#and visibly not giving a shit about them blocking the path

[quill-of-thoth]

Letters from Watson: The Blue Carbuncle

Crimes in Context: Opportunistic theft is boring so we're going to talk about geese. The domestic goose is not a common food in the USA during the modern era, and it's only barely more common in the UK due to the traditional Christmas goose. As it turns out chickens and turkeys are a little easier to grow at factory scale, and in proportions that would prevent them from surviving in the wild. Nevertheless, they were excellent backyard livestock for a Victorian household, given a patch of grass and some water they mostly didn't need any additional feed, unless you gave them some grain to fatten them up for market. Being water fowl, they don't tend to fly away often if they can waddle, and you could always clip their feathers to prevent it. Domestic goose and domestic turkeys are similar in size, with the yield of edible meat from a turkey being a little bit greater, because the goose has a lot more fat to render out - though this wouldn't necessarily go to waste, since goose grease, like chicken schmaltz, is very suitable for use as a cooking fat. Geese have been domesticated in various parts of the world for about as long as chicken and ducks, (Some time in 4000 to 3000 bce) and the probable method is the same: find nest, steal eggs, hatch eggs. Allow birds to forage around the local settlement where there are fewer predators, steal more easily from their nests. Repeat process year after year until the geese start displaying a variety of funny colors and don't run away when you throw them some sprouted grain you can't cook with. When mature, slaughter, cook, and serve some while keeping others to make more eggs and the next generation of goose dinners. Geese are also fairly useful if you, for example, want to keep a nicely clipped lawn. They're primarily grass-eaters, and their poop is decent fertilizer for more grass. You can herd them around to make sure they nibble the bits you want instead of your garden. They're also large enough birds that they can defend themselves in a backyard poultry setting: they're more than a match, in groups, for the neighbor's cat, or even their large dog. In addition, the feathers are very useful - geese and ducks have down feathers (the fluffy stuff UNDER their oily exterior feathers) that keep them warm in and out of the water, and these have been popular for stuffing pillows and mattresses (due to being softer and less likely to start decaying if they get a little damp) more or less since there have been pillows and mattresses. Also, geese have "teeth" (Actually made of cartilage, not bone) on their tongue and the interior of their beak. Useful information if one of your ambitions is to be bitten by a dinosaur.

[dilly-oh]

Crush

“Kakashi, for fuck’s sake, it’s your turn,” Asuma growled around his cigarette, holding out the report as they stood in the hallway outside the mission office. “It was your turn the last ten turns. You ain’t squirrelin’ outta this shit again.”

“I need to go water my plants,” Kakashi said, slithering away from the others as he tried to make a quick getaway. Genma stepped to the side, blocking his path.

“Come on, man. That cute Chunin with the ponytail is at the desk. You know, the one you have a crush on?”

Kakashi froze in the act of levering the nearby window open, snapping around to give Genma a look of pure outrage.

“Excuse me?”

“You. Chunin. Crush,” Genma repeated slowly.

“What am I, fucking five?” Kakashi narrowed his visible eye. “I’m a grown-ass man who kills people for a living. I’m feared throughout all the nations as Sharingan Kakashi. I’m a fucking legend. I don’t get crushes.” He paused. “And even if I did have one on him, how would you even know?” Genma shrugged.

“Cuz you’re always walking into walls and shit whenever you’re near him.”

“I do NOT-” Kakashi began, then promptly kicked over the wastebin next to the door, scattering trash all over the floor. Literally everyone in the mission room snapped around and stared at him accusingly.

Even the Chunin. Who was, admittedly, very cute.

“You’d better clean that up,” he said, his tone that of a disapproving teacher about to mete out punishment to an unruly student.

Okay he wasn’t that cute.

…Godammit yes he was.

Kakashi hurriedly shoved all the trash back into the bin, slapped Asuma in the face with the report, and bolted out the window.

---

It kept happening.

Kakashi was just minding his own business, buying groceries at the local market (because even trained killers needed to eat) when he saw the Chunin fondling some melons, and suddenly the pyramid of eggplants he’d been perusing had collapsed, a wave of them tumbling down and rolling all over the floor in a vegetable tsunami. The store manager started shouting and Kakashi decided he’d just order takeout as he slipped out the back exit.

At the laundromat, he caught sight of the Chunin folding his tighty-whiteys and somehow mismeasured the appropriate amount of laundry soap, resulting in the washing machine foaming itself to death like a rabid dog. Kakashi had to put it down with a Chidori and then escape through a window amidst the ensuing chaos.

He knocked down an entire shelf at the library when he saw the other man bending over to reach a low book. He quickly teleported out of there before the man could turn around and see him standing ankle-deep in porn.

Late one night, he was leaping along the rooftops and spotted the Chunin at an outdoor restaurant, seated at a table with friends, head thrown back in raucous laughter. Kakashi sailed through the air, eyes glued to the sight, so he didn’t see the billboard until it was too late.

It couldn’t go on like this.

---

��Okay you might have a point,” Kakashi said. Genma gave a snort.

“Of course I do.”

“I don’t even know his name-”

“Iruka.”

“Iruka? Oh GOD, even his name is fucking adorable.” Kakashi covered his face with his hands and took a deep, calming breath. “…Who else knows?”

“Everyone, Kakashi,” Genma said flatly. “Everyone knows. Even the Hokage knows.”

“Alright then.” Kakashi straightened with a determined air. “It seems pretty obvious what I need to do.” Genma stared at him for a long moment, chewing on his senbon.

“…Actually talk to the man and have a heartful confession about your true feelings?”

“Fuck no. Avoid him for the rest of my life.”

“Oh thank God I thought you were gonna say ‘kill him’.”

“Maybe I should start avoiding you, too.” Kakashi narrowed his eyes. “My plan will work, just you wait. I’m not called a genius for nothing.”

---

“Kakashi, meet your new mission partner,” the Sandaime said, standing in the doorway of his office and patting Iruka proudly on the shoulder.

Kakashi nearly spit out his tea. Through his mask.

“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me,” he choked out. This mission debriefing had gone to shit, and he’d been sitting there all of five seconds. The Sandaime frowned at him, wrinkles deepening with displeasure.

“I will not have you looking down on young Iruka here simply because he’s a Chunin,” he said firmly, taking a seat at his desk. “What he lacks in experience he more than makes up with sheer determination. He will be a great asset for this two-man mission and I hand-picked him for exactly that reason.”

“Understood,” Kakashi said, switching to mission mode in the vain attempt it would help distract from the overwhelming presence of the other man. It didn’t. Iruka took a seat right next to him, their thighs so close Kakashi could almost feel his body heat. He pushed his chair away a few inches for some breathing room and knocked over a potted plant.

“You two will be travelling deep into the Forest of Death,” the Hokage explained. Kakashi hid a wince. The Forest of Death has worsened over the years, rotting from the inside like a fruit gone bad. It had devolved into a festering jungle filled with mutated beasts that would messily devour their bodies and environmental hazards that would devour their chakra. But as long as they were careful-

Iruka crossed his legs and Kakashi bumped a pile of papers off the Hokage’s desk.

Yeah, they were in trouble.

“Your mission consists of two parts,” the Hokage went on. “The first is to reach these coordinates.” He handed the pair a scrap of paper with a set of numbers scribbled on it. “The second part is in this.” He held out a small, innocuous scroll. “It contains special instructions, only to be read once you’ve reached the site. Not before. Understood?”

“Yes, sir,” Kakashi said with grim resignation as he accepted the scroll and tucked it safely away. He just needed to get through this mission as fast as humanly possible, then he could go back to smothering his emotions under a metaphorical pillow. It would just be a few hours. He could DO this.

“I’m looking forward to working with you,” Iruka said, giving him a dazzling smile.

Kakashi spilled his cup of tea all over his lap.

…It was going to be a long mission.

---

The trek through the Forest of Death lived up to its name. It was a long, arduous journey through the dark, twisted woods, fraught with danger at every turn. Kakashi was on edge, painfully aware that, with one misstep, nearly everything in the jungle, plant and animal included, was capable of killing him at a moment’s notice.

That is, if Iruka didn’t kill him first.

Kakashi fell on an anthill and suffered a dozen venomous stings when the man decided to adjust his ponytail.

He walked into a tree and was nearly strangled by sentient vines when Iruka wiped his mouth after taking a drink from his canteen.

Kakashi tripped onto a patch of brambles which started actively draining his blood when Iruka raised an arm to wipe his brow and his shirt rode up.

And that was only in the first hour.

Iruka himself was an ideal companion. He followed Kakashi’s lead without question, trusting his judgement and experience with nothing but polite obedience, even attempting to start up a conversation once or twice. After Kakashi bit his tongue trying to reply, he took to ignoring the other man, who quickly caught on and fell into a sullen silence.

I can’t take much more of this, Kakashi thought to himself darkly as he slogged through the mud hours later. Every inch of his body ached, multiple wounds stinging and burning. Or maybe that was just the leeches. Konoha’s about to have a Missing-Nin if we don’t get there soon-

“I think…I think we’ve arrived,” Iruka cut in, checking his compass and studying his map. “Yes, these should be the correct coordinates. We’re here.”

Thank fuck. The nightmare was nearly over. Kakashi slipped the scroll out of his pocket and unrolled it. The orders contained within were rather short and simple. A single sentence. Four words, actually.

Ask him out already.

Kakashi stared at the message for a full ten seconds, then promptly set it alight with a Katon.

"What the fuck!” Iruka cried.

“Meant for my eyes only.” Kakashi stamped on the ashes, grinding them into the dirt. “I was to burn it after reading to leave no evidence.”

“Oh, well, I guess that means it’s my turn to read this one,” Iruka said, pulling out a second scroll from his pack. Kakashi hurriedly snatched it away and ripped it open, scanning the contents.

Pussy.

Kakashi burned that one, too.

“Seriously, what the fuck!” Iruka cried louder.

“Mission’s done, we’re heading home,” Kakashi stated, then turned and took a step.

And promptly sank up to his thigh in the suddenly soupy ground.

…Oh fuck.

“Don’t move!” Iruka shouted in warning. “It’s quicksand.”

“No shit,” Kakashi snapped out, then quickly shut up as he sank to his waist. He went perfectly still, arms out to keep himself afloat in case he sank further. “Calm down, I’m fine.” He closed his eyes, concentrating as he released a flare of chakra to push him free of the mire. The quicksand quickly gobbled up. “…Okay, maybe panic a little, I’m not fine.” The quicksand seemed to have developed a taste, and was now steadily devouring his chakra with a voracious appetite. “Okay, panic a lot. It’s draining my chakra.”

“Damn, hold on.” Iruka started rifling through his pack and pulled out a coil of rope. “Here, we’ll use this to get you out- actually wait, I think you’re close enough for me to reach out and grab you. Quick, give me your hand-”

Iruka stuck out his hand. Kakashi’s stomach did a little flip.

“Fuck no, I’m not touching you. Throw the rope.”

“What is your problem with me?” Iruka demanded. “I hardly know you and you already hate me.”

“I do not hate you,” Kakashi ground out through gritted teeth. “Throw the damn rope.”

“Not until you tell me what your deal is.”

“There is no deal.”

“Bullshit! You’ve been cold and distant this entire time. You’ve barely spoken a single word to me in hours. The fuck did I DO?”

“Nothing. Throw. The ROPE.”

“Tell me why you’re being such an asshole to me!”

“Because I fucking LIKE you, okay?!” Kakashi finally exploded. The background noise of the forest fell silent at the sudden outburst. Iruka just stared at him.

“…What?”

Kakashi tried to stem the flow of words, but they all came spewing out in a rush like verbal diarrhea.

“I keep walking into walls and knocking over shit and it’s all because of YOU and your dumb FACE and perky ponytail and that fucking dorky way you tuck in your pants-”

“What’s wrong with the way I tuck in my pants-”

“-because I have a stupid fucking CRUSH on you!!”

“God, what are you, five?!” Iruka shouted back. “Why can’t you just say you wanna fuck me like an adult?”

Kakashi gaped at him, flabbergasted.

“ExCUSE me?”

“Admit it. You want me.” Iruka crossed his arms, looking him up and down. “I don’t really get why, though. I’m always yelling at you in the mission room. You got some sort of humiliation kink?”

“Okay, you know what, you can just leave me here-”

“Don’t act like you’re not a pervert,” Iruka snorted. “I’ve seen the kind of shit you read.”

“That’s not the same!! It’s a book, not real life!” Kakashi argued. “Just because I read it doesn’t mean- I would never- look, my dad taught me to be a gentleman, alright?!”

Iruka studied him for a long moment, then tossed him the rope. Kakashi sighed in relief and grabbed it.

“…So we’re not gonna screw after I pull you out?” Iruka asked teasingly. “Not even get a bit handsy? Make out a little?”

“Of course not!” Kakashi squeaked out. “What kind of guy do you think I am?!”

Iruka broke into a huge grin.

“Oh my God, you’re adorable.”

Kakashi let go of the rope.

“Hey!” Iruka hurriedly reeled in the rope, then tossed it out again. It slapped Kakashi square between the eyes, but he didn’t even flinch. “Kakashi. Please take the rope. I don’t wanna have to file the paperwork. There’s, like, ten different forms.” He still didn’t move. “Please.” He just glared. “…Take the rope or I start taking my clothes off.”

Kakashi seized the rope in a death grip and didn’t let go until he was back on solid ground, chakra-depleted but alive. His legs were a bit shaky as he stood, and he was covered in thick, viscous mud from feet to armpits, not to mention the squelching noises every time he took a step.

“Okay, honestly, I’m a little insulted you grabbed on so fast,” Iruka said. “Are you sure you have a crush on me?”

“Will you stop talking about-” Kakashi went to pick up his canteen and accidently punted it into the quicksand. “MotherFUCK-”

“Yeah, okay, I see it now.”

“Look,” Kakashi said wearily, almost dragging a hand down his face before remembering it was coated in mud, “I just want to forget this whole mission ever happened, alright?” Iruka gave him a mischievous smirk.

“You sure you don’t wanna just bone?”

“Bone? BONNNNE?!” Kakashi repeated incredulously. “In a monster-infested jungle?”

“But I brought protection,” Iruka said, then held up a kunai. Kakashi refused to laugh, even though it was funny.

“Forget it,” he snapped. “A mosquito will probably fly up my dick and make it rot off.”

“Don’t worry, I’d suck it out.”

“Okay we are LEAVING-”

“Wanna hold hands while we walk?”

“Correction, I am LEAVING-”

"I’m serious, actually,” Iruka said, holding out his hand invitingly. Kakashi froze, staring at the proffered appendage like it was a bear-trap ready to spring. His stomach did another flip. “Come on, please? I don’t bite.”

Kakashi knew Iruka was just teasing, poking at the embarrassed Jounin with a stick to get a laugh.

Fine. Two could play at that game.

He reached out and took Iruka’s hand, their fingers twining together like old friends.

“…Unless you ask me nicely.”

Kakashi tried to yank his hand away but Iruka refused to let go, so he just reeled him in like a prize catch. Their chests bumped together, and he caught a whiff of the other man, a deep, woodsy scent that sent a shiver down his spine. He froze again as Iruka looked up at him, studying him with those big brown eyes that were not nearly as innocent as they looked.

“You know,” Iruka purred, leaning in even closer, “if you asked me right now…I might say yes.”

Kakashi gulped, throat suddenly dry. He wavered for a moment, uncertainty twisting his guts, then gathered his courage and barged forward.

“Umino Iruka,” he said tremulously, “would…you like…to go out with me sometime?”

Iruka gave him a blank stare.

“…Yeah that’s totally what I meant.”

“Oh my GOD-” Kakshi started to walk away.

“I’m kidding.” Iruka pulled him back, laughing. “Honestly, I’ve had worse first dates.” He looked at Kakashi and cocked his head appraisingly, a gentle smile chasing away the devilish one. “You’re very sweet. It’s refreshing, really. I’m so used to dudes just jumping straight to sex. It’s nice to meet a guy who actually wants to get to know me.”

Kakashi’s cheeks burned beneath his mask. Because it was true. He did want to get to know Iruka, and now he had the prime opportunity. Everything had already been laid bare, all the embarrassing bits hung out to dry. It’s not like it could get any worse.

“Now, let’s get you outta those muddy clothes.”

On second thought, maybe it could.

-End-

Written for @kakairu-rocks KakaIru Valentine's Week 2024, Day 3 Prompts: Crushes and Idiots in Love.

[mordaciousmurderer]

“Tomorow” John ‘Soap’Mactavish x fem!reader

A/N: HI GUYS! Recently went through a really REALLY rough breakup and I’ve been spending a lot of time just sitting outside and thinking. So imagine: reader and soap end up meeting each other every single day and then suddenly Soap disappears. GAH I LOVE IT

cw/ literally none. it’s just wholesome fun, cute, if i continue this reader is gonna be an addict in recovery, implied sexual stuff if you really look, fem!reader, no use of y/n

Every day like clockwork, you dedicate a half hour to sit on a bench across from your favorite sandwhich shop a few blocks down from what would be considered the exact middle of town. Your therapist had recommended getting out more and allowing yourself to think. You took that rather literally and have stuck to the routine for almost 6 months now. This time of reflection has promoted much thought, providing you vital insight you’d been desperate for. Subconsciously, you had become rather reliant on this time. It was something to look forward to every single day. You learned that you couldn’t control everything in your life but this, you could.

So imagine the internal panic that consumes you when you lay eyes on the first person you’ve seen sit on that bench aside from yourself. Never in the 168 days you sat at this spot had you encountered anybody on this bench. You’re here for 30 minutes out of the day, and there just had to be somebody sitting there. Once again, another loss of control that you weren’t ready to tackle. Your mind raced as it questioned your options; ask him to move, or sit there anyways. The prospect of leaving was out of the question.

You’d been staring at him from about 20 feet away for almost a minute straight now. A new source of anxiety came into play as you realized how creepy you most likely looked right now. In a split second decision you began walking towards the bench.

As you got closer, the details of this guy became visible. Shit, he’s hot. He was a rugged looking man, absolutely built, with a little mohawk. He didn’t look up from his sketchbook until you were within 4 feet of him. He looked up at you with piercing blue eyes, a vague look of sadness deep within them. He was absolutely gorgeous, so goregous that you realized you should be a hell of a lot more nervous than you were right now.

“Uh,” You began, quickly realizing you hadn’t thought of what to say. “Sorry, hi, sorry. Um, I sit here every day, is it okay if-“ You awkwardly gesture towards the bench and mentally berate yourself for the awkward request.

“Oh, go right ahead!” He chuckles and shifts himself down the bench a few inches. The Scottish accent caught you off gaurd. You blink and sit down next to him, folding your hands tightly in your lap.

“So you sit here every single day? That’s some serious dedication.” He comments, shutting his sketchbook and tucking it in his pocket.

Unprepared and shocked by his attempt at conversation, you snicker out of nervousness. “Yeah. Everyday like clockwork for almost 6 months now.”

“Impressive!” With a grin he angles his body towards you, indicating clear interest in conversing. “I’m surprised we haven’t crossed paths before, I’m here pretty often myself.”

“Really? How often?” You ask, facing out yet turning your head to look at him.

“Not nearly as much as you. Maybe once a week. Not in town too often though.”

“How haven’t we seen each other yet?” You laugh.

“Good question. I’m John by the way.” He leans back in his seat.

You give him your name in response and any previous anxieties seem to melt away with more conversation. He was charming and his humor meshed with yours scarily well. You somehow had everything to talk about. You he conversation ranging from what your favorite food was to what you hoped to achieve in your life. Before you had even realized it, your 30 minutes had passed long ago. About an hour into conversation, he gets a call.

“Shite! I was supposed to meet my pals a half hour ago.” He stood up suddenly, glancing at his phone.

“I’ll see you tomorrow!” He calls out, hurrying off to wherever he came from.

Tomorrow? You figured he just said that by mistake and took that as your cue to head back home as well. You found yourself disappointed, you didn’t even grab his number. Reflecting on your hour, you find yourself looping around his confident yet courteous manner. The two of you clicked well, yours and his laugher playing on repeat in your mind.

He wasn’t joking about tomorrow. As you headed towards your bench the next day, there he sat waiting for you. As soon as he laid his eyes on you, the both of you grinned.

Your time on that bench slowly turned into both of yours’ time. As weeks went on he slowly started showing up every single day. The shared time became something to look forward to for the both of you. Despite your desires, it never progressed past the bench. Neither of you had requested anything more and neither of you seemed to mind. Despite your clear feelings for him, you figured this was better than nothing at all. A month passed since that first interaction and at that point the two of you hung out every single day. It was comfort. It was routine.

Suddenly for the first time in weeks, Johnny wasn’t there before you. You assumed he would get there later but no luck. You waited for an embarrassing amount of time with no luck. It’s okay, he would be there tomorrow.

He wasn’t. Day after day, he didn’t show up. Each day more disheartening than the last. The time on the bench has morphed back into exclusively your time to think. Of course, you really only thought about him and justifications for his sudden absence. Regardless, you showed up every single day. It was your coping mechanism to begin with. You didn’t want to admit that you missed him. You didn’t want to admit that his unforeseen disappearance was concerning to you.

It wasn’t until 3 weeks later that you saw him sitting on the bench again. You didn’t register that it was him at first, just another random. Then you realized the mohawk looked too familiar. With that realization you hurried over, excitement bubbling up in you. As you approached he stood up and turned to look at you, immediately engulfing you in an unexpected hug. An eager smile spread across your face. You were taken aback to say the least, but you hugged him back. This was the greatest extent of physical affection the two of you had exchanged. Aside from the occasional hand on the leg or grab to the shoulder, you guys never were physically affectionate.

“Johnny..” You had to repeat his name and squeeze him tighter, like he might disappear if you don’t repeatedly acknowledge his existence.

New interaction aside, he didn’t dare let you go until he felt you pull back, letting his hands linger on your waist. “Where the hell did you go?!” You give him a light hit to the chest. No intention of actually hurting him, but needing to communicate your point. You stared up into the blue eyes you’d missed so much.

“Work I’m sorry. We had to-“ He begins then stops himself. He’d always hated the secretive nature of his job. “I got called away I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay don’t apologize.” You sighed as you stepped away from him and sat down, crossing your arms. The two of you had talked about his job before but he refused to go into detail past ‘SAS, get called away for missions’. “You don’t have to tell me… I just wish I had some warning.” You declare before sitting down on the bench. “I was worried about you.”

