#anyways appendage time. stuff that differs just out of the top of my head:

[meirimerens]

you know i must have been bone-tired when this part of the herb brides lore didn't come to my mind when i discussed how the Kin fundamentally differs from the cultures it is inspired by um There Is The Human Sacrifice part. like it's an important part of pathologic 2 that you are doing human, or anthropomorphic (if you want to see the Herb Brides as closer to spirits, which comes with its own set of problematics regarding how to approach their oppression) sacrifice. it's an important part of pathologic 2 that you kill a woman, as part of the journey and in direct resonance with you ritualistically killing cattle earlier, and she offers herself to you with cultural and religious significance.

human sacrifices have been done across the globe for millennia, but i cannot, for the life of me, find any source at all that mentions the Buryats (since that was the discussion point) partaking in human sacrifices by the turn of the 19th-early 20th century (or even anything past the 16th). every single source mentioning offerings and sacrifices i've read mentions animals, things such as milk and vodka, and often both at once. would love to read anything about these rituals if papers exist, but i'm personally drawing a blank.

the Kin has Obvious and very Visible influences but it also differs from specific (in this discussion's case, the Buryats) or wider (here, turkic/mongolic as a whole) cultures from the area by so many pieces, big and small, that i wouldn't have enough appendages on my whole body to count them all. and sister. i have plenty of appendages.

[shurisneakers]

if you're taking ideas for harmless drabbles, i'd love to see one of bucky on one of those dates he mentioned and reader's shenanigans. if you aren't, feel free to ignore this!

a/n: are we really going to let a word limit define what a drabble is? is the vibe and spirit not enough? i say this bc this is 5.7k words long im so sorry. also hey thank you to everyone who piped in with their knowledge of violent geese and how apartment security works in new york!! also thanks to my bby @spiderrpcrker for reading this and telling me to publish this bc i wasnt going to fkjghfkj

warning: swearing, bad luck, dates, frustrated bucky, anxiety, mentions of gore but like only a sentence

here’s my ko-fi if you’d like to support my writing <333

Catch up with the rest of the series here: Harmless Masterlist

Bucky returns only two weeks later. His mission lasted longer than expected and all he wants is to lie down and sleep for forty eight hours straight.

“FRIDAY?” he mumbles, kicking off his shoes. His jacket had already been discarded by his bedroom door when he walked in.

“Yes, Sergeant Barnes?”

“How are ya?” He doesn’t miss a beat in asking, even though he’s exhausted.

“As good as ever. Did you have a successful mission?”

“If by successful you mean one sprained limb instead of two, then yeah.” He wasn’t really cribbing. His ankle was already starting to heal anyway and it was worth the roundhouse kick to a Nazi's face. “Do I have anything scheduled for this weekend?”

“You have a meeting on your calendar scheduled for this Saturday.”

“Could you send a text to Y/N and ask if we can push it to the next day?” His muscles feel sore and God, he could definitely use a hot shower but all of that becomes secondary the minute he feels the sheets under him.

“Would you like me to reschedule the other one as well?”

“What’s that?” He opens one eye in confusion. “There’s another one?”

“It’s on Sunday. You’ve labelled it ‘date’.”

Ah, fuck.

“Would you like me to change it?” FRIDAY never sounds like she’s judging him, which is nice. It also reminds him about how she, as an AI, can’t judge him, which is a rude wake-up call to how he doesn’t have friends.

“No,” his voice is muffled against the pillow, “no, let it be. Where is it again?”

“You’ve only specified diner, Sergeant Barnes.”

Public space, daytime, plenty of escape routes. Good on his less delirious self for selecting a diner.

“Thanks, FRIDAY.” Now that he’s a little more relaxed, he can feel himself slip in and out of consciousness.

“One last thing," her automated voice commands his attention again. "Y/N replied. She says sure and to take care.”

“Yay.” Not even a second later he’s out like a light.

____

“Did you bring me any souvenirs?” Is the first thing he hears as he marches into your lair.

“What could I possibly get you?”

“A postcard, a t-shirt.” You don’t look up from your tinkering.

“Decapitated finger, used bullets,” he continues, “cement blocks.”

“Ew.” You snap the lid shut on the thing you’re working on, spinning around on your chair. "That's not nearly romantic enough."

“That’s all you’re going to get from a Russian underground bunker.” He does a mini jog up the stairs of the platform to where you are.

“Does the finger have a ring at lea- oh hello?” You raise an eyebrow at the sight of him. “You look different.”

He peers down. The outfit was still all black. As always.

“Not your clothes, dummy,” you interrupt, making him look back at you. “Your face. What’d you do?”

He unconsciously raises a hand to his cheek.

“Did you wash your face? Is that it?” you squint at him. “Has it been a few months since the last time?”

“Wow, you’re so funny,” he drawls sarcastically.  “Top tier comedian right there.”

“No wait, it’s the beard.” You snap your fingers in realisation, completely ignoring his comment. “You trimmed it.”

“So what if I did?” He leans on your table.

“You going somewhere?” you ask, elastic snapping against your hands as you remove your gloves.

“It’s none of your busi-”

“Hold on a second.” A sly smile begins to make its way onto your face. “Are you going on a date, Bucky Barnes?”

His comeback dies down in his throat. That didn’t take you very long for you to figure out.

“I’m right, aren’t I?” You look smug, to say the least.

“Shut up.” A ray of light glistening distracts him. He traces it to the thing you were working on earlier.

“Where are you guys going?” You cross your arm across your chest, a small smirk on your face.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” It’s a silver box, engraved intricately with swirls that, when he observes carefully, looks like a skull. Wow, terrifying.

“I’m literally asking you.”

“What are those?” He shifts the conversation towards a more productive angle instead.

“Evil in a box and some other stuff.” You shrug offhandedly. “Is it a lunch date or just coffee?”

“Like Pandora’s Box?”

“A discount version, sure,” you confirmed impatiently. “Stop changing the topic, listen to me.”

He tilts his head, waiting for you to continue.

“Do you need a chaperone?” The sincerity in your voice for such a bullshit question has him scoffing.

“Good God- no, I do not need a chaperone. I’m 106 years old, I can go out unsupervised.” He reaches over and plucks the box off your table.

“Sir, you’re a geriatric."

“What are those?” He points to a few ray odd ray guns.

“Minor stuff you don’t have to worry about right now.”

He shakes the box in his hand. “What’s gonna happen if I open this?”

“Very bad things,” you whispered ominously before your volume returns to normal. “How’d you meet this person? Online?”

“She’s Natasha’s friend.” He turns the box over, seeing a small latch at the side. “What bad things?”

“Bad luck and misery. Don’t play with it, it’s dangerous.” You pull the box away from him. “Aw, is it a blind date?”

“Why do you care so much?” he shoots back, tugging the box back towards him.

“Just lookin’ out for you, Bucko,” you huff, adjusting your grip on your device. “Need to keep my favourite senior citizen safe.”

“I have a vibranium arm.” Whose force he could use to grab the box once and for all, but wasn’t. “I think I’ll be fine.”

“What if she has one too, huh? Then what?”

“She doesn’t.” As far as he knows, he’s the only one alive with a metal appendage made out of the strongest metal in the world. That could very well change by tomorrow but he's keeping the title for now.

“But what if she does? I swear to- stop trying to take the box!” You pull a little more forcefully, but he doesn’t relent.

“I want this to get over before this evening.”

“What time’s your date?”

“Why do you care?” He’s sure anyone who saw the dumb tug-of-war you both were playing would just automatically assume he was an absolute manchild, not an Avenger.

“Because.” You don’t explain further. “Tell me what time your date is, you weirdo.”

“Five o’clock, now let go.”

“Fine,” you say, suddenly loosening your grip. Clearly, it doesn't make much of a difference since he isn't struggling to keep his balance from the sudden loss of force.

“Fine.” He clears his throat, straightening up. 

You don’t say anything. He doesn’t either.

A putrid smell creeps into his nose, one all too similar to spoiled milk and decaying seaweed. He has to physically stop himself from gagging.

“Have a good day.” You smile and lean far back. Too far. It looks like you're almost going to fall out of the chair.

Through the tears that are threatening to line his eyelids, he looks down at the box whose latch you somehow managed to lift, leaving the box open.

“What the fuck is this?” He coughs, swatting at the air in front of him to clear it.

“I told you; bad luck in a box.”

“You can’t scientifically create bad luck, that’s bullshit.” He tosses the box back onto your table. You watch it slide past you, not making any effort to stop it. “What is it really?”

“I’m not lying.” You pull open a drawer, brandishing a small table fan that you set down beside you. “If you open it, you’re going to have terrible luck for the day.”

He glowers at you when you turn the fan on, forcing the fumes back towards him.

“Besides, that’s all I was doing today.” You kick your feet up. “So you can leave now.”

He doesn’t care if you’re lying about not having anything else to do today. You could burn down the world if you wanted to but he needs to take a stupid shower. Again.

“You’re the fuckin’ worst.” He tries airing out his shirt, hoping that the smell would dissipate as soon as possible.

“Have fun on your date, sarge!” you encourage him as he stalks out of the lair. “Remember to wrap it befo-”

He turns it into a sprint before you can finish.

____

Six hours later and he’s absolutely convinced he fucked up.

He isn’t used to having his weekends free.

He realises that this is the first time in months that he’s actually stepped out of the Tower for something that wasn’t directly mission-related. He should probably get some air. Touch some grass. See the sun.

His shirt thankfully manages to rid itself of the odour from the dumb box so he didn’t have to go take a shower. With nothing much planned and a few hours to spare, he heads to the coffee shop instead.

It’s a small place, bustling and alive with a crowd of people. They have a little bookshelf that usually is full of books donated by patrons, free for anyone to read.

The barista smiles at him. The coffee costs more than his high school education. He awkwardly smiles back.

He’s not a regular, but they’ve seen him enough times to know that he usually asks for black coffee in a to-go cup, later adding a sugar or two according to his own taste. They're nice to him, occasionally throwing in a cookie or something on the house. He can't tell if it's because of the Avenger status or the sizeable tip he leaves.

He picks up a random book from the shelf, fully intending not to read it but to just sit there and think. The book acted as a shield for his resting bitch face, resting murder face and his resting rage face. More often than not, a good combination of the three.

He sets the coffee down at the corner table he manages to nab in a quick second, along with the two sachets of sugar.

“Is this seat taken?” Someone asks from beside him. He earnestly shakes his head in a ‘no’, gesturing for them to take it.

They give him a quick thanks and drag the chair away from his table.

He does a quick overlook of the book he picked up.

The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot.

Well, now he’s too anxious to put it back. YA fiction it is.

He reaches for the sugar while glossing over the summary. He reaches a little further when it doesn’t come to his hand immediately, blindly running his fingers across the table.

Bucky peeks over the book, eyebrows knitting together when he notices that they’re missing.

He was sure he picked it up.

He looks underneath the table. It wasn’t there, neither under his seat. Strange, but okay. He picks up the book and the cup, walking back to the station to grab two sugars.

This time he makes sure to tuck it into his pocket, double-checking before going back to his table.

Which was now occupied. He wanted to groan.

His mind automatically reverts back to the box from that morning.

“Come on,” he scoffs quietly to himself. It was a coincidence. “Get yourself together.”

“A seat at the counter just cleared up,” the barista from earlier offers when she sees him standing in the middle of the store.

See? Good luck.

He shoots her a grateful look, venturing over to the barstool to take his place. It’s not the most comfortable, but then again, he wasn’t planning to stay there for very long.

He empties the sugar into the coffee, stirring slowly before opening a random page in the book.

He takes a long sip, ignoring how hot the drink was.

He chokes immediately. Because either he was losing his mind or his order had somehow got switched from ‘no sugar’ to ‘diabetes in a cup’.

He takes another small sip and his face immediately twists in disgust. Definitely too sweet. The sweetener he added only made it worse.

He catches the eye of the barista. She looks on in concern.

“Is everything okay?”

Fuck.

He’s not one to make a scene. He just wants to live as imperceptibly as he could.

“Yep.” The sweetness sticks to the back of his throat. “All good.”

He just closes his eyes and downs the rest of it without thinking twice, trying to hide the grimace in his face. He gives her a weak thumbs up. She doesn't look convinced.

He leaves the shop soon after, hands shoved in his pocket. Maybe he could go sit by the lake at Central Park, watch the clouds. It reminded Bucky of the lake in front of his hut in Wakanda and the hours he'd sit in front of it, feet dipped into the water as his goats fed. He misses it.

He makes a sharp turn at a corner, still thinking about his options when his ankle abruptly twists under him.

He stumbles rather ungracefully, almost hitting the ground, but manages to save himself through the newly built up immunity he has towards falling thanks to all his encounters with you.

His gaze lands on his hardcore combat boots. Their laces had come undone.

Now he just knew that was horseshit. He always double knots them; they had never loosened in the past before.

The box.

He shoves the thought out of his head, crouching down to tie them again. He tugs on them to make sure they’re secure before standing up again.

Central Park is a few blocks away but he’s glad he didn’t bring his bike. The weather was rather nice and the wind in his hair felt good.

He wanders around the park for a while, looking for the lake. He pauses at a board with a map of the park on it, assessing how far it was.

Once he's ascertained which path to go towards, he turns on his heel to go.

He fucking trips again.

“Are you serious?” he says furiously under his breath. “Cut it out.”

He’s half-convinced that he should tie it around his ankle like a sexy lace-up set of heels. He ties a triple knot this time, glares at it until he’s sure it’s fine and checks to see if anyone saw him humiliate himself.

Only a person on a nearby bench who looked like they were passed out drunk, given that their hoodie and sunglasses clad self was slumped over.

No witnesses. No 'You won't BELIEVE what the Winter Soldier did! Critics say it's his biggest blunder yet!' articles the next day on social media.

He manages to make it to the lake in one piece and no more falls, partly because he keeps his eyes fixed on his shoes to ensure no fuckery occurs.

There are a few people rowing and plenty of others lining the bank at scattered locations. There’s a mom and her kid at the place he ends up. She sends him a small smile in greeting and he returns the favour.

There’s a secluded bench that he takes a place on, letting out a small sigh. If he ignores the traffic and the skateboarders and the people in general, it’s actually kind of peaceful.

There are geese and their little goslings swimming around the water close to the shore. Maybe he should have brought some birdseed. Or kale.

The kid beside him is busy fashioning something out of leaves, only occasionally erupting into giggles when it doesn't pan out. His mom watches him fondly, pointing at twigs he could use. Everything seems kind of picture-perfect and his body automatically relaxes, easing further into the seat and closing his eyes for a second.

Until there's a large splash and loud distressed honking. He whips his head around to find the same kid staring straight ahead at the goose with a wide grin. His mother curses quietly, picking herself up off the ground and grabbing his hand, half chastising him for throwing something at an animal and half urging him to walk faster.

The goose turns to Bucky. With no one else to blame for the sudden attack, it logically launches itself at him. His smile drops.

He gets up in a rush. The dumb bird nearly comes for his head, but he deflects with his metal arm.

“I didn’t even do anything.” He swats at it swiftly, trying not to cause any real damage. The goose, understandably, does not speak English.

He flinches when one of them bites at his knee. He can punt it to the sun but he doesn’t want to.

“Stop that.” He sticks his hand out to shove the stupid thing away, retreating back to the road. “Jesus, why are you so aggressive?”

Among the barrage of feathers showering on him, he prays his damn shoelace doesn’t unravel as he shields his head with one arm, the other fending himself while he moves hurriedly away.

The goose honks angrily at him. He scowls at it, not exactly pleased with the reminder that these fucking overgrown ducks were constantly bloodthirsty.

It doesn’t leave him alone till he’s significantly away from where he was sitting. He wants to call it profanity but that’d probably piss it off more.

The box and its effects were definitely starting to feel real.

Fuck it, no more day out for him. The best plan he can think of is to just go to the diner he’s supposed to meet his date at.

The waiter greets him with a courteous nod, which Bucky can only imagine was the best he could muster when a dishevelled 200-pound man walks in covered in goose feathers and irritation.

He won't admit that he’s too scared to eat lunch at this point because he can’t rule out food poisoning. He spends the next two hours on his phone playing Fruit Ninja and plucking feathers that accented his all-black outfit.

Several glasses of water later and a second before he’s about to beat his high score, someone taps on his shoulder, breaking him out of his concentration.

Motherfu-

He clenches his eye shut, inhaling deeply before turning around.

“James?”

“Hey, yeah, that’s me.” Bucky almost falls over the table with how fast he stands up, clearly underestimating his size. “Leah?”

“Hi.” She smiles and he finds himself smiling nervously along with her.

“Hi.” He steps out to pull out her chair for her and she laughs. "Nice to meet you."

“How long have you been waiting here?” she asks while setting down her bag.

“Around ten minutes.” He clears his throat to hopefully hide the fact that he was lying through his teeth.

“Just give me a second, I need to tell my friend I reached,” Leah pulls out her phone and he nods.

“Another glass of water for you?” The waiter seems less enthusiastic about Bucky’s 8th refill.

“Yes,” he answers, hoping he doesn’t call him out on it, “please.”

“You must be really dehydrated."

Bucky turns to look at him slowly. “I like the taste.”

He can’t really blame the guy. Bucky’s been there for hours without ordering anything solid, just leaching off their free water and complimentary bread basket.

“So, James.” She tosses her phone back into her bag, leaning forward on her palms easily. “Tell me about yourself.”

He had rehearsed this a million times. He could do this.

“I, uh,-”

“Menu?” Okay, so someone clearly had a vendetta against him.

“Thank you.” She takes it with a smile.

His morning debacle with the coffee flashes through his mind. Suddenly the idea of a diner didn’t seem so smart.

However, she’s already placed her order and George is standing beside him expectantly, daring him to ask for another glass of water, so he places his usual order and hopes that your stupid bad luck thing wore off.

He quickly learns that his date is laid back, and it isn’t hard to fall into a rhythm with her even though she’s the one asking most of the questions.

“How’d you meet Nat?” Is his attempt at one.

“She used to come in for lunch every week at the place I work.” Leah leans back in her chair. “She can really handle her alcohol.”

He’d be worried about Nat day drinking if he didn’t know about her complete inability to get drunk. She might as well have been downing glasses of lemonade.

“Yeah, she’s-” Intimidating, scary, cool “-really something.”

“She mentioned that you like movies.”  He definitely spends a lot of time watching them. “You got any recommendations?”

It’s easier to figure out how different things are or how much he missed out over the years through them. He’s glad he sat out the early 2000s, judging by their fashion sense and hairstyles.

He's watched several movies over the past few months, a few of them critically acclaimed and others who were just there for the cult following.

But now everything goes blank and the only thing that he can remember are the biopics made about Steve that were somehow hilarious for gifting him the mental image of Freddie Prinze Jr. dressed in the stars and stripes, and highly distressing for the number of historical inaccuracies. Contrary to popular belief, Stevie did not, in fact, consider running for president after he took up the shield, nor did he start his own bar chain.

He can’t name Oh Captain, My Captain starring Channing Tatum as his favourite movie on his first date and hope to make a good first impression.

“Despicable Me was kinda fun.” He wants to kill himself. “I mean, it’s the last one I saw.”

Her face twists in mild disgust, but he can tell it isn't ill-intentioned. “It's a good movie, but God, that just gave me some intense flashbacks to my aunt’s Facebook page. Don’t think I can look at a minion ever again.”

He sniggers with her. He doesn’t know what the context is.

He’s a little awkward, and he can definitely tell he isn’t the most open book but she laughs at some of his attempts at jokes. There’s a distinct discomfort he has lingering at the back of his mind prodding at him, telling him over and over again that he isn’t ready for something like this. A warning bell, asking him to leave as soon as possible because he was in a dangerous situation.

He remembers what his therapist told him about breathing and remembering that the resources he had available were greater than his anxiety and he tries to get out of his head. It takes a few minutes of acting like he's fine but he manages to do it.

Other than the one time he scalds his tongue on the coffee but played it off with a pained smile, shoving down thoughts of your stupid invention, things actually went okay.

It was nice, even though they decided by the end that it was better if they both gelled together better as friends. It lifts the strange fear he feels and he can hear Dr. Mendoza say she's proud of him for taking this step before spending three hours psychoanalysing why they decided to stay platonic.

Bucky promises to visit her sushi shop with Nat soon and she says a bottle of sake awaits him for a drinking game. He doesn’t have the heart to tell her that Nat and he share the same tolerance for alcohol.

He makes sure to leave George a tip. A big one. It’s the first time he sees the guy smile the entire evening.

He’s waving goodbye to Leah outside and he thinks that maybe it was a good end to the day and that things actually turned out fine.

Until he turns around to leave, only to have someone walk straight into him with an iced tea.

The cold comes as a bit of a shock, making him jump slightly. He stares at his shirt, using his fingertips to pull it away from his body.

The person melts into a series of apologies immediately, offering to dry clean his shirt but Bucky just forces a shake of his head and says it’s okay even though he can feel the sugar making the shirt stick to his chest. Goose feathers and iced tea. Was there anything else that would like to attach itself to him?

His fists clench and his teeth grit and he has to physically control himself from sprinting to your lair because God knows what else is in store for him and he didn't want to add in any way.

The door to the lair is locked. Fuckin’ brilliant.

When no one answers after minutes worth of waiting, he fishes for his phone and realises that maybe two hours of Fruit Ninja was not the best idea, especially on a phone known for having shitty battery life.

There’s roughly 2 percent left. By the time he opens his app to give you a call, his phone screen goes black.

He groans. He’s desperate at this point and under any other normal circumstances, he would have never, ever considered doing this.

But ten minutes later he’s outside your apartment building. You’re aware that he has your address; no doubt that it was in the SHIELD file he had gotten, and he knows that you know but it was still weird.

The buzzer has your last name listed next to it. He’s sure that he’ll break it if he keeps pressing it at this rate but he really needs you to let him in.

“Who the fu-” your voice comes through the intercom.

“I’m sorry for showing up like this, my phone died and I couldn’t reach you,” He breathes out as soon as he hears you. “But I need you to fix this.”

When he doesn’t hear a reply, he wonders if the thing actually worked. He’s about to start pressing it again-

“Bucky?” You sound a little surprised to hear him. “You’re at my house. Why are you at my house?”

“I need you to fix whatever this is.”

“What are you- fine, I’m buzzing you in,” your voice, initially confused soon trails off into something more dismissive.

There’s a soft click from the door, allowing him to push it open. The elevator is already on the same floor as him so he just uses that.

The elevator goes up a floor or two. His feet tap restlessly against the carpeted floor.

The lights turn off and everything comes to a standstill. His foot stops tapping.

He should have known. He should have fucking known.

Thirty seconds pass. He’s still in pitch darkness with the elevator showing no signs of moving.

In fact, he’s resigned to his fate. He sits down on the ground, only one step away from completely laying down and hoping someone finds his body here someday.

It’s six minutes of plain silence. He might as well get comfortable if he’s going to get stuck here for the rest of his life. Did he change his will? Does he even have a will?

There’s finally a whir. He thinks that maybe he’s going to plummet to his doom as the perfect end to this day, but then the light switches on and it starts moving upward.

It stops at the floor with a ding. He doesn’t get off the ground, only eyes the door wearily. With his luck, it wouldn’t open.

But it does and within a second he’s on his feet, scrambling to get out before it changes its mind.

He remembers your door number, basically charging down the hall to get to it.

The door is white and the paint is starting to chip off it. The handle itself is dented in a few places and he wonders if it was your fault or someone else's.

His knocks are rapid, agitated even. He doesn’t stop until he hears your loud shouts telling him to cut it out.

“What the hell were you doing, trying to break down my door?” It swings open, revealing you in your pajamas. “Haven’t you done that already? And where were you, I’ve been waiting for like, ten minutes.”

He honestly feels bad for showing up uninvited and highly flustered. He can’t imagine it’s a pretty sight either. "This bad luck shit- fix it. My whole day’s been fucked up.”

“What are you-” Your eyebrows knit together in confusion, taking in his appearance.

It takes you a second to realise what he’s talking about but when you do, your face settles.

“How was your date?” You lean against the door frame, arms crossed over your chest.

“Really,” He glowered at you, “that’s what you care about?”

“Yes.” You nod. “Did you have fun?”

He hesitates. “I guess?”

“Was she nice?”

“Yeah.” Where was this going.

“Good, I’m happy for you.” The smile on your face is genuine. “Look at you go, Casanova.”

“We agreed to be just friends, but that’s not the point here. Y/N,” he whines. “I have a mission next week, I can’t afford to fuck up. My whole day was off and I don’t want it to carry over.”

“Your whole day?” you questioned, standing up instead of leaning against the wall. “Buck-”

“Just fix it.”

“Okay.” You lift your hand up, extending it towards his face.

He waits for you to do something.

You flick him on the forehead.

“There,” you declare, going back to your previous position. “you’re cured.”

What.

He says exactly what he’s thinking.

You laugh. “Dude. I was fucking with you.”

Huh?

“Well, actually maybe just like, three things and then I got bored.”

He’s confused.

“You know,” you begin when he doesn’t reply, “taking the sugar packets, switching your coffee order when you were looking under the table, took your place when you left, the shoelaces.”

“The shoelaces?”

“Yeah.” You nod. “That’s the other ray gun you saw this morning. Unties your shoelaces. I stopped after that because I thought you figured it out.”

His face scrunches in puzzlement.

“I mean, you looked right at me and told me to cut it out.”

He racks his brain about what you could possibly be talking about before it hits him. The hungover person on the goddamn bench in the park.

“You were the one in the hoodie and sunglasses.”

“I just followed the Avengers’ code of disguise.” You shrug. “Turns out it kinda works. Also teleportation. So helpful.”

He forgot about the teleportation. That's why you could do all of it so fast without him noticing you were even there.

“What about the fucking geese?”

You pause for a second. “The geese?”

“And the elevator.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” The confusion on your face is apparent. “What geese and elevator? I have no idea what you’re saying right now.”

“Everything’s been a mess today,” he grumbles. “I don’t know what’s real or not.”

“I swear I had nothing to do with it other than what I mentioned.” There’s indignation on your features that quickly gives way to delight. “Holy shit, did I just accidentally invent portable bad luck?”

“Okay-” his palm finds its way to his forehead in exasperation, “-then what the hell was the smell?”

“What smell- oh, the one from the box?”

He nods briskly.

“Secretions Magnifique.” You snorted. “It’s a perfume. The worst rated one I could find.”

“Perfume?”

“With notes of milk, seaweed and sandalwood.”

“It wasn’t an inator?”

“No, it wasn- did you get vibe checked by a goose at the park?” You stifle a laugh when you notice a stray feather on his thigh.

“What does that even mean?” he asks in despair.

“I can see why it attacked you. You got bad juju.” You raise an eyebrow. “Maybe if you stop staring so much-”

“So I just have shit luck.” Is that a fucking relief or even worse?

