#anything for me. which is a little sad because i kinda liked their mission statement. but. i never used it

[front-facing-pokemon]

[apotelesmaa]

I lovvvve thinking about dtk and black star like way past the manga (assuming black star is immortal here via him becoming a god out of sheer force of will) dealing with immortality and losing their friends it’s so fascinating to me (statements said by the truly deranged)…. Rotating it in my mind… Incomprehensible rambling under the read more

I think that like objectively kid would probably be the most prepared for it given he’s a literal death god but it would still be painful. He’s not really human but he had the very human experience of growing up with a tight group of friends and now has to deal with the very human emotion of grief and figure out how to navigate that. I feel like he would (shockingly) have a pretty healthy response after a few years of grieving because unlike with his dad he would actually get closure here. Idk if he would ever get another weapon partner again though like he would probably at least use whatever high ranking weapon at dwma was closest on the very rare chance he needed one but nobody could ever replace the thompsons. I feel like he would also just have little reminders of his friends everywhere just to keep them in his memory.

I see a lot of people saying he would withdraw completely and distance himself from humanity but like… I don’t think he would ever do that the thing about kid that really differentiated him from his dad was he was raised with humans and interacted with them frequently which fostered a connection that lord death didn’t really have. He in general has such a love for humanity and people I feel like he would be very involved at the dwma with the students and faculty. Lord death was kinda like… he Liked humans but he still viewed himself as something else first and foremost. Kicking the can of worms that was asura down the road for later never telling anyone anything because it’s a god problem not a problem for humans. He made zero effort to talk to the witches as well because he kinda just went “well they’re all evil and that’ll never change” & never confronted that belief. As opposed to dtk who went to the witches to help and put all his faith in his friends and relied on them heavily. He Likes People… He still would want to talk to the humans around him and help them. I cannot see him doing what his dad did and just locking himself in the death room forever and ever. Nothing will replace his friends but that doesn’t mean he can’t make new friends.

Black star however I think would handle it poorly for a long time I don’t think he knows what healthy coping mechanisms are. He’s very all or nothing. Only deals in extremes. Stuck in the anger stage of grief for a long time. I think he would fuck off into the wilderness for like 5 years and stew into his depression before eventually coming back to dwma like a sad wet cat. Kid knew where he was the entire time but knew he needed space so he just let him be. (Dtk voice) oh good you’re back (genuine) you are going to therapy if even if I have to drag you there myself & if you ever disappear like that again I will make you do paperwork for years (threatening). I think he would to some extent become as distanced as lord death was just because he doesn’t want to go through that again. Friendly with all the people around him but never really going past a surface level of knowing them. Also he would absolutely never get another weapon partner he would just pull a mifune and use a real non magic boring sword. Eventually gets better about the distance thing because kid mandated therapy if he wanted to keep doing missions. He kinda becomes the go to guy at dwma for dangerous missions because he thinks they’re fun and he enjoys bragging about it. Maybe trains some students on the side and makes suggestions about the curriculum. He gets absolutely no say in the day to day operations of the dwma though he would burn it to the ground. Black star lies and tells students he’s the second cooler death god. (BS voice) who cares about that stuffy guy who does boring paperwork all day you guys should be worshipping ME (dtk voice) that is because he does not know how to do paperwork. he just submits his autograph.

I ultimately think they would support each other and rely on each other because they’re friends first and foremost but also because they’re kinda the only ones who get what it’s like. They both keep the memory of their friends alive and it’s nice to have someone else who remembers them. Insert the panels of black star saying he wants to bring about a balanced world with kid or whatever he said during their rematch. Sharing the burden of both grief and also keeping the world’s balance in check. Excalibur also gets it but he and black star cannot be in the same room for more then 10 minutes before black star starts trying (and failing) to violently murder him.

As a side note I think dtk and Excalibur would become… not friends. But Excalibur was close to his dad and seems to feel some degree of responsibility over kid because of it. Functions as the annoying pop up window that tells kid to take a break and occasionally gives good advice when he isn’t acting Like That. Dtk forgives black star for ghosting him for 5 years but will never forgive being forced to spend 5 years with Excalibur by himself & so every time Excalibur comes by kid redirects him to black star like “black star was just telling me the other day he couldn’t remember your legend you should go remind him :)”

[cjsinkythoughts]

Inner Conflict

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Avenger!Reader

Word Count: 3586

Warnings: !FATWS SPOILERS!, Cursing, Some Angst, Some Fluff, Sam and Bucky being idiots, Mentions of PTSD, Anxiety, and Depression

A/N: Here’s Part Three to my FATWS Series, which I’m making a masterlist for that you can find Here. 

Uh…it’s a little long, and I apologize for that. It doesn’t even encompass the whole second episode, only the first half, so a Part 3.5 will be coming out later today probably (it’s my day off work so I have all day to relax and write!) I tried not doing a line for line rewrite of the episode, but there are quotes from the show in here. Mostly it’s Reader’s thoughts and feelings towards what’s happening while conversations are going on around. Reader’s backstory is a bit more unfurled. It’s more action packed and more scene-for-scene of the episode than the previous two. Less emotions shared and less hurt/comfort type of thing, but that’ll be back in the next part probably along with more scenes not in the show. The next part I’m planning won’t be as long, it’ll mainly just be the Couples Therapy scene and a bit more angst with her and Sam and her and Bucky.

Because there’s four more episodes and I don’t know what’s going to happen in them, I’m kinda hesitant on spilling out exactly what is going on with the Reader and what her role was on the original team, but we’ll get there. Also, I wasn’t expecting to be writing multiple pieces for one episode, but if the other episodes are as packed as this one, prepare yourself for more parts than anticipated. We’re already on Part 3 and I’ve got Part 3.5 coming. Just bare with me as I don’t know what’s going to happen in future episodes! Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy it! 

(Not beta’d so excuse any mistakes.)

!SPOILERS UNDER CUT!

Walking out of the shower, ruffling a towel through your hair to dry it off, you froze at the sound of the TV. A sigh left your lips. It’s all he’d been doing the last few days - watching the news. Keeping up with the tour for the new Captain America.

You peeked out of the small bedroom to find Bucky sitting on the floor, brow creased as he watched John Walker talk to the Good Morning America hostess.

“You shouldn’t be watching that.” You spoke up, leaning on the doorway, still patting your hair dry. He glanced over to you, taking in the towel wrapped around you, before looking back at the TV. Seeing you like that wasn’t anything new. “Buck, I’m serious. Brooding over it won’t make anything better.”

“What do you want me to do?”

You let out a sigh, shifting your feet and biting your lip as you thought about how to respond. “I-I haven’t figured it out yet. But obsessing over the new guy-”

“Aren’t you mad?”

You frowned at his question, his eyes meeting yours once more. “I told you already that I am.”

He tilted his head, which he did when he was confused, his eyes narrowing. “Why don’t you show it? Why aren’t you screaming or cursing or crying or something? You, of all people-”

“Because it won’t help anything, Buck.” You shook your head, pushing off the wall. “I want to. But if I let myself go down that road…” Dropping your gaze to the floor, you take a breath, collecting your thoughts. “This is such a complicated situation, James. I’m being contacted left and right for a statement on the new Captain. People trying to see my reaction. Senators trying to get me to meet with him. I can’t let myself snap. I can’t.”

He scowled. “They’re still bothering you?”

A dry chuckle escaped your lips and you nodded. “Makes me miss the days when no one knew who I was; when I was the behind-the-scenes seventh Avenger. But I made that choice to come out, and I have to deal with the consequences now. Blowing up will only-”

“Even though I never met him…he feels like a brother.”

That one statement stopped you in your tracks. Bucky’s head whipped back to the TV, his jaw ticking, his nose scrunching up.

“Did he really just say that?”

Bucky merely nodded, his chest heaving as he tried getting his breathing under control. “Feel like snapping now?”

You purse your lips as you held in the tears stinging your eyes. After composing yourself, you moved over and grabbed the remote, letting out a tiny sniffle as you did so. You tentatively touched Bucky’s shoulder, silently asking him if he needed anything from you. His response was to open his arms, so you quickly got down besides him to hold him.

“He is my brother, doll.”

“I know, Buck.” You pressed a soft kiss to his head, which rested against your bare shoulder.

Your bare knees are pressed harshly against the wooden panels of the floor, and you’re twisted awkwardly, but you couldn’t bring yourself to care. As long as he was comfortable, you would take the uncomfortable position. As long as he was being held, you would take the soreness it would leave. As long as you could help him be some sort of okay, you would take not being okay in this position.

 You two sat like that for a few more moments before your phone buzzed. You gave a sigh, pulling back and holding his cheeks in either hand. He wasn’t crying, although he was on the verge of doing so. You’d seen him cry before, so you knew he didn’t mind. For you it was a different story.

Bucky had maybe seen you cry twice since the whole Blip thing went down. And one of them was over the phone, so he didn’t see it so much as he heard it. You didn’t let yourself cry in front of him. Or anyone, for that matter. It was a part of you. The only person you ever felt comfortable enough around to cry in front of…wasn’t there. And you couldn’t change that.

“We’ll figure it out.” You told him, nodding gently and letting a small, sad smile quirk the corners of your lips up. “Okay? We’ll figure it out.”

The clench in his jaw loosened as your fingers worked circles into the hinge, making him relax and nod back. You pressed a tender kiss to his forehead before standing up, moving across the room to where your phone was on the counter. You assumed it’d be another government official or news reporter, so you were slightly shocked to see ‘Sammy’ flashing up at you.

Your eyebrows furrowed as you read his message, a slight pout forming on your face. 

“Doll?” Toned arms wrapped around you, warm and cool, his chin setting on your shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s Sam. He needs my help with something.”

“I’m coming with you.”

You turned in his arms, eyes narrowing in suspicion. “Why?”

He shrugged, licking his lips. “You might need help.”

“Bucky, you can’t go if you’re just going to yell at him.”

“I won’t.”

You studied his features. He was lying, you knew that. Of course he was going to snap at Sam for giving up the shield. He was mad and they got on each others’ nerves every chance they could find, so of course he was going to.

But you still found yourself saying yes and telling him to go pack a bag. You were never able to say no to Steve and it seemed that got passed on. What a nuisance it was.

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

And you were so right. It was the first thing he said once Sam came into view coming down the stairs.

“You shouldn’t have given up the shield, Sam.”

“James.” You squeezed the hand he was holding, voice pleading for him not to do this right now. He huffed, stepping back to let you greet Sam properly, giving the man a hug. “Hi, Sammy.”

“It’s been a while.” Sam commented, pulling back and holding you by the shoulders. “You look good. Not that you’ve ever looked otherwise.”

You gave him a small smile. “You do too.”

“Thanks for coming. I know it’s short notice, but-”

“It’s fine, Sam. Really.” You insist.

Sam nodded, before eyeing Bucky. “Did you have to bring him?”

“Samuel-”

“This is wrong.” Bucky cut in, staring Sam down, falling into step besides him as the man started heading outside.

“James-”

“Hey, hey. Look. I’m working, all right?”

You rolled your eyes as the two started arguing, stopping your stride to take a breather. You used to joke about babysitting them, but it didn’t feel like a joke anymore and you were getting tired of it. All the bickering for no reason. The contempt they held for one another. Steve made you promise that you would look out for them, and you were trying, but they weren’t making it easy.

When you joined them again, you raised an eyebrow at the direction the conversation turned. How the hell did they get from arguing about the shield to what a wizard is?

“Ahh! Haha! A sorcerer is a wizard without a hat!”

You gave Sam a look as he babbled about how he was right. “Sorcerer Mickey has a hat. Isn’t that, like, how he gets his powers and everything?”

Bucky grinned at you. “Thank you!”

“Excuse you!” Sam scoffed, pointing an accusing finger at you. “We were having a conversation!”

“Yeah. A stupid conversation I just ended. Now I’m gonna be in the plane. Feel free to join me when you’re done being idiots.”

They both spluttered, but you were already walking away, leaving no room for arguments. As you loaded onto the plane, you spotted the Lieutenant whom Sam mentioned who had been helping him out with missions. Torres, you thought, remembering his name from a previous phone call with your friend.

“You Lieutenant Torres?” You asked, walking up to him.

He blinked, before his eyes widened, a grin appearing on his face. He seemed young, which you were perfectly okay with considering you’ve been working alongside old men for the past decade. It was always nice to work with a fresh face, which you found after you started working with Wanda and Peter.

The thought of the two youngest members made you falter, not having heard from either of them since Christmas almost six months prior, but you quickly recovered yourself, shaking away the worries you had for them.

“You’re Y/N Y/L/N! I’m a huge fan! I’ve read all your files!”

Chuckling a little, you held out your hand. “Most of those are heavily classified.”

He ducked his head with a little blush, rubbing the back of his neck after shaking your hand. “I, uh, I might’ve…used connections.”

“It’s okay.” You reassured him, throwing him a wink. “I won’t tell. Can you tell me what’s going on? Sam didn’t exactly explain the situation.”

He nodded, getting into ‘work mode’, something you’ve seen in most military men, informing you of their recent missions and the group known as the Flag-Smashers and giving you a file on them. He was in the middle of telling you about his solo mission in Germany when your two fellas came in, sending each other small glares, but remaining quiet.

Bucky caught your eye and sent an apologetic look your way, to which you just smiled at before turning back to Torres.

“Well I’m glad you’re okay.” You told him once he was done.

“Oh yeah. It wasn’t that bad.”

You laughed and nodded. “I’m sure. You seem like a tough kid.”

He smiled, before looking around and jabbing his thumb behind his shoulder. “I-I’ve gotta go, but-”

“We can talk later.” You promised with a grin.

“Really?!”

“Of course! I have a feeling we’ll be working together more, and I like getting to know who’s gonna have my back.”

He beamed and nodded, walking backwards. “That’d be awesome! Talk to you later then!”

You giggled as he turned around and jogged off, pumping his fist in the air. You turned to a grinning Sam and nodded towards where Torres left. “I like him. Seems like a nice kid.”

“He is. Very energetic. A little reckless, but he’s got a good heart.”

You hummed, the smile falling from your face as you flipped through the file Torres gave you. “So…Munich?”

“Yeah. Listen, I’m sorry again for taking you away from the search, but-”

“Search is off.” You informed him quickly, not looking up. “Until further notice.”

The plane went quiet, before Sam cleared his throat. “So…no sign of Wanda yet, then?”

You shut the file, looking up at the men whose features were laced with concern. “I’m gonna go talk to the pilot. Behave while I’m gone. No pushing each other off the plane.”

“Doll?”

You were stopped by the hand that grabbed your wrist as you passed Bucky. You shot him another smile, knowing it wasn’t convincing enough for him, but it being the best one you had. “I’m okay. I’ve just gotta ask him some questions.”

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

Opening your mouth to stop him, you groaned when Bucky jumped out of the plane before you could speak. First Sam jumps without sharing the plan, then Bucky jumps without having a plan. Or a parachute. Or wings. Or anything.

Torres looked at you, but all you could do was shrug. “I dunno what to tell you, kid.”

“You’re not gonna do that, are you?”

“No.” You reassured him, shaking your head. “I’m gonna wait ‘til we land like a normal person and take my bike. I just have to pray that they’ll wait to do anything stupid until I get there.”

They didn’t wait. You’re pretty sure they didn’t even think about waiting. By the time you got to them, they were fighting - and losing, might you add - to six really strong people on top of two semi trucks.

Because why wouldn’t they?

Oh, oh. And on top of that, the fake was there, throwing the shield. The shield that didn’t belong to him. The shield that meant so much more than he would ever know.

“Hi, doll! Sorry we started the party without you!” Bucky shouted from where he was hanging off the edge, that close to the street and getting his head torn off by the tire.

“I’m so tired of babysitting you two, you know that?!”

“Oh! Sorry we’re such an inconvenience for you! Blame him! He jumped the gun!” Sam shouted, coming to fly next to you as you rolled up your sleeves, standing on your bike, using one hand to steer.

“Can I get a little help already?!”

“Sam-!”

“On it!”

Knowing that no matter how much they pissed each other off, Sam would make sure Bucky was okay and vice versa, you focused on getting to the top, where Walker and a buddy of his were struggling a little bit.

You climbed up to the roof of the semi no one was on, wincing when you heard your bike skidding across the pavement. There goes half your salary.

You couldn’t dwell on it for very long, considering one of the guys appeared in front of you. You recognized the fighting - the strength - and faltered, a memory resurfacing at a very bad time.

~

“C’mon, honey. You can do better than that.” Steve grinned at you, holding out a hand to help you up.

“Excuse me for not having super strength, Rogers.” You huffed out, taking it and letting him pull you up.

“You don’t need to be stronger than me. You just need to be smarter.”

“That’ll be easy.” You teased, stretching your arms before getting into your stance again. “You’re a dumbass sometimes.”

“Yeah, well, who chose to be friends with this dumbass?”

“Everyone needs a dumbass for a friend.”

He cocked an eyebrow. “So I’m your dumbass?”

“If you want.”

The grin he shot you made your heart skip a beat. “If you’ll have me.”

~

You blinked, but Steve wasn’t in front of you anymore and you weren’t in the gym in DC. 

The guy caught the punch you distractedly threw and twisted your arm, making you cry out, kicking him in the back of the knee and flipping him over your shoulder.

You went to kick him again, but he caught your leg and threw you against the side of the other semi. You were able to grab onto where Bucky had ripped through the side, but you winced as the metal cut through your palm. Sam had just flown under the trucks, taking Buck with him, and you knew when a fight wasn’t worth it, so you quickly moved around the truck, letting Walker and his pal distract the Flag-Smashers, before letting yourself fall onto the side where the grass was.

You wanted to lay there, to catch your breath and curse yourself for getting distracted. You hadn’t had a flashback like that in a while. But you didn’t let yourself. You had to make sure the guys were okay.

Standing up made you cringe; you could feel the throbbing in your shoulder from where it was no doubt dislocated and your leg was aching, the muscle probably pulled when the guy threw you.

“Doll!” You turned, seeing Bucky and Sam sprinting towards you a few yards down the road. “Hey, hey.” Bucky immediately had his hands hovering over you, scanning your body. “Are you okay?”

You nodded, shoving his hands away. “I’m fine.”

“What’s wrong with your shoulder?”

“I think I dislocated it.”

Sam frowned. “What the hell happened?”

You gave him a weird look, starting to limp across the field to where you noticed a side road earlier. “They were super soldiers, Sam. And we got our asses kicked.”

“Yeah, but you know how to fight a super soldier-”

“It’s been a while.”

“Bullshit.” Sam side stepped in front of you, making you stop. “What happened?”

“I-I just got distracted, okay?”

“Y/N. Look at me.” Bucky took your face between his palms, eyes worried. “Are you okay?”

You nodded. A tired sigh left your lips and you looked anywhere but his eyes. “Yeah. I’m fine. Just hurting. My leg, I think I pulled it or something-”

“C’mere.” Bucky turned and crouched down, making you blink.

“What?”

“You shouldn’t be walking. We don’t wanna make it worse.”

“But it’s just a strain, it won’t-”

Sam rolled his eyes. “Just get on the man’s back, Y/N.”

You bit your lip before sighing and carefully climbing on his back. He shifted you gently, making sure to hold your leg with caution, leaning his head into yours when you hooked your chin on his shoulder. “You-you don’t have to talk about what happened. Just-just know that when you do…I’ll be here, okay?”

You nodded, moving to press your nose against the column of his throat. “Okay.”

But you could never tell them. How could you? How could you tell the world’s longest POW that you were having nightmares? How could you complain to an Air Force vet who served two tours in Afghanistan and watched his best friend get blown out of the air that you were having flashbacks?

You weren’t sure if it was PTSD or anxiety or depression. Maybe all three. It didn’t matter, though, because you didn’t want to admit it. You wouldn’t admit it. No one thought the Blip messed you up that badly. No one thought Steve leaving did that much damage. And you were okay with that. You were okay with them thinking you were healing - that you were fine - because they needed to see that it could be done. That they could be fine, too. Especially the men walking, Sam teasing Bucky per usual.

It wasn’t until a horn honked that you allowed yourself to be pulled out of your thoughts. A scoff left you when you realized who it was, switching the side you were laying on so your cheek pressed up against the cool metal of his left shoulder, facing away from the jeep.

You tried ignoring the guy as he talked about working together and shit, taking a shuddering breath, making Bucky squeeze your uninjured thigh. There was no way you were working with him. You couldn’t. It’d be like betraying Steve and you didn’t need that on top of all the other things you were dealing with.

You couldn’t deny the need for a ride though. The airport was 20 miles away and you were hurting pretty bad. You suspected that was the reason the guys relented, Bucky tenderly setting you down in the jeep between him and Sam, careful of your injuries.

You stared at your lap as Walker and Sam talked shop. You understood where they were coming from, you were always able to see both sides of the coin, but it didn’t mean you were going to willingly work with him.

“I got mad respect for all of y’all, but you were kind of getting your asses kicked till we showed up.”

You scoffed at that, finally raising your eyes to meet Walker’s friend’s. “Like you were doing any better?”

Bucky reached over to grab her hand that was resting on her lap. “You know, I’ve been trying to get in contact with you.” Walker faced you, eyes raking down your form. Bucky shifted in his spot, but you ran your thumb over his knuckles before he could do or say anything stupid.

“Yeah. I know. My phone hasn’t stopped blowing up for a week. Thanks for that, by the way.”

Walker frowned. “If you just answered-”

“I don’t care who you are. I don’t care what you’ve done. I’ve been a little busy doing my job to blow smoke up your ass on national television. Sorry if my saving people’s lives has been an inconvenience for you, but some wannabe playing dress up isn’t my top priority.”

Walker’s brows furrowed and he was about to say something, when Bucky cut in, asking his friend who he was. You were already that close to jumping out of the jeep, when the guy, Hoskins, told you three that he went by ‘Battlestar’.

If the situation wasn’t so aggravating, you would’ve laughed when Bucky immediately told the driver to stop, opening the door before the car even stopped. “C’mere, doll.” He murmured, lifting you up into his arms bridal style, before walking off, tuning out Walker as he shouted after you two.

You pouted a little when you saw Sam still talking to the guy. “What’re they talking about, Buck?”

“Some nonsense about him not replacing Steve. Just trying to be the best Captain America he can.”

You laid your head against Bucky’s chest. “The best Captain America is Steve. He can never be Steve.”

“I know, doll.”

“Steve told me once that all he was trying to do was be a good man…it’ll always amaze me that he didn’t see he was the best.”

You missed the distraught look Bucky shot towards you, the look in his eyes almost heartbroken while you talked fondly about his best friend. The tortured scrunch to his features seemed to melt away at your next words, though, and he held you tighter as you curled into his hold.

“Just like it amazes me that you don’t know how important you are to me too, Buckaroo.”

[ravysu]

Sannin headcanons and thoughts

The last thing I would like to post for the sannin week. It is still 24.04 here! :D @sannin-central

This is long. Spoiler alert. Mostly Orochimaru, some Tsunade, a little of Jiraiya (because his story is pretty clear and spoken and idk what I can add). Also I recommend to read this meta about Orochimaru, it has influenced me a lot and has some good points. Sorry for any posible grammar mistakes. Also I really should put here a lot of references to the manga or anime but it was something that was piling up for a year and I'm soooooooo lazy. After all, those are just headcanons. Also: Im not excusing Oro's bad stuff here, Im trying to understand the reasons.

Ive already posted some hcs, here, here and here.

1. First if all, the chronology pic of sannin lifetime based on the info i found on naruto wiki and also some statements about wars from this post. It was tough considering what a mess naruto’s chronology is.

2. Sannin story shows what it cost to be a legend. They're like Team 7 but more realistic. Tsunade literally carried the war but left with nothing and developed a ptsd and have problems to just live on. Also anger control issues. I think she can be pretty bossy and stubborn which is not always nice. Jiraiya is the hero of the day but also very idealistic and can ignore some important details in the real word whether its the fight (he always injured during flashbacks maybe because each time he took too much to handle and on the one hand it's heroistic but on the other is a mistake that can lead your team to situations like in that Iwa cave) or your friends issues (I bet he saw what's going on but thought it's fine until Oro actually got red handed and left). He lives in his world and may have problems to get out to see it through someone else's shoes. As for Orochimaru, it seems like he was a normal guy for 20+ years (I mean, he didn't do crazy criminal shit and had something good in him and it was stated somewhere that it was his teammates influence. It is obvious they considered him as a friend, I don't thinks it was for nothing) but we mostly know his darkest side. Despite being a moster he is a human that have empathy and some ordinary human traits (man just decorates every bit of an environment he is in lol).

3. Tsunade was the leader of team Hiruzen.

4. Tsunade sometimes hit Jiraiya for some stupid things he did or said but never touches Orochimaru even if he did something same. Jiraiya complained about it once and almost got another hit.

5. Jiraiya had problematic parents that didn't care about him much and a lot of time he was wandering in the streets.

6. Judging by the look of Oro bangs and hair, he sometimes cut it off. A stress relief huh? And the fact that he doesn't do it now in Boruto..

7. It was shown that Tsunade and Orochimaru was acknowledged before they become a team. Maybe they did just before, or maybe some longer time before. I prefer the second option and hc that they met because both had no real friends - Orochimaru seemed weird and scary for everyone and Tsunade was Senju so everyone wanted to hang out with her but didn't really care. They weren't seen as what they were - people put the labels on them. But they didn't care about each other's labels and actually saw each other in true lights.

8. Tsunade knew it was an accident and it's not right but still she blamed Orochimaru for Nawaki's death for some time. It was something that seriously damaged their friendship and the team. Orochimaru was mad but also guilty, after all, he was responsible at least as a shinobi since Nawaki was under his watch. So he started to act cold and emotionless and was trying to distance himself from his teammates.

9. Jiraiya was in Ame while Dan died.

10. The whole his orphans mission was a bit irresponsible tbh. They already fought Hanzo and as he stated the conflict between Konoha and Ame is going to an end with Konoha's win. It's weird to stay here for three years in the middle of the war while there were other lands to fight. He left his teammates for some idea. Maybe that caused another crack in their team friendship.

11. If Tsunade would have find a way to live on with her trauma and follow the will of fire and stuff it would affect Orochimaru as well just as her grief affected him. It's like he would get an example that you can live on with this pain. So death isn't above human capability and we are not just the slaves of mortality (sounds stupid but i dont know how else to describe sorry). But as we know what he actually saw is that it broke her crucially to the point she couldnt be herself again. And so the death is above everything.

12. Oro wasn’t just acting as a cold pragmatic bitch in that cave but also tried to save Tsunade. Jiraiya knew it and that’s why he showed this sign to him like "I see what youre doing here" and that stunned Oro because he would prefer to look rather like a cold pragmatic bitch hehe

13. Just a thought. People in the village probably treated Oro as a foreigner or just wouldnt accept him because he looked so differently and had a weird attitude. That's why he sometimes didn't feel that Konoha is his home. After the wars where people were treated as means and tools, even the children, he himself developed this view on people - he dehumanized them and used as the means to his goals, just as his village did. Funny thing some people were straightly dehumanizing him too like Ibiki thought that he was a demon (tho he was a child). And he probably weren't the only one. Anyways the point is that it's logical that Orochimaru don't care about anybody but some few people, he's the product of his era. He's like Naruto that would chose the hatred way. But naruto had some good and understanding people around him and.. Orochimaru had them too, but match how Iruka treated Naruto and this Hiruzen's "I sAw tHe mAliCe in This cHiLd fRoM tHe BegGinNinG". And oro didn't even have a big ass evil fox in him. sry i hate hiruzen

ANYWAYS the moral of the story is not "go criminal if they hurt you" but always treat people like people. Waving my hand to Kant.

