOTHING of what is to come..... so, the writing was bad, right? it was just so unilaterally terrible that i'm genuinely having trouble articulating how fucking atrocious it was. i think in a lot of games, i like being the "good guy" and helping people out because i like the characters, i want to make their lives better, i feel genuinely bad for fucking with them. i genuinely felt no such attachment here. with every NPC, they could die and i wouldn't really care. when your dad dies, i feel like it's supposed to be this real fuckin tearjerker heartstring puller of a moment, dr li is fucking distraught, and i felt fucking nothing but a vague sense of "what? this is stupid. this whole thing's stupid." the enclave's opposition to you is ill defined, they also want to start the water purification process, but under their control? which would make very little practical difference, since while they're open about wanting to poison the water specifically for mutants TO YOU once you're in their base, they don't demonstrate a want to do anything other than... purify water? which is what you wanna do? but they wanna do it under their control, but this is your daddy's big boy project and he won't let it fall into their hands!! it feels very shallow, a deeply heavyhanded and poorly handled analogue to racism (president eden's whole "rargh we must kill the mutants" speech didn't really feel genuine in the slightest), and what colonel autumn wants is never really explored. you make one (1) speech check against the president, and he offs himself no fucking problem. your dad kills himself to kill autumn, but he survives! kill autumn again, dipped shit. autumns about to interrogate you, but eden's like "hmm, no, give him back his weapons and send him to meet me". that is not an exaggeration. there are no words i can use to describe how stupid it felt for the president to just... give you your weapons back? you didn't have to sneak out to get them back, the thing trapping you didn't malfunction, your gear is in the same room as the cell... why would he do that???? even if he wanted to work with you, why would he give you your weapons back??? he doesn't know how you're gonna fuckin react!!! you could blow the damn heads off of every dipshit in that place, and i did!!! i cannot stress enough, that there were several points through my playthrough of the main story, where i, out loud, physically proclaimed something to the effect of "what? that's fucking stupid!!"

you know how in the original trilogy for star wars, palpatine died when anakin decided to sacrifice himself for both the good of the galaxy and his son, redeeming him in one final selfless act of love, and meaningfully killing off the real evil at play. and you know how in the sequel movies, palpatine just... comes back? and it's not explained? and it's very obviously a nostalgia ploy that i doubt was even thought out in the slightest, and makes no damn sense in universe, and in terms of the overarching story it kind of invalidates the whole point of the originals. that's what the enclave being back is, to me. you killed them in fallout 2, and they're just.. back. no explanation, no real thought put into it, just... "we wanted the enclave to be the generic bad guys in power armor!!!!" and the brotherhood of steel, it's sort of the same, but to be fair like. the brotherhood does still exist, yes. but what the FUCK are they doing here ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FUCKING CONTINENT. and why are they just like, the straightforward good guys??? hell, why are the enclave just straight up "nyehh, we're evil!!!! we're the bad guys, with no nuance or subtlety!!!!" where's the fucking humanity of it all. why is the faction that's hiding behind a big fucking fortress immediately all like "pleasure to have you here!!", why is every good character just completely unproblematic??? your dad is just the good guy, he's handsome and has a nice voice, he just wants best for the world, and what's best for his dear beloved son!!! that wouldn't be so bad, if EVERY OTHER GOOD CHARACTER WASNT LIKE THAT!!! the main elder guy, lyons, he's just like. generic old man. he's nice, and fatherly, and has the personality of a plastic milk crate. his daughter is marginally more brash, but she always falls in line and does the right thing. they all have the same goal of just altruistically doing good for the wasteland, at seemingly no perceived benefit to themselves. what if, and hear me out here, they only wanted to complete project purity because they'd also like to have clean water, and they'll grudgingly help you (and thereby the whole wasteland) out in the process. what if, and hear me out here, what if you took the basic attributes that you gave to this disneyland marketable facsimile of the brotherhood of steel, and just gave it to a new faction that's local to the area???? what if you came up with, and hear me out here, new fucking ideas. though to be fair, they tried that in fallout 4 with the institute and the minutemen, but those are less egregious because they're new bad factions that don't give me associations with better, more interesting stories. but also to be fair, fallout 4 still fucking brought back the brotherhood, and while at least they're not the 2 dimensional good guys anymore, they've more or less replaced the enclave as the 2 dimensional pseudo-fascists

i gotta ask, where's the fucking theme?? in fallout 1, it was relatively straightforward, hope. the man at the end of the long hallway, the man that they so utterly wanted john eden to be, he has to be talked down not with speech checks but with definitive proof that his plans won't fucking work. and in the last moments with him, he gives a heartwrenching little sentence about how hopeless this is, and how you need to go while you still have some hope. meanwhile, what does president eden have?? what does colonel autumn have??? well, in the case of the former, he has One Singular Speech Check where if you pass it, he'll decide to forfeit everything, including whatever he presumably believes in, and just offs himself and kills his entire army. colonel autumn, all he says at the end is "oh wow, it's you again. guess i gotta kill you !" and it's like. what's being said here, exactly? that racism is bad? i mean, kinda? though again, mutants are an extremely flawed analogue, since half of them (in bethesda fallout, at least) are just generic monsters that you're just supposed to kill with no remorse!!! i once heard a critic say that they're just orcs, reskinned to be fallout themed. and honestly that's fucking insulting to orcs, even bethesda has historically treated orcs with more personhood and intellect than the fucking super mutants!!! they're like, what a bad writer writes orcs as. no, don't worry about how that was at one point a human, and how they still have enough of that human intellect to form coherent sentences, they're The Bads, you don't have to feel bad about killing them!! you contrast this with super mutants in the good fallout games, where yes a lot of them are mentally impaired, but it's like... it feels like a very convincing analogue to real world mental disability, to me. they're not orcs, they're not mindless beasts, and i feel genuinely awful any time i have to kill one. when written well, they're an interesting reminder of the past, of what could have been the future of humanity, but ultimately wasn't. and like the brotherhood of steel and the enclave, they're reduced to something below a child's understanding of what they really were. every character, every story, it's bland and linear; much like the world they created

now, onto the world design. it all feels very small, and empty, and linear. the game has overtly stated pretensions of freedom and an open world, but fails to deliver on both fronts. nothing interesting happens en route to places, nothing interesting really happens at those places, the world is very closed off and samey leading you to only following the compass that isn't very good at leading you places. most places are hard to navigate to varying degrees of frustrating me, poorly laid out and borderline labyrinthine at times. i don't think that a space being labyrinthine is an innately bad thing, but i think that whether it's open or closed world you've still gotta make the actual exploration fucking fun. in some ways, it feels like ocarina of time is a more open game than this; it has a greater illusion of being a big world to explore despite being technically much smaller in scope, and being a fucking N64 game. ocarina of time is fun to explore, and has this feeling of freedom that fallout 3 distinctly lacks despite very obviously wanting you to perceive it as free. this lack of freedom and samey-ness applies to the rest of the game, too. you can go anywhere at any time, but due to them not wanting you to be scared off of exploring any place, everywhere feels the same, and every person feels the same. the most choice you have is what weapons you use, and while i feel that can be a satisfying choice to make in some games, i feel as though in what alleges to be an expansive, choices matter RPG, weapon choices should be ancillary to actual impact on the world around you beyond what weapon you use to paint the world red with; especially with how lackluster the combat can be at times.

some small gripes i have include that i couldnt really get a character to look like me unlike how i can do that fairly easily in new vegas? i don't know why, maybe the facegen morphs got updated between games or something, but i feel like i can make a character that both looks pretty decent and looks a fair bit like me in new vegas, meanwhile in fallout 3 i can't really do either of those things. i think the karma system is stupid, and i even think systems like it are stupid outside of the context of a fucking apocalypse story. i heartily feel like any game that feels it can measure your morality on a fucking single axis meter is either so incomprehensibly simple that you really can measure everything on an axis of "is this good or bad", or is written by people so full of themselves and their own perceived concepts of objective morality that they deserve to have their skulls caved in by a thick book that compiles every post modernist writer's works into a single titanic hardback, and i think fallout 3 is a little bit of both columns to be frank; it has deep seated and highly unearned pretensions of deep moral choices (one commonly lauded by the harebrained critics at the time), but they pretty much always amount to "do you want to kill a lot of innocent people... or do you NOT want to do that.....?". like gee, i dunno, the orphan crushing machine sure is brutal, but it sure does make me a lot of money!!! the entire game's lack of nuance and freedom loops back into this, you're either "the good guy" or "the bad guy", whereas i feel like a post apocalyptic setting is innately geared towards moral ambiguity and hard but meaningful choices.

i'd also add that from a nitpicky, nerdy perspective, the fact that it's been 200 damn years since the bombs dropped and the world is barely still holding it together is frankly unbelievable. aside from the fact that by most scientific estimates i can find, the most prominent of the short term and long term effects of a global nuclear war would only last for about 5-10 years, i just refuse to believe that the only two prominent settlements in the entire fucking capital wasteland are 1. a town with one (1) whole interesting person in it, and a fucking oversized boat with like 20 people on it?? the fact that people seemingly haven't even tried to rebuild TWO HUNDRED GOD DAMN YEARS AFTER THE BOMBS DROPPED is just blisteringly unrealistic, even i have a degree where my suspension of disbelief is toppled. also, this is really petty of me, but i have a recurring thing in my life where i meet someone who's never played new vegas but is obnoxious about insisting that 3 is better, and one of them was really annoying about liking 3 dog and how he's soooo much better than mr new vegas, so that's kind of left a bad taste in my mouth from the character. not that mr new vegas is a fucking messiah in my eyes or anything, it's not even that i like him so much more than 3 dog, it's just that that one person was really insufferable about it, and called new vegas bad because it didn't have 3 dog?? and it's like, bro, sure you don't have this one throwaway character, but you know what you do have in new vegas that 3 doesn't?? good fucking writing. the best 3 has is occasionally making me laugh, that's fucking it. and now that i've actually beaten fallout 3, i can say that it's bad without reservations!!! hooray!!!

and that more or less sums it up, to be frank. to be clear, i've derived some amount of fun from this game, but in my opinion its highest highs are lower than the lowest lows of new vegas, and it's kind of a worst of both worlds kinda deal. new vegas had marginally improved gameplay over 3, but had absurdly improved quality in terms of literally everything else (especially writing), and fallout 4 has pretty fun gameplay but even worse writing than in fallout 3, but the better gameplay and better world design makes it downright better than 3 imo. so in the middle, you've got 3, which is even clunkier than new vegas, and honestly only marginally less well written than 4. i will say, i appreciate its existence because a lot the smaller details that really made new vegas great and probably would've taken too long to implement if they weren't already there started here. i will say, that as a base to build one of the greatest games of all time off of, it did its job exceptionally well. but you don't remember the shitty little stepping stone as though "woah! that's a good stepping stone", you move on and sit on the actually good and solid rock and appreciate that damn rock. i'm tempted to say that you probably have no reason to come back to this fucking game. but i'll definitely concede that if you grew up with it in some form, it probably has nostalgic value, and that's worth more than the rest of this review altogether

now, is it alright to disagree with me? of course! this is just criticism, and any criticism of a thing you like should be taken in deference to your own experiences. im just some guy on the internet, man, i'm nobody special. if you have fun with the damn game, that's great! i fuckin' envy you! and i hope it makes you happy

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crystalelemental · 2 years ago

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So like...okay. Steven is getting a grid expansion. We don’t know if it’ll be both, but considering Cynthia and Lance were the other two early PokeFairs, it’s likely both. Regardless, there’s a particular...issue, which we’ve been dealing with for a while, that is going to spike really hard with Mr. Stone here.

