#and we no longer have to beg for permission to leave the reservation

[spiderbitesandvampirevenom]

STOP TREATING THE USAMERICAN COLONIAL PROJECT LIKE IT IS COMPLETE!!!!! it is an active settler-colony, and by acting like it's not actively colonizing the land it is on you are literally doing their job for them. you all are like five minutes away from lamenting the fucking vanishing indian.

[doctorstethoscope]

The Right Chapter 21 || Aaron Hotchner x Fem Reader

Helloooooo my friends!!! You are going to love this one. I am so excited to hear what you think about it. Hold on to the fluff my loves. 

Read previous chapters of this fic here! 

warnings: food mention, alcohol consumption, discussion of pregnancy (not reader), mild sexual content

wordcount: 1.9k

“Okay, be honest. How many nights have you actually spent here since you moved in?” Emily asked, perched on the couch in your apartment, a glass of wine in her hand, a few empty bottles scattered between you, her, JJ and Garcia throughout your living room.

“That’s not fair! We spend way more nights out on cases than I do at Aaron’s place,” you laughed from across the living room in a lounge chair. 

“You know that’s not what she meant, peach.” Garcia chastises you, and JJ lets out a snort. 

“It doesn’t matter. Her non-answer is answer enough,” she points out, and you all laugh together.

“It’s a good thing,” Garcia reminds you. 

“Oh, absolutely,” Emily concurs. “We’re all glad you finally figured it out. I didn’t know how much longer I was going to be able to stand you making googly-eyes at him during active hostage situations.” 

“I did not!” You defended yourself with a smile, hiding your grin behind your fourth-- or was it your fifth?--- glass of wine. 

“You weren’t that bad. That’s not to say you were good at hiding it, because you weren’t,” JJ assures you. “But you held it together in the field.” 

“See, guys? And JJ’s sober.” You reminded the group.

“Are you sure you don’t want a glass?” Garcia offered her. 

“No, I’m alright,” JJ denied. “Actually, I offered to drive because…. Will and I are expecting!” She announces, and your faces all light up in unison. 

“Jayje!” Emily squeals, practically diving across the couch to wrap her friend in a hug. Penelope is right behind her, and you all take a moment to fuss over her and feel her non-existent bump before settling back into your own seats. 

“Oh, that means you and Hotch are next!” Garcia asserts drunkenly, and you tense, although you doubt any of the ladies noticed. 

“You think you’d want that? Kids, I mean?” Emily asks you, reclining back in her chair. 

“I don’t really know what Aaron wants,” you shrug the question off, averting your gaze to your wine glass. 

“That’s not what we asked,” JJ redirects you, apparently unwilling to accept a non-answer this time around. “What do you want?”

“With Aaron? More kids, definitely more.” You confess. “But Aaron’s older than I am. I don’t know if he feels like he’s done with that part of his life, you know?” 

“There’s no way. He loves Jack more than anything.” Emily concludes. “He seems like the type of guy who’d love to keep you barefoot and pregnant, even if it’s only because he’d get to pull you out of the field and keep you safe at home.” 

You let out a real laugh at Emily’s assertion. “Well, if he ever asks me about it, I’ll be sure to include that in my supporting arguments.” 

“Trust me-- they never feel done with being a dad. How do you think Will and I ended up with baby number two?” JJ reminds you with a wink. 

“Oh, you guys would just have the cutest babies. That dark Hotchner hair and your pretty eyes!” Garcia gushes, her lower lip starting to quiver. 

“Okay, and that’s my cue to get her home,” JJ chuckles, rising from her place on the couch. “Drink some water before you go to bed, okay? And maybe eat something, and take some advil?” 

“Okay, mom,” you rolled your eyes, standing up and giving your friends hugs goodbye as you said goodnight. 

“Hey, someday you’ll understand,” JJ tells you. “It will be sooner than you think, I’d bet.” She winks, and you roll your eyes at her again, smiling as you walked the three of them to the door.

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

“We’re going on a date tonight,” Aaron tells you as the two of you leave the office a few nights later. “Jess agreed to take Jack.”

Your brow furrowed in confusion. “Am I forgetting something?” 

“Only that I love you, and as your boyfriend I reserve the right to take you out whenever I please,” He smirks, placing a hand on your back as he opens the door and helps you into the car. 

You roll your eyes, but you’re not quick enough to come up with some smart-ass comment, so you let him have the win as he drives you both home.

“Should I wear something specific?” You ask as the two of you walk into the house together.

“We’re gonna walk downtown a little, so something comfortable,” he advises. “Do you need to do anything other than change, or are you basically ready to go?” 

“I could use ten minutes to freshen up,” you tell him, and he nods with a smile. 

“Take your time, we’re not in any rush,” he says, kissing your temple and moving into the bedroom to change into something more comfortable as you step into the bathroom, adjusting your hair and makeup just a tad. When you come back into the bedroom, Aaron’s switched into jeans, so you do the same. You go to fish your wallet out of your work bag, and Aaron slaps at your wrist lightly. 

“Stop it. You don’t need that,” he tells you, and you roll your eyes with a playful smile. 

“You’re a neanderthal,” You tease him, letting him guide you out of the house and back towards the car. 

“No, I was raised right,” Aaron corrects you. 

“What if I want a drink and I get carded?” You smirked as you buckled your seatbelt. You were younger than Aaron, yes, but not by that much. 

“If you get denied because you don’t have an ID on you, I’ll stop at the gas station on our way home and buy you a six pack of bud light.” He assures you as he backs out of the parking lot.

“So romantic,” you cooed overdramatically, tossing your head back with a laugh. Aaron takes advantage of the opportunity to lean over the console and press a quick kiss to your jawline.

A few moments later, Aaron parks the car in front of a greasy spoon downtown that you’d never been to before, and you give him an inquisitive look. It’s not that you minded at all-- any time you spent with Aaron was perfect in every way. But his dates were usually a lot higher-key. 

“I’ve got to keep you on your toes,” he shrugged with a boyish grin as he took your hand in his on the sidewalk and walked you into the restaurant. He let go reluctantly as the two of you slid into opposite sides of a booth. 

“So, it’s safe to assume that there’s more to tonight’s date than burgers and milkshakes?” You ask Aaron after the two of you have placed your orders. 

“Oh, absolutely,” Aaron nods, smiling smugly. 

“And are you going to tell me what that might be?” You asked hopefully. 

“Absolutely not,” Aaron confirmed what you had already suspected.

“Not even a hint?” You asked. 

“You’ll find out in due time. Be patient, princess,” he encourages you. 

“I’m willing to beg,” you informed him. You were sure that whatever he had planned would be romantic and wonderful, but god did you want to know. 

“Darling, I’d really prefer if you saved that for our bedroom,” Aaron deadpanned, and you choked on your water. 

“Agent Hotchner!” You chastised, catching your breath. 

“Come on, now you’re just teasing me,” he winked, and you felt butterflies in your stomach. 

“Well, is it working?” You asked, wondering if you could flirt your way into some intel. 

“Not a chance,” he admonished you playfully as the waitress sat your meals down in front of you. 

After dinner, Aaron took your hand back in his and led you out of the restaurant. You started to head off towards the car, but he stopped you. 

“You did want to see what else I had planned, didn’t you?” He asks, facetiously. 

“Yes please,” you smiled shyly. 

“Take a walk with me,” Aaron says, tugging you back into him so he can wrap his arm around you.  It takes a couple of paces for him to find his metaphorical footing, but after a moment, he speaks up again. “I haven’t been clear with you about what my intentions are, and I wanted to apologize for that.”

“Aaron, you don’t have to--” you start, but he cuts you off. 

“Let me, first, please?” Aaron asks of you, looking you in the eyes, and you nod, giving him permission to continue. “I haven’t explained to you exactly how I feel, and because I didn’t do that, you’re having to worry about silly things, like whether or not you have the same amount of experience I do, or whether or not I’m going to run off with Jack’s teacher or one of his friends moms.” 

“Well, I’m less worried about Rhonda now that I’ve met her wife. But Ms. Meadows is still on my watch list.” You tell him, and he chuckles, taking your hand in his and kissing the back of it as he takes you down a side street. 

“Darling, you’ve got nothing to worry about. That’s what I needed to tell you. I’m all in, sweetheart. You, me, Jack, and anyone else we might add to our family-- that’s all I want. That’s my priority.” He tells you, and your breath catches. “So, I got you a little something, just to show you how serious I am,” He says, leading you into a jewelry store. You stop in the doorway. 

“Aaron Hotchner, please tell me you’re not proposing at the jewelers.” You whisper out, not wanting to cause a scene. You would have said yes, regardless, but you were struck by a little bit of shock. 

He chuckles and shakes his head. “No, dear. Come on in, and I’ll show you,” He takes your hand again, and you step into the jewelry store with trepidation. The man behind the counter seems to recognize Aaron, as he produces a bag from the back counter once they make eye contact. Aaron passes the bag to you, and you push through the pink tissue paper to uncover a box, in which you find a single diamond solitaire pendant.

“Aaron,” you start breathlessly, but he’s already taking the necklace out of your hands and maneuvering the clasp around your neck. 

“This is just a placeholder, until you’re ready for the real thing,” Aaron whispers, pressing a kiss behind your ear once the necklace is secure. “But since we’re here, would you want to try a few on? So I know what you like? You’re not allowed to take the real one off, once it’s on. So I want you to be happy with it.” 

You’re sure that you’re dreaming your way through the rest of the evening. You try on what feels like every ring in the store, including the ones you insist are too expensive, but Aaron refuses to listen. You’re practically floating on air during the walk back to the car, and you let out a sigh as you settle into the passenger seat. 

“I know I said you weren’t allowed to take the ring off, and I meant it,” Aaron tells you. “But if you’re not ready to start thinking that way, I understand. This is at your pace. You just let me know, and I’ll pump the breaks.” 

You practically launch yourself across the center console, taking his face in your hands and kissing him. “Does this thing go any faster, actually?” You ask, and he laughs as he kisses you again.

tagging:  @romanogersendgame @wanniiieeee      @zheezs14      @greeneyedblondie44 @angelic-kisses13  @baumarvel @ssamorganhotchner  @ijustwannaread2k19    @rexit-mo @shmaptainhotchnersmain @qtip-blog @averyhotchner  @the-modernmary @itsmytimetoodream @choppa-style @hotforhotchner11 @infinite-tides @isthatme-thatsme @g-l-pierce @bakugouswh0r3 @ssahotchie @sleepyreaderreads

[feliix]

Hush ↠ Han Jisung (18+)

↠ jisung x reader

↠ genre: PWP, smut,

↠ rating: M ↠ word count: 914

↠ warnings: explicit sexual content, dirty talk, unprotected sex, creampie, exhibitionism, rough sex, begging, teasing, light degradation, dom!jisung, sub!reader

↠ requested by @hanflix​

�� A/N: this is pretty unedited I’m so sorry lol

“You have to be quiet,” Jisung whispers, smirk evident on his face as he rests his forehead on yours.

“I’m trying to.”

Another soft whimper slips past your lips as you let your head fall backward and onto his shoulder. Just an innocent night of spooning has lead you here – Jisung fucking into you from behind as you stare out at the empty bed across the room. What’s worrying is that Jeongin could be back any minute now; he went to go shower and get ready for bed not too long ago. It’d be quite a shame if he walked in on you two...

There’s no time to fool around tonight, you don’t have the privilege of taking as long as you’d like to – so it has to be quick. In a house full of people it’s nearly impossible to 

Jisung’s hands grip tightly around your waist as he thrusts into you, his hips colliding with the skin on your ass with each move. One of his legs parts between yours to keep you still from squirming too much. 

“Fuck”

The word draws past your lips before you realize it’s out. You can hear an annoyed huff push out Jisung’s nose in response, “Shhh.”

“Sorry, sorry.” 

Jisung’s lips trail up your neck sensually, making sure to leave small marks in his wake. The pace that he’s kept is slow, steady, making sure that you feel every ridge of his thick cock inside of you with each of his movements. Your mouth is watering as you ache for more, pussy squeezing hard around his erect member as you beg for more.

Anxiety riddles your mind as your orgasm grows near. The longer it takes to finish, the greater the chance that you’ll be walked in on; and that's not something you’re looking forward to tonight. Swallowing thickly, you clench around him, arching your back slightly to let him thrust deeper into you. Jisung responds to your actions with a throaty moan, but the pace he moves remains the same. 

Impatience is beginning to get the best of you. With a harsh breath pushed through gritted teeth you mumble,  “Go faster.”

“What's the rush?” He whispers into your ear, the raspy tone in his voice sending a chill down your spine. In an instant, his movements stop to taunt you. An agitated groan grumbles in the back of your throat at the loss of friction, squeezing your thighs together as hard as you can to make up for it.

“Jeongin’s gonna be back soon, that's the rush.” 

An annoyed sigh leaves Jisung’s lips as his grip tightens around your waist. “Have it your way then,” his voice is harsh, leaving an edgy bite at the end pricking up the hairs on the back of your neck. 

Jisung’s eyes darken with lust as he begins to thrust into you harder, a startled gasp leaving your lips at his sudden movements. In an eager attempt to hold on, your hands quickly scramble to find the bedsheets underneath you. His thrusts are rough, this time knocking the headboard against the wall behind you as the tip of his cock presses against the sensitive spot deep in your core.

“Is this what you wanted, slut?” Jisung’s voice follows another noticeably hard thrust. 

A breathy moan escapes your lips as your eyes slam shut in reaction, “Y-yes.” 

You clench harder around him each time his cock meets your g-spot, instinctively squeezing him as hard as you can. The power of Jisung’s thrusts has your orgasm just out of reach; with each rock of his hips you can feel it growing closer. His brow is furrowed, leaving concentrated lines on his forehead as he focuses on holding you firmly in place. 

“I-I’m close.”

In an instant his hands are wrapping completely around your waist, hugging you tight as he fucks into you feverishly. The knot growing in your stomach is twisting and tightening with each of his thrusts, your teeth clenching together as you brace yourself for your high.

With your eyes slamming shut, a muted shriek leaves your lips as you unravel beside him. The ongoing spams from your cunt send him into overdrive as he plunges into you one final time. Jisung stills inside of you while his heavy breathing pants down the back of your neck. His arms tighten around your waist while white-hot spurts of his cum paint your walls, mixing with your own orgasm. 

It takes a moment for your breath to catch up with you after coming down from your high, along with Jisung whose a panting mess just behind you. “That was good,” he smirks, his head positioned on your shoulder so you can just see him out of your peripherals. 

“Just good?” A snappy tone is evident in your voice as you gain the strength to turn your body over to face him. “If it was just good then-”

“Are you guys done fucking now? Can I come in?” an annoyed voice is followed by repetitive knocks at the bedroom door. 

Your heart races in disbelief, jaw dropping as you meet Jisung’s wide eyes. “I didn’t think we were that loud,” you whisper yell in hopes that Jeongin doesn’t hear you from the other side. Embarrassment is written across both of your features; Jisung’s ears red while your hand moves to cover your gaping mouth.

“Well,” Jisung utters, eyebrows raised while a blush tints his cheeks, “I told you to be quiet.”

‘Hush’ is copyright 2020 @chaangbin​​, all rights reserved. Please do not repost on any platform or translate without permission.

taglist: @xiaojunssmile

[mudhornchronicles]

maroon | din djarin

gif posted by sledposting 

pairing: din djarin x f!reader

warnings: all the fluff, soft!din but then i said sike... angst, mentions of death and violence, also mentions of... sexual encounters?

a/n: lowkey wanna make into a series, but idk if someone has done this. if so, i do apologize. 

masterlist

“You best learn how to weave, girl. A husband wouldn’t be caught dead wearing tattered clothing, let alone a Mandalorian riduur.”

“You must wear much more layered clothing. A Mandalorian riduur wants a respectable woman at his side.”

“Learn these recipes and maybe you’ll find yourself a Mandalorian riduur.”

You’ve grown tired of hearing this every day, but you sit back and simply nod. Mandalore may have not been your birth planet, but they took care of you after your father and brother both fell valiantly in battle. You were on your own after that. Your mother was not a Mandalorian, she was originally from Naboo. When your father was called back to Mandalore to assist in the ceremonial trials, your mother decided it was time she left. She said she was promised a tranquil life with the clan of four on Naboo, but the creed had to be followed. You have not heard from her since you were 7 years old.

Now as you’ve come to an age of maturity, you were being trained to… be a wife? 

You sat back and obeyed the elders wishes, but you knew that their rants were not true - not in the slightest. Your father never depended on your mother to do anything for him. Because of that, he taught you how to defend yourself and be independent. Although your father was devoted to The Way, he did not want you to swear the creed. Not because you were incapable, but because he did not want you to go through life with the restrictions that the creed entails. Even if you wanted to rebel against your loving father’s wishes, you were not able to be properly trained nor swear the creed at such a late age. So, you were content with being a member of the Mandalorian culture as a civilian.

You sat at a table that the elders reserved for the women who taught young ladies how to sew, heal, cook, and take care of the warriors in training. Whether it was a torn cape or a sparring injury, you were there to help. You always believed you didn’t need to be there as you already knew how to do it all, but the view made up for it. The table was set up on the outer boundaries of the sand pit they called a sparring arena. You got to see young Mandalorians train their bodies and minds by lessons taught by the elders. As many Mandalorians came and went, your eyes were always set on a specific foundling you met many years ago. You sympathized with that warrior when you first noticed his colored armor. You had a crafted bracelet in a similar color – a deep red, a maroon to be precise.

All Mandalorian armor was painted, but each general color had deeper meaning. For example, blue represented the reliability of the warrior, green represented duty, black represented justice, and grey or silver represented mourning.

Red represented the honoring of a parent or leader.

You watched as the two warriors, one in green armor and yours in the maroon, sparred while the other Mandalorians watched and rallied around their fighting brothers. After 10 minutes, the maroon pinned the green down and was declared the winner. The elders at your table clapped and you can’t help but smile and cheer along.

As the noise settles down, you ask to be excused from the table and wait for their approval. Once the oldest member examines your finished shawl, she excuses you for the day. You clean up your yarn and needles, place them and your newly knitted shawl in your basket, and thank them for the day’s lesson. You turn and notice the maroon armored figure standing with his brothers as a new pair of Mandalorians prepare for their turn at combat.

You walk over and stand next to him, basket in your left hand and proceed to place your right hand on his pauldron. He looks over at you and tilts his helmet as he acknowledges you. You mouth a simple hi and a small wave, not wanting to distract him from the scene in front of him.

“Hello, cyar’ika.”

You smile as he turns and holds your right hand in his left. “How was today’s lesson?”

You shrug, rolling your eyes and letting out a small laugh. “Oh you know, learning what I already know. The usual.”

He chuckles at your visible annoyance at the uniformed program you’re practically forced to attend. “Are you finished or are the elders letting you breathe?”

You just can’t help but always smile at every word that comes out of his mouth. “I’m very much finished for the day. Are you?”

“Yes, Paz and I were just asked to demonstrate a sparring technique. Would you like to go for a walk?”

You nod excitedly. He gives your hand a light squeeze and asks you to stay where you are. You watch him as he strides over to one of the elders watching over the training session to what you assume is asking for permission to leave. The elder simply nods and goes back to observing the trainees.

Your Mandalorian leads you to an escarpment not far from the main town – not far by speeder bike that is. You both called it our place. As far as you both knew, no one had known about the place. The ground is scattered with sand and cracks, but the pair are protected from unwanted visitors by an oddly bent acacia tree and nothing beats the view. The capital can be seen far out in the distance, seeming small and faded. You looked down from the cliff to the ground below. You took notice that the ground had small traces of grass while the trees began to dry and then to your luck, you spotted a strill dragging the corpse of a fanned rawl back to its pack. 

You step back from the edge and walk back to the tree. Your beloved unclips his cape and places it on the ground for you both to sit on – despite your countless protest about getting it dirty and tears. He proceeds to take a seat in the middle of his cape and places his hands on your waist. You take the hint and take a seat on his lap. He wraps his arms around your body and lay on him and he leans back on the thick trunk of the tree.

You quietly stay like this for what feels like hours, just holding onto each other. You two rarely get alone time anymore as his training has begun to be much more advanced. More advanced means longer training hours and longer training hours mean less time with you. Mandalore has nineteen hour days and the elders now have him train for six which means you barely get to talk to him and he barely gets to breathe. 

You change positions to lay on the ground with your head on his thighs. He starts to play with your hair, but suddenly lets the strand of hair go. He leans over to grab your hand. He begins to play with your fingers and places his palm straight onto yours just to feel how different his hands are from your own. He did always say he loved your hands – soft and caring.

He loves holding your hand. He loves caressing it. He loves playing with them. He loves how they look when in his.

When you’re in the safety of your home, he blindfolds you and  loves it when you play with his hair.

When you make love, he loves when you run your hands down his chest and on his biceps as he thrusts up into you. He loves when you grip his arms while you’re riding him and he brings you close to euphoria or when his body is over yours and your hands press down on his back to beg for him to go deeper.

He’s gone a long time without having gentle hands touch him. You were the first person he let touch his bare hands since his parents died. 

His helmet tilts over to you and you look up to him. He sits and stares at you and you unsuccessfully stifle a laugh. “What? Why are you staring at me?”

“Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum, ner kar’ta.” He says quietly. So quietly you feel as if it wasn’t meant for your ears.

You situate yourself onto your knees and cradle the side of his helmet in one hand and hold his own hand in the other. “I love you too, Din. More than anything in the entire galaxy.”

You’ve been in a romantic relationship with Din for five years and you’ve heard those words a total of seven times. You savor every time he speaks them as it sounds like utter bliss to you.

“Ner kar’ta, I- I’d like to gift something to you, but I must know something first.”

“You can ask me anything, cyare.”

“I know I don’t tend to express my feelings and you may be thinking this is going to be a negative talk, but I promise it’s not.”

“I know it isn’t, my love. Even if it was, you’re not going anywhere.”

He chuckles at this and he nods. You know this is serious when his visor isn’t on your face.

“Mesh’la… Do you wa- Are you sure you…” he stops and clears his throat. “Cyare, do you plan on wanting to be stay? With me? I know we never talked about this, but I just thought it was time to bring it up.”

“Are you asking me if I want to stay by your side for the rest of my life, Din?”

He nods.

“Din, love, of course I want to be with you. We’ve only touched the surface. There’s so much left to do. You still haven’t given me a piece of your armor, we haven’t done a riduurok, and we haven’t raised warriors! You aren’t getting rid of me!” you joke.

He stays silent and you begin to think you may have gone too far. He opens one of his pouches on his belt. Your mind is saying he pulled out the blindfold he always carries for you to kiss you, but your heart wishes it’s something else.

Your heart wins.

He offers you a necklace. It consists of a maroon colored beskar ring clinging to a chain – his beskar. Before he can say anything, you jump on him and wrap your arms around him. He laughs and gives you a squeeze.

“I had a speech prepared, but I’d be very happy if I didn’t have to read it,” he sarcastically says. You can’t stop the tears running down your cheeks as you shake your head while you tell him he doesn’t have to. You know what he’s going to say and you know he’s going to stutter and shake. You know how much he loves you. You don’t need to hear him say it as his actions spoke volumes.

“I knew you didn’t lose your buckle to Paz! You rather lose me than your armor!”

“Don’t be dramatic. I’d rather lose my sponsorship then you.”

You playfully shove him. “Di’kut.” You grab your drink from your basket and take a swig from the cold liquid.

“Cyar’ika, w- would you like to marry me? Right now?”

You almost choke. You look at him with wide eyes. “What?”

“Is it too soon?”

You shake you head. “No, no it’s been five years. The elders probably think we’re crazy.” You both share a laugh. “But, if you’re ready Din, then yes. I’d love to marry you right now.”

He stands and helps you up. He grabs the chained ring and places it around your neck. You look down and the ring falls beautifully next to the other necklace you wear, a nexu signet - your father’s clan. You reach up and bring his head down to yours as you connect your foreheads together. As Mandalorian culture states, the warrior must begin the riduurok and every phrase must be said by each to be vowed.  

Din’s hands are shaking, you can feel them. He clears his voice, but it does little to stop it from cracking.

“Mhi solus tome, mhi solus d-dar’tome”

“Mhi solus tome, mhi solus dar’tome”

“M-Mhi me’dinui an”

“Mhi me’dinui an”

“mhi ba’juri ver-“

You feel his forehead leave yours and you open your eyes. You follow his gaze and your heart sinks. Far out in the distance you see imperial ships slowly coming through the clouds. You see bright red light coming from the capital and you begin to panic. You know he has to go fight. As much as you don’t want him to, there’s no debate. 

You both run to collect everything. He stops to look at you.