“Well,” you begin but decide not to continue.

Even with all the irritability masking it, you could see that he genuinely was just not having a good time.

“Wait here a second.”

You leave him at the door. He shifts his balance and sighs, fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. He still had to walk back to the Tower. Maybe he could grab a slice of pizza along the way since he skipped lunch.

“Okay, here.” You return with a large glass of water. He only looks at it. “It’s just water, I promise. You look like you ran a marathon."

He takes it from you sceptically, pushing away the urge to sniff at it. It’s gone within a few gulps.

You wait until he’s finished to point at his arm. He draws his eyebrows together, but you only curl your index finger and beckon for him to give you his hand.

He reluctantly extends it towards you.

“Don’t laugh,” you warn him, taking his metal arm. “This usually helps me.”

You tie a small bracelet around his wrist. It has a few beads, which he realises represent the colours of the solar system.

“Keep that for good luck.” You pat it gently after securing it. “I think you just had a bad day; those don’t last very long. Do you want to charge your phone before you leave?”

“Uh-” The bracelet’s pretty, the colours shine against the dark vibranium. “-no, I’m good. I’ll just leave.”

“Okay. Anything else I can help you with or will you be fine?”

He narrows his eyes. “You’re being suspiciously nice.”

“I’m not evil all the time.” You huff. “My hours are in the morning.”

“Okay.”

“Okay.”

“Okay,” he says again. “I’m gonna go then.”

“See you next week.” You give him a little wave. “I’d say break a leg on your mission but knowing your situation...”

He scoffs. “Thanks.”

You make a move to close the door when starts walking down the hallway towards the exit.

He adjusts the beads slightly so he can see them better. The Earth one has glitter in it. He thinks it’s cute.

“Bucky.”

He turns around.

There’s a hint of a smile on your face.

“Take the stairs.”

He doesn’t have to be told twice.

Next part

[five-rivers]

Pep Talks 12

I think this might be the longest chapter of Pep Talks so far...

(AO3)

.

.

.

When Clockwork first took Danny on as an apprentice, he’d laid out some ground rules for when he unexpectedly found himself in an unknown timeline. As Apprentice of Time, Danny was more likely to attract anomalies like natural portals and the like, and when that was combined with his innate bad luck regarding portals, well… winding up in weird places wasn’t quite a weekly occurrence, but saying it was wouldn’t have been a huge exaggeration.

That’s all to say, Danny appreciated the rules. He didn’t want to wind up never having been born again, or, worse, making it so that one of his friends had never been born. Or causing an apocalypse. Or wrecking the future. Or—

There were just a lot of problems that he could, and had, caused.

If Clockwork were able to pick Danny up right away every time, most of the rules probably would have been unnecessary. But he wasn’t. Mostly because of physics-shaped problems involving paradoxes and how too many time portals in the same general area could screw things up, but also because of Observant- and politics-shaped problems. And, Clockwork had admitted to Danny, sometime Clockwork left him somewhere because he was supposed to be there.

The first rule was to lay low. Avoid people when possible, except to acquire basic necessities. Avoid major events, crowds, protests, and cameras. Avoid important-looking buildings.

Do not offer help unless asked first, or unless the person is a ghost. There was, evidently, a loophole that made it okay for Danny to interact with ghosts even in places where it wasn’t okay for him to do the same to humans. Clockwork had said ghosts fell under Danny’s ‘jurisdiction,’ a term that seemed just a bit too weighty with meaning for Danny. As for being allowed to help when asked… Well, Clockwork knew that Danny was incapable of not helping. Although he did ask that Danny be subtle and indirect about it.

He was also not supposed to fight anyone unless he himself was directly attacked, for similar reasons.

The fourth rule was to stay within the accepted rules of the world he found himself in, where possible. In other words, if people generally didn’t believe in ghosts or the supernatural, don’t challenge that belief by using his powers in public, but if superpowers were common, it was okay to use them.

The fifth was that, if he found himself in the past, leave civilized areas. With the threat of unpersoning himself hanging over his head, Danny took that one very seriously.

The sixth, the one that made Danny feel like a little kid despite his real age, was, if the previous rule didn’t apply, try to stay in the same general area he first found himself in.

There were others, of course, and special ones for special circumstances. For example, if he was captured by law enforcement, or injured, or actively in danger, or if he didn’t know what time period he was in. Different sets of rules prevailed if he was actually on a mission.

Clockwork had also told him that the rules no loner applied if it took him more than two weeks to find Danny. That, if he’d been waiting for that long, something had gone wrong, or Clockwork was unable to find him or pull him out.

It had been just under half that time, and Danny was starting to get worried. More worried.

He pulled his legs up, closer to himself. He didn’t need to conserve warmth, being what he was, but the action was comforting and the abandoned warehouse he was in was weird and creepy.

This whole timeline was weird and creepy. Also, semi-apocalyptic. They were going through some serious societal upheaval. Danny wasn’t entirely sure why, having only been here for six days, but he was pretty sure it had to do with the nascent ghosts partially overshadowing people and giving them power.

At least, that’s what it felt like. Danny wasn’t sure. The next nearest thing to this he’d ever encountered was a warlock, and that had been just one person. Ghosts were under his jurisdiction, but, like the warlock, the people with powers here didn’t quite feel like ghosts, and he wasn’t sure how trustworthy news sources saying that metahumans were all soulless degenerates were…

Hopefully, he wouldn’t have to find out. Hopefully, Clockwork would pick him up before another week went by.

He didn’t think the government here could actually catch him, but some of the things they apparently did to metahumans made his core ache. It was a very X-Men-like situation. Except, well, set in Japan.

Why Japan?

But! Eight more days. Tops. Clockwork would get him.

Before he’d finished the thought, something blew the door of the warehouse in and a ropelike appendage hurtled towards Danny’s corner.

He reacted. Rules were, if someone attacked him, he could respond in kind, and if superpowers were common knowledge, he could use his.

There were at least a dozen of them, all of them displaying an eclectic array of superpowers, some reminiscent of Danny’s ghostly enemies, others entirely novel to him. A fair few also had guns. One man even used multiple powers. Needless to say, the battle was incredibly one sided.

In Danny’s favor.

Hey, he’d been doing this for years, and he was very comfortable with his abilities. Most of these guys weren’t. Most. The multiple-power guy had been challenging.

Danny examined his captives. He should probably just knock them out, then go find a new hideout somewhere else, but he wanted to know why he was attacked, first.

“So,” he said, deciding that the curly-haired man with multiple powers was probably the leader, given the way the battle had been structured, “why did you and your goons attack me?”

“I heard you were like me,” growled the man, attempting to escape Danny’s telekinetic hold. “I’m looking for a power that can help my brother.”

Danny twitched slightly at the word help. “What do you mean, like you?”

“You can take powers, too,” said the man, staring up at Danny with desperate, hungry, red eyes.

Danny blinked, frowned. “You thought I could help you, or your brother, so you attacked me?” His frown became deeper. “Or did you attack me to, what, steal my powers?”

The man squirmed.

It was. That was such a ridiculous villain cliché, although the brother thing was a twist. People could get desperate about their families and do terrible things.

Including Danny. As had been proven many, many times.

His heart and stance both softened. This counted as a request for help, right? And the guy was sort of ghostly. On the other hand… Transplanting whatever it was giving these people powers willy-nilly couldn’t be healthy, especially if it was related to ghosts.

(Multiple ghosts in one body… It reminded him of his dark future self, which was never good.)

“Okay,” he said, dragging a hand down his face. “Alright. What exactly does your brother need help with?”

The man clearly hadn’t expected Danny to ask this question. “He’s sick,” he said. His eyes gleamed at the edge of tears. “His body is tearing itself apart, DNA molecule by DNA molecule. If I could just find the right ability, I could save him,” the man’s voice broke, “I knowit.”

Molecule by molecule, huh?

Actually… that was something Danny could help with. Crud. People had powers here, right? He was being asked for help, wasn’t he? He was staying within the rules. Especially seeing as these guys were like warlocks. He was only doing warlock stuff.

“If I help you with this—if,” he stressed when the man perked up. “If I help you with this, I need two things from you. Well, three, really. Actually, no, four.”

“Name them,” declared the man.

“Yeah, I was about to,” said Danny. “Anyway, first, you need to ask your brother if he wants this. If he doesn’t, you have to come back here and return it. Asap. As in, tomorrow.” He was pretty sure he could get Clockwork to give him a day, even if he came to pick Danny up right now.

“Those are your first two conditions, then?”

Danny nodded. “Yeah. Third one is, you have to stop taking powers from people who don’t give you permission. The end of that road isn’t pretty.” At least, he was pretty sure it wasn’t. All those little maybe-ghosts, slammed together… Even if it didn’t have any immediate effect on this guy’s personality, the resulting ghost could wind up possessing him. If the ghost vaguely wanted to go with him, that might change things. Maybe. At least, it’d slow things down.

If this worked the way he thought it did.

The man scowled. “And you know this, how?”

Danny rolled his eyes. “Look, you’rethe one who said I was like you, not me. Too much of these powers can mess you up.”

“If the number is the problem, it shouldn’t matter how I take them.”

“Do you ever get bad dreams?”

The man stilled completely. “What do you know about that?”

Danny shrugged. “Enough,” he said. “Do you want to be overwhelmed by your powers? Do you want to explode? It could happen.” Actually, Danny had no idea if it could happen or not. But it sounded good. “More importantly, do you want to help your brother or not?”

“Of course I do!”

“Great!” said Danny, clapping his hands together. “Let’s finish this up somewhere privately, okay?” He grabbed the man’s shoulder and phased them through the floor into the basement, which he lit with a ball of ectoplasm. “Okay,” he said. “Fourth thing.”

The man was staring at the ectoplasm with undisguised curiosity. “What is it? Money? A new identity? Passage out of the country?”

“Uh, no,” said Danny. What would he do with any of that, after all? “I need to know the full story behind you and your brother.”

“What? Why? Don’t you know enough?”

“So that I can be sure that I can help, first off. Also, the way I’d be doing it involved me giving you something rather personal, so…” He trailed off with a gesture that indicated he expected the man to talk.

He sighed. “My name is Shigaraki Hisashi. My brother’s name is Kazuki, and he’s been sick since we were children…”

Danny let him give a summary of his life up until this point. He had the vague feeling that he wasn’t being told everything of importance, but, then, not everything about a person’s life could be condensed into an hour or so of storytelling.

Apparently Hisashi had basically raised Kazuki, and once Hisashi’s meta power had come in as a young adult, they’d been completely abandoned by their parents. Hisashi had put together a group of freedom fighters (Danny skeptically recalled the guns, but also forced himself to remember the hints that there might be something like concentration camps for power users) to defend himself, his brother, and others with power. But Kazuki’s illness made him incredibly vulnerable, and as he was Hisashi’s one major weakness…

The feeling that he was living through an ‘X-Men Japan’ comic intensified. He felt so sorry for this guy. Danny knew what this kind of life was like.

“Alright,” he said, softly, finally, “I can help. And, this probably doesn’t mean anything coming from me, but that better world you were talking about? Where people with powers and people without can coexist? I think you’ll be able to make it happen. Just don’t let anyone stop you.”

“I don’t intend to.”

Danny nodded. “I can give you something to help your brother. A power,” he clarified. “But I need you to know, it could change him.”

“Change him?”

“His personality.”

“You were saying something about that before. Forgive me if I don’t agree with you. These powers are tools.”

“Okay, sure, but even just having more options can influence how a person behaves. Just warn him before you give it to him, okay?”

“Of course. I’m a man of my word, after all.”

“Right,” said Danny. “Give me your hand.”

“A handshake?” asked Hisashi.

“Not exactly.”

Danny let a minuscule, almost microscopic, piece of his core break free from the whole. It hurt like a knife to the chest, and some of his physical and mental abilities would be impaired for a while, but he had done it before, and it would heal before long. A fragment this size would give a power on par with those he’d seen so far in this world. It would also grow, of course, but it was unlikely for any human to live long enough for that to become a problem.

He let it pass into Hisashi, and the man shivered.

“That should strengthen his body without being too much of a burden on him,” said Danny.

“What kind of power is it?” asked Hisashi, reclaiming his hand and flexing his fingers.

“Uh,” said Danny, casting about for something vague that would fit. “A gradual stockpile of power. That enhances the user’s body.” That should be close enough. “Remember, ask first.”

“I will, I will,” assured Hisashi one more time. “And you can be sure I’ll be returning regardless, to thank you.”

“Uh huh.”

It took a while for Hisashi and his men to clear out. Longer still for Danny to find a new place to sleep. But he did.

He woke to a time medallion around his neck and Clockwork’s exasperated expression. “Daniel,” he said, “what did you do?”

.

Toshinori and Izuku stared at Danny with open mouths.

“You’re the original stockpile user?” yelled Izuku, pointing.

Danny smiled sheepishly. “Surprise?”

[hawksugarbaby]

Tokoyami x reader- Big city, small pond

Fluff + Nature took back the earth AU combined with fantasy AU

You didn't take a breath before sinking back down from the side of the moss overrun pavement into the flooded road, deepened after many years of abrasion and sinkholes popping open intermittently. Deep enough for anything to swim in at least, though clementine traffic cone's still floated and drain covers for manholes had rusted and chipped away at the side. Litter still filled the bottom of the sinkhole but had all seemed to collect in the deep abysses. Metal benches were still bolted to the floor but had new river weeds and algae wrapped around each section of the skeleton but it was a wonderful place for anything to sit.

Your gills split open on your neck and you walked the depths of the "river" the reflection of miraculously working street signs for takeaways that greedy humans reopened over and over no matter how many times mother nature reclaimed the earth. Your finger's brushed the scales of an orange carp darting past you and you kicked your leg's out, turning them to an iridescent (f/c) fishtail, ending and transforming to human at the hips, your skirt clung to the tail under the water and your flowy t-shirt billowed out when you moved sharply, turning a corner or halting quickly to watch something.

Your tail kicked up rocks and dust which swirled in the water and settled at the bottom again as sediment. You scoffed at a human dropping a paper wrapper into the water that turned too much and landed on the floor, a few balls of red and white paper landing on your arm then tumbling off.

You popped your head up feeling a lily pad drooping down over your hair and covering your right eye. "Hey!" you shouted but the human was on his knees looking into the water in annoyance "Excuse me! I don't appreciate your wrapper dissolving in my river!" you shouted and he lifted his head, ruby eyes fluttered to you pulling the lily pad off your head, flopping it back onto the water where it drifted further away.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to drop it, I was trying to find it now" he sighed in annoyance at the knowledge it was gone. He sat cross legged at the side and tilted his head looking at you. "Mermaid?" it was definitely supposed to be a question but it sounded more like a surprise than curiosity. You rolled your eyes and repeated his word in a mocking tone "oh mermaid? No. I'm not a mermaid, I'm a nymph obviously. How would you like it if i just assumed you were a crow!" you crossed your arms, your tail fins swishing back and forth impatiently. "I suppose I'd be most irritated" he scratched the back of his neck and hung his head.

You sighed swimming closer to the edge and rested your forearms on the kerb next to him. "It's whatever. Not like you city folk would know a difference anyway. Mother nature did all she could to reclaim the earth as hers and you still poison us with your plastic and oil and deforestation" you listed the minimum amount of things humans had done yet it was still enough for him to feel a guilty punch to the gut. "I'm sorry for what my species did to the earth" he spoke on behalf of a race that didn't care. The human race. But it was nice to hear an apology for once instead of someone claiming it wasn't their fault.

"My name is tokoyami fumikage" he held out his hand and you took it, the web's between your fingers stretching out slightly and you analyse him curiously "(y/n) macdonald." he nodded and smiled at you politely "You have a very nice tail" he said unsure how to continue your conversation, it wasn't like he could just ask you to get up and join him for a dinner and get to know you, though honestly he wasn't sure how nymphs worked, for all he know maybe you could? "Thank you. It's my favourite colour!" you grinned swishing it behind you and hopping on the edge on the path with all your strength.

You kicked your tail out and they transformed into legs dipping into the water and creating ripples around your calves and he stared amazed at your split appendages, skirt still hugging your thighs nicely and your t-shirt stuck to you like a puppy with abandonment issues.

"The difference by the way. This is the difference between mermaids and nymphs. Mermaids are usually really rude too" you explained, picking a string of riverweed from your leg and flinging it into the water to drift along the shore or sink to the bottom. He hummed in response since he couldn't agree or disagree, for now he would stay a neutral party unwilling to get on your bad side again. "I see. How did you end up here anyway aren't nymphs supposed to be out in like... rivers and lakes?" he queried and you sighed looking at the murky water sadly, missing the feel of your own river. "Uh, when mother nature decided to shift stuff around and the big tsunami flood thingy came it flooded my river and we all ended up somewhere different. Maybe it was on purpose but I ended up here" you swung your legs in the water tapping the stone ground with your fingers.

You missed the smell of earth surrounding your crystalline lake running off into smaller streams and your favourite river for finding pebbles in. you missed the fluffy flax seed that stuck to you when you were drying off in the long grass by the bank and that floated on top of the water for fish to pop up and suction down into their stomach. You missed your friends mostly, almost sisterly bonds between all of you now severed and spread across all of japan.

"I miss home really. For all I know my friends could be home waiting for me" you exhaled deeply and tokoyami sadly glanced at you wondering how far your legs could take you. "What if I helped you get home?" he asked and you jumped excitedly. "You would really help me! Don't you have school or friends or anything? Are you sure you can help?!" you blabbered for a minute or so about how inconvenient it would be and how you didn't know how far you would have to go until he stopped you. "My school is on break right now so I have about 2 months off before I need to go back. Most of my friends are going to look for a cause of the reclamation too since half our school is unusable since it started so I have no qualms helping you"

You jumped up and down giddy and dove back in the water splashing him with water that rolled off his feathers, soaking the choker on his neck and you apologised. "I'm just so excited to go home! Thank you so much!"

And so began your long journey to your home. You passed hundreds of abandoned buildings crumbling to nothing with vines twisted up the sides and supersized branches through the shattered windows, ivy had crawled up the walls of every structure you passed and you talked aimlessly along the way. "So mother nature is-" "a goddess inside the earth" tokoyami nodded at your explanation and looked around in understanding. One of her creations had destroyed the other, the necessary one, and she was proving that humans were expendable. "I'd be pissed too if my home was being filled with gross plastic." you giggled and smiled thankful that someone finally took you as sane, you were tired of truth seekers who didn't like the truth they gave them. They had too much blame on them so they went to find something else.

A month flew by quickly, you spent as much time swimming along streams that you could but of course not every path was filled with water, so it was a long journey for someone who wasn't used to walking barefoot on the actual ground for huge periods of time.

"What are your friends like?" Tokoyami asked, pushing a bish out the way for you to crouch through and you hummed, "caring. They care about a lot of things like climate change, obviously, but also silly stuff like um the best wood to carve you and your significant other's name in, or which leaves are the shiniest at golden hour. We have to make up fun little games or we'd just get bored" you smiled and he chuckled. They sounded similar to you, pointing out tiny details on your quest like spiderwebs covered in dew hidden in the grass, or perfectly round stone's that were shiny in the sun, it made sense you wanted to get back to them so badly.

The trees opened up to an empty circle of grass and a circle not much smaller of water, flowing over the sides of the bowl into the grass and streams wound along into their own segments of the forest. "Home... i'm home! I'm home i'm home i'm home!" you cried jumping up and down and sprinting into the gorgeous blue water and immediately your legs changed to your (f/c) tail, glowing in the sun as you floated on your back and soaked up the water. "Come in come in!!" you shouted while waving at tokoyami.

You had taken rest stops at old hotels and decrepit houses to check for water and of course food and sleep but there was enough civilization along the way to keep you going. But tokoyami hadn't had a bath, a real bath, one he didn't have to fill with a showerhead, in a month and god he wanted to relax desperately.

He peeled off his sticky t-shirt and hung it over a tree branch dipping into the water and relaxing immediately. "This is surprisingly warm" he muttered watching you splash around joyfully and sunk under the water. It was so clean he could keep his eyes open and watch you dip in and out of the water bouncing like a dolphin.

You swam over to him and he sat back up shaking the water out of his feathers and you smiled hugging him tightly "thank you for taking me here. I wish I could help you get back home but I don't think i'd make it back here myself. You sighed and he shook his head. "It's okay, I have other ways of getting home. I don't have to leave right now. I'll stay for another fortnight but then I probably have to go" he looked at his phone glad he had data and could contact hawks at the click of a button.

In 14 days that went by like rapids over rocks tokoyami had to say goodbye and hawks picked him up from your spot on the way back from a mission. 2 of your friends had also found their way home so you weren't lonely and tokoyami had promised to visit. "Okay and be safe home okay! I hope I see you soon!" you shouted as hawks lifted him into the air and he nodded in a silent agreement and waved.

"See you soon (y/n)!" he shouted back and you jumped in a wave as they disappeared into the bright blue sky reflected in your lake.

"Sooo..." one of your sisters sidled up next to you and you blushed "don't even! I know what you're going to say" you shoved her away and she laughed at you teasintly.

"Soo..." hawks started and tokoyami rolled his eye's "no hawks"

[marueonmain]

Sun Would Be Good ~ ImAllexx (1/2)

Summary: Y/N tries to help Alex out during a difficult time. 

Pairing: imallexx x reader

Warning: Language. Themes of Self-Deprecation. Depression Talk.

Word Count: 1.5k

Y/N unlocked the front door to her boyfriend’s apartment using the one copy of the key Alex was ever given. He said he would not need it for himself as George was always in.

“Hello? Alex?” Y/N called out. She looked to the undisturbed sofa and glanced into the empty kitchen as she walked through the familiar space. Closing in on Alex’s bedroom, she thought she would have heard something like his presentation voice as he spoke to a camera or the electronic fanfare of a video game or dialogue from a Harry Potter film like he had her watch with him a hundred times before.

There was no such sound – none at all.

KNOCK. KNOCK. Y/N opened the door to Alex’s bedroom. It was about the same as it always was: trashed: wrinkled clothes sat in heaps on the floor and on his desk were plastic cups half-full with flat drinks and frappuccinos with just a few centimeters of whipped topping left at the bottom. His bed bore crumpled sheets and a balled-up duvet hiding every part of the young man save a socked foot dangling off the edge and his button nose poking out for fresh air.

Yes. It was about the same as it always was; still, there was one small yet stark difference. It was dark. Alex was never one to rise in the morning, and yank open his curtains to the bright sun outside. But he did usually have his ceiling light on during the day – however dim and horribly yellow-tinted it was.

Y/N crossed to Alex’s bed. On the low and narrow table near his headboard was his phone plugged into a short charger. Y/N turned it over in her hand. It read: 15:20. And under the time were all the notifications of her messages to him – unnoticed and unread. He had switched his phone to silent.

Y/N considered that maybe Alex had slept in that long because he needed to; he stayed up so late, so consistently. She debated the idea for another minute until she found she simply could not convince herself that it was just a normal lie in. Alex was not even asleep – or he was not anymore – as he retracted his foot, tucking it back under the duvet, and released a not-so-quiet groan of discontent.

Besides the rustling of sheets and their collective breathing, there was another sound – running water. Y/N put the phone back face-down on the table and left for the ensuite. It, too, was trashed. Y/N flicked on the light. All the stuff Alex kept out of sight – toothbrush, nail cutter, polish, unopened tin of hair balm – were strewn about. A thin line of water fell from the tap. Y/N turned it off, and when she did, she noticed a razor without its disposable blade lying in the sink. She took a step back. Looking around, her eyes landed first on the empty towel rail, then the disposable blade sat on the floor in a splat of shaving foam.

Y/N picked up the blade, ran it under water, reattached it, and left the razor on the counter round the sink. She returned to the bedroom and to Alex, who was still hiding under his duvet in the middle of an unkempt bed in a dark room.  

Y/N spoke for the first time since seeing him. “Alex, love. Are you awake?” She knew the answer already.

The lump in the middle of the bed did not move; a voice came from within it. It was faint as if carried on a breath rather than pushed out with intent, “Yeah.”

“What’s happened in there?” She tipped her head in the direction of the ensuite despite knowing Alex could not see the gesture before sitting gingerly on the end of his bed.

“All I wanted, yeah?” Alex interrupted himself with an exasperated sigh then started again, this time sounding like he was speaking through clenched teeth, “All I wanted was to shave. I couldn’t— I thought I could shave, but no. I didn’t leave the shaving foam where I always leave it, and it took me forever to find it. Then the razor breaks the second it touches my skin. And I couldn’t find the blade to put it back together. And then it’s like, who cares at that point? I’m not going out anyway, nobody cares if I shave, nobody cares to see me. And now I’m saying it all out loud, and I sound so stupid, but I just wanted to be able to do one thing – that’s it – one fucking thing!”

Y/N made a closed fist and tapped it against where she figured her boyfriend’s legs were hidden under the duvet. She cleared her throat. “How about you get up, huh? We can go out for breakfast.”

“I can’t go out right now.”

“You don’t even have to brush your hair or anything,” she said as her eyes scanned the floor; she spotted his black TikTok bucket hat. “You can just throw on a hat. I look a mess anyway.”

Alex waited, then whispered a gentle plea, “Go away, Y/N.”

“I know, ok? I know it’s difficult.” Y/N’s throat tightened. “It’s difficult, but it isn’t helping you to sit in the dark with whatever is going on in your head right now.”

“Nothing.”

“Maybe breakfast is a lot to ask. I don’t mean to be pushy; I just—”

Underneath the lump, Alex shifted from lying on his side to his stomach, as evident when his voice became muffled like it was being filtered through a pillow. “Leave me alone.”

“I want to be able to help. Could you help me to understand what I can do?”

“I want to sleep.”

“Do you think you could sit up? Nothing else, no going anywhere, just sitting up.”

Alex ripped the duvet off himself, throwing his arm out with a hard and quick movement like he was trying to rid himself of the appendage; it was a wonder he did not dislocate his elbow. Y/N got her first good look at his face: messy hair weighed down with grease and eyes so bloodshot that she subconsciously scratched at her own to relieve some phantom irritation.  

“Fuck off! Alright, Y/N? Is that clear enough for you?” As the last accusatory word left his mouth, the regret was already plain on his face. His features softened, and he pulled into himself.

“You don’t mean that. I know you don’t mean that.” Y/N tried to keep her composure because she still understood despite how blindsided she was at the outburst. She understood the potholes in the road to recovery and management; she understood a depressive episode. And how Alex might not have recognized he was in one.

It must have been just as difficult for him as it was for her to realize when she had slipped. Her descent was always slow, gradual enough that she could normalize everything. Instead of thinking it odd she had not brushed her hair in three days, she would simply wake up on the fourth and ask herself: Why do it today? I haven’t the last three. Instead of reflecting on the unreasonableness of how one small thing going wrong caused her to scream out in unjust anger or caused tears to spring to her eyes, she reasoned with herself: I’m just sensitive, I know that.