Grid energy is rough.

Accounting for previously useful traits, Steven has Haymaker, and Aggravation on Iron Head. Haymaker is a delightful trait that had been his selling point over Cynthia and Lance from the outset, while Aggravation is a really useful tool for Gauntlet. His main approach has seemed to be his sync nuke and disruption, as his DPS is fairly low. To give an idea of how bad we’re talking, it’s weaker than Solgaleo. It’s weaker than Jasmine’s Gyro Ball. Jasmine. The support. With like. 250 attack. This is a man with 500+ attack post-mega, and he under-performs Jasmine. Even in his better area of sync nuking, Steven’s miles behind units like Raihan and Gloria, even without their SEUN and Sync Buff multiplier condition respectively. So what do you do?

Well, the obvious thought is utility, right? But...what utility could he get that would be equal in value to Gloria? Defense Crush 9? Sure, it’s great for him, but Gloria does that. She even does Rebuff. They could try to lean into his tanking abilities, but who knows how well that works. He just needs a lot to stand out compared to her. Compared to Raihan, even. But hey, if they give him really good traits, it can work, right?

Except he already had Haymaker. Even with a full 100%, he’s still behind. And like. You probably don’t want to give that up. Nor would giving up Aggravation be desirable for certain modes. Especially if DPS doesn’t improve. If you take both? The minimum amount of energy remaining is 15. He can get one (1) new full-cost trait, and it will be the one that goes into getting Aggravation.

This is dire. Legitimately, there’s not much of a way to seriously save this as a totality.

Which means we’re probably SS Leaf-ing it.

The only way for Steven to succeed is to have options that are really strong, but allocate him toward one particular use. A damage-focused build that adds a second sync multiplier, possibly on defense boosts, would make him plenty strong to compete, without needing additional conditionals like Gloria or Raihan to keep up. But he’d also need a way to boost defense more reliably. Self-setup is also a problem, but could be mitigated through grid, similar to how Lance did it though undoubtedly slower. For the odd tank build, he’ll need healing and probably built-in Vigilance. For utility, they’re gonna have to think of something more useful than just Defense Crush, or what’s the point of using him over Gloria? If they’re going with the Aggravation build, they should probably emphasize speed boosts too, since his gauge control isn’t fantastic.

The only way I can see them pulling off a total overhaul is a combination of three things. First, you ignore DPS. It’s frankly not worth saving. You can do stuff like a combination sync/DPS boost, but it’d probably be Super Powered 5, and while that’s cute and all and worked okay for Kris, it worked for Kris because Mega Kick was already serious DPS and she has +200% boosted sync without mega penalties. Might not work as well here. He’ll need another sync multiplier, and it will need to be big. You also want to remove the need for Aggravation. That provides you with 30 energy instead of 15, and more freedom on which tiles to take. Staggering on Bullet Punch, with guaranteed MP replenishment. It’s the only way. And since it costs 15 energy to get to Aggravation, they’d need to do it with one of those two traits being on the 3/5 expansion. Add in a way to self-buff crit like N does thanks to Sure Crit on trainer move, and really just better buffing ability in general, and we might have something that takes over.

I just...think Steven is a bizarre victim of his early success. Cynthia and Lance could ditch nearly everything in their former grids without issue, but Steven? He’s got useful stuff that’s going to be hard to give up on. And every time there’s useful stuff at 3/5 they don’t want to give up, the grid gets messy. This is going to be a challenge, but I’m hoping they can pull something interesting off with it.

#pokemon masters #steven

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hornet-breaker · 3 years ago

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Lab Rats

Just watched a review of that old Disney Show “Lab Rats,” and I got inspired! This will be bullet points Bc I don’t feel like trying to draft an entire storyline. Also, ages will be altered in this au, so without further ado, trigger warnings!

Tw: vore mentions, some graphic violence, dehumanization, minor fearplay

Tommy is an intern for a very well known scientist and company called “Dreamcorp,” owned by Dream. The facility got its name for its first official invention of the company was a dream projector, which allowed doctors to further study the subconscious.

Tommy has been warned by Dream, multiple times in fact, “do not go down the elevator, it’s too dangerous for you.” Tommy being the little reckless shit he is, goes down anyways because screw the old man (even though Dream is 28 in this and Tommy is 16)

He goes into what he calls “The Underbelly” and explores. He hears a loud roar that sounds something like a dragon and scurries for cover. In the underbelly there are 3 odd looking men bickering with each other.

The tallest is nicknamed “Voidburn,” he is the youngest (17) has the ability to teleport and sense presences, and can determine easily if that presence is good or bad. That ability is only passive when sniffing, and can extend up to 5 miles. He has black and white hair, red and green eyes, and black markings on his skin.

The second is a little shorter, but definitely the oldest, (24) and is nicknamed “Ghost.” He can turn invisible, mimic voices, and his voice can be used to swoon others into doing as he commands. By far the most dangerous and definitely the smartest. He has a white streak in his burgundy brown hair and has amber eyes. He wears glasses too.

The third is smaller, but by no means is he weaker and is probably the middle child (20), he is nicknamed “Arson,” and as his name implies he has pyrokenisis, and is fire resistant, with super strength added in on the side. He’s got a heavier build compared to the others with reptilian eyes and a white bandana around his head under his bangs.

Tommy hides from their bickering, wanting to know more, when suddenly Arson punches Ghost hard in the stomach, hard enough to knock over Tommy’s cover. Tommy screams and the others freak out, why is there a new person in the lab?!

Tommy tries to run away but Ghost gets an idea. He loves to play tricks and scare people after all. He goes invisible and chases Tommy. Tommy thinks he’s safe in the elevator as it goes up, but then Ghost reveals himself, scaring Tommy enough, to make him jump. The elevator stops and the two are trapped.

Ghost decides to monologue and tells Tommy part of the story. He says they were genetically engineered to be the next generation of the human race, bigger, smarter, stronger, faster.

Voidburn teleports into the elevator to save the Two before Dream can find out Tommy broke the elevator. Tommy begins asking questions. The three answer carefully as to not give too much information.

Tommy finally asks what they mean by “Bigger,” and Ghost gladly shows him, transforming into a massive humanoid creature. Tommy runs away to hide while Voidburn and Arson try to keep Ghost away from Tommy.

Eventually Ghost manages to get them off him with his siren voice and lures Tommy out of hiding. Tommy thinks he’s about to die when Dream bursts in and deactivates Ghost’s Titan form with a controlled shock.

Dream yells at Tommy but then Arson steps foreward to defend the kid, saying he was curious and Ghost wasn’t going to eat him like he did the last assistant. This freaks Tommy out into thinking he is going to be one day fed off to these creatures but Dream reassures him he won’t as long as he doesn’t snitch. This does not make Tommy feel any better and Voidburn cautiously approaches to comfort the scared kid.

Once Arson and Dream calm down, Dream explains why the three can in fact grow 20 times bigger than what they are now. He explains they are genetically engineered sizeshifters and are soldiers for government tasks that normal soldiers cannot do. Dream forces Tommy to swear to secrecy, and Tommy promises since Ghost is looking at him like a dog would to a steak.

The next day Tommy immediately sneaks back into the lab to see the Titans’ daily routine for the day. He doesn’t get to see much since the chamber is closed off by curtains (thank god he thinks to himself) and watches them eat strange pellets.

Tommy reveals himself, the three are happy to see him again. Tommy asks about the pellets, Ghost says they’re nutritional pellets. Tommy mocks them for living like rats and offers to take them to the surface for real food. The three are ecstatic at the thought, but at the same time Ghost thinks it’s a bad idea. Tommy waivers this and tells them to be ready in 10 minutes. They’re ready in less than one thanks to their resting chambers.

He sneaks them out of the building, giving them lab uniforms to put over their clothes and tells them to pretend their interns. They make it out successfully without getting caught.

Tommy takes them to a burger joint, and doesn’t realize how much they eat, especially Arson who probably has a higher metabolism because of his firepowers. They each eat about 3 burgers which Tommy isn’t really happy about since it damages his wallet.

A man comes in to rob the joint and Ghost springs into action, running up to the guy and punching him. Tommy stops him from pulverizing the guy, and the man is dead. The employee calls the cops and the four flee the scene.

They sneak back into the facility and Dream is there waiting for them. He has his arms crossed and is pissed that Tommy took them out to eat, AND the video of Ghost beating the life out of a crook went viral. Tommy is guilty and Dream ops to send the Titans to a facility in Antarctica. Tommy begs him not too, and that’s when a new character appears.

Goggles is Dream’s security assistant, think of him like Jarvis but with an attitude. Dream nicknames him George. Goggles convinces Dream to let the Titans stay, and Ghost further convinces Dream to let them see the surface and eat people food (Ghost tries to sneak in also being allowed to eat people but Arson and Voidburn stop him with a quick punch to the shoulder and a stamp on the foot)

Tommy opts to give them nicknames for whenever he visits. Arson is nicknamed Sapnap, Voidburn is now Ranboo, and Tommy could care less about Ghost so he names him Wilbur. (When he wants something he calls the Titan “Wilby”)

And that’s pretty much it. Tommy is allowed to go down and help Dream with the Titans and anything new he’s working on. If this gets a certain amount of attention I might do a part 2, where things start to heat up a little.

#lab rats au #mcyt g/t #giant tiny #g/t writing #tiny!tommy #giant!ranboo #giant!sapnap #giant!wilbur

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the141ghost · 1 year ago

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“Not a promise I’m prepared t’make, I’m afraid, love,” Ghost mumbled, huffing out a quiet laugh before he glances over his shoulder again. No, the closeness wasn’t making him uneasy. He just… had to keep an eye on his kids, that was all. “Where else am I s’posed to piss first thing in the morning?”

Then, the comment about what dear old dad would do to him earned a look of amused disbelief.

