#and the way we were told we had to steer clear because it could be labeled critical race theory...

[edward-munson]

i'm right here - E.M. * Chapter Two

"I never realized that"

Warning: angst, mentions of weed, fluff

Pairing: Eddie Munson x fem! Harrington reader

Word count: 4.5k

Previous Chapter

⋆˚✿˖°

"Wha- How?" Eddie stumbles over his own words and tries to catch up on what you just said and implied.

You nodded. After the delicate conversation you both just had, it feels awkward to talk about it now. It feels wrong, it's kind of ridiculous too.

"Yeah, I... it's been a while, actually" You look up to him and find Eddie completely static. One of his hand grips tightly the steering wheel while with the other one he fidgets with his rings.

"Wait, wait, wait. You're saying you like me?" He shakes his head a few times and looks at you with widened eyes. "You like me? Shortie..."

"Yeah, I know Eddie! I just wish I wouldn't have told you like that okay? And I know you like her, and that you're still pretty hurt because of everything that happened, but..."

"Oh my God, shut up for a second" His voice was soft and calm, and you notice he's kind of smiling. "I never realized that. It’s kind of cute, I just… It’s just too much to deal with right now. But yes, I'm hurt. I'm so disappointed, I feel used and invalidated by her. I feel like a piece of shit. But I also feel like something has always been different with us. I mean, you and me"

Eddie reaches over to hold your trembling hand and makes sure you feel comforted. He gives you this reassuring smirk as he rests his forehead over his left hand.

"I'm sorry, Eddie. For everything. For not telling you before, for what we just saw. And for confessing my feelings just now" You feel like a twelve year old girl who just told someone her deepest secret.

He pulls you for a hug and you don't protest. Your face is smashed against his fluffy hair and you can even smell his mint shampoo. Eddie rubs his thumb against your back and rests his chin at the top of your head.

"Don't be stupid, sweetheart. We can't control our feelings. And... about that other thing, I guess you should've been honest. I would've never even given her a chance, I think I wouldn't even let her come close and talk to me. But I know you had good intentions"

"Steve wanted to tell you but I told him that if someone had to do it, it should've been me. You know, he's not friends with her but he thought she could've changed. We all grew up, we're almost graduating and becoming adults" Your words came out a little muffled as you were still holding each other.

You pulled back only a little, so you could properly see his face before apologizing to him again. This time, you could smell his cologne and it made you feel giddy from being too close.

"I'm really sorry. I didn't know you guys were together until my first day at school. Steve never wanted to tell me before"

"Hey" He pinched your chin and shook your head playfully. "It's okay, shortie. It's not your fault either way. Neither it was mine"

You nervously chuckled and pinched his chin back. Eddie noticed how close you two were and how suddenly it started to get hot inside his van.

"I, uh- I should probably drop you off before your brother decides to come back looking after you" He cleared his throat trying to avoid eye contact and you noticed how nervous he suddenly became.

The ride back home definitely felt more awkward than you thought it would. You picked the Black Sabbath tape and blasted the songs over the speakers at a higher volume. Maybe it would make him feel more comfortable and less nervous, it should be a good distraction. You didn't want to ask him what he was gonna do about Chrissy and you probably knew the answer.

It wasn't going to end well either way. You just didn't want things to go south that fast. But at least he had a friendly reaction after you told him about your feelings. You just weren't sure he felt the same way, and yet, it's probably not the best time to talk it over.

Eddie parked over your house and waited until you got out of the car. He was leaning his arm against the opened window, tapping against the vehicle while he watched as you walked over your porch. He just said goodnight and nothing else. Should he even say anything else? Is there something to say? His mind was racing with a million thoughts and a lot of them were about you two.

You were looking for your keys, until you realized you forgot to bring one with yourself. You stood there for two seconds and groaned, knowing you'd have to ring the doorbell for Steve to open the door.

"Forgot your keys?" Eddie asked, his arm still lazily resting against the window. You just nodded, biting your lip feeling embarrassed. "Harrington isn't gonna let you in, is he?"

"I'm not sure I will" Steve said through the door.

"Stevie, you better open this fucking door you dickhead" Your voice wasn't one of the most friendliest and he noticed that through your tone.

"Right, sis. Remember when you stepped on my hand at the bowling? I told you, you should find some other place to sleep tonight!"

The only reaction you could have at that moment was to scoff. Eddie was watching all of it and just snorted but it wasn't audible.

"You're kidding me, right? Steve, if you don't open this fucking door I will knock it down!"

"Should've thought about it before being a little shit with me" Steve didn't even mention he would open the door and you looked behind yourself, Eddie still parked on the street. "Munson is still there, isn't he? I'm sure he's a great host"

"I'm not coming over to his house just because you're being childish" You lower your voice so only your brother can listen to you, but you don't expect Eddie to be right next to you that very second.

"Munson would love to give her shelter, but this is her house, Harrington. Stop being a moron and open the door for her" He knocked a few times like it would change his mind.

Eddie actually wouldn't stop knocking and the fact his rings were hitting the door loudly was kind of making up for it. "I can do this all night, bro"

You watched as he kept knocking until Steve gave up and opened the door for you. He deadpanned at his friend for being so annoying and insistent, not looking at you when he took a step back for you to walk in.

"You guys look like you're still children. Jesus Christ, you're a man, dude" Eddie shook his head.

"Yeah and? Didn't ask" Steve kept his demeanor, only this time he grinned at his friend. "Go home, you look like shit, bro"

As a response, Eddie gave your brother a hard punch on his shoulder and walked back to his car. You saw as he waved at you and drove off the street until you couldn't see it anymore.

Instead of going to your bedroom and getting ready for bed, you throw yourself over the couch and breathe heavily. Steve sat next to you and leaned against his knees waiting for an answer. You know he wants to know what happened, but you were too tired to talk about anything.

"I'm not telling you anything now, you weirdo. Fuck off" He laughs at your attitude and pushes your arm playfully before he made himself comfortable and looked for something to watch with you on the TV.

-

Eddie was rushing through the students as he held his backpack lazily, walking towards his locker. Uncle Wayne wasn't home and he overslept, meaning he didn't have time to eat breakfast or pick a good outfit for the day. It's not like he cared about his looks, but he would usually choose something nice to wear during the day.

He had just learned he was going to be in your biology class and couldn't find a way to ignore you. He didn't want to, he just hasn't gotten over the idea of you never telling him how mean and heartless she was. Eddie still hasn't even told you about his mutual feelings either, because everything was so confusing to him. The only thing he could think about the past days was how distressing it was to break up with Chrissy.

And you saw how sad he was just by looking at his face. He had bags under his eyes and his frizzy curly hair was so disheveled you wondered if he even brushed it lately. He didn't talk much with his friends or even the guys from the Hellfire Club. He didn't seem very present during the breaks or while eating at the cafeteria.

You watched as Eddie entered the classroom and made his way to the farther table in the back, not even daring to look at you. Maybe he didn't see you, maybe he didn't want to face you. It seemed like he was running away from you.

The entire time at school he spent with his friends and the boys from the Hellfire Club. It seemed like he was feeling a little better since he was talking to the boys. It made you feel relieved to see him like that, you'd hate to watch him feel like shit because of her. Speaking of, Chrissy was sitting next to Jason along with his basketball team, laughing at whatever shit they were talking about. You watched as Eddie couldn't look away from them, his face holding a grimace everytime they would share a kiss or something. And it made you feel nauseous from noticing how he was still having feelings for her, and not for you.

The basketball leader didn't spend much of his time teasing the other students or making fun of them, but every once in a while he would say something about the guys who liked playing board games. You still didn't know why he was such a bully, but it made you feel so annoyed it was hard to ignore it.

It was the way he was such an asshole that made your friends despise him, especially Steve. As soon as he gave up on being on the team, Jason stepped into it taking away your brother's title of "the best player". He didn't care about it anymore, he wasn't like that in a long while.

You were talking to Nancy and Robin when Eddie's voice made its announcement through the cafeteria. All of you looked at him as he was sitting on the table, one of his legs was bent and he rested his elbow on top of his knee. There it is, the scene he likes to make sometimes.

"You mommy didn't give you enough attention, Carver?" Eddie asked over a sarcastic tone, giving him a playful smile.

Most of the students around the tables were watching and giving both of them looks, whispering to one another waiting for the scene to unfold.

"I don't know, freak. Did yours?" Jason knew Eddie's mother died when he was younger, he just didn't care about that information.

You really thought that was the lowest someone could ever go with. But looking at your friend, you noticed how he didn't shift his demeanor, even though you knew he was hurt. It's not like he could complain about it, Eddie was the one to push Jason.

"Ah, even if she did, I like the attention. You know better than that" He shrugged, dropping his weight on the floor after getting up from the table. Eddie walked up to Jason, staring at him top to bottom. "You're the one calling me out every time you see me. I think you want me to be more noticeable, don't you big boy?"

Jason shoved his hand that was pinching his chin so hard the skin became pink. He looked at Eddie and placed his arm around Chrissy's shoulder, who stood there sitting on her chair without moving in the slightest. "You couldn't even keep the most beautiful girl by your side. You can't keep a reputation"

"I wouldn't want to keep a bitch like her for a girlfriend" Eddie gave him a cheap grin, looking straight at Chrissy, who gasped.

The entire room went silent, and you shared a look between your brother and your two friends. Before Robin even mentioned getting up, you did it first and paced towards Eddie and Jason. The basketball player was about to throw a punch when you pulled the curly brunette by his t-shirt. He didn't take a single step from his place, still staring at the guy in front of him.

"What did you just say, you fucking loser?" Jason closed his hands into fists and looked to his side when Chrissy tried to stop him. She sat back down and looked at you.

Both of you stared into each other. You felt an urge of punching her face because that was her fault somehow, while she just wanted this entire show to end. She just knew she was a bitch, there was no reason to contest his accusation. She wasn't even the one to make a scene in front of people, she was a bitch behind people's backs.

"You better take that back, or I will punch you so hard you won't even remember your name" He teased, his jaw was clenched. Jason tensed his shoulders waiting for Eddie's response.

"Eds" You tried to call out, but he wouldn't listen to you. "Just leave it, come on"

"Yeah, Eds" Jason quipped and mimicked your tone. "Listen to the Texas bumpkin and go back to your stupid cult"

You immediately threw him a disapproving look and frowned. While still holding Eddie's shirt, you noticed how his bicep tightened at Jason's words.

"Fuck you, Carver. Stop being such an ass" He laughed and mocked you with a pout. Again, you pulled your friend by his arm but again, he didn't want to move.

You barely saw when Steve stood next to you, his chest puffing and his arms crossed. His nose was flaring and you didn't even want to think about his thoughts right now. You knew your brother was so pissed that Steve could smash his face with only a punch.

"You better stop, Jason. This isn't going to end well" Steve warned, his face seriously holding a hard expression as he tried to stay away from the blonde guy.

He looked at the three of you and scoffed, pulling Chrissy by her hand and taking a few steps closer to Eddie, looking at you sideways before closing in on your friend again.

"You and your bitch better not do this again" Jason almost bumped his nose into Eddie's when he emphasized he was talking about you.

This time, Eddie didn't care if he was going to be expelled from school. He just couldn't let anyone talk shit about you or treat you like that again. You tried to avoid a fight to start by grabbing him from his tiny waist, while Steve gripped one of his hands over the side of Eddie's neck.

Jason didn't even flinch, because he knew Eddie wouldn't be capable of beating him down. As much as he wanted to. As soon as they left, Steve guided you both to your table, sitting you down next to Eddie. You stood between them, still not having any idea of what to say.

"Sometimes I wish I could break his fucking nose" You hear your brother rage and grab a fistful of his hair into his hands.

To your left, Eddie chuckles and agrees with him. When you look at him, he's shyly staring back at you while he nervously bites his lower lip.

"I'm sorry I dragged you into this, shortie. I didn't want this little show to happen" He frowns and rests his hand on top of yours.

That weird electricity happens again, and you both look from your hands to each other. He doesn't retreat, instead, Eddie closes it and holds your hand tighter. He gives you a sweet smile that makes your stomach flutter. You smile back at him and fix one of the strands of hair from his bang. He blows some air to playfully fix it for you and it makes you laugh at his sweetness.

Trying not to make a big deal out of what just happened, you change the subject. "You're crazy for doing that, Eddie. He's crazy and mean"

"He's an asshole. The biggest. And he deserves to be pitied. Dude doesn't know where his place is. And no one can call you a bitch"

"You called Chrissy a bitch" You remind him and he tilts his head.

"Because she is" Your mouth opens in full shock, he's still wearing a peaceful expression on his face. "I've been thinking about a shit ton of stuff. Things she would do and would never do when we were together, and– Sadly, you're right"

It comes out with a hurting tone, and you feel sad for him. But it means he's finally getting over her and moving on from their relationship. If there ever was one to begin with.

You give him a comforting smile, squeezing his hand tightly. "I'm sorry, Eddie. You're so much better than that and you don't deserve her. Neither does she deserve someone like you"

He squeezes your hand back and for a fraction of time, his first reaction was to place his free hand over your jaw and rub your cheek with his thumb. But then Steve called out to you both and your little bubble was broken by his voice. He doesn't even notice what just happened between you two.

"By the way, I can't give you a ride back today. I gotta go to work earlier with Rob"

Eddie removed his hand from yours. The one that was halfway through touching your face, he used to brush his hair. "I can take her home, dude. No worries"

"You're giving me a ride back to your house?" He laughed and pinched your cheeks, pursing his lips.

"No, you dummy. I meant taking you back to your house"

You nod timidly for misunderstanding what he just said. You feel your face getting warm and you're pretty sure you're red because of the embarrassment. Steve chuckles next you, getting elbowed on his side for the second time in a week.

-

You and Eddie still haven't talked about anything that has been happening between you two since your first conversation about your feelings. He hasn't even been honest with you about his own feelings and instead, he was trying to avoid the conversation with you. He was probably too traumatized to bring up the subject, afraid of being rejected even though you made it clear that you like him. 

You’re sitting on the kitchen island stool at your house with Robin, Nancy and Max. Steve was throwing a gathering for a few people, but turns out, reefer Rick decided to invite the rest of the school. Obviously, it didn’t include the basketball team or the cheerleaders.

Him and his friends were having a nice conversation by the porch, while Eddie, his friends and the boys were playing foosball outside your backyard. Robin couldn’t stop talking about Vicky and Nancy tries to give her some advice even though she’s only been with guys. You watch the conversation unfold next to Max, who’s bored out of her mind. She’s resting her face against her hand, tapping her fingers against the furniture. 

She laughs at some jokes Robin makes, but it doesn’t look like she’s interested. You haven’t talked much to her lately, so you try to distract her from being bored. 

“What are your plans after school?” She looks at you with a funny expression, grimacing at the thought of being an adult. 

“Maybe I’ll move out from this hell and become a veterinarian” Max shrugs, drinking her coke from the can. “What about you? Why did you even come back?”

You didn’t know exactly why. You just knew you didn’t want to live with your parents forever, but you also didn’t want to come back to the place that made you go away, for instance. Your shoulders slump and you give a deep sigh. 

“I like living with Steve, and I didn’t want to live with my parents forever. I think I like this place” Your words made her almost choke on her drink and she laughed. Max laughs so hard, it’s even weird to see her like this after everything that happened to her.

“That’s plain bullshit. Who could ever want to come back to this godforsaken place? Nope, there’s gotta be a better reason” She’s right, you don’t have a good reason or even an explanation. 

Little did you know.

Dustin calls out your name from the door and waves at you. You get up from the stool and follow behind him to the backyard. Eddie is smoking weed with Gareth and the others are playing a match on the foosball. The curly boy guides you to where he’s sitting and makes you sit in front of him. 

“You know I’m a master at playing games and figuring out stuff, right?” You also knew he had the biggest ego for someone so small too. You just nod and wait for him to continue.”Steve also told me you’re a mastermind. So, I wanna know how I can build this small device with the smallest amount of pieces I can” 

He shows you a device you have no idea that is. All you know it’s something digital. You inspect it, squinting your eyes harder than you can to figure out what it is for. Behind you, Eddie and Gareth expectantly wait for you to say something. They clearly look high already. 

It takes you a few minutes to decide what could work for that little device, so you explain it to the kid in front of you and show him the options. He looks at you with delight and smiles. Dustin has the most endearing smile you’ve ever seen. He’s also nice, smart and caring. 

“Dude, she’s a genius!” He exclaims with excitement, happy to be helped by you. 

“She’s always been a brain. But she sucks at math” Eddie helps you up but you manage to trip over his foot even though you haven’t been drinking that much. 

You fall into the comfortable grass and laugh your ass off from being so damn clumsy and he looks at you like you’ve grown seven heads, while Gareth cackles along with you for God knows why. He’s not even paying attention to what’s really happening. 

“Hey-” You choke on your own laugh “Not every brilliant mind knows everything”

He extends his hand and firmly grabs you up again. This time, he makes sure you won’t trip, but you had other plans in mind and pulls him as hard as yo ucan. Eddie falls onto the grass by your side and cracks up, standing on his elbows. He offers you a beer and you sit next to him, taking a swig from your beer as he also offers you the blunt he’s holding. 

You haven’t smoked weed in such a long time. In fact, the last time you smoked one was before you moved out from Texas, but it wasn’t the same thing as sharing it with your friend. You inhale the smoke and it fills in your lungs, giving you a relaxing sensation. 

“It’s great that you helped Dustin. He’s a really cool guy and he likes to blend people in our groups, especially you. Steve is gonna love seeing his sister getting along with his friends too” He smokes again as you pass his weed back and you nod. 

It really makes you happy to be part of Steve’s group of friends. Through the past weeks, you’ve noticed how close they all are to each other and how caring they are. It crosses your mind that maybe it’s because of everything they’ve been through together, and it reminds you that you never knew what really happened to Eddie. 

“What happened to you last year? I mean, Steve doesn’t say much about the others because every experience is different, but he told me he pretty much almost died too” You remember when he showed you the scar on his neck, telling you how those bats almost choked him to death.

Eddie bit his inner cheek and looked down at his feet. Maybe that was a dangerous territory to reach. His eyes suddenly became kind of dull when he stared back at you, roaming through your expression of not knowing what to say anymore. 

“I mean, if you really don’t want to talk about it-” 

He passed the blunt back to you again and sighed. A heavy one, to be honest “They… they almost choked me too. But the worst part was still yet to come. They chewed on me. They ripped my skin open and it was hard to breathe, and you know I’m asthmatic so it was a hundred times harder to find oxygen” 

His words were heavy and he shifted on his seat, sitting straight. As soon as you both finished smoking, Eddie took his leather vest off, lifting up his shirt so you could see some of his scars. They weren’t as nasty as you’d imagine since it’s been only a year, but they were still there. 

He turned on his back to you and you could see a round shaped bite the size of your palm. That one was the most visible, it also had a bump on it. You hesitantly ghosted your thumb over his skin, gently pressing against it with horror stamped on your face. He flinched as a reflex and you pulled back immediately, apologizing for pushing the boundaries. 

“It’s okay… it’s just- It doesn’t hurt much. It’s just a weird sensation it gives me” He sits back and drinks the rest of his beer. 

“I’m sorry this happened to you. I know you were all trying to save Max out there and I’m glad you came back” You feel like you wanna hug him, but instead you snake your arm around his and rest your head against his shoulder. 

He leans against you and you feel the weight of his head over yours, his hair tickling your face again. You smell his scent and again it makes you feel unsteady. Eddie starts to feel weird because of how his heart is racing and the only thing he wants to do is interlock his fingers with yours. 

As you sit there and share a moment for the first time, you know why you came back to Hawkins. Because of him. And right there, you feel lightheaded because that’s what you’ve been wanting to do for as long as you’ve known. And Eddie doesn’t think much about it, but he also knows why you two always have shared this different connection. Because now he knows that’s what he wanted too. 

He just didn’t want you to know that surviving the attack from the bats came with a consequence, and he didn’t want to scare you.

⋆˚✿˖°

@thegirlthatsfalling @strangemaximoff @readergf @sheneedsrocknroll92

[walkerrenee]

.

[sp0o0kylights]

Steve Harrington was wearing a Hellfire t-shirt.

It was far too tight on him, the name of the club stretched wide over his chest. The sleeves dug into his biceps, making them pop even more than they usually did, and that was before he crossed his arms. 

Worse?

It was short.

Which meant the damn shirt was constantly riding up to give everyone a nice show of the smattering of hair that trailed down past the band of Harrington's jeans. 

The same hair that Eddie was determinedly not looking at. 

“Henderson, a moment?” He crooked a finger, a smile on his face that was more feral than welcoming. 

Rather than cower or even acknowledge that Eddie was two seconds away from murder, Dustin just gave him a gummy grin, all too pleased with himself and his scheme. 

“Sure Eddie. Steve, don't just stand there, go help set the booth up!” Dustin gestured to Hellfire’s sad little table, crammed all the way in the back of the gym. 

Jeff and Gareth both reacted to the suggestion like a rabid squirrel had been set upon them, nervously inching towards the other side of the booth as Harrington sighed and--shockingly--did as he was told.

‘What,’ Eddie thought angrily, ‘in the everloving fuck.’

“Do you guys mind if I set this down on the table?” Eddie heard Harrington ask as he stormed away, Dustin on his heel. 

They wandered just around the corner, out of sight and hopefully, out of the fallen king’s hearing range.

Eddie wasn't sure if Harrington would try and white knight the very much deserved dressing down he was about to give. 

Didn’t want to chance it, considering the downright weird relationship he had with Hellfire's freshmen.

(While he’d heard many a tale at his table regarding King Steve since the newest recruits had joined Hellfire, most of them dissolved into arguments without ever really going anywhere.

 Best anyone could figure out was that Dustin and Lucas had a bad case of hero worship, while Mike owned a begrudging amount of respect that hailed from a series of misadventures. 

The very same misadventures that, despite all protests to the contrary, was clearly some sort of babysitting gig for Harrington.) 

Either way, plenty of the King’s court would have loved to take this opportunity to fuck with Hellfire.

Given that Henderson was absolutely too old to require a babysitter at fourteen, Eddie would bet his lunch money that was what Steve was here to do.

Something the club couldn’t afford since they were forever and always two seconds away from being stripped of club status and banned from school grounds. 

“I would love to know what went through that all A’s brain of yours when I said,” Eddie whirled on Dustin when they were firmly in the clear, voice low and furious.  “no Henderson, do not invite King Steve to help, he is an invading force and would ruin our peaceful kingdom!?”

He clasped his hands behind his back before leaning into Dustin’s face. “Because clearly whatever you heard wasn’t that.” 

To Eddie’s continued frustration and confusion, Dustin did not treat this like the threat it was. 

None of the freshmen had ever truly treated Eddie like a threat--had somehow skipped that part of the usual onboarding ritual entirely.

Eddie, town freak and drug dealer, who had cultivated his looks and craziness to such a degree that most everyone steered clear, wasn’t used to it. 

Everyone had been afraid of him at some point in this shitty school. Jeff, Gareth, hell even half the staff--and that the dorky trio of fourteen year old's clearly thought this all was play-acting made his eye twitch.

Even if it was--maybe, sometimes--welcome. 

“I know what you said, but I’m telling you I’m right.” Dustin argued immediately, and oh God, he was using that tone again. 

A hand went up into the space between them and Eddie groaned aloud, knowing what was coming.

“First,” Dustin ticked a finger up, “Hellfire really needs the money. Even thirty dollars would get us new figures, but more than that, if we don’t fundraise, we can’t go to Gen Con!” 

Dustin's eyes bored into Eddie’s, full of fire and conviction

“Yes,” Eddie said through gritted teeth, “but--”

“Second!” Dustin cut him off, and God the little shit even threw him a look while he did it, like Eddie was the one being ridiculous here!

“We had to fight just to get our table! Principal Higgins was in algebra today practically begging the mathletes to show up, but then tried to tell us we couldn't be here? That’s messed up!” 

As if denying them a spot to fundraise was the worst thing that asshole had ever done.

Eddie sighed, breath blasting out of his mouth like a dragon’s. 