14. The reason why Orochimaru didn't pick some good morals to stick with through the hard times no matter what (like, idk, Jiraiya or Naruto) is because 1) I think he is/was pretty depending on people around him 2) the war fucked him and his friends up too much (Nawaki incident + Tsunade) 3) twisted addictions (though I don't think he's that sadistic, we never saw him torturing randoms just for fun, it was always some science experimental shit. He tends to get fun out of cruelty only when it's personal) that maybe developed as a way to sublimate anger and sadness caused by his parents loss (that's what they share with sasuke - unlicke naruto, they knew their parents and it's other kind of pain. Sasuke developed a revenge issue and Orochimaru - cruelty pleasure which... is kinda the same but less epic and more occasional lol).

15. Speaking of that, Orochimaru cared for Sasuke because he saw himself in him.

16. Oro hold grudges against Hiruzen for not choosing him to be Hokage not only because he was ambitious and/or egoistic, but also because Hiruzen was some kind of a father figure for him and his approval was important tho i doubt he was aware of that. He also probably could tell that Hiruzen was suspicios about him when he was a child and that led to many conflicts and was hurting as well.

17. Tsunade knew things weren't pretty with Orochimaru after the wars but she never expected them to be this bad. During the week that she was given in her arc she thought not only about how much she wants to see Nawaki and Dan again despite how wrong would it be but also was trying to bury all the good memories she had left of Orochimaru so it would be easier to kill him.

18. She poisoned Jiraiya exactly because she knew he would not let her do it. Jiraiya was always hesitant to kill and inclined to forgiveness, while Tsunade, as mentioned by Orochimaru, could be merciless (so much so that he was not surprised when Kabuto suggested that she wanted to use Jira for Edo Tensei).

19. That was one of her traits that scared Jiraiya and fascinated Orochimaru.

20. Remember how Oro grabbed Jiraiya's neck when the latter was trying to cover with hair jutsu? On the snake, in Tsnade's arc. Orochimaru could have easily kill Jiraiya by pulling the sword out of the mouth (arteries are right there) but he didn't. As well as he could kill Tsunade when she was still shaking - just aim for the neck or the heart. Instead, he just injured her lung and kicked her which is not a big deal for the kind of shinoby like her at all.. Also he helped Anko not accidentally kill herself but it would be way much profitable to let her do it. "Orochimaru has no feelings".

21. The reason he suddenly wanted to kill Tsunade instead of forcing her to heal his arms as it was planned (which is weird since it will not going to get him heals and he kinda said that he wouldn't want to kill her just minutes ago) is that not only she refused to help him (he thought he could work it out) but she also prefered the village over him (from his point of view). Out if everyone she was the closest to being able to understand him since the village caused her painful losses too but nevertheless she agreed to be on it's side.

22. He wasn't fighting her back in the end partly because he thought he deserved that. Somewhere deep inside hahah.

23. Tsunade got a fear to develop deep bonds so they probably weren't very close with Shizune (also the way she knocked her down in this hotel.. oh).

24. Orochimaru will be here when she'll die.

25. Orochimaru's eng dub to Tsunade: "I often wondered what it would be like to ring that pretty neck yours". No comments.

26. Orochimaru is either bi/pan or ace. Anything or nothing lmao

27. Hiruzen knew about at least some of the Oro’s illegal experiments and was okay just as he was okay with the Foundation all the time. Because it’s useful. Then he has discovered he went too far OR he knew everything and oro just became too inconvenient because of his methods. The way Orochimaru tells Sasuke about reasons they are well treated as the criminals is based on in his experience with Hiruzen.

28. As you may know the lyrics in Orochimaru’s music theme goes “don’t talk with the silence of the heart”. It was taken from one Indian song that also had lines like “don’t question life too much”, ”pain arose somewhere in the chest”, “don’t speak to the wounds of the heart”. Though I’m not sure 100% because I was translating it with some hindi dictionary with like zero knowledge of hindi

29. I like to think that this “silence of the heart” theme and the fact that he called his village a hidden sound village are somehow connected. The hidden sound is the possible explanation of all things waiting to be listened to but the truth is silent and you know it deep in your heart and it bothers you. The world is silent just like the life is meaningless but people can only hear. *Sigh* anyways

30. Orochimaru’s journey is the one about accepting death. When he saw Karin released her chains while was trying to get to Sasuke he understood that the death is a part of human’s strength.

Can’t wait to feel that everything I wrote is wrong or not enough or stupid and obvious lol. Anyways, it’s something that I wanted to share until I move to some other fandom.

[sup-hoes-its-me]

Adore You (Yamato x Reader)

A/N: hi guys. Yamato is your secret admirer and you are desperate to find out who's been leaving all these gifts at your doorstep. Civilian reader. Will be two parts, and since i just found out i have the coronavirus and cant leave the house, i’ll be putting out the second part very soon.

Ps i headcanon that yamato would be very shy and awkward with his crush. i also think that when he is nervous he definitely has really sweaty hands. idk thats just the vibe i get from him lol. please enjoy.

Word count: 4500

Y/N walked down the street after a long day of working in the bakery, kneading dough and icing cakes and sweets. It was a great job, and she really enjoyed the company of the two elderly owners. In her arms was another small picnic basket filled with sourdoughs and garlic loaves and cinnamon raisin buns. Those leftovers served as her breakfast, lunch, and dinner most days and it saved a lot of money on groceries.

Sometimes, she gifted the bread to friends and family though, like tonight.

As she walked the bustling streets, people walking home from work for the night, she noticed a couple of familiar faces sitting in the windows of a nearby restaurant. Feeling a little social, she walked into the restaurant and turned the corner, walking through the tables and past other booths full of people talking and drinking. It was busy tonight in Konoha, everyone getting ready for the weekend.

She came to a stop beside their table, and shifted so her basket rested in the slight curve of her hip. With her free hand she waved to the men, a small smile gracing her lips.

“Kakashi, Yamato,” she chirped, “I saw you guys in the window on my way home from work and thought I’d stop in to say hello.”

“Y/N. What a pleasant surprise.” Kakashi hummed, peering over his glass of golden liquid at his friend, who he could tell was struggling to figure out what to say or do. Yamato wasn’t normally nervous; he was very cool headed. How else would he become such an important Anbu member? But around Y/N, this woman with flour dusted in her hair and the smell of cinnamon and chocolate on her clothes, he crumbled. Just that smell alone could make Yamato lose his composure. And Kakashi knew that very well. “As a matter of fact, we were just talking about you.”

Yamato coughed on his drink, covering his mouth with his arm to keep from spitting up on the table. Even if they were just talking about her, it was completely uncalled for for Kakashi to stab him in the back like that. He turned to face the young woman who looked down at him with curiosity in her eyes.

“Really? What about?” she questioned, raising a brow.

He averted his eyes to the table again where his hand rested clutching at the glass. “We were just discussing the bakery,” he explained sheepishly, a hand going to rub the back of his neck. He felt the stress coming on, and sweat was beginning to gather on his palms. He felt ill, and more importantly, upset with the friend sitting directly across from him, smirking under that damn mask.

What an evil bastard.

“Mind if I join you guys? I could definitely use a drink.” She motioned to the seat next to Yamato, and he scooted closer to the wall to make room for her. She made sure her basket was sealed and secure before reaching over the table to Kakashi. “Can you sit this next to you? I don’t wanna take up the whole table.”

“No problem.”

She slid into the seat beside Yamato, and he realized just how small their table really was. The chair was clearly made for one person, or maybe two small people. They were just inches away. He could literally feel the heat of her thigh beside his. He was losing his mind, he was sure of it. There was absolutely no reason to act or think this way just because of a woman, a little baker from the village. No reason. It was inappropriate.

He took a deep breath and sipped on his drink. Everything was cool. Y/N L/N was cool.

“What kind of goods are you bringing home tonight?” Yamato asked calmly.

“Uh, lets see. A sourdough loaf and a garlic rosemary loaf. Also, I have about eight cinnamon buns in there,” she listed off the top of her head, “Why? You wanna take some home with you, because that’s fine. I’m not gonna eat all of it.”

“No, not this time.”

“You, Kakashi?”

“Yeah, I’ll take whatever.” It was a free meal for the next day? How could he say no to that?

The waitress came around, and Y/N ordered a tall glass of some sweet drink, something she knew wouldn’t taste like shit but would get her all warm and cozy quick, fruit juice covering up the taste of poison. “So, what were you guys talking about before I came around? I didn’t mean to interrupt you.”

“It’s good you came around, actually. We could use a woman’s opinion here.” Yamato glared at Kakashi, pleading with everything he had for the copy nin to just leave it alone. Kakashi was set in his goals though, and pushed forward with what he was saying. “It’s about Tenzo.”

An even brighter smile grew on her lips, one full of mischief and curiosity. “Oohoho? I see. What’s got you men stuck?” She loved to gossip, it was just something so interesting in her mundane life. Surely, it wasn’t as interesting to shinobi who almost die all the time and always have something to do, but for a village girl who goes home every night to read and eat bread, and then go to work where she just makes and sells said bread, a bit of juicy personal information really intrigued her.

“It’s honestly not a big deal-”

“Our boy here, he’s got a crush.”

Her eyes widened and suddenly, she felt the urge to down even more of her drink. He was interested in someone? She never expected that. He was always so quiet and calm, and kept to himself. He didn’t seem like the type to ever care about someone in that way. She sighed, taking a long sip on her drink, which tasted like peaches and oranges. At least it was sweet enough to help her curb the impending sadness.

Maybe she was stupid for it, but she cared for Yamato. He was such a sweet and kind man, so earnest and gentle. He was everything good about her mornings, when he would walk in and ask for the same hot cross bun to start his day. He would smile and compliment the cake decorating she was working on, and tell her about his missions and what he had to do for the day.

Perhaps Y/N had the tiniest of crushes on Yamato. It was something she would never reveal to anyone else, but it was true. She couldn’t deny herself that fact.

Kakashi stared at the woman, gauging her reaction to the statement. From the way she immediately went to sip away half of the drink in her glass, and the way her shoulders curled in on themselves, he could guess how she was feeling. He wasn’t usually a fan of meddling in other people’s business, but he was beginning to feel tired of Yamato complaining day in and day out about how he could never get the girl or express his feelings. He was afraid of rejection, as sad as that might be.

He was just there to give them a push in the right direction.

“I see.”

“What do you think he should do? What do the civilian girls like?”

This crush was just another civilian. It would be one thing if he fell in love with a kunoichi, someone she would never be able to compete with, but the thought of him choosing another normal woman over her, the envy practically oozed from her pores. What did this other girl have that Y/N didn’t?

Y/N ordered another drink when the waitress walked by. And then another after she drank the second one. Might as well get more down and drown out these jealous thoughts.

Meanwhile, she listed off things that random women normally like when men do for them, things she didn't really care about like chocolates and asking them out to dinner and giving them stuffed animals. Boring things. Things they all already knew. Kakashi agreed that the advice was kinda bland, and he could have come up with that easily.

Yamato eyed her down nervously as she practically chugged the rest of her drink. The woman wasn’t a big drinker, just a couple innocent cocktails here or there, never with the intention of getting drunk.

“You okay, Y/N?”

“Yes, I’m perfectly fine,” she told him smoothly. “Anyway, I’m not done telling you all about us village girls.”

The third drink came by and she sighed, taking another long sip. At least it tasted good, that made it easy to drink and drink and drink.

“Maybe you should slow down.”

“Maybe you should worry about yourself. I’m grown. I can handle myself, Yamato.” He felt a pang in his chest at her sharp words, ones that he’d never really heard directed toward him. She scolded Kakashi on the daily for being a pervert, but only kind words met Yamato’s ears previously. “Anyway, about this girl. Have you tried getting her anything as a gift? The things I listed before? Love notes? That sorta thing?”

He shook his head. “Well, no. I haven’t tried anything yet.”

“That’s the thing about you, Tenzo. You’re so modest. If you want the girl, you need to go in and get her. You need to show her what she means to you, since you can’t bring yourself to just outright tell her.”

“The whole bold displays of affection aren’t my thing.”

She hummed, her head lolling from side to side as she twirled the straw of her drink in between her fingers. “Maybe you should try some roundabout approach since you’re so scared of rejection. Send her anonymous letters and gifts, give her little clues that it’s you and see how she reacts.”

“Like a secret admirer?"

“Exactly! That’s sooo romantic. I wish some guy would do that shit for me.”

Kakashi raised a brow. “Oh, really?”

“Of course. I’m almost 27 and I’ve never had a long lasting relationship. I just want some guy to really, I don’t know, just love me. Love who I am, not hook up with me for my body or-or only pretend to like me for coupons on bread,” she complained, quite loudly as well. “Fuck those guys and their bread discounts...”

“Y/N-”

“I’d suggest you do something like that for your crush. Make her feel like you really care about her mind and soul.” Y/N clutched her hand over her heart and squeezed the front of her dress. “So many men nowadays act like horny teenagers, and us ladies are sick of it.”

She really did not need to go into such detail, and Yamato could tell she was drinking too much. Y/N would never say these things aloud if she were completely in her right mind. He felt rude just sitting there letting her rant on and on, exposing her own feelings to the table. But at the same time, he was grateful to know what she wanted in a lover. She never really let on what her romantic life was like, other than single for the most part.

That is what he and Kakashi were discussing before she came around. He was desperate to sweep her off her feet and woo her, to make revealing his feelings easier. Kakashi told him to just go to the bakery and tell her right then and there, but that was just too bold. He wasn’t going to go in without a plan, it was irrational.

“Yamato, I’m telling you, if this woman rejects you, she’s fucking stupid. You’re a catch. You and Kashi over there, both of you could get any woman you want, and that’s a fact.” the woman waved her hand to emphasize her point, only to knock the rest of her fourth drink over into her lap, sticky syrup soaking into her apron and through to her skirt. “Oh man.”

“I think it’s time for you to head home, little miss Y/N,” Kakashi chimed in, “This is exactly why we don’t bring you to bars, you know.”

“Shush. I am fine.”

Yamato sighed, motioning with his hands for her to move to the edge of the seat. He rolled his eyes at her words, knowing she was talking out the ass. “Yeah, yeah. Just get up, Y/N. I’m taking you home.”

Both men were surprised when she lifted her hand and pushed him away from her. Her glare was intense, anger behind those eyes. “No! Not you. I want Kakashi to walk me home.” The man was taken aback by the harshness in her tone. She was normally calm tempered, but her head was spinning and she was obviously growing moody.

“That’s fine by me. Yamato, you’ll pick up the bill for us and uh, clean this mess, right?” Kakashi smirked as he slid out from the booth and picked up her bag of baked goods. She followed suit, climbing out of her seat and grabbing onto the shinobi’s arm tightly. He really couldn’t care any less about her nonsense. It had been so long since they became friends, he’d seen her in every mood imaginable, and much drunker than this. He’s walked her home more than a few times in their past years.

“Curse you, cheap-ass.”

“Gotta go.”

With that, the white haired man walked out the restaurant with a woman in tow. They lived in the same direction, so he started down the street as she stumbled after him, tripping occasionally on pebbles. He felt bad for his friend, really. But the answer was clear as day now. Y/N cared for Yamato a lot more than she let on. It was just up to one of them to make a move. He couldn't do everything for them.

She tripped along beside him, letting her head fall against his shoulder a few times. Her eyes slid up to the man’s masked face, and he felt her hands begin to quiver a bit around his arm, just a tiny bit, but it was still there. Those little, very-telling, tremors.

“What’s wrong, Y/N?” he asked gently, knowing she would immediately spill whatever was stuck on her mind.

“Kashi, why does Tenzo want some other village girl?” she questioned, her cheeks puffing out and her eyes getting watery with tears. “Why doesn’t he want me? I want him so badly, it hurts right here.” she placed her free hand over her stomach and gagged. “I might throw up, it hurts so much.”

“Trust me, it’s gonna be okay,” he hushed, a tiny smile on his lips. He didn’t want to reveal too much to her, but it was just so amusing pulling the strings like this. Two of his friends, one a subordinate and the other a sneaky baker, falling for each other right in front of him. With all the work piling up, this was definitely a refreshing take.

“Also, you shouldn't throw up. It'll burn your throat, you know.”

She nodded, and just clutched onto her stomach as they made their way down the narrow alleyways toward her small apartment. He unlocked the door for her when she struggled to fit the key into the tiny hole that blurred together with everything else. He was a good friend, she thought, and made a mental note to thank him next time she saw him. Well, she tried to make a mental note, but when her body hit the mattress in the corner of her small studio, she found herself drifting away.

__________

God, her head hurt so badly she thought her skull was cracking open right then and there, as she lifted her head from her pillow. Light shined in through the window only to make things worse than before. She looked around the room and noticed that her coat was hung up properly on the hook and her shoes were sitting by the door. Her basket rested atop her counter.

Most importantly, on her nightstand sat a glass of water and a couple pills, ready for her to take the moment she woke up. Kakashi or Yamato must have walked her home and put her to bed. They were very nice men, she enjoyed having them as friends, she just worried she had made a drunken fool of herself last night in front of them. She rarely drank heavily, for that reason. She couldn’t even remember what happened, just that she met them at the restaurant and then the rest fell empty in her mind, little images blending together until she couldn’t decipher a thing that happened. She was more than ashamed.

How could she lose control of herself so casually, she wondered. She never even wanted to drink, much less enough to give her this searing headache. Something must have happened last night that influenced her decisions. Maybe she had a drinking contest with Kakashi like that one time before. If so, that was completely uncalled for on the man’s part. He knew her tolerance.

Nevertheless, she needed to get ready for work. A hangover wasn’t enough to heed the workings of the bakery.

She took the pills, and threw off her covers, walking over to her counter to take out one of the cinnamon rolls, taking a big bite to curb her hunger pains. After taking a moment to compose herself, she got ready for work. If she was late, she knew the owners would be forgiving, but she still felt bad regardless. She was going to walk in looking like a complete disaster.

As she headed out her door that morning, she stumbled on something sitting right at the foot of her doorstep on the welcome mat. Resting there, in a tiny little ceramic pot, stood a bonsai tree, trimmed and cared for perfectly. Her eyes scanned the area for who could have set it there, but met only empty space.

Hesitantly, she picked it up and brought it into her home. There was no note attached, nothing to signal who’d given it to her. Just a little tree that she would put on her window sill. It was strange, she had to admit that, to receive an anonymous gift at such an hour. She’d have to ask her friends about it later on to see if one of them had given it to her, for reasons she didn’t know.

But as the days went by, and those days turned into weeks, she continued to receive gifts every few days. More tiny trees in pots, sometimes flowers in little glass vases. None of them at first had anything attached until the most recent piece which when she picked it up to take into her home, a folded piece of paper sat beneath the vase. She made sure to pick it and put it in her apron to read on her break when she went to work. She didn’t have the time when she woke up only about 20 minutes before she was due at her job.

She was more than grateful for the little garden she was accumulating on her window sill, the beautiful flowers and trees somehow surviving despite her little knowledge of taking care of them. She stopped by a flower store in town to get some fertilizer just to keep them alive. It would be a shame if they died since someone was being so kind as to give them to her.

With her boring life, the flowers brought a smile to her face and a warmth in her heart that she hadn’t felt before. Regardless of who was leaving the items there, she felt like she was important to someone. Some person was taking time out of their day to show they cared about her.

Truthfully, she’d be lying if she said she hadn’t wished it was Yamato leaving her gifts. She’d been attracted to the man for quite some time, ever since they met really. He was just so strong and brave, and awkward in a cute kind of way. He was truly the only man of her affections, and she could only dream she was the object of his as well.

It was more than unlikely though. He was a strong ninja of the leaf. The chances of someone that amazing wanting to be with someone as simple as the town baker were lower than she wanted to admit. He most likely had his eyes set on some gorgeous kunoichi like Shizune or Kurenai. Someone he could relate to, really.

It was embarrassing to even admit she had a crush on him. It made her feel so tiny and weak, knowing that she wasn’t his ideal.

So she pushed that thought from her mind. Yamato would never be interested in her, and he most certainly not the one leaving her little notes and plants.

What she did know was that this person was a shinobi. Maybe not Yamato, but they were definitely a shinobi. She set up a trap, at least one she thought a normal person would fall for. Right before her door, she set up a tiny trip wire made of floss at the perfect level for someone to pull loose when they walked up to leave a gift on her welcome mat. Her room was at the very end of the hallway, so there was no way anyone else except her secret admirer was the one to set off the trap. Any normal person without the high perception of a shinobi would set off the trap and she would be able to narrow down the results to a civilian.

Only, the morning after she set up the trip wire, when she opened her door, there sat another bouquet of flowers, as well as an untripped strip of floss.

This person had to be a shinobi. She concluded. It was the only explanation in her mind, desperate to find out who the mystery person was all this time.

As she walked the streets that afternoon after the store had closed, her eyes honed in on Yamato, who stood next to a vegetable stand picking up some groceries. Immediately, she turned on her heel and cornered him between the squash and the sweet potatoes.

“Yamato, I need to talk to you. It’s urgent. Do you mind?” she practically demanded, and his eyes widened. He did not expect such an abrupt conversation between them. He shifted awkwardly to rest his grocery bag in the crook of his elbow and lean on his left side, arms crossed over his chest.

He knew what she wanted to talk about. It was about those gifts that he had been giving her. It was just a matter of whether she had figured out it was him or not, that was the question. He was kinda hoping she didn’t know yet. He was not ready to face what came after the reveal, rejection or otherwise. He really hadn’t thought it that far out yet. How could he. Just thinking up love notes and what plants to give her next was more than enough to worry about.

But damn, when he looked down at her, hair dusted with flour from a days work, a smudge of cake batter still on her forearm, apron a complete mess, he wanted to cave and tell her everything. She was just so beautiful, so clumsily perfect he couldn’t help but lose his train of thought. He swore he’d never seen a woman more perfect than her, not even Naruto’s sexy jutsu could come close to this girl.

He found his ears heating up and no doubt turning red at the thoughts running through his mind, and he was quick to smother them down. He was not irrationally emotional. Hell, he was ANBU, he should be able to control his emotions down to a tee.

“Yes, Y/N?”

“I have a secret admirer, and I know they are a shinobi.”

He felt himself growing nervous. How had she deduced that? “Ah, that’s definitely exciting for you. How do you know it’s a shinobi?”

“I know because I set up a tripwire last night and the person didn’t set it off, so I know they are coordinated enough to avoid it. This isn’t just some random village boy. This is someone skilled.”

“Y/N, he could have very well just avoided the trap with his natural gait, don’t you think?” he tried to reason with her, try to get her off his trail. Admittedly, he thought she was quite clever for setting up the trap. When he walked over it the night before, he swore it was just a spider web. He didn’t even consider the possibility of a trap in his way.

If only he could throw her off his scent. He needed more time. He couldn’t confess to her now. It was too abrupt, too sudden. He would probably die.

“No, I’m convinced it’s a shinobi.”

Shit. “Well, what are you going to do now?”

She thought for a short moment on what she was going to say, tapping her foot on the ground beside her. Her eyes widened and she smiled at the thought that ran through her mind. Of course, it was so obvious. “The gifts come sporadically, so I know that the shinobi can’t leave gifts when they are on missions. Next time there is a long break in gifts, I will just ask around to figure out who has been on a mission for a while. Bam, I’ve got my answer. It’s foolproof.”

She really had thought this through more than him. She was too good, and he felt himself panicking. He had a weeklong mission in 3 days, and if she asked anyone, they would tell her it was him. He felt moisture gather up at his brow, and he internally cursed his situation. He had to find some way out of this mess without her figuring out it was him.

“Yeah, that could definitely work. I hope it all works out for you, Y/N,” he lied through his teeth.

“I know. I’m just smart like that, aren’t I?”

“You sure are,” he muttered, but honestly, he just wanted to go off and find Kakashi. He needed to talk to him. His eyes slid away from Y/N and he sighed. “I’ve got to go, but I’ll see you around, yeah?”

“Yeah, of course. Don’t forget to stop by before your next mission to get some of our special food pills, okay? I just made a new batch and you can try them free of charge. Anything for a fella as handsome as yourself.” She laughed, shifting her weight to press a hand to her hip.

Jeez. There was no good reason for her looking so adorable. Calling him handsome as well? It was all too much for his heart to handle. Needless to say, he felt like he was going to explode if he didn’t walk away right then. With that, he simply nodded before patting her shoulder. “Like I said, gotta go.”

“Oh, okay. See you around.”

“See you.”

He walked away quickly, heading in the direction of Kakashi’s apartment, knowing he just had to do something about the mess he was currently in, and ways to avoid the inevitable. His heart was racing so fast he thought he might be having a heart attack. How could he be swayed so easily by a pretty face. He had no idea, but he really wanted it to stop. For the sake of his sanity, he needed to learn to be calm around her.

He would tell her soon, get all this off his chest and share his true feelings. He just needed a bit more time.

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 19, part two

(Masterpost) (Other Canary Stuff) (Previous Post)

Warning: Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

The Man Comes Around

Over at the Wen Indoctrination Tower, which seems to exist just to torture Lan Wangji with stair climbing, Lan Wangji is climbing the stairs. Too bad his cultivation level is too low to be able to just jump up. At least this time his leg isn't broken.

This is the first vengeful stair-climb in the show, but not the last. (Parallel gifset here).

The Wen guards are stationed all the way at the pinnacle of this tower to guard...what? Why are they not at the bottom of the stairs? What is this location for, actually? This is further up the stairs than the scenes with the indoctrination lectures. Anyway, it's been three months since Wen Chao threw Wei Wuxian into the burial mounds, so naturally these guards are talking about that exact thing as Lan Wangji approaches.

Lan Wangji knocks them all down with a blast from his guqin. Did you know his guqin is named Wangji, by the way? It is. A guy who is that lazy about naming his quqin maybe shouldn't feel so superior to a guy who named his sword "whatever." 

(I'm suddenly remembering a plush lamb I had as a child, whose eyes were orange, that I named "orange eyes.") (I, however, was three. And I had a lot of plush lambs. Little ones. Grown-ups found it hilarious to give them to me.) (Native speakers of English can probably guess what OP's real name is. Hint: it rhymes with Canary.) (Everybody else: there is a kid's rhyming song called Mary Had A Little Lamb. OP's name is Mary.)

Anyhoo, after Lan Wangji is finally finished with his dramatic entrance, Jiang Cheng comes flying in from wherever he's been hovering for the past 20 minutes of stair time. A bunch of Lan sidekicks also flood into the frame from wherever they were hiding during the wide shots of LWJ on the staircase.

In case you hope that CQL Lan Wangji is as much of a top (offscreen) as MZDS Lan Wangji is (on the page), here's a gif for you.