Y/N empathized with how Alex’s episode was causing him to be disproportionately irritable and to respond inappropriately to not being able to shave, a little annoyance that he would otherwise brush off easily or not care about at all.

“Sorry.” Alex untangled himself from his sheets. It was slow going as he moved like it was not him controlling his body, like he was on strings. He dragged himself up into a seated position and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Not meeting Y/N’s gaze, he said, with hesitation, “Sun would be good. I think. Would you want to go for a walk with me?”

Y/N smiled genuinely for the first time that afternoon. “Absolutely.”

“I need to change; would you mind grabbing my shoes? I kicked ‘em off last night near the sofa.”

Y/N nodded. She crossed the room and took two steps out of his bedroom – SLAM – she jumped at the sound of Alex throwing his door closed behind her. Y/N turned around and tried the handle – locked.

“You’re not serious,” Y/N muttered. She pulled harder on the handle as if her strength were the issue; she raised her voice, “Are you serious?! Alex!”

Surely not. Y/N let her hand drop limp from the door handle. Not Alex. Not my sweet boyfriend, the clingiest and softest man I’ve ever met. He hadn’t slammed a door in my face. No. Surely not. And if he had…? She stood there – at the door – not because she was waiting for Alex to open it. To laugh and call it a joke even though it was far from funny. No. She stood there because she just did not think to go anywhere else. Y/N was consumed in all her worst thoughts. It was just what she had tried to stop Alex from doing. And now I’ve failed twice.

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 279: Here Comes the Airplane

Previously on BnHA: Gigantomachia gathered up the rest of the League and headed off to go help Tomura. Also he is now 80 feet tall. The heroes were all, “whoa this guy is really big, we should probably stop him and maybe even devote an entire chapter or two just to that,” and so they sent three whole people after him, which sadly is pretty much the exact sort of strategy I’ve come to expect from them by this point. Anyway so Mt. Lady tried to hold Machia off but kept getting flung aside, and Kamui Woods tried to catch him but was set on fire by Dabi who is just having way too good of a time setting all of the flammable heroes on fire today, and Midnight tried to put him to sleep but Compress threw a bunch of debris at her and so she fell like 80 feet. The chapter ended with Midnight being all “fuck this” and calling Momo, who ordered the rest of the child soldier squad into action as Machia approached. I’m not really sure what they’re gonna do, but I honestly don’t really care, because it’s Momo, and so, YES.

Today on BnHA: U.A.’s first-year hero students, who apparently had nine hours to prepare their battleground instead of the fifteen seconds we had all assumed, launch a complex multi-staged assault which is actually really fucking impressive because these kids are actually awesome. First they pin Machia down in one of Honenuki’s mud pits, and then they take turns making impassioned attempts to take out the other League members chilling out on Machia’s back. Unfortunately none of these attempts work because of Dabi, who’s working overtime while the rest of the League sits around shooting down each other’s escape plans. Basically a lot of stuff gets set on fire, and then the chapter ends with Mt. Lady pinning Machia to the ground while MINA, YES, MINA, charges at him covered in acid like some sort of video game boss that you need some kind of specific item to defeat. DID YOU KNOW YESTERDAY WAS MINA’S BIRTHDAY YOU GUYS. Anyway so this chapter is basically pandemonium from start to finish, and it’s great. It is a RUMPUS, y'all. A STRAIGHT UP HULLABALOO.

IS IT MOMO LOVIN’ HOURS I THINK IT IS, YOU GUYS. ARE YOU EXCITED. I AM EXCITED

but first, the color page we were promised, in celebration of Six Whole Years Of This Bullshit!!

oh god oh god so much to love so little time

some of the rowdier characters are making MULTIPLE APPEARANCES IN THIS SHITSHOW, including Kaminari who appears to be in a record-setting THREE of these! who exactly was taking all of these pictures, and why are they so obsessed with him. also how many of these are going to be used as evidence in the latest Kami Traitor Theory posts and is it too early for me to get mad about it

“WE INVITED ENDEAVOR AND HAWKS TO OUR ‘BEING FANCY ON THE COLOR PAGE’ PARTY, EVEN THOUGH THEY’RE NOT U.A. STUDENTS OR FACULTY. WE JUST FELT LIKE IT.” listen that is fine, y’all don’t have to explain yourselves to me

Mirko however is not here, I assume because if she was, Horikoshi would have forgotten to draw all the rest of the characters again. she’s too powerful

Midnight is so sexy I don’t even ksdfnkl

ALL MIGHT LOOKING HAPPY GIVES ME THE STRENGTH I NEED TO MAKE IT THROUGH THE REST OF THIS WEEK. YOUR SMILE IS THE MVP

Cementoss’s face is the runner-up MVP and one of the greatest things I’ve seen in my life

half the people here seem to be attempting to flirt with whoever is taking the pictures. I am starting to suspect that the culprit is Momo. change my mind

for some reason I am really shocked to see Endeavor getting his drink on. and he’s literally the only one, too

Bakugou’s half-assed I SAID NO PAPARAZZI skills are no match for Tamaki’s legendary “I WILL LITERALLY DIE IF YOU CAPTURE ME ON FILM” abilities

I literally didn’t notice Deku until like three quarters of the page in. he sure does blend right in there

Tokoyami is approximately 97.3% done and ticking EVER CLOSER to full 100% doneness, and when that happens even I can’t tell you what is going to go down

do I even need to mention how sexy Aizawa’s hair is. apparently I do

SERIOUSLY THOUGH CEMENTOSS’S FACE

anyway, so that was nice! NOW ON TO THE MOMOLOVIN’

and we begin with FIRST YEAR CLASS B HONENUKI “MUDMAN” JUZOU just LAYIN’ SOME TRAPS IN THE WOODS, as one does

oh my freaking god Tokage

somehow her quirk didn’t freak me out quite this much the last time we saw her. she is really something. has she always had shark teeth

also WHERE IS MONOMA’S GROUP. I immediately want to know!! is he with the Shouto group? or is there yet ANOTHER student group we don’t know about? what would they even be doing

or did Horikoshi actually get three quarters of the way through writing this arc and then suddenly slap his forehead as he realized that if Monoma just casually copied Machia’s powers he would either DIE IMMEDIATELY or else become SUPER STRONG and also grow 80 feet tall and this would suddenly be a very different battle with the scales tipping decidedly in the heroes’ favor. and so he had to quickly write him out of the battle in this very half-assed way

anyway, so while I ponder that, Tokage is peeking the top of her head out over the trees and staring at Machia who is, you guessed it, still heading right their way! just like he’s been doing pretty much this entire time

and now there’s a whole page of reaction panels you guys. this is why Horikoshi tries to avoid these massive Endgame-style battles with every single hero known to man participating. hopefully we won’t have too many of these. like I mean thank you for the roll call and all but I’d like to get to the action now

Mineta of all people is stealing this entire page with that expression though. he is not fucking around. this is twice in as many chapters that he’s been a page-stealing face-making champ. dare I hope this could be the start of a new niche for him? lord knows it would be so much better than the old niche

also this page is just sweatdrops galore. these kids are so nervous. MANGA GODS PLEASE KEEP THEM SAFE, although I’m honestly not too worried about them compared to the adults. I’m sure I should be, but I just am not

all right so now Momo is explaining what those little canisters are!

okay but someone please explain to me how it is that they had time to stop and lay all of these traps?? not just Honenuki’s, but Mineta’s and what looks like some of Shiozaki’s work as well?? did Machia just STOP MOVING for like five whole minutes all of a sudden for no reason at all? while they were all sitting out here saying things like “with that speed...”? ????? ????????

also lol wtf. “we’re gonna have to make him eat it.” I still have no idea what their plan is, but it’s getting more entertaining by the minute I’ll say that much

okay so Momo says that if they can get him to swallow just one of these, then that should be enough to put him to sleep. oh my god this chapter is going to be AMAZING isn’t it

meanwhile Mineta is worrying about Midnight. I swear to god if they turn this into something where he’s only worried because she’s hot, I will take one of these canisters and shove it right up his...

okay good, Mina’s reassuring him that it’s gonna be okay, and then we’re just cutting to Machia stampeding in with Mt. Lady and Kamui still clinging to him

WHAT THE HELL ARE THESE GUYS EVEN DOING

“we’ll just stand here adjacent to him and just kind of watch as he rushes straight at the children.” someone help me, I’m having difficulty finding a synonym for “useless” that carries the full amount of emphasis I want to place on it right now. this requires a degree of language the human race is not yet capable of

OH SNAP

THEY GOT HIM YEAHHHHH

OH DANG, FOR REAL THOUGH!!

ngl, for a brief spiteful moment I was disappointed he hadn’t actually fallen on them :/

and they’re still JUST STANDING THERE, I CAN'T EVEN?? we’re getting to the point where I honestly think actual civilians might have been of more use in this situation

YESSSSS

TIME TO FIND OUT HOW MANY TENTH GRADERS GIGANTOMACHIA CAN TAKE IN A FIGHT

also, sorry to keep harping on this, but the juxtaposition of that earlier panel with all of the fully grown and experienced pros just standing in dumb awe, immediately followed by this panel of BRAVE BUT DETERMINED CHILDREN CHARGING IN AND YELLING “GO GO GO”, is just... it really is something. shit. if I was the HPSC and this was what I had to work with, I too might have seriously considered fudging a few age requirements in hopes of finding someone who could actually get the fucking job done

also what the hell is going on down there with Shishida and Satou and that third person? what are those Blackwhip-looking things?? I’m confused

ohhhhh no

Shiozaki is about to be sent flying through the air courtesy of her own hair vines omg

OH NO WAIT THE THREE TOUGH GUYS ARE STOPPING HIM. AHHH THE LAST ONE WAS KENDOU AHHHH

I still can’t figure out what the hell those are though lol. did Momo make some steel cables?? I feel like Machia would be able to break just about any kind of rope or chain they could concoct just by sheer brute strength alone

ah fuck

DON’T YOU GUYS GO RUINING THIS FOR ME!! THEY’VE GOT A GOOD THING GOING HERE, LET THEM HAVE THEIR FUN!!

although I do appreciate how they’re all “U.A.!!” in kind of this “oh shit, these guys we actually have to worry about” sort of tone lol

this look on Toga’s face is a bit concerning! well but Deku and Ochako aren’t here though, so I wonder who she’s gonna fight if it comes to that. huh

(ETA: seriously, does anyone have any idea what Toga is planning cuz I sure don’t.)

Shouji and Ojiro, who I might remind you are normal people with no enhanced physical abilities aside from extra appendages, appear to have somehow circled all the way around to Machia’s back and are now climbing up oh shit

oh and Aoyama’s there too! -- is Shouji carrying him omg

he’s using him as a human ray gun omggg. this is the most delightful thing I’ve ever witnessed

NOW SOMETHING IS BEING SHOT AT THE LEAGUE AND DABI’S STARING AT IT ALL “>:(” AND I’M PRETTY SURE THIS THING, WHATEVER IT IS, IS ABOUT TO BE SET ON FIRE, LET’S SEE

lds;afksjdl;fkj WERE THOSE JIROU’S EARJACKS??!!

okay you know what fuck you Dabi. you think it’s funny to set a little girl’s ears on fire?! don’t expect any sympathy from me when Aoyama lasers you in the face

WELL I DON’T KNOW WHAT’S HAPPENING BUT THEY’RE SHOOTING WHAT LOOK LIKE A BUNCH OF LITTLE TAMBOURINES AT HIM NOW

I ASSUME THEY ARE NOT ACTUALLY TAMBOURINES, BUT I REALLY DON’T KNOW, IT’S NOT LIKE THEY HANDED OUT THE RULE BOOK TO THIS THING AHEAD OF TIME

[HUGE EXAGGERATED GASPING SOUNDS]

oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my

OH MY GOD AND YANAGI THREW THEM WITH HER POLTERGEIST QUIRK!??

I DON’T KNOW WHAT THIS “ACK?!!” IS AND IT’S REALLY BUMMING ME OUT, BECAUSE THIS CAME WITHIN INCHES OF BEING THE COOLEST FUCKING COMBINATION I’VE EVER SEEN IN MY ENTIRE LIFE!?!?

(ETA: it would have laid them all flat in seconds. Kaminari is to be feared you guys.)

NO!!!!!

it is sincerely frustrating to me watching the League carelessly toss aside all of their painstakingly accumulated goodwill from the MVA arc in the span of just a few short pages. hey Compress, you think it’s cool to hurl a bunch of rocks at my six-and-a-half-year-old son?? I hope someone rips that cool robot arm off and uses it to punch you in the dick

here comes Sero!! and how are you going to die, Sero

what in the

did he just... sneeze them all into space

okay but hear me out, what if Shouda absorbed that impact. SHOUDA YOUR TIME HAS FINALLY COME. CLASS 1-B’S ASCENT TO GLORY

(ETA: watch this space!! Shouda is here for a reason mark my words.)

meanwhile on Machia’s back, Dabi is soliloquying about Machia’s quirk while his arm is doing... something

please forgive me for not being able to drum up any sympathy for poor Dabi’s arms right about now. quit trying to set all my kids on fire

wait whaaaaat lol

so I scrolled back up to the previous page, and... that was fire?? lord help me why am I still so terrible at being able to tell when Horikoshi is drawing fire as opposed to just air randomly whooshing through trees. I have really got to memorize that foossh sound effect

so can Gigantomachia just BREATHE FIRE now?? or was ALL OF THAT Dabi??? if it was the latter then at least he had the decency to wait until all of the kids got blown out of range before setting the whole forest aflame to keep them back. I’ll admit it, that was thoughtful of him as far as villain power moves go

OHO BUT YOU CAN’T COUNT MOMO OUT JUST LIKE THAT!!

AND NOW EVERYTHING AROUND THEM IS EXPLODING AHHHHHH DID YOU GUYS SET LANDMINES, BAKUGOU WOULD BE SO PROUD

once again I have to ask myself exactly how much prep time they had here. Horikoshi would have you think it was mere seconds, but that clearly cannot be the case?? maybe they set some of these up beforehand to catch any stray villains trying to flee the area?

lmao Spinner’s all “wait why doesn’t he just dig his way out”, because apparently Machia can tunnel himself under the ground. but Compress is all “um because we would die” and Spinner is all “oh right”

though I gotta say, it’s not like they’re that much better off as things are now, either. pinned down in the woods surrounded by fire and explosives. definitely a conundrum

oh snap Compress has realized that their presence is holding Machia back. don’t tell me Machia is gonna head off on his own and leave the rest of the League to square off with the kids

YOOOOOO HOLY SHIT THE HEROES ACTUALLY DID SOMETHING

there you go, League! free cannon fodder to get you all pumped and confident again!

DKFJLSDKJ

PLEASE LET THIS BE THE ACTUAL TRANSLATION OH MY GOD. THIS IS MY NEW FAVORITE LINE IN ANYTHING AHHHH

“I’m leaving it to you, U.A.’s youngsters!” yeah, you and everyone else. ah well, can’t deny they get the job done

OH MMKJKYYYY GODDDDDDJJK

MINA COATED HERSELF IN ACID AND IS RUNNING AT GIGANTOMACHIA AND IS SHE ALSO ON FIRE??!?! SHE’S JUST RUNNING AT HIM LIKE A BIG OL’ FIERY BLOB???! QUEEN MINA???!! FIRE IS NOT HER WEAKNESS???! MINA??!! IS AIRPLANE?!??!!?!? MINAAAAAAA

holy fucking shit this whole arc is just one big Arc Of Ladies Getting To Do Stuff and I am 1000% living for it. THIS ARC IS MY FAMILY. I WOULD DIE FOR IT AND LEAVE EVERYTHING TO IT IN MY WILL. ahhhhhhhhhh

[authortango]

“Write a story that ends with a character asking a question.” - Prompt #42

Summary: A young boy named Atlas struggles with the meaning of life due to some strange dreams he’s been having.

Song Inspiration: The Sun by Jukebox the Ghost

Genre: Speculative fiction

Word Count: 1,751 words

One bright, ninety-degree summer morning, two brothers played basketball in an apartment division basketball court. Their names were Atlas and Apollo. Their similarities only stretched to appearances; their brown curls tangled together with the antics of boyhood, their dark skin becoming darker with the heat of the sun. On a day such as this, Apollo felt light as a feather, while Atlas felt that he had the world on his shoulders.

“Apollo,” he said, holding their ball captive for a minute as he tried to get his thoughts off his chest. 

“What do you think we’re here for?”

“We’re here to play basketball dummy! Duh!” Apollo rolled his eyes, a grin of amusement spreading across his freckled face. Atlas just shook his head and tossed the ball to Apollo.

“No, no. I mean, like, what do you think we were created for? Like why are we living here on earth? What’s our purpose?” 

Apollo took the basketball and dunked it into the hoop, giving himself a moment to think.

“Those are heavy questions man. I’m not sure I have an answer. I don’t really think about time on earth and stuff. I’m just trying to live.”

“Just trying to live…” Atlas repeated, becoming lost in thought as though he were making a note of Apollo’s answer. Apollo, uncomfortable with thinking so existentially, tried to change the course of the topic.

“Why are you thinking about all this anyway?” Atlas looked into his brother’s eyes, gauging how much he should tell. He loved Apollo, but you never know when a sibling is going to tease you for something you take seriously. At this moment, however, he decided to trust his brother. His thoughts were still too heavy anyway.

“I keep having this dream. I see waves, like, skyscrapers knee-deep in waves. And then like, I’m standing on one of the skyscrapers, and this window, or maybe a door, of light appears before me. I hear a voice, but I don’t understand it. The door starts to open… and then the dream ends.” Apollo whistled to release the breath he had been holding in.

“That is… quite the dream brother. And you think maybe this has to do with… the meaning of life?”

“The dream has happened for the past two weeks now. If it’s not about life, what is it about? Either way, I feel like something big is coming. And I feel like I need to figure some things out before it does.” Apollo gave the ball back to Atlas and clapped him on the shoulder. 

“I think it’s gonna be okay man, whatever it is. You’ll figure it out.” Atlas started to dribble the ball again, feeling a little better already. He started to smile and do tricks with the basketball, his previous worries falling away. 

“Thanks for listening man. I appreciate it.”

“Yeah yeah. Who knows? Maybe your dream won’t happen again now that you’ve talked about it. That’s a thing, right?”

“Yeah, maybe.” Apollo replied, putting the dream in the backburner of his mind. He wanted to try and enjoy the day before he continued to worry about the night.

[Line Breaker]

Atlas, unfortunately, did have the dream again, despite Apollo’s prediction. He tossed and turned in his sleep as Apollo slept peacefully in the bed next to him. Atlas’ vision filled with waves, his sight in the dream feeling like a camera panning into landscape view. He saw the water come up halfway to some of the skyscrapers in view, just like he had described to Apollo. His vision zoomed in onto one skyscraper, following the windows up to the top until he realized he was once again standing on it. 

For the first time in his dream, Atlas realized that he felt more freedom of movement now than he had in previous dreams. On instinct, he looked down into the city below, into the waves, and saw that smaller buildings had been swallowed by the new sea before him. There were no cars, or other people though, like one might expect. Instead, the only life Atlas could see were these strange fish. They were bright, vibrant colors, and had weird appendages like antennae along with long, elegant fins, like that of a coy fish. It seemed like they came from a different world entirely.

Atlas then heard a noise, like the dinging of an elevator door as it arrives on a floor, and turned his attention upwards. There was an outline of light not two feet from Atlas’ face, and he stepped back from the side of the skyscraper to give the door some room. His breath caught in his chest, preparing to wake up as soon as the door opened, and for once hoping that he could just sleep a little longer to find out the answers to his questions about his peculiar dream. 

Atlas watched wide-eyed as the door of light opened up, and to his delight he didn’t wake up. Perhaps he would find the answers to his dream after all! His body clenched in anticipation as the door slowly opened. He felt a light breeze blow through his hair and rustle his clothes, and he had to squint as the light became brighter. The doorway became so bright, he had to shield his face with his hand, but he could still see through his fingers a staircase descending from the mouth of the open door.

Suddenly, the light vanished, and as Atlas blinked back into focus, he saw a tall, obsidian colored being, who’s body seemed to twinkle with swirls of stardust. Their eyes were the same type of light that had just blinded Atlas for a moment, and as Atlas peeked behind the being he saw that the doorway had now turned into a window to the universe, the stars and galaxies swirling in the same way as the mixture of the being’s skin. Atlas, now fixated on the new figure before him, asked shakily,

“Who are you?” The being regarded Atlas with something close to warmth. They had all the features of a human man, but it was difficult to distinguish their emotions through features alone.

“I am called Onyx.” They said simply, sweeping their arms in a gesture of presentation. Atlas, still sensing a general kindness about this being, became less cautious, and more curious. 

“Are you an angel? Are you sending me these dreams for a reason?” Onyx laughed, their teeth pearly white and the sound of their voice making the entire skyscraper rumble. The waves sloshed below them as if pleased by the turn of events, trying to get closer to this ethereal being.

“I would not call myself an angel, but if it helps you to describe me, it would suit me fine all the same.” They replied, their tone a low, comforting rumble. 

“I understand that these dreams have caused you to have some weighty thoughts about your place in the universe. I cannot give you all the answers right now, but I can do my best to help you understand.” Onyx kneeled on one knee and beckoned for Atlas.

“Please, come closer.” Atlas approached gravely, humbled and awed by this great being. As he stepped nearer to Onyx, he felt increasingly warm, as if the sun had come out from behind a cloud. He felt in his heart that, somehow, this being was the universe, and it cared about him very, very much.

“I have a gift for you, young Atlas, so that you may one day find some of the answers you are looking for. Please, hold out your hands.” Atlas did as he was told, and Onyx placed two things in Atlas’ hands; a small sphere, covered in engravings that he didn’t understand, and a small pocket telescope, with the names of planets and constellations Atlas had never heard of engraved into the covering. Atlas held the things to his chest protectively, and looked back up and the being with curiosity in his eyes and a thousand questions on his lips. Onyx simply shook their head, but their expression remained jovial and caring.

“I hope to see you again in the future, Atlas. Change is coming. I have faith you will adapt well.”

And as Onyx tussled Atlas’ already messy hair, and the breeze picked up and the waves crashed below…

Atlas woke up. The sun shone on his face with warm rosy fingers. His mother must have opened the curtains to wake him and Apollo up. The window was also open, the wind playfully breezing through the curtains and caressing his warm face. His hair was stuck to his forehead, and as he reached up to push it away, something fell from his hand with a thump into his lap. Looking down, he saw the sphere that the being, Onyx had given him. And still clutched in his left hand, pressed into his chest, was the telescope. Both items looked a little more tarnished then they had in his dream, but he was too awed to care. He was surprised to see that they were even real, his heart racing as he remembered his dream and its implications.

Footsteps called loudly from the stairs as Apollo bounded up them, two by two. He caught himself on the doorframe to their bedroom and hollered,

“Atlas! Breakfast is ready! Mom told me to come get you.” He beamed at Atlas, before noticing that his brother was fixated on some weird bronze cylinder in his hand, and a sphere in the other. His attention swiveled back in forth between the two objects, as if he had never seen them before.

“What are those?” Apollo asked, walking towards Atlas and sitting on his bed. Atlas looked up at him, a far off expression on his face.

“This… this… angel gave them to me. They said maybe it would help answer my questions.”

“Well that’s… neat. And frankly strange. If they’re dream things, how are they here?”

“I don’t know.” Atlas whispered, staring again at the objects now in his possession. Apollo stared too, for a moment, before asking absent-mindedly,

“So do you have a guess as to what we’re created for? You were talking about it yesterday, in relation to your dream.”

Atlas, lost in thought by his brother’s question, opened the telescope fully, and ran his fingers across the faded engravings of constellations from another world.

“What if…” he said softly, almost to himself. 

“What if we were created to gaze at the stars up above?”

[mintsuke]

Aspectabund (k.s.)

(adj.) letting or being able to let expressive emotion show easily through one’s face and eyes

In which; you’re only ever taught that all yokai are evil, until Kita Shinsuke proves you otherwise.

WC; 7.8K

Warnings; Violence, Minor deaths, Mention of Kita’s tongue but implied

A/n: An addition to my Yokai!AU and a “subtle” request from a lovely anon! If you haven’t already, read my first work of this AU for Suna (link here!). Lmk what you think and if I should write for any other characters <3

+I last minute started adding more stuff lol, so some parts might be kind of unedited and have mistakes so I apologize.

References to Nurarihyon no Mago <3 (and a Hisoka reference if you catch it ;’))

For the majority of your life, your family nearly talks your ear off concerning the dangers of the existence of yokai, also termed ayakashi. Any member of the (L/n) clan were countlessly taught that these strange, supernatural monsters and spirits were all evil and only existed to bring harm and strife to the human race. They fed off of terror and most times humans. 

Onmyoji were humans that had evolved in order to use their innate spiritual power to fight back and exorcise such apparitions. Any and every sightings and encounters with the supernatural were to be taken care of. 

For you, you followed after your father and brother without question, promising to bring honor to your family. 

Dressed in your school’s uniform still, you leaped to dodge the swing of the monstrous imp’s fist. The impact crushes the ground, kicking up pieces of debris that fly in all directions. 

“Nimble little thing!” The imp growls in frustration at your swift movement, “I’ll have your head and heart on my dinner plate soon!”

“Dinner plate?” You repeat, snapping your fingers to materialize a palm-sized paper with ink strokes written over the front, “That’s quite classy for your kind, I commend you.”

Brandishing the parchment, a pale yellow aura engulfs it momentarily before extending into a long pole, a curved blade fixed at the top. 

“As much as I’d like to sit here talking, I’ve really got to head over to the conbini before they sell out of the pork buns!” 

The imp lunges, arm wound back in preparation to attack as you take a stance with your halberd held behind you, other hand flashing another parchment. Roaring, he shoots his fist forward to make a grab for your body, but you shift on your feet quickly, turning to evade before stepping firmly on the concrete and swinging the pole upward in a half figure-eight motion. His arm comes flying off as you circle it around to finish the shape and drag the blade across his bulky torso. 

Viscous, dark liquid pours from the wounds, the imp roaring in pain as his other hand swings around in a hook. Spinning the pole, you holding it firmly to the side to block the strong punch that sends you skidding across the pavement. 

“I’m going to enjoy eating you, you bitch!” 

With a flick of your wrist, you shoot the paper out and it easily attaches to his fist. Crackles and sparks of electricity emit from it, causing him to grunt at the temporary paralysis. Quickly, you kick off, arm winding back before moving in an arc to sever his head from his bulky body. It falls with a heavy thunk on the pavement before his body dissipated into steaming black miasma.

“Ahh... I’m all dirty now,” You sigh hopelessly at the blood splattered over the material of your uniform. Surely the employees of the local conbini wouldn’t question the mysterious stains. 

