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lorkai · 3 years

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🌺 Title: One More Life

🌺 Summary: There is no future without learning the mistakes of the past, but there is also no past without the hope of a better future. And to repair mistakes or to make things better, a child is dragged into a tragic history of coups d'état, deaths and re-concessions.

🌺 Words: 4096

🌺 Notes: Some may remember that I already posted this story here, but I decided to rewrite this chapter. Hope you like it.

🌺 Warnings: Mention of dismemberment, explicit death, gore. Please check the tags for more.

The closed clouds formed strange patterns over the faint sunlight that ended on the horizon, red and orange slowly disappearing, leaving behind a thin trail of snow. And despite the hours, the children ran over the lights of the lanterns that they carried in their small hands, without knowing what was close to happening. Their laughter would be remembered in young Morgana's mind for a long time. Everyone was happy, after all it was the Harvest Festival - affectionately nicknamed the Demon Race by the girl - it was the day when her Lord liked to send his little soldiers to face demons that he summoned to see how much they had evolved with their magic and spells, that always happened at the end of the night.

Morgana did not grow up in a good or happy place, but she had no choice but to follow what her Lord commanded. The organization he worked for was also not a good place if she remembered correctly, there were so many experiments going on, so much pain and cries of help echoing through those walls that would never come out of the young girl's head or anyone who heard them. It was terrifying.

And in the dark of the old empty hut, she sat. Chained at the ankles by a metal pillar. The dark did not frighten her any more than the task entrusted to her, hunting demons, killing them and bringing their hearts to her Lord. Morgana hated that time of year, hated the snow pulling her down and the cold so intense to freeze her bones, and on top of that she hated the magic that came out of her hands and the blood that spread through her fingers afterwards. She hated the throbbing of the organ in her hands and even more that sadistic smile on the face of the man who had taught her so much about magic. But she had no choice, not yet.

"Your folly is amazing, my dear." Said a well-known voice, making Morgana turn around. It took her eyes to get used to seeing something in the immense darkness that surrounded her, but when she finally found him she started to massage her temples in search of momentary relief. It was Toby, a small, transparent ghost who wore bloody rags of clothes that looked from the 1800s. He was, unfortunately, the girl's dead brother, now a ghost bound to accompany her.

"What would you have done?" She replied, showing her hands chained by heavy metal. She didn't want to have to deal with the ghost now.

"I sure as hell wouldn't be pretending to be a good girl, waiting for someone to give me an order. Morg, you must take the chance to escape. They plan to summon a strong demon this time... What was the name again? Diavovo? Dialovo?" Toby yelled, crossing his arms. He floated to the other end of the cell, tossing a thick, old black leather book from hand to hand. And contrary to his angry tone, the ghost seemed calm, stopping beside his sister to hand her the book. "Whatever! You know the Demon Race is the closest thing you have to an opportunity to escape."

"Patience, my dear. I can't rush the sand into the hourglass any more than it can." She said, mysterious. Her fingers traced the pattern of unfamiliar letters and she smiled, feeling the strong magic so familiar that emanated from that Grimoire. The book that belonged to each of her brothers was hers now and she asked that it be useful in her journey. "Can't run away now, brother. This isn't the time. Also, you know what B would say."

"I don't care what that traitor has to say to me! He wasn't there when you or our brothers begged for help, he isn't here now to save you." the ghost grunted grudgingly and crossed his arms over his chest, seeming to adopt a defensive posture. "I insist you use this to escape, there's a very useful spell here. Take a look."

Morgana looked. It was the old book that passed from sibling to sibling in her family, but she never read it and didn't even know her secrets. Its pages were old and fragile, yellowed, she analyzed the strange letters forming strange words – it was an unknown language that was written there, but little by little the words moved and began to form sentences that the girl knew and understood. Spells appeared over the pages and she let out a big sigh this time, one of relief. Toby moved closer to her. "There are some spells you won't understand, Lothos made sure the younger ones wouldn't understand. So I can translate what you don't understand." The ghostly fingers roamed the pages with great nostalgia as he read her the simplest spells, almost overjoyed that she couldn't read in the dark.

And she was looking at him even through the dim light from a lantern, but it pained her to nurture his hopes when she herself knew she might die at any moment. She wasn't going to run away from Cosmos, no, she was going to destroy them inside and save those who could be saved. The emotion she felt at the moment couldn't be explained, she was happy to have him around and hear his voice, but she didn't feel his touch, his heat. Anyway, that moment was almost enough to make her forget what was going to happen within the next few minutes. There was a noise that disconcerted her and made her close the book with a bang, she quickly stuffed it into the pocket of the dress she was wearing. And she waited.

She looked at the figure standing over the wooden door, the light shining over his head as he chuckled softly. Then she noticed that he was shaking the human head of a child much younger than she was, and his red eyes glowed with excitement, watching the blood trickle across the floor of the cell. "He deserved it, he was making so much noise when I whipped him. But I like to think of it as his good luck gift." He threw his head towards the girl, falling to her feet. The child's transparent eyes stared at her, hot blood running in abundance over her legs and onto the floor. A horrendous image. She tried to move away but the chains stopped her.

"Too bad. His voice was so beautiful when he screamed." He commented and removed a cork of keys from his pocket, walking very calmly towards his expressionless pupil. He seemed to root for her to cry, for her to scream so he could punish her, but that didn't happen. He released her from the chains slowly as the blood on his hands smeared her and made her shiver even more, he pulled back far enough so that she could get up and seemed to find the sounds of bones cracking amusing. "Project K is almost perfected, so no failures will be tolerated. Stay still."

Morgana pressed one hand against the other, bracing herself. He handed her a red pill and watched as she swallowed without question. The burning sensation that engulfed her body was almost unbearable, causing her to fall to her knees and bring her hand to her throat. And anger filled her as her lord laughed to the point of being in tears. The pill he handed her must have been an improved version of the drug they were creating, she felt like she was being ripped from the inside out and blood leaked from her mouth as her vision glowed. Everything about her body ached, Toby and His lord went out and into focus. His voices mingled in her head as she vomited more blood.

"There, there." Her lord pulled her to her feet, using a spell to stop the bleeding. He patted her head lovingly as he smiled and she leaned closer to the contact, albeit involuntarily. His gestures didn't match what he was saying at all, but it took her a few more moments to process that. "It's going to be alright honey so don't let us down. I know you can do it, now go." He gently guided her out of the hut and closed the door slowly. A barrier was erected as soon as the girl was thrown out, to protect him. And she heard him laugh. Maybe he imagined all the bodies he would have on his worktable in the morning. Perhaps he had imagined a morbid joke. She didn't want to know.

"Are you okay?" Toby questioned. "Do you feel pain anywhere?"

"I am fine, brother." She analyzed the landscape around them. Shady trees, whose roots were hidden by snow, rose so high that their leaves and branches almost completely obscured the dim moonlight. This was a perfect place for demons to come to hide waiting for a meal, a subtle black trail of sulfur could be discerned through the tree branches. The smell also did not hide that there were demons there. She looked up at her brother, stifling a moan of pain as she smiled so as not to worry him. "Where are we going?"

"Demons everywhere. Three of them are northwest, seventy meters and they're strong. But there are two weaker ones you can kill easily, ten meters away. This way." Toby pointed, starting to follow a narrow path between some crooked trees, destroyed by the force of some demon. He heard Morgana walking behind him and her teeth gnashed so hard that he felt sorry for her, he couldn't feel the cold or heat anymore due to his condition, but he remembered now that she wasn't so lucky. The fine clothes she wore couldn't protect her from the incessant cold, that was a punishment and even she knew it. She had failed in her last mission, so it made sense to let her suffer her own luck. He knew she wouldn't survive like this and they had little time for it. Unfortunately she couldn't use any fire-based spells either because the scent would alert the demons.

Toby stopped his sister with a wave of his hand, gesturing to the pockets of her dress. "I almost forgot, but there's a spell in the Grimoire you can use to keep yourself warm. Let me show you."

"You know the cold can't kill me, even if it hurts" She warned him, giving a half laugh that was followed by several sneezes. Toby frowned as if he didn't quite believe his sister, signaling to himself as if he was setting an example. "Right, but that won't happen, brother."

"Enough stubbornness and give me the Grimoire. We have to be quick." Morgana let out a huff of indignation as she pulled the book out of her pockets and opened it, after glancing from side to side to make sure no one else was there. She created a sphere of light and illuminated the pages while a short wave of wind caused by the ghost opened the right page. He whispered the spell to her once, twice. Then she chanted it aloud and felt something warm run through her body, strengthening her. "Back to the subject... Use the Grimoire." He muttered looking directly at the book in her hands, with puppy eyes.

Morgana was preparing to give him an answer not as kind and patient as the others, but she was silent. She hid behind a tree when she heard a thin scream very close by. It had started. Really started. Limb by limb and the sound of flesh being ripped off was heard through the forest loud and clear, she covered her mouth with her hand so that no sound escaped her and signaled for the ghost to see what was happening.

"Looks like we found them, yay." Toby muttered grudgingly, his fingers making hollow sounds against the trees he touched. The feeling of running or fighting was never higher than when he approached some supernatural being, not that the ghost had seen more than other ghosts and lost souls, but he knew a thing or two. Finally he went to his sister, almost exasperated. "If you insist on following your role, the audience awaits your show, little star. They say they want to see his heart."

"If you insist." The girl whispered something in a low tone with her hands clasped together as if to pray and from the center of her hands flaming chains ripped the skin until they huddled together, moving of their own accord. Morgana was smiling. And she moved faster than Toby's eyes could see, like furious lightning. Toby ran to accompany her, without worry. He had seen a lot of that happen over the years. And it came as no surprise to him when he saw Morgana manipulating the chains and lifting the demon's body by one, two, three, four meters from the ground, hearing him scream when his arms and legs were broken, twisted at odd angles. Bones exposed on his skin. Black blood trickled over the snow as he screamed profanities.

"I really didn't want to do this." A deep, husky voice came from the girl's lips as she laughed, enjoying the smell of burning flesh. The chains slowly burned the entire demon's body, to the point that she would have ripped his heart out of his chest before he died. "But the grains of sand can only fall into the hourglass when it is time for them to fall."

"You are the disgusting witch that everyone talks about!" The demon screamed, blood dripping from his mouth. He struggled against the chains, but the more he struggled and screamed, the more the chains tightened.

"The only one but I think you don't like me that much, too bad." Morgana made a single movement that threw the demon on the ground and she approached him, pulling a red blade from her pocket that she would use to kill him. The demon tried to fight the chains, struggling, forcing its wings to work to get him out of there. But the girl kicked him in the face and commanded the chains to hold him more tightly. Toby flinched when he heard the sound of more bones being broken. "You had to be a low level one, it smells like sulfur. Shame on you, someone of your level would never be able to kill me." And then she sank the blade into the demon's chest. More blood flowed as she stabbed again and again, feeling it tremble beneath her small body, laughing when she saw life abandon the weak entity.

Toby yelled after her that he was dead, but she only stopped stabbing him when he was reduced to an unrecognizable mass of flesh. The white dress she wore was black, filled with demonic blood. She looked down at her hands with something akin to curiosity, then she looked down at the body and for a moment she couldn't make out anything that had happened there. "Fuck, this shit is scary every time. Morg, you...?"

"I'm fine, silly." She returned the chains back into her hands as she grunted in pain, the next moment her palms were intact as if they had never been injured. She got up quickly, muttering aggressively that she would have to find another demon now that she couldn't take the one she'd just killed, so she stepped away from the dead body and looked around. The sun wasn't even close to rising yet and she had plenty of time, but she also knew that failing couldn't be an option. Not this time. She has seen what happened to those who failed and it was something much worse than what happened to that demon at her feet. There were so many limbs and guts out of a body while her lord was using poisons and having fun, she didn't even need an anatomy book to tell the difference between a lung and a tibia. She wouldn't be next - between failing here and being next, she could freeze to death.

"You went into a trance again." Toby sighed, if he was alive he would probably be shaking. "Are you wondering about your next target?" Morgana nodded.

"Far away. About forty meters. But they are powerful." Toby tried to concentrate to find out something else, but he didn't have much to feel. They were powerful entities without a doubt, if they were strong to face the girl or not he did not know and did not want to know, he wanted her to run away. But there was only a little he could force her to do. The ghost watched as she seemed to consider whether she was going after them or not, but stopped walking before she could state her thoughts. There was a dismembered body in front of them. The head was tied to a tree as if it were a sinister pinata, a wide smile from cheek to cheek still frozen on the face. Blood dripping still. It was recent. She gasped and tried to walk away, but she felt something hot and hard on her feet that made her stop. Something that the faint light of the moon illuminated very well, she stepped on top of the corpse's guts.

"All this for what, I wonder sometimes. So many dead children, so many tormented spirits. If the fate had been different they could have been happy away from this misery." Toby whispered so quietly that even a breeze made more noise. He tried to pull her away, despite being cruelly reminded that he couldn't touch her. He was just a lost voice over others inside his own sister's head, so he did what he could. He caught her eye and pointed to a safe place.

"Because they are all too cowardly to fight for what they want, so they train us and use us," Morgana shivered with rage when tears came to her eyes, her fist closed on the blade that was just used in the poor devil's murder. "We are weapons in a war that we do not even know when it will happen. But it will be all right because I will destroy Cosmos and free all who still live, even if I die trying, I will drag those motherfuckers to hell with me!"

"Oh, now you're talking like yourself, good little girl." She felt the speck of happiness in the ghost's voice, even with all the sarcasm he dripped from each syllable. "Morgana, the girl who wanted to save the witches. Sounds like a good title for a biography." Toby continued to tease.

"I won't save them, wizards, humans, they both always think they're above everyone else. I'm just going to free them and then go home. Or what's left of our house. They can handle their problems on their own." Morgana sighed, crouching for a moment in the mud to undo an exploding trap. She eyed the device curiously before standing up and following the ghost further into the forest. The trees gave way to a brighter place, a snowy field opened up for them. A frozen river was mere steps ahead, their reflection was reflected under the stars and moon. There, the girl almost looked livid. A confirmation that her dead brother really was by her side - not that she didn't know it, but she thought she was crazy after everything she'd been through there.

"What are you going to do?" Toby asked, floating around her. She shrugged with a cynical laugh.

"I have all the information to destroy them, but I need time and resources," She explained taking a big breath to try to warm up, but she failed and she shivered. "We will complete this ridiculous task and we will go back to the base."

"Or you can open a..." Toby tried to dissuade her like an annoying good brother, but he stopped in mid-sentence and turned with confusion hovering over his face. And for the first time he was serious. If he could go pale with fear, he would surely be now. Although he was tired of running around, protecting the girl, he knew that every year was the same thing. But as he said hours earlier, her lord had summoned stronger demons this year. And the ghost felt three of them behind them at that moment. The same ones he didn't know if his sister would be able to defeat.

He pointed out to Morgana that she should start walking slowly and quietly to get as far away from the hiding demons as possible. Stumbling and almost slipping, Toby pushed his human and hoped that no one would appear. To his displeasure, Morgana started sneezing and coughing up blood again, he felt her magic get out of control and he cursed himself for letting her drink that strange pill the old man had given her. A lot of things could go wrong, but he really hoped nothing would happen now. The bushes moved and branches broke, and when Toby looked around there were three demons staring at Morgana with a desire to take her soul. The young girl was on the verge of a breakdown and he knew that her magic would be as unstable as every other time that she drank that pill.

"Can i do this?" He heard his sister swear in pain. "Do it, brother."

He looked at her before taking possession of her body as he had already done before. The cold she felt, he felt. The feelings and thoughts she had were his now. And with that, he moved his hands very quickly when he realized that the demons were approaching and surrounding them quickly. A great barrier separated them and prevented them from attacking it. It was weak and so he started running while he still had time, looking for a place he could use to keep his sister's body warm and safe until he thought of something.

"Bloody hell, what a shit situation, Morg!" Toby grunted, but now in a hoarse and dragged tone. He did not know how long he looked for shelter or how much time he spent running, but he knew that the presences were approaching again and this time much more aggressive. He heard the murmurs of disdain and sarcasm, and he feared for his sister's life. He saw the horns slowly came out of their heads, small and sharp, twisted to the sides and long black wings with emaciated feathers punctuating out of their backs.

'We are going to die!', Toby thought, no longer able to continue. 'This is all B's fault!'

"Look, Apoliom, Belial! Such a brilliant soul. Will you want to?" One of the demons commented to his friends in a tone of immense mockery, lifting the girl by her white hair and smiling when she struggled to get out of his grip. Unsuccessfully. Toby tried to use the chains, but the most that came out of the palms of Morgana's hands was smoke. And it made the demons laugh hysterically.

"If you're going to eat her soul, do it soon. We have to go back sooner or we are going to have problems." Apoliom murmured with great disinterest in the situation, but he wanted to know how someone so young had a soul as brilliant as those. "We're already full." Belial shrugged. "Hurry up!"

The demon's face seemed to melt like candle wax, revealing a hideous face of muscle, and his eyes went the blackest shade Toby had ever seen. He leaned forward, encouraged by the other two friends who had already satisfied their hunger, he opened his mouth ready to suck Morgana's soul, and if Toby still had one, his too.

But a very bright light suddenly blinded all the demons. It was hot. Intense. Angry and calm in the same proportion. There were screams of pain and curses thrown at random, but the light just kept expanding and expanding. And a flood of warm feelings went through the ghost's chest and he knew that this sensation reached Morgana somewhere in her tired mind, he felt that she fell into a deep sleep, warmed by that light. Her body finally fell, but not in the snow. In a pair of firm and gentle arms that lifted the small body. The demons were forgotten, expelled, although not even Toby was able to remain lucid for a long time, visibly affected by using possession for so long.

"The only survivor, we are going to take her with us, Barbatos."

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bored-storyteller · 4 years

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how would Jack, Azul, and Idia react to an S/O who kisses them randomly throughout the day in random places like head, cheek, hands, etc. also i love ur blog 🙇‍♀️💕

Here it is, I am not sure what structure I gave to this, but anyway, three kisses to each one! So they don't fight. And there is Idia. My favorite is Leona, but I swear I'm loving writing for Idia.

22- Twisted Wonderland - Azul, Jack, Idia x s/o

Azul Ashengrotto

1- The first kiss is in the morning. Before the lessons begin, when the corridors are a forest populated by students, Azul feels himself being taken by the hand for a moment, as if someone wanted to attract his attention.

He is not surprised to see the eyes of s/o looking at him, but when he is about to ask what they want, they simply raise his hand, and bringing it to their lips they gently kiss his fingers.

That sudden gesture paints Azul's face red, but before the confusion leaves him to clarify the situation, the bell at the beginning of the lessons makes them run away.

2- Classes that morning are difficult for Azul. It is difficult for him to concentrate, because the thought of the sweet, unexpected feeling of that morning is always present. Also, the amused smiles of the Leech twins at lunch certainly don't help him relax.

He waited for lunch for a long time, to be able to see his s/o and to be able to clarify with them, but he did not see them at all. Neither in the cafeteria, nor in the garden, nor in the Mostro Lounge.

Sitting on a bench, he seems to have given up on having to wait, until a new, strange sensation makes his eyes widen.

A slight pressure, warm and sweet, rests just behind his ear. A kiss.

When he turns his head confused, he meets the sweet smile of s/o.

"W-What ...?!"

Again, a bell interrupts the moment, leaving him alone, with his desperate face hidden in his hands.

3- The third kiss comes in the evening, when Azul is alone in the Monster Lounge. S/o enter with a genuine smile, after a whole day of study away from him, and with a light greeting he approaches the boy, kissing his cheek with love.

At that point, in the solitude of the place, despite the red face Azul dares to speak.

"I never asked for this. All this affection."

They simply smile, chuckling, while their arms surround his waist.

"I know, it's that I like you very much."

And there at that spontaneous demonstration of love, Azul cannot help but sigh, holding his precious s/o close to him, while they kiss his neck affectionately.

Jack Howl

1- The first kiss is on his shoulder.

Jack and s/o are quietly doing a research in the library, they absolutely must finish it by the weekend.