“He could bloody well try,” Ghost snorted. He knew her father well enough, as he did everyone on the base. He knew his fighting tactics, knew where he liked to keep his feet planted before going in for a punch.

Ghost took pride in the fact that no one on base was better in hand-to-hand than him, Miriam’s father included in that.

He didn’t feel the need to convince her, though. No one wanted to find out their father was weaker than the bloke they were currently massaging.

Speaking of which…

A small groan slipped out of his mouth as she dug her thumbs in even deeper, reaching a depth in his muscles that he didn’t even know was possible with how tense he was. “Figure if I started running, you’d have to follow me to keep botherin’ me, ey? Two birds, one bullet.”

Then, a frown.

An invitation to a night out with some of the other soldiers. Huh. That was a new one.

“Well, fortunately for me, I can’t. See, I’ve actually got a job, here. Know that’s probably a bit of a new word to you, so I’ll do my best to explain it,” he began, changing his tone almost as if he was speaking to a child. “I don’t get the weekend off, y’see. I’ve got paperwork to do, reports to fill out, things to oversee. So, really, s’nothing for me to be celebrating.” A wry smile tugged at the corners of Ghost’s eyes. “An’ I take it dear old daddy’s not aware of your plans, is he? Can’t imagine he’d be happy with that.”

Then, a more serious look crossed over his face and he turned around, though he did stay right by her side.

“Don’t think it’s a good idea, you goin’ out with them, is all. Yeah? Nothin’ t’do with you, just them.”

@the141ghost // continued from here

she likes teasing, she likes playing, she likes asserting dominance and ghost provides her with the opportunities to do so. not everyone dares to try, but he does it effortlessly, even bringing her father up without any shame.

she loves him for that. deeply.

for not being afraid, for opening up, even just a little bit; for providing comfort when erik's gone for longer and she needs the tiniest bit of affection to stay grounded, like now, when their fingers are intertwined, just like she decided their fates also are — entangled.

“please refrain from urinating in erik's breakfast from now on, hmm?” she teases, knowing very well it's just a figure of speech, but what she says is meant literally, not like a metaphor. her father's name rolls of her tongue effortlessly, and ghost knows she doesn't speak about her parent in a different way; whatever is going between these two is not a secret, and yet is complicated enough for no one to dig in.

she cooks, though and has this almost motherly nature about her — the whole 141 has dinners and desserts on regular basis, their shared kitchen always stocked.

simon though?

different story.

he's running out of tea? he's got a new box waiting for him. sometimes usual, sometimes different, depends on the girl's mood. he wants some milk pured into it? he can bet it's gonna be lactose free. the sticky note said 'to not upset your tummy :)', six months ago.

and now, six months later, this civilian creature untangles their fingers and places her hands on ghost's shoulders, massaging them through his gear.

“he's a father first, soldier second,” miriam reminds simon with a light tone, “if he were to deal with you, he wouldn't fire you. he'd break your neck.”

there's no threat in her voice, no malicious intentions either; she's playfully stating a fact, but believes it'll never happen, not in this reality and not in any other. there's a zero percent probability for everything in the world, right?

“leave him out of the equation; how would you force me to run? carry me to the track? move my legs for me? tsk,” she clicks her tongue, thumbs digging deeper as to ease the tension from ghost's muscles. “not gonna happen.”

she pauses for a second, checking out the rookies again, trying to find the one with his pants wet. damn. with a simple yell.

“i'll make my dreams come true if ya teach me, mm? best i can do is punch him in the bladder. so, whatcha say? tonight, at the pub? will you teach me how to be scary? half the unit's gonna celebrate having their weekend off and i wanna go, too.”

what she says is 'i wanna go, too, but i can't leave the base by myself and erik will probably go on a murder spree if he found out i snuck out, so i want you to come so when he finds out - he always does - he won't be mad, because i was safe'.

#tbd//threads

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gamerwoo · 4 years ago

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[Tales from the Pack] Joshua: Second Chance (Part Three)

Characters: Joshua x female reader

Genre/warnings: werewolf au, fantasy, fluff, some fluffy angst too so it’s not really angst is it lmao

Word count: 1,988

Summary: After his mate died, Joshua always blamed himself and never wanted to imprint again. However, fate has other ideas when he meets you: a young, energetic werecoyote that’s quite the opposite of him. He insists he doesn’t want a new mate – nobody’s even sure if he’s ready for a new one – but he can’t ignore his instincts.

Previous | Next | Second Chance Masterlist

“Oh,” the girl beside you seemed surprised that your eyes opened, squinting against the light, “you’re awake. How do you feel?”

You only groaned in reply. You definitely didn’t feel as awful as you recalled, but you still didn’t feel good.

“We’ve cleaned the remaining wolfsbane from your system, so you should make a full recovery,” the girl told you, her voice soft and soothing.

She definitely didn’t look like she was from here. She had brown skin, round eyes, and long black hair that she kept clipped back away from her face. Had you seen her before when you were dying? No, you couldn’t tell. Your memories from then were too foggy.

Wait, you were dying. How were you alive?

You opened your mouth to speak, but your eyes finally adjusted enough where you could see the person laying on a cot behind the girl. His eyes were closed, and you couldn’t tell if he was passed out or sleeping, but you just felt very strongly toward him. Much stronger than you’d felt about anybody ever. He was absolutely beautiful, and all you wanted to do was walk the couple feet of space between your cot and his to stroke his hair and cheek.

You didn’t know why you felt so strongly about a stranger, but you also weren’t questioning it. You were a curious person, yes, but you tended to just roll with the punches.

The girl noticed your gaze had drifted behind her, and she chuckled, “Would you like to be closer? It’s better for mates to heal if they’re as close as possible, and he needs all the healing he can get.”

Mates? That wasn’t something you’d heard about before, but you could probably guess what it implied. Either way, your head was nodding before your brain could really think much about it.

The girl stood and moved her stool out of the way before wheeling your cot closer to his until they were pressed together. Your face was almost right next to his now, and you observed every single detail of him. You didn’t even know his name or anything about him, but your heart and your instincts already told you you’d do anything for him.

“They’re cute,” Minjee commented once she entered the room as her partner continued to stand by the doorway and watch the two of you.

Prajya hummed in reply, her hand finding Minjee’s, “I don’t think the girl knows anything about herself. I told her he’s her mate and she seemed a little clueless.”

“Well, she is young,” Minjee noted. “Maybe nobody’s told her about creatures like her.”

Prajya nodded slowly before turning her head to look at her partner, “Did things with the other wolf go well?”

Minjee nodded, “Perfect, actually. Sura’s just finishing a few minor things and getting him settled into a bed to recover. His brother and the girls are still waiting in the living room.”

“I should go see if they need anything,” Prajya decided, pressing a quick kiss to Minjee’s cheek before she left.

Minjee turned back to the two of you after her girlfriend had left, but saw that you weren’t awake anymore. Your eyes were closed, one of your hands resting on Joshua’s as he slept. Minjee smiled to herself, thinking both of you looked like you were doing better already.

Josh still wasn’t awake. Even Hansol had woken up before his older brother did. Wonwoo had already brought Soomin and Suvi back to the house, and Joshua still wasn’t awake. It worried Hansol that he was asleep for so long, but Minjee assured him it was just because he had exerted his power too much.

“Is he going to get it back...?” Hansol wondered, his yellow eyes warily watching Joshua sleep beside you.

“Yes, with time,” Minjee replied with a warm smile. “You really have nothing to worry about, Hansol. Besides, he has his mate with him, so the healing will be faster.”

“Yeah, if he isn’t stubborn about it,” he muttered to himself, the human girl unable to make out what he said.

That was something else that was worrying Hansol. Joshua already had a mate and lost her. Would he really be so open about a new mate? Even if he did use the remaining energy he had in him just to save you, he did that on pure instinct. It didn’t necessarily mean things would go smoothly when he’d wake up.

“Who is she, anyway?” Kyung wondered, nodding her head in your direction.

You were still sleeping beside him, your hand still in his. Neither of you had even moved, either, but Minjee also promised that was nothing to worry about.

“I’m not sure of her name,” Minjee sighed, “but my partners and I found her when we were out checking traps one night. My mate, Sura, knows where some of the werewolf hunters place traps regularly. He likes to patrol them and see if anyone was caught so we can help. We found her in one of them. Sura said she might be a werecoyote.”

“Werecoyote?” Hansol repeated.

The doctor nodded, “Yes. He noticed she doesn’t smell quite like werewolf, but she’s definitely something.”

The two mated wolves could admit they noticed the same thing but kept to themselves about it. They thought maybe it was just because of the wolfsbane.

The pair looked between the two of you. While Joshua seemed peaceful now, both Hansol and Kyung weren’t sure how he’d react when he woke up. They could practically already see the sour look on his face before grumbling something about not wanting a new mate. They hoped maybe they’d be wrong, but…

“What do you think she’ll do if he denies her?” Kyung wondered to her mate, unsure if you’d be as patient and understanding as Hansol. They didn’t know anything about you.

Hansol let out a quiet sigh, “I don’t know, but they’ll both just...eventually...” he didn’t even want to say it, but after a beat of silence, he quietly said, “die.”

“Werecoyotes are creatures I’ve never encountered,” Soomin hummed thoughtfully as she flipped through Beom’s book of creatures.

Once Wonwoo had returned home with her and Suvi, the youngest excitedly began talking about how Joshua had imprinted and saved his new mate. Meanwhile, the rest of the pack seemed shocked and almost horrified. They knew how Joshua was, and they knew he wouldn’t want another mate. What happened with Lilly messed him up pretty badly, but it also made him afraid of himself for a long time. He’d be too scared to be with someone else.

While Suvi was explaining what happened and the pack began spewing questions, Soomin was already looking through Beom’s stuff to find some answers.

“I think Beom had told me a story or two of werecoyotes, though,” Soomin continued.

“I met a few,” Yeji chimed in. “They didn’t really seem too different from you guys.”

“They’re not -- not really, other than some minor stuff,” Soomin said after finally reaching the page she was looking for. She scanned it over, using her finger to guide her eyes. “Overall, they’re essentially the same, just a little weaker -- smaller, not as strong, but they are a little quicker because of their smaller size. It makes them more agile.”

“Anyone can outrun that old man,” Jeonghan scoffed.

“Who’s the oldest, anyway?” Suvi asked.

“Nobody really knows anymore, but we just assume it’s Josh,” Jun shrugged. “Years start to blend together after a while.”

“Speaking of not knowing things,” Danbi spoke up as she looked around the packed living room, “where’s Soonyoung?”

“It’s nighttime, so he’s in town,” Jihoon sighed.

“I thought we were still being careful?”