You snort as you head home instead, the halberd long disappeared as you walk along the stone path past the large gates and into your home. 

“I’m home,” you mutter as you slip off your shoes in the foyer, placing it against the raised platform leading to the rest of home (facing towards the door).

A smile graces your face at the sound of soft pattering of hurried footsteps. Stepping onto the raised flooring, you’re welcomed by a small body leaping up into your arms. You giggle at the little boy, dressed in the onmyoji white garments. 

“You look disgusting.”

You snap your head up to the male, also wearing the same clothes, standing at the doorway. 

“It was just a small scuffle, onii-san,” You grin cheekily with a small bow that he mirrors. 

Shuji, the eldest, snorts while Kou, the youngest, beams up at you. 

“Nee-san, good work as always!” 

“Thank you Kou-kun,” You smile down at the boy as he separates from you. 

The stark difference between your two brothers is amazing, but you wouldn’t want them any other way. Kou always seemed to look at you with starry eyes, amazed by your skills. Shuji was a tough love. He was the doting big brother that didn’t like the idea of you taking after the family business, but at the very least you were able to defend yourself from yokai. It was more of protective older brother things. 

The next night, you find yourself in the conbini you had meant to raid for pork buns. Humming joyfully to yourself as the worker puts your order into a brown paper bag, you don’t notice the wobbly lady whose body is stretched and bulging in different places that are hidden under her massive coat. 

To others, she might’ve looked like a city-folk with her prim hair-do and manicured nails. All the way out here in Hyogo, however, she definitely looked out of place slithering into a small conbini like so. 

“Men...” She shudders in delight, tilting her head up while her eyes stare down at the other customers in the store. 

You don’t cast her too much of a second glance as you pay for your pork buns. The curious thought of what  someone like her was doing over here in the countryside crosses your mind, but you ignore her anyway. 

Shouts arise as a male customer walks past her to leave, and with a flick of her arm, his head comes clean off and sprouting with blood. A woman shrieks in surprise as the body drops to the floor, motionless.

Head snapping towards the commotion, you gawk as her arm stretches, hand seizing the poor cashier by his neck. Retracting, his body is flown across the mart and towards the entrance. The woman makes a display of shoving her nose into the back of his hair before exhaling loudly with content.

“Mm simply exquisite! Much more refine than the city!” She bellows as the nails on her other hand dig into his arm. The man is kicking the air frantically, screaming in pain as he claws at her hand crushing his neck. Ripping off skin and heavy strands of muscle from his forearm, as easy as if he was made of string cheese, she nearly releases a salacious moan before devouring it. Disgust churns in your stomach at the obnoxious smack of her lips and loud chewing. 

“Fuck,” you curse as the other customers cower and take the cashier’s sacrifice as a distraction to run outside to safety. They trip over each other, forcing themselves through the small opening the sliding door can allow. 

The woman’s mouth widens, incredibly so, to swallow the cashier in one gulp (his pleas muted once her mouth closes around the remnant of his shoe. She ignores your presence and turns to exit the shop, in favor of the men that had run outside. Her arms stretch like rubber, flinging around like a lasso, and latch onto their heads like gum. 

With a flick of your wrist, a talisman appears in your hand. Heading outside as well, the paper burns brightly with a familiarly pale yellow aura before extending and materializing into a large wooden bow. It was a long bow, similar to the length and style of the traditional bamboo of the hankyu bow, appearing like the branch of a tree.

“Stop!” You call out after her, straightening out your bow arm and aiming it steadily in the path of a fleeing customer. Reaching toward the arrow rest, with your index and middle finger extended, you carefully draw back as you trace the materialization of an arrow shrouded in bright aura until you reach your lower face. Taking in a deep breath, shoulders falling lax as you follow the path of her whip-like arm. You release just before she can snag his head, causing the arm to sever at the point of contact. 

She shouts, the remains of her arm spewing with dark blood as her eyes turn towards you.

“You... You’re one of them!” She growls, “I’ll make sure to savor you, cute little onmyoji! Ripping your skin off, then each muscle one by one!” 

Quick drawing, the arrow is much smaller this time as you release it at her, but she dodges easily. 

“That puny little arrow won’t work on me!” 

Your eyes widen as her body splits; a dark body, covered in mouths with shark-like teeth, emerging and taking over her human-like form. More arms sprout from this form, mouths wide and baring their teeth at you. 

What was a yokai like this doing in Hyogo? 

Her arms flail, a large hand with a snarling mouth set in the middle of its palm comes hurtling straight at you. 

Flicking both of your wrists, one contains multiple talismans and the other a single one. Shooting them in front of you, they stick to an invisible barrier, creating a temporary shield that receives the brunt of the attack. The other takes shape into your halberd. 

With a wrist roll of the long pole, spinning it over the back of your hand before catching it, you hold it with two hands to block the heavy hit from the side that the paper barrier isn’t protecting you from. Fire suddenly burns through your body, pushing you forward and off balance as an attack from behind knocks you over. 

You groan as you hit the pavement hard, the razor-like teeth tearing into your left thigh and another at your torso. 

Blood. Blood. So much blood. You think hazily, head spinning from the large wounds. 

Were you really about to become fodder to this thing? 

Her giggles are high-pitched and chilling, voice no longer sounding human-like. Transformed, her body slithers like a snail, appendages grabbing blindly at the ground to propel her towards you.

“You had a little kick to you, spunky, I like it. I love it when they struggle y’know?” The woman laughs as you grip a talisman in your hand, reaching out to stick her with it. 

“Onmyojutsu is really something,” She hums, one limb whipping onto your wrist, a mouth open to bite into your arm.

You cry out, tears springing to your eyes as you blink away in attempt to focus your gaze on her. 

“Quite annoying, but it makes killing my prey a little less... boring.”

With a shaky breath, you wonder if maybe this was really it. Shuji and Kou come to your mind, wishing you could have one more moment to express how much you loved your brothers.

Until the pain on your wrist is gone. The burning ache in your leg and mid-section continues, but you have just enough energy to make out the figure that slices the woman in numerous sections before she dissipates into miasma. 

Eyes, irises just as fiery as the pain shooting through your body, are all you remember as you feel your body being lifted. A soft voice chastises you to stay awake for a while longer but you protest weakly until you slip under. 

You don’t know how long you were out, but you come to with a raging headache, head throbbing wildly as you sit up. If not for the dull ache in your left thigh and the right side of your midsection, you would have been happy to forget the fight against the Akujo Nokaze. 

Glancing around through the throbbing of your temple, you huff in attempt to calm your unbalance from sitting up too quickly. Tatami and shoji surround you, and you almost believe you’re back home at the estate, but you can sense the heavy amount of fear around you. The building is nearly drenched in the aura that exudes from yokai. 

You had been lying down on the tatami, head once resting on stacked seat cushions in an attempt to make a pillow, and a familiar maroon jacket resting over your body. Squinting down at the fabric, you recognize the characters that spell out Inarizaki High School on the backside. 

Then you remember your savior, those glowing eyes. 

“Looks like you’re awake,” a calm voice surmises along with the soft slide of the shoji door scraping open and close. 

Oh. This jacket, you piece together now as you look up to the captain of your school’s volleyball club. 

Kita Shinsuke, third year from class seven, dressed graciously in an aegean blue yukata, with a haori (a more cloudy shade) resting over his shoulders. You’d only seen him a few times in passing, walking to the conbini with a few of his rowdy teammates, or that one practice match your friend had dragged you to in order to gush over the infamous Miya twins. He was only put into the match once or twice, but you found something quite admirable about the tenacity his ability to pick up seemingly strong spikes or screwed plays. 

What was he doing here? Dressed like he was ready to attend a fireworks festival. Was this his jacket? 

Then your eyes focused on the perked ears that sit atop his silver hair, a fluffy tail swishing back and forth behind him. 

“Don’t panic—”

Sucking in a breath, you whip out a talisman. The parchment taking the shape of your bow, aimed directly at him.

“That’s not a good idea (L/n)-san,” Kita says firmly, a tone similar to one he uses when chastising the boys, “The yokai outside will sense your onmyojutsu from a mile away, even worse they’ve already caught wind of your blood.”

“Put it away.”

He doesn’t falter in his stare down, gazing into your eyes without waver. It’s not until they flash a dangerous golden hue before you finally let the bow dissipate into thin air. Nodding in thanks, he takes a step further into the room but senses your stiffness.

“You’re a yokai too?” You say defensively, fingers gripping tightly at the jacket covering your lap. It made your chest hurt. He was deceiving his team, the whole school. Was he planning on preying on the entire student body? Was he going to pluck each student one by one, and devour them until he had to move onto a new feeding ground? 

What were you doing abiding by his orders? 

All yokai are evil, the cold and hardened voices of your father and Shuji echo in your ears like ice cold water in attempt to bring you back to your senses, any and every encounter with them must end in exterminating the darkness.

“I can hear your heart racing, just relax, I won’t hurt you.”

You glare at him, holding out your hand with a talisman clutched in between your thumb and index, “You’re lying! All yokai are evil and deceitful!” 

“I’m not, I swear,” He says with his hands up to show innocence, “I won’t try anything.”

Biting your lip, you relent and put it away, and he does well to stay rooted to his spot, so not to get a rise out of you again. 

“Where am I?”

“The yokai district,” He answers simply.

Your heart beats faster. No wonder you can feel such heavy amount of aura around you, so palpable you could cut through it with your halberd. You’ve never felt so thick of fear that you nearly felt overwhelmed, fingers near shaking as you grip tighter to the maroon material. 

“Did you take me here?”

Kita lifts a finger, noting the way you tense, to point at your leg, “If I didn’t act sooner, you would have bled out from the Akujo Nokaze. Although forgive me for my actions I had to take to heal you..”

Blinking, you don’t quite understand what he means by his apology as you lift the jacket to gawk at your healed leg. There’s no mark left, no wound, only the slight discoloration from your blood. Your arm has no indication of her last attack. He turns his head away as you lift your uniform top to stare down at your healed torso. 

“Wh—”

Heat crawls up your neck, settling in the apples of your cheeks, as you whimper with an especially painful throb of your headache. 

“You don’t mean...”

“It’s a secret,” He says with a more teasing lilt to his voice, the subtle quirk of his lips a contrast to the faint shade of red that blooms at the tips of his ears when he continues to look away from your exposed waist.

You respect that, despite his recently discovered identity as a yokai. 

“I could’ve treated it at home, you know,” You frown, shoving the material back down.

The male shakes his head, “Please, onmyojutsu can do more destructively than healing.”

That didn’t mean he had to take it upon himself to— you stop yourself from the perverse image of Kita kneeling over your body. Face burning at the thought of his digits brushing over your thigh before his tongue— you slap your hands over your face, releasing a strangled groan to his confusion. 

Although, your flustered expression is tell-tale of what you must’ve been thinking about and he too flushes at the memory of your precarious position an hour ago. 

“I think I’ve stayed long enough,” You finally manage, although clutching your head at the continuous onslaught of your headache.

“At least stay until your fever goes down,” Kita offers, he turns away to leave the room, not before casting a glance back at you, “Just sit tight, I’ll bring some porridge for you.”

The sharp glance could have been translated as: don’t cause any trouble or just try to escape. You nod vigorously in response. 

The shoji shuts with finality and you let yourself relax. His fear was intense, daring you to try something. Someone as powerful as that was not something you could try and exorcise yourself. It never changed the fact that he did save you, but he was a yokai. Not only that, he was a kitsune, known to be malevolent and conniving. They were infamously known to play pranks and deceive others. 

Your chest twisted again at the thought. The captain of the volleyball club, someone known to be perfect and confident. He didn’t seem like the type to bring misfortune and death upon Inarizaki. Were you to report him to your family, and have Shuji or your father exorcise him? 

He saved you though... the thought continues to tug at your mind.

When he returns with porridge and a glass of water, he makes sure to stay a safe distance away given your continued caution. 

“If you’re thinking about exorcising me, you won’t win,” His blunt voice cuts through the silence like a blade, causing you to flinch. It wasn’t even meant as a bluff or to look down on you, he was confident and merely stating the fact that he was stronger than you. 

You don’t answer, but continue to eat and hydrate yourself with a troubled pout that juts out your lips and strews your brows together. 

Cute, he thinks, tail swishing behind him jovially. 

“Shall I take you home now?” 

Your fever calms, headache reduced now, as you blink up at him in surprise. A chuckle bubbles from his lips surprisingly, the sound not entirely unwelcome to your ears, it’s almost adorable. 

“Don’t look so defensive, I won’t try anything, we’ll just take a small scenic route.”

“Small?” You repeat as he motions you to follow him out the door. 

“Put on my jacket, you’ll need it,” He says, ignoring your questioning glance as you leave what seemed to be a private room. You gulp, hesitantly slipping your arms through the track jacket before following after him.

The fox leads you down the hallway of more rooms, laughter and raucous voices to be heard from within some. You both enter the main dining room of the restaurant, filled with yokai both human-like and not so human-like seated at the arrangement of low tables. They were boisterous, drinking from mugs of beer and porcelain ochoko (you wondered how the tiny cup didn’t shatter under their grip). Delicious looking food was served to their tables, making your belly rumble at the smell of it. 

You catch the glimpse of a grey-haired cook in the kitchen, similar fox ears sitting atop his head like Kita’s. Was that...?

“Come on, they’ll smell you if you linger.”

Biting your lip, you turn away from the cook, who looks back at your retreating figure with a knowing smirk. The host is equally as familiar, but Kita swiftly leads you outside the restaurant and further down the alleyway. 

“Are you planning on disposing of me now that I know your secret?” You gulp as the lights of the restaurant seem to dim now that you’re further away. 

He laughs, “I would’ve eaten you as soon as I finished off the Nokaze, if not then, then when I’d gotten a taste of your blood.”

You shut your mouth, cheeks burning as he smiles slightly at your reaction. 

“I said I was gonna take you home, no?” 

With no more complaints on your part, he places two fingers partly in his mouth, producing a shrill whistle that summons a large snake yokai, with a bushy mane around its head, to come flying.

“O-oh my Gods, oh no, I don’t think I could,” You squeak as he holds out a hand towards you. 

“Not all yokai are dangerous, (L/n)-san, trust me.”

Did you trust him? The thought still weighing down in your mind. You didn’t think about it then, but you realize he knows your name, even without having actually met you before.

He turns to you with a beckoning glance, smiling patiently and kindly, coaxing you to put your trust in him.

This was going against every moral taught to you ever since you began training to become an onmyoji, but against your inhibitions, you took his hand. It was warm, searing almost, against your fingertips. He saved you, kept you from death’s door, and never harmed you throughout your time spent in the yokai district. Maybe he was right.

With no effort, he lifted you onto back of the snake demon. Muttering a small apology, hands on your hips in order to lift you up. He joins you, hopping on behind you in a comfortable cross-legged position. 

“Is dropping you off at the school alright?” 

You nod, sucking in a breath when the snake rises into the sky, just meters above the tops of the buildings. Not expecting the height, you gasp and reach to hold on to the snake, but there’s no reigns or handles.

“Careful, you’ll fall,” Kita’s voice whispers from behind, an arm settling around your waist to secure you against his chest. 

Nodding mutely, you purse your lips in attempt to silently will away your definite consciousness of his warmth spreading across your backside. He didn’t seem all that bothered by the proximity, but you guessed after having to heal your wounds in rather intimate locations, he wasn’t all that embarrassed around you now. Still, it was unbeknownst to you, his ears burning as he focuses his gaze on the buildings below. 

Who knew the ever confident captain of Inarizaki could act so coy, almost as though he wasn’t exactly sure of his own actions for once.

“It’s quite pretty,” you comment finally, awestruck by the view of your hometown from a higher point of view. Hyogo was not as entirely modern as other places in Japan, but you enjoyed the simplicity and the traditional aesthetic of your part of the prefecture as opposed to other districts like Kobe. 

“Mm,” he makes a noise of agreement, “I like to take strolls like this from time to time. The view never gets old.”

Admittedly, he quite enjoyed the view with your addition, eyes cherishing your own, wide and sparkling with curiosity at the view above and below. 

You glance up at him, heart skipping a beat at the way the wind sifts through his hair. Kita Shinsuke was admittedly very handsome, his expression serene as he turns his attention to watch the minuscule specks of light scattered across the dark sky above you three. Ignoring the prominent fox ears, he was still appeared to be that normal high school boy you saw. He still exuded that same air of confidence around him, holding himself up just like how he displayed every instance you saw him in passing. 

How was he able to live like a normal human and yet still very much be a potentially dangerous yokai? Was that possible?

You sensed no killing intent, no indication of malice or the like. Why? When you’ve been constantly told that ayakashi were the enemy.

“I see...” 

He looks down at you, noticing the troubled look in your expression, quirking a small smile in response, “Surprised? The onmyoji like to spread that us yokai are monsters and only live to wreak terror among humans. Some of us had once been humans before, you know?”

Chuckling at your questioning look, he shakes his head, “I was a born yokai, although I know a few who have had to suffer and became apparitions like us.”

“I cannot speak for the ones who do prey on humans and seek to harm them, but we too only mean to exist peacefully. Just like humans, we work and eat and have our own families. I go to school with you, do I not?”

He doesn’t wait for a reply, releasing you from his hold as the snake lowers to the school courtyard. Once landed, or at least hovering just above the ground, he slips off first before offering you a hand. 

You can’t place a finger on the feeling; you’re not quite sure why you feel slightly disappointed to end your time with the kitsune so soon. 

“Are you okay from here, or should I see you home?” Kita asks after you bow in thanks. 

“I can handle myself, thank you very much!” You glare at him weakly with an adorable pout to pair with.

He raises a brow, “It wouldn’t be very gentleman-like if I were to allow you to walk home alone...”

Flushing, you turn away with a rushed good bye, muttering about how it’d be a problem if your clan sensed him accompanying you home. 

Watching as you leave school grounds, his lips quirk slightly before patting the snake yokai and hopping back on to head back to the restaurant.

You were still wearing his jacket. 

.

“Good work today,” Shuji says when you meet him at the foyer. 

It was later than usual, you didn’t anticipate just how long you had stayed in the yokai district with Kita, nor how long your scenic flight took. Kou must’ve been asleep by now, given it was still a school night. 

“I’m back,” You reply with a tight lipped smile. A part of you felt guilty. Kita was a yokai, a being you were taught to treat with no mercy, but you let him run free. It was true, his fear was immense, probably enough to easily overpower you, but it didn’t change the fact that he still treated you kindly. It was as if he wasn’t capable of snapping your neck with just a flick of his wrist, as if you weren’t able to exorcise him. He was kind and patient, and wanted to show you that just like him - yokai can be civil and walk alongside humans. His last statement stuck with you: just like humans, we work and eat and have our own families. Were you all just indiscriminately killing possibly innocent ayakashi who had their own families to go home too?

That was just not how your family saw it. Shuji despised them, just like your father, just like the rest of the clan. They would laugh and punish you for such radical thinking. 

“You reek of blood,” His nose scrunches when you pass by to enter the house. His eyes focus on the particular garment you’re wearing, one he’s never seen you wear before. 

“I had another little scuffle,” You reply, scratching your cheek meekly with your pointer, “A huge one from the city I presume.”

He doesn’t question it, but you can most definitely see the imaginary cogs turning in his brain. You had almost forgotten to give back Kita’s jacket, and he must’ve sensed the remains of the fox’s aura lingering on the material. 

Returning to your room before he can ask about it, you’re not sure what to make of it. Pulling the jacket tighter around you, you feel almost shameless as you sniff the remains of Kita’s scent on the material. It smells like the early morning dew that clings to the blades of grass, and a hint of something citrus like disinfectant. 

It’s soothing.

Come the next morning, Kita’s only half expecting it when you rush into his class during break, calling out his name. Gaining the watchful eyes of his lingering classmates when you sit in the seat in front of him, his teammate occupying the one beside him, Omimi, casts a wary glance your way as other students whisper in question of your identity. 

What was a second year just randomly waltzing up to the captain of their volleyball club doing? Not only that, he watches with wide eyes when you present a paper bag with Kita’s washed jacket. 

“Do you need somethin’?” the silver-haired boy asks after putting away the paper bag with a grateful nod, unwrapping his bento that his grandmother had lovingly made that morning. 

“I decided to keep an eye on you,” You declare with a confident smile, one that his teammate looks to him with a confused glance. 

“What for?” He beckons you to continue, saying thanks for the meal before digging in. 

“I’m just making sure you don’t try to eat anyone.”

Omimi nearly chokes on his spit. 

“Shinsuke, she...”

The boy simply nods at the implication but doesn’t say anything else. 

You make it a habit to eat lunch with the two as much as you can, with the premise that you were making sure he wouldn’t do anything heinous. 

Perhaps you were starting to look forward to lunch with Kita. He too had also began expecting you to come running into the classroom with your own bento clutched in your arms.

You had slowly become a norm in his daily life and he wasn’t complaining.

He didn’t speak much, but he listened to you prattle about school and your friends being suspicious of your sudden absence at lunch break. He gave input here and there, sometimes throwing in a teasing comment that catches you off guard every time. It even surprises Omimi to see you two getting along, especially when the captain had explained the situation to him after the first time you had barged into the classroom. 

It had to be impossible to have a yokai and an onmyoji getting along like so, even if you did threaten to exorcise him when he teased you a little too far. There were only a few figures in history who held friendly relations with ayakashi in the past. The hatred between the two groups were still much more prevalent despite that.

Could it be, he thought as Kita chuckles at your flustered expression, there was something more to this than friendly banter and such?

It was only inevitable that the rest of the team would catch wind of this... friendship. Not that Osamu and Atsumu shut up about the whole ordeal at practice after Kita had brought you to the restaurant the first time. They teased relentlessly him about bringing a girl, a human girl, into the yokai district, nearly going into details of healing your wounds until he shut them up with a scathing look. 

“Why do you still put up with her when she could possibly exorcise you, or all of us even?” Aran asks as they gather their things, at the end of practice, in the clubroom. 

The captain pauses what he’s doing to appraise his friend’s troubled frown. 

“She won’t. She’s strong but she has a good heart.”

He ducks his head to continue packing his things, but the blush that rises on the skin of his cheeks and the tips of his ears are evident to the other. It’s quite endearing to the team to see their captain appear so smitten. To an onmyoji descendant nonetheless. 

Leaving the clubroom, he greets you outside the gates, as if expecting you to be waiting for him. You always whistle nervously, playing off that you didn’t want him preying on any straggler students still left at school.

“Darn, you got me (L/n)-san, should I just eat you up instead for foiling my plans?”

He enjoys the fluster that always crosses your expression, stammering out as his team watches in mild surprise at the interaction. 

When you do wait for him, he takes it upon himself to walk you home. In spite of your worries of alerting your family, he pushes the limit and usually drops you off a block before, watching as you disappear around the corner before he heads home or to the district. 

“You like her?” Akagi asks during break of their practice, nursing his water bottle while dabbing a towel at the sweat dripping from his forehead. The libero glances at his captain’s expression, not at all expecting the suppressed smile that threatens to break across his face. 

“She’s... special,” Kita affirms. 

“Special, as in a crush?” Atsumu cuts in with a wiggle of his eyebrows, “Please Kita-san, Suna’s been simpin’ over the girl in his class for the longest time, ya can’t fool us by callin’ her something as vague as special.” 

The mentioned middle blocker chucks his towel at the setter in response, much to the amusement of the rest of the team.

“I’m... not quite sure,” He admits, although he couldn’t ignore the way he felt at ease being around you. The days you didn’t walk home with him or eat lunch with him and Omimi, they felt empty or he felt concerned even for your absence. When you smiled or laughed at something or grew shy at his teasing, he felt his chest swell and flutter. He wanted to see more, he wanted to see every kind of expression you had to offer. Your ups and downs, absolute mirth making your eyes appear warm as they crinkle with delight, the determination burning in your eyes when you had faced the Nokazu, the doe eyed and flustered gawking when he pushes his luck and touches you in some chaste way. He wanted more. Unlike himself, you were able to express emotions so explicitly, it amazed him.

Did this mean he liked her? Well, of course he liked her, otherwise he wouldn’t enjoy her company the way he did. 

Were they referring to his feelings as romantic? Was that what this was? 

Did you feel the same way he did? Could he read the small glances exchanged between you both, the cute little bashful expressions, the pain in his chest, all of these small instances as something akin to being romantically infatuated with you, and you to him in return?

“Who was that?”

You stiffen when you enter your home after another walk home with Kita. He’d invited you to watch one of their practice matches before accompanying you home, despite your usual banter about his plotting to kill you or his inability to allow you to walk home alone.

Shuji stands, leaning in the doorway like usual, his arms crossed over his chest. Narrowed eyes watch as you swat your hand in dismissal, timidly calling the boy your friend that lives on the way home. 

You don’t think much of it, hoping that your elder brother won’t try to question Kita’s identity any further. You almost forget about it even, lost in the beauty of the fox’s glimmering coral glow, the calming bubble of a chuckle that rises from his throat, that serene smile that could sate any fears you had. Not sure when it had started, you always feel like you’d swallowed a whole cage of butterflies. In your chest, your heart seems to flip and twist as your face grows hotter. Walking home, side by side, almost always entails your hands brushing against one another, causing you both to look away timidly. 

Perhaps you couldn’t keep deluding yourself into thinking you were hanging around him (and his team after finding out about their true identities, when Atsumu cornered you after class one day) just to keep an eye on his actions. When did you start to enjoy being around him and experiencing more than his outward bluntness and blank gazes? Smiles seemed to grace his lips more often than not when he was with you, surprising much of his team when he spotted you in the second floor viewing balcony. You adored each and every one of his smiles, even if they were all subtle and almost unnoticeable. Or possibly the storm of emotions that raged in his eyes. If not for his usually monotonous tone or blank expression, you always adored the way his eyes were the window into his emotions. They crinkled similarly when happy, burned with a flash of warning gold when irritated or upset, and even grew murky when tired and having a bad day. Although the last one was rare, you enjoyed this side of Kita Shinsuke that no one knew of. 

No one could experience him the way you did when he took you on more strolls on the snake yokai, soaring the skies or travelling to the coast of Hiyoriyama or the Hattan falls where you both watched the moonlight shine brilliantly over the reflective surface of the water.

When you both stop at the usual spot, a block away from the estate, he doesn’t say anything at first. Pursing his lips before catching your curious gaze.

“Listen, (L/n)-san,” He starts, but his eyes focus behind you and his voice cuts off to your confusion.

Turning around, your chest tightens in dread to see your older brother standing there. He glares coldly at the boy in front of you, hatred and disgust almost rolling off of him in palpable waves. 

“Onii-san...”

“Shut up and step away from him, he’s been deceiving you this whole time,” Shuji snaps, eyes never leaving Kita’s, “Get away from him, his fear is way too powerful for you (F/n).”