(more after the cut)

He uses the patented Lan string attack to choke this guard.  Lan Wangji doesn't have to hold a guqin string in his hands to choke someone with it. He doesn't even have to tighten it, judging by how absurdly not-tight this string is.

Or maybe this guy is choking on the chin strap of his helmet. This is exactly how OP's son reacts when OP sticks a bike helmet on him. (Note: it's GOOD that they are following choking safety protocols on set. Very good. However, they could have just left the string out and pretended, and it would look better, in this instance)

The Wen guard tells Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng about the whole "thrown into the burial mounds" thing.  Team Let's Find Wei Wuxian is not happy to hear this.

A Vengeful Ghost

Meanwhile, in some Wen office somewhere? Where the hell is this? Yiling, we get an ominous shot of the rooftops where Wei Wuxian is lurking and then we see Wang Lingjiao trying to sleep and having a nightmare.

Wang Lingjiao has gone to sleep with a full face of makeup on instead of washing her face before bed. She has forgotten the important maxim, Go To Sleep Pretty, Wake Up Zitty.

She leaps out of bed to go cling to Wen Chao and freak out about Wei Wuxian's ghost. Wen Chao is trying to read the sports section and has clearly had enough of this crap. This has presumably been going on for a little while now.

Wang Lingjiao is in a new outfit, which is...pajamas? It has the feel of a 1930's French peignoir set, and it's much more softly colored than her usual bright red-purple combo. If this is her pajamas is it weird that her day clothes are a lot more aggressively sexy-looking than her nightgown? A freak in the streets but a lady in the sheets.

Wen Chao rants about the Sunshot Campaign and talks some smack about Wen Qing, and then leaves to go to the bar and watch the game with Wen Zhuliu. After he leaves Wang Lingjiao freaks out for a bit and then looks at the notice he was reading.

The notice basically says that the Sunshot Campaign is kicking their ass. She should be proud for inspiring the name of the campaign with that kite-shooting bullshit she made up at Lotus Pier. Before slaughtering everyone.

No Matter What You Do, I Only Want To Be With You

Back at the Indoctrination Tower, Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng are having feelings about Wei Wuxian. Jiang Chang does all the talking but Lan Wangji's thoughts are louder because a sad violin is playing Wangxian while they talk.

Jiang Cheng tells Lan Wangji about their meetup plan and says he thought WWX had dumped him to go find Lan Wangji in Lanling. Lan Wangji telepathically indicates that this didn’t happen. This means two things: 1. Lan Wangji has been hanging out in Lanling, where Jiang Yanli has been hanging out, so maybe they have bonded over the past 3 months and 2. This is the first time Jiang Cheng has talked to Lan Wangji since Wei Wuxian disappeared. 

Much as my fic-loving heart would like to believe these two spent three months on the road together looking for Wei Wuxian, in fact they are both important high-level fighters in an active military campaign, and Lan Wangji was busy taking back the Cloud Recesses while Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian were having elective surgery. They probably both were assigned to the "Indoctrination Bureau" mission and this is the first chance they've had to talk about Wei Wuxian.

Is it heartbreaking that, while Wei Wuxian was helplessly getting his ass beat because he'd sacrificed his golden core for Jiang Cheng, Jiang Cheng believed Wei Wuxian had abandoned him for Lan Wangji? Yes. Yes it is.

For some reason Jiang Cheng is hesitant to believe that Wei Wuxian really was thrown into the Burial Mounds. I mean, I understand not wanting to believe Wei Wuxian is dead, but given that Wen Chao is the dude who oversaw the massacre of all of the people at Lotus Pier, including kids, why would Jiang Cheng think his guards are wrong? Maybe he just feels like Wei Wuxian is invincible, since so far he kinda has been. 

The Sword is Mightier Than Not Having a Sword

While they've been chatting, the Lan disciples have found their swords. One disciple is holding Bichen (LWJ's sword), Sandu (JC's sword), and OP consults wiki Suihua (Jin Zixuan's sword). Another disciple is holding Subian (WWX's sword).  

Jiang Cheng grabs Sandu while the Lan disciples, who apparently know their gongzi’s heart, offer Wei Wuxian's sword to Lan Wangji. 

Lan Wangji takes Subian (Bichen: What am I, chopped watercress?) and immediately tries to draw it. Like you don't do. It's sealed itself, which apparently means that it's upset. It's unclear if it's upset because Wei Wuxian is dead or if it just misses him, however.  

Lan Wangji definitely misses him, and wonders, out loud inside his own head, where Wei Wuxian is. Um, he's in the Burial Mounds, dude, they just told you. Well, I guess he's actually in Yiling proper at this point, haunting Wang Lingjiao as he promised her he would.

Twa Corbies

The scene shifts to Qinghe, where there are about 12 dead bodies lying around, which in this show means that there are really a few hundred. In fact, per Jiang Yanli's statement "nothing can be seen but corpses covering the plains." The camera can't see most of them, is all.

Wen Xu's head is hanging in the doorway, and the Jins talk about how Nie Mingjue killed him, cutting his head off with just one swing. Is this foreshadowing anything, like perhaps someone else's head being cut off by Baxia in just one swing? Nope, definitely not.

A couple of crows are perched on a body, totally not eating it, but Jin Zixuan gallantly zaps them with a talisman to make them fly away anyway.  It might be noteworthy that nobody used to use talismans but gradually more and more people are using them - particularly people who have spent time with Wei Wuxian.

With mony a lock of his golden hair-o, we’ll theek our nest when it grows bare-o

Asshole cousin Jin Zixun says “scavenger rights,” so Jin Zixuan puts him in charge of collecting all the bodies. 

Since OP just finished watching fur-collar-happy Nirvana in Fire, these crows look to me like they are wearing luxurious fur collars. Where OP lives, crows are not this fancy. 

A Romantic Corpse-Filled Interlude

Disaster het Jin Zixuan goes to help Jiang Yanli get out of the carriage but she rejects his hand just like he rejected hers back in Gusu.

Jiang Yanli is extremely shocked when she sees Wen Xu's severed head, and turns away in horror, preferring to calmly rest her eyes on dozens of crow-pecked corpses.

Jin Zixuan tries to comfort her and she tells him she'll be going now, thanks for the hospitality. He tries to say that he has to personally deliver her to a representative of the patriarchy one of her brothers, but then one of her brothers shows up.

Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng arrive, having presumably flown there from Qishan. They show that they are flying by blowing a fan on the ground and then jumping off of a box, which is better than the effects we were subjected to earlier in the episode.

Jiang Cheng rushes over to have an emotional reunion with Jiang Yanli, while Lan Wangji rushes over to have an emotional reunion with Wen Xu’s severed head. Jin Zixuan kind of spoils it for him by talking about Wei Wuxian's absence while Lan Wangji is trying to have a moment.

The whole time Jin Zixuan is talking to him, Lan Wangji appears to be gazing into the middle distance but in fact he is staring at Wen Xu's severed head. This is the guy who led the burning of Cloud Recesses, killed a bunch of disciples, and personally broke Lan Wangji's leg. Lan Wangji stares at his head for more than a full minute before glancing away.

Jiang Yanli hasn't seen Jiang Cheng since they were in Wen Qing's clinic, and she is happy he's recovered. When she asks about Wei Wuxian he gives her the bad news in the classic Jiang fashion, which is to say nothing, but look stricken until your interlocutor figures out that something is horribly wrong, but not precisely what.

Four Angry Men

Inside the fortress, Nie Mingjue is slapping the table and saying, this bad boy can hold so much resentment and vengeance. They're having a mini war council and we're getting a better sense of Nie Mingjue's anger management problem. Note for those who don't get the gif reference: this is a The Godfather joke, not a sex joke, but it can be both, if you like.

We're also getting a little more info about Baxia, who seems to be eager to go fight even without anyone wielding it. (Her? Him? Them? do swords have gender? I don't know). Well done, person below the camera frame whose job is to rattle Baxia in a menacing manner.

They've got a giant model of the battle targets, which looks like it was carved out of real rock (I mean, as much as any of the rocks on this show look like real rocks) and has its own table and everything, decorated in Nie colors. Where was this before they took Qinghe back? Has Nie Mingjue been traveling with it? 

Anyway, I'm assuming Nie Huaisang made it, because it's pretty nice. Hopefully they will keep it around for tabletop gaming after the war is over.

Jiang Cheng is upset but is using his anger management mantra to help control his temper while Jin Zixuan and Lan Wangji talk with Nie Mingjue. 

Lan Wangji talks by leaning forward meaningfully, mostly not by using any words, but he asks for a battle assignment and Jiang Cheng immediately joins in. They both want to go find Wei Wuxian. 

Nie Mingjue says Yiling is too difficult of a target, but Lan Wangji puts on his determined face, which is apparently very persuasive.  

After Team Find Wei Wuxian leaves, Nie Mingjue asks Jin Zixuan to hang back so he can ask him how Meng Yao is doing. This is the first time he finds out that his ex didn't go to Lanling. Jin Zixuan tries to delicately remind him that Dad's got, like, SO many bastard children, they really don't have space for all of them. Nie Mingjue dismisses him immediately and abruptly. 

Nie Mingjue might invite the straights to his party but he isn't interested in actually socializing with them.

Unconditional Soup is Only for A-Xian

Jiang Cheng can't sleep, and takes some time, now, to be sad about Wei Wuxian. Presumably he spent the prior 3 months being mad, not sad, because he really thought he just buggered off without saying anything for all that time. Which is sort of fair, but sort of not. One thing about these two bros is that for as close as they have been and as much as they love each other, their mutual understanding has some big, messy gaps.

Fortunately while he is feeling sad, Jiang Cheng does not try to draw Subian from its sheath, because wouldn't THAT be awkward.

Jiang Yanli can't sleep either, and comes to sit with him. Jiang Cheng feels bad that she's wearing herself out with worry and she says "As your sister, I have nothing to do but to worry about you." Jiang Yanli isn't one to complain but she doesn't like being inactive or helpless. In Lanling she was far from the war, but now that she's in Qinghe she'll make herself useful by tending the wounded, and later she'll help Jiang Cheng shoulder his responsibilities as he takes over the Jiang clan.

At the moment, however, all she can do is fret and make soup. As she gives Jiang Cheng a bowlful she reminds him that he absolutely has to rescue their brother who has, according to his captors, been reduced to bone dust.

With all the impossible shit that Jiang Cheng is expected to achieve - and in many instances, does achieve - he is absolutely the embodiment of the Jiang Clan's motto. Fuck his father for disrespecting him because he hadn't figured out how to do everything by the age of 16.

Definitely Not Chilling in Yiling

Back in Yiling, Wen Chao is hearing the news that the Qishan Indoctrination Bureau has fallen and that he's being called back to Nightless City. Wen Chao says he shouldn't need to go back because his dad has a new right-hand man. That new right-hand man, we will eventually learn, is Meng Yao. Wang Lingjiao, meanwhile, is hiding under the bed covers and deciding it's time to dump Wen Chao.

She locks the door and goes to pull out her jewelry box, which is locked and hidden under the bed. Maybe this is Wen Chao's jewelry box, because she acts kind of squirrely about opening it. Upon opening the jewelry box, she doesn't find jewelry but a pair of bloody fake eyeballs staring at her.  She screams and freaks out and then the wind picks up and we hear the sound of a flute, playing the "I'm here to fuck your shit up" tune that Wei Wuxian likes.

Wang Lingjiao runs to the door and pulls down the protection talisman that's pasted above it, and pastes it directly to her chest instead, which is, we will learn in the next episode, the worst idea she could possibly have at this point.

Then she uses a poking stick to go flip the jewelry box open and finds it's full of ugly-ass jewelry again, plus an improbable number of weird round paper-mache biscuits that have been painted gold. None of this jewelry looks anything like the exquisite accessories people wear in this show, which means this stash was put together by the practical effects department, not by the costume department.

Anyway, Wang Lingjiao apparently thinks she can sell this fakeass stuff for a good price, so more power to her. But then we get a short glimpse of the menacing eyeballs again, this time on the floor, having moved out of the box and brought their little blood pool with them. Screeching ensues.

Next episode: Lady in Red!

Soundtrack: Twa Corbies, by Steeleye Span

[haloangel391]

Your Love Means More (Tech x Reader)

Hello everybody, this is my first ever fic so I’m sorry if it’s not the best, and kinda corny. I was inspired when going through my own pains and wanting someone to take care of me. Hope you all enjoy. Feedback is welcome!

Also I wanted to say thank you to @just-some-girl-92  for giving me the confidence to finally write my own story and for always being there when I want to talk about The Clone Wars.

Warnings: Is having a period a warning? I guess blood is a warning so... PG-13? Also there is a sexual reference, but nothing explicit. 

*Coruscant, night, your apartment*

You’re laying on your couch, clutching your stomach as another wave of cramps surges through your body. The room is completely dark, save for the glow of the holo you stopped trying to watch a few hours ago, the colorful pictures only creating a mild distraction from the pain you are going through. The hot water bottle that was across your stomach went cold a few hours ago, but you were too tired and in too much pain to get up and change it for what felt like the hundredth time that day. You sigh and close your eyes, trying to not let your disappointment get the better of you, but you don’t succeed.  

Today was supposed to be a great day. Your boyfriend was coming home from a two month mission today and you had the whole week planned. Unfortunately your body had other ideas this morning when you woke up covered in a small pool of blood, which led you to the position you were currently in. 

You squeezed your eyes shut again as another wave of pain shot through you. You were so focused on it that you didn’t notice your apartment door open, revealing your very concerned boyfriend.

ooo

Tech couldn’t sit still if his life depended on him. His knees bouncing with anticipation as The Bad Batch made their way back to Coruscant. Back to you. 

It had been two long months for Tech, and he wanted nothing more than to see you and hold you in his arms. 

Crosshair looked at his brother from across the room, his eyes had a far off look to them despite the fact he was working on a project in his hand. He knew exactly what he was thinking about. You. 

The whole Bad Batch knew about you and Tech, not from a lack of trying, but Tech wouldn’t stop talking about how sweet and wonderful and kind you were. It was nauseating. After watching his poor brother take the same gadget apart for the fourth time he knew it was time to intervene. 

“You’ve got to calm down Tech,” Crosshair said, “you this nervous around your girl?”

Tech was so focused on the piece in his had that he jumped at his brother’s sudden statement. He narrowed his eyes at him from across the room. “What do you mean?” Tech said, looking mildly confused now.

“Aw, leave the kid alone Cross,” Wrecker boomed from the next room, looking at his little brother with mischief in his eyes, “like you wouldn’t be daydreaming like that after not seeing your girl for two months,” Wrecker playfully punched his brothers arm, much to his displeasure. 

“I wouldn’t be so obvious about it,” Crosshair stated rubbing his now sore arm. Crosshair and Wrecker started bantering each other, but Tech was barely listening to them. He was thinking about you, obviously, but something was itching in the back of his mind about this day, something he should have remembered, and it was bothering him that he couldn’t think of what it was. 

He prided himself on knowing a lot of information for missions; research about the planet they were on, medical information incase of an emergency, cultures and customs of the people they might be interacting with. But he also prided himself in knowing a lot about you. 

Over the year you had known each other he learned a lot about you, what your favorite movies were, your favorite snacks, your childhood, your favorite things to listen to when you were happy and sad, all this information he could pull out of his head at a moment’s notice, which is why he was so anxious to get to you now. He knew something was important about this day, but he just couldn’t put his finger on it. 

He was more than relieved when the Havoc Marauder touched down on the landing platform. He waisted no time in exiting the ship and making his way to you, not bothering to listen to the calls of his brothers back on the ship.

ooo

Tech made his way through the wet and crowded streets of Coruscant, his mind thinking of you, but for a whole other reason now. You weren’t picking up your comm. Perhaps you were just busy at work? His mind tried to put him at ease, but he knew that wasn’t right. Today was your day off, so he knew you would be home in your apartment. Tech picked up his pace a bit more as he headed towards your building trying not to let the panic overwhelm him.

He loved visiting your apartment, it was so different from the harsh environments he was constantly introduced to during the war. The inside always smelled like freshly baked goods and the string lights you had hanging from your ceiling created a beautiful, warm glow that made your whole face light up. But the thing he loved the most, was no matter the time he got back from a mission, you would always be waiting up for him, embracing him in a warm hug as soon as he entered your apartment door. 

So Tech was extremely confused and border line panic mode, when he opened the door and the whole apartment was cast in darkness. It was cold and silent except for a quite moan that he heard coming from the living room couch. 

Immediately Tech’s training kicked in and he scanned the room looking for any signs of danger. The glow from the holo illuminated the room a bit and it’s light finally hit your curled up form on the couch. Tech’s breath hitched when he saw the look of pain on your face and didn’t waste any time in coming over and kneeling in front of you.

“(Y/n)?! Love? What’s wrong?” He put his hands on your face to try and see if you would respond to him, but your eyes just remained squeezed shut. You shook your head, your breathing a bit ragged. 

He quickly scanned your body for any injuries but came up empty, which relieved him but he still couldn’t figure out why you were ---

Oh.

Tech’s eyes landed on the hot water bottle laying in your lap and everything suddenly clicked in to place. 

Your mensural cycle. 

That’s what he forgot. You were starting your period today.  

His shoulder’s visible relaxed as relief suddenly flooded his system. He closed his eyes and leaned his forehead gently against yours trying to ground himself from his earlier panic. You weren’t in any danger. You were safe. You were ok. He kept chanting this in his head for a bit until he calmed down more, the hand on your face rubbing soothing circles on your cheek. Tech kept himself in this position for a bit until you finally opened your eyes.

ooo

You knew Tech was back home, but you couldn’t get up to greet him like you usually would. Which immediately made you feel guilty. He did so much for you and went through so much out there and you couldn’t get your stupid butt off the couch to greet him hello. Pathetic. 

When Tech made his way over to you and pressed his forehead against yours in a keldabe kiss, that’s when you lost it. 

You didn’t even realized you were crying until you felt Tech pull away and hold your face again with both hands. You opened your eyes and looked at your boyfriend through clouded vision, the concerned look in his eyes only made you cry harder, which naturally made Tech panic even more. 

“My love, does it hurt that bad? Do you need more medicine? Food? I could reheat your water bottle? I can make you that chocolate drink if you’d li---”

“I’m so sorry,” you blubbered, cutting him off mid ramble, through your choked sobs. “I’m so sorry Tech, I had the whole week planned with stuff for us to do, I-I got us tickets to the new museum exhibit tonight, a-and I was going to make your favorite dinner and I was reading this book online and it gave me an idea, so I bought something new for us to try-- but I can’t now because I’m bleeding and it’s gross and I just wanted to do something nice for you, you’re always so sweet and you deserve to be happy and relax and-- and I can’t stop crying.” 

You continued to sob, too embarrassed with your overdramatic outburst to look your boyfriend in the face. Were you aware you were crying for practically no reason? Yes. But your hormones wouldn’t let you see that. 

Your heard Tech tut and his hands left your face and encircled your body and brought you closer to him, so your head could rest on the spot between his neck and shoulder. He continued to hold you there while you cried, his strong arms keeping a firm and secure hold onto you while his hands rubbed soothing circles on your back. He rocked you both slightly back and fourth not saying anything except for a calming, shhh, or a quite, I’ve got you, whenever your tears picked up again. 

It wasn’t until you finally stopped crying that he finally spoke, “(Y/N), your love means more to me than any of those things. The fact that you went out of your way to try and make today special means a lot, even if you don’t feel well enough to do them, it’s the thought that counts. Besides you’ve seen me at my worst and taken care of me, I have no problem spending my time taking care of you.”

You sniffle some more before pulling away from him and wiping the tears from your face. The look on his face is not one of disappointment, which is what you’ve been dreaming of for the past few hours. No, he’s looking at you like you hold the answers to the universe. It’s so sweet you can’t help but give a small laugh, that sounds more like a hiccup. 

“What did I do to deserve you?” you whisper, looking at him fondly.  You lean towards him again and press a tender kiss to his lips which he immediately reciprocates, giving a quiet hum of contentment. 

You pull away after a while, his arms are still around you, but have switched to being stationed loosely around your waist, keeping you nice and close to him. 

You look down at his shoulder and you fail at stifling a small laugh, “sorry I got you wet,” you say with a giggle.

He looks down at the water marks on his armor, the tears making a nice clean trail down his dusty body. Tech makes a sound of indifference and shrugs his shoulders, “it needed cleaning, you just got the process started a bit sooner than I originally intended.”

You laugh at that. His face is breaking into a smile now too, taking pride in the fact that he was the one that made you laugh again after feeling so down on yourself. 

Tech never understood why you always put so much pressure on yourself, to him you were absolutely perfect. Any guy who would get upset over their girlfriend having a period was a karking idiot. 

You bring your hand to his cheek and swipe your thumb underneath his eye, coaxing him to close his eyes and lean his head into your hand. Your eyes widen when you realize there is now a streak left behind where you thumb was. You put your hands on his shoulders and lean back some more, finally taking a proper look at your boyfriend. He was FILTHY! Tech’s armor was caked in various amounts of mud, dust and debris, you don’t know how you didn’t notice it sooner.  

“Babe. Why are you so dirty? Did you fall in a mud pit?” You weren’t trying to make fun of him, honestly you weren’t, but you had never seen him come home looking like this.

He huffed and looked at you with slight annoyance, but you could tell it wasn’t directed at you. “For your information, I did not fall in a mud pit... Wrecker pushed me.” 

You eyes widened considerably at that. This new information did not surprise you one bit, you tried not to laugh at him, not wanting to hurt his pride any more than the incident apparently already did. Instead you leaned forward again and pressed a sweet kiss to his nose. His face scrunched up at that, but afterwards all annoyance seemed to melt from his face and you were met with that lopsided and dopy grin of his that you had come to know and love. 

“Why don’t you wash up in the fresher for a bit and relax?” you suggested. 

His shoulders relaxed a bit at the mention of the fresher, you could see the tiredness seeping onto his face. 

“Ok,” he says, taking your two hands in his and raising them to his lips for a quick kiss. “Do you need anything before I go in?”

You thought about that for a minute. The pain in your abdomen was still there, but it wasn’t as severe as it was before, in fact you were quite a bit hungry and your stomach chose that moment to make that known to your whole neighborhood. You blushed slightly looking down in embarrassment, but Tech just laughed. 

“How about I refill your hot water bottle and order from that place you like down the street? Hum? You can pick out a holo for us to watch too if you want.” You smiled sweetly to him at that and pecked his lips again. “Only if you promise to cuddle with me on the couch.”

He grins at you again and presses a kiss to your forehead before standing up, “I would have it no other way.”

ooo

An hour later you were fed, dosed up on a concoction of pain medication from your boyfriend that you really had to write down for later, and half way thru your favorite holo. Finally, you were starting to feel like a human being again. Your boyfriend had cocooned you in various soft blankets before taking his place behind you on the couch and letting you use his shoulder as the world’s best pillow. Tech had his arms draped protectively around you securing you against his warm body, which was doing far more good for your cramps than your small hot water bottle did. You were in heaven.

You looked away from the holo and up at him after a few more moments of quiet, thinking he had finally fallen asleep, but you are met with a look of confusion written on his face.

“Babe? What’s wrong,” you question from your place on his shoulder.

Ever the thinker, he looks down at you after another pause and speaks softly, “Before, you said you got something new for us to try? What is it? A new recipe?” 

Oh. My. Gosh. 

Was he joking? He must be, this wasn’t the first time you had bought something new for you both to try in the bedroom. You thought he was messing with you until you looked up at him again and were met with only soft, innocence eyes shining through his large glasses. You couldn’t help but chuckle at him and press a loving kiss to his cheek. 

“Well...” you say looking up at him thru hooded lashes. You leaned closer to him until your lips were reaching the shell of his ear, “It’s not a matter of something we could eat, as it is something we could put in our mouth.”

The choked noise and large blush overtaking his features had you laughing so hard your abdomen was now hurting for a whole other reason.

[princessamericachavez]

Fjorester in the Bjreaus talk

It’s yelling about Fjorester hours. I haven’t done this breakdowns in a while but there’s so much to analyze in that Bjreau’s talk and so much subtext and admissions and feelings in Fjord’s explanations that I really need to go step by step

this is mostly focused on the Fjorester side of the conversation because so many people have already broken down the BY in it and maybe i will too later but for now let me focus on my main OTP because wow 

Beau: So…. Jester

Fjord: *pikachu panic*

Fjord: There it comes. I was wondering when that melodic intro was gonna hit. 

Fjord: J-J-Jester?

THE WAY HE STUTTERS HER NAME. IM SO SOFT. 

Beau: You know what I’m gonna ask, dude, right? Like, what’s the deal?

Fjord, still deflecting: when you come with the ‘dude’, yes, I know what you wanna as.

Fjord, getting serious suddenly: What? What about Jester?

THAT’S THE FACE YOU MAKE WHEN YOU KNOW YOU’VE BEEN CAUGHT ON UR CRUSH AND UR TRYING TO PLAY IT COOL BUT YOU’RE FREAKING OUT ENTIRELY

I MEAN THAT SMILE

Beau: 

Fjord:

Beau:

THEY BOTH KNOW. THEY ARE JUST DARING THE OTHER TO SAY IT OUT LOUD. 

Beau, finally giving in: You know how she feels about you. Or, at least, how she did. I don’t know if she still does.

*Fjord, immediately, starts touching his mouth in that nervous mannerism he always has when his image insecurities are brought up, like he wants to hide his tusks*

*i start quietly sobbing*

Fjord: I don’t either! I have no idea. 

DO YOU HEAR ME SCREAMING ABOUT FJORD, AFTER 108 EPISODES, ACKNOWLEDGING ALL THE FLIRTING JESTER USED TO DO AND THE FACT THAT SHE MIGHT HAVE HAD A CRUSH ON HIM EVEN IF HE DOESN’T KNOW IF THAT’S STILL THE CASE?

HE’S NEVER ACKNOWLEDGED THAT BEFORE

Fjord: I’m actually the less clued in as to how Jester feels. I actually tried to… ask, but I don’t know. 

WHEN FJORD? YOU HAVEN’T ASKED. SO WHEN DID YOU TRY? WHEN DID YOU WANT TO AND DIDN’T? WHAT CONVERSATION WAS YOU CAREFULLY TRYING TO SEE IF SHE STILL LOVES YOU? I NEED ANSWERS

Beau: You have to kinda be direct with Jester. Like, if you tried to side-step it-

Fjord: I get that. It’s just that there are more pressing matters at hand

I KNEW HE WASN’T GOING TO DO ANYTHING DURING TC BECAUSE SHE’S SO STRESSED ALREADY AND HE WANTS HER TO HAVE HER TIME AND ALL THEIR SUPPORT WITHOUT ADDING STRESS

Fjord: And… I feel like I’m the fourth version of myself since I left Port Damali. And I feel like it could change again in a month or three months. I feel as if the ground is shifting underneath my feet every few nights that I wake up. And it’s crazy, I actually love cause it’s all been for the better, it no matter how crazy it’s been, but what I wanted when this all began is so far in the past I can’t… I forget about it sometimes. It comes for me in the middle of the night. But… Jester is hard to ignore. 