He is leafing through a book he has just taken off the shelf, when s/o's sweet lips rest casually on his strong shoulder.

Jack, being the boy he is, he can't help but panic. His hard face turns completely red, contrasting with his silvery hair.

"What- What are you doing ?!"

But s/o's attention seems to have already returned (apparently) to the book they hold, and when they look up at him at his exclamation, their gaze is questioning.

Oh shit, did it really happen or did he just imagine it? With a little embarrassment and disappointment, Jack returns to what he was doing.

"Nevermind ..."

He mumbles with a deep sigh.

2- The second time he is sure he hasn't imagined it.

He did not imagine the lips of his s/o on his cheek. They are sudden and elusive, but today they lean on him without him being able to foresee them, as if he were a prey.

Again with his hot face he turns quickly to s/o, as if he wants to eat them, too embarrassed as he is.

He is about to speak, but his breath hangs in his throat to see their back turned towards him, in the distance, while they search in the library shelves humming carefree.

Now, with a slight pout, from time to time he glances at s/o. Even if he would never admit it, he loves cuddles.

3- In the late afternoon, the brain of a poor student who is busy with research from lunchtime can't take it anymore.

With a sigh Jack closes the book, and stretching his tired muscles he turns to s/o sitting next to him.

"We could go eat something ..."

He mumbles, looking at them out of the corner of his eye. S/o smile, happily nodding to the proposal.

Closing the book with a snap they get up, and with a natural gesture they bend down to kiss Jack's head, right between his soft ears.

Okay, now he has seen it. Slowly his golden eyes rise to go and look at their smiling face. The amber skin of her cheeks once again brightens, but she is trying to control herself as much as possible.

"What was this for?"

He asks, earning a sweet little laugh from s/o.

"Oh well, I want to protect you."

Oh ok. No, he certainly cannot control himself now. He could swear he had a fire inside.

He jumps out of his chair, growling to hide all his embarrassment.

"I don't need protection!"

S/o laugh happily. He is so cute when he blushes like this.

"I know, but it doesn't matter. As you protect me every day, I also want to protect you."

Well, he's sure he's burning now.

He runs a hand over his desperate face. How can he resist such sweetness? Jack is a nice guy, and very strong. Of course he will protect such a good creature in that cruel world.

S/o laughs, while Jack's face hides in their shoulder to hide himself, but also to smell their perfume.

Idia Shroud

1- Idia tries to move as little as possible. The less it sets foot in society the better it is, without a doubt. He is grateful to be able to have his dearest creature next to him in the moments available without necessarily having to meet her outside his dorm.

Yet there are cases in which he is forced to set foot in society, for example at a particularly important lesson. And in addition to having to be face to face with people, he is also forced to see everything with which s/o are constantly in contact even in his absence. It is easier for him to trust them when he does not see how much they love that world.

S/o know it and they see the sad expression that is painted on Idia's delicate face, yet they don't feel sad.

Gleefully they approach him and without saying a word grasp his sweatshirt slowly, to make him bend slightly.

"See you at lunch."

They murmur, kissing the tip of Idia's nose.

Oh goodness, what are they going to do to this poor boy? He is not used to this in public, at all. It must be red like a strawberry. But at least the melancholy has been driven away by its terrible embarrassment.

2- The second kiss is probably even more embarrassing for him.

Idia is waiting s/o in the most isolated and shady corner of the garden. Sitting on the ground with only Lucius dozing near his ankles, he sincerely hopes that they will arrive as soon as possible with lunch, partly because he feels safer to have them around, partly because he is really hungry.

When he finally sees them arriving in the distance with the two paper bags he cannot hide a shy smile.

"Sorry if I'm late!"

They reach him, their red faces for running.

They sit next to him and immediately hand him the lunch packet, but as soon as the smell of food reaches Idia's nostrils, his stomach growls greedily requesting to be filled.

"S-s-sorry…!"

This is the first thing Idia can say, while he looks in shame at the surprised face of s/o.

But if at that moment Idia would like to disappear into the bowels of the earth, the gesture of s/o petrifies him. With a light and amused laugh they bend over his lap, and playfully they leave him a kiss on his suffering stomach.

The breath disappears from Idia's throat. Now he no longer feels an empty stomach, but full of fluttering butterflies. He does not know what a strange day it is today, but he is sure that he will die before the end of it.

3- Idia never has the courage to speak too much, not even in front of the sweet attitude of s/o. But in the evening, when they take him back to his room, he finds their lips resting on his chest, before goodnight.

"What is all this for, s/o?"

The question comes out of him spontaneous, probably because of the complicity of tiredness.

Only when their gaze questions him does Idia regain his social incapacity.

"l-I didn't mean to say ... that is, I don't mind ... but .. here ..."

They smile, shaking their heads cheerfully.

"I'm just glad you're here with me."

They simply answer to him.

Idia says nothing, just stares at them. Then, with a mechanical gesture, he grabs their wrist, to pull them against him. His red face now hidden in their hair.

"... ok."

#twisted wonderland #twst #idia shroud #jack howl #azul ashengrotto #disney twisted wonderland #disney twst #twst jack #twst idia #twst azul #idia shroud x reader #twisted wonderland idia #jack howl x reader #azul ashengrotto x reader #twisted wonderland x reader #twisted wonderland x you

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tiaragqueen · 4 years

Text

For The Sake Of You

✂ Pairing: Yandere! Kim Taehyung x Reader

✂ Word Count: 1,6k+

✂ Trigger Warnings: Possessiveness, implied obsessiveness

✂ This story is fictional and for amusement only. I don’t believe any of the members would do this in real life. As always, thank you for reading and I hope you have a good day!

Do not re-upload my writing to another website or use it without my permission.

[Edited]

***

This is quite a sensitive subject, so I apologize if I accidentally offended anyone. Your body is beautiful just the way it is.

If you like my writing, please support me on ko-fi!

“I hope very soon you'll see all the love I have (for you) I've been holding some inside, 'cause I thought it was too much (for you).” - I’ll Do Anything For You [Denroy Morgan]

“Do I… really look fat?” you mused as you stood in front of the mirror, shirt lifted slightly to reveal your stomach. You knew that compared to the lean girls you often saw in your school – or anywhere else, really – you had a bit of fat. And you knew that in a country where it prized slender and pale figure, a chubby body was often looked down upon as though it was the ugliest thing anyone had ever seen.

It was hard to stay optimistic. You weren’t oblivious to the sneers and dirty glances, by any means, nor were you dumb enough to not notice the reluctant smiles the girls wore every time they invited you to their sports groups.

You’d tried to ignore it, though, thinking that it’d pass. There was no way everyone would suffer forever, right? At least, that was what those quotes on the internet told you. You didn’t want to burden yourself more with their snide remarks, the countless homework and projects had done their job already. But you couldn’t stay impervious now, can you? There was only so much you could stomach, so many bitter pills to swallow, and your growing insecurity didn’t help you in the slightest.

You could only pray for a good tomorrow and for those people to stop mocking you, but even that wasn’t enough.

Because you knew they wouldn’t stop, as painful as it was to admit it. As long as you still had this body, they wouldn’t cease to nitpick every single thing from you.

“Baby, what’s wrong?”

And yet, the school’s heartthrob, Kim Taehyung, always went out of his way to approach you. You didn’t know why he did that, not when there were other prettier and richer girls striving for his attention. Not to mention, he had this strange tendency to call you pet names as if you were dating each other. You remembered being uncomfortable and pleaded him to stop in fear of people picking up the – in your eyes – nonexistent signs and got the wrong idea. You didn’t think you could bear any more insults from them.

Taehyung had chuckled then, promising that he wouldn’t call you affectionately in front of other students ever again. And you’d sighed in relief and thanked him for his consideration, thinking that you’d finally solved a problem before it could grow out of hand.

It didn’t. Well, not exactly. Taehyung seemed to be more doting in private, often dropping by your house and buying your favorite food despite your protests. Sometimes he invited you to go out, his cute grin weakening your resolve. You wondered if he knew the effect on you, or if he purposefully used that against you. It wasn’t as though he was blind to his admirers groveling him at pretty much every opportunity, and yet, he didn’t look like he was actively enjoying the attention, either. He kept his gaze solely on you, even in a crowded place.

It was like he couldn’t tear his eyes away from you no matter what. Regardless of your attempts to deter him, he always ‘rebounded’ faster and showered you with more affection than usual. You’d learned that it’d be good, and wise, to let him do whatever he wanted because you couldn’t handle his onslaught of love without dying from blood loss.

And, surprisingly, he took great care of yourself too. Sometimes, you even suspected him treating you like fragile glass. It was weird, in a slightly flattering way, because some boys treated you rather roughly due to your size. They thought that you’d be okay without ever noticing, nor would they care much about your feelings. You didn’t know if you should be grateful or weirded out with the new, and honestly pleasant, situation.

You swiftly pulled down your shirt and turned around, grinning like a child being caught red-handed by their parents. You forgot that he liked to have a sleepover at your house on weekends because his own house was too ‘quiet and lonely’. Your parents were fond of him and wasted no time in preparing the guest room, wanting to please their ‘son’. Though, with how often he slept here, it might as well be his room now. Whenever you asked his reason, he’d either deflect it or say that his parents didn’t pay him enough attention like yours did. Both of them didn’t convince you in the slightest, but you eventually dropped it. Besides, he was a good guest and you and your parents had no complaint regarding his presence.

You hadn’t paused to think about his ‘infallible charm’ that people often mentioned, though.

“Taehyung, w-what are you doing in my room?” You shakily turned the attention back to him, hoping that it wouldn’t provoke his suspicion even further. He was unconvinced, however, and frowned.

“I’ve been calling you to watch the TV with me. Didn’t you hear?” He gave you no chance to respond and merely stepped forward. “No, of course, you didn’t hear. Someone has been messing with your mind too much lately, am I right?”

You supposed there was no use in hiding from him. Taehyung could be awfully perceptive if he wanted to, especially if it involved you. Perhaps it was the reason why your parents trusted him so much because they felt like he could ‘protect’ you when they weren’t able to.

“I-it’s nothing!” You waved your hands frantically like it’d deter him from cornering you against the mirror. “I-I was just… looking at my stomach, see if I can… improve a bit.”

He cocked his head, looking more and more displeased with your pitiful responses. “Improve or change?” He framed the question like it was rhetorical, and you knew he got you there. Very soon, he was merely inches away from your trembling body. Warm breath fanned your head as he raised a hand to touch your cheek. You flinched, and that was enough to freeze him temporarily. “Tell me who they are. I’ll make sure they regret ever mocking you.”

You snapped your head towards him, face blanched upon seeing the cold fury that clung like ice to his visage. Why did he look so angry? Did your insecurity affect him that much? You thought you were the only one who had been suffering silently but turned out, he was in no better position than yourself. It felt… weird and enlightening to know that someone cared about you, discounting the implication of his ‘demand’.

Was this what having a friend felt like? Someone who noticed your pain and determined to work it out? If so, then you were fully grateful for his existence.

“No, no, don’t do that. It’s… it’s bad, okay? Just drop it, I’ll be fine.” You smiled up to him, trying to alleviate his indignation and weaken the resolve behind those frigid eyes. “Besides, we’ll graduate soon, anyway. So there’s no need to pick a fight with anyone.”

However, Taehyung merely shook his head stubbornly. “No, this has been happening for too long. You fake a smile to me and say that everything’s fine, but I know that you’re suffering. It’s obvious that you want to cry, and every time I console you, you always push me away.” A slow, understanding smile stretched his lips. “But I understand now. You don’t want me to comfort you because you want me to solve it instead, isn’t that right, [Name]?”

“W-what? No! It’s really nothing, Taehyung. I–” A swift glare from him managed to root you on the spot. Sensing no way out – it was too late now, you should’ve known something like this would happen soon – you sighed. “It’s just the girls, and yeah, their words kinda hurt me. But you won’t hurt them, right? Please don’t do anything drastic.”

Taehyung regarded you for a moment. “… It depends.”

“Taehyung, please.” You grabbed his arms before he could withdraw them, voice teetering the fine line of desperation and assertion. You didn’t know how strong he was, or how far he’d take his ‘promise’, but the thought of anyone being hurt made you sick. “Please don’t be so rash. If anyone finds out, you could get expelled!”

“I don’t really care about that,” he replied emotionlessly, much to your astonishment. “As long as you exist, I’m willing to do anything for you.”

You gaped at him. Somehow, the determination behind those words managed to make you sicker than you thought possible. You knew you should’ve been flattered, instead. Nobody would take the time to help you, especially when it involved something as ‘trivial’ as your insecurity. Even your parents couldn’t do much with your predicament, believing that everything would be okay as time passed.

Yet, here he was, proclaiming his ‘service’ to you. And with such a resolute face, too.

Perceiving the fear on your dumbfounded visage, Taehyung smiled amicably and reached out to pat your head. “Don’t worry, I’m not gonna hurt them,” he said softly, a reassurance that sounded hollow in your ears.

And true to his words, the girls no longer bullied you. In fact, you didn’t see their faces all day. Other students knew better than to tease you now, or else they’d suffer a vicious glower from the one and only heartthrob.

When you questioned Taehyung about this, he merely beamed and slung an arm around your shoulders to bring you closer to his. You noticed that aside from some curious glances, nobody dared to speak up against the blatant affection.

“They’re far from us now, I made sure of it.” he chirped, smiling down at your concerned expression. "So don't worry your pretty little head, okay? Everything will be fine now."

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myhaikyuuthings · 4 years

Text

“Is this it?” pt 2

warning: angst, fluff pt 1 here

prompt: high school reunions are always messy, especially if you’re y/n

Nishinoya x reader

word count: 2330

a/n: i was listening to music and a sad song came on shuffle about lost love and i couldn’t help myself

‘Karasuno High School 10 year reunion’ screamed at you every time you passed the side table. It was in two days and you still couldn’t decide if you were going to go.

After the break up with Nishinoya you hadn’t been back to Miyagi, let alone the high school. The minute you graduated you went to stay with your grandmother for the summer, starting college directly after. You hadn’t spoken to anyone back home aside from your parents in ten years. There was no point in going.

With a sigh you knelt beside your bed and pulled a box out from under it. You moved to sit on your bed, lifting the lid for the first time in six years. There were movie ticket stubs, amusement park tickets, zoo brochures, even little notes. You took everything out one by one, laying them out. Underneath it all, the pictures.

Just like that, your feelings rushed back. You were so sure it would be safe to look now. Ten years is more than enough time to move on from someone, but you never did. You tried, you went on dates, blind dates, speed dates, tinder dates. No one ever made you feel the way he did. You reached for your phone, and for the first time in a decade you dialed the number and prayed it was the right one.

He answered on the second ring.

“Hi, may I ask who’s calling?” he asked, a woman’s laughter echoing in the background.

“It’s Y/N.. Y/N Y/L/N, I wasn’t sure your number would be the same after so long,” you said, holding your breath.

“Y/N holy shit, it’s been a while. You kept my number all this time?” he laughed, shushing whoever he was with.

“Ah no, it was in my old journal I found, how are you? How’s everyone been?”

“Did you really call me to catch up when the reunions in two days?” he teased you, it really seemed like he hadn’t changed much.

“I’m not sure if i’m going to come to be honest,” you admitted, feeling just a little guilty for it.

“You have to come! You have got to see who I married,” he whined, but you could hear the pride in his voice.

“Tanaka, you could always just tell me,” you whined back, laughing softly with him.

“No can do, if you wanna know how anyone’s doing you better be at that reunion. I know a lot of people want to see you.”

When you hung up, you spent the next several hours reading through your old diary and the letters Nishinoya had given you. You had saved all of them, down to the sticky notes with random faces doodled on them that he used to stick to your notes during class. You opened a bottle halfway through, letting yourself reminisce. It didn’t take long for your pillow to be covered in tear stains and the pain in your chest to resurface.

In the end, you decided to go. You even dressed up a bit, wearing a nice black dress with some heels. Your nerves were high as you walked through the gym doors. The last time you had been here, Noya was yelling about needing to perfect his receives. It scared you a bit how vividly you remembered every detail of your time together just from stepping into the room.

The first person you saw was Tanaka, still as bald as ever with his arm around Kiyoko. He caught your eye, smiling widely and gesturing you over. You walked over, saying your hello’s.

“Bet you didn’t guess I married Kiyoko,” he beamed, giving her shoulder an affectionate squeeze, “she actually said yes to me, can you believe that? Been together nine years now.”

“I’m actually not that surprised, she used to talk about you a lot when we were younger,” you sent Kiyoko a wink as she sputtered around her glass of champagne.

“I can’t believe you remember that,” she laughed, taking your hand, “I missed you, what have you been up to since you disappeared? I tried to keep up on social media but you didn’t post much about how you were.”

“I got my masters, I actually run my own business in my field now, that’s mainly it,” you give her hand a small squeeze, you had deeply missed your best friend, “i missed you too though, I’m sorry for just ghosting you guys like that.”

“I’m not gonna lie it was kind of shitty y/n, but I understand to a degree,” Tanaka admitted, scratching the back of his neck, “Now that the gangs back together though, don’t think you can get away so easily this time.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

You spent the next hour catching up with everyone, assuring them all you weren’t going anywhere this time. Most of them understood why you left, knowing how difficult it would have been to be around them with how close they were to Nishinoya. But Tsukishima made a good point, why didn’t you ever come back? Everyone agreed, wanting to know why you didn’t try to reconnect or respond to their messages once you moved on. You just gave a shrug, claiming it would have been too awkward. You know Sugawara saw through your lie though, he was always good at reading you.

“I’m going to go get another drink, I’ll be back,” you excused yourself as Hinata boasted about his team beating Kageyama’s recently, Kageyama threatening him with violence if he didn’t Hush.They had both changed so much but at the same time they were still the exact same. You really missed them.

Grabbing your drink from the table, you turned quickly and smacked right into someone. Your dress was soaked and from what you could see, so was his shirt. You released a string of apologies, trying to pass him napkins while drying yourself up. When he took the napkins from your hand, that’s when you noticed the name tag.

‘Hi, I’m Yu Nishinoya’ it read. Your heart stopped.

You couldn’t believe it. Was it really him? You refused to believe it. You glanced at his face and instantly regretted it. It definitely was him, and he was just as beautiful as you remembered. You winced seeing the shock on his face, not knowing what to expect. This was probably the worst way you could have met him again. He shook his head, seeming to shake himself back into action.

“Here come with me, they still have the towels in the same place,” he smiled, offering you his hand, “they’ll probably do a better job than these napkins.”

You took his hand, following him to the old clubroom and tried to ignore the raised eyebrow from Tanaka. He passed you a towel, turning to take care of his own clothes. You shivered slightly from the cold, regretting going for a second glass. Wordlessly Nishinoya removed his jacket, holding it out to you.

“No I’m okay I can’t take your jacket,” you rushed, suddenly grateful for how low the lights were as your face flushed.

“Just take it y/n, please? I don’t want you getting sick because I messed up,” he insisted, moving to drape it over your shoulders.

“I’m pretty sure I’m the one who messed up, I did turn around into you after all,” you laughed, accepting the jacket, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, and don’t worry about bumping into me I should’ve looked where I was walking,” he laughed with you, his hands still holding the edges of the jacket. The two of you just stared at each other for a moment before he dropped his hands. “Sorry.”

“How have you been?” you changed the subject, “It’s been forever.”

“Uh yeah, it has,” he coughed, turning to face the window, “I’m the coach for Karasuno now, I have been for about three years since Ukai decided to retire. You own your own business now right?”

“Yeah I do actually, how’d you know?” you asked, genuinely shocked that he knew.

“Just because we haven’t spoken in a decade doesn’t mean I haven’t tried to keep up on how you’re doing,” he smiled, but even in the dim lighting you could tell it wasn’t a happy smile.

The silence was only a few seconds, but it felt like hours. He kept looking out the window, and you kept looking at him. You put your arms in the jacket, placing your hands in the pockets due to the cold. There was a small box in his pocket. You froze.