“Your brother?” the fox mutters to you in questioning. 

You nod in trepidation, gulping as your brother demands you step away again. 

“Onii-san, he’s not dangerous I swear!”

“He’s lying to you!” He snarls this time, “He’s a deceitful fox!” 

“I know that!” You stammer, but still take steps to approach him in hopes of calming him down, “Please, he’s not like that, he saved me a while back!”

“Bullshit, yokai are evil, I thought you knew that by now,” He grits, fury burning in his eyes as he shoves you to the side and out of his way. You yelp as you nearly lose balance and stumble to catch yourself. “If you knew this whole time and said nothing, you’re a fucking disgrace,” the elder says with a deep frown at your choices, words cutting through you like glass, “Letting this monster continue to live and run around, neglecting your duties.”

Your eyes widen as he summons his shikigami, the glowing apparitions of twin wolves made up of dark blue aura. 

“No!” You shout as Kita’s tails and ears sprout from their respective places, eyes glowing that fiery hue as palm opens upward, igniting a volleyball-sized foxfire. The flame flickers a marine hue as he brings his arm back, towards his chest, and shoots the flame to the ground in front of the wolves. They, however, jump through the blaze and continue their haste towards him without waver. 

Launching multiple palm-sized parchments, they flatten and create a barrier in front of Kita as the shikigami converge on him, slamming into the shield with sparks flying from the impact. 

“Stop being stupid (F/n)!” Shuji growls, stomping over and grabbing you roughly by the collar.

You glare back at him, gripping his hand twisting into your uniform top. 

“I’m not! I like him a lot, and I won’t allow you to hurt him!”

“Stop with this bull crap!” Shuji roars, beyond irritated by your sudden confession. 

Kita’s eyes flare wildly at your ousted feelings, focusing on the desperation in your eyes as your brother throws you down once again. You weren’t in any danger like before, but it didn’t sit well with him for you to be treated like that. 

In a flash, he picks you up with ease, slipping his arms under your back and knees. Stepping firmly down, he spins over his shoulder to send Shuji flying backwards with a back kick. The latter is quick to protect himself with a single talisman, although not able to stop himself from being pushed backwards. 

“Get away from her,” The elder grits through clenched teeth. 

Kita swiftly dodges an attack of his wolves, lunging to the side to set you down gently. You reach towards him worriedly, but he shakes his head.

“Kita-san...”

“Don’t worry, just sit tight here, okay?” He reassures with a good natured smile, brushing the backs of his fingers across your cheek affectionately. The action is sudden, making your stomach erupt into a fit of butterflies, as his eyes flash gold before he turns around to face the older male.

“Why don’t we calm down, there was no reason for you to berate and hurt your sister like that,” the kitsune says levely as he stands across from the elder, both standing tensely in case the other attacked suddenly. His eyes, however, contrast the patience in his voice and burn brightly intune with his inner emotions.

“Cut the crap, I can’t believe you blinded her into thinking that you monsters could be anything but evil,” Shuji snaps, “I’ll have your head and take the liberty of exorcising garbage like you myself!”

Kita dodges, shifting on his feet easily and slipping away from narrowly getting swiped by the shikigami. The wolf-like apparitions growl and snap at him viciously, unwavering in their attacks. Without his sword, he was left with his extended claws, diving into a roll before slashing at one and causing it to disappear in a cloud of smoke. 

His jaw clenches as Shuji appears through the smoke screen, a short blade in his right hand. Brandishing the blade, the onmyoji attempts a slash downward but the fox catches the blade. The sharp end bites into his palm, blood dripping down his forearm. 

“Kita-san!” You call out, but he doesn’t make any sign of acknowledgement.

Stepping forward into your brother, he drives his elbow upward, stopping before Shuji’s own, then retracting his arm and instead driving it into the other’s solar plexus. The elder’s mouth widens, gasping as oxygen forces its way out of his lungs all at once. 

He nearly folds, sucking in a sharp breath but Kita is relentless. Pressing his palm into Ryuji’s neck briefly, he then drags his hand down and twisted ihs claws into the material of his overshirt. 

Easily, the fox subdues the other. With Shuji on the ground, further winded from being slammed into the pavement that had caused a small crater from the impact, he glares up at Kita kneeling above him. Keeping an elbow settled over his sternum, he holds up his hand teeming with tendrils of his foxfire. 

“Do it, kill me now,” Ryuji wheezes under the slight pressure on his chest, “I’m a disgrace to the clan if you allow me to continue to live.’

“What a shame then, I don’t crave killing like you think we monsters do,” Kita says as he retracts his arm and stands above him ,”I think you’re deeply mistaken by my intentions, or the intentions of many other yokai that don’t feed on humans.”

“I care about (L/n)-san,” He declares, ears tinging pink at his boldness. Even he, the most blunt person on his team, wouldn’t have expected this kind of confession to come out of him, “I could never harm her, nor would I want to when she’s someone important to me.”

“That’s hard to believe,” Shuji clicks his tongue, although hesitantly accepting the hand held out to him to help him stand. 

“Please believe him!” You interject (although blushing at Kita’s own confession), helping to hold your brother up as he calms his breathing, “He saved me from being eaten by the Akujo Nokaze and showed me that not all yokai are evil as Father says they are. Please believe him!”

“You know Father won’t be happy about this,” Shuji says after relenting in his hardened glare. Placing a gentle hand over your head, an action he’s never done before, you gaze up at him as his eyes look back at you with a certain sense of adoration. 

“I’ll take responsibility,” You assure him firmly, “I’ll show him that yokai can coexist with us peacefully, save for the ones that we should exorcise of course.”

You help Ryuji back to the household before you immediately return to Kita waiting outside for you. He smiles warmly as you jump him with a hug around his middle. A surprising development, given you both were too shy to brush hands when walking together.

“I’m so sorry you had to go through that!”

“Not at all, I apologize as well if I went too far...”

You shake your head vigorously, “No! In fact, it’s amazing how much control you have! You could’ve broken his arm or something, but you really taught him a lesson and I’m grateful!” 

“I don’t think showing my strength will convince your brother that I’m harmless...” Kita chuckles softly as you two part from your brief hug. You quickly grow conscious of your lack of distance and step away, looking down at your feet shyly. 

He clears his throat to catch your attention, looking you straight in the eyes this time, with those gorgeous coral irises, “If I may ask... did you mean what you said earlier? That you like me?”

Your face flushes at the memory. It was the spur of the moment, but you’d blurted it out in an effort to make your brother stand down. 

“If I said I meant it...”

“Mm I suppose the feeling is mutual then,” he whispers under his breath, but loud and clear to your burning ears as he reaches over to brush his fingertips over your cheek like before. There was something predatory about his gaze, his ears still perked above his head and his tail wagging in contentment, it felt like he could eat you whole right then and there. Eyes gleaming down at you, you felt like a rabbit caught underneath the paw of a fox. 

“Wha... you don’t mean...!”

“Or should I keep this one a secret too?” He teases, although his voice is low and almost daring you run away or defy him.

You shake your head vigorously as he chuckles. Letting his hand fall, his fingers tangle with yours, watching greedily at the bashful way you stare down at your linked hands before gazing up at him in confusion.

“Have time? Let’s go on a stroll then, shall we?”

How sly of you Kita Shinsuke, you think as you smile and let him whisk you away.

[randomrosewrites]

H. A. W. K. S.

“There’s a certain kind of pain that follows denying your pleasures in life.”

A brief abstract piece on Hawks as a character. 

Words: 2179

Rating: Mature 

Read it on ao3

// Possible manga spoilers. No events in the manga are mentioned outright, but some things and aspects of Hawk’s past are alluded to. 

Warnings: Blood + killing mention. 

Enjoy. 

                                                     H. A. W. K. S.

                                                    Act 1: Heights.

It’s raining tonight. 

He’s always liked the rain. Maybe it made sense, with his quirk and all, but something about water streaming from the heavens soothed him. 

He’s crouched on an arm of a crane, at the top right where the hook hangs 50 meters below him. His wings are hunched up, rain cascading down them like they’re made of glass, his coat and hair are lightly misted with a thin layer of water. Cupped between his gloved hands is a room-temperature can of instant coffee. He takes sips from it whenever he remembers to.

It’s a quiet night on patrol. The city has, graciously, decided it was going to be quiet for the night. He gazes out over the world, city lights flaring against the plastic of his visor. He pushes it up onto his hair. Rubs his eyes. Blinks. Drinks some coffee. 

Nights like these were what he - in theory - enjoyed. Quiet. Serene. No one around to disturb or ask him anything. Perched at the top of the world, weightless and free.

But every time those graveyard shifts rolled around, without fail, an extreme sense of disappointment settled in.  

He knows he should be happy. He should be savoring the precious moments of peace whenever he could, as they were such a rarity. But he couldn’t help but feel a sense of emptiness, a hole where he was expecting joy to fill it. Instead of feeling free, he just felt tethered to the ground, an invisible chain wrapped around his ankle. 

He stares up in the air, being met with pitch blackness. He can’t tell the difference between cloud and sky. 

Being alone meant there was...nothing. Nothing to do. No one to talk to. Nothing he had to be. He didn’t have to be anything - no one but himself.

Himself… who even is that person, if they even exist? The line between his hero persona and who he truly is blurs with every passing day that now he thinks - fears - there’s no difference. It’s just one blur, like the clouds in the night sky. 

After the curtains shut (if they ever shut at all…) and he takes his final bow as Hawks, who is he?

He gazes out over the city, burying the multitude of thoughts he doesn’t have answers for far away from his mind.

                                                    Act 2: Apathy.

He never wanted to be in the top ten. But as most things in his life, fate had a different plan for him. 

He doesn’t understand why he’s so popular. Ok, well, that’s a lie, he does partly. But he doesn’t understand what makes him good enough for the top of the pyramid. He’s not like All-might or Endeavor, who became famous for their pure strength. His wings are powerful, sure, but not that powerful. 

If he had to take a guess, he’d bet the appearance of his feathered appendages were a big contributor to his fame. That and a mix between his speech and his looks (don’t even ASK him what his fans see in him, he has no idea. ) But in the end, the why isn’t important, but how he handles that fame. 

He smiles politely at the people crowded around him. Sign this for him. Nod at that person. Take a photo with her. Thank this person. Laugh at this one’s joke. Let the kids tug on his wings.  It’s all standard stuff he’s been trained to know how to do. Simple. 

The hardest part is figuring out what people want. How much effort to invest in the conversations, how much he has to smile to make them satisfied, but not enough for them to get too confident. People and their emotions are easy things to figure out. It’s a formula.  A pattern. Once you know what they like, it’s just a matter of providing that euphoria again and again. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he spots a person who wriggles through the crowd, coming close to him. They appear nervous, maybe hopeful, wringing their hands out in front of them. 

“Excuse me?” They ask. 

Hawks finishes up signing something for a kid and turns to them.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“I…” As they pause, Hawk’s eyes trail lower. A red feathered charm hangs from a metal chain around their neck, resembling the feathers on his back. 

He recognizes it. It’s one of his merch products from the latest jewelry line that came out. He showed it off in a recent photo shoot he did. The necklaces have been very popular, from what he’s heard. 

The fan clears their throat and finds their voice. “I just wanted to say thank you for all that you do. I love you so much and I think you’re amazing.”

A confession? He feels like laughing. Wow. It’s not the first time he’s had one of those, and it certainly won’t be the last. 

He smiles good-naturedly at them. “Thanks! I’m grateful for all the support my fans give me.” 

They flush, just happy to be able to talk to him. He wishes he could feel bad. Or feel anything for all these people fawning over him.

But he doesn’t. He feels nothing.

You don’t love me, he thinks, you love the idea of me.

                                                      Act 3: Wings.

“What a great quirk you have! I bet you’ll be able to become a super-strong hero with it!”

“You’re so lucky to have a powerful quirk!”

“I’m so jealous of you!”

“Wow...look at them!”

...things like that were what people told him all the time as a kid. How lucky he was, how blessed he was, blah blah blah.

He’s lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling of his apartment. He’s shooed most of the feathers out of his wings, leaving just little whisps on his back. It’s still a bit uncomfortable and feels a tad annoying when they press against the sheets of his bed, but he doesn’t mind. Sometimes that ache is good. 

The rest of his feathers flit about the room. Some stick to the walls or ceilings, others hover around, suspended in midair. A few zoom around, disturbing the others, but most just kinda lay around. 

Mighty wings. That’s the name they gave his quirk. A more accurate term would be mighty feathers, but it’s not like he cares about the technicalities.  

He rubs a dead one between his fingers. The barbs are frayed and the edges are bunched together. 

It was always his quirk that got him attention. It was always the wings that people noticed and remembered - not the man who controlled them. Without them, would anyone even recognize him? Or was he just a pretty face that went along with them? 

He glares at the feather in hand, crushing it carelessly between his fingers. The crack of the stem as it breaks echoes through the room. 

So yes, what a great quirk he was born with! It was so good, they decided his life for him.

                                                      Act 4: Kill.

His wings always felt heavier when wet. Sadly, he found out it didn’t need to always be because of water. Blood also weighed them down. 

It was his first time in a mock battle. Back when he was...7...8? Something like that. 

Well, anyway, he’d been up against an opponent that was a lot stronger than he was in terms of physical strength. It wasn’t an important fight, it was just a casual sparing match. But they’d both fought like their lives were at stake. At the time, his feathers weren’t as strong or large as they are now, so he didn’t have much to work with. 

During some point in the fight, though, he remembers getting a nice cut on his opponent. Right along the arm on the meaty part of the tricep. The feather jerked through the skin, cutting a jagged, wobbly line into the muscle. 

When he felt it, he shivered.

Afterwards, he cleaned himself up in the bathroom, washing away his own blood from the cuts and scrapes he gained. When it came time to do his feathers, he’d thrown away the bloodied one, taking an hour to carefully preen and scrub the rest of his dirtied feathers. 

Back then, it felt easy to get the blood off of him.

Now, things are much different. 

How long do you have to wash your hands before the blood goes away entirely? He ponders to himself one night. Does it really ever go away? Or does some of it stay behind permanently in microscopic percentages?

He stands over his sink, shoulders hunched, head hanging. The faucet is on, sending a gush of water down the sink. Wasteful, he chastises himself. 

Blood trickles from his nose in slow, steady drops, twirling down the drain. He’d gotten careless, a bit too sloppy, and the consequence had been him landing face-first into the ground. It wasn’t broken, thankfully, it just hurt like hell. 

He stares at his hands, gripping the edges of the sink. They’re spotless - not a drop of blood or a spec of dirt on them. He’d worn gloves after all. It made cleanup easier. 

The wings on his back twitch. They’re red. Even though he can tell when there’s blood on them (it’s always just a bit darker) who knows for certain if they’re entirely clean? Maybe the blood just stains them, slowly changing the colour of them, layer by layer. 

He stands there for a minute, before pumping a few squirts of soap into his hands, and viciously scrubbing them together. 

No guilt. Just the need to be clean. Though he knows that it’s pointless to think he’ll ever be it.

                                                    Act 5: Sorrow. 

There’s a certain kind of pain that follows denying your pleasures in life. It’s not a sharp pain but a slow scrape, like someone is tearing your heart apart tissue by tissue, leaving behind nothing but a cold pit. It creeps up on you, seeping into your body, sucking the life out of you.

Most people hated Mondays. They're the first day of the business week, always the hardest to come back from after celebrating the weekend. For Hawks, it’s always the opposite. Fridays are the hardest for him.

All around him, he sees people living their lives. Excited students going for karaoke, exhausted business owners going for a relaxing night in, clusters of friend groups going out to eat at a restaurant.

Everyone is having fun, they’re existing, relishing in the pleasures of life.

But for Hawks, those weren’t things he could take part in. He’s always busy, tied up with one thing or another that the higher ups needed to be done. An endless, to-do-list that only lengthens the faster he tries to go. 

Sometimes he wants to scream. Or cry. Or slam his fists into the ground. Rip his throat raw until he can't speak. He felt the need to do something to ground himself, something to treasure himself that he was alive. Because half of the time, he feels like he’s not really living. 

Every day is the same. Different day, sure, and different tasks, but the same routine. Like a loop. He gets up, works, goes to bed exhausted, wakes up exhausted, and repeat.

Over and over and over. 

And what is the point of it all? He’s only...what, twenty-two? And yet, he feels like he’s lived enough for a lifetime and not long enough simultaneously. 

He wants to go out and see the world. He wants to curl back up in bed and sleep for a solid three months. How can two oxymorons both be true? 

He tears his gaze away from the window and the people walking in the streets of Tokyo, shutting the blinds and taking a seat at his desk. 

Even on his darkest days, even when he feels like he can’t handle being himself for another second, he always calms down. Without fail, he always picks himself back up, piece by broken piece, and looks forward to the future. 

It’s the only thing he can do. 

                                                      H. A. W. K. S.

He’s barreling forward in life, flying faster than his wings can take him. 

One of these days, he’s going to trip and fall. Maybe he’ll slip further than he can catch his mistakes, or maybe he’ll reach his nonexistent limit and throw in the towel, but inevitably, one of these days he’s going to come down.

“Hawks.” A woman in a plain black suit and dark sunglasses says to him. “The meeting is starting now. Are you fully prepared?”  

When that does happen, there’s no doubt it’ll be painful and ugly and hurt like all hell. He’ll fall through the sky, crashing and burning, hurtling towards the ground where he’ll collapse in a trembling, pathetic mess. 

But until that point, he’ll keep flying on. Because it’s the only thing he knows how to do. 

He smiles, ready to compromise himself over and over again.

“Yup.” 

Hawks. A man who’s too fast for his own good. 

[rubidusmagnet]

Dirty Things Kept Secret 18+ KidLaw-> LawKid  (1/2) ch

Just Bi guys being Bi, nothing to see here unless you want too.... anyways, this idea stems from the recent thread with @ikkaku-of-heart (It’s Thanks to you this came out) So If you read through that, you’ll get to see what Kid does to Law’s tats among other things in as great a detail I could manage. Naughty stuff under the cut If it actually works this time around.

"The fuck is this crap?" Eustass Kid spit his mouthful of booze all over the bar counter he sat at, angrily swinging the mug in the air to indicate openly to the bartender his unsatisfaction of the quality or rather lack of, their alcohol flavoring. Clearly scared by the Redheads rant, the scared witless young man hurried over with a rag to clean the mess up before skittering back to other customers who gave Kid a wide berth in stool room. 'Screw them for pissing their pants over me, If they can't even handle the likes of me, they'll never hope to handle worse customers.' As if the gods above heard his angry mutterings of cowardly patrons, a certain smooth baritone reached his ears from near the entrance of the tavern. "Oi Eustass-ya I see your ugly mug still repels everyone around you."

lifting his gaze so that he can meet Trafalgars golden one, Kid grinned, "Its's bout time your ass showed up, I almost thought you dropped dead or something." merely amused at the jab to his tardiness, law explained "It couldn't bet helped, It was hard enough being able to get away from my crew so that we could rendezvous here."

It really couldn't, just recently because both crews have been meeting each other frequently on islands leading up to the end of paradise, both captains had declared the beginning of their secret trysts in order to let off any steam or frustration they might have from being on the seas for a while. They had agreed that the details of these meetings would not be revealed even though Kid at least wanted to be able to brag about how he banged the Heart Pirates captain it was considered a moot point and so he reluctantly dropped the topic in favor of maintaining a sexually beneficial relationship.

Both scarlet and gold eyes flashed in knowing of the fun that was about to begin. "So shall we take this 'discussion' elsewhere Eustass-ya?"

"Took the words right out of my mouth, but you're still as mannerless as always bastard."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Both men hardly entered the rented hotel room before Kid swiftly turned to harshly shove Laws back up against the door, being sure to use his other hand to lock the door behind him so that they wouldn't potentially have any interruptions. And just as harsh as the shove, Kid ducked down to crash their lips together aggressively. dark lipstick meshing with smooth tan lips and a rough rub of a scratchy goatee. Both tongues met in the middle in a battle for dominance, Kid knew he had the better physical strength so he continued to tease Trafalgar with the idea of winning by allowing his tongue to slip somewhat into his own mouth before turning the tide and shoving his back into the others mouth.

Reluctantly pulling away from the other, Kid moved further into the room, paying very little attention to the bland furniture the room had to offer when some of it was likely to get broken anyway. 'That poor bed won't know what hit it.' He was abruptly interrupted in his thoughts by hands grabbing him around the waist to spin him around and abruptly push him onto his back on the bed.

Looking up in barely hidden surprise, He saw a rather annoyingly smug Law standing at the foot of the bed with his yellow and black hoodie and tank top already stripped off to reveal a plethora of tribal patterned tattoos. And even though they've done this old song and dance a few times already, he still couldn't help but admire the ink over tanned skin, paving a picture over a skin canvas.

As always, Law had a snarky remark in response, "Keep staring at me like that Eustass-ya and I might think you have feelings for me." Sneering in disbelief, Kid jeered back exactly how he thought about such a blasphemous accusation. "In your dreams Trafalgar, all this talk makes me think the same of you, you know the only thing ya got going for ya is that tight ass of yours."

"Yeah Yeah, if you're done talking, I think there is much better uses for that loud mouth of yours." Getting, back up off the bed, Kid reversed the situation by promptly tossing Law onto the bed with an 'oomph!' "Like hell I'm gonna do anything from down there while you get to stand, I know what your game is, you were hoping I suck ya off or even let ya fuck my throat you bastard! just because I have an oral fixation doesn't mean you get to abuse it!"

Turning so that Kid could move to crawl onto the bed over Law he stated with a salacious sneer. "If I'm gonna do that, your gonna just have to take it my way." Having figured out by now that the controlling little shit would protest to that, He made damn sure to use one of his arms to keep him pinned. It was also a way for Kid to show off his superior strength to the other, since these little 'meetings' always held a power struggle.

Both men held large egos that came to blows whenever they met, leading either to a fight where both exasperated crews had to separate them to avoid too much injury. Or in the satisfaction of a good fuck when both gave their all in a different form of battle.

Law responded with a huff after finally forfeiting the struggle for now at least. "You've always been such a brute Eustass-ya and you fuck like one too." Kid gave his rival one last wild leer before turning his attention to the tanned skin of the others chest. "And yet you love it dont'cha? being fucked by this wild beast." Whatever smart-assed comment the surgeon of death was about to make was caught in his throat in a surprised cry when Eustass dragged his attentive mouth over a dusky nipple to give it a sharp nip, leaving the bud to instantly harden at the attention laved on it.

As long as Kid would prefer it, he hopes to keep that smart mouth of his either shut or too busy spouting pleasured sounds to do anything, but he can't have his way can he? As he he gave the other nipple the same attention, he felt a hand palm the back of his head, threading fingers through the flaming locks before abruptly tightening their hold to give a sharp tug on them. The reaction was almost instant as the sensation travelled down Kid's spine, leaving goosebumps in it's wake.

"Fuck off Trafalgar, you know how sensitive my scalp is!" not that he was really gonna complain because after all, such a sensation was actually extremely pleasurable to him but like hell he would ever admit it out loud to one of his fellow rivals and super rookie. The only response he got was a unapologetic smirk from a certain surgeon, an all too knowing glint reflecting off of those golden irises.

To get back at him, Kid left a bite hard enough to draw some blood and to leave a nice mark over the stupidly grinning jolly roger in the middle of the large heart tattoo. an almost unbecoming yelp tore out of the others mouth, leaving a victorious grin to decorate Kid's face. "What the hell! are you some kind of fucking vampire or what?" after recovering from the pain the smug bastard had to add. "Well now that I think of it you do pull off the image quite well considering how pale you are."

Unfortunately for Kid, he walked right into that one by also laving at the spot, cleaning up the blood he spilled. He wasn't someone who enjoyed the taste of blood especially from himself, he just didn't want blood to get on the bed sheets because then questions would really be raised by the hotel staff. "Just shut up and let me do my thing, unless you want me to bite your dick off when I get to it?" hearing no response from the other, Kid continued on his path all the way down to the surgeons navel, where a short thin trail of dark hairs lead down to the intended prize currently pushing an impressive tent in spotted jeans.

Undoing the others belt buckle and absentmindedly unzipping the fly, Kid spent a brief time nosing the others smooth tan skin, feeling little twitches from the muscles beneath at the stimulation. Finally exposing the dark briefs the other was wearing, Kid roughly palmed it in his left hand while moving to tug those pesky jeans off with his right. The smart ass finally moved to help by lifting his hips to help it along while also groaning at the friction increase he got from doing so.

Once it got down to his knees, kid swiftly and roughly yanked the pants off the other to a cry of "Hey!' before moving in for the kill. He lowered himself down, using both arms to spread Law's legs apart for better access he ducked down to nuzzle the straining bulge at the impatient mutterings of man ahead of him. Just as he felt another hand move to grab his head and press his face down, Kid swatted the offending appendage away in annoyance. "Keep ya paws off until I get to the goods damnit!"

With that said, Kid finally made to roughly remove Law's briefs in a manner which garnered yet another fit of whining from the other. "Watch how you handle that you damned brute! you almost tore them!" "Oh those aren't what you should be worried about me tearing Trafalgar." Instead of emphasizing what he meant to the other mans inquiry. He instead chose to begin what he was planning to do, which was making this smug bastard come apart from his mouth alone, with little help from his hands.

He gave teasing little kitten licks to the head of Law's cock, lapping up the little excess of precum that was leaking out of the tip. Having enough with teasing since he wasn't as nearly as much of a bastard as Law in that department, Kid took the whole head in his mouth giving a generously hard suck which only resulted in said bastard getting grabby again and tugging harshly on crimson locks, which without even asking, pulled the elastic of his goggles off to toss god knows where in order to push untamed bangs back in a fistful.

In response, Kid snarled around the mouthful of cock, threatening with a graze of sharp canines before pulling away to give a sharp response. "You watch where you throw those you bastard! They are-" "Yes I know already Eustass-ya, they're some sort of family treasure to you but by now you should know how little I care about that with you, now if you don't mind why don't you get back to sucking me off like a good boy hm?

Growling animalistically at the others half-lidded arrogant face, but unwilling to just drop the sexual tension they had going. Kid went back to where he was but not before declaring darkly to the other male. "If I see so much as a CRACKin those lenses I'll make you pay asshat." "Yeah yeah you say that now but- Oh fuck~."

Whatever comment Law was about to make was abruptly cut off as Kid dove to immediately take half of his length in one go, which was no easy feat considering the size, but Kid always considered himself quite orally talented which was exactly why the other chose to take advantage of such skills for his own use whenever possible.

Considering how his anger from the treatment of his goggles had yet to abate, Kid briefly considered reaching up with one hand to grasp Trafalgar's balls before crushing them to bits in a fist. He immediately crossed such a suicidal idea from his mind because as much as he would enjoy the look of sheer agony from having his most precious jewels crushed, he knew all he had to do was reach for his Nodachi leant against the night stand and decapitate him, most likely without the use of his powers.