Johnny crouches down in front of you, perpendicular to you and the bench. “That’s my fault. For never giving you my number. Or inviting you somewhere aside from this bench.” He places both his hands on your knees. He oozed sincerity, something you had rarely gotten before.

“Why didn’t you?” You asked, a twinge of hurt in your tone.

Johnny went quiet for a moment, his gaze dropping to where his hands sat on your legs. He pushed himself up and sat next to you on the bench. You watched him intently. One thing you’d noticed over the weeks was that he seemed to need to move in order to think. You remained patient in await for an explanation.

“I didn’t wanna start anything. My job makes it hard.” He finally says, his eyes coming back up to yours.

“Start anything?” You inquire.

“With us. Because I’m-“ He huffs, shifting his position. “I want to work around my job. For you. But I didn’t know if…”

“If I wanted to work around it too?” You interject, trying to assist him. You’d never seen him have this much trouble verbalizing his thoughts.

“Exactly.” He gestures.

“Well… Do you know what I did every day for the last 3 weeks?” You asked him, expecting a very different answer than what he said.

“I’m guessing you came here. This is your spot.” He responds.

You just gazed into his eyes, a slight smile on your face. “I came to our spot and hoped that you would show up.”

His eyes lit up at the acknowledgment of the shared space. You both couldn’t help but stare at each other for a beat or two. The air grew still and he reached up, his calloused yet gentle hand cupping your cheek and jaw. He moved in slowly, taking his time to nonverbally confirm this was okay with you. You pushed forward slightly, pressing your lips to his for the first time. The kids was gentle yet long awaited. It was evident in every tiny movement.

After a bit, he pulled away to look at you once again. “Do you wanna come back to my place?”

-

masterlist

[atsadi-shenanigans]

What Shall We Become - Shauna Macdonald

You're lost. In a cave. Without even a box of scraps.

On AO3.

You been caving twice before. Once up in the northwest, where they got volcanoes and lava tubes. Another down in New Mexico, that was full of bats and had a whole fucking restaurant down at the bottom, where the elevator let off.

But this?

This is some real pants-shitting territory.

You got no idea how far underground you actually is. It seems somewhere in the field of “pretty far” and “don’t think about it.” The tunnel you’re in now is different from all the others you seen.

The walls are smooth, with little indentations all along from the floor, to just above your head. They look like the surface of a pond during a brisk wind. You can see places where the sides broke off some time ago, leaving a pit rougher than the outside, but still smoothed by the passage of time. This thing must be fucking ancient.

The pale stone is lit by soft, blue light from the goddamn bio luminescent moss running in a trail along the ceiling like some emergency lighting on an airplane. It’d be pretty if it wasn’t creepy and y’all wasn’t lost and stranded in god knows fucking where under the surface of the world.

Which you’re trying real hard not to think about. Them other caves was just fine—you were with a group or a whole, paid guide, and either on a literal paved path with rails, or along a lava tube that only went one way and then back with no deviations. All of them was known, was safe. New Mexico cave had a fucking elevator to a restaurant.

They wasn’t an unmapped, unnamed fucking wild ass cave system in Middle fucking Narnia chock full of literal goddamn monsters.

You gotta pause a moment. Watch your breath puff out in white clouds. It’s maybe forty degrees in here—same temperature as the vegetable drawer in a fridge.

Behind you, your hitting stick whacks on a rock and Astarion mutters.

You glance back.

He looks fine. Hair a bit more mussed than you’re used to seeing, but no visible marks nowhere on him. Though he occasionally babies that left knee. You’d looked up outta that crack in the floor you landed in—super not gonna think about what might’a happened if you got teleported six inches to the left and plummeted down, down into the dark chasm that opened up beneath you. But you’d heard Astarion stumble in, and popped up enough to spot him stumbling down into your section of the tunnel, climbing down the big rock fall. And that man was hitting every, single boulder shin-first.

He ain’t said nothing about that, though. Too preoccupied, you think, by the whole blindness thing.

You roll your head back to try to ease then tightness of your neck muscles. Worry tends to show in you in godawful headaches.

Healing potions didn’t work on his eyes. Neither did blood. That only leaves some bullshit magic thing, and you hope that shit starts to wear off. Because right now, Astarion picks his way across the smooth section of the floor, and his face is terrifyingly rigid. His expression is as calm and unmoving as Han Solo when he got frozen in that block of metal.

You don’t think the vampire man realizes how loudly he’s broadcasting how scared he is.

“Rock, dead ahead,” you say.

He pauses. Reaches out with your stick and taps it. His jaw muscles work. But he only gives a tight nod.

Jesus, he ain’t even making commentary.

“So, you know magic?” you say.

“A cantrip, yes. I learned it when I was young, I think.”

You seen him use it once. Back in the swamp when he lit up that swamp ent bitch.

“Don’t use it often?” you say, and skirt a puddle of brown water after you warn him about it.

He shrugs. “There’s usually no need.”

You really don’t know all that much about him. Aside from him being a vampire, was a fucking slave, and that he likes murdering people.

“So can everybody here use magic?” Aside from you, anyway.

Finally, the hint of a smirk cracks that rictus on his face. “I am—or was—an elf, darling. We have a proclivity for it.”

Fucking past tense, there. When he ain’t being a gremlin jackass, when he ain’t teasing or bitching, conversation with the man is a minefield.

Still. It loosened some of the tightness in his movement. So you keep on going. “Know anything else? Portal magic or whatever?”

He pauses. Head cocked to one side. Seems to be studying you (only his gaze is fixed too far to your left). His expression does something complicated before settling to something more relaxed.

“I see,” he says outta nowhere and you almost make an inappropriate joke. Then, “That cantrip is the only one I know. But, ehm. I could likely learn more, if you wish.”

That…is some weird ass phrasing. He can’t see your frown, and you try to keep that outta your voice. “You don’t gotta do nothing like that just cause I asked a question. I just don’t know how magic works.”

Here comes that haughty little hip jut of his. “Well, I’m sure the wizard can give you a full lecture on magical theory, darling. I learn better by doing. Find me a scroll, once we’ve found our cleric and gotten her to fix whatever that mad wizard did to me, and I’m sure I can learn just about any of them.”

“Just by studying a scroll?”

“Probably.”

…probably. Man has no idea. But you know what? Fuck it. Neither do you.

“Sounds like a plan,” you say.

“Does it?” You ain’t never seen a man preen over such a small thing, but it seems he’s pulled outta the death dive on his mood, so that’s good.

“You wanna ask Gale if he got spares?”

Astarion (seemingly instinctively) pulls a face. Then something like mischief flashes across him. His smile is borderline gleeful. “Let’s not, darling. We can make it a surprise.”

And don’t he sound so excited. What a gremlin dork.

“Sure thing,” you say.

The dizziness still buzzes in your head (you got to take a snack break). The brainworm still nibbles on your prefrontal cortex when it ain’t nudging you towards the others. You’ll take that break once you walk a bit more down this tunnel.

***

After a very healthy snack break, y’all walk for another two hours or so. There’s more water, now. A tiny, gentle stream. You both skirt along the edges of the bank where you can, but there’s always more debris in the path—it starts to make you nervous. Big old chunks of wall, or ceiling cracked off and crashed down. When you lift your torch (on the second one, now)—the moss shrinks back and you’re just not gonna think about that—you see more cracks on the ceiling. Water drips along some of them.

At some point, this whole bitch is gonna collapse in on itself.

Astarion is quiet again, but the mood isn’t as low. You gotta stop every ten minutes or so to catch your breath. Feeding him was a doozy on your system. You already finished a water skin and are working on your backup.

Water’s gonna become a thing.

You already been wondering about pollutants and, like, gut worms. Gale had stared at you for a hard moment when you brought that up,. Early on. Another gap in the medical knowledge—until Shadowheart swooped in to say she’d heard something like that somewhere, and that with y’all getting torn up all the time and dosing with either her magic or a healing potion, y’all should be fine.

But you don’t got her no more. You don’t know how long it’ll be until you do. And while a healing potion would probably help with the blood loss, you should start rationing it. Wait until one of y’all actually, truly fucking needs it.

And then you realize you can’t even boil the water you do find cause y’all got nothing to burn down here.

But then all that takes a back seat as the ceiling starts to slope down. And keeps on sloping down. Astarion has to run a hand along overhead so he don’t end up cracking his skull.

And there’s no more dry bank for y’all to walk on. The water—fucking cold—is up to y’all’s ankles. Your feet are completely fucking soaked. Before the dehydration or whatever takes you out, you’re gonna need to start worrying about hypothermia.

“Are you sure this is the right way, darling?” Astarion says when y’all are bent double, shuffling along.

The others still pull you in the direction you’re headed. And the water’s moving that way. You think you saw some kinda lake in Gale’s vision, just for a moment when y’all mind-whammied together that first time after the trap triggered. Following a source of water might lead you to him.

Unless it was above you, and all the dripping seeping into the back of your shirt is coming from some upper level lake bed.

You don’t share that thought with Astarion.

“Pretty sure,” you say.

Which you hold onto as the walls start to come in, too. On and on, tighter and tighter and that moss vanished a while ago. Until you’re on your hands, gingerly on your knees (the bad one aches at the contact with stone and your full weight), and water sloshes over your elbows.

“Only, this seems rather narrow,” Astarion says.

There’s enough room for you to hold the lit torch straight out at arm’s length.

You pause. Ain’t no room to turn around. You can just crank your head back enough to peer over your shoulder and catch a glimpse of wet, white hair. You think a moment.

You ain’t really the claustrophobic sort. Ain’t scared of the dark, neither (surprisingly). Only of lemon soap and going hungry and other people and being a failure and being wrong and bad—

Deep breath in. Deep breath out. You reach for the rope tied to your waist.

“Darling?” Astarion says and he’s got an edge to his voice.

“I’m gonna scout ahead,” you say and have to tamp down the mental voices screaming about cave ins and monsters and “what about that guy in Nutty Putty cave.”

Apparently, he’s got similar thoughts. He got a real sharp edge when he says, “What? Why?”

It’s a damn good question; you’d really like to turn back. Except them worms pull on you, and the water’s flowing ahead—you know it might just go underground (further underground, anyway) might funnel into a four-inch crack. But you ain’t gonna know for sure unless y’all keep going and fuckshit this fucking sucks. Them people who do this shit for fun is fucking crazy.

“I gotta find out if this lets up,” you say. “And it’s probably better to go one at a time in case…” Panic vomit. “In case I get stuck or fall into something.”

There. You done went and did it. Said the damned thing out loud.

Astarion is real quiet behind you. You can’t see him at all from this angle.

“If it looks bad, I’ll come back,” you say. Assuming you can. “I ain’t risking shit. But we might get lucky, and it might open up after a bottleneck.”

He snorts. “Because ‘luck’ has been a defining feature of this catastrophe thus far.”

Brainworms and demons and goblins and a magic fucking cult.

“None of us landed in a bottomless pit,” you say.

“Ah yes. We didn’t immediately die. We’re left to wander around until a more horrible fate manages to befall us. Of course, of course. Lead on, dear.”

The rope slips free. Astarion makes a sound. Then, “Wouldn’t it be better to stay tied together?”

You heard about an accident on that big volcano in Washington State. Bunch’a people all taken out when one slipped and they was all roped together, and it ended up dragging them all way down into an ice crevasse. The thought of dragging a rope behind you, through a choke point in a cave, makes you shudder. So many ways to get caught up. But so easy to get lost without one.

“It’ll be safer without it,” you say. “I ain’t going far. Wait, and I’ll give a shout if it opens up.”

“And if you don’t?”

You just ain’t gonna think about that.

“Guess you’ll have to brainworm tap the others and see if they can get here.”

He mutters low and nasty in a language the dirt potion don’t translate.

You didn’t know that was even a thing. Huh.

Previous - Index - Next

[manyimaginativemuses]

Lend Me Your Voice (Thin Man/Anthony X Original Character) - Chapter 1

Summary: The Thin Man swore he was dead. He had made it about five blocks before he passed out. He was honestly ready to die, after all he had saved Dylan and the Angels’ lives. O’Grady was dead and he was well on his way to joining him in hell.

That is until he heard a voice beckoning him back to Earth. Despite the blood in his eyes, the sight of a full head of shocking blue hair and vibrant eyes told him to hold on. Something in this cold cruel world didn’t want him dead yet, and whatever that something was, it had thrown Anthony directly into Miranda Sullivan’s path. And there was no way she was letting this man die in the street….

Chapter warnings: blood, possibly inaccurate descriptions of emergency medical treatment

((Yes I’m writing a fic for a completely dead fandom because I am head over heels obsessed with Anthony and I needed to give him love. He deserves it))

Read on AO3

Tagging @vereorr @werewolf-on-high @labyrinthphanlivingafacade @stainedlilac

“Holy shit, Miranda get your ass out here!” The loud voice of her coworker reached Miranda’s ears as she was carding yet another freshly 21 year old who wanted entrance to the club. She was working security that night, things hadn’t been too bad as per usual, but then she heard Darius’s voice calling her name. And when she came out front, Miranda gasped in horror at the sight in front of her. There was a finely dressed man covered in blood and debris lying on the ground in front of the club, his legs visibly injured and what appeared to be an exit wound on his back.

“OH MY GOD!” Miranda rushed to the man’s side. She had been an RN once and had graduated nursing school, which is why Darius called for her rather than anyone else, and why she was so quick to pull off her jacket and use it to stop the bleeding on his back wound, “DARIUS CALL 911!” She shouted. However, the second she did so, the man she was helping reached up and grabbed her leg. She screamed in surprise and looked down at him, her face softening when she saw him. He was one of the most beautiful men she’d ever seen. His ice blue eyes were haunting and full of pain, his cheekbones sliced to bits from broken glass and an expression of fear clear on his face. When he got her attention, he used the blood dripping off his hand to barely write something on the concrete as best he could.

“NO HOSPITAL”

Miranda stared at the message and looked at the man. She knew he needed medical attention, but then again she didn’t know his story. She didn’t want to accidentally send him back into the clutches of a potential abuser by bringing him to a hospital, but she also didn’t want him to die out here on the street.

“Fuck shit, goddammit, Darius help me carry him to my apartment. Tell Jade I’m taking the rest of the night off, it’s an emergency.” Miranda demanded as Darius looked at her shocked and confused. He was on the phone with 911 but with the glare Miranda gave him, he told them never mind and hung up.

“I swear to god Miranda, you better call 911 if he tanks.” Darius then scooped up the injured man into his arms and Miranda followed behind him as they ran across the street to her apartment complex. She was so grateful she lived nearby, otherwise she wouldn’t have even considered not sending this man to the hospital.

“Put him on the bed, grab my emergency med bag from my bathroom, and get the fuck out. I’m already overstimulated as it is, I love you Darius, but I need to be alone with my patient right now.” She spat, chuckling softly as she could hear Darius muttering to himself from the bedroom. As soon as she got her shoes off and her keys in the bowl, she bolted into the bedroom and found the man lying on some towels that Darius was kind enough to put down first so her bed wasn’t covered in blood.

“You sure you don’t need me for anything?”

“Darius what the fuck did I just say?!” She shouted at him and the man raised his hands in defense before leaving.

Suddenly it was just Miranda and the dying stranger she’d pulled into her apartment.

“Ok handsome, I’m not letting you die on me tonight.” Miranda yanked on a pair of gloves from her bag as she began to pull and cut his suit off. He was making noises of pain and discomfort, but all she could do was give gentle apologies as she continued her work.

However, the sudden and immediate yanking of her hair pulled her out of her emergency mode.

“OW WHAT THE FUCK?!” She yelped as the man had ripped out a decent chunk of her hair when she got close to his face to check for any other injuries. She was about to curse him out again until she saw him frantically sniffing and rubbing the hair against his face.

”Oh lovely, I got a fucking tweaker on my hands, great..” She thought to herself as she continued. Miranda had tried to ask him questions, tried to get him to say anything, but he was silent the whole time other than just a few moans and groans of pain. The main thing that needed to be taken care of was the massive chest wound which she had packed with gauze.

“Ok handsome, you need to sit up now, I gotta get this hole cleaned up.” Miranda said sweetly and the man nodded weakly, crying out in pain when he was sat upright. She surmised he probably had a few broken ribs but those she couldn’t do anything about. Luckily the wound was a clean shot through but surprisingly wasn’t bleeding too excessively. It seemed to have missed any major arteries and didn’t hit his heart, which was incredibly lucky given it was on his left side. Digging through her emergency bag, she sighed heavily when she knew she’d have to use her stash of morphine that she’d stolen from her med school. She’d nearly gotten caught when she grabbed the vials, but she wanted them for emergencies like this.

“You’re not on any other drugs right now are you? I need you to be honest here Mr. Silent!” Miranda demanded and the man weakly shook his head no, “Fuck I have to take your word for it. Please don’t haunt my ass if you’re lying.” She then injected him with a decent amount of morphine that she guessed would work for his weight. She then crawled onto the bed behind him before handing him a wooden spoon she’d grabbed earlier from her kitchen.

“Bite down on this.” She instructed, making sure he held it between his teeth before she properly started cleaning out the exit wound on his back. She couldn’t wait for the morphine to kick in as she didn’t want him bleeding out, but she also knew she couldn’t risk infection since they weren’t in a hospital, so she knew this would hurt like hell. And hurt it did as he immediately began screaming into the spoon when she started cleaning and disinfecting his back wound. However once she did, she immediately started stitching it up right as the morphine started to kick in and his screams got lower and lower. Miranda thanked every god out there she was still wearing her sensory earplugs she wore whenever she worked at clubs because she knew she’d be thrown into a meltdown if she had to hear his screams unfiltered.

Regardless, he was finally starting to relax as she finished stitching up his back wound. She then lied him back down and started work on his chest wound, which was far less difficult now that he wasn’t screaming his head off. However he was still rubbing the hair against his face, almost as if it was a self soothing behavior. Miranda quirked an eyebrow as she watched him, confused and curious as to if this behavior was a stim or if it was just a weird quirk of his. Soon enough though, every wound that needed stitches was cleaned and sewn back up and amazingly, she had managed to stop his bleeding all on her own. Also amazingly, his legs didn’t appear to be completely shattered as she originally thought. He definitely had two sprained ankles and was going to have some gnarly full body bruising, but his legs were just as long and thin as the rest of him once she cut his pants off and didn’t appear to have any bad breaks.

“Jesus H Christmas… you are so lucky you ran into me, handsome….” The man was staring at her properly by this point, his ice blue eyes wide and serious as he watched her. The morphine however seemed to be knocking him out as intended and Miranda flopped down into her bean bag chair beside her bed when it was finally over. She needed to take a breath and regulate herself now that the man wasn’t in critical danger anymore. But Miranda knew she probably wasn’t going to be getting much sleep that night, as she had to make sure the man survived through the night to begin with.

Anthony, however, lying on this strange woman’s bed fading in and out of consciousness, could only think of one question: Why? Why was this random woman who found him on the street taking the time and effort to save him? She had no idea who he was or what he did, but she took it upon herself to save him regardless. Anthony felt his heart clench at this strange kindness, something he hadn’t felt in a long time. He thought he felt something similar less than an hour earlier, when Dylan Sanders had mirrored him on a rooftop after he saved her life. But it was clear Dylan and The Angels had other things more important to deal with than the life of some “creepy” thin assassin. For the moment though, as he was finally drifting off to sleep, he glanced over at the beautiful woman trembling in the chair beside him. Her hair reminded him of the ocean in Key West, how the sun shone off it just right that it looked like liquid blue glass. He’d pulled off a chunk of it when she got too close to his own hair, both as a deterrent from her touching it and also because he needed to stim so desperately or he was going to be even more uncomfortable than he already was. Her hair smelled like roses and rainwater as he rubbed it against his nose and cheek, a shaky sigh fleeing his chest as the scent soothed him even more than the morphine. He hadn’t really focused on her face when he was writhing in pain, but with the morphine on board, he was finally able to see and process the face of his savior. And if he hadn’t been one hundred percent sure he was still alive, he would’ve sworn he’d died and gone to heaven because the woman sitting beside him was just as beautiful if not more so, than the Angels who’d bested him so many times before. Her makeup was subtle but he noticed a star under her left eye, painted on her cheek. Her outfit was definitely less subtle, but it appeared to be her work uniform, so he didn’t pay that much mind.

The last thing he noticed before he passed out completely was the way she started chewing on her own hair when she met his gaze once more. What he wouldn’t give for her to allow him access to her hair willingly….

[gtraccoon]

part 4

“Kyle, what the hell are you doing?” Cartman’s voice echoed throughout the alley. Kyle should’ve shoved Stan back in his pocket. Or hidden him, or something. Maybe it was the worry that moving too fast would hurt Stan, or the realization that Cartman saw them hitting him made him freeze.

But he couldn’t move. And within a second Kenny and Cartman were both right infront of him, muttering something. Questions, maybe. They were completely incoherent because Kyle’s attention was locked fully on Stan, his worried eyes, and his terrified expression.

Suddenly he’s brought back to reality, and he shoves Stan against his chest, covering him with his hands in a weak attempt to hide him. The boy let out a squeal, and Kyle’s heart sunk. Had he hurt him?

“Dude. What is that.” Cartman said, pointing at his hands. Kenny trailed behind, his head tilted slightly as he looked around Cartman’s head.

“It’s nothing!” Kyle said, narrowing his eyes. “Nothing you need to worry about. And I’m serious! Just go build your stud snowmen by yourself.” Kyle felt his heart racing, as he tried to get past them, but the two blocked his path. Kenny stood up straighter.

“That looked a lot like Stan… What are you hiding?” He said, stepping closer to him. Kyle cupped his hands around the boy as Kenny tried to reach for him, holding Stan out of Kenny’s reach.

Before Kyle could even respond to Kenny’s question, something jabbed into his side. Cartman had punched him, and while it hadn’t hurt very bad, it distracted him long enough for Kenny to pry his hands open and steal Stan. It all happened so fast.

“Wait!” He exclaimed, but there wasn’t really any point anymore. Everyone went silent, and Kenny looked from Stan to Kyle, minutes passing by like seconds.

“What the fuck happened.” He said suddenly, lifting the boy closer to his face. “Why’s he so small?” Kyle squeezed his eyes shut, trying to think of something—anything he could do.