“Ni ceta, ner kar’ta. I promise that I-“ you stop him and bring his forehead down again.

“It is your duty to Mandalore, Din. I know you’ll protect us and you’ll come back to me. Promise me you’ll fight with everything in you. I can’t lose you too.”

“I promise.”

With that you pack the speeder and ride back into town, although as the war begins, you wished you had just taken Din away and ran.

Blaster shot after blaster shot. Dead body after another. The cries of children and the screaming of mothers trying to find their babies.

You hear a Mandalorian usher women and children into life-ships, each with two Mandalorians escorts. You get rushed closer and closer to one when you catch Din in the corner of your eye.

You run to him as you hear your name being called out by the other women. Din sees you and tackles you down. He pins you against a wall yelling at you to get into a ship and go. You put your hands on each side of his helmet. Both of you are crying wishing this was only a nightmare. 

“Din, please promise me you’ll find me. Promise me you’ll make it out of here and come back to me. I can’t live without you. Please promise me.”

His visor is trained on you as you hold onto each other tighter than ever. “I promise I’ll find you and when I do, we’ll properly marry and I’ll take you far away from here so we can start our own clan. Ner kar’ta, I promise you this with my entire being.”

A promise sealed with a keldabe kiss. He runs with you towards a ship. You both ask escorts where the ship is going. No one knows. You try running out of the ship, but Din only pushes you back in. You hear him tell you how much he loves you before he jumps off the ship right when the ramp starts to move. You sob as the ramp closes until the view of your maroon-clad love is completely gone.

Little did you know that the war zone you had just witnessed was the fall of Mandalore and the last time you’d see the love of your life for many years to come.

update (1.1.21): Part two to Maroon has been posted - Saguine

 mando’a translations:

riduur = spouse, husband, wife, partner

cyar’ika = darling, sweetheart

Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum = I love you

ner kar’ta = my heart

mesh’la = beautiful

riduurok = love bond, specifically between spouses - marriage agreement

cyare = beloved

di’kut = idiot

Mhi solus tome, mhi solus dar’tome, mhi me’dinui an, mhi ba’juri verde. = We are one whether we are together or apart, we will share everything and we will raise our children as warriors.

ni ceta = i’m sorry 

[madamsnape921]

I Believe You

Pairing: Bryan Kneef x female reader

Warning: NSFW, smut, language, Bryan levels of fluff maybe?

WC:  2628

This is part 1. Part 2; Part 3

Tag: @beccabarba​ 

Others I think might like this: @thatesqcrush​, @prurientpuddlejumper​, @itsjustmyfantasyroom​

“Ah! Y/N, there you are,” your best friend Mary exclaimed as you approached her. “I want you to meet Bryan Kneef. He helped me out during the divorce. Bryan, this is my lovely friend Y/N Y/L/N! Oh! Is that the time?! I have to go. I have a meeting. I am so sorry, but since you’re both here, you might as well go inside for dinner. I already made a reservation. I’ll talk to you later. Bye.” Just like that, Hurricane Mary was gone. You weren’t sure she’d even taken a breath during that entire monologue. 

As your friend disappeared around the corner, you turned back to the handsome man. He was tall and well built. His salt and pepper hair and full beard were immaculately groomed. Definitely older than you, Bryan oozed confidence. And wealth judging by the quality of the suit he wore so well. You felt a little underwhelming in your simple black dress and leather jacket, but, to be fair to yourself, you thought you were just having dinner with your friend, not the man who would get your vote for People’s Sexiest Man Alive. And those eyes!  Wow!  You’d never seen eyes so green. 

“Well, that was very subtle,” you said rolling your eyes. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Kneef. I’m sorry my friend set you up like this.” You held your hand out to him. He just stared at you, but, as you started to pull your hand back, he reached out and took it. 

Bryan was annoyed at first because he hated being blindsided by anything. He preferred control. Mary was tall and slender with platinum blonde hair. She looked liked most of the women he hooked up with, and he had been looking forward to taking her back to his place after dinner. The more he stared at you, the more intrigued he became. You were the antithesis of his typical type, but he thought you were pretty in a more simple way. You were a little thicker than anyone he had previously been with, but you had curves for days that he wanted to run his hands over. Bryan licked his lips. He could catch this curveball and roll with it. His new goal was to fuck you tonight. 

“I hope your pleasure won’t just be in our meeting, Y/N.” Instead of shaking your hand, he surprised you by bringing it up to his lips to kiss. “I would hate for your friend’s hard work and reservation to go to waste. Would you like to have dinner with me?” Bryan asked. 

He looked like a lion hunting a gazelle. You blushed as small warning bells went off inside your head due to his overwhelming charm, but you decided to ignore them for now. “I would love to, Bryan,” you answered with a smile. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bryan’s charm continued throughout dinner. The surprise date was going surprisingly well. The food was good, the wine was better, and the company was best. Mary had tried setting you up many times and each time was a complete disaster. Bryan seems to be laying it on pretty thick, but you found it to be fun.   

“Y/N, I don’t usually do this kind of thing, but,” Bryan started. 

You laughed, “Don’t lie to me, Mr. Kneef.”

“Ha! Okay okay! I do this all of the time. Would you be interested in going to my place? I believe this is going extremely well, Beautiful,” Bryan responded. 

“Hmm,” you started, “I actually have not done this before but yes. Yes, I would.”

“I believe you,” Bryan smirked. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The ride to Bryan’s place was quiet but eventful because Bryan could not keep his hand off your thigh. It was difficult to concentrate on anything else. You were really looking forward to this. Bryan was extremely cocky, but he was also unbelievably interesting. Even though you could see yourself seeing him again, you could tell Bryan was not a relationship type of man. You were going to ignore that for the night because, to be honest, he was incredibly sexy. 

While on the elevator up to his apartment consent and limits were discussed. Bryan expressed his desire to be in control. While the sex you usually had was on the vanilla side, you’d be lying if you said you weren’t intrigued so you readily agreed to his desires. Butterflies were definitely in your stomach now. 

“I’m willing to try anything you want. If I don’t like something, I’ll tell you,” you offered.

“That’s very trusting of you,” Bryan replied.

“If I can’t trust you, then I should leave now,” you countered. 

“You can trust me, Sweetheart. I won’t hurt you. Tell me immediately if you don’t like or want to do something. Do you understand?” Bryan questioned.

“Absolutely.” you smiled.

After you entered his apartment, you only had time to notice a general sense of luxury as you removed your jacket which fell to the floor when Bryan pushed you up against a nearby wall. Bryan grabbed both of your arms and put them above your head. He held them there while looking in your eyes and demanded, “Keep them there.”

You felt your underwear get wet from just hearing the command. You could do nothing but obey. Bryan grabbed the bottom of your dress and started pulling it up above your head, leaving you standing there in nothing but your black thigh highs, heels, and lacy black bra and panties. 

He stepped back to look at you with nothing but lust in his eyes. You were feeling self conscious, so you started to lower your arms to wrap around yourself. Bryan quickly had them pinned back above your head with both of your wrists in one of his hands. He grabbed your face with his free hand, forcing you to look at him, “What did I just fucking tell you?” 

“To not move my arms. I won’t move them again. I’m sorry,” you answered. 

“You’re sorry, what?” he demanded.

“I’m sorry, sir,” you correctly answered.

“Good girl,” he said as he forcefully kissed your lips. His kiss was almost bruising but you gave him just as much back in the kiss. 

He released your hands, knowing you would keep them there. Pulling back from the kiss, Bryan trailed his mouth down to your neck as his hand drifted down your arms to your back. Then, he unhooked your bra and removed it. His lips immediately went to your breast, latching onto a nipple biting gently. 

“Bryan… please,” you moaned as his beard scratched your sensitive skin.

He released your breast with a pop and asked, “What do you want?” He moved his mouth to play with the other nipple, waiting for your response. 

“I… I want more,” you breathed out. 

“More what, Dear?” Bryan countered. 

“More of you please,” you begged. 

“That can be arranged,” he replied as he bent down and threw you over one of his shoulders. 

“BRYAN!” you gasped out in surprise. “What are you doing? I’m too heavy to carry!”

Bryan laughed, “Obviously not.” He carried you to his bedroom and tossed you on the bed. He looked at you with a smirk as he ran his hands down your legs then removed your shoes and stockings, tossing them to the floor. 

“Hmm, what do we have here?” he teased, running a finger over your wet panties. He grabbed the band and pulled them down your legs. He brought them to his face and inhaled deeply. “Mmm. These are ruined,” he groaned as he stuffed them in his pocket. 

You watched, captivated, as he undressed. That is until he was finally naked in front of you. “Oh my god,” an edge of worry laced your voice as you stared at his monstrous cock. He stroked it a few times to draw out your worry a bit. 

“Normally, I’d have you on your knees in front of me now but I’m suddenly very hungry. Spread your legs open wide for me, Babe,” Bryan ordered. 

Bryan climbed on the bed and licked the moisture from the inside of one of your thighs. “You’re so wet for me,” he growled. He moved up to look in your eyes as he cupped your pussy. “This is mine tonight and you’re mine. Do you understand, slut?” 

Under his spell, you moaned, “Yes, sir.” 

He ravished you with kisses as he worked his way down your body, leaving marks as he went. Your breasts, stomach, and thighs were bombarded with Bryan’s attention. You grew wetter with the anticipation of Bryan's hungry mouth on your pussy. 

“Please, Bryan," you whined, frustrated by your needy clit. 

He smiled, "Not yet, Y/N.” He knew he was in charge. 

He surprised you by grabbing one of your feet. You did not see the tie in his hand until he started tying it around your ankles. Using the tie as a handle he lifted your legs back exposing your swollen pussy. 

“Grab the tie with both of your hands. Do not let go,” he commanded. 

“Yes, sir,” you replied, grabbing the silky fabric. 

Once your hands were in place, Bryan wasted no time attacking your pussy with his mouth. He moaned as he licked you from end to end. He sucked your clit into his mouth as he plunged a finger inside of you. He slowly added more fingers to fuck you with. “We’ve got to make sure you can take this cock,” he teased.

You were so consumed by the pleasure that you found it difficult to maintain your hold on the tie. When Bryan added a fourth finger, you could no longer contain it. You called out his name as you came on his fingers. He removed his fingers but continued licking you throughout your orgasm. 

When you jerked away for him, he sat up and untied your legs. He moved to kiss your lips as he lowered your legs back to the bed. You held him tight while kissing him back. You could taste yourself in his kiss. You moaned. 

Bryan broke the kiss and smirked, “I don’t remember giving you permission to cum, naughty girl. I’ll forgive you this once since I didn’t tell you to ask beforehand. Don’t let it happen again.”

“Yes, sir!” you panted. 

“Now I want you on your hands and knees so I can fuck you,” he instructed. 

You hurry to turn over and assume the desired position. You look over your shoulder at Bryan as he rolled a condom on. “Please. I need you inside of me. I need you, Bryan,” you pleaded. 

Bryan gave you a look you did not recognize. He paused to look at you because no one had ever said they needed him before. You stared back, but when you wiggled your ass, Bryan snapped back into gear. 

He lined his cock up with your opening after coating it in your wetness. “Remember to not cum until I tell you to. You’re a good little slut. I know you’re going to take my cock so well,” he pushed into you slowly enjoying the tight heat of your core around his cock. 

You let out a breath you did not realize you were holding when he was finally buried inside you. “You’re so big. I feel so full,” you whimpered. 

Bryan pulled out then thrusted back in. He slowly built up speed and force after you begged him to fuck you harder. 

“You want it hard and fast, baby?” he asked, grabbing your hips. 

“Please! Yesss,” you answered. 

As Bryan was pounding into you, he moved one of his hands to smack your ass. 

You clenched around him in response, “Ohhhhh! Do that again!”

“Does my dirty girl like having her ass spanked? I should have bent you over my knee,” Bryan said while spanking your ass some more.

“I’m so close! May I cum, sir? Please!” you implored. 

Bryan grabbed your hair and pulled you up until your back pressed against his chest. “Are you ready to cum on my cock, Baby?” he whispered in your ear. 

“Yessssss,” you hissed in pleasure. 

“Cum for me, Y/N!” he demanded. He felt his own release coming when you screamed his name and your pussy clenched around him. After a few more thrust, Bryan came, growling your name. 

You both fell to the bed. Bryan’s sweaty body collapsed on top of yours with him still inside you. As Bryan started to withdraw, you stopped him. “That was amazing! Can we stay like this awhile longer?” you asked. Because you were not sure if you would ever get to see Bryan again, you wanted to enjoy him for as long as possible. The press of his weight was comforting after the most intense sexual experience of your life. 

“Sure,” he answered and settled back on top of you. Bryan never did this. He never cuddled or actually slept with any of the people he brought home. He thought about how good it felt to be inside of you as he tried to clear his mind. 

Bryan slowly pulled out of you and moved to throw the condom away then walked into the bathroom. As much as you wanted to just go to sleep, you knew you needed to leave so you do not come across as the clingy type. When Bryan came back out from cleaning up, he noticed you already had your dress back on as you stuffed your bra and stockings into your purse. He stared at you with a slightly confused look on his face. You gave him a smile and a kiss on the cheek as you walked past him into the bathroom to clean up.

Bryan sat on the bed trying to figure out his confused thoughts. As soon as he saw that you were dressing to go home, he got an odd feeling in his chest. He had to kick out many of the women he brought home with him. But he was pretty sure he did not like the idea of you leaving. This was totally new territory for him. Truthfully, you did not fit into his world at all, but he had never felt any connection before like he did with you… and the sex was phenomenal. 

As you left the bathroom, you noticed Bryan sitting on the bed and walked over to stand in front of him. He looked up at you, putting his hands on your hips. You stepped forward to run your fingers through his hair. “My Uber will be here in twenty minutes then I’ll be out of your hair literally and figuratively,” you chuckled but Bryan did not react. “I can go wait downstairs if you want,” you offered, thinking he was tired of you being there. He did not seem like the type who wanted his lovers to linger. 

“No,” he answered quickly. “You can stay here if you want. It’s very late,” he said, trying to make it sound like he did not really care one way or the other. 

You tilted your head, “I can but only if you really want me to.”

Damn it! Bryan thought while growling out, “Cancel the Uber.” As he said this, he grabbed the bottom of your dress and stood up while pulling the material up and off your body for the second time. You grabbed your phone to cancel the car. 

“Hop in bed, Baby,” Bryan told you while pulling down the blanket. Bryan turned off the lamp and crawled in behind you, spooning up against your back. He wrapped his arms around you and whispered, “I really never do this kind of thing.”

“I believe you,” you whispered back, hiding your smile.

[dylawa]

So @allmightluver​ made this FANTASTIC analysis into All Might’s character [Here] and how the current Manga arc (chapters ~300-305) really shows how he’s going through it, and, if you have the time to read it, I by all means am begging you to go read and reblog that post instead. But, for my own small-brained sake, I asked for their permission to create an abbreviated version of their post (which is still “long,” but it’s not a whole fanfic’s length long. It’s brilliant as it is! I am just weak).

This literally is just a rephrased edition of a much larger, more in-depth piece; it’s the equivalent of reading a book’s synopsis over the book itself, so GO. READ IT.

But, to those that are still here, this is a Thing about All Might. Again, all of this is just rephrased from @allmightluver​‘s [original post]; I kept most of the original context; maybe I’ll do a follow-up reblog with my own thoughts.

From as early as Toshinori’s childhood, to as late as his young teenage years, literally all he ever wanted was to be a hero people could see and know, “Everything is going to turn out okay, no matter how bad the situation is.” Many other heroes of the time, and even into current day BNHA, generally had other reasons for pursuing the line of work, but not him. There was no yearning for fame, lust for money, or a power trip, or anything like that. The only thing he wanted out of being a hero, was to get people to smile. To feel safe.

It’s not common for a 14 year old to come to this conclusion, so it’s pretty safe to assume Toshinori didn’t have the best childhood, whether that’s in his own personal life, or he really just had no filter between his home life, and the world of heroes and villains. Being Quirkless probably played a huge factor in all of that.

But then, what about Izuku? He was Quirkless, right? Here’s the thing: He had All Might to look up to. Toshinori? Nobody. Yes, Izuku had some of the same roadblocks, but All Might inspired him to keep going. There isn’t much to imply that Toshinori had a similar relationship to Nana when they first crossed paths, and hero culture was less of a fashion show than it is currently.

Nana was only able to mentor Toshinori for a few short years before she was brutally murdered, right in front of him, and after that, all he had was Gran Torino, who wasn’t exactly benevolent teacher material-- vicious enough that, even as an older man, Toshinori had severe reservations about speaking with him again; but back then, he was one of the only people that knew the pain he went through in losing Nana, not to mention knowledge of One for All itself. And even then, Torino instructed him to leave the country, once again leaving Toshinori all alone to figure out things for himself until he could confidently return to Japan.

And when he did come back, he had his work cut out for him; there was a lot of work to be done to get society as “surface-level gleaming” as it was under All Might’s thumb, and we see some of that in Vigilantes; staying up for days on end to save people, stop villains, and repair structural damage. He even falls asleep mid-jump at one point, because that’s all the time for rest he can squeeze in. But, by this point, the power of One For All has lead the public, and even other heroes to believe, that All Might has it under control; he doesn’t need help, or at least, nothing more than what they’re already giving. And sure, Endeavor did his part, but that was for him; he just wanted to surpass All Might, not help him.

Now, after his gruesome injury, Toshinori no longer has that ability to save people like he used to. He spent years doing nothing but serving the world, fighting an unseen force that nearly tore him in half, to the point that that evil force should have died, and, even after all of that, thinking he had won, that it was over, Nighteye still promised his untimely demise, before abandoning him for continuing to push himself as his organs threatened to fall out of his body. But, even if AFO was “gone,” there was still a whole other world of villains to deal with; the worst threat was gone, but that didn’t mean the world was safe.

And the only person who could maintain that peace, was All Might. Now, he was under pressure of a ticking clock. So, he kept going.

Which, of course, turned him into what we saw in the beginning of the manga/anime. He has a whole slew of physical issues that are only exacerbated by his lack of self care in favor of pushing himself as hard as he can to keep up his hero work, and because of that, he’s completely ruined his health outside of the All Might persona. The man is practically rotting from the inside out, and, though at first no one knows it’s All Might, people on the street look at this ghastly figure, and they know it. And he knows they know it. Could you imagine the stress he swallows down, knowing, one day, they will find out the truth?

And, let’s not forget how, once Nighteye left, Toshinori was left alone with his paperwork. Eventually, Tsukauchi took over, but that was only because Toshinori let it slip in a moment of deep stress just who he was. But, in the timespan between, it was all up to Toshinori to handle those things, on top of his hero work, and the bare-minimum of whatever he was doing to keep himself alive.

This part, I’m just quoting from @allmightluver​‘s post verbatim:

“People blame him for not preparing society for his retirement, that he failed in passing on the torch so to speak, but in reality he did everything possible to keep society from falling for 40 years, doing all within his power just to keep things afloat. He is only one person. One human being, he can’t do everything despite trying to. Society failed All Might.”

Some people in fandom say he sucks as a teacher, but first of all, do you remember who he had as a teacher? I’d say he’s leaps and bounds above Torino. Not to mention, he’s never been a teacher before, and he never planned to pass on OFA again. And just because someone’s a bad teacher (which, he could be worse), doesn’t mean they’re not smart: he’s got a 6/6 intelligence score. Which definitely doesn’t help when Izuku does something to hurt himself with his Quirk that he gave to him. He could very well think it’s his own fault.

And we haven’t even touched up on Dave yet! This man literally staged a hostage situation so he could get his hands on banned technology to try to extend All Might’s time, and hurt so many people in the process. There’s another friend gone.

And then, All For One comes back. A man Toshinori swore he killed. And then he has to fight him in front of the world, having his weakness exposed, and then being told this villain is grooming Nana’s grandson-- someone Toshinori failed to save, didn’t even know needed saving, because he didn’t know the kid existed. And he doesn’t get time to process that; he has to pretend he’s fine, even while he’s shown in this failing human form to the world, to stop AFO once more at great personal cost.

And then, OFA leaves him.

And then he has to deal the the ordeal of being human while Bakugo blames himself for it, while Nighteye dies and confesses he’s happy after all these years to see him on his last words, while watching Endeavor struggle with one Nomu on live television, while watching Bakugo almost take over the burden of carrying OFA, and, despite all of these horrible things occurring... he still confesses to his acquaintance, Aizawa, that he’s “decided to live.” Like it’s another burden to take on. How can this man not be horribly suffering deep down inside? We don’t see the extent of it, because he trained for so long to keep it buried deep down, and it’s harder as Toshinori than it was as All Might, but he’s still got severe trauma and chronic physical conditions that will last the rest of his life. And, yes, people made him promise to live, but only he “decided” he would do so.

And then, he does research into the OFA holders, and finds a gruesome secret. He could have sealed Izuku’s fate to an early grave, not just because of the nature of hero work, but because OFA users have what seems to be a natural predisposition to die early (due to those who previously had quirks being given OFA having their lifespan shortened because of it; Toshinori doesn’t know the full truth yet).

And pretty much right after he finds out that information, the world implodes on itself. Villains win a critical fight, and run amok. People are dying. Heroes are quitting. They blame him. The heroes that do remain can barely handle the load. Some even die. AFO escapes prison, Izuku is in critical condition-- everything he worked for for forty years, disintegrates overnight. Everything he did to himself in pursuit of a peaceful society meant nothing. And, he can feel his vestige within One For All, which isn’t a good sign.

Time is running out.

And he may not even die happy.

“People don’t credit All Might enough for everything he’s done. Most don’t realize the sacrifices he’s made. His character is so unbelievably profound and deep, it’s more than just the “I am here!” people focus on. He’s a deeply troubled, layered, complex character. And I can’t find fault within him.”

[wu-sisyphus-gang]

Motion Sickness 40

pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq

Damn Jaune.

I thought.

And damn myself for getting comfortable.

It was a sad thought. One of valedictions rather than of true cursing.

But I started to like him…

It was a thought of denial, one born of protest.

I was saying goodbye to Ren and Nora. We cremated them and had a short ceremony. Long funerals were mostly frowned upon across Remnant for the negativity such things tended to gather.

It hurt, more than saying goodbye to my father ever had. These were my family. These were my friends and I'd never hear their voices again. Ren and Nora had no family for us to send messages too, though we would have. They had no ancestral homes to be buried at. They were orphans. All they had were Jaune and Pyrrha and they were gone now too.

I missed Nora's bubbly personality and Ren's stoicism. I missed sitting with them for meals. I missed watching them dance around the others' feelings. So obvious to the rest of us, they never had time to explore one another.

"Our time is fleeting," Ozpin officiated. "Time always seems short. Even to me." He gave an empty laugh. None of us echoed it.

He opened the cremation jar and emptied it into the wind. Jaune should have been here for it. Instead he was bringing the relic to Salem. He should be here to collect their weapons. Instead it was Ruby who held onto them during the ceremony.

Titania wasn't heavy but those weapons sure were. I didn't envy Ruby who seemed to want to carry them. Nora's hammer which Yang seemed content to hold on to for our travels was neatly folded up. She attached it to her belt and put it behind her. As the bruisers of our teams, Yang and Nora had been fairly close.

I received one half of Stormflower from Ruby. I wasn't sure what to do with it. I didn't need a gun but it felt wrong that they should never see use again.

It was wrong.

Jaune should be here to take it. He would know what to do with the weapons. Even if it was just to have them buried.

Amongst the mayhem and chaos Mistral represented Jaune had been like a rock. Sturdy and absolute. In every situation he'd known what to do. Real confidence had been in his heart rather than the false stuff he'd tried to show off freshman year. It was little wonder then, why Ruby lashed herself to him. And now it seemed Ruby was sinking and there was nothing I could do about it.

She was in love with Jaune, our problem child. As little as we knew what to do about Nora and Ren, we knew even less what to do about Jaune.

Ozpin was convinced Jaune was some kind of sleeper agent and not a full blown traitor which only seemed to make things more complicated. If he was a traitor I'd at least know how to classify him. Instead it didn't even seem to be his fault. Well it was and it wasn't. Ruby was fully in his camp but that was always going to be the case, dating or not. She believed in her friends. It was hard to find a fault in her for that.

So I didn't.

Instead I admired it. Arguably she should have been hurt the most, instead she seemed almost ready. Ready for what I wasn't sure. She was adamant that we'd run into Jaune again. It was hard to fault her instincts either. Not when they'd led her so far.

She also didn't want to be felt sorry for. I respected that, too. Lords only know that if it had been me, I'd be in pieces.

I packed Stormflower in my briefcase, carefully wrapping it in cloth. I clicked the briefcase shut over it and tried not to think about it.

"Hard to believe they're all gone." Blake leaned by the door of Yang and my room.  