“Since when does Soonyoung follow rules?” Seungcheol asked with a quirked brow.

Soomin cleared her throat to grab the pack’s attention and bring them back to the bigger matter at hand: you. Once they were paying attention again, she continued, “Werecoyotes have the same heightened senses, the same weaknesses, and the same instincts as werewolves. However, because they’re smaller and weaker, they recover slower and are more likely to die from things like silver bullets.”

“So Joshua’s new mate is essentially a hyperactive accident-prone child?” Wonwoo snorted.

Soomin frowned, finally looking up from the book to look at her mate, “That’s mean. And she may very well act mature. Just because they’re faster than werewolves doesn’t make them hyper.”

“You said werecoyotes are just werewolves, basically,” Jeonghan shrugged. “You’ve seen our pack.”

Seungcheol nodded, “Seokmin specifically.”

“Hey,” the young wolf whined.

“Let’s not judge her just yet,” Soomin sighed.

Jihoon raised his eyebrows, “You didn’t even meet her?”

“She was passed out,” Suvi was the one to explain. “Her and Joshua were sleeping beside each other when we left.”

“I wish I could be there when they wake up,” Seungkwan chuckled. “I’m sure that’ll be a mess.”

It wasn’t until the sun was about to peak over the horizon that Josh finally groaned and rubbed his eyes with one hand. The other felt warm with a light weight in it that kept him from moving it.

Wait…

The older wolf’s eyes opened before slowly looking to his left hand. He saw another hand in his and his eyes followed the arm up to the owner. He recognized your face. Not only did he remember what had happened as soon as he saw you, but he was bombarded with your face in his dreams -- well, more like nightmares. All he dreamt about was you and Lilly.

He wanted to snatch his hand away. He wanted to growl at you and wake you up and tell you to keep your hands to yourself. He wanted to yell at you to not touch him.

But he was too exhausted to do anything but lay there and glare at you with golden eyes.

“Oh, good,” a voice made him turn his head, “you’re finally awake.”

Joshua was briefly introduced to Prajya during his first check-up. She was a nice girl, but she had a little...bite to her. Josh liked her from the get go.

“See you’ve noticed your little friend,” Prajya chuckled. “You don’t seem too fond of her, though.”

His face scrunched up in almost disgust, “What is that?”

Prajya let out a snort at his reaction to his mate.

In your sleep, your nose wiggled a few times before you reached up to scratch it. Joshua rolled his eyes feeling his heart swell at how cute you seemed. He wanted his instincts to fuck off.

“I think you already know,” she replied in amusement.

“Who is she?” he asked.

The foreign girl just shrugged, “Beats me. We didn’t get a name from her or where she came from or anything.”

Unable to resist the curiosity, he slowly wondered, “...What happened to her?”

“Caught in a net that had barbs laced with wolfsbane,” she sighed as she leaned back against a wall and studied your face. “We were sure she was going to die until you showed up and--”

“Don’t,” he said sharply before dropping his tone to be only grumpy rather than angry, “mention it.”

Prajya just shrugged, “If you didn’t want it mentioned, you shouldn’t have done it. Kyung was right, you are a grumpy old man.”

He let out an exasperated sigh. Of course Kyung was gossiping with her old friends about him. The new alpha was a piece of work.

But she wasn’t really wrong, and even he knew that.

Prajya was silent as she watched Joshua watch you. It was clear that even though he openly showed his distaste for his new mate, his instincts were strong and hard to ignore. Even through the disgust and annoyance on his face, Prajya could see the love and adoration clear in his eyes.

The grumpy, old werewolf, and the young, carefree werecoyote. This would be interesting to see.

347 notes · View notes

missmonsters2 · 4 years ago

Text

Between the Lines || XI

PAIRING: Steve Rogers & Fem!Reader (Platonic) / Natasha Romanoff x Fem!Reader / Wanda Maximoff x Fem!Reader / Natasha Romanoff x Fem!Reader x Wanda Maximoff

Summary: Vampire AU. Life has changed drastically since the 1600s. Things are always on the move, and you’ve been very careful to not get on SHIELDs radar. Living on the down-low owning a café, you’re content to live out a quiet existence. That is until the Avengers enter your life.

[Set after the New York Invasion, in CAWS, and goes up to AoU. Canon divergent after.]

Warnings: This series will contain smut(**), poly-relationship, and dark themes.

Note: Hiatus is over hopefully and we’re on the last arc! Shit is gon’ happen so strap yourselves in and enjoy the ride 👏🏻👏🏻

PART I || PART II || PART III || PART IV || PART V || PART VI || PART VII || PART VIII || PART IX || PART X

PART XI of XX

Count: 5,532

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Hot.

Your body felt hot, and there was something deliciously thick going down your throat.

Blood.

You could taste it so very clearly.

You could feel your body healing, the bullet holes mending themselves until there was nothing left, and your body in pristine condition.

Thumping.

You could hear a pounding in your ears and then a soft, breathy moan.

You wanted to be closer.

Your hand presses against the wall as your other hand presses the warmth closer to you.

God, you could get lost in this forever as you swallow a mouthful of blood.

"Ah..."

The sound is both melodic and also a warning bell to you.

You need to stop.

You have to stop.

Your hand presses against the wall harshly as you feel it break as you curl your hand in an attempt to pull yourself away.

The tight grip of Wanda's legs around your waist starts to loosen as you pull your mouth away from her neck. She's still holding you close, and you don't move your head too far from her neck.

The thumping of her heart feels weaker, and you purse your lips, disappointed with yourself. You clean the drip of blood trailing down her throat, ignoring the way Wanda's breath still hitches before your lick at the bite wounds at her neck.

Soon enough, the bite marks begin to disappear, leaving Wanda's neck bare and unblemished, but a slight red overtone stain from her blood.

When you pull back enough to see her face, Wanda looks drowsy.

"I'm sorry," you swallow. "I went overboard."

Wanda shakes her head lightly, feeling dizzy from just the motion.

"It's fine," she says, "I didn't mind."

Wanda tries to stand up, but it's too much as her legs give way, and she falls. You catch her before her knees hit the ground.

You purse your lips before you hook your arm under the back of Wanda's legs, pulling her up to carry her.

Wanda rests her head against your shoulder as you carry her out. When the door opens, you're met with everyone waiting outside to see if you were okay.

You see Natasha standing there, looking at the two of you, and you feel like you've been punched in the stomach. But you don't get much time to dwell on it when Pietro comes up to you, worry all over his face when he looks at his sister.

He squints his eyes at you, and it doesn't faze you as you are to blame for her state.

"She's okay," you tell him quietly. "She just needs some rest and lots of fluids."

"I'll get her some juice. We should be landing soon, so I'll whip up something for her to help," David offers as he takes off.

Pietro looks like he wants to take Wanda from your arms, but you cock your brow at him.

"You'll drop her in your state if you try to carry her," you tell him, looking at his bullet wound specifically and how he was hunched over slightly.

Pietro scowls but relents as he follows you to the room next door as you set Wanda down gently. Your hand moves to gently get her to let go of your jacket, and you set the blanket over her.

As you get up to leave, Pietro stops you.

He presses his lips together, frowning initially before he lets out a sigh. "Thank you."

You merely nod, patting his shoulder gently before you leave him alone with his sister.

When you leave, you're on a one-track mission to talk to Natasha, but before you can even reach her, Maria intercepts. It seemed Fury was looking for you to get some details regarding the mission and had some questions.

You scrunch your nose as you look at Natasha.

"We can talk later," Natasha says quietly so only you can hear as she nods.

You sigh, looking at her forlornly before you follow Maria.

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There's a wave of peace when you arrive back in New York. You never thought you would feel this way about a place. A part of you thinks that maybe it's not the place, but the fact that you're here with all the people you care about.

Your family.

Talking with Fury had taken longer than you wanted, giving you no chance to speak with Natasha.

Everyone heads back to the Stark Tower. At first, you were going to follow along with them, but Natasha holds your hand, drawing you back while shaking her head.

"Let's head back to your place," Natasha says quietly.

You gulp.

"Okay."

You feel it must be a good sign still with Natasha holding your hand as she leads you away to her car, though she's quiet the entire ride, making no move to talk. So, you also sit quietly as you watch the scenery out the window.

Natasha walks herself straight to your bathroom when she enters your home. You feel grimy yourself and head to a different washroom yourself to clean up.

You finish before Natasha, and you head over to the kitchen to make her a drink. Unsure of what Natasha wanted to say or how she would react, you didn't think it would hurt to try to bribe her with a drink. It has turned quite late into the night, so you decide to make her a tea instead of coffee.

You go to sit on the sofa, quietly putting soft music in the background in an attempt to soothe yourself as you idly feel the soft fabric underneath your fingers.

Soon enough, you hear the water turn off in the washroom, and Natasha comes out, fresh and clean, with a towel around her neck as she dries her hair.

Warmth spreads over your chest as Natasha comes to sit on the sofa, right next to you. You hand her the drink, and she quirks her brow at you with a slight curve in her lip as she takes it.

Humming after she takes a sip, she sets the drink down, towel discarded to the side as she looks at you.

You purse your lips.

"I--"

You're cut off when Natasha launches herself at you, her lips hitting yours roughly as she slides her fingers across your jaws.

Surprise takes over you as you automatically reach over to wrap your arms around Natasha's waist. She bites your lower lip, rather hard, and you wonder if this is a punishment.

When she pulls back, the two of you are a little breathless.

"Are you...upset?" You ask slowly, scrunching your brow and licking your bottom lip to soothe the pain Natasha inflicted.

Natasha leans back, settling to rest her head between your shoulder and neck as she sighs deeply and heavily.

"Yes, and no," she answers after moments of silence. Your arms are still wrapped around her as your fingers slide down her arm. You place your hand gently atop of Natasha's.

You don't say anything because it seems like Natasha is still putting her thoughts together.

"I'm not mad," Natasha decides. "I know that what you did was out of necessity. You were severely injured, and the only person who could help you was Wanda."

You could sense the lingering at the end of her sentence.

"But...I don't know. Seeing you with her, so...lost within her...it was different. I understand it, I really do, and on top of that, Wanda is a beautiful girl," Natasha sighs.

You nod, knowing Natasha could feel it.

"I'm not mad," Natasha repeats.

"Then?" You lick your bottom lip.

Natasha turns her hand around to lace her fingers with yours, pursing her lips, annoyed by how she's unable to describe how she feels.

"I don't know."

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You were miffed.

With David specifically.

The offender was aware since you've ignored him for a couple days now and haven't looked once in his direction.

You stood with everyone at the Stark Towers as they talked casually. The place is currently being repaired right now after all the damage done by Ultron, but it was still standing for the most part.

Tony talked about how he wanted to build a new compound for the Avengers and was considering either selling the Stark Tower or just taking it back for his company.