“Give him back.”

“Not till you tell us.” Cartman said, standing in between Kenny and Kyle. He felt his body tensen, not with fear—but with anger.

“Give him back, or I swear to God, I’ll beat the shit out of you. Both of you.” His voice was firm, and even Stan was taken aback at that. Kenny raised his eyebrows, barely visible under his tight hood, before he lowered his eyes, holding his hand out. Kyle held his hand under Kenny’s, allowing Stan to drop carefully onto his palm.

“Don’t follow me this time.” He walked to the end of the alley, the sunlight reflecting off of the snow on the ground. He looked back, but he couldn’t stand to see Kenny’s expression. Sure, he threatened Cartman before, and meant it. And obviously he’s threatened Kenny. But not like that. He’s never meant it to Kenny. He’d apologize later, he didn’t have time.

The entire walk home was absolutely silent, Stan staring into nothing and Kyle barely watching where he was going. He placed Stan back in his pocket, holding his hand over it for atleast a minute until he felt comfortable enough to bring his hand down so he could open the door to his house. He didn’t greet his mom, or his dad, instead walking straight past them to his room, his mind focused on one thing.

He can’t mess up again. Kenny would never hurt Stan. But Cartman? If Cartman was the one who grabbed Stan he would’ve died. And it would’ve been Kyle’s fault. One mistake and it’s over. It finally dawned on him just how terrifying it is to be that small. Like he said. To be fragile, to be weak, to be vulnerable.

Pushing those thoughts out of his mind, he closed his bedroom door behind him and exhaled. He emptied his pocket, setting Stan on his bed, before taking off his jacket and hat and throwing them on the floor.

“Kyle.” Stan said. The sudden voice made him freeze, he almost forgot that Stan was there.

“Huh?”

“I… They saw me.” He felt like he was freezing, despite Kyle’s house being warm, especially while wearing winter gear. Kyle sighed, getting on his knees so he could be level, placing his hands on the edge of the bed.

“I know. But they’re not gonna hurt you, they’re not even gonna touch you. I promise.” He assured him, but still Stan seemed worried. After a few seconds of silence, Stan looked up. Tears. Kyle’s breathing hitched, and he felt his heart break.

“I’m scared! I don’t— I don’t think people want to hurt me, but they do! Kenny seemed like he was about to drop me! I would’ve died!” His voice wavered, and his hands shook.

“Stan..” Kyle said softly, taking him in his hands. “I’m sorry. It’s my fault that they saw you, I shouldn’t have stopped moving. I shouldn’t have let Kenny take you.”

“It’s not.. it’s not your fault. He sniffed, glancing down. “I’m just over paranoid.”

“It’s okay to be scared, dude.” Kyle said, holding Stan tighter, but still gently. He felt Stan’s tiny body shiver against him.

“I love you.”

“I love you too, man.”

MY INTERNET WENT OUT SO I MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO POST FOR AWHILE but here’s this

[electrasev5nwrites]

Ninja Daily: Vapors 47

It took conscious effort to pick her jaw back up.

"Say that again?" Aiko asked a bit weakly.

He glared, looking spectacularly uncomfortable, as if he was possibly considering pulling a Sasuke and fleeing the conversation. But Kakashi-shishou gave a pouty little huff and repeated himself. "I re-evaluated my previous rhetorical position. I have an alternative for the Rasengan."

Perhaps there just weren't any logs nearby to substitute with. Aiko resisted the temptation to check.

'If I'm not mistaken, that's a wordy apology.' She smoothed her features and did her best not to look too surprised. There would be no point to insulting him or making him feel any more uncomfortable by seeming too exuberantly grateful. Aiko didn't like these sorts of conversations either, so she directed her reply to the ground and scuffed the toes of her sandal in the dirt, tracing lines. "I misspoke as well," she muttered. "I was taking other frustrations out on you. I don't want to be arguing anymore."

"Well, that's settled then." One of those ludicrous fake eye-smiles diffused the tension, and Kakashi shifted into business mode with a palpable air of relief. "Before I teach you, I have one warning. I based this off of my experience making chidori, so don't go sharing insights about it to anyone else. It's a bit of a cheat sheet for reverse engineering my technique."

She blanched. 'He invented a technique for me? Holy shit,' Aiko thought weakly. That was a hell of an apology. 'I should probably master it and be damn grateful. I'm definitely not going to mention being okay with the Rasengan after all.'

"The name's a little deceptive, but I rather like it. Sen Tsurara—one thousand icicles. I initially tried to use the same shape transformation as for my chidori, but it ended up much less compact, but without the long tendrils of excess energy that characterize chidori. If you haven't noticed by now, chidori uses Ox, Rabbit, and then Monkey."

He demonstrated without channeling chakra, which was a damn sight harder than it sounded. "I couldn't get what I wanted to work with three handsigns—the minimum appears to be four." He paused. "Well, at least until you've mastered it to the point where it comes naturally. Have you ever used Jin?"

Aiko shook her head. He just lazily blinked as if he expected that. At least, it seemed like he blinked, even though she couldn't see both eyes. She had to assume he wasn't really winking at her all the time.

"Alright. Jin is commonly associated with water release techniques." He demonstrated slowly and carefully. When Aiko mimicked it, he moved on. "It starts the same, but you're going to lose the Rabbit seal entirely and substitute in 'Dog' and then 'Jin', but still end with Monkey. Show me."

Aiko entirely blocked the chakra paths in her wrists and flashed through the sequence, not fumbling on the new seal.

"Good." Kakashi let a hand wander up to that electrocuted mop he called hair, a gesture she recognized as meaning he was thinking. "Alright. Obviously, there's no ice involved in this technique. I can do many things, but I haven't figured out how to transfer bloodline limits yet."

It took conscious effort not to look at the hidden Sharingan eye under his dark blue mask.

"Instead of ice, you'll actually be generating water and using the same concentration you do to give water bullets their hard edge." He shrugged lazily. "It looks a lot like ice, and that sounds better than 'One thousand pointy bits of water.' Then he looked contemplative for a moment, before putting his palms up and sheepishly admitting, "And it's actually more like six hundred seventy six pointy bits, but who's counting?" His visible eye curved into a smile.

She was a little appalled that he'd actually been anal enough to count them himself (and how had he even managed that?), but agreed that no one else was likely to spot the fib in the name.

"Is… is it a running technique like chidori?" she asked, curious.

He shook his head. "No, that's dangerous. Not that this doesn't have its own problems," he admitted self-depreciatingly. "It's not a sustained technique. It only lasts about a second and a half at most. So if your timing is off, you're just pawing at people with your bare hand."

"And that doesn't work for anyone but a Hyuuga," she finished.

His lip seemed to twitch under his mask. "Correct." Then he demonstrated, flipping through the seals at a speed she couldn't even register, since she already knew what they would be.

Of course, nothing seemed to happen for a good second. She furrowed her brow and looked up at his face, which seemed decidedly amused. "As you can see, nothing happens until you force a burst of chakra out past the buildup," he drawled. "The seals are just preparation in this case. You can ready them as much as a few seconds before you actually use the technique, which does mitigate something of the timing problem." He ran through the hand seals again, this time lifting up his right hand and pulsing chakra through it.

It exploded—it really did look like ice burst out of his hand. In the moments it lasted, he lazily demonstrated that it wasn't bound to a single trajectory by moving his arm from side to side, letting the technique move with him. Then suddenly it dissolved, collapsing into a sphere of water and then splashing to the ground, all form lost.

"Whoa." She took a deep breath, mind working. "There's something I didn't see, isn't there? If it had just been that hard-edge technique, it would have shredded your hand as well."

He looked a bit proud. "Insightful. Yes, the first step is a soft cushion around your hand." He kneeled to scoop up the fallen water and demonstrated a wiggly glove construct, instead of generating more raw material. "You're going to attach the hard edge to that, instead of your flesh."

She made a face. That sounded like a pain. He hadn't actually taught her a technique that complicated before. He made it look easy, but the control for that cushion was analogous to what beginning medics would need. She would be able to do it while working on another technique, but barely and only with a fair bit of concentration.

'That means more chakra control practice, so I can use this on-the-go,' she sighed. Goddamnit.

Kakashi chuckled lowly, not sounding particularly amused. "It would be embarrassing to cripple yourself with your own technique. So, don't forget that part. The difficult bit is manifesting that independently of what you're doing with the handseals for the hard-edge portion, but the closer they are together time-wise, the less likely that the people you are about to skewer have a chance to figure out the possible weakness that you can be harmed by your own technique."

He didn't have to explain why that would be a bad thing.

"Duly noted." Aiko fidgeted.

"Show me that part first," he lazily demanded, leaning back against a tree. "I know you can do it, but I'd like to see it actually generated and not picked up from a natural source."

For a while, he just let her work in silence, occasionally giving a tip or snarky critique. She had managed to start attaching hard edges to the protective cushion, even though they were messy and nothing like shishou's perfect, symmetrical jagged protrusions by the time he brought up a strange topic.

"I didn't realize you and Naruto were living on your own from such a young age. Four, wasn't it?"

'Why's he bringing that up now?'

Aiko frowned, stealing a glance at her sensei. The tone had been perfectly level and casual, but something had been very wrong about the statement nonetheless, and not just the fact that he rarely initiated idle conversation. Perhaps it had been the way he emphasized syllables or the fact that he was trying too hard to sound nonchalant.

Either way, it seemed like a dangerous question to respond to. Kakashi was fishing for information or a certain response. Saying something when she didn't know what he was looking for could end poorly. Aiko didn't intend for anyone to ever find out that she had been reincarnated or had precognition or whatever the hell was going on in her head. She barely trusted in her own sanity, and she was the one stuck in her head. Doubtless, no one else would just accept such a crazy claim. It was better to let people attribute the fact that she didn't always entirely 'click' to whatever they wanted. Often, people told themselves far better lies than anyone else could.

So Aiko shrugged noncommittally, focusing on her task and how the goddamn icicle things just wouldn't manifest the long, straight edges that Kakashi's technique had instead of responding verbally. Her shishou seemed to measure the response, tilting his head slightly like a bird. If she knew him at all, which she definitely did, now he would be re-thinking his rhetorical approach and coming at whatever he wanted to know from another angle. She would probably be able to figure out what he was really angling for by considering his first question in conjunction with whatever he tried next.

"Why do you act as though you're so much older than your brother?" Kakashi asked suddenly.

Aiko blinked, taken aback by the odd question. He didn't suspect that she was really an adult—that wasn't a suspicion you gently prodded at, so she didn't see the connection. "I don't know. I just suppose that someone had to take care of things, and I was more qualified."

'Because I was born fully conscious and aware,' her mind filled in. Was it lying if she finished her sentences in her head?

Her shishou seemed to frown, eye darkening. "You shouldn't have had to."

'Oh. That's what this is about. He's feeling guilty now that he realizes no one stepped up to take care of us after Minato and Kushina died.'

The realization was surprisingly irritating. Aiko rolled her eyes, exasperated. He'd been fourteen and just lost the last of his support system—of course he hadn't been able to take the twins in, even if he had been able to afford and care for two infants.

"Who cares what I 'shouldn't have had' to do? It's a bit late now, and obviously it worked out. Look at how well adjusted I am." She held her hands out in demonstration, and momentarily regretted that Yamato wasn't there. That joke would have garnered at least a snort.

"Tough crowd," she muttered at Kakashi's unamused expression. Aiko shrugged, turning away and stubbornly avoiding his eye, pretending to be engrossed in hand seals. "Look, I don't know what you want me to say. I don't regret it. I like being an adult."

Kakashi just looked tired and depressed, slumping his shoulders inward."But you weren't. Minato was my sensei. I should have-"

"Bullshit." The fingers of her right hand, which had been trying to flash through the handsigns she'd just been taught, clenched convulsively. Her neck was so stiff that it hurt a little. "I doubt you were in any state to take in two infants. Besides, I can't imagine thinking of you as a father figure." He recoiled, but she didn't feel guilty. "You're my mentor and probably my best friend." The touchy-feely admission was a little embarrassing, so she closed her eyes entirely. "It's between you and Naruto, and I just don't think he has the appropriate sass for the role."

He snorted. But he didn't say anything else, be it a refutation or a continuation of his pity party, so she counted it as a victory.

It was surprisingly easy to fall back into their old patterns of behavior, which would have been nice if Aiko hadn't been attempting to alter her own actions. She was probably too old to cling off of him now, and it would only encourage her silly infatuation. So she maintained a little more distance than she would have only three months ago, but he didn't comment.

They only stayed in the training field for another hour. She wasn't exactly a novice with solid chakra manifestations, but this one ate a shocking amount of her chakra. As she worked she was becoming a little more efficient, which was reassuring, but she wouldn't be whipping this one out in combat any time too soon. It wasn't the jutsu itself that was the issue. Nor was it that her reserves were low. It was her inexperience with maintaining multiple shapes at once, which only practice could rectify.

Aiko wasn't worried. If shishou thought she could master this, then she could. He wasn't one to overestimate anyone's abilities.

"You can't teach a cat fire ninjutsu," Anko said firmly. She didn't draw the line often, but this seemed like a good place to do so.

Karin just scoffed, "Hater," under her breath, but Hinata looked up from her attempt to manipulate little paws through approximations of hand signs and calmly uttered, "That's what you keep saying, but I'm not convinced."

"Why else would Naruto be so convinced Smaug is a dragon?" Karin added practically. "Maybe Smaug is a fire-natured cat."

Anko rolled her eyes. "Fine, whatever, do what you want." She pointedly edged far away from the cat experiment and worked her way to the kitchen. Hinata was the only person that damn animal seemed to tolerate, and she wasn't interested in bleeding from her face. (Smaug always went for the eyes or throat). She dropped her bag on the floor as she went, and yanked open the fridge to contemplatively frown inside. Triumphantly, she withdrew a container of leftovers, peeled the lid up to sniff it, and then asked, "D'you think Aiko would notice if I took these blanched vegetables?"

"Probably," Aiko drawled, leaning against the counter and eying Anko's back.

The older girl jumped a bit and hit her head on a shelf, cursing. "Don't fucking sneak up on me, bitch!"

Aiko huffed in amusement, digging around the fruit bowl for an apple. She just wasn't seeing one, though. Maybe she'd had the last one yesterday? "It's my house. I can sneak if I want to."

"That's no excuse," Anko snapped, cradling her head and letting the fridge shut with a bang.

"Oh, lay off it," Karin sighed, wandering in to poke around sadly at the empty cookie jar. "Hey, Aiko, you love me, right? Since you're so nice, would you-"

"'So nice'? Is that the best you can do?" She raised an eyebrow at her cousin skeptically. "That's pretty weak flattery. Maybe you should say something about my impeccable style, or my awesome hair day, or-"

"I'm an honest girl, and I don't want cookies that badly," Karin shot back with a smirk. "I would never undermine my integrity for food." Unseen, Anko (intrepid fridge looter that she was) flipped Karin off. Bored, Karin dropped the lid with a clatter that made Aiko wince, but at least it didn't crack either the jar or lid. "I guess it doesn't matter. We need to go."

"Anko. You didn't plan for lunch, then?" When Anko shook her head with a pathetic pout, Aiko sighed with faux irritation. "Just take my bento then, you utter barbarian. I'll go out for lunch. When are you guys going to be back?"

Hinata meandered in, snatching the blue bento out of Anko's greedy claws and dutifully packing it away with hers and Karin's boxes in a knapsack. "Tomorrow morning, if all goes as planned."

"Alright, I'll probably still be here then."

The house emptied, but Aiko wandered aimlessly from room to room, feeling restless and strange. She'd been asked not to work any further on Sen Tsurara without supervision, and shishou was out on another mission above her skill level. Yamato was probably with him, but she didn't have an idea as to who his third teammate would be.

'I bet Sasuke's around,' she mused. 'I haven't seen him in forever. Maybe we could do lunch and catch up?'

Since he had begun his specialization, Sasuke had been entirely confined to the village. Oddly enough, he didn't seem resentful. That probably meant his training was going very well—he liked seeing visible improvement. Off hand, she couldn't think of anything else that would mitigate the irritation of not getting any chance to stretch his legs and get in real fights.

Although she was still a little achy from her workout late last night, Aiko felt much more optimistic about her day when she had something of a plan.

It only took an instant for her to realize that she didn't envy her housemates who would be sleeping outside that night. Even as she opened the door, Aiko had to cringe away from the biting wind. She slammed it immediately and walked right back into the house to change clothes.

Pulling a long-sleeved blue shirt much like her shishou's out of her closet, she had to freeze and giggle hysterically at the thought of how miserable Karin must be in her shorts. There was no way that Anko would let her go back for a change just because she hadn't planned well (never mind that Anko was a terrible planner as well). Just because it amused her, she changed out of her own shorts and pulled on a short white skirt over blue leggings instead of wearing pants like a responsible, grown-up kunoichi would. She completed the outfit with shoes that had been a gag gift (at least, she hoped it wasn't a sign that his taste in fashion had gotten even sillier) that Naruto had mailed to her from a city she'd never even heard of. They were shaped something like Mary Janes and appeared to be white patent leather… with a smiling cat face in black stitching on the toe area.

'These are fucking awesome', she had decided when she'd opened the package.

Karin hadn't seemed to agree, but it wasn't Aiko's fault that the other redhead had no taste. It was a shame, but there it was.

Lunch with Sasuke didn't work out—when she stopped by the hospital to try to find him, she was told he was with a patient and couldn't be disturbed. So she asked that he be told that she had stopped by, but didn't really hold much faith that he would get back to her in time. It was ten in the morning already at that point, after all. Bored and a bit lonely, she decided to get the unpleasant task of some clothes shopping out of the way, while Karin was safely out of the village and unable to nitpick. She didn't feel like she was getting fat or had put on weight, but her clothes weren't fitting like they used to. Even the skirt she was wearing at the moment was a little too snug to really provide the freedom of movement she needed.

Looking in the mirror in the changing room, she felt a little more daring than she had the last time she had gone clothes shopping. That had been when she was twelve… The thought brought her the unpleasant realization that she hadn't had a growth spurt in a very long time.

Regardless, now that she was finally old enough—technically a legal adult, by Konoha's standards even though fourteen seemed frightfully young to her—she was willing to get slightly more risqué with her leisure wear, if not her mission clothing.

As Konoha was much more prone to small, specific stores run by families instead of large department stores, that meant quite a few trips around town that loaded her down with a good forty pounds of bags. Staggering slightly, not from the weight but from the unwieldiness of her load, Aiko set off to drop her new things off at home—and startled when an irritated looking Yamanaka grabbed her shoulder from behind.

"How rude!" Ino sniffed, looking at her purple-painted nails. "You didn't come to tell me about how your date went, after I slaved over getting you ready."

Aiko blinked, mildly confused. 'Slaved? She brought over something she already owned and put my hair in a bun with a fabric flower. Maybe this is more of that ettiquite I missed out on?'

"I'm sorry," she apologized, trying to rearrange her bags to better see the road she was accidentally blocking. Shikamaru, Asuma, and Chouji came up the road in the direction Ino must have come from, wearing varying expressions of boredom and irritation.

"Ino, let the poor girl go home," Asuma drawled through a cigarette. Ino blushed, but didn't back off.

"Yes, weren't we going somewhere?" Chouji said pointedly, glaring at his kunoichi comrade.

Shikamaru seemed to have a sudden idea. At least, the suddenly wicked gleam in his eye indicated that it was a good one. But when he finally voiced it, it sounded surprisingly tame. "Why don't you just invite her along, so we can get going?"

Ino scowled at him, but it seemed to be more out of habit than anything. "Fine." She snatched most of the bags off of Aiko's arms despite her protestations—and then shoved them at Shikamaru and Chouji while Asuma snickered, giving Aiko a conspiratorial wink she didn't understand. "Look alive, boys, you weren't seriously going to let a lady carry all this?" She peeked inside one, and let a sly smile creep across her face. "You went clothes shopping all on your own? I'm so proud."

"I usually go shopping on my own," Aiko said dryly. "I don't particularly appreciate the implication that I'm incapable of dressing myself. I'm a big girl. I tie my own sandals and everything."

Chouji blinked and looked down at her definitely unfastened shoes with a vaguely perplexed expression. There wasn't anything to tie. They were slip-ons. He opened his mouth—and then Asuma slapped a palm over it. Ino didn't notice when he leaned over and muttered, "It's best not to get involved," and then gave him a commiserating pat on the back.

They fell to the back of the group, partly because they were lazy and partly because it was safest to be out of Ino's direct line of vision. As soon as there was enough distance, Chouji elbowed his friend and muttered, "What's going on?"

Shikamaru snorted, warily eying Ino as if to gauge the distance before he dared speak up. "Isn't it obvious?" he grouched. "Ino is feeling territorial and jealous, now that it's sunk in that her friend would rather spend time with another girl. She doesn't want to date Aiko and she'd turn her down if she was asked on a date, but she doesn't like that Aiko would pick someone else over her. She's convinced herself that since she's the most desirable," (here he rolled his eyes), "that it doesn't make sense that anyone wouldn't want to date her."

They hadn't noticed that Asuma had lingered close enough to hear them until he gave a low chuckle. "That's a pretty good analysis, Shikamaru, but you missed something."

He looked distinctly put out at the gentle admonition. "That so," Shikamaru said flatly.

"Yes." Asuma replied, looking amused by the whole thing. "But I think I'll let you figure the rest out on your own. You're missing something pretty major about what this says about Ino's personality."

"She's bossy, territorial, and passive aggressive?" Chouji offered up just a little too loudly. Shikamaru reflexively flinched, until he realized that Ino had somehow been too distracted by whatever she was babbling to hear the insult as she usually did with those terrifying bat-ears of hers. (Even if Chouji hadn't meant to be insulting at all, she would hit him senseless when she caught him).

"We already knew all that. No, that's not what he meant. She's highly insecure," Shikamaru said flatly, giving his friend a scathing look for nearly setting Ino's massive temper on them. Chouji gave a cringing, apologetic grin in response. "None of this would be necessary if she didn't put such high importance on her physical desirability, but she's also feeling threatened by one of her few female friends spending time with another girl. Ino subconsciously thinks that Aiko is going to leave her like Sakura did, back in the Academy."

Asuma nodded. "Got it in one, so be nice to your teammate, alright boys?"