‘He’s planning to propose to his girlfriend tonight,’ you thought, trying to fight off the horrible feeling in your stomach.

“So Nishinoya, other than coaching what have you been up to?”

“I spent a lot of time fishing after I graduated, helped Ukai out with the shop while he coached, then we kinda switched, that’s really it,” he shrugged, turning his attention back to you. “I’ve dated here and there but it never really lasted.”

‘What?’ you thought, stunned.

“What about you? Aside from your business you don’t really post online,” he chuckled, his own cheeks a dark red, “have you found the one?”

You did. Twelve years ago, and you lost him too soon. You couldn’t tell him that though, it wasn’t fair to him so instead you said, “I haven’t actually, no one ever felt right for me.”

He nodded like he understood. He probably did honestly, and you two went back to the silence. You nodded at nothing, looking around the room. When you glanced back at him you saw his eyes locked on your hands in the jacket pockets.

“Oh! Right um, if you don’t want me to hold onto the things in your pocket I can give them to you, I didn’t even think-” you rushed out, blushing furiously.

“Don’t worry about it, the only thing in their is yours anyways,” he cut you off, coughing again. You tilted your head in confusion while he just avoided your eyes. “You can open it if you want.”

Your curiosity got the best of you and you pulled out the box. The bump of your heartbeat against your ribcage didn’t help your anxiety. You slowly opened it, a shiny ‘N’ pendant staring at you head on. You glanced up at him, trying to figure out why he brought this. Not to mention why he still had it.

“I lied back then,” he blurted, smacking a hand over his mouth as soon as the words left it.

“What? Yu what are you talking about?” you were trying not to let your hopes get the best of you, heartbreak hurts enough the first time. There’s no reason for you to suffer again when you haven’t even recovered from the first time.

“When you asked me if I meant it,” he sighed, shaking his head at himself. “I don’t know why I lied, but I did and I don’t know why I’m even telling you this now or why I brought that necklace.”

“You lied,” you repeated, touching the initial softly, “if you lied, what did you really mean? Please Yu, I need to know.”

“Nothing is worth losing you, I wanted to go back in time and spend more time with you instead of practicing, or even just invite you to study at my practices so we could be near each other,” oh, why didn’t you ever think of that, “I wanted to restart those months. That’s what I meant, it’s what I should have said.”

You hadn’t realized you were crying until you watched a tear drop glide off your nose into the box. You quickly wiped your eyes, not wanting to cry in front of him.

“I wish you would have said that,” you admitted, giving him a sad smile.

You closed the box, putting it back in the jacket pocket. You pulled off his jacket, placing it in his hands. With a breath to collect yourself, you smiled at him one last time. “I think I’m going to head home, thank you for telling me the truth.”

You didn’t make it three steps before his hand wrapped around your wrist.

“I watched you walk away before and I have regretted it every second of every day for ten years, I can’t just let you leave again,” he said, his voice filled with emotion.

You closed your eyes, trying not to break down. Keeping your back to him, you moved to remove his hand from your wrist. He reluctantly let go, the both of you standing silently, tears falling freely.

“Noya-”

“I still want you,” you felt him take a step closer, nearly touching you, “I still need you, I’ll make it right I swear, I’ve loved you from the moment I saw you and haven’t stopped since.”

You turned to face him, jumping slightly when you realized how close your faces were. His face was red and blotchy from the crying, his cheeks wet. You reached your hand up, wiping away his tears. He leaned into your touch, closing his eyes.

“I haven’t met the one since we stopped talking because I always knew you are the only person for me,” you whispered, resting your forehead against his and closing your eyes.

He wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling your body flush against his. You felt his tears wetting your shoulder but you just cried with him. Holding him felt like waking up from a bad dream and realizing you’re safe. You have never felt as comfortable and safe in any aspect of your life than when he’s holding you.

“Can we try again, properly y/n,” he whispered against your neck, tightening his hold on you.

“I never stopped loving you either,” you replied, pulling back and giving him a teary smile.

When you two walked back into the reunion hand in hand, his initial hanging on your neck, it felt right. For the first time in forever, everything felt right.

#nishinoya #nishinoya yū #nishinoya x reader #haikyuu #haikyuu!!#haikyuu x reader #haikyuu x y/n #haikyuu!! x reader #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu reactions #haikyuu headcanons #haikyuu!! imagines #haikyuu!! reactions #haikyuu!! headcanons

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merakiui · 4 years

Note

Wow! An imagines blog for afterlife! First one as far as I can see... I wish you lots of fun with this! I wonder what your favourite characters from the game are? For me it's going to be Sian and Quincy (I first think I was going to hate this little devil brat but here I am XD). If you don't mind you can do relationship hc's with them and characters of your choice if you don't mind. I don't really have anything specific in mind, just something fluffy, sorry for that! Welcome and have a nice day!

(Is it really the first? Whoa! My favorites so far would have to be Ell and Verine! There’s something refreshing about Ell’s optimistic energy, and Verine seems so soft uwu But Sian and Quincy are also growing on me too. Either way, you’ve got good taste~ Please enjoy these hcs and thank you for being the first request, anon! :D)

Relationship HCs (Sian, Quincy, Ell, and Verine)

🎤 Sian 🎤

He refuses to admit to his feelings in the beginning. Why, you may ask? Simple: It’s embarrassing.

So he does what any normal tsundere would do in that sort of situation. He pushes you away by feigning his disinterest.

Naturally, his behavior comes off as rude and abrupt, but you’re able to see past that cold exterior.

Whenever you send a smile his way or compliment him for his good work, he’s quick to deny it. Though the bright blush on his cheeks always contradicts whatever he might say.

Sometimes he thinks you just enjoy messing with him, if only to see him turn red. It’s quite cute, and you can’t help but giggle when he starts to yell.

“It’s not adorable, so stop laughing! And don’t call me cute either!”

Once you’re together, Sian drops his rude act and becomes very affectionate. He still gets shy over small aspects of your relationship, such as holding hands in public or even mustering the courage to kiss you whenever he feels like it.

Kati will definitely tease Sian whenever he talks about his wonderful, loving manager, and Cyrille will provide him with all sorts of scientific facts about the prospect of being in love, how long it exactly lasts, and why relationships are so important in terms of social interaction.

Sian does his best to ignore them, but he always finds himself getting embarrassed. “Stay out of my personal life! I don’t need your help!” Yes, he’s also blushing while he says this.

Underneath that tsundere behavior is a sweet boy who does his best to give you a perfect relationship.

He’ll take you to his favorite places to eat, claiming that you have to try some of the foods he normally gets. In return, you’ll open his horizons to the things you enjoy eating.

Definitely goes to karaoke with you! The two of you sing to your hearts’ content, sharing a few laughs at the impossible-to-hit high notes. Sian manages to surprise you the first time you hear him sing, and when you make a comment he gets extremely flustered.

On days where the weather isn’t the best, the two of you might stay inside to play card games, making small bets every now and then. Most of these bets are about the number of kisses or hugs the other will receive, and when that’s on the line Sian plays exceptionally better.

He’s written songs before, and now that the two of you are in a relationship some of these are about you. You wouldn’t have known about this had you not found a journal detailing different lyrics and song titles.

Waiting for a Sian x [insert utaite name here] collaboration.

When you confronted Sian about it, he became a mess.

Sian’s never let anyone see any of his creative work before, so this was enough to bring him close to tearing up out of pure embarrassment. He feels as though he could just die on the spot.

You understand his reaction, so you’re quick to close the journal, assuring him that you won’t pry further unless he willingly tells you more.

It takes a bit before he’s confident to actually show you and explain his thought process behind certain lyrics, but he trusts you enough and he knows you won’t laugh at him.

You’re his biggest muse when it comes to songwriting. (You’re also his biggest supporter.)

You’ll catch him humming under his breath to certain songs, and he’ll even start to mumble lyrics he’s made up on the spot. You’ll chime in with your own input, and he’ll be quick to write it down if it strikes a chord in his inspiration.

Unfortunately, his memory isn’t the best, so he often forgets things like anniversaries and special dates. He’ll always apologize with his head bowed whenever this happens, but you never seem too bothered. How can you be upset with someone as affectionate and caring as him?

In times of need, he’ll be there to assist you, as he doesn’t want you to stress yourself out. After all, it isn’t fair for his precious lover to carry overwhelming burdens all on their own.

You’ll always find yourself waking up beside the best boyfriend in the world, who will do absolutely anything for you. At the start of the relationship, he tried to do so many things to impress you. He cooked, cleaned, and made sure to always message you when you’re apart. Eventually, you had to tell him to just be himself and to stop taking advice from relationship blogs.

Please give this boy all the love in the world, and he’ll return it tenfold—albeit with a flustered stutter and pink cheeks.

🔥 Quincy 🔥

As the future Lord of the Underworld, Quincy’s quick to let others know of his position as a devil. Bow before him because it’s either his way or the highway.

He has high hopes for you and even higher hopes for himself.

Quincy will be especially impressed if you’re forward and confident in the relationship, but if you’re not that’s fine. It just means he’ll have to take the lead, which is obviously the best course of action, right? His judgement is flawless!

Just know that if anyone messes with his beloved manager, he’ll have no problem putting a curse on the unfortunate soul who decided to bother you. It’s all in good fun, so don’t worry about those silly humans who are now suffering under the weight of a heavy enchantment.

“Looks like my finger slipped. Guess you’ll have to use your puny brain to figure a way out of that. Hmph!” (Based on that cocky smirk, you’d say he’s quite satisfied with his work.)

He may even teach you a few things about the different types of magic, as he wants you to be as good as he is. Oh, but not too good! Quincy prides himself on his skills far too much to let anyone surpass him.

Every now and then, he’ll tease you about anything and everything—no matter how insignificant it is. Maybe you were late to clock in and Nyang Lead Manager scolded you, or perhaps you accidentally forget your lunch. Either way, he’s going to poke fun at those mishaps.

“Ehh? How could you forget when I reminded you earlier? Well, I suppose you can have some of my lunch. ...If you can handle it, that is.”

Spicy food is his life. He probably participates in those challenges at restaurants just to prove that he can absolutely own the competition.

Petition to get Quincy on Hot Ones.

If you’re also a fan of spicy things, it’ll be a contest to see who can handle the most spice. He ends up winning most of the time, but that’s mainly just because he’s a devil who’s used to scorching heat.

If you aren’t, he’ll be pleased to hold the title as someone who can handle extreme foods really well.

Quincy doesn’t like wasting his time on anything small, so there will always be a purpose behind what he does.

Your dates are quite the colorful variety, ranging from spending the day mixing up new elixirs to sharing stories about the Underworld. One day he’d like to show you around if you’re up for it, but the scenery might take some getting used to.

He’ll ensure that you’re never bored by dragging you around to do whatever the two of you deem exciting. When you get to relax from purifying vengeful spirits, you might find yourselves in the human world disguised under the deceptive properties of Humanizer to visit amusement parks, food vendors, and even occult shops.

The relationship is upbeat, and it keeps you on your toes. You’re never going to feel bored again with Quincy around.

Despite his teasing remarks and overflowing pride, Quincy values you a lot, and when it’s just the two of you he’ll be very endearing. It tends to catch you off guard; one minute he’s laughing about messing with Sian and the next he’s moving in to steal a quick kiss.

You’ll have to deal with any reptiles or insects that happen to cross his path, as he can’t stand them. But if you can’t handle them either, then you’ll seek out Jamie. At least he can keep them safe from Kirr and Aitachi. And from your spooked boyfriend, who wants those critters out of his sight.

Quincy will remind you to come to him if you’re ever worried over something. His advice may not be the most ground-breaking, but it’s the thought that counts. He’s willing to spend hours giving you a friendly pep-talk, and you’re bound to come out of your gloom with a fresh perspective.

☀️ Ell ☀️

He’s a ball of energetic sunshine, so be ready for a very fun, joyful relationship!

Ell always puts you first, ensuring your happiness and well-being.

Honesty is key in this relationship, and that’s mainly because he can’t lie due to his constant sneezing.

And that’s okay because he has nothing to lie about anyways! He doesn’t want to hide anything from you; he’d rather you know than try to keep it a secret.

Imagine all of the cute dates! The both of you could go to bakeries and and sweet shops to try all sorts of delicious treats. Ell would be fond of anything sugary, insisting on playfully feeding you while you’re out in public. Or the two of you could visit craft stores so he can get more supplies for his needle felting.

He’s very big on PDA. Expect lots of hand-holding, random hugs, and kisses on the cheek—even around others when you least expect it. He’ll always smile at you, commenting on how charming you look when you blush at his sudden displays of affection.

Though he’ll try his best to tone it down if Nyang Lead Manager says something about it during work hours. He’ll quietly whine and protest as he tries to explain that it’s hard to resist. He just loves you so much! His complaints tend to get cut off once he starts to sneeze, though.

Along with gifting you his needle felting creations, he’ll also play the lyre for you. He’d be so excited to show you all of the beautiful music it can make. Sometimes he’ll play a few soothing melodies if you have trouble falling asleep.

Speaking of sleep, he adores cuddling. You’ll probably wake up each morning with him clinging to you, the blanket cast aside.

If you’re fond of taking photos, he’ll let you use the light from his halo to brighten the pictures. It makes for a perfect ring light, and he doesn’t mind others wanting to use it. After all, Licht and Kati like to use it for their SNS, so you should too.

If you’re ever having a bad day, Ell will be there to make it better. He’ll do all sorts of things for you, hearing you out when you vent to him about what’s bothering you and even attempting to make a few tiny miracles happen. Anything for his favorite person in the world!

There are times when he feels down as well, but it’s not for long. You’ll always be there to cheer him up. He’s fortunate that you have the patience to help him put his negative emotions into words, and you’ll even sit through all of the times he sneezes. For that, he’s very grateful.

His heart beats faster and he gets bashful when you praise him, but he’ll always fire back with plenty of genuine compliments so you won’t feel left out. There’s lots of love to go around.

Overall, the relationship is so sweet and enjoyable. Ell makes sure there’s never a dull moment when you’re with him, and he truly believes that the two of you will be together for a long time.

He loves you with all of his angelic heart.

“I wish we could spend more time together, but Nyang Lead Manager is giving us so much work. It’s really not—achoo!”

💊 Verine 💊

At first, Verine wonders if the reason you chose to be near him is because of the desire to protect such a sickly Soul Reaper. It bothers him to no end, as he does his best to stay strong despite always having to take different medicines and vitamins.

Once he realizes that you’re not there to pester him about his health, he’s pleasantly surprised. He’s used to others giving him looks of pity, so when you offer your support he can’t help but feel warm inside.

It actually takes him quite a while to confess; the stress of it all was like attempting to find the correct medicine for a specific ailment.

Still, he manages to push his self-consciousness aside in favor of his heart’s wishes, and it succeeds! Luckily for him, since Verine believed his chances were very slim.

While Mori considers him to be a paper doll, you think the opposite. Your boyfriend may be physically weak, but he’s got a strong will and is incredibly gentle with you.

Even if he acts like the presences of others disturbs him, he’s actually quite happy to be near the Soul Reapers. He’s always interacting with the Reapers in Diluculo, but he finds that your company is by far the best.

Most of your dates consist of staying indoors, since Verine doesn’t like the overwhelming temperatures of the outside world. (Occasionally, he’ll sacrifice his comfort so that you can enjoy the outdoors every now and then.)

However, the two of you still find plenty of things to do while inside. From watching your favorite films to assisting Verine with his medicinal herb garden, a lot of these cozy dates are quite serene.

He loves it when you cook his favorite foods. Any meal prepared by your loving hands is a gift he treasures—so much so that he thoroughly believes it’ll heal his aches and pains. Sometimes he doesn’t know how to return the gesture, so you’ll have to reassure him that you don’t need anything. Just his love is enough, and that makes him smile a bit.

Verine is touch-starved since most of his living life was spent in a hospital bed and the only contact he ever received was from doctors checking his vitals. So he’s always eager to let you hug and kiss him.

He might not be into cuddling at first only because he’s afraid his constant coughing will disrupt the calm atmosphere, but once you explain that that doesn’t bother you he’s willing to give it a try. He ends up liking it more than he thought he would, which results in lazy days where the two of you just nap in each other’s arms.

He’ll always be there for you no matter what, and he checks to make sure you’re healthy. Your physical and mental health is very important to him.

If the the two of you ever get into a disagreement, he may bottle up his true feelings for the sake of pacifying you. In the end, both of you talk through it, and this allows Verine to slowly but surely open up about how he really feels.

Verine might keep a lot of his emotions to himself when around the others, but with you he doesn’t have to.

“Ah, I must’ve fainted again. I really am useless.”

When he gets like that, just tell this sweetheart he’s in no way useless. He’s perfect in your eyes, even with his coughing and eternal illnesses, and you wouldn’t have it any other way.

#afterl!fe #after l!fe #afterl!fe sian #afterl!fe quincy #afterl!fe ell #afterl!fe verine #relationship headcanons #afterl!fe x reader #afterl!fe headcanons #afterl!fe hcs #afterl!fe the sacred kaleidoscope #sian #quincy #ell #verine #afterl!fe sian x reader #afterl!fe quincy x reader #afterl!fe verine x reader #afterl!fe ell x reader

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bardsingingasong · 4 years

Text

5+1 Chances to scare you

TITLE: 5+1 chances to scare you | Read on AO3

AUTHOR: Bardsingingasong | MarysseLalonde

RELATIONSHIPS: Kyle Rayner/Jason Todd

SUMMARY: Jason never scares, or that's what he says. Kyle is determined to prove the opposite.

There're 5 times tat Kyle tries to scare his boyfriend and 1 when he gets it, more or less.

WORD COUNT: 3,677

BOOKS/NETFLIX/2002 SHOW/VIDEO GAME: Batman-All Media Types, Green Lantern- All Media Types

TRIGGERS/WARNINGS: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warning.

RATING: G

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

Happy Halloween!

Yeah, I know Halloween is already past, but never is too late to celebrate it!

I'm very glad to contribute to this fandom and this precious ship. I hope you enjoy these idiots in love.

As usual, I want to thank my beta, TanisVs, for her work. You're the best girl, and I love you so much!!

Friendly reminder: English isn't my first language. I'm trying to improve my English, but I have a lot of work to do. Please if you wish to comment, first of all, thank you, and least be polite, I'm doing my best.

Enjoy!

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"As if you could scare me.”

Kyle frowned, and raised his head from Jason's shoulder to look at him. It was late at night. The patrol was over, and Kyle was back on Earth for the next month. They had decided to watch a movie, specifically a horror movie.

Growing up in Gotham and being trained by Batman had made Jason think that he was immune to fear. He liked to pretend he couldn't feel that emotion in particular, but Kyle knew it best. After all, the White Lantern was linked to the emotional spectrum.

"As if you were never afraid,” Kyle bit back. "Everyone feels fear sooner or later.”

"Yes, but it didn't mean you can scare me."

Kyle moved away from Jason, leaning on the sofa to look at him. Jason had that smile of his, which means he was fooling around with Kyle.

"I will," His voice tone was firm. "I know you, I could scare you in one way or another."

Jason stared at him, his smile growing bigger while his fingers held Kyle's chin.

"Sounds like a dare." He sounded playful and sensual. He was using the tone that he knew it drove Kyle mad. He was trying to distract him. Jason probably was bored with the movie, and he was in the mood to play.

And Kyle hated taking the bait so quickly.

"Maybe it is." Kyle was digging his own grave, but he never refused a challenge no matter how absurd it was.

"I would like to see you try."

In a second, Kyle was astride Jason's lap, devouring his mouth.

"It's a dare?" Jason asked between kisses.

"Will you take it?" Jason pulled him and pressed him against his body. His hips were raised, telling Kyle what he was thinking all the time during the movie. That was a little disturbing, but Kyle could understand that it was a time since he was on Earth.

"Maybe later, when I'm not busy".

There were no more words after that. The movie continued playing in the background, but sooner rather than later, their screams of pleasure ended up covering the scare screams from the film.

Later, when they were resting at Jason's bed, Kyle began to think of his plan attack.