I HAVE (as you might expect) SO MANY FEELINGS ABOUT THIS WHOLE LITTLE MONOLOGUE 

FJORD SUMMING UP SO MUCH OF HIS ARC AND HOW HE’S STILL NOW TRYING TO FIND HIMSELF AND WHO HE REALLY IS AND HOW HE KEEPS CHANGING AND GROWING

but clearly that lack of stability, as much as it thrills him, it also makes him anxious, not knowing who he will be next and what he will believe and what he will want

AN ALLUSION TO HIS DEATH THAT WE NEVER TALKED ABOUT BUT CLEARLY —CLEARLY— IS STILL IN HIS MIND AND SOMEONE NEEDS TO ADRESS ASAP PLS 

And then, right there after the nod to his death, Jester comes back into the statement. Fjord describes the changes and turmoil in his life like all of that is already too much to also focus on love… and then says but she’s still there, in my mind, by my side, all the time. In that mess of these pasts few months, Jester is his lighthouse

Beau: Yeah, no. I- I know! I’m pretty certain literally everyone has a crush on her. 

Fjord *panics like that Joey meme*: WHAT?

Beau: Like, at least all of Mighty Nein. I don’t know, though, but I’m pretty sure everyone she meets is like ‘well, I’d maybe kill for you, yeah’

Fjord: No, yeah, I totally agree with. 

ME TOO BJREAUS. ME TOO. 

Fjord: No, I- where is she?

I’M SO SAD THAT FJORD MISSED HIS PERCEPTION FOR HER BECAUSE I WONDER WHY TRAVIS WANTED TO KNOW SO BADLY 

I HAVE THE FEELING THERE WAS SOMETHING THERE OTHER THAN BEING CAREFUL SHE WOULDN’T HEAR HIM

Fjord: I... 

LOVE HER? WHAT WERE YOU GOING TO SAY FJORD WHAT

THIS PAUSE IS SO LONG IT’S AGING ME

Fjord: You know when someone makes you feel a way that you don’t think you have any right to feel? Or you never thought that you might?

I AM SCREAMING  

FJORD

BABY 

WHY DON’T YOU THINK YOU’RE EVEN ALLOWED TO LOVE HER

WHY NOT??

YOU DESERVE LOVE AND TO BE LOVED AND YOU ABSOLUTELY CAN LOVE HER LIKE PLS TRAVIS WHY ARE YOU GIVING ME ALL THIS PINING MY ROMANTIC ASS CAN’T HANDLE THIS

BUT ALSO LOOK AT THAT SMILE

HE’S SO IN AWE WITH HIS OWN FEELINGS AND HAPPINESS

Fjord: And that feels... off... because I should know how I feel or what I want! 

*low wisdom frustration intensifies*

Fjord: But... there’s a gravity around Jester, at least to me, and she’s the one I’ve known longest in this new part of my... life. And I really thought that when this started there would be an end for me in this, and I would get even or retribution or payback and then I’d be... done. And it hasn’t been that way at all! It shriveled up and died and in its place seven new interests sprouted and... 

[i can’t type the whole Academy thing, im too tired and this is so long already but what a great throwback]

Listen listen listen tho

i wanna talk about this

i wanna talk about fjord noticing jester’s crush and not acting on this because he was convinced the m9 were temporary

i want to talk about a part of him always feeling like this will eventually end and be ripped away from him and how then it kept going and going 

and this woman he met was just such a steady and supportive presence in his life through it all that finally, finally after months, he can’t deny that she’s part of his life for good??

but that also explains what he said before and how he’s afraid that he’ll change again and lose this

like, there’s SO MUCH TO UNPACK HERE GUYS SO MUCH ABOUT THEIR EARLY HISTORY AND WHERE THEY STAND NOW

Fjord: I... I... I want Jester to be happy. 

Fjord: I do feel v-v-very strongly for her. 

FJORD LOOK SO FRUSTRATED WITH HIMSELF AS HE —WHO IS KNOWN FOR HIS SILVER TONGUE— STRUGGLES TO PUT INTO WORDS HIS FEELINGS AND KEEPS FREAKING STUTTERING SO MUCH IM SO

Fjord: But I also know, when this began, her affections might have been based entirely on whimsy... I don’t know!

I AM LIVING FOR THIS ANGST

FIRST OF ALL: SECOND CONFIRMATION THAT FJORD NOTICED ALL THE FLIRTING

SECOND OF ALL: HIS INSECURITIES COMING FORTH AND TELLING HIM MAYBE SHE NEVER LIKED HIM ANYWAY

THIRD AND FOREMOST: I FREAKING LOVE THIS TROPE OF PINING SWITCHAROO AND THE WAY THIS REFLECT JESTER’S DOUBTS DURING THE PIRATE ARC ABOUT MAYBE FJORD NOT BEING WHO SHE FIRST MET AND THE WAY THEY KEEP SECOND GUESSING THEIR OWN JUDGMENT OF EACH OTHER EVEN WHEN THEY KNOW EACH OTHER THE BEST

AND LISTEN LISTEN IM JUST

this is the perfect parallel to her talk with caleb in darktow ok

and im fucking living for this angst and this doubts and to see fjord yearn for her the way she did for so long 

WHAT A DELICIOUS DYNAMIC 

Fjord: And I don’t really feel like asking, either. I almost don’t wanna... know.

THAT HESITATION DESTROYS ME SO MUCH

FJORD IS SO SCARED TO RUIN THINGS, TO LOSE HER, TO HAVE CONFIRMATION THAT HIS FEELINGS AREN’T RECIPROCATED

but here’s the thing. He’s ok with that. He doesn’t expect her to love him back, doesn’t need her to feel the same way. Fjord is just happy loving her and being her friend and being here to support her and make her happy. That’s enough. 

How selfless is that? How absolutely romantic and painful and heartfelt? 

I love this so much. This love isn’t possessive nor demanding. All he wants, all he really asks for, is the chance to make sure she’s happy and safe. 

He requires nothing in return. Being around her light and showering in her warmth are enough. She’s already given him so much support, he can’t ask more... certainly not love in the way he would want, in the way he would hope, because life has never told him he’s worthy of such thing —not a monster like him— so why would she? 

Fjord: I just like it and, to me, as long as she’s alright...

hOW MANY TIMES BY NOW HAS FJORD SAID IN DIFFERENT CONVERSATIONS “as long as she’s alright” “as long as she’s happy” “as long as she’s not getting hurt” “as long as she trusts him” HE KEEPS REPEATING IT LIKE IT’S THE ONE THING THAT TRULY MATTERS TO HIM IN THE WORLD IM-

Fjord: It seems like this is not a permanent... thing. It’s not like we’re gonna leave her in this island and we’re gonna just go off which I was worried about before, but it sounds like it’s all... for show and it might be the Nein again after all this.

HEAR ME OUT

FJORD WAS WORRIED ABOUT JESTER LEAVING

ABOUT JESTER STAYING HERE

ABOUT JESTER TAKING OFF WITH THE TRAVELER AND NOT LOOKING BACK

and we know that was a possibility right?

BUT I THINK BACK TO THE VERY FIRST TIME SHE MENTIONED THIS (iirc it was after the giants fight way back during their second xhorhasian mission) HE SEEMED CONCERNED ABOUT JESTER GOING FOR GOOD. THERE WAS A HESITATION THERE

But really I wanna know how long... how long has Fjord been worried about her leaving, about loosing her... how much of what’s been going on has been him —without saying it— concerned that she’s about to leave the group, how many of their interactions and conversations (”i’m glad you’re here”, “we are happy to have you”, all the talks about disappearing and leaving the sad parts of the world behind) had him secretly concerned that she would soon leave??

AND DON’T GET ME STARTED ON WHAT HAPPENED IN THE LATER HALF OF THE EPISODE

Fjord: and then, I don’t know what. I wanna explore the world! I want to see the lands we haven’t seen! I want to find the things that people are scared of and solve them or do what everyone else needs to do...

Fjord: but....... I- I hope- I hope she’s a part of that

I’M SCREAMING PLS BOY HE’S SO IN LOVE AND ALL BUT CONFESSING IT HELP ME PLS

the way he deflates and gets very quiet and earnest as he admits this????

im sobbing

[im not gonna get on Beauyasha territory because as much as that made me want to scream too this is soooo long already that i feel like that deserves a meta on its own]

i do wanna point out that fjord definitely seemed kinda jealous when Beau started describing her former crush on Jester

Like, he’s so excited to talk about her and Yasha but when Beau brings past feelings into this you can feel a note of panic and defensiveness as he says 

Beau: so I definitely had a crush on Jester, just since we’re drunk and we can be...

Fjord: when you said it before, it was like a thing... you had a real crush on Jester?

Beau: well, she’s so enigmatic, like you said and she just like... she’s got this way... just when she talks...

Fjord: 

Fjord: I’m talking about Yasha! You can go back to Yasha! It’s- uhm-

HE’S SO ANNOYED IM LAUGHING SO HARD

also fun thing

it’s similar to when he’s reacted to the traveler before and jester calling artagan handsome lmfao

im just saying 

and I like that he’s being supportive and he listens and all, even when Beau brings Jester back up... but then he confirms that Beau’s feelings for Yasha are deeper than for Jester and he definitely seems happy with that answer, both for Beau’s happiness (you know Fjord is so excited about these two since forever but especially the way he asks when he turns the tables on Beau he’s so excited for her!) but also because maybe it means one less chance that his own feelings won’t be reciprocated? like an... “alright, so we are good? with this? this is not going to hurt your feelings if i.. if i do love her?” and i think that’s very sweet? like regardless he’s gauging the depth of Beau’s feelings in this regard and I think if she confessed something deeper he would, heartbrokenly, step back and let her have a chance... especially since he’s happy just loving Jester from afar

ANYWAY

I WILL KEEP YELLING ABOUT THIS CONVO IN MY CORNER

AND OTHER MOMENTS THAT I WILL PROBABLY BREAK DOWN LATER

BUT THAT’S ALL FOR NOW

OKAY THAT’S A LOT OF YELLING

bye

[mattzerella-sticks]

Come Home (ao3)

Jason Todd gets a message from Bruce. He's surprised to see it. Then, he's surprised by the message itself. Hearing Bruce's final message stirs something inside of him, urging him towards a place he's avoided ever since his and Bruce's falling out. So he gathers his things, and then... waits.

He can't leave yet. Jason doesn't know why. Bruce gave him a mission, just like old times. Except it's not, because he... Jason can't move. Can't even stand.

That's how Kyle finds him.

New York City, NY - 3:42 a.m.

           Jason heard the flick of a switch before he saw Kyle’s shadow in the doorway. He tensed in his seat but made no move of leaving. Not an inch since he finished packing, duffel lying at his feet. Waiting for Jason to drag it out the window he came through.

           It’ll wait a bit longer.

           “Jason,” Kyle asked, shuffling closer. He turns the light on in this room now, shadows retreating. Like a warm blanket being pulled away, leaving him defenseless. “Jason,” he repeats, peering down at him. Hair ruffled from sleep, wiping at drool with his wrist. “You finished with patrol?”

           He answers with a small hum, knuckles shifting against his lips.

           “Rough night?” Kyle yawns. “Why’re you still out here?”

           The words catch in his throat, scraping it hard enough he bleeds. Though the copper taste might be from how he bites his tongue. Afraid that if he eased his grip, it all might spout forth like a broken pipe, leaving a horrible stain. Once those thoughts are given form, there won’t be any avoiding them.

           Kyle crouched down when he wasn’t looking, dragging his thumb across Jason’s cheek scar. “Jay,” he whispers, “what is it? Why do you have your bag out?” Blinking, Jason notices his lover is more alert now. Staring at him with unnaturally green eyes, piercing like they were constructs from his ring.

           The usual finger is naked. Ring absent, as it should be. There’s no need for rings or guns, masks or helmets, here in their apartment. Together, they can exist as themselves. In this small, shared space, they are Kyle Rayner and Jason Todd. Green Lantern and Red Hood can have every inch of the world – the whole universe, even – save the apartment they call home.

           But the helmet still rests on his lap. Reflects the light from the overhead lamp, milky lenses staring up at him.

           “Kyle,” he chokes on the other man’s name. Then, nothing. His shoulders shudder, vision grows hazy. His lover’s face blurs, but it’s the only thing he can focus on. Closer, rapidly, until the darkness returns. He nuzzles at Kyle’s neck, arms slipped over his shoulders. Warmth treads the surface of his skin but cannot dive deeper. Iced out by the pervasive chill that spread since he answered his phone.

           “Jason,” Kyle says, “hey… I’m here… let it out, Jay…”

           The muttered encouragement breaks what little remained of his defenses. His tears flow free, unburdened, transporting him years into the past. As a kid, his sadness went unnoticed. Swallowed up by the hustle and bustle of Gotham, too busy for another misty-eyed, dirty kid on the street. Over time he learned how to hide that part of him, wound scabbed so heavily he might never cry again. But then someone saw him. Offered his shoulder like Kyle does now, soaking up Jason’s tears. Riding the wave alongside him.

           How Jason wishes he were that young again. When it was simple. Where all that happened between them was a far, twinkling dot in the sky named ‘yet to be’. So he can cry with him one last time.

           Kyle, for once, isn’t enough.

           “Hey,” he starts, as Jason’s sobs lessen, “d’you want to talk about it now?”

           He doesn’t. Might never be able to. And if Jason told him that, Kyle would understand. Kiss along his scar; suggest a nightcap even though he knows Jason will shoot the idea down. Only offering it as a poor attempt at changing the conversation.

           That’s why he loves him. That’s why Kyle deserves to know.

           Talking is hard. Luckily, someone can speak on his behalf. Jason pulls his phone out, blindly punching in the passcode. Then he hands it over, video already playing.

           Kyle watches Bruce. Jason watches Kyle.

           The video is white noise at this point, Jason having lost count of how much he hit the rewind button. Listening to Bruce’s voice like sitting on the other side of a window while a severe thunderstorm rages; safe from the pounding rain and deadly lightning. As it plays, and Kyle’s expressions mirror the same marks Jason believes he hit during his first few views, some of the rain slips through an open crack. A shiver races down his spine.

           Bruce stops talking. Kyle drops Jason’s phone, collapsing onto his knees, crushing Jason’s duffel. Face blank while he processes what Jason can’t quite wrap his head around yet. “Batman… Bruce Wayne is dead?”

           “Yeah…” Having someone else admit it made it easier. It breezes past his lips, “Bruce is dead.” A beat passes, Jason lifts his helmet. “Gotham’s gonna be hell, with Batman gone… defenseless.”

           Kyle’s hand hovers over his knee for a second, and then lands. Squeezes it until Jason breaks from the contest with the empty gaze of his helmet so he can look at a warmer, more loving one. “You’re going back then. To Gotham.”

           “You heard the video,” Jason shrugs, “Kinda have to.”

           “Jay…” Kyle huffs, rubbing tiny circles into Jason’s knee. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.”

           “I know.”

           “And yet you’re still going.” There’s no judgement weighing down Kyle’s statement, only concern. It’s a luxury that Jason revels in. “Do you want to go? Go back… there?”

           Oddly enough, Jason does. “He sent me a video,” he starts, shifting. Holds his helmet with one hand while the other crawls over Kyle’s. “After everything that went down, he… he sent me a video. I can’t begin to explain why …” Kyle flips his hand, fingers curling around Jason’s wrist. “But he did. Sometimes, in those really bad moments… I figured he wrote me off completely. Kicked out of the nest for… well, y’know. But this I… I can’t help feeling, by sending this, he was saying sorry. For it getting this bad. For not being there when I needed him. Not being around anymore to make it better. If I didn’t go back… let’s just say I’d regret it.” He sniffs, chuckling, “Besides, I’d be a hypocrite if I let the old man die and not leave at least fifty slugs in their corpse after harping on and on about Bruce letting the Joker live.”

           “Jay,” Kyle warns, fighting a smile. Losing with every twitch of his lips. “Fifty is a bit much, isn’t it?”

           “Forty-nine, then?”

           “You’re not funny.”

           “Yes, I am,” Jason says, scraping at Kyle’s wrist with blunt nails, “you love my jokes.”

           Kyle rolls his eyes. “I love you. Your sense of humor is one of the many crosses I bear for doing so.”

           “Yeah, well…” The levity flees as the weight of the situation reasserts itself, both their mouths thinning into serious lines. Jason tugs himself free of Kyle’s hold, clutching at his helmet with both hands again. “I have to go.”

           “For how long?” he asks.

           Jason frowns, “I… I’m not sure.”

           Nodding, Kyle stands. Towers over Jason, bangs hanging over his face. He pushes them out of the way, brushing them behind his ear. “You don’t have to leave right away, do you?”

           He thinks about it. Not for long. “I… guess I can wait until morning.”

           “…Thank you.”

           Jason follows Kyle, dropping Red Hood’s helmet on the duffel. Sheds his layers in a trail towards their room, falling into bed beside his lover. Kyle wraps his arms around him, kissing him. Maps out well-worn paths on more scars scattered over his body. He accepts the laved attention, soaking it up. Memorizes each caress for the lonely nights to come.

           There’s a whispered prayer mixed in with Kyle’s reverence. “Please Jay,” he says, “Come home to me.”

           Jason could say it a million times in a million different ways, none of which would make a believable promise. Instead he kisses Kyle. Kisses him until exhaustion overpowers them both, Jason falling asleep in Kyle’s arms.

           When Kyle awakes next, however, there’ll be no one there. No Jason, no bag on the living room floor, and no blood red helmet. By then, he’ll be on his way to Gotham and away from home.

           Coming back only when he’s ready to.

[letsmellowjello]

The Notebook

Pairings: Anakin Skywalker x Jedi!Reader

Warnings: just fluff and a tiny bit of language

Summary: Anakin doesn’t know that you draw him, but then he finds your notebook.

Notes: I absolutely hate how I wrote their little battle, it just seems so slow and not exciting. Just do me a favor and try and use your imagination a bit, okay? Just an fyi that nobody asked for, I honestly think I’m the funniest person ever and I think that the title that I chose is kinda funny (it really isn’t but still). Feedback is appreciated! The gif isn’t mine

Masterlist ~ Prompts/Requests

Some would call it stalkerish, others would call it infatuation, but you called it pure boredom and a good reference. Ever since you met Anakin Skywalker, you had been drawing him. Every spare moment was spent sketching away in your little notebook the lines of his face and the swoops of his hair. When you first started doing it you saw it as purely a way to kill time and hone your own art skills, but over time it became something of a habit and maybe, just maybe you were falling for him a little bit. Whenever you had a moment, you were always itching to take out your little notebook and pencil.

Of course Anakin never knew anything about it, you didn’t intend for him to. All he knew was that you liked to draw at times and that you had a notebook. You had to admit, it was a little creepy, but what else could you do when the pictures drew themselves? Anakin was absolutely gorgeous and a wonderful model even if he didn’t know it. You would never tell him any of these things, it would only boost his ego. 

“That was absolutely horrible,” You groaned as you and Anakin left the Jedi Council Chamber. You had both just debriefed the council of what had happened during you mission which was a complete and utter mess to say the least. Nobody had died thank goodness, but so many things went wrong and it had just taken so much longer than necessary.

“I can second that,” Anakin agreed. “I have to go see Obi-Wan real quick, but do you want to go grab something to eat later?”

“Sure, I’ll meet you in the banquet hall. See you later.” You turned and walked down the hall in the opposite direction of Anakin. You always loved your little post-mission dates. They weren’t actual dates of course, but it had become something of a ritual since you were padawans to go get something to eat and just talk and wind down after a mission.

You walked into the banquet hall and chose a seat next to one of the towering windows that overlooked the city of Coruscant. There were very few people in the hall as it was an odd time of the afternoon to be getting food, but you were both off for the rest of the day so you didn’t need to worry about missing a training session or meeting. 

As you sat down you sighed tiredly, it felt like you hadn’t gotten the chance to relax in forever, which wasn’t too far from the truth. During the mission, the only time that you had been able to get any amount of relaxation or rest was in between jumps and even then there wasn’t nearly enough time to properly sleep or do a little sketching. All throughout the mission and the debriefing with the council, you had been itching to take out your notebook and start drawing. So now, when you were finally able to sit back, you took out your notebook and began to transfer your creativity to the old and crinkled paper.

As time went on, Anakin’s face began to appear soon followed by his hair, neck, shoulders, and body. You had a really good memory when it came to remembering what things or people looked like so you could draw them later. The boy in your drawing was in a powerful stance with his lightsaber raised above his head to protect against his opposition. It had been when you were on Jedha for just a little bit of reconnaissance. It was supposed to be really easy and just a quick in and out. But Anakin being Anakin and you being you, of course you had gotten into trouble and had drawn some unwanted attention which then caused you to be fending off blasters while trying to escape.

The pages of your notebook were filled with similar sketches; some of him smiling, being angry, sad, thoughtful, you had it all. Anakin was just a very expressive person which made for some very interesting drawings.

Your pencil scratched lightly at the paper to shade in the shadows of his face when you felt a presence approach from behind you.

“Boo!” Whoever it was put their hands on your shoulders to scare you. Even though you knew that someone was there, you still squeaked in surprise. You quickly closed your notebook and turned to see Anakin, but not before he got a glance at your drawing. “Hey, what were you drawing?”

“Anakin! Don’t scare me like that! How did things with Obi-Wan go?” You completely ignored his question and tried to distract him away from your notebook.

“Hey hey hey, don’t change the subject. What were you drawing? Can I see? You’re always doing stuff in that notebook and I never know what it is.” He reached for it but you pulled it away.

“No! It’s none of your business!” You protested, trying to keep it away from him.

“Let me see!” He leaned across the table and tried to pull your arm closer so he could grab the book but you resisted. It soon became an all out battle to try and get the notebook with Anakin basically on top of the table and you leaning very far back in your chair. The few people who were in the hall looked over at the two of you in disdain at the ruckus that you were making. He climbed over the table but you quickly got up and tried to hide the book in your robes but then he was there preventing you from doing such a thing. The two of you fought ruthlessly against each other to obtain the book until you managed to break free of his grip and dart away but he was quick to follow. 

“Y/n get back here! I just want to see your drawing!” You were now jumping over tables and chairs to try and get away. Oh how Obi-Wan would not be pleased. The entire time he was on your heals but then he slowed and extended his arm using the Force to pull you back to him. 

“Hey! That’s cheating!” You protested as you tried to resist him, your feet slipping on the floor helplessly. Once he had pulled you to him, he wrapped his arms around you to try and stop you from struggling.

“Y/n just- argh stop moving! Just let me see!” Even though you were a powerful Jedi, his physical strength was too much. Realizing that there was nothing that you could do and that he would find out your secret sooner or later, you gave up and stopped squirming in his grasp. You let him take the book with a reluctant and frustrated huff.

“Anakin,” you said before he opened the book, “just know that it’s not as creepy as it looks. I promise, okay?”

“Um... okay?” He gave you a funny look and then directed his attention back to the notebook. He opened it up carefully and was absolutely dumbstruck at what he found. Almost all of the pages were filled with sketches of himself in all sorts of poses and expressions. Your face burned with embarrassment and all of the sudden the floor and your shuffling feet became the most interesting thing around. “Y/n... these are amazing...” he breathed.

You mumbled a “thank you” under your breath.

“So this is what you’ve been doing with every spare second?” He turned the notebook towards you. “You’ve been drawing me? You liiiiiiike meeee” his face scrunched up as he teased you.

“Oh shut up! No I don’t!”

“Yes you do! You like me! You like me! Why else would you only ever be drawing me then, huh?”

“Ugh fine! So what if I do? It’s just a couple of drawings! And besides, who would like a colossal ass such as yourself?”

“You would! Obviously.” He grinned at you as you turned away from him crossing your arms and huffed. “Oh come on y/n!” He took you by the shoulders and turned you to face him. “It’s not that big of a deal, and I don’t really blame you, I am quite amazing.” He wore a smug look on his face and subtly flexed his muscles. You rolled your eyes and began to move away but he pulled you right back, not letting go of your shoulders this time. You were now painfully aware of how close you were and the mere centimeters separating the two of you.

“I um, I have to-” You spluttered in any attempt to leave the situation. You didn’t want to meet his eyes because you knew that if you did you’d just fall for him even harder and this time you might not be able to control yourself. 

“Y/n...” Anakin’s voice was soft now and had lost it’s smugness and pride. “It’s okay, you don’t have to be ashamed. Hey, look at me.” He tilted your chin up a little bit and you reluctantly met his gaze. What you saw in his face startled you. You didn’t see that arrogant and prideful boy you knew, there wasn’t even a hint of teasing humor or cockiness in his face. Instead there was something else. Understanding, maybe? Shyness? Care? Who was this boy and what did he do with Anakin?

“It’s not okay though, I’ve broken one of the most prominent rules of the Jedi Code! I’ve fallen for someone, and another Jedi at that!”

“That makes two of us.” His voice came out as almost a whisper. You barely heard it, but when you did it took you a moment to register the gravity of his statement.

“Wait wha-?” And then the centimeters between you disappeared and his lips were on yours. Your eyes widened by then you relaxed and fell into the kiss. It was intoxicating, he was intoxicating. You had never experienced anything like it and weren’t sure you’d ever experience anything like it again. His hands came up to cup your cheeks and yours went to hold the back of his head, pulling him closer. But unfortunately, being human, you needed to breath. You separated reluctantly, but this time the space in between you buzzed with energy.

“So um...”

“Shhh no words. Just enjoy the moment.” 

“But-” Anakin placed a finger on your lips to quiet you.

“Shhh...” You obliged and gently rested your forehead on his.

After a moment of comfortable silence, he broke the quiet. “Do you think anyone saw us? What do you think will happen if the Jedi Council finds out?”

“Oh fuck the Jedi Council, what are they going to do? Get rid of their two best and youngest Jedis?” Your own words surprised you. That position was usually reserved for Anakin.

“I’d like to do that again y/n.”

“Me too...” The space began to close again and your eyes fluttered shut until the door to the banquet hall opened. You and Anakin careened away from each other to the other sides of the room.

“Ok, please tell me that wasn’t what I think it was.” Obi-Wan stood in the doorway with his arms crossed and a disapproving but humorous look on his face.

“No nope, not at all Obi-Wan.” Anakin assured him and you nodded in agreement.

“Good, because you both know the repercussions that could follow. Anakin come with me, I need to have a little chat with my young padawan.”

“But I-” He protested.

“No buts! Let's go!” He took a fistful of Anakin’s robes and began dragging him out of the hall. On his way out Anakin gave you a helpless look that you could only laugh at.

Once they left you sank down into the nearest seat hugging the notebook to your chest, still riding out the high that you had gotten from the kiss. You felt like a lovesick little schoolgirl whose crush had just winked at her from across the playground. In all your years of life you never thought you would fall so fast and so hard for anyone, let alone Anakin Skywalker. Yet here you were. And as luck, or the Force, would have it, he felt the same about you. Obviously you couldn’t be together in the conventional way, but just knowing was enough for you. 