You were standing at the side, between Steve and Natasha, as you tap your foot idly.

David stood across from you, staring at you while you pointedly didn't look at him, mouth pressed in a firm line.

A part of you wanted to be rational.

It's not like you were unaware of the circumstances. Drink from Wanda or risk killing everyone on the helicarrier, and also killing yourself in the process.

And by God knows, no one would've been able to stop you.

But...you were still so angry.

David knew the consequences of this, and he took it, and you could not blame him for it.

"You can't ignore me forever," David says quietly, moving his mouth so quickly, no one can hear but you.

You don't say anything.

"Ignoring me isn't going to solve anything, and you know it," David continues on. "We need to talk now, and I'll make a scene if I have to."

You pause for a moment, eyes flittering over to Wanda, who is standing next to David along with Pietro. She's got her brow raised as if she could hear the conversation between the two of you. You don't doubt the possibility that she could.

You look at David, who is staring at you challengingly. Making a scene would be awkward, but you felt childish, wanting to ignore David a little more.

So, you called his bluff.

And he proved you wrong.

David barrels into you, tackling you into the empty space as everyone gasps, tensing as they want to break up the fight but knowing they physically would be unable to do so.

"Stop being so stubborn!" David yells at you, atop of you, and you bare your teeth at him.

Being older brings advantages; David knows that as you flip him over, toppling him underneath you.

"You know exactly why I'm pissed at you!" You snarl at him.

David goes limp in your hold, sighing as he does so.

"I know," he says quietly, "and I'm sorry, but there wasn't any other choice."

Hearing David apologize to you even though you knew it wasn't really his fault made you grimace.

God, you were such an ass sometimes.

You sigh, loosening your grip on David as you stand up, pulling him up with you.

"What...the hell was that?" Tony says, staring in disbelief at you two.

"Just a disagreement," you mutter as you rotate your shoulder to relocate it back into place.

Natasha purses her lip at you as you walk back up to her.

You shrug at her, not really wanting to get into it again.

"We've got some things we have to discuss first, we'll meet up with you guys later," David announces, pulling you with him as you frown.

Everyone just blinks at the two of you exist the room, and head to the rooftop. Once up there, you feel a slight breeze and can smell how fall is approaching.

"Are you done being pissed at me?" David asks as the two of you look over the railing at the city.

You exhale heavily through your nose.

"I know it's not your fault," you tell David, "but I would have preferred it more if you took me and jumped off the helicarrier and have our bodies be obliterated when we hit the ground."

"I'll keep that in mind the next time we encounter this problem," David smiles wryly.

"You put me in a horribly awkward situation, David, nevermind the consequences of it," you sighed, pressing your temples with your hand before rubbing your face.

"How did Natasha take it?" David asked.

You shrug. "She didn't really take it any way at all. She said she doesn't know how she felt about it. She's neither upset nor okay with it, but she understands."

"That must be better than her being pissed at you," David shrugs.

"I don't know," you say, "I know how to deal with pissed, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do when even she doesn't know how she feels."

"And Wanda?" David probes.

You tense up immediately at her name, David catching it immediately.

"That bad or that good?"

You turn to glare at him.

"Sorry."

You turn back to the city skyline.

"I don't know," you tell him honestly, blinking slowly. "She looks incredibly so much like Tatyana, and yet, I know distinctly it's not her. She's both familiar and new to me. A part of me understands I'm the only link to explaining her family's past, but I feel like I need to keep my distance as well, even though I can't now."

"Why? Did you feel something for her?" David asks.

"A little too much," you wryly admit. "It was terrifying, honestly."

"But?" David probes some more.

You look at him. "But I am in love with Natasha."

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You and David stay on the rooftop for a while just to enjoy the quiet while you can before you head back to have the real serious talk.

When you come down, you see that everyone had still stayed in the room, loitering as if they weren't waiting for the two of you to go back.

Natasha looks at you, and you nod, telling her that you and David were okay. David looks at Natasha and gives her his dashing smile that she returns in small.

"We need to talk," you say in a sobering tone, looking at Wanda, while you make a move to grab Natasha's hand.

Wanda stares at you, not saying anything as she tilts her head.

"About what?" Pietro cuts in, looking at you with a frown.

"Пьетро," Wanda says, accent thick as she grabs his arm to calm him down. "About what?" Wanda asks as she turns her head back to you.

You look around the room as if to tell everyone else this is a private matter.

"Oh no," Tony says, leaning against a counter. "We're all in this together now. Share with the class."

Steve was the only other person in the room, and he nodded his head firmly at you in more of a supportive way than Tony.

You let out a long sigh as you turn back to Wanda.

"It's about...what happened when I fed on you," you say slowly and rather awkwardly, feeling Natasha's hand tighten around yours.

Wanda licks her lips.

"You've probably figured out by now that I know an ancestor of your guys'," you say.

"That woman I've seen in your head..." Wanda brings up, and you grimace.

"Yeah, her," you confirm.

"Wait, what?" Pietro says, swerving back to look at his sister. "She knows someone in our family tree, and you didn't say anything?"

"I didn't know for sure," Wanda shrugs.

"How did you know her? Was that why you were looking for us?" Pietro asked, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

"Her name was Tatyana. She was..." you clear your throat. "She was...my lover. But yes, she was partly why I was looking for the two of you. But the truth is, every time there is a new descendant, I always look for them. Although somewhere along the way, I lost track because your great-great-grandfather decided to have multiple children in secret."

"So, we actually have a big family we don't know about?" Pietro scrunches his eyebrows together.

You shake your head. "No, you two are the sole surviving people left in your family. Everyone else has rather lived short lives or died due to an accident or illness."

Pietro continues to stare at you suspiciously but moves on. "You say this Tatyana woman was our ancestor, but how did we come to be if she was your lover."

"Tatyana had a life before me," you shrug. "She never really talked about it, but she was in an arranged marriage when she was younger and had a child. Of course, her husband took on a second wife since it was common back in the day. It wasn't the life she wanted, and she had never been inclined to children. Leaving was easy for her."

"She was...a witch," Wanda says slowly as if to confirm with you.

"Yes," you nodded stiffly. "Her...powers is genetic."

"But I didn't have any powers when I was born. I was given it through the scepter," Wanda argued.

You lick your lips. "Over the years, your bloodline was diluted. The powers are genetic, but with Tatyana, but since no one in the family ever married another witch or warlock, the powers became weaker and weaker every time until there was basically nothing. In this day and age, you would be so lucky to even find a true witch or warlock by blood because they're all in hiding, though the stake burning has stopped."

"Then...the scepter..." Wanda pondered.

"You may not have had obvious powers, but you probably experienced smaller things as a child. A feeling you couldn't ignore, a dream that came true, something buzzing at your fingertips, but you just couldn't explain it. The scepter unlocked that gene within you. It jumpstarted the powers you had inside all along," you theorize.

Wanda looked at you in shock, confirming that she experienced those things in her youth.

"Why didn't I get the same gift as Wanda then if I have the gene too?" Pietro asked.

You shrug. "I'm only guessing. I've never actually seen any males in your family tree display any inkling of a gift. I'm assuming the scepter had more of play in powers for you."

Pietro hums, looking at his sister before shrugging and moving on.

"Well, a great history lesson. You slept with my ancestor, is that what you wanted to tell us?" Pietro cocked his brow with a smirk, and you roll your eyes.

"No, I wish it were just that," you sigh inaudibly, feeling your stomach drop as you looked back at Wanda.

"The day I fed from you...did you feel anything happen to your body after?"

Wanda cocked her brow at you, and you felt your cheeks warm and forced it down before it could physically show on your face.

"I mean, like, a burning...no, I mean...did you feel any pain afterward?" You stumbled over your words, not even daring to look at Natasha as you kept holding her hand. "Specifically, did any of your bones hurt?"

Wanda stares at you a moment longer before nodding slowly. "I did," she says. "I felt something here like it was on fire...I assumed it was because too much blood was taken." She points to her sternum.

You pursed your lips, feeling suspicion rise higher inside.

You turn to Tony. "Do you have an x-ray machine here?"

"I do," Tony raises one of his brows.

"Why do you need an x-ray?" Pietro asked, mildly alarmed.

You didn't answer as Tony led everyone out of the room into the medical bay area where there were multiple body x-ray scanning machines, though many of the devices but two were crushed when Ultron attacked the tower.

You had to let go of Natasha's hand as you walk up to Wanda, who is looking at your own sternum for a moment before looking back at you.

"I need to confirm if what I believe is true," you tell her softly, asking her to get onto the machine.

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours," Wanda says with a slight raise of her brow and a tiny quirk in her lips like she knows you're hiding something underneath.

You purse your lips, not really wanting everyone to see what is in your body, but you know it's only fair if you're asking Wanda.

"Alright," you agree with a nod.

"Are you serious?" David blinks in disbelief, and Natasha turns to him with curious eyes.

You shrug.

"It was bound to come out at some point...I wanted to show Nat sometime anyways," you look over at your girlfriend with a smile, feeling slightly guilty about hiding things still.

Both you and Wanda get onto the machine while Tony operates it to get a CT scan of the bones.

The scan is over relatively quickly, doing the front and back as you both make it out of the room to join the crowd around the monitor.

The images slowly load.

"Jesus Christ," Steve exclaims under his breath.

"What the fuck," Tony squints his eyes as if he doesn't believe what he's seeing.

Though both pictures showed up, yours drew all the attention.

Marks and drawings were engraved into your bones everywhere on the front and back of your ribs like they were tattoos.

"What are these?" Natasha asked as she leans in to take a closer look at the images.

"They're searings from a priest," you tell them, turning your attention to Natasha.

"Leo?" She asks quietly.

You nod your head, blinking languidly as you look at her face.

"What's it for?" Steve asked, squinting his eyes slightly.

You stand straighter as you readjust your jacket.

"They're markings that allow me to go into the sun without being burnt alive," you say, watching as everyone just blink at you. "David has the same ones, though not done by the same priest."

"So, something does happen if you go into the sun!" Tony exclaims as if he was right all along.

"...Yes, but I don't sparkle. It's quite the opposite. It burns and rips at the flesh and smells exactly like what you think it would smell like," you tell him. Tony made a gagging face at the thought.

"Wait, what is that?" Pietro says as he looked at Wanda's image, finding a scrawling in red burned into her sternum.

Everyone draws their attention over before looking back at yours.

You had an identical one in the same place.

The searings on your rib were in black, while the one on your sternum was red in color.

"Oh, shit," David says, breaking the silence. "We activated the second part of your curse."

"Curse? What curse? What did you do to my sister?" Pietro pushes past everyone until he's standing in front of you, gripping the lapels of your jacket.