“Because people think we’re freaks and satanists, Henderson. You don’t typically invite freaks and satanists to the school’s annual Holiday Bazaar. Especially not when all the local moms are paying to hawk their bullshit crafts and tupperware!” 

It was more than that of course. The Hawkins High Holiday Bazaar was a tradition spanning several years now. Starting in the gym and spilling clear into the parking lot, everyone from local artists to even some local shops came to host a small table for the day, thus growing the event from a small school fundraiser to a Hawkins' “must-do.” 

Half the fucking town was here to sell, and the other half was here to shop, which meant Principle Higgins had wanted Hellfire banned from the fucking premise. 

Eddie had been forced to pull out one of his trump cards he’d been saving--blackmail on Higgins that related to the man’s not--so--legal addiction to Percocet that he relied on Reefer Rick for. 

(And bless Rick, that hadn’t been the only tidbit he’d shared with Eddie about Higgins. That information, however, Eddie needed just so the asshat wouldn’t give him the boot from school entirely.) 

The only reason Eddie had pulled it out to secure their rightful spot, was because of Gen Con. 

It was Hellfire's White Whale, their grand adventure, and this was going to be his year to take his friends on one last epic quest to make memories of a lifetime surrounded by people who understood them.

Come hell or high water, Eddie was going to Gen Con--but being able to fundraise by selling wares and baked goods at the stupid Holiday Bazaar would go a long way to help.

Even if he had to listen to the band repeatedly play ear-bleeding renditions of Christmas songs.

“All the clubs get to have a table, and we’re a club!” Dustin continued, like it was that simple. “But you know, I get it. We look scary.” 

He gestured down to his own Hellfire shirt, before gesturing towards Eddie’s entire outfit.

Like Eddie didn't know what he looked like, let alone that he'd made this outfit specifically to scare people away from him.

(And maybe add some rockstar flair to this dinky little hick town.)

“You know who doesn’t look scary?”

Dustin held out his hands and swiveled his body like he was presenting a prize instead of gesturing in the vague direction of; 

“Steve!”

Eddie’s left eye twitched.

‘You can't kill him, you need his character for the campaign.’ He told himself firmly, even if he envisioned strangling Dustin like a chicken.

Cartoon squawking and all. 

“The King isn’t going to help us fundraise, Dustin.” Eddie said, in an effort to break down why Harrington couldn't be here. “He's just going to cause us problems that we can’t afford to have.” 

So many problems, half of which Eddie couldn't think of because if he did, he'd start spiraling.

“Really? Because as you keep saying, Steve used to be the King. People love him, Eddie! Mom’s love him.”

Eddie had pulled himself back up to his proper height a while ago, and now rocked back on his heels while he ran a hand down his face.

There was no getting through to Henderson when he was like this. 

Not unless Eddie really lost it, and it was practically club lore that he only lost it when someone missed an important game. 

One cannot keep a herd of sheep if their flock is terrified of them, after all. 

(“Perhaps you’re just a giant fucking softie.” Tiff, one of Hellfire’s graduating members, told him once. “Honestly dude, I bet you throw up stuffing.”

“Shut up Tiffany, your choker is on backwards again.” He'd spat back, completely offended and not at all trying to distract from how true that was.) 

“We can’t be satanic if Steve’s the one selling cookies!” Dustin finished doggedly. 

“We’re not even selling cookies--that’s not the point!”” Eddie shook his head, hair flying. He was not going to be sidetracked, he wasn’t!

 “Harrington is going to end up siding with all the moms about how we’re all wasting time with D&D, if he even spends the whole time at the table. Is that what you want?” 

He stuck out a ringed finger, poking at Dustin’s chest.

“Every single person who comes by our table has to be convinced D&D is a writing and math based game. Good for the mind and souls of growing, impressionable children. A game that got a bad rep because of  a few silly images.” 

A pitch he and Tiff had come up with during the third or fourth time they had to convince an adult that no, just because their shirts had a dragon on it, didn’t mean they were summoning demons in the drama room. 

“Harrington can’t do that because Harrington doesn’t even know how to play!” 

This Eddie punctuated by throwing his hands in the air. 

Given the startled look of the mother-daughter duo passing him by, clearly was louder than he’d intended--but screw it!

He was right!

Hellfire was in a precarious position to both fundraise and do a little damage control among the slightly smarter members of this shithole small town, and Harrington rolling his eyes and gossiping about how stupid it was would hinder that.

“Okay, first of all, Steve’s played D&D with me and he didn’t even kill his character.” Dustin said it like he was unveiling a smoking gun and not lying through his ass--which Eddie would absolutely be calling him on the second he was done talking. 

Because King Steve? Play D&D?

'Ha!'

“And he’s not gonna say shit because we--me, and Lucas and even Mike!--asked him to help, and he helps when its serious. I know you have some weird grudge with him, but I’m telling you Eddie he’s our golden ticket to Gen Con!” 

“You’re killing me. You are standing here, acting as a friend, when you are bringing a-- a dark force into the midst our of mission--” Eddie hissed, because he was losing the fucking fight and he knew it.

Dustin Henderson was not a man easily swayed. 

Had never been, even when the odds were stacked against him (and Grant and Gareth were howling in his ear.) 

The set of his shoulders and the glint of the little shithead’s eye meant Eddie wouldn’t be able to use him to oust Harrington--if he even could get him out without the dick causing a massive scene anyway. 

As always when outgunned, Eddie flipped to dramatics.

“Betrayed! By my own chosen heir no less!” He moaned, pressing the back of his hand over his eyes as Dustin scoffed.

"Don’t be so dramatic! Steve will help, I promise! Just don’t be a dick to him.” 

 Conversation apparently over, Dustin turned around to head back to the table

Snidely, he added over his shoulder: “Plus we’ve all caught on to the heir thing Eddie. You tell everyone that so they do what you want.” 

The dick.

“You’re too fucking smart for your own good. I’m gonna start feeding you paint chips to bring that IQ down.” Eddie muttered angrily as Dustin went back to their little table.

He gave himself a moment to get his shit together and stomp a foot like a child when Dustin was around the corner and thus couldn’t witness it, before following his wayward sheep back.

Could only pray to any deity listening that Henderson’s meddling didn’t blow up in Hellfire’s face.

[altruisticalastor]

↳˗ˏˋAlastor x Readerˊˎ˗ ↴

☒ Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five Part Six

☒ Summary: "Alastor said we've met before. In the living world. But I seriously don't ever remember meeting him." Angel looked puzzled. "Soo... what do you remember from your life?" 

☒ Warnings: fem!reader she/her pronouns used, hurt with no comfort sorry, tons of confusion for alastor and the reader, one kiss, very suggestive language (its from angel- are we surprised?), slight self harming (alastor), blood, tears, arguing, desprate!alastor, toxic themes, split pov (second devider is when alastor's pov starts!)

☒ Word Count: 2,653

"You- WHAT?" 

Angel shot up from his spot on your bed. His eyes widened, eyebrows knitting in perplexity.

"I know- I know! It's bad... but I wasn't thinking clearly!" You slumped under Angel's judgemental gaze, pulling your knees up to your chest from where you sat on your bed. 

"Toots, there is no way his pussy eating skills are good enough to fuck you that dumb!" You averted your gaze. Heat rose to your cheeks from Angel's crass words.

"Oh, but they are..." You mumbled before you felt two of Angel's hands grip your shoulders, shaking you out of frustration.

"Did you really have to pick an absolute psychopath to be the one to pop your cherry? Toots, you're gorgeous. You could have anyone you want!" You were flustered beyond comprehension as Angel stopped shaking you. Opting to glare at your heated face instead. 

"We didn't go all the way! Plus he's the one who's been pursuing me all this time- I didn't get it at first, and I still don't. But-" Your expression morphed into one of contemplation. Angel's jaw went slack as he impatiently awaited your next words. "But what?! Spit it out!"

"He said we've met before. In the living world. But I seriously don't ever remember meeting him." Angel nudged you to the side before slotting himself atop your bed once more. "Soo... what do you remember from your life?" 

You froze. 

Angel's inquiry filled your mind with more questions than answers. 

"I... not much," You paused, turning to face Angel before you continued. "The earliest memory I have is waking up in a hospital bed after surviving a blow to the head from some hunting accident." 

You closed your eyes, wracking your brain for every last detail you could remember; no matter how small. "I ended up falling into a coma only days after that mishap. The next thing I know, I'm in fucking hell." You chucked bitterly. Angel let out a laugh of his own. 

"No offense, babe, but that has to be one of the saddest fuckin' things I've ever heard," Angel outstretched his legs, overlapping them atop yours. "That accident, what else can you remember about it? Maybe that's the ticket!" 

Your eyes shot open from Angel's question. "Wait... before I fell into a coma, there was this nurse- she told me that I was led into the woods by a dangerous fellow," You paused, eyes scanning Angel's wildly as he perched himself forward. Literally hanging on the edge of his seat from your musings. 

"She told me the gunshot wound saved my life, fucking ironic now because It ended up killing me anyway. She also said that... the man who took me into the woods was a serial killer who had been on the run for decades. He ended up getting shot in the head that night, also. Except he died instantly..."

Angel was hanging on to every word you uttered. He could see the pieces falling into place from your look of awe. "What was the man's name, toots? What was it?!" Angel shouted a little louder than he intended. You jolted back from his outburst, taking in a shaky breath. You replayed that memory with the nurse over and over again. 

She had to have said it at some point. 

Come on! Think, think- think!

“Turns out the man you were out in those woods with was a wanted serial killer. That 𝘈⃒̅𝘭⃒̅𝘢⃒̅𝘴⃒̅𝘵⃒̅𝘰⃒̅𝘳⃒̅ fellow was an active murderer for decades! The papers say he was good at steering clear of the cops for all these years. The hunter wasn’t even aiming for you both. His target was a nearby deer.”

"His target was a nearby deer."

A deer... 

Again. 

Retrace.

"That ɹ̸o̸ʇ̸s̸ɐ̸ʅ̸Ɐ̸ fellow was an active murderer for decades! The hunter wasn’t even aiming for you both. His target was a nearby deer."

Fuck- it was just out of reach. 

One more time, one more fucking time. 

Think carefully. 

"The hunter wasn’t even aiming for That A͊l͖a̪sto̶̸̅r̷̦͍ fellow. His target was a nearby deer."

You gasped sharply, startling Angel. You felt your heart sink into your stomach as the last piece of the puzzle fell into place.

"Alastor... his name was Alastor." 

Your voice was distant as you spaced out. Angel's face blurred out of focus through your line of sight. 

"You've got to be fuckin' kidding me. That freak was going to kill you when you were still alive-? And now... you belong to him? Shit- toots! This is rough... and not the good kind of rough." 

Alastor sat at the piano. Staring at the keys with that ever-present smile— but not daring to strike a tune. 

You’ve been avoiding him again.

What was it going to take for you to realize that he was your fiancé on earth? 

Sure, his features were more creature than man, but at the end of the day; Alastor was still the same man you fell in love with. 

Maybe he should have held off from his… desires. 

Could you blame him, though? He’s been waiting nearly a century to be reunited with his beloved. 

You’re the person he thought about for all these lonely years in hell. The only solace for Alastor was the notion that you survived, lived a long happy life, and inevitably made it to the pearly gates. 

So imagine his despair when you showed up at the Hazbin Hotel, looking to be redeemed. 

Alastor recognized you immediately. He could spot that grin of yours in a crowd of billions. 

Smile at the world, and she smiles back at you. 

But— you didn’t even spare him the time of day. Alastor gave you the benefit of the doubt. Maybe you just needed some time to reignite your memory. 

And so, he gave you time. You’ll come around, Alastor thought. 

But he couldn’t have been more wrong, as much as he hated to admit it. 

He grew impatient— losing all of his resolve when you admitted to his voice reminding you of home. 

Alastor presumed maybe a passionate encounter would jumpstart your adoration for him. You had never breached that level of intimacy when you both were alive. You were adamant about waiting until marriage, but those dreams never came true. 

Yet even still, it was not enough. 

Was he really that forgettable to you? 

Suddenly, a knock on his door pulled him from his stupor. Alastor quickly cleared his throat, straightening his bowtie and taking steps toward his door. 

The second he swung the door open, he was met by the person who invaded his every thought; you. 

“What a pleasant surprise! Come in, my dearest.” Alastor piped up, stepping aside to let you into his safe haven. 

Your face was devoid of any vibrancy, and your eyes frantically avoided his. Alastor watched you closely as you hesitantly stepped past the threshold of his space. 

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” Alastor hummed as he shut the door before turning on his heel to face you. 

You rubbed at the sleeve of your dress nervously. Alastor’s mind instantly flashed the memory of your first meeting. 

The sight of you soothing yourself with a gentle caress to your bicep. Clammy hands seeping perspiration through that gorgeous vermilion dress of yours.  

“I-I remember you…” Your voice was barely above a whisper. Legs trembling from where you stood before him.

Your words caused Alastor’s heart to race wildly. 

At long last— you remember him! 

“I knew you would, my smart girl! Ah- you have no clue how elated I am to finally hear those words leave your lips!” He invaded your personal space without missing a beat. 

Alastor’s eyebrows knitted in confusion as you dodged his hand— that had full intention of clasping around your cheek. 

“Don’t… don’t touch me.” Your voice was shrill as you took a step back from him. 

Alastor took one step forward. 

“My darling, why are you being so cold? You know how much I loathe teasing.” Alastor forced out a chuckle as you took two steps back. 

Alastor took three steps forward this time. 

“You’re sick! You’re the one who’s been teasing me all this time— how dare you?!” You spat, raising your hands to push him away, but to no avail. 

Alastor grasped your wrists with his large palms. He gazed down at you with a frenzied look, grip tightening scarcely around your wrists. “Darling… this isn’t funny anymore.” His voice was low, and the corners of his lips twitched in irritation. 

“It never was funny to begin with! I mean, how could you try to kill me on earth and then think it’s okay to fool around with me in hell?!” You glared up at him, tears of frustration now rolling down your cheeks. 

Alastor’s grip loosened from your words. He was utterly astonished. "You think I... tried to kill you?" His voice was quiet, crimson orbs frantically searching yours. 

You grimaced at him, rolling your eyes before you shouted, "You led me out into the woods, and the next thing I know, I'm in the hospital with a gunshot wound to the head and no memories before waking up in a stiff hospital bed! Everything I know about you and the accident was spoon-fed to me by some crappy nurse!"

Alastor's smile dropped. He wasn't even aware of the frown that crossed his features. The only giveaway was the absence of that standard achy feeling in his cheeks from holding an everlasting grin. "Darling, I-I'm not following... you mean to tell me you... don't remember your life before that mishap?" 

You looked puzzled by Alastor's uncharacteristic display of distress. His hands slipped from your wrists as he wobbled backward. "Yeah, and It's your fault! If you didn't haul me out into those woods to kill me, I would still remember who I was! And my whole life before all this bullshit!" 

You took a step forward. 

"I would remember my family, my career, if I even fucking had one! I would remember my joyful memories, my painful ones, and— and- maybe I would remember somebody who actually loved me!" You furiously glared up at him. Pointing your index finger into his chest in an accusatory fashion. 

Alastor snapped at your last words. 

Somebody who actually loved you?

It was him.

It was always him. 

Was his love for you really that immemorable?

"You truly aren't joking... you... don't remember me." Alastor felt his heart shatter into a million pieces. You were the last thing keeping it intact. All that he felt in his chest now was your blunt fingernail piercing his skin from where you jabbed him. 

"I just told you I do! What the fuck are you talking about?!" Alastor could tell your patience was wearing thin. You were probably just as confused as he was but for all the wrong reasons. 

Alastor's arms fell limp against his sides. Yet his fists were balled up so tightly that he could hear the pitter-patter of his blood spilling onto the carpet from how deeply his nails sunk into the flesh of his palm. 

You weren't ever going to believe the truth, but Alastor still needed to try.

"My dearest... that is not how we met. And my intentions were not and never will be to end your life." Alastor paused, taking in a shaky breath before continuing. 

"You're frustrated about not remembering somebody that loved you, yes? As am I..." You tilted your head in confusion. Finally pulling your finger away from his wounded chest. "What the fuck are you trying to say, Alastor?" Your voice was laced with annoyance, and your scowl was unwavering. 

"Darling, that somebody that loved you was me-and still is. It will always be me," Alastor paused, hands now finding purchase on your shoulders. "That accident should have never happened! We were scheduled to be wed at the courthouse later that evening... but... we never... made it..."

Why were his cheeks burning unbearably so? 

And why was your countenance blurring before his very eyes? 

Alastor's grip on your shoulders was unwavering, but his hands now trembled. Your expression was one of perplexity as you shook your head incredulously. "I loved you in life and now in death. I've loved you all this time, my sweet girl. Nothing will ever change that! Please, I beg of you- you must believe me!"

The definitive radio static crackle to his voice was nowhere to be found. Instead, his voice was laced with desperation. You looked disoriented through his blurry gaze as you took a weary step back. 

Alastor felt wetness trickle down his burning cheeks. 

Oh, he was... crying?

The last time he wept was when he first arrived in this grim place otherwise known as Hell. The realization that he left you on earth all alone tore him up. Alastor was inconsolable for years.

You truly knew how to put him together just to rip him apart all over again, huh? 

There is no undoing grander than love itself. 

"I-I don't believe you..." Your voice was just above a whisper as you slipped out of his grasp and approached the doorway. You turned your back on him, literally and metaphorically. 

Alastor didn't miss a beat. He rushed to you, large palm slamming flat against the wooden door. "We worked at the same radio station! Your bitch of a friend Elaine and her parents took you in after your pill-addict parents abandoned you on your eleventh birthday!"

You let out a sharp gasp as he hovered over you. Alastor couldn't read your expression, with your face practically pressing into the wooden door. All he could see was the top of your head as he pushed his chest into your rigid back. His arm was outstretched, keeping the door shut and caging you in entirely. 

"It was love at first sight for me! We went dancing for our first date. Did you truly fail to notice how effortlessly we moved along the dancefloor at Charlie's last gathering? It's because deep down, your body remembers every dance we ever shared,"

Alastor flipped you over faster than you could process. Your back was now flush against the sturdy door, his arm still caging you in. He peered down at you as his thumb and index finger from his non-dominant hand grasped your chin, forcing you to meet his gaze.

"Every lingering touch..." 

He felt you tremble beneath his intense stare from how his chest now squashed against yours. Alastor's face dipped lower, invading your personal space. He brushed the tip of his nose against yours, breath fanning over your tear-stained cheeks. 

"And every kiss..."

Alastor observed you desperately as he pressed his lips against yours. He poured all his love into the shared embrace, hoping it would jumpstart your memory. But instead, you just shoved him away harshly, breaking away from his embrace. Alastor felt his world crumble around him as you wiped his kiss away with the back of your hand.

"You're fucking crazier than I thought!" With Alastor still reeling from the rejection, you took your leave. The sound of the door slamming thundered through his head. 

Alastor sunk to his knees. His hands came up to tug at his messy tufts of hair. Allowing the tears to flow freely now that he was completely alone.

Alastor did not think you were capable of hurting him until now. 

Alastor yanked at his locks furiously as his cheeks burned brightly in frustration. His knees quivered as his forehead kissed the carpet that was stained with his blood from earlier—when he unintentionally ripped up his palms. Alastor curled in on himself as he wept. 

This pain was worse than any other.

But more than anything, his love for you only burned brighter.

As did his determination to have you remember him and the pleasant life you both shared before all was lost. 

tags; @danveration @celestial-vomit @jyoongim @stygianoir @polytheatrix @mmik3yy @littlebullofblythe @cxrsedwxrlds @lillithhearts @nogiggleonlybitter @minniemumbles @chewbrry @lbcreations-blog @nonetheartist @call-me-nyxx @zombiesnips-blog @stawberrypimpsimp @wonderlandangelsposts @villxinmiixx @persephoneblck @maxlynn17 @littledolly2345 @karolinda007-blog @falling-endlessly @greekyoghurtwithberries @bladeismine @aloraaaxcrystalzx @doctorswife221b @scaramoochiie @fairyv-ice @chirikoheina @veroneverleft @tired-of-life-86 @saccharine-nectarine @c-thegingergirl @tsunaki @geminixbunny @softangxlicss @alleystore @sirens-and-moonflowers @fairyv-ice @honey132 @alastorsaries @zenix108 @michi-keinz @fokrilove @yourdoorisunlocked @willowshadenox @izakyun @fangirlbitch02 @kyana-chan @aquariaries @sincerely-lorely @maxlynn17 @ivebeenthearchersstuff

[beesspacedotorg]

Third Leg?

Summary: after spending time with Minho after exams, you remember something he said in the heat of the moment about your packmate Jeongin. You decide to confront Jeongin about it, because after all, what's the worst that can happen?

Warnings: sex. uh. poly ot8 and reader. more omegaverse. continuation of Dibs but can be read on its own. breeding kink?? manhandling ??? reader is lowkey a brat, uh. Jeongin's dick is huge. I actually don't know what else to add, so let me know if there's another thing I should put in here. reader is an omega but gender and genitals are unspecified as always

notes: I got possesed by a demon when I was writing this. I don't even have a breeding kink. Also if the title is bad, no. this is my first time writing Jeongin, so if it's bad no it isn't. this is his very late birthday present. Happy Birthday, King.

to read: Dibs

In most things, you try to be reasonable. It does not come easy to you, it doesn’t come easy to most people. You wish your pack would be more understanding of this sometimes. You know that’s an unfair thing to say about, to say to, your pack, but you can’t help it. You really don’t want to, you really can’t spend Jeongin’s rut with him. It’s the middle of the semester, you’re still convinced the Luna doesn’t like you, and you’d prefer not to think too hard about your relationship with anyone else. You’re comfortable with Hyunjin and you’re comfortable with Changbin. Everyone else, you think, couldn’t care whether you were around or not.

“That’s unfair to think, dove. Of course they want you around. We want you around.” Hyunjin says, he’s holding your face in his palms in a way that he often does when he talks to you.

“I know, but I really don’t feel comfortable yet, it’s only been a couple months, and it took me so long to get used to being around you.” You huff and you can feel a heat forming behind your nose. “I just really- I don’t want to spend Innie’s rut with him. I can’t.” Hyunjin hums affirmingly and swipes a finger under your eye to cut off a tear, but otherwise makes no comment about your crying.

“You want them to stop pushing,” he says, and you nod at him.

“I want them to stop pushing.”

“Okay. I’ll see what I can do. But, please don’t say we don’t want you around. We do. At the very least, I do. Okay?” You nod at him and smile slightly as he kisses your nose, it turns into a laugh when he gets insistent, peppering kisses all over your face until you’re shoving him off and smiling wide at him.

-

“So.” You have a spoonful of cereal halfway to your mouth when he comes into the kitchen. In all reality, you aren’t supposed to be here. You only stopped by for a quick snack before you went to head into work, but then there was something at the shop so your boss told you to stay home. You’d intended to detour to the campus library instead to catch up on some homework, but between your first and second bowls of cereal you had switched out of your outside clothes to sweats and an old t-shirt, and now you’re standing three feet away from Yang Jeongin.

“So?” You set the bowl down on the counter.

“You don’t want to spend my rut with me.” You draw your shoulders up to your ears defensively. You think something in your scent must turn sour because you see Jeongin wrinkle his nose.

“Wait, I didn’t mean it like that. I’m not mad or anything. I just wanted to know if you’d tell  me why.” You pause, picking up your spoon and stirring the milk around the bowl, listening to the clink clink clink of metal on ceramic. Something about his question confuses you.

“If?”

“Yeah, ‘if.’ I don’t want to pressure you for information if you’re not ready to give it. If you’re uncomfortable with spending my rut with me, that’s fine. If you don’t want to tell me you’re uncomfortable, that’s also fine.”

“I don’t want to tell you why.” He shrugs. You’re surprised at how easy that was.

“That’s fine. I have another question though.”

“Hmm?”