You did not know what the future held, but what you did know was that Anakin was in it.

~~~

Taglist: @umpoedameron

[lochrannn]

AU_gust: Knife Edge of a Petal

Read on AO3

prompt no 21: Soulmates

Relationships: Lila Pitts/Diego Hargreeves

Characters: Lila Pitts, Diego Hargreeves

-

The phone in the hall rings and Lila scrambles out of the bath, forgoes wrapping a towel around herself, and jogs to try and make it before whoever's on the other end hangs up.

“Hello?” she says, barely having got the receiver to her ear properly.

“Hey Lila,” Diego's voice comes in slightly tinny, but she's used to that at this point, the phone system back at the mansion seems to have been put in in the nineteen twenties, and despite all of his inventory prowess and wealth, Reginald Hargreeves apparently never bothered to update it, “you around this evening? I need to talk to you.”

There's something in his voice that puts Lila a little on edge and never before has he announced ahead of time that he needs to talk about something. If anything ever bothers him, he stews for a while before it just bursts out of him, whether the moment is opportune or not, they have an argument, and then they settle things. It's not a perfect system, but it's their system and it works.

Lila tries not to let any of her sudden unease reflect in her voice when she says, “yeah sure, d'you want to come over? I've nothing on.”

“Uh... k... uhm, Klaus asked me to give him a lift somewhere, I guess I'll be with you in an hour,” comes Diego's slightly hesitant response.

Why is she getting the feeling that he was hoping she'd say no?

“Alright, see you in a bit.” Again, she tries to sound as upbeat as possible and waits to let go of her sigh only once she's hung the handset back on the wall mount.

Lila goes back to her bathroom, doesn't bother to get into the cooling water again, instead dries off, and then tries hard to find anything to occupy her thoughts with to stop herself from fretting before Diego arrives.

When she buzzes him up and he comes in fifty minutes later, there's an unmistakable tension in the air between them, his expression is more serious than she's seen in a long while, and any success Lila has had calming her nerves flies straight out of the window.

Almost more to reassure herself and to make things feel normal, Lila puts her hand on Diego's shoulder, gets up on tip toes and presses her lips to his.

For a second he hardly responds and Lila worries that he's going to pull away, but then he cups her face with both hands and kisses her back, not deeply, but there's still something intense about it, almost like it's the last time he's got the chance, and that thought more than anything else makes Lila's heart plummet into her stomach and she has to blink hard to suppress tears she doesn't understand the cause of.

In the end it's her that breaks the kiss and Diego's hands fall away from her face and limply to his side.

“What did you want to talk to me about?” she asks, tentatively. On the one hand she's absolutely certain she doesn't want to have this conversation, but then there's also really no point in prolonging whatever ending is coming her way.

“Can we sit?” Diego asks, not quite meeting her eyes, and so Lila leads the way over to her living room.

She sits down on the sofa, expecting Diego to sit with her the way he always does, but instead he moves to the armchair that's positioned perpendicularly to her, not much further away than if he'd sat on the sofa, actually, but it puts upholstery as well as a bit of space between them.

Lila is about to break the silence that's stretching out in that space, but Diego begins talking before she gets the chance and rushes out, “Lila, whatever I've got to tell you, I need you to know that I love you, ok! You know that, right?”

She laughs nervously. “That's really not as reassuring a statement as you seem to think,” she says, but when Diego looks at her, desperation on his face, opens his mouth a couple of times as if he's trying to say something but the words won't come out, her heart breaks a little for him and she says, “but yeah. Yes, I know! I love you too!”

Diego's gaze drops to his clasped hands at that, as if she slapped him, and where she was uncertain before, Lila is now downright nervous and confused.

Again, just before she can ask him what's going on, Diego holds out his wrist to her and explains, “I noticed this this morning. I don't know when it appeared, maybe some time yesterday, but...” he trails off as Lila takes his hand to inspect his wrist more closely.

Under the umbrella tattoo on Diego's left wrist, there is now a mark, darker than the rest of his skin that she can't quite make out the shape of but if she had to guess, it looks like a flower with four petals and what she thinks might be the shape of a knife blade sticking out either side of it.

Really, the tattoo makes it hard to fully recognise and Lila remembers that Diego told her once he suspected that Hargreeves had all the siblings tattooed in that spot deliberately, maybe hoping that they would never discover their soulmarks and therefore not get distracted from their mission by tedious things like love and companionship.

Lila swallows hard and swipes her thumb over the mark and then something clenches in her chest, so she lets go and sits back to lean against the sofa.

Diego instantly leans forward towards her, as if now he can't stand the space between them.

“Hey, Lila, we talked about this. We knew this could happen, this doesn't change anything!”

“It kinda does, though,” Lila says resignedly. She wants to lash out, wants to be angry, with Diego, the fucking universe, whatever, but she just doesn't have the energy.

Yeah, they'd talked about this. Yeah, they'd known this could happen, but it is one thing to be with someone who isn't your soulmate, it is a whole other kettle of fish to be with someone who isn't your soulmate when one of you has apparently recently run into theirs. It almost never works out after that.

“Who do you think it is?” Lila asks almost a bit curiously.

“Fuck, Lila, I don't care!” Diego bursts out and he reaches for her hand and Lila doesn't have the heart to pull it away, even though right now she doesn't find much comfort in his touch, “and you know as well as I do it could be anyone. Christ, you were the one who explained to us that time travel fucks with the soulmarks. For all we know they're back in the sixties, never to bother me for the rest of our lives. What's the point in thinking about this?”

There's frustration in his voice now and Lila hurts with him. God, she loves him so much and things were great between them. Why can't they have one good thing? Why has the universe decided to punish them by disturbing the peace they've managed to carve out for themselves?

She entwines her fingers with his, nods decisively and then pulls their hands up to her lips so she can kiss his knuckles.

“You're right! I'm just... sorry, this just came as a bit of a surprise.” She looks up into his eyes and swallows hard again at the tentative hope she finds there.

-

For the next two weeks things go back to normal.

Almost.

They go out together, hang out together, have sex, go to sleep together, but there's this underlying sadness in Lila now. She tries to hide it from Diego as best she can, but most nights, after they've fallen asleep entangled in each other's limbs, she'll wake up at some point, only able to think of this nameless, faceless person who he rightfully belongs to, who she's preventing Diego from being happy with, and all she can do is extricate herself from the comfort of his arms and move to the other edge of the bed, so he won't notice her heaving breaths when she tries to suppress her sobs and tears.

Diego will leave her alone for the rest of the night and doesn't comment on it in the morning, but she sees the hurt in his eyes when they wake up at the same time and she flees from the bed as fast as she can.

That's why it surprises her when she wakes up one morning, surrounded by warmth, feeling more comfortable and safe than she has in weeks even though she knows she scooted over to her cold edge to be on her own some hours ago.

Her back is pressed up against Diego's chest and he is carding his fingers through her hair, whispering softly in her ear, “Lila, wake up.”

She opens her eyes to fully orientate herself and works out that Diego must be sitting up against the headboard and has pulled her into his lap so he could wrap both his arms around her.

Lila's body betrays her, because instead of squirming away, which she thinks she should be doing, she grabs hold of his arms so he won't let go and turns her head so she can lean her forehead against his jaw.

She closes her eyes against the tears that are threatening to form again, but she's managed so far not to cry about this, at least not with Diego conscious, she can continue holding it together for as long as possible.

She swallows hard again and says past the lump in her throat, “What's going on?”

Diego pulls one of his arms away, despite her grip on it, but he takes her wrist in his hand in turn and says, “Look,” so gently that she barely hears him, but she feels the vibration of his deep voice in her own ribs.

Lila opens her eyes again and looks down at where Diego is caressing her pulse with his thumb and she almost gasps.

On the inside of the wrist of her left arm she sees a mark that wasn't there last night, darker than the skin surrounding it, in the shape of a flower with four petals and what looks like the blade of a knife sticking out either side.

She'd know it's identical to Diego's mark anyway, but for good measure, he puts his own left wrist right next to it and even the slight distortion from the umbrella tattoo does nothing to cast any doubt.

Lila swipes two fingers over Diego's wrist and drags them over to her own, almost as if to make sure that both marks are real.

Then she turns back into him, kisses his jaw while Diego's arms tighten around her.

“Alright then,” she says, before fully relaxing into his embrace.

[btsmakesmehappy]

Broken Vase | 4

Genre: Enemies to Lovers, Angst, Fluff, Smut.

Pairing: Agent!Namjoon x Agent!reader

Rating: 18+ (Mature Content)

Word Count: 7,6k

Warning: panic attack (just a mild description), description of violence, cursing, murder threats, PTSD, Y/n insecure with her body, unprotected sex (Be careful guys!), body worshipping.

Chapter: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 complete

Summary: You are one of the best agents in the Company, and so do Namjoon. After your last mission with him, you hate him and so do Namjoon. Suddenly, you assigned again with him as a married couple. How can you handle the mission, Kim Namjoon, and your emotional wound?

Series Masterlist: The Company

a/n: the last chapter! I am so happy that I finally finished this. Please wait for other story in this Agent universe!

Taglist: @kb-bangtanenthusiast @w0lfqu33n

It is weird how easy you forgive Namjoon. You supposed to despise him, but you found yourself comfortable with his presence. He supposed to despise you, but he hugged you tightly and comfort you when you were crying. You fell in a dreamless sleep in his arms after cried your eyes out. But again, maybe you don’t hate him. Maybe he doesn’t hate you as well.

It was the morning when a knock on your door awoke you and Namjoon. It was a new experience for you, to wake up with Namjoon’s face in front of you. Maybe if you woke in some guys’ arms, you would be freaking out. You always look terrible in the morning. But the guy is Namjoon, and freak out would be the last thing you do. It’s the look in his eyes that shows him that he doesn’t even care how you look for a bit. That look in his eyes somehow calms you down and even takes your breath away. He kissed the top of your head lightly as he released himself from you and walked towards the door. You stretched on your bed, tried to gather as much energy as you could. You took a careful look at him. He looks tired. Well, he only slept for 2 hours after the kiss.

The kiss.

What the hell are you thinking? Kissing –no, making out- with your partner and it was nothing to do with the mission. That’s professional. You remember how his lips attached to you, how the room was full of your smacking sounds, how you cried, and how he held you after. You could feel heat spreads on your cheeks. Oh my God. You just want to disappear. You must be out of your mind. The guy barged into the room as you sunk your face into the nearest pillow.

“Hey Y/n? are you better now?” Taehyung ran to you and hugged you tightly. You knew he would feel worried, or even guilty after leaving you alone in the pool last night. You knew that much.

You smiled softly and patted his back. “I am okay, Tae, don’t worry.”

He was still hugging you when Jimin pulled him away to hug you. “Hey, girl. I am glad you’re okay.”

“Hey chim, thank you so much.” You smiled as you hugged him back. Then your eyes darted to a bunny-like guy beside the sofa. “Oh, right. Kook, thank you for saving me.”

He scratched his back sheepishly, “You’re welcome, y/n. I know you will do the same for me.” Jungkook is an interesting guy. You worked with him before. He is always so different in the field and in the usual life. He can knock criminals out in just a single punch but cries when you tease him. He can be an international playboy in the field but runs away when the girl from the forensic division talks to him. Even now, he is still shy in front of you.

You chuckled softly. “I will do the same thing for you all. Thank you so much.”

Hoseok was walking towards you when his shirt pulled by Yoongi. “Alright, you children. Let’s get back to the mission.”

“We need a new plan. The tour agency has canceled the trip for today.” Jin stated as he sat on the sofa. He is the oldest of all seven and he also has seniority. He has been in the Company for almost 13 years and he is one of the agents that higher-ups trust the most.

You could see a line forming between Namjoon’s eyebrows. “What? Why?”

“James died last night.”

Namjoon’s eyes widened. “What? How did he die?” James was the one who tried to murder you, and suddenly he died? This is weird.

Yoongi answered shortly. “Drowning, but the autopsy report hasn’t been released yet.” He then scrolled his phone and clicked a few times. Suddenly your phone rang. “I sent you the news.”

Your uneasiness must be read by Jimin as he held your hand, drawing soothing circles on the back of your hand. “Cou- Could be it was murder? You stuttered.

“We don’t know if James is murdered or not, but we do know that Tiffany is murdered.” Jin sighed. “She got into a car accident and the autopsy report shows that she was intoxicated by alcohol at the time of the accident. It seems that she went from her own home. The police also found bottles of alcohol in her home. The police have already announced that it was an accident.” You heard another rang on your phone. Yoongi sent you the autopsy report.

Jimin said cautiously, “but in the autopsy report, there’s also a track of alcohol on the airway which hinted to an aspiration.” He pondered. “It seems that she was forced to drink it.”

There was dead silence in the room. “Could it be that James died because he failed?” you asked timidly.

Yoongi nodded. “Yes, we all thought so.”

Your hands trembled. He died because of you. You felt sick and nauseous. You were hyperventilating when Namjoon cupped your face suddenly, distracting you.

“Hey, Stay with me! It is not your fault, Y/n.” He stroked your cheeks. “Calm down okay?” You took a deep breath to control your breaths. It is weird how his voice can calm your mind with just those sentences. How his touches are enough to keep you on your feet. And when he removed his hands from you, you could feel his warmth still lingering on your cheeks.

“Alright, you lovebirds. Back to work! You both need to go out in an hour. We still need to follow Minister Lee.” Jin interrupted and walked towards the door followed by the other guys.

Before Hoseok got out, he turned to you and gave a huge smile. “Don’t worry Y/n. Everything will be okay.”

After you took a warm shower, you felt a lot better. You felt your muscles relaxing. You grabbed a dress which Jimin picked before. Jimin has been your handler for 3 years. And in those 3 years, he has complained about your clothes for almost like a million times. You only wore shirts and work pants every time you work, but since he came, half of your closet is full of clothes from him. Not gonna complained about it though, he always has a good sense of fashion. For you, Jimin is the nicest guy you’ve ever known. And you always thank God for giving you Jimin in your life.

You looked at your reflection on your mirror. The dress looks nice on you but it exposes your skin too many for your liking. You are not confident in this, not when your scars exposed in public. You don’t like people staring at you. And with these scars? People will think that you are a criminal or maybe in a violent relationship, or maybe just a girl that into BDSM. You walked to your opened luggage, rummaging inside to find something that can give your body something to cover.

After a few minutes, you sighed. You couldn’t find anything. You were biting your nail when Namjoon handed a blue cloth to you. “Use this.”

You unfolded the cloth to find a blue jacket. You smiled at him. “Thank you.” You knew this jacket. He sometimes wears it when he hangs out with his friend, which you usually see in Jin’s snapchat. So it seems that he brings his own clothes in this mission. You don’t deny that he is a good dresser. Well, he has a good body proportion after all. He will look good almost at anything. You wore the jacket carefully. It is a little big for your body but somehow it is kinda matching with the white dress you wore.

Your heart was already racing with how nice he smells when he just said casually. “You look cute in my clothes.” You could feel your heart dropped to the ground. He shouldn’t do it like this. He just smiled at you and grabbed your hand, dragging you out.

You both walked to the restaurant. You saw Dahee waving at you in the distance. “Nara-ssi! Come sit with us!”

You looked at Namjoon who nodded in agreement as you sat with them. “Good morning!”

“Good morning to you too. It is so sad that the tour was canceled right?” She said while putting meat in her mouth. She studied your face carefully. “By the way, you look really tired. Are you okay?”

You involuntarily put your hands on your cheeks, “Really? Yes, I am kind of tired. But I am okay. Just a little lack of sleep.” You replied with a smile.

She smirked, “You both must have a ‘rough’ time last night.” A statement that made Namjoon and Myunsoo choked on their water. Myunsoo then nudged his wife while you patted the back of your husband. “Aww, young love. You both should eat a lot.”

You chuckled at her awkwardly. “Yeah, we should eat.” You were standing up to pick the food on the buffet but Namjoon pushed you down to sit.

“I’ll pick some for you, babe. Just sit here.” He then kissed your temple and walked away. Your jaw dropped and turned to Dahee, only to find her almost shrieking in happiness. You’re almost sure that they could hear your racing heart.

You shifted the topic before she talked again. “So, what are you guys doing today?”

“We are trying to rent a private boat and just sail around.” She then whispered to her husband, and Myunsoo nodded. “You should come too! It will be fun! But of course, if you don’t have any other plan.”

You put your hands in front of your chest and waving them slowly. “Oh, no. We don’t want to disturb you.” Water. You gulped nervously.

“No, we will be delighted to have you on board. Besides, the more the merrier right?” She turned to her husband, who gave a polite nod.

You smile awkwardly. “Well, we don’t have any plans yet. I think I will ask my husband first.”

“Ask me what?” Namjoon asked as he put the plate in front of you. “I got you an omelet.”

“That was fast.” You raised your eyebrow. “And only an omelet?”

Namjoon then pinched your cheek. “I only have two hands, princess. And you love omelets. Besides, we can get anything else after this. So what do you want to ask?”

Dahee smiled at the interaction between you and Namjoon. “I invited you both to our boat this afternoon. We rented one. And before you refused, I have already told her that you won’t disturb or bother us at all. We will be glad if you come!”

Namjoon looked at you and took your hand in him, squeezing it gently. “I am down for it, if you want to go, babe.” Are you sure?

You smiled. “I’d love to. Thank you.” I think I am.

“Great! Then we should meet in the lobby at 3 pm! I can’t wait to see the sunset on that boat. We will head back to our room now. See you!” They excused themselves and walked away.

Namjoon was still holding your hand when he landed a surprise peck on your lips. “You know that you have me right?” He assured.

He is worried about me

. Your heart’s racing again, all fear, nervous, and relief mixed into one. You just squeezed his hand back. “Yeah, I have you.”

It’s already at 3 pm, and you have already in the lobby. Namjoon has already told the team. Some disagreed with this mission because it can be dangerous for you. But you explained that even it is dangerous and risky, protecting Minister Lee and Dahee is still your mission. Jin knew your passion for work but he also agreed that you were careless and naive. Thus, he agreed with your decision but the team would be following you in another boat.

A couple of minutes later, You and Namjoon then joined Lee couple in the car to the dock. Namjoon never let go of your hand. He squeezed it lightly when you were approaching the dock. Your heart was racing the entire time, but Namjoon apparently knew a thing or two to calm your nerves. When your hand got clammy, he kissed the back of your hand. When you broke out in cold sweat, he kissed your temple. When you gulped nervously, he kissed your neck. When you bit your lips, he kissed your lips. Namjoon thought it would distract you away from your fear and panic, but he just made brand new trouble for you. You found his kisses are addicting. You must be going crazy.

The voices from your in-ear were not helping at all. Some groaned at all of the kissings he did. Well, it’s not that you were muted at all. And that’s how you stepped on the dock in heated cheeks after hearing Yoongi said that your moans were distracting the guys. That embarrassment was enough to distract you from your fear of water.

A young man dressed in sailor outfits welcomed you in the dock. He happily greeted the four of you. “Aloha! Welcome to Aphrodite! I am Ben. Are you Mr. Lee?”

Myunsoo nodded and his wife reached out his hand to shake him. “Hi! I am Mrs Lee. We brought guests too, is that okay?”

“Of Course! So you are?” Ben looked at you and Namjoon.

Namjoon was the one who reached out his hand to Ben. “Hi, I am Mr. Jung, and she is my wife. Thank you for having us aboard.”

“Great! So, you guys should put your shoes inside this box. Shoes are not allowed in the boat because it can be slippery. And after this, you should directly hang around in the deck, and keep yourself comfortable! We will be sailing in 15 minutes.”

Fifteen minutes later, the boat has finally moved to the sea. The sail was kind of smooth. The weather is nice. There is even booze in the boat. It should be a nice holiday. But instead, you were too terrified to walk. You just sat on the deck, slowly sipping your orange juice. You were not drinking any alcohol, well, this is work after all. You even couldn’t hear what Dahee and Myunsoo talk about. Namjoon told them any stories about his fake work just to distract them. He knew Dahee would want to talk to you, but you were not in that mood for socializing.

Myunsoo has never talked for a bit since you’ve met him. But it seems that Namjoon’s stories made him opened up. Apparently, he loves arts too. The sudden change of her husband also made Dahee shocked. She rarely finds his husband talks passionately with other person and it makes her happy. It seems that her decision to invite you to the boat is a great one. She doesn’t want to interrupt him nor Namjoon. But when she wanted to talk to you, you were drowned in your own thoughts, so she didn’t want to disturb you. After all, the sea has magical things for every people.

It has been a couple of hours after you sailed away. The boat suddenly stopped in the vast sea, almost made all the people on board fall. Dahee yelled to the captain, “Hey capt, why are we stopping? Is this the place for the dolphins?”

“Aloha! Welcome to Aphrodite! I am the captain of this ship.” A voice broke out in the speaker. That voice. You got goosebumps. Your hands began shaking. Your eyes darted to the man behind the steering wheel. “Nice to see you again, Agent Y/n.”

Namjoon eyes widened. He subconsciously moved you behind him. Just how did he find you? The guys have been more careful this time. They checked the boat thoroughly, contacted the renting company. They checked whoever hop on this boat.

“So, this is the famous agent Namjoon. I am glad to finally meet you. I really wanted to meet you 5 years ago.” A devilish laugh erupted. “And seriously, you should be more careful with your phone, you know.”

It’s bugged? You were furious. You wanted to confront him but Namjoon whispered to you. “Stand back.” You took a glance at Myunsoo and Dahee. Their faces were full of terror and confusion. You heard then in your in-ear that the guys will be coming in no time. Even they were following you, they still far away. You should stall him. You moved back to Myunsoo and Dahee to make sure they’re okay. After all, their safety is your priority.

“So, are you the one who sent the threat to Minister Lee?” Namjoon started. After Myunsoo heard his name, he was shocked. He knew nothing about threats.

“You got me there. But, I couldn’t believe that the company will send Y/n. I didn’t think they will be that stupid. It is just easier for me.” He moved from the steering wheel and walked down to the deck. He toyed the gun with his hand. Making Namjoon move back and stayed in front of you, Myunsoo, and Dahee. “I always wanted Y/n, you know. And now they sent her to me, I just can’t be any happier.”

You yelled. “What did you do to the staff? Did you kill James too?” your hands turned into fists.

“You really want to know?” Ji Seok asked coyly. “What do you want to know? How I did it? Or what’re their last words?”

Another death. “You are a fucking psychopath.” You glared at him.

“It’s all your fault, y/n! You were the one who killed all of my members and you always chase me like I am a lost puppy.” He laughed. “You are the reason for their deaths.”

Namjoon gritted his teeth. “What do you want Ji Seok?” He was suppressing himself from jumping to him. Come faster, guys.

“Just like before. Money.” He smirked.

Myunsoo yelled, “I will give you anything. Just please let us go.”

Ji Seok smirked. “And Y/n.”

Deg. Namjoon stepped exactly in front of you, covering you completely from Ji Seok’s sight. He glared at Ji Seok. “You are not getting Y/n.” never.

Your heart was racing quickly. You didn’t know what to do. You know Ji Seok is capable to kill anyone in this boat. He could kill Myunsoo and Dahee. He could kill Namjoon. Your Namjoon. You couldn’t let that happen. You patted Namjoon’s shoulder. “That’s okay, Joon. I will go. I can stall him.”

He grabbed your wrist tightly. “No fucking way, Y/N! I will not let you go.” You could see tears forming in his eyes for a bit and then your eyes got cloudy too. “You promised me you will never leave me again.” He begged.

You let your tears fell. “It’s the only way we can survive, Joon. You should know it. It gives the highest chance for the victims to survive.” You laughed dryly. “Where is my Namjoon who thinks logically?”

His throat was dry. He indeed knew what were you talking about. It’s the most logical thing for agents to do. But now, he is no agent. He is just Kim Namjoon. He is just a man who witnesses a woman leave him. A woman who holds a special place in his heart. And he will not let that woman go. “I- I don’t care. I will not let you go.”

“Joon..” you whined as you tried to release his grip. “I have to.”

“No.” Namjoon tightened his grip. You could see his tears finally fell. “You told me not to negotiate with terrorists.”

“It’s in the past Joon. I have to.” You jerked his hand. “I am sorry.” You ran from him, not looking back. You were afraid if you saw his face once more, your determination would be broken. There are also uproars inside your in-ear. All trying to stop you. “I am sorry guys.”

Namjoon cried, “He is going to kill you. Come back here.”

Suddenly Ji Seok laughed again. “Oh Y/n. Always tried the best to help people. Even though you know what’s gonna happen.” He moved his gun and aimed it to you. You could hear Dahee’s screaming behind you. Maybe it just bound to happen. You’re getting tired of chasing Ji Seok and being chased by him. Maybe it is just for the best.

Bang!

“Y/N!” Namjoon shouted.

Namjoon’s voice woke you. Just before the bullet come through you, you nudged and charge Ji Seok. No, I won’t give up. The bullet grazed your left cheek, but you didn’t care. You ran to him and hit his wrist until his gun fell. You kicked the gun to Namjoon who swiftly grabbed it. It feels like a dream. You fought Ji Seok, with Namjoon by your side. Well, behind you with the gun, but it still counts.

Ji Seok has fallen down from your kick. Before you kick another one, There’s a big wave. It caused you to stumble and lose your balance. Then Ji Seok grabbed your legs and pushed you from the boat. To the cold sea.

“Bastard!” Namjoon then shot Ji Seok before he moved. He shot him everywhere until he ran out of bullets. Namjoon turned blind eyes as he walked to already weak Ji Seok and locked Ji Seok to the ground. He punched him as hard and as many as he could. Namjoon couldn’t even see clearly. His eyes were clouded with tears and anger.

Until someone pulled him away to stop him from hitting Ji Seok. “Stop Joon, you don’t want to kill him.”

Namjoon stopped by the voice. Your voice. He turned his body to you. And he found you. You in his jacket. You with wounded cheek. You with wet hair and body. He pulled you into his chest, hugging you tightly. “I thought I gonna lose you.” He sighed in relief then released you. He cupped your face gently, studying your face. “Are you okay?”

You reached out to his face. “I am okay.” You assured. Namjoon then joined his lips with yours, a short one. He needed this kis. He needed to make sure that you’re alive in front of him. “We should tie him up before he awake.”

“Oh right.” He then released you and walked to Ji Seok. You turned to find Myunsoo and Dahee sat on the floor in each other embrace.

“Are you both okay? We’re sorry to make you see something so traumatizing. And personally, I want to apologize for lying to you. It’s just our job-“ Dahee ran to you and hugged you. You were perplexed by her action, but then you just hugged her back.

Dahee cried as she hugged you. “Oh my God, I am just glad you’re okay.” You released her and patted her. You then nodded to Myunsoo beside her.