“You know, I think we have a ghost in the apartment.”

Jason gave him an incredulous look. He was throw away over the sofa, watching a movie with a large popcorn bowl. Kyle should have joined him, but he had claimed how much he wanted to paint.

"And you think that because... ?"

Kyle stared at him. He usually didn't care how Jason looked like an idiot from time to time, but sometimes he wished his boyfriend would take him seriously. If Jason wanted a reason, he would have one.

"Because I was working on my canvas when some of your books fell from the bookshelf."

“Are you sure it wasn't you who has made them fall?”

Kyle rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. "I'm sure, because your stupid Jane Austen's books are floating everywhere, and I can't do that without my ring."

Red Hood grumbled. He left the bowl on the sofa and paused the movie before he got up. He didn’t seem not much convinced but went to the bedroom anyway. Kyle followed him. The two of them stopped in their tracks at the doorway. The room was uncoordinated, with all Kyle's paints over the bed and the floor. An easel was in front of the windows and on it the unfinished canvas. The scene could be normal, but there were some open books, floating mid-air. The books moved like someone was making them levitate. Maybe for the inexperienced eye they could look more real, but Jason wasn't a beginner. A single look was enough to know what happened there.

"If you make a single scratch on my books, it'll not matter how much I love you, you'll sleep in the streets for the rest of your Earth's days off." Jason said. He turned around and started to walk to the living room. "Put them back on the bookshelf, Rayner.”

The Lantern looked at him and back to the room.

"Aw c'mon, man! Are you serious?!" He ran after him. Jason was again on the sofa with the movie playing and the popcorn bowl on his lap. "You didn't doubt for a second."

"Who do you think I am, Ky?" He threw up a popcorn and ate it in flight. "I work with the big bat, your childish tricks could never fool me."

Kyle sighed loudly. He dropped on the couch, next to Jason, resting his head on the backrest. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Jason's mocking smile. Acting like a child, the White Lantern set the bowl aside and lay down on Jason's lap, crossing his arms with a pout on his face. Immediately, Jason caressed his hair.

Almost all the time, those gestures made Kyle doubt how people could think Jason was anything but a loving person. He knew how brutal and lethal Jason could be, but it was always for a reason... most of the time. The ex-Robin was very protective of the people he loved, and his love was not easy to earn but if you got it, it would last forever.

In Kyle's opinion, the man had suffered enough to let him be imperfect. Maybe Red Hood didn't comply with Batman's code, but he was efficient, and the same hands that could skew a life they also could be affectionate.

"Just for curiosity.” Kyle said. "What gave me away?"

"Many things. Your canvas was dry, and I could see the fishing line a mile away". Jason's voice was flat, even bored, but Kyle knew him for years and he could hear a tiny, tiny, note of fun on his tone. "You'll need to be more convincing if you want to scare me, Lantern."

Kyle snorted, giving Jason a bite in his thigh. Scare Jason Todd would be more difficult than he had thought in the first place.

"OH MY GOD! JASON!"

Kyle's scream surprised him in the shower. Normally he would have ignored the Lantern while showering, but this time something sounded wrong in Kyle's voice. Jason turned off the tap and wrapped himself with a towel. If it was a joke, he would ensure that his boyfriend would have a punishment.

Jason walked towards the kitchen, leaving a trail of water behind him. He would clean it up later, when he was sure Kyle hadn't been hurt by any nonsense. If anyone could do something so stupid and end up hurting himself, it was Kyle (and Dick too, but that was another matter). Sometimes Jason would try to explain to himself how Kyle could survive in space and be part of a group like the Lantern Corps as clumsy as he was.

"It may already be import… ant."

Jason fell silent as he entered the kitchen. Kyle was standing by the counter, with a rolled-up cloth tightly covering his hand. The cloth was completely stained red, and was dripping profusely. The cutting board and the knife with which he must have been working until then were equally stained with red. At first glance, it would appear that Kyle had cut himself. Very much so. To be honest, Jason would say that was the best performance the White Lantern could do. He was even crying! He could have fooled anyone, but not Jason. Definitely not Jason, who could distinguish fake blood from the real one with his eyes closed.

Red Hood saved the prank in his mind, he would ensure that Kyle will do it again with the Outlaws. Roy's face would be epic. But for now, he stayed near the door, looking at Kyle with his arms crossed.

"That's the best you can do?" Jason's tone had no emotion, but he arched one eyebrow, revealing his amusement. Jason had left his warm shower to suffer another pitiful try from his boyfriend to scare him. He'll make Kyle paid for it later. For the moment, Jason would be satisfied with dismantling his joke. "I don't know what have you used as fake blood, but it is more liquid than real blood. Nice whack, Lantern."

"In your defense I would say that it could have been quite convincing for someone with no experience. Play the joke on Jordan or Gardner, they'll fall for it."

"What about John?"

"Steward is the smart one in your little gang. He probably won't believe it."

"Does that mean I'm an idiot too?"

Jason didn't answer. He smiled and said:

"You're going to clean up this mess and make dinner while I finish showering, got it?"

Kyle pouted but smiled after. Scare Jason was his challenge, and it would be more fun than the second Robin had thought.

"Okay, this time it has to be the final one." Kyle took the final look at his latest work: a tall ghostly figure hanging in the middle of his studio. The smell of fresh paint still hung in the air, as the last layer had not yet dried.

The first two attempts had been a total fiasco, but this time Kyle thought he could make it. He had been working tirelessly for days to finish the puppet of the ghost, covered with layers and layers of fluorescent paint that gave it a rather spooky realism.

That night, none of them would be home. Jason had patrol with the rest of the bats, and Kyle would spend the day working as a team with other Earth Lanterns. That meant the Lanterns had an excuse to drink together, and for Kyle it meant he had an alibi when his prank exploded in Jason's face.

"Okay, Kyle, you can do this."

Kyle had left home early, having left a light construction as an alarm to know when Jason was leaving. So he had come back and set the trap, placing it where Jason didn't expect to find it.

When he returned with the rest of the torches, they bombarded him with questions. Hal and Guy laughed outrageously, while John and Simon looked at him with some disapproval. On the other hand, Jessica smiled at him and gave him new ideas in case the prank didn't work.

Time passed quickly between laughs and drinks, and by the time Kyle returned home, he had forgotten his own trap.

"I'm home," he said, opening the front door.

Jason's muffled voice received him. He wasn't in sight, so Kyle thought he was probably in the bathroom. Exhausted and a little drunk, Kyle went to the bedroom to change his clothes, thinking of making a light dinner for him and his boyfriend later. Suddenly, a tall, shiny figure pounced on him. Kyle, lost in thought, had no time to turn away completely and let out a cry of surprise. The figure collapsed after hitting him, and broke into pieces on the floor.

Kyle stood extremely still, totally taken by surprise, and watched what was left of his joke that he had been working on for a whole week. His drunkenness disappeared suddenly, with the loud sound of his heart beating in his ears. Obviously, Jason hadn't fallen into her trap, but he had.

How ironic, a victim of his own plans.

"What's broken?" Jason asked, poking his head out the door.

"My dignity..."

Jason was curious, but didn't push for Kyle to tell him what had happened. Kyle looked, and was, very embarrassed, with a strong blush on his cheeks. He just cleaned up the broken pieces of the ghost without saying a word.

Later, when Kyle checked the security cameras, Jason's laughter echoed throughout. And the next day, when he woke up, the icon of an unread message was blinking on his phone. When he opened it, he found a laconic:

<Jason: 3, Kyle: 0>

Sometimes he really hated his boyfriend.

Kyle started to get discouraged. He already had three failures in his mission to scare Jason. Perhaps it was impossible, after all, Jason had been through too many traumatic experiences since he was a child to be afraid of mundane things like ghosts, blood and floating books. Kyle thought about googling. He knew that Gotham had a website where people explained and taught how to make those kinds of scary jokes and traps, not just for Halloween but in case someone wanted to make them at any time of the year. Kyle thought it was a bit disturbing. Some of the jokes were funny, but others also made him think that most people in Gotham needed to go to therapy.

"How do you make a fake cut head? And then they say this city has the highest crime rate in the country. I wonder why."

Kyle decided to try one and ended up watching all the available tutorials. They were really creepy and unpleasant, although Jason probably wasn't afraid of them either.

"But I don't lose anything by trying..."

What Kyle hadn't counted on was having to watch people hide their fake heads in the fridge. That made him feel a lot worse than knowing that he probably couldn't scare his boyfriend, because... Well, the thought of Alex had never stopped hurting him. He had learned to deal with it over time, it was true, but... No, if he was going to play that prank on Jason, he couldn't, shouldn't, even think about going near the fridge with something that simulated a human body part.

The choice of model was quite easy. He couldn't risk anyone going off the rails, so he couldn't choose anyone from Jason's immediate environment. No Waynes, no Alfred, no Outlaws, no Titans in general. So he had to use someone just as willing as he was to play those kinds of jokes. Guy Gardner was always the best choice if you were looking for a partner in crime. Kyle only needed to tell him his plan so Guy would sign up without hesitation.

Now, a large jar was on the kitchen table, and inside was a picture of Guy's head.

"I'm home!" Jason announced from the front door.

Kyle looked up from the picture he was working on and took a look at the jar. He smelled the Chinese food, Jason had brought dinner. "Kyle?"

"Here." Kyle forced himself to stay focused on his work.

Jason walked over to the couch, left a kiss on Kyle's head and went into the kitchen. Kyle needed all his willpower not to look at his reaction. But to his disappointment, Jason pretended that nothing was out of place.

"Okay, I admit I almost believed it this time," he said, calmly. Kyle put the notebook aside and looked at his boyfriend. Jason was taking out the Chinese food boxes, placing them on the counter near Guy's fake head. "Gardner is a pain in the ass, I wouldn't be surprised if one day you decided to give him his due.”

"Don't say that." Kyle leaned against the sofa, watching Jason put the food on the plates. "You should get along better with him, he's my best friend and you're my boyfriend. You get along so badly because you look so much alike."

"Even more so.” When Jason left the dishes on the table, he approached Kyle and leaned in to kiss him properly. "Anyway, it's pretty well done. Can I put it on the shelf?”

Kyle rolled his eyes. Another failed plan.

"Whatever you want. Just don't put it in the bedroom, I don't want to see my friend's head while we're having sex."

Everything had failed. Kyle had no ideas anymore, no real strength, to try and scare Jason. His boyfriend was like an iceberg, nothing seemed to scare him, and the most he could do was make him laugh at his pathetic jokes.

"Just jump after him and say 'BOH!'" Dick had said last night, when they were having dinner with Jason's brothers.

Dick's suggestion was absurd. If Jason wasn't scared of anything, he definitely wouldn't do it because of a jump scare. But in for a penny, in for a pound, he thought.

Kyle came closer to the couch, where Jason was having a nap, using his ring to float and make less noise possible. But he was distracted by the thought that he might give Jason a heart attack, until he suddenly realized that his boyfriend had opened his eyes and was staring at him. Kyle flinched.

"Tell me you're not doing what Dick told you to do." Jason said. His voice sounded sleepy and resigned.

"No?" Kyle replied. Jason raised an eyebrow, skeptical, and Kyle felt his cheeks burning. "Okay, okay! I'm out of ideas."

"Do you want one? Admit your defeat, and come here with me."

That was the last attempt and the last defeat, so Kyle decided to be content, rather than reward himself, by curling up in Jason's arms and abandoning himself to pampering.

It had to be a nightmare.

Jason searched Kyle's body, frantic and agitated, desperate to find signs of life. He held the lantern in his arms, his head tilted unnaturally, and his eyes closed.

"Please wake up, Kyle, please, please." Jason whispered.

"Jay..." He heard Roy, who put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it tightly in a gesture intended to be comforting.

The other Lanterns of the Earth landed in front of him. Jason didn't need to look at them to know how they felt. He could hear Jessica's grasp, and he was pretty sure that sound was Gardner hitting something.

That couldn't be happening.

"Jason."

Jason ignored that voice, more focused on stroking Kyle's cheek. His skin was cold, and it shouldn't be. Kyle hated the cold, he always wrapped himself in a lot of blankets when he was in Jason's flat.

"Jason." The same voice called him again.

This time, a firm hand grabbed his arm. Red Hood looked up and met Hal Jordan, the man who had once argued with Batman about how Jason was fucking his beautiful little brother.

"Let it be." Jordan said.

Jason frowned.

"I'm not going to leave him! He's hurt, he needs help!" Red Hood replied, angry.

Jason saw compassion in Jordan's eyes, and he hated him. Why did he feel sorry for him instead of helping Kyle? No one around him was moving a finger, what was wrong with them?

"Jason, he's gone." Roy said.

"He's right here."

"Kyle's dead, Jason." Batman's voice echoed in his head.

"Poor little broken Robin. Did you lose something?" He knew that voice. It was the Joker, chasing him wherever he went. "Maybe if he hadn't been near you, he'd still be alive."

His singing voice made Jason feel sick. Batman was right, Kyle was dead. And the clown was also right, if he had been more attentive, maybe, maybe Kyle wouldn't have had to intervene and...

Kyle was dead because of him.

"Jason."

Someone was calling him, but Jason ignored him. I had to help Kyle, I had to do something. He felt a pang of horrible guilt crushing him to the ground.

"Jason."

The voice was loud. He knew it. It was sweet and quiet, like Kyle's voice when he convinced him to stay home on a rainy day, and drink hot chocolate until they couldn't take it anymore. He felt a wave of affection. That had been a good time.

"Jason, please wake up."

Jason opened his eyes. He could feel his heart beating strongly against his ears.

"Come on, honey, breathe. It was a nightmare."

Jason closed his eyes, focusing on his breathing. He inhaled deeply and then exhaled, trying to do it as slowly as possible. When he became aware of his surroundings, he felt someone beside him. A hand was tracing soft circles on his chest, making him feel much more comfortable and calm. A calm voice spoke intelligible words of comfort.

When Jason finally opened his eyes and got used to the twilight, he saw Kyle next to him. He looked very worried, but was smiling softly, surely relieved that Jason had finally calmed down.

"Hey." Jason mumbled.

"Hey." Kyle replied. "Are you okay?"

"I'm feeling better." It was going to take Jason a while to recover, but he would work on it.

"It was just a nightmare." Kyle repeated, still anguished.

Yes, it had been a nightmare, but it wasn't just that, Jason wanted to say.

All of Jason's nightmares were hard.

Sometimes the dream was about his own death, other times it was about the death of his loved ones. None of them were better than the other, all of them made Jason feel like a wreck for a while.

"You were dead in my arms," he whispered.

Kyle bit his lip. He felt many emotions bubbling up inside Jason, but (sadly) fear was the predominant one. Kyle curled up on his side, resting his head on Jason's chest. Jason moved to put his arm around Kyle, keeping him close to him.

"I know he was trying to scare you, but that's not how he wanted to do it. Kyle felt Jason's laughter under his cheek as he pressed him a little closer to his body.

"I'll give you that." He said. "But I prefer all the other times, they were much more fun than... this."

They were silent for a while. Kyle began to feel sleepy, although he knew Jason wouldn't fall asleep, at least for the rest of the night. Then... he heard him.

"I love you."

Kyle smiled, barely surprised, but delighted. He felt it, he felt his love overcoming his fear at full speed.

"I know."

Jason mumbled, with a snort.

"Don't quote Star Wars, nerd."

They burst out laughing almost at once. In the end, Jason had gotten scared, though in the way Kyle would have wanted. It didn't matter though, they were together, they loved each other.

And that was the most important thing.

#jaykyle #kylejay #jason todd #kyle rayner #red hood #green lantern #white lantern #DC comics #batman #my fanfiction #link to ao3

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ajokeformur-ray · 5 years

Note

Okay so since ya girl (shamefully) has astrapophobia, I get very nervous during these times and I sometimes will panic if it's loud. I've been in a loud ass storm that I swear shook our dorm building and I had a panic attack. I feel so shameful of being scared of them so I try to hide it but yeah...I half think J might hate them too because I HC that his military past gets triggered by them, so it could either be like something you two feel closer by or just him comforting you. Either or works!!

I really like the idea of both of you needing comfort during a storm - Joker bc military past as you say, and you for your fear. With that in mind, I think maybe he’d be more susceptible to fluff? I hope you enjoy this! If not, please let me know and I’ll redo it

Warning: thunderstorms, mentions of PTSD (Joker; military), astrapophobia (reader), panic attacks, swearing.

Word count: 1, 561.

Thunder rumbled across the sky, the noise so loud, so violent, that you could have sworn that it shook the walls of your dormitory building. Your heart seized in your chest and picked up, fear making your forehead hot and your breath skipped and then became irregular.

Calm down, deep breaths… it’s just thunder, it’s just thun -

Lightning ripped across the sky and you whimpered, your hand inching towards your phone. Immediately did you dial a number which you had had to learn by rote, unable to save it on a SIM card or into your phone just in case Joker was ever captured by the FBI and you were found out to be involved. Having his number in your phone would be incriminating, so after every use of it did you have to delete it from your phone. One of Joker’s goons then erased it from your phone record, the event isolated, and so the cycle continued.

It was the only way Joker could keep you safe and you took any measure he gave you as seriously as he did. A joker he may be, but nothing was as serious to him as the act of loving you.

With a trembling hand did you hold the phone to your ear. It rang once, twice, thrice, “Come on, pick up, pick up, pick up pick uuuuup~ oh, fucking finally! Hi, hello!” Your voice was shaky, your breathing irregular, but you put on a brave face for just long enough to ask for Joker. To ask him to come home. You were scared of thunderstorms to the point of panic attacks, and Joker’s PTSD, thanks to his military background, was often triggered by it, too, and you needed him here so that you could take care of each other and therefore yourselves. “I-is Joker there?”

“Yeah, hang on.” The man you had spoken to was someone you didn’t know even the name of, all in the name of safety, and yet you were familiar with each of them in your own way. This particular man was always nice to you. Whereas some of the other disposable goons would make it clear that you phoning was an inconvenience - a total lie because you only ever used the number to Joker’s Headquarters when you needed your clown - this one always saw your phone calls for what they are: asking for help. He always got you to Joker as quickly as the situation allowed. There was some crackling on the line and some hushed, incoherent voices and you could just make out Joker’s deeper voice among everyone else’s. And then -

“Doll,” You gasped, your chest aching, at the sound of Joker’s voice, and he shushed you roughly, though you took it as the unconventional comfort that he intended it to be, “How ya’ holdin’ up?”

“Barely. You?”

Joker grunted and the line went dead, your phone beeping in your hand to signify the end of the call, but you smiled even through your large, hot and heavy tears. If you didn’t know Joker, you would have taken this to be rude and uncaring. But you did know him, you did, and you knew he was coming home. His grunt had been one of agreement and so eager to get to you was he that he was most likely already on his way over to you, your phone records being tampered with even as you clambered into your bed and pull the duvet tight around you.

You knew not how much time passed while you kept your eyes shut tight so that, even under the duvet as you were, you couldn’t see the flashes of lightning. The thunder, however, was so loud, so strong that it was almost like a motorbike, and it vibrated deep within your very bones. You kept your phone enclosed within your hand, your shaking fingers squeezing every now and then to ground yourself.

Your panic was reaching new heights as it felt like your skin was crawling, your forehead super hot, your entire body trembling, your breaths irregular and your heart pounding in your head, and all you could think about was your chaotic clown. You were in the midst of a panic attack but thoughts of him kept you from sinking underneath the murky waters of your raging mind. You worried about him, too, and you hoped that both of you would still be coherent enough when he finally came home for the two of you to comfort each other.

Nights like this had been filled with cuddles and comfort once both of you had figured out that the other suffered during storms. For different reasons, this was true, but at its core was panic and it was this which the two of you focused on. In comforting and calming each other were you able to calm yourselves. Nights like this brought you both infinitely closer than you already were and sometimes you even looked forward to it - not because you would both be triggered, but because you would spend all of that time together.