"JNPR is over. Felt just like that." Yang snapped her fingers. "Could have been us."

I shivered. "It basically was us. But for a chess piece at initiation."

"I don't want to think about that," Blake confessed. "RWBY is still whole."

"The girl or the team 'cause my sister hasn't handled this the best."

"Right. Our team, I suppose," Blake elaborated. "But she traveled with them, right? She was close to them all. Not even counting Jaune."

"They called it Team RNJR or JNRR," I said.

"Sounds painful."

"Like when our team was fractured," Yang said pointedly.

"Right." Blake sounded sheepish. "Except we came back together."

"Did we?" Yang asked. Her eyes red, and not just from tears. There beat a rage filled drum in her voice and it showed in her eyes.

"Well…" Blake trailed off.

"Really? You want to do this now?" I asked.

"Why not now? Should I let the cuts heal only to peel off the scab again?"

"I suppose." I granted. I didn't particularly like it, though. Our friends were barely in the ground, so to speak.

"You left us Blake. You left me. I was as partner-less as Jaune! I thought I'd never see you again. And the worst part was it was your decision. You didn't want to be around me."

"I-"

"You didn't even ask me if I'd go with you!"

I felt like an intruder. On the outside looking in as I knelt by my bed. I wasn't of course. And I could almost feel both of them expecting me to take their side. Yang's aura flared, a bright light in the room where Blake's seemed to cowl in on itself. A darkness that layered over again.

"I needed space. I needed time! Sun-"

"So what? Sun's good enough and I'm not?!"

"For your information he followed me. He didn't ask for my permission, he just came with me. I almost stabbed him over it." Blake anxiously pushed some hair behind her ear. Her human ear. "What happened to you was my fault. Adam came for me."

"Your crazy ex you never told me about? I thought we were past not telling each other things."

"I was trying to keep you safe! To protect you!"

"It didn't work!" Yang waved her prosthesis in Blake's face. "Ignorance may be bliss but it's not safe."

Point Yang. I was in her camp for that one. I was certainly tired of other people deciding what was best for me. I was way past that. It's why I supported her when she demanded that Ozpin be open with us.

"I'm sorry! I just couldn't bear the thought of you looking at me with hatred in your heart." Blake was crying. "Over this or over anything."

"Blake…" Yang protested. "I'd never do that to you. I just thought we were at a point where we'd struggle together. Even through the Whitefang stuff. Your problems are my problems. The way Jaune and my sister did. The way Ruby and Weiss are."

"I thought you'd hate me."

"I'd never hate you, Blake. I couldn't pull it off." Yang's aura looked distinctly cooler. Blake rubbed one arm with the other and wouldn't meet Yang's eyes. Couldn't.

"Is everything alright in here?" It was Ruby at the door. She already had her duffle bag in hand. Aside from that she was wearing Jaune's old hoodie. I guess she's gone through his things now that he was gone and found something she liked.

"We were just talking about when Blake left us," Yang answered.

"Ah," Ruby mumbled. "And is it…"

"We're getting somewhere," Blake said. "Thank you Ruby."

Ruby hovered at the door a moment longer before she said, "well I should…"

"Of course." Blake murmured. "Whatever you need."

I watched her go before I picked up my things. "Weiss?" Yang asked.

"You fools," I muttered. I followed Ruby. She didn't want to be excluded. It was the opposite of what she needed right now.

"They didn't mean anything by it." I caught up to Ruby and took her by the hand.

"I know."

"With everything else that's going on they just don't want to bother you with it."

"I know."

"It wasn't anything besides that."

"I know." I didn't feel anything from Ruby other than a quiet patience. I didn't get the sense that she was annoyed or flustered. In fact, her aura seemed reserved too. I could still taste the cinnamon and roses.

"We're all just worried about you."

She nodded. "I know. I…" She was masking and I hated to see it. I missed her energy. Her aura barely extended beyond her skin. If I wasn't touching her I doubt I'd have been able to feel it. It was a silenced, withdrawn thing.

"Are you feeling better today?" I asked.

"Not really I'm -um…" she trailed off.

"You just miss them. I know," I breathed.

She nodded. "We all do."

"But you feel so much more than most. Don't be afraid to talk to me. Ever. Please," I begged.

She wiped her hand across her face and took some silvery tears. "Everyone's treating me like I'm made of glass. And I am… and I am, but…"

I nodded and waited for her to get a head on her emotions.

"I'm not any more than anyone else should be." She finished at length. "And they're fighting."

"Yang felt like she had to," I said.

"Maybe she did. She's a fighter. She…" Ruby trailed off again and wiped some more of her tears away. "I want to go to sleep. I just want to sleep this away." She mumbled miserably.

I kissed her forehead. The kiss was not quick but held no passion.

"That's depression."

"Is it?" She asked.

"Yes. Little energy. It can be a symptom."

"I guess if you look at it like a sickness…"

"It is a sickness."

"That's very Weiss of you." She gave me a giggle and I felt a tidal wave of relief. The noise was quiet and simple.

"Well thank you." I managed. She traced her hand over the skin of one of my arms and I shivered.

"You've got goosebumps," she murmured.

"Well-I…" I cleared my throat and mastered myself. "Have you finished packing?"

She nodded. "I'm all set."

"Then we're just waiting on Yang and Blake now."

"They'll be ready before it's time to leave." She mumbled again. "Weiss, about the plan..."

"Me going on ahead, you mean."

"Yeah. I really don't like it."

"Me neither," I whispered. "But it might be the only way to get through to Ironwood. And it's only assuming Ozpin can't pass a message on to him using code."

"But if communication was up and running, they could do it from here. You'll be the message bearer Weiss. And I don't want to be split up from you."

"I know. I know. I'll miss you too Ruby."

"I wish Jaune were here," she confessed. "He'd come up with a plan."

"I'm sure you do. I bet he would, too. He was cunning like that."

"Is. He's not dead."

"Of course, I only meant…"

"I know," She muttered again. I found myself touching her face. The tips of my fingers grazing her cheeks and I watched in a sort of sick fascination as she leaned into the touch. Eyes closed. "I'm worried about you, Weiss."

"I'll be with the greatest military force on Remnant."

"That doesn't make you safe."

"What does safety even mean? Salem has a long reach. We thought Jaune was safe. I promise I'll be as safe as I can be." She reached up and pressed my hand against her face at that.

"And you'll stay away from your father."

"And… yes. I'll avoid him at all costs."

"Your sister… is she nice to you?" Ruby asked. "I only saw a little back at Beacon. I wasn't sure what to make of it."

A difficult question. Winter was always distant but that didn't put her in the same category as my father or brother. Or even my mother.

"Yes, I think so."

"Stay with her, then."

"What if Ironwood only lets Oscar through, though?" I let an unbidden fear out into the wild. I wanted it to be dissuaded. "What if he keeps you all back?"

"He won't. He works with Qrow too. At which point…"

"Right. That makes sense." I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Plus if you talk about knowing about the relics..." She sighed into my touch. She let out a little humming sound and smiled for what felt like the first time in years, though it had only been days. "Everything will be okay."

I nodded. "Everything will be fine."

"Ladies." Qrow came in on mechanical legs. "I'm not interrupting something, am I?" His gait was too smooth, his strides too even. It belied his mechanical nature.

He seemed to be genuinely asking and I took a step away from Ruby as though caught in some act. "We were just…" I trailed off.

"We were just talking about the mission," Ruby said.

"Ah, the mission." It was Oscar. Or maybe Ozpin. Probably Ozpin. "There's always more to discuss, and if I may, more to discuss about Jaune."

"He has the relic," Ruby went on.

"That he does. And he is a cunning mind second to none. I'm sure, given enough time, he will learn to use the relic. Which, I confess, is a little terrifying. And he only seemed to be growing stronger from my perspective."

"When he was at Beacon he was so weak, by the time he turned he was the strongest of us. And you're right, it was like with each day he was getting better," I muttered. "Limit Breaker… it was aptly named. It seemed like he was pushing himself every single day."

"Yes. I'm afraid of what he will be in Salem's hands. You knew him best Ruby. I'd like a moment of your time to talk it over with you."

"The kid's smart but his options are limited. We weren't sure what his next move will be. Whether we should report him to the police or not." Qrow said.

"I'm… I'm not sure. I never thought he'd turn on us. Turn on me."

"Well, now that he did, we need to come up with a plan." Qrow grumbled. He took a swig of his flask. "Whether that's keeping a watch out for him ourselves or reporting him."

"Yes… the relic may already be in Salem's hands. You may be happy to hear the Malachite reported seeing him, acting and walking about. She gave up this information freely to us. She seemed afraid of him."

Ruby did seem happy to hear that. "Then we've confirmed he's alive? And Malachite is watching out for him?"

"Only smart of her. The kid was strong, and fast." Qrow muttered as an afterthought.

"Is. You all keep talking about him in the past tense." Ruby said with some heat.

"Of course, Ms. Rose. You still believe in his innocence, then?"

"You were the one who came up with the theory of him being a sleeper agent, weren't you?"

"Only as a plausible. It may be that he saw now with the relic as the opportune moment to strike at us." Ozpin said. "We had an interesting conversation before he left. On why I let him into my school. He claimed that I only let him in because I thought he was Salem's agent. It could merely have been mind games, but it was enough to make me doubt that he was acting of his own volition when he took the relic. His possible status as a victim in all this remains only that, a possibility. More importantly, however, if he were a sleeper agent that still makes him a threat to us. He is still allied against us."

"Jaune'll lay low. If he doesn't want us to find him then we won't. He's too smart for that," Ruby managed. I rubbed her back with one hand. Actually talking and being involved seemed to be doing her some real good. Who was I to shut it down? This was more energy than I'd seen from her in days.

"Then the relic is truly lost to us. We put out feelers just in case but…" Ozpin shrugged. "We'll have to manage to keep the remaining relics out of her hands. And an ear to the ground where Jaune is concerned. In the longest term, however, the relic of knowledge is perhaps the most dangerous relic she could have acquired first. And Jaune is very dangerous. As dangerous as any of Salem's other agents."

Ruby's fists tightened by her sides.

"A question, Ms. Rose?"

"I have questions for Jaune, not for you."

"My apologies, then."

"You need to face the facts kido. He killed two of his so-called friends."

"Qrow, now may not be the time…" Ozpin began.

"What is it you think you know about him that I don't?" Ruby demanded. "Why wasn't the opportune moment all the times we were alone together?"

"That's easy. He didn't have his hands on a relic, then." Qrow grunted. He seemed as angry as Ruby was. That he didn't catch Jaune before. That he was weaker now than he used to be.

Ruby bristled at her uncle. Fists clenching and unclenching by her sides.

"You think he saw he shot and just took it?" I asked. "That's what you think of him?"

"It's as I said, a plausibility. And being forgiving on him for it will do us no favors." Ozpin said. "Jaune is brutal."

"Jaune is kind!" Ruby almost shouted. "He is sweet!"

"You have another explanation for what happened then?" Ozpin asked.

"We don't. Not yet." I said. I was backing Ruby. Nobody deserved it quite like my partner did. She would have my back. She had Jaune's back even when the odds seemed stacked against him.

"Then I'm afraid we will have to operate as though he is our enemy. We can't afford the risk."

"I'll show you. I'll find what I need to to prove you wrong!"

"Ms. Rose I very much hope that you do."

pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq

-WG

[coyotesongwriting]

Confessions - Ch. 1

Chapter 1 - Vegas

Story Summary:   You’ve never been able to deny Nat anything, so when she asks if you can take the long way back from your mission in Los Angeles you agree. The problem is, you’re hopelessly in love with her and she has no idea. How are you going to survive a week alone in a car with her?

Word Count: 2883

Author’s Note: I needed a cute happy fic with no real angst and I feel like Nat deserved it 

Disclaimer: I don’t own the characters so don’t sue me please. I just really like them haha

“Pleaseeee [Y/N]!”

With a groan you threw yourself back on the motel bed, trying desperately to zone out Nat. Ever since you’d found your way back to the cheap motel you’d been staying in for the last week, she’d been begging you almost non-stop to take a road trip back to the tower. 

“Nat, no. You know we have to get back” you buried your face in the pillow as she collapsed onto the bed next to you.

“Please? My birthday’s this weekend and it would be so perfect.”

You picked your head up from the pillow and raised one eyebrow, “I seem to remember we had a party and all of that for your birthday about four months ago.”

“Yeah, alright. But, I have an idea. If I can get both Fury and Steve to give us the time off, then can we?” her voice was pleading as she shot you her best puppy dog eyes.

You never could say no to her, but when she gave you that look you knew you were done for. Normally you’d have jumped at the chance to spend some time alone with her in a car, no one looking over your shoulder, no mission hanging over your head. Lately though, you’d come to realize that your crush on Nat wasn’t just a crush. Nope, you were head over heels for her, and you hadn’t even realized until Clint of all people pointed it out to you just a few days ago. 

“Fine. If they both agree, then we can drive back, okay?” you sighed dramatically, focusing on the fact they would likely shoot her down and you’d be off the hook. 

~~~~~

The next morning you were woken by a very excited Nat, they had approved your time off and today you’d get to start your road trip home instead of taking the flight back you’d been expecting. You hadn’t really believed she’d be able to get permission with all of the new problems Hydra had been causing, so the reality of the situation hadn’t hit you until the two of you were climbing into the Subaru Crosstrek she’d rented. You were going to be alone, in a car, with the woman you’d just realized you loved, for a week. It was hard enough hiding your feelings from her on a daily basis, but now you’d be together nonstop. 

Nat’s excitement was infectious and you hadn’t been on the road for twenty minutes before you were singing along with her to whatever was on the radio. As you sang along, you tried to convince yourself that just because you now knew you were in love with her it didn’t mean anything had to change. Above all, the two of you were really close friends and you wouldn’t risk losing that or her by speaking up unless you knew she felt otherwise.

It wasn’t until you’d been driving through the desert for an hour that you realized you had no idea where you were even going. When you turned to ask her, the question faded from your lips at the sight of her. She drove with the window down, the warm desert air rustling the hairs that had slipped from the messy bun she’d put her hair up in. You were too distracted by the way the sunlight seemed to dance across her to notice when she glanced over at you.

“You okay over there?” she asked, a playful smile lighting up her face as she kept her eyes on the road.

“Yeah, uh, sorry. I was just realizing I don’t actually know where we’re going right now?” you laughed. 

“Vegas. What better way to kick off our trip than a little bit of debauchery,” she smirked, glancing away from the road just long enough to wink at you.

“What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” 

The drive passed quickly, miles seeming to fly by in the blink of an eye. You took turns playing songs - well, technically you played all the songs but Nat was telling you what to play on her turns and at one point you basically made a competition to see who could come up with the best new lyrics. You both refused to admit defeat, claiming you’d been the winner. You’d eventually had to change the subject to keep the peace.

Before you even knew it, you could see Vegas in the distance. In the daylight, the city looked like a completely different place than you were used to seeing. You’d passed through Vegas quite a few times on missions with the team, but you’d never been able to come solely to have fun and you were excited to see what the city had to offer when you weren’t working undercover. 

You studied the people on the sidewalks as you drove down the strip, “So, how thought out is this trip?” 

“What do you mean?” Nat asked curiously.

“Well, I mean you knew you wanted to come here first. Do you have destinations in mind for every night? Hotels?” you’d always been a bit of a planner, it’s what made you good at your job, but that meant the idea of not having a set plan slightly stressed you out.

“Oh I have a plan, but it’s a secret,” she explained as she pulled into the valet parking area of the Bellagio, “You’ll just have to trust me.”

“I always trust you, Nat” 

“Well, that’s not true. Remember the time in - “

“Shut up! That was one time” you laughed, throwing a chip at her before you climbed out of the car. 

Inside, Nat checked you into a hotel room she’d apparently had time to book at some point while you looked around. In the years since joining the Avengers, you’d gotten used to spending time in fancy places but you never forgot the tiny midwest town you’d grown up in. 

During the ride up to the hotel room, you turned to Nat, “Let me know how much I owe you so we can split everything.”

Nat merely smirked and held up a black credit card, “Don’t worry about it. Tony’s got us covered.”

“Does Tony know he's footing the bill?”

“Not yet.” 

Nat had booked a room with two queen-sized beds overlooking the fountain, and you claimed the bed closest to the window. The air conditioner was closer to that side of the room and Nat wasn’t a big fan of the air blowing on her while she slept. It was a routine you’d fallen into years ago on your first solo mission with her. In less than a month you’d stayed in 12 different rooms, so the two of you were more than comfortable in a hotel room by now. 

As soon as your bags were put away, Nat led you from the room. Your first stop was the hotel bar where your drinking began. Whenever you tried to ask her what the plan was or where to next, she merely ignored you. By the time you finished your first drink, you’d given up and accepted your fate. 

For an hour and a half, you drank in the bar, trading stories of missions you’d shared with the others, tales of life before the Avengers, anything and everything that came to mind. There was never a dull moment, no awkward silences as you spoke. After your third drink, Nat looked down at her watch and paid the bill.

“Come on, it’s time for the next activity. We have a schedule to keep to.” Before you could protest or even question her, you were being pulled out. You’d tried to protest when you ended up in a trendy boutique.

“I have clothes. I don’t need anything, and this place looks insanely expensive.”

“Come on [Y/N]. You expect me to believe that when you packed for a mission in the desert, you packed for Vegas nightlife? Besides, Tony’s paying, remember?” 

“Nat -” she cut you off with a raise of her hand before you could even get started.

“Just try some stuff on, okay? Give it a try” her voice was a half step above a plea and you sighed before giving in.

It took almost two hours for you both to find the perfect outfit. When Nat had stepped out of the fitting room in a skin-tight little black dress you’d forgotten how to speak for a moment. The neckline accented her curves perfectly, but what really got you was the dip of the back. It came to a stop only an inch or two above her butt. When she turned in a slow circle in front of you, you suddenly found the idea of not crossing the line and telling her how you feel very difficult. 

You’d stammered out a compliment and when she went to find the perfect necklace to pair with the dress, you’d shot Clint a quick text.

‘I think she’s trying to kill me’

It took a long moment before he responded

‘If she really was trying, you’d be dead.’

After you picked out the perfect outfit and you had both paid using Tony’s credit card, you made your way back to the hotel room. 

“Be ready to leave in an hour and a half, okay?” she warned you as she headed towards the shower.

“Do I get to know where we’re going yet?” 

“Nope.”

“Then how can I truly get ready.”

“Just shut up and get ready for a night out” Nat laughed, throwing a washcloth at you as she shut the bathroom door.

Exactly an hour and a half later, the two of you were climbing into a taxi out front. Apparently, the first stop of the night was going to be dinner at EDO Gastro Tapas & Wine. It was a quick drive to Chinatown and when you strolled in, you were greeted by a gorgeous mural on the back wall. You weren't sure when she had the time, but Nat had made reservations at some point as when you walked in, you were immediately seated.

“When did you even have time to make all these plans?!” you chuckled as you took a seat across from her.

“Do you even know how long I’ve been planning this trip?” Nat smirked, as she took a sip of water. 

“No, no I guess I don’t” you laughed, “So how long?”

“Longer than I care to admit” she winked.

The conversation flowed smoothly and before long you’d ordered drinks and their 10-course tasting menu. You both had tears in your eyes from laughing so hard about Clint’s latest prank on Sam by the time the first course arrived. 

“I love the idea of making Tony foot the bill for our trip, but I do feel a little bad” you admitted over the third course.

“Would it make you feel any better if I told you that Pepper’s the one who told me to use the card and has made all the reservations?” 

“Wait, really?” 

“Yeah, I mean, I knew where I wanted to go but she’s the one who made all the calls and all that.” 

“We gotta make sure we get her a really good souvenir then.”

Nat raised an eyebrow playfully, “We’re going to use her money to get her a ‘really good souvenir’?” 

“Shut up” you chuckled, “When you put it that way it sounds really bad.”

“Just pointing out the truth!” 

Dinner flew by, and you had to fight so many times to not reach out and take her hand. Her laughter was infectious, and as she spoke you hung on every word. After you paid for dinner, using Tony’s card, of course, Nat called another taxi and away you went to your next destination.

Your next stop was a show called Absinthe at Caesars Palace. The crowd was a fascinating mix of people, and as you walked in you studied the performers. As you walked in, you saw women dressed as burlesque dancers, men in traditional circus outfits, and a variety of people in revealing clothing.

“I have to ask, what in the world are we doing here?” 

Nat turned to you, her face lit up in a smile. “Okay, so I found out about this show in the New York Times. They said ‘Imagine Cirque du Soleil as channeled through The Rocky Horror Picture Show’ and I’ve always wanted to go but I never got the chance.”

Nat’s hand found it’s way into yours and she pulled you along, dragging you to the front row seats. Your heart stopped when her fingers linked with yours and you felt your pulse began to race. It was different this time, her touch. It was different than her touch when you were in the field. There, every move every brush of fingers was calculated. Now it was a spur of the moment, her touching you because it was she wanted, not because she had to. It wasn’t just a job, not this time.

When you sat and her fingers slipped from yours, you felt immediately like the loss of the sun. Your hand started to follow hers like a flower chasing the sun, but you caught yourself right before they caught up. When you sat though, you sat together, close enough in your seats that your thighs brushed one another. 

The show was fantastic. Many times you found yourself almost doubled over in laughter with Nat, other times gasping when it looked like someone was going to fall and get hurt. All too soon, it was over and you were climbing out of your seats. For 90 minutes, you’d been in constant contact with Nat so when you stood, you couldn’t help but mourn the contact at first.

You didn’t even get the chance to ask where to next before Nat pulled you deeper into Cesar’s Palace. As you went along, you guys talked all about the show and shared your favorite parts. The way her eyes lit up when she spoke left a smile on your face you couldn’t help but love. 

As she led you through the doors of Omnia Nightclub, Nat turned to you “Okay, we have to be back to the room by 3am okay? We need to be on the road by 9 - it’s a 7-hour drive.”

“3am, Nat?! A 7-hour drive after this? Are you insane?” you laughed, weaving your way through the crowd to the bar.

“I never said this road trip would be boring, did I. No, we have a lot to do and only 10 days to do it!”

Three drinks later you were both on the dance floor, pressed together by the swirling crowd. Over the thump of the music and low hum of the crowd, you heard a woman call out for someone to stay away from her. 

When you turned, you found a woman being hassled by a nearby man. Apparently, he wasn’t taking no for an answer, and he had his hand wrapped around her upper arm. She tried to pull away from him but his hand didn’t let go. Nat and you immediately began to work your way over to her, and when Nat grabbed the man’s shoulder and forced him to let her go, you led the woman away from him. 

While you helped her find her friends in the crowded room, Nat made sure the man wouldn’t be an issue again after kneeing him in the groin and removing him from the club. You didn’t see the full extent of his injuries but as he left, he cradled his hand in his other and you could tell from the look on his face he was in quite a lot of pain. When the woman reassured you that she was okay and thanked you for your guys’ help, you headed towards the bar, Nat following you.

“She okay?” Nat asked, sliding into place by your side and ordering a drink.

“Yeah, she’s fine. She said she’s gonna be okay, she’s back with her friends now,” you ordered water, sobered up after the incident. 

By the time you left the club an hour later, Nat had had a few more drinks and was slightly drunk. Nat nestled into your side as you walked, and your arm draped over her shoulder, holding her tight to you. She rambled as you made your way back to the hotel room, and you listened as she told you all about how Clint had messed up the last mission they’d gone on together. 

When you got back to the hotel room, Nat stumbled into her pajamas and brushed her teeth while you stepped into the bathroom. The smell of Vegas clung to you, and you wanted nothing more than to wash the smoke scent from your hair and skin.

As you collapsed into your bed, you turned to see Nat passed out on hers. Her hair was spread out around her and she curled up into a ball, half asleep. With a low groan, you got to your feet and tucked her under the covers. When you crawled back into bed your mind just kept wandering back to what the rest of the trip was going to bring. How were you going to survive this without telling her how you felt? 

~~~~~

Next Chapter -> (releases 7/22/20)

Taglist OPEN:  @he-is-chaotic-she-is-psychotic @queenoftheunderdark @redfoxwritesstuff​ @brokenthelovely  @collinsstanharbour​ 

[sassyduckqueen]

One Bad Day- ML Prompts and One Shots 6

Whoo!! Finally did a Gotham/ ML crossover. The Valeska twins are my favorite characters from the show and I wanted to use my head cannon of them been the leaders of the jokerz gang in this so I did. Anyway, hope you guys like it :D Also warning Miss Bustier and Alya do not look good in this.