“Y/N! Namjoon!” You heard Hoseok yelled. “Are you guys okay?” Finally, the other boat came.

You turned to the other guys and gave them a thumb up. “Just take him away please.”

They stopped the boat just beside your boat. Jungkook and Jin then took Ji Seok away from Namjoon. Luckily, Namjoon didn’t kill Ji Seok. Lucky, because there will be no paper to fill in. Hoseok and Yoongi then asked Myunsoo and Dahee to go to another boat. Taehyung and Jimin ran to you. Taehyung hugged you tightly and Jimin draped a dry towel on your shoulder. They also asked you and Namjoon to go with the other boat while they stay with Jungkook and Jin.

The boat ride was silent. All of them just relieved that it’s over. Namjoon has never left your side since he stepped on the boat. He draped you with another towel and sat in front of you. He cleaned your wound and cover it with a bandage. “It doesn’t look that deep. But I still think that it will scar. Let’s go to the hospital after this, alright?”

You just nodded. You then reach out your hands to him. His brows knitted in confusion. “I am cold.”

He then took your hands in him, rubbing them to make you warm and blowing them in his hands. You giggled as you saw what he did. “I just want to make you warm.” He said sheepishly. He stuttered. “I- I know you just went for a few minutes, but I really miss you. I am just really glad that you’re okay.” He kissed your hand softly.

“I am sorry.” You then leaned to him, stealing a light kiss which made Namjoon gawked. “But I am here now.”

Namjoon then pulled you into his arms, hugging you tightly. He rested his head on the nape of your neck, breathed in all of your smell. “You are here now.”

You both stayed for a moment in each other’s embrace. You couldn’t care with Yoongi and Hoseok yelled in disgust behind you, and the voices inside your in-ear. The moment is just yours and Namjoon’s. You only heard the sound of the sea, the wind, and each other’s breaths, but this time, you are not terrified. You feel happy. You feel completed. This time, the sea is your best friend.

You walked separate ways after arriving at the dock. Jin, Jungkook, Yoongi, and Jimin handled Ji Seok, while Hoseok and Taehyung escorted Myunsoo and Dahee back to the hotel and she hugged you before you parted ways. You and Namjoon went to the nearest hospital. Apparently, the doctors didn’t comment much after Namjoon explained that it caused by the coral reef. It was relieving actually.

Namjoon has never released your hand in the hospital. When you got stitches on your cheek, he just held your hand and kissed it several times. It was only when Namjoon got a call from Jin, he finally released your hand to take the call outside. Well, he tried to answer it inside, but the old nurse glared at him.

You walked outside after getting treatment, finding Namjoon in front of the hospital. “Hey, what did Jin say?”

Namjoon closed his phone and put in inside his pocket. He then put his hand on your shoulder to ask you to walk with him. “Jin has reported to the Company, and Ji Seok is the priority for now. So, they’re going back tonight.”

The hospital is not located near the sea, but you could still hear the sound of the wave in the distance. The sun has already set, but still, the sky has the orange hue. “So are you gonna be okay? Your job, I mean.” You asked warily.

“Maybe, it’s going to be a little problem. But I don’t really care.” He smiled as he looked at the sky. “Sometimes we fail, sometimes we don’t. I don’t need a perfect score in my job.”

“I am sorry I didn’t tell you before. I was so mad about you at that time.” You sighed. “Well, I still now.” You turned to him.

Namjoon stopped. “Why are you still mad? He has already been caught.”

“You called me obsessed and took me off the mission. And oh, I am not sure that you remembered that the data you used was mine?” You yelled at him. “And you didn’t even thank me for it!”

Namjoon was flabbergasted. “Well, you did obsessed!”

“No, I didn’t!”

“Oh, right! You just collected that thick binder of yours just for fun! Oh and not to mention how you spent 3 years after that mission to look for his whereabouts and almost got fired. How about when you took ‘a leave’ just to chase him and almost died?” Namjoon shrugged and yelled. “Yeah, that looks like a nice hobby for me!”

“I-“

“Well, you know what another nice hobby that people in restraining order do? Oh, they love to follow their exes as a hobby!”

“STOP IT!” You were fuming and turned your back to him. “You are a jerk.” You walked away from him.

Namjoon then grabbed your hand to stop you. “Look, I am sorry that I hurt your feeling, okay?” He scratched his neck and sighed. “I took you off because I thought it could be dangerous for you, okay? You worked with too many emotions and I was just afraid that you would do things without thinking.”

“That’s wrong! I still went and guess what? I was right? You-“

“Can I please at least explain myself first?” he said softly. You pouted. “I’ll admit that it was not a wise decision. I didn’t think that your obses- I mean I didn’t think you would still go to the negotiation. You were right. I am sorry for not listening to you before and thank you for saving my team at that time.”

You just looked at your feet. “Our friend died, you know.”

Namjoon walked closer to you and rested your head on his chest. “I know.” He patted your head softly. “I wasn’t a good leader.”

You shook your head. “No. You are a good agent, and a good leader.”

“But still, Why you didn’t tell me?” He cupped your face. “I knew you didn’t tell me not just because you were mad at me.”

“I just didn’t want you to to get trouble. You looked happy.” You fiddled your-Namjoon’s jacket.

Namjoon felt his chest swelling. He couldn’t believe what you did for him. “I am just sad, you know, I should be the one who helped you 2 years ago.” He pouted.

You giggled and put one hand to his cheek, poking the location of his dimple. “Well, it was a dangerous situation. You wouldn’t handle it.” You said jokingly.

He moved your body and cornered you on the sidewalk. “Hey, I am better now. I bet that I can defeat you.”

You raised one of your eyebrows. “Really? Let’s do it then.” You leaned to his face. “What do you want to bet on?”

“You.” He said happily. He leaned forward too, until you could feel his breath on your face. “If I win, you will have to go on a date with me.”

You could feel your heart leaped up for joy. You smiled widely. “I thought that we have passed that date, but sure.” You tiptoed and gave him a kiss on his cheek. “Deal.”

He couldn’t hide his smile. He just took your hand again and walked. “Wanna walk around for a bit before we return to the hotel?”

“I thought we go home tonight?” you asked.

“No, I requested temporary leave for us. We can have a holiday for some days.”

It has been a while since you walked like a normal person, not as an agent. You have worked so much in these past years. The only outing you went was just eating with Jimin. Every holiday you got was spent in your apartment, working or maybe sleeping. This is a new situation for you and you like it. Namjoon has talked about how he spent most of his time working with Jin. How he was mad when Jin told a joke during a mission in his in-ear. And you talked about how Jimin raided your apartment and threw almost all of your clothes when you were away. It’s just like when you both just recruited, when you and Namjoon spent the night just talking to each other. You missed this.

It’s been almost midnight, but you still walked on the beach by the hotel. Time does fly so fast when you are with someone you care about. Namjoon ran around like a little boy and yelled happily when he found a little crab. “So, do you still afraid of water?” you barefooted and walked on the coast. Letting your feet wet with seawater.

You shrugged. “I don’t know. I think I do.” You sighed. “it sucks.”

Suddenly Namjoon stopped and pulled you to him. He cupped your face gently. His face features were lightened by the moon, and he was beautiful. “I know it’s hard. But you will not be alone, okay? All of the other guys will help you.”

“I know. I have you.” You smiled sheepishly. You gazed into his black eyes.

His jaw clenched. “Don’t look at me like that.”

Your brows frowned. “like what?”

“Like you want me.” He diverted his eyes from you, avoiding your eyes.

You gulped. “What if I want you?”

He gruntled and crashed his lips on yours. His lips moved languidly with yours, molding your lips. His hands moved to your neck and he pulled you closer. You melted in his kiss. He bit your lower lips harshly. He parted his lips and pushed his tongue in. His tongue explored your mouth like he wanted to steal your breath away. You could smell his sweetness mixed with the saltiness of the sea and that’s intoxicating. You felt a heat slowly gathered to your core. His hand moved to your waist, pulling you closer to him. You moaned softly as he grinded his hips on you on purpose and you could feel his hardness underneath his shorts. “I want you.” As he released on your lips, he grazed his lips on your neck. Kissing every part of your neck until your knees went weak.

“Take me.” You moaned. “here..”

He cursed silently. “No, let’s go back to our room. I don’t want people to see your body.” He bit your earlobe. “This body is just for me.”

The walk to the room was messy. It was hard for you to stay sober. And it was getting harder when Namjoon grinding his erection to your ass in the elevator. You almost took him right there in the elevator. You need him badly.

You opened your room hastily, while Namjoon kissing your neck from behind. Just as the door closed, your lips attached again to his. He removed your-his-jacket and threw it on the floor and you messily open his shirt’s button. As his shirt thrown too, you couldn’t believe what you saw. His golden skin glowing in the moonlight from the window. He’s just beautiful.

He walked you to the bed until the back of your knees hit the bed. “I want to see you.”

You nervously pulled your zipper down and let your dress fell to the ground. Your arms subconsciously were thrown across your chest, covering your body. You could feel the embarrassment rushing in. He kissed your neck again. “Don’t hide for me. You’re beautiful.” His hand moved to your back to unclasp your bra and threw it to the ground. He then guided your back to fall to the bed. His lips crashed to your lips again. He moved his lips to below your neck. He kissed your chest, leaving a trail of saliva and sucked it gently. He wanted to know that you’re his. He kissed every part of your body and he stopped on your scars. He kissed and licked your scar below your clavicle, and the big scar in the center of your stomach. “These scars, they’re beautiful.”

You moaned as his hot tongue licked your side scars, sending shivers through your spine. “Joon.. Touch me.”

Without any waiting, he grazed his calloused fingers to your nipples. You could feel a jolt in you. He played with your breast while pinched your nipples which made you go crazy. You could feel your nipples hardened and then he leaned in and put your nipples inside his mouth. He flicked it with his tongue, nibbled it while his hand played with your other breast. As he moved his lips to your other breast, his hand moved to your thigh. He slowly opened your thighs while touching your inner thigh. He then sneaked under your underwear to touch your core. You’ve already so wet, basically, your underwear has soaked already. “So wet, just for me.”

Namjoon then took your pants off and threw it aside. He moved his head between your thigh, your core exposed. You’re so embarrassed. You’ve never been this exposed before. Just as you want to close your thighs, Namjoon held your thigh open. Namjoon found your clit soon after. He circling your clit and running to the slit of your fold. The touches were enough to make you shiver. “Joon..”

“Let me make you feel good.” Just before you said anything. He kissed you hardened bud lightly. He flicked your bud rapidly and made your back arching. He moved down as he licked your fold. Just in front of your heated core, he pushed his finger into you. “You’re so tight and wet.”

“I need you, Joon.” You begged.

“Gonna stretch you well first, baby.” Namjoon then thrust his finger in and out. He darted his lips on your nub and suck it gently again. You moaned whenever he flicked your clit. And he just knew that it’s your sensitive part, so he just attacked it again. You turned into a ball of moans as you moaned his name repeatedly. He could feel how your core was clenched around his finger that you’re close. He pumped his finger and increasing his pace. He even rub your sensitive spot inside which made you toe curled. “Come to me, baby. You can do it.”

His tongue still flicked your nub and your hand subconsciously grip his hair. Your breaths became uneven. You could feel the knot inside your stomach tightened and your thighs shaking uncontrollably. You automatically grinded your hips into his face to ride your orgasm. He licked your cum in your sensitive core skillfully, made you trembled every time he swiped his hot tongue.

“Beautiful.” He then kissed you passionately. You could taste yourself in his lips. He grinded his clothed hips to you. Your hand moved to his shorts open them. Seeing your frustration, he released from you and took off his shorts and underwear, leaving him completely naked.

“You are beautiful too.” You pulled him and kissed him again. Now you could feel his warm member grinding inside your thigh. Every time he touched you would moan his name. “I want you.”

He gritted his teeth. “I want this as slow as I can. But whenever you begged like that, I just want to slam my cock inside your warm pussy.”

“We have so much time after this. I just want to feel you now.” Just after you said it. He ran the head on your slick to gather your wetness. He then positioned himself in front of your core and pushed it slowly.

“Oh my God. You’re so tight.” He pushed it slowly until his entire length deep inside you. You felt slight pain with this stretch and you let out a small whimper. “Am I hurting you?”

You shook your head. “No, I just need a moment. You’re so big.” You waited until your pain subdued. You have never felt this full before. You love how his warm cock inside you. “Please move, Joon.”

He put all of his weight on his arms and putting his arms on the bed, caging your body. He pulled out his cock until just his head remains inside you and thrust into again. He began pumping in and out while you whimpering and moaned in delight. This felt so good. He then angled his hip a bit and hit the sweet spot inside you which made you clenched his cock involuntarily. “Baby, you felt so good. I don’t think I am gonna last long.”

You could feel the knot inside your stomach began to tighten. “Joon, I am gonn-.”

“I know, baby. Me too.” His pumping became more sloppy. “Can I come inside you?”

You nodded as you moaned. “Y-yes. Please come inside me. Fill me with yours.”

“Fuck. You’re so hot, you know that?” He then leaned to you and kissed you. His hand move to your clit and rubbing it. Your orgasm hit you stronger this time. Namjoon could feel how your walls clenched and pulsing against in his cock. After a few thrusts, he thrust you deep and cumming inside you. Painting your walls with his seed and falling on the top of your body.

The room filled with your moans and smell of sex. You both started to control your breaths. His cock was softening inside you and you felt his cum mixed with yours started seeping out. He began to release himself from you, and you whimpered with the sudden emptiness inside you.

Namjoon stood and walked to the bathroom. You couldn’t bother to sit, you were tired but happy. Namjoon then back with a warm towel and began to clean your messy core. “I really wanted to make this messier. But, maybe later.”

You giggled, “We can have as many as we want, Joon.” You reached out your hands. “Just sleep with me now.”

Namjoon then wrapped you inside his arms. Your head rested on his broad chest. Your chest swelled with happiness. You have never felt this before. You felt completed. You sunk your head on his chest deeply as your body trembled. Namjoon noticed this, but he just stroked your hair and back. “I am here, babe.”

“Thank you for saving me, Joon.” You choked as you wrapped your arms around him. Then you fell asleep again, lulled by his warm hands on your body.

Namjoon just smiled. You were sleeping naked beside him, scars on you, but you are still the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. He pulled the blanket to cover both of you. He swiped your hair behind your ear, to see you carefully. Namjoon realized, you are indeed hurt and struggling. You were a broken vase that shattered into pieces. You were having a hard time to glue it together. But, still, a broken vase will never be like before. It’s just bound to be thrown away.

He remembered how he talked to Myunsoo this afternoon. How Myunsoo finally won the bidding of a cracked vase for $10000. At first, he thought Myunsoo was insane, why did he even buy a cracked vase for such a high price? Myunsoo then explained that the vase was broken in the first place, but now the vase is repaired by mending with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold. Thus, a broken vase turns to something more beautiful and useful. It was the philosophy of Kintsugi, we shouldn’t throw away broken objects, instead we should try to repair things, and its breakage can become valuable. Not only the kintsugi vase hid the breakages, but it also illuminates them with gold.

You were still his broken vase, broken by all of the traumatic events and your negative experiences. You tried your best to disguise and hide them. But it is not the only way. You should look for a way to cope with all of those scars positively, and wear it with pride because it is your part of your history. And he wants to help you.

Maybe Namjoon is not THE perfect person for you. Sometimes he is selfish, he is clumsy, and he is not as strong as you. But he is a hard worker and he has something that might help you mending all your scars. Something that can be as valuable as gold.

Namjoon tightened his hug and kissed the top of your head softly.

“I love you, y/n.”

Epilogue

“So Yeah, that’s what happened,” Jin explained. He was in his boss’s office. The Hawaii mission just ended a week ago. Ji Seok still on the investigation, but with that many pieces of evidence, it was unlikely that he could be free.

The boss put his arms across his chest and nodded. “Alright. Thank you. You can go.”

As Jin walked towards the door, he turned to face his boss. “You knew about Black, about Ji Seok, About Y/n, and everything, didn’t you?”

The boss just smiled meaningfully. “I might know some things.”

“Why you let that happen to Y/n and Namjoon?” His brows knitted, he knew that his Boss is a smart and wonderful man, he respects him. But why in the hell he let those dangerous things happened to his agents?

The boss sighed. He stood up and faced the window. “You know right, that Y/n and Namjoon are great agents?”

Jin walked to the desk. “I know about that! That’s why-“

“And you should know that not only Y/n has a weakness. Namjoon too.”

Jin raised one of his eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

“Y/N has always been an emotional agent since the beginning. The way she uses her emotions and affects the work is one of her weaknesses, plus now she also has PTSD after that incident in Hawaii. Eventhough she is a great agent, she is still a young woman. She needs to be loved and respected. Furthermore, Namjoon has always been a logical agent. He excels in everything. But one thing he lacks at, He is selfish. He never understands nor experiences what does it feel to lose someone he loves so dearly. He lacks compassion.” The boss turned to Jin.

Jin’s jaw just dropped. “Wow. You do know everything, don’t you? So that’s your intention of why you put them together?”

The boss replied with a smile. “Of course. I just want my agents to be the best.”

Jin could see from the glass door, you and Namjoon giggling in the aisle. Namjoon has never looked at you, or any other person, like that before. And you have never seen with a smile since 2 years ago, but now you are smiling widely to Namjoon. “How do you know that they love each other?”

He laughed. His eyes turned into a crescent. “I just knew.”

First series: Done! Go check the other series because *sst... It’s all connected!

Series Masterlist: The Company

[justwritethatdown]

Bechloe Week 2020 – Day3: Drunk Texts 

We were bound to be together

An au where Beca didn't get together with Jesse and that allowed her relationship with Chloe to grow.

or

The way Pitch Perfect 1 should have gone ;)

Set during Beca’s first two years at Barden; everything goes as it should, nothing angsty happens and everyone is happy. Just a sloppy falling-in-love story between two college girls, told through their drunk texts, kind of...

Rating: T

Words Count: 2.5K

Thanks to @viharistenno for being my beta

Read here or on AO3

She took my arm, I don’t know how it happened

 After Hood Night, Beca was lying on her bed; the weird buzzing in her brain caused by alcohol made it hard for her to fall asleep. She wasn’t used to drinking and partying with strangers until late night, but she had to admit it wasn’t the worst thing she’d done. That Jesse seemed nice after all, a little pushy maybe, but Beca knew she needed a push sometimes, maybe she should give him a chance-

Her phone buzzed on the nightstand

CHLOE BEALE: Im so glad that I met you xx

BECA: Yeah, you kinda mentioned that…

Beca bit her bottom lip and a bright smile formed on her face. There was something about Chloe, that didn’t make Beca want to push her away. On the contrary, it was rather a pull, that made Beca want to get closer to her.

She placed the phone on her stomach, letting out a heavy sigh, smile still present on her lips. Beca couldn’t believe she actually auditioned for an acapella singing group, just because a crazy – naked – girl told her to, after crushing her shower and forcing her to sing with her; it was a situation that normally would have made her run for the hills and yet, she went to the audition – and she got in – and to the following party. Beca didn’t even know how that happened, Chloe had dragged her into this whole new world, and she was kinda okay with that.

It confused Beca; for the first time her instinct didn’t tell her to push this person away, it told her to get to know her better, to become her friend, but most of all Beca wanted Chloe to like her, she wanted to impress her. She checked her phone to see if Chloe had texted her anything else, but there were no new messages, so she let out another sigh – a disappointed one this time – and put the phone away.

Maybe Chloe was still with shower guy, they seemed to be pretty close at the party. Her stomach twisted and Beca huffed again; the way Chloe had grabbed her arms and how close she got to her while talking, gave her some vibes, for a moment she’d thought that the redhead was flirting with her – a thought she wasn’t completely opposed to – but then she saw her with that guy while she was busy talking to Jesse, and kicked herself for being so delusional, she was well aware they were having sex in the sowers, they were obviously together.

Beca shook her head and rolled her eyes to herself, turning to her side to try to sleep.

  I felt it in my chest as she looked at me

  CHLOE: Admit you had fun tonight! :P

Beca was a bit more tipsy than usual – okay, let’s say she was drunk – but it wasn’t her fault; Amy arrived there with the clear internet of getting the brunette drunk that night. She dumbly smiled at her phone and almost gave in, but then she remembered their bet.

“I don’t know why I let you drag me to this stupid party” she spat out when they arrived at the ΣΒΘ frat house.

“Come on, I bet you’re going to have fun” cheered Chloe making Beca roll her eyes.

“I doubt it” stated the brunette.

“We’re here bitches!” screamed Amy going straight for the alcohol table, followed by Stacie.

When her head started to spin, Beca realized that maybe she’d let Amy fix her one drink too much, but she didn’t care, not when Chloe was leaning in so close to whisper things in her ear – shout actually, to be heard over the loud music – and had one arm wrapped around Beca’s shoulders; the weight of Chloe on her felt amazing and the way Chloe looked at her made her heart do funny things in her chest.

Beca definitely blamed it on the alcohol, but deep inside she knew it was the same feeling she had the first time they met at the activities fair; that smile Chloe gave her and those blue eyes, so deep that Beca felt like she was drowning in them, knocked all the air out of her lungs and she felt her heart racing.

Even if she did run away that time, Beca just couldn’t stop thinking about her, until that girl jumped in her shower, making Beca incredibly frustrated and embarrassed. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t help but looking – more than once – at the girl’s naked body and her mind wandered without her permission. Chloe was undeniably beautiful, and her confidence made her even hotter.

Beca should have known then that she was gone, but – always oblivious to her own feelings – it took her several weeks of parties and rehearsals to know that she had, in fact, fallen head over hills for the redhead.

Suddenly Beca felt Chloe stepping away from her and saw the girl launching herself into Tom’s arms. The brunette found herself downing the remains of her drink and accepting a new one from Amy. The rest of the night is still a blur, she vaguely remembered Jesse helping her through her dorm room door and saying good night, at which she believed she grunted before the guy closed the door behind him.

Beca frowned at the memory and looked back at her phone; there was a new message on the screen

CHLOE: you disappeared tho. Stacie said you left w Jesse :(

BEC: yoy wr wit Tom

CHLOE: I told you I was going to say hi and when I came back you were gone >.<

BEC: are u tofether?

CHLOE: No, I’m alone

BEC: no I mwan ar you datingm

BEC: ?

Chloe started typing and deleting and Beca started to freak out; she’d known this girl for less than a year, she saw her with Tom from day one, she had no right whatsoever to be upset about them dating, even if Chloe had been sending her mixed signals from the start and was annoyingly touchy and loving and not-so-unintentionally made Beca’s head spin more than alcohol did

CHLOE: No, he’s not my boyfriend. We used to be fwb but I ended it a while ago because I started to like someone… :)<3

  Just keep your eyes on me

 The following day Beca felt like shit; her head hurt, and she felt nauseous, that’s why she was immensely grateful to Chloe for dragging her to that stupid party the night before their special rehearsal’s session.

“Remind me to kill you when this is over” she lamented when Chloe greeted her with her usual bright smile – the girl clearly didn’t drink as much as Beca did the night before – and a quick hug

“Can’t wait” winked the redhead, making Beca’s blood boil in her veins.

Chloe really looked amazing that morning and was clearly making an effort to be noticed by the brunette; she managed to make even that idiotic hostess choreography look beautiful. It wasn’t just the dancing, Beca found every movement Chloe made incredibly sexy, maybe because of that half confession she had made the night before, or maybe because Beca knew Chloe was doing it on purpose; she knew it because Chloe basically never dropped her eye contact with Beca, almost like she was trying to cast a spell on her, and maybe she did.

“You’re on a mission today huh?” Beca hushed to her during a break

“I don’t know what you’re talking about” answered Chloe wearing a shit eating grin

“Well, better for me then, I’m enjoying the show” she shot back without thinking too much about it and regretting it right away, but the fire it lit in Chloe’s eyes told her she’d said just the right thing.

“What’s with all this eye fucking?” suddenly spat out Amy, making the room giggle. Except for Beca who became bright red, and Aubrey who cleared her throat glaring at Chloe, who innocently smiled biting her lip.

“Did you finally hook up or something?” asked Stacie in amusement

“Can we focus on the damn choreography?” asked Aubrey grinding her teeth.

  Deep in her eyes, I think I see the future

 Beca’s plan was simple: to go to college for one year, convince her dad that she tried and have him send her to Los Angeles the following year to finally start working towards her dream of producing music. However, something along the way went incredibly wrong, or rather incredibly right, and now all she wanted was to stay there with those nerds who somehow became her family.

The look on Chloe’s face when they won the finals made Beca realize that her future wasn’t in LA, her future was right there with those girls, with Chloe. In that moment Beca felt like she belonged there; she saw her next few years at Barden, with the Bellas, and in the hug they shared, Beca felt that Chloe would be part of her life forever.

The girls celebrated in the Bellas’ sorority house and they all, even Aubrey, got incredibly wasted. Most of the girls had already moved there from their dorms and wouldn’t have to go anywhere after their party.

During the night Chloe made sure to let Beca know, more than once, how sad she was that the brunette had decided to really leave for Los Angeles in the end, instead of moving in with her, and she never left her side the whole night. They drank together and laughed and danced, and they almost kissed, but Chloe pulled away last minute confusing Beca. When Beca asked her why, Chloe mumbled with watery eyes “you’re leaving, what’s the point?”, but immediately cleared her throat and dragged Beca to dance with the others. In her inebriated state, the music and Chloe’s body moving rhythmically against hers, were enough to distract Beca from that statement. Only later, walking back to her dorm, it carved its way back into her mind.

BEC ♡: I not gng to LA  

CHLO: ???

BEC ♡: im stang heee

Chloe’s reply was a string of emojis Beca was too drunk to interpret followed by

CHLO: yoy styng w the bellassssss

BEC ♡: im staying fr you

CHLO: were gnna be cocaptnsss!!!

  This woman is my destiny

 Beca’s second year at Barden started out completely differently from her first one; she was living in a sorority house along with eight other girls and was co-captain of the acapella group she led to victory the year before.

Her relationship with Chloe evolved in a strange way; they acted like a married couple now, but they never crossed the line, both too scared of ruining what they had. With Aubrey gone, the Bellas were their responsibility and Beca knew that was what mattered the most to Chloe, so she chose to focus on their acapella group. For Chloe, not because she was scared of fucking things up, obviously.

Their mutual pinning was clear to all their friends; some of them – Amy – teased them  about it, while others desperately tried to help them figure it out.