There was the sound of slamming doors, quick footsteps, and your heart picked up again but for a different reason this time, as the footsteps came closer and closer and closer, and then your door opened, slammed shut and locked, bolted and everything else. Silence and the rustling of clothing, the thudding of shoes being carelessly removed and tossed to the side, and then your duvet was flipped back to reveal, in all his chaotic glory, your clown.

His greasepaint was running in some places from where he had been caught in the rain, and in others did bare patches of skin show through. His hair was greasier now than it had been yesterday, strands sticking to his face or swept back by a careless hand. He needed another dye job but as his dark chocolate eyes looked down at you, those depths swimming with an intense need to comfort you but also for his own needs to be met, all thoughts of anything other than him went out of the window.

“Oh, my - “ You held your arms out, your fingers clenching as you reached for him, “Joker!”

Joker chuckled at your less than subtle display of desperate yearning, the sound a little strained, as he clambered in beside you with a huff. “Budge up, doll - give me space.”

“… You want me to move over in my bed?”

Joker stared at you, amusement tugging up the corner of his full lips, the macabre red paint smeared and ultimately blended into the white greasepaint which made him look ghostly. He looked like he was going to say some kind of quip, but then lightning illuminated the entire room and thunder quickly followed with a noise so loud you put your hands over your ears and even Joker winced, and all was forgotten as you pushed yourself backwards and made room for the love of your life, who laid down beside you and tugged the duvet around the both of you so that you were both protected from the natural chill of the room.

The words I love you were often spoken by you, though they were never reciprocated by Joker in the same manner. No. He said it in the way he had obviously rushed over here to be with you due to your mutual need at that moment. He said it in the way that his arm wound around your waist as he tugged you closer, a socked foot on your shin asking you to part your lower legs so that he could anchor himself to you by locking his own leg between yours. He said it in the way he pressed his painted forehead against yours, one of his hands finding yours beneath the duvet.

Your breath shuddered both at Joker’s proximity and also at the way lightning suddenly and violently illuminated the room. You shut your eyes tight and Joker’s hand squeezed yours in silent comfort. He had never been especially cuddly or affectionate, not like this anyway, with his body so completely wrapped around yours, but this night did you both need physical grounding, so distressed were you both by the storm.

A long, low shush which rumbled in Joker’s chest broke through the roaring in your ears and the arm around your waist tightened, his hand rubbing your back slowly. “Easy, Y/N, easy. Breathe. You’re safe, doll.“ Despite his bravado, though, he flinched, his entire body tense and on edge as thunder boomed across the sky, and now it was your turn to comfort him as you pressed a tender, lingering kiss to his forehead.

“So are you, J.” Your whisper was louder than the building voices in Joker’s mind and his lips quirked upwards slightly as together did you keep each other grounded, safe, whole and loved, though never was that word returned to you. You didn’t need it to be, though, for as Joker’s breathing evened out and his intense dark eyes fluttered shut under your careful gaze, his arm slackened over your waist and his body became a dead weight against your own, you realised that Joker told you every moment of every day in his very own turbulent way, and you wouldn’t have it or him any differently.

Ledger!!Joker @nothing-but-a-comedy @justahyena @anyatheladyclown @mijachula @joker-daddy @rinbyo @imightaswellnotexistatall @vladtoly @joker-is-my-hero @liz-rdwitch @enigmaticandunstable @ledgerskitten @tsukiakarinobara @germansarechill

#justahyena #heath ledger #heath ledger joker #heath ledger joker imagine #ledger!joker #ledger!joker imagine #ledger!joker x reader #ledger!joker fanfic #ledger!joker x reader imagine #the dark knight #the dark knight imagine #tdk #tdk imagine

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vs-redemption · 4 years

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can I request a one shot (modern au) with shouto or bakugou where he comes home (reader and him live together) and hears loud banging noises. he thinks someone stormed in and is prepared to fight, but he finds out it's his s/o angrily playing the drums and he laughs because their s/o looks like an angry puppy. it's rlly cute haha so he ends up confronting the reader if they're okay and such and they respond w/ "yeah, dw it was just some asshole at work" p.s: reader is in a band!

A/N: Thank you for this request! I chose Todoroki because I haven’t had the chance to write him yet and I love him so much. Also, Todoroki with a drummer is amusing to me. Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading this!

Intruder (ModernAU!Todoroki X Drummer!Reader)

One of the best parts of the week for Shoto Todoroki was when he went out grocery shopping after his shift at the pediatric clinic each Friday. Moving up and down the aisles to collect the items on the list you had prepared somehow relaxed him after a stressful week of taking care of sick little children. It also gave him a sense of accomplishment knowing he was helping to contribute. Ever since he’d moved in with you, the love of his life, he’d expressed a strong desire to share in as much of the household responsibilities as possible. He really enjoyed the balance of power you both had been able to share in your relationship since the very first date, and he was determined to keep things conflict free so that there’d be no chance of experiencing the same stressful situations he’d suffered through during his childhood. He constantly thanked his lucky stars that he’d met you, someone who could provide him with stability while also helping him experience all the joys and excitements life had to offer. It had been hard for him to relax and open up at first since he feared saying or doing something that might cause strain between the two of you. He wanted to be the perfect partner, and somehow you’d reassured him that just being himself was the only way to do that.

As much as Todoroki enjoyed his weekly trips to the supermarket, he had to admit that pulling up into the driveway of the house where you both lived together brought him even more happiness. It was a great comfort to him, knowing he’d get to go to bed and wake up with you by his side every day. He hummed a random song as he gathered up the groceries from the trunk and strolled up to the front door. He fumbled to get the keys from his pocket for a moment but finally made it inside. He goes into the kitchen first and sets all the bags on the counter. Before getting started on putting everything away, he checks the notepad on the refrigerator to see if you’d left any instructions for him about dinner. He couldn’t stop the small smile on his face when he saw your cute message about hoping he’d had a great day at work. He rolls up his sleeves and moves to dive into the first bag of groceries when a series of loud bangs completely ruins the calm atmosphere.

Todoroki whirls around, his eyes wide in shock and worry. On Friday evenings, you always had practice with your bandmates at the space you rented so the house should be empty except for him. Fearing someone had broken into the house, he snatches one of the knives out of the block on the counter. He keeps his cellphone in his other hand as he sneaks towards the attached garage where the noise had come from just in case he needed to call the police. As he neared the door, another combination of bangs and crashes filled the silence, making him jump in surprise. He narrows his eyes and lowers the knife. Surely someone hadn’t broken in just to play your drum set. He tucks his phone back into his pocket and opens the door that led to the garage. He smiles and shakes his head in relief when he sees that it’s you. Suddenly, you lift your drumsticks over your head before blasting out another string of rhythms with an intense look on your face.

“Love, I’m home,” he decides to announce his presence once you reach a pause in your playing. This time it was your turn to be startled.

“Oh!” you place your hand on one of the cymbals that was still ringing, “Shoto! I didn’t hear you come in.”

“Are you okay?” Todoroki asks while coming further into the garage. It was natural for him to want to be closer to you. “Don’t you have practice today?”

“Some people were busy so it got changed to tomorrow,” you explain with a sigh.

“Well, I’m glad you’re home,” Todoroki says honestly. “How was your day?” The question triggers a scowl to take over your face and you feel the urge to continue taking out your frustration on the instrument in front of you. Todoroki knew you well enough to read your body language. He takes a few steps closer, “Is everything all right?”

You cross your arms over your chest and let out a huff. “Yeah,” you mumble. “Don’t worry. It’s just some asshole at work that pissed me off.” Todoroki was grateful that it wasn’t something worse.

“I’m sorry,” He says sincerely, “is there anything I can do?” You turn to him, frowning and furrowing your eyebrows in irritation. The pout on your face was so cute that Todoroki can’t help but smile affectionately. You looked like an angry puppy.

“Hey!” You tuck your drumsticks away and hop off the stool to confront him. “What are you smiling about?” A grin was already breaking through your grumpy façade though. You couldn’t help but cheer up as you look up into your boyfriend’s duel colored eyes. How could you not feel happy with someone looking at you with so much love and reverence?

“Nothing,” Todoroki opens his arms to invite you for a hug, “I just love you.” You stop dead in your tracks as your eyes glance over to the object in his hand.

“Uh, Shoto?” You let out a laugh. “I love you too, but I’m a little concerned. What are you doing with that knife?”

“Oh!” an adorable blush spreads over his cheeks in embarrassment. He’d forgotten that he’d been holding that. “I didn’t know you were home, so when I heard you playing I thought it was an intruder.” You can’t help the laugh that erupts from your mouth as you pull the knife out of his grasp and set it to the side.

“An intruder was playing my drums?” You ask in amusement while throwing your arms around him to take that hug he’d offered before. Todoroki just shrugs sheepishly before returning your embrace. You let out a sigh, allowing the stress of the day to leave your body. “Sorry for freaking you out,” you tell him honestly.

“It’s okay,” he assures you. “Are you hungry?”

“Starving!” you reply, giving him a short peck on the cheek before pulling away. “Let’s go make dinner together!” He nods his head and allows you to take his hand to pull him back into the house. After all, out of all the things he enjoyed about his life, spending time with you was his favorite way to pass the time.

#Shoto Todoroki x Reader #Todoroki X reader #bnha x reader #mha x reader #Shoto Todoroki #BNHA #MHA #Boku no hero academia #My hero academia #Writing Requests #Cindy's Writing

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bouwrites · 4 years

Text

Maribat March 2020 Prompt: Fake Dating

Week 4, Day 5.

Maribat March 2020 Calendar.

Day 1: Sweetheart’s Dance, Day 4: Roommates, Day 6: Time Travel.

Ao3.

1964 words. Story under read-more.

“Hey, Marinette! My beautiful, clever, resplendent bestest friend ever!” Jon grins as best he can into the camera, watching as Marinette’s face quickly morphs from happy to see him to exasperated. Of course, he knows he’s being obvious, and he can tell from the look on her face that she’s going to call him out on it. He hopes for just a little bit of time instead of jumping right into this as his greeting, but… well, he may as well get to business. “So… guess who’s dumb?”

Marinette arches her brow. “Damian?”

Jon can feel his cheeks warm as he reluctantly shakes his head.

“Oh, no, Jon. What did you do this time?”

He coughs awkwardly. “So, uh, I was like, flirting with Damian a bit an-”

“Excuse me. Why, exactly, would you flirt with Damian Wayne?”

“Because it’s fun!” Jon protests. Marinette’s expression tells him all he really needs to know about her position on the idea. “It’s not like he’s ever going to notice! He just gets confused and does that funny scrunching thing with his nose.” Jon scrunches up his nose, pointing to it as he makes a silly face.

Marinette starts cackling. “He does not do that!”

“Close enough! It’s funny! And his brothers think it’s funny, too, so they’re not going to tell him I’m doing it on purpose, so I’m safe! Or, I was, anyway.”

“Oh, dear, who caught you?”

“Dad.” Jon covers his face. “Honestly, I’m not sure if I’m more terrified of him finding out I’m bi, or of him being all for it and trying to set me up with Damian.” Marinette just continues cackling, like a traitor. “It’s not funny! Dad’s bad enough, but do you know what Bruce would do if he thought I liked Damian?!”

“Ahahaha! I’m sorry, Jon, but this so your own fault! What did you expect when you flirted with Damian Wayne?”

“I just thought I’d mess with him a bit! Just have a bit of fun at his expense after all the stuff he’s done to me! I didn’t think Dad was going to eavesdrop! Stop laughing!”

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry, I just… that’s hilarious!”

“Marinette!!!” Jon whines. “Fine! Get your laughs. I may as well tell you how I made it worse, now, so you don’t have to stop before you start again.”

“Oh, heavens, there’s more?”

“I don’t need this!”

“Sorry! Sorry! Tell me! What’d you do?” Marinette is grinning ear to ear and on the edge of her seat. Jon tries not to take personally just how much she’s enjoying his suffering.

“So, uh Dad pulled me aside to ask about what I was saying to Damian, right? And I sort of panicked?”

“What did you say?”

“I, uh… I kind of blurted out that I have a girlfriend and ran away.”

Marinette honest to goodness snaps her knee. She’s wheezing by the time she finally says, “Jon, you didn’t.”

“Don’t judge me! I was panicking!”

“Isn’t being a superhero supposed to, I don’t know, teach you how to work under pressure?”

Jon covers his face. “Shut up! I’m seriously freaking out right now! He knows I lied. I’m sure Damian does, too.”

“Oh my god. Damian heard you? That’s even better! Ahahahaha!”

“Mari, please!”

Marinette valiantly fights her giggles, though her success leaves a bit to be desired. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. This is serious. Hilarious, but serious. I’ll try to contain myself.”

Jon slouches over, hanging his head. “I seriously don’t know what to do. I’m not ready to have that talk with Dad! And I definitely don’t want to talk to Damian about it.”

Marinette sighs the last of her giggles away. “Well, why not? What are you afraid of?”

“You mean, aside from coming out to my family? Maybe Damian or Dad or Bruce or, God forbid, Mom misinterpreting something and trying to play matchmaker?”

Marinette opens her mouth, shuts it, and then shrugs. “That’s fair. You know your parents are going to be cool about it, though, right?”

Jon fidgets nervously. “I mean, Dad was raised in rural Kansas, Marinette. I’m not really… confident.”

“Jon, your grandparents raised a literal alien. I guarantee you they won’t mind if you kiss some cute boys.”

“Those are completely unrelated, but thank you. That does make me feel a little better. I’ve just… never talked to them about it before. I mean, they seem okay with the other heroes and stuff but it never really gets brought up? I don’t know how they’d feel about someone in their family being bi.”

Marinette gets a sly grin on her face. “Aside from your dad’s obvious crush on Bruce, you mean?”

“Marinette! No!” Jon covers his face. “I was being serious!”

“Ahaha, sorry, sorry. I’m only teasing.” Marinette says. “But alright, so, what are you going to do about your dad?”

“Ugh, I don’t know! I was hoping you’d have some… ancient queer wisdom, or something?”

“Alright, let me think. Well, you told them you have a girlfriend, right?”

Jon frowns. “Yeah. But there’s no way Dad didn’t notice how I was freaking out, and even Damian isn’t that oblivious. They know I don’t.”

“Don’t you, though?” Marinette leans conspiratorially closer to the camera.

“Uh… no?”

“Don’t you?”

“Mari, I don’t understand what you’re trying to tell me.”

Marinette giggles. “If it’s for you, I’ll be your beard. You can tell them I’m your girlfriend, then we can break up later.”

Jon surges up in his seat. “Seriously? You’d do that for me? Oh, Marinette, thank you so, so much! You’re the sweetest, awesomest, coolest, bestest… augh, I don’t know! You’re the best person in the world!”

“I’m aware.” Marinette chuckles. “But mostly, you deserve the chance to come out when you’re ready. I’ve got your back.”

There are few people in the world with the ability and courage to lie directly to Superman’s face. Jon is almost more terrified of Marinette than he is of the potential consequences of this going wrong when she proves that she is, without a doubt, one of those people.

He expects it, though Marinette doesn’t tell him exactly when she’s coming, when she appears in the watchtower, transformed as Ladybug, with half-amused fury. Some of the loitering heroes wisely move out of her path, and Jon blanches when she makes a beeline for him. “Seriously, Super Boy?” She stops in front of him, hip cocked an eyebrow raised as she looks at him with that scary, scary anger. “Not a week into it and you announce it to your dad? I thought we agreed not to tell anyone!”

Robin openly smirks at Jon. Despite not knowing the details, he can tell Jon is in trouble and that’s enough to laugh about. Jerk. And several other heroes are gathering around to watch, as well, including Superman. At least she has good timing. “I, uh…” Jon starts. “I’m sorry?”

“You should be! Ugh, you are so lucky I love you! I should’ve known you couldn’t keep it a secret.”

“I… well… it was only Dad!”

Ladybug rolls her eyes. “Well it’s too late now. May as well stop the charade.”

Jon carefully brightens up, an expression he practiced in the mirror a thousand times just for this. “Really? Just… open?”

“Yeah. We still on for tomorrow?”

Jon grins. “You bet!”

“Great.” Ladybug grabs his collar and pulls him down to quickly kiss his cheek. “Still mad at you, but I’ve got a lot of other stuff to deal with right now, so I’ll see you later.”

Despite himself, Jon feels his cheeks burn when she kisses him. “Y-yeah. Later.” Ladybug takes off, leaving the rest of the watchtower in her wake, including Jon staring after her, thinking, God, she is so cool.

He’s only broken out of his reverie by Robin’s comment. “Wait, so you were telling the truth about having a girlfriend? And it’s Ladybug?!”

Jon blushes but smiles smugly at his friend. “Yup. Why would I lie about that?”

Robin scowls and turns back to his work, leaving Jon to chuckle in relief. One down. Now, just… He turns hesitantly to face his dad. One to go.

It has to be believable, Marinette says, which is why they agree that they only started dating last week. No one will believe they can hide it long. Or, at least, that Jon could hide it long. It’s also why Marinette engineers this whole thing in the watchtower, right where Superman and Robin can both see, because if he wasn’t supposed to tell then he has reason for his panic when his dad asked him about flirting with Damian. Even if it does make him out to be a bit of a jerk.

He’ll take it, happily, if it makes the whole “flirting with Damian” thing ancient history.

The lecture his dad gives him about pissing off his secret girlfriend is totally worth it. And when Jon tells him the story Marinette came up with behind why she wanted it quiet in the first place, he buys it.

Jon leaves the watchtower that day feeling like a kid in a candy store.

Their first date is planned for appearances. Marinette is already one of Jon’s close friends, so it’s really not all that awkward. They just go out, eat lunch together, and hang out for the day. It’s a lot of fun!

The second date is planned knowing that Damian is stalking them. Damian has been giving him curious looks, recently, so maybe he’s trying to confirm that they’re actually going on dates. Jon is affectionate with Marinette, of course, but most of their time together in person is in the watchtower and he and Marinette both try to be more professional there, so Jon can see where the suspicion comes from.

Still, Jon doesn’t much appreciate being watched. Marinette whispers in his ear to remind him that they have to reinforce their ruse, and this will get Damian off their backs for at least a while, so Jon reluctantly agrees and pretends to not know his friend is there.

They hold hands, but past that for the most part they just keep doing what they always do. They joke and laugh and goof around. At one point, Marinette cuddles into his side and Jon can’t help the little stutter in his heart.

Little things like that – their fingers interlaced, her tucked under his arm, soft lips on his cheek for just a moment – it’s different. And it’s a lot. It makes his gut go sideways and upside down like he’s falling instead of flying. Jon returns the gestures, reminding himself that tricking Damian is worth any weird feelings in his chest.

Their third, fourth, and fifth dates they don’t bother wondering if someone is watching them. They’re pretty sure someone does at some point, but they don’t particularly care. They just act like they’ve got Damian on their tails regardless.

On the sixth date, they’re watching the stars from rural Kansas, not quite close enough to anywhere to have to worry about anyone catching them, not even the folks who live out here. There’s no need to keep up appearances – really, there’s no need to be out here at all – and yet some confusing part of him is telling him to make a show. He looks over at her, splayed out haphazardly, limbs crossed over his own, as the stars gaze into her eyes, and he wonders if he can convince either of them that they need to cuddle closer, that he needs to hold her hand to his lips or to sit up and lean in and…

He can’t. He can’t do that. But he can dream.

On the seventh date, he realizes he wants that dream.

#MaribatMarch2020 #Maribat March #Maribat #Event #Marijon #Miraculous Ladybug #Miraculous Ladybug Fanfiction #ML Fanfiction #ML x DC

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currywaifu · 4 years

Text

𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: pampering you 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩: yukishiro azuma/reader 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: sfw 𝐰𝐜: 1.8k words

𝐚𝐧: thank you for ordering, @sleepy-ruri ~ I actually used your tag game as a basis for certain parts~ anyways, I hope this was worth the wait! I was gonna go straight to the cuddle but got inspired to add some build-up.

The amount of sleep you get is a gamble between 4 hours and 20 hours, no in-between. Tonight was clearly heading towards the former, well if the caffeine swimming in your bloodstream had anything to say about it.

And that’s on coffee addiction, periodt.