“Could we hangout, or something? Before you steer clear of the house for a week and a half, I want to spend time with you. Unfortunately,” he rolls his eyes, “I’ve come to enjoy your company and if I don’t spend some time with you I might do something drastic.” He’s slowly approaching you now, crowding you against the counter. He’s given you plenty of time to walk away or move, but you haven’t, so he continues.

“Drastic, you say.” He hums, taking your bowl and putting it in the sink, not bothering to rinse it out.

“Drastic like breaking every single door that separates the two of us just to make sure you’re safe.” He wraps his arms around your waist and rests his head on your shoulder, nose against your neck. His hair smells like baby powder, like his shampoo that you and Hyunjin sometimes steal. You can feel him shake with laughter when your scent changes with arousal as he gets in your space.

“You’re easy.” You hit his back slightly.

“You’re mean.”

“Will you hangout with me, though? I was mostly serious.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’ll hangout with you.”

“Great,” he says, and you let out a small shriek as he drags you in the direction of his room. The door is halfway closed when he yells across the house.

“I call dibs until my rut starts!” You can hear the groans and complaints through his now shut door.

-

So, you spend time with him, both before and after his rut, and nobody comments on how annoying it is that you’re monopolizing his time like you thought they would. There’s a point where Hyunjin interrupts you because he wants Jeongin’s dick in his mouth, and when you move to leave, they both start complaining. (You left anyway, not being ready for that just yet, but the idea made you feel warm regardless.) 

You don’t get to spend much time with him after that though, because then you have Minho and exams flooding your vision and your senses, and while one of those things is enjoyable, the other isn’t and for two seconds you’d like your brain to be off. Just for two. That time comes and it’s as you’re waking up from your post-fuck nap with Minho that it hits you.

“You said Innie was talking about me during rut?”

“What? Sweetheart, we just woke up.” Minho is rubbing his eyes, smacking his mouth, and blinking cutely. You feel the urge to pinch his cheek but worry that would land you in hot water so you just poke it instead.

“Yes, I know, I know, but. You said Jeongin was talking about me during his rut.”

“Yes? Why do you sound so surprised? You’re our Omega after all.” You flush again at his casual claim on you, he keeps catching you off guard with it.

“He never mentioned it to me.” Minho yawns and slings his arm over your waist.

“You were busy, of course he didn’t mention it to you. Besides, you seemed so … hesitant to spend his rut with him in the first place that he probably didn’t want to mention it at all.” You frown, brows furrowing as you think about it. You move to get out of bed when Minho stops you.

“And where do you think you’re going?”

“To talk to Jeongin.”

“It’s too early for one, and for two. I have some things planned for us.” His hand wanders up your shirt.

“But-”

“I thought you had learned enough to stop arguing with me? Does your mommy need to teach you a lesson?” He says this, but he’s not holding you back. If you wanted to, you could leave this bed and camp outside of Jeongin’s door until he woke up. But you don’t. You don’t even know what you want to say to him, and Minho is tracing soft circles on your skin and you’re struck with undeniable want. You ease yourself back into bed.

“That’s my pretty Omega. So good for me, hmm?”

-

You don’t get to talk to Jeongin until several days later. You’re too busy sleeping like the dead for a day and a half, then Chan steals you away for a celebratory dinner date, then when you finally get the chance to talk to him, you walk into his room and find him and Yongbok making out, so you’ve had to curb the conversation for later, until now.

“Innie!” He’s slipping his shoes on.

“Yeah?” He never ties them, you notice, ties them once and then slips them on and off over and over again.

“Where are you going?”

“On a walk.”

“Great.” You walk over to him and shove his jacket off his shoulders, then kick at his feet until he takes his shoes back off, and start dragging him to his room.

“What.” He’s confused despite the fact that he’s the one who let it get this far.

“I want to talk to you.”

“Okay?” He sits down on his bed, patting the spot next to him so you can sit too.

“Minho mentioned that you talked about me during your rut.” It comes out of you in a rush. Jeongin’s face flushes red. He covers his face with his hands, his huge hands with their stupidly long fingers.

“Ah. Yes. I did. Are you upset?”

“Am I up- Am I upset?” You’re incredulous. “One of the hottest men I’ve ever seen and one of my Alphas wanted me during his rut and you think I’m upset?”

“Okay, to be fair. You didn’t seem too thrilled about the idea of my rut to begin with.”

“I was new to the pack!”

“You’d been with us for three months!”

“Like I said, new!” He huffs and knocks you onto your back, laying across you in the way you’ve seen the others do to him.

“Why did you come to talk to me about it?” You flush at his question and you can hear his little chuckle. The members joke that he learned how to be mischievous from Minho and Seungmin, and you’ve never seen it more than right now.

“Oh? I see.”

“Don’t be mean.”

“Minho hyung says you like when people are mean.”

“Minho said what?!”

“I’m kidding, he refused to tell us what you two got up to, but now I know that I’m not too far off.” You grab a pillow from behind your head and smack him with it. He moves himself until your noses are touching and smiles at you. You smile back and poke around his face until your finger lands in a dimple.

“You want me to fuck you, is that it?” His voice is soft, low, because of how close he is to your face and he smirks when your scent fills the room. 

“You do?” You nod at him and he tuts.

“Minho’s taught you better than that.” You huff and pout at him. He laughs and kisses you.

“I’ll let you get away with it because you’re cute.” You beam at him and he smiles back.

He starts with kissing you, because of course he does. It’s soft and sweet and a little hesitant and it’s similar to the way you’ve seen him kiss Yongbok, but different from the way you’ve seen him kiss Seungmin and you’re struck with the realization that he sees you as something soft and precious. That he’ll hold you with the same amount of delicacy he uses to hold Felix and your heart stutters in your chest for a minute.

“Baby? What’s wrong?” He’s pulling away, looking at you with wide eyes as your scent changes. “Did I hurt you?” You shake your head at him, pulling him close for a hug for a minute as you calm yourself down.

You’ve never had a pack before, your culture has moved away from it. You had to move from your family for school and since then you’ve been relatively alone. It’s been a while since you’ve felt loved, and when you’re faced with the sheer amount of it the eight of them have to give it overwhelms you every time. He hasn’t hurt you, it’s the opposite.

“Nothing’s wrong.”

“Ah, I see. Hyungs’ said you might cry a little. That’s okay. Do you want to stop?” You shake your head at him, answering with a verbal “no” after he stares at you pointedly. You lean in to kiss him again and he responds with the same gentleness he did before and you can feel yourself slicking up in your pants. You hear him take a sharp inhale and then you feel his grip tighten where his hands were resting on the side of your face and neck.

“Jesus, I can see why hyung keeps you to himself all the time. You smell so fucking good.” He stops kissing you to start making out with your neck, you can feel him starting to scent you and you tug at him, whining.

“Innie-”

“Yeah, I know, but-” he cuts himself off with a groan and you can feel his hips press into yours and dear God.

“Is that your leg?”

“No.” You whine again. There’s no fucking way his dick is that big. You tell him so.

“Well. Prepare to eat your words because it is.”

You huff at him again, and really, he should spend less time around the more sarcastic pack members because his attitude is making your eye twitch. He sees it and smiles mischievously at you before landing a soft peck right below the same eye.

“I’d like to see how you handle Hannie or Seungmin hyung. They’re worse than I am.”

“They also probably move faster than you do.” He grumbles at you at that and gets to work undressing the two of you. He’s sliding his hoodie off when you’re filled with the urge to bite his biceps. They’ve gotten bigger since you’ve been introduced to him and you think it’s crazy because you hardly ever see him work out. Suddenly, there’s a large palm against your forehead and any forward movement you had started is quickly stopped.

“What are you doing?” You can feel your teeth click together as your mouth closes and you blink a couple times.

“Nothing.” He squints at you.

“You were going to bite me, weren’t you?”

“No.”

“You’re a liar!” You’re being manhandled now, and you refuse to go down without a fight. You grab a pillow and nail him in the face with it.

“I am not! I’ve never- don’t pull my hair- I’ve never lied!”

“You’re doing it right- why are your nails so fucking long- right now!”

“Nuh uh!”

“Did you just fucking- ow! What the hell?” You finally manage to get your teeth on his arm and it’s just as great as you imagined it would be. Your victory is incredibly short lived because between one second and the next Jeongin has you pinned to the bed. Your cheek is pressed against the mattress and he has your arm twisted in a way that’s mildly uncomfortable, but that’s overshadowed by how you can feel him pressed against you to keep you pinned. He’s all lean muscle and you can feel where his shoulders press against yours and where his cock is pressed against your ass and if you tilt your hips just right, you can feel him brush against your slick hole.

“Oh? Does my pretty Omega want something?” You can hear the laughter in his voice. You can also hear how it’s dropped three octaves and you can feel it rumbling from his chest. You can feel how his cock is starting to leak against your skin.

“Jeongin-”

“I think,” he grabs your other arm, pinning your wrists at the small of your back, “that if you want anything you should beg for it.”

“Innie, you’re not being fair-”

“I’m not being fair? You bit me. I have you pinned. If you want anything from me, you’re going to have to work for it.” You turn your head into the mattress and let out a small sob, wiggling a bit in Jeongin’s hold. His hands loosen on your wrists and he lifts his weight off of you enough that you could get out if you wanted to. Minho did this too, gave you signals with his body to let you know that it was okay to not want it, the problem is that you do. You like how Jeongin has you pinned, and you like the humiliation that’s going to come with begging for it.

He notices you haven’t moved and so his grip tightens on your wrists again. You feel the chuckle he lets out as he presses his weight down onto you again and you know your scent must be doing something because he inhales with his nose pressed straight against your neck.

“Get to begging, baby. I have all night.” You whine at that, wiggling and trying to push your hips back against his to fuck yourself onto his cock, but he pulls his hips back, readjusts until you couldn’t reach his cock unless you dislocated something and he laughs at you.

Jeongin does have all night, it turns out, because you spend a considerable amount of time with your forehead pressed into the mattress trying to will the shame that comes with wanting out of your body. At one point, he asks you if you’re alright, dropping the act for a bit and when you respond he resorts to taunting you.

He’s doing it now, taking his ridiculously large dick in his hand and gathering some of the slick that’s leaked between your legs to jerk it. You can hear the wet noises it’s making and you can’t help but think of how much louder it would be if he were actually fucking you. It turns out that your Alpha was thinking the same thing because he starts talking, and each word chips away at the lump in your throat.

“Fuck, you smell so good, baby. Your slick is so warm, I bet it’d be warmer if I got it straight from the source, yeah? What do you think? You’re leaking so much you’ve made a wet spot on the bed, maybe I should fuck that instead, since you wanna be stubborn.” You whine in response.

“No? You don’t want me to do that? I think I should. Or should I just finish on your back?” Your next answering whine is more of a wail.

“Oh, I see. You’re a little cumwhore is that it? Want me to come inside of you? Hmm? Get our Omega pregnant?” You moan this time, drooling onto the sheets. Jeongin grabs your head and turns it to the side so he can see you better, or so that you can see him and how he’s about to waste his cum on you instead of in you. The drool smears onto your cheek and you can feel your eyes start to well up with tears because you know he’s close.

“Please.” It escapes from you in a pathetic whimper and the hand that was stroking his cock pauses.

“What was that? I don’t think I heard you.” You know he did, but you also know that if you don’t repeat yourself and beg good enough he really will make good on his promise to finish on your back and leave you there.

“Innie, Jeonginnie, please. I want- I want-”

“Want what? Hmm? A slice of cake, a new Minecraft update?” You huff at his mocking, but it’s too wet to really hold any weight, and you can feel your lip wobbling, so you’re not surprised when what you say next is more of a sob than anything else.

“Your cock. Jeongin, Alpha, please. You said you wanted me during your rut, don’t you want me now?” It’s a low blow, and even through your desperation you know that, but you’ll do what it takes to get him to finally stick his huge dick in you.

“Oh, baby. I do. Don’t worry.” His fingers are searching for your entrance, stretching you out just enough for it to not burn too bad, but you’re so wet, and both of you are so needy, you know that you’ll just have to deal with the pain of not preparing for his stupid dick later because you want it now.

“Then,” he made the mistake of letting go of your wrists to grab your hip instead, and you ball your hands into fists and hit the bed in frustration, “why aren’t you fucking me?” He huffs a laugh.

“All that and you’re still giving me trouble? You’re lucky you’re cute, Omega. So lucky.” You start to kick your feet at him but you’re stopped by the fact that he’s slowly starting to push into you, making a home for himself inside your body and slowly forcing the breath from your lungs.

It burns, and you expected it to with how unprepared you were, but it feels good and you don’t care so that will have to be a later-you problem.

“Jesus, you feel so good, baby. Better than I imagined.” He starts a rough rhythm right off the bat, and you’re needy enough that it doesn’t bother you, besides, you’re pretty sure he was edging himself earlier, so he’s entitled to this.

“Felix hyung and I talked about it, you know. When I was in rut. You left.” The last part comes out as a soft growl, and he coughs to get himself in check before pressing a soft kiss between your shoulder blades.

“You left and I thought about how warm you’d feel inside. Felix wondered too, said he wanted to know how sweet you were.” You hear him chuckle. “Y’know I got him to come untouched from just talking about you, pretty baby?”

You gasp, letting out a shuddery moan at that, and you hear Jeongin laugh above you. You were already halfway to delirious with how good he was fucking you- hard enough to shake the bed and bang the headboard against the wall- but something about knowing that the pack wants you always makes you just that much wetter, always makes your head that much lighter, so you can’t help but clench down around his cock and get everything around you soaked with more of your slick.

“Jeonginnie, Alpha, I- please- I want to-”

“Yeah, yeah, go ahead, baby. I won’t make you beg for this one.” He presses himself down against your back, knocking your knees out from under you so you’re flat against the bed and have nowhere to go, nothing to do but take it.

“The next one, though. I make no promises.”

The new angle has you going dumber than you were before and you can feel Jeongin’s breath in puffs of hot air against your neck. You whine at him, moaning as you’re trapped underneath his body and when you come it’s with white spots dancing across your vision. You’re just coming down when you feel him start to pull out and you surprise both yourself and him with the growl that comes out of you.

“Yang Jeongin, so help me God if you do not come inside of me-” He shuts you up by doing just that, bullying his knot into you until it pops and rolling the two of you onto your sides so you’re not laying in the multiple spots of wet that have stained his sheets.

“You’re bossy.” It’s said against your hair while his stupidly big hands come up to massage the crick in your neck that’s finally made itself present. “How do you get away with that when you’re with Minho hyung?”

“I listen to him. Mostly.” He pinches you, you pinch back. You sit in silence for a minute.

“Was it good? Or, as good as you imagined?” You try not to sound insecure as you say it, but you know that you’ve probably missed the mark.

“Better. Way better.” He kisses the spot he was just massaging and winds his arm around your middle. “Nap time. You’ll need your energy when I get you back for being a little shit.”

“I wasn’t.” He scoffs at you.

“Yeah, sure. And my name is Chan.”

“Hi, Chan, how are you?”

“Cancel what I said earlier. The second we aren’t locked together anymore I’m kicking you out.” You laugh at him.

[rinhaler]

I Should Just Walk Away !

His knuckles are split, what are you meant to do? Not tend his wounds? Someone’s gotta do it! It doesn’t mean you’re going to fuck him again. No way.

✧˖*°࿐: 18+ only, no minors.    ✧. ┊ underground fighter!ryomen sukuna x f!reader

Genre: porn with a plot (and a sprinkle of angst?) Notes: I'm gonna make a masterlist and stuff bc I love this au but I'm lazy pls bear with me! ♡ Warnings: 18+, fem!reader, blood ♡, wound care, daddy!kink, size difference ♡, age gap, degradation, fingering, tit sucking ♡, slight edging?, dacryphilia, m+f masturbation, car sex ♡, vaginal sex, creampie ♡, pet names (princess, sweetheart, baby, kid), mutual pining ♡, angst??, calls ur pussy she/her ♡, (lmk if i missed any!!) Words: 8k

—

Even after proclamations of love for each other, the rest of the ride home is silent and uncomfortable. In hindsight, it might not have been the best decision to divulge the truth of your tryst with Sukuna to your little brother.

You could try to reassure him. But what would be the point? You’re only a few years older than him, yet somehow, you’ve forgotten what it’s like to be a teenager. When you were Megumi’s age, though, you had parents.

They were alive.

Sure, you were somewhat rebellious but you behaved for the most part. You studied, worked hard, steered clear of ‘bad’ boys. And, as Sukuna so elegantly put it, you’re a ‘snooty doctor’. You’re thankful for that, because without that salary you’d never be able to afford subsidising your brother.

You had your parents.

But you’re all Megumi has.

It’s a little unsettling how quiet he’s actually being. You were bickering not too long ago, you’re taken aback that he seems to have no desire to continue. A fleeting thought that he might be trying to punish you enters your mind.

Your head snaps a few times to look at him, though he doesn’t do the same. There’s a little grimace on his face as he looks at you from the corner of his eyes.

It’s disgust.

“Are we okay?” you wonder, and the way it leaves your lips in a warble must be pathetic for your brother to hear. He scoffs immediately after, still outright refusing to say another word. You make sure to keep an eye on the road, though your gaze can’t help but wander towards your sibling when you get a chance. “I’m just going to make sure he’s patched up properly, okay? He’s not staying the night.”

“As if that matters.” he rolls his eyes.

It should matter. You don’t know what he means, and you don’t dare ask him to elaborate. There’s no reason for you to be scared of a seventeen-year-old. You aren’t. You’re more afraid of disappointing him.

“Megumi…” you take a breath. “It’s late. I think we should talk properly tomorrow.”

He takes a breath not too dissimilar to yours, you aren’t sure if it’s inherited or if it’s a habit he’s picked up from you. Is he mocking you? He doesn’t say much more, shrugging his shoulders is an answer all on its own. And still, it makes your heart twist as anxiety pierces through it like a stake.

“Fine.”

“Really?!” you bark out unintentionally. Maybe he’s more mature than you’ve given him credit for, because agreeing to talk properly is the last thing you expected. Your eyebrows knot briefly, and you look at him again when you reach a red light. “Are you fucking with me? You’re not serious, are you? You’re gonna sneak out in the morning and I won’t see you until—”

“I said fine. Didn’t I?” he grunts. “At least be quiet when you fuck him if you insist on lecturing me in the morning.”

“I’m not doing it again, I told you.” you assure him. “It was a stupid mistake and I regret it but I just wanna make sure his hand is okay. And then I’ll tell him to leave. I promise.”

“Should prob’ly tell him that, ‘cause he won’t stick around once he realises.” you both find yourselves looking in the rearview mirror at the man following behind you at a distance before quickly averting your eyes. “Don’t make promises you’re not gonna keep. You sound like my dad.”

“Ouch, babe. Noted.” you laugh a little despite being genuinely offended.

The rest of the journey is completed with your brain on auto-pilot. You aren’t even sure how you made it home without crashing once you realise you’ve parked perfectly in the driveway.

Megumi snatches your purse and ducks out of the car, making a beeline for the front door. You watch him as you allow your head to gently thud against the headrest behind you; he’s frantically looking for the house keys so he can shield himself from any possible sighting of you and his boss together.

He drops your purse on the ground with little care once he finds what he’s looking for, and you’re startled when you hear a knuckle lightly rap against your window.

“Nice place, princess.” he speaks, though it’s slightly muffled by the closed window.

“Stop calling me—”

“Oi. Pick up the purse.” Sukuna warns your little brother before he can hide indoors.

He looks over his shoulder at you both before slowly crouching down to pick it up. He grips it tight before finally disappearing.

Sukuna gives you room to breathe before offering a hand to help you out. Like you’ve never gotten out of your car before. Instead of taking it, you stare. You stare at his obscenely large hand and can’t help but remember his fingers had been inside of you mere moments ago.

You smile, as politely as you can, before hurriedly chasing after your brother.

He saunters after you with a lazy smirk playing on his features. You only see it when you remember you’d forgotten to lock your car. The sound of his Mercedes locking is a deafening reminder.

You enter your home; he hadn’t even bothered to turn a single light on as he charged straight towards the kitchen. You’d expected him to have locked himself in his bedroom by now. But instead, his silhouette is illuminated by the light emanating from the open fridge.

He grunts when you switch on the living room light, looking at you like a raccoon caught going through the trash as he chomps down on the cereal you’d bought on the way home from work.

“Can you get the first aid kit from the cupboard?” you ask him as you take off your coat and throw it down over the back of the couch. “You shouldn’t be eating so late, y’know.”

“I’m starving. I didn’t eat today, ‘m a growing boy, y’know.” he counters. He moves to look through each and every cupboard. He looks at you and shrugs before continuing to eat.

Your eyes are both directed to the sound of a gently closing door. You half smile at Sukuna as he enters before you look at your brother again in contemplation.

“Oh I moved it to the bathroom ‘cause we never use it.” you sigh as you make your way there. “You can finish eating in your room if you want.”

“Tryna get me out the way?” he rolls his eyes. “Don’t worry, I don’t wanna stick around here anyway.” he side eyes Sukuna as he walks with his bowl towards his room.

You don’t see the amused grin he offers your little brother while you retrieve the first aid kit.

If you had, you’re sure you would have sent him home too.

“Sorry,” you groan, setting the kit down on the coffee table. You stand with your hands on your hips as you stare at him. It’s dawning on you, now, regardless of how exhausted you are. You’ve let a man you barely know into your home. A man older and stronger than you’d ever hope to be. You’ve welcomed a criminal into the space that is meant to be the safest for your little brother.

“I’m not gonna kill ya, sweetheart.” he cuts through your thoughts as if he can read your mind. It makes your heart race, though your face remains stoic as you try and disguise your evident worry. “Last thing I wanna do is scare you, though. I’ll go if you’re—”

“No, it’s fine.” you interject. “I’m tired, though. I’m gonna get changed because I wanna go straight to sleep after this, okay? You’re not staying.”

“Shame, I had fun.” he grins, circling the couch before sinking into it. His body is angled towards you while his eye looks you up and down with purpose. “Get comfy, I’ll be right here waiting for you, darlin’.”

Even someone as headstrong as you can’t deny how giddy he makes you. You walk backwards, unable to take your eyes off him before you eventually find your bedroom. Everything he says is so intentional, it’s almost vindictive. Like he knows just what to say to have you weak at the knees for him.

But this isn’t you.

You’ve never been the type to fall for a man’s alleged charm quite so easily. But you also didn’t think you were the type of person to fuck a stranger. He isn’t exactly a stranger, though.

He’s Megumi’s boss.

“Stop calling him that.” you whisper to yourself as you try and break yourself out of your spiralling train of thought.

You dress yourself in the most unflattering pyjamas you can find, wearing them with the full expectation of turning Sukuna off of you. He can’t possibly still be angling to fuck again when he sees you in mismatched pyjamas, complete with aged holes and stains from that one spaghetti night you and Megumi attempted.

There’s a feeble attempt made at wiping your makeup off, although you barely try. Your smile is almost blinding as you look at what a mess you are. The panda eyes from your smeared eyeliner and mascara enhance your sunken eyebags. Your eyeshadow glitters across the bridge of your nose and into your hairline beside your temples. Your pretty lipstick that you’d lined so perfectly is half removed while the other half is smudged down your chin.

You emerge from your bedroom with a confidence you only ever experience when you’re at home in your comfiest clothes. Despite your appearance, and even despite your company, you’re so content.

His eyes squint as he looks at your face, and even still, he’s smiling. He chuckles softly as you get closer to him, sitting beside him as you open the first aid kit.

“You look way prettier like this, princess.” he tells you, folding his arms across his chest as he continues to stare.

“Ah! Really? You think I look prettier?” you ask sarcastically.

“No, you look awful.” he laughs. “Is this all for my benefit? I still want to fuck you, admirable attempt though.”

You shake your head and roll your eyes as he laughs a little more, and you force yourself to frown when you realise his laughter is contagious. Everything he does is so effortless; you can’t remember the last time you genuinely smiled so hard it hurt your cheeks.

His eye fixates on you as you begin to look through your little first aid kit and pick a few things to use on his knuckles.

“I’m sure you could have done this yourself,” you start as you pick up a packet of antiseptic wipes and begin to clear the blood surrounding his knuckles. “Could have gone to a walk-in place if you were really worried.”