One night, during one of their let’s-get-drunk-because-why-not nights, they were playing truth or dare

“Beca” started Stacie “truth or dare?” she asked with a wicked smile, making Beca sweat

“Truth…” tentatively answered the brunette

“Do you have more than platonic feelings for anyone in this room?” asked Stacie raising an eyebrow. Chloe held her breath at that and Beca was the only one to miss it, too occupied freaking out

“Dare” blurted out Beca “dare, I meant dare!” Beca’s heart started beating dangerously fast, hoping that Stacie would have let her change her reply, but the girl’s eyes twinkled and Beca knew she’d fallen right into her trap.

“I dare you… to kiss the girl you have the biggest toner in the world for and release us all from this ridiculous sexual tension you two generate” commanded the tall girl rolling her eyes.

Beca felt all the air leave her lungs. Everything was silent around her and all she could hear was the uneven beating of her heart. She swallowed hard looking at Chloe to see what her reaction had been and the girl’s hesitant smile calmed Beca a little.

Beca wasn’t one to back down from a challenge and the alcohol in her system only made her more competitive, but most of all, there was nothing in the world she wanted more than to finally kiss Chloe, so she crossed the circle they were sitting in to reach the redhead on the other side of it. Chloe was biting her bottom lip in anticipation and Beca could see in her eyes that the girl wanted to kiss her just as much as she did.

Beca gently rested her palm on Chloe’s cheek. They didn’t speak, but they didn’t need words to communicate; their eyes were saying all they needed to say. They expressed how much they both wanted to do this, but only if the other was okay with that, and that it was going to be okay. They completely forgot they weren’t alone.

Beca leaned in and kissed her, Chloe wrapped her arms around Beca’s neck and pulled her closer, letting out a sigh that made Beca’s heart flutter. They stayed there, kneeling in the middle of the living room, kissing slowly and deeply, their lips moved together as if they were dancing. Beca wasn’t sure who deepened the kiss, but as soon as their tongues touched, a million fireworks went off in her brain, covering the sound of their friends whooping and clapping and wolf whistling – Amy – and making her forget her own name.

Beca couldn’t have enough of Chloe’s lips. When the kiss ended and Chloe tried to move away, Beca desperately chased her mouth and started kissing her again, gaining a chuckle from the redhead. The two girls were only separated by Amy accidently bathing them in tequila while waving a bottle in the air, shouting that they had to drink to that.

After two – or was it three? – Bhloe drinks, as Amy had named them, Beca was still snuggled up next to Chloe. They shared some quick kisses during the rest of the night and when they decided to go wrap it up, Beca really wasn’t ready to sleep. All she wanted to do was kiss Chloe all night long and the morning after, and for the rest of her life. When Chloe pulled her in for another kiss, she was happy to welcome Chloe’s tongue in her mouth again

“Good night, baby” whispered Chloe against her lips before leaving.

Beca was lying awake in her bed; she could still feel the ghost of Chloe’s lips lingering on hers. She took her phone and started typing.

BEC ♡: I lied at trth o dre I dont have a tner for you

CHLO: Bec…

*CHLO IS TYPING*

BEC ♡: Im crazy abt yoy! youre my destiny

BEC ♡: you’re

CHLO: you jst gve me a heartattack yoi asshole1

BEC ♡: srry xD

CHLO: wnna cme here to sleep w me?

BEC ♡: we r drnk…

CHLO:  I jut wanna slp

BEC ♡: Any wll tease th shit out of us

CHLO: I don’t care

CHLO: I miss u

Beca didn’t really use much her bed in the Bellas’ house.

[razorblade180]

interdimensional dads 5 (Finale)

Orange, Blue, and Purple all make a drum roll on the table as they stare at Red, who is sipping coffee and trying not to laugh at the lunacy that is quite literally, himself.

Jaune: Y’all dome?

*drum roll stops*

Jaune:Yep, your turn. You have to be the buffest for a reason right?

Jaune:And look like you’ve seen shit?

Jaune:We’ve all been through shit. We’re us!

Jaune:Yeah, but you’re you.

Jaune:How- I’m not arguing with that one. Okay, my turn. Since you brought it up, we, I gained weight for a little bit and eventually got back into a workout routine. I might’ve went a little overboard but no one complains.

Jaune:Alright, now we can back this story up and start from wherever you like.

Jaune:Aight, I guess I start with my universe beating Salem. By that point, Ruby and I had been together for awhile. I think we were always together to a degree ever since RNJR formed. We obviously didn’t actually say anything but the time we spent felt different. At least for me it did. Maybe mourning Pyrrha had something to do with it but by the time Yang and Weiss showed up at Haven, Ruby and I were definitely on “friendly terms”

Jaune:Aaaaayyyyeeee!

Jaune:You two are too much. Haha, let him continue.

Jaune:We were trying to keep it lowkey but I’m sure everyone knew. Back to Salem, that was insane. If you were to tell me I’d help save the world when I was only 19 then I’d laugh.

Jaune:Wait...19? I was twenty.

Jaune:Same.

Jaune: I was 21! Are you saying Ruby beat Salem at 17!? That’s insane! Which one of us has the strongest versions of our friends? I never thought about it until now.

They all got silent and thought about it for a moment. That was a very good question.

Jaune:Ummm mysterious voice? Do you have an answer to that?

[Each person varies, but a majority is between Orange and Red. For example, Orange has the strongest Blake, while Red has the strongest Sun.]

Jaune:What about in terms of team RWBY?

[The feats in all universes make that a close race. Red, Orange, and Blue have extremely powerful Yangs that would most likely in a brutal draw. Collectively, the strongest team RWBY would be a tie between Red and Orange]

Jaune:Makes sense, my worlds peaceful.

Jaune:And mine doesn’t have any organized threat against it, just the dangers of living in a world trying to grasp the concept magic and gods again.

Jaune:Well we might not have a concrete answer but I’m sure my wife beats your Ruby. After beating Salem we continued traveling the world to thin out grimm threats, just the two of us. Not that the others didn’t want to but they needed a moment to breathe. Ruby and I however, we were kinda on a high of being the heroes we always dreamed of.

Jaune:Your victory lap was more adventure? Yeah you’re definitely built different from me. My Ruby went on missions but even she took a minute just to breathe. It was a very short minute, but the minute none the less.

[Comparing the two is like comparing an lone apex wolf to a jaguar.]

Jaune:Well then....all of that sounds scary.

Jaune:It wasn’t long before we got a house together. Built it actually, in Vacou. It’s a nice little spot over looking the town and another one in the distance. When Ruby was 19 she had really gotten into her stride and was only getting started. Also, I married her. I had known for awhile that she was the one so why wait? I wanted to go on all of her adventures and create new ones with her.

Jaune:Aaaaawwwww

Jaune:Things were like walking on sunshine. All of Remnant knew about Ruby Rose, the huntress that saved the world with her friends. Then at 21, I got her pregnant. *scratches head*

Jaune:I know that scratch. That’s the “My bad” scratch!

Jaune:Okay, it wasn’t exactly planned. I was thrilled when I found out since I did want kids with her. I learned a month after she knew though because she wasn’t sure what to think at first. Ruby was perfectly happy being the hero, she hadn’t even hit her prime yet technically. When she told me though, it was after she had talked about it with Tai and thought about it. I think she might’ve been happier than me.

Jaune:My Ruby would give anything to have a kid.

Jaune:Mine would give anything for her husband back...

The mood suddenly got a little less cheery with that statement.

Jaune:Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring the mood down.

Jaune:It’s fine...this next part....isn’t happy. It’s the reason I fell out of shape, and partly the reason why I look like I’ve gone through shit.

Jaune:Oh....no...

Jaune:You lost the baby?

Jaune:Yeah but uhhh, not the way you’re thinking. The pregnancy was fine, the birth was a little rough but it was fine. A little baby boy, Dustin Arc-Rose. I saw him for about five minutes and then he was stolen, by Neo and Cinder. I must’ve ran the fastest I’ve ever had that day. Faster than even Ruby can move on a good day, and yet they got away. Yang, Weiss, and I stood on the roof of that hospital and watched the airship fade into the sunset. I must’ve stayed up there for hours, screaming. Yang and Weiss kept it together for my sake but not by much.

Jaune:Dude I am....I am so sorry that you went through that.

Jaune:We showed mercy to Cinder the day we beat Salem. It came back to bite us. Things fell apart after that. I shutdown, the others felt guilty, especially Yang. As for Ruby, she broke a little. She looked longer than anyone else for a lead and drowned herself in work for about a year. In that time we didn’t talk, I never knew where she was, if she’d come back. Tai ended up taking me to live with him and unfortunately, time wasn’t gonna wait for anyone. Lives had to be lived, Yang and Blake still had to get married. It just didn’t happen with Ruby.

Jaune:How did you even find the strength to keep going after that?

Jaune:In my world, Yang is my closet friend. Thick as thieves, the two of us always try to pick each other up. She never hesitated to be by my sad whenever I asked. I don’t think I could’ve made it without her since Ruby was gone. One day however, the two of them showed up out of the blue. Ozpin had decided to confront Ruby. For once I was glad he meddling in our lives. He got her to start moving on and come back to me. That day I realized how special my friends are. Most people would’ve looked down on me for failing, not going after Ruby, breaking down, but not them. They wanted me back on my feet for my own sake. Just like they wanted for her. I’m really blessed.

Jaune:That’s good. Friendships that you want to live for, I’m glad we wall have that in common.

Jaune:Yeah. Ruby and I took some time to be together after that. No work, no leads, just healing. In that year she was gone, Ruby had become a juggernaut in the huntsman community. Even got a nickname, The Storyteller. Keeping up with someone like that meant getting back into shape. Those months we spent together gave us a slither of the joy we had missed. Eventually, thanks to Yang having her child, we found the courage to try having another one. Her name is Carmine and she’s my gorgeous daughter. We even have another son much later named Garnet.

The other three Jaune’s clap happily.

Jaune:Yeah, that’s definitely a lot of shit to go through.

Jaune:Hats off to ya.

Jaune:How’s Carmine?

Jaune:*puts head on the table* Uuuugggghhh!

Jaune:Yeah, that’s sound you make when you have a headstrong daughter. Who does she take after?

Jaune:That’s just it, she doesn’t really. Not in personality anyways. Carmine is a bit weird socially. She can be pretty blunt, making her sound rude. She doesn’t mind having friends but at the same time keeps them at arms reach. She says they would slow her down. Not to mention her and Ruby’s vision of what a huntress should be doesn’t match up perfectly so they end up butting heads on occasion. Still, Carmine is sweet if you know how to talk to her and understand her words.

Jaune:She gifted?

Jaune:*inhales*....Carmine is genius in battle. We taught her ourselves and sent her to regular school so she gained a bit of social skills. No one outside of selected few knows she has silver eyes. Carmine wears red contacts typically. New types of grimm pop up regularly so Cinder is obviously alive and well. Can’t be too careful.

Jaune:Sounds stressful. I’d rather deal with cult and my world’s grimm problem than Cinder. How old is Carmine?

Jaune: She’s 17 and more impressive than Ruby was at that age if I’m being honest. Though I’m not sure if that’s a good thing. We’ve done our best to give her a normal childhood as much as possible. I think what we gave was an odd mix of normal and insanity.

Jaune:Honestly, same.

Jaune:What do you mean Carmine is more impressive? Ruby was awesome since day zero at Beacon.

Jaune:Silver eye use, age five.

......

Red took a sip of his coffee while everyone tried to wrap that around their head.

Jaune:Since a young age, I knew Carmine was special. She has a difficult time showing up but she loves the Remnant we’re trying to build and the people in it that want to do good. I’ve seen her look out over cities before and I could feel the immense desire she had to preserve it. That girl has a strength I don’t think I could take credit for. That stern look, height, hair, and guitar skills though, That’s me. The tipsy of her hair are red though. She’s like a half ripe strawberry, hahaha.

Jaune:Sounds like an incredible girl. Must be pretty popular.

Jaune:If she could come off a bit nicer she would! I’d give up Pumpkin Pete’s for life if this kid could learn to work well with others. I’m glad people like her cousin and a couple of others that can deal with her. It’s not all bad. They know to bring out the normal teenager with her.

Jaune:Is she like Ruby and panics at rats?

Jaune:No, but she can’t deal with spiders. We have grimm spiders that are actually terrifying and that ruined normal spiders with her too.

Jaune:Grimm spiders? How big? A boot size?

Jaune:SUV....one spun her in a web. It was really bad.

Jaune:Fuuuuuuck that! I’d hate spiders too!

Jaune:Yeah but she has fun. Ballet, sleep, horses, etc. You just have to get her to work up to it.

Jaune:What about your son?

Jaune:Garnet? He’s five, has fat cheeks, and is probably eating some dry cereal right about now. He’s Ruby’s little teddy bear and is chillin. He’s probably the only thing that makes Carmine a big softie at the drop of a hat.

Jaune:Sounds like you’re doing pretty well for yourself? That’s good.

Jaune:We have struggles but we make things work somehow.

Jaune:I still can’t believe Cinder killed your kid. I don’t think I’d ever recover.

Jaune:Lost....we lost a kid. Killed wouldn’t be the right word. Dustin...just isn’t....it’s complicated. I don’t wanna talk about it.

Jaune:Sorry.

Jaune:It’s fine. That aside, I think most things life throws at us, we’ll handle just fine.

Jaune:What do you think Carmine is up to right now?

Jaune:Good question. I don’t think she’s on any mission or working with local authorities currently. If it’s morning then she’s in the garden. Playing with Garnet if it’s the afternoon so he’ll tired out. If it’s night time then.....

xxxx

“STAY AWAY!!!” A man screamed, shooting four bullets down a dark alley in the middle of the night. His target, a pair of shimmering red eyes that patiently stalked him from the shadows as he sprinted away. Each bullet seem to go right by his target so he continued running for his life, making a sharp right turn around a corner.

“You know eventually I’m going to catch you right?” Carmine said as she walked. “I’d rather you not make this longer than it has to be Tommy. We could be done by now if you just spoke to me.”

The only response the girl received was the sound of footsteps getting further away and a chain link fence being shook. Carmine sighed and looked around her before picking up a trash lid. She hurled it against a wall to her left and that was ahead in front of her, making it bounce off towards the right. The hunk of metal made its way around the corner with a whack! Followed by a heavy thump that hit the ground. Carmine continued walking until she turned the corner and found her target on the ground. He was rubbing his back in pain and groaning.

“Come on, I know I didn’t hit you that hard. The new head of crime orginization wouldn’t go down so-”

Suddenly the brute lunged at her, revealing a previously concealed dagger. Carmine was quick to react however, and grabbed his wrist before the blade could make contact with her exposed stomach. Carmine then twisted his hand down word and forced his entire arm slam down to the groun; the blade pierced the ground at her feet. Thick yellow liquid secreted from blade and soaked the ground.

Tommy felt his stomach dropped as he looked up to see the young girl staring down at him unimpressed. He went to reach for the knife but Carmine placed her boot on his hand, hard.

“Gah!”

“See? Now that’s what I was expecting. Too bad you’re not so good with knives. I guess you figured you didn’t have to be when it had Deathstalker venom in it huh? Now... let’s talk.”

Carmine rubbed her foot into the ground, causing Tommy to grit his teeth in pain.

“Stop!” He pleaded. “You’ll break it!”

“It won’t break if you talk fast enough. Tell me what I want to hear. A month ago you weren’t in charge. A tubby guy was and he always kept crates of his equipment in a warehouse outside of town. Then someone apparently shows up to have a meeting, tubby is enraged and kicks them out. Now he’s dead and you’re in charge, moving all of his stuff after you had a meeting. Are you getting the picture I’m painting?”

Tommy’s face goes pale. He starts struggling harder to free himself but it’s not working. Carmine can see the man start to sweat as if he got caught in the rain.

“Now I know what you’re thinking, if you tell me who obviously threatened you to move the crates, then they’ll kill you. But that’s the thing about the future Tommy...”

Carmine lifts her foot and swings it right into his face. She watches Tommy hold is face in pain before rolling him over and putting her knee on his back. Carmine grabs the knife and spooks him by stabbing it beside his face.

“It happens later. Focus on the present. Focus on what I could do to you right now and how to prevent that. Then you can think about your future.” Carmine said, not an ounce of playfulness in her voice.

“I....I....w-well I-”

“Before you try lying to me, I know how Deathstalker venom works. Only the babies are venomous and those are extremely hard to find here. Admittedly I don’t know you well but I know your men. They don’t have the patience or brains to find any here, because there aren’t many. So you either got the venom for this knife by being very diligent, going to a different continent, or someone got you the critters.”

Carmine leaned in close, barely away from his ear. “Or should I say made you some, instead of gathering them? Tommy, where is Cinder Fall?”

Tommy felt like he could vomit at any second. He couldn’t let intel leak. He sold his soul to a witch and now he has to live with it. “I....I can’t say.” He whispered, his lip trembling.

“I see. The fear is too much for you. Should’ve chose a different line of work. Maybe you’ll change your tune if you learn to fear me more?” Carmine grabbed the knife. “This won’t kill you but I doubt it’ll feel good either.”

Carmine lifted the knife and held is hand in place. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself. She tried asking nicely. “Sorry....”

“CARMINE!” A loud voice echoed through the alleyways and made the people in it freeze. Tommy tilted his head up and got goosebumps. On the roof was a person everyone knew and criminals wish to avoid. Ruby Rose, he hadn’t seen her in person before. The woman’s cloak covered the area as she jumped down gracefully.

With no noise, her heels hit the ground and stood before the pinned man. Her piercing silver eyes borrowed into him and her long hair blew out of her face by the alley draft. Tommy’s back freed of Carmine’s knee and the young girl raised him to his feet. While Ruby’s expression was calm and oddly inviting, Carmine still looked at the man annoyed. Time was valuable and he was wasting hers. He might’ve escaped the knife but now he was stuck between two women that could all but erase him.

“Y...You’re Ruby Ro-”

“I had this under control by the way.” Carmine cut him off. “Don’t see why you intervened.

“You had him terrified and about to wet his pants. That’s a bit much don’t you think?” Ruby put her hands on her hips and shook her head. “No need to be so intense.”

Carmine mimicked her mother’s gesture. “And we care about the state of people like him why? Lackeys and gang bangers with too much ego have no right to be coddled when they’re rotting the city away from the underbelly. People like that might as well disappear.”

“Carmine that’s not how....” Ruby let out a long sigh and looked at Tommy. He was clearly trying his best to remain calm. “Sorry about her. You know teenagers, always intense in one way or another.” She let out an embarrassed chuckle.

Tommy flinched again when suddenly a burst of red petals spun around him. Next thing he knew, handcuffs were on him and his back was against the fence he tried to climb earlier. The pair of red and silver eyes stared him down from just out of the shadows. Yet he could still see Ruby’s more positive demeanor.

“I’m going to jail?” He groaned.

Ruby stepped towards him. “Depends, Tommy.” She reached out and grabbed his shoulder. “The thing is if you go to jail and I bring you in, Cinder will no doubt send someone to try and kill you. Truthfully, it’s not a bad outcome, for me. I’ll just attack your killer and get more info out of them then you most likely.”

“But...you’d stop them before they kill me, right?”

Ruby shrugged, “I can only go so fast. Who knows what could happen, Tommy. Can you take that chance, knowing you will be at the mercy of circumstances around you for gods know how long?”

“N...no” Tommy gulped.

“I mean I could let you run away right now like nothing happened, but any more meetings with Cinder would be absolute hell on your nerves because there’s no way you can keep this from her. What’s worse, you could fuck up and give us information accidentally overtime and then she’d really be mad because we’ll keep an eye on you as long as you’re doing things we don’t like; an unwilling pawn for both sides until someone knocks you off the board. How does that sound to you?” Ruby’s grip got a little tighter.

“Pr...Pretty bad-

“PRETTY BAD!?” Ruby shouted. “Tommy, you will not come out of this well. You’ll probably be dead within the month if I let you leave right now. So my question is what are you gonna do to save your own skin? Because I know what I would ask for in your situation.”

“What’s that?” He asked, almost desperate for his freedom

“I would spill my guts out to the hero because they would at least try to keep you safe if you behaved. Tell me what you know and I will personally take somewhere where you’ll have a fresh start with a new name, a new life that isn’t Illegal. You’ll still sleep with one eye open just to watch your own back but you also know there’s someone who is actively stopping the person who’d want you dead in the first place. Get off the chessboard Tommy. It sucks to be an expendable pawn.”

Tommy could feel her hand trembling. Was she...nervous? No, she was sympathetic. The way Ruby looked at him wasn’t to scare him. She was stating facts and didn’t want him being another statistic. This was the huntress everyone talked about. The one that gives lifelines and creates new endings where they shouldn’t be possible. The was Ruby Rose, the storyteller.

xxxx

Ruby holds up an envelope to the light before facing Carmine, the sound of waves rocking a boat behind them with Tommy in it. Ruby was a woman of her word. She’d take him somewhere safe.

“Here” she held out the envelop for Carmine. “Take it home, no need for me to lug it across the sea.” She waited for Carmine to say something, anything. The girl only nodded and took the thin piece of paper.

Carmine started to walk off but heard Ruby take a step towards her before stopping. She looked back to see her mother frowning, an expression they were both sharing. Ruby looked at her daughter with her emotions clear as day. It was weird to be eye level with her. Without heels, Ruby would be looking up. Carmine had gotten so big the last few years. It was hard not see her as still little.

“I...I know we don’t agree on certain things, and I also know you feel like I helicopter over you. I don’t do it because I don’t trust you or anything like that. Fact of the matter is...I’m your mother. If I can find a way to solve a problem without you doing something drastic, even if you’re willing to do it, then I’m gonna step in. Just because you’re willing to make the tough calls, doesn’t mean I won’t try to keep them away from you. They weigh people down and I don’t want that for you. You’re my daughter, I love you...”

Ruby always hated their fights. It’s why they don’t do missions together. No matter how strong Carmine is, she’ll always be Jaune and Ruby’s little girl. Truthfully, she didn’t hate it at all. Carmine hated arguing too, if not more.

“I get it mom, I do. Perhaps...I was a tad hasty tonight. Thanks for...showing up.” Carmine scratched her head in embarrassment. Since when did talking to her own mom get so rough. “I love you too.” There, she said it.

Ruby gave her daughter a gentle smile and opened her arms, hoping for a hug. She knew she might be getting a bit too mushy right now but unexpectedly, Carmine walked over and embraced it without question. Ruby wasn’t about to complain. Any affection was welcomed at all times when it came from Carmine. Ruby finally let her go and got one more look at her daughter. Time sure does fly.

“My beautiful girl. I saw the trash lid truck by the way, that was pretty badass.”

Carmine playfully rolled her eyes and opened the evelope. Ruby watched the girl read over the paper several times before handing it back. “Got it.”

Ruby’s eyebrows perked up in surprise. A shocked smile came soon after. “You’re-”

“Of course.” Carmine cut her off. She put her hands together and made a glowing red rose form between them. She placed the thing right behind her mother’s ear and smiled. “See you at home?”

“Yeah, I should be back before morning.”

“Good, I’ll have breakfast waiting for you then.” Ruby watch her daughter start to walk off before Carmine slowly blew away into red and yellowish rose petals.

“My oh my, that daughter of mine.” Ruby chuckled. “I can’t wait.”

xxxx

“Done.” Carmine said, rewriting the information down as she layed on the couch. On top of her was her adorable baby brother, fast asleep like he should be. She reached for a candle that lit the room and blew it out. All in all, not a bad night in the slightest. One step closer to their goal. One step closer to the end.

Part 4

Wanna start Rosebud < Part one is a click away.

[brennenscolby]

Father Todd, Mother (Y/n) (One Shot)

Word count: 2,288

A/N: Contains Fluff/Comfort. Nothing explicit, but, if you feel like this may offend you in some way,-since it regards religion-, feel free to exit and read something a little more suitable for you;)

✞ ✟ ✝︎ ✞ ✟ ✝︎ ✞ ✟ ✝︎ ✞ ✟ ✝︎ ✞ ✟ ✝︎ ✞ ✟ ✝︎ ✞ ✟ ✝︎ ✞ ✟ ✝︎ ✞ ✟ ✝︎ ✞ ✟ ✝︎

They were fucked.

Unbelievably fucked.

At least that's what Tim thought.

He was the one who created the earth-traveling device anyways. After working day and night, and going through a few dozen cups of black coffee or so, he created something he believed had the power to transport him to a different planet, -or dimension-, if he pleased. Bruce had been the one to reprimand him about using it, but, he later reluctantly accepted it after seeing Tim's test pass with complete success. Right now, the bat-fam was on a mission. A few heroes were stranded on Earth-15, and Bruce had sent Tim, Damian, and Dick to save them and bring them back. However, as easy as it seemed, things didn't go as planned.

The device had managed to go through some technological failure after sending the stranded heroes back to Earth-51, leaving Tim and the rest behind.

And there they were, stranded on Earth-15. The fact that none of them had any useful knowledge about the planet further put them on edge. They all hid a for a few minutes, clearly anxious about their situation.

Dick was the first to stand from his crouching position.

It seemed they had been transported to a random area, located behind an abandoned cathedral.

Or one that seemed abandoned.

He scanned his surroundings, checking every corner on high alert, before relaxing his shoulders and nodding towards his younger brothers,

"It's clear"

Tim and Damian stood from their positions, the youngest brother clearly not trusting his siblings as he stayed on guard, slowly trailing behind. As soon as they made in front of the cathedral, they stopped, opting to discuss a new plan. Dick watched as his brother in red and black attire went through his gadgets, eyes narrowed in concentration,

"So, What do we do? Just stand here like a bunch of imbeciles?", Damian questioned, emerald eyes gleaming with a small hint of desperation. Dick sighed, acknowledging the brave face he put on. He didn't know if anyone would ever spot the hint of vulnerability in Damian, but he sure as hell could being the brother, -and detective-, he was,

"Well, First we help Tim fix his device."

A sudden voice spoke up, a sweet very familiar timbre caressing their ears,

"I may be able to provide some assistance",

Instantly, they all turned their heads, eyes locking with a pair of gleaming (e/c) ones. Dick tilted his head in pure confusion, sharing a look with Tim as Damian sported a mild expression. It was you they were staring at. Except, you were wearing white and black, resembling that of a nun. Of course, each of the brothers were aware that doppelgängers were on every planet, but, they couldn't help but feel very surprised to find you. If they were being honest, being a nun kinda suited your sweet, considerate personality. You flashed a sweet smile, brows softening with empathy,

"Hello, excuse me for suddenly interfering. I couldn't help but notice you children."

Tim gave a weary smile, crossing his arms. Of course, they found it a bit humiliating to be called children, but, nonetheless, they allowed it to slide. Because it was your doppelgänger saying it, and because you were a nun. It would only be expected from the knowledge they had about that,

"I am Mother (Y/n), this is my cathedral. You must be from another earth I am guessing, yes? Follow me. I must provide you with as much as I can in the name of the lord"

They all gawked are each other, silently following your flowy, almost glowing form. Damian stomped his feet into place, his eyes narrowed his annoyance at the two elders ahead of him,

"Are you two insane? Why are you following? We don't know anything about her. She may prove to be dangerous",

Dick walked over, settling his hand on his brother's shoulder, before quickly having it slapped off by the young brat,

"Hands off, Richard"

He chuckled, face quickly growing serious,

"C'mon Damian. You have any better ideas? Plus, don't you like (y/n)?"

"Tt", he uttered, crossing his arms before begrudgingly following along. Tim examined his utility belt, a few lights going off to signal something,

"My gadget is picking up on two human presences. Whoever the other is, they're probably in the cathedral."