Instead, since such a thought was so vivid, Kid did in fact reach with his right arm to cup the others balls, but gently, and with a little fondling mixed in with his fingers.  Hearing another pleased sigh escape the others lips at the action, Kid briefly looked up to only see Law's goatee covered chin with his head thrown back against the arm he was now laying his head on. taking the chance, he nervously eyed the Nodachi that ruined his brief brutal desire with a comical drop of sweat dripping down his forehead.

Refocusing himself on the task at hand. Kid slowly continued his downwards ascent until finally, his nose reached the patch of dark pubic curls at the base of Law's shaft. Having recovered from the earlier surprise deep throat, Law kept a tattooed hand atop red locks, putting a little pressure in order to ensure the other kept his head in place like that. He purred at the lewd picture Kid made, fiery eyes looking up at him in defiance despite having a throbbing cock lodged as deeply as it could go down his throat. "Who would've though the mighty Eustass 'Captain' Kid to be such a cockslut?"

To put emphasis on the meaning, Law allowed Kid to raise his head slightly before abruptly thrusting upwards, causing the man to choke suddenly, which Law enjoyed the sudden tightening around his cock very much. Pressing against a non-too resisting hand in order to take deep gulps of air, Kid looked absolutely wrecked already with the saliva mixed in precum dripping from his smeared lips and chin. "That was a dirty move shithead." The surgeon gave a calm lazy response in contradiction to Kids panting. "A dirty move which you should be used to by now Eustass-ya unless you mean to tell me you can't handle it?"

With the clear challenge given, Kid's pride would not allow the other the smug satisfaction in assuming things of him, and any challenge given was to be completed ten fold!

With new determination alighting his expression, Kid dove back down to suck with fervor, occasionally bobbing his head deeply to briefly touch the base before starting the whole process again, limiting his hands to either hold down tanned hips more firmly or to fondle and caress the balls beneath. Law himself was beginning to feel the effects of such efforts it seemed as Kid could feel the other's cock begin to twitch more frequently to hit the roof of his mouth.

It didn't stop however, the flow of filthy words the cocky surgeon threw down at him. "Now that I think of it, hah~ you look much better like this Eustass-ya with a dick shoved down your tight throat, I wonder what would everyone think of you if they knew this side of you, they most certainly would lose their fear for you I'm certain of it."

As much as it angered Kid's dominant side to be demeaned verbally like this, it did absolutely everything to bring an inferno into his painfully tight pants by this point. Absentmindedly, Kid moved a hand not assisting him in pleasuring the other down to unzip his fly in order to yank his own hardon out to stroke away some of the unbearable tension pooling there as Law continued on." I know I prefer you like this, significantly less yapping then before. Maybe I should do this to shut you up whenever you get on my nerves, I won't have to hear any of your ridiculous drivel and I get to release sexual tension all at once."

As Law grew closer to the end, Kid moved both hands to hold the other down, preventing anymore hip movement as he had learned from before. However doing so meant Law had all the control over his head from above which the little shit took advantage of quickly. Placing both palms on either side of Kids face, Law made to slam him down all the way onto his cock as it throbbed wildly now. "Swallow every last drop Eustass-ya."

As this was said, Kid could do nothing but take the load that was being shot down the back of his throat, tempted as he was to keep some of the seed pooling in his mouth in order to spit it back at the bastards face, He knew better than to do something that would likely start a fight when he too needed to take care of his own needs. So once the jets of white fluid finally slowed to a twitching stop, Kid made to pull away as soon as possible in order to swallow down the surprisingly large amount of seed left over. 'So it seems he must be really pent up too then'.

Unfortunately for him, Law wouldn't allow him a moment to get the salty taste out of his mouth completely, taking advantage of the daze he was in in order to roughly pull him up to smash their lips together and gaining dominance for the first time tonight by being able to explore Kids mouth without being pushed out, taking in the taste of his own salty liquid clinging to teeth. Pulling away He had the gall to smirk at Kid. "Should I take this daze to mean I get to top this time around."

Making a recovery in order to spat back "Like hell you will after the stunt you pulled I'll have to punish you for that." Kid roughly manhandled Law's body but not before catching a glimpse of a certain slightly lipstick smeared appendage. "Have fun cleaning that up jerk." A little confused at what he meant, Law looked down there before giving the other a vicious glare.

Which for all intents and purposes of intimidating lesser foes, did absolutely nothing in deterring Kid from fully maneuvering the other onto his hands and knees.

"Now why don't you be a good boy and keep your ass up in the air for me eh?" Kid guffawed when he saw the other look over his shoulder to glare at him once more, this time accompanied by the old middle finger salute. Pulling back to sit on his knees, Kid finally got to undressing himself fully, removing his coat to toss it aside along with his vest and weapons belts too. He took a second to retrieve the necessary lube and condom from a pants pocket before quickly discarding that and his boxers as well.

Moving to kneel behind the other, Kid opened up the cap before pouring a generous amount of lube onto his fingers. using his left hand, he settled over the massive jolly roger adorning his rivals back to balance him self.

Without any verbal warning, Kid roughly shoved a thick finger into the others hole on the first go at it. Hearing a sharp hiss in response to the intrusion, Kid could only smirk as it was his way of getting back at the other for treating him like some disposable street whore earlier. From what he could see, Law had his head bent low, with both hands clenching the sheets like a lifeline, significantly wrinkling the fabric in the process.

And because Kid is not known to be a very kind person especially to certain rivals that get under his skin a lot, Kid shoved yet another slicked finger in after only thrusting the singular digit a few times, deeming the twitching orifice more than ready for another.

Gradually, Kid was rewarded with muffled groans which Kid tsked at, annoyed that Law was trying to hold back on him. To fix this, He used the hand laying over his back to grab a fistful of dark blue locks and yank his head up off the pillow. "It's no good if I can't hear you ya know? someone like you shouldn't be afraid to get a little noisy."

Hackles raised by the taunt, The lanky surgeon immediately hissed back in a dark tone. "Well maybe you should consider the fact that you aren't doing enough to please me Eustass-ya." and yet another challenge was posed by the other, 'I bet the bastards doing this on purpose to maximize his pleasure but damnit all if it isn't working!'

Keeping the internal struggle to himself, but not hiding the dark fiery look taking over his eyes. Kid's physical response was to hammer home three fingers, his typical maximum for partners considering the thickness of his fingers. And THATbrought an immediate and keening loud response from Law, one the other could not hide even if he wanted to. This time it was Kid's turn for some dirty talk of his own.

"Well look at that, it looks like that got you going jackass. As cool and collected as you like to act, seeing you moan unrestrained paints such a pretty picture. I'll have to think of this the next time I jack off."

After a while of hammering the others prostate, Kid finally pulled his fingers free with a lewd 'shlick' sound accompanying the withdrawal. At the same time, Kid finally let go of the others head, deeming it time to get on with the main event sooner rather than later.

Moving so that he hovered over the smaller males back, he took the time to trace the black lines of that damning Tattoo over with his tongue before leaving a nice bite mark over the smiley portion on the tanned skin so that it could be seen in a mirror later.

Lining himself up with the slick entrance. Kid only gave one warning in the form of his own challenge to the other male. "If you can even still move after I'm through with you, Then maybe I'll let you take the reigns Law." said man's eyes widened as that was the first time Kid had chosen to call him by his first name.

He had little time to process that though as without hesitation, Kid took one hard thrust until his hips pressed flush with Laws ass. "You see? If you really didn't like being fucked so much your ass wouldn't be trying to devour my cock like this eh, Trafalgar?" ah, there he goes back to the last name again he knew it wouldn't last.

After sitting still for a little bit due to the force with which Law's walls were clamping down on Kid's dick, He finally began to move starting with slow but heavy thrusts that left a resounding 'Slap' of skin meeting skin each time their hips met.

For a while, all that could be heard aside from that was the rythmic creaking of the bed frame and the low grunts and growls both men gave. That temporary non-verbal silence was broken when Kid swung a hand down to smack one of Law's ass cheeks hard enough to leave a reddening imprint. This resulted in a surprised shout from law who, if looks could kill, Kid would be dead on the floor now.

But once again, Kid was impervious to that stare, knowing that as Law was now, he wouldn't dare do anything unless he wants to give himself a case blue balls. To check just to be certain, Kid reached the same hand down between the others thighs to grasp the leaking hard shaft he found there. Grinning at this Kid couldn't resist a little prodding.

"Look at this, Your eyes are telling me to go fuck myself but I can clearly tell whose the one that really wants to get fucked here. Starting his thrusts up again, this time harder and faster so that the headboard of the bed now began to clang against the wall. Kid also moved to stroke Law in time to his thrusts as now it wouldn't be long until they both hit their highs.

And right on time too, he felt the shaft in his hand give a tell tale twitch in preparation for the second orgasm of the night, while Kid was quickly approaching his first. It didn't mean he was out of it yet, it would just take a short bit until he could hopefully initiate another round knowing that his rival could keep up with his impressive stamina.

The first to come undone was Law, who came with a shout all over the sheets below them, Kid made a mental note to toss those aside when they inevitably continued, because neither really planned to stick around long enough to snuggle over night. The mere thought almost had kid choking back bile coming up his throat. A mutually beneficial relationship such as theirs had no room to grow with prides far too big to be pushed aside.

It took a few more hard thrusts before Kid finally began to come undone as well with a louder groan, Quickly removing himself from the pliant body beneath him, Kid was fast in removing the condom in order to jerk himself off to completion. The result of which was in painting the now thoroughly marked up jolly roger on Law's back in shades of white, black, and reddened tan skin. It made for a beautiful portrait in Kids eyes, it was a shame he had no way of taking a picture for later use.

As his cock began to soften and shrink, Kid made to properly dispose of the used condom in his other hand, aiming just right with his toss to the nearby trash bin before collapsing down to rest himself, burying his face into a soft pillow for a brief while.

However unbeknownst to him, Law laid beside him, having turned over on his back after wiping his himself off, stared at the ceiling before a wicked smirk came over his face with a particularly evil gleam in his golden eyes. Softly summoning a 'Room' so that Kid couldn't hear in his drowsy state, Law quickly teleported a silky black band up to his hands along with his own lube and condom (because like hell he would ever use that grease Kid called lube.) He dismissed the room and mentally prepared himself for the due revenge he intended on exacting on Kid while also taking this next opportunity to take control for himself.

[atomic-taco-muffin]

The Lost Princess Chapter 17

Warnings: Angst

Rating: SFW

Traveling through space, Sora and the others come upon a strange gray object ahead. 

“What is that?” Donald asked. 

“Wow, it’s huge!” Sora said. It flew over them. 

“It’s a giant whale!” Goofy said. 

“It’s Monstro! He’s a whale of a whale, and vicious besides!” Jiminy said. It flew back around. 

“Whoa! Sora, get us out of here!” Donald said. It made its way toward them, opening its enormous jaw, revealing a mouth full of teeth. 

“Too late! He’s going to swallow us!” Sora said. It overtook the ship and Sora’s life flashed before his eyes. He remembered a day, 9 years ago, that he spent with you and Riku on the Destiny Islands. He walked down the stairs with you and Riku, his small hands folded behind his back. 

“It’s true! I saw it with my own eyes!” Sora said. 

“You sure you didn’t just hear it this time?” you asked, smiling. 

“What difference does it make? There’s a huge monster in there, I tell you!”

“All right. Suppose there really is a monster... Think we can beat it by ourselves, Sora?” Riku said. 

“No problem. Let’s do it!” Sora said. 

“Yeah!” you said. The three of you walked to the entrance of the Secret Place. 

“Listen! There! Can you hear it growling?” Sora said. 

“Shh, quiet,” you said. You and Riku bent closer, listening over the sounds of the waterfall nearby. 

“We’ve gotta be careful,” Riku said. The three of you entered slowly and the sounds of the waterfall drifted away. You guys found nothing in the empty cave apart from a hole in the ceiling that air was pushing through. 

“See that? It was just the wind making that noise,” Riku said. 

“Aw, man. I wish it was a monster! Hold on! What’s that over there?” Sora said. He looked over to see a wooden part of the cave wall. You and Riku inspected it closely. 

“A window, or maybe a door? It won’t open,” you said. 

“Geez, is that really all that’s in here?” Sora asked as he looked around. 

“What do you expect in a boring place like this?” Riku asked. You and Sora continued searching the cave.

“Hey, guys,” Riku said. 

“Hm?” you and Sora asked. 

“When we grow up, let’s get off this island. We’ll go on real adventures, not this kid stuff!” Riku’s eyes grew wide with anticipation. 

“Sure. But isn’t there anything fun to do now? Hey, you know the new girl at the mayor’s house? Did you hear?” Sora said. 

“Oh yeah. I heard about her. She’s kind of like me I think,” you said. You and Sora exited the cave, with Riku following, and the scene turned back to the present, the sounds of the wind becoming the sounds from Monstro the whale, where Sora, Donald, and Goofy had been thrown from the ship inside its mouth. Sora lied on the ground, hearing a yell. 

“Knock it off!” Donald yelled. Sora shook his head and stood up to meet Donald and Goofy. Goofy was covering his head with his shield again while Donald tapped his foot on the damp floor.

“Hey, Sora. Are you okay?” Goofy asked. 

“What are you guys doing? Where are we, anyway?” Sora asked. He looked around before an item came flying from overhead. Sora dodged backwards. 

“Whoa!” he said. 

“Uh, ya know, I think that big ol’ whale Monstro just swallowed us. And for today’s weather: expect showers,” Goofy said. Another item fell and hit Goofy’s shield.

“Heavy showers!” he said. Donald continued to look up at someone on a high ledge, searching through a treasure chest. 

“Hey! Who’s there?” he asked. A wooden puppet looked down at them from the ledge. 

“It’s me,” Pinocchio said. 

“Oh, it’s just Pinocchio. ...Pinocchio!?” Donald said. Jiminy jumped onto Sora’s shoulder.

“Pinocchio?” he asked. Pinocchio began walking down the ledge away from them carrying a large gummi block. 

“Pinocch, where are you going? Pinocch! Come on, everybody! After him! Quick!” Jiminy said. Pinocchio hopped along the various wood piles scattered throughout Monstro’s enormous mouth. Sora, Donald, and Goofy made their way over to a wooden boat where Pinocchio was talking to an old man. 

“What have you got there, Pinocchio?” the man asked. Pinocchio set the green block down on the deck.

“With this, we can get out of here, Father,” he said. 

“Really? With this big block? You think so?” 

“It’s true,” Sora said. They turned to see Sora, Donald, and Goofy climbing the edge of the ship. 

“So, how did you end up here, Pinocchio” Sora asked as he and his friends stood on the deck. 

“Oh, my. So the whale swallowed all of you, too? My goodness,” the man said. 

“Yeah, looks like it.” 

“My name is Geppetto. I’m Pinocchio’s father. When we got separated, I traveled all over, looking for him.” Pinocchio was distracted by something behind him and he walked over the plank. 

“Thank goodness we’re together again,” Geppetto said. The puppet saw someone running further into the whale as Geppetto picked up the gummi block. 

“So, you seem to know Pinocchio quite well. I hope he was a good boy in my absence,” Geppetto said. He placed the block near his bed as a goldfish swam in its bowl on the bedside table. 

“Well, we’ve all had quite a journey. Right, Pinocchio?” he said. He looked around for his son. 

“Pinocchio? I warned him not to wander off here. He can be a naughty boy. Even so, he’s very precious to me,” he said. Sora, Donald and Goofy went after Pinocchio, finding him hiding in an inner chamber. 

“What are you doing? Come on, let’s go back,” Sora said. 

“You know, Geppetto’s awfully worried about you,” Goofy said. 

“Pinocchio, stop fooling around! This is no time for games!” Sora said sternly. They start to turn away.

“But, Sora, I thought you liked games,” Riku said. Sora whirled around to see Riku.

“Or are you too cool to play them now that you have the Keyblade?” Riku asked.

“Riku! Wh-What are you doing here?” Sora asked. 

“Just playing with Pinocchio.”

“You know what I mean! What about Kairi? Did you find her? Or (Y/N)?”

“Maybe. Catch us and maybe I’ll tell you what I know.” 

“Come on!” Riku grabbed Pinocchio’s hand and lead him further into Monstro. They searched through the various maze-like innards of the whale, fighting numerous Heartless, though finding no trace of Riku or the puppet. Maleficent appeared to Riku. 

“Why do you still care about that boy? He has all but deserted you for the Keyblade and his new companions, after all,” she said. 

“I don’t care about him. I was just messing with him a little. I really care about (Y/N) though,” Riku said. 

“Oh, really? Of course you were.” She smiled.

“What about (Y/N)? What’s gonna happen to her?” Riku asked 

“Nothing too bad. She’s under our care now. We’ll help her explore her powers more. Beware the darkness in your heart. The Heartless prey upon it,” she said. She summoned a corridor of darkness and walks into it. 

“Mind your own business,” Riku said. He stared at her as she left. Sora, Donald, and Goofy chased Pinocchio, who passed by Riku into the bowels of the beast. 

“Riku! What’s the matter with you? What are you thinking? Don’t you realize what you’re doing?” Sora asked. 

“I was about to ask you the same thing, Sora. You only seem interested in running around and showing off that Keyblade these days. Do you even want to save Kairi? Or (Y/N)?” Riku said. 

“I do.” Pinocchio screamed and they ran into the Bowels. They found him trapped inside a large Parasite Cage Heartless. It swung its appendages when they entered, waiting for them to come near. 

“You up for this?” Riku asked. Sora assumed a fighting stance. 

“No problem. Let’s do it!” he said. 

“Get me out of here!” Pinocchio said. Sora attacked the small head attached to its arms as it swung the arms wildly. Riku ran behind it to avoid them and striked. Sora leaped at it, while Donald sent a Thunder spell, but it lifted an arm and Sora crashed into it, falling to the damp floor. 

“Help! It’s scary in here!” Pinocchio said. Sora attacked the bottom cage-like head of the Heartless where Pinocchio was trapped, but the beast would not budge. Its arms took out Goofy while Sora gave it an upward strike. It began to wobble, grabbing the ceiling for balance, and spat out Pinocchio into a hole in the floor. Riku jumped in after him as the Heartless escaped. The water level in the mouth decreased as Sora, Donald, and Goofy landed on the deck of Geppetto’s ship.

“Pinocchio! Pinocchio! Please! Give me back my son!” Geppetto said. Riku was on a high ledge, holding Pinocchio under his arm.

“Sorry, old man. I have some unfinished business with this puppet,” he said. 

“He’s no puppet! Pinocchio is my little boy!” Geppetto said.

“He is unusual. Not many puppets have hearts. I’m not sure, but maybe he can help someone who’s lost theirs.” 

“Wait a minute. Are you talking about Kairi? Or (Y/N)?” Sora asked. 

“What do you care about them?” Riku asked. He walked toward Monstro’s throat. They went after him by climbing the piles of wood near the mouth. Sora found another summon gem on top of one of them. They entered the throat and made their way to the stomach. Riku set Pinocchio down on one of the platforms lining the walls as stomach acid pooled on the floor.

“Hey, let Pinocchio go, Riku,” Sora said. Riku turned to see them. Pinocchio sat, unmoving.

“A puppet that’s lost its heart to the Heartless... Maybe it holds the key to helping Kairi and (Y/N). How about it, Sora? Let’s join forces to save them. We can do it, together,” Riku said. He started walking toward Sora, who took out the Keyblade.

“What? You’d rather fight me? Over a puppet that has no heart?” he asked as he stopped walking.

“Heart or no heart, at least he still has a conscience,” Sora said. 

“Conscience?” Riku asked. Jiminy Cricket ran over to Pinocchio.

“You might not hear it, but right now it’s loud and clear. And it’s telling me you’re on the wrong side!” Sora said. 

“Then you leave me no choice,” Riku said. 

“Pinocchio! Pinocchio!” Jimimy said. 

“Jiminy... I’m not gonna make it,” Pinocchio said weakly. Suddenly, his nose grew.

“Oh! I guess I’m okay!” he said. Jiminy jumped happily. Sora looked over to Donald and Goofy. Riku thought for a second before looking up suddenly as the Parasite Cage fell from a hole in the ceiling. Riku made a quick exit through a corridor of darkness, leaving them alone with the Heartless. Pinocchio ran out of the stomach and the Parasite Cage picked itself up on its arms and swung  itself at Sora and company. Donald yelled and sent a Thunder spell at it, while Sora ran up to it and began striking its body with the Keyblade. The Parasite Cage began swinging its arms again, but Goofy slammed his shield into them, causing the Heartless to reel back. The top head fell backwards, causing the cage to open. It lied there, unconscious, while Sora continued to deal damage to it. It straightened up and began swinging its arms again, knocking out Donald. The Heartless placed its arms into the stomach acid, sucking it up through its appendages, and blowing it out through its mouth. Sora fell in pain Goofy fell unconscious. While the Parasite Cage continued swinging its arms madly, Sora used Cure on both Donald and Goofy and the three of them moved in unison. With a few more strikes, it flew backwards, a glowing heart coming out of its cage- like mouth and floating away. It began to fall over, splashing acid everywhere.

“Run!” Donald said. 

“Riku! Riku, where are you?” Sora asked. 

To be continued...

[supersoldiersruined-me]

Sinful Dance

A/N: This is my very belated challenge entry for @siren-kitten-his 2k followers challenge! Congrats again love! My prompt was the Lust sin. I took a different approach to my normal writing. The whole text is the same story, but cut into the five senses. Every other part changes pov between Bucky and reader.  Warnings: Pining? Dirty talk, swearing, implied sexual situations Word count: 3.7k Additional prompt: “Your lips are getting really close to mine.” from an ask.

Main Masterlist | Challenge Entries Masterlist

- Sight -

A squeaky door slides in front of him, indicating his arrival, fifteen minutes late to the monthly meeting. He grunts as he takes his place between Steve and Nat. A grumpy Tony sits at the end of the oval table, flipping through his binder, not paying any mind to the impatient crew around him. Neither Steve’s pen tapping nor Pepper’s shoulder nudge take him out of his focus. Focus that has the cold room feeling even more tense, and the people in it even more fed up of the eventful week behind them.

It’s a shy Peter Parker who breaks the silence, “Guys, I just really want to, um…”

“Queens, don’t sweat it.” With a captainesque smile, Steve proceeds to reassure him.

“We always have your back,” adds Carol over the hologram.

After a shared laugh over the poor boy’s mishap, the meeting goes on accordingly without too many interruptions. Notes over the new weapons and tech are handed, along with old-men jokes from Nat towards Steve and Bucky’s ever-so-astonished faces. The plans and maps from their regular intel seem to satisfy everyone; Bucky is the first up, ready to leave for a much needed shower and sleep. He stops short before Pepper can even begin to introduce what has a cold shiver running up his spine.

Standing there behind the glass doors, a young woman clothed of the prettiest silk blouse, tucked in a pencil skirt waits for her cue. She walks in, keeping her eyes on the ground as she takes a deep breath. He looks at her, at the way her hair waves over her shoulders. Preppy glasses frame her face and he’s ashamed to admit he wants to paint them with arousal. Weak in the knees, he retreats to his seat, the room suddenly closing on itself, becoming warmer by the second. Her shaking hands set a pile of paperwork in front of Tony for him to sign, then she straightens herself, hopeful eyes finally daring to look around the room. His insides shake; he wishes someone would strap him to the chair because he’s not sure how long he can handle himself before he’s gotta get his mouth on her. It’s grotesque. It’s new. He has no clue what took hold of him.

“This here is Y/N Y/L/N. Thank you, miss.” Tony nods her way as he flicks his pen open, his gaze running through the contracts. “If you have any orders to make for outfits, gear, what ever really, you go through her. And no funky shenanigans, please.” She smiles shyly and scans the room, brushing her nerves aside to make a good first impression. Bucky watches her wipe the palm of her hands over the jersey material of the skirt that’s so tightly hugging her bubbly behind. He wants them on his chest, his stomach, his thighs. He wants them around his d-

“James Barnes!” Nat whisper-screams into his ear, eyes shooting arrows at him. He has the nerve to look at her in wonder. Not concerned by the nature of her accusation. A chuckle on his left, the usual that comes before a snarky remark, finally has him realising something is genuinely wrong. 

“Thought your arm was the stiffest thing you owned. But dude,” Sam jokes around, his hand on his teammate’s shoulder as he slowly exits the room, saluting the young lady with a military wave.

Her eyes meet Bucky’s then, and she lets them fall down his features, until they grow wide at the bulge in his sweats. He’s ashamed, caught red handed as he flattens himself the best he can. He wants to run. But there’s a rope tying them together he just doesn’t know how to rip; doesn’t want to anyway. So he stays there in his chair, rolling so he’s at least facing the other way, and waits for everyone to leave before he can make a move.

- Smell -

The sun is down, enabling Y/N to relax and get ready for bed. She was given her room before they had finished renovating it, so apart from her bed sitting in a corner, she has to use the common facilities for another week or two. She walks out in nothing but a thick robe - a neat embroidery of her name sits over her left breast - and heads towards the gym’s bathroom with her toiletry bag. Her sleepiness has her walking through the wrong door and into the men’s room, which she only notices once she walks by the row of urinals against the left wall. She shrugs with a soft sigh, but proceeds. It’s late and who’d be around anyway?

The stalls are made of tall, expensive ceramic walls that even the supersoldiers can’t top. They have actual doors rather than cheap curtains. The only thing joining them is the small gap on the ground where the water runs to a single drain, and another about a foot down from the ceiling to allow the steam to dissipate. 

She turns the water on from the separate cubicle before taking off the robe and stepping in, letting the warmth soothe her tense muscles; she hadn’t thought this day would be as stressful as it has. She’s halfway through rinsing her hair when the door slams shut behind hurried footsteps. Her breath hitches in her throat. She freezes. It’s quiet for a minute until the water from the neighbour stall starts running. She stays under the stream, not saying a word and hopes she doesn’t get in trouble.

“Lavender?” His voice is deep and raspy. She’s not sure she heard this one yet. “Guess you forgot your stuff and had to take the samples, huh.” He adds a chuckle to his remark. She scuffs, thinking it would give her away if she laughed with him. 

The cap of his shampoo bottle snaps, and slowly the scent rushes through the room, through her senses, to finish its journey between her legs. It’s rich and spicy. A hint of teakwood lets her know this isn’t regular drugstore shampoo. He had it made for him. To fit his needs, to smell like the woods with a faint vintage charm. Only one man in the room earlier could enjoy such details.

Bucky. The man she had read about and researched. Twisted things about him she never understood seemed to be what fed her hunger. He had a je-ne-sais-quoi that drew her in. She’d managed to put it aside; closing books and web browsers was an easy task. Unlike her current situation.