“Of course I could. Been doing this for years, did you really believe I don’t have my own first aid kit?” he asks. “I wanted you to do it.” he confesses, though he’s no longer smiling. You don’t stop wiping away the combination of wet and crusted over blood on his hand, though you can’t help but stare back at him.

Is he trying to scare you?

“You’re unbelievable.” you tell him, quietly.

“It’s hard to do it with one hand, sweetheart. And you’re a professional, I’d have to be an idiot to do it myself.”

You look away, only to pour rubbing alcohol onto a clean wipe. He can’t help but be transfixed as he watches you, admiring how your dainty little hands are so delicate with the equipment. How your face appears so irritated as you perform tedious tasks such as this, but you do it regardless, and he thinks it’s sweet.

“You should be on my payroll,” he finally smiles again. “My private doctor.”

“No.” you shut him down.

“I forgot how stuck up you are. I thought you’d at least be fununtil tomorrow.”

“Be grateful I’m doing this at all.” you reply with ease. All enjoyment and giddiness over his company seems to be a distant memory as you recall the type of man he actually is. You’re grouchy and exhausted, and he’s testing your patience. “I don’t like you and I don’t like what you do. And I hate that you’re involving Megumi.”

“Lighten. Up.” he warns you.

You press the wipe quickly into his cuts, and you can’t help but smile as he winces from the abrupt stinging pain. You laugh harder as he tries to downplay it. His expression becomes unreadable as he tries to appear detached. You can see it in his visible eye, though. It’s watering.

He can’t help but break at the sound of your laughter, however, as you continue to snicker whilst rummaging through for a roll of gauze to wrap around his knuckles.

“I usually don’t crack when I do that myself. You wanted it to hurt.” he smirks, shaking his head.

“Guilty.” you continue to giggle as you face him again.

He doesn’t say another word as he watches you wrap a thick enough layer of bandages around his bloody knuckles. The somewhat shallow lacerations seem to cause slight discomfort despite being taken care of. You watch him, purposefully, as he flexes his fingers a few times to test how it feels.

You aren’t sure if he knows you’re staring, but his guard seems down. It could be an act to disarm you, but you aren’t convinced he’s a good enough actor to pull it off. The genuine curiosity and intrigue on his face due to your handiwork makes you feel off. Is he judging your ability to provide proper care?

It’s not like you wanted to.

But you both know that’s a lie.

He grins when he finally notices you staring at him. And that makes you relax. You were right, he was genuinely lost in thought despite being in your presence.

“You should go now,” you say quietly. You angle your body to rest your arm over the back of the couch, your balled fist supporting your head as you begin to yawn. “I’m tired.”

“Sure.” he nods, moving to stand before relaxing into the soft seating. “I need your number.”

“No, you don’t.”

“Yeah, ya need to give it to me sweetheart,” he smirks, mirroring your body language. “Need it so I can tell you when I wanna see you again.”

You scoff, shaking your head defiantly at his bold claim. The thought of him clicking his fingers for you to come running like a loyal lap dog is almost enough to make you gag. You’d slap him if it wasn’t so late, you’re too tired and you don’t want to cause a fuss for Megumi or your neighbours.

“You’re never gonna see me again,” you smile, biting your lip as you look him up and down. “And you’re not seeing Megumi, either. He’s done with your little fight club. And I’m done with you, period.”

“Aren’t you meant to be smart? Concerning that a doctor could be so naïve.” he squints slightly as he regards you, looking you up and down as you had him. You’re so sure of yourself, he can’t help but wonder if you’ve forgotten about your current appearance. “I’ll be seein’ you both again. Megumi isn’t quitting. And I like you, and I’m not the type of man to give up things I like.”

“Tough shit,” you laugh lightly. “You’re gonna have to find another poor woman to pester. I’ve got enough going on without dealing with a loser like you.”

“A loser? Really?” he chortles. “You were moaning on my dick and calling me daddy earlier. Now I’m a loser?”

“Shut up.”

He leans in close to you, noses almost touching and his smile widens further as he sees how glittery your face is from your poor makeup removal. “Are you only going to be nice to me when I fuck that brat out of you?”

You turn your head away, your heart racing as your body betrays you. The want and desire bubbles in the pit of your stomach. But you can’t. You know you can’t; because you promised.

He isn’t special.

Sukuna is not special.

“You’re not fucking anything out of me.” you tell him, peering out of the corner of your eye to see him look a little surprised at your declaration. He thought you were playing hard to get. You aren’t playing. “It was a one-time thing.”

“Really?” he asks, barely missing a beat as he responds. “I don’t understand you. I thought—”

“Of course you don’t understand me. You’ve known me for a few hours. Just because we’ve fucked doesn’t mean you know me.” you remind him. And he nods, he agrees with you. He’d be a fool not to, and the man is no fool. “It was just a heat of the moment mistake. I mean it. I don’t want to see you again and I’m not letting Megumi fight anymore.”

“Why?”

“Why?” you scoff. “He’s a child. It’s dangerous. I don’t want him—”

“No, sweetheart. I’m not stupid, I know why you don’t want him to fight anymore. Do I look like a moron to you?” he asks, voice gruff and harsh as he interrupts without a care. His temper is visible and rising as he begins to run out of patience for your attitude with him. “Why don’t you want to see me?”

“Because you’re shady and I don’t want to upset my brother. He’s already upset, I don’t want to make it worse.”

“That’s not a reason.”

“Excuse m—”

“That’s a reason why Megumi doesn’t want you to see me. Yeah I’m a little shady, but you like me. I know you do. Otherwise you wouldn’t have let me come over here, see where and how you live, and tend my wounds like a good girl.” he sneers.

“Fine. I don’t like you and I don’t want to have a platonic relationship with a criminal. Let alone a romantic one. What happened earlier was a mistake.”

“… You’re lying.” he says, and it’s curt. You cross your arms over your chest and shake your head with an amused laugh as you digest his denial. How he can sit there and act so full of himself when you’re being perfectly clear is beyond you. It’s jarring.

You jolt as you feel thick fingers lightly grip your jaw. Your wandering gaze is now brought to him. Your eyes forced to fixate on the placid expression plastered across chiselled features.

“I see you, princess. You don’t wanna see me because you want to get mixed up with a criminal, and you’re scared of that. I see you.”

You stare at him, licking your lips not so discreetly as he continues to cradle your jaw. His lips curl at the sight of the little pink muscle slipping between your lips to wet them. You’re angry. Furious at yourself for letting him touch you, hold you, like this. And you hate yourself, right now. Maybe even more than you hate him, too.

Because he’s right.

Your lack of action gives him cause to stare down at your shimmering lips, it’s a warning. A silent announcement for what he’s about to do. He doesn’t let go, but his head tilts. He leans in closer to you, daring to give you what you both know you want.

And again, he’s thwarted.

You turn away, unable to look at him right after this time.

“… You should go, now.” you tell him.

He sighs, but pulls away. You almost mewl as his thumb softly swipes across your chin. And when he withdraws it, you feel your body fill with loneliness. Your skin feels colder.

And it hurts, because he’s on the right track. You’re pushing him away because of Megumi. But deep down, as much as you crave him right now, you know it’s the right thing to do. You jolt a little as he abruptly stands up from the couch, the breeze from his movement makes you freeze.

He sees it.

“Go to bed, you’ll warm up.” he says bluntly before making his way towards the front door. He stops as he grabs the handle, holding up his bloodied knuckles. “Thank you, for the first aid.”

“It’s… it’s fine. No problem. Goodnight, S-Sukuna.” you say, cursing yourself for the audible whine in your words despite your attempted conviction. You watch him as he grabs the handle before turning to face you again.

“Come with me.” he tells you, curling the tip of his index finger. “I need to give you something, don’t argue. For once.” he demands.

You’re compelled to follow, in spite of his demeaning way of summoning you. You truly don’t want him to leave, you don’t want him to go, so any extra time you can spend with him, you’ll take.

He walks ahead of you, leaving you shivering in the doorway as you try and preserve any warmth you can. He opens the door to his car and turns around, a little bewildered that you aren’t right behind him. It makes you giggle to see him look around in search of you before he finally spots you still at the front door.

“Come here.”

You close the door and rush to his side, quickly looking back to make sure Megumi isn’t looking for you. He rests his arm atop the roof of his Mercedes, before holding out a small piece of paper between his fingers to you.

It’s a business card.

“What kind of thug needs a business card?” you ask before you even think about what you’re saying. He scoffs, squinting at you.

“You’ve only fucked me once, you don’t know me.” he smirks. And at that, you can’t help but laugh. “What you said… makes it seem like we’ll learn more about each other if we keep fucking.”

“I don’t want to know you, Sukuna.” you sigh, reluctant to keep up the charade. Reluctant to keep pretending he doesn’t excite you. To keep pretending the few hours you’ve spent with him haven’t been the liveliest your life has been in years. Maybe ever, really. “I can’t be selfish, you don’t get it.”

“You’d be surprised.” he says, abruptly. “Why did you follow me out here if you don’t want to know me?”

“Because you asked me to, you said you wanted to give me something…”

“You could have said no. Do you always do what people tell you? You wanted to. I wanted you to. And now you’re here, you have my number. If you want to be selfish… you know where I am.”

“I don’t—” you sigh, shivering aggressively before you push his card back into his chest. “I don’t need this.”

He grabs your wrist hellbent on sending you away with this one little piece of the puzzle of his life. A way to talk to him again if you change your mind. He’s giving you access, he wants you to take it, desperately.

He crouches down, levelling his head with your own so his one, uncovered eye is levelled with yours. He can’t help but smile, it’s almost maniacal, as he watches your resolve falter under his glare.

“You’re too stubborn for your own good, kid.” he grins. “And you’re not all that smart, for a doctor.”

Your face burns with heat. And you can’t tell if it’s rage or lust. Do you want to kiss him or kill him? You don’t know, you don’t know. His smile grows wider as he realises what he’s done to you. Your faces are so close to each other and this time you can’t will yourself to turn away. You can’t submit, not after this.

“I’m smarter than you.” is all you can think to say. It feels pathetic and phoned in. And he reads it, too, by the ever-growing look of amusement on his face.

“I don’t doubt that.” he nods. “What’s got you all hot ‘n bothered, hm? ‘Cause I called you a dumb li’l doctor? Or ‘cause daddy, called you kid?”

You feel your face sear further. So much so you can even detect each and every drop of sweat beading at your hairline. You’d forgotten it was freezing outside, instead trying to find a way to subtly cool yourself.

“You d-didn’t even call me dumb. I’m not.” you say, stuttering over yourself like a true idiot as you try and gain some semblance of composure through this agonising conversation.

He closes the already small distance between you, placing his hand on the small of your back and pulling you towards him. Your eyes flutter closed under his as he examines you. His head tilting and turning, forcing himself in your line of view.

“I am learning more about you. Should we fuck about it, sweetheart?”

“What are you—”

“Do I remind you of your old man, hah? I bet that’s it… was daddy never proud of you?” he chuckles darkly, carding his fingers through your hair as he stares down at you. “S’that why you like me, darlin?”

“Shut up.” you respond, voice meek and pathetic as you wrestle with your will and want. His fingers lace through your hair, delicately holding the crown of your head before you find yourself being pulled closer still. His lips ghost yours, and he’s a tease. He’s such a fucking tease.

“Got a thing for older guys who talk to you like shit… I see it. Get too much respect at your little doctor job all day. Do you like being talked down to, hm? No wonder you like a thug like me.”

“You don’t know what you’re— You d-don’t even know.”

“Yeah? I don’t?” he asks, his tone melodious and teasing. His head tilts back, the feel of his lips intensely teasing yours soon broken as he does. But you look up to him, eyes full of anguish and sorrow like a kicked puppy who doesn’t know what it wants. You hate him and the reason is clear.

You don’t hate him at all.

You just hate that he’s right.

“I think I’m right. I think you’ve got daddy issues, and you like it when I call you kid.” you turn away as he speaks. But almost as quickly as you do, he’s forcing you to look at him again. His ruby eye flaring, an expression all of its own. A warning, a look of command. A look of lust. “Am I right, baby? Is your little cunt soaked ‘cause I call you kid?”

“… I have to go.” you say, quietly.

“Sure.” he smirks.

A sense of déjà vu overwhelms you as you recognise in his smile that you’ve done this dance before. You can’t move and you can’t speak. There is no desire in you to leave him now and return to your home, your bed, like you should.

All you can do is stare. Your eyes fixated on the man who has just read you like a book. His amused expression doesn’t falter. He’s patient, surprisingly. You wouldn’t have painted him as a man with patience. But looking at him now, you know he’d be willing to wait all night if he had to. He’d wait for the sun to rise just to prove a point.

But he doesn’t need to.

You lunge forward, your hand cupping his face as you break the boiling tension between you and seal your acceptance with a scalding kiss.

He won.

He told you before, he doesn’t lose.

Your lips suctioning and pecking at his would make you embarrassed if you weren’t so desperate. He welcomes it, too, meeting yours with just as much urgency. He wraps his arms around your back as you slip your tongue between his lips, allowing them to tangle and swirl in a passionate encounter.

He chuckles into it as you curse. Curse him, curse his name. You can’t believe he’s reduced you to this, again. Your heart heaves in your chest, and you break away just to instruct him.

“Open the fucking back door.”

He laughs again, keeping hold of you as he guides you in a way he can carry on kissing you and still do as he’s told. He ducks in first, pulling you in with him right after. You grind your hips against his heavy bulge as he closes the door after you. He looks up to admire you, to adore you.

“You smeared your makeup like a fucking idiot so I wouldn’t fuck you,” he laughs. “And look at you, humping my cock like a desperate little pet.”

“Shiiiit, I forgot I’m a mess.” you sigh, though you don’t really care. You wrap your arms around his neck, keening as his heavy palms grip your thighs press you flush against his body. “This is the last time. I m-mean it.”

“Whatever you say, princess.” he says, smugly.

You dismiss it, too enamoured by the feeling of his bulge alone as you continue to grind down hard and purposefully onto him. He’s relaxed, allowing you to take the lead and go at your own pace.

It’s embarrassing, really, you’re not as experienced as he seems to be. He’s older. And you hate to admit it, wiser. When it comes to encounters such as this, anyway. You’re smart and well read, sure, but casual hook ups are foreign to you.

You’ll keep that to yourself for as long as you can, you can’t think of anything worse than giving Sukuna that little tidbit of information about you. That he is only the third guy you’ve fucked.

He hit the nail on the head back at the club, but you can’t let him know that.

“Let me feel.” he mutters. His hand holds your hip to keep you in place. Another snakes down into your sleep shorts, his mouth falls open with an amused chuckle as he touches you. “Still full’a me, baby. Bet I’ll slide right in.”

His fingers play with your pussy without any real goal. And still, it makes you delirious. He smears the evidence of your previous tryst around your folds, and he watches with conviction as his fingers circle your clit.

He withdraws them, briefly, to move your shorts into the crease of your thigh. You watch him, and he doesn’t take his eye off you, either. Your lower lip droops as you admire him. Truthfully, you’ve never been in the presence of someone so domineering as him. He is the true definition of a red-blooded male.

Sukuna is huge. In the literal sense, he is unnaturally tall. His build is enormous, his hand is larger than your face. But his aura alone is enough to fill an entire room with an ambience that he sees fit. He could instil fear into the minds of men just because he wills it.

Unfortunately for you, you are not immune to his will.

“You’re so pent up darlin’, you must work hard. Y’need to relax… no wonder you can’t keep your hands off me.” he says. It could be read as demeaning. You think it should be. And yet, you don’t detect any malice from him. He makes a show of spitting on his fingers, keeping eye contact with you as the ‘ptuh’ sound leaves his lips. It makes you shudder.

Though when he touches you with such purpose, so lewdly, a whine you never knew you could make leaves your lungs. He looks up at you like you hung every star in the sky as he pumps his fingers in and out of you. The ‘shlick’ suctioning sounds of your already tainted walls couldn’t possibly be any louder.

He sees how embarrassed you are, but he doesn’t care. Your nose crinkles and your eyes close softly. He curls his fingers and his palm flattens against your clit. And you cry out for him, lurching forward as you wrap your arms around his head rather than his neck. He’s surprised to see your hips rock against his touches, riding his fingers like it’s the only contact you’ve ever known.

His free hand reaches up to tug down your vest. His tongue is flat and wide as he sticks it out to lick your bare tits. He isn’t rough, he isn’t aggressive, he isn’t rushing. He sensually swirls his tongue over your nipples, breathing heavily on occasion before he kisses them. You whimper when he sporadically skims his teeth across them. There’s no bite. No effort. He just wants to hear you cry for him like that. It’s like his teeth are barely there, just enough that you know they are.

“Do you touch yourself?” he mumbles against your skin. You can’t bear to look at him after hearing that. You pretend you didn’t, moaning louder as a diversion. It’s fruitless, and apparently you aren’t a good actress. He yanks your hair and forces you to look at him. His fingers stop, and your body writhes from the loss. “Don’t do that again. Answer me.”

“S-Sukuna…” you fuss. The feeling of your building pleasure being torn away from you is making you stupid. It’s pathetic. And yet, in spite of how humiliating it is, you’re still rolling your hips in a bid to get the feeling back. His expression falters to one you can’t read. You think it’s annoyance, but it’s so detached and expressionless. You yelp as he withdraws his fingers completely, with no time to feel the loss when he grabs your face with his slick-coated hand.

“I want to know if you make your pretty pussy cum after a hard day at work.” he says calmly, a low rumble in his chest as the words roll plainly from his tongue. Your eye contact falters as you notice him pulling at his sweatpants in search of his aching length. “And I want you to show me how you touch her. So go on, answer my question.”

“I… I—” you stumble. You watch him intensely as he frees his throbbing cock. He wraps his fist around himself and lazily strokes. He still glares at your features. While you’re utterly captivated by his cock.

It looks so angry. Too pretty and perfect to be real, you think. But somehow, it is. You think he’d be better suited as a porn star than a criminal with an asset like that. He spends an extra second squeezing his length just below the tip when he strokes himself, it’s like he’s ringing all of the pre out that he can. It dribbles out of his slit, coating his tip the more he summons. It’s beguiling.

You suppose you hadn’t really had a chance to admire him back at the club. It was so heated and hasty. Now, it’s purposeful. You look at his face again when you realise this is what he wants. He wanted you to look at how he touches himself and how gorgeous his cock is. He wants you to see how big he is and how much he aches and throbs when he needs to be buried in a sweet little cunt.

He wants the memory of this to stain your mind.

“I d-don’t.” you confess. “Not much… I’m always tired. Busy.”

“Mhmm… I can tell.” he nods, his voice is somewhat sympathetic. “Come here, princess. Sit on it.”

His hand grips into your hip while he lines himself up with your entrance. You don’t fight him, you don’t hesitate. You let him push you down, you eagerly suck him in. Your eyes roll back as you feel him swell through your walls. Even after taking him earlier, you’d forgotten how monstrous he feels inside. And this time, somehow, he feels bigger.

“Fu-uck,” you gasp as his tip immediately nudges at your sweet spot. You hold his shoulders and hope he’ll assist you. The thought of disappointing him makes you anxious. The idea of him knowing how inexperienced you really are makes you sick.

He throws his head back as your hole swallows him greedily. He looks at you through a heavy-lidded stare, and relief fills you as his hands grab the fat of your ass. You moan pathetically as he spreads them. But his ultimate goal is to bounce you on his cock. You feel weightless in his hands as he helps you. Each steep drop down onto his length makes your throat tight.

He's there.

You feel him there.

“Play with yourself, go on. Rub her f’me.” he says lethargically.

And your face feels like fire. The foreplay was gasoline and his command is a match. And yet, out of fear of him withholding pleasure from you again, you comply. Your hand slithers between your thighs and you do all you can to pretend you’re elsewhere.

You try and pretend you’re in your room, in your bed. What usually gets you going is a mildly heated scene from a movie or TV show. The sexual tension of an almost kiss makes your face flush, though a lot less than it is now. And you think it’s unbearable to witness sexual tension and not see any resolve, so you scamper to find a video online to suit your needs. Something quick and short as you reach into your nightstand to find your favourite toy.

The thought of being caught by your brother makes you sick so you have to be fast with it. The website you ordered it from assured the toy would be whisper quiet. And you can only hope it’s true. You don’t touch yourself, not without aid. And even then, it’s sparse. You haven’t rubbed your clit with your own fingers in years.

Years of being riled up and having a useless boyfriend who didn’t know what he was doing lead you to finishing yourself off each and every time. And you knew, the moment you got a job and your own income, you’d buy yourself a vibrator.

It’s hard to pretend Sukuna isn’t here, though. It’s hard to pretend you’re in your room with Netflix playing quietly enough in the background it can still cover the sound of soft core moaning from your phone while you vibrate yourself to completion.

Because his cock fills your each and every thought. Every sense you possess is dominated by him. The feel of him stretching you out beyond your limit and repeatedly hitting your sweet spot. The sound of the sticky tacking of his length as he slams you up and down on his pulsing member.

Your vision alternates between his gorgeous gaze and the point where your bodies connect again and again. Your pussy gushes slick and the evidence of your prior combined coupling stains your inner thighs and his crotch.

The scent of your sex fills the car and the heat of your sweaty bodies exacerbates it. Your skin is damp, as is his. And it’s overwhelming. He groans into a chuckle as you moan louder and louder for him. If anyone happens to be awake at this ungodly hour, they’ll no doubt hear you. If anyone looks out of the window, they’ll see how the car rocks back and forth. It turns you on further. The tang of sweat and arousal filling the car. It makes you lightheaded.

“I can— fuck— c-can taste you, daddy…” you whine. He urges you to fall forward so he can kiss you. It forces you to take over, moving your hips on your own as you try and maintain your building pleasure. “You’re too big… can feel you in my throat, Sukuna… tastes so good.”

“Dirty fuckin’ girl.” he smirks, kissing you again. “You’re fuckin’ filthy. Not the good girl you pretend to be, hah?”

You nod, agreeing. He’s right, after all. You’re talking in a way you didn’t know you had in you. He takes over again, holding your rear so he can take full control of your body. He guides you repeatedly until your eyes cross from the pleasure. Your walls tighten, and your throat feels hoarse as you cry out for him.

“Squeezin’ me so fuckin’ tight, kid. Don’t be shy. Cum for daddy.” he encourages you.

You cry, at that. Falling forwards to envelop him in your arms as you come undone. He coos, sweetly, kissing your cheeks and licking away your tears. The feeling isn’t lost on you, the feeling of disgust. You’ve never felt happiness or value like you did just now. Realising how right he was about your issues and using them to subdue you.

Your pussy gushes and he moans further, chest roaring as he finally lets his sight drop to see what a pretty mess you’ve made of yourself.

Made of him.

Made for him.

He pushes his thumb into your clit and rubs quickly, further extending your pleasure through it all. You could just about cum again when you feel him shoot another load into you, his warmth filling your womb for the second time today. It makes you feel special. It makes you feel loved.

The very idea of it has you pushing yourself away from him desperately. But he holds you close. His moans are boisterous and uncaring. It’s loud enough to wake the whole neighbourhood, you think. And at the very least, you’re sure Megumi will hear if he doesn’t have his headphones on.

His arms wrap tightly around your waist to keep you in place, his feet planted firmly on the floor of the car as he fucks himself into you. He’s sure to empty every last drop into your cunt, his balls slap against your ass as he ploughs into you furiously.

And when he stops, you freeze. You feel cold. You feel filthy.

He doesn’t discard you or try to kick you out. The opposite, really. He’s still holding you close, lightly peppering your chilled skin with kisses. Eventually stopping to rest his head on your chest. He feels you try to move away, but he only holds you tighter.

So you stop trying to leave. And instead, you run your fingers through his hair. He hums contently, at that. And you feel your heart pound harder, a little smile works its way onto your face.

Maybe he’s not so bad.

That thought alone makes you stop. He looks up at you, his stare soft and gentle as he wonders what made you halt your actions so abruptly. Before he can ask what’s wrong, you move to leave.