It's pretty tough, on one hand, you valued your sleep. A comfy bed and a nice pillow taking you on a trip to meet the Greek god of slumber Hypnos himself was always ideal.

On the other hand, there were just too many things to do and too little time to do them. Sure, you had finished your work for the day, but you had a whole list of things you could stay up for without feeling an ounce of regret morning come.

Itaru told you that he saw a lot of potential in you ever since you opened up your wallet for that cat game everyone was playing during “The Great Sardine Search”. Was that supposed to be a compliment?

It started out with him recommending a few more casual and cute games, the usual cat and dog idle time waster games. After a few weeks, he had proclaimed it was time to “drag you into gacha hell with him,” whatever that meant.

It only started with a simple rhythm game, which not only had cute characters but was pretty free to play friendly.

Looking through the list the local gamer DMed you, you sighed in disappointment. Was it directed at Itaru for dragging you into this hellhole, or at yourself for succumbing to the joy and eternal suffering of gacha games? Who’s to say, really.

Obey Me!, three different Ikemen games, Twisted Wonderland, two Ensemble Stars games, a good amount of battle RPGs, one with handsome spirits, another with humanized swords, and a good amount of idol music games with either cute boys or girls to name just some of the titles.

Just looking at the google docs gave you a headache, they even came with little summaries and color-coded notes that made you wonder if Itaru tried out all of these at one point, even the otome ones. The very thought made you chuckle, plopping onto your bed as you decided to finally download one.

3 hours. Well, 2 hours and 48 minutes but who needs to know the finer details?

You’ve hit a new low, congratulations. Might as well have stayed up the whole time instead of going to sleep, but you ended up exhausting all your energy both in-game and otherwise. You ended up looking at gameplay guides until you inevitably passed out.

You wanted to sleep-in but there was still work to do. Trudging out of your bedroom and into the kitchen, several boys were already eating their breakfast.

“Good morning,” some of them turned to greet you, and you could see Yuki’s… disgust? Concern? Concern hidden under the guise of disgust?

“You look like a raccoon,” Yuki says bluntly as he stabs his pancake with a fork, “your shirt doesn’t even match your pants.”

You laugh, albeit tiredly, as you look down at the shirt you randomly snagged from your closet. Oh, haven’t seen this one in a while.

“That bad?”

Yuki scoffs at your question like it even needed to be asked, “you looked like you chose it blind.”

“Fufu, I’m sure there must be a reason why our dear director stayed up late,” a voice behind you says, patting down the bird’s nest on your head. It was difficult to resist his touch, even if it was just that little, and you found yourself shifting into a position where he’d have more access to pet you.

Did he say you had a good reason for staying up? If he thought so kindly of you, you’ll let it stay that way for as long as possible.

“Oh my, our director sure is affectionate today,” you didn’t realize that your eyes had closed until they fluttered open again, looking straight up at an amused Azuma.

“Sorry, having a hard time staying awake,” you muttered, still enjoying the man’s healing touch. Ahh, no wonder he was so popular. Not only was he beautiful and a gentleman, but you could feel your stamina bar slowly filling up just by him petting you on the head.

“Agh, it’s too early in the morning for this,” Yuki grumbled, looking away to finish the rest of his meal, “you better fix yourself later.”

You were going to dig in the food Omi so helpfully served you, but Azuma’s eyes scrutinizing your face made you more conscious than usual. Sure, Yuki mentioned your eye bags but he seemed more bothered by your not-so-cute outfit choice.

With Azuma, who always did his best to maintain and improve his appearance, it was a little different.

“You poor thing, someone as cute as you doesn’t deserve to look so tired,” he tutted, letting out a thoughtful hum. It was difficult to read Azuma’s face, but gears seemed to be turning in his head as he combed through your hair.

He paused his ministrations to bring your face closer, and you quickly averted your gaze. You weren’t sure if the other boys were watching, but still!

“Azuma, can you-“

“Come to my room later, okay? If you’re going to stay up, at least let me help you take care of your skin, hmm?”

The offer was tempting. It was kind of embarrassing going to a man’s room at night, even more, embarrassing to have him look at your face closely, regardless if it was just to help you with your skin!

Then again, he was a comforting presence. Being around him rejuvenated your spirit, which was very needed after that horrible no event card, x10 summon and the migraine Sakyo’s logistics lecture gave you.

Knocking on his door, Azuma personally greeted and escorted you inside. He sat you down on his bed as he walked away to grab a whole tray of products, the different colors and sizes momentarily distracting you. You weren’t sure if you could count properly at this point, but weren’t there 10 different products?

“I think these products will work best with your skin. There are ten steps so pay close attention to me, okay?”

Something about the way he just said things were so alluring? It really wasn’t fair to you.

“Alright,” you watched as he plucked an amber-colored bottle from the tray, pushing the nozzle that released its contents onto his fingers. It looked like an oil product, shining as the pads of his fingers touched your face.

“This is an oil cleanser, it removes your make-up and draws out other oil-based impurities,” he explained, beginning to massage the cleanser in. By instinct you shut your eyes, enjoying the sound of laughter coming from Azuma.

“Don’t get sleepy yet, director~ We still need to wash your face a few times after this.”

...

After washing your face for the second time, Azuma said you could finally relax. Well, you were gonna take him up on that suggestion.

Tomorrow you’ll take note of all the different skincare products and the steps in the routine, but for now, it was hard to pay attention, what with Azuma pampering you and his silvery voice lulling you into sleep.

Surely there were a few more steps to go, right? You’ll get some shut-eye until he finishes, then.

Azuma takes notice immediately of your lack of responsiveness, not even a gentle hum to let him know you were listening. Watching the steady rise and fall of your chest, he smiles to himself as he continues. It’s not often he gets to see this side of you, so he thinks himself pretty lucky. He’ll spoil you as much as you want.

...

Your hair being played with rouses you awake and even through the haze of drowsiness and the lack of lights in the room, you can tell Azuma’s been at this for a while.

“Good morning, sleeping beauty,” he says softly, and you were sure his playful teasing pinked your face.

“Sorry, how long was I asleep?” When you entered Azuma’s room there was still some noise outside from the rest of the boys, but now the silence made it feel like you two were the only people still up.

Of course, with someone like Itaru and maybe even Banri around, you doubted it.

“Long enough for me to finish my own nightly routine, actually.”

“Sorry for taking up your bed space. I’m sure you want your beauty sleep, too.”

You should move, but now you felt much too comfortable to even leave the bed. You knew some of the other boys have already slept over with him, Mankai’s local amnesiac being a frequent bed invader himself; would he be alright with it if you slept over?

You looked up at him, figuring out what to say or waiting for him to pitch the idea himself, but he only stared at you, patiently waiting for what you had to say for yourself.

“Could I sleep here tonight?” The corners of his eyes crinkled, lips lifted upwards. Maybe you never gave it much thought, but at that moment he gave off a warm glow, not unlike a fireplace on a cold, winter night.

“My room and bed will always have a space vacant for you, director.” His dulcet tones were like honey to your ears, sweet and loving, and like a moth to a flame you were entranced.

He carefully adjusted the pillows, lifting the blanket before snuggling beside you. He left a small space between the two of you, leaving you with the choice to come closer or not.

Scooting your body nearer, you turn around so that you faced the wall instead of him.

“Little spoon this time, then?” You don’t respond, not really finding a reason to do so. At first, he’s stroking your arm, fingertips drawing incomprehensible patterns and shapes against your skin. First on your hands, slowly moving upwards to your forearm, until he reached your shoulder where you could finally make out a shape.

Stopping him for a moment, you shift slightly to take his palm and trace back a heart.

“Oh, are you playing with me?” He murmurs, now fully encircling his arms around you, his stomach resting against your back. Your legs tangle slightly with his, as tucks his chin by your shoulder, making you two inseparable.

In the darkness, his embrace was like a small dose of heaven, and your senses were beginning to shut down once more.

He breathes in your sweet scent, and you take in the rhythmic beat of his heart as both of you finally close your eyes.

“Good night, Azuma.”

“Good night, lovely.”

When Azuma woke up, he was face to face with his precious director engulfed in his arms, still in dreamland. During the night you must have turned around to face him. He briefly considered waking you up or moving you to get up but shut the thought down just as fast. His skin care routine could wait a few minutes.

Silently, he observes your peaceful face for a little longer.

Sometimes getting up early isn’t bad at all. After all, he gets to see a cute sleeping figure beside him.

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fireblaze5555 · 4 years

Text

Fire Away: Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Well I WIsh I Could Say That I’ve Never Been Here Before

Also on Ao3: Fire Away: Chapter 9

Super emotional sexy times in this chapter.

The next day found them in an unfamiliar diner across town, Frank and Karen on one side, Matt and Foggy on the other. Karen fidgeted with her straw wrapper, trying not to look as nervous as she felt. When she glanced up she noticed Frank and Matt were having a ‘staring’ contest of sorts, both scowling deeply at the other. Foggy was trying to act casual but she could see tension in every inch of his face.

Letting out a long suffering sigh, Karen snapped her hand down on the table bringing all eyes to her. “Listen, if you two want to make moon eyes at each other the entire time, that’s fine, Foggy and I can get another booth and discuss the situation.”

Matt had the decency to look a bit sheepish and Frank gave her what she was coming to understand as an apologetic look before he sat back in the booth to rest his arm behind her on the seat. When she looked over to Foggy, he was doing his best not to laugh, a smirk tugging at his lips. If it weren’t for his unease around Frank he would be outright laughing.

Matt cleared his throat, “You said you knew who was behind the attempts on your life?”

Karen opened her mouth to respond but Frank snorted before taking a quick drink of his coffee. His voice was casual but he was clearly antagonizing, “Yeah, Murdock, it’s someone who should be in the ground instead of a jail cell.”

Squeezing Frank’s knee under the table, Karen turned a withering glare at him. There was no apologetic look this time, he just shrugged and took a longer drink of his coffee. Matt, for his part, didn’t respond, just clenched his hands around his own coffee and kept his attention on Karen.

It was Foggy’s turn to jump in, his eyes wide with disbelief, “How is that even possible? He’s under constant surveillance and his contact is limited. Brett has been checking in personally to ensure that he isn’t getting special treatment like last time.”

Another sigh, this one defeated, escaped Karen before she answered, “Because he still has enough money and power to get around the justice system. We’ve slowed him down putting him behind bars but I think it was more just an inconvenience for him. What we have found over the past couple of weeks is that he was using me more as a diversion to distract from what he was trying to accomplish.” Karen launched into the particulars of what they had found, being sure to lower her voice whenever the waitress would return or other patrons strolled by. When she mentioned Vanessa being the outside link, Matt let out a quiet curse.

“Okay, so what is our plan then?” Foggy asked. Karen gave him an affectionate smile, he was all business now, whatever discomfort he had disintegrated when there was work to do.

“Well, for the legal side of things, the plan is giving you all of the information and evidence we have found and see what avenues you can find to legally sink her. However,” Karen drags her bottom lip through her teeth, “Some of the information we obtained...less legally? So you may not be able to use all of it in court if we get to that.” Matt scowled while Foggy raised an amused eyebrow at her.

“Ms. Page, we leave you to your own devices and suddenly you are an investigative reporter, PI and a hacker? I’m so impressed at how you keep gaining these valuable skills!” Foggy smiled teasingly at her while Karen shook her head at him, smiling herself.

“Don’t forget Counselor, she also has the ability to find trouble anywhere she goes and an incredible talent with sarcasm.” Frank spoke up, taking a bite of toast before smirking at Karen as she gaped at him.

Foggy let out a choking sound, sucking his cheeks in to hold in his laughter, “Man, he does know you Karen.” Matt was even smirking through his scowl.

“Shut up, all of you.” she grumbled but she couldn’t help but smirk, “ Anyway , that is the legal side of it. The less than legal side of it, we are going to go to Vanessa’s estate and I am going to talk to her about lifting the contract on my life.”

Matt tilted his head slightly, ‘When you say ‘we’...” his voice was the slightest bit strained with a hint of antagonism.

“Frank and I. You as well if you want to as long as you agree to go in as a team.” She did her best to ignore Matt’s tone. To his credit, Frank kept quiet and just sipped at his coffee but Karen could see everything he wanted to say, clear on his face.

“I really don’t think it’s necessary for Frank to be involved any longer. We don’t really need a murderer present to have a discussion with someone.” The antagonism was strong now.

Karen and Foggy simultaneously put their faces in their hands while Frank let out a scoff.

“Christ, you really are an alter boy all the way, huh?” Frank gave a cutting smile as he shook his head and then leaned forward to rest his forearms on the table, closer to Matt, “You can take your sanctimonious bullshit and shove it right up your ass, Red. They are after Karen, she’s the one that has done all the investigation, that means she gets to decide who is on her team. Not you. And if I have to choose between killing a shit bag and keeping Karen alive, you bet your ass I’ll take them out.”

“Yeah, well, she’s always had clouded judgement when it comes to you so maybe it shouldn’t be her call.” As soon as he finished speaking, Matt’s face scrunched up with regret. Foggy was looking at his friend, aghast, and Frank had sat back and was chuckling lowly. Karen was glaring so icily at Matt she was surprised he hadn’t started shivering.

Karen smacked Frank in the stomach with the back of her hand causing him to grunt and hunch over slightly before she leaned in towards Matt across from her. “I really hope I didn’t just hear you say that Matt because if we are going to talk about clouded judgement I can give you a whole list of shitty calls you have made.”

“Karen-”

“And for the record, this is why I didn’t come to you. Now, I’m going to be mature enough to pretend you didn’t just say that and get back to the plan. So you can keep your patronizing bullshit to yourself and just listen, got it?” Her voice brokered no argument and Matt, very smartly, just nodded.

Foggy looked between Frank, Matt and Karen before heaving a deep sigh, “Karen, not to agree too much with the idiot next to me but I don’t like the idea of being part of a plan where murder is an option.”

Frank clicked his tongue but didn’t say anything as Karen glared at him once more. “I know Foggy.” She paused to smile at the waitress as she dropped off Frank’s eggs and bacon and her own food of yogurt and fruit. She saw Frank eyeballing her plate but ignored him to respond to Foggy, “We have already discussed that. It looks like most of the personnel at her estate is a hired security company, not criminals so they won’t be killed.”

Matt gave a derisive snort that resulted in Foggy elbowing him sharply in the ribs before saying, “And what about the ones that are criminals?”

“As long as they don’t threaten Karen, I promise to be on my best behaviour Counselor.” Frank looked at her plate pointedly. “Is that all you got to eat?”

“Yeah, I’m not that hungry.” She murmured before she turned back to Foggy, “I’m going to do everything I can to ensure we talk to Vanessa with no casualties.” As she spoke, Karen saw Frank move two pieces of his bacon to her plate and bit her cheek to keep from smiling. When she turned her attention back to Foggy, he had been watching as well, there was a look of bewilderment on his face, like he couldn’t quite comprehend what he was seeing.

“Well, I guess that is all I can really ask at this point, I’m just glad you are back and safe. It is getting so boring at the office without you.” Foggy said.

Matt looked offended as Karen laughed, “Well, I hope to be back in the office by next week at the latest. I can only imagine what kind of disarray you left my desk in.”

They chatted over their food, mostly catching Karen up on things she’d had missed while she was gone, cases that had been completed, new cases on the docket and any ridiculous gossip that had been picked up at Josie’s. Matt jumped in every once in a while but he and Frank stayed silent for most of the meal after that.

Once the food was gone and everything had been discussed, they all stood to pay for their meals and go off in various directions to begin preparing for their respective parts of the plan. As she moved to the register, Karen felt Frank’s hand at the small of her back, a steady, reassuring weight as they waited for the person in front of them to finish up. She wondered if she would always be so aware of him, if every little touch would always feel so important and monumental. She hoped so.

Foggy took off first with a promise to dig into the files Karen planned on sending over as soon as he received them but first he had a coffee date with Marci that he couldn’t miss. With a tight hug for Karen and respectful nod to Frank he turned and made his way to the closest taxi.

Karen gave Matt a quick hug and promised to call later with an address and started to turn away but he grabbed her elbow before she got far. She could feel Frank tense behind her but he didn’t say anything. She looked expectantly at Matt.

“Karen, look, I-,” he sounded strained for a second and took a moment to collect his thoughts, “I’m sorry about earlier alright? I know you are capable of taking care of yourself and it was a real asshole thing for me to say.”

She raised her eyebrows, “Ya think?” She relented however, she knew it wasn’t an easy thing for Matt to be around Frank, especially since he could probably tell with his fancy superpowers that there was something going on between them. “I know, Matt, it’s okay. Just, try to have a little more faith in me, okay?”

Giving the hand he had on her arm a reassuring squeeze she attempted to leave again but Matt kept his grip firm. Oh for Chrissake, what now? She squared her shoulders, forcing him to drop his hand, and crossed her arms over her chest, waiting for him to say what was obviously on his mind.

“Why don’t you come stay with me or Foggy?” Karen started to protest but he pressed on, “You said you were staying in some warehouse, that can’t be comfortable. We can finalize everything at my place and you’ll still be safe.”

“No.”

Matt looked at a loss, like the only real option was going with him and the fact that she refused was beyond comprehension.

“Why?” he asked.

Karen chewed on her bottom lip as she studied him for a second. She had the urge to shake him which was not unusual with Matt Murdock but she settled for a quiet, “You know why, Matt.” before turning to walk back to where Frank was waiting. She didn’t have to look at Frank’s face to know he was looking smugly at Matt and rolled her eyes when he slung an arm over her shoulder as they walked away. I’m going to hurt them both.

She gave him a sweet smile and then promptly pinched his side, causing him to step away quickly with a quiet curse.

“What the hell was that for?” he asked, rubbing the spot. He tried to sound angry but she heard the underlying amusement in his tone.

“You know why, Frank.”

They spent the day going over details and making sure they didn’t miss anything important. Karen had forwarded her files over to Foggy and had answered a couple calls from him for her input on clarifying some finer points.

Karen was pulled from her hundredth time of scanning the folder she put together by Frank beckoning to her.

“Hey, come over here for a sec.” He waved her over with one hand while the other was digging around in a container that appeared to be full of tactical gear. Pushing away from her computer with a long stretch, she made her way over to where he stood and watched him pull out a couple of bulletproof vests.

She raised an eyebrow at him but he just shrugged and stepped in front of her with one of them. He strapped her in with ease and went over the garment critically, checking how it fit and laid on her frame and said, “I’ll occasionally acquire them after finishing a job. I wanted to see if any of these fit you or if I am going to need to find one before tomorrow night.”

Karen looked down at herself as he tugged and shifted the garment and said skeptically, “Is this really necessary?”

Frank stopped what he was doing, two fingers tucked into the vest at her chest and gaped at her disbelievingly.

“Alright, alright it was just a question.” She gave a small laugh and let him maneuver her around to take the vest off.

He apparently wasn’t satisfied with the fit of that one because he tossed it back into the container before grabbing another and starting the process again. “To answer that question, you wouldn’t be going into that place without one. Maybe the guys working there aren’t criminals but they are there to do a job. If they see us as a threat, which I’m betting they will, they will probably take some shots so you need to have protection.”

He focused fully on the task at hand and seemed more pleased with the fit of this vest but she could see the worry creeping into his eyes, no doubt imagining all of the scenarios in which the plan could go wrong. Karen caught his hand checking the straps at her side and held it between hers, rubbing her thumb over his knuckles.

“It’s going to be fine. We are just going there to talk, it’s not like we are facing down a psycho with a bomb or escaping through elevator shafts or anything.” Her gallows humor had the desired effect for a second, his lips quirking a bit at the corners.

It faded quickly though, his eyes going serious and grim, his voice solemn, “I know how quickly things can go wrong, normal one second and batshit crazy the next. People there with you one second and then gone the next.”

Karen’s heart gave a painful lurch and she felt her eyes start to prickle so she stepped into him quickly, wrapping her arms tightly around him. Thinking of everything Frank had lost always made her weepy and she didn’t want him to have to deal with her tears when he was the one who should be upset. She felt his arms settle around her shoulders and his head rested against hers and for a moment they just swayed together gently.