Her body trembles at the scent. Her slick fingers begin to knead into her skin with a mighty need. He’d be the death of her if she didn’t leave the room quickly, but with her head resting on the wall between them, she lets her hand succumb to the craving. She focuses on the sound of his hands rubbing over his hard body. Of the soft hum of satisfaction when he passes over a sore spot. The image of his hard cock in his sweats surfaces. She had never seen something so big, never owned a toy that looked like him in the least. He’d be a new sensation she’d have to have once in her boring life.

She has to bite her cheek to stifle the moans that threaten to give her sinful actions away. Her fingers - now clean - squeeze into her core, pumping in sync with the motions of his hand on his dick that she pictures in her mind. She’s quickly building her orgasm; the inevitable cry of betrayal turning her on even more. She holds on as he turns the water off. As he ambles out of the room and she swears he’s trailing on purpose. When her thumb flicks over her clit just right, Bucky walks out (finally) and she falls to her knees, sitting on her feet with her forearm on the cold wall - her head rests on top of it as she bites down her climax. The soap makes it hard for her weak legs to keep steady as she attempts to get back up. Her hand reaches for the robe, too out of this world to care about drying first. She brings the thick material to her face, hiding her blush from herself as if it was going to erase what had just happened. She wouldn’t handle this much longer. What ever had her feeling this way needed to stop. Or did it?

- Hearing -

His heavy body drops to his bed, making the headboard smash onto the wall. A rather thin wall he shares with Steve - the poor boy. His mind fails to recall the last time he kept his friend from sleeping. Too long, he thinks. Much too long. Y/N comes to his mind then; her soft features and the faint darkening of her eyes at the sight of his appendage. The way her hair would feel between his fingers, bunched up as he had his way with her until they matted on her face. He knows he’ll never get a second chance with her. He’d blown it. So it’s him and his imagination against the odds, but tonight exhaustion has the best of him before he can venture his hand down his pants. He’d have a hard time rushing his blood to where he needs it anyway.

He’s up in a heartbeat the next morning, refreshed and feeling dapper. He walks out of his room covered in nothing but another pair of sinful sweatpants - commando, of course - and one of his tight sparring t-shirts. The smell of fresh coffee and burnt toast welcomes him into the kitchen area, where everyone seems to have settled for brunch. As usual, he’s the last to show up, but his serving along with his double mimosa wait in front of his assigned seat. Placed on its right is another flute of liquid sunshine, a small plate with a half-eaten croissant and a notebook stretched to its limit with notes and clippings and whatnot. He steps towards the table and sits. Y/N fills the seat beside him a minute later, acting casual with a little nod hello.

From the corner of his eye, Bucky notices the oversized white t-shirt she most likely wore to bed. He’s sure she’s wearing shorts but most of them are covered by her top, leaving her smooth legs on display. He’s salivating, and it has nothing to do with the thought of ravaging the pile of bacon. He dares turn around slightly. Just enough so to see her licking the excess chocolate that’s dribbling from the croissant onto her fingers. He forces his eyes shut, his fingers soon digging holes into the fabric of the chair. Then when he thinks he’s gained control, a whisper of a moan escapes her lips when the sweetness hits her tongue, proving once more his infuriating vulnerability. He grabs his plate and he’s up in a flash before his body betrays him again, almost knocking Wanda to the ground as he shuffles around the island. With a lamentable excuse, he disappears into the hall towards the living quarters.

The smell of barbeque lingers in the air as he steps onto the rooftop a couple hours later. He sets the yoga mat down by Bruce’s experimental garden; he had grown fond of this hideout over his healing process. He’s slowly winding down, breathing in and out like Nat had taught him. With a new draft of wind comes the scent of the flower pots that bathe in the sun next to him. He remembers the sweet smell of the flowers his mom kept around the yard; magnolia, lilac, lavender… Lavender?

His eyes scan the surroundings. Lavender doesn’t grow in pots, he reminds himself. He has a look around the yard, as if he didn’t know the place like the back of his hand. Curiosity has him on his feet and roaming around to find the source. He feels a pang to his guts when his sight falls onto Y/N. She’s sitting on a lounge chair, alone. Over the back of the chair he sees one of her legs folded over the armrest, the other is bent at the knee towards her chest. The same white shirt covers her top but her hair is now loose from the messy bun she sported earlier. He watches it dance as the wind carries through. He closes his eyes and it hits him; she was the mysterious man in the shower the night before.

His mind runs wild at the thought of her naked body. At the water running over her skin, tickling her every inch. Or the fact that she must have heard him relieve himself, the squishing of his movements unusually fast for someone who’s cleaning up. 

“Fuck,” he hears her clear as day; she just moaned the word out in the open. He’d walk closer if he didn’t have enhanced hearing. There’s another soft moan following and he’s going wild.

“B-Bu,” he shivers. “James, ah, please!” He stands there unable to move as he listens to her calling out his name. Her head falls back onto the chair and her other leg spreads out, mirroring the other. He curses himself because he can hear just how wet she is. He has to bite his lip to prevent his own begs from spilling out.

“So good,” she continues. Another finger slides by the others. He could tell she’s pumping fast with his eyes closed if he wanted, but seeing her shoulder bounce seems to prove he’s not so wicked after all. There is no mirage here and he’s on the verge of snapping his restraint. His sweats allow him extra room for his arousal but there’s no hiding it. His back rests on the brick wall of the staircase now. It’s cold and he needs it. Bad.

“I’m gonna,” No. Please don’t. “I’m gonna come Bucky,” she whimpers. It would be a lie to say he didn’t want her to. He also doesn’t want this to end. Until one of them makes the jump, they’d be dancing this agonizing dance and those little moments are all he’s going to get. She’s right there though, he hears her gush. He rushes into the stairwell. He doesn’t want to know. Doesn’t want to break the perfect bubble he’s put around her. There’s one way he’d let himself hear that and it’s if he’d be the cause of it. Literally.

- Touch -

She pulls her leggings up, hips swaying with the music on her TV. It’s late and she needs the extra motivation to get her ass to the gym. So she struts down the hall, waits for the elevator and makes her way to the basement. The gym’s door is ajar when she gets there, a stripe of light colours the linoleum floor at her feet. She shrugs it off; she made it this far, might as well go through with it. 

A tall, square figure gets up from a bench on the far end of the room. Hair well sorted in a bun. White tank-top snug against his back. He turns around and their eyes meet. Her hand reaches for the handle on her way to desertion; a reflex she would have later regretted.

But, “Wait!” He calls after her. The muscles in her arm become frail making her hand fall to her side. She looks at him again, taking longer this time. Allowing herself to indulge and he’s letting her. He wants to take a step forward but she waves him off.

“Bucky, I can’t…” Her words are weak.

“It’s okay. I’m not sure I can either,” he confesses. They sigh in sync. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” She watches his expression of defeat and swallows the lump in her throat. She walks over to the mirror, keeping a safe distance between them. Her eyes meet themselves as she scans her face. They close with another sigh - her forehead leans against the mirror. Fists clench.

“I don’t know either, Bucky. All I know is whatever happens next scares the shit out of me. It’s like Schrodinger’s cat. Open the box. Taste the fruit, and you’ll know. But there’s an outcome I don’t want to face...” She hears Bucky’s shuffle. He’s right by her when she opens her eyes, startling her. She looks at his reflection now. Both of them silent as they go through each other’s doubled features. A wave of spice hits her nose just as she manages to steady her breathing. She bites her lip, eyes looking at his in the mirror. Her finger lifts until it reaches the image of his bicep. She slides it down, the soft squeak of her fingertip against the hard surface makes them shiver. He mimics her action and draws along the line of her hip. He’s bending so low she can feel his breath on her shoulder.

She grants herself to turn around, tired of faking. Tired of hiding her desire and whatever comes with it. He’s right there and accessible and she’s spiraling down a panic attack until he steps up and breaks the tension. His warm hands grab onto her forearms, effortlessly pulling her close to his chest. She’s putty. She’s everything but the confident and sexy woman she wants to be right at this moment. The speed of his heartbeat under her palm lets her know he’s not at his best either. The depth of his eyes sucks her in and heat travels through her, blushing her cheeks.

“Your lips are getting really close to mine,” he says with a cocky grin. It would be impossible to slide a sheet of paper between them. 

“Bucky, please,” she whimpers albeit the uncertainty of the moment. She smiles when the weight of her words makes him shiver.

“It’ll change everything.” His hands are on her cheeks now, ready.

“I damn well hope so.”

- Taste -

“I’m sorry Mr. Barnes. Mr. Stark has asked me to inform you that public facilities of the compound are secured with cameras. High definition cameras.” The AI blurts out through the intercom, and it’s as if it, too, doesn’t want to see the following scene unfold.

“Fucking kidding me,” Bucky grunts, eyes shooting to the ceiling.

He feels her giggle onto his chest. The proximity should be firing up his arousal, but the cute gesture hits a whole other cord. Maybe this is what she meant by ‘unbearable outcome’, he thinks. He shakes the thought away, not wanting to break his one and only chance.

“You know, there is one public place that definitely isn’t monitored,” she mentions, wiggling her brows at him. His furrow for a second before he catches her intention. He picks up an elastic band from the rack in the gym before they amble down the hall and back up into the living quarters. He’s first to peek around the corner that leads towards the bathrooms, her body following with a hand on his shoulder for balance. Once the coast is clear, he finds the back of her thighs and picks her up. With a sharp kick, the door opens before them, and to their benefit, the room seems deserted. He sets her down before securing the doors with the elastic; an extra security measure that he knows isn’t the strongest, but it eases his mind nonetheless.

“Go start the showers on the left, I’ll take care of the lights,” he asks. When he turns back around, she’s standing at the other end of the room, five meters or so, but it feels like the world. He looks at her. The tight material of her leggings against her legs. How it delicately rises into her lips. The tank top she sports lets him see the bumps of her breasts perfectly. He palms himself through his sweats, bead of precum already setting a visible round spot at the tip. She’s biting her lip and he wishes he had mind reading abilities. He’d know what she wanted. How she wanted it. He damn well knows what he wants, and he feels nauseous at the idea of finally obtaining it.

“What’s with the staring,” she jokes. He grunts and she smirks.

“You’ve had control over me ever since I laid eyes on you. This has never happened. You’re so fucking hot and I don’t want to ruin this,” he admits.

“Talking will get you nowhere, Barnes.” There’s a wink, followed by her hands reaching for the hem of her tank top - it’s on the ground as fast as Bucky can blink. He takes his own top off, the movement of his muscles making her whimper and he quivers through the steam that’s slowly filling the room. She takes her bra off as he begins to walk closer, only spurring his intentions.

“Jump,” he commands when he’s within reach, grabbing her legs and pushing her against the cold wall. Her legs fit perfectly around him, her short arms hold her steady onto his neck. Her moan when their groans grind together almost has him finishing in his pants.

“God the things you do to me,” he adds between pants. His eyes roam her face and land on her parted lips. He catches her doing the same when his eyes look into hers before giving in. They crash lips in a passionate kiss, making the world stop around them. The showers become distant waterfalls and the steam is nothing but a tropical weather. It’s as if he had just bitten into the sweetest peach. Soft and subtle. Her lips dance with his and it’s the best thing he’s ever lived. They part shortly, only to allow him to take her carefully into a stall.

“Bucky, our clothes,” she whines.

“Don’t fucking care sweetheart.” His lips are back on hers and she’s safely stuck between his broad chest and another ceramic wall. The stream of water glides over his body, matting his chest hair and making his skin glimmer. His tongue travels onto her jaw, her neck, her collarbone. It’s salty from her ever lasting arousal and he hums at the contrast. 

Before she can even understand the new dynamic, he’s got his fingers on her pussy through her leggings. It clings deliciously to her body and he needs it. Needs the taste, needs the feel. He has to hear the soft cries he can pull from her.

“You’re a sin, baby. You know that?” he adds in a growl.

[insane-control-room]

The Linework

Chapter One, Segment Four

Previous - Next

Masterpost

Ao3 Full Chapter Link

muscle

Warmth.

Flying.

Wings? 

He looked back over his shoulders, wax and metal merged into appendages of flight.

Wings.

The sun carried him over the waves, the light golden and pink, the waters black and calling.

Sunshine.

Heat.

Heat.

Too hot.

Flames.

Blazing effigy.

Joey woke up in Henry’s arms with a sharp breath, feeling sore yet refreshed, but overly hot.

He pried himself out of the warm safety of Henry’s arms, breathing slow and steady, his head pounding with the force of a thousand seas battering against his skull, seeping into the crevices of his brain and purging all thoughts.

They had not done anything, had they…?

He glanced down at himself, relieved to find most of his clothing in place.

Good. 

He managed to get to his computer, rubbing his head.

Numerica.

No, no, no, that was bad. Just make some ibuprofen or something.

He took the pill with some honey tea, swallowing it with as little effort as he could manage.

“Morning, sunshine,” Henry’s low tones eased his headache, driving it away. Arms wrapped around his waist, soft cheeks rubbing against his bare back. He flinched, then breathed, reminding himself that perfection was impossible, and his flaws were part of him, and that Henry loved all of him, even those scars. Nothing was on his back. “How are you feeling? Didn’t go too far last night, did I?”

“No, you didn’t,” Johan murmured, his hand finding the back of Henry’s, giving it a light squeeze. “I d-don’t quite remember last night, though….”

“Mm, it went something like this,” Henry twirled him around, pushing him onto the couch, running his hands over Joey’s chest. Joey giggled a little, kissing Henry softly. Henry chuckled. “That happened a lot, too, yeah.”

“I think I got the picture,” Johan smiled, then pushed himself up despite Henry’s attempts to keep him down. “Come on darlin’, I gotta get to work. Come on, please… I’ll make you coffee.”

“Fine,” Henry pouted, “But I’ll complain the whole time.”

“What if it’s really good coffee,” Joey inquired, mixing in strawberry sugar, handing it to Henry, pecking a kiss onto his shoulder. Henry thanked him by catching him over his shoulder and kissing his lips, holding him close, pocketing little gasps and a small, “Henry….”

“Yes, cher?” Henry smirked as Johan’s fluster painted itself over his face, ears perking up indignantly. Henry ran his hands through his hair. “God, aren’t you a cutie. So sweet, I could just spend all day kissing you.”

“Shut up and drink your coffee,” Johan pursed his lips. “Seriously, quit your flattery.”

“It’s not flattery!” Henry sputtered, but took a sip of his coffee anyways, delighting in the taste and then drinking the vast majority of it. “It’s honesty.”

“Yeah, right,” Joey muttered, pulling on his tank top and shirt, slipping on his pin, pricking his finger. “Ouch!”

“You okay there, m'eudail?” Henry asked, looking over at him. Joey rinsed his finger in the sink, peering at the blood. His head spun. Were his hands all in one piece? They looked shattered, they looked pulled apart, they seemed… seemed… seemed…

“JOEY!”

“Wh-what?” Johan’s chest heaved, arms held down by Henry’s broad hands, his wrists pinned over his head. He slowed his breathing, focusing on the breath, in and out. Johan flinched as he saw the worried look in Henry’s eyes. “I… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

“I think… I think we should get you to the office,” Henry quietly told him, letting go of his arms. They quickly wrapped around Henry’s shoulders, Joey burying his face in the crook of his neck, inhaling his scent, deep and strong. “Not… not your office. My medical evaluation office. I think you have, uh… PTSD. Post traumatic stress disorder.”

“Is that bad?” Johan asked, his voice nearly empty. His hands shook. “What is it?”

“It’s… a lot of different things mixing together. Flashbacks, shakes, nightmares… it’s not awful, and it can be treated, but it might resurface every so often,” Henry informed him. He handed him his tea, lukewarm, and then took his hands, hot, stressed, anxious. “We can get you medications for it….”

“No, no medications,” Joey shivered, remembering how easily things pulled him into addictions. “I’m fine. I’ll just be fine. Th-thank you. I’ll be okay.”

“Johan, it might help,” Henry tried to persuade him. “I know that you’ve had bad experiences with drugs and stuff, but these will all be monitored.”

“No.” Johan felt dizzy as he pushed himself off the floor. “Working hard will help, That’s it. That’s all, all I need. Just good hard work.”

“Fine,” Henry conceded. “But I’m still diagnosing you with PTSD.”

“Not like it does much for me now,” Johan snorted, brushing off his shirt, grasping his cane.  “Not like it really would have done much for me ever.”

“It’s good to know what’s wrong with yo-”

“Nothing is wrong with me,” Johan’s voice dropped to an icy coldness. “I’m just fine, Doctor.”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Henry tried to backtrack, yanking on his lab coat, following him out the door quickly. “I meant it like, uh, medically. Most of the time your results are anomalous.”

“Is that what I am to you?” Joey’s voice had hurt in it, making Henry wince. “Just one of y-your lab rats? I know that you also ‘test’ around with Chase. Seeing what makes me wrong, ain’t it?”

“No, no, Joey, c’mon,” he caught his hand on the stairs, their heights matched by the gap between the two. “Listen to me, please, I am just looking out for you. Your health is fragile, and the board doesn’t allow me to use your results for my tests, and that’s why I have Chase helping me. Nothing is wrong with you.”

Joey’s shoulders slumped, and he stared at the floor. 

“A lot of things are wrong with me, Ray,” he exhaled, managing to meet his eye. “But I’m working on them.”

He continued down to build up the machine.

[intellectual-urchin]

Gone Feral (A fallout 4 oneshot)

I originally posted this on my wattpad account but I feel like my talent was wasted posting it there so now i’m posting it here.  This is gender ambiguous! My first fallout 4 fanfiction and of course I had to make it angst.

The morning had started out the same as any other, Sole making a plan to make progress in the search for Shaun. They had spent the past 2 weeks gathering Rad-X and RadAway until they decided they had more than enough for their dangerous excursion to come. Today was the day that Sole would enter the glowing sea and find Virgil.

The rogue institute scientist had information and was going to be their ticket into the shadowy organization.

They wouldn't lie, they were terrified to go due to all of the horror stories they've heard about how dangerous the glowing sea is. There was no way they were going alone, going alone almost ensured death, which is why Sole decided to take someone whom they trusted wholeheartedly. Hancock. Sole met Hancock a few months ago and they hit it off and became good friends.

When Hancock heard about their predicament, he jumped right into the fray and wanted to help. He wasn't obligated to help at all and yet he wanted to anyways. Hancock saw it as unfair because Sole was new to the commonwealth. Having been on ice for 200 years only to be thrown into a confusing and cruel world. He decided he wanted to join Sole because he wasn't going to let Sole fall victim to the Commonwealth's cruelty without help. He already had strong resentment for the institute but knowing they stole Sole's little boy steeled his resolve to aid them. This fact was one of the many reasons Sole grew to be good friends with Hancock. He wasn't obligated to help and yet he was doing so anyways and that made Sole beam with respect for the ghoul.

And so Sole and Hancock made their way towards the glowing sea.

Timeskip <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

The duo knew that they had made it into the glowing sea immediately. Sole's pip-boy began to click as it detected the lingering radiation in the air and they could feel the atmosphere change almost instantly. Hearing the clicking of the pip-boy, Hancock caught Sole's attention.

"I'd advise you to pop a Rad-X unless you wanna go ghoul like me Sole" Their eyes flew open as they realized their mistake. They had nearly forgotten because they had become so used to the clicking of the geiger counter. Sole grabbed a Rad-X from their bag and swallowed it, giving a nod and a sheepish smile to the ghoul in thanks. Hancock merely chuckled and shook his head playfully as they continued on.

They continued walking for a half hour before Sole felt the ground next to them shake before a ferocious radscorpion popped out the ground, its eyes gleaming and claws clicking threateningly. Sole lept back and fired 3 shots at the beast with their laser rifle. The first missed while the other two appeared to have no affect other than angering it. It began to charge Sole but Hancock fired his shotgun twice at its head to put it down before it could do real harm. The beast slumped over as life left its body.

"Well at least it wasn't a deathclaw. You should have seen the look on your face!" The ghoul laughed while Sole shot him a look before joining in with the ghoul's laughter.

"Remember that time you shrieked when a Mirelurk popped out from under you when we helped retake the castle? You sounded like a molerat!" Sole shot back at the ghoul and the laughter increased to a roar. Hancock was the first to stop laughing as he suddenly became mute and doubled over with his hands on his knees and face turned towards the ground. Sole stopped when they noticed this and raised an eyebrow.

"I know i'm funny but i've never seen you laugh hard enough to act like this." Sole said worriedly as Hancock remained silent.

"Uhh, Hancock? You okay there?" Sole waved their hand in front of Hancock's face and he looked up. His eyes were unfocused as he blinked up at Sole blearily before shaking his head as if to clear his vision.

"I just feel like I have a killer hangover. Maybe I should cut back on the chems..." He trailed off as Sole began lowering their stuff to the ground.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"We are taking a break." Sole replied in a matter-of-factly tone that he interpreted to mean that there was no room for arguing. He sighed softly as he lowered himself to sit on a rock.

He pulled a cigarette out and lit it, bringing it to his ruined lips and puffing slowly. Sole fiddled with their pip-boy to see how far they were from their destination.

"So it looks like we have a few more hours worth of walking once we start moving again and-" Sole stopped talking when they raised their eyes towards Hancock.

"If you have a hangover, wouldn't smoking make it worse?" they chided.

"Nah, works differently for me. Helps me relax." the ghoul retorted.

Sole sighed at the ghoul and handed a can of purified water to the ghoul.

"Drink some water, will you? It'll help you feel better."

He accepted the water and drank it quickly muttering a quick "thanks" when he finished.

The two sat in a comfortable silence for a while longer before Sole got up and continued the laborious trek to find Virgil.

Timeskip <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Hancock's POV

I followed behind sole at a slightly slower pace. I don't know what's up with me today but I feel so weak. This is worse than any hangover I've ever had but I don't want to worry them. I can feel how shaky I am and I have to keep blinking to clear my eyes. If this goes on for much longer I may need to stop.

I let out an involuntary whine that sounded almost like a growl. I noticed that Sole froze ahead of me and turned around. Damn, this is supposed to be for their sake, I can't help but feel guilty for having them worry about me. They have enough problems to deal with without me feeling sick.

"Hancock? Are you sure you're okay? You don't look good at all. We can go back if you wa-"

"No! I'm fine, let's keep moving." I snapped and felt a minor pang of guilt after seeing the mixed emotion of shock and hurt flash across their face. I was confused. I don't know why i'm acting so irritable and it feels like everything is blurring together.

I stumbled past Sole heading in the direction of our destination. The shakes continued and my vision became foggier with each step I took. A voice in the back of my head was screaming to take Sole up on their offer and head home, saying that I wouldn't make it. I ignored it and continued on.

I couldn't even tell if Sole was following me anymore but I didn't care. Time seemed to slow as my surroundings faded. My vision began to go dark rapidly and my hearing faded away. I collapsed and the last thing I heard was Sole calling out to me. It sounded distant as if they were a mile away.

I couldn't see and I was losing my awareness. Everything was fading and quick. It seemed as though I was losing myself with every second. I didn't know where I was or what was going on. Even my own thoughts were dulling to the point of blankness.

I felt a hand grip my forearm firmly and I swatted at it and struggled weakly. The unknown appendage retracted quickly and I could feel my consciousness leave me. I couldn't even remember who I was anymore.

One last thought surfaced in my head before I finally gave in to the seductive lull of unconsciousness.

This is the end, I've gone feral.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Sole sat on the ground a few feet away from Hancock and they were shaking slightly. It had been around 20 minutes since Hancock collapsed and their attempts at waking him were futile. The only sounds around them were the quiet rasps coming from the ghoul's unconscious form and the radiation storm that surrounded them. They held their head between their knees as they thought of what to do.

A few minutes passed before their head suddenly shot up and they stood quickly while pulling a small grenade like object from their bag. It was a last ditch effort to help Hancock: A vertibird signal grenade. They were barely involved with the brotherhood but they prayed that they would respond and give a lift back to sanctuary. Curie had recently set up a clinic there and Sole's last hope was that Curie could help Sole's trusted friend.

Sole fumbled with the pin and removed it before they tossed it a couple meters away. Now all they had to do was wait.

Barely 5 minutes passed before the ghoul began to stir. He struggled for a moment and hauled himself to his feet, swaying slightly as he surveyed his surroundings.

"Hancock! I'm so glad you're okay! I was really worried, I signaled a vertibird and we are going back to sanctuary to have you looked at. I really do think you should lower your chem use, at least until you rec-" They stopped as Hancock turned to face them. The movements caught them off guard. It wasn't fluid, it was jerky and sporadic.

His mouth hung open as saliva dripped from it. The hat that usually was placed on his head was knocked from it and it lay forgotten a few feet away. Hancock's eyes were gaunt and looked lifeless. There was no light behind them and no recognition when they looked upon Sole.

The rasps turned to growls and Hancock's form advanced upon sole in an inhuman way.

Realization hit Sole like a truck: Hancock had become feral. They had never seen it happen before but looking at the way Hancock was behaving, there was no mistaking it. They didn't expect it to happen so quickly but if they got back quick enough maybe Curie could find a way to help reverse the effect.

Lost in thought, Sole didn't notice that he had become close enough to reach. They shrunk back but he kept pursuing. Ferals were unpredictable and could easily catch someone off guard, which was why Sole was unprepared when Hancock suddenly lunged at them, knocking them down and landing on top of them.

His teeth gnashed at Sole's face but Sole used their strength to push him away. They couldn't hurt Hancock, he was their friend and it didn't feel right. But they also couldn't let themselves be killed when they were this close to finding their son.Sole shoved the ghoul off of them and stood, backpedaling a few steps away to create some distance.

He appeared to be disoriented and Sole used that to their advantage to pull a syringer rifle from their bag. Setting the gun aside, Sole rifled through the bag for their desired ammo: A lock joint syringe. It wouldn't kill him but it would paralyze him for a while and buy them some time for the vertibird to arrive.

Loading the gun, they aimed it carefully at Hancock's torso as he ambled toward Sole. Limbs jerking rather than the thought out movements of a human being.

Sole fired and the syringe hit it's mark; embedding itself into the ghoul's flesh.

The liquid in the syringe took effect almost immediately. He stopped moving as if time had frozen and fell to the floor as if he was a mannequin someone had knocked over.

Sole released a breath they didn't know they were holding and as if on cue, the whirring of a vertibird approached. It landed some yards away as a knight in power armor hopped out and approached.

"We received your signal and came as quickly as we could." The knight said in a controlled tone.

"Please help! My friend isn't doing good. I need you to give me a lift to Sanctuary. He needs help right away. I know you don't see ghouls as valuable but please don't let him die out here. I need your help." Sole sputtered out in a panicked tone.

The knight remained silent and effortlessly picked up Hancock's form and turned back and walked towards the vertibird. Sole gaped for a moment before following behind the knight.

Sole entered the vertibird and made the journey back to sanctuary where they hoped they could save Hancock. He meant a lot to Sole as well as the people of Goodneighbor and even some of Sole's other companions. His confident and playful nature was contagious and it made the ghoul easy to get along with...as long as you didn't mind the chem usage. A dark thought entered Sole's mind as they thought about what life without Hancock would be like if he proved to be a lost cause.

Sole shook their head of the thought and kept their eyes on the still paralyzed ghoul as the sound of the vertibird's blades whirred around them.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Having finally made it to sanctuary, the knight from before helped carry Hancock to the infirmary. Curie gasped in shock when she caught sight of the paralyzed ghoul being carried towards her little clinic.

She could sense an emergency and silently led them to a cot. The knight laid him down and uttered a quick "Ad victoriam" before taking his leave.

"Curie, I'm afraid that Hancock may have gone feral and I want you to see if there is anything you can do. Please! I- I can't lose him!" Sole sounded desperate and they were.

"I will do all zhat I can but I cannot make any promises. If he has indeed gone feral zhen I need to use the restraints so zhat zhere is no risk of harm to anyone else when he regains mobility." and with that she began work.

Sole silently began to help restrain his limbs. They no longer held the warmth they had earlier that day and it was grounding and seemed to snap Sole out of their shock. This was reality, not some nightmare.

"Sole, I wish to ask you to go somewhere else while I work. I will call for you when you are needed. So much stress is no good for your health."

Sole sighed, Curie was right. It wasn't doing any good. There was nothing more they could do for the moment. They got up and stiffly walked out of the once cozy clinic, but now it looked grim and foreboding.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Hours passed and Sole's exhaustion caught up with them. They fell into a restless sleep that was disturbed by a settler clearing their throat to grab their attention.

"Excuse me, Curie sent me to come get you. Something about your friend."

Sole's stomach did a flip as they approached the clinic with bated breath. They opened the door and were met with the sight of a thrashing and growling Hancock. "I am so sorry madame/monsieur. I have done everything I can but zhere is nothing to be done once they go feral. The damage is irreparable and none of my medical procedures have helped." Curie's eyes were red and fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. A small voice in the back of Sole's head told them that they had known all along that there was nothing to be done for him but until now they ignored it.

Now they were forced to face reality and reality was cruel. The tears rolled down their face before they could stop them. They couldn't just keep a feral chained up hoping that one day it would become aware. Not even a miracle could save Hancock, he was too far gone. There was only one thing to do and both people in the room knew it had to be done, they just didn't want to say it out loud.

Curie enveloped Sole in a hug to comfort them. There was no stopping the tears now, they flowed freely one after the other down their cheeks. They stood embracing each other until the crying died down to sniffling. Curie stepped back and opened her mouth to speak.

"I know how much you valued Hancock so if you'd like me too, I can ease his suffering so you don't have to see..." she trailed off.

"Curie, it's okay. I- I can deal with it. Could you step outside, I'd like to be alone." Sole choked out the words as Curie wordlessly stepped out and closed the door behind her.

Sole approached the still struggling Hancock and looked at his face. The eyes were dull and focused on Sole without recognition. A voice in Sole's head told them that this was no longer the Hancock they grew to respect. He's been gone since he turned feral. Arms struggled against their bonds in an attempt to reach their target.

Sole swallowed thickly as they pulled their pistol from it's holster. They held their breath and aimed it at Hancock's head. It would only take one shot, quick and painless.

Memories flashed through Sole's head as tears began flowing again. No more would there be drinking contests, no more would there be Sole nagging Hancock as he got high, the town of Goodneighbor now no longer had a mayor, and one of Sole's closest and only friends was soon to be no more although they supposed he had already been gone ever since the radiation turned him.

Sole's eyes met the dull eyes of Hancock. Although Sole's swam with recognition, Hancock's eyes were empty and wild.

They exhaled and their grip was firm as they clenched their eyes shut.

And they fired.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

This took me most of the day to write and actually my first time writing angst. I hope I did a good job writing this.

The idea that Hancock may eventually go feral is one I really don't like thinking of but I had inspiration to write and so I did.

[hilllsnholland]

Birthday Boy

Pairing: Harrison Osterfield x Reader 

Wc: 1.8k 

Warnings: Intense(ish) smut. Oral (m receiving). Unprotected sex. 

Summary: Giving Harrison a very intimate birthday present 

A/N: I know Harrison’s birthday is over depending on what part of the world you live on buuuuuuut this is hot so pls enjoy 

The silkiness of your robe did not help the morning chill that swept over you. You opened the window to let some fresh air in and suddenly you were frostbitten. The two cups of tea kept your hands warm though, it was the beginning of July and you felt freezing? What the hell was happening there you would never know. It was probably your choice of clothes, a matching lingerie set beneath a pale purple robe. It’s the least you could do for Harrison’s birthday. 

Harrison was still asleep though, crashed from the previous night’s festivities to celebrate. You let him sleep in a little more than usual and decided to bring him something refreshing to drink. And eat, if that’s what he decided he wanted as his special gift. You pushed the door open to your shared room to see Harrison sprawled out in the bed. He was somewhat of a spreader, any space he could get he would occupy. Many nights you’ve woken up to him rolling over you or hitting you in the face with an appendage. You placed the drinks on the nightstand and sat at the foot of the bed, dragging your nail across the bottom of his foot. 

“Not today,” He whined and rolled back over. 

“Why not?” You mused as you removed the covers from him. 

Harrison was shirtless, wearing only a pair of black boxers. He wasn’t a nudist, but boy did he love to get close to naked all the time. As soon as he came home something was coming off. You didn’t mind, didn’t even complain. 

“You know what today is?” Harrison opens an eye at you. 

“Fourth of July?” You teased. 

His body crumpled as he rolled over to look at you. Harrison frowned at you, giving you the look of a pissed toddler. Although a model, he truly knew how to make a sour face. 

“What?” He blinks the sleep out of his eyes. 

“You know the holiday with the fireworks and the hotdogs-“ 

“Y/N, I know what the Fourth of July is,” Harrison sits up and stretches his arms over his head. His body flexes and he looks so edible. 

Harrison is about to whine again but then he sees the tea waiting for him on his right. He smiles, taking the cup and sipping the birthday treat. You watch him, licking your lips seductively. He seems to not notice, his eyes pooling into the back of his head. 

“Thank you for the birthday tea love,” He leans and kisses the top of your head. 

“Anything for you,” Your hand rests on his chest as you scratch your nails against the tanned skin, “I got something special for you,” 

Harrison expects a kiss, pouting his lips towards you but you stand up to grab something from the boudoir. It’s a black bag that has ‘happy birthday’ written in gold cursive. He smiles, ripping the tissue paper that took you way too long to stuff. What did you expect from him? He has the patience of a toddler. Harrison pulls out a pair of batman boxer briefs, chuckling to himself as he inspects them. Next, he pulls out a pair of running shoes, the ones you’ve heard him gawk about for months now. 

“You’re truly the best,” Harrison gasps as he rotates the shoe in his hand. 

“You’re missing one more gift,” You press your knees into the mattress, spreading them wide so that Haz can see there are no shorts underneath. 

He sits back against the headboard of the bed, his mouth agape as he knows what’s going to happen next. He licks his lips as he watches you pull the silk strings of your robe. It slowly moves off your shoulder, pooling around your curves and accentuates the soft skin of your breasts and thighs. You roll your shoulders back, letting the robe hit the ground, and try to muffle your violent laughs. Harrison groans and throws the batman briefs at you. 

“Seriously Y/N?” He whines with an exasperated laugh. 

He motioned to your matching patriotic set. The top was red, white, and blue, and the bottom was lacy red. Although sexy, he couldn’t help but shake his head in embarrassment for you. Good thing you didn’t take yourself seriously. You crawled over to him though, giggles dying down from your chest, placing soft kitten kisses to his stomach all the way up to his neck. You nip at random parts, not enough to leave marks but enough to make Harrison switch from silly mode to lustful. His bottom half tenses as your hands grab and squeeze different parts of his legs and hips. Your fingers tease his cock through the boxers, making it twitch with a sensual touch. 

“I had to do it,” You snicker right under his ear. Your tongue slides on the curve of his sharp jawline followed by soft sucking on his skin. “Let me make it up to you, birthday boy,” 

“A-alright,” His voice wavers at the sudden attention to his member. 

You begin to rub him through the thin fabric of his boxers. Harrison presses his head into the pillows below him, his cock rising and pulsing under your warmth. His boxers stretch, thinning the fabric to be see-through. You see his cock, reddening and only at half of its potential. Your nails curl into the top of his boxers, pulling them down and throwing them across the room. He wasn’t going to need those for a while anyway. You move your thumb over the top, he whines as pre-cum leaks from the tip. Harrison was always vocal which only motivated you. 

“What do you want for your birthday present?” You blow a hot breath of air over the top and he shivers. 

“I, oh my,” He flinches and clears his throat. “Suck me off and then ride me so I can cum inside you.” He brushes the hair from his eyes and cracks a sex drunk smile. “I want to see that pussy filled.” 

It took everything you had to not moan at his words. You were soaked as soon as you saw him shirtless, now you were swimming. But you had a persona to keep up, so you nodded and continued on with your mission to pleasure your boyfriend on his special day. Harrison lays back, taking in the scene of you licking his tip while your hands massage underneath. Raspy moans leave his mouth as you slowly take him. You started with just the tip, sucking sloppily, tongue wrapping around it getting it wet enough to slide down your throat. Harrison continues to flex under you, his abs tightening at the euphoria. You take more of him in, sliding him back and forth while sucking loudly. He loved the pornographic noises you made. He had a slight auditory kink, loving the noises that came with sex. 

You take him fully, moving your hands to grip his thighs so he would be steady. Harrison was a mover also, which you didn’t mind but you rather not almost choke today. He was being so good though, whimpering your name with every hum of your lips against him. His tip bounced at the end of your throat causing his eyes to squeeze shut ever so often. He was trying to ease the knot in his stomach, waiting to see the magnificent sight of you filled with his pleasure. You move his hips slightly, guiding his rhythm so he can face fuck you at a comfortable pace. Harrison keeps the same flow, praises and inaudible sentences chorusing from him. He grabs clumps of your hair and tilts your head back so the angle made him nearly bust. 

“Such a good girl, fucking good girl,” He whines as his long fingers brush into your hair. “Taking me like my favorite little slut. Making me feel amazing on my fucking birthday,” He grunts, thrusting a little harder and the way his face contorts is magical. 

You can see him getting close. You know it from that dazed look on his face and your name was now sounding like a bunch of useless syllabals . You push him down into the mattress, relieving your mouth from him. His cock his ready, bright and flushed from your performance. It doesn’t take long for you to rid yourself your assemble, ditching the red lacy panties and hanging them over his head so he can marvel at the wetness. 

“Fucking soaked baby girl,” He grins as you level yourself on his cock and sinking down onto him. 

Your eyes flutter shut as you adjust to his size. He wasn’t monstrous, but fuck he made you feel powerful. Your hands grip his shoulders and you begin riding him slowly to gain the momentum. He gnaws on his bottom lip, listening to the orgasmic sounds of your wet pussy gliding over his cock. Your name echoes in the room as he bucks back at you. He was holding onto his completion until he knew you were ready. Your pace becomes faster and you bounce up and down, whiny grunts coming from you as you also took pleasure. Harrison can’t help but smile, his orgasm building so hard that his body is shaking. His fingers lock around your waist as he helps you speed up until you’re fucking him into oblivion. His eyes start rolling back and he sputters out a string of curse words. You force your eyes open to watch him complete but suddenly he flips you over. 

You’re on your back, Harrison now fucking you with every bit of force he has left. His eyes are almost screwed shut until he finally cums. His lips curl into a drunk smile and his eyes open slightly so he can see his cum dripping out of you. Your head falls back, enjoying the warmth that is filling you and the sight of how happy your man is. It’s time to finally relax, your body laying flat into the bed while Harrison hovers over you in a trance. 

“Baby girl, fucking hell,” That’s all he can say because he’s blown through his last brain cell. 

His fingers trickle down from your waist and to your clit, lazily strumming the spot for you. At first, you were going to deny it, but it felt good. So intimate and sensual. His fingers play with the already sensitive area, coaxing a long-awaited orgasm from your tired body. It didn’t take much, his cock did most of the work, he just needed to press the right button. You throw your legs out, letting your pleasure and his mix as it spills down your thighs. 

“Very messy girl,” Harrison kisses your bare stomach and laughs. “But that best one there is.” 

Harrison falls next to you, kissing you with the last bit of energy he has. It’s pure, unlike the previous activities the two of you had just engaged in. His hand pulls you close and he rests his tired head on your shoulder. 

“Want some more rest?” You kiss his redden cheek and he nods. “Anything for you, birthday boy,” 

[evilrubberducke]

You Danced Your Way Into My Heart

Here’s a little Valentine’s day themed IzuMina one shot that I hope you all enjoy, despite it being almost a week late. 

Summary: As Mina tries to work up the courage to give her crush chocolate on Valentine's, she reflects on the encounter that started it all.

Read it on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22813273 Or on FF.Net: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13505672/1/You-Danced-Your-Way-Into-My-Heart

“Are you doing okay, Mina?” Hagakure asked, leaning over to check on her friend.

“Yep!” Mina replied, lying through her teeth. “Never better!”

She was seated in the UA cafeteria, trying and failing to enjoy her lunch. Her problem wasn’t that the food was any less delicious than normal, but that her stomach refused to stop tying itself in knots.

The source of her consternation was twofold. Part of it was the box of handmade chocolates that was burning a hole in her backpack. Satou had spent several long hours in the kitchen with her over the past week showing her how to craft the delicious treats, but it had still taken her four attempts to get them right. They were oddly shaped, a bit streaky in places, and a little saltier than she had intended, but they were also filled with all the affection she could muster. Mina hoped that would be enough to make up for the chocolate’s shortcomings.

The rest of her nerves came in the form of a green haired boy sitting on the other side of the cafeteria, excitedly discussing their upcoming hero class with his friends.

Mina wasn’t quite sure how it had happened, but somewhere along the way her friendship and admiration for Midoriya had turned into something more. She hadn't even realized that was what had happened until after the culture festival.

A fond smile crossed her face as she remembered the awkward encounter that had started it all.

-

“Um, A-Ashido? D-do you have a minute?” Midoriya asked, shuffling awkwardly from foot to foot.

“What’s up Midori?” Mina asked, looking up from the textbook she had been pretending to read, and the poorly disguised magazine inside it that she had actually been looking at.

“I-I was wondering if you could teach me some more dance moves? I-If you have time, that is! I don’t want to keep you from studying.”

She raised an incredulous eyebrow at him, but didn’t contradict his statement. If he wanted to think she was actually studying, and not goofing off, that was up to him.

“I can,” she said, closing her book, “But I gotta ask, what brought this on? Got the boogie fever?”

He chuckled awkwardly before replying. “N-no. There was a… uh… a thing during the culture festival. And the stuff you taught me helped me out of a really tight spot. But… I can’t help but think I could have done better if I’d had just a few more moves. So I was wondering if you could help me with that?”

A surge of warmth shot through her at his words. She wasn’t quite sure what “thing” he was talking about, but the idea that her dance moves had actually helped him out in any way was amazing. It made her feel like an actual hero, and not just a kid playing pretend.

“I’d be happy to help you, Midoriya!” she said, a smile breaking out across her face. It transformed into a mischievous grin a second later as a thought occurred to her. “I do have one condition though…”

“What’s that?” he asked, cocking his head to the side.

“You’ve got to call me sensei while we train!”

He coughed in surprise, which only made her grin wider, but recovered quickly. A second later, he stuck his hand out for her to shake.

“It’s a deal, Ash- Sensei.”

The title sent an odd thrill through her, and made her sit up a little straighter as she tried to live up to her self-imposed responsibility. 

“Great! How’s Friday sound for our first session?”

“That works for me.”

“Okay. See you then. Oh, and wear something you can move around in. We’re gonna have fun and work hard!”

“Will do!”

-

When Midoriya finally stepped into the classroom that Mina had reserved for their dance practice, her jaw dropped in shock. 

He was dressed in a pair of tight fitting green yoga pants that were a little too short for him, and a red tank top. Even his ever present red sneakers had been replaced with a pair of mesh running shoes.

It was the complete opposite of what he usually wore. Aside from his school uniform and hero costume, Midoriya usually favored loose, baggy clothing that accentuated his plain appearance. Now he looked like he had stepped out of some European club.

“Holy crap Midoriya!” she exclaimed, her mouth already moving before her brain could rein it in, “What’s with the outfit?”

A look of panic crossed his face as he stammered out a reply. “I-Is it not right? You said to wear something I could move around in, so I asked my mom, and she lent me her old dancing outfit, but the shirt didn’t fit, so I had to borrow one from Kirishimia, and he said it looked good, and Uraraka did too, so I thought it would be okay, but I’m so sorry if it’s not, and—”

“Midori, breathe!” Mina interrupted, stepping forward to place a comforting hand on his shoulder, “You’re perfectly fine. I was just surprised to see you in a different outfit than usual. Honestly, you look pretty good in it.”

She wasn’t just saying that to make him feel better either. Underneath the baggy clothes and awkward demeanor, Midoriya had been hiding quite the impressive physique. Everyone in their class was fit, of course, but Midoriya seemed to have taken it to the next level. His muscles bulged under his skin as he scratched his head, and the tank top rode up enough to give Mina a tantalizing glimpse of the stomach beneath.

She shook her head in an effort to clear her mind. A few muscles shouldn't have been enough to distract her. Kirishima's costume left him almost entirely shirtless, and that had never gotten to her before. It was probably just the surprise of seeing the normally timid Midoriya in such a flashy outfit.

"Um, t-thanks," Midoriya said with a small bow, "Y-you look nice too."

She snorted. Her own dance outfit was well worn and a bit stained in places. Still, it had been rather cute at one point, and she supposed that was still true, if one was as fashion illiterate as Midoriya.

“Thanks. But enough standing around. Are you ready to get started?”

“Yes Sensei!” he replied instantly. As he did, his entire demeanor changed. His spine stiffened, his shoulders went back, and he even raised his eyes to meet her gaze with one of steely determination. 

On the one hand, she should probably tell him that she had meant the “sensei” thing as a joke. On the other hand, he had taken it in stride, and telling him now would probably just start things out on an awkward note. So she decided to just let it go, and enjoy her new title.

“Alright! You’ve got the basics down, but it’s time to put that to the test! I’m going to teach you how to six-step!”

-

“How was that?” Midoriya asked, panting heavily from exertion.

“Hmmmm. Almost, but not quite,” Mina replied, shaking her head.

He’d done well at first, but as their lesson had progressed, Midoriya had begun to struggle more and more. His sense of rhythm was good, and he was definitely fit enough to pull the moves off. He just had a hard time flowing from one move to the next.

“You’re still putting too much weight on your wrists,” she continued, pointing to the offending appendages, “You need to let your legs do the work instead.”

He sighed, then clambered slowly to his feet to try again. He had an impressive amount of stamina, but dancing like this worked out a completely different set of muscles than combat practice, and it was obvious that he was feeling the burn.

“Sorry,” he muttered, so low she almost missed it.

“What are you sorry for?”

For a second, it didn’t look like he was going to reply. Then he let out another sigh, his excellent posture disintegrating into a defeated hunch. 

“For being a bad student.”

“Hey!” Mina said sharply, giving him a swift chop to the head that would have made Iida proud. “None of that! It takes one to know one, so I can totally say that you’re not a bad student!”

The attempt at humor did bring a small smile to his lips, though he still looked hopeless and defeated.

“Sorry. It’s just hard when I’m giving every move my all, and nothing is working.”

Mina nodded in commiseration. She opened her mouth to try to comfort him, then stopped as a thought occurred to her.

“Hey, Midori, when you say you’re giving every move your all, did you mean that literally?”

“Yeah. I wouldn’t let you down by not giving it my best.”

She clapped her hands together, startling Midoriya with the sudden sound. “That’s it! That’s why you can’t get it!”

He looked at her in confusion, forcing her to explain her thought process.

“You’re treating it like a punch, and putting too much strength into each move. But it’s not about strength, it’s about balance and dexterity. If you put too much power in, you’ll throw your balance off.”

His look changed to one of incredulousness, but she forged ahead anyways.

“Okay, I know it sounds weird, but just trust me. Stop trying so hard, relax, and just let your mind go blank. I promise it’ll work!”

He shrugged, then got into the starting position she had shown him. He closed his eyes, took a series of slow, deep breaths like he was preparing to dive into a pool, and then began to dance.

Mina had to bite her lip to keep from shouting in triumph. His moves were far from perfect, but that one change had improved his technique so much it was hard to believe that he was the same person who had been struggling with these same moves just a minute ago.

“That was awesome Midori!” Mina said as he hopped back to his feet, “You totally nailed it!”

A broad smile filled his face, despite the blush in his cheeks. “T-Thanks. I had a good teacher.”

Before she knew what was happening she had crossed the short distance between them and pulled him into a tight hug. It definitely wasn’t the best hug she’d ever had, Midoriya was far too sweaty and surprised for that. At that moment, however, Mina didn’t care in the slightest. She enjoyed his warmth against her, and the way his arms came slowly up to pat her gently on the back.

Then her brain kicked back in and her cheeks flushed in embarrassment. She quickly broke the impromptu embrace and stepped back to a reasonable distance. 

“Hey, great lesson, but I’ve got to get going. Have a nice weekend!” Mina said hurriedly, grabbing her bag and dashing out of the classroom before Izuku could say a single word.

‘What the heck was I thinking?’ She thought furiously as she dashed down the hallway ‘Just grabbing him out of the blue. At least it was Midoriya, so he won’t think I’m in love with him just because of a hug.’

She stopped dead in the hallway as her heart skipped a beat at the thought of Midoriya falling for her. 

‘I-I don’t… I mean, he’s sweet, but we’re just friends, and… oh god, I think I like him.’

-

“— to Mina! Earth to Mina!” Hagakure said, waving her chopsticks in front of Mina’s face to get her attention.

“Huh? What’s up?”

“You’ve been staring at Midoriya for, like, 10 minutes now. I’m kinda amazed he didn’t notice.”

Mina quickly glanced at the clock to find that Hagakure was right. Lunch was nearly over, and her window to give her chocolates to Midoriya was rapidly closing. She wouldn't have another chance until classes ended for the day, and Mina wasn't sure she could wait that long without going stir crazy.

Sterling her resolve, she rose to her feet and slapped the table dramatically. 

"I'm going to do it!" she declared, hoping that stating her intentions aloud would help to quiet her nerves.

"You've got this!" Hagakure cheered, as the pink girl grabbed the box of chocolates and marched across the cafeteria.

-

“And that is why I believe that Valentine’s day is a ridiculous and old fashioned practice that should be phased out as soon as possible,” Iida finished his rant with a satisfied nod.

“So the answer is no, you didn’t get any chocolate today,” Tsuyu said, addressing the question that had set Iida off in the first place. 

She, Iida, Uraraka, and Izuku were seated at their usual table near the edge of the UA cafeteria. They had finished with their food several minutes ago, and were now waiting for their next class. Given the season, their discussion had naturally turned to the subject of Valentine’s and romance.

For Izuku, Valentine’s day had always been depressing. He had spent year after year watching his male classmates brag about how many chocolates they had received while the girls giggled in groups, daring each other to give homemade chocolates to the guys they found cute. Izuku, meanwhile, had sat forlornly at his desk, wishing for even a single friendship chocolate to magically appear. No one was ever brave or foolish enough to give him one, however. 

So it was with great surprise and elation that Izuku had received friendship chocolate from nearly every girl in the class. The candies may have been low quality (with the exception of Yaoyorozu’s ridiculously expensive imported candy bar), but to Izuku they were the most delicious treats he had ever had. 

There was a small part of him that was disappointed in the lack of one particular person’s chocolate, but he refused to acknowledge it. He was being selfish, thinking that Ashido would consider him a close friend after such a short time, and he was being completely ridiculous if he imagined receiving anything more than friendship chocolate from her.

“Tsuyu, Iida, I think it’s time for us to head back to class,” Uraraka said, drawing Izuku back from his thoughts. Her gaze was focused across the cafeteria, and a small, knowing smile graced her lips.

“An excellent suggestion, Uraraka!” Iida said happily, “Taking extra time to prepare for our next class will only improve our performance!”

“Whatever you say, kero,” Tsuyu said, rising to her feet and grabbing his arm, “Come on, Iida. Let's make ourselves scarce."

Izuku tried to rise with them, but Uraraka shoved him back into his seat before he could finish.

"Not you. You're staying here right here,” she said forcefully.

“Wait, why am I…” Before he could finish, Uraraka had walked off, leaving him alone and extremely confused. Thankfully, he wasn’t alone for very long.

“H-Hey Midoriya!” Ashido said, walking up to his table. Instead of taking a seat, she stood just to his side, with her hands clasped behind her back.

"Oh, hello Ashido. Are you feeling okay?" he asked, noticing that her usual pink complexion was much paler than usual. 

“I’m fine. Just a little under the weather. But that’s not important. There’s… there’s something I want to ask you.”

He was a little surprised at how circumspect she was being. Normally she just barreled forward without much thought for the consequences. Whatever problem she was having must have been very important. He turned his full attention towards her words as he nodded for her to continue. Her training and advice had been incredibly beneficial to him, not to mention how much he enjoyed spending time with her. Helping with her problem was the very least he could do.

“Okay…” she said, swallowing loudly. Then, she brought her hands, and the package they held around and thrust it towards him. “I wanted to give you these, and to ask if you wanted to go see a movie this weekend?”

The package was small and covered in heart-patterned wrapping paper, with a small bow wrapped around it. A small white tag in the upper corner had his name on it, with a small heart in place of the dot on the I.

His brain ground to a halt as the implications of the present, and the question she had just asked registered for him.

“A-A movie? This weekend? Like… Like a d-d-d-date?”

Her cheeks burned lilac as she nodded, her eyes firmly fixed on his feet. 

“W-W-W-With me?”

Another nod.

“I-I, uh, I would l-love to.”

Slowly, her eyes rose to meet his once more as a wide smile bloomed on her face. Her eyes seemed to shine, turning her irises to liquid gold, and she began to bounce on her heels with excitement.

Izuku felt his heart skip a beat at the sight. He had noticed long ago that she was pretty, but in that moment she looked more beautiful than anyone he had ever seen before.

“Great!” Ashido said, clasping his hand in hers as she thrust the box of chocolates into his grasp, “I’ll text you after class and we can pick something out!”

With that she spun on her heel and marched out of the cafeteria, leaving Izuku to slowly melt down as the fact that a pretty girl had just asked him out finally registered. 

Mina, meanwhile, made it all the way out of the cafeteria before she let out a shriek of excitement and elation and ran off to tell Hagakure about everything that had just happened.