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

"Dupain-Cheng," Alya's voice made her look up from her sketchpad. She sighed softly to herself as Lila and Sabrina stood next to her. All three had their arms crossed and sour looks on their faces. Marinette frowned to herself. Since Lila came back to school, she had made up so much stuff and convinced almost everyone that Marinette was the devil incarnate, which caused most of her class to bully her. Alya especially. She had turned from Marinette's best friend to one of Marinette's worst tormentors. She was also as bad as Lila herself. While most of the class bullied her, a few people didn't join but they weren't on her side either. Juleka, Rose and Mylene withdrew back into themselves, clearly effected by Lila's backhand compliments. Chloe stopped bullying Marinette but didn't stop others. She did look towards Marinette at the back as if she wanted to say something but then she would look afraid and shake her head. Nino didn't join in with the bullying either but like Chloe, he said nothing. Adrien, on the other hand... well... he still had his head in the sand and believed that Lila's lies weren't hurting anyone. She did have a small number of friends outside of the class though. Luka, Kagami and to her surprise, Adrien's cousin Felix had all joined her side and she had a budding friendship developing with Aurora but it was in the early stages. Never the less, she had high hopes for it. With another sigh, she looked at Alya who was still glaring at her.

 "What did I do now?" She asked in a tired tone. Alya sneered, clearly not caring about her former best friend.

 "We want you to give up your role as class representative," Sabrina stated as Marinette yawned. Both Alya and Lila smirked. It was their punishment for Marinette not falling into line.

 "Yeah, you're useless at the job and we don't want a bully to be our class representative," Alya declared in a nasty manner. She believed that Marinette loved the job and would beg for them not to take it from her. She was wrong. As soon as the words left Sabrina's mouth, Marinette felt instantly relief. She had long since grown tired of been the class representative. Hell, at this point, she hand it back to Chloe with no questions asked.

 "Ok," She stated, making the three girls blink at her in surprise. "I'm too busy to continue as class representative anyway. I'll tell Miss Bustier,"

 With that, she grabbed her bags and walked over to the teacher's desk as she walked in. Miss Bustier smiled and looked at her.

 "Is everything ok, Marinette?"

"Everything is great," She replied, rolling her eyes. Nothing had been great since Lila returned and took over her class. Nothing had been great since she was forced to accommodate for a liar. Nothing was great since she had been declared a bully because she didn't want to be friends with hers. Miss Bustier frowned. "I resign as class representative,"

 "Marinette? Are you sure?" Miss Bustier asked, not wanting to lose her as the class representative. She was so organized and great at planning that Miss Bustier barely had to lift her finger to do any work.

 "Actually, it was Lila, Sabrina and Alya who told me that they want me to give up my role and honestly, I'm more then happy to so yeah, I resign," She smiled before walking back to her seat and sitting down before looking at the stunned girls. "There we go. I'm no longer class representative,"

 The class was stunned, along with Miss Bustier but she shook her head and smiled at her students.

 "As Marinette has decided to retire as class representative, we will need a new one," Miss Bustier stated, completely ignoring the fact that Alya, Lila and Sabrina basically forced Marinette to resign. "Does anyone want to volunteer?"

 "I will, Miss Busiter," Lila stated, holding up her hands. Miss Bustier smiled.

 "Anyone else?" She asked but no one else rose their hands. They all were thinking the same thing. Lila had lots of connections. Lila knew lots of celebrities. Lila was the best choice to be the class representative. "Ok, if no one else wants to run then I declare that Lila Rossi is our new class representative. Congratulations, Lila,"

 "Thank you, Miss Bustier," The Italian smiled sweetly as she looked at the class. "I promise to do my best. Alya, will you be my duty?"

 "Of course, girl," She smiled as Marinette rolled her eyes. Once lunch rolled over, Marinette went to the classroom where the class representative met and told them what happened. They were shocked and disappointed but told her it was a good thing as she was getting more and more busy with her commissions anyway. She grabbed a folder that was practically bursting and wished them luck with the new class representative before heading to where Lila and Alya were having lunch. They began to glare at her as she walked over before she dropped the file on the table. Lila looked at it with uncertainty.

 "What is that?"

 "This is all of the notes, information and request forms on our class," She smiled sweetly before pushing it over to Lila. "These are all yours now. Now don't forget to send in permission forms three months in advance for trips outside of Paris. One month in advance for inside Paris. You'll want to prebook everything and use fund raisers to get the money. Oh and don't forget anyone's birthdays. For the last year, I've been setting up special birthday greetings on their desks, completely with a small present and a cupcake from my parents' bakery,"

 "Can't you do that still?" Alya asked but Marinette smiled sweetly.

 "No, I'm no longer the class representative," She replies, clearly happy. "That's now Lila's job. Oh and don't expect any free things anymore, Alya. Since we're not friends, you don't get the friend discount. If you want any food from the bakery, prebook and pay in advance. If you want a dress made, check out my website for a pricing list but make sure you don't leave it too late. Six months before an event is an acceptable time to order it. Do it any later and it will be rejected,"

 She turned to the rest of her class who were sat at their table.

 "In fact, that goes for all of you," She smiled before turning off and walking away. To Alya's surprise, there was a slight skip in her walk as if she was happy with the outcome. Alya sneered. That wouldn't last long when she sees what an amazing class representative Lila will be. 

 ~Time Skip~

 "Ok, class, I manage to secure us a week away to the USA," Lila grinned as she stood up in front of the class. Marinette was surprised for once. All of Lila's other attempts had been terrible but she guessed that she finally worked out how to do the work. Or at least she will when Lila reveals where they are going. The class were very excited as Lila smirked, believing they would be amazed. "We are going to...."

 She went silent, creating suspense. The class's minds were racing. Was it New York? Hollywood? Florida?

 "Gotham City!!" She squealed, expecting excitement but was met with silence and looks of fear. Everyone had heard of Gotham but not for good reasons. It was the city of Batman and his rogues gallery, who terrorizes the city. Lila took a deep breathe. "I know it has a bad rep but I promise you. Gotham is amazing. I've been there before and there is such a glamorous side to it that no one gets to see before the media is trying convince everyone it's super bad but a lot of those 'statics' are made up and there's hardly any villains anymore. I know Batman and he helps keep the streets safe,"

 "Really?" Rose asked, feeling a little scared. Lila smiled and nodded.

 "Gotham is truly amazing,"

 ~Gotham City~

 For once, Lila wasn't actually lying. Gotham really was amazing and somehow, she had gotten them rooms in the Gotham Royal hotel, which was one of the most expensive hotels in Gotham but Marinette still felt uneasy. Neither Chloe or Adrien were here and somehow, Lila had convinced Miss Bustier and the class that Gotham wasn't crime central. She had declared that the media had made it up to get a good news story and that the level of crime was the same as most other places. Somehow, the class and Miss Bustier believed that. Marinette only decided to go because she knew her class would get in trouble. She might be angry at most of them but she didn't hate them and certainly didn't want to them to meet their hands at the likes of the scarecrow or another rouge. As soon as the rest of the class and Miss Bustier was booked in and heading to the lifts, Marinette walked over to the desk and tried to get her room.

 "I'm really sorry, Miss but there's no reservations for a Miss Dupain-Cheng," The receptionist explained, frowning as Marinette sighed. Lila smirked over at her before playing the stupid card.

 "Oops, I'm so sorry, Marinette," She gasped, walking over and handing her a different hotel card. "I completely forgot to book you a room too. I was so stressed with all the preparations. I hope you're not mad at me,"

 "Not at all, Lila," Marinette smiled but she was fuming. She knew Lila did it on purpose but if she got mad or angry, Lila would spin it to make it look her fault. She turned to the receptionist who was frowning at Lila. "How much is a room for a week?"

 "It's $2,100," The woman gasped, feeling bad for Marinette. "I can take off 20% but my boss will fire me if I go any longer. It would be $1,680 with that discount,"

 Marinette sighed, knowing she couldn't afford it even with the discount this woman was offering her.

 "Is there a cheaper hotel nearby?" She asked, making the woman frown.

 "The Carmine Hotel is the cheapest hotel in Gotham," She explained, frowning. "Rates are $46 per night but its rough as hell and in the bowery area,"

 "I guess I don't have much choice," Marinette mumbled before she grabbed her suitcase. She turned to the receptionist and smiled kindly. "Thank you for your help and I'm sorry for wasting your time. Have a good night,"

 "Miss... here," The woman handed her pepper spray and a taser. "I hope you don't have to use it but this city is rough, especially at night,"

 "Thank you," Marinette smiled before taking it. She put it in her bag and looked back at where her class should but naturally, they had already gone to their rooms including Miss Bustier. She sighed and left the hotel before taking her phone out and googling the location of the Carmine Hotel. She sighed and began to head in the direction that Google maps pointed her in. She walked through the streets, frowning they changed from rather neighborhoods to graffiti covered ones. She kept her head low as she noticed prostitutes, gang members and drug dealers hanging around. She sped up and made her way to the Carmine Hotel. She came to it, just as the owner put out a sign that said closed for the night. She rushed over but he closed the doors and locked them, making her gasp as she knocked on the door. Panic began to fill her as no one answered before she sank down to the steps. She was really glad she wasn't in Paris right now as she wouldn't be able to let her fear overtake her. Tikki flew out of her pocket and hugged her holder.

 "It's going to be ok, Marinette," She whispered as Marinette began to cry from fear. She was alone in a city full of criminals and she had no where to stay. She knew Lila had done it on purpose but she had no proof. Tikki hugged her as she curled up in on herself and sobbed. Tikki rubbed her paw against Marinette's arm, trying to comfort her. Gradually, she stopped sobbing and just hugged herself as tears rolled down her face silently.

 "Why me, Tikki?" She asked, looking at the little god with big, sad eyes. "What did I do to deserve this?"

 "You did nothing wrong, Marinette," Tikki smiled, trying to reassure. "You're the most amazing person I've ever met. Come on, let's see if we can find a police station or somewhere safe,"

 Marinette nodded and got up, grabbing her suitcase. She began to walk through the streets again, wondering where she should go. Gradually, she came to an abandoned amusement park. Looking at Tikki, she figured that maybe she could do what Master Fu did and hide in a merry go round til the morning. She carefully slid through the gate and made her way into the amusement park. Tikki shivered as they looked around. All the broken rides looked sad and the whole place had a spooky feeling to it. She shivered as the wind blew, carrying voices and the echoes of footsteps on it. She gasped as she realized they were getting louder. She quickly picked up her suitcase and hid in the nearest ride, ducking down as two shadows appeared. One of them seemed to be attempting to do a cartwheel.

 "I'm bored!!" He stated, standing up straight before he grabbed something and threw it at the other. "Entertain me, Miah!!!"

 "I'm not a performing monkey, Jay," The other replied in an annoyed tone. "And you're always bored,"

 "Well, maybe if we were doing something instead of this, I wouldn't be so bored!!" Jay gasped, once again attempting to do a cartwheel. He laughed when he fell on his arse before backrolling and getting up. "Couldn't we gotten some ice cream before we came here?!"

 "No, you're already hyper as it is," The one called Miah replied as Marinette watched them. She couldn't see their faces but Miah appeared to be wearing a wide brim hat and a long coat where as Jay seemed to be in some kind of suit. "Besides, we're already here,"

 "Which reminds me... why are we here?" Jay asked as he did a hand stand before straightening up. Marinette could hear Miah groan in annoyance. "Hey, I don't like it here ok? Reminds me too much of the circus,"

 "It would," Miah muttered as the clouds moved in the sky, revealing the moon and allowing it to light up the park including the two newcomers. Marinette covered her mouth as she gasped in shock at their appearances. They weren't much older then herself but the two of them were some of the most terrifying people she had ever seen. Jay was dressed in a light gray tailcoat, black pants and a yellow shirt, completely with white shoes and gloves. His ginger hair was spiked up and he appear to have scars across his face and surrounding his eyes. The part that creeped Marinette out the most was the grin that had been carved his face. Miah, on the other hand, was wearing a dark coat with purple details, a black wide brim hat, extremely colorful shoes and a two toned pants. He wore sunglasses, despite it been night and did haven't a single scar. However, his skin was a ghastly shade of white and his lips appeared to be stained red, giving him a similar look to the Joker. In fact, both of them resembled the joker in some sort of way. Jay with his permanent smile and Miah with his chalky skin and red lips. "Anyway, we're because-"

 "Because?" Jay asked as Miah stopped talking.

 "Shh," He stated, looking around. Jay pouted but when quiet as Miah turned to him. "We're not alone,"

 Marinette's eyes widen in fear and she covered her mouth to cover her breathing as Jay tilted his head in confusion.

 "Are you sure you're not just hearing voices again, Miah?" He asked.

 "It wasn't a voice, you idiot," Miah replied, annoyed. "It was breathing and I know what my hallucinations sound like. They don't normally breathe!"

 Marinette was terrified at this point. She wasn't sure how things could have got worst but she was pretty certain she was about to be murdered. God, Lila would love that, wouldn't she? Despite her fear, she managed to keep herself from bursting into tears and began to question her sense. Why did she think it was a good idea to hide in an abandoned amusement park in Gotham? Maybe she would be ok if she bolted now. She could use Tikki to transform but before she could even think or say the words, a shadow casted over her as Jay leaned over and smirked.

 "Found ya," He grinned before grabbing her and dragging her out of the ride but before he could drag her to her certain death, she twisted his arm and threw him over her shoulder, slamming him into the ground before she bolted, prepared to leave her suitcase but she tripped over Miah's foot as he put it out, making her fall as Jay laughed. He got up and walked over as Miah leaned on against a candyfloss stand.

 "Huh?! She's just a kid!" Jay declared as Marinette curled up on herself, more concerned about protecting Tikki.

 "A tourist... clearly..." Miah stated, walking over before dumping her suitcase next to her. She looked at it as Jay straightened up. "I assume that's yours,"

 Marinette nodded.

 "I'm confused though... if she's a tourist, why is she here?" Jay asked, making Miah tap his chin with his fingers before he turned to him.

 "Wow, you actually had an intelligent thought," He stated, smiling a little. "But you raise a valid point... why is she here and not in a hotel?"

 "Please, don't kill me," She gasped, making Jay gasp in a dramatic way.

 "We don't kill children," Miah stated, making her look at him in surprise. "So why are you here and not in a hotel?"

 Neither of them expected Marinette to begin to cry when Miah asked her that but both looked at her with concern as she broke down in front of them. Through her sobs, she explained what had happened with her class and how she had been bullied because she tried to call out a liar. She spilled out everything to them. Not just what had happened tonight but for all of the things that had happened to her. She had repressed her feelings for too long and even though crying in front of two people she was sure were criminals was probably a bad idea, she couldn't help it. Lila on purposely refusing to book her into the hotel was the final straw. She was just glad that she wasn't in Paris. She flinched as Miah knelt down and handed her a handkerchief. She blinked in surprise and carefully took it, thanking him as she wiped her eyes. The sound of extra footsteps made the three of them look in the direction they were coming from before Miah straightened up.

 "Jay, could you take care of her while I attend to why we were here in the first place?" He asked, causing Jay to nod and turn to Marinette, who was still sniffing away her tears. 

 "Why don't we go get some ice cream?" He smiled, helping her to her feet and grabbing her suitcase. Marinette couldn't help but nod. "I know a diner that does it 24/7,"

 "Really?" She asked as Miah walked over to the newcomers and Jay led her away from the scene. It didn't take them long to get to the store. Once there, he ordered two scoops of Chunky Monkey and asked her what she wanted. They took a seat towards the back but Marinette noticed that the owner was terrified of Jay and that he didn't pay for the ice cream. She decided that it was probably best not to question it though. Jay happily dug into the ice cream as Marinette slowly ate hers. She had a lot of questions but wasn't sure how to ask them. "Um.."

 "Is the ice cream not good enough?" He asked, concerned before a murderous glint appeared in his eyes.

 "Oh, no... the ice cream is good... great actually," She smiled truthfully before looking down. "I just have questions. Like why are you been nice to me? I'm guessing the two of you are criminals so it doesn't make sense,"

 "Huh... you're a smart one," He grinned before getting a mouthful of ice cream again. "Me and my broski are criminals but even criminals have rules and limits and you are upset, scared and alone in the most dangerous city in the world. Anything could happen to you and I guess older brother instincts kicked in. Point is we're not going to kill you or left you alone in a scary city that isn't even your hometown,"

 "How did-"

 "Suitcase," He stated, pointing to it as the door opened. Jay waved his hand as Miah looked around before he joined them. "No one from Gotham carries a suitcase with them,"

 "And also your accent," Miah stated as he waved down a waitress. She carefully approached as he smiled.

 "W-What can I get you, Mr Valeska?" She asked, shaking.

 "I would like a coffee. Black, two sugars," He stated before turning back to Marinette. "You're French right? I have to say your English is brilliant,"

 "Y-Yeah, I'm from Paris... um thank you... we're required to learn it in school," She mumbled, playing with her spoon as the waitress returned with Miah's drink before she rushed off again. "Um... I don't want to be rude but can I ask about...."

 She gestured to her face as she went bright red. She felt super rude asking but she was also extremely curious. The two nodded and looked at each other.

 "You want to tell her or should I?" Jay asked, making Miah frown.

 "I'll tell her," He stated, looking back at her. "Believe it or not but we were identical twins. I'm not sure if you know this but there was a villain called the Joker. Real nutjob and crazier then anything Gotham had ever seen before. No one knows his real identity and he just seemed to manifest overnight then one day, he just vanished. No one knows what happened. Some say the bat got him. I personally think his girlfriend, Harley Quinn, finally had enough and murdered him but no one knows for certain. Anyway, he had "fans". A lot of normal folk saw him as a beacon to say fuck it to the man but mostly they just kept quiet about it. A few of his fans, however, began to make their own gangs based on him. Most of them didn't last long but the Joy Boys and the Jokerz did,"

 Marinette nodded as he listened.

 "Well, we ran afoul of the Jokerz," Miah sighed. "You see we were you might call petty criminals. Nothing major. Stealing and cheating a few people in rigged games at the circus. Anyway, the Leader of the Jokerz, J-Man came to our circus and got pissed at us when we ripped him off. We brushed off his threats but that night, he had his gang break into the circus and kidnap us. They took us to ace chemicals and basically tortured us for 'cheating'. As a punishment, they decided to carve up Jerome's face, giving him a permanent smile and gave me a literal acid bath in the same acid that was rumored to have created the Joker. Hence, our very unique look,"

 "That's awful," She gasped, covering her mouth in shock. "Did you report it to the police?"

 The two of them laughed as if she had told a joke.

 "This is Gotham, sweetheart," Jay smirked. "Police do nothing, especially when they're paid to look the other way,"

 "Instead, we were branded insane and throw into Arkham Asylum. We were already a little insane from our life at the circus and the torture but been in the asylum... pushed us over the edge," Miah sighed as Marinette frowned.

 "Y'all could go insane with one bad day," Jay grinned before he smiled. "But don't worry. We got our revenge,"

 "As of right now, we are the current leaders of the Joy Boys and J-Man... well, he drove us mad so we simply returned the favor,"

 "He's basically a vegetable in the asylum,"

 "An eye for an eye. A mind for a mind," Miah smiled. Marinette shivered a little but to be honest, she could see where they were coming from. She wanted to get revenge on Lila. At first, it was to help her friends but Lila had been tormenting her so much that she just wanted to return the favor at this point... but she couldn't because she was Marinette Dupain-Cheng, kindest girl in Paris and the superhero Ladybug. Even if she wanted to give into revenge, she couldn't risk feeling those feelings due to Hawkmoth. Adrien would hate her if she did and what would Tikki think? She would be so disappointed in her. 

 "Is there a bathroom in here I could use?" She asked. Jay pointed in it's direction and she rushed into there. She locked the door and took out a deep breathe as Tikki flew out.

 "Are you ok?" She asked, seeing the tears in Marinette's eyes.

 "I really wish I could get revenge on Lila right now," She whispered, sinking down to her knees. "I must be an awful person to think that,"

 "Of course, you're not," Tikki stated, placing her paw on her leg. "You have every right to be angry with her,"

 "I know but I can't get revenge on her like those two," She sighed, frowning. "I'm Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I'm Ladybug. I'm suppose to be a hero,"

 "Only in Paris," Tikki pointed out, making her look at her with shock. "What? Ok...look, I'm not saying that you should murder or hurt Lila but maybe... those two could help bring well deserved Karma to her,"

 "You think I should ask them for help?"

 "At this point, yes," Tikki stated, making Marinette frown. "Marinette, I don't normally agree with people like those two. They are more Plagg's area but tonight we learnt that Lila was willing to let you wonder the world's most dangerous city on purpose. She was probably hoping you would be mugged or murdered and that is not right. Your class didn't offer to help you and Miss Bustier abandoned you so if you ask me, I think it's high time we knocked them down a peg or two and I think our new friends can help us do just that,"

 "But... I can't do that... right?" Marinette asked, clearly conflicted about Tikki's suggestion. Tikki gently placed her paw on Marinette's cheek.

 "Why don't you think it over?" She asked, getting a nod of the young girl before they both jumped at someone knocking on the door.

 "Are you ok in there?" Jay's voice asked through the door.

 "Fine," Marinette replied before splashing her face with water. Tikki flew into her purse before she walked out and headed back over to the twins. Miah was sipping his coffee as Jay dug into a second helping of ice cream. She noticed he had gotten her a second helping too. She sat down and slowly began to ate it before Miah made a noise. Both Marinette and Jay looked at him.

 "It just occurred to me that we haven't formally introduces ourselves," He mused before smiling and turning back to Marinette. "I'm Jeremiah Valeska and that is my brother, Jerome,"

 "Marinette Dupain-Cheng," Marinette stated, holding out her hand. Jeremiah smiled and shook it before she turned to Jerome. He shook it as well. "It's nice to meet you two,"

 "Likewise," Jeremiah nodded as Jerome looked at him.

 "Can we keep her?" He asked, making the other roll his eyes. Marinette blinked as she realized he had taken off his sunglasses, revealing that his eyes were in fact a pale acid green color but weirdly enough, it suited him. "I've always wanted a little sister. Hey, Mari, can we adopt you?!"

 "Well, I'm sure her parents would be disappointed if she got adopted by two villains," Jeremiah sighed before looking at Marinette. "How long you in Gotham for?"

 "It's suppose to be a week," She mumbled, getting a nod of both of them. She jumped a little as her phone pinged. She picked it up and blinked as she saw the time. Somehow it had become 4am. Letting a yawn, she checked the messages as the twins went quiet. Luka had sent her a message, wishing her luck with the trip, her parents had sent her a handful of messages telling her that they love her and to have fun and lastly, Lila had messaged her with the details of the event planned for tomorrow... well, what was technically today since it was 4am but with a threat at the end, telling Marinette not to show if she knew what was good for her. Marinette sighed softly and locked her phone, taking a deep breathe to try and center her feelings. The twins looked at each other with interest.

 "Say, Mari, you're really good at controlling your emotions," Jerome stated. 

 "I broke down in front of you,"

 "Yet here you are, clearly trying to calm yourself down and also you calmed down rather quickly earlier too," Jeremiah pointed out before leaning on his hands. "Why is that?"

 Marinette sighed before launching into a explanation about how Paris has it's own super villain. She explained that he wasn't like the Gotham types as he was trying to get hold of two very powerful items that could basically end reality itself and he has the two to transform people into super villains, giving them powers and everything. 

 "I know that everywhere has criminals but Hawkmoth manipulates everyone's feelings. You can't get sad or angry because he use it to make you evil," She sighed. "Cat Noir and Ladybug are trying to defeat him but it's hard so we repress our feelings. That way we won't get akumatized. My friend, Luka, taught me some breathing techniques to help me calm down as I tend to get worked up and over-react but it's been really hard to deal with repressed emotions with someone like Lila around,"

 "Lila?"

 "The liar I told you about," She sighed, making the twins nod. "She is horrid. She actually got me expelled and framed me for been a bully and the worst part is everyone, apart from a small handful of people and my parents, actually believe her. Her stories are so dumb as well. The reason why my class is Gotham is because she convinced them and my teacher that it isn't dangerous and that the media is just trying to make it look bad. She claimed to have helped Batman and single handedly defeat a number of villains, including the likes of the Riddler, the Joker and Bane,"

 "Seriously?" Jerome asked as Jeremiah giggled, clearly amused by the whole situation.

 "Yes and they believed her!" Marinette gasped. "She once claimed a napkin could gorge out someone's eyes. A napkin! But it gets worst! The boy who she "saved" from the napkin that I toss to her was wearing glasses!"

 At that point, the twins burst into laughter with tears in her eyes. Marinette couldn't help but smile a little.