After a moment though, Frank stepped back, placed a soft kiss to her forehead and began to pull off the vest.

“This one fits pretty well, I think it will work well for tomorrow.” He placed it next to his, the emblazoned skull stark against the black material, which lay atop his selected arsenal for tomorrow. “Have you heard from the counselor? Got anything he can use?”

Karen sighed, “Yeah, there are a few things he would be able to use against her, some illegal trading and some potentially forfeit art but nothing as serious as I would like but it may be enough. At least to get them off my case.”

Frank nodded and she saw him thinking about his next question. Here we go. And she wasn’t disappointed.

“Have you heard from Murdock?”

“No”

“Have you contacted Murdock?”

“ No .” she answered a bit more curtly.

Frank held up a placating hand, “If he is going to be part of the plan, he needs to know where we are going.”

He was right of course but she was still a little annoyed at both of them. “I’ll text him the address and where we intend to meet. You sure you two are okay to work together? You seem like you would rather glare and bitch at each other.”

Frank scoffed, “Red’s a pain in the ass but he isn’t a bad ally to have on your side. If he could just stop being so preachy, we would get along just fine.”

Karen shook her head with a small smile, “You’re not wrong, I suppose. On the flip side, I’m sure he thinks if you were less murdery you’d get along just fine.”

He gave her a wry grin, “I guess neither one of us are going to get what we want, huh?”

She couldn’t help but laugh, walking away from him to go back to her task, “No, I guess not.”

-----

Frank watched Karen go back to her desk to pour over everything again. Nothing will have changed since the last time she looked but he knew it was a good distraction for her. In the meantime he needed to make sure he had all the gear he needed and was ready himself. He still didn’t like the idea that not only was Karen going into the den of the enemy but he had to also attempt to get her in and out without any fatalities. As much as Murdock annoyed him, Frank was glad he would be there as well, it would allow him to focus more fully on Karen’s safety.

Sitting across the room, Frank began running through his mental checklist, he wanted to have time to hunt down any needed supplies before go-time. This was a top priority mission with very precious cargo and he was not going to fuck it up. Every mission or war he had waged over the past several months was nowhere near as important as the one he was preparing for, failure was not an option.

He’d need to pick up some more ammo for his .45, realistically he probably had enough but he’d rather be over prepared. Frank glanced up when he heard a thoughtful noise from Karen, a detail catching her attention. He watched as she buried long graceful fingers into the pale spun gold of her hair with one hand, while the other skimmed the document, occasionally tapping out a rhythm on the table. For a second he was transported to the previous night, those long locks sliding between his fingers while she was on her knees in front of him. Her teeth pulled at her bottom lip as she worked and Frank couldn’t help but watch the slide of her tongue when she wet her lips.

When he realized he was outright staring at her he shook his head and went back to the task at hand. For God’s sake he was acting like a horny, head over heels teenager. First that little dominance stunt he pulled with Murdock, huffing out a laugh he rubbed the spot Karen had pinched him, and now he was ogling her while she worked. It was amazing how fast the switch was flipped in his mind of him thinking of Karen as his. He really needed to get a grip. Frank still wasn’t sure he made the right call, agreeing to give a relationship a shot. He was still dangerous to be around and the thought of him bringing even more danger to Karen’s life made him nauseous. The thing was, it was obvious that Karen would be in trouble at some point whether he was there or not and the thought of him not being there to help her also made him nauseous.

Maybe it was a bad idea….but god he wanted it. He could pretend he was alright with the solitude and all the nights alone but that delusion was quickly fading. The past couple of weeks, waking up with someone in bed next to him again, was like a breath of fresh air he didn’t know he needed. Like an ache in his joints he wasn’t aware of until they were gone. Even cramped on the little cot with Karen who was just as tall as him and threw a mean elbow in her sleep, was the most comfortable he had been...well, since Maria. The feeling of waking up to Karen’s softness and warmth, her smile and morning quips, was like a drug and the mere thought of going back to the way things were had him feeling like he was going through withdrawals.

It didn’t really do any good to debate it with himself at this point, he had told Karen he would give it a shot and wouldn’t lie to her. So they would take care of the issue at hand and then he would man up and keep his word. However, if it looked like he was bringing too much danger into her life, he was gone, no questions asked. Well, probably anyway. He had a feeling Karen Page was becoming a major guiding force in his life and he may not have a choice on if he goes or stays.

Shaking his head, Frank ran through the remainder of his list and decided to grab some more ammo for Karen’s .380 while he was at it. He set everything back in place and stood, rolling his shoulders back to work out the knots and headed over to grab a jacket and pull on his boots. When he stood from lacing them up he noticed Karen was watching him.

“I’m going to go pick up some ammo and dinner. Anything sound good to you?”

She hummed, eyeing him with a hunger that had nothing to do with food and he felt desire hit him hard in the gut. Before he could begin to make his way across the room though, she gave him a coy smile, her voice mischievous, “Japanese sounds good. Some sushi? Maybe Katsudon if they have it, yakisoba if they don’t?”

Raising an eyebrow at her, he turned to pull the jacket on. “Japanese it is. I’ll be back soon, I’ll text you before I come in so you know it’s me. Keep an eye on the cameras and call me if anything looks out of the ordinary.” She nodded along as he spoke, turning back to her work but he said her name softly, it brought her attention back to him quickly. Frank gave a little smirk, “Stop being a stubborn ass and text Murdock the information.”

He stepped around the closest object to dodge the pencil that had been lobbed at him and made his way to the exit. He didn’t care one way or the other if Murdock actually accompanied them, it would be helpful sure, but they would be fine without him. However, he knew it was important to Karen to keep her friends in the loop, a pact they had made she didn’t want to break.

The air was chilly when he stepped out into the dusk, heading in the direction of the subway, he needed to go a ways to get to the shop he was wanting. He walked quickly, eyeing his surroundings casually and jumping on the train just before the doors closed. It took about 15 minutes to get to his stop and he emerged onto the street about another 10 minutes walk from his destination.

Frank was nearly there when he felt the prickle on the back of his neck so he stepped into the next alleyway and kept his hand ready to reach for the gun at his hip. However, only one person he knows could land that softly out of nowhere so he wasn’t surprised when he turned to see Murdock frowning at him from behind his mask.

“Evening, Red.”

Murdock gave a small nod and a quiet, “Frank.” Before resuming his pensive silence.

Frank waited another minute before shifting impatiently, “Did ya have somethin’ you wanted to say or….? I kinda have some errands to run and a hungry private investigator waiting for me. I have a fair idea of how grumpy she can be when hungry and would like to avoid that if I can.”

Matt’s face turned a bit more sour, his stance stiffening even more. “She shouldn’t be there. She should be somewhere safe. Somewhere away from you.”

Letting out a long suffering sigh, Frank tucked his hands deep into his pockets and balled them into fists. “You’re not entirely wrong Red but the fact of the matter is that is where she decided to be and you of all people should know that telling her to do something else would not go well.”

The other man gave a begrudging nod but didn’t look put at ease. When he spoke again he had his lawyer facade on, trying to dig for information, “What exactly is your relationship with Karen?”

Frank went still, his eyes narrowing at the other man and said nothing. It wasn’t any of Murdock’s business and Frank was pretty sure he knew already.

“I could smell you on her, at the diner.” His voice was accusatory.

“Well that is officially the weirdest thing you’ve ever said to me, Red. Also the creepiest.” A very immature, alpha male part of his brain swelled with pride at the knowledge that there was no mistaking that Karen had chosen to be with him. He nearly chuckled when he thought of how quickly she would put him in his place if she knew he was thinking like that. “What does it matter to you anyway?”

“You know why it matters Frank. You are still killing, making enemies and starting wars. Karen deserves better than that. Better than you.”

“You’re not wrong there either.” Frank closed the distance between them, bringing them toe to toe, his voice dropped low, a mix of building anger and antagonism, “Is that the only reason, Murdock? I remember seeing you two back then, holding hands, standing close. How she watched you with so much admiration in the courtroom, when you showed up, that is. Now, she doesn’t want to stay with you, despite being in danger. So is it really that you want to protect Karen or is it that your ego can’t take the fact that you royally fucked up and lost a beautiful, intelligent, brave and loyal woman? To a murderer no less. ”

Matt snarled muscles tensing as though preparing for a fight but Frank’s phone chimed alerting him to a message. His adrenaline spiked, brain always going to the worst case scenario first and Matt must have picked up on it because he took half a step back. Pulling the phone out of his pocket, Frank relaxed when he read the message.

“Shrimp Shumai as well, please. Don’t forget chopsticks, I don’t trust the silverware you have here not to give me tetanus.”

Frank shook his head with a smirk, tapping back a quick ‘Yes, Ma’am’, before tucking the phone in his pocket again. Matt’s head was tilted to listen and his features had relaxed from anger and disgust to mild annoyance and disbelief.

“I don’t deserve her, Murdock, you’re right about that. The problem is, I’ve pushed her away time and time again and we just keep endin’ up back in each other’s space. I’ll never argue with you that Karen Page is too good for me but she asked me to give this a chance and goddamn it, I owe it to her to try. I know I’m one lucky motherfucker that she chose me of all people, you don’t have to tell me.”

Matt looked downright defeated, “You love her.” It wasn’t a question.

Clicking his tongue and stepping around the other man, Frank walked back towards the main sidewalk, “I ain’t even talked to her about that Red so I’ll be damned if I talk to you about it. Check your phone, she should be sending you the information for tomorrow night.” With that, he stepped around the corner and walked the remaining few blocks to the gun store. He did love Karen, but now he was wondering if love encompassed everything he felt for her. Frank was starting to feel complete in a way he hadn’t since he still had his family. That large piece of his life would always be missing, god he missed them every second of every day, but Karen was becoming the glue that held the rest of his pieces together. His air when he was suffocating. The stones in his foundation when it started to crumble. Love was only a part of the things he felt for Karen Page.

It was another hour and a half before he had the ammo and food in hand, heading back to the safe house. He texted Karen to alert her that he would be there soon and when he stepped through the door and into the living area of the building, she was right where he had left her.

“Welcome back, took you long enough.” She barely turned from the papers but he saw the teasing lilt to her lips anyway.

“The lady wanted shrimp shumai, the only place to get shumai in this city is Mei’s so I had to go a little out of my way to get it.” Frank set the food down at the table and plucked the container with the shumai out of the bag. He walked over to Karen, popping the lid open to waft the delicious smelling steam in her direction, enticing her to leave the desk.

Karen let out an appreciative groan at the smell, pushing her chair back and following closely behind him. She settled down at the table and pointed at him accusingly with the chopsticks Frank handed her, “I know of at least three places to get shumai and I know at least one of them was pretty close to where you were going.”

“Yes but the only place you should get shumai from is Mei’s.” His voice was deep with conviction when he pointed his chopsticks right back at her.

Karen barked out a quick laugh, “Unbelievable, a burger snob, a coffee snob AND a Japanese cuisine snob. The surprises keep coming.” However, when she took a bite of the first morsel, her eyes nearly rolled into the back of her head with pleasure. She snapped her eyes to his quickly to see if he caught her, which of course he did, with a knowing, smug smirk. “Alright, you win this one Castle.”

Frank thought about mentioning the fact he ran into Murdock but she would want to know what they discussed and he wasn’t sure he was ready to go down the rabbit hole just yet. So instead they talked about their favorite places for asian food and occasionally discussed details of tomorrow’s mission. Thankfully she mentioned she had texted the information to Murdock so he didn’t have to bring it up again.

Once they were full and leftovers were packed away in the small fridge, it was time to call David and ensure that everything on his end was set as well. The phone rang a couple of times before he answered.

“ Hello friends! Ready to talk super spy stuff and breaking and entering?” His voice was cheerful and already grating on Frank’s nerves.

“Cut the shit, David. You got everything you need?”

“ I want to talk to Karen. She’s nicer than you.” There was an unmistakable pout in his voice.

“David…” Frank growled. Karen hid a laugh behind her hand. He gave her a pleading ‘don’t encourage him’ look and turned his attention back to the phone.

“... And prettier. Fine. Yes, everything is in order. I’ll walk you through setting up the comm pieces tonight so all you have to do tomorrow is turn them on and double check the frequency. There haven’t been any changes to the personnel schedule and the layout of the house hasn’t changed over the past two days.”

Over the next hour they activated and synced up their comms, checking for any bugs, and outlined the time frame they hoped to maintain for getting in and out.

“ Hey, uh, I noticed you only requested the two ear pieces, was there a change of plan? Daredevil no longer assisting?”

“No change of plan. He won’t need an earpiece, he will be able to hear just fine.” Karen’s voice was one of begrudging acceptance.

“ Okay then, well, then I think we’ve done everything we can for today. I’ll be in touch tomorrow at 10. Now, I need to go to dinner or I have the real potential of sleeping on the couch tonight.”

Without preamble, the line went dead, the screen of the phone flashing the call time for just a moment before going dark.

Karen gave a little snort, “What an interesting change of events, usually it’s you hanging up on him.”

“I guess the prospect of sleeping on the couch is more motivating than getting on my damn nerves.” Frank said gruffly as he put the phone on charge next to the comm equipment. When he looked back at Karen, she had an unreadable look on her face.

“What?” he asked.

“If he bothers you that much, why do you keep in touch? I know he is an incredible hacker but you are crafty and would be able to figure something else out.” Karen asked, leaning on the table and regarding him curiously.

Frank gave a deep sigh. David did endlessly wear on his nerves but he cared for the man and his family. “David just...doesn’t know when to shut up. That being said, he’s a good guy. He’s reliable and a good person.” When he looked over there was a smug look on Karen’s face and he felt like he just walked into a trap.

“So...you care about him? Behind all the mean words and mask of indifference he’s your friend.” She looked so proud of herself, blue eyes sparkling and her head tilted as she watched him.

Frank shook his head turning away from her, “ Christ . You're just as bad as he is. I’m takin’ a shower.” He could feel her eyes following him as he grabbed a change of clothes and disappeared into the bathroom. She wasn’t wrong, he did care about David and his family. Very much in fact, but he wasn’t going to admit it out loud. It could make it back to David and Frank would never have peace again.

The hot water was doing wonders for his knotted muscles. Preparing for tomorrow had left him anxious and processing his feelings for Karen furthered that anxiety because he knew how easy it was for things to go wrong. He could lose her tomorrow and it had him on edge all day. It would be his luck that he would finally accept what he feels for Karen, just for it to be taken away immediately. If it were just him going in he would be unaffected, if he got injured or killed it will have been worth it to keep her safe. But Karen was going to be with him, just as close to danger as he would be.

The shifty plumbing gave a groan and sputtered a quick deluge of ice water over him before going back to hot so he finished washing off quickly before he got another rude surprise.

He found as he stepped out of the shower he was more tired than he thought, his muscles finally loosened a bit so he didn’t feel quite so much like a spring that was wound too tight. However, as he tossed his towel over the curtain rod of the shower, Frank gave a quiet curse as his brain started sprinting down the same roads it had been running all day. Just that quick he felt his shoulders drawing back up towards his ears, muscles coiling and ready to fight. Christ he couldn’t wait for this to be over so he could be the normal amount of anxious over Karen’s well being. Throwing on some boxer briefs and low slung sweatpants he made to leave the cramped room.

A small cloud of steam followed him out of the bathroom before Frank started toward the cot. Karen was already laid down with one of his books open in her hand as she sprawled over their makeshift bed. Suddenly, Frank felt like he had been hit in the chest with a sledgehammer and his coiled muscles were prepared for an entirely new action.

Karen had grabbed one of his shirts to wear to bed, something that would have been enough to turn him on in general but due to their similar height the shirt just barely brushed the tops of her thighs. Frank’s gaze traveled from the tips of her toes up her impossibly long legs and fixated on the spot where the shirt had ridden up, exposing a hip bone where the thin black strap of her underwear contrasted exquisitely with her creamy skin. He could just glimpse the curve of her perfectly shaped ass the way she was laying but it was enough to spark something in him. Frank was suddenly a man starved. Hyperfocus that he tends to save for the battlefield is now fixated on the woman just across the room from him to the point everything else blurs and she is the only thing in focus.

Karen must feel his gaze on her because she lowers the book a fraction to meet his eyes. He sees her breath catch and her eyes widen when their gazes lock. Carefully she sets the book aside, her eyes leaving his to slowly drag down his body. Frank felt his temperature spike when he watched her hungrily take him in, her pupils blowing wide and her bottom lip unconsciously pulling between her teeth. It amazed him how expressive Karen was with just that bottom lip.

“I, um, ran out of comfortable sleeping clothes so I borrowed one of your shirts. I hope that is okay?” Her voice was small, uncertain. If Frank were more stable at the moment, he would feel guilty that she would feel so unsure about taking what she needed from him. Of course he didn’t mind, in fact, he would encourage it any chance he got.

When he didn’t answer, Karen looked even more unsure, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have presumed. I can grab one of my old-” She began to wrap long fingers around the hem as though she were going to pull the shirt off.

“Don’t. Move.” The words came out commanding, a simmering heat in his voice that was deep and full of gravel, his desire filling the words with a thousand promises. Karen froze at the order and when she drew that damned bottom lip between her teeth again and he saw the full body shiver of her reacting to him, Frank couldn’t stop himself from crossing the room. He moved steadily, long, methodical strides that had him at the foot of the cot quickly.

From this new vantage point he could see the pretty blush starting across her cheeks and down her neck to disappear under the shirt at her collarbone. She was perfection. Slowly, he placed a knee on the bottom corner of the bed, Karen watching his every move with rapt attention.

Another full body shiver ran through her when he caressed her ankles with hands he could no longer keep idle. There was a growl that he belatedly realized came from him before he was bent over, dragging teeth over the exposed flesh of her hip, the breathy noise Karen released spurring his actions. Frank’s hands slid up the smooth backs of her thighs that now bracketed his chest until he had two glorious handfuls of her ass.

“ Frank.” Fuck, the way she said his name. She had a way of putting everything into those five letters, all breathy want and desire. He was so hard it almost hurt, the need to be inside her so strong Frank was almost delirious from it. He snapped his eyes up to hers from his spot at her hip, where he continued to drag his tongue along her skin, nipping and sucking at her where he saw fit. He followed her panty line, nudging the shirt out of the way as he went. Karen’s eyes never left his but the air caught in her chest when his hands slid around to grip her underwear as he continued to cover her skin with pink marks.

He could smell her and god, she smelled sweet. Frank let out a small sound of need and began tugging away the barrier between them. He had reached her other hipbone, nipping the soft skin there before sitting back to fully remove her underwear and then she was gloriously bare to him, only his shirt bunched up around her midsection. He took a moment to take her in, lips glistening with arousal and a blush spreading over her inner thighs. It was his turn to pull his bottom lip through his teeth, taking a moment to decide where he wanted to start. Leaning down again, Frank tucked his arms under Karen’s thighs, wrapping them around the outside so his hands were at her hips to get a good grip and tugged her roughly to the edge of the cot.

She let out a little yelp in surprise and when Frank looked at her again, the shirt had rucked up around her chest when he scooted her down. Her graceful arms were above her head where they had settled after her startled movement. She was a fucking sight. Frank knelt on the cold concrete floor and settled her legs over his shoulders, moving slowly and deliberately, his entire focus on devouring the woman in front of him.

Giving an appreciative groan, Frank leaned in, dragging a kiss over Karen’s inner thigh before switching to the other leg. Next, he ran his tongue up the crease of her leg, mere centimeters from his destination. Karen’s hips were beginning to sway towards his mouth, rising and falling with each tempting swipe of his mischievous tongue.

As he was laving a slow kiss to the top of her mound Karen gave a quiet curse causing Frank to glance up at her with a devastating smirk.

“Something wrong Ma’am?” his voice was impossibly deep and rough.

She reacted like his voice was a physical touch, closing her eyes and shivering before she looked at him again, the blue of her irises dark with her need, voice husky with restrained desire. “If you don’t touch me soon Frank I’m going to lose my goddamn mind.”