“I have to go, I really have to go now.” you say bluntly. He huffs, watching as you scramble to put your clothes back in place, clambering off him in a hurry. He doesn’t say anything in response. He watches as you scramble to open the door. Tears of panic begin to fall as you struggle to open it, you frantically pull and push as you try to get away. He leans over, and with little effort, he opens the door for you.

“Goodbye.” he says, simply.

“G-Goodbye.” you respond, ducking out and briskly walking to your front door.

You take a deep breath when you get there, preparing for the possibility that Megumi is about to greet you and bite your head off. Sukuna doesn’t move. He stays in the back seat and watches you with a sombre expression. With no inclination of what happened to change your mood, he can only assume he stepped out of line.

He doesn’t want to leave just yet. At least not until he knows you’re safely inside.

As you grab the handle of the door and push, your heart sinks.

“No, no, no… d-don’t do this to me now.” you sob, hysterically fiddling and pushing the door. You stupidly think that you just need to try harder and it will open. But no such thing comes to pass. You’ve locked yourself out.

Sukuna sits upright when he realises, watching as you slowly turn to look at him. His hand folds, gesturing for you to come closer. And with no other option, you do. Your phone is inside as well as your car keys. You can’t text Megumi to tell him what you’ve done. And even if you could, he’d only come outside to see that you’ve let him down. Again.

“Silly girl.” he says, looking at you with a weak smile when you finally approach. You duck down to look at him, not willing to get inside with him. “Do you want to come to my place? I’ll bring you back in the morning.” he suggests.

“I’m not fucking—”

“You can stay in a different room.” he answers your obvious assumption with a reasonable response. And still…

“N-No. I don’t want to go to your house.”

“Then I guess we’re sleeping in the car. Come on.” he sighs. He waits until you get in, begrudgingly, and then gets out himself. You watch him as he circles to the trunk of his car, looking ahead at your home as you wait for him to return. And he does, with a large, fur blanket.

“Why do you have this?” you wonder.

“I don’t remember. You better not be complaining, sweetheart. You’re lucky I didn’t fuck off right after I came like I usually do. Especially after that little performance.”

“Performance?!” you yell. You position yourself as far away from him as you can in the confined space, sitting as closely to the door as you can. “You just don’t get it! At all.”

“You’ve made that clear, princess. Don’t worry. I’ll steer clear when you get back inside tomorrow. I’m too old to be playing stupid games with little girls who don’t know what they want.”

You huff, covering your legs with the blanket before folding your arms.

“I told you it was a mistake.” you correct him. “I told you I didn’t want to see you or do that again.”

“Shut up.” he shakes his head. “Just go to sleep and we’ll never have to see each other again. Because that’s what you want, yes?”

You pause before speaking. Images of his delicate expression in your arms haunt you. You’d overreacted because of your own cowardice. Because of a promise you evidently had no intention of keeping. It wasn’t a performance. It was just… fear.

“Yes.” you tell him. Your response is bold and scathing.

He doesn’t react, he merely shrugs, adjusting the blanket over his own legs, too. His arms cross over his chest, and his head rests against the window. You can’t see beyond his eye covering, but you assume his visible eye is closed.

You do the same, hoping you fall asleep sooner rather than later.

You’re wrong, though.

His eye is open wide, looking upwards to the light polluted sky. There are a few stars visible, three. He stares at them, thinking about the events of the evening. He hadn’t expected to end up fucking once tonight let alone twice. But when you walked into his club and tried to give him a piece of your mind, he knew.

He knew he’d have to have you.

And he hadn’t expected to be so lucky so have you again, like this. But he can’t put his finger on why things went so sour. It could be one thing or a number of things. He has ideas. He thinks your less complicated than you seem to think you are. You’re keeping him at arm’s length, and that, he understands.

He’s a stranger, but he doesn’t have to be.

He doesn’t want to be.

But what can he do?

He’ll just stare at the stars until he drifts off to sleep.

Maybe things will be different in the morning.

—

© 2024 rinhaler

—

chapter one | m.list | chapter three

[pippin-katz]

Edwin’s Empathy

Something I find interesting is how people, characters and the audience, react to Edwin's behavior. Specifically, the way he responds and talks. He's seen as cold and rude, lacking empathy. It's interesting because he is actually very empathetic, but shows it in ways that others don't pick up on.

For example, when Crystal is talking about her memories coming back, he asks if she remembered anything "useful". Charles indirectly scolds him by saying, "We don't have to be all business all the time, do we?"

Charles associates Edwin's question with business, but in reality, it's incredibly intelligent and empathetic is its own way. In order for Crystal to find her family, she needs to remember "useful" information. She's made her desperation to find her parents very clear throughout their time in Port Townsend. Edwin asking if she remembered anything "useful" is for her benefit, not just for business. Technically, she's a client, but he's also asking her as a friend.

A different example is how he handles Susan Kesler, the sister of the mother from the Devlin House. It's longer, so it's under the cut! ↓

Susan starts off on the assumption that they already know about the Devlin Family Murders, but Crystal interrupts to let her know they don't. Susan admits out loud that it is: "still hard to talk about." She recounts the murders, and after the comment from Crystal about the father being a monster, Edwin says, "But there is no inherent supernatural mystery to the murder."

Now, Charles immediately scolds him for "bedside manner" after he says this, to which Edwin responds with, "We are detectives who solve supernatural mysteries." He then turns to Susan, and says, "You already know who the killer is."

It might seem like he's being insensitive, but Edwin is actually being more mindful of Susan's feelings than the others, and no one picks up on it.

She doesn't want to talk about the murders. It hurts her to talk about the events of that night. She knows what happened. That is not why she's consulting the detectives. She is clearly there for a different reason, and Edwin steers the conversation towards that rather than dwelling on the murders from the past.

In fact, as soon as he says this, Susan's energy goes back up a bit. She had been a normal energy level when she entered, then it dropped while having to retell what happened to her sister and her family. When Edwin points out that the murders aren't a mystery, she jumps on the opportunity to get to the real issue.

"Someone... Something is still inside the house where they died," she says. Her voice has significantly more energy.

And Edwin does not dismiss her by saying, "And you know this for a fact?" He's not skeptical when he asks the question. It's completely genuine. He's collecting as much information as he can.

Susan is even more confident when she tells him about it. "I inherited the house after their deaths, but could never bring myself to go in. Then, after I died last week, I just wanted to visit one last time." It's only when she specifically recounts the screaming that she gets upset again.

She actually seems relieved to share her experience, like it's cathartic to tell someone. In fact, we have no idea how long ago Susan actually went to the house. It was probably before the boys were even in Port Townsend.

If we pay attention to the timeline here, Susan says she died "last week". The boys have only been in town for three days.

Day One: - arrived by ferry - went to Jenny's - visited Becky's parents - found Ester's house By then it's dark outside.

Night One: - went to the malt shop - had their fight - Edwin lassoed the cat - Crystal talked to Jenny & Charles showed her his parents - Crystal told the truth & they foughtt again - formulated a plan Then Jenny told Crystal to go to bed.

Day Two: - broke into Esther's house - rescued Becky - fought Esther - got Becky home The sun has gone down when they're approached by the cat.

Night Two: - approached by cat - taken to the Cat King - Edwin got whisked off & trapped by the bracelet It's morning when he's returned to the warehouse, and that is the start of their third day.

Day Three: - fought about the bracelet - got mail from the Ghost Postman - Crystal bumped into Niko who fainted - the boys went to Tragic Mick's - doctor looked over Niko - Crystal read her mind - the boys went to their office for books - Niko woke up & Crystal talked to her through the bathroom door - the boys came back with the book about parasites - talked to Niko the first time - Niko walked downstairs while possessed - the boys went to the woods with a map drawn by Niko - found the shrine, got the vase, & fought skeletons - returned to Crystal being scolded by Jenny - talked to Niko the second time - the Sprites started to blow her up - Crystal baited them out & Charles caught them It's nighttime when they transition to after the case.

Night Three: - Crystal & Charles talked by the window - Niko came back with blonde hair & met the boys - Niko met the Sprites - Crystal & Niko talked about writing to her mom - Postman showed up with mail & told them about the line of ghosts

It is the morning of their fourth day in Port Townsend when Susan Kesler goes to them for help. She's likely been dwelling on this for at least that long, not knowing what to do about it. Susan is probably relieved to finally tell someone about this, and people who will believe her at that.

By the end of the interview, she's confident when she tells them there's something horrible still in the house, and that she can't move on until she knows her family is at peace. She's even smiling when she offers them her jar of money.

Edwin, whether he realizes it or not, actually made Susan more comfortable by being "dismissive" of the murders.

There's also small moments where his empathy is on display in more obvious scenarios that the characters in the show don't fully acknowledge.

Despite Monty immediately labeling Edwin as "judgmental" for his opinion on astrology, he's the opposite when Niko expresses her concern for going to the house. She doesn't even have to finish her sentence before he's offering her a small smile and telling her that he completely understands. When Crystal comes out of the Washer Woman's realm and says she gave her another riddle, he says, "I am truly sorry she did not get you closer to your family, but at least now we know there is some kind of sea monster." His inflection goes up at the end, like he's trying to "look on the bright side". He finds Simon in Hell, gets mad for all of two minutes, then tries to defend him against Despair, offers him his forgiveness, and helps him forgive himself, unknowingly saving Simon from an eternity of torture.

Edwin might have convinced himself back in the 1910s that he's not good with other people, but he got out of Hell and found a boy dying in an attic, and instead of walking away while Charles didn't know he was there, he brought him a lantern, talked to him, made him laugh, and read him to sleep as he passed.

Charles says in the first episode that he "forgets how to talk to people", but I think a more accurate statement would be that he communicates differently than most people.

(ko-fi)

[sluttywonwoo]

instead of you [part forty] || l.mh

pairing: [best friend’s brother] lee minho x college!reader ft. han jisung

summary: you didn’t expect to spend your summer pretending to be your best friend’s girlfriend- then again, you didn’t expect to fall for your best friend’s brother, either. 

warnings: swearing, alcohol, mentions of sex (18+ ; mdni)

word count: 3.4k

a/n: revamped my tom holland series from my main blog ( @wazzupmrstark ) to try and motivate myself to finish it!!

That night, you turned Jisung’s words over in your mind over and over again. He was wrong, you were convinced. You would love him the same no matter what. No matter if he asked you to end things with Minho or not. You told him as much but he didn’t seem to believe you.

You went back to your room shortly after your talk. You had walked a little more, stopped for dessert at a little shaved ice stand on the beach, and then turned back. Jisung showered first, then you, but only after going over your agreement again. What you did with Minho was your business, but it had to be kept a secret. You were still Jisung’s girlfriend for the duration of the trip. It was mainly about his parents anyway. Jisung hadn’t explicitly told you why having a girlfriend was so important to him but after spending so much time with his family you could guess why. 

The next day, everyone piled into the cars and took the forty-minute drive back to Honolulu where you’d landed. Traffic was awful. You knew it took everything in Minho not to honk at the cars in front of him. You could see his knuckles turning white around the steering wheel from the back seat. 

“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” he cursed as another F-150 cut him off. 

You and Jisung traded looks but neither of you dared to say anything out loud. Even Felix’s grip on the armrest tightened when Minho swerved into the next lane to speed past the truck. 

“We’re not in a rush,” you reminded him. You wanted to touch his arm, reassure him somehow, but you couldn’t. 

“Yeah, Mom and Dad are way behind us now.”

“It’s not about speed,” he muttered. You weren’t really convinced about the speed thing. “It’s about the principle. These assholes shouldn’t be able to get away with driving like maniacs.”

“And what are you doing right now?” Jisung asked carefully. 

His twin brother turned around in his seat to give him a warning look but to everyone’s surprise, Minho took a deep breath and actually stepped on the brakes. He only slowed down a little bit, less than five mph, but it was better than nothing. 

“Sorry, I’m just so used to being late all the time.”

“We know,” Felix joked. 

“You should see my girlfriend drive,” your best friend joked. 

“Please, I passed my driver’s test on the first try,” you scoffed, making eye contact with Minho in the rearview mirror. 

He shook his head at you and mouthed low blow. Next to you, Jisung was also shaking his head. 

“Yeah, and I want to talk to whoever passed you because there’s no way they weren’t under the influence of something.”

“You’re in the fast lane to never getting a ride from me again,” you muttered. 

Jisung raised his hands in surrender. 

“Apologize,” Felix demanded, cutting in on your behalf.

“Yeah, apologize to me,” you agreed.

Jisung sighed and turned his full body toward you, taking both of your hands in his. “I’m sorry, my love. Please forgive me.”

You rolled your eyes. “Whatever.”

Jisung turned back toward his brothers. “I think I’m in the clear, guys.”

You smacked the back of his head. 

-

The first stop in Waikiki was the ABC store. There was one on almost every block so you stopped at the first one you saw to buy snacks and drinks for the beach. 

“How many musubis do you want?” you asked Minho, who was in charge of alcohol. 

“How many are you getting?” he asked back with a grin. 

He looked ridiculous with his arms full of beer, smirking at you like that. 

“Two,” you said flatly. 

“I’ll get two as well.”

You asked the others how many they wanted and raided the mini warmer for them before dumping them at the checkout counter with the rest of what the boys picked out. Dom paid and had the four of you take the bags back to the cars. 

The next step was to find parking somewhere on the streets that were within walking distance to the beach. You had to split up from Jisung’s parents to do so because there was no way you were going to be able to find two open parking spots on the same road. 

Once Minho parked, put money in the meter, and double-checked that the car was locked, the four of you slowly but surely made your way down to the shore where you met up with Nikki and Dom who had already picked out a spot in the sand. 

You had never seen a beach so crowded before. There were people everywhere. And all of the available space was being taken up by beach chairs and umbrellas that you had to rent from one of the several stands stationed behind them. Some of the different colored umbrellas even overlapped with each other in an apparent turf war. You could only imagine what conversations between the rival attendants must be like.

The beach was still beautiful, of course. You were in Hawai’i. Any beach here was going to be breathtaking. Waikiki Beach attracted so many tourists because of its beauty. 

“We rented four chairs,” Dom explained. “We figured not all of us would be sitting over here at once so we wouldn’t need six.”

Jisung nodded in understanding. 

“Are you going to surf?” you asked. 

“Probably,” he answered, looking over to his brothers. “I assume you won’t be?”

“I think I’ll sit this one out.” 

You turned your foot over to look at your toe. Even though all of the sea urchin spines had dissolved, the marks from the injury were still fading. You couldn’t see yourself back on a board any time soon. 

You were content to lay out in the sun with your book until Jisung wanted to wade in the water. 

The boys left to rent surfboards and their parents headed in the opposite direction for a walk along the beach, leaving you alone with all of the stuff. You joked to Nikki and Dom that you would protect it with your life but in reality, you would hand it over if someone so much as looked at you threateningly. 

You went to dig your book out from Jisung’s backpack but accidentally grabbed his instead. It was the one you had already read and annotated for him. Out of curiosity, you opened to where he left off to see what part he was at and were surprised to see his handwriting scrawled in the margins of the most recent page. 

He hadn’t stopped annotating it. Even after everything, even when he was simmering with anger, he was still writing you little notes and responding to the ones you had left. You weren’t supposed to read them before he was done so you quickly closed it back and shoved it into the bag again before retrieving the book that was actually yours. 

You took a brief look back up at the water to see how the boys were doing but there were so many surfers that it was hard to pick them out. 

“Which one’s yours?” 

The voice beside you startled you, making you jump a little before you realized someone had taken the seat next to you. 

You weren’t sure where she had come from but a girl who looked to be about your age was perched on one of the chairs the Hans had reserved. She was pretty, really pretty. Head full of curls and freckles dusted across her cheeks. The tangerine-colored bikini she was wearing looked amazing against her skin and you weren’t sure whether you were more jealous of her or attracted to her. 

“Huh?” you asked.

“Which one’s yours?” she repeated. 

“Oh.” You squinted at the waves, trying to zero in on Jisung. “Uh, blue wetsuit in the group of three off to the side.”

The girl followed your gaze and nodded when she found him. “They just got out there, right?”

“Yeah, we only got here a few minutes ago.” You noticed the camera dangling around and realized she must be out there for someone too. “Um, which one is yours?”

“Long hair, kind of far out. He’s in the big cluster of surfers in the swell.”

Her boyfriend was easy to spot. He was paddling in the direction of an upcoming wave.

“Do you guys come out here often?” you asked. 

She nodded, curls bouncing. “David’s lived in Kaneohe like all his life, which is like fifteen minutes from here so it’s super convenient. The North Shore isn’t as crowded but the waves are practically nonexistent in the summer,” she explained. “What about you guys?”

“We’re on vacation.” You were embarrassed to admit that but it wasn’t like you could lie. You didn’t know the island at all. You also didn’t want to risk mentioning that it hadn’t been your choice to come here and offend her if she thought you were implying that her home state was the worst or something. 

“Oh, how fun!” she exclaimed. Ok, well that was a positive reaction at least. 

“My boyfriend’s family was nice enough to invite me along,” you added, wanting at the very least to establish that it hadn’t been your idea. 

“Holy shit, that is nice of them.”

“I know,” you agreed. 

“Well, while you’re here you should definitely check out the Pillbox hike. It’s a little brutal if you aren’t used to hiking uphill but the views are totally worth it.”

“I’ll be sure to mention it to him! We have a free day tomorrow so maybe we’ll do that, thank you.”

You would not be going on the hike. You hated hiking and heights but you would still mention it to Jisung in case the boys wanted to go. 

She smiled but then something out of the corner of her eye caught her attention and she was standing up to leave. 

“Sorry, I promised my boyfriend that I would get some shots of him today and he’ll be pissed if I miss these waves.”

She threw you a wave over her shoulder as she jogged off. You waved back, calling out that it was nice to meet her. You never got her name. 

You only managed to get through a couple of pages of your book before another person approached your chairs. This time, it was Jisung. He had come up to check on you. 

“Make a new friend?” he asked as he shook water out of his hair like a dog. 

“Oh yeah, did you see that girl talking to me?”

“Thought she might be trying to put the moves on you.”

“Oh my god, how many times do I have to tell you I’m not Bella Swan? Not everyone who talks to me is into me.”

“She was your type, though.”

“You say that about all girls.”

“Because that’s your type.”

You rolled your eyes at your best friend. “Either way, she wasn’t interested. She has a boyfriend. She was just asking me if I had a partner out there too.” 

“That doesn’t mean she didn’t think you were cute,” he pointed out.

“You’re so annoying,” you groaned. “I don’t need a wingman anymore.”

He made a face. “That’s right, you’re fucking my brother,” he said, sounding disgusted. You couldn’t blame him. 

“Do you have to announce that to the entire beach? I’m supposed to be your girlfriend, remember?”

Jisung shrugged and plopped himself down on the chair next to yours. He ran a hand through his hair, trying to get it out of his eyes. Because it was wet, it had taken on a mind of its own. You had witnessed Jisung try to tame his hair after a shower on several occasions. It usually ended with him just waiting for it to dry so that he could style it and then making you late to wherever you were supposed to be going. 

“Are you going to go back out there?” you asked. 

“Probably. Wanna join?”

“Very funny.”

“I was being serious.”

“Oh. Well, no thanks.”

“I figured but I just wanted to make sure.”

“You’re sweet.”

-

The boys surfed for a couple of hours before coming in to eat the musubis and snacks you bought earlier. Their parents returned around the same time and you all ate together. 

Afterward, Jisung offered to wade around in the shallow water at the edge of the beach with you.

“You have to get in,” he insisted. “It’ll cool you down.”

“Okay,” you agreed.

You didn’t need any more convincing. You had wanted to get in anyway.    

“Lix, Minho, do you want to come with us?” Jisung asked. 

They looked at each other and shrugged. “Sure.”

The four of you wove through the sea of beach chairs down to the shore where the remnants of bigger waves lapped at the sand. The water was crystal clear, apart from the frothy white foam atop the waves. It fizzled against the hot sand when the waves crashed against the beach, lingering still even when the water subsided. 

There were several groups of people in the ocean as well but it was less crowded than the beach. Families with small children were gathered right by the shore, the parents mingling with each other as the kids played with wet sand and beach toys. You wished you could remember what it was like to be that young. To meet a stranger and be best friends in the blink of an eye. 

There were less and less people the further out from the shore you got. Fathers teaching older kids how to boogie board, teenagers jumping in the waves as they gossiped with each other. 

You weren’t sure how long you spent in the water but before long, Nikki and Dom were waving from the beach to get your attention. 

“They’re either saying it’s time to go, or they’re ditching us,” Jisung said, squinting and making a ‘what?’ gesture with his shoulders. 

“It’s really a fifty-fifty shot,” Felix added. 

“I think they want us to come in,” Minho guessed.

Minho was proven right mere seconds later when Dom beckoned you to join them. 

-

The latter half of the day was spent walking around the city. Being the center of tourism on the island meant Waikiki had a lot of shopping. You had never seen so many high-end stores in one place before. You did some window shopping while the Hans did some shopping shopping. Practically everything in every single shop was out of your price range. You weren’t expecting otherwise but seeing the numbers on the backs of the price tags still hurt your heart. 

You could tell a few of the sales associates recognized Minho from the way their eyes would get big when they saw him. They’d lean over and whisper to each other behind his back. Even though he couldn’t hear them you knew he knew it was happening. It made you feel kind of bad for him. Kind of. 

You ate dinner at some restaurant attached to the lobby of a hotel. It was on the water, which was nice, but it was just as crowded as the beach had been. The poor servers were so swamped that it took over an hour to get your food. No one minded, of course, but by the time Minho laid his credit card on top of the bill it was dark outside. 

“Do you remember where we parked?” Minho asked you as you 

“Yeah, but I don’t know how to get there from where we are right now.”

“So you don’t remember where we parked.”

“No, I remember where we parked. But we’ve walked around so much that I don’t know how to get there.”

Minho shook his head at you. “You should always pay attention to where you’re going. It can be dangerous if you don’t know where you are.”

“Why should I? That’s what I have you guys for.”

“What if we weren’t here?”

“There’s a parked car option on my GPS.”

“What if your phone was dead?”

“What is wrong with you?”

“I just want you to be safe!”

You didn’t want to hear any more. “Jisung, your brother is being an asshole!”

Your best friend, who had been walking alongside Felix, jogged up to meet you when you called for him. 

“What’d he do?” 

“I was just trying to-”

“I didn’t ask you,” Jisung cut in, glaring at Minho. 

“He’s giving me a hard time because I don’t know how to get back to the car from here,” you explained. 

“We can just use the GPS app,” Jisung said. 

You turned to Minho with a smug grin. “See?”

“I can’t believe you told on me,” he muttered under his breath. 

“Get used to it,” you hummed. 

-

The last day on Oahu was a free day. You told Jisung about the pillbox hike that the girl from the beach had suggested and he woke up early to do it with Felix and Minho. He came back raving about it and showed you a bunch of pictures that made you feel a little sick to your stomach because of how high it looked. 

“Thank god I didn’t go with you guys,” you sighed. “I’d be freaking out even if I stayed at the bottom, just thinking about you up there. There aren’t any handrails or guards to keep you from falling-”

“We were fine,” he assured you. “I didn’t even show you the pictures of us on top of the box.”

“You climbed it?”

“I mean, we’d already climbed the mountain. What’s a little concrete box? Everyone else was doing it.”

You held a hand to your heart like a scandalized middle-aged woman. “I don’t think I want to know anything else.”

Jisung took one look at you and laughed. “That’s probably for the best.”

You did some pre-packing at the hotel before joining his brothers to do some exploring. Like Jisung, they had showered after their hiking expedition. All three of them were sporting still-wet hair that was dripping onto their shirts like kids sitting in church service after their baptism. 

You walked around the resort first, checking out all of the pools and hot tubs for later that night. Jisung told his parents that he’d cook for the family and he’d dragged Felix and Minho with him to get groceries earlier. Apparently, Minho said he would help grill while Jisung made some of the side dishes upstairs. You were interested to see how that would turn out. You didn’t have to wait long to find out. 