"Tch," Shikamaru deflected, turning his face away. He wouldn't have teased her about it- not much, anyway. They were friends, after all, even if she was troublesome.

"I'm glad we have this opportunity to talk, Kakashi."

Sunlight pinged off of perfectly straight teeth, and Yamato cringed a little. There was just something about being around Gai that made him feel like he had a massive hangover—sunlight and noises suddenly became painful.

It didn't make any sense, but there it was.

Kakashi yawned, letting his eye close blearily. Maybe Gai would get bored and go chase butterflies if he didn't play into his hands?

As pleasant as the thought was, it just wasn't to be.

"What do you think about the recent development inextricably bonding our teams?" Gai grinned, giving a confusing little chuckle that Kakashi refused to think too deeply about along with his 'thumbs-up'.

Yamato twitched. 'This is not inextricable bonding,' he grumped. 'It's one mission, turtle man.'

Kakashi seemed to be having similar thoughts. Instead of replying verbally, he just raised one eyebrow and pulled out a book. He actually startled (rather like when someone steps on a cat's tail, Yamato mused) at Gai's booming laugh—that was traditionally where Gai would mope about being dismissed. Was something going on?

"Oh, my rival, you are too cool," Gai wiped away an inexplicable tear. "How hip of you, to pretend that you did not know that your young apprentice has fallen for my student's charms!"

There was a bizarre sound when Yamato simultaneously wheezed in surprise and forgot how to walk, ending up face-down in the dirt. Kakashi couldn't blame him. He was trying to remember…

'Did Aiko sustain any head injuries while we were gone?' Try as he might, he couldn't think of any potential cause for such a radical change in personality. 'Is she ill? Has she been dared to do something by that Yamanaka girl?'

"What."

The flat response seemed to delight Gai, who gave a wicked smile. "Why, if I didn't know better, I'd say that she hadn't told you that she was going to ask the lovely Tenten out on a romantic encounter!"

Time and space tilted back onto their usual axis, and Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief. Right. It wasn't that strange Lee boy, or even the terrifyingly unstable Hyuuga. It was the perfectly normal… girl…

'Huh. I never would have guessed.' Kakashi shrugged. Then he wondered if he knew of any other kunoichi couples. That was much more common in the civilian sector (where relationships were much less likely to be influenced by clan politics requiring that people reproduce at a young age to replace them when they inevitably died at age 22 or so. It was sort of the vicious cycle of shinobi life.)

Then again, Aiko didn't really have a clan-influenced upbringing, and as far as he knew Gai's student didn't come from a ninja family. So they might not even be approaching their relationship from the generally accepted shinobi practice of indulging in same-sex relationships temporarily before they eventually got down to the clan mandated reproduction.

He stopped in his tracks, suddenly terrified that his student had gotten into a serious relationship. But... but… Wasn't Aiko too young to be mooning over older girls? 'If she tries to come to me for romantic advice, I will request deportment to Suna,' he decided darkly.

With that, he happily dismissed the train of thought. He'd already decided Aiko was a big girl. She could take care of herself. Unless she asked him for help, he'd assume that she would be able beat the older girl into next week on her own if this 'Tenten' got too fresh.

"You've got to be kidding me," Suigetsu whined under his voice, flipping through the latest edition of the bingo book. Reading it in the dark of the sketchy bar he was in was hard enough that he had to check a second time ot be certain he hadn't just missed a page. The first sword he wanted to acquire should have been easy to find- Zabuza surely merited a fucking page in the bingo book. He'd been locked up in Orochimaru's shithole for a while, but not that long.

Of course, Suigetsu hadn't investigated the political state of his old country. All he had to know was that there would be no point to returning unless it was the only way to complete his goal, and he'd rather try to kill them all than kowtow to the fuckers who had been ruining his childhood home when he'd left. Hence why he had gotten the hell out of there before the Mist backup team those Konoha and Sand nin were expecting had showed up. Depending on who was in charge, he would either have been dragged back into their forces or would have had to cut his way out. He hadn't liked his chances at that- he wasn't an idiot. Suigetsu recognized Hatake Kakashi when he saw him, and didn't particularly want to fight a lightning user without a damn good blade. Besides, it would have been a damn shame to have to cut up those two girls.

He felt himself smirk at the thought, trying not to get too excited at the thought of cutting up such pretty skin. It would be fun in the short term, but he'd rather flirt with hot girls than dismember them, even if the blonde was a fucking bitch with stupid weaponry. At least the redhead had a sword, plain as it was. Suigetsu shivered at the memory- he'd been locked up for long enough that immediately running into a pretty bitch cutting people up had probably softened him to her more than was wise or deserved. She wasn't that good, after all. Nothing on him or his goals for the best group of swords there had ever been.

"Hey, you." He slammed his fist irritably on the countertop, catching the barkeep's attention. The woman rolled her eyes, but meandered over.

"What the hell now, brat? That's the latest edition."

"Can't be," Suigetsu sneered. "Where the hell is Momochi Zabuza?"

She snorted, thoroughly unimpressed. "You fuckin' kidding me? He's been dead for a while. Some Konoha team ganked him.

'What,' Suigetsu thought flatly. 'Is she fucking serious? I was just with a Konoha team last week. If I'd known... I could have pretended to be with the current administration and gotten some information.'

"Realllly," he drawled out, looking unimpressed. "Can you get a little more specific?"

"It'll cost you." She grinned at him, shamelessly displaying a missing tooth. Then she froze, wide-eyed at the sword kissing her throat.

"Or," Suigetsu purred into her ear, from his new position behind her. He was thoroughly fed up with this bullshit. "You could just tell me, because we're such good friends."

Stiffly, she leaned back as best as she could, trying not to move too much when she muttered, "Fine, asshole. Let me go, so I can show you." He withdrew enough to let her move around, but kept his sword out and his eyes on her when she grudgingly rifled through the more unofficial bingo book entries. That in itself told him something- whoever he was looking for wasn't a missing nin, and the country who had blacklisted them wasn't technically at war with their home village. That was the only reason they'd be in the unofficial bookings. Someone wanted them dead, but didn't want to be liable for it.

The bartender ripped the page clean out of her book and shoved it at him, never minding that it crinkled. "Enjoy. Now get the hell out of this establishment."

"Gladly," Suigetsu muttered, sheathing his blade and snatching the bounty. He didn't even look at it until he got outside in the fresh air.

At that point, he cursed up a storm.

'Well, at least I know the bitch's name now,' he thought darkly. 'Definitely should have claimed to be allies.'

She looked younger on paper, but the redhead with the sword was unmistakable. Picture must have been old. Squinting, he decided it must have been her headshot after Academy graduation, which meant she didn't take a lot of high-profile missions. If she did, there would be more recent unofficial shots of her. That probably pegged her as some sort of specialist that seldom worked with clients, like an assassin or a tracker.

"Which means that tracking her down without infiltrating Konoha will be a pain," he muttered. Maybe it would be more worth his time to investigate what the hell was going on in Mist, first.

[angeldcgs]

“well you look like one.” she kept her tone short when she spoke to him, not wanting to give him too much to feed off of. it wasn’t the fact that he intended to steal from her that bothered petra. she could remember all too well the resentment that came along with having so little, looking at those with an abundance of wealth as the enemy, targets for her scorn and derision. it had been just about two decades since she’d been in his position, but growing up with nothing tends to stick with a person. so she couldn’t fault him for looking to take from someone with more than enough money to go around— what really irked her was just how poor of a job he’d done. she couldn’t help but wonder if this was his first time, not just because he’d managed to screw the timing up, which wasn’t exactly his fault, but because of how he’d responded to an unforeseen obstacle. any good criminal should have a failsafe, or at least have thought through a scenario in which things didn’t go perfectly to plan. even the most carefully thought out schemes could fall apart with one small, unpredictable deviation, but it seemed as though this kid’s only defense strategy was to appear so painfully pathetic she had no choice but to take pity on him. it wasn’t not working, exactly. “what do you mean, ‘what else to do’? there’s a shit ton of big ass houses on this block alone, go take something from them. scam an old lady out of her savings, sell drugs— sell dick pics on the internet, i don’t know. figure it out... you’re too young to be this hopeless.” the waterworks were a bit much, but she admired his commitment to the bit. whether it was an act or not, he was sure selling the whole blubbering, bumbling fool package with everything he had in him. “hey,” she snapped, cutting off his weak pleas before the sound of his whiny voice could trigger a migraine. “spare me the sob story. i don’t want your money.” it might’ve been more beneficial for her to just pay him to leave her alone and never show his face in her neighborhood again, but as irritating as she found him, petra was an opportunist above all else. she wasn’t running a charity for poor downtrodden thieves, after all, and if she was to let him get away without sending him to jail or breaking those sticky fingers of his, she wanted to get something out of him to make it worth her trouble. along with some small electronics, her watch was visible as soon as she’d opened his bag and dumped the contents out onto her bed, one of the few things with genuine sentimental value that she owned. lips finally curling into a smirk, she shook her head and clucked her tongue disapprovingly, fishing out his wallet from the small pile of his belongings and plucking his id out from the plastic sleeve. "pathetic, and a liar… double jeopardy.” after looking between the photo on his id and his face to confirm that it belonged to him and wasn’t merely stolen, she slapped the laminated card against his forehead before pocketing it. “rule number one of committing a crime, don’t have your fucking id on you.” it was eerie, almost, just how fitting it was that he’d decided to rob her, of all people, and that she’d just so happened to cut her vacation short. almost like they were meant to cross paths… “take off your clothes. let’s see what else you’re hiding…”

he hadn't planned on sneaking through her underwear drawer but he supposed if he happened to stumble upon it, he wouldn't have minded stealing a pair or two for himself. she could buy more. hell, with the state of her house, she could probably buy a whole store filled with panties and then some. she didn't need anything she owned, she might have bought it but that didn't mean she deserved to live a lavish lifestyle when people like him were left to suffer poverty. "n-no! no i-i'm not a-a..." though, the more he thought about it, maybe that was a safer route to go along. would she be more sympathetic towards a thief or some misguided sexual deviant? the closer she got to him, the quicker sonny's brain had to work to try and determine what role he was going to play, it was possible that he could try and fight his way out considering she didn't look particularly strong, though he much preferred the concept of being able to escape on account of his mental prowess. with his bottom lip trembling and his dark eyes filled to the brim with ready to overflow tears, sonny knew he looked like the dictionary definition of pitiful. "p-p-please. i-i'm sorry, i-i didn't know what else to d-do." playing up his innocence felt like his best idea, especially since she hadn't gone straight to violence or anger. maybe she didn't want to hurt him, if he played his cards right he could leave completely unharmed and without the threat of prison on the horizon. without his loot, sure, but he'd learned his lesson and he'd figure out where he went wrong and what to do better next time. with a shaky sigh, he passed over his bag, a watch and a few other valuables hidden inside, before turning out his pockets. inside was some money, not a lot but clearly more than someone like him could've possessed. "i-i-i n-need this. it's- i can't pay my rent and they're g-gonna kick me o-out."

[redorich]

What if Tommy and a few other Hermits went to the Dream SMP to take care of some business (aka Dreamon + small family reunion for Tommy) and they see Tommy hug these two PvP gods as a ghost floats around them saying, “oh Tommy! You’ve been gone so long! Where did you go?” And seeming quite happy as well. The hermits get to see just how fucked this place is. Tommy told them Techno is by far the richest person on the server yet he only has one stack of diamond blocks. Not a single shulker box to be seen. Phil tells them The End is Off Limits. They get to see the main hub of this world is less impressive than a single of their big builds. They see fighting in the streets. From the other side of walls they hear people threatening eachother. They get to see and experience the comparative hell that Tommy cane from -🐍

Scar’s the one that gets to go first. He and Grian jockey for the privilege, but in the end Scar is the mayor of Hermitcraft, which means he gets to visit the Dream SMP first. (Grian pouts for days.)

Scar wears his very nice mayor sash, and irons his trousers, and keeps his armor in his inventory so that everyone can see his nice apparel. He smiles, and opens his eyes to what is basically a pit. The ground is more creeper-hole than actual ground, and there are mishmash walls all around him. His smile falters.

<Dream> Oh shit hes at spawn

<Technoblade> dream forgot to change visitor spawn, worst admin ever

<Dream> Shut up

Tubbo hit the ground too hard

<Technoblade> TUBBO IS GONE CRABRAVE

<ItsFundy> canon death

<Tubbo> NO

“Hey there,” Tubbo says from behind Scar. The mayor yelps, whirling around and nearly falling on his face.

“Sorry to scare you,” Tubbo laughs, “but how about I show you around? After I get my stuff back, that is.”

“Y-yeah,” Scar says, visibly perturbed. Tubbo leads him through a hole in the wall just large enough for them to go through one at a time, then through a small patch of forest. (Do these people seriously not even have a way out of spawn, or a path from spawn to the important locations?)

Dream catches up to Tubbo and Scar right as the town comes into view. They meet up at a patch of ruined land, on which two identical Nether portals are sat.

“Welcome to the Dream SMP,” Dream says with a gesture toward the slightly-broken oak slab path stretching out from the portal. “Sorry I’m late, I had to take care of some business.”

“Business?” Scar asks despite himself.

Dream fidgets with the handle of his axe sheepishly. “Yeah. I sent some of the troublemakers on a wild goose chase several thousand blocks away from here. Hopefully, they shouldn’t bother you.”

“That’s great and all, but I kind of need to get my stuff back,” Tubbo cuts in before Scar has a chance to question Dream.

“Sure, it was near Tommy’s old house, right? Why not show Scar the Prime Path while you’re at it?”

Tubbo smiles, and takes Scar’s hand in his. “Great idea. Come on, Scar!”

Scar allows himself to be pulled along, dodging holes in the “Prime Path” as he does so.

“That way’s Eret’s Gay Castle-- you can’t grief it, it’s homophobic,” Tubbo explains, “and up ahead’s Church Prime.”

It’s not much of a church, Scar thinks, given the giant floating poster that’s been left to peel away. Bits of the poster have even been torn off and stolen, leaving only the item frame behind. Still, he knows better than to say rude things about someone else’s religion, even if the state of disrepair... No. He won’t say anything.

Various depictions of anti-Technoblade propaganda still up. They’re so, so ugly. Further along the path there’s a tower that actually isn’t hideous, so it was probably made by-- Eret, was it? The same guy who made the Gay Castle? A stray chicken clucks while Scar tears his eyes away from the Walmart which has magma for floors, and the Targay, and the cobblestone framework of what Tubbo claims is a Denny’s which was used once for roleplay and then promptly abandoned.

Tommy’s old house can best be described as “open air”, to put it politely. At least there’s a fence..? But as Tubbo picks up his items and the two set off for L’Manberg, politely ignoring the giant Gogy posters, they hear a scuffle up ahead.

“Let go of my fucking hair!” George shrieks.

“Not until you give me back my potato,” Sapnap responds. The two grown men are fighting like children in the middle of the Prime Path in broad daylight, pulling each other’s hair and slap-fighting but at least-- no, never mind, they’ve got their weapons out now.

George shrieks at the top of his lungs when one of Sapnap’s swings gets too close. “It’s rotted anyway, why the hell do you want it?!”

“Because it’s mine,” Sapnap insists. He finally bonks George on the head hard enough to kill him, then scoops the rotten potato out of George’s belongings. His hand toys with a flint and steel, but he eventually seems to decide not to burn George’s items for the offense of stealing his potato.

“Oh, hi there!” Sapnap says once he spots them. He waves.

Scar hesitantly waves back. He’s beginning to think that perhaps he should have worn his armor after all. He watches in morbid fascination as Sapnap takes a bite of his rotten potato. Sapnap’s face drains of all color; he immediately leaps off a cliff to go be sick in a valley away from prying eyes. George’s things are left on the ground.

“Y’know, I think I left the oven on,” Scar says slowly. Tubbo looks at him with sad, pitiful eyes, as if to say, do you see what I have to deal with?

“Would you like to go back to Hermitcraft and try again another day?”

Attempting to affect nonchalance and failing miserably at it, Scar waves his hand rapidly. “Actually, Grian really wanted to come see your server, so-- maybe I’ll send him. I’m real busy with, uh, mayor stuff.”

Tubbo nods, pretending to buy the excuse. “I’ll have Dream send you back.”

“Thank you,” Scar says fervently.

[lara-prisma-avm-ask-blog]

light purple: *feels something and teleports to the forest*

(Kind of like your characters have the possibility to find her in the woods and she doesn't see them)

Yellow and Blue pass near the "fox" without knowing of its presence. they were at a significant distance from the base and the others, and yellow was a little fidgety carrying their shit with the command block.

Blue:"yelly?" blue for worried about yellow who looks at him with a forced smile.

Yellow:"n-nothing Bluey..." they force their grip on the staff visibly nervous...

Blue: "Yellow, I know you very well..." he touches yell's hands gently. "Tell me what's going on?" he puts a hand over yellow's face making them blush shyly.

Yellow:"it's serious... it's nothing..." they force a smile again, "I just... I haven't used this for a long time... what if I don't know how to use it?? not find the mt?? and si... and si-" Blue grabbed Yellow's face and kissed them. yellow si shut up, red-faced and surprised.

Blue:"Now listen... I know you're nervous... I know we're not in the best situation... but we're in this together... and whatever..." he joins his forehead with yellow's , "let's solve it together... ok..?" yellow stops to think a little and smiles putting her hands on blue's.

Yellow:"ok..." blue smiles and kisses their foreheads, "I love you blue... I just want everything to work out... I don't want to lose you, second or anyone! you are the most important people to me. me!"

Blue: "you're yelly too..." he smoothed yellow's face kissing them again, holding their hand and following the path they were following. "let's go! we won't give up until we find that grumpy and that enderman!!" yellow smiles, sighing and smoothing blue's hand with a thumb.

they didn't notice the fox's prayer...

[prvtocol]

mercysought​ ( V. ) —

Not what she meant, but Viv liked that she was bein’ taken that way.

Definitely a more friendly approach than the bite she expected after that first go at it. To be honest she was pretty much on the right path: Vivian really hadn’t wanted to come back. That too was often bad for business, like a corpo that didn’t know how to use their money as a weapon: it was only good for the business of funeral homes.

  "Almost?” she repeats, tilting her head with a raised brow. She didn’t really know what could mean almost no strings attached, one either left strings or didn’t. Either way, it was all about learnin’ right? Any time that she was kept alive to go about breakin’ into another fancy billion dollar home was a win that she could learn from. Whether the woman in front of her wanted to tell her what she actually meant? Now that’d be a different story.

Sinking into the chair, Vivian hides her chin in the looser fabric of her sweater. With the beanie on, only a slit of her face is visible as she continues listening to Vezely. Both her hands dive into the large pocket on her stomach. She wasn’t wrong, and this wasn’t the first time she heard somethin’ along these lines comin’ from a mouth that had chrome worth more than a whole city block. It rolled off her shoulders easy at that point, especially in a clinically sterile chair - even if comfortable. The picking of the skin around her thumb is paused for the moment, as she adjusts her weight on the chair.

  "I don’t like dealin’ with suits directly.” she starts with a light tap against the clean floor. One could say many things about Vivian Hinomoto, but seeing her with dirty sneakers would never be one of them. For multiple reasons. She smiles to the other. She was well aware of fuckin’ ridiculous that was given where she was.

And the fact that Vezely didn’t know the half of it - probably (because she was sure she’d be dead otherwise) - only made all of this funnier. Still: she didn’t like dealin’ with corpo jobs, especially not when they weren’t vetted by any of the fixers she trusted. They all gotta eat, but V. wasn’t a nobody in this city, and so she could afford to be more picky “It’s real often real bad for bizz when your bizz is stayin’ alive,”

Though she wondered if the shit that had happened in the last few months had aided them or fried them more. Time would tell, and if it were to just speak its mind then she’d be six feet under in no time “But I don’t gotta say that to you.“

Chrome-lined chin lifts, showing off a pursed frown; some semblance of understanding that preference to not deal with corpo clients directly. Not just a matter of class sensibilities getting in the way. “Rather face fallout with a fixer, wouldn’t ya?” The answer (if this V. decides to give it while scuttled away in her oversized garb — is it cold in here?) is obvious.

Even Vez knows a fixer gives a merc’s job the facade of professionalism along with a safety net of sorts. No need to deal with an emotionally invested client. Let the fixer do that. Fuck up and it’s the contract you blow. The client can’t touch you. Not that a fixer doesn’t decide your fate, but more often that comes in the form of not getting another gig. A direct gig and what’s to stop the client from making sure loose ends are tied? Hell, she’s found mercs gullible enough to fall for a higher paycheck only to find a stray bullet instead. Not that Bri’s the type of corpo that would do that.

“Cutting out the middleman does get you a fatter paycheck, but I get it. Depending on the client, not always the wisest decision.” And Bri probably pays whatever they ask for. A little too generous and for what? The fact that the director is no longer paying her fixer a visit confirms the shitstorm that is currently Arasaka. Can’t blame her. Fixers are self-serving egoists who try to ignore the fact that they’re just glorified corporate lapdogs. Their leashes can pulled if a corp decides. The fewer who know what Bri is up to, the better.

“My sister’s relatively trustworthy.” Relatively. “Not going to do you dirty like that.” Not unless self-preservation is involved. Everyone has their limits. The statement is made with a glance to the vicinity of the back entry; a long hallway leading the AV entrance. Where the hell is her sister? What’s with letting all these guests in her house? She gets the extortionist, but not these random mercs (especially not ones that broke in prior).

[emeren]

speed racer- eren jaeger

pairing: eren jaeger x fem!reader 

word count: 6k

content warnings: nsfw, smut, 18+, smoking, degradation, overstimulation, breeding (w/o baby talk) 

notes: 100% inspired by the official art, like mmm yes please. also i know absolutely nothing about how car racing works, but that’s not important. this is unedited because my brain turned to mush writing it. enjoy!! <3

SUMMARY: eren’s a semi-professional car racer, who has a tumultuous friendship with the reader. after losing a race, eren sets out to win something else in his life, much to the reader’s surprise. 

“took you long enough!” sasha called out, holding her hand above her eyes in an attempt to block out the bright sun. you dished her a smile, weaving your way through the throngs of people in the stands, attempting not to step on anyone. your eyes briefly flitted to the track, the assistants distantly getting their cars ready. they were hardly visible from here; merely faceless figures idling around. you heaved out a sigh as you reached sasha, the brunette gingerly patting the spot next to her. 

“you couldn’t have gotten better seats, sash?” you asked as you sat down, pushing your sunglasses on top of your head. sasha waved her large bag of popcorn in front of your face, an exasperated expression on her features. 

“the line was long, and what’s a race without popcorn?” she grinned, offering you the bag. you rolled your eyes but took a fistful of the bright yellow snack nonetheless. “plus, if you really wanted that good of seats, you would’ve come early yourself.” 

“i did come here early,” you retorted, your voice muffled by the popcorn. sasha raised a questioning brow, her elbow nudging you in the side. 

“getting here early just so you can poke around the racer’s quarters is not the same thing,” she singsonged, a girlish smirk on her face. you scoffed, turning away from her as you felt heat race to your cheeks. “c’mon, everyone knows you and eren are totally into each other. i don’t understand why you guys don’t just go for it.” 

“i wasn’t poking around, and i am not into eren,” you said, shifting uncomfortably as the words left your mouth. it was true, to some degree. the two of you had been friends in high school, back when eren was just some skinny kid with anger issues. now he was a semi-professional racer, and the rivalry between the two of you was palpable, to say the least.

you’d been in the same friend group and for some reason eren just loved to pick on you whenever he got the chance. you suspected it had something to do with his repressed daddy issues or whatever, and he’d known mikasa and armin far too long to be so catty with them. initially they were just playful taunts, but as you got older, they started to become more personal. with age came your own unchecked need to banter and argue with him. 

somewhere along the way the arguments turned to sexual tension. a sexual tension that for the most part, the two of you were happy to ignore. it allowed room for a more sassy friendship, at least. 

“uh huh, suuure,” sasha responded, seemingly unconvinced. she must’ve sensed your discomfort, deciding to change the topic. “who’s who?” 

your eyes traced the track, analyzing each vehicle. “armin’s in yellow, mikasa’s in red, eren’s in white, and i believe levi is in green.” 

“levi’s racing? isn’t he getting a little old for that?” sasha laughed, squinting. you chuckled. 

“it’s just a small fundraiser race, plus he’s a crowd favorite over here,” you explained. sasha nodded as she processed the information. the sun was hot, beating down on your back. “i’m honestly surprised this many people came out.” 

sasha tossed more popcorn in her mouth, halfway done with the bag despite the race still not having started. she offered it to you again. “mhm, this is the same type of crowd that we’d see in the underground.” 

you thought back to your days of attending the illegal races, late at night and under the cover of darkness. though you were just a junior in college, it felt like those nights freshman year had been decades ago. that was before eren showed real promise in the professional circuit. it was also where levi scouted him out to be his successor. 

as if on cue, you could see the figures of the racers emerging from the port, each headed for their respective cars. you couldn’t help the way your gaze immediately followed the tall, brown haired racer adorned in his white racing jacket, checkers on the side. the crowd erupted into cheers at the sight of the all the racers, one from each color of the rainbow. eren walked with a certain confidence, his adamant determination being one of the only things that followed him from high school. 

though you couldn’t clearly see his face from where you sat, you knew he was smiling. eren had always loved the adrenaline rush before a race. 

“alright ladies and gentlemen, we welcome you to the annual shiganshina fundraiser race!” the reporter boomed over the intercom. sasha squealed in her seat, excitedly gripping your arm and pointing towards your friends. you felt a mix of excited nervousness waft over you, giggling along with her. “today we’ve got racers from all over the circuit, and each one has volunteered their precious time for the cause. can we get a round of applause?” 

the crowd erupted in yet another ear deafening round of applause as the announcer read off the names of each of the racers. you and sasha made sure to scream your loudest when armin, mikasa, and eren’s names were read off. 

you hoped they knew it was you, your throat scratchy as you sat back down. there was no need to be loud for levi; the entire crowd went absolutely feral at the mention of his name. 

the announcer read off the conditions of the race, as well as the reasoning for the fundraiser itself. you and sasha chatted quietly about the after party while the racers put their helmets on and got in their cars. before too long, the announcer was gearing up for the start. 

“alright everyone, we’re about to start. get yourselves ready.” 

you and sasha stood, hollering and cheering for your friends as the cars all lined up. you knew you’d be happy if any of them crossed the finish line first, but it was undeniable that it would be eren. it wasn’t armin or mikasa’s passion like it was eren’s; they viewed it more as as fun hobby. nevertheless, you dreaded how smug eren would be once he added another win to his already growing list. he really was a bastard sometimes. 

“racers ready your cars. 3... 2... 1... go!” 

they were off, levi’s green car easily settling into first place, cruising past the other cars as he whipped around the first curve. you held your breath, eyes scanning the other cars placements. eren was in fourth, armin in fifth, and mikasa in second. sasha yelled sporadically, reaching out and squeezing your wrist tightly. 

as they rounded the circuit for the second time, eren passed the third place racer, coming up behind mikasa’s red car. you held your breath. “c’mon eren...” 

“shit! he passed her!” sasha screeched, jumping up and down. you smiled as he whipped the corner, nearly cutting the edge of the median. 

“levi is still so far ahead,” you commented, trying to pry sasha’s death grip from your wrist. your eyes glanced to the clock, realizing that the race was near its finish. levi was cutting the third corner and eren was quickly gaining on him. 

“looks like it’s gonna be clo-” sasha’s voice was cut off as a large man tripped over the bleacher behind you, effectively shoving you into her side. “shit, the popcorn!” 

you regained your balance, giving the man behind you a dirty glare as you turned to sasha. she frowned at the popcorn that’d been spilled all over the ground. “what a waste!” 

looking back up at the track, the crowd broke into screams of excitement. you expected to see eren’s face on the big screen to the side as confetti streamed through the air, but were surprised to see levi’s unimpressed stare. 

eren lost? 

“you’ve gotta be shitting me,” sasha gaped, her face slack in shock. you shrugged, shaking the feeling of disappointment from your shoulders. serves him right. 

people started to vacate the stands, shoving their way past you as you turned to sasha. “let’s go find connie and jean, sash.” 

she nodded, still frowning. the two of you climbed down the steps, going against the flow of the crowd as you weaseled your way down onto the spectators path. you could see all of the racers shaking hands, congratulating each other. your mind briefly considered whether or not eren was going to be upset, but you decided not to dwell on it. 

you watched as the racers disappeared into the tunnel, eren’s tall figure no longer in view. just then, connie and jean came walking out from the service booth, both wearing their maintenance coveralls. 

sasha wildly waved her arm, grabbing your hand and pulling you through the remaining stragglers towards your friends. 

“hey guys!” she smiled, the boys jogging to meet you halfway. 

“why were you guys in such shit seats?” connie asked, skipping over a greeting. you let out a small laugh at sasha’s expense. she merely shrugged, turning to jean. 

“we going to your place?” you questioned before she had the chance. jean nodded, adjusting the backwards baseball cap on his head. 

“yeah, just gotta wrap some things up, then we can head out,” he replied. you grew happy at the thought of kicking back with your friends, enjoying a nice night of fun. parties at jean and connie’s place were always the best. 

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

“some race that was,” connie groaned, leaning back and bringing the beer bottle to his lips. so far it was just you, sasha, connie, jean, and a bunch of random drunk people who’d come from the track. sasha scoffed from her spot on the worn, brown couch. 

“you could say that again,” she grumbled. “we didn’t even get to see levi cross the finish line ‘cause some guy rammed into us.” 

jean looked at you from where he leaned against the wall, a bottle in his hand and his eyebrows raised. “wait, for real?” 

“yeah,” you sighed, drinking whatever bitter liquid sasha had poured into your red solo cup. “didn’t even say sorry.” 

“how many times do i have to tell you guys, just come work maintenance with jean-boy and i,” connie suggested, wrapping his arm around sasha’s shoulder and giving a squeeze. she rolled her eyes and shoved him off. “you guys would get to watch the race from the track itself.” 

“i don’t know the first thing about cars,” sasha laughed, you nodding along with her. 

“and you think we do? i just said that so we could get the best seats in the house,” connie snorted, taking another swig of his drink. you chuckled at his idiocy, unfazed by yet another one of their stupid stunts. “where’re the big racers anyway?” 

“they should be here soon,” you responded, glancing out the window. jean was unironically blasting the fast and the furious soundtrack, something he’d done after every race for as long as you’d known him. by now the songs were ingrained in your brain. 

“who wants to bet jaeger is in a pissy mood?” jean snorted as he moved to sit down on the arm of the chair you were planted in. 

“when isn’t he?” you sneered. connie and sasha hummed in agreement. both you and jean loved nothing more than to push eren’s buttons. you knew jean’s motives stemmed from some boyish fun, whereas yours felt a little more personal. 

the sound of clapping began to compete with the music, your neck craning to look past jean into the hallway. eren, armin, and mikasa came into view, people cheering them on and patting them on the back. they each wore their racing jackets over their street clothes. 

you felt a familiar sensation burn in your stomach at the sight of eren. his dark hair was pulled back per usual, wispies framing his tan face. The white jacket stood out against his black t-shirt and black jeans; key necklace he always wore glinting against his chest. as your gaze travelled up from his body, you were startled to make contact with his teal eyes. you quickly glanced away in embarrassment. 

“well, well, well,” jean cheered, raising his bottle to the trio. “how’d it feel to lose to a short, old man, eh jaeger?”

eren scowled, obviously peeved. “if i had to lose to anyone, i’m glad it was levi.” 

connie snorted at that. “man, professional circuit has you soft.” 

“whatever you say, baldie,” eren smirked mischievously as he came to sit down on the couch. connie defensively rubbed his head. “at least i’m making money in prof.” 

“i still can’t believe you have people that actually want to sponsor you,” you snipped, a playful expression on your face. eren lazily looked towards you, the familiar irritation laced in his eyes. 

“i’m sorry, what was that? i wasn’t listening to you,” eren retorted, looking as unbothered as ever. you glared at his words, but caught armin’s disapproving eye and decided to stay quiet. 

as the night carried on, you watched your friends relax and reminisce about previous races and the days spent in the illegal ring. it seemed crazy that your life was so centered around car races, when you weren’t even a racer yourself. but you supposed you were just happy to be supporting your friends.

at some point you got up out of your chair to refill your cup. the large hoards of people had started to dance; the house feeling hot and humid as you shoved your way to the kitchen. luckily the room was empty, save for armin who was drinking water out of the kitchen tap. 

“thirsty?” you asked, amused. his head snapped up, surprised by your voice. it took one look to tell he was absolutely trashed, face red and eyes half lidded. he smiled goofily and nodded his head before stumbling back out into the crowd of people. 

you quickly filled your cup, following the direction armin had gone. as you stepped out of the kitchen, a body came out of nowhere and smacked into you. 

eren jumped back, trying to avoid the liquid that sloshed out of your cup. “hey, watch it!” he hissed. 

“you watch it, casanova,” you snapped, irritated by the sticky alcohol that dripped down your hand. eren’s eyes narrowed at the nickname, his arms defensively crossing his chest. 

“i told you not to call me that,” he bit back, eyebrows furrowed in annoyance. you rolled your eyes, instinctively bringing your hand to your mouth in an attempt to lick the drink off. eren watched you, his gaze clouded with an indiscernible emotion. you knew what you were doing. 

“hm. too bad,” you quipped, dragging your tongue down the side of your hand, popping your pointer finger in your mouth. eren glowered at you as you let out a giggle. “see ya, loser.” 

“whatever, brat,” he huffed, shaking the tension from his pants as you sauntered off into the crowd. he hated the effect you had on him.

you’d already decided not to get shit faced. while the rest of your friends had chosen otherwise, you danced alongside them, your resolve wearing thin much faster than theirs. jean and sasha bounced happily up and down, screaming the lyrics to whatever song it was blasting from the speakers. connie and mikasa were playing beer pong, and you had no clue where armin and eren had gone.

you heaved in a breath as a sharp pain shot through your side, signaling the end of your dancing career for the night. your two dance partners were too far gone to notice, waving goodbye to you as you stepped out of the sweaty crowd. 

slipping your phone out of your pocket, your eyes nearly popped from your head at the time. two thirty?!

only slightly tipsy, you decided to find jean’s room and call it a night. he’d just have to sleep on the couch. with one hand dragging on the wall, you made your way through the house, past armin who was doing body shots with a couple of strangers, up the stairs and down the dark hall. it was quieter up here, but you could still hear the music and knew it’d be awhile till sleep visited you. 

shoving jean’s door open, you were surprised to see none other than eren laid back on the bed, puffs of smoke coming from his mouth. the strong scent of weed hit your nostrils, nose scrunching up in reflex. he propped himself up on one arm upon your entrance, eyeing you. 

“oh, sorry i’ll just- wait a minute,” you paused, narrowing your eyes at him. “you aren’t supposed to be smoking on your sponsorship.” 

eren let out a loud laugh at that, more smoke spilling from his lungs. “thanks, mom. i know.” 

you stood in the doorway, not really sure what to do. “jean’s gonna be mad if his room smells like weed tomorrow.” 

“yeah, why do you think i chose to do it in here?” he leered, bringing the blunt to his lips and deeply inhaling, sharp cheekbones protruding with the action. you sucked in a breath, not wanting to acknowledge just how gorgeous he was. his jacket was off, black shirt tightly gripping his muscular yet slender arms as he propped himself up. he blew the smoke from his nostrils this time, making your face heat. “wanna hit?”  

you sighed, weighing the options. jean’s bed was a lot more comfortable than connie’s. you could just wait till eren was done, and then pass out. “no, but i’ll wait with you till you’re done.” 

“suit yourself, brat,” eren hummed, flopping back down on the bed as you shut the door behind yourself. you came to sit by him, looking down as he heaved in a sober breath. he really is beautiful, you thought. 

your eyes scanned his face. “you really shouldn’t be smoking, you know. you could lose the sponsorship.” 

eren rolled his teal eyes, giving you a side glance. “i’m aware. i’m also aware that you aren’t going to rat on me.” 

“and what makes you so sure?” you asked playfully, your voice low. eren’s gaze shifted to you, placing the blunt between his lips as he sat up, face inches from yours. 

“because. you can act like you hate me all you want,” smoke blew from his lips as he spoke, slowly inching his face closer to yours. you swallowed, eyes struggling to maintain contact with his dark stare. “but i know how badly you want me.” 

you blinked, heart rate accelerating as he glanced at your lips. “speaking from experience?” 

eren’s mouth quirked up in a smirk at your words. “something like that.”

you watched with desire as he brought the bud of the blunt up to his lips, deeply inhaling the toxic smoke. he lifted his free hand, pointer finger gently tracing your jaw as his thumb came up to caress your chin. he tapped softly against your face, as if asking you to open your mouth. 

you weren’t sure what part of you was wanting to submit to his every move. maybe it was the alcohol. or maybe it was the accumulation of sexual tension. something told you it was a deeper itch that needed to be scratched. an itch only eren could reach. 

you parted your lips, eyes fluttering as eren leaned forward and carefully brushed his own against yours, dumping his lungful of smoke into your mouth. you breathed it in, fighting the urge to cough and whine as he pulled away. 

“good girl,” he breathed, leaning away to snuff the bud out on jean’s bedside table. you heaved out as much as you could, shocked by your own willingness. you were mainly surprised by how much you enjoyed whatever that was. 

you stared at him expectantly as he turned back to you, a serious expression on his face. “eren.” 

“yes?” he asked, leaning heavily on his arm, eyes unashamedly focused on your lips. his other hand came up again, lightly ghosting your jawline. you could feel yourself growing wet between your legs; the way eren was fucking you with his eyes sending an unwelcomed throb to your clit. 

acting on impulse, you lurched forward, latching your lips onto eren’s slightly chapped ones. he wasted no time in kissing you back; hungrily pressing himself closer to your body. his lips were warm and tasted like weed and coca cola, his tongue wiggling its way into your mouth where you happily welcomed it. 

you brought your hand up, wanting to run your fingers through his hair, but were stopped when they got caught in the bun. eren grunted, kissing you harder and bringing his own hand up to yank the tie from his locks, letting his soft hair fall to his shoulders. 

your fingers were quick to glide through the brown strands, scratching his scalp in the process. some throaty sound emitted from his chest, the noise making your cunt ache in need. how is he so hot? 

eren’s hands came to your waist, roughly shoving you down onto the bed, so that he hovered above you. your lips continued to meld together, saliva coated mouths wetly intertwined. you removed your hand from his hair, bringing both hands to run down the expanse of his arms that were on either side of your head. you squeezed his biceps, surprised when he suddenly pulled away. 

“is this okay?” he panted, breaths labored. his pupils were dilated, all seriousness behind his gaze. you nodded your head without hesitation, practically begging him to continue. “words.”

“yes, yes. i want this just as much as you do,” you responded. eren smirked from above you, his dark hair swirling around his face as his key dangled in front of your chin. 

“good, because,” he leaned down to your ear, lightly nibbling the lobe as the cold key rested against your throat. “i’m going to punish you for all these years of torture.” 

your eyes widened, the words sending a desirable chill down your spine. “torture?” 

eren’s hot mouth travelled slowly from your ear down the side of your neck, lightly peppering the skin with lustful kisses. his tongue came out as he reached your collarbone, dragging the wet muscle up the front of your throat, leaving a trail of saliva in its wake. a small whimper involuntarily left your mouth as he pulled back, grabbing your chin in his large hand.  

“all of the nicknames,” he pressed a kiss to your lips. “the quips,” and another, your chest tightening. “the stunt you pulled earlier with your hand. oh god. it’s like you were practically begging me to bend you over and teach you a lesson.” 

he pulled back, dark eyes boring into yours. the desire was palpable, your breathing shallow as he stared at you. it was like he was waiting for some silent agreement. 

you held eye contact, tilting your chin back ever so slightly in his grip. “good thing i learn fast.” 

your words flew straight to his cock, throbbing uncomfortably behind his jeans. eren let go of your chin, his lips hungrily reconnecting with yours as his hands pinned your wrists to either side of your head. his tongue was quick to invite itself into your mouth, warm and erotic. 

you wanted to tug on his hair again; wanted to hear his primal groans and feel him vibrate against your mouth, but you were pinned to the bed. desperate to hear eren moan, your teeth grazed his bottom lip, the action making him yank his head back. 

“tsk tsk, none of that,” he growled, wet lips glinting in the low light of the room. “this is your punishment. guess we’re going to have to do something else.” 

you frowned as he let go of your wrists, lifting himself from the bed and standing. you propped yourself up on your elbows, eyes laced with desire as eren swiftly pulled the black shirt over his head, key pendant resting on his newly exposed chest. he was dangerously attractive like this; dark hair disheveled on his shoulders, only adding to the feral stare he was giving you. 

he leaned forward, grabbing your thighs and yanking you to the end of the bed, legs dangling from the side. you watched in awe as he dropped to his knees, fingers coming up to toy with the button of your jean shorts. 

“these little shorts make your ass look so good,” he grumbled, tapping the button. “be good and take them off for me.” 

you wasted no time in lifting your ass off the bed, struggling to yank the denim down your legs without hitting eren in the face. he watched your every movement, licking his lips as you wiggled them off. 

without thinking, your hands gripped the hem of your shirt, pulling it over your head to reveal a black bra. eren’s pupils dilated further at the unexpected sight of your breasts. 

he helped pull the shorts from your ankles, tossing them aside as you sat back down, just in your panties and bra. you paused for a moment, unsure of what he was planning to do. 

“watch me,” he demanded, staring at you through his brows. you nodded your head, breath hitching as he placed an open mouthed kiss to the inside of your thigh, tongue swiping against the smooth skin. 

his eyelashes fluttered as he licked up your leg; just the way he looked at you being enough to have you creaming in your lace panties. your teeth tugged at your bottom lip, the burning in your face mirroring the way your clit throbbed along with your heart beat. 

eren’s tongue trailed until he reached the edge of your underwear, eyes never failing to stay connected with yours. you swallowed as he lifted his head, placing his tongue flatly against your clothed clit. 

it was a warm, muted feeling, your body all too aware of the beautiful man between your legs. eren brought his fingers up, hooking under the fabric and pushing it to the side. 

“so wet for me already,” he hummed, a smile on his face. you blushed in embarrassment, the feeling of his breath on your glistening pool of moisture making you shiver. “’m gonna eat you so good, little bitch.” 

you gasped as eren rapidly brought his face down, burying his head between your legs. the sensation was like no other; a swirling feeling in your stomach as his tongue hungrily swiped against your clit. your hands flew down to his hair, tugging as his lips wrapped around the bud, suckling softly. 

a moan escaped your lips, the sound causing eren to groan out in reply. the vibration of his vocal cords against your center amplifying the pleasure. 

a distinct feeling began to burn in your chest, the sloppiness of eren’s tongue licking up your slick causing your legs to squirm, tightening around his head. “fuck.”

eren pulled back at the pressure against his skull, a smack sounding through the air as he released his suction on your wet cunt. 

“i told you to be good,” he hissed, lips coated in your sheen. you knew the image of eren’s face between your legs, hair disheveled and mouth swollen, eyes dark and lustrous, would be burned into the back of your brain. 

flustered, you nodded your head, spreading your legs so they weren’t pressing against his face. he nodded in content, arms coming up to wrap around your thighs to keep you steady. 

and he was back; eating your pussy like he hadn’t been fed in years, a primal desperation. he pressed his tongue down harder, the cry ripping from your throat at the sensation only egging him on. you struggled against his grip as he abused your clit with his mouth, sucking and tracing his teeth over it so good. 

his tongue slid down to your entrance, shoving itself in without invitation. the fullness wasn’t like having sex; it was a heated, swirling feeling. the wet muscle circled around your spongey walls, your face beginning to burn and hands growing clammy in eren’s hair. 

you threw your head back as his ministrations sped up, your hips attempting to grind into his face. the warmth in the pit of your stomach building like a loaded gun, ready to release itself. 

all it took was the added pressure of his hand wrapping around your thigh so that his thumb could press against your clit, feverishly rubbing. you came crashing down, your eyes screwing shut as the wave of dopamine stretched to every part of your body, legs jerking against his hold. 

eren pulled his head back again, a smile on his wet face as he licked your release from his lips. “tasted so good, so good for me.” 

you breathed out in reply as he came back up above you, gently taking your chin and bringing his mouth down to yours. 

the kiss was small and simple, your eye lids growing heavy. you could taste your bitter release on him, the unfamiliar flavor not completely unpleasant. 

“sleepy?” eren mumbled against your lips, coming back to look at you. you nodded your head, eyes catching on the key that dangled from his neck. “too bad. we aren’t done with your punishment yet.” 

you frowned, your body suddenly more awake than it was before. “huh?” you asked, sitting up as eren shifted to pull his jeans off. 

you weren’t sure what you expected when he yanked both his jeans and boxers down; you guessed you’d always thought his anger issues were compensation for something. the realization dawned on you that eren had nothing to compensate for as his cock sprung from his pants, the sheer size making your mouth water. 

a smirk crossed his face as he stepped from his jeans. “enjoying the view?” 

“what? no,” you scoffed, averting your gaze. eren crawled back over you, his bare length pressing into your stomach as his hands came up to unclasp your bra. 

“don’t be shy, this is your punishment after all,” he whispered, pulling the cups from your chest. his eyes unashamedly scanned your breasts, a smile tugging his lips as he gave them a generous squeeze. 

you tried to ignore the imprint of him on your stomach; but it was nearly impossible. you could feel the spot between your legs grow wet again, arousal already weaseling its way back into your system.

eren brought his lips to yours once again, the kisses much sloppier and desperate than before. he grunted as you shifted to lay back down, his exposed dick rubbing against your stomach. “can’t wait to be inside of you,” he mumbled against your lips. 

you whimpered at his words, his lips melding with your own while he simultaneously tugged your panties down your legs. he propped himself up with one arm, the other positioning the tip of his cock at the entrance of your already throbbing cunt. 

you took a deep breath as he slowly eased himself into you; the sheer stretch making your eyes lull back in your head. eren moved his hips slowly at first, loosening you up. he was watching your expressions; his eyelids heavy and mouth slightly agape. 

“shit, you’re so tight,” he groaned, hips starting to move faster as he gazed down at you. you swallowed, closing your eyes as he sent one particularly hard thrust, cock nearly ramming your cervix. “you good?” 

“mhm,” you responded, bringing your hands up to grab his hair. “just so big.” 

eren let out a breathy chuckle at that, eyes traveling down to your pelvis where his dick was visibly creating a bump with every thrust. he placed his hand on your stomach, pressing down as he bucked his hips violently forwards. he was so deep. 

you cried out at the feeling of his length sliding in and out of your cunt, your walls clenching around him as your hands clawed at his muscular back. 

he was filling you up so good, a moan leaving his lips as your enhanced arousal unexpectedly brought your second orgasm down, tears pricking your eyes. eren kept abusing your pussy, his thrusts growing senseless before he buried himself deep within you, releasing his load inside of your exhausted center. 

both of your breathing was labored, eren looking up at the ceiling. his face was flushed as he recovered, you laying limply beneath him trying to regain your composure yourself. 

“that felt so good,” you admitted, bringing your hand up from his back to caress his angular face. eren frowned at your words, large hand grabbing your wrist and removing it from his jawline. 

“m’not tired yet,” he said seriously, your eyes widening as he placed a chaste kiss to your lips. your fucked out face beneath him had his dick already hardening again. “m’not gonna be tired till i win.” 

he suddenly pulled up, hooking his hands under your knees and pushing your legs up by your head. the action strained your muscles, the feeling of eren’s cum dripping down your ass filling your head as he readied himself to fuck you senseless. 

he stared at your cunt; at the way his cum was oozing out of it, the abused pussy ready to take him in again. he used his fingers to catch the drip, forcing it back inside of you. the thought of filling you up all nice and pretty sent him over the edge, his hand shamelessly guiding his cock back inside of you.

eren was meaner this time; each thrust was deep and deliberate, hitting your cervix and making you cry out in pleasure. the burning sensation in your clit was overwhelming, your mouth hanging open as eren slowly fucked you stupid. 

“good, pretty girl” eren breathed out, ramming his hips into yours. “took her punishment like such a good girl.” 

you tried to nod your head, but you couldn’t move. the feeling of hot, sticky tears rolled down your face, eren’s cock deep within you almost too much to bear. he grabbed your chin, tongue swiping up your cheek as he savored the salty flavor on his tastebuds. this man and his licking. 

“tell me, did you learn your lesson?” eren grunted in your ear, hand still gripping your chin. you tried to form a sentence, fucked beyond words. “hm, use your words and i’ll let you cum.” 

one more deep thrust and his dick stopped its strokes, pausing within you. “yes... yes.” 

“yes what?” 

your tongue was heavy in your mouth, pussy all too aware of eren’s length within it. “i learned my lesson, you won.” 

he smirked, aggressively bucking his hips into your weak cunt, the action making you cry out as he rammed your cervix. the tears continued to roll down your cheeks as eren’s dick twitched, spurting the his seed into you. your third release followed his, your clit spasming from the overstimulation. 

eren heaved himself out of you, collapsing deftly onto the bed. the two of you sat in a heated silence, your face sticky from the tears. eren glanced to you, eyes trailing down your body. 

“i’ll get a rag,” he mumbled, shoving off the bed and walking into jean’s bathroom. you were beyond exhausted and knew that you’d be sore tomorrow. eren reemerged, quickly cleaning you up and handing you your shirt. 

your eyes lazily watched him as he walked over and locked the door; brain too tired to form a sentence. 

he must’ve noticed your concern. “we can sleep in here tonight; i don’t think you’re in any shape to move.” 

you carefully crawled into the sheets, not even bothering to put your shirt back on. eren followed suit, climbing in behind you. 

“night,” he whispered as he shut the bedside light off. your lids were growing heavy, a smile on your lips as you began to fall asleep. 

“night, casanova.” 

<3 <3 <3 

[barnes-n-nobles]

Youre My Path (SMUT)

Yandere Bucky being crazy, possessive, and DARK!

TW-Mentions on non-con, drugging, stalking, and overall dark behavior. A little bit of knife play as well.

Smut SMUT SMUT

Let me know what y’all think 

Today was just another boring ordinary day. You had to go to the store and stock up on some groceries that you had been planning on getting but you lacked the will power to do so. You opened your phone and looked at the time. Ugh, I need to go before they close you thought to yourself as you managed to peel yourself off of your comfy sofa. You got ready and headed towards the nearest super market.

Lately youve been having some weird feelings, as if someone is constantly watching you. You always shake it off though, because nothing ever happens to you. You always get home safe and sound. Today was a little more intense though, as if you could almost hear someone breathing behind you when you were walking to the store. Relieved to have made it inside, you grabbed your cart and started your trip through the empty isles of the store. You loved and hated to come at night, it made you feel at peace knowing there there wouldn’t be annoying ass kids and angry moms yelling at them to behave. No people blocking the isles with their carts and most importantly, no need to run into someone you knew. The only reason you hated it, was because you didn’t want to get kidnapped and left for dead.

As you made your way to the bread isle, you had that feeling again. You felt like someone was behind you, you stopped dead in your tracks to see if anyone would walk past you. You pretended to look at the merchandise and you slowly turned around to see if there was anyone there. You looked both ways, and sure enough there was nothing. You rolled your eyes and kept it moving. As your trip started coming to an end you decided to stop by the makeup isle, needing a couple of items that you would use for your upcoming date.

Usually you didn’t try this hard but you figured you would give it a shot. All the past times you went on dates they would disappear after your first date. You weren’t sure if it was because you didn’t try hard enough or if they simply weren’t feeling your vibe. As your mind trailed off you accidentally ran into another person with your cart, completely snapping you out of your mind. A broad man, fell to his knee. “Oh my god!!! I’m so sorry. Are you ok? God I’m so clumsy please forgive me” you said frantically as you started to help him up. He lifted his head up to meet your gaze, big blue eyes % bore%% into your own. Your eyes started to trail from his eyes, to his lips, and up again to his perfectly sculpted face. You were mesmerized, you had never seen such a handsome man. “It’s okay, don’t worry about it, y/n” he said quickly getting up and walking off with a visible smirk on his face. You scrunched your eyebrows in confusion, knowing damn well he did not just say your name. You werent exactly sure if your mind was playing tricks on you or if he really said what you think he had said. You got up quickly, still in shock but hoping that it was really your mind playing tricks on you. Hesitantly you continued to shop, even though there was a little voice in your head telling you to get the hell out of that store.

Bucky POV

FUCK she’s so beautiful, he thought to himself. The way you stared at him, it was clear you wanted him the way he wanted you. This was the moment that he had been waiting for ever since he laid eyes on you. He had never been this close to you, it was like a dream come true. You smelled like candy, your beautiful e/c eyes meeting his. Just how he had imagined but better. The way you apologized made him hard. Just think of how submissive my y/n will be to me mmmm I’m going to devour her in every way possible he thought to himself, smirking.

Bucky ran into you at a coffee shop near your house. It was love at first sight for him. He watched you interact with your friends, smile, laugh, and it was like a match made in heaven for him. He knew he needed you to smile for him, laugh for him, and live for him. He followed you home that night. Making sure you wanted to be safe, of course. But his monthly visits turned to weekly and then turned to daily. He eventually managed to get into your home. You left a space key under your mat, and he felt so happy yet disappointed that you would endanger yourself like that. “When we live together, I’ll make sure you don’t make silly mistakes like this” he said to himself as he got into your home.

He went through your house just browsing, seeing if anything interesting caught his eye. He then made it into your room and continued to look through your things. He found your panties next to your bed and quickly grabbed them and put him in his picked for him to enjoy later. He also took some pictures of you, to also enjoy later.

You were his new routine and he enjoyed every second of it. As time went on he would keep tabs on you, absolutely hating it when you went on dates. He was consumed with jealousy and couldn’t believe anyone would dare lay a finger on you. He knew that this would not fly and he had to make sure to get rid of any roadblocks that got in his way. Bucky murdered them and everytime he did he felt relieved, almost happy knowing that he was that much closer to you.

After his encounter with you, Bucky walked off into the parking lot, one car over from yours, slipping into the drivers seat. His mind started to go wild. He needed you so badly. He wished he could have taken you right then and there. How he wished he could be inside you, your soft moans begging him to make you feel good. His cock soon started to throb at the thought of you. He leaned back in his seat taking a pair of your panties out from his pocket. He brought them to his nose and inhaled deeply, moaning as he exhaled. “Fuck Y/n...you make me so horny...I’m going to fuck the shit out of you when you’re here baby just you wait”.

Wasnt long before he pulled out his dick, stroking it hard. His hips bucking into his hand wishing it was your pussy. He started to think about how beautiful your pretty mouth would be around his dick, how good your tongue would feel swiveling around his tip. Just as he was about to cum, he stopped. He growled and threw his head back lowly moaning your name. “Fuck...I cant take this anymore. I need her” He quickly tucked himself back in and relaxed.

All you could think about was how that guy knew your name. It kept replaying in your head and it didn’t make sense. You headed to your car and started to load everything in. “Hello my Y/n” you heard someone say in a low deep voice. You quickly turned around, your heart starting to beat a little faster. “Umm. Do I know you?” You asked. Bucky sighed and started to walk towards you. “Not yet doll but you will” a smirk on his face once again. You backed up as he took steps forward. “Don’t come any closer, or I’m calling the police”.

Bucky pressed himself against your body, his hands snaking their way to your hips. His face now pressed against your neck. “No you wont Princess, I know you like this. I can tell by the way that you’re breathing that you want me to keep going” his low voice going straight to your core. “N-no please...stop I ..” you tried pushing him off but you started to feel so weak. You had not noticed that Bucky had used something to drug you. All you felt was your body going limp and you falling into his arms.

Bucky smiled as you fell into him, placing a soft kiss on your temple. He noticed that someone was coming over so he quickly pressed your body to your car, and grabbed your face, kissing you. The person walking, walked a little faster as they were feeling a little awkward. Perfect he thought to himself. He placed you into the back to his car, resting your head to a pillow he had just bought and covering you with his sweater. He quickly drove off, leaving all your things by your car.

Your eyes opened, your head pounding. Wherever you were it was dark but comfortable. You groaned as you started to fully wake up, slowly sitting up. Your left hand felt heavy, you tried pulling it and you heard a chain. You yanked your hand hard again, making a loud sound. Bucky heard the noise coming from your guy’s room and he smiled and quickly got up making his way to you.

“Baby you’re awake now” Bucky excitedly said

“What’s going on..why are you doing this to me, where am I?”

“You’re home doll, with me”

“But I don’t know you” you cried softly

“My name is James Buchanan Barnes, but you can call me Bucky. I’ve been looking after you for a while now and it’s been a pleasure but I'm so glad that I finally have you all to myself, just how it was always meant to be”

He started to get on the bed climbing towards you. You backed up as he came towards you, your back was now against the wall, pinning yourself between the cold wall and his broad body. His hand going to the back of your neck, bringing you close to him, your lips almost touching his.

“I’ve waited a life time for this, to have you here with me. You make me crazy and I would sacrifice the world for you. Now that you’re all mine, I won’t ever loose you” he closed the gap between you two, his lips desperately locking into yours. Kissing you passionately, he was hungry and desperate. You turned your head to the side, breaking the kiss.

“This isn’t the way Bucky, this isn’t right. You need to let me go” you begged. Bucky smiled and looked down moving back away from you. It made you feel relieved that he was not too mad due to your actions. He slowly got up from the bed and went over to his dresser, rummaging through some things.

“Bucky...maybe we are in different paths right now, maybe in the future we will be together but now right now, not like this...please Bucky listen to me”, hoping that he would have a little sympathy, you used his name to make it more personal.

“You know , y/n...just because you say we are on different paths doesn’t mean it’s true” he grabbed something and started to walk towards you again. This time his metal arm reached out to pull you by your leg to the edge of the bed, giving you whiplash. He quickly climbed on top of you, pinning your arms above your head with his metal arm and pulling out a syringe with his other hand.

You quickly started to wiggle around trying to get him off you. Shaking your head, “no no please stop no”. Buckys eyes had a hint of madness to them, dark and disturbing. “Don’t worry these don’t hurt, it will make you feel better I promise”. He quickly injected it to you and you soon started to feel get hot, with a tingling sensation “This will loosen you up a bit, it’ll make you relax so that we can enjoy eachother baby”

His lips made their way onto your neck, kissing and licking you all over. Your heart started to race, your eyes closing, soft moans escaping your lips, “n-no..” Bucky grunted as his erection started to press against your clothed pussy. His hips bucking forward, dry humping you. He lowered down to your ear, whispering, “ cant you see what you do to me. You’re so sexy and sensual you’re almost making me cum in my pants with your adorable moans, my love. As much as love to hear you right now, I want you to moan and scream my name y/n...begging me to fuck you harder”

All his words, combined with his dry humping made you soaking wet. As much as you hated this you couldn’t help but moan louder. His cock pressing against you was not enough and you needed more. You tried your hardest to resist, “G-get a..way f-from me..” you managed to choke out, trying to not moan anymore and trying to push him off with your body. Suddenly Bucky got angry. Hating how you were fighting him. He tore off your thin leggings in a fast single motion, revealing your soaked panties. He took out his knife and pressed it against you, earning a frantic gasp but you stopped moving. “Stop fighting me doll, for your own good because I swear I will fucking destroy you. I’ve waited too long for this, don’t push me because you won’t like the way I punish you.But......if you behave I’ll make sure to take care of you..real good care darling” he said as his knife traced your body. He grabbed your shirt roughly and ripped it off, slicing your bra open as well.

His mouth watered at the sight of your delicious breasts, making his cock twitch with excitement. His knife trailed down to your panties, making you whimper. “You’re so delicious kitten, I’m going to fuck you so hard. I cant wait till my cock is right in here” he motioned and tapped your clit with his knife. He roughly grabbed them and ripped them open instantly. He threw his knife to the side and quickly started to rub your clit making your back arch with your eyes closed. Your moans now filling up the room. Bucky smiled and took one of your nipples into his mouth, making you quiver and move your hips down into his hand. “Mmm, I knew you wanted this..wanted me...only me” he growled against your chest. “F-fuck Bucky...keep going please”. You hated yourself for saying that but you couldn’t help it, you were in pure ecstasy.

Just as you were about to reach your orgasm, he removed himself from you. Making you whine and buck your hips up, wanting and needing his touch once again. “Don’t worry kitten, I’m not done with you yet”. He quickly undressed and positioned himself at your entrance, rubbing his tip on your clit, making you mewl. “Tell me what you want doll...tell me what you want from me” he coaxed. You didn’t answer, as you were too embarrassed to say anything. His metal hand went to your neck, squeezing it hard. “Tell me y/n..tell me what you want NOW” he yelled, releasing his grip from your throat.

“Fuck me Bucky...please” you finally said. “I don’t think I heard you doll, say it loud and clear”. “FUCK ME BUCKY PLEASE I NEED YOU...PLEASE”. You finally broke. You needed him now, there was nothing in the world you wanted more than to have his cock inside of you, his lips on your skin and his hands all over you. You were finally filled with his big cock slipping in and out of your wet pussy. His hands on your neck, choking you but not too hard like before. His hips snapping in and out of you making your body shake. 

“Such an obedient slut, MY obedient slut. I’m going to break you and bend you to my will. Making you all mine. I’ll make you crave my touch, my attention, my voice. You’re going to live only for me, doll. Only for me” he growled as he pounded into you, rubbing your clit making you loose it. He then started to feel you reach your end, making him moan, “cum on my dick baby...cum for me. Let go” he cooed as he angled himself to reach into you deeper. That’s when you felt your orgasm hit you, your body started to shake, waves of pleasure surging through your body. “Mmm Buckyyyy” you moaned. Making him loose it as well, he coated your insides in his thick warm cum. Pumping himself in and out slowly. Gasping for air.

Fuck he was such a God, he made you want more of him. It was the first night and you were already going crazy for his touch. You wanted him to keep going keep doing you however he wanted, but most importantly to keep pleasuring you. Bucky finally pulled out and laid next to you, looking at your beautiful face. He brought his lips to yours and gave you a soft kiss. “The drug hasn’t worn off baby, don’t think this is over. We’re going until we cant no more, doll.” He said against your lips, flipping you over for round two.

[lacroixqueen]

arcane academia (chapter 2/?) cait x vi college AU, 18+

Summary: vi and ekko go to jayce's frat house party lmao. vi bumps into her newfound crush, drama and chaos ensue yada yada yada

Word Count: 2176

Pairing: caitlyn x vi, vi & ekko (platonic)

Ao3 Link

Tags: college AU, university AU, house party, useless lesbians, wlw, fluff, slow burn, love at first sight

Warnings: brief mentions of dubious/noncon!

Author's Note: this chapter took me FOREVER to write and im so so sorry. i've just been having major writer's block again. med school has been insane, just exam after exam after exam and i cant catch a break. also im going to like 3 concerts this week so i probs wont have that much time to write. but anyways, pls enjoy this update.

Vi shuffled begrudgingly after Ekko as he led her down the brickstone path to what he claimed to be was “the biggest party of the year”. Vi was never a big partier, even back in Zaun. Now, don’t get her wrong, she was an alcoholic to be sure, and would have been more than content hitting up a bar or a club and drinking the night away.

But some schmoozy house party sounded like, and in her words, a “lame rich kids thing”. To which Ekko responded that she should loosen up and be a bit more open-minded.

Vi shoved her hands into her red jacket’s pockets. Shit. Why was it so goddamn chilly tonight? Out of all the days of the week to throw a party, it had to be the coldest night ever. The only reason she agreed to come to begin with was the free booze.

Ekko eventually approached a sizable frat house that looked like it was about to combust with all of the epilepsy-inducing strobe lights and obnoxiously loud trap music it emitted. He strode up onto the porch and knocked the door with a feigned air of confidence.

Some beefy, clearly irritated fraternity brother answered the door. He had neat, slicked back dark hair and some stubble. And probably the grumpiest expression Vi has seen since she stepped foot onto PiltU.

“Jayce! My brother!” Ekko gave him a warm, half-hug to which the other man barely reciprocated.

“Do I uh, know you?” he asked sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. He appeared to be slightly inebriated, which was understandable given the circumstances.

“Aw, come on dude!” Ekko was trying really hard to play the buddy-buddy thing. “We sit next to each other, remember? In Engineering 301. We also did a group project together last semester.”

Meanwhile, Vi was absolutely freezing. She rubbed her hands over her arms, looking up expectantly at the conversation, praying for this buffoon to just let them inside.

“I mean…” Jayce took a swig from the beer he had in his hand. “I guess?”

“You are the best, my dude!” Ekko gave him an enthusiastic fist-bump, grabbing Vi by the hand and leading her inside. “I owe you one, man!”

Jayce nodded slightly, lifting up his beer to give him a lukewarm cheer. The pair eventually found themselves loitering awkwardly around the jungle juice table.

“Ekko, don’t leave me by myself,” Vi hissed through gritted teeth, visibly annoyed as Ekko winked over at a group of cheerleaders who just walked past them. “I literally don’t know anyone here.”

“Violet, my girl!” Ekko gave her a reassuring pat on the back. “You need to relax. Take a shot. Hell, take three shots. We are here to mix and mingle. Besides, I can’t have you attached to my hip this entire time.”

“Ekko, I swear to God. Don’t ever call me that again,” Vi rolled her eyes as she poured herself a shot of tequila, sending it down the hatch without a second thought.

“There we go, see? Now you’re getting the hang of it!” her roommate encouraged. “And hey, if it makes you feel any better, no one here is paying attention to you. Everyone is drunk out of their damn minds. They will forget you even existed the next morning.”

Ekko fixed himself a mixed drink before patting Vi on the shoulder. “Good luck out there, soldier. Report back to me in the dorm at 5 AM sharp. That’s your curfew.”

“Ha ha, very funny,” Vi groaned, pushing him away. “Just get outta here, I don’t even wanna look at you.”

“I’m telling you Vi,” Ekko laughed while shaking his head. “Just be yourself! Meet someone new! You’ll be fine.”

“Don’t count on it,” she called back over her shoulder as she walked deeper into the party, making sure to grab a beer off a nearby table.

Shit. Now she really was left to her own devices. Not that Ekko could give a fuck. He was here to, in his words, “talk up some hot babes and maybe go home with someone, who knows”. So, there you have it.

The back den looked like the main area where people were chatting and drinking. The music still blared painfully loudly through the speakers. Vi looked around the crowded room, with low but still existent expectants that she would spot a familiar face. But to no avail.

Until she felt a tiny jab poke the back of her shoulder. She whirled around, and to her surprise, it was that girl she met at the gym the other day.

“Fancy seeing you here,” Caitlyn greeted, a small smile wrinkling the corners of her eyes.

Fuck. Fuckfuckfuck. She looked kind of good. Really good, actually. The student council president donned a purple strappy dress and matching heels. And a silk black choker tied around her neck. Vi tried to avoid running her eyes up and down those perfect legs and sultry hips. She took a moment to look the other direction and clear her throat, taking a sip from her beer to collect herself.

“Since when did little miss goody two shoes party?” Vi said with a goofy smirk on her face.

“Since whenever the hell I wanted,” Cait shot back confidently, grabbing the beer from her hand and taking a sip. “Why, what did you think I did on the weekends?”

Holy shit. Either it was the alcohol talking or this girl was really willing to test Vi’s limits.

“I don’t know? Read books? Take notes on the gymnasium rental guidelines?”

“Hilarious,” Caitlyn nudged her shoulder playfully, and handed back her beer.

“I’m just playing around,” Vi replied. “You just caught me off guard, that’s all.”

“Well, this won’t be the first, then,” Cait countered. “Cheers, by the way.” She raised a cocktail glass she had in the other hand.

“To?” Vi raised an eyebrow out of curiosity.

“To… you transferring here to PiltU. And to two girls who just so happen to be at the same party in the same frat house on this random weekday night.”

“Cheers,” Vi said, clinking her beer against Cait’s drink, and taking another generous swig. Her head started to feel slightly hazy from all the alcohol, but she quickly shook it off. “I’m.. sorry by the way. I was kind of a dick to you the first day we met.”

“Oh, that?” Cait chuckled. “Don’t even worry about it. I figured you were probably just stressed out or something.”

“Okay, thanks,” Vi smiled to herself. Huh. So she had a heart after all. “So what the hell are you doing in this shithole anyway?”

Cait nodded her head over to a group of girls who Vi remembered being part of her dance team fooling around in the center of the room. “I’m sort of on babysitting duty tonight.”

“Sounds like such a fun time,” Vi teased sarcastically. “They make you do this?”

“Oh, no no..” Cait denied quickly. “I sort of.. make myself do this, I guess.”

There was a slight pause. The boxer didn’t really know what to say. Shit. The tone took a bit of a sour turn all of a sudden and she wasn’t really sure how to come back from it.

“You don’t have to.. you know that right?” Vi suddenly interjected into the deafening silence.

“Yeah..” she replied wanly.

Vi cleared her throat, feeling the awkwardness beginning to swell and leak over the sides of her beer bottle.

“I should uh, go find my friend,” she said quickly. “He’s probably fooling around somewhere and I don’t want him to get in trouble.”

“Yeah, you should go do that,” Caitlyn nodded. “You know where to find me.”

Vi gave her another halfhearted smile, before disappearing back into the milieu of the party.

Damnit. Why did it have to get so weird at the end? She was doing so well too at the beginning, carrying the conversation, making her flirtatious nature known and then bam it all went to shit the moment she tried to push a little deeper. Oh well. It’s not like she expected anything different. Now where the hell is Ekko?

She eventually found him fooling around with some girl on the cheer squad in the back of a broom closet somewhere.

“Ugh, really dude?” she said after slamming the door back closed.

“Vi!” Ekko called after his roommate while pushing the other girl off. “Wait up!”

He eventually caught up with her as she leafed through the crowd.

“Hey! Is everything alright? I’m sorry I ditched you back there, I just needed to uh, get something done..” Ekko blurted out quickly, trying to keep up with her pace.

“It’s fine, I’m fine..” Vi sighed, finally stopping and leaning up against a wall. “I just… finished talking with Caitlyn that’s all.”

“Oh yeah?” Ekko’s tone immediately took a teasing turn. “How did it go?”

“It was good, and then it turned out not so good,” Vi said, pinching the bridge of her nose while shaking her head in disappointment. “I don’t really wanna talk about it. Whatever, I wasn’t expecting anything anyways.”

“Do you wanna go home, Vi?” her roommate took her by the hand and gestured toward the door. “We can totally leave. I really don’t care that much.”

“No, no, it’s okay,” she replied. “You are having fun, and I don’t want to ruin this for you. Besides, I-”

Their conversation was quickly cut short by some rowdy commotion coming from the living room.

The pair hurried into the main area to assess the situation.

“Jayce, get off of me!” Cait cried, trying to peel away from the clearly very inebriated and handsy jock. He was clutching her a bit too close against his body for comfort.

“Come on Cait..” he slurred in a drunken stupor. “You know I’ve been wanting to do this since the tailgate.. Just make this easy for me now, why don’t you?”

Some sort of unspecified rage completely took over Vi’s body the moment she saw Jayce’s beginning to reach between her legs to feel under her dress. Before she even realized what she was doing, she found herself sucker punching Jayce square in the jaw. It was like a force took control over her and she didn’t have any say in what her fists were doing.

“Vi, no!” She could hear Ekko’s voice ringing out in the background, but somehow, she didn’t listen. Punch after punch was thrown against Jayce’s face until he started bleeding profusely from his nose.

“What the fuck?” he cried, immediately letting go of Caitlyn to wipe his bloodied face. His eyes shifted over to Vi. “Who the hell are you?”

“Vi, come on,” Ekko hissed, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her towards the hallway. “Just leave it, it’s not worth it.”

She ignored him, of course, and proceeded to take Cait by the hand and lead her out of the party.

“I’m Vi, by the way,” she called over her shoulder. “I’m from the undercity.”

Cait followed her out the entrance without another word, allowing the door to slam behind them. They walked down the path back towards the dorms without speaking for a few minutes. Vi decided to break the silence midway through.

“Are you okay?” she asked softly, still holding onto her hand.

Cait still wasn’t saying anything, so Vi leaned over and carefully brushed her hair out of her face. Her face was glistening under the moonlight, and it was clear she had been crying.

“Do you want me to take you home?”

The dancer nodded, a small teardrop streaming down her cheek. She folded her arms across her chest to keep warm. Shit. It was a pretty damn cold night. Vi shrugged off her bomber jacket and draped it gently over Cait’s shoulders.

“Here, take this,” she said.

“Thanks, Vi,” Caitlyn smiled, wrapping the jacket over herself. Her blue eyes were still sparkling beneath the dim glow of the streetlight.

The two didn’t exchange many words on the walk home. Vi could tell she wasn’t really in the talking mood, and given the circumstances, forcing small talk would have been unwise.

“Um.. this is me,” Cait finally said as the pair approached an ivy-covered, brickstone building.

“Oh, uh, okay,” Vi replied, quickly shoving her hands into her jean pockets to warm up.

“Thanks, by the way..” the dancer whispered. “I have no idea what I would have done if you weren’t there..”

“Don’t mention it,” Vi said, trying her hardest to avoid eye contact. God, why was she being so weird. “It was nothing, really.”

“Okay,” Cait tried to hide her smile as she handed back her jacket. Without warning, she gave her a quick peck on the cheek before running back to her dorm. “I’ll.. see you around school I guess?”

“S-see ya,” Vi stuttered, blushing furiously as she stuck up her hand to give an awkward little wave.

Cait waved back before gently closing her door behind her.

Goddamnit. What the hell was that?

[starlessea]

Here Comes the Sun: XIV. Jailhouse Rock (Daryl Dixon/Reader)

Series Masterlist: Here Comes the Sun

Summary: Daryl Dixon scares the hell out of you climbing out of that damn creek. It takes hauling his ass halfway across Georgia and taking a bullet for him to realise that you're not half bad. He slowly starts to come around, despite grumbling about how much he doesn't like your singing, or that you can't use a gun for shit - and don't get him started on that ugly yellow tent of yours. It takes him a while before he starts to see for himself that he's found a best friend for life, and that he doesn't actually mind the colour yellow that much, after all.

Words: 5378

Chapter Warnings: Language, Injury, Slight canon divergence.

You threaded the bandage carefully from hand to hand, around the man's leg where he sat. It was tight, like he'd instructed, but you still worked tentatively in case you hurt him. Hershel watched appreciatively as you bound it, covering the stump where his leg had been amputated - just below the knee. It was looking a lot better recently, having been almost a week since the incident. It no longer oozed different colours or looked like it was rotting. The antibiotics from the infirmary had really helped you out there.

Once you had finished, you threw away the previous bandages and rolled down the older man's trouser leg. Beth had cut one shorter than the other, so that the excess material wouldn't trail on the floor when her father walked. The ends were a little jagged and frayed, but the intention had been pure. Hershel let you tend to him without a single complaint. Not once did he wince or look uncomfortable - he hadn't done since the initial injury. He was a fighter, you'd all realised. There was not a thing left in this world that would stop him from spending every last second he could with his daughters.

He gave you a nod and offered you a small smile as you lent him your arm. He gripped it tightly, using his other hand to press down onto the mattress and push himself up. He wobbled a bit as he did so, but you remained steady, supporting him. Once he was upright, he held onto the metal frame of the top bunk, and you let go to retrieve the crutches resting against the wall. You threaded each one under the man's arms and watched as he began to take unsteady steps with them.

It was slow, and you stayed close to him in case he fell. Though, after a few minutes he seemed to get the hang of it, pacing back and forth the small cell. You couldn't help but smile as you watched him.

"Just like riding a bike." You teased, rubbing your palm over his shoulder.

He'd asked you to bring him the crutches that morning, finally feeling up to trying them out. He said that he wanted to surprise his daughters, since he'd felt guilty about making them worry so much.

"I'm ready." He replied with a determined look, and the two of you made your way out slowly to the courtyard.

It had been nearly a week since it happened, but you remembered it vividly. Even as he was recovering, almost every time you closed your eyes you could see the man's face contort in pain. The day after you'd all secured the yard, your plan was put into action to tackle the prison. It had been a success at first, as you set up base in the C Block - but that false peace soon shattered as you delved deeper into the heart of the prison.

Rick took the front, guiding you all with a flashlight as you trailed behind in a line. You were directly behind him, followed by Daryl, then Glenn, and finally Hershel at the rear. The place was like a maze, each corridor leading into two others - like a hydra splitting its heads. Everything was dark save for the single stream of torchlight, and you could hear the occasional drips of water seeping through the cracks of the ceiling, splashing onto your boots when you walked. Corpses littered the floor as you all navigated your way through them, and even more walkers came out from the shadows to greet you.

Rick took the brunt of the assault, sinking his blade into the skulls of any that got too close. You all stuck in a tight formation as you continued on, alert for any more undead. All of a sudden, the atmosphere changed. The tension was cut with a startled yell, accompanied by a familiar groaning sound. You immediately whipped your head back to find the source of the noise, only to see Hershel with his leg caught in the jaws of a walker slumped against a wall. You'd all thought it was dead when you stepped over it - as in actually dead. Yet, now it had its teeth sunk into Hershel's ankle, tearing away the skin there to expose the tendons beneath.

Everyone sprung into action. Glenn immediately drove his machete through the walker's skull and Rick came to pry Hershel's leg from its mouth. He and Daryl then picked up the older man by his arms, as Glenn took his legs. You all ran together in search of the nearest safe area, as you took the front of the formation to clear a path. You'd had to take down two walkers on the way, and everyone started to yell - not caring to keep quiet anymore. Rick was shouting about how Hershel was losing blood, and Daryl pointed to some double doors with the words 'cafeteria' above them.

Glenn placed Hershel's legs down when they got closer, wedging his knife between the crack of the door to pry it open. After a few seconds, you heard the bolt give in, and he kicked it harshly before it flung open. Hershel was carried inside immediately, and placed on the floor. You saw his eyes roll back into his head, as he struggled to stay conscious. Rick wasted no time removing his belt and tying tightly just below the other man's knee. The action alone made you feel sick to your stomach, as you prepared for what you knew would happen next.

Hershel's face was coated in a sheen of sweat, as he lay on the cold concrete. His eyes were cloudy as he met yours, and you couldn't conceal the tears that welled up there. In your peripheral, you saw Rick take Glenn's machete from him - as it was the biggest and sharpest blade you had among you. Daryl quickly moved over to Hershel's left side, opposite from you, and held his shoulder down where he lay. You swallowed thickly and followed his lead, taking one of the older man's hands in your own.

He looked at you, choking on air as he inhaled too quickly. You could see the panic in his eyes, even as he struggled to keep them open. You clenched his hand tightly, feeling him grip onto you with all of his strength. Meeting his vacant stare, you looked into his eyes with intent - trying to reassure him that he'd be okay.

"Hershel." You whispered, looking down at his clammy face.

You remembered how he'd been there for you when you needed him most, at the bar shootout, telling you to keep your eyes on him and focus. You needed to do the same for him now.

"Do you want to go home?" You asked, repeating his question from that time.

You saw a single tear run onto his cheek as he nodded, before his pupils rolled back. Daryl tensed, preparing to hold the man down. You did the same. Then, Rick swung the blade.

You led the way as you and Hershel made for the courtyard, where the others were all gathered. You took small deliberate steps so that he could follow at his own pace. When you stood outside, the sun was so bright that it made you squint your eyes. It was such a contrast from the dark and shady prison. You shuffled out of the doorway of C Block and opened the lattice cage leading out onto the concrete yard - holding the door open for the man behind you.

The sky was a clear blue, completely cloudless, and when you stared out at the field it almost felt like home. You guided Hershel a few more steps before the others began to notice him. Daryl was one of the first. He'd been lying with his back to the concrete, fiddling with the underside of his motorcycle. He had his bandana tied around his mouth and nose to protect him from the fumes, but what was visible of his face was covered in black grease - as were his exposed arms. Once he caught your eye, and saw the man near you, he immediately sat up and pulled the cloth down from his mouth to show his smile.

"Yer one tough ol' bastard!" He called out, causing the others to look in your direction.

Maggie and Beth quickly stopped what they were doing, dropping their shovels to run over and greet their father. You took a step away from the man, letting his daughters embrace him. You could see how proud they were, as Maggie shot you a grateful smile and Beth's eyes welled up with tears. The whole scene gave you hope. Hershel gave you hope. You wondered what you would have done in his position. You would like to think that you would have soldiered on, just as he had, but in reality you probably would have given up. Though when you looked at him, looking at his girls, you understood why he didn't.

Hershel gave you one more curt nod as you left to give them some privacy, and you offered him a small smile in return. You made your way over to Daryl, who leant against his bike waiting for you to come see him. He was wiping his hands in his bandana, like it was a rag, trying to get rid of the dirt on his palms before he dared touch you.

"Hey, stranger." You called out to him with a smile. "Is there a man underneath all that grease?" You teased, making a point of looking him up and down.

"'M not sure." He grumbled, scratching the back of his neck as he squinted from the low sun.

You walked closer to him, reaching up so that you were on your tip-toes, and your face was close to his. You furrowed your eyebrows, now seeing the grease stains that smeared his cheeks - from where he'd rubbed the backs of his hands against them. You pulled his bandana out from his back jean pocket, where he'd shoved it only a few moments ago. Then, you used it to wipe away some of the marks on his face, holding your hand under his chin as you did so.

He grumbled at that, trying to bat your hand away half-heartedly. You just held his jaw more firmly, and continued to scrub the stubborn grease off. You got one cheek relatively clean before giving him his bandana back, not bothering with the other side of his face. Then, you stepped on your tip-toes again to leave a quick kiss there.

"Much better." You smirked at him, only for the man to rub his thumb down over your own cheek in one swift motion - smearing a line of grease over it in return.

You laughed and reached over to smack his chest, causing him to step backwards to avoid it. You tried again to punch his arm, but he caught your wrist - leaving a black handprint around it. Squealing slightly, you tried to pull out of his grip, but his other hand grabbed hold of your free arm and painted it black, too.

"Get your hands off me!" You cried, laughing as you did so. "You're filthy!"

You giggled some more, running away from the man, before the two of you formed a sort of truce and settled back down. You leant against the bike together to watch Hershel make his small laps of the courtyard. Your vest was covered in handprints that looked like they'd been pressed on with oil paint, and you knew you'd have to scrub your skin with cold water later, too.

Maggie had one of her father's arms over her shoulder, as he used a crutch in the other. Beth walked alongside them and you could hear their muffled chatter in the distance. His appearance alone was enough to raise the spirits of the whole group.

"Ya did a good job lookin' after him." Daryl said, eyeing the man who seemed content just to be with his daughters.

You shook your head, crossing your arms over your grease-smudged shirt. "I didn't do much besides staying with him." You admitted. "This is all Hershel."

"He's one stubborn son of a bitch." The archer agreed, muttering below his breath.

You let out a laugh, giving him a side-eye glance and one of your best lopsided smiles.

"Says you, Dixon."

Watching the Greenes made you realise how far you'd all come in just a matter of days. That incident felt almost a world away from you now. In truth, it had been one of the most traumatic things you'd experienced in this new world. That night, after the initial panic of trying to save Hershel's life, you were granted a few brief minutes to go and sit with Daryl. You immediately felt your legs buckle beneath you as you sank down onto his mattress. You were entirely exposed on the upper catwalk of the cell block, since he'd refused to stay in one of the 'cages' - as he put it. At that point, however, you didn't care.

The images of Rick hacking away at bone replayed in your mind as you cried into Daryl's neck, feeling him stroke your hair to try and calm you. You honestly had thought that the older man was going to die, leaving his daughters behind without a father. You'd felt so much guilt, holding his hand and watching the light fade from his eyes. The thought of having to tell Maggie and Beth that you'd failed him was just too much.

You didn't stay long with Daryl, wiping your eyes and collecting yourself not even moments after you'd sat down. You took a deep breath and waved the man who'd comforted you goodbye. Then, you returned to Hershel's cell - where you stayed for days on end until he woke up.

"I'll leave you to your bike." You said, pulling yourself out of your thoughts.

Daryl nodded, wiping his palms over his jeans. You gave him a soft smile before going on.

"You still have to teach me to ride that thing one day." You noted, looking over at the intimidating hunk of metal like you were trying to convince yourself rather than him. "You promised."

The man chuckled lowly under his breath, turning to face the bike. "One day, Sunshine."

You flitted around the courtyard doing odd jobs while waiting for Hershel to finish up his walk. Carol and T-Dog were cleaning some of the guns and Rick had sent Glenn to go check if there was a breach in the back of prison - letting him use one of the vehicles to do so. You sat on one of the rusted metal benches, sharpening your knife which had become dull. You barely noticed when a man approached you, taking a seat next to you quietly.

You looked up, raising an eyebrow at him. It was one of the prisoners you'd encountered a few days ago. Him and the other man, Oscar you thought his name was, had been allowed to stay with you provisionally as you all decided whether to trust them or not. They weren't in the same cell block yet, but you sometimes saw them around the yard. Rick had been skeptical at first, but allowed this much when you'd all insisted on showing kindness to the men.

He gave you a wiry smile as you looked at him. The man was small and scrawny, with long ash hair and a handlebar moustache to match. He was still dressed in his blue prison jumpsuit, and you thought he was lucky not to get shot on that first day of clearing the prison - when those jumpsuits had been your targets.

"I hope you don't mind me sayin', but you're mighty pretty." He remarked, unprompted. He had a Southern twang to his accent, but it rang out a lot more grateingly than the ones you were used to.

You gave him a curt smile, looking back down at your hands as you continued sharpening the knife. "Thanks." You said.

"Like, really pretty." He went on, looking you up and down as though it were flattering. "The rest of the women here are fine, too. But you're just on another level, sweetheart." He smiled, much too warmly, and rested a hand over your thigh before giving it a squeeze.

Your eyes flickered to the palm pressed on your jeans and then back at your knife. He must have seen you do it, because he quickly pulled away and let out a strained laugh. You looked over at Daryl, who watched the exchange with a scowl. He was a few feet away, and you didn't know if he could make out exactly what the man was saying, but he was definitely close enough to get the gist. You shot him a warning look, as you had a feeling he might come over and cause trouble if you didn't.

"Look, Axel?" You questioned, still unsure of the man's name. He nodded, and you went on. "I appreciate you giving me compliments and all, but I know someone who wouldn't."

Axel was sitting with his back to Daryl, oblivious of the way the archer tensed when watching the two of you. You thought that it was for the best that he couldn't see him, and you met Axel's stare in a way that made you hope he would take the hint.

He squinted at you, leaning back against the bench. "You with one of these folks?" He asked.

You nodded, letting your eyes purposefully look over his shoulder.

"The one glaring daggers at the back of your head." You explained, and he immediately whipped around to see.

Axel quickly stood up, throwing his hands in the air defensively when he met Daryl's gaze. He took a few steps in his direction, before becoming intimidated and deciding to stay where he was, instead.

"Sorry, brother!" He called out, giving a quick glance back to you. "I swear I didn't know she was taken."

You scoffed, despising the way he looked at you like you were an object to be claimed. Daryl scowled right back, throwing his rag over the seat of his bike.

"I ain't yer brother." He growled, just loud enough for you to hear it. He then shot Axel a look before skulking away to the other gate.

You didn't have a chance to say anything back, as suddenly an alarm started blaring. It was so loud that you thought it was coming from inside your head. Before you could comprehend what was going on, you heard screams coming from the other part of the yard, and saw the group running for the inner gate.

The next moments were entirely chaotic, as you were reminded of the fall of the farm once again. Walkers poured in through the broken section of the fence, as you all scurried for the inner part of the prison. The alarm continued to whirr, as you stood unable to tell where it was coming from. You dashed towards Hershel and Beth, who'd become separated from the others, and urged them to safety as you locked yourselves up in one of the small lattice cages that connected to the watchtowers. Then, you waited.

With no weapon, all you could do was comfort Beth and offer a shoulder to Hershel for support. The three of you watched as some other members of the group tried to close the gap in the gate, putting down the walkers that had gotten through it. You heard Rick yelling, and everyone followed him to the prison's interior - presumably to find the source of the alarm.

It felt like hours before it was shut off. Even then, the high-pitched noise still rang in your ears for a good few minutes after that. You all remained silent where you stood, enclosed in your metal cage. You didn't know how long you'd been there, but the adrenaline hadn't settled down in your chest yet. Your mind filled with thoughts you couldn't control, as you prayed that Daryl and the others were safe. You'd barely been able to see anything through the mayhem. The group had been split, that you were certain of, but you didn't know who went where, exactly.

After a few more minutes, you saw Rick emerge from the C Block entrance, followed by Glenn and Daryl. You let out a breath you didn't know you were holding as you met his gaze, slipping your fingers through the gaps in the metal like you were trying to reach out to him. They quickly came over to you, unlocking the door so that you could all leave the small space. You instantly flung your arms around Daryl, not caring in the least about the grease and bloodstains on his skin this time.

You barely got to exchange a few words with each other before you noticed Carl and Maggie exiting the prison from another doorway. Rick ran over to his son, pulling him into his chest when he got to him. Though, you didn't miss the look on Carl's face, as he stared straight through his father. What you did miss, however, was the newborn baby bundled up in Maggie's arms.

You instantly felt your face fall, as you stood back from Daryl's arms to look at your friend. She let out a sob, shaking her head at Rick when the man finally noticed her. The officer stood in silence for a few seconds, before he finally comprehended what she meant. He let out a yell, so deep that it sounded like it came from his core, and started to pace back and forth whilst running his hands through his hair. He shook his head, not once looking towards the newborn. Instead, he retrieved his hatchet and walked straight past Maggie, back inside the prison. And all you could do was watch.

The baby cried and cried in your arms as you huddled her close to your chest, trying to soothe her. She was hungry, you knew, but all you could do was wait for Daryl to return with some formula - if he had the luck of finding any. After Rick had left the group, the rest of you got Maggie and Carl back to C Block - where they explained everything that had happened. They both trembled as they spoke, obviously traumatised. You could remember the look on Carl's face when he'd told you about shooting his mother, and you didn't waste any time pulling him into your chest and holding him tight.

Glenn left with Maggie to go back to their cell, since she looked like she needed some comfort. Daryl went to go and search for Rick, but ended up coming back to the block with Carol in his arms instead. She'd seemed so pale when he brought her in, and Hershel had told you all that it was shock once he looked over her. Later, she'd come around enough to tell you about T-Dog, too, and how he sacrificed himself so that she could get back. In one day, you'd lost two members of the group and gained one more. Though, baby Grimes was living on borrowed time. You all knew that she wouldn't survive for long if you didn't get her some formula.

Daryl had left almost immediately after that. You pleaded for him to stay with you, trembling in his arms as you did so, but you knew that he had no other choice. He'd be able to get there and back the fastest on his bike - wherever 'there' may be. So, you sent him off with a sad expression, watching the motorcycle leave through the gates and listening to its signature low rumble. He left his poncho behind, and you'd used it to swaddle baby Grimes when she was handed to you - and you hadn't let go of her since.

You tried to hush her, rocking on the balls of your feet gently from side to side. She wailed in response, and you felt your heart breaking. You unintentionally started to pace around your cell, suddenly feeling like a single mother much too young to take care of the life bundled in your arms. The rest of the group were tending to Carol, Maggie and Carl, so you were left to look after the baby in the meantime. You thought that you could do it, initially. Though, seeing how much she looked like her mother, even as young as she was, made you crumble.

She howled and spluttered against your grubby vest, hiccuping on her own tears as you tried to lull her to sleep. You had no experience with babies, and you felt like you were torturing her by making her starve so soon after she'd come into this world.

"Come on baby girl." You whispered to her, feeling her cheek press up against the skin by your neck.

Her little mouth quivered against you, and you thought you could feel her whole body tremble even through the material you had her wrapped in. She choked out another cry and you felt completely useless. You didn't know what else to do. So, you swayed her gently and began singing.

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine." You smiled down at her, trying to compete with her broken wails.

"You make me happy when skies are grey." She spluttered a little, and you rubbed her back gently with your palm.

"You'll never know dear, how much I love you." You stopped swaying as she started to quieten down.

"Please don't take my sunshine away."

The little girl in your arms opened her mouth slightly, but didn't let out a cry. Instead, it almost seemed like a yawn as she offered a couple more whimpers before drifting off against your chest. You looked down at her in disbelief, wondering how something so pure could be born into a world so cruel. Then, you noticed Carol standing in the doorway, watching you.

You immediately opened your mouth to explain yourself, but she just brought a finger to her lips - reminding you to keep quiet. She had a warm look on her face, as she glanced over at the baby in your arms, and approached you with the practiced silent footsteps that only a mother could have.

Wordlessly, Carol readjusted the baby in your hold, so that she was better supported. Then, she gently tugged at the corners of Daryl's poncho, wrapping the swaddle securely - in a way much more experienced than you had done. You watched in awe as she seemed to know exactly what to do. After a few seconds, you glanced down, and then back at Carol, offering for her to hold the baby. She shook her head politely and you nodded.

"The song worked." You whispered to her, and she leant her head on your shoulder to look down at the newborn in your arms.

"I know." She replied.

Not long after that, you both heard the familiar sound of the metal keychain unlocking the cell block door, and made your way out into the main area. Daryl walked through, shrugging off his backpack and letting it fall heavily to the floor. He didn't say anything, crouching down and unzipping it to pull out a bottle and a number of formula boxes. You let out a sigh of relief as the group started to praise him, going to collect the supplies. Hershel clapped a hand over his back and gave him a small nod, but Daryl just continued to make up a bottle in silence.

You walked over to him with the baby in your arms, and saw the softness of his expression when he recognised his poncho as her swaddle. You rested your head in the crook of his neck in a half-hug, as baby Grimes rested between both of your chests - starting to rouse from her nap. You thanked Daryl, and helped him take the baby from your arms.

You watched as he brought her in close and held her nearly as well as Carol had taught you. Everyone seemed surprised, too, as he started feeding her the bottle with a soft look in his eyes. You had to admit, you never would have expected him to be as natural as he was with her. The baby sucked on the bottle contentedly, as Daryl tried not to let her take too much at once. She'd been waiting for her first meal all day, and she spluttered a bit on the milk as she drank too quickly.

"There ya go. Must've been hungry, right?" Daryl questioned, looking down at her little face poking out from the thick poncho.

She gurgled a little, which made your heart melt. "You like that, lil' Ass Kicker?" He asked, and you all laughed.

You crossed your arms, shaking your head at him in disbelief. Only Daryl could nickname a baby as adorable as her Ass Kicker.

"What?" He grumbled half-heartedly, looking up at the group who watched him. "It's a good name, ain't it?"

Carol nodded beside you, and had a smile on her face as she looked over at the baby resting against Daryl's bare arms.

"Ass kicker." She said, trying out the name on her tongue. "I think it suits her."

The others mumbled in agreement, and you felt pride at how Daryl had managed to change the atmosphere in a single instance. You watched as he cradled the baby, holding her like he'd never let any harm come to her.

"What do you think, Carl?" You asked, pulling the young boy into you by his shoulder. "You think she'll grow up to be a force to be reckoned with?" You gave him a warm smile, and he nodded in return.

"She'll be just like mom." He said, and you couldn't help but agree.

Daryl walked you back to your cell that night, after you'd all eaten and taken it in turns to coo over lil' Ass Kicker some more. The two of you took quiet steps as you went, as not to wake any of the others who'd already turned in. You felt exhausted, and could tell by his face that he did, too. So much had happened in the span of a single day. So much had reminded you that this place wasn't actually safe yet. You wondered if you were fooling yourself all along - holding onto the idea that the prison could be a home.

You bit your lip as you got lost in your thoughts. You decided that you had no other option; this place needed to be your home. This baby needed a safe place to grow up, and this had to be it. Somehow, you all had to make it work - for her.

"We've got to protect her, Daryl." You whispered, feeling the words slip from your mouth before you even considered saying them. You looked over to meet his eyes as you approached your cell.

"Yeah, I know." He replied, with a thousand yard stare. He seemed equally as caught up in his own thoughts, too.

"For Lori." You clarified, and he nodded. "And until Rick gets through whatever he needs to get through."

The man stopped once you reached your cell, pulling you into his chest for a few seconds. You allowed yourself to be taken in by his warmth, and feel his heartbeat against your cheek as you stayed there. Though, he soon pulled back. You were almost glad he did, fearing that you wouldn't have been able to let go if he'd stayed any longer. He gave the top of your head a brief kiss before telling you to get some rest, and turning to leave.

You eyed his mattress at the end of the catwalk, just lying on the floor where you'd all had to occasionally step over him some nights.

"Daryl." You called out softly, before he could get far.

He glanced back to look at you, and you opened your cell door further so that he could see inside.

"Stay with me, please?" You asked, and for the first night he did.

A/N As if my 3am writing session last night wasn't enough, I thought 'fuck it, what's one more?' I LIVE for the idea of Teach and Daryl almost being like Judith's godparents at this point - taking care of her until Rick can.

Send me a message if you want to be included in the taglist for chapters!

Tag List:

@xxboesefrauxx @youhavemyfantasticbeasts @teel-dinosaur @greenbeansarelit @bunnymother93 @alularae3 @death-becomes-her @royaleclown @alex-sulli​ @julesmalek

[you-did-well-moon]

Werewolf!Yunho meeting his mate

Type: Werewolf au, angst, fluff

Pairing: Werewolf!Yunho x HumanFemale!reader

Word count:  2,994

A/n: I know this took a long time, trust me, it felt like a long time for me too. With how I view Yunho, I expected this to be happier than it is. I was having a hard time while writing this, and it reflected on the story. Anyways please enjoy and stay safe!

TW: toxic relationship, financial struggle, deadlines, stressed reader, emotional and verbal pain, toxic masculinity, if I missed anything please tell me.

You sat at the foot of your bed, still not made, staring at the mirror resting against your dull colored wall with lifeless blank eyes. Your posture slouched as you finished tying the laces of your running shoes huffing and letting your arms flop to the ground. Looking at the mirror, you tried smiling, but it was meak and disappeared as soon as it appeared. 

You hadn’t smiled a real smile in so long, you forgot what it felt like. To smile. To be happy. The forgotten emotion was one you took for granted when it was easy to to bask in the warmth of it. Now it's just cold. Cold and empty. 

You looked away from the mirror with a tight feeling coiling in the base of your chest not being able to bear looking at the stranger staring back at you any longer. Your gaze fell to the laptop, abandoned, due to frustration on your desk in the forgotten corner of the room. The thought of unfinished drafts and incomplete sentences shook violently in your mind. Disappointment in yourself pooling in your gut remembering your editor’s words. 

“If you can’t give us at least a first draft by the end of the month, we’ll have to unfortunately let you and your novel go.”

How pathetic was it that you couldn’t even come up with a simple sentence. A description, dialogue, a metaphor. Nothing. Anytime you sat yourself in front of the desk, your mind went blank. The cursor blinking at the top of the page mocked you with the possibility of millions of words. Not one ever made its way onto the page.  

The end of the month was in two weeks. 

You felt tears of hopelessness stinging the corner of your eyes, and you abruptly stood up grabbing your wireless earbuds, phone, and bag. Making your way into the kitchen you grabbed the water in the fridge and placed it inside your back, nothing but a numb feeling alienating you from reality and its broken expectations. You heard the front door of your little apartment open and slam close shaking the thin walls of the building. 

Your heart lurched as you winced immediately feeling like you were walking on eggshells. You were usually quick enough to leave before he got home from work, but you had been a tad bit late this one time. You gripped the strap of your bag tightly hoping for it to ground you through whatever vile words came from the one person you should have been able to trust with your ugliest feelings. 

Trying to walk past your boyfriend, eyes trained on the chipped wood of the front door did no good when he kissed his teeth and huffed as soon as he caught sight of you.

“You’re never home when I get home from work, and the one time you are here, you run away not even saying hi to me? Not even a “hey honey how was work today” or maybe a “hi love what would you like for dinner?” and never a “you’ve worked hard would you like a massage?” It's the same shit every day. You treat me like nothing when I'm the reason you even have a roof over your head woman.”

You kept your mouth the whole time he rambled on trying to ignore the clear stench of beer being able to reach you even with all the distance separating you, and the feeling of disgust mixed with desperation pooling at the bottom of your gut at yourself for not speaking up for yourself. Opening your mouth instead of letting your voice be taken from you. A long time ago, you would always say you would rather die than be without your voice. In a sense, you had died a long time ago. 

Around three months after you had started dating. That had been two years ago. 

Your English degree really did you no good. Not having enough time to be an intern in college really screwed you over when no job would take a bright eyed girl with the same passion in her heart for writing as a Karen’s passion for business that wasn’t hers, but with no experience. Even if the apartment was under your name, you’d probably be kicked out in weeks time.

You hated all of it. Everything that made up both the small and big parts of your life, you hated it. You hated his greasy hair and beady eyes, the nasty rough stubble covering the lower part of his face as a result of his laziness. You hated the hesitation in leaving him because of the fear of the stack of bills piling up next to the fridge. You hated the editors who couldn’t find it in some part of their greedy selves to extend your deadline. You hated the empty drafts sitting in your laptop collecting what could only be dead dreams and despair. You hated the cold emptiness that was always present in the confines of your chest. 

You recoiled at the way he said “woman” the same way someone would talk about a bug. Small and insignificant. Patronizing and confident in the worst way. You set your mouth in a tight line not even being able to look at him. Shifting your feet, you crossed your arms and looked up to the sky as if calling out to some unknown being to get you out of this pathetic corner you were trapped in. You cursed under your breath looking at the dying flowers on the coffee table with distaste as they wilted towards you mocking you. 

“What was that?” His voice got rougher with the menacing edge of fanned masculinity and control. Something that could put you in a dangerous place in a very fast amount of time. You looked at him with dull eyes poking your cheek with your tongue as a cold feeling settled in your gut. 

Your hands fell limply to your side and you chuckled humorlessly. 

“Fuck you”.

Those two words were enough to set him off as you slowly blinked and looked at the ground feeling your heart falter when he abruptly got up. You tried to stand your ground, but the surge of confidence was quickly withering away with fear taking its place. 

Ethan was bigger than you. Even if he wasn’t that much taller than you, there was a noticeable difference in his frame and yours. Weirdly enough, you didn’t regret your curse at him. The words still burned brilliantly on the tip of your tongue. 

It was bittersweet of course. His nose flared, and his eyes bulged as he took large strides over to you knocking the coffee table over on his path to you.

“What did you say to me you-” his words were said through gritted teeth, brash and loud in the silent apartment.

 Maybe he was bigger and stronger than you, but you were faster.

You inhaled sharply reacting fast as your hand reached behind you, turning the knob and slipping around it slamming the door close. Your bag bumped against your back while you bolted to the door with the word “stairs” painted in big bold letters across it. You were already at the door when you heard your apartment door open and Ethan angrily called your name. Threatening to break your laptop if you didn’t go back right this instant. 

You couldn’t help but snicker at the weak attempt. It’s not like there were much but empty pages anyways. 

A heavy feeling soon settled on your chest as you went down the stairs. Your apartment was on the 4th floor, and the stairs weren’t the most taken care of, but it’s not like you had much of a choice anyways. It seemed these days you were always wanting to run away from something. 

Your heart felt a little lighter when the warm rays of sun met your skin and the fresh air outside flooded your senses. Your walk to the park went as usual. Cars racing to get where they needed to, people chattered about everything and nothing, and your thoughts wandered to a world far away from this one. 

A world that wasn’t as dark as this one. At the same time your mind became your executioner, it became your safe place. The sick contrast making a nasty feeling flood your chest.

You arrived at the park with a small smile. The normalcy of the day bringing a little comfort to your still racing heart. Kids ran around, laughter ringing in the air around them as their parents watched on benches gossiping among themselves. People raced fast either by foot, bicycle, or skateboard, a visible sheen on their necks. You looked for the kind old man who always looked after your bag while you ran. 

He owned a music store a few blocks away, and he always sat on the bench closest to the pond with his cute corgi and habitually feeding the ducks peas and lettuce leaves when finished  with a certain chapter of his book. You walked up to him with a small smile as he looked up and took the sight of you in with fatherly worry.  

“You look a little pale kid, everything alright?” 

You did your best to liven up and gave your best customer service smile which the older man immediately saw through.

“Of course Mr.Jung. Why wouldn’t it be? I’m just a little tired from the editors. They’re on my back more than usual”, you laughed nervously as he hummed in understanding.

“I hope that boy of yours isn’t giving you any problems. Hey kid, have you ever heard of the term “break up?” he looked so serious you had to compose your shocked face. 

You waved your hands rapidly “I promise Mr.Jung everything is fine there is...I...oh my” you took a shaky breath as he simply shrugged his shoulders and pet his smaller companion who was having a very serious stare down with a duck. 

You wiped your sweaty palms on your yoga pants while you looked around at the tacky named paths trying to decide which one to run today. 

“The Pupper Runner path looks particularly nice today,” he suggested. You looked at the path pursing your lips in thought. The path wasn’t one you ran frequently. Since it was one of the wider and flatter paths, there were more people such as families or people walking their dogs. You also didn’t like having run-ins with the cyclists who were grouchier around this time of day for some odd reason.

After contemplating it, you shrugged and decided why not. Getting run over by a ticking time bomb on wheels wouldn’t be the worst thing to happen today. With a small smile sent in Mr.Jungs way, you checked your shoe laces before starting out with a light jog making your way down the specific path.

There was nothing really different about today’s run than others. Just having to dodge the wheel demons and kids happily running ahead of their worried mothers. You were grateful for the distraction. It kept you from straying too far into your head. It was just you running. Running like you always did these days, your shoes slapping on the concrete path and Got7 blaring in your ears. 

The heat of the sun shone on your skin, but oddly you still felt cold. It was always cold these days. A light breeze fresh to your burning skin as desperate eyes caught yours, and you were once again bought out of your stupor. 

A small boy was kneeled down fingers clutching his untied shoelaces not far from his dad who was trying to calm a crying baby. You didn’t really have a strong adoration for kids, but his panicked pinched face compelled you to come to a slow stop in front of him. Your chest heaved as you bent down to his level sitting on your heels and wrapped your arms around your legs.

“Hey bud, you need some help there?”

The kid made a distraught sound as he nodded his face shaking his hair out of his eyes. He looked dumb founded as he stared at his shoe laces in search of answers they would never give.

“Mama said to make a bunny, but this looks more like my aunt Carol’s dog” he sadly told you.

You snorted reaching out gently to tie his laces with a double knot.

With a grin you looked up at him ruffling his hair and giving him a thumbs up which he happily returned with a toothy smile.

“It’s alright kid, you’ll eventually get it. Just keep trying yeah? Don’t settle or you might catch yourself tripping next time you go on a walk. You’ll get hurt. Wouldn’t want that would we”, you said, lips still stretched kindly upwards, but something in your words struck stingingly deep in your chest. 

As the kid nodded happily with a carefree laugh you were about to get up when you heard the air being split and a strained voice yelling “watch out!!”. 

You looked up, panicked, only to see a frisbee racing right in your direction with alarming speed. With the goal of protecting the small child, you quickly turned your body. Your shoes making a rough sound against the concrete as a startled light cry left the younger boy’s mouth.

With your hands ready, you easily caught the frisbee gasping at the shock of the situation. You quickly shook it off as you gripped the frisbee turning back to the child who profusely thanked you, his small hands shaking as they clutched onto the hem of your shirt. 

You simply smiled reassuringly tapping his shoe and ushering him back to his father who has begun to successfully calm the fussing baby down. 

With shaking knees you tried to get up only to wince and slightly waver at the sharp sting that hit your ankle area. You clenched your jaw feeling more than annoyed at the current situation in hand. 

You stood up grumbling under your breath as a tall figure jogged over to you. While he made his way toward you, your narrowed eyes met his wide, apologetic ones. 

You felt the world shift around you as a calming warmth shot through your body melding with the confusion and panic pooling in your gut, and his eyes widened impossibly as he stumbled managing to stabilize himself right in time in front of you. His figure standing just inches away from you as his hands trembled, and his lips slightly parted.

You got a slight whiff of cologne and mint, but more than anything, the weird feeling in your gut was making a way for the dreadful panic clouding around your heart. 

You felt warm. 

After feelings of feeling nothing but the hollow cold licking at your veins, there was a nice warmth settling in your chest. 

You were scared of it. 

With a heavy chest you slightly inched back left somewhat immobile due to the aching pain in your ankle. “What the hell?”, you immediately set off on questioning him leading him to shake his head frantically at you. 

“I’m so sorry, i really am.” He put his hand on his chest as if trying to prove his sincerity to you, but you breathlessly took a step back stunned by the intense feelings taking over your heart and mind. 

You tried shaking it off, but the warmth lingered. 

You weren’t sure you wanted it to go away. 

“There’s kids here”, you were so distracted by all the emotions circling your mind you couldn’t possibly put any effort into arguing with the young man. His lips parted to make way for his lips as he nodded his head in understanding. “I know, I'll be more careful next time. I promise.”

Somehow, you knew he was being truthful. You went to say something, possibly something dangerous, but you shook your head and waved your hand. 

You tried taking a step but lightly hissed at the sharp pain that shot from your ankle up your leg. The man instantly dove forward steadying you with a heavy hand between your shoulder blades, and the other hovering in worry near your collarbone. 

With wide eyes you looked at him as he realized his un-asked for touch and immediately went to back away. 

He couldn’t.  

Your hand was clutching the cloth of his shirt near his shoulder blades. Hands slowly uncurling, you smiled awkwardly, but he kept his hand where it was. At his touch, the warmth licking the insides of your body became all the more distracting. 

“Um, I don’t think you can go all the way back home like this”, he cleared his throat looking at you shily under his bangs. Flustered, you smiled at the ground before looking back up and timidly asking “I can't. Mind helping me out?”.

At your question he let out a beaming grin nodding eagerly. He went to stand in front of you, and he crouched down looking at you over his shoulder with soft brown eyes. You did a small jump, and were caught by his hands slightly gripping under your thighs. 

He gave a low chuckle that somehow was felt from where your chest was pressed up against his shoulder blades. “So...what’s your name?”. You let a light giggle escape, “Y/n, yours?”. You saw his jaw move with the syllables of your name whispering it to himself. 

“Yunho”, you smiled also sounding out the name on your own mouth. You gave a shuddering exhale, and you laid your head on his shoulder letting yourself really rest for what seemed like the first time in forever. 

That night you walked right past Ethan who was quick to begin yelling at you, and you tucked yourself under the safety of your blankets feeling the warmth still encasing your heart, so comforting and alive.