"Пьетро!" Wanda calls after him, putting her hand on his arm to pull him back, but he doesn't budge.

You swallow.

"As I said," you put your hands around Pietro's, forcing him to let go. "I was involved with Tatyana, your ancestor, and it didn't end well."

"She cursed you because of a quarrel or a breakup?" Pietro snorted as if he didn't believe you.

You quirked your brow at him. "No, she cursed me because I killed her."

"You killed her?" Tony says in incredulity. "You killed your girlfriend."

"I had to," you shift uncomfortably, the guilt rising up as Natasha moves to hold your hand. "She turned. Upset with how villages were hunting witches along with other horrible things, she was trying to create vampires using her magic to destroy the villages. She was murdering innocent people, and nothing I said reached her anymore. When I begged her to stop, she didn't. I did what I had to."

"Jesus fucking Christ," Tony blinked. "You know, I'm surprised you didn't become a villain; your origin story would've been so good."

You roll your eyes.

"What was the curse, and what does that have to do with my sister?" Pietro demanded.

"The curse was that I could never feed from a human being other than her. But because you are descendants from her, you share the same blood, which creates somewhat of a loophole." You sigh, pressing your lips together as you look at Wanda. "The reason I was actually looking for the two of you is that I always keep track of the descendants of Tatyana's. I do that so I know who I cannot ever risk of drinking their blood, even if you donated blood by chance, I wouldn't take your blood bag."

You look at Natasha, "I'm sorry, but I didn't tell you everything that night," you say softly.

Natasha bit her tongue, "You said that you didn't want to find a cure to this curse...but you've actually had already tried to find one, haven't you?

You nodded, biting your bottom lip.

"Yes...Leo and I spent years trying to find the cure at first. At one point, I encountered one of Tatyana's grandchildren. I could smell the same blood of Tatyana's in her. At that time, I was living off of animal blood," you sighed. "I don't know, something came over me, and I jumped at her. I realized that I could drink from her...but that's when I realized the second part of this curse."

You looked at Wanda apologetically. "I inflict this curse back on them."

"What?" Pietro bellowed.

"What happened to Tatyana's granddaughter?" Steve asked with arms crossed as he processed the information.

"Another vampire tried to feed on her and she died instantly," you frowned. "When Leo and I realized the intricacies of this, I stopped looking for the cure because it was clear there wasn't one without Tatyana being the one to remove it. On top of that, it kept my bloodlust in check. I had to be more conscious about it unless I wanted to die."

"Why didn't you just tell me?" Natasha asked quietly.

"Because I'm not proud of it. Worse than killing Tatyana because I had to was awful. But then I went and tried to remove her curse," you frowned slightly. "I'm not like you, Nat. You deal with your ledger every day proudly and without hesitation."

You look away, ashamed of what you're admitting. "I couldn't. I wanted to get rid of the curse because even though it was what I deserved, it was just a daily reminder of Tatyana, and I didn't want to remember what I had done to her."

Fingers grip your chin, pulling you back, and you face Natasha.

"Hey, you are the bravest person I know," she says softly, and the words linger like she wants to say something else, but there's a crowd here. "We'll talk more later."

Natasha lifts your fingers to her lips and presses a soft kiss to them. The action brings a deep pit feeling in your stomach, and you feel something threatening to spill over, but you swallow it because now isn't the time.

"So, what do we do now?" Pietro asks, bringing everyone back to the matter at hand.

You look solemnly at Pietro. "There's nothing I can do. I have to keep feeding from her regularly. Otherwise, she'll die."

"Why?" Pietro demanded, stress clear on his face.

"This curse is a catch 22 situation. On the one hand, Wanda is the only person I can feed from. But on the other hand, now I'm the only vampire who can feed on her. If any other vampire tries to feed on her, it will react badly with my venom and kill her. If I don't regularly feed on her and inject new venom, her cells will slowly deteriorate and kill her. My venom is both a poison and a cure for her." Your expression was grim, and you looked over to Wanda, but the girl seemed to have no reaction at all to what you were saying, so you were unable to gauge how she was feeling.

"And what?" Pietro pressed. "You'll do this to her forever? Because there's no fucking cure?"

You didn't really have an answer to that because it's not like you've encountered this situation. The last descendant you drank from died due to another vampire getting to her. You were sure as hell not going to let that happen this time, but you had a feeling Wanda could handle her own if someone tried to attack her.

"No," you decided, exhaling softly. "I'm...going to try to find the cure again. If it was just me, that's one thing, but you're right; I can't let Wanda be affected forever too."

Natasha squeezed your hand, and you turned slightly to look at her, finding her giving you a small smile.

"How are you going to find a cure? I thought the only cure to this was if Tatyana reversed what she did, and she's no longer here," Steve asked.

You lick your lips as you lock eyes with David.

"It's been a while, but we're going to find Leo's descendent."

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

The day comes to a quiet end, and you find yourself looking out the window. The city is still bustling, and it's a reminder that New York is a city that never sleeps, and you kind of miss the atmosphere out in the countryside where Clint lived.

Natasha left with David to help him try to track down Leo's descendent. Though, you know it will be relatively easy.

Steve had pulled you aside after asking you seriously if you wanted him to stay to help you with this matter, but you shook your head.

"You need to find Bucky," you tell him. "He's out there, waiting for you unconsciously, I bet."

Steve seems like he wants to stay still, but you smile as you pat his broad shoulder.

"David found a tip on Bucky for you, so you need to go because it's not looking hot for him," you pass him a folded piece of paper.

"What if you need me?" Steve frowned.

"You'll be the first I'll call, solider," you wink.

"I better be," he smiles back, pulling you into a hug before he left.

A part of you wonders how things will play out like how you saw when you touched Tony's hand. Regardless, if you could get Tony to think the Accords was a horrible idea, then things would change.

But changing Tony's mind or trying to influence him was like trying to move a mountain.

"Hey."

You turn to see Wanda standing at the door, far from you. When you turn, she takes it as a sign to enter the room and approach you.

"Hey," you reply, feeling your body going stiff, the conversation with David fresh in your mind.

Wanda stands next to you before turning her head to look at the view outside.

"The view is very different than what I'm used to," she tells you quietly.

"Better or worse?" You ask in return.

"Both. On the one hand, this is not the view of my homeland, but I suppose this is better than watching my country collapse."

You purse your lips at that, feeling sympathy for the girl before you.

"They will rebuild," you tell her softly, "and when you return, it will be a beautiful view once more."

Wanda gives you a small smile as she turns to face you. No one says anything, and the quiet settles over the two of you as you stare at each other.

"I feel like you were meant to be in my life, and I'm meant to be in yours," Wanda tells you, blinking as if she's unsure if she should be saying so.

"You feel something for me," Wanda states, and you immediately rush to deny it.

"Don't," Wanda warns you, and you press your lips together to hold the words back. "You do, and you can't lie to me about it. I...I feel confused around you. You and Natasha. I don't know what to make of any of it."

"There's so much history tied between us...I worry that your feelings are because of my ancestor--because you mistake me for her."

"I don't," you tell her immediately, not wanting her to feel like she was some replacement. "I admit you two are similar...in more ways than you know...but I know that you're not her."

"How?" Wanda smiles sardonically.

"Easiest explanation? Scent. Vampires are extremely sensitive to scent, and you have your own distinct smell. Long explanation? There's no one that could ever replace Tatyana to me, and I don't want anyone to. You are your own person, just as Natasha is. In my heart, Natasha is something new and cannot also ever be replaced," you say, wanting Wanda to understand, but also to draw a line.

"And me?" Wanda pushes. "Where do you want me to stand in your heart?"

You clench your jaw, just about to answer when Natasha and David enter the room.

"We've found the descendent. He lives in Texas," David tells you.

You take a step back from Wanda, clearing your throat quietly as you nod.

Your girlfriend stares at you, her eyes shifting to Wanda for a microsecond before she looks back at you as if Natasha could tell she just walked into a tense moment.

"Good," you say. "We'll leave tomorrow morning. Everyone should get some rest."

You walk towards Natasha, grabbing her hand as you lead her out the room, only looking back once at Wanda, who stood there with her arms crossed over her chest as she looks at you with an expression you find yourself unable to decipher.

Nor forget.

PART XII

#natasha romanoff x reader #wanda maximoff x reader #natasha romanoff imagine #wanda maximoff imagine #wandanat x reader #scarlet witch x reader #black widow x reader #natasha x wanda x you #natasha romanoff x you #avengers reader insert #avengers x reader #marvel reader insert #avengers imagine #mm: my fics #series: Between the Lines

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dingdongitsbees · 4 years ago

Text

BLACK-EYED SUSAN | LEVI X READER HUNGER GAMES AU

Chapter 13: Rinse and Repeat

Previous - Next

Tw: PTSD, implied suicidal ideation, alcoholism

WC: 5.4k Ao3 link Ask to be added to the taglist! It will be updated weekly on Saturdays

First person version can be found here

Master List

“Nothing ever ends poetically. It ends and we turn it into poetry. All that blood was never once beautiful, it was always just red.” – Kait Rokowski

It had been a few years since your world had gotten simultaneously a million times better and also gone to shit. It hadn’t really hit you two until you had spent a few days back in the homes that had been provided for you. You each had your own house as per usual for victors, but you didn’t need a second. You had spent your life together in a borderline shack, it would feel weird to have the other sleep across the street. But it had been in that gifted house that it finally came crashing down.

All you could see was their faces, all you could feel was that knife in your hand, all you could hear was that goddamn canon. You were sitting on a velvet couch paid for in blood. Now having more than enough food on the table was exchanged for lives. Being able to still exist in the world meant twenty-two people had been ripped from the world.

Levi had been next to you, so he just held you, his shoulders shuddering just as bad as yours, and you cried. You just cried. There’s nothing you can do or say or think to make anything like that better. Only time can help, and to be honest it isn’t very good at its job.

The trip to each district took what was left out of you two. Combined you had killed tributes of five districts out of the other eleven. Almost fucking half. Most of their families just glared at you on their platforms as their child’s face was displayed behind them as you recited propaganda scripts.

District Ten was hard for you. They had surprised you to be honest, neither of Sasha’s nor Connie’s family looked at you with any disdain. All you could feel was pity radiating off of them, especially from Sasha’s father. She told you how he had taught her how to shoot, you almost deviated off script to say how you learnt vicariously through his daughter, how kind she and funny she was.

Connie’s siblings hurt to look at. They looked at you with such big eyes. They should have hated you, they really fucking should have. Their brother died in one of the most horrific ways possible yet they stared at you as if you were one of their sisters. The normal people in front of the stage only copied their looks, none of them hated you for taking away two souls. It didn’t make any fucking sense. It would have been better if they had just heckled you. Just yelled at you and screamed at you, taking the brunt of their words was the least you could do for exchanging your life for one their own.