Dick looked down at his escrima sticks, which happened to glow a faint blue,

"Same here. From what I'm getting, it doesn't seem like they're evil."

After trailing behind you for what seemed like a few minutes, Tim was the first to speak up, hoping to ease the unnerving tension around them,

"Thanks for helping us. My name is Tim, and these are my brothers Dick and Damian"

Damian scowled as his identity was revealed. You glanced at them from your peripheral, chuckling at the way they began to bicker,

"It is alright children. Don't worry, I won't reveal your identities"

You opened the cathedral doors. They watched as your eyes aimlessly looked around,

"Father Todd! Father Todd?", you bellowed, hearing nothing but the echo of your voice. You turned back to the boys, watching as their expressions became hysterical once more. Tim and dick could barely believe it. Jason was here too? and he was a priest?! Settling your hands on your hips you arched a brow, crossing your arms,

"Are you children really Alright? You're looking at me like I've lost my mind." Before you could continue, two slender hands settled on each of your shoulders, spooking you to the core,

"I would look at you the same if I were them, Mother (Y/n). After all, you do have a unique way of being", you felt your cheeks burn as you craned your neck up, eyes meeting with amused cerulean ones. Black messy hair, a few strands of white, there stood Jason. Damian refused to believe at first, but, actually seeing Jason dressed as a priest with a cross around his neck was very, very perplexing. What the hell was going on here?? Fully spinning around, you looked up at Father Todd, eyes displaying adoration,

"F-father Todd! U-uh I was just looking for you. I wanted to introduce you to these children.", you pointed at each of them, presenting them to the priest, who seemed just a bit more interested in you than them. Dick and Tim watched your interaction with the Jason, amusement on their faces. It seemed even on another Earth, you both were still completely infatuated with each other.

However, Damian was quick to cut the interaction off, grumbling as a scowl crossed his face,

"Cmon you too. We do not have all day. Especially you, Father Todd", he spat, fuming with impatience and irritation by simply seeing Jason, -or what looked like-, Jason. The priest simply turned to him with a slightly baffled expression before releasing a slight chuckle, smiling brightly nonetheless,

"I see you have a...rather eager one. Please, settle down with me. It would be rude of me not to welcome you in the house of God"

Damian frowned in confusion. How was it possible that Jason could actually be somewhat nice to him?? Even if it was just his doppelgänger, it made his head hurt when he thought about it. They all followed, teasing and clearly enjoying Damian's reaction as you walked ahead with Jason. He pulled out a few chairs from the table next to the alter, gesturing for each to sit,

"May I ask how you children arrived on this planet? Mother (y/n) and I may be able to help"

"We meant to transport to Earth-51, but, it seems like my gadget wasn't working as well as I thought ", Tim scratched the side of his head, smiling bashfully. Father Todd nodded in understanding, hands folding on the table,

"I may just have the thing for this", he winked, standing up and walking over to the other side of the room. Upon pushing some buttons on a keyboard, everything lit up, displaying technological equipment of all sorts. Jason smiled upon seeing Tim's look of atonishment. He quickly walked over to the other side, immediately asking the priest questions and whether or not he had some coffee somewhere. You chuckled at them, steering your gaze over to Dick and Damian who sat directly infront of you,

"Now that I understand the circumstances you've been put under, you may stay as long as you'd like", you announced, handing Dick a cup of tea since he asked for it. He watched you with a neutral expression, clearly curious,

"Wait, you're actually okay with this?"

Jason, who had been helping Tim set up his gadget on the other side, came back, settling to stand behind you. He nodded with you after hearing his statement, offering another smile,

"Of course. I am a Gotham priest and she is a Gotham nun after all"

You grinned, features relaxing,

"We've seen stranger things"

——————————————————————————

With the help of his brothers and father todd, Tim had managed to fix his gadget. Dick smiled in triumph, watching everything quickly fall into place.

Your reassurance and kindness surely brought his heart to ease. He understood that all doppelgängers weren't exactly the same, but something about you, on this planet, clearly radiated your vibe and personality.

Nonetheless, the more time he spent seeing you, the more he was starting to feel homesick. The others couldn't really feel it, but, he missed his baby sister. His confident, blunt but kind adoptive-sibling, who had always managed to offer him solace. You turned back to Damian and Dick, a look of sympathy crossing your face as you met eyes with Dick,

"Are you alright, Dick? The gadget will be ready for use in just a little longer"

He smiled softly, nodding his head,

"Im fine. It's just, you remind us of someone we know on our Earth", you nodded, a flash of sadness in your eyes. You didn't know why, but you just sympathized deeply with them. Must've been your connection to your other counterpart. Standing up, you placed a hand on Dick's, offering comfort as his azure orbs met yours,

"Whoever this person may be, I am determined to get you home to them. I really hope you get the chance to greet them"

Dick smiled softly, placing his hand over yours,

"I hope so too"

———————————————————————————

After a few hours of preparing and installing some new pieces, the gadget was fully ready. Tim, Damian, and Tim waved goodbye to you and Jason before pressing the device and going through a portal.

——————————————————————————

Tim took his hands off the device, looking around with his brothers in hopes of finally achieving the bat-cave. All they saw was your figure alongside Jason's, standing next each other as you faced the bat computers. Upon hearing one of them take a step, you and Jason turned, your eyes sparkling as you smiled at your brothers. When you saw your oldest brother you jumped, running directly into his arms, "Dick! I missed you". He smiled, leaning his chin down on your head, "I missed you too, sis. So much." You were quickly interrupted by the rest, the voice of Damian making its way to your ears,

"Hmpf. I cannot believe you forgot about us for this ass." You chuckled, making your way over Tim and Damian as you opened your arms, hugging them tightly into a group hug,

"How could I forget the most phenomenal robin of all", he smiled as the rest rolled their eyes, clearly disagreeing with your statement. You released a sigh of relief after pulling away, jogging back to your position and punching a rather distressed Jason,

"See! I told you they'd make it home just fine",

You stuck your hand out in front of him, a cocky smirk on your face,

"Now pay me what you owe me"

"God dammit", the tall male grunted, sighing as he pulled his wallet out, placing a crumpled $20 dollar bill in your hand. You smiled in triumph, feeling even better at seeing Jason's defeated expression.

You both crossed your arms, examining your brothers in anticipation,

"So, did you still finish the mission even tho you got kinda stuck somewhere?"

You and Jason had known about the incident regarding the three, receiving the signal through your communicators. They all nodded, a bit perplexed as they had just seen you a few moments ago,

"Stop staring at me. It's unnerving as hell", Jason spoke, running a hand through his hair to get the strands out of his eyes,

"It's just, when we were stranded in Earth-15, we saw both of you guys... but, you were a priest and (Y/n) was a nun"

You both turned and looked at each other, clearly not believing a single word. Jason chuckled as you laughed hard, clutching your stomach. After what seemed like a few minutes, you calmed down, wiping your eyes,

"What a knee slapper. That was funny. Ok, now stop fucking around and go out there and help Bruce. Jay and I have to take care of some thugs"

"We're not lying!"

"Sure you're not you clowns", Jason rolled his eyes, walking away as you chuckled lightly. Tim and Dick looked at each other, shrugging their shoulders before parting ways. Damian turned, walking in the direction of the stairs that led back to the mansion,

"Seeing Todd again, makes me wish he actually was a Priest."

✞ ✟ ✝︎ ✞ ✟ ✝︎ ✞ ✟ ✝︎ ✞ ✟ ✝︎ ✞ ✟ ✝︎ ✞ ✟ ✝︎ ✞ ✟ ✝︎ ✞ ✟ ✝︎ ✞ ✟ ✝︎ ✞ ✟ ✝︎

[jazzytriestowrite]

I hate you, I love you

Brief Summery: Keigo sits down with his therapist John to figure out what's wrong with him and why he is the way he is. He tells him the story of how he fell in love and then how it caught flames

Parings: Dabi x Hawks 

Warning: Angst, mention of violence, cursing, a lot of crying, and a whole lot of feels. Light fluff as well. 

Word count: 4,005

A/N: Honestly, I’ve been feeling really sad all of a sudden and then this idea came to mind. So I wrote and finished this around 12 am bawling to sad songs telling myself it’s okay. Hawks x Dabi is a wonderful ship, but me being me wanted to write angst because I could. This is only my second fic, and I know there will be mistakes. I accept criticism and I hope everyone enjoys. I have to start from somewhere, but I'll reach the top soon don’t worry. 

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

‘’Wait? Are you here for relationship advice?’’ The black haired male asked, his head tilting to the side as he tried to grasp the meaning behind the words he just heard. Shifting in his seat slightly, he placed his notebook down in his lap and gave a soft smile to prompt the other male to continue speaking.

Hawk’s golden eyes were looking everywhere BUT the therapist in front of him. ‘’Yes… Well no.. you see’’ With a frustrated sigh, Hawk closed his mouth and slumped back in his seat. ‘’It’s a really long story John’’

John hummed in understanding, ‘’Why don’t we just start from the beginning? I’ll listen to anything you tell me, no matter how long it is, and then i’ll help you from there. Does that sound like a plan?’’

With a grin, Hawks shifted in his seat to get comfortable. ‘’Grab some snacks, this is a long tale.’’ Waiting until he got comfortable, Hawk’s took a deep breath.

‘’It all started when….’’

—

‘’ So i’m going to be some cool double agent like in the movies’’

Gran Torino shook his head, ‘’Hawk’s, this mission will be dangerous. You will need to keep up a strong facade, or this will all go down the drain.’’ The short male was leaning against a wall, his shoulders sagging with tiredness. The league of villains were really putting a strain on him.

‘’Yeah, yeah, I understand.’’ Hawk nodded, giving said male the side eye. ‘’I’ll be a hero and a villian. Oh how the tables have turned’’ He laughed at his own joke, laughing even harder when Gran Torino only stared at him with a blank face.

Pushing himself off the wall, Torino began to walk away. ‘’We’re counting on you Hawk’s….. Be careful’’

—

When Hawk’s paused in his story, John was quick to interrupt. ‘’Are you allowed to be telling me these things?’’ He questioned, leaning in like he was getting the greatest tea ever. Which was.

‘’Yes, the mission is already over… so that doesn’t matter anymore’’ Hawk said softly, ‘’and don’t we have confidentiality, so it doesn’t really matter if I tell you. You can’t tell anyone anyways’’ Hawk waved his hands in the air, letting out a soft breath.

John nodded, ‘’Okay continue, you had a mission to become a double agent.’’

Hawk’s looked down at his lap, a soft smile spreading across his face. ‘’And then that’s when I met the love of my life. We knew it wouldn’t work out, but we continued anyways.’’ He laughed at himself, how stupid could he be.

‘’We started off as really good friends..’’

—

‘’Don’t speak another word to me you canibal’’ The blue eyed male put his hands up in warning fire erupting from his fingertips. The grin on his face however, showed that he didn’t actually mean any harm

Placing his hand on his chest, Hawks fake gasped and wiped away a stray tear. ‘’Chicken is good! At least I don’t look like a burnt piece of toast!’’ Hawks responded back, sticking out his tongue.

And for the next 10 minutes, Dabi chased around Hawk’s threatening to end his whole career. But it was such playful banter, that Hawk’s didn’t even mind being there. If laughs were going to be shared, then he would enjoy this experience until it was over.

--

The slap echoed throughout the tiny enclosed room, causing Hawk’s to step back in shock. Taking  back his now bruised hand, he scoffed. ‘’I can guess what you’re going to say now. You don’t need anyone to worry about you? That you are just fine’’

‘’Fuck off, I don’t need you or anyone pretending that they care.’’ Dabi rolled his eyes, turning his back to the winged man. ‘’Take that somewhere else, far away from me’’ His hand grabbed the doorknob, ready to leave and not turn back.

Instantly, Hawk grabbed Dabi’s arm, yanking him away from the door. ‘’Don’t do that.’’ He gripped his arm tightly, his golden eyes narrowed. ‘’Don’t pretend you’re in this alone.’’ Stop. What are you doing? He’s the enemy.. Just let him go, you don’t need to prove anything to him. Stop….

‘’We can’t do that shit here dove, if anything I'll let you get away with calling me names, or even hitting me. But we don’t hide our feelings and push people away’’ Hawk stared at the tiled floor, his eyes closed tightly. ‘’We’re friends right? Well friends have each others backs, through thick and thin’’

Dabi stood still, his back still turned to Hawk’s. ‘’Don’t get sappy on me chicken little’’ he mumbled softly looking over his shoulder with a small grin, a stray tear falling down his cheek. ‘’Just know, once we become friends, we can never go back. I’d kill you instead of letting you go’’

‘’Yeah sure burnt toast’’ Hawk said, his golden eyes looking up to meet Dabi’s blue ones. ‘’Friends to the end huh? You can’t take that back now, no matter how annoying I get’’ Hawk’s then let go of said males arm, taking a step back to give him a little space.

Dabi scoffed, ‘’I’m already annoyed’’ He turned back to the door and sighed, ‘’come on, lets go get some drinks chicken little’’

-

Bang.

Bang.

Bang.

‘’What the fuck do you-’’ Dabi didn’t even give the male the chance to greet him, instead he pushed through the door and walked in like he owned the place. When his eyes caught sight of the couch, he immediately sat down, placing his feet on the table in front of it. Turning his head a bit, he caught Hawk’s shocked eyes. ‘’Don’t just stand there dummy, get your guest some food. I’m starving. I was thinking maybe some Thai’’

Hawk’s stood by the door blinking like an idiot. ‘’You… you are something else’’ Shutting the door, he walked across his home. ‘’You’re just coming here to eat all my food fatass’’ He plopped himself right next to Dabi, grabbing the remote off the table while also pushing said males feet off the table.

‘’Nevermind, you should order some Soba’’

Hawk’s shook his head with a grin, ‘’is this what I signed up for when I said I’d be your best friend?’’ He slipped his phone out his pocket, ready to call the nearest place that maybe sold Soba.

‘’You’re a hero, you probably make bank. So I'm going to make your pockets hurt while it lasts,’’ Dabi comments, rolling his eyes as he snatched the remote out of Hawk’s hand.

—

John hummed, nodding his head when Hawk’s stopped talking. ‘’Ah, so I can see how things can go wrong’’ The male had several thoughts on how this whole thing could have ended, and most of them ended in either heartbreak and despair, or Hawk’s getting into deep trouble with his agency.

‘’That isn’t the part where everything goes wrong’’ Hawk explains, ‘’I was fine with being his friend, it was kinda comforting in a real way. I still knew he was… a villain’’’ He spoke the last line softly, gripping the chair tightly in his grasp. ‘’Everything went wrong because of me. I was the one that compromised the whole mission…’’

It was his fault and he knew it. He couldn’t place the blame on anyone but himself, and he’d take this guilt and the blame to the grave with him. If he had just continued the mission as planned, things would be fine.

‘’Anyways, things were fine as friends. But I was stupid, I wanted more then that. I wanted him… as a lover’’

—

It was a nice night, several clouds were in the sky, and multiple clouds just chilling in the background.

‘’Sometimes, I come up here and I’ll throw rocks down and watch as it hits someone below’’ The familiar voice of Dabi was carried by the wind, softly reaching Hawk’s unsuspecting ears. They both stared down at the humans who were just walking down below, not minding the two villains who stood above them on top of a building.

Hawk’s only turned to look at the scarred man, mouth hanging open as he tried to stop himself from laughing. ‘’Oh my god Dabi! You really give no fucks huh?’’ Hawk’s had to admit, that was a little funny, although that did mean people got hurt in the end. Unsuspecting victims for someone else's pleasure.

‘’Hey Keigo’’ said male turned and looked towards Dabi, a look of confusion on his face. Dabi had never called him by his real name, and he didn’t even remember telling him it. It confused him, but he felt his heart flutter when he said his name. A weird reaction, and he couldn’t explain it.

Dabi turned to face Hawks, and for the first time, Hawks felt like he was truly looking at him. Dabi was a nice looking man, and no one could tell him otherwise. He was a tall lean male with black messy hair that slightly resembled spikes. He had purple scarred skin that covered huge parts of his body, and even his face as well. He also had staples and piercings randomly covering his body that made him look tough and...hot?

Noticing that he was staring, and that Dabi had gone quiet, he looked up to meet the males eyes. Dabi’s eyes burned a bright intense baby blue, that stared deep into Hawk’s soul. Such eye contact almost made him step back, it being too much for him. It wasn’t helping that Dabi’s features were being illuminated by the moon's bright light. Or how the wind blew slightly, causing Dabi’s hair to sway back and forth.

‘’I’m just going to be honest about this, since I’m not one to just play the guessing game’’ Dabi took slow strides towards the winged man, his eyes never leaving his. ‘’Do you like me? Not as friends, but more like romantically?’’ When he finished his statement, he was chest to chest with Hawks, his blue eyes staring down into his eyes.

Hawk’s froze. He felt as if his words were caught in his throat, that he didn’t know how to answer, or if he should. What snapped him out of it was that he could feel how fast Dabi’s heart was also going. That he actually meant what he was saying. ‘’I-’’

Was he allowed to feel this way towards a villian? Was he allowed to like a villain? This could compromise the mission. He was a hero and Dabi was a villain. It would only end in tears and heartbreak, with Dabi in jail and Hawk crying over someone he used to know. Was he willing to take the risk and actually like Dabi? Were his feelings even valid?

In this mist of his panic, a sudden thought hit him. He’s never liked someone like this, never...vibed with another human being like this. Hawk’s in no way was ever fake around him, and Dabi accepted him as him. All the annoying and ugly parts of him, and even the kinder and softer sides of him. He had never regretted hanging out with him, and never hated the male.

Deciding to act before he changed his mind, Hawks lifted his head up slightly, meeting the eyes of Dabi’s once more. Heart pounding in his chest, he leaned in slowly, still giving Dabi the chance to step away if he wanted to.

Then slowly, their lips met. It would be cliche to say that Hawk’s felt sparks within his body, but that was the truth. He brought his hands up to Dabi’s chest, lightly gripping his shirt as the two kissed.

Pulling away, Dabi grinned like he won the lottery. ‘’You can’t go back now chicken little, i’ll kill anyone who tries to get in our way.’’

—

Hawk’s smiled at the memory, his hand softly clenching his chest. ‘’I fell in love with a villian. How cliche of me huh’’ He said softly as he shivered. ‘’I guess you can tell how things went wrong’’

‘’Is this what you need advice on?’’ John asked, picking up his notebook again, thinking this was the end. Which would be way simpler to fix and talk about then what he was expecting. Said male probably broke up with him once he became a hero, that much seemed apparent.

But he was wrong.

Hawks grinned, ‘’No that isn’t the end doc’’ That statement wouldn’t have moved John so much if he didn’t see the tears that slipped down the winged man's cheeks. Hawk’s was crying with the biggest smile on his face. It almost scared John, but he had seen the worst.

‘’Everything went wrong that day… I knew we couldn’t be together forever, but I didn’t expect it to come so soon’’

—

Silence.

That’s all that followed after Dabi’s words, and honestly, Hawks didn't even know if he had it in him to utter anything. He just stood there frozen, trying to see if this was some cruel joke, or maybe a nightmare. It had to be, because the words Dabi spoke were words he never wanted to hear.

‘’You wanna go all quiet now huh?’’ Dabi’s kind eyes were now gone, and all that could be seen was hate. A look Hawks wasn’t used to seeing… a look he had never gotten from his lover. It had shocked him so much he took several steps back, keeping his hands up and shaking him.

Dabi scoffed, ‘’silence huh? Guess that confirms it’’ He then started laughing, but not the joking around kind of laugh. His laugh held a dark aura to it, and he didn’t seem like he was joking. ‘’You aren’t even gonna argue with me? Tell me that i’m wrong, that i’m just stupid! Like i didn’t just spend all my love and effort on some hero plotting to take me down?’’The scarred male sneered, his body shaking with rage.

‘’What's wrong with you? All those nights meant something then? All those times you said you’d stick by my side? The ‘I love you’s’? Fuck, you are a sick bastard, you know that right?’’ Dabi bawled his hands together, his chest rising and falling at such a fast rate.

‘’How could you lead me on like that? I thought… I thought what we had was real Keigo.’’ When he uttered his name, it was spoken as a broken whisper. Dabi’s eyes were casted towards the concrete, not even meeting his eyes anymore.

Hawks, still frozen in place, decided to open his mouth, to somehow fix the mistake he got himself into. ‘’Dabi.. I still love you-’’ yet his words only seemed to anger the male anymore, and he would have done better keeping his mouth shut.

Dabi began laughing, his right hand coming up to grab the place above his heart. ‘’You still speak of love?’’ He yelled out, his laughing turning into small sobs. ‘’How dare you… HOW DARE YOU EVEN’’ he stopped himself mid sentence, clutching his heart as if it was in pain.

‘’I can’t believe I let you inside. I’ve learned a very valuable lesson today, thank you. But don’t you dare think you will walk away from this alive after making a fool out of me’’ Dabi sneered, the tears still streaming down his face at an alarming rate.

‘’You’ll regret this. I won’t kill you, but i’ll make sure you forever rememver to never fuck with me again.’’

Hawks could only stand there, the tears that ran down his cheeks did no justice to how he was feeling. He didn’t even have enough time to react, as all he saw with his golden orbs was blue flames.

--

‘’Hawks come on, open your eyes hun’’

Hawk’s golden eyes opened to the sound of his name, and he was suddenly hit with a blinding light, and multiple sounds hitting his ears. Coughing, he sat up fast and tried looking around at his surroundings. A hospital room? When did he?..

‘’Hey, how are you feeling?’’

Turning his head, his eyes met a nurse in bright yellow scrubs. Instead of answering her he looked down towards the bed, his eyes looking at his foot which was casted up, probably broken. Moving his hands, he realized that one wrist was broken, and the other just had a slight dull pain to it. It seemed like he didn’t take too much damage, and he was okay with that.

‘’What happened-’’ A sharp pain from two parts in his back caused Hawks to stop speaking, and he instead doubled over in pain and groaned. As he gripped his thighs, he finally noticed. Sitting up quickly, he looked over his shoulders and tried to flex his wings… instead he was met with nothing.

Nothing was there.

‘’Hawks, please calm down, I can see how this can be scary’’

Hawks went silent as everything started to rush back in his mind. Glancing back once more to assure he wasn’t just being crazy, his eyes went wide. The next actions happened slowly, painfully slow. He felt the build up of his scream, the rush of the tears and even the start of his body start to shake.

He had never felt so empty

—

John, in all of his time being a therapist had one rule. To not respond badly towards any stories told by his patients, to always keep his cool. But when Hawks finished his story, John stared at him in horror. His eyes then flicked towards where Hawks said wings would be. And they were indeed gone. What he didn’t understand though, was why Hawks was so calm while telling this.

‘’Aw doc, don’t look at me like that’’ Hawks said, waving his hand,his head hanging low as he frowned. ‘’There was always a risk with doing my job.’’

‘’What I don’t understand is’’ John paused and regained his posture, he couldn’t let what he heard affect him. ‘’Earlier you said you were here for relationship advice? Are you still with this person?’’ He tried to not let his voice convey the emotions he was feeling. ‘’What are you really here for?’’

And for the first time, John watched as Hawks broke down in front of him. It was a weird sight to see such a happy male… bawling his eyes out like a baby.

Hawks could no longer hold it together, and his body started to shake as he sobbed. ‘’I want you to tell me’’ He paused, choking out a sob as his fingers gripped where his heart would be. ‘’Tell me why I still love him’’

John’s eyes went wide, and for a moment he questioned his sanity. Maybe a good mental hospital would do for this male.

‘’TELL ME WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME’’

‘’TELL ME WHY I STILL LOVE HIM’’

‘’TELL ME WHY.. TELL ME WHY I HATE HIM SO MUCH BUT LOVE HIM AT THE SAME TIME’’

—

Hawks lightly held the scarred flesh in his hand, his golden eyes tenderly looking into his lovers. ‘’I love you so much dove, and you don’t need to hide your feelings from me.’’ He said softly, kissing the males nose.

‘’I love you so much, I love all of you.’’

He then proceeded to kiss his forehead, and then his cheeks, and then his nose again. ‘’You are the hottest man I've ever met, literally. Your opinions and fears of me leaving you for someone hotter is impossible. How could I leave you for another you if you're the only you that exists'’ He stared tenderly in Dabi’s eyes, ‘’I’ll always love you ok? Now no more of this hate, it’s time to love yourself.’’

Dabi couldn’t even utter any words, he was just frozen in Hawks arms. He had never felt so much love in his life, and he didn’t know if he wanted to run or succumb to the feeling.

‘’We’re in this together? I’ll never stop loving you’’

--

‘AHH DABI I’M SORRY I SWEAR! TOGA PLEASE HELP ME’’ Hawks screamed as he jumped over the couch, and then hid his body behind Toga’s small one. ‘’Tell him to go away, he’s trying to hurt me’’

Toga looked at Hawks and then the anger that seeped out of Dabi’s eyes. ‘’What did you.. What did you do?’’

Before Hawks could answer ‘’Nothing’’ Dabi opened his mouth and spilled everything that had happened. ‘’He ate my fucking food. We might be dating but that was MY food. I even wrote my name on it’’ He yelled, blue flames erupting from his left hand.

Hawks stuck out his tongue, ‘’Aw, is the baby throwing a fit because I ate his food? Maybe it's time for a nap huh?’’ His comment was met with a pillow soaring at his face. He didn’t even have time to avoid it, and ended up falling on his ass. ‘’Ouch’’

‘’Oh you wanna talk all big now huh chicken little. We’ll see who's crying uncle by the end of this’’ Dabi said with a grin as he loomed over Hawks body with a pillow.

--

‘’Dabi… you won’t leave me right?’’

Dabi scoffed, and was ready to tell Hawks to shut up and get out his face, but upon seeing his face he paused. He saw how Hawk's eyes held some type of hurt that he could understand. Like the love that was given to him would be taken away like everything else.

Sighing, Dabi took long strides towards Hawks, and grabbed his hips as he pulled him flush against his body. ‘’Listen babe, I promise I won't leave you okay? We’re in this together. I’d kill anyone for you. Now does that sound like I’d ever let you leave me? I’d rather eat shit and die then ever lose you’’ This was the most sincere the male had ever been, since it did come from his heart.

‘’I love you Keigo, and nothing can change that’’

—

Hawks had now transferred to the floor, his head hung low as he barely finished telling his part of the story. There was now a wet spot on the carpet from his constant crying. ‘’I-’’ he choked on his words as he began crying again, clutching his chest once more.

He knew loving Dabi would go wrong. Stories like there's never ended the way they wanted. It always ended in heartbreak, but he was willing to enjoy the ride while it lasted.

Glancing up at John, he clutched his heart even tighter. ‘’Please.. Tell me what's wrong with me’’ He sobbed out, his body rocking back and forth as he himself tried answering his own question.

‘’I can never forgive him for what he's taken away from me’’ The dull ache in his back reminded him everyday of the beautiful red wings that used to be there, the wings he loved and hated. He could never fly again, he could never just escape. Instead he felt trapped. Trapped with nowhere to go. He was free falling and he had just hit the ground. 

John took a deep breath, ‘’What you're asking is normal. You went through a traumatic experience with someone you truly cared about’’ He picked up the tissue box next to him, ‘’Your feelings are valid, and don-’’

‘’YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND’’ Hawks screamed, his arms now wrapped around his body as if to calm him down. His breathing was fast, and if he continued he’d probably pass out before he even finished talking. Going silent for a second, he calmed himself down. His sobs turned to soft hiccups, and the pain in his chest dulled slightly. He was now ready to talk.

‘’I don’t know what's wrong with me’’ He said in a much calmer voice, tears hitting his skin. ‘’Even though he hurt me… took the best feature I had away from me.. My only escape..’’ He paused his talking, looking up to stare at John with the biggest smile on his face.

‘’I would do it all over again.. If that meant I could be with him for a little while longer’’