His answering chuckle was rich and dark and it vibrated through every spot their bodies were connected. What Karen didn’t know was he was torturing himself as much as he was her, every fiber of his being screaming to do more, to drive her crazy, make her scream for him. Frank finally relented, giving a slow languid lick to her center, just barely parting her folds. Both let out a groan and before Frank could convince himself to keep the pace slow, he was drinking her in like he’d not had water in years.

There was longer any finesse to his movements, lewd noises filling the room as he licked and sucked at her, letting out appreciative growls and grunts as she moved under him. Fuck she tasted good, her breathless moans and little curses, her beautiful lips saying his name when he pressed just right, all driving him mad with need. When Frank opened his eyes he let out a long low groan at the sight. Karen was gripping the blankets above her head with one hand so tight her knuckles were white, her eyes screwed shut while her mouth was open and panting. Her other hand had pushed the shirt over her breasts and was tweaking a nipple in time with the firm strokes of his tongue.

It was all too much, he needed to be in her, and soon. Never taking his eyes off of her, Frank closed his full lips over her clit and gave it a hard suck. Karen’s back arched off the cot prettily and her breathing stalled. Lifting her hips slightly he did again before quickly dragging a firm tongue over repeatedly. It only took two more strokes before she went completely rigid, a keening moan the only sound she was able to make.

Frank softened his ministrations, licking at her softly until her hand snaked into his hair to tug him away gently. He pulled just enough to nip her thigh before he rested his cheek there and looked up at her. She was gloriously disheveled, chest still rising rapidly with each breath, lips parted and eyes glassy and distant as she came down from her high.

Slowly, Karen came back to herself and she gave him a devastating little smile, her voice throaty and sated, though he saw the hunger building in her gaze again, “Goddamn, Castle. You’ve been hiding your finer skill sets from me.”

He gave a quiet laugh, trying to not let his pride show too much on his face, “Happy to be of service, ma’am.”

Slowly he stood, tugging at the drawstring of his sweatpants as he did, Karen watching the movement with intense focus. Frank slid pants and underwear off in a smooth movement before he started to crawl after Karen as she scooted back up the cot. Working together, his shirt was peeled up and over her head to be discarded somewhere on the floor.T hey didn’t have much room on the small bed but neither seemed to mind as he settled between her thighs and their lips met. The kiss was slow and dragging, tongues sliding together deliciously and little gasps escaping when they drew back long enough to change their angles.

Frank’s arm had traveled up to bury a large hand in her hair, something he found was quickly becoming one of his favorite things to do, his forearm bracing the side of her face as he continued to ravage her mouth. Slowly, he began to grind his cock against her core, dragging it through her folds torturously. Her hips met him at every thrust and finally, finally , he let himself sink into her.

All he could do for a moment was rest his forehead to hers, his hips stilling when he sank to the hilt, tightening his grip in her hair when she groaned and nipped at his chin. Being inside Karen was intoxicating and Frank was dizzy with pleasure that coursed through his system. He was so fucking lost on her, there was no way he could ever recover.

Frank leaned his head back enough to watch her eyes as he slowly pulled almost completely out of her before unhurriedly sliding back into place. Her gaze never left his, though her eyes were hooded, and he saw raw emotion staring back at him. For a moment it was overwhelming so Frank focused on the leisurely push and pull of his hips, his chest tight with everything he felt. They continued like that for several moments, quiet gasps and moans punctuating the easy rhythm that Frank set. Occasionally he would break eye contact to lick and suck at her neck, Karen dragging her hands up his back to hook over his shoulders, nipping at whatever skin was presented to her, a bicep, shoulder, the underside of his jaw. He could feel her starting to tense under him, her body straining towards release. He was working steadily towards his own orgasm, the burning pleasure spreading down his spine.

When Frank pulled back to look her in the eyes again the breath stilled in his chest. There was a trail of silent tears seeping from Karen’s eyes as she looked back at him. The hand in her hair dropped to her cheek to swipe the tears away tenderly. He hated to see her cry but it made him feel better to know she was feeling just as intensely as he was and when he spoke his voice was wrecked with the struggle to keep his own emotions in check, “What do you need?”

“Just...” she let out a shuddering breath and brought her hands to the back of his head, sliding blunt nails over his scalp, “Just don’t let go.”

A hungry desperate noise escaped from the back of his throat before he descended on her mouth. The kiss was slow but frantic, a desperation filling both of them. The hand on Karen’s cheek dropped to the side of her neck and the arm that propped him over her buried fingers into her silken hair. Frank’s thrusts sped up but they were still deliberate, grinding into her at the end of each stroke. That’s how they both came apart, her hands at the back of his head and neck, him not far behind with his own hands buried in her hair. Both of them holding on with both hands. Karen came, gasping his name in between quiet sobs and Frank came with a shuddering moan, pressing her name and kisses into the delicate skin of her temple.

For a moment they both were still, Frank was trying desperately to recover his composure and he felt Karen trying to do the same. When he did lean back again, swiping a gentle hand over her forehead to move damp hair out of her face she gave him a watery smile and he couldn’t help but return it.

Sniffing quietly, her smile turned sheepish, “I promise I’m not usually a crier during sex. I uh...just got a little overwhelmed, I think.”

Frank huffed out a little laugh, stroking a thumb over her cheekbone but before he could think of something to say, her hand came up to rest on his cheek, her eyes on him with a singular focus that wouldn’t allow him to look away.

“I love you, Frank Castle.” Karen’s voice was quiet and sincere, her eyes were watery once again but her gaze dared him to refute her.

Frank felt everything around him spin and then go completely still all at once before he drew in a quick breath and suddenly his chest was light, like a band that had been wrapped there just snapped. He was still terrified at the prospect of being loved, of loving again but looking at her, daring him to deny her, he felt like it might be worth it.

“I love you too, Karen Page.” Rough and low, the words felt so natural he wasn’t sure how he hadn’t said them before.

Just like that, the bravado left her and tears were escaping the corners of Karen’s eyes again, a smile so sweet on her lips he ached just looking at her. He leaned down to give her a tender kiss, her lips trembling lightly under his. Tsking, Frank rolled gently to the side, pulling her into his chest, banding protective arms around her, “You keep crying like that, Page, and you’re going to give me a complex.”

She gave a little laugh, thick with tears and swiped at her cheeks, “Sorry, Frank, I’ll try to keep the tears to a minimum next time. Promise.”

Humming, he placed a gentle kiss to her forehead.They lay quietly like that for awhile, both awake and lost in their own thoughts. Karen was running absent minded fingers over the smooth planes of his chest while his thumb ran soothing circles over her shoulder. Eventually he felt her relaxing against him, her breathing turning deep and even. Frank could feel his own eyes falling shut, heavy as lead as he listened to her breathe. He wanted to think a bit more, run the plan through his head again before giving in to sleep, think about the monumental words Karen and he had just spoken to one another but before he could try he was snoring quietly against her forehead and neither of them moved until morning.

#kastle #frank castle #Karen Page #frank castle and karen page #fanfic #foggy nelson #matt murdock #emotional sex #shrimp shumai #the real star of this chapter

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emilyrhymeswithfelony · 4 years

Text

Koi No Yokan

This is a Noragami Historical AU I adopted from @bloodredrubymoon with @watchmist1412 with Miko!Hiyori and God of Calamity!Yato based on events during the Hogen Disturbance of 1156. You can always read it on AO3 but I’m still learning to format there, and structure is rather important to my storytelling.

Rated T+ due to death and some adult situations. Historical and A/N at end of each chapter. Musical references will be noted before (if any).

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I hardly know your voice And find that I am hanging on your every word Burned inside my brain And I must stop until we meet again

My Heart Got Caught on Your Sleeve by Lucius

Hiyori had grown into a respected miko, and the beauty of the village. It never ceased to amuse her how quickly adversaries were to underestimate her as an opponent solely on her appearance. Her brother was right all those years ago; she was indeed blessed to be born a woman. For every bandit or rogue samurai that saw her as a gift on a silver platter, she would have another enemy defeated at her feet. She took full advantage of her disarming looks, and hoped she was making her brother proud.

A couple of Taira samurai had entered the village, and unfortunately began harassing the tavern maids. Hiyori had a boding premonition that morning of pain, and rushed through the town center to the scene, determined to remind these thugs that people were not meant for the taking. Accompanied by two of her sister shrine maidens, the group of rogues came into view. One had the tavern keeper pinned to the outside wall, while two others wrestled with two of the maids, speaking loudly of their disgusting wishes for them. This was not the first time they had samurai harassing their women and bullying their men. Hiyori was not about to sit around and watch the brute showboating.

“For every honorable warrior, it seems there's always three more pieces of trash claiming the name samurai,” Hiyori spat at them.

“Such ugly words to come out of such pretty lips,” laughs one of the men holding a tavern maid, his hand tucked under the folds of her yukata at her chest.

“Remove your filthy hands from that woman, and show me what it can do with a weapon instead of an unwilling partner, swine.” Hiyori was finding it hard to check her anger at their brazen behavior in public, embarrassing and disgracing the innocent women she knew so well.

“Ha! You’d be so much more attractive if you didn’t speak.” The second thug holding a woman throws his victim to the ground, his hand resting on the area between his thighs. “Come here, and I’ll show you a better use for that mouth of yours.”

The man holding the tavern owner began to cackle. “Let’s show this shrine maiden and her friends how much better we can taste than their god.”

The bystanders watched with both apprehension and eagerness from their hiding spots, ready to witness their divine protector put the men in their place.

“Ami, Yamma, let me handle this. These guys make me sick.” Hiyori grips her short sword, her bow strapped to her back.

“I understand the feeling, Hiyori, but we aren’t going to let you have all the fun. You can have a head start, but that’s it.” They both nod to the focused miko.

“You hear that guys, she wants to dance with all three of us herself. Thirsty girl.”

All three men, having thrown their victims to the side, began to saunter towards their supposed victim.

Hiyori closes her eyes, and breathes in deep. She opens her eyes, releasing her held breath, and begins forward with breakneck speed. She drops to a spin, catching the legs of the first samurai, swinging her bow down on his head with an echoing crack before spinning back on the ball of her foot to sweep the weapon forcefully up to his groin. She grins, satisfied, as he turns to vomit from the pain. Gracefully, her bow finds it way back to where it began, her short sword unsheathed. The second man was on her, swinging at Hiyori. She falls back to the ground to avoid the strike, immediately springing back as he completes his arc. Her hand brings the blade up with her momentum, slashing the tie to the thug’s clothes and leaving him exposed.“Seems only fair to me,” Hiyori bites out as she blocks a sloppy counter from the man, frantically trying to hold his clothes over his manhood. “Ami, Yamma! This one is yours!” She says with a kick to the half-naked man.

“Ew!”

“You shouldn’t have, Hiyori!” Her friends are on him in an instant, restraining and covering him.

The third man seemed to be the least skilled, waving his sword around as if twirling a baton for show. With the exception of a single wandering man, it was a miracle the rest of the town had stayed far enough away to avoid collateral damage.

A stray strike threatened to take out the man passing by, seemingly oblivious to the fray. He wore a large brim hat, but surely he could see what was going on around him, or so Hiyori thought. She threw herself into the man’s back, pushing him free of the strike, yet putting herself directly in the swing’s path. The sharp edge of the blade catches her sleeve, slicing the skin of her forearm underneath. It takes a few moments for the blood to escape the wound. Stunned by both the contact and the gesture, the man fixates on the young miko from his place on the ground, marveling that she had thought to save him. If his mind were running on all cylinders, he might’ve asked her, “Why?” or even managed a small “Thank you,” if not at least an offer to treat the wound she took for him. Unfortunately for him, the young woman had not missed a beat, and was combating the samurai with more aggression than before. She was before the assailant in a flash, driving her elbow into his abdomen before immediately colliding her fist into his face with a twist of her arm. He was thrust to the ground squarely on his beckside with a fierce kick, and the sounds of a bow being drawn could be heard before another breath could be taken.

“I think we’ve had enough fun for one day. You’re threatening bystanders now with your inept fighting. I suggest you leave before I start taking you seriously.”

Poised at each man, Hiyori had three arrows ready to finish the brawl for good.

The men began to scramble, hauling each other to their feet, and dragging themselves out of the town. Satisfied with the reactions, Hiyori turns to check on -- “Who was I looking for?” She couldn’t remember why she felt concerned, as if someone had been hurt. Wasn’t a bystander involved in the fight? Looking around, Hiyori furrows her brow in frustration, chasing her fading memory of a wide black hat and savoring the sweet smell in the air.

“Oh, Hiyori! Your Arm!” As if those words were an incantation, Hiyori finally notices the pain, as she winces and inhales sharply through her teeth. The wound was superficial, not even touching muscle, and made with a clean, sharp blade. She knew it would heal quickly, and barely leave a scar.

“It’s not really that bad, Ami, no need to worry. It just stings is all.”

“I swear, those samurai would try to recruit you if you weren’t a shrine maiden, Hiyori,” a young woman with short blonde hair chimed in.

“Her mother suffered enough letting her train, Yamma, I don’t think she could survive Hiyori riding onto a battlefield,” commented the bespeckled girl with dark hair. Turning with a laugh at her mother’s perpetual dream for her noble-woman-to-be-daughter being shattered, Hiyori couldn’t help feeling as if she was forgetting something important. The girls were fussing over her arm, and began dragging her back to the shrine.

“At least you won’t have a nasty scar for your wedding coming up this weekend!” Ami teased affectionately.

Hiyori choked on the laugh she was forcing out.

“I’ve asked you a hundred times, please stop calling it that! It’s my ascension ceremony, and as far from an actual wedding as you can get!”

Hiyori had completed her training, and that weekend they would participate in the rituals to recognize her as a priestess, a shamaness in full. Technically, there was a portion that imitated a wedding, symbolizing the connection between miko and kami, but Hiyori hardly considered this anything more than an old ritual.

“I heard in the old days, the newly ascended mikos would claim the next morning to have actually consummated their marriage to their god!”

“Yamma!” Both Ami and Hiyori were completely aghast at their friend’s comment.

“Oh, come on! The way Hiyori holds out on guys, she probably wouldn’t settle for anything less than a god, anyway!”

Ami couldn’t help but blurt out a laugh at the comment. “You know, she has a point, Hiyori. You have never shown interest in men.”

“We aren’t supposed to be interested in guys while training!” Hiyori was desperate to defend herself against this tandem attack.

“Yeah, yeah, but they never said anything about getting something lined up for after training,” Yamma was relentless.

“I mean, we are just looking out for your future, right?”

“Not you, too, Ami!”

“We are merely human, dear Hiyori. Even the gods want to be loved, right?”

Hiyori opened her mouth to refute that statement, but found she had nothing to say. Seizing her opportunity to drive the point home, Yamma threw out the clinching argument; “Besides, even the sun kami, Amiterasu, came out of hiding for a little skin dance.” She wiggled her shoulders, bumping into the other girls as she did so and eliciting giggles from one of the two mikos.

Adjusting her glasses, Ami delivers the final blow; “Our kagura is based on that story, so maybe you’ll lure a handsome kami out with yours!”

“I don’t know what to celebrate more; Hiyori’s ascension, or her finally finding a love interest!”

“I do not have to listen to this! You two are helpless!” Hiyori groans, eyes rolling as she stomps ahead of her two friends, huddled over in laughter.

“We’re sorry, Hiyori! Just promise you’ll tell us how divine the touch of a god can be!”

Hiyori lets out a sound of disgust over her friends’ now howling laughter. She storms away while they continue to choke on their own mirth. They were her best friends, but they loved to poke at Hiyori’s sensitive spots. Anytime a new scholar or samurai came across their path, the two girls would try to provoke Hiyori into confessing her interest. It’s not that she didn’t find the men attractive or charming, but she always felt like there was something missing. She was content just as she was, however, and wouldn’t feign interest for anyone who didn’t take her breath away.

Hiyori stopped under the torii at the entrance to the shrine. She could see in the distance a twin structure standing in the middle of the water, sunlight bouncing off the arch. She took a deep breath, catching soft and sweet scents in the air. The wind was picking up as the sun went down. It seemed like it might be stormy that evening. Perhaps her premonition that morning wasn’t regarding their encounter with the samurai trash.

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Hiyori was pulled from her fitful dreams by a force pushing the air out of her chest. She hastily ties back the sleeves of her robe before reaching for her weapons, and rushing outside. Something was very wrong.

She feels a heavy force push against the barriers she set up along the edge of the village. Whatever brought this pressure was not human. The air hung heavy with the metallic and salty smell of blood. Mercifully, a breeze picks up, and removes the stagnation, but brings with it something new. Almost disguised by the smell of gore, something sweet, and mildly familiar lures her. Following the smell and the source of the pressure, Hiyori runs into the lake and looks around frantically in the moonlight to find the source. Closing her eyes, she focuses on the perimeter of the town. Her barriers remained intact, yet she could not shake the feeling of the night pressing down on her. She hears nothing besides her own harried breaths, and the water lapping around her legs and robe. Warm drops hit her shoulder, staining the fabric a deep crimson. She looks up to the single torii in the water as blood drips across her cheek from the blade of a sword. Of all the monsters she has purged, and all the phantoms she has purified, nothing felt like his presence. He wore deep midnight robes with black hakama pants. A single sword gleamed in his hands, but she could see the shapes of more on his hip. The wide brim of his black hat shielded the top part of his face, but she could make out sharp features draped in curtains of black hair. Though unseen, she could feel his eyes locking her in place. She was convinced she was caught in the gaze of death himself. As if releasing a laugh, another drop falls from the blade onto her cheek, awakening her from the spell. Hiyori steadies herself against the presence above her, yet she does not raise her bow. For all she knew, she was in the presence of a god of calamity. It would be best not to tug on the tail of a sleeping dragon. She speaks, finally finding her voice.

“Do you seek protection or destruction, my lord?”

His eyes land on her forearm, exposed to wield her bow. He sees the bandage, recognizing her wound from the altercation with the samurai scum. She must be the miko who erected the purification barrier, the one who protected this village, even at the cost of her own blood. There was something unnervingly alluring about her, as if the threads of fate became taught whenever she was close. He hadn’t expected her to confront him, but he didn’t mind being caught in her gaze.

Hiiro had found him earlier that afternoon, shortly after he was knocked to the ground by the woman beneath him, claiming the father of a tavern maid wished for justice for the shame of being revealed before the whole town at the hands of Taira samurai. He didn’t resist this job, having seen the sins himself so recently. The wish for revenge thrust upon him had been fulfilled, however, and he would expend himself no further. The other fools clamoring about could kill themselves, and needed no help from him. People died, whether he interfered or not. He had only ducked beneath the barrier that evening to avoid wasting energy. He had never expected this fearless miko to peak his curiosity so much.

“I do not think you wish to fight me, yet you do not grant me an answer.”

He bites out a laugh at her polite impatience. Such fierceness for such gentle features. He tilts his head back, revealing a sly grin and his electric eyes.

“I’ve had my fill tonight. I merely wish to pass through.” Spring blossoms, he thinks. That’s what her eyes remind him of.

The intensity of the blue in his eyes freezes the air in Hiyori’s lungs. Has it been minutes or merely moments since she last took a breath? She takes a cautious step back, content to feign trust in this spirit with a destructive aura, and his promise to spare them in his few words. She watches as he tips his hat back down, concealing his face once again. Freed from his gaze, Hiyori blinks, but opens her eyes to see nothing but the moon above the arch of the torii. She lets out a breath she didn’t even realize she was holding, feeling almost disappointed to not have those blue eyes on her anymore. A breeze picks up and plays with the wet ends of her robe and the soft fringes of her hair. Beneath the salty scent of blood, the wind carried the sweetest smell.

That night, sleep did not come easily. When it finally did come, the last thing Hiyori saw behind her closed eyes was a flash of blue sending her to sleep with a shiver.

#noragami #noragami fanfiction #noragami au #historical au #historical fiction #heian period #Yato #yatogami #yatori #yatori fanfiction #yato x hiyori #hiyori iki #iki hiyori #miko #god of calamity #yatori week 2020

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