You walked by the lagoons next, slipping into the resorts along the shore to scope them out. You were surprised to see that some of them were nicer than the one you were staying at. You assumed the Hans had chosen whatever the best money could buy was but maybe they were a more financially conscious family than you’d thought. 

“This is the Disney hotel,” Minho whispered in your ear as you passed one of the pools. “It’s crazy expensive to stay here for just a night. Like a standard room is over six hundred dollars.”

“Are you serious?”

“Unfortunately. I mean, we probably could have gotten a discount but someone would have to pull a lot of strings and then a handful of people would know exactly where I’m going to be and when and we would have had to hire security... it was just easier to book somewhere else.”

“Isn’t it kind of dangerous to be walking around here in the open then?”

Minho shrugged. “I like to live life on the edge.”

You snorted. “Clearly.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Ji showed me the pictures from your hike earlier.”

His eyes widened. “He did?”

“Uh huh.”

“Shit.”

“You know, I could point out how hypocritical it is to lecture me about safety one day and then do shit like that the next, but I won’t.” 

“You’re the one that told us about the hike!”

You ignored him. “Does your agent know you were climbing mountains this morning?”

He narrowed his eyes at you and leaned closer to your face. “No, and she never will.”

“You seem pretty sure of that...”

“You don’t have her number,” Minho said like he was trying to reassure himself rather than call your bluff. 

“Not yet, I don’t.”

“Is that a threat?”

“It’s a promise.”

He gulped. “Why do I get the feeling that we’re not talking about my agent anymore?”

lmk what you think i always appreciate feedback!!

[al1fers-haven]

"OH DEER"

Alastor x Vox's wife!reader

Part 1 - Part 1.5 (You're here!)

You had been at the hotel for a couple weeks now, completely ignoring the news and any form of technology that Vox could find you on, even trying to steer clear from going outside, to begin with after a couple of times trying.

You had bonded a lot with the fellow members of the Hazbin hotel, you and Angel had bonded the most it seemed. Both having worked with the Vees and had romantic and sexual relations with them, it brought you together. Especially when it came to the harder nights the porn star seemed to have because of Valentino. "So...what's your deal?" Husk looked towards you as you looked down at the margarita he had made for you about 12 minutes ago. Attempting to figure out what exactly was going on and why you were here to begin with.

"What? Oh- nothin' much. Trying to wrap my head around this whole.." You waved your hand around in the air. "Redemption thing?" Husk nodded, grabbing his own bottle of whiskey and sighing. "What? You really believe in it?" You shook your head no, giggling a little bit. "No, I've met heaven. They won't let any soul go through anytime soon unless it is someone really important. You would think if souls could be redeemed I wouldn't be here, right?" Husk sensed the slight tension at the mention of heaven. A small smile on your face. "I uh...yeahh..." He let out a small noise and opened his bottle. "Well, why are you here? Alastor got you on a leash?" You sat up at that. Suddenly getting a lot livelier at the mention of the radio demon. "Oh! No, he would never! Uhm...i ran into him on the street, we had a nice talk. He's helping me hide from my ex-husband." Husk deadpanned, pointing his bottle at you. "What?" You lifted your glass up and chuckled a bit behind it, rolling your eyes. "I seem to get that answer a lot...I ran into him after me and my husband had gotten into a huge fight. Luckily enough he is one of the many people Vox can't touch! So here I am..!" You laughed nervously. Watching as Husk got more and more confused. "You were married to Vox? as in the overlord Vox?" You deadpanned, running a hand through your hair as your smile dropped. "Well he wasn't 'Vox, head of Voxtech' when I married him! We go way back to the living world." He slowly nodded. "Is he uh....treatin you well then?" Husk took a sip of his whiskey, leaning against the table. "Oh! He's been a complete sweetie to me! Making me snacks, even getting me some new clothes from Cannibal Town!" Your cheeks grew more and more colorful as you spoke about the overlord. Take a flustered sip from your drink. "You don't-" You took a loud sip from the drink. Your face continued to get red as he stared at you. "You do!?" "Listen, its just a small thing! It ain't going anywhere...Just...having a couple dinners with the fella.." Husk rubbed his face. A shameful look on your face. "What! He's the only guy who's actually treated me like a girl and not something to wife up! Can't blame a girl can ya?" Husk nodded. "Yes, yes I can blame you." "Really? Is it that bad for me to have a small thing for Mr. Strawberryhead?" Husk sighed, rolling his eyes with a mumble. "Well, it's not horrible? I mean, just fair warning he is a horrible person." You waved your hand, putting down your drink. "Eh, I've married worse. Believe me, vox was nothing more than an obsessive drunk who can't handle being told no. As long as he doesn't force me into anything I hate, then we are good! Or hit me." Husk stared at you baffled, a horrified expression on his face. "What? Is that bad!?" Husk nodded quickly. Grabbing your drink and refilling it. "Yes! That's- That is below the bare minimum Y/n! Cmon girl, you need to think about standards- Cmon, your standards are to not date a rapist or an abuser! That's- oh god angel has better standards." You slumped a bit. "Y/n, dear! I made some fruit salad, would you like some?" Alastors voice boomed throughout the bar room, making you perk up and look towards the fellow. "Coming Alastor!" You stood up, grabbing the margarita with a smile as you looked at Husk. "Uh..." He looked towards Alastor with a growl. "Thank you...Husk. I'll think more about what I want, how about that?" The cat demon nodded slowly, turning around and cleaning out a cup or two.

[darkserenity24]

𝑭𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒐𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒐𝒔 - 𝑪𝒉.9

Loki x Reader

𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙎𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙮: 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙇𝙤𝙠𝙞 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙥𝙞𝙘𝙣𝙞𝙘 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙠, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙜𝙤 𝙖𝙨 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙.

𝘈/𝘕: 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦! 𝘏𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘭 🎉 🍸

𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝑪𝒂𝒏 𝑩𝒆 𝑯𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑴𝒆

“Does she have any criminal history? Because if she does, we may already have something in common.” 

You eyed Natasha in amusement, shaking your head.

“To my knowledge, she’s just as boring as I am regarding criminal history. Maybe even more considering she’s never worked with Avengers before.”

You didn’t miss the small smirk that appeared on Bucky’s face.

“Has she served any time in the military?”

Your brow raised. “No Steve, she has not.”

“So then I’m guessing she’s not an operative.”

“She’s not a terrorist either, Tony.”

“Does she bake muffi-”

“Guys,” You stared irritatedly at everyone sitting on the couch before you. “She is just a normal human,” you emphasized. “woman like I am. No terroristic tendencies or superpowers.” You eyed Thor quizzically. “and no, she does not bake muffins.”

You weren’t shocked to see his shoulders deflate.

The chatter among the group grew louder as they speculated on who this stranger was and why you were inviting her over. You had rarely invited anyone over to the tower before, so naturally they were curious about who it was. Though, a bit too curious for your liking.

You swallowed nervously when you heard the elevator ding, clearing your throat loud enough to grab their attention.

“She’s here. I’ll be back, and please,” you eyed them all pleadingly. “Be on your best behavior.”

“Always.” Nat winked.

This was the first friend you’d invited over other than Kayla in a very long time and you were kind of nervous. The team– your family, was basically composed of supernormal human beings, extraterrestrial gods from different realms, assassins, and other out of the ordinary creatures. There was no easy way to introduce someone new to them in a normal way.

You and Lana had become good friends over the past month of you knowing each other. Not only was she extremely smart and clever, but she was also quite funny.

Ever since the incident with Jacob, you haven’t spent much time around Kayla without being in a group setting. Loki’s blatant distrust of her steered you away from her and into the opposite direction any time you saw her.

But Lana was different. She was new. After the mixer, she was the first one to reach out to you about meeting up at a cute little café that had just opened up in the city. You accepted her invitation and were delighted to find out she was a pretty normal person after all. She didn’t come from super wealthy parents or any influential people, she got to where she was all on her own and you respected that.

She was about a year older than you which comforted you more than you realized. After the first outing, you didn’t hesitate to go out with her more. Brunches, lunches, dinners, late-night outings, you name it. Your trust in her increased the more time you spent with her.

When you eventually told the team that you were inviting her over, you were almost just as surprised as they were. Kayla was already connected through Tony’s relationship with her family, but Lana? Lana was a complete stranger to them and they didn’t know what to expect.

To say they were still a bit overprotective of you was an understatement. However, you didn’t let their intense questioning affect you, greeting Lana as she stepped off the elevator.

She ran a hand over her wild curls, presenting a nervous smile as she greeted you.

“Hey, girl!”

“Hi, Lana!” You returned her greeting, possibly too cheerfully. “I’m glad you could make it.” 

Giving her a quick hug, you pointed in the direction of the communal living space.

“They're all in here. Follow me.”

She did as you asked and followed you in tow.

When you returned with your new friend, all eyes immediately shot her way.

You stepped forward, partially blocking her as you introduced her to everyone.

“This is my friend Lana. She studies environmental biology at NYU, loves to cook, and volunteers at the local veterans shelter in her spare time. She will be around in the tower more often. Yes, she already has been granted security clearance, and yes she‘s had a complete background check so don’t ask any weird questions okay?”

The severe look you were giving everyone had the room quiet, no one saying a thing. When you caught Tony slowly raising his hand you instantly glared at him to shut it down, causing him to quickly lower it and avoid your gaze.

There was no way you were going to let them scare her away so soon. 

You were only mildly surprised when Lana stepped forward, a small smile spreading on her face as she prepared herself to speak.

“I’m sure this is strange for you guys, letting someone in that’s not a part of your inner circle and all but I promise I’m not some sort of secret agent or war criminal,”

You saw Nat raise a brow. 

“I’m only here because I was lucky enough to make friends with this amazing woman without even realizing exactly who she was. If I’m being honest, I have no idea why she even invited me here because I am certainly not high caliber enough. But if it makes any of you feel any better you can ask me all the questions you want. I’m really an open book so go ahead.” She encouraged with a charming smile.

You took a step towards her, eyes wide. “Lana, that’s probably not-”

“How long have you and your family lived here?”

“Are you related to any past terrorists?”

“How many bank accounts do you have in how many states?”

“Are you willing to learn how to make my favorite Asgardian dish? It is well worth the work, I promise.”

You could tell your new friend was taken aback by the mass of random (and quite intrusive) questions being fired at her all at once.

Before you could tell her she truly didn’t need to answer any of them she beat you to it, placing a hand on her chin as she thought things through.

“Let’s see, my family actually lives in Ohio but I moved to New York around three years ago for school and work opportunities. No one in my family is, or was a terrorist to my knowledge, so I think we’re all good there. I only have two bank accounts, one that I share with my parents for emergencies and one that I own by myself. The only reason I’m giving this information to you all is because I truly doubt that you’re gonna actually find them both and steal my money considering who you guys are,” She paused squinting her eyes. “But if you do, please leave enough for me to at least pay my rent this month. New York is hella expensive.”

You saw Nat smile from the corner of your eye. Most of the team looked impressed, others hid their thoughts with a poker face with the exception of Tony who continued to eye Lana with a ridiculous amount of heavy suspicion in his gaze.

“And yes, Thor,” She continued. “I would love to learn how to make your favorite dish. I love to cook! Send me the recipe and I’ll be on it.”

Thor’s face lit up brighter than a Christmas tree. “That is wonderful news, my lady! I must return to Asgard at once so I can gather the ingredients. You haven’t dabbled with extracting the leaves from semi-poisonous herbs by any chance, have you?”

Heads turned to Thor in bewilderment.

“She literally just arrived and already has the threat of being poisoned by a demi-god. Great job, Thor.” Bruce deadpanned.

“The herbs are only semi-poisonous, I swear to Odin!”

Tony eventually cut through the noise of Thor and Bruce squabbling, crossing his arms as he leaned against the table.

“What’s your GPA?” He asked her.

You wanted to roll your eyes at the unnecessary question.

Out of all the questions that had been thrown her way, this was the one that seemed to catch Lana off guard. 

She turned to Tony, looking mildly surprised as she chuckled nervously. “Ummmm, it’s only a 4.5 at the moment but I’ve been trying to get it higher.”

Your eyes widened. Only a 4.5?

Tony looked just as surprised as you were. “Really?”

“Yeah, those AP classes can be real tough sometimes, you know?”

Tony straightened his posture, now looking highly impressed before turning to you.

“Alright, ‘nuff said. I approve.” He said. 

“Thanks, dad.” You muttered mockingly under your breath.

“Now, everyone stop grilling her before she turns into a steak. Party’s over.” Tony clapped his hands before heading down the hall.

Sam hummed. “A steak does sound pretty good right about now. Buck, Steve, you up for an early dinner?”

You drowned out their conversation as you turned to Lana, giving her an awkward smile. “So that went way better than I expected. You really didn’t have to do all of that for their approval.”

She chuckled, waving her hand. “It’s no problem, honestly. Plus any normal person would want to impress the Avengers if they had the chance. This isn’t a common scenario for the average Joe so I had a lot of fun talking to them.”

You quirked a brow at her, crossing your arms. “Yeah? Well, it’s all fun and games now until Thor brings you his poisonous herbs from outer space. Then you may start rethinking your association with them.”

“They are only semi-poisonous!” You heard Thor call from the other side of the room. You cursed his super hearing abilities.

Lana grinned over at Thor before her eyes caught something over your shoulder. “Oh, hey Loki!” 

You turned around to see Loki standing only a few feet away from you. He sauntered towards you, politely returning Lana’s greeting.

“Please ignore my oaf of a brother. I do not believe he is actually trying to poison you but sometimes his excitement overrides his intelligence.”

Loki was the first person you introduced Lana to in the tower. You trusted in his good judge of character, knowing that Lana was good to meet the rest of the team once Loki didn’t have anything negative to say about her, except for her being human, of course.

Being used to Loki’s constant jibes at his brother, you decided to throw one back at him just because, patting his arm lightly before turning to Lana.

“You’ll have to excuse his younger brother as well. He can be a bit of a green meanie even when he likes someone.”

You expected the light scoff that emitted from Loki’s lips. “I am not mean, I am simply so blunt in my truthfulness that it can be hard for one to handle at times.”

“Yeah, okay, meanie.”

A sly smile slid on Lana’s face as she witnessed you and Loki banter back and forth, almost seeming to forget her presence entirely until she cleared her throat.

Both your heads shot her way simultaneously and you smiled apologetically at her.

“Well, I’m going to show Lana around the tower. You can join us if you’d like.” You offered him.

“Unfortunately I have some business I must attend to with Thor so I will have to sit this one out. But I will see you tomorrow morning for our next outing, yes?” He asked, looking at you with all seriousness.

You nodded. “Yep! See you tomorrow.”

You and Lana both watched as Loki retreated, heading over toward Thor’s direction.

“That was cute.” She commented with a smirk on her face when you turned back to her, causing you to raise an eyebrow.

“Cute?”

“Yeah, you two obviously have some sort of chemistry. It’s really adorable actually.” “Our friendship is adorable?” you laughed. “Well, I guess that’s one way of putting it. Much nicer than how Tony or Steve would probably describe it. Now, come on, I promised you a tour of the place.”

“Yes, you sure did.”

You gestured for her to follow you, walking past her into the opposite direction. You paused in your steps when you heard a commotion behind you.

Spinning around you frowned at the scene in confusion. It appeared as if Bucky had somehow bumped into Lana, or maybe she was the one who bumped into him. All you witnessed was the aftermath, watching as they both stared at each other in mild surprise.

Bucky was the first one to apologize. 

“Shoot! Sorry, I didn’t see you there.”

“Oh, no, that was all…” You watched as Lana lifted her gaze up to Bucky, an apologetic look in her eyes before she froze, face glossing over in awe. “.. on me.”

Bucky shook his head. “Nah, I just gotta be more careful. Wouldn’t want to run into you with this thing.” He gestured towards his metal arm which was completely covered by his jacket, hand covered by a glove. 

She nodded slightly, expression still struck with wonder as she continued to look up at him “Right..”

You had no doubt that she had no idea what he was talking about.

It took everything in you not to grin as you watched as Bucky continued his apology, completely oblivious to Lana’s awestruck gaze.  

You heard Sam call Bucky’s name, grabbing his attention. He turned back to Lana with a small smile, a slight apologetic look on his face.

“I gotta go, but I’m sure I’ll see you around, yeah?”

“Y-yeah, sounds good.”

He left with a parting nod, leaving Lana there still staring at him.

“Hello? You still here?” You called out, waving a hand near her face.

She blinked, looking back at you with wide wide eyes, a bashful look appearing on her face.

“I was staring, wasn’t I.”

You confirmed with a slow nod, smirking at her as you crossed your arms. “Yeah. That, and a lot more.”

She sighed, taking one last glance at Bucky before he disappeared from sight. “Who is that? One of the Avengers?”

“Yeah, sort of. Bucky has a sort of complicated history, but I still think he’s considered an Avenger. Maybe you should talk to him sometime. Get to know him a bit more.” You encouraged.

Her brows furrowed. “Oh no, I wouldn’t want to bother him. I’m sure he has so many better things to do than talk to me.”

“You’d be surprised. Plus, I think that was adorable. I did not plan on you having a crush on one of the Avengers on the very first day of meeting them.” You teased with a large grin.

Out of all people, Lana having a crush on Bucky Barnes was surprising, but she could certainly have chosen a lot worse. Bucky was a good guy, and you were interested to see the dynamic between the two the next time they were around each other. 

Lana sent you a playful glare, crossing her arms over her chest. “Yeah, well, stranger things have happened I guess. It’s not my fault that man is absolutely gorgeous. I mean, they all are! How do you get anything done around here?”

“I’ve been around them a lot longer than you, and the novelty wore off long ago. But don’t worry, it probably will be the same for you soon. Now,” You beckoned her yet again. “Let’s go before we’re interrupted yet again.”

You were grateful for the blanket that laid between your back and the crispy blades of grass as you gazed up at the clear blue sky. Your dark sunglasses did a decent job of shielding your eyes from the bright sun, the heated rays providing relief from the cool breeze that wisped by you on occasion.

“I must say, this is quite nice.” You heard Loki mutter beside you. “Not as satisfying as being out in the Asgardian wilderness, but anything is preferable than being trapped in that concrete helhole you call a city.”

As much as you wanted to defend New York, Loki did have a point. Sometimes being in the city could be exhausting. That’s why you brought him all the way out to a park about an hour and a half away from the chaos. Central Park did its best, but it could never compare to the peacefulness of undisturbed natural land.

It was just you, Loki,  and a picnic basket full of goodies surrounded by beautiful trees. Oh– and the two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents sitting on a bench 50 feet away from you, looking highly uncomfortable in their stuffy suits.

The sun felt good on your skin. It felt better than good, it felt amazing. The natural source of vitamin D was feeding you the nutrients your body craved, something you were being deprived of because of your condition.  

You groaned when you felt your stomach rumble, an obvious indicator that you needed food. Loki was pushing something your way before you could even open your mouth to ask. 

“Thank you, kind sir.”

You sat up, grabbing one of the many cold cuts you packed in the basket from him as he hummed in response.

He glanced around, taking in the beautiful scene before you both as you began eating your sandwich.

Curious about his uncharacteristic silence, you looked over at him. 

“I know this is supposed to be a relaxing trip and all but you're way quieter than usual. What’s on your mind?”

He didn’t say anything for a while, dark brows furrowing just a touch as he pondered on what he wanted to say.

“I do enjoy taking sport in ridiculing this planet at every opportunity I get, however,  my mockery can only stand for so long. I am afraid I am now the one being mocked. Here I am, trapped in the very place I endeavored to subjugate, and though I am able to roam freely now it still feels as if I am locked in that cell deep under the tower. I am still a prisoner somewhere I am not wanted.”

You stopped chewing, slowly setting your half eaten sandwich down as you turned to face him fully, carefully listening to what he had to say.

“I have now come to the tragic realization that I need to find a better way to survive on this planet, to accept my circumstances as they are, and get used to living on Midgard while I am here. I don’t know when I will be sent back to Asgard, it could be years, decades, maybe even centuries. Nevertheless, the timeline does not make any difference because my people do not want me there.”

You watched as his face slowly transformed from apathy to disappointment, finally settling on sadness. Loki was sad, and he had every reason to be. No matter how much you tried to extend compassion and empathy to him, you had no idea how it felt to be in his situation. To be in the position that he’s been in for so long.

Your chest tightened at the thought of him being so depressed here. You knew you had to do everything in your power to make his time on Earth better than he expected. He was counting on you, whether he knew it or not. Besides Thor, you were one of the few people that cared about him as a person. As a friend. A true friend.

You scooted closer to him on the blanket until your shoulders were brushing against one another. You were comforted by his body heat and hoped that you brought some sort of comfort to him too. 

“I’m not sure when you’ll be able to return to Asgard, but I do know I’m really enjoying having you here while I can.” You turned away in thought.

“New York is only a small part of the world. You still have the rest of the country to see, and so many others. You may be stuck here for a while but you still have a lot to experience, and I’m going to make sure that you do. You have a whole world to see out there, and you have a ton of people to meet. You have people who like you, who trust you, and do want you here and I‘m one of them. I want you here.”

His head turned to look at you as you stared out into the distance. “And to be completely honest, this sounds really selfish but I’d be very sad if you were to leave so soon. I don’t know if you’ve noticed but I’m kind of attached to you.” you chuckled lightly.

“If by some miracle I was to return back to my realm sooner than later, I do not believe I could leave you behind. I’m afraid you will be forced to move there as well, whether you desire to or not.”

The small smirk that grew on his face let you know that he was joking. At least that’s what you got from it. You were glad to see him smile, even if it was only a bit. You wanted Loki to feel more comfortable here. You wanted him not to be miserable. You’d die trying to make sure he’d be alright because if he was not okay, you were afraid that he may spiral back down a path he was trying to avoid. Things were pretty dark for him before, and there was a possibility that he could return to that darkness if no one paid enough attention.

You smiled at him cheekily, attempting to lighten the mood. “Oh, you think I wouldn’t want to visit Asgard? If there was a chance you’d be returning sometime soon, I’m making you take me. There’s no way I’d miss out on-.”

Your words caught in your throat as you sat up straight, your body rigid and frozen while your stomach churned violently, twisting with a dizzying intensity. No. Not now.

Loki’s concerned face filled your vision as he leaned towards you, placing a hand on your arm. “Dove, are you alright?”

You didn’t respond, shooting up from your seated position and making a beeline to a nearby tree. Your earlier breakfast as well as your half eaten sandwich came spilling out as you wretched out all the contents of your stomach onto the ground.

You heard Loki calling your name as he bolted your way. Surprisingly, you had enough energy to raise your arm, attempting to stop him from coming near and seeing the mess you made.

But it was too late, and you were mortified. 

When you planned this picnic outing with him, "throwing up your lunch" definitely wasn’t on the itinerary. It was gross and embarrassing, and he just witnessed it all.

Quickly wiping your mouth on your sleeve, you straightened, feeling his hand on your back.

“I’m sorry,” you apologized, shaking your head, and turning to him with shame in your eyes. “That was… I don’t know what happened. I’m really-.”

Loki cut you off, shushing you as he pulled you closer. 

“You have no reason to apologize, little one, and please,” he bent his neck down to look you in the eyes. “don’t ever hide from me.”

You swallowed, nodding slowly.

The agents that were farther away were now much closer. Loki shooed them off, telling them he had things under control. 

With much hesitation, they backed away, and with a hand on the small of your back, Loki carefully led you back to the picnic, gently setting you down on the blanket and handing you a bottle of water. Gratefully, you gulped half of the bottle's contents before sighing. You peeked over at him, still seeing the concerned look in his green eyes as he gave you all of his attention.

“What happened? Are you feeling well?”

He placed the back of his hand on your forehead, and you gently pushed it off, not wanting to make a big deal out of things. 

He looked a bit taken aback by your subtle brush-off. 

“Yeah, it’s fine. I’m fine. I just...” you swallowed again, turning away from his intense gaze as your mind conjured up a reasonable explanation. “I think I ate something bad earlier. It just caught up to me I guess.”