District Eleven wasn’t so kind to Levi. Kaya’s family looked like they were two seconds from breaking on to the main stage and choking him to death right there. He might have let them. Niccolo’s family was confusing. There was obviously no forgiveness for how Levi killed their son, a wild animal in a spree of rage, but they didn’t look angry. Levi had told you he had just said a few words over Niccolo before coming back, maybe those words were enough remorse for them to not want his head on a spike.

However, the civilians in the crowd didn’t agree. They had to be restrained from climbing up, yelling threats and taunts, about how he could kill a little girl without a second glance, how he took pleasure in killing Niccolo. Levi kept his head down, his undercut blinding his view, but his hand shook in yours. You did the speech on behalf of the both of you.

The districts from Nine to Five didn’t give two shits about you, maybe only some had mild curiosity. Their glazed-over eyes just stared, clearly bored as you were from the fuckery spilling from your lips. Some of the families glared only because their child wasn’t standing up there instead of you, but you couldn’t blame them for that.

One was…weird to say the least. Neither of you had many interactions with either Annie or Bertolt, but you two lead them to their deaths. Levi may have killed Annie directly but Bertolt’s murder was just cruel, you knew that, but you had thrown that rock anyway. Both of their families just looked devoid of any emotion, the crowd didn’t seem to care, that’s One for you, but their parents just looked empty. The speech went smoothly.

Three was strange as well, you never met nor saw their girl, but Falco you certainly had, but you also hadn’t killed him, in reality your relationship him was positive. They didn’t seem to hate you, quite the opposite really, they seemed to be happy you were there. Three was no stranger to careers betraying and killing their tributes so they were probably just happy Reiner didn’t win and it had been because of your own hands. Still, it was strange. Falco’s older brother, the one you had seen in the reaping recording, had looked on the brink of tears but he stayed strong, his back straight and head up high. They probably wouldn’t have looked at you the same if Falco had gone with you. Someone would have needed to kill him at some point anyway, it just so happened it wasn’t you.

Two was painful. Instead of two separate families standing on their respective platforms it was just one. There was confliction in their eyes for sure, you were surprised they could even stand to be around each other, their sister or bother’s son killing their child. But they stood together. Staring at you with a mix of hate and affection. Levi had to do the speech that time.

Four was hard once again, but only because of one person, specifically Marcel’s younger brother. He flew daggers from his eyes, pure fury ran through his veins. He probably would have killed you both if he had the chance, probably would have been good at it too. You could only begin to imagine the anger he had stored up since you had sliced his brother’s throat.

You recognised him in the reaping for the next game.

He used his anger well.

At the end of the trip you had to go to the Capitol once again for the Presidents party. You nearly preferred the arena.

Floch was sweating buckets under Zeke’s gaze the entire time and drank himself into a stupor, avoiding you both at every turn which you were glad for. People reached for you like you were statues, brushing your hair and clothes and bodies like you were pets. Nick was the only thing stopping you from cursing everyone in the vicinity, Levi came close. Zeke watched from his balcony, eyes narrowed and sipping on champagne waiting for one of you to misstep so he could order a bullet into your heads.

When you got home you two didn’t know what to do. You both fucked around for a year, bought anything that caught your eyes at the hub no matter if it was an ugly piece of pottery or a toy. You bought a lot of liquor too and drank most in one go. The burning in your throats let you forget the inferno in your brains. A small price to pay for some peace and quiet between neurons.

You two were rarely sober for the first few months. You’d wake up and have whiskey for breakfast, you’d walk around town, maybe sneak through the fence, and have some gin, and if it was a particularly bad day you’d opt for tequila as your bedtime stories.

People in the streets knew to leave you alone, just to let you wallow a bit, they hadn’t seen many victors, but they could guess that starting up conversations with people on the knife’s edge was a good way to get punched. Hannes talked to you two occasionally, usually at the hub, cheering your bottles with his flask. He didn’t ask about the game, he saw enough anyway, he just pretended you were those troublemaker kids you had been when you left.

It was Hanji of all people that got you out of it, though she wasn’t one to talk when it came to the number of empty bottles in your living room, but she at least cut the number down a bit or swapped out the drinks for something weaker much to your slurred complaints.

The months after that were hard, letting the built-up trauma hit you like a train. You both started getting nightmares.

One of you would wake up already screaming or crying or be entirely frozen still and unable to move as their body quaked. The other would hold on to them until their tremors ceased and their breath evened again. Then you’d just rinse and repeat the next night.

Rinse and repeat.

Flinch at a raised voice, go numb at the sight of blood, start hyperventilating when you were sure you had seen another tribute in the crowd.

Try not to let yourself die.

Rinse and repeat.

Then the next game came around. You both offered to go as mentors, to let Hanji take a backseat from the role after her isolating years, she came to make sure you didn’t say something stupid, but she just got to hang around without much of a care.

The two kids that you got weren’t good. You knew the second that their names were called that they were goners. Wouldn’t make it in the bloodbath, and even if they ran, they probably wouldn’t live past the first day. You learnt to push their names away. It didn’t help any to hang on to them.

The kids weren’t dumb, they knew that too.

There was a little bit of hope when they looked at you however, a hope that maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.

Porco had sliced both of their throats open within the first minute. Porco won the title of victor in only three days with a kill count of eight. They never had a chance.

You think that was the last time you cried.

When mentors go to the Capitol and watch the feed, they sit in a room together connected to an ongoing party that never stops until the games do, infested with sponsors and government officials. Only mentors are allowed in that room, not even titan servants. You just needed a room to be in to be able to grieve only with people that understood.

They always looked after the new mentors, it didn’t matter the districts or even if their tribute killed yours, they’d hold you, get you a glass of water or usually something stronger, just let you get everything out and topped up makeup on your red rimmed eyes before you got ambushed by press outside the door. Sometimes the career districts were prickly, but only the ones that truly cared about the kids became mentors anyway, so they weren’t ones to give you shit.

It just sort of numbed you after that. You’re not sure if you could even remember all the kids you sent to their deaths. No, you definitely couldn’t, and you didn’t plan to.

Without fail every year they always got killed in the bloodbath, and every year without fail you’d drill into them to just run away, but they just wouldn’t listen, or the careers just didn’t let them leave. You both spent most of your time in the Capitol just flicking off the tops of third bottles and taking quiet bets on who was going to win or who’d kill who. Levi was always right.

It was actually Erwin’s idea to do something back at Twelve, to find something to pour yourselves into. So, after the 70th Hunger Games you went back and pushed your ludicrous amount of money to builders to create an orphanage. The one on your side of Twelve was shit and didn’t have the funding nor space, it was the reason you two had never gone to it yourselves, so you gave them some of your load too so they could get food on the table for once.

Kids started trickling in, you didn’t run the place yourselves, you didn’t have the emotional range to do something like that anymore and you’d probably do more harm than good as their caretakers, they didn’t need a pair of fucked up twenty-year-olds to lead them through life. But you visited, making sure everything was up to scratch and there was no complaints or concerns from the kids about the people you had employed or the quality of their beds and food or if they needed some more toys to play with.

Levi always made sure the place was meticulous, and it was kinda funny how he used cleaning as his way to bond with the kids. They always complained but they never said no when he asked for their help. You helped kids with schoolwork and funded whatever type of skill they wanted to learn.

“You wanna paint? Here’s an easel and some paints from the Capitol that my designer friend sent over.”

It was hard to smile but at least you could help them to.

One day, when you two had dropped in to visit before you went to stock up on vodka, a boy came up to you with big emerald eyes, with a black-haired girl trailing after him. He asked a question that got everyone surrounding you looking up from their sandwiches.

“Can you teach us how to fight?”

And so you did. Twelve had always been at a disadvantage, nothing in your district aided you for the Games, the closet you’d had was learning about mines and explosions or having the physical strength to lift a pickaxe but that was only available when you worked in the mineshafts at eighteen, the last year qualifying for the reaping, and eighteen-years-olds were never picked.

So usually any kid that went in was utterly fucked.

Unless you tried changing that.

You started small. Learning how to throw a proper punch or kick, things you had learnt on the streets stirring up trouble. How to balance yourself in a proper stance so a gust of wind or a shove from a career wouldn’t send you stumbling.

You taught them the things you learnt in the Capitol and in the training room; what foods were safe, how to set a trap, how to treat a wound, how to conduct an interview, how to form an alliance, who to avoid.

It was a long time before you held a blade again.

They had begged you for months to just teach them how to knife fight, but the idea still shook you. You hadn’t held a throwing knife in your hand for years, but it still melded uncomfortably comfortable into your palm. You could still throw it and hit it dead on centre. You knew if the throw was hard enough to go through someone’s skull. You knew how long it would take for their body to hit the ground if it were a clean shot, and how long it would take if it wasn’t. You knew how many milliseconds it would take for the canon to fire.

Picking up a knife again, only if to teach, was a torturous process, but you didn’t let them know that. You would just drink a little more that night.

“Eren keep your arms up! Try and copy Mikasa’s form!” you barked.

They all stood in a line, throwing knives into hay bales, some making it, most missing. Mikasa was unsurprisingly the former, Eren was unsurprisingly the latter. The two were always the hardest at work though it seemed it was usually driven by Eren’s ambition. The kid wasn’t gifted with natural talent but he was stubborn enough to try and make up for it. They had come to the orphanage after Mikasa’s parents were murdered over some debt they couldn’t pay and Eren lost his mum to a mine explosion and then his father caught something bad from his own patient.

It was always them begging you (well Eren at least, Mikasa would just ask nicely) for more lessons and whatever advice they could squeeze out of you. It frightened you a little, Eren’s enthusiasm, you had seen that face before.

It was an unspoken truth that they were your favourites of the bunch, the others didn’t take offence to it, it was just those two were always coming up to you two whenever they got the chance, though you were scared it was because they reminded you of an overconfident kid and the one trying to take care of them. You tried to pretend you didn’t see Gabi and Falco when you looked at them.

“I’m trying but my arm’s starting to feel heavy!” Eren said, not even bothering to turn his head.

“You brats don’t have time to get tired when you’re in there so just get used to it,” Levi replied.

He walked behind them, arms crossed as he analysed each of them, you tried not to make a joke that Eren and Mikasa were taller than him now. He muttered out tips to those who needed it, and compliments to those who deserved it, you had tried to get him to coddle them just a little bit but then he said overestimating yourself just gets your killed and you couldn’t say anything to that. When he got to the end of the line of kids, he wandered back over to you and you gave a crooked smile.

He bumped his shoulder into yours before turning around and standing next to you, you both falling into your usual silence as you just watched.