 "She claimed that she got tinnitus from rescuing a rockstar's cat from a runway," She stated as they laughed even more. "Mind you, this rock star has had a crocodile for ten years and is severely allergic to cats!! But nope, Lila rescued poor Mr whiskers from the nasty airplanes! Oh and then there's the whole "I'm dating Damian Wayne and we're so in love. He's the sweetest boy ever. My damiboo is devoted to me!" Like seriously?! Who is she trying to kid?!"

 "She called him Damiboo?!" Jeremiah roared as Jerome cackled with laughter. "That kid is the coldest person in Gotham. Everyone knows that!"

 "On the plane here, she claimed that she was practically a Wayne, that Commissioner Gordon is her uncle, she was best friends with Poison Ivy and Harley, that she helped the Riddler go straight after she defeated him, that she cured the Joker and that thanks to her hard work, Gotham is the safest city in the world," Marinette explained, getting the boys to laugh even more. To the point where they were hitting the table with their fists. "I wish that I could just prove her wrong,"

 "Why don't you?" Jeremiah asked as he wiped his eyes with a napkin. "Her claims are so outlandish that it shouldn't be too hard,"

 "You'd think but no one in my class believes me and the one person who knows she is lying is convinced that her lies aren't hurting anyone and that if we expose her, she'll get akumatized again," She sighed, poking her ice cream with her spoon. "He's more concerned about her then me. What if I get akumatized? Do I not matter?"

 The twins frowned as she sighed.

 "And it's not like I haven't tried," She frowned. "Everytime I provide proof of her lies, it's brushed aside and she makes me look bad. I tried to tell everyone from the beginning that she's a liar but I was told I needed to stop been jealous and asked where's my proof. My ex best friend posted Lila's lies on her blog without fact-checking a single thing and yet has the nerve to demand proof off me then refuses to accept the proof I give her! 'A good journalist always checks their sources' yet she didn't even bother to try and ask the heroes if they're best friends with Lila. Nope, instead she posted it straight onto her blog and refuses to listen to reason. Even Lila was friends with the heroes, Alya shouldn't have posted that cause it makes her a target for Hawkmoth and the rest of Ladybug's enemies but nope, I'm been jealous!"

 "Why would you be jealous?"

 "Oh, I had a crush on the same guy as Lila did but that was ages ago now. My feelings for him died the moment he put hers before mine," She admitted. "Besides, I have a different love interest now and the class knows it yet they chose to ignore it because I must be jealous at the fact that Adrien is in love with Lila. As if. If they opened their eyes and actually took a good look, they would see how uncomfortable he is with her. I'm pretty certain the only reason why she is still clinging to him is because he doesn't know how to tell her or anyone that it actually makes him feel uncomfortable but as usual when I point it out, I'm just jealous that they're in love,"

 "Your class sounds like a piece of shit," Jerome stated, making Marinette sigh.

 "They're not... not really... before Lila came, they use to be so nice," She smiled sadly, causing the two brothers to look at each other. "Me and Alya were best friends, I was the class representative, Adrien was sweet and caring, the class cared about each other. We would support each other and try to help each other. I would bring in food from my parents' bakery and would help make them things like banners and dresses. It was nice and peaceful. They didn't hate me or think I was a bully. I mean sure I would get tired from staying up to make a dress or they would ask me last minute to do something or to help them but I didn't mind,"

 Once again, the two brothers looked at each others but neither said anything despite it been obvious that Marinette's class were using her. That was something they knew from personal experience and they also knew that it would only hurt her more if they told her that her class didn't care for her. She would deny it and get more upset. She would have to see it for herself and learn that lesson on her own. Besides, she had already been through enough for tonight.

 "You know if you want, we could help you get a little even with your class," Jerome suggested, making her look at him.

 "No... they don't deserve it..." She mumbled, playing with her hands. She was expecting the twins to try and convince her otherwise but they shrugged.

 "Ok but the offer still stands if you change your mind," Jeremiah stated, making her look at him. "Now why don't we find you a hotel to stay in for the rest of the week? I'm sure you don't want more nights like tonight,"

 She nodded and yawned a little. 

 "Thank you for helping me,"

 ~Later That Day~

 Marinette sighed to herself as she arrived at Wayne Tower. She didn't want to go but she also knew that there were assignments on this trip that would affect her grades so she had no choice but to turn up. She frowned when she saw the group and Miss Bustier talking to one of the workers of Wayne Tower. Lila noticed her and narrowed her eyes before whispering something to Alya, making her ex best friend smirk and nod. She frowned, knowing she would have to be extra careful. However, she had a nice hotel room in Gotham's ritz hotel. It wasn't quite as fancy as the royal hotel but it was nice and not in a rough area. Jeremiah and Jerome had gotten her a great deal, causing her room to practically be free. Despite been criminals, they were extremely charismatic and charmed the hotel staff into giving her a huge discount and free breakfasts for the full week. They also gave her a number she could contact them on if she needed help. She was honestly quite surprised at how nice they were been to her. She offered to buy them breakfast as a thank you but they told her it's fine and that she owes them nothing. She put it down to their older brother instincts. She took a deep breathe and walked over to the class as Miss Bustier spotted her.

 "Ah, there you are," She smiled, not even asking to see if she was ok or if she got a hotel to stay in. "Alright, class, let's head inside,"

 Marinette sighed and followed the class in. She rolled her eyes when Lila began to talk but ignored it, just keeping herself to herself. Honestly, she couldn't wait to head back to her hotel and spend the rest of the day doing what she wanted. She frowned to herself as she saw Lila whispering to Alya again. She wasn't impressed with the smirks that they were wearing and it made her feel paranoid. The tour continued through the morning and yet Lila or Alya did nothing. Finally, lunchtime rolled around and just like in school, Lila got everyone she could to carry her stuff. Marinette rolled her eyes and brought herself some lunch before sitting down away from everyone else. She slipped a cookie to Tikki, who happily munched on it before continuing to eat. She was quite happy enjoying her meal when Alya walked over and slammed her hand on the table, making her jump.

 "What the hell is wrong with you, Marinette?!" She practically screamed, making Marinette look at her fear and widen eyes. "Lila tried her damn best to get the best thing for us and you blame her for making one mistake?!"

 "Wh-what are you talking about?" Marinette gasped.

 "Blaming her for forgetting to book you a room," She growled, making Marinette frown before she sneered darkly. She snatched Marinette's drink. "I think I should teach you a lesson,"

 Before Marinette could do anything, Alya proceed to throw the drink over and then dumped the rest of her foot on her. Tears welled up in Marinette's eyes, making Alya laugh.

 "Good, you're so pathetic," She sneered. "I'm glad I decided to stop pretending to be your friend,"

 "W-what?" Marinette gasped, looking shocked. Alya laughed at her reaction before smirking darkly at her.

 "Did you actually think we were friends?" She asked in a bitchy manner. Marinette say nothing. "Because we weren't. I only befriended you because you had a use. You gave me free stuff and food but since you don't do that anymore... well, you're no use to me or the rest of the class,"

 "B-But... we were... friends?"

 "News flash! I was using you! All of us were and you were so desperate for friends you couldn't see it," Alya snarled, causing the tears in Marinette's eyes finally fall. She jumped up and ran as fast as she could but tripped up, causing the class to laugh. She rushed as fast as she could out, trying to wipe the tears from her eyes as she ran. She didn't care who she ran into but gradually she slowed down. She wrapped her arms around her waist as she walked. As she walked, the sky darkened and rain poured from it. She finally came to a stop and just fell onto her knees, tears sliding down her cheeks as she shook. Alya was never her friend. She was using her... so was the class. They didn't care for her. They just saw her as an easy target and used her for what they could. They weren't good people that were been misguided by a liar. Lila's appearance didn't force them to change. She just brought out their true colors. Adrien wasn't a kind guy. He was a doormat who cared more about Lila's feelings and keeping the peace then Marinette. Alya wasn't a fun loving, kind girl. She was a selfish, arrogant fool and she was never Marinette's friend. None of the class were. She was nothing more then a joke to them. A small giggle escaped her lips through her sobs as she thought about it. She was a laughing stock and never released it. They were using her and she was too stupid to see it. Her sobs slowly turned to laughter as she realized the whole situation. They didn't care for her. Everyone had chosen Lila over her even though she never forced them. They saw her as a bully, despite knowing that she would never do that. Her class were full of wolves and sheep. Her laughter turned manically as she slammed her fist into the floor. Tikki flew out of her purse and hugged to her cheek.

 "Marinette?" She asked as she continued to laugh. "Are you ok?"

 "I'm... fine..." She giggled, wiping her eyes before she cupped Tikki in her hands and gently kissed her head. "I just realized that the class see me as a joke and I finally got the punchline..."

 "Oh, Mari..." Tikki sighed, hugging her cheek as Marinette took out her phone and called the only people who had shown her actually kindness in the last 24 hours.

 (***)

 "Here we are," Jeremiah smiled as he handed Marinette a fresh cup of hot chocolate. She smiled and muttered a thanks. As soon as she contacted them, they sent one of their hench women to pick her up. Ecco had located her quickly and brought her back to their hideout, which was an underground bunker. Jerome was sat on the sofa, watching some cartoon and Ecco had disappeared. Marinette took a sip of the drink and smiled a little as it warmed her up. "Ecco's gone to go find you some fresh clothes,"

 "Thank you," She muttered as he sat down next and looked over some blue prints. "What are those?"

 "Designs for the Riddler. Usually, he makes them himself but he wanted a maze this time round. I have experience with them and well we needed the money," He replied, drawing something. Marinette leaned over. 

 "It looks cool," She muttered. "Are you good at solving them?"

 "Yes but I also like designing them," He replied, turning to her. "I designed this bunker actually. It's a maze,"

 "Really?" She asked as he looked through the blue prints before placing one in front of her. She looked at it and nodded, tracing her finger along the escape route.

 "Impressive,"

 "I'm good at solving problems," She muttered, smiling as Ecco came back in, holding some clothes in her arms. She gestured to her, causing Marinette to follow her and showed her the bathroom, which Marinette was grateful for. 

 "I figured you would want a shower to get that drink out of your hair," Ecco smiled before handing her a towel and fresh clothes. "You can use my stuff to clear yourself and to wash your hair. It's on the left hand side,"

 "Thank you, Miss Ecco," She smiled, causing Ecco to smile a little.

 "You can just call me Ecco. No need for Miss," She smiled, getting a nod of Marinette. "I'll wait here so you don't get lost when you're done,"

 "Ok," Marinette nodded before disappearing in the bathroom. It didn't take her long to get her shower but when she came out, she looked a lot happier. Ecco took her old clothes from her and showed her back to where the boys were before disappearing again. Jerome looked over as she walked in before the two of them moved and took a seat on the sofa. She sat down on the armchair and played with her hands.

 "Now that you've had a shower and feel a little better, want to tell us what happened?" Jeremiah asked, making her sigh before she launched into an explanation. She explained how Lila had threatened her in a text last night and how she told Alya that Marinette had had a go at her for not booking her a room at the other hotel. Jerome happily pointed out that Marinette had every right to blame Lila as it was her fault. Marinette nodded and continued with her story, explaining why she was covered in a drink when she got here. Both of them looked pissed off when she revealed that Alya had poured her drink over her and threw her lunch on her before calling her names and revealing to Marinette that they were never friends and that she was only using her. Marinette sighed and sadly explained that she realized that her class actually didn't care for her. Sure, some of them weren't as bad as the likes of Alya or Lila but Lila's appearance had simply brought out her classmates' true colors and it wasn't good. They were either bullies or cowards. She sighed, looking sad as she finished her tale.

 "So what do you want to do about it?" Jeremiah asked, making her look at him.

 "Yeah! Are you gonna let them get away with treating you like shit or are you finally gonna do what you should have done in the first place and put them in their place?" Jerome asked. Marinette frowned a little and looked down.

 "I can't..." She whispered, looking down at Tikki who gave her an encouraging smile. She looked up at the twins. "Look... what I'm about to tell you must never be repeated to anyone ok?"

 "We can keep a secret," Jerome grinned, getting a nod of Jeremiah. Marinette took a deep breathe.

 "You remember I mentioned that Paris has two heroes, Chat Noir and Ladybug?" She asked, getting a nod of them. "Well... I'm Ladybug..."

 Both boys reminded silent as they stared at her in surprise.

 "Great... now you hate me because I'm-"

 "How the hell did you become Ladybug when you're like... what 15?!" Jerome shouted, making her jump as Jeremiah frowned.

 "That explains a lot," He muttered, looking at her but to her surprise, neither of them looked at her with hatred but with sorrow. "No wonder why you refuse to break. You literally can't afford to,"

 "She's 15, Miah!! She shouldn't be a superhero!!" Jerome screamed, standing up. "She should be having fun, not fighting a fucking supervillain!"

 "Agreed," Jeremiah nodded. "How long have you been a superhero?"

 "Since I was 13," She admitted, causing Jerome to scream and kick something while Jeremiah frowned. "You don't hate me?"

 "Contradictory to popular belief, we don't hate heroes," Jeremiah explained. "Without heroes, villains wouldn't exist but what I'm more interested in is how you became Ladybug? Are you a meta?"

 "Oh, no," Marinette stated, lifting her hair. "I can't tell you the details but it's basically magic,"

 "Magic is real?" Jeremiah asked, frowning as Jerome ranted angrily. "I take it no one knows your identity,"

 "Well, Master Fu does but that's because he gave me my miraculous,"

 "Miraculous?" Jeremiah asked as Jerome went silent. She explained that it was a magical jewel that gave her the ability to transform into a hero. "Fascinating,"

 "Does this Master Fu help you fight this Hawkbitch?!"

 "Um... no..." Marinette muttered. "I have my partner Chat Noir but it's our responsibility to defeat the akumas and find hawkmoth,"

 "An adult gave you that kind of responsibility?!" He screamed. Marinette nodded. "Oh my fucking god!! Right, we're killing him!! What kind of fucking adult dumps that kind of responsibility on a kid?! Even Jim fucking Gordon or Batman would do that!!"

 "The Robins are children,"

 "Yes but Batman is always with them and actually does the majorly of the fights! The Robins are side kicks, not full time heroes!" Jerome declared before stopping for a second. "God, it really tells you how fucked up a situation is when a villain like me is questioning it. Anyway, what has this gotta do with you not been able to get even with your classmates?"

 "I'm a superhero," 

 "Yeah but only in Paris," Jerome countered. "You're in Gotham City, sista! I think it's time to let loose, get even and have a little fun!"

 "I'm with Jerome on this one," Jeremiah stated, making Marinette bit her lip. They watched as she got up and began to talk to something. Jerome rose an eyebrow before she walked back over. To their surprise, a red blur suddenly flew from her pocket, revealing Tikki to them. "Uh... Jerome... you're seeing that little red thing right?"

 "Yep..." 

 "Ok, cool..." Jeremiah muttered in relief. "I thought I was hallucinating again,"

 "Hello," She smiled, making Jerome jump onto Jeremiah and scream.

 "It talks!!" He screamed, making Marinette giggle.

 "It's ok," She reassured, gesturing towards Tikki. "This is Tikki. She's a kwami and agrees with your suggestion of having some fun,"

 "What the hell is Kwami?" Jeremiah asked, shoving Jerome off him before looking at her. "Um... no offence,"

 "None taken," Tikki smiled. "Also Kwamis are basically gods. We were created when certain ideas came into existences. I'm the kwami of creation,"

 Jeremiah blinked and looked like he was having an existential crisis.

 "Everything I know is a lie..." He muttered as Jerome sat up. "Gods are real..."

 "I'm guessing you don't believe in gods?"

 "Not my cup of tea," He replied, frowning as Jerome looked at Tikki before holding out his finger.

 "Jerome Valeska," He grinned as she shook it.

 "Tikki, kwami of creation," She smiled. "It's nice to meet you,"

 "Likewise," He smiled. "Though it's my first time meeting a god,"

 "So now that formal introductions are done, shall we make a plan?" Marinette asked, smiling a little. 

 ~A Few Days Later~

 "I'm so sad that we only have two more days left in Gotham," Lila stated, pouting as Alya sighed as well. Truth be told she couldn't wait to get out of this godforsaken city but it had served a purpose. None of the class had seen Maribrat since the Wayne Tower incident. Lila hoped that she had been killed and dumped in a ditch somewhere. It would serve her right for trying to expose Lila for what she was. Shaking her head, she sighed gently as the class walked to the Crystal Palace that was a mall. Lila was glad. She could finally get some new clothing. She could try and get some free stuff by throwing around the Wayne and Agreste names. She turned to Alya. "I wish I could off helped Batman a little more,"

 "Don't beat yourself up, girl," Alya assured as they walked through the mall with the rest of the class. "You should be impressed with yourself. Thanks to you, Gotham is a safe city again,"

 "Yeah, I supp- is that a jack in a box?" Lila asked as she stopped, along with the rest of her class. To their surprise, the mall security had cornered it off, called the police and had began to evacuate the area while the police checked over the box. An officer walked up to the class and began to order them to leave the area. Miss Bustier, however, tried to argue.

 "With all due respect, it's just a big box," She pointed out but the guy gave her a dead pan look.

 "Last box we had like that turned out to be a bomb. Now please move-" He stated but suddenly, a bunch of clowns holding machine guns suddenly came out from the different shops and shot into the air, causing Miss Bustier and her class to scream. The security guard took out his gun and pointed it at the clowns.

 "GCPD!!" He shouted, clearly not impressed as the rest of his officers took out his gun. A couple of the clowns began to shoot, causing the officers to shoot back.

 "ENOUGH!!" A voice shouted, making the clowns stop shooting. The officer frowned and lowered his gun slightly as a young man dressed in a black pin stripped trousers, a red shirt and a purple jacket walked out. His dark green hair was gelled back. Lila gasped in horror as she saw his face. She knew he wasn't the joker but he resembled him. He was holding up his arm and had something in his hand. He stopped and smiled as. "Dead man's switch! You're familiar! Another trick me and my brother have. Only this one's more advanced then the last. You shoot me, my thumb loses and then... boom, boom, boom... now I have several bombs sprinkled through the mall but of course, that's not the only trick up my sleeve,"

 A few clowns marched out with a couple of hostages as well, followed by another young man. The class gasped in fear as they saw the scars and the smile that was carved into his face. He was wearing similar pants to but his shirt was yellow and he had a light gray jacket with white boots and gloves. His ginger hair was spiked up and he had a shot gun slung around his side. He was also holding a dead man's switch.

 "Jimbo!! It's been a while!! Hey, are you and that cute doctah still together?!" He shouted, grinning. James turned his gun on him but he tutted, holding up . "Uh, uh, uh!! You shoot me and boom, headless people,"

 "Man, I hate this family," One of the other office stated as James lowered his gun. Miss Bustier's class were clearly scared, expect for Lila. She was thinking how she could spin this into a fantastic story. "What the hell do you two circus freaks want this time?!"

 "This is our little sister's welcome party," Jeremiah smiled, making the police officer groan as James looks at them in confusion.

 "Little sister? You don't have a little sister!" James shouted as the officer groans.

 "Another Valeska?!" He gasped. "Sure, bring out some crazy broad!!"

 "I wasn't always crazy, Officer," A girl's voice stated, making me everyone look at her as she skated over to them. She didn't look like the twins. She had dark hair that was placed in space buns and wore a pink and blue jester's outfit with roller skates on, that were mismatched along with her stockings and gloves. Her make up was simple. She had stripes under her eyes and a tear drop on her left cheek. Her lips were ruby red and her eyes were a bluebell shade. James frowned as he realized her accent was french. She wasn't originally from Gotham. "But you know what they say. Y'all can go insane with one bad day,"

 "Marinette?" Alya gasped, causing the clown girl to look at her.

 "I'm not Marinette anymore," She stated. "I'm Miss Fortune,"

 "Marinette, you ne-" Miss Bustier stated but she stopped when she saw the look on Marinette's face.

 "Ah, Miss Bustier... you use to be my favorite teacher," She smiled sweetly. "Until you took the side of a liar that is. Did you ever consider that Lila hadn't booked me a room on purpose?"

 "Marinette, I can't-" Lila stated but was cut off by Marinette's insane giggle. 

 "Oh but Lila. I'm not angry at you," She smiled in a psychotic way. "In fact, I want to thank you. You see I never would have met my brothers if you hadn't pushed me over the edge, turned my whole entire class against me, convinced them I was a bully and of course... if you had booked me a room in that hotel. Thanks to you, I met the Valeska twins and it's a real eye opener when two villains were more compassionate then my own class and teacher! Without you, I never would have realized that I'm a fucking joke to you fair weathered friends! It doesn't matter that you lied about everything. Cause they should have trusted me. That's what friends do! But no, instead, they claimed I was jealous! Refused to give me the benefit of a doubt! Well since I don't have friends, I thought why not make some new ones. Turns out most of the Gotham villains really, really hate liars and bullies,"

 "What the hell, Marinette?!" Alya screamed as James looked at her. "What the hell is wrong with you?! Just because Lila is better then-"

 "Lila? Better then me? That will be the day!!" She grinned, laughing in a way that made Lila uncomfortable. "Lila isn't better then me and I'm here to prove it. Unlike you. Jimbo, you're the commissioner right?"

 "Yes?"

 "Do you know Lila?" She asked, pointing at her. James looked over and frowned.

 "No... I don't,"

 "Really? Cause she claims to be your niece!" Miss Fortune stated, reeling off and debunking every liar Lila had said about Gotham before exposing the class and Miss Bustier too. She went into detail about how she broke down and how Miss Bustier didn't even help her find a place to stay. The more she revealed, the angrier James and his officers got. The focus was no longer on the Valeska brothers but on the french teacher. To her horror, she was arrested for child endangerment and negligence. Lila wasn't arrested for anything but neither was Marinette. In fact, she broke down and to the officers' surprise, the Valeska brothers stayed with her. They didn't even put up a fuss when they were arrested but insisted that Marinette was innocent. For the first time in his career, James decided to look the other way, refusing to arrest Marinette. She was taken down to the GCPD along with the Valeskas and the rest of her class. James connected a few of his friends to get the french class out of the city and back to their homes. Thanks to Bruce Wayne, it only took a few hours before they were all sent home.

 ~A Few Weeks Later~

 Lila unlocked the door to her home and smirked, noticing it was once again empty. Her mother had pulled her from DuPont after the whole Gotham incident, shocked that her teacher would arrange such a dangerous trip for her class. Of course, she had kept her mother in the dark about her role in it and while she wasn't able to paint Marinette as a true villain, she still spun the story to seem like a hero in it. Last she hear was that Marinette was in therapy and had left DuPont as well, Miss Bustier was fired and the rest of their class had realized the truth, not that it made a difference now. The damage had already been done and she was still doing more. She walked over to the fridge and took out a bottle of water. She turned on the lamp and dropped it in shock as she noticed two people in her living room. Her eyes widen as the twin with the carved smile took out a blade as his brother sat in the armchair.

 "Hello, Lie-la," Jeremiah stated. "Our little sister sends her regards,"

 ~Bonus Scene~

 "Whoooo!!" Marinette giggled as she sat in the trolley. Jerome was running full speed, pushing her through the shop as the security chased them. Jeremiah was holding onto the edge of the trolley, laughing as well. The three of them jumped away, letting it crash into some where before running off. They headed into the nearest store and straight to the toy section. Jerome grabbed a toy light saber and threw it at Jeremiah who caught it before he grabbed a second one. Marinette laughed as the two of them began to fight each other, making noises as they did. Jerome paused the fight and gave her his light saber before helping her onto his back. Once she was comfortable, they resumed the fight with her and Jeremiah fight as Jerome carried her on his back.

 "Die, Sith scum!!" Jerome shouted, causing Marinette to laugh.

 "My force powers are too great for you, Jedi fool," Jeremiah replied back as he climbed on the table and kicked the display. "Oh, security is coming!!"

 "Retreat!!" Jerome screamed, running off with Marinette on his back. Jeremiah jumped down and ran with them, grabbing a bag of sweets on the way out. 

 "Best day ever!!"

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

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[joachimnapoleon]

Meet the Bonapartes--Louis (2/4)

(Part 1 can be found here) (And here are links to Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 on Pauline)

***

Napoleon's plan to marry Louis to Hortense was met with a marked lack of enthusiasm by both parties. Aside from having acquired a jaded view of women (possibly as a result of the affliction he suffered in Italy), Louis also happened to be in love with someone else. Prior to the wedding, he would write a twenty-page letter to Hortense containing what was essentially his life story, and in which he confessed his love for a woman named Sophie, describing her, and his feelings for her, in great detail. Hortense, meanwhile, had acquired a negative view of Louis, because of his behavior in an earlier failed love affair between him and one of her cousins. However, Hortense claims, she was willing to give Louis the benefit of the doubt, and dismiss "his conduct toward my cousin" as "merely thoughtlessness on his part." Her former mentor, Madame Campan, visited Hortense to speak in Louis's favor. Hortense was not entirely convinced. "Louis seems to me to be kindhearted and good," she conceded to Mme Campan, "but I do not like the disdain with which he pretends to look upon women and which often appears in his conversation."