He said nothing at that, but you caught the slight furrow of his brows at your answer. He eyed you with an unexpected amount of suspicion, seeming to be scrutinizing your every movement.

“No,” he stated, expression hardening a touch. “I don’t believe that is true. There is something else, isn’t there?” He said more than asked. 

He didn’t elaborate on what he meant by something else and didn’t say more than that, still staring at you with a strange look in his eyes.

You didn’t like this, one bit. You had no clue how your peaceful outing turned into whatever tense situation was happening at the moment, and it was all your fault. Sort of.

“I-I don’t know what you mean.” You stuttered. “I don’t know what else there could be, so that’s most likely what’s happening. Humans are more fragile than you extraterrestrials, after all.”

You let out a light chuckle after your statement, attempting to break the tension. You hated this. You hated lying to him. It was something you didn’t want to ever do, and would never do so about anything else, but you had to. Loki couldn’t find out about your illness. You weren’t ready to tell him. You enjoyed how well things were going and you wanted to keep it that way for as long as possible. 

He stared at you. Like really stared, eyes searching yours to detect anything that would say otherwise. Anything that would prove that what you were saying was false. His gaze pinned you to the spot, and you didn’t feel like you could move an inch without giving anything away. Like one movement would expose all the lies you’ve been telling him and everyone else.

Your heart was racing, and your palms became sweaty. The longer he did or said nothing, the more nervous you got. When he finally did say something, the words that came out of his mouth made your heart skip a beat.

“You know that you can be honest with me, right?”

You took a deep breath, trying your hardest to keep eye contact with his intense ones. With a hesitant shake of your head, you told him what he wanted to hear, or at least what you wanted him to hear.

“Y-yes, of course. I know that.”

You could see his eyes move all over your face, assessing you one last time before his face relaxed, losing the severe intensity it had before. He blinked, looking away before meeting your eyes again, gaze much softer than before. It was the way he normally regarded you. The way he normally looked at you.

“You’re right, humans are much more sensitive than every other species. Still, I do not enjoy seeing you ill. It is quite a jarring sight. Is there anything you need from me?”

“I don’t think so but I’ll let you know. It was just a little stomach bug but I’m okay, I promise.” You said with a genuine smile.

He still looked to be deep in thought for a moment before nodding with finality. He was accepting your explanation for your random bout of sickness.

The relief you felt at him not finding out about your condition was overshadowed by the fact that you know you lied to him, and that wasn’t something easy to live with. 

You promised to yourself that one day you’d tell him the truth, but that day wasn’t now.

When the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents started to look a bit antsy, Loki Stood up, extending his arm down to you to help you up as well. “That might be our queue that they want to leave.”

“Yeah, they’re probably itching to report my yackfest to Tony.” you snorted.

You took his offered hand, standing up slowly so you didn’t lose your balance since your head was spinning a bit from the events of the last ten minutes or so. A particularly cool gust of wind brushed past and you wrapped your arms around yourself, wishing that you brought an extra jacket to put on over your thin sweater.

“Here, allow me,” Loki said, beginning to take off his peacoat.

Before you could protest, he placed it over your shoulders, the coat engulfing your smaller frame. 

“You didn’t have to…” You began your protest but your words faltered once you felt how warm it felt around you. “Oh… this is nice, and incredibly cozy. How do you keep this jacket so warm?”

He shrugged lightly. “Asgardians run much hotter than humans.”

“Yeah, but Frost Giants don’t.”

“You continue to forget the wonders of Asgardian magic, my dear.” He responded, raising a hand. “My Aesir form acts in the same manner as a natural born one would, body temperature and all. You can thank Odin for this.”

You watched in awe as the normal pale color of his hand faded into a dark blue, stopping mid arm. You reacted before thinking, your own hand moving to touch his. Before you could make contact with his hand he quickly moved it out of your reach.

“That,” He gave you a look. “is a bad idea.” 

“Why? What's the worst that can happen? I get colder than I already am?” You joked.

His brows raised, a serious expression crossing his features. “More like your whole arm freezes and breaks into pieces from one slight touch.”

Your face dropped, eyes widening with apprehension. “Oh. Yeah, let’s not do that. I tend to like my arms very much.”

“I figured.” He smirked, “Let us return to the tower before sunset.”

 Loki gathered your things for you and led you both back down the path to the car.

You hugged the coat tighter around you, enjoying the piney scent that was all Loki. “I’m keeping this jacket by the way.” You teased, peeking up at him with mischief in your eyes. “Just wanted to warn you in case you thought you were gonna get it back.”

Loki playfully glared at you, “What? You are not-.”

Suddenly he stopped in his tracks, dark brows lowered as he stared directly over your shoulder.

“What is it?” you asked, turning your head to follow his gaze.

At first, all you saw were trees.

But then you saw it. It happened so fast, that you almost missed it. A sharp white flash coming 

From within the darkness of the trees.

Loki was storming towards the strange flash before you could blink, stalking behind the tree and pulling something from behind it. No, he pulled someone from behind it.

The stranger was pushed to the ground, the bulky black camera tumbling out of his hands from the utter force Loki was using on him.

He quickly flipped on his back, raising his hands in surrender with a terrified look on his face.

“Wait, man! Please don’t hurt me!”

“Who are you and what are you doing?” Loki growled, bending down to snatch the guy up by his shirt.

“I don’t want any trouble, man. I’m just doing my job, I swear!”

You frowned at the man in confusion before you realized what he meant by job.

“He’s paparazzi.”  You sighed.

Loki opened his mouth to respond, only to be caught off guard by another flash coming from about twenty feet away. 

“We have to go.” You urged, grabbing his arm. “Leave him here. The agents will take care of him.”

You and Loki quickly made your way to the car, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents trailing not too far behind you.

“What is paparazzi?” Loki asked once you were both inside the car and on your way back to the city.

“They’re like a mix of photographers, journalists, and press. Just think of a group of people who have nothing else better to do with themselves than follow the lives of famous or notable people. Though I have no idea why they were all the way out here for us, because neither of us fit into those categories.”

Loki frowned. “That is rather disturbing,” he raised a brow in thought. “However, also quite flattering.”

By the time you returned to the tower, you almost forgot about the situation with the pap’s. That was until you stepped out of the car, Loki right behind you as you walked to the building’s entrance. 

Out of nowhere, you were blinded by the lights. Literally.

You were both ambushed in an instant, cameras flashing around you while mics were being pointed in your face. The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents tried their best to shield you from the mass of people surrounding you but it was even difficult for them to keep everyone away from you.

You felt a hand at the small of your back guide you forward, You could hear Loki barking at people right behind you as he guided you through the crowd, using his body to shield you even further.

Once you were inside the lobby seemed unusually quiet compared to the roaring voices outside. Loki didn’t release you until you were enclosed in the elevator, turning to you with an annoyed expression.

“What in the hel was that about?”

“I don’t know.” You muttered, feeling quite overwhelmed at the strange situation. “But I have a feeling someone else might.”

And you were right. The team was gathered in the common area, not looking very pleased from the tense look on their faces. Tony seemed to be in a semi-heated argument with Thor while the rest of the team stood around staring at the large tv on the wall. 

When you and Loki came into sight, they all froze. Nat quickly turned off the tv before you could see what they were looking at. 

“What’s going on?” You asked with a frown. “Why are we getting ambushed outside? And why is everyone looking at us so weird.”

Everyone started talking at the same time, quieting when Tony told them to shush. 

“We have a problem here, kid.” He stated, glaring at Loki who was lingering not too far behind you. “A big problem, and we need to fix it asap.”

You shook your head, a worried frown on your face as you looked around. “What is it?”

Thor stepped forward, a slightly guilty look on his face. “Well, you see-”

“The media thinks you and Loki are a thing.” Tony finished to him. “Which is not good.”

You blinked. “A thing?”

“They think you’re dating,” Nat said with a smirk. “And Tony’s about to lose his shit because of it.”

Story Masterlist

✦ 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘰. 𝘙𝘦𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 🤍

✦ 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰, 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘒𝘰-𝘧𝘪 ✨: 𝘩𝘵𝘵𝘱𝘴://𝘬𝘰-𝘧𝘪.𝘤𝘰𝘮/𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺24

𝘛𝘢𝘨 𝘓𝘪𝘴𝘵: @aintnooooway @mischief2sarawr @talesofadragon @cass0419 @lcolumbia1988 @timeladyrikaofgallifrey @echo-is-worth-more-than-2000  @juliannarayvenne

[tothosewholisten]

Forever Healed | TUA insert

Chapter: 11

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Masterlist

…

Diego was heated, he had a vengeful look in his eyes that showed that. I was asleep for most of the ride back to his house because of how early it was in the morning but when I was up I could hear him muttering things to himself. He wanted Hazel and Cha-Cha dead and I don’t blame him.

They took away his lover, I don’t know anything about their relationship but I could tell she meant everything to him. When you lose a lover you’ll do anything to bring them back and avenge them, even if they're not sensible. There was no one to stop me from the things I did when I lost Ben, but Diego doesn't have to go through the same thing.

I'll be here for him if he needs me and if he doesn't want to kill me too.

When he noticed I was awake his grip on the steering wheel was a clear indication that he was about to burst. I readied myself for anything thrown my way while activating my powers.

But he didn't do anything to harm me, instead, he took a deep breath. “What do you know about Five’s behavior since he’s been back?” Diego asked me.

“What?” I whispered confusedly.

He scoffs. "What has he been doing? You should know, since every time you leave the academy it's with him.”

Was that true? I can’t keep track of what I do anymore. There are too many side plots in my life taking away my thoughts from the actual big thing, the apocalypse.

Instead of making eye contact with him, I look out the window as I speak. “Look, Five’s not exactly an open book. The first time I found him outside of the academy, I was trying to go into Griddy’s. And what do I find? The boy surrounded by a bunch of dead soldiers?”

Diego hung onto every word I said, trying to piece together if I was as crazy as Five was or actually telling the truth. “Then he tells me to cut this tracker thing out of his arm. He blinks us into Vanya’s house to tell us the world is ending in a couple of days. I mean can you believe that?” I rambled.

He stops the car in the middle of the busy road, and the tires let out a horrible screech. “What did you say?” He whispers, turning to me slowly. Not caring about the blasting horns from cars around us.

“The world is ending in four days?”

..

Once we reached the dojo, Diego bolted out of the car not stopping for anything, not even questions from poor Al who was just wondering if he helped Eudora or not.

“Diego, don’t do something you’re going to regret. Five isn’t the enemy here.” I cut in front of his long stride.

“Well, he sure as hell isn’t innocent either.” He pushes past me and slams open his front door.

Luther and Five were in there just where we left them last night. And Five seemed to be finally sober and he sat upright on Diego’s bed, in a conversation with the man sitting in front of him.

“Piece of shit.” Diego roared out as he tried to tackle Five. “Do you have any idea what you just did?”

I grabbed onto the back of his shirt to pull him back but he slipped out of my grasp. But instead of landing on Five, Diego was met by the solid body of Luther, who stopped him. “Nope, let me— Get your ape hands off of me!” He screams.

Luther remains calm with Diego wiggling around in the air. “I can do this as long as it takes you to calm down.”

“Fine.” Diego pants and then gets dropped onto the ground. Luther stares at me from behind all of this. He gives me a what's going on type glance but all I can do is look at Five.

“Now, you wanna tell us what you’re talkin' about?” Luther asked.

“These two have been pretty busy since Five got back.” Diego starts. “They were in the middle of the shootout at Griddy’s, and then Five was at Gimble Brothers after the guys in masks attacked the Academy; looking for him.” He pieced together information that I told him during the car ride to put me and Five at the center of blame.

“Seriously Diego?” I ask.

“None of which is any of your concern.” Five spoke up for the first time since we walked in.

“It is now, they just killed my friend.”

Luther looks at me “You’re involved with this Y/n?”

Before I get a chance to defend myself I'm cut off by Five. “No, she’s not, I just needed her for her abilities.” Who answers too quickly for that to be true.

“Yes, her perfect abilities. Y/n, you wanna tell Luther what you told me.”

“I barely know the details, Diego, this isn’t my story to tell, ask the time traveler who was there!”

We were all rapid-fire arguing with one another. And no one could hear the exact words we were saying because of how much we spoke over each other. But overall was Diego not believing me, me trying to say how lost I was and Five explaining this was still none of his business. Luther just stared blankly.

“Hey, hey, hey hey,” Luther yells.

“What!” The three of us yell back.

“Shut the hell up. Five I want answers, who are these masked people and what does Y/n mean about the end of the world? I want these answers now, the two of you wait your turn.” Probably the first time Luther has gotten anyone to be quiet, he sounds like a leader.

Five looks down “They work for my former employer. A woman called The Handler. She sent them.. to stop me. Then, as soon as Diego’s friend got in their way, well, fair game.”

“That’s cruel Five.” I cut in.

Diego takes a step closer to him and gets up in his face. “And now they’re my fair game. And I'm gonna see to it they pay.” He grits his teeth.

“That would be a mistake, Diego. They’ve killed people far more dangerous than you.”

“Oh yeah well we’ll see about that.”

Diego was ready to take action and leave but Luther held him in place for the answer to his final question. “So when is it supposed to happen? This apocalypse.”

“Well I can’t give you the exact hour, but.. from what I could gather. We have four days left.”

Luther gawks at him. “Why didn't you mention it to all of us sooner?”

“It wouldn't have mattered.” He sighs.

“Of course, it would! We could’ve banded together and helped you try and stop this thing.”

“For the record, you already tried.”

“What do you mean?” Diego asks grumpily.

Five is quiet, he tries to find the best way to say this so that his brothers don’t go crazy. “I found you guys. Your bodies.”

“We all die?” I questioned. That couldn’t have been right, in his journal someone was alive. But I couldn’t make out the name since Diego pulled all of us away to find Five.

“Horribly.” Five says, “all except for one.” He gazes at me.

My body shutters. “The one you wrote about in your book. The one who was still alive in all of the rummage, that was me?”

Why didn't my future self come back with Five to this timeline. What happened?

He answered my suspicions like he was reading my mind. “You were dying slowly Y/n, whoever ended the world did more damage to you than the regular human. We were together for a while and you aged the same as me, slowly. But when The Handler came to me, you didn’t want anything to do with it. Said you had gone through enough pain.”

“I don’t know what happened to you after.” Five said with an undertone of sadness, the best he could probably give without sobbing.

I think I have an idea what happened, I told myself I would never do it. But life has been hard ever since I was young, especially after losing Ben. In the future, I think I killed myself and forced my body to not heal.

This is what Reginald feared I'd do, but even if he made my blood into a healing solution he wouldn't be there to use it on me. It’s a scary thought, but I won't bring it up to them.

Five went on to explain that we worked as a team since all of our bodies were lying in rubble. And the MeriTech eye was worn by the person we were fighting since it was in Luther’s clasped hand. And then he told us about where he worked, the commission.

He went to all kinds of different time periods and killed people who messed with the timeline, and in exchange, he would eventually get to go home. But while being sent out on a mission to kill John F. Kennedy decided that he was going to disobey. And tried to get back to us on his own, so he could save us and save the world.

That's what we saw during Reginald’s funeral. But he messed up the equations and got stuck as a kid. Luther looked on in horror at Five's actions but this only seemed to fuel Diego's rage against Hazel and Cha-Cha.

Me though, I just wanted to go hug Benny.

“So where do we go from now?” I quietly ask the group.

“I'm tracking down those lunatics,” Diego mutters while leaving the room. Luther gasps. “I gotta find Allison and tell her.” Leaving me and Five, in Diego’s room.

“I just have one more question,” I say. “Did I tell you who ends the world?”

“No, all you said was, it wasn't her fault.” he says disappointed. I rack my brain trying to understand what that meant. I know this person personally.

“I know this doesn't make sense, I wish I knew more too. The best thing we can do is keep trying to solve this.” He says.

“I can’t go back to the academy right now, Five. Diego needs someone, even if he doesn't want it to be me. I need to do something.”

He sighs. “You always feel the need to help us Y/n, and what about yourself? Diego will chase you away and make you feel small then what, you're gonna force yourself to help him anyways?”

“I know I can’t fix everything, I can't heal emotions. But I can give someone an avenue to take their feelings out. Even if that's at my own expense. I don’t care.”

Five eyes widen when he looks at me. “Y/n..”

“It’ll be fine, trust me. And if it doesn't work, I'll come back to the academy and find you okay?” I say as I try to lighten the mood.

He only nods but lets me go anyway. I give him a meaningless smile as I leave the room, knowing I shared too much information and gave away a part of myself I hoped others would never comment on.

..

I let her leave to help him, even though it's going to amount to nothing. I just couldn’t help it, her kind but harmful manner got to me, and she’s too nice for her own good. Just like she was in the apocalypse..

But they had their differences too, even though their brains only differed a couple of days from each other. That Y/n lost her spark and this one is slowly draining herself of it. Delores tells me not to think too much about her, but how can I not? I left her there to die. And it's haunted me ever since.

I remember that day when I found her in the rummage. I was young and scared since I couldn’t blink back home. It took me a while to recognize whose body lay with my siblings, but it was the newest addition to the fucked up regiment Reginald made.

She was faintly moving before she started to cough up blood and debris. She was also very malnourished and scared, so once she was able to get up we started to talk. Not about the apocalypse because every time I asked she dodged the topic.

We stayed together in the wasteland of crushed buildings and fire, eating scraps that made her throw up. Her body wasn’t retaining any food, sleep, or healing abilities but she always told me she was okay.

I caught her a few times talking to herself, about my siblings and how sorry she was that she couldn’t save them from her. It was just us, and Delores for so many years.

I aged into an old man at the same time she did. But during that, she stayed small and weak. Like she was on the brink of dying, a fact I didn't want to think about. I couldn’t survive without her, I'd go crazy.

Then The Handler arrived and offered us both a chance to get out of there. I looked at her for an answer but she looked lost. I was glad to get out of this hellhole but weary for the future with this not trustworthy company. But I had her, the two of us could get through it.

Instead of sharing my excitement, she tells me to go without her. Saying that she’s likely to die anyway and that she’s tired of chasing a perfect world that doesn't exist. I explained to her I'd go through that with her but she’s dead set on going.

“My life is over Five.” She wheezes. “And I'm okay with that, I got to live it with you and everyone else. But you, you can keep going. Avenge this world and maybe someday we can be happy again.”

I try to speak but she cuts me off. “Maybe if I'm lucky enough, I'll finally get to see Ben!”

That broke me the most and with a lot of convincing from her, I was finally ready to take The Handlers offer. After goodbyes, she hugs me. “When did you get so tall?”

It was our final laugh together.

Before I left she whispered something to me away from prying eyes. “Promise me something Five.”

“Anything you want.”

“Promise me, you’ll break out of this bullshit and go back to the past.”

“What?”

“Listen. Go back to the past, how I don’t know but you're smart enough to figure it out. And stop all of this from happening, I know that's a huge thing to ask. But at least give it a try. Get back to us, get back to me, okay?”

“Of course, I'll try.” I sniffled.

“Don’t cry, do your best, live your life and try not to think about me too much.” Even then she still found a way to laugh.

“Now go before I cry too!”

She never wanted me to see her sad, or hurting even though I knew every move she made broke another part of herself. Y/n gave me one more hug before I stepped through The Handler’s briefcase portal.

I spent years trying to forget about a woman I should’ve never met. A woman I wouldn’t meet again until fulfilling her wish of going back to the past. But that version of her barely knew me, and all the things we did together. But that didn’t stop me from including her in all I did, to track down the person who ended the world. Even if she would never know about the love I had for that woman.

I was going to save my siblings and her from the apocalypse. Because I promised her I would.

…

I tried smth different this chapter tell me what u think!

Taglist: @aloflapse @isomehowexist @elenalovestoread @miscrying @gabriella-aesthetic @solarbeanz @theoriginalone1111 @water-hemlock18 @tialovesyoutoo @dakotapaigelove

[7grandmel]

Rip of the week: 23/12/2024

PRIMEneria

Season 8 No Album Release (Read More) Corneria (Brawl) (Alpha Mix) - Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Ripped by Yassir F.

I don't know if words could even begin to describe the emotional rollercoaster I have been on since December 19th, 2024.

It's such a funny thing, following this channel for so long. Throughout the early days in Season 1, the team would cobble together ideas for rips, events, and story in mere weeks' time, seemingly just to get reactions out of the fanbase. Beyond the inherent lunacy to The Reboot and I Saw a Brainwasher Today, this was also the year where one contributor just decided to tell a storyline about the Australian rental service Mr. Rental's titular mascot and his hatred for mashups back on Mr. Rental [B Side] ~ Out of Options; this was the year where legendary folk singer Bob Dylan became a reoccurring joke on the channel, just because PinkieOats was on a voice call and sung a cover in a captivatingly shoddy impression back on Can't Say Goodbye to Yesterday - as performed by Bob Dylan; this was the year where the termination of the original GiIvaSunner channel was explained in-universe as being a scheme by Angry Joe, in a slapdash meme tribute to Baneposting in the one year that it was relevant on the channel. It was a mess we all adored following due to the clear passion for entertainment that lay underneath; and when Season 2 returned with an unbelievably explosive bang and showed just how much could be made with this chaos of a story being told, I was more excited than I can put into words. As said back on ULTRA S+G, Season 2 was when it felt as if EVERYONE was aboard the ride that the SiIvaGunner team was promising; shooting for the stars for quality and evolving the lore into something shockingly compelling despite its absurd origins.

It's hard, especially as someone who hardly ever lost their passion for the channel in the first place, to pinpoint exactly where things started to lose Season 2's momentum. Perhaps it was the two years spent covering Season 4, with all the focus spent on an event of unprecedented scale that all ultimately was an aside from the channel's typical mold; during the production of which many core team members wound up leaving to never return, including channel founder Chaze the Chat. Perhaps it was Season 3's more low-key format and direction, one that Chaze the Chat himself appeared adamant to steer away from when Season 4 Episode 1 first began; or perhaps it was all inherent to Season 2's overambitious nature, with the Christmas Comeback Crisis episodes growing ever more vast in scope, eventually resulting in a 6-year long gap between Episode 10 to 11. Perhaps it was later, perhaps it was sooner; nevertheless, its undeniable that the wait occurred, and the driving narrative that had enamored us all throughout Season 2 was left on ice, forever frozen in time on December 2016.

Yet it felt, in a way, inevitable that things would grow in this way. The SiIvaGunner team was growing, its members maturing, its worst influences leaving; and most important of all, their creative juices were flowing like mad. To be confined to one 12-episode run of a fake visual novel couldn't contain the ambitions this team have; even before the CCC began, the aforementioned Mr. Rental and projects of its ilk show just how hard it is to keep SiIvaGunner's contributors from doing what they want. Gradually, it felt as if both the team and us in the audience came to accept that inevitable constant – that the only predictable thing about SiIvaGunner is its unpredictability – and so the side projects grew to the scale of main projects. We'd see experimental projects still hinting at the main story such as The Lost Rip and The Life and Times of Wade L.D.; not long therafter, we'd get everything from the King for Another Day Tournament and NIGHTMARESCAPE ~ Unrestrained Hypercam 2 ~, to The Disappearance of Super Mario and Your Best Nightmario, to entire festivals containing their own events, art direction, and self-contained storylines. SiIvaGunner was no longer just on one lane, but doing so many different concepts and events and journeys with such excellent finesse; even though many had given up on the return of the Christmas Comeback Crisis itself returning, it was impossible not to be impressed and enamored by the effort put into everything that was, effectively, taking its place.