“There’s more of them than usual,” Levi noted and you nodded absentmindedly.

“It’s today, it makes them nervous.”

“Zeke never picks them though.”

That was true, when you had first started up the orphanage, you had expected Zeke to jump at the opportunity, there was no way he wasn’t privy to your every movement let alone something that required legal documents to be signed, so how he hadn’t rigged the reaping to pull one of your kids was honestly getting a little unnerving.

But each year a pair of kids were picked that you didn’t recognise, and you’d breathe a sigh of relief; it’s much easier to forget strangers.

You realised that the games were rigged at the 71st games, you had noticed that all the slips of paper you could see, even though they were folded in half, would all start with the same letter, it peeking out, and then the name called out would match. You asked Hanji afterwards, cause there was no way she hadn’t noticed, and she just laughed in your face.

“It’s a show, of course they choose their cast.”

You leant your head on his shoulder as you watched, he leant his head too. His arms untangled themselves from each other and he let one fall, letting his pinkie interlock with your waiting one. You both still being there was a constant surprise and an unspoken threat, because someday, when Zeke got tired, or you did something to piss him off, that fact might not be so true anymore.

But Levi’s there now, maybe not tomorrow, but today at least, and you could only hope that the trend remained.

“Cut it out dude!”

You both whipped your heads around, finding two kids wrestling on the ground. They panted as they tried to get the advantage, dust billowing around them as the other kids stared. Neither of you could be bothered to move. Eventually one straddled the other, pinning him to the dirt.

Levi’s pinkie tightened.

The boy on the ground whined while the other grinned in victory before joining his empty hands together and sending them down onto the boy’s chest.

Levi stiffened beneath you and alarm bells blared in your head.

The boy started pretending to stab him.

“Die! Die! Die!”

The kids around them laughed.

The boy beneath told him to stop.

Levi’s breath shortened.

You were at the kids in a second, pulling them off one another.

“That’s enough.”

They went silent, the boys looking down to the ground in shame, though they didn’t know why you were trying so hard not to glare.

“Time to pack up anyway, you guys need to get ready for the reaping,” you said, you were just greeted with whinges, “Put the knives in the tub you lot. Now.”

They instantly shut up, knowing that tone of yours was not to be messed with under any circumstances. They all shuffled off, throwing the knives in, you always counted them all in case one of them took one, but they were good kids.

Levi nodded at them as they filed back inside the building, jaw still tight. As soon as they were all gone, Eren and Mikasa waving goodbye at the end of the line, you sprinted back over, running your hands through his hair as you brought his face to your shoulder.

“Shh it’s okay it’s okay.”

A shudder whipped through him.

You kissed his temple. “You’re not in the arena, you’re in Twelve. I’m not about to die and neither are you. No one is dying and no one is going to. Just breathe, just focus on my voice and breathe.”

Eventually he stilled again, air flowing through his lungs like normal. It didn’t happen as much anymore, but it still happened. It probably didn’t help that he was about to meet two dead kids.

“Let’s go home, yeah?”

He nodded into your shoulder before finally raising his head, sliding over his façade again. You two of all people had to be the strong ones today, you couldn’t show fear, you weren’t allowed to anymore.

The walk home was silent, most people were inside or rushing home to get ready. You dropped past the hub quickly and you bought some bottles from your usual, Levi didn’t say a word, just stared into space. You passed the town square, the camera crews were nearly all set up, the barriers were getting placed. Hannes was testing the mic on the stage, he sent you a nod that you sent back.

The Victor’s village was always weird to see, after passing smog polluted houses with windows that are barely transparent anymore with walls that are starting to tilt, you come to a pristine gate. The separation pissed you off like it was saying you were better than them, but Nick would have your head if you even suggested taking it down. The houses were beautiful too. Maybe it was just an average house for a Capitol citizen, maybe a little nicer, but it looked like a goddamn king’s estate compared to everywhere else in Twelve.

People would say you deserved it, to have a nice home. It made you want to puke.

You could see Hanji through her window, lounging on a couch, bottle of whiskey in hand. Seemed like a plan.

You squeezed Levi’s hand as you unlocked the door and led him inside. You shed your jackets and shoes and put away your bottles, leaving one out. You glanced to him, he was still sort of out of it, he needed quietness, maybe a bath. Yeah a bath would do, those always calmed him down.

You trekked up the stairs, on the landing you let yourself take a little run up and slide across the wooden floorboards on your socks towards the bathroom door. Silly shit helped sometimes.

You reached out and grabbed the handle and turned it, pushing forward on the door. It let out an ungodly and far too familiar screech.

You gasped and slammed your back into the wall.

Fuck.

Your breath was getting quicker, not letting your lungs get enough oxygen before taking another gulp.

Fuck fuck fuck.

You crouched down, elbows on your knees as you pressed your palms into your eyes at a sad attempt to get your brain to stop.

You could only see him, or in more exact terms, you could only see his melted remains.

Fuck.

Rapid thumps came from the stairwell, you didn’t look up as arms enveloped you.

You let out a shaky breath. “I’m fine.”

He didn’t say anything, just kissed your head before holding you tighter. Your need to talk to communicate was even less than it used to be ever since the Games. There were things you two didn’t need to speak about, you just acted on, knowing exactly what to do.

Though there were moments you didn’t want to talk about, and you didn’t plan to talk about them either. He didn’t mention finding you sobbing on the bathroom floor surrounded by spilled sleeping pills and you didn’t mention waking up alone in bed and finding him completely out of it on the roof of the orphanage. You didn’t talk about it, but you held each other a little tighter just as you did both of those nights.

“I’ll get some oil for it when we get back,” Levi whispered.

You nodded into his chest.

“Bath?” he asked.

You nodded again.

Warm water has magical powers you swore, it really shouldn’t be able to make someone feel so good, to be able to relax and almost drift away forgetting about the possibility of drowning. What a lame way to go out, though it was much nicer than the ways you’d seen.

You laid on Levi’s chest as the water rippled around your little movements. He played with your pruned fingers, touching the fingertips with his own like it was an interactive museum exhibit. You watched, fascinated by his fascination, blinking slowly as the bath bled out all of your stress.

Moments like that were nice, but it had to be broken today. You couldn’t stay in that warm heaven forever, though it was quite tempting, you wouldn’t exactly be missing out on the adventure of a lifetime.

You ruffled the towel through your hair as you sipped the vodka. The burn and taste were barely noticeable, even the effect had begun to wear off or maybe you had just gotten better at being under the influence.

“Catch.”

You threw the bottle to Levi on the couch who caught it without a second glance, immediately taking a few gulps of it himself.

“Hello you two.”

You both looked to the door, sending tight smiles to your usual guest, though to be honest your home was hers and hers was yours at that point.

She walked behind Levi’s couch and took the bottle that he already had extended to her, taking a gulp before placing it on a side table.

“Ready to send children to die?”

The reaping went as usual. Hanji welcomed everyone to the 74th Hunger Games, two kids got reaped, one fifteen-year-old and one thirteen-year-old, you couldn’t remember which was which. You waited in the train, neither of them came up to talk to you and just ate up all the food they could before passing out on the nicest bed they would ever sleep in. You didn’t bother them, one look and you knew they were a lost cause.

The process went on.

Neither were that charismatic, they were only memorable because they were last and that was pushing it as is. They both got low scores, a four and a six. The thirteen-year-old cried himself to sleep the night before, or he might have, you wouldn’t know, you slept through it.

That morning you went up to the roof with them, got in the mentor’s hovercraft and just twiddled your thumbs, wondering who was going to win that year or what the arena was going to look like. You went in, sitting in the back of a cart, going through the maze of corridors beneath the grand stage, not bothering to focus in your eyes to see your surroundings. It was just grey walls anyway.

You yawned when you got to the centre, scratching the back of your neck as you tried to find your tributes amongst all of the shaking teenagers.

A finger tapped you on the shoulder. You spun around to see the girl from…Seven? She grinned, her eyes crinkling.

“I just wanted to say I think you’re really cool, I really admire what you and Levi did in your games.”

You blinked.

“Oh, is that so? Good luck then I guess.”

She smiled even wider before running off with a wave. You dragged a hand over your face before heading over to your tribute waiting for you.

It was a forest arena, nothing too special.

The games had long since started when you got back to main city of the Capitol and went into the sponsor party, both of you immediately beelined for the mentor room. You watched as replays showed one getting killed in the bloodbath the other getting hunted down by none other than the careers. You just stared at their slow-mo screaming faces and sighed.

You didn’t cry, you didn’t even blink. You did the first time but after that it’s just been shut away. Thankfully there was no new mentors that year, you didn’t have to deal with sobbing messes. You were too exhausted to care for someone anymore. Compassion doesn’t come cheap.

The mentor room was filled with pain as always, most were just trying to unlearn two names as quickly as possible, drowning their neurons in liquor so they could pretend that two faces weren’t burnt into their brains. It won’t be enough, it never is. You knew that too now.

Some of the others in the room weren’t mentors but they were victors all the same, having just grabbed a free trip to the Capitol so they could bum off some high-class booze. Couldn’t blame them. They were lucky though, the other districts, having more than three victors meant they had the option of just staying home and just ignoring the screen. They didn’t have to know the kids.

You two spent the rest of your time in silence, going back up to the penthouse to sleep before coming back, hoping the whole ordeal would be over soon.

The girl that talked to you before it started, a girl from Eight you had learned, was still alive though, and you couldn’t help but cheer for her a little bit. She started an alliance with a girl from Six, both doing well against the attempted threats on their lives by the careers. Soon they had made it to the last few with only a few scratches to show the world, much better than your leg to say the least. It still ached every once in a while.

But you were still surprised when her little duo alliance were the last ones left. Their mentors were on the edges of their seats, hands covering their noses and mouths like a prayer, eyes glued to the screen.

Then the girl from Eight did something fucking stupid, something that made everyone’s breath hitch around the country.

She brought out some poisonous berries. They had killed a career with them, not needing to get into a fight, but then they held grenades in the form of blueberries in their blood-stained hands.

They brought it to their mouths as the room cursed in unison, people rose from their seats, you could hear people yelling outside the door. They both hesitated for a second as they counted down but plopped them in their mouths anyway.

Two canons fired in quick succession.

The transmission was as silent as the room. No one knew what to do. You stared at the screen with two dead kids. There wasn’t going to be a victor. There wasn’t going to be a victor because they copied you.

“I really admire what you and Levi did in your games.”

Fuck.

Fuck fuck fuck.

The room slowly turned to you two as your heart hammered in your chest, Levi’s hand fumbled for yours.

You were fucked. Completely and utterly fucked.

a/n: sorry this chapter was late! this was mainly just summary but we’ll really get into it next chapter

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