[Hortense de Beauharnais]

But Napoleon was adamant about the match, seeing in it a strengthening not only of the ties between the Bonaparte and Beauharnais families, but also as a safeguard for a potential Bonaparte dynasty. "We may never have children," Napoleon told Josephine (according to Hortense's memoirs). "I brought Louis up myself; I look on him as a son. Your daughter is what you cherish most on earth. Their children shall be our children. We will adopt them, and this adoption will console us for not having any of our own." But Josephine, who had initially favored the idea, grew increasingly ill at ease over the marriage as the wedding approached. Hortense also claims that Louis's older brother Lucien poisoned Louis's mind against her, after his own request to marry her was shot down by Napoleon. "I do not know what he said," Hortense writes, "but Louis became uneasy." It was then that Louis wrote his twenty-page letter to her and "begged me in return to describe my past life to him in full. It would have been difficult for me to give him any striking facts on the subject and, when I returned his letter, in accordance with his request, I merely replied that for a long time my life had been known to him."

"If your popularity and society have not spoiled you," Louis replied, "you must be an angel. There can be no middle ground. You must be all good or all bad." Hortense took this as a compliment. "I could not suppose that, admitting the existence of the two alternatives, his opinion could be otherwise than favorable."

The marriage contract was signed on 3 January 1802 at the Tuilleries. Napoleon provided Hortense with a dowry of 250,000 francs, to which Josephine added another 100,000. The civil service took place the next day, and the nuptial blessings were held afterwards. After Cardinal Caprara had blessed the newlyweds, Joachim and Caroline Murat came forward, and requested to receive a nuptial blessing as well, as their marriage had taken place before the religious ceremony was reinstated. "This double ceremony left a disagreeable impression on me," writes Hortense. "The other couple were so happy. They were so much in love with one another.... I felt as though all the happiness lay on one side, all the unhappiness on the other."

The "honeymoon" period was almost nonexistent. Napoleon had flown into a rage at Louis over complaints Louis had made about the marriage not being announced publicly. The personalities of Louis and Hortense never quite managed to synchronize on any level. Louis found fault with Hortense over the most trivial things, and Hortense could barely disguise her increasing dislike for her husband--or the fear his unstable, unpredictable behavior had begun to instill in her. 

My nerves gave way. Only tears brought relief. My husband, touched and affected by the sight of my grief, sought to console me, but the harm had been done. My only sentiment towards Louis became one of fear. I dared no longer smile or speak in his presence. It always seemed to me he was on the point of losing his temper.

Nevertheless, the couple's first child--Napoleon Charles Bonaparte--was born the 2nd of October, 1802. Another son, Napoleon-Louis Bonaparte, followed two Octobers later. The Pope himself officiated the ostentatious baptismal ceremony at Saint Cloud.

[Napoleon Charles Bonaparte, first child of Louis & Hortense]

Napoleon continued to show favor to Louis; but Louis occasionally had a different view of these "favors" than his older brother. He saw Napoleon's appointment of him as governor of the "Department beyond the Alps," which would have required his relocation to Turin, as a form of exile, and refused to leave for this new station until after Napoleon's coronation as King of Italy. When the time came, he pleaded ill health and did not accompany Napoleon to Milan for the ceremony. Suffering from acute rheumatism, he had temporarily lost the use of his right hand. By this point he was something of a hypochondriac, and often imagined his illnesses to be far worse than they actually were. His doctors recommended mud baths in St. Amand. Napoleon, still clinging to the idea of making a soldier of Louis, gave his brother command of a reserve corps in the Army of England which would enable him to set up his headquarters close to St. Amand to take the suggested cure. He departed with Hortense and their two children. The mud baths seemed to improve his health.

During the 1805 campaign, Louis remained in Paris as Grand Constable. To everyone's surprise, after his initial reluctance to take over the role of military governor, he displayed remarkable energy. He was not yet aware that Napoleon was in the early stages of preparing him a throne. But rumors soon spread that the Prussians were planning to invade France via the Netherlands. Napoleon ordered Louis to form the Army of the North, to defend the northern departments, as well as Antwerp and the Batavian territories. Louis arrived in Antwerp the day before the battle of Austerlitz; in spite of the war coming to a rapid end, he received orders from Napoleon, via Marshal Berthier, to stay put in Holland. He was also instructed to make sure the Dutch covered "all the pay and supplies of the Army of the North; it must also buy and supply you with all the artillery and transport horses you may need... the Army of the North is not to cost the Emperor anything."

Despite Napoleon's orders, Louis handed over command of his new army and headed back to France upon learning of the peace of Pressburg. Napoleon was not pleased by the unexpected meeting with his brother in Strasbourg. The Emperor finally confided to Louis his intentions of forming a kingdom in Holland, but did not yet go so far as to say that he intended Louis to rule it.

But Napoleon could see only two viable options for Holland: it must either be annexed to the Empire directly, or preserve its independence by accepting an imperial prince--Louis--as its king. The Dutch government were reluctant to forfeit their republic, but recognized that resistance to Napoleon was futile. They assented to the rule of Louis, with the understanding that no French officials would be appointed except in the king's personal household (Louis would break this promise soon enough), that freedom of worship would be maintained, and the current system of Dutch law left in place. Once these points were arranged, Louis was informed by Napoleon that he was to be King of Holland. Louis himself had little choice in the matter.

Louis was initially reluctant to take the throne, but soon warmed to the perceived advantages of being out of his domineering brother's direct grasp. Hortense, meanwhile, dreaded the idea, as well as the visible change in Louis's demeanor.

I admit that my husband's calm manner surprised me. I did not believe he was ambitious, yet I recognized that he was well pleased with what had occurred. Until then every change had been a source of annoyance to him. But now he enjoyed the idea of becoming his own master and, what was more, becoming my master at the same time. No longer would any social decorum, any sense of obligation restrain him from exercising his rights over me. Freed from the proximity of his brother he had no longer any cause to fear him.... For a moment I had the idea of flinging myself at the Emperor's feet, revealing all the torments I suffered with my husband, and begging permission not to be obliged to follow him into a foreign country where nothing would restrain those traits in his character, which I knew so well and dreaded so intensely.

The official Dutch "offer" of the throne was presented as representing nine-tenths of the populace. The formal proclamation of Louis as King of Holland took place at the Tuileries on 5 June 1806. He was solemnly reminded by Napoleon that he was still a French prince. In his response, Louis spoke of his pride in having worked to defend the Dutch people from invasion the year before, the honor he felt in being called to rule over them. He assured Napoleon that his people--he was now referring to the Dutch--would feel love and gratitude towards the Emperor and France.

[Louis Bonaparte]

Louis and Hortense left Paris a week later. The Dutch gave them a joyous reception as they made their way through the country, every small town vying to outdo the other. Hortense held a dismal view of it all. "The martial escorts, the honors, receptions and speeches only wearied me." At one point, she remarked darkly to Louis that the receptions were similar to those the French had held to celebrate the arrival of Marie Antoinette.

Though he had been thrust into the role against his will and accepted it with some reluctance, Louis was determined to be a good king to his subjects, and take care of their interests--which would inevitably put him at odds with Napoleon, just as it would for Murat in Naples years later. "From the moment I set foot on Dutch soil," the newly-crowned Louis declared to his legislature, "I became Dutch." "Which explained in a sentence," writes biographer Andrew Roberts, "the problem Napoleon was to have with him over the next four years."

***

Sources:

Atteridge, A. Hillard. Napoleon’s Brothers, 1909.

Broers, Michael. Napoleon: Soldier of Destiny. 2014.

Broers, Michael. Napoleon: Spirit of the Age. 2018.

De Beauharnais, Hortense. Memoirs of Queen Hortense, Vol I.

Masson, Frédéric. Napoleon et sa Famille, Vol I (1796-1802), 1907.

Roberts, Andrews. Napoleon: A Life. 2014.

[zuffer-weird-girl]

This begs the question; how did Kai propose?

Well here we go!

After so long, he finally was going to do this... everthing had to be perfect and extremely calculated for a great success.

Of course, it would be way more simple if the dumbasses called Chrono and Mimic COLLABORATED with him. And no teasing of Pops would actually be very appreciated.

He regreted every moment since he went ask for assistance...

"So finally are getting down on one knee for someone eh?" Pops patted in his shoulder which he only groaned in frustation as he read it his plan over and over again.

That shit was way worse than he expected...

"How long did you take for writing this shit?" Asked Mimic snickering, not really expecting an answer from his boss.

"... three months." He admited still reading the words again to memorize.

"With my help." Said Chrono lifting a little his arm up.

"Shut it." He growled as he bringed his free hand to his temple as he passed around in the room.

A knock on the door was hearded, and not even caring, Chisaki gave whoever it was permission to enter.

"Woah. Reunion?" Your voice echoed through the room making Chisaki almost, ALMOST, yelp as the other mans blocked your vision of your boyfriend.

"No dear, don't need to worry about it, but would you mind accompanying me for some tea?" Pops said extending his arm at the door.

"Uh, I am very grateful at the offer but can i talk with K-"

"We actually were going to start debating something really important now." Chrono interrupted, looking a bit more nervous.

"But you guys just said-"

"Hey ChICK GO TakE A fuCKinG TeA WItH ThE BoSS ALreAdY, Do YOu EvEn KnoW HoW FucKInG HoNOrED yOU ARE?!" You flinched at Mimic's tone of voice and lifted your hands up as you took a couple of steps back in defence while Pops only chuckled and lift a palm, silently demanding Mimic to stop.

"Come now (Y/N). I'm sure Kai will have some time later on the evening." The elder said putting his hand on your upper back and leading you out of the office.

"What would you wish this time?"

"Uh..." You took a last glance at the room, trying to see your boyfriend but in no avail "Actually-"

Your voice was becoming distant and Chisaki finally felt he could breath again when he ni longer heard your or Pops voice.

"That was a close one-" Chisaki kicked Mimic, making the poor man go to the wall as Chrono holded back his laugh.

"As always, very strong Overhaul." Mumbled Mimic, trying to hold back his own laughter as he lifted himself from the floor.

"That was for yelling at her." He growled animalistic as he returned his attention to his paper.

"Chisaki, not wanting to interrupt your train of thoughts, but its today that you are planning to do this, right?" Chisaki hummed, irritation clearly displayed.

"And you made reservations at that place you were planning as well, didn't you?" Asked a bit woried Chrono, getting even more nervous that his only answer was silence.

"Kai?" He tried again, seing Chisaki putting his paper down and bringing his cellphone, instead,up.

"He didn't..." both of the man mumbled in disbelief before Kai sended them the most terrifying death glare of his, making both even flinch and bow apologetically at him.

Well, it seemed that by saying he was Overhaul he got a table on a supposed crowded restaurant. What a pleasure thing to hear. He only had to make a death threat or two...

~

You sipped on your tea carefully as the older man talked with you.

Thank god Pops had liked you or else you didn't know if he, the grandmaster of the yakusa, would be this calm amd even nice with you, especially being the partner of his sucessor.

"I hope is not a bother for me to be your company sir." You said a bit embarrassed as the man only waved off as he smiled.

"No formalities here (Y/N). You are almost family here. But anyways, have I told you about one time that Kai ha-" the sound of the door oppening cautiously catched both of your attentions, and you couldn't help but smile at seing the serious golden eyes staring you down.

"Ah what a shame. Right on my favorite one." Pops mumbled before drinking his own tea.

Chisaki approached your figurine and kneeled down on the ground besides you and handed you a box.

"Go change. We're leaving in a few hours." He said as you looked at him surprised.

"Wait what? Right now?" Chisaki nodded and pointed at the door with his gloved palm.

"Go. We will be late."

You looked at Pops, smiling apologetically before lifting yourself up and bowing down respectfully and leaving the room.

Pops chuckled lowly before looking at Chisaki, he knew this boy for so ling now that he was so obvious to him that he was almost panicking.

"You already know what to do. So why so nervous?"

"Who said I was nervous?" Chisaki asked bitterly as he picked one available cup and poured himself some of the hot drink.

"Try to lie to someone else boy. I mean, what am I trying to say is that, she is a good match, and she tolerates you. What could go wrong right?"

"She says 'no'? Its a possibility." He said numbly and scowling at hearing the laugh of Pops again.

"And since when you take 'no' as a answer? Damn, thank god for delivering (Y/N) in this house."

"Are you done?" He asked placing the cup down a bit more aggressively than expected.

The elder simply half smiled at the irritated young man in front of him. Before bringing his cup closer to his mouth again he mumbled.

"I'm proud at seing you do this. You're going to do fine Kai."

Well, besides the fucking teasing that he swore that lasted for more than wished... that was quite comforting.

"Kai?" You appeared on the door frame already dressed up on a nice, and expensive, violet with the hints of gold on the base of the vestiment and hair sweetly combed.

You looked angelic...

"Took you long enough." He mumbled while standing up and bowing slightly to the elder "Thank you for your time."

The man waved you two off and wished for a good evening. When Chisaki went to follow you after Pops grabbed his attention.

"The ring?" He went wide eyes before face palming himself and runned towards his room to grab the box.

Pops laughed at seing this, look at what a simple quirkless young girl did it with a man like his Chisaki.

He didn't know anymore who he was going to wish luck for, Chisaki or you.

~

Chisaki handed the box discreetly at the waiter and gave him every instruction with every detailed perfectly explained.

"Mess up with our night. And your arms and legs will be cutted out." Chisaki threatened quietly at the poor quivering young man before following you to your only table on the floor.

He pushed his chair for you to sit, making you giggle but attending to his actions anyway.

"And they say chivalry is dead." You said as he sitted down on his own chair.

Luckily for him, the table was right besides the window of the place, giving both of you a perfect view of the beautiful shining dark sky.

A perfect combination, he had studied even the weather forecast to evit a clouded sky.

"So..." you singed catching his attentiom "Did you just wanted to spoil me for no reason or is it a important celebration that I forgot? As far as I know our anniversary is only in two months." You smiled adoringly at him which made him for a brief moment lose the ability to breath.

No. Not fucking this up right now.

He scoffed while adjusting his black mask closer to his face, no blushing on this special night...

"Is it wrong if I think that my angel only deserves the best?" He lift his gloved hand slightly, silently requesting the presence of the waiter on the table.

"Well is not wrong. But I don't want you to expend all of your money with me love. We already talked about it." You smiled at him, consequently making his own to start to grown on his face.

"Trust me. This time is special." The waiter arrived and the soft look of your boyfriend quickly turned into cold and demanding at the poor young man.

"Mind me ordering the drinks?" He asked at you, which you only shook your head.

"Wonderful. Two glasses of champagne them. The expensive ones the better." You gasped when the waiter nodded and went away.

"Kai do I speak greek or something?!" You whisper yelled at him which he only smirked.

"Is for a special occasion, so I don't see exactly any problem with it." You scoffed, trying to contain the growing smile on your lips.

"You're hopeless..." you sighed.

"... That was uncalled for." He spoke seriously while you only giggled.

He chuckled, finally relaxing a bit after being so tense the whole week... this was you who was he speaking to, you that he wanted to... expend all of his life.

Why should he even feel woried?

The waiter arrived with the drinks and excused himself shortly after seing the glare that Chisaki sended him.

There it goes...

You took a sip before feeling the pressure of a hard object touching on your lip.

"What? There's a ring on here..." you picked cautiously the object and went to dry it off on the handkerchief placed on the side of your plate.

You looked at it surprised, it was definitely a expensive one since it was definitely mad eof gold and caried the jews of both sapphire and amethysts and on the center a rather beautiful diamond.

"Oh god, look Kai is so beautiful! Why did they even outted this on-" you stopped dead on your words when you saw that your boyfriend wasn't sitting in front of you anymore.

Now he was kneeled in one of his knees on the ground looking at the ring as well before he with his globed fingers picked the room and showed in front of both of your faces.

"(Y/N), ever since the moment I met you, you made me feel... emotions and so kuch feelings that sadly I haven't had the privilege to present on my younger days... turning my life into a quite darkness... until you, the light of my personal hell called life, appeared."

He thanked god that this was a seclused area, because he was felling kike he would combust at any moment.

"My love, everday I insist on saying that you are the purest being and cleanest on this planet. Which by no means is a lie or even much as a drama of mine. It's the complete true my angel." He picked one of your hands and bringed to his covered lips and pressed there as a supposed kiss.

"Even wanting, needing even, you by my side, I still know that I... well, I am not the most affectionate or even worth of your attention or love... But as the time passed by, feeling things that I thought never truly existed... I notice that I fell for you... An demon completely in love with a angel." He still wouldn't look up at your eyes, not seing your face ever sinnce he kneeled on the floor, which he hoped was at least clean.

"Cliche I know... but I can't get enough of this adorable and beautiful angel that has been with me ever since then... proving to me that 'love' actually exists, and trust me when I say that I love you..." he felt your body starring to tremble and immediately got worried, but he needed to at least finish.

"So... that's why I am here, embarrassing myself even, to simply ask..." he finally looked at you, taking his mask off for only you to see.

"Will you marry this demon my angel (Y/N) (L/N)? And gave him a chance to make you just as happy as you make him?"

The moment your tears started to fall, made his heart clench at the sign, he had expected everthing of a reaction but that.

"Angel?" You bringed a hand to your mouth to contain your sobs allarming him even more as he got up to grab gently on your shoulders.

"Kai..." he immediately look at your eyes who seemed to be even more briliant that he was used to.

"Are you serious?" You asked bringing your hands to rest on his kuch bigger gloved ones.

"For God's sake (Y/N), do I look like I am joking? Did I ever joke no less?" He asked clearly irritated and a bit offended. "I demand an answer at least." He said in a stern tone but you could see the hint of desperation on his golden eyes.

"Answer? You know me for more than five years already, had to atture my clingy ass for so long and you still don't know?" You asked breathless but smiled widely at him, while some tears still were falling... sadly running your make up. But fuck it.

"Yes! Dear god my handsome devil Yes! A thousand times yes if is that what you want to hear!" You threw all of that mysophobia of his through the window as you latched yourself on his neck.

"Finally." He breath out returning your crushing hug to your surprise.

To surprise you even more, he separated suddenly fron the crushing hug and dropped you on his arms, romantic movie style this romantic man, as he crashed his lips on yours fervently.

No one was seing so fuck it.

As soon as you parted you looked at him with eyes wide and mouth open in a smile.

"Wow. Straight to tongue?"

"Shut it." Despite his harsh words he looked down at you with a boyish smile, still holding you close.

"I am engaged... with the most powerful man I ever know... wow." You breath out in pure shook as he only rolled his eyes and picked your hand gently.

"Can I? You're not my fiancee until this ring is in your hand." You nodded eargly and watched Chisaki slide the golden ring in your finger cautiously, his face seemed like he was planing a attack of some war than just putting a ring on a finger...

You watched the ring for a few seconds as he bringed you close again.

"... Chisaki Kai. How much did you spend on this?" You asked, sounding more like a mother.

"You will only know about that after the fireworks... maybe."

"What? What fire-" the sounds echoed as you looked at the window.

"... Kai oh my god..." you whined burring your face on his chest still giggling.

"This one was actually from Pops. Don't blame on this." He chuckled lowly as he carresed your entire back.

"What about the ring mister?" He didn't said a thing opting to just kiss your forehead.

"Just shut it and accept it. Angel, you deserve the whole sky... and I would be a fool of not even try to give it to you."

He suprised you with a rose, he had guarded underneath the table...

"You softy..." you cooed before kissing his jaw lovingly while some tears falled from your eyes.

An angel had engaged with a devil... and he couldn't be more happy than to carry that tittle.

[be-ready-when-i-say-go]

Walk Away (Part 2 of Addicted)

There’s a certain kind of strength to walk away from a bad thing. Calum thought he had done that; but the past always comes back around. Female Reader Insert. No specific race of the reader. 

CW: Drug Use/Drug Mention (Tobacco/Cigarette). Alcohol Mention. 

Enjoy my masterlist | Part 1-Addicted

Support me on kofi. 

No one has my permission to repost my work of fiction. This includes translations as well. All rights reserved. 

____________________________

Here of all places, of course. Here when he’s wearing old basketball shorts and a sweatshirt. Here when he’s just trying to tune up on his car. Here of all places, of all times. She approaches the front desk. “I really hate to do this. But my car’s making this really weird noise. I have a long drive tomorrow. It just started earlier today. Can you take a look at it?”

He hasn’t seen her in months. 

He’s worked hard not to run into her. He avoids the old bars that they used to frequent. Not together. Never together, but the ones that she would beg him to come too, just she wouldn’t have to drive to get her fix. He doesn’t visit her side of town, no matter how inconvenient to him. He made the occasional sacrifice for when the boys wanted to hit up a place near her, but he never broke the rule on avoiding those old bars. Never. It didn't matter how annoyed anyone was at it. He had to stick to that one. Because if he didn’t, with any amount of alcohol in him and her presence, he was sure to crumble. He was tired of her. 

But the sight of her in those light wash distressed jeans and snug cropped top make him almost forget all the trouble she’s caused. Calum forces his gaze back to floor as she and a worker leave the shop. He’s praying she didn't spot him. He’s praying that she will not come back into the shop. She disappeared on him after the last time he went over to her place. She hasn’t left a text, phone call, or voicemail. Calum told himself he wouldn’t send her one either. It was a part of her game. But she didn’t even tell him that she had found someone new, someone she wanted to pretend to be serious with. Normally she did and that made Calum suspicious; it worried him. So after about three weeks, he caved. He sent one message, What happened? 

He was met with silence. Three days worth. His fingers wanted to type more and they did. He drafted several paragraphs worth. How could she just drop him? How could she just walk away from him? What was he supposed to do now? Nothing replaced the feeling of her. He had tried that avenue before. What the hell was supposed to happen next? 

More days passed and his bleeding heart paragraphs sat unaddressed. The smoking which had died down, increased again. Calum drank something most often too, not a lot, not enough to be fucked over the next morning. But he wanted to shut down the part of his brain that craved her. The silence of her was deafening, but the buzz of alcohol gave his brain something else to focus on for the moment. He’s since slowed on both those habits thanks to time and this album they’re working on. Ashton’s helped too. But Calum tries to keep himself occupied as much as possible. Doing any and everything he can, just so his brain can’t wonder. 

The door chimes again. She sits along the wall to his left. He’s sitting so he can see directly back into the shop, directly across from the front desk. He has four rows of seat in his view. He can’t not see her. She plays at her phone. How can she act like this? The least she could do is say hi. The least she could is acknowledge his fucking existence as a human being. 

His gut twists, in that all too familiar flip of desire. She’s still got him wrapped around her fucking fingers. Those beautiful, slender fingers. He remembers the way the feel dragging down his bare chest. He knows the pinch of her fingers around his nipples. With a deep exhale, the ghost of her touch skirts down his chest down to his groin. Fuck, no, no don’t start imagining this. It’s been four months since those text messages. Four; he cannot slip up now. 

Pushing up from his chair, Calum walks to the bathroom. It’s thankful to Christ, that it’s close to his seat or that walk past her would be the end of his resolve. Splashing cold water onto his face, Calum grips the side of the sinks, staring at his reflection. He traces the line of a water droplet down from his forehead, around the curve of his eyes, over the bridge of his nose, and fall off the tip of his nose. 

He’s never been too fond of the chub around his cheek, everyone else has squeezed and squished them. He’s over it. But he remembers the way she used to pat his left cheek. Always the left one. It wasn’t hard, wasn’t condescending. She’d cup the flesh, lifting her fingers before gently bring them back down. Her hand would slide down his flesh then, sometimes she’s give his chin a squeeze. Most times she scurried out of the door. Water drips from his chin and onto his sweatshirt. Thankfully it’s black so the wet spot won’t show too badly. 

You cannot go back to her, Calum thinks to himself. You cannot go back. You cannot go back. She dropped you--she does not want you back. He drops his head. She doesn’t want him. She never did really. She was just using him. He thought he was just using her. He thought it was just sex. But god, his heart races even still just at the thought of her. His lungs ache occasionally to inhale her scent. She does not want him. He inhales. That’s okay. She doesn’t need to want him. He always envisioned him alone anyway. Calum dries his face and walks back out. 

She’s up at the small desk where stale coffee is sat out. He knows because he had a cup. It’s not his usual, but he needed something-anything to keep him from going insane while staring at pristine gray painted walls and too brightly waxed white floors. He admits it makes sitting in a car shop nice that it’s so clean, but it always threw him off. The smell of motor oil and greasy towel mixed with the stale coffee and whatever wax they used for the floor always made his head spin upon his initial entrance. 

Settled back into his seat, Calum flexes his fingers. He needs something to do, something to take his mind off her--how close she is, how good she looks. He did not miss the soft pink lipstick on her pouty lips. Fuck, those lips are so goddamn kissable too. Calum snatches the magazine next to him from the dark brown wooden table. He flips to a page and runs his eyes intently over the article on muscle cars. This means nothing to him, but he can’t keep thinking about her. She walks past him, shoes silent on the floors, the only thing that gives away any movement is her waft of perfume hitting Calum’s nostrils. 

He expels every ounce of air in his lungs. Do not inhale. Do not inhale her in. Do not break. “Mr. Hood,” his mechanic calls out. 

Calum snaps his head up from the magazine and tosses it back onto the table. Finally. He gives a tight lipped smile as he approaches the counter. “What’s the damage?” he asks with a soft chuckle. 

“None. You’re in good shape. She still runs smoothly. You did need an oil change, so we took care of that for you.”

Calum nods. He can feel her stare burning holes into the back of his head. Calum digs out his wallet, sliding his card across the counter.  Now she watches him, when he can’t see her gaze. Calum thanks the man once again for his work and places his wallet back into his pocket. As he turns, her head snaps back to the floor. He stares at her this time, lets her know that he knew she was watching. She won’t look up; she wouldn’t be so emboldened, he figures. It as his sneakers squeak right in front of the door that her gaze lifts. They lock eyes for two seconds. Neither one gives an ounce of recognition facially.. Just slow blinks between not even lover, but not quite strangers.  His heart booms in his chest, he can feel the thumping on his veins in his neck

Calum steps through the door and keeps his shoulders square. His car is parked right outside the door. Thank God. His head is starting to feel disconnected from him. Are his lungs even working anymore? Another mechanic hands him the keys. Calum gives him a nod in thanks. As the engine turns over, even through the door and the window of his front shield, he can still feel her gaze. He looks at her one last time. She doesn’t give a nod, a smile, a wink--nothing. She just stares. Did she expect him to grovel at her feet like before? Did she expect him to apologize? What the hell did she want from him? He wouldn’t give it to her, but it would be nice to know for once what was going on in her head. What her thoughts were, what kept her up at night.  

The air is still nice, so Calum rolls down the windows. Only when she sees the passenger side window rolling down does her face crack. She gives the faintest of smiles and start pushing up from the seat. Calum presses onto the gas and rolls down the pavement. He wasn’t giving in. But it makes him just a smidge happy to know that he might have toyed with her like she did to him. He can’t give into her. He’s doing alright by himself His body wants to cave. It’s been two months since he’s slept with anyone. Not the longest he’s gone. He hadn’t even thought about the last time until he saw her. Until he thought about the way she begged beneath him, face buried into the pillows, him pulling her arms back behind her, so her arch couldn’t falter. 

No, his stomach flips again. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. He doesn’t have a pack on him either. He stopped carrying one due to Ashton’s insistence. Now he needed some nicotine. Anything to take the edge off. There’s a gas station right next to the shop, but he doesn’t stop there. Calum drives through the streets; he’ll drive to a station a bit farther out. He’s still too close to her. Yeah, just keep driving. He winds through the streets, about twenty minutes longer than he anticipated. Settled in front of the station, he exhales. He blinks once and his vision clears for a second before it blurs. Tears. Fuck, he’s crying. 

Resting his head against the steering wheel, he lets out a shaky breath. Does he even want a cigarette or does he want to burn away the parts of him that still hold onto her? Does he really want alcohol or does he wish to drown the memories of her? He reaches for his phone situated in the cup holder. Unlocking, he pulls up Ashton’s U.S. number. It rings once in his ear. Twice. A third time. Right before Calum pulls the phone away, he hears the call connect. “Need a ride?” Ashton asks. 

“I don’t need a cigarette, right?” Calum hears the own distress in his voice. He can hear the strain as he tries to swallow a sob. 

“Mate, what happened?”

“Just tell me I don’t need to walk into this gas station. I don’t need a cigarette. I don’t need a drink. I can’t even drive if I drink.”

“Calum, you don’t need a cigarette. You don’t need to go into that gas station. You don’t need a pack. You don’t need a drink either. Where are you?”

Calum sits up, pressing his freshly cut hair into the leather of his headrest. He doesn’t want the nicotine. He wipes at his cheeks. “Not even sure. I just started driving.”

“Wanna come over?”

He wants to be over her. He wants to know why she walked away without warning. He wants to know if this is love, because if so, he wants nothing to do with it ever again. He never wants to be this broken, this easy to crack ever again by one person. He wants nothing to do with this scam called love. “Thanks for the offer.” 

Ashton knows it’s a no. But he presses on. “If you show up, I’ll have some movies waiting. Maybe grab a quick lunch. There’s a new sushi place. I’ve been eyeing for a while. Heard it’s good.”

Calum just wants a way to forget her. He wants a way out, he’s been trying to escape, run away. Maybe he needs a way through. Ashton’s offering that. Calum feels like Ashton should be telling him to just get over it, to forget her. He has to know why Calum called anyway. Ashton takes the silence as Calum’s resistance. 

Ashton presses on again. “Or a hike. You said you wanted to take Duke up through the trails again. We probably won’t be able to go too far with him and the heat, but it’s something.”

He needs to walk away from her. He needs a way through. Calum exhales. “A hike sounds good.” 

Ashton sighs in relief. Calum’s not going to say what triggered this. Though Ashton figures it something to do with her again. “I’ll meet you at your place then.”

“Okay,” Calum’s voice is soft a little rough with the tears that are choking him still. The call ends and Calum throws an arm over his face for a moment. His phone chimes from the cup holder. He thinks it’s Ashton texting and doesn’t lift a finger. It chimes again, then a third time. A call. Looking down her number lights up his screen. Now she can call. Now she can remember he fucking exists. 

Calum wonders if her latest boy toy dropped her. He wonders why she has the nerve to call him now, but not speak to him thirty minutes ago. He doesn’t answer. He watches the call ring and ring and ring before it finally stops. He waits, barely breathing. She’ll call again. She always does. He waits, staring at his black screen. A notification pops up. New Voicemail. Voicemail? She’s never left a message. Calum stares his phone. What did she say? Was it an apology? Biting his lip, he unlocks it and another notification comes in. This one is from Ashton. 

I’ll be to your place in another 20 minutes. Had to run and take care of some errands first. 

His hike. Duke needs to be let out. Calum drops his phone back into the cup holder. His little man. That’s what he focuses on. Duke is waiting for him. The drive back home is strangely quiet besides the sounds of wind rushing and cars zooming past. Calum normally puts on the radio, even if it’s down low. But now right now he’s afraid songs will remind him of her. It’s not like the drive isn’t already doing that, but he can drown out those thoughts. He can listen to the whirring of tires over asphalt. He can think about Duke. He can listen to his mind’s replay of Duke’s whines this morning, needing to go out to the backyard. 

Calum can think about what he needs to grab for his hike. He’ll need to bring water. Bags just in case Duke has to go while they’re out. Maybe a couple protein bars. He needs to change shoes. His vans won’t cut it for the walk. He’ll have to put Duke in his harness. Calum needs to remember the dog treats too. As Calum pulls into his driveway, he spots Ashton already parked to the side. 

Ashton climbs out of his car after seeing Calum park. “Took you long enough,” he jokes, watching closely. He’s watching to see if Calum grabs anything else. He doesn’t see anything but his phone and keys. 

“Sorry about that. It should only take me a few to get ready.” The two men shuffle into the house. Ashton notes the slight puffiness to Calum’s eyes and cheeks. The slight pink tint to his nose, the fading pink to his eyes. Duke happily greets Calum at the door, jumping onto the man’s calves. “Hey, sorry that took longer than anticipated, bud.”

He moves to greet Ashton next. Calum walks to the backyard, finding his workout shoes next to the hall closet. As Duke rushes to his corner, Calum switches shoes. “Wanna talk about it?” Ashton asks, settling down on the ledge the back porch and the inside of the house. He watches Calum, squinting at the sun. 

Calum shakes his head, cleaning up after Duke. Back inside, Calum fills his two biggest water bottles, throws in some protein bars, and finds Duke’s leash. It hits him as he clips on the harness he still needs the bags, treat, and his portable bowl. Spinning around he spies, Ashton placing the portable bowl into his backpack. “Thanks, mate.”

Ashton nods. “I put treats inside too. Some bags were already inside. Not sure if they’re enough.”

Calum wishes he had more words than thank you. But all he can do is nod and take the backpack. Back outside, Calum locks up. Ashton drives. Calum can feel his phone burning a hole in his pocket. But Duke’s resting in his lap. He can’t reach for it now. It’ll have to wait. It will have to continue to light his skin with a fire. He hopes it burns him, so it proves how much she hurt him. How much pain she’s put them through. It’s so much easier to treat a wound when it’s physical. 

As they past the cities and head for the mountains, Duke pops up from his curled position, front paws resting on the door, hind legs stretched as far as his tiny body can go. Calum smiles, scratching at his head. “Yeah, bud, we’re going to the mountains again.”

“You didn’t buy a pack, right?” Ashton asks after a minute or two of silence. 

“I didn’t.”

“You’ve been doing good. I’m proud.”

“Thanks,” Calum whispers. He knows the compliment is genuine, but he feels terrible for almost breaking it today. He feels like shit for breaking this far down that he considered a drink. Cigarettes are one thing, but a drink. The drinking is scaring him. 

The rest of the ride is quiet, Calum’s chest starts to hurt. He keeps thinking about that voicemail. What the hell could she have possibly had to say to him? Why did he care so fucking much? He’s going to burst inside his car. They pull up to the foot of the trail and Calum opens the door before Ashton fully brakes. All the air pushes out of his lungs. He heaves, tears biting at his eyes. Ashton hurriedly brakes and climbs out. Calum clutches Duke to his chest for a second.

“Calum, what’s happening?”

Inhaling deeply, Calum squats down next to the car. Duke turns in his hold, licking at Calum’s cheek. “I saw her today,” he huffs, trying to keep the tears at bay. “I fucking saw her. And I swear to God, I thought I was over her. I thought I had walked away, but all I had done was hide from her.”

“It’s okay.” He places a sturdy and firm grip on Calum’s shoulder. “You’ll find a way through this. It’s okay to hurt. It fucking sucks. But it’s okay.”

“She called. Left a voicemail. I haven’t listened to it.”

“Do you want to?”

Calum swallows, still heaving for a good breathe. “I have no idea.”

“Let’s walk. Walk and we’ll figure it out. Talk to me, mate. I know it’s not your cup of tea. But for fuck sake, I am right here.”

Calum nods, running his hand over Duke’s head. Ashton helps him up and Duke stares up from the ground to Calum. “I’m sorry, I’m okay,” Cal reassures the dog. But Duke knows something is very wrong. He walks over and settles right on top of Calum’s foot, fur brushing softly over his calf. Calum finds a treat for Duke. He holds it for a moment before Duke moves to take it. “Thanks for caring, love,” Calum says softly. 

The three start up the trails. They’re about a fourth way up before the silence is broken. Calum continues to stare up at the windy and rocky path in front of them. The trees waft off their scent in the breeze. Duke sniffs everything, so they have to move a little slow. “I texted twice,” he states. 

“Today?”

“No, when she first disappeared. She didn’t respond and I didn’t text again. I just wanted to forget her. So I dodged all the places I knew she’d be.”

Ashton hums though it turns up into a grunt as he lifts his weight up to stand on a rock. He holds his arms out to steady himself. He watches the way Calum gazes at him. Part in concern, partly still lost in his own world. “And you tried to bury her, you didn’t try to get through it,” Ashton continues. Calum nods. “The question remains. Do you want to actually walk away from her? Do you really want to be done with her?”

Calum slides off his bag and pours some water for Duke. The small dog happily laps at the cool drink. Calum settles onto a small rock. It’s scratchy and a little sharp against his skin. “I don’t think I can answer answer that until I figure out what’s on that voicemail. But I can’t listen to it. I can’t hear her voice right now. I’ll crack. She might as well cut my heart out, just split me open and stolen the fucking organ because clearly my brain’s not winning this battle.”

Ashton jumps down from the rock and holds out his hand. “How about I give it a listen and relay the important stuff to you?”

Before the question can fully leave Ashton’s lip, Calum digs in his pocket for phone. By the time Ash finishes, he’s holding Calum’s unlocked phone. It’s killing Calum not to know what’s happening, but he can’t listen to it himself. Ashton taps the only voicemail not viewed and holds the phone to his ear. 

“It was nice to see you today, Calum,” her voice starts in Ashton’s ear. Her pitch purposefully low, he notes as he turns around. He doesn’t want to give anything way. “It was rude of me not to say hi. But even ruder that you took off without at least waving goodbye. Let me make it up to you being so ill-mannered this last few weeks. You know the time and place.”

The voicemail ends and Ashton turns back around, but not before deleting the message. “She basically wants to apologize for being an ass by having you fuck her again. She’s no good for you.”

Calum drops his head, taking the phone. “And I’m no good at letting go.”

“I deleted the message. Walk away, Calum. She’s only going to drag you down. Even more than she already has.”

Calum knows Ashton is right. Duke settles down in front of Calum. “Should I walk away, bud? Should I cut ties with some ounce of dignity?”

Duke pants up at him. The little dog is just happy to be outside. Calum scratches at his fur. “If you love this, then I gotta take you to the midwest. You’ll love it there. Or even Oregon or Washington. Nothing but trees and nature trails.”

That’s what he’ll do. He’ll plan a mini getaway, maybe it’s just a weekend. He can write, he can get away from her, he can get her out of his system. That’s the problem. She’s still in his system. When he walks into the studio, when he journals at night, he tries so hard to forget her. He tries so hard to pretend like she didn’t hurt him that it only hurts him more. You can’t forget a person if they’re all you’re thinking about. 

Calum never really mattered to her anyway. He was only a fuck. He was only a toy that would always be there when her newest one broke. He finds the missed call, clicks on the tiny i icon and then scrolls to the bottom. Block this Caller stares back up at him. He taps it, no shaking this time. It pops up again, Block Contact or Cancel. Calum presses Block Contact with an exhale. She won’t give up. Not even if he starts ignoring her. But this is a start, he can start working though all the shit she did. 

“Ready to head back?” Ashton questions. 

Calum collects his things, shaking his head. “Let’s go to the top. Little man here deserves the sight.”

With a soft smile, Ashton starts up to the top. Their pace is still slow due to Duke’s exploration. Halfway up up they stop again, and Calum slips Duke into his arms. “I should've bought a second bag and let you just sit in it,” Calum teases at Duke. Ashton offers his bag, they could consolidate all into Calum’s, put Duke in Ashton’s bag, or vice versa. 

“He’ll sit for all of like three minutes before wanting out.” 

It’s sometime later maybe an hour or so, Calum’s lost track of how long, when they reach the top. The sun’s just starting to dip down. They settle in a small spot off to the side and Calum sits with Duke between his legs, staring out at the blue ocean of the sky in front of him. Part of him wants to dive into it, wash himself of her, wash himself of the heartache. But it’s not that easy. He wishes he had heard what she said exactly just so he had the satisfaction of saying no to her directly. Not through word of a friend, not through someone else’s interpretation. But at least he knows now that she wouldn’t ever care. He could pretend when he had no clue before. He could pretend that she was just busy. He could pretend and make all the excuses he wanted. 

But not now. Now he knew. It hurt. It fucking hurt. Getting through this wouldn’t be flicking off a switch. It would be pain and tears and time. But maybe he could walk here, he could sit here and watch out over the sky and think about the heavens washing over him. He could think about a hand reaching down from through the clouds and comfortable. He could get through it. He could walk away here to the heavens. 

[ahgaseda]

two can keep a secret || chapter 02

⇥ synopsis : when your father reveals his intention to remarry, you find an unlikely confidant in Mark, your soon-to-be stepbrother, but what began as a revenge fling ironically becomes far more complicated...

⇥ warnings : this story in its entirety includes but is not limited to strong language and dialogue, recurring alcohol and drug use, and explicit sexual content, and is intended for an adult audience only!

Smoke filled the room. Mark’s bedroom, of course. There was no way in hell you would let him smoke that shit in your room.

Leaning back against the headboard, you scrolled through his phone with disinterest. Mark was on his belly positioned comfortably between your legs. He occasionally rested his head on your lower stomach, just above the waistband of your panties. Which was all you were wearing aside from his undershirt, soaked in his scent of sweat and faded cologne.

Mark puffed on the joint again before discarding what was left. The trip from your bed to his bed had resulted in yet another round of sex, this time with you on your hands and knees. As long as he made you come, you didn’t really give a shit about the position.

Wrenching your fists in the dark material of his comforter, your mouth hung open in a silent cry of mercy as his hips smacked into your ass with every violent thrust. Mark grunted with the effort, his grip on your waist hard and punishing. You could feel the bruises forming, like bold handprint-shaped reminders of your sins.

After a fast, deep thrust that kissed your cervix, you let out a strangled moan and snapped, “Hngh, fuck you, Mark!”

For fucking me too damn good, was what you wanted to say, but you didn’t dare inflate his pride even further. No boy had indulged your desires for rough sex, though if they had, you had a sneaking suspicion they wouldn’t have done it as well as Mark did. Again, that was also something you wouldn’t dare admit to him. His ego was big enough as it was.

Mark chuckled darkly at your words and the sound only tightened the coil in the pit of your stomach. Setting his hand to the back of your neck, Mark pushed you face down into the mattress and held you there, pounding the living shit out of you as his bed squeaked and threatened to give out.

By the time you and your future stepbrother had finished the romp, you spent a good five minutes splayed limply on his sheets. The two of you panted for breath in perfect sync, chests heaving up and down. As energy had slowly returned, you donned his shirt and made yourself comfortable, far too exhausted to make the short trek back to your own bedroom.

“Jackson is having a party on Friday if you wanna go,” you told him, after reading the invite on his phone.

Mark scoffed. “Why? We can get drunk and high and fuck right here.”

“Very funny,” you deadpanned, pursing your lips.

On some level Mark was fully aware of his destructive behaviors, but his anger overruled them. You had given up talking him out of getting high or wasted on the regular fairly quickly. He was stubborn and set in his ways and you knew it was downright hypocritical of you to chide him.

“Are you going or not?” you asked impatiently.

“Yeah, I’ll go,” Mark said with a noncommittal shrug. “Free booze.”

You rolled your eyes.

Mark turned his head, eyes flickering with desire. His hands were suddenly on your hips, smoothing up your body underneath his shirt you wore. Once his broad hands landed on your bare breasts and proceeded to squeeze, you lowered the phone and gave him a look.

“No more, Mark.”

He pouted. “Why not?”

You reminded, “They’ll be home any minute and I’m really sore.”

“Tapping out so soon?” he teased, kissing hotly beneath your navel.

“Yes,” you replied bluntly.

Mark let his head fall on your tummy in defeat. “Fine.”

You reached down and raked your nails through his disheveled hair, teasing under your breath, “Such a horny motherfucker.”

Mark lifted his eyes, settling them on your face, and retorted, “That’s what you like about me.”

You pulled his hair. “No, I like your big dick and your big ass hands.”

Mark chuckled and tickled his fingers over your waist. “Yeah, and I like your tight pussy and your pretty titties.”

You laughed. “On that note, I should probably go back to my room.”

Mark tilted his head and teased, “Should I carry you, Miss I’m So Sore?”

You glared. “Don’t make me kick you.”

Before you could protest, Mark hopped up and swept you into his arms. You squeaked in surprise, gripping his shoulders to steady yourself, and chastised him jokingly as he brought you back to your bed.

Mark plopped you down and gave your ass a swat, saying, “Let’s go get food in a bit. I’m fucking starving.”

You gave him a thumbs up, knowing that was a side-effect of his high. “Deal.”

Mark leaned in to steal a kiss, a gesture you happily returned. When he took another and another, you began to smile against his mouth, giggling at his insatiable hunger for you and your body. His kisses became wet and mischievous, and you could feel yourself getting riled up again.

Without a word, you grabbed his shoulders with both hands and pulled him on top of you, wrapping your legs around his waist and locking your ankles.

Mark broke away long enough to peer into your eyes, cocking an eyebrow. “What happened to please don’t tear it up again?”

Irritated that his mouth was no longer on yours, you growled, “Just keep kissing me, asshole.”

With pleasure, Mark would have said, except you were already tugging at his hair to bring him in for more.

Suddenly, there came a noise downstairs, followed by your father’s voice echoing through the house, “We’re home!”

You shoved Mark away faster than you thought possible and your future stepbrother didn’t hesitate to race out of your room, flinging himself to his own bed before he could get caught between your legs.

Your heart raced for an entirely different reason as you heard your father’s approaching footsteps. Quickly pulling your blanket over yourself, you donned a smile just in time for him to appear in your doorway.

At the sight of you still in bed, your father shook his head and asked, “Are you planning to sleep the day away?”

You replied sweetly, “I’ve been awake, Daddy.”

“Ah, okay. Any sign of life from Mark?”

“Yes, sir,” said Mark, coming to stand beside your father, pulling on his jacket.

“Good morning,” your father quipped, reaching out to shake Mark’s hand.

You wanted to chuckle. They were still unbelievably awkward with each other.

“Morning,” Mark replied, then he turned to you. “Food, remember? Let’s go.”

“Let me get dressed,” you said, shooing them away with a wave of your hand.

Your Dad quipped, “Glad to see the two of you willing to leave the house.”

You almost blushed, but fortunately, your father swiftly left to answer the distant beckoning of your soon-to-be stepmother.

Mark leaned against the frame of your door, arms folded as hair fell in his face. He was watching you with that devilish gaze of his before licking his lips and whispering, “I like the way you say Daddy.”

You grimaced. “I just threw up in my mouth a little bit.”

“Do I need to help you get dressed or can you manage it?”

“They are right downstairs,” you murmured, scathing in reproach.

Mark snorted and hissed, “As much as they fuck, they shouldn’t have anything to say about us.”

The vitriol in his voice was overwhelming and you felt adrenaline creep up your spine at how closely he danced to the line. You stopped, eyes soft in pleading. “Mark, you promised.”

Mark melted in an instant. You knew where his weak points were. “I’m only teasing,” he quickly defended. “I just like making your heart race."

With a shake of your head, you finally slipped out of bed and moved toward the dresser. “You’re the worst.”

Mark raked his tongue over his teeth and murmured, “That’s not what you said this morning or last night.”

Pulling on your jeans, you threatened, “Should I tell all of your friends the way I made you sing for me?”

Mark rubbed his thumb over your bottom lip and smiled. “There she is. Come on, the least I can do is feed you after wearing you out.”

“As much as I wore you out, maybe I should be the one treating.”

“Over my dead body,” he huffed, roaming his hand down your back and lingering over the little span of bare skin above your jeans. “Let’s go, woman. This century, please.”

“I’m coming,” you said impatiently, grabbing your purse. “Let me guess - burgers?”

Mark nodded. “Obviously.”

“In-N-Out?”

“The irony. We know all about that, don’t we?”

Your brow furrowed in confusion.

Mark brought his lips to your ear and you could feel his hot breath on your skin as he whispered in the lowest timbre, “In and out. In and out. In and…”

The memory of his cock stretching you open appeared in your mind. You smacked his chest and earned a childish laugh, but the soreness between your thighs was suddenly begging for his attention. “Only you could make that dirty, Mark Tuan.”

He grinned and smarted, “It’s a gift.”

“Or a curse,” you retorted over your shoulder, heading for the door with him in tow.

chapter 01 ⇤ chapter 02 ⇥ chapter 03

Hey there, beautiful! If you enjoyed this, please leave a like or reblog or follow me! Or maybe buy me a coffee so I can keep writing? Or check out my masterlist here for more stories! Thanks for reading :) - Katya

This work is fictional and for entertainment purposes only, but is licensed and protected under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial-noderivatives 4.0 international license. Any instances of plagiarism will be dealt with accordingly. Do not re-post or translate without my permission.

{ copyright 2018-2020 © ahgaseda // all rights reserved }

[starlitsummermoon]

Hey there~! Hmm Can I request a ikesen Mitsuhide romantic/surprise date please? I really love your writing! Thank you~

@mikablazen @nad-zeta (A/N: This one is a bit longer mostly because of how many requested it~)

—————

All day, the girls at work have been bragging about their dates their boyfriends were taking them on after work. Each time they giggled about what they were expecting, my eyes would roll. With enough practice, I would probably be able to see my brain by the end of the day.

Some of them tried to pry and ask about what my boyfriend had planned for me and all I could muster was a fake smile and say, “Gee, I don’t know! Hopefully nothing too crazy!”

I did my best to match their same level of excitement and enthusiasm, but I kept my expectations low. Not that Mitsuhide didn’t spoil me enough already, I just wasn’t the biggest fan of Valentine’s Day. In fact, I disliked the “holiday” so much that I never even told him about it. He’s been in my time with me for just about a year or so, leaving his wartime life behind. If anything, I should be the one spoiling him for giving up his entire lifestyle just for me.

The minute the clock struck the right time, I bolted out before I could hear anymore girls losing their minds about date night. Even the men in my office were getting out of control, bragging about the night they’re about to have, mainly the after-date activities.

“Now let’s see,” I whipped out my phone, pulling up my list of groceries I needed to pick up. Although I had no faith in this greeting card holiday, I was subtly planning on making Mitsuhide a nice dinner “for no reason,” but I had to act fast if I was going to get it ready before he came home.

I blindly started walking towards the sidewalk when I suddenly felt someone grab my arm. Startled, I turned, ready to punch, but then I found myself frozen stiff. It was Mitsuhide, in the flesh.

“My, that’s quite the greeting,” he smirked, “is it one I haven’t learned yet? Seems fascinating.” He knew full well it wasn’t a greeting at all and that it was just me reacting to suddenly being grabbed, but I was still struggling to find my words for I was still shocked to see him in my front of my work. I wasn’t expecting to see him for several more hours.

“Mi-Mitsuhide!” I gasped, finally finding my words. His hand loosened from my arm only to have his arm wrap around my waist, guiding me down the sidewalk. “Wh-what are you doing here? I thought you were working until 6 tonight?”

“It’s a special night,” he said, casually leaning over to press his lips against my ear, “By your surprise, may I assume you are indeed surprised?”

Special night? My heart sank into my stomach as I came to the realization that he found out about Valentine’s Day. Whether it was the media or maybe even his co-workers, I’m not sure, but one way or another, he knew and thought he got the upper hand on me.

“Surprised, yes,” I shrugged his arm off, trying to be serious, but he kept placing his arm around me, passive-aggressively guiding me down the street, “special night? I don’t know about that one. Mitsuhide, if you want to do something for tonight, we can do it in the privacy of our own home! So will you please just-!”

“Don’t be absurd,” he boasted, my struggle with his arm didn’t seem to phase him as he suddenly stopped, “tonight is a special night to celebrate our love, wouldn’t you agree?” I didn’t even notice there was a black luxury car right in front of us. He opened the door for me and urged me to go inside; I didn’t protest. The minute he closed the door behind him, the driver at the front took off. He must’ve already had a destination for us.

“Mitsuhide, please!” I begged, keeping my voice low enough so the driver couldn’t hear, “we can celebrate our love any and every night, we don’t need one day out of the year to give us permission!”

“Reservations have already been made, my dear,” his smirk somehow got sneakier than normal, “and I’ve already paid for everything.” I huffed in dismay, accepting defeat. He took notice to my soft grunt and pulled me into his arms, nuzzling his face into my hair, murmuring, “Just relax and let’s enjoy our evening together.”

I knew he was right. There was nothing I could do now except enjoy our “special night” and hope I could squeeze in something about not doing anything for Valentine’s Day in the future.

It didn’t take long to get to our destination, or least it was hard to tell since all my attention was on snuggling my man in the backseat of a luxury car. We were brought to a seaside restaurant just on the outskirts of the city. Exiting the car, I could already see the long line of couples waiting to be seated, but Mitsuhide escorted me directly to the hostess who immediately directed us to our table.

My concern escalated when the seating hostess weaved through the maze of booths and tables, dimly lit with kerosene lanterns and candles to fit the mood of the evening. The further back we went, the more expensive the tables looked as they were decorated with little lights and bushels of roses, and yet we still get going.

At last we arrived at a door, which the seating hostess happily opened for us. I couldn’t help but smile as I stepped onto the sandy beach. The sound of the ocean waves and the smell of the sea breeze simply swept me off my feet. Our table was at the very end of the perimeter, closest to the beach, but furthest away from any table. The timing was perfect as sunset was just beginning over the ocean.

We got comfortable in our over-sized cushioned wicker chair, large enough for just two people, and the hostess finally left us alone with one menu. I didn’t even get the chance to pick it up before a waiter came swinging around with two glasses of champagne.

“Mitsuhide,” I sighed happily, picking up my ice cold glass, “color me impressed and wee bit speechless!”

“Only the best for you,” he winked before taking a swig. I sipped at my beverage, glancing down at the menu before me, pretending to read it. Knowing him, he’d see through me in a heartbeat if I tried to act like nothing was on my mind. In fact, he probably already knows.

“How did you find out about Valentine’s Day?” I asked nonchalantly, holding my glass up to the sun setting on the glittering horizon, watching the bubbles rise up as I awaited his answer. There’s no point in beating around the bush with this man, asking him straight up was the best strategy.

“I’ve heard my co-workers mention something like that,” his arm once again wrapped around me, holding me close to him, “but after a little digging, it didn’t seem all that interesting to me.”

“…wait, so then-” my words trailed off as I snapped my gaze up at him, his profile lit by the harsh light. Dumbfounded, my gut wrenched at the reason we’re here, unable to understand, “if we’re not here for Valentine’s Day, then… why are we here?”

It had been way too long since I’ve seen Mitsuhide this puzzled, his eyes wide with curiosity for he, too, wasn’t understanding something, which only made ME more confused. I refused to believe this “special night” was just a night he had planned for us that coincidentally landed on every single couple’s “special night!”

“Have I done something wrong?” Mitsuhide scratched the side of his head with his long finger, genuinely baffled. “I’m sure I did my investigation carefully and got all the facts-”

I tuned him out when he trailed off like this. Ever since arriving in the modern day, he’s done anything and everything to learn modern customs. In fact, he almost lived at the library for two weeks when he first discovered it. Now we just have a mountain of books in a corner of our apartment; his research corner. He’s always interested in seeing what he’s learned “in action” so we’d go out see if it really played out the way he expected it to. If it ever didn’t, he always got like this, explaining his research and investigations. Whatever he thought he found in his “modern domestic research,” he misunderstood something.

“Slow down,” I soothed, trying to hold back my laughter as I set my glass down so I could face him fully, “slow down, slow down! Now, skip all the mumbo jumbo about investigating and tell me what this special night really is about?”

His gorgeous golden eyes faced me completely, stealing my breath away. There was a small moment of silence between us, most likely him trying to figure out the best way to tell me without explaining everything from the beginning.

“One year ago, on this day,” the seriousness in his voice kept me on the fine edge of anticipation, “I arrived here in this time with you and we started our modern lives together. I read that it’s customary for couples to celebrate anniversaries like this. Am I… incorrect?”

Not only was he correct, but he was 110% correct and I was 110% moron. I couldn’t believe myself! I completely forgot that we arrived one year ago today!

The day we arrived, we were both sent to the hospital, mostly thanks to Sasuke, and after that it was nothing but hard work to adjust him to modern life and for me to pick up where I left off. THEN, with all this craziness about Valentine’s Day that I’ve been blocking out of my mind, our anniversary of our lives together didn’t even come into mind.

“No, Mitsuhide,” I lowered my head, hoping to give myself some time to stop the tears threatening to flow, “You’re right, you’re absolutely right. Today is a very special day and I’m so very happy that you-”

“You forgot, didn’t you?”

I didn’t have to see his face to know he was smiling that awful, teasing, evil smile!

“Of course I DIDN’T!” I scoffed, hitting his shoulder. “I was just shocked that you even cared or that you even wanted to do anything like this on today of all days!”

“Leave it to you to forget the important things,” he teased, pretending to defend himself from another hit. Our playful banter went on until the waiter came over to take our order. I couldn’t stop smiling throughout the entire dinner and even on our way home, my heart nearly bursting knowing that this day will mean something completely different to us, something that we have for ourselves, nobody else.

[whumpqin]

Perfect the Way You Are

Next official chapter installment! This one was a little more difficult to write than I thought, but I pushed through and wrote it. This one’s kind of rough, heed the warnings!

Elisha tag! @faewhump @imagination1reality0

CW: Pet whump, creepy/intimate whumper, noncon touching (non sexual), dehumanization, knifes, torture used as punishment, fantasy racism, victim blaming, mentions of abduction, mentions of broken bones, lotta icky language in here by the whumper

Word count: 2,243

The knife slid into his stomach, cool metal biting against his warm, inflamed skin. Elisha keened, swallowing thickly against the scream that threatened the escape from his lungs.

“You’re perfect, you know that?” the devil’s voice whispered above him. A constant reminder of the hell he was in. “Jeremiah was right about one thing, you do take pain well. You take everything so damn well. Sometimes I wonder what goes on in that fiery head of yours that makes you so reserved.”

“Pl-please… it, it hurts…” A hand was placed on the side of his face, smearing his own blood against him. 

“Shh, I know, pet.” Aridai pulled the blade out, finally letting him breathe without worry of further injury. That’s what they had told him to do, breathe. “It’s supposed to hurt. Now… recite your rules for me while I work on this next bit.”

This was the worst day of his life.

He hadn’t expected it to get any better, of course. They had abducted him. People who do that generally don’t have good intentions. But, for the most part, they left him alone in the dark to either starve or go crazy from the lack of human interaction and stimulus.

Today, Aridai clearly had other intentions. They had wanted a “de-stress” session, and after Elisha had affirmed his false name and his new rules they had gotten right to work cutting off of his shirt and sinking that knife into wherever they felt necessary. Even with the permission to use his voice, no amount of begging aided him against Aridai’s cruelty. Everything went unheard and there was no mercy granted.

“O-one. My, my Masters should, hnnk! Should always be ah, ad-addressed as Ma-Master..!” Elisha’s voice cut off in a shrill cry, unable to keep quiet any longer as Aridai’s knife dipped into his skin again. Terrified tears slipped from the corners of his eyes freely.

Elisha was humiliated at first when he was exposed. Embarrassed that someone else saw his thin frame besides the plants that sat next to his mirror back home. He had always been a private person, and this was just a violation of the boundaries he had put in place for a reason.

It was clear that Aridai had no boundaries. None besides the rules they set for everyone but themselves; a free spirit that rose above the masses of normal folk. 

“Good boy. You’re being so good for me,” they said, pleasantly smiling as if Elisha couldn’t see the metaphorical horns peeking from underneath their cardboard halo. “Keep going, Caleb.”

Two, hnk!” He squeezed his eyes shut as a long draw of the knife cut across his chest, continuing the pattern that only Aridai could see the product of. Like he was some carving of theirs. “Nev-never, hh, question your, nn, m-my Masters.”

Aridai had been angry with him. Elisha’s fear was so intense that he couldn’t stop himself when he tried to squirm out of their grasp, thrashing his tail around in unspoken anxiety. It was hard not to be afraid of someone approaching you with a knife, especially when your hands were tied behind your back and you were chained to a wall.

They had dragged him to the ground and straddled him, effectively preventing him from being able to pull away anymore. Then, Elisha had to face their ire, and he quickly learned that the only thing worse than Aridai was their vicious temper.

“Th-three. Do wha-what I’m, hnn, told, regard… regardless of the- ah, consequences..!” He gazed up to Aridai, pleading, and they only watched him with satisfaction.

“Good. That’s one you’re still working on, isn’t it?” They asked, a light tilt to their head. “Do you feel bad for being mean to me?”

“Ye-yes..! Yes, I do, please, I’m sorry! I’m sorry, I won’t pull away again, I won’t, I won’t..!” Bloodied hands found their way to his face again, this time with a thumb resting over his lips.

“No, you won’t, will you? You’ll learn to know better than to pull away from your Master. And you can stop that mumbling, now.” The thumb rubbed across his lips, gently, inviting for all the wrong reasons.

There was nothing that would provoke a Cambion’s instincts better than to wave a hand in front of their face. It was like asking them to bite you, an instinct whose origin was long forgotten to the old days. It was a lesson that Elisha remembered learning from his mother when he was young and naive and definitely not prepared for a world like this.

Everyone, who was smart, knew this. But most humans who knew well to avoid such things often spread rumors about the dangers of a Cambion’s bite. Elisha knew all it did was break the skin and draw blood, but everyone feared that their devilish nature would seep into them like a venom, tainting their bloodline and cursing their children. Like they were a wild animal.

What Aridai was doing was dangerous, but it was also a challenge. They were daring Elisha to bite, to go against his Master. They were waiting for another slip up.

Instead, Elisha shivered from the cold, wounds weeping blood as he stared up at them like an injured puppy. He merely swallowed, the only giveaway that he was thinking of anything at all, and made no move besides the occasional flick of his gaze as Aridai’s leg shifted. 

Finally, they smiled. “You’re so strange, Caleb. Though I guess that is the appeal.” Aridai’s hand withdrew and instead braced against his chest, preparing another series of cuts to complete their “carving”.

“Wha-what does..?” Elisha clamped his mouth shut, unsure if that was considered “questioning his Masters” or not. He didn’t want to chance it after he had already made them so angry.

“What? What was that? Did you say something to me?” Their gaze landed on Elisha, and he couldn’t tell if their expression was full of curiosity or fury. He couldn’t tell anything about them anymore. “Go on. I’m listening.”

“I-I’m sorry, I ju-just…” Elisha’s gaze frantically searched for something so that he could give them an excuse, something that would make them less angry. But his mind was already burning from the pain, as he quickly realized that he was out of options when Aridai laid the knife on a portion of his skin. “I-I don’t, don’t know what-what you mean…”

“What I mean? Oh! You mean your appeal? What makes you so interesting?” When Elisha nodded nervously, they laughed. Aridai was always laughing for some reason or another. “Oh Caleb, don’t sell yourself so short. You were like a little diamond in the rough.” A pause, a little light flickering on in their head. “I’m gonna call you that now. But, anyway, just a moment.”

They carefully carved more sections into his skin, finishing their work. This next part was more quick than the others, and Elisha was able to take some strange comfort in that. When Aridai pulled away they took some fabric out of their pocket and pressed on his wounds, and he felt parts of his ribs shift in a way they definitely weren’t supposed to. He keened, but he didn’t move. He wasn’t allowed to.

“Had to finish before I lost the image in my head. Now we can have a chat. So! I guess… you’re asking why you of all the easy pickings of the world, huh?” They tilted their head as Elisha nodded with a whine. “Way to be nice to people, Caleb.” The guilt was immediate, and added a further tightness to his chest that he didn’t think possible. “Poor little diamond… so lost on why it won the lottery when it picked stupid numbers on purpose, huh?”

What does that even mean? Elisha’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“Hm… Too ambiguous for you? Alright, lemme dumb it down for you.” Aridai learned close, uncomfortably so, to Elisha face. They used their free hand to brace themselves beside his head. “You were perfect, Caleb. You don’t even realize how long it took for us to find someone as perfect as you. No friends, no family, no one to look for you when you disappeared. When we were watching you, you seemed so much different than other Cambion. They tend to be the talk of the town, y’know? People notice when they leave, because they’re so damned relieved that they’re gone.. But you…” They shifted, removing their hand from the fabric to touch his face again. He resisted the instinct to pull away like he had stupidly done before. 

“Absolutely no one would miss you when you were gone, besides the people who would want money from you.”

Elisha swallowed, trying to not let the immense weight of Aridai’s words crush him.

“Now, I’ve met a fair amount of Cambion. They’re feisty creatures, and way too stubborn for their own good. But you’re different than your kind, Caleb. You’re tamed.” Aridai ruffled his hair, staining it with blood. “You’re so nice and reclusive. Not at all like all the other ones I’ve cut up before.”

A flicker of fear flashed in Elisha’s eyes as he fought to breathe. They had seen Cambion before? Did they kill them?

They tilted their head to the other side. “I guess… in thinking about why you were taken… I guess you were just perfect the way you were. You were practically begging to be taken.” Aridai finally leaned away, pulling the bloodied fabric from his chest. “Jeremiah said it was all an act. Fake, or something. But I can tell. You try too hard to be pretending. You actually think all that nice and kind bullshit makes a difference in the end..”

He felt sick. Elisha didn’t want to believe that what they were saying was right. It all felt wrong.

This wasn’t his fault. There was no way that they were looking for someone like him. He was just in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and they took him. 

Elisha had been trying to change. He had to believe that it was worth it.

“S-someone… they-they have to. Some-someone will look,” he argued quietly, voice wavering from tears unshed. “It’s, it’s the right thing to… to do.”

Aridai laughed again, plenty amused. “Who’s going to look for you, Caleb? Name someone for me.”

He tried to search his mind. His mother? No… he hadn’t talked to her in years. Elisha couldn’t remember the last time he talked to his neighbors… and the only person he carried a conversation with outside of plant life was the grocery clerk at his local store when he craved some sort of interaction from people.

“My, my landlord, sh-she’ll know I’m, I’m missing, she’ll call the, um, the police.” Elisha felt confident in that regard. The police took care of things. They found lost people and brought them home to their families.

“What do you think the police are going to do? Track you down, bring you back home? Let you live comfortably in your house again and lock up the poor, bad people who did this to you?” Aridai’s eyebrows upturned in mock pity. “I’ve been skating underneath their radar for years. They’ll give up after a month or so, and mark you down as another cold case that never gets solved. That is, if they give a Cambion like you the time of day.”

They moved, finally getting off of him and settling into a crouch next to them. Elisha tried to look away, he didn’t want to see their face anymore, but Aridai reached forward and forced their eyes to meet.

“If you had told anyone about yourself, then maybe. Maybe you would have a chance.” They grinned, sinister and cold. “Face it, Caleb. No one is going to look for you, because you’re a nobody. And you only have yourself to blame for that.”

The tears that threatened to fall finally made food on their claim. Elisha gasped, trying to force down the inner hurt that he felt, but he knew that bits floated to the surface. He bit his lower lip hard enough to draw blood, but the taste wasn’t enough to get him to stop.

It felt like Aridai had cut them with broken bits of glass, mentally and physically. He wanted to curl up in a ball of shame but he couldn’t even move to get away, even if he was allowed to. Don’t break down in front of them. Don’t do it. Don’t show weakness.

For once, he agreed with his instincts.

It was a blessing when Aridai finally stood up. “I think I’m done here. This was really fun, Caleb. Maybe we’ll shape you up enough to participate, hm?” They let out another series of lighthearted chuckles, and the sound was like nails on a chalkboard. “I’ll send in Jeremiah to clean you up. Honestly…” Aridai held up both hands, which were covered in Elisha’s own blood. “We’re both a pretty mess.”

They quickly retrieved their implements, looking him over one last time, before ascending the stairs to the rest of the house. The top of the basement shut with a loud slam, and he caught the sound of a lock as it clicked into place.

In the dark, Elisha finally let out the breath he didn’t realize he was holding, and felt the cracks underneath his skin that were beginning to show deepen.

[chargingbolts]

love me, love me, love me.

synopsis ; being taken was the last of her worries, it was the mind fogging feeling that the leader of the league of villans gave her.

pairing. shigaraki x reader genre. angst   contents. fic based on love me, love me, love me by kikuo note. there is Zero romance in this tbh. she’s technically a child with no understanding of love. 

entire masterlist. 

all rights reserved © chargingbolts | the reposting, modifying, and/or translating of any kind on any medium is allowed. the reposting, modifying, and translating of my work without explicit permission from me is technically a criminal act under the law but will not be dealt with legal action because i would enjoy my ideas to be distributed.

y/n was shigaraki’s pet. he had taken her the night he grabbed the brat bakugo. but it seemed that they were only successful in grabbing the one who was conscious. she was forced into the males captivity and torture, him scrounging for any information he could about all might and deku. unlike he had planned, she had fallen deep into stockholm syndrome within the months of being in shigaraki’s hands. 

her quirk was to do with healing, but the more she used it, the weaker her mindset and physicality became. this is the reason her body was quick to fall into a deep hole filled with only shigaraki. 

“you know, kurogiri.. i looked far away, distantly, locked in my memories, i came upon a collar from my past and realized.. it’s people that i need. oh, it’s people that i need.” shigaraki announced, hands clapping in excitement, “but it turns out, i only needed a girl.” 

“speaking of collars, spinner was able to get the new toy from endeavors care. he had dabi attack the house while he searched.” kurogiri sighed, slapping the collar down onto the bar counter, “her quirk will no longer be usable and she’ll be forced into submission. be careful.”

giddy for his new toy, he quickly went to find his pet, pushing into her room without a word. she sat on the cement floor, eyes soon widening in surprise at the sudden intrusion. 

she was used to twice and toga slipping into her room to feed her, but it had been a while since she had seen shigaraki. her heart almost stopped once she saw the man once again, mind fogging over.

snapping the collar around the females neck, shigaraki only stared down at her, wondering how well it would work. without thinking, her hands flew up to the collar and yanked at the suffocating metal. 

“oh.” his voiced cooed, a smirk forming on his face as he watched the female struggle. 

this look did not last long as the collar snapped in her hands, coughing soon filling the entire room. she cried out, throwing the metal ring onto the floor as she grunted.

“how dare you break our new toy-” the males voiced growled.

oh, this is what the cursed collar did scream, “please don’t be mad at me. please, please, i didn’t mean to break it.” the girl cried out towards her captor, grabbing onto the collar and trying to place it back around her neck. 

in a fit of anger, shigaraki rolled his eyes and pushed himself to leave. as he grabbed ahold of the handle, her weak voice called out to him, having him freeze in his tracks.

“please don’t abandon me. please stay with me.. please never say you won’t stay. i know you want to stay with me” she could only whisper, but the male heard every word she spoke. 

shigaraki smiles, turning back to her before he leaves, “just put it around your neck, until your stomachs upset. wait until your vision blurs.. and you’ll see friends no more, seeing, they did abandon you.. lovely result, don’t you agree?”

  “hey.. hey. Lovely, just like me?” 

“you’re worthless, y/n, trust me, out of all the villains in this building-” 

“aren’t i the cutest of all? but hey.. hey. I’m good, aren’t i? If you say no.. i’ll cry.”

  how weird, he thought she was just another hero who would beg for their life. he stood here now, watching as the girl sobbed against the hardwood flooring. she was bowing to him, crying to him, wanting to hear a praise from him. 

the next words she spoke shook him to the core. 

“love me, i beg. please, love me, i beg you.” her cries got louder, piercing his ears, “love me, dammit,  i beg you. more and more.. please.” 

“please love me, i beg. love me, i beg.” he mocked, grabbing onto the females shirt collar, and forcing her to look at him, “‘til we feel madness creeping in”

“it’s agony, the curse i bear. undo.. undo it.. hey.” 

as confused as he was, he refused to act curious. he took the pride he had left and left her to sit alone. he didn’t realize, but he would not visit her room for another two months after this incident, despite her constant pleading to see him

. 

the next time the two see one another, kurogiri has teleported the two away from a hero attack. once he caught a glimpse of bakugo katsuki, he yelled at his friend and forced him to take care of them before the others. 

  he knew who they were there for. she had been missing months by this point, they all knew she was going to be searched for. kurogiri called it, the heroes coming so soon. he could tell they were becoming restless, the entire top ten were out searching for her. 

dabi was even able to get information out of hawks - finding out that the heroes knew the league still had her in their reach. 

but now, as she laid amongst the grass, she wanted to sigh in relief. she was happy that they had taken her from the heroes now, knowing how badly they treated her. but shigaraki treated her better. she would do anything to stay with the older boy. 

“time goes on..” she muttered, not seeing the others show up behind the two of them.

she misses toga. 

“time goes on and changes come to your frame.. but the collar stays the same.” shigaraki’s voice mumbles from beside her.

“it’s agonizing now.. but this is nothing new.” she admitted quietly, shuffling away from the man. 

“people just.. people just..” he started, turning towards her, “they’re not enough..  Needed bakugo.. even that todoroki kid would have worked”

“i vow to not lose to anyone in my class.. aren’t i such a lovely child? way more than that child.. and more than that child. ladies and gentleman.. gather around.. marvel at me. why won’t you marvel at me?”

“your quirk is not good enough. all you can do is heal. you work with dabi and toga.. but you’re not what i want. you’re useless.”

“behind the gymnasium, bakugo, when i told you i was in love.. wasn’t that kind of a lie?” she muttered before her eyes found shigaraki’s, “i love you so.. so very much, shigaraki.. why can’t you see that?”

“love me, i beg.” shigaraki remembered her words, confusion filling his features, “love me.. I beg.”

“love me, i beg!” she called, “i’ll give you everything. but in return..”

“but in return.. i’ll make you share this hatred of you that i bear. good god, y/n, It's not enough, you're not enough, just not enough, but I won't let you go, aah. you are keeping the heroes around. you’ve been such a good little pet”

a/n ; lol i didn’t proof read at all. i wanted something up asap