I've made it no secret that Season 5, despite having events I greatly enjoyed such as the aforementioned Mario incident and everything discussed on Epic Rap Battles of History: Funny vs. Funnier, was the time at which my interest in the channel (particularly from a narrative perspective) felt more muted than before. Especially without the behind-the-scenes knowledge I know now of the team's troubled state, it to me was the year when I began to feel as if the channel was forever going to drift along in this excess of creative endeavors. Past an incomplete Christmas Comeback Crisis now filled with sideshoot stories, we still had Mr. Rental left unresolved, now had an AI running the channel that we knew next to nothing about, had a gigantic cast of 32 characters left from the King for Another Day Tournament that each seemed to be prodding at some sort of developments of their own, had Nutshackwoodman34's unexplainable cacophany still up in the air, had everything relating to Astronaut in the Ocean and Yankin', and a multitude of audio dramas with a canonicity that, at the time, felt largely up in the air. I'm well aware of how bizarre this all sounds and I want to clarify that I've long since accepted and adore just how much SiIvaGunner team have been able to do; but back then, I couldn't help but feeling as if things had steered out of control for the lore. In essence, I had to accept that SiIvaGunner was now primarily focusing on its rips, events, and quality; long-time followers of the channel's lore were becoming vastly outnumbered by a growing audience of KFAD kids, Friday Night Funkin' fans joining through excellent rips like Satinpanties Symphony, and those simply here to enjoy what the channel could offer.

This, then, brings us to Season 6 and Season 7. Despite not technically continuing those stories that I was longing after, throughout almost every corner of Season 6 I got the sense that the team was eager to make some genuine change to their status quo; as expressed back on Bramble Blast Collab and I've won, but at what costI've won, but at what cost, there's a solemn feel that underscores the season, the realization that one can't stay hung up to the past forever, which all culminated in its beautiful season finale. It felt as if the SiIvaGunner team had themselves realized just how large their world had gotten and were beginning to grab their many bulls by the horns; and, once grabbed, Season 7 felt like a year-long celebration of each and every facet of the channel's long life. With a series of tribute beautiful enough, as said on The Paragoomba and the Wiggler one whole year ago, to bring me to tears, paired alongside the unbelievable return of the core series Christmas Comeback Crisis with an eleventh episode freed from development hell; I felt as if I was finally, completely on track with everything SiIvaGunner could throw at me. The past was the past, its many endeavors had been celebrated; and now, everyone was caught up and ready to finish that story started so many years ago.

I never quite knew what to expect from Season 8, aside from an understandable sense that the team needed plenty of rest and time after having just finished up the biggest story-related release in the channel's entire history. And so, after just a few events of time to get to know our lovable new channel host Joke-Explainer 7000, I labeled this the "silly season"; a year for a new character to bring back some lower-key whimsy to the channel after the prior two seasons had so expertly reminded us of how much the team genuinely do care about the world they've (almost inadvertently) built. I had no qualms; Joke-Explainer 7000 was hilarious to follow through rips and events such as Super Ludacris JB World, the rips have been higher quality than ever through efforts like Wake Up! It's Friday! and no more nuzzles in my skin, and we were all on the same page in knowing exactly what would come next, eventually. The conclusion to it all.

Yet once again, history repeats itself; the only predictable thing about SiIvaGunner is its unpredictability.

On the train to my family home for a Christmas weekend, I check my phone to see a server-wide ping within the SiIvaGunner discord; was this related to that Direct that I'd told myself to watch after the fact? I shrugged and checked it out althesame, only to be met with an ominous link and a wish of good luck; https://hwcinternaldb.highquality.rip/. A portal into an in-universe file directory divided into five intriguingly named folders, collections of confounding yet alluring files. I return to the Discord server to confirm my suspicions; sure enough, for the first time in 7 years, the SiIvaGunner community is tasked with solving an ARG; a quest across websites, image files, encrypted text, file formats and high quality rips to uncover a truth buried deep within the channel. Yet to say it was only one truth would be misleading; with five folders came five separate branches, five separate community subsets, and five different endpoints.

Inexperienced as I am in ARGs to begin with, I was sadly also too occupied with the holidays to partake in these great mysteries being solved. Yet at every moment I had to myself, I would refresh myself on everything being discovered across all three branches, gradually growing more and more amazed at what I'd called the "silly" season was delivering. More than just providing further teases toward the finale to the Christmas Comeback Crisis, each path was addressing its own loose end from those intermediate years that I'd been so divided on. The FOOLS path explored the aforementioned The Lost Rip duo of NutshackWoodman34 and his best bro and actual brother Jerome, connecting their absurdist videos and reality-bending powers to the Fool's Spirit teased back in Season 7's April Fools event covered back on Christmas Spirit [FILE-07] (Beta Mix); The AIRTH path, meanwhile, uncovers buried logs, thoughts and feelings of the SiIvaGunner AI across all five years of its time spent as host of the channel. Most surprising of all to me, the BLACK path covered something I never thought I would see revisited; Season 2's alternative "Genocide ending" to the first-ever SiIvaGunner storyline, The Reboot, wherein Chad Warden instead chooses to take immediate control of SiIvaGunner for himself rather than sacrificing himself for the greater good. The release of Nice, Slick, Blackness was one of my most treasured memories in all my time following the channel, and seeing its events ACTUALLY explored so many years after the fact – alongside loose ends that I had long since given up on knowing the resolutions to – felt genuinely unbelievable.

I understand that, to even a lot of the channel's biggest fans, being as invested in its lore as I am may come across as a little ridiculous. But to say that this ARG was an absolute dream come true for me was an understatement; as if Seasons 6 and 7 weren't enough affirmation in themselves, as if the SiIvaGunner team hadn't already matched and exceeded all of my expectations with the treatment they gave CCC Episode 11 last year, the ARG and its revelations exceeded every expectation and idea I could have ever had for tying these eight seasons of the channel together. A Visual Novel, an Undertale fangame, an all-new KFAD Mojo! site, a Mr. Rental Choose-Your-Own Adventure game, the best-yet episode of NutshackWoodman34's escapades, and one more as-of-yet unrevealed reward to close the entire season with, a grab-bag of reveals unlike I could have ever thought of...

...all happening while the SiivaGunner YouTube channel itself – along with all the people blissfully unaware of the ARG happening – was uploading rips almost exclusively using hit YouTuber KSI's awful hit song Thick of It. Yeah, remember? PRIMEneria is what this blog post is meant to be about! Cast like a veil over all that's transpired since December 19th, the YouTube-only audience continued to blissfully truck along with one of the most obnoxious-yet-funny rip trends we've had in recent times.

The juxtaposition between the insane lore and fanservice being delivered behind the scenes versus the YouTube channel providing what may be the funniest possible stretch for Winter-themed song to base their event from is genuinely still making me giggle even days after the event's all wrapped up, and the best part is of course that the rips themselves were genuinely really good. Given my track record of covering Jake and Logan Paul rips like Logan Paul's Shop and It's Everyday Lake and last week's post on If Air Man came to life, that would be creepy, it should perhaps come as no surprise that awful YouTuber music is a pet favorite rip source of mine; yet the sheer quotability and horrendous flow of Thick of It makes rips like PRIMEneria special even by those standards. The change in pitch (key?) to the song itself sets it off on such a strong foot immediately, and though the initial 20-seconds or so of the rip are already a really funny mashup, it's what happens therafter that really makes shit funny. Toward the end of the first loop, and for the entire rest of the rip, KSI's vocals are pitch-shifted for specific segments to follow Corneria's punchy hi-octane melody in a way similar to something like no more nuzzles in my skin; and it's arguably even more funny given the song used.

The fucking gall of the SiIvaGunner team, man. The sheer audacity to make my every possible dream for the channel's future and legacy come true practically over the course of a week and to pair it with rips of KSI's Thick of It happening at the same time. Perhaps I wasn't so wrong after all; Season 8 may well still be the silly season, and PRIMEneria is the clearest, funniest showcase of that there could possibly be, capping off the year in unabashed style.

Rock the fuck on, SiIva team.

[apocalypseornaw]

Real or Not (Pt 4/5)

Dean Winchester x Reader

Dean finds out what Camila did and hits the road to chase you to Donna's in hopes you'll talk to him and hear him out

@lacilou s idea

Dean climbed into the impala and Sam was silent. He glanced over to see you were looking at the impala or Camila, your eyes had that far away look when you were lost in thought. He said a prayer to Castiel, hoping the angel was listening to ask him to keep a feed on you. He hated sending you on a hunt without him or Sam backing you, he didn't trust anyone else.

As soon as he started the engine and pulled out onto the road Sam turned to look at him "Dude, what the hell was that?" He knew his confusion spoke for itself because Sam motioned back towards where they'd come from "You kissed Y/N on the frickin forehead! Like you do Charlie or Jody!" "Fuck" he slammed his hand against the steering wheel when he realized what he'd done.

Sam shook his head "I know going into a hunt isn't the best time but what's going on here Dean?" Dean let out a groan before turning to look at Sam "Before Camila called my plan was to take Y/N to one of Bobby's cabins for the weekend just the two of us so I could talk to her"

"about?" Sam pushed and Dean shrugged "I'm in love with her Sam. The way I feel about her, I never knew those feelings could happen to me but just waking up with her in my arms makes me see the light at the end of the tunnel. I wanted it to be a big romantic thing with her favorite flowers and a fireplace for us to be in front of. She deserves the best and I wanted to give it to her"

"You do realize she's probably thinking that forehead kiss was because of Camila? I know her pretty good and sometimes she's not quite as confident as she acts and if she thinks you're trying to treat her differently because of Camila..." Sam trailed off but Dean could read between the lines, what if something happened to you because he'd made a stupid mistake from simply letting himself get in his own head? How the hell could he live with himself?

He shook his head "She'll be ok for the hunt. She thrives on the fight then I'll talk to her as soon as we meet up" Sam nodded slowly "Ok"

A few bruises but beyond that Dean and Sam both had faired pretty well. No casualties and the kids were headed home to their parents.

Sam cut his eyes towards him as he peeled out onto the road "Since we got the fight she should be ok" Dean nodded "but I need to talk to her now"

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

When the boys got back to the motel they spotted Camila's mustang so they parked in front of her room. They both got out quickly, Dean a few steps ahead of Sam. When he knocked on the door Camila burst out "Oh Dean! I don't know what happened Y/N went insane and attacked me"

He froze for two reasons, you didn't ever swing without reason and she was trying to put her hands on him. He pushed her back not enough to make her stumble but to make it clear he needed space. "What the hell do you mean?" Camila shrugged "We were talking and she hit me!" She had two tells when she lied, her eyes got too big and her voice got higher.

"What the fuck did you do to Y/N?" He asked letting venom drip into his voice. You weren't here, she'd left you alone in a town you didn't know with few weapons. She had the nerve to fucking grin at him "I got her out of the way so we can get back together. Cmon Dean you know we were good together" she tried to touch him again so he stepped back holding a hand up "Don't! Tell me where the fuck my girlfriend is now!"

--------

Sam called Dean's name after over hearing the conversation and when Dean looked up he waved him over "I can track her phone"

Dean was leaning over Sam's shoulder at the trunk if the impala when he heard Camila say "Told ya" he looked up to see she had his phone. He'd never moved as fast as snatching the phone out of her hand. He looked at the call log to see your number had been called "What did you do?" Camila shrugged "Made sure she won't take you back"

Dean could feel his blood boiling as he stepped back from her "Get it right the only reason I'm not beating your ass is because you're a woman but let's get one thing straight Y/N is it for me. The past Dean you can have him he was young and dumb. She brings out the best in me. There isn't a future for me without her in it. You could live a thousand times over and not be half the woman she is. Don't fucking call me or Sam ever again and after I make a few phone calls you'll be black listed so find a new career besides hunting"

The road stretched out too damn far in front of Dean. You had damn near an hour head start but it didn't take a lot to guess where you were headed considering what direction you were headed in. You would be at Donna's.

Your phone was turned off a while ago but luckily Sam was still able to track it. He needed to see you, see what lies Camila had told you. Why had he trusted her?

He never should've agreed to help her on a hunt. He should've kept the original plans he had and you'd be in his arms right now. "Has Donna answered?" He asked Sam for what felt like the hundredth time. Sam shook his head "No"

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

He never should've made you doubt how he felt. He should've told you the moment he started to fall, he should've trusted that the two of you could face whatever would come together. He should've made sure no one could come between the two of you.

Every damn memory he had of you flashed through his head. When you agreed to move into the bunker, the first time he knew he was developing feelings for you, the first time you kissed. Every damn moment was etched into his mind, you were the best woman he'd ever met. You were beautiful and chaotic, strong but gentle.

The future was something he could finally imagine, retiring from hunting, a ring on your finger. Taking vacations and having a house that didn't double as a fall out shelter. Knowing what was out there but knowing the world was to a point you could hand the reigns over hunting over. Bruises no longer being under his lips when he kissed down your body, no longer being scared he'd have to see you on top of a pyre one day.

He hadn't realized Sam was talking to him until he reached over to shake his arm. "What?" "I said we're almost to Donna's. Are you good?" Dean shook his head "Ask me that after I talk to Y/N"

@lacilou @saranghaey @stoneyggirl2 @marimarvelfan @roseblue373 @suckitands33 @backtotheshitshow @jackles010378 @leigh70 @diagnosedpsychosis @badassbitch-21

[baronessblixen]

Fictober Day 29: Cow-incidences

Prompt: "How did this happen?"

For the anon who asked: If you still have enough days left can you do a fic where somehow you can place in this quote “naming your cow Hamburger is crazy. It’s like if you named your fish Sushi.” Rating: T, wc: 964

Tagging @today-in-fic @xffictober24

Being attacked by a cow even once is, statistically speaking, highly unlikely. Having it happen twice? Next to impossible. And yet, here’s Mulder in a cow-related accident for the second time in as many years.

Unlike last time, the cow is fine. Mulder, however, is less so. The details are hazy and Mulder can’t verify them yet. From what the police told Scully, Mulder was in his car and a cow appeared in the road, he braked, hit his head and the cow wandered off.

It sounds as fantastical as aliens invading the earth.

But she’s his emergency contact and so here she is at the hospital by his side, waiting for him to wake up. The doctors have assured her that apart from a bad concussion, he’s fine. It could have been worse.

How often has she heard this? It could have been worse. He could have died. Mulder doesn’t just have a patient file here, they have a whole book on him. Not that her own file is much smaller.

What were you thinking? She thinks staring at him. They put a bandage around his forehead where he hit his head on the steering wheel. At least – and the lesion on his chest proves it – he was wearing his seat belt. How many head injuries can he sustain until his brain shuts off? A concussion is nothing to worry about – usually.

With Mulder’s history and the still fairly recent head surgery earlier this year, she can’t help but worry. But that’s nothing new, is it? She always worries about Mulder. It never mattered if she knew him a day, a year, or almost a whole decade. Whether he’s her partner, her friend, or her almost lover, her heart will miss a beat every time he’s hurt.

“How did this happen?” she murmurs, touching the bandage on his head. “Can you wake up, please, and tell me?” She smiles, thinking about Mulder reiterating his story, making it sound like fun and not like a life-or-death situation. He’s good at that.

“Hmm?” His eyes are still closed, but she sees them flutter and her heart does the same.

“Mulder?” she asks, waiting for him to fully wake up.

“Where are we?” he rasps and she pours him a glass of water, waiting for him to be awake enough to help him have a sip. His eyes are small and his pupils dilated. She should have checked what medication they’ve given him.

“Hospital,” she says. “You had an accident.” He nods and winces, the slight movement seemingly too painful.

“Do you remember what happened?” She doesn’t want to pressure him; she just wants to know how much damage the concussion has caused.

“Cow,” he says. “There was a… cow.”

“A cow. Are you sure?”

“Naming your cow Hamburger is crazy. It’s like if you named your fish Sushi. Scully, should I name my fish sushi?”

“What are you talking about?” It’s worse than she thought. He’s confused – very much so.

“That cow.” He looks at her and she can barely see the green of his eyes because his pupils are that big. That leaves only one conclusion: he’s as high as a kite. No wonder he’s talking about cows named Hamburger.

“What about that cow?” she asks softly.

“Don’t tell anyone,” he says, leaning closer to her. “I think- I think her owner wanted that cow to murder me. No. No, wait. He wanted me to kill the cow. Why else would you name your cow Hamburger? That poor creature. Remember the cow in Kroner, Scully? Do you think I’m cursed?”

“You’re not cursed,” she assures him, smoothing his hair. The way he looks up at her breaks her heart. She wishes she knew what was going on in that head of his. All she can do is hope that it won’t last long. That he’ll wake up later today or tomorrow and that his mind is clear.

“I killed two cows, Scully.”

“You didn’t. The cow is fine.”

“Hamburger is fine?” His face lights up. Scully doesn’t know why he thinks Hamburger is the cow’s name, but she nods slowly, smiling at him. Once this is over, and he is back to normal, they will need to discuss what happened. And why he was driving a country road all on his own in the middle of the night. There’s time for that later.

“This could have ended badly.” The words tumble from her mouth, the last few hours catching up with her.

“No hamburger for a while,” Mulder says. She feels tears prick her eyes; she wants her Mulder. She wants him to smile at her, and say it’s all right. He just stares blankly at her as though he weren’t there.

“No hamburger for a while,” she agrees, trying to make the situation lighter. “Why don’t you sleep a bit more, hm? You have a concussion.”

“Headache, yeah.” He closes his eyes, only to pop them open again after a few minutes. It could be wishful thinking, but she thinks they look clearer already; the dark clouds moving away, making way for his brilliant mind to shine through.

“Will you stay?” he asks, his voice deep and gravelly.

“Of course I’ll stay,” she assures him, taking his hand in hers. “I’ll be here when you wake up again.”

“Love you, Scully. If I know one thing, it’s that.” He closes his eyes again and in no time at all, his breath has evened out. She allows a few tears to fall, never letting go of his hand. His declaration is loud in her mind, playing like a favorite record.

“Love you, too,” she whispers, wondering if one day they’ll finally say these words when neither of them is lying in a hospital bed.

[lilacargent]

Here we go again,

Puzzles/ jigsaws would confuse Aliens so much

Set on the serpentine, beginning of the humans tenure

Important crew:

Primoz, captain -Limoyh a four armed species-Krag, second in command (brother of Primoz)

Kit, dokter -avian, bird like, she has feathers like a swallow-

Ortez, ASR (all species resources, human resources in space) -kiltak, insectoid species, think ants but exoskeleton-

Lugea, helmsperson (does the steering) -rock like alien-

Artex, engineer/mechanic 1 -also Kiltak-

And then our humans:

Kamari, navigator -Eritrean woman- (has cat named Sidra)

Markus, weapons expert (knows how to use them and upkeep, also shields) -Swedish man-

Petrus, mechanic/engineer 2 - Italian man-

Lilly, administrator/note keeper (learns languages for fun)-english woman-

~~~~~~~

Puzzles

The serpentine is on route between trading posts, this is currently the furthest route without proper jump point because of the static energy surrounding the dual planets castor and pollux.

Primoz is getting worried. The humans are becoming increasingly more jittery and Kamari looks like she a pinch away from punch someone, Markus has been ‘humming’ a song that annoys her greatly. Honestly the noises the tall man is making don’t seem that bad but every few minutes her eyebrows twitch which Ortez told him is a sign of frustration.

Before the captain can figure out how to keep them from doing something deathworld worthy, Lilly comes in with precariously stacked carton boxes and Petrus carrying a table. Setting the pile down the smallest human straightens out “look what i brought! Old earth puzzles! This one has a deer and this one has the old world wonders” immediately the humming stops and Markus is at the table with Petrus “oh yes Lilly you are the best! I wanna do the deer one, that is gonna be a challenge”

With the table in the corner of the bridge the tension among crew is nearly gone, as all species try to put the cut apart pictures together, Lilly brought 9 puzzles and at a certain point a competition was forming: after one of the human unit had finished a puzzle the other crew try to make it in less time. They have yet to win.

Looking at his relaxed crew Primoz grins at his brother who is trying to use all his four arms to put pieces together without much succes. Turning away from the competition he taps Lilly on her shoulder “how do you guys do it? Also why did you think to take these things with you.” Lilly looks up from her drawing (the crew bent over the table making the puzzle) “well i knew it was going to be a long trip, Kamari thinks Markus will be ‘professional’ but he can’t help himself” her soft smile when she puts air punctuation around professional makes her look much younger than she is “puzzles are something many humans enjoy, not everyone is as good at them as Markus, but he does this thing where he uses the shape of them more than colours. While he isn’t colour blind, he has real trouble with telling differences in shades. No idea why it works this well but it does, Petrus has already won three nights of free drinking on Castor from betting.” All of a sudden looking bashful Lilly ducks her head “ah eh yes sorry forget i said that we don’t bet on this at all!” Primoz just grins “nobody has broken anything this whole trip, im not going to disrupt the flow you and your unit created. Don’t worry.”

At arrival Petrus has won the whole human crew free drinks for the foreseeable future, and the crew in its entirety hooked on puzzles. While not all species see the colours the same way or understand the patterning in the pieces the feeling of putting in the correct pieces makes it such an enjoyable activity that Lilly brings new puzzles after every holiday back home.

~~~~~~~~~

This one was born out of the confusion my family had when we were making puzzles (jigsaws?) the pictures in pieces… this is where it becomes super clear English is not my first language. Anyway, we had two puzzles out and they were so surprised i could differentiate the positions the pieces needed to be in without context. I had to tell them that the pattern otherwise won’t make sense,

I have the same thing as Markus that colours are fine unless you put several of the same colours next to each other and call them different. This is why the deer one is super hard,

The two puzzles that were described:

[r0ttenhearts]

Friends?

Scaramouche x Best friend! Reader

angst, no comfort, insults

a bright, summer afternoon. the blazing heat outside of the cooled windows as the cicadas hummed in the unforgiving warm air. but there you were, sitting on scaramouches bed next to him, tapping away at your handheld game as you talked to him. you two had been friends since the start of the previous school year. your sweet smiles and kind gestures moved him, or you hoped they did, as he spoke with you the most in class until it turned to after school study sessions, and eventually just hanging out at each others homes when school was over.

as cruel as scaramouche could be, you found yourself falling for him. the rare smiles he’d give you, or his kind words that were few and far between. it meant more to you than you expected. you figured you were cracking through his tough shell, as he didn’t seem to mind spending time together over the break. or so you thought.

“haypasia is back in town. i thought i’d go see her so i don’t think you can come over for awhile.”

oh right. haypasia. the very bane of your existence. it seemed like every time she was around, scara would leave you to be forgotten. a second thought. sure she knew scara for longer, but did she really know him like you did? no, of course she didn’t, because she was never around. but you were. scaramouche would complain to you about her obsessive antics, how annoying she was and how bothersome she could be, only for him to defend her if you got upset with him about spending too much time together.

“oh.. when will you go see her?” you ask quietly, your voice cracking as you feel that oh so familiar lump in your throat. scaramouche glances at you from above his screen, scoffing and a look of disbelief on his face. “seriously y/n? you’re still so upset about her? what’s your deal?”

you shake your head as you put down your game. your hair covering your face as you don’t face him. you can’t. if you do you’ll break, and you know it. “i just.. i wish you wouldn’t go away for days at a time when she’s around.. you’re my best friend you know? and it hurts to realize that you pick someone over me, someone that doesn’t even stay.” you confess, your hands starting to shake as you can feel his eyes bore into your shaking form.

you can hear him scoff beside you as he sits up, “best friends? we’re friends. actually, we’re hardly even friends because i barely even like you.

you dont shut the fuck up you never do.

you make up lies in your head cause you think i like you but you delusional-ly believe i wouldn’t ever talk to other people and god forbid it be a girl.

oh and you're gonna switch it around saying the reverse about how id care when we all know damn well you could get beat in an alleyway and the most you'd get out of me is a "sorry to hear that.”

he gives you the meanest glare as you stand up from his bed as he shoves you against his bedroom door. fat tears roll down your cheeks as he grips your chin, forcing you to look into his dulled, purple eyes.

“no, tell me im wrong. tell me i dont know what im talking about. god youre so fucking stupid.”

he spits as he lets go of your chin, opening the door as you stumble out. he slams his door shut as you stand there in tears. you loved him? you loved him after he told you how he doesn’t care for you? how pathetic could you be. how could you care so deeply for someone that wouldn’t ever look at you, not even in a friendly way?

with his words ringing through your head, you gather your belongings as you leave his home. your game left forgotten on his bed, wishing to never return or face him again.

————————-

a/n: based on a very real argument with my best friend. a little self indulgent but this was a comfort post. thanks for reading!

part II: