#because she's his mission not his daughter

[impactrueno]

Beetlejuice clearly wasn't interested in Lydia when they met, so when do you think he actually fell for her? Was he so impressed by Lydia defeating him that he developed a little crush?

i think this might be the biggest thing i've been turning around in my head since the sequel dropped. how did bro get to this point. i need to know. you weren't like this where we left off, what happened during that huge time gap????

this is where canon ends and conjecture begins, you just have to theorize and fill in the gaps yourself with whatever makes the most sense to you, which is what i've been trying to do this whole time. so please bear with me here.

i don't know how much i want share or save for my comics because i don't know how much he would actually reveal about this but whatever we ball

edit: ok so i scrolled back up to this after finishing writing this and as it turns out i have no self control and i ended up sharing everything that crossed my mind. craziest stream of consciousness i've ever written down. strap on and keep your limbs inside the ride at all times. whatever. we BALL.

let's review their first encounter from his point of view:

you're hired to scare the deetzes, right? so you do just that. excellently you might add. just when you're about to terrorize their teenage daughter, barbara banishes you and the party is over. what fucking losers right? you get the sense that adam and barbara care about this girl so you make some remark about her and it pisses them off. haha. also whoa where did this place come from? damn adam, who could've guessed he had it in him. you forget about everything else and dance your way to dante's inferno room.

after spending a respectably tasteful evening with those ladies, you're chill now. relaxing under your little sun lamp to work on your tan.

someone walks in looking for adam and barbara. don't they know they're dead?

"are you a ghost too?"

"i'm the ghost with the most, babe."

hold on a sec, who's even—

...well hey. it's the girl.

the girl who can see ghosts, and she's talking to you.

target acquired. this one's your ticket out of this hellhole.

"you look like somebody i can relate to," you tell her. relate how? doesn't matter. you're ensnaring her with your affable demeanor like you always do, make people feel like you're pals with them first and foremost. she seems like a nice girl, so this should be easy. you tell her upfront that you want to get out of there and you need her help to do so.

"i want to get in," she says.

whoa there.

what? she wants to get in? she says that in response to you saying that you wanted out. she really has no idea what it's like on the other side, huh. but shit, that kinda stops you in your tracks a bit. this girl wants to die. this young? that's not right. makes no sense.

"...why?"

she just looks at you and says nothing. jesus. ok maybe it's none of your business so let's back it up. you're losing control of the conversation and you're on a mission here. you figure if she helps you get out, you might as well talk her off that ledge or show her how shitty it is on the other side or somethin'. frankly, you can't afford to care right now. you're not entirely sure why she thinks things would be better on the side you're so desperate to get out of, but alright. doesn't matter, right now you gotta get her to summon you. so you begin your little game of charades.

after she correctly guesses your name and almost says it a third time, she recognizes you as the snake that terrorized her family. god fucking dammit. you're losing her. you're getting impatient. your affable act is over. "nah...i want to talk to barbara," she says and now she's REALLY getting on your nerves because fuck barbara, fuck adam, you're SO CLOSE to getting out and you're not gonna let this go now, go go GO GO SAY IIIIIIITTTTTTT

adam and barbara walk in because of course they do. womp womp

ok well that didn't work, but you're not gonna give up so easily. sooner or later another opportunity will come and soon you will be free.

wait why are they moving the model— where are they taking it—

ooohhhhh. business meeting. get a load of these yuppies, trying to turn winter river into a town-sized Ripley's Believe it or Not. a talking marcel marceau statue? and you thought you were a con man. no wonder the deetz girl wants to die, it's bleak as hell here too. but if you get out...you can fix that. hell, you can fix anything.

these bozos are here to see some ghosts, but the girl says they're not going to show up unless the fleshbags stop making a mockery out of the whole thing and that maybe they can all live happy together in the house. ain't that sweet.

of course no one's taking her seriously. she's a kid, what does she know, right? they'd rather listen to the most obnoxious guy in the room (besides yourself) who has no idea what the fuck he's talking about, but somehow, he's got his hands on the handbook.

the girl panics, then immediately says completely deadpan "wait, what am i even worried about, otho, you can't even change a tire" and you're surprised they didn't hear how hard you cackled at that.

despite all that, they seem to have started a séance with their old wedding clothes. bad news for the maitlands. they're about to be dead-dead. the girl cries for them to stop, and these guys are just sitting there scared shitless. you're hearing everything. you knew a new opportunity would arise, so you wait, because this is the part where people remember how good at your job you are. they always do.

she knows you can help. you're the only one who can help. so here she comes. those wedding clothes give you an idea. plan B is now in motion.

well well well.

look who came crawling back.

she asks for your help, and you're happy to oblige, under one condition of course. after all, you don't do anything for free, and she's the only one who can help you with your problem. how serendipitous.

once again, you lay it on her, straight up. you want out. and a way to do it (thanks adam and barbara for the reminder) is through marriage with a fleshbag. you need to get married. a green card marriage, if you will.

she's immediately disgusted by the idea. you don't take that personally, of course, because it doesn't matter. she's just a kid and it's not a real marriage. she just happens to be unlucky enough to be the only one around who can assist you with this, the poor girl. it's a marriage of convenience—or rather, inconvenience—and you're not planning on sticking around because you will get the hell out of there as soon as you can. so there shouldn't be a problem, right? besides, does she know how many women would kill to be in that position? she gets to brag about it to her friends, what's not to like? it's a totally even deal.

the clock is ticking and the maitlands aren't getting any younger. she agrees to the deal. you win, at last.

she already knows what to do, so you sit there patiently with a shit-eating grin on your face, awaiting the three little B words. gloating.

Beetlejuice........Beetlejuice...........Beetlejuice.

it's showtime.

this is your favorite part. you love a dramatic entrance. you decide to show the deetzes and their greedy friends the circus they so wanted to turn this town into. horrible as you are, you're also pretty damn good at calling out other people's horribleness, and you do love an ironic karmic way of dealing with someone. for example tubby here thinks he can escape, but not before you change his sleek black suit into a tacky white leisure suit. the horror! this is why you're a professional at this.

you effortlessly end the exorcism and the maitlands are saved. a little pruney right now but they'll be fine. everything is taken care of, you have fulfilled your end of the deal like you promised. only one thing left to do.

"shall we?"

there's really no need to make a whole show out of this, but you're a showman first and foremost and as a 𝒥𝓊𝒾𝓁𝓁𝒾𝒶𝓇𝒹 𝒶𝓁𝓊𝓂 you'll be damned if you're not gonna let yourself have a little fun with this. everyone looks terrified. this is why you're a professional at this.

witnesses and reverend in place, you can finally begin the ceremony. you're having fun, yes, but let's try to pick up the pace a bit, okay? the closer you get to your goal, the more impatient you get. the girl isn't finding any of this very funny at all and she protests. the maitlands butt in and are now kind of twisting your arm a bit, but you deal with them harmlessly, until they get on your last nerve so you send adam to the model and barbara to saturn. all of this after you honorably fulfilled your end of the bargain and saved the day. jesus christ, are you the only one with some integrity around here or what.

you forget the stupid ring. shit. you're pretty sure you have it on you somewhere, ever since you chopped up delores into pieces for poisoning you. you kept her ring finger as a trophy and as a reminder to never get married again, and yet here you are, but desperate times call for desperate measures. finally, you find the ring (still on her severed finger) and hastily tell your new bride-to-be that delores meant nothing to you. in case she even cares. she doesn't seem to. not even a chuckle? oh well.

almost done with the ceremony. almost there. you're holding the girl's hand with an iron grip to keep her in place as you're about to put that ring on her finger. "i now pronounce you, man and—"

a tiny car crashes against your foot and it catches on fire. you scream. a fucking sandworm crashes into the room through the ceiling. everyone screams. you scream LOUDER.

you're sent back to the afterlife waiting room.

not your first rodeo with a sandworm, but that doesn't make the experience any less shitty. the real annoying part is being in the waiting room again. this could take ages. you're number 9,998,383,750,000 and they're serving number 3 right now. you trick the guy next to you and steal his ticket (number 4) but he's not too pleased about that, so that didn't work.

a long time sitting here it is, then.

movie ends, credits roll.

for reference, that was 1988. winona ryder was 15 when they were filming in 1987 so while lydia doesn't have a confirmed age, i think we can safely assume that she was the same age as winona at the time.

36 years later, it's 2024. or 34 years later, it's 2022. we don't know the exact year because while bob's in memoriam credits scene says 2024 and all the interviews talk about how 36 years have passed in universe as well, there's this other one tiny detail.

jeremy's death passport says he died on march 11, 1999. jane butterfield says he died "23 years ago," putting the movie in 2022. they did film it in 2022 so the math is mathing correctly there. given that the in memoriam scene was more of a joke and jeremy's passport is a canon prop in the movie, i'd say 2022 is the canon year the movie is set in. (small sidenote; the passport also has the roman numerals DCLXVI which is 666. cute detail i loved it)

in the sequel, beetlejuice says lydia has been ignoring him for 30 years. i always thought that was curious because outside of this claim, they always specify how many years exactly have passed since. he doesn't say 34 or 36, he says 30. and for his degree of obsession (and the fact that he remembers exactly how many times he's watched The Exorcist) i think he would be counting even the days so i think he did really mean 30 years. so this would mean at least 4 years passed between getting sent back to the waiting room and the beginning of his stalking.

AND NOW that we established all that, we are finally getting to the answer to the question, "when and how did this all start?"

so okay, he spent a while in the waiting room. a lot of time to think. probably replaying the events at the deetzes' in his head over and over, how he got here, where he fucked up, what's he gonna do once he gets out. cursing the maitlands for ruining his plan when he was soooo fucking close. wondering what ever happened to lydia deetz.

lydia deetz, the young girl who told him she wanted to die.

...

is she alright?

i don't think he's capable of feeling guilt, but we can probably argue that he's not entirely heartless. what she said about how she wanted to "get in" must've stuck with him from the way he reacted when she dropped that bomb. she never showed up in the waiting room so he knows she didn't follow through with that. still, he used a vulnerable young girl for his own selfish gain. ironically enough, he knows exactly how that feels, because he also got tricked into marriage and got used for someone else's gain. the difference being that he dealt with that shit with an axe.

much much much to think about for mr. juice.

after years of ruminating in that waiting room, he's finally out and back to the regular day to day afterlife. definitely gets chewed out by juno, maybe forced to do community service or labor or what have you, he basically just needs to clean up his act now. this freelancing shit is becoming more trouble than it's worth anyway.

he's still wondering about lydia deetz. should he check in on her? maybe he should, he's too curious now.

at this point, lydia is now about 19-21 and in college. maybe he manages to sneak into the model one time she's back home for the holidays or something. and oh my god would you look at that, what a beautiful young woman she's grown into. she's radiant. she's happy. she's no longer that gloomy suicidal kid he met in the attic. seems like what she said about the deetzes and the maitlands sharing the house did come true after all.

that's nice. very sweet. good to know.

maybe he wonders if she remembers him and tries to get her attention somehow, give her a little scare for old times sake or whatever. for a brief moment it seems like she saw something and her expression changes, but she shrugs it off and continues on chatting with her two sets of parents. no such luck.

oh well. curiosity sated! and beetlejuice goes back home and doesn't return.

until the next time he returns.

and he keeps coming back to check in on her, telling himself he's just making sure that she hasn't killed herself or something. and he's not above admitting that with every year that passes, she keeps getting more beautiful. and to think they almost got married, huh.

he constantly tries to get her to notice him somehow, and sometimes she almost does, but ultimately he never really succeeds beyond making her do a double take. very rarely she does catch a glimpse of him. he's seen her mutter to herself that she's just seeing things and she seems a bit frightened every time this happens, but there's nothing to fear, honey, it's just good ol' beetlejuice. he won't lie, he gets a bit of a rush every time and it makes his dead heart beat faintly. he's gotten this far, he can't just stop now. in his mind, this has become their little private game of cat and mouse, where the mouse ignores the cat. but aren't they cute? he thinks they're cute. this is not creepy at all!

before he realizes, he's already learned everything about her. he knows about richard and even watched their wedding from afar like a loser. he knows she gave birth to a healthy baby girl named astrid. he knows they have a blast on halloween. halloween is lydia's favorite holiday, and his too. sometimes he can't help but see the three of them happy together and think it could've totally been him. even if he and richard are nothing alike (in fact could not be more opposite) and the circumstances of their unholy wedding were nothing short of grim and a farce. but in his mind, he's starting to convince himself otherwise.

maybe it's his jealousy speaking, but lydia doesn't seem to be that happy with richard despite everything. even though richard is like, the perfect guy. then one day his suspicions are proven correct: neither of them knows why it happened, but after having a long and emotional talk (that he watched with a bucket of popcorn) they decide to get a divorce. he pumps his fist, feeling victorious for some reason. sure he's a little sadistic at times, but why is this giving him so much glee?

the divorce is hard on lydia's kid, who was always more attached to her father, but they still spend a lot of time together. sometimes the three of them, since richard and lydia kept things amicable after the divorce. lydia tries to move on and see other people, but each relationship fails before it even starts. mostly because she keeps holding back and so fails to connect with anyone else, but also sometimes because, well, he can't help himself but to scare them away from her from time to time. it's fun. in his mind, he's just being protective of her, as a gentleman should for a lady.

then richard dies. fell into a piranha infested river from the looks of it (he saw him at immigration one day, don't ask what he was doing around there, force of habit after constantly making sure lydia hasn't killed herself yet.) it's devastating for both lydia and astrid, straining their relationship even more for the next few years as they both try to cope with the loss. the shock proves to be too much for lydia, so she goes to a survivors retreat to work through her trauma, both from richard's death and "unresolved feelings."

then lydia, at her most vulnerable, meets rory.

beetlejuice was able to clock him immediately. a textbook manipulative opportunist, he himself knows the tactics very well. swoop in to "help" someone in a vulnerable position, pull the wool over their eyes and begin taking control so you can get what you want out of that person.

he wouldn't admit it, but this really irks beetlejuice. you know when you see someone who reminds you of the worst parts of yourself, so you despise them? yeah. he's been there, and he's also been him.

but rory is somehow even worse than beetlejuice. see, rory is her manager, and boy does he manage to get on his nerves. he takes her phone. he controls what medication she takes. he blames and guilt trips her about every mishap that HE causes, making himself look like her benevolent savior and making her feel like she would be lost without him, confusing her with his psychobabble. on top of all that, he's forcing her to do this hacky show called Ghost House where she "hunts ghosts" or whatever. the houses he's been helping newly-deads with in his day job as a bio-exorcist (now with a fleet of employees,) she's "hunting" those ghosts now. it's so dumb. it never works. beetlejuice doesn't even know what the hell she's doing, she's phoning it in most of the time and she knows she's become a sellout. what happened to that "strange and unusual" girl who stood up for her ghost friends when those suits wanted to profit off of them back in winter river?

he needs to bring that back. he's the only one who can.

in his mind, beetlejuice has already rewritten the events that transpired. in his mind, lydia has been his wife this entire time, it's just, y'know, one of those open long distance relationships and she doesn't always remember him, but that's okay. in his mind, they share a psychic bond that allows her to sense his presence or see him in her dreams from time to time. he's got nothing to be jealous about, because other men can't compare. no one else can match what they have.

sure, part of him knows he's lying to himself a little bit. but he's already clung to this idea; these past 30 years wouldn't make sense otherwise. he's in love with lydia deetz. this isn't insane of him to say at all. and if it is, well, you know what they say, love makes you do batshit crazy things.

it's not that complicated, no matter what they say you'll never meet another me it's not that difficult to get my head around i'll never meet another you

the end

don't trick me into writing a fanfic again

[gloomwitchwrites]

IM FEELING ANGSTY TODAY so what about 141 who is in love with reader but they are in love with someone else <3

ANON! STRAIGHT TO JAIL!

But in all seriousness, I love some yummy angst. Make me suffer. Make the characters suffer. Let's all suffer a little bit. Hope you shed a tear or two (or don't).

For the masterlist and how to submit your own request, click HERE

Presented in four double drabbles.

Task Force 141 x Female Reader

Content & Warnings (per the warnings MDNI): swearing, alcohol, stalking, flirting, yearning, angst, suggestive themes, brief mention of intimate relations, divorce, co-parenting, nurse!reader

Word Count: 800

ao3 // main masterlist // imagines & what if series masterlist

John Price

The door opens, and your smiling face greets him. You look a bit tired, but even so, you're beautiful. John wants to snapshot this moment. To savor it.

“You’re early,” you breathe.

John shrugs. “That all right?”

He did it on purpose. The new boyfriend shouldn’t be home yet, which means John can have some time with you.

“Is that Dad?”

The familiar voice of his daughter and small feet slapping against a wood floor reaches him. She appears, arms outstretched eagerly.

“Hey there, dove,” chuckles John, lifting his daughter into his arms. “Ready to spend the weekend with me?”

She squeals with delight, her small arms wrapping around his neck. John glances at you, urging memory to resurface and seize you both.

But it is not to be.

The boyfriend appears. The man that came after the divorce.

John doesn’t blame you for moving on. His job drained the marriage into nothing.

But he still wants you.

“John,” nods the man in greeting.

“Is her bag ready?” asks John, addressing you and not acknowledging the boyfriend.

“Yes,” you reply, handing it to him.

John wants to say, “I love you.”

But he doesn’t.

“I’ll bring her back Sunday evening.”

Kyle "Gaz" Garrick

Vape smoke lingers in the air.

Kyle reclines on the sofa, his head on a pillow, scrolling his socials in the dim dark. The television is on, the volume turned low to create background noise. On the table next to him is a bottle of tequila, half-empty and warm. He takes a swig, savoring the burn.

Kyle’s gaze is glued to the phone screen, fingers tapping until he finds your page.

He shouldn’t do this. It’ll only upset him—making him yearn for something he doesn’t have and might never know. It’s a foolish endeavor. Heartbreak just for fucking kicks.

He gazes at your smiling face, of how perfect you are to him. It’s not fucking fair—even if he respects your choice.

You should be his. The two of you should be together.

But there is someone else. A man that Kyle despises but only because you’re not his. The bloke is a good man. He’ll take care of you. Treat you right. Be there when you need him and not away on another mission without any idea of when or if he’s coming back.

Kyle’s chest aches.

"Fuck," he sighs, locking his phone.

He reaches for the tequila.

John "Soap" MacTavish

“How bad is it, doc? Think I’ll live?”

Soap puts every ounce of devious flirtation he can in his tone. He’s putting it on thick.

He gives you his best smile, and he gets the exact reaction he wants.

Your head bows in embarrassment, a soft smile spreading on your face. Your touch is gentle, taking great care to wrap the wound on his bicep.

You’re flustered. It’s bloody adorable.

“You’ll live, sergeant,” you reply, voice a little husky.

It’s such a small thing, but Soap clings to it. To him, this is a sliver of hope. A possibility even though reality says otherwise.

Soap leans in a bit, pushing into your space which almost seems to worsen your flustered demeanor. “I took a hard hit.”

“You did,” you agree. “It’s good they brought you in.”

You have no idea Soap asked Simon to hit him harder during training just so he’d end up here.

But it’s not to be.

The man that has your heart arrives, strolling into the communal exam room without even glancing at Soap.

“You’re ready to go, sergeant,” you reply brightly, demeanor changing now that your boyfriend is here.

Soap’s stomach twists into a knot.

Simon "Ghost" Riley

Simon sits in the dark in his home office. A slight twinge of shame paints his mood, like it always does when he watches the monitors.

He tells himself he does this to protect you. That he’s looking after you even if you’re not aware of his actions. This is just a precaution until you finally realize that you should be his.

Simon removes a cigarette from his jacket pocket. When it ignites, and that luscious burn hits his lungs, a calmness settles over him.

His actions are valid. This behavior is fine.

Simon settles back in his chair, gaze roaming over the different camera views. There are fifteen of them in total. Each one is in your home in various rooms. Infiltration and surveillance are something he’s fucking good at. And he’s done it here with excellent precision.

It’s some of his best work.

In your bedroom, you’re currently on your back, and completely naked. The wanker you call a “boyfriend” is thrusting like a bloody fucking idiot. It’s clear to Simon that this man only cares about himself.

Simon could make you come. He’d give you plenty of orgasms.

But you’re not his.

You belong to someone else.

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@ash-tarte @marispunk @gingergirl06 @certainlygay @greeniegreengreen

[goldencherriess]

We visit the Garden Gnome Emporium.

Pairing: Percy Jackson x Fem! Reader

Summary: New dangers show in the horizons as Y/N navigates the beginnings of the her first ever quest.

Word count: 10k (oops!)

Warnings: angst (because apparently I can't stop writing it), a lot of eye contact. Glaring as a love language basically

Previous part II Series masterlist

Night came and went, bleeding into the morning, letting the sun shine down on Camp Half-Blood. Y/N woke up early, well aware of what this morning brought. She put her hair up, tied her shoelaces into perfect bows, made her bed (no wrinkles showed on the marble white sheets) and stepped into the crisp morning air. She looked up towards the clear blue sky, a smile stretching on her lips. A horn announced the beginning of the day and she marched towards the pavilion, her head held high. 

The Greek columns touched the sky, the campfire swaying slightly in the breeze. She entered the pavilion, her eyes meeting Annabeth’s. Other demigods stood in a circle and Y/N recognized Percy’s golden hair. He was speaking quietly to Chiron, mr. D standing proudly beside them, arms crossed. 

She stopped near Annabeth, not taking her gaze off the pair. “Good morning,” she saluted. 

“Good morning, Y/N. Today’s the day,” Annabeth’s sure voice said. 

Y/N nodded, shifting her gaze towards her friend. A small smile bloomed on her lips. “Yes, it is.”

Annabeth smiled back, before Chiron’s voice boomed, his hands settling on his hips. “The Oracle has confirmed what we expected, that this quest will proceed toward the Underworld, where you will confront the god who has rebelled against his brothers. Hades.” Y/N turned to look at the centaur, straightening her back, her face devoid of any emotion. “The entrance to Hades’s domain lies under the city of Los Angeles.” Chiron looked down at Percy. “This is where you will journey to. Time is short.” He moved his gaze to the demigods. “I have selected our most compelling candidates, from which you will choose three to join you on this quest and ensure that we succeed.”

Percy’s gaze settled on Athena’s daughter. “Annabeth.” His ocean blue eyes latched onto Y/N’s and she raised her chin. “And Y/N.” 

“Customarily, one waits to at least hear a name or two before choosing. Are you sure you don’t wanna hear more?” asked Chiron, looking at Percy, the grey in his hair and eyebrows only enhancing the warm wisdom in his eyes.

Y/N could feel Annabeth shift her weight. She looked at her from the corner of her eyes. Someone who didn’t know Annabeth would have been fooled by her determined stance and stone-like eyes. But Y/N wasn’t fooled, she knew her friend too well. She reached over and took hold of her hand, staring straight ahead at Percy and Chiron. Annabeth squeezed her hand, a way of saying “thanks”. She squeezed back. 

“This thing, Zeus’s master bolt, we need to get it back, right?” asked Percy as he looked up at the centaur. 

“Yes,” nodded Chiron. 

Percy raised an eyebrow. “And it’s gonna be hard to get, yes?” 

“Extraordinarily.”

“And if the mission required someone to push me down a flight of stairs for it to succeed… you’d want someone who won’t hesitate when they do it. And someone who would protect from the shadows, someone whose aim you’d trust to reach its target.” Percy’s gaze panned on Y/N. 

Chiron’s eyebrow raised, before he turned back to the demigods before him. “The first quest-mates shall be Annabeth Chase and Y/N L/N!”

 A smirk appeared on Y/N’s face and she squeezed Annabeth’s hand. The morning had brought the promise of a quest she wouldn’t dare fail. 

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

Y/N didn’t have much to pack for the journey. She looked at the objects strewn across her bed and at the backpack Annabeth lent her, as she didn’t have one of her own. Her arrows were glistening in the sunshine rays and her bow was proudly bending on the sheets. She took hold of an arrow and touched the tip. It was sharp as a needle. 

Footsteps came up behind her and Luke’s voice cut the silence. “You got the quest you’ve wanted for so long.”

She turned around. The boy was kneeling down beside his bed, grunting as he took out a box from under it. “I know.”

Luke laughed. “Aren’t you proud? It seems you’ve made quite the impression on Percy.”

Y/N shrugged. “I don’t care.” She turned back around, stuffing the arrows in the backpack, hiding them from mortal eyes. The bow, though, didn’t fit. She would need to carry it around in plain sight. 

“Either way, you’ve got what you wanted. Somehow you always do.” A warm hand settled on her shoulder. 

She turned to look at Luke, her first friend at camp. He was bearing a soft smile. “You’ll do great,” he added, nodding. 

Her lips curled in a small smile. “Reckon I won’t get into trouble?”

Luke rolled his eyes. “Oh, you definitely will. But try to keep it at minimum. Come back in a piece, alright? You’re like a sister to me.”

A warmth spread in her chest at his last words and her smile turned into a full blown grin. “I’ve always wanted an older brother.” She did. More often than not, during the school days and after her mother’s death, loneliness creeped in her life and she longed for someone to share her pain, to understand her sentiments and to soothe her worries. Her aunt tried her best and Y/N would remain forever grateful to her, but she could feel how her aunt was keeping things away from her, how she held secrets of her own, how she was keeping her in the dark. Maybe this was why she grew to fear it.

Y/N’s gaze slipped towards the box held in Luke’s hands. She nodded towards it. “What’s that?” 

“For Percy.”

“Am I not getting anything?” she replied, a note of envy seeping into her tone. 

“You can take care of yourself, I’d say. You don’t need some old Converse from me to kick ass.” Luke’s eyes twinkled and he ruffled Y/N’s hair. 

“Stop that!” she yelled, as she pushed his hands away and tried smoothing down her hair. 

A laugh escaped Luke’s lips. “Still bossy as ever, I see.”

Her eyebrows furrowed and she threw him a furious look, before turning back to packing. She had half a mind to take with her the yellow coat she arrived in at Camp Half-Blood, but she had outgrown it quite a few years ago. Still, she regarded the flashing, neon yellow of it, as it stayed hung on the back of her bed. 

“You alright?” asked Luke worriedly.

She sighed. “Yes.” She slinged the backpack on her shoulder, the sound of arrows clinking together reaching her ears. She took hold of her bow, her fingers clawing around the smooth wood, fitting like puzzle pieces. She squared her shoulders and she turned to meet Luke’s eyes. “I’m ready.” 

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

The pine tree stood tall in the wind, its leaves swaying gently. Y/N watched from afar how Annabeth said her goodbyes to Thalia, her hand on the tree’s bark. When Y/N first met Annabeth, she was green with envy at every mention of Thalia’s name. Thalia this, Thalia that. But after Annabeth slowly warmed up to her, Y/N saw the tree as what it really was. A sacrifice. An attempt to shelter those who were just like herself. She saw the tree’s beauty and she was thankful for it. It brought Annabeth to her (whose eyes seemed to follow her everywhere her first few days at camp. At some point, Y/N was fed up with it and confronted her about it. They slowly became friends). 

She closed her eyes and tilted her head back, basking in the sunlight, feeling the wind’s caress on her cheek. 

“She’s really gonna miss that tree, huh?” Y/N heard Percy say from beside her. A scowl darkened her features, but she didn’t open her eyes, instead choosing to strain her ears for any bird sounds. She didn’t hear the eagle sing today. 

“When Annabeth first arrived here with Thalia and Luke, they were being chased by monsters,” replied Grover, a satyr with a friendly face. 

Y/N met him a few years back when she tried figuring out her place at camp and her talent. The Demeter children were trying to teach her how to tend to plants. She didn’t have the patience (and it seemed that she didn’t have the talent for it either), but Grover did. He often mingled with the Demeter children and he taught her to make a flower crown, before he put it on the mane of her hair with a warm smile, eyes wrinkling. 

“Agents of Hades. Sisters,” he continued. 

“Furies,” added Percy, nodding. “Mrs. Dodds?”

“Yes!”

Y/N’s eyebrows furrowed. “Who’s mrs. Dodds?”

“Our algebra teacher. Alecto,” explained Grover. 

She hummed in reply. 

“Thalia turned back to fight to buy her friends some time. Her satyr Protector tried to stop her, but she wouldn’t listen. So, at the last moment… Zeus intervened to save her life and… changed her form.” Grover’s voice shook. 

“The most powerful being in the universe's best idea to save his daughter’s life… was to turn her into a tree?” asked Percy, a note of doubt in his voice.

Y/N opened her eyes and turned to look at him. For some odd reason, the question irked her, flaring her up. “He did save her, in the end. And trees are a symbol of life. Not that you would understand.”

Percy’s eyebrows furrowed and he opened his mouth to retaliate, but Annabeth cut him off. “She was the bravest demigod I ever knew. She fought valiantly and she met a hero’s fate.”

“She met a pinecone’s fate,” replied Percy, pointing at the tree in the horizon. 

Y/N scoffed, turning her back on him, taking a few steps and coming beside Annabeth. She turned around. “You have no respect,” she stated, crossing her arms, bearing a wild look in her eyes. 

Percy met her gaze, confusion simmering in his ocean eyes. 

“Forbidden children are always in danger, even the strongest one, even Thalia. And you are not Thalia,” said Annabeth, her voice firm. 

“Forbidden children are a magnet for danger. Monsters,” added Y/N. “I’m guessing you don’t have a death wish.”

Percy shifted his weight. “No,” he mumbled, clearly annoyed. 

“Then, you’d better listen to us.”

“Do exactly as we say, and maybe you survive this,” said Annabeth. “Are we clear?” But she didn’t wait for a reply, as she turned on her heels, leaving for the border. 

Y/N raised an eyebrow. “Are we clear?” she stressed, leaning forward.

Percy clenched his jaw. “Yes, ma'am.” 

She nodded, before turning around and catching up to Annabeth, bumping their shoulders. 

“Does she think she’s in charge?” she heard Percy ask Grover. She rolled her eyes.

“Who’d you think would be in charge?”

“I guess I assumed we’d do a show of hands or something.”

She scoffed lightly, before she passed the pine tree, her fingers softly caressing the bark. She threw a glance behind her shoulder, the sight of Camp Half-Blood reminding her of a home away from home. She smiled, before she jumped down, the unknown stretching before her eyes. 

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

Y/N hadn’t missed the city. It looked the same as the day she left it: wild and untamed. She glanced outside the window, as she sat in the bus, towering skyscrapers passing by. She recognized many places. Like that one corner where she was almost bullied by kids twice her size just because she was different. And there’s that candy shop her aunt brought her to once after her first day at a different school than the one she was attending a week before. Her eyes narrowed. That one block seemed familiar. With a pang of heart, she realised it was the block her aunt lived in. If she still lived in it, and didn’t move away. 

She sighed, falling back into her seat. Annabeth was soundly asleep next to her, the chest rising and falling with every breath. Y/N took in her fluttering eyelashes, sweetly kissing her cheek, and Y/N figured Annabeth didn’t sleep the night before. She knew her friend too well. She knew that Annabeth always worried, always strategized, was always one step ahead. 

She tucked a stray strand of  hair  behind Annabeth’s ear, lightly putting her head on her shoulder, shifting more comfortably in the seat. 

The skyscrapers rolled by, until they were nothing but passing, flashing hills.

Her gaze caught Percy looking at them. He was trying to be discreet, Y/N could tell. “What?” she whispered, careful to not wake Annabeth up.

He only shook his head, before turning to look straight ahead. “Nothing,” he simply answered. A second later, he turned in his seat, towards Y/N. “You’re great friends,” he stated, nodding his head toward the sleeping form of Annabeth.

Y/N’s gaze slipped toward the girl. “Yeah, so?”

“Nothing. Just asking.”

Y/N’s eyes narrowed. “Why are you always this curious?”

“I’m not,” mumbled Percy, his ears turning slightly red.

“Yeah, you are. Not only do you always ask stupid things, but you also stare an awful lot. Did your mommy never taught you it’s not polite to stare?”

“I’m not staring!”

“Right, and I’m Zeus’ child,” she replied, sarcasm dripping down her tongue. “Just stop staring. It’s pissing me off. If you’ve got something to say, just come out and say it.”

Percy looked her in the eyes, his jaw clenching. “I don’t”

Y/N only nodded. “Great. I don’t either.” She turned her head to gaze out the window. The city was long gone and she let herself be whisked away by the green scenery.

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

“There is no way this is what sacred smells like,” said Percy, turning to look at Annabeth and Y/N, as a rocker in his fifties came out of the smelling WC of the bus. Y/N scrunched up her nose, a waft of what she could nicely only describe as garbage passing by. 

“We’re soldiers on a mission. It’s not a vacation,” retorted Annabeth.

“Thank you for clearing that up. But if this is so important, why didn’t Chiron spring for plane tickets? This seems kind of low priority, doesn’t it?” Percy asked, shifting the gaze between his three companions. 

Y/N’s eyebrows furrowed. “What? No one told you?” She moved her gaze onto Grover, who withdrew into himself. “You didn’t tell him?”

“Sorry, I assumed someone had told you,” replied Grover, eyes full of remorse.

“Tell me what?”

“Percy, it isn’t just the monsters who are gonna be trying to stop us. You’re a forbidden child,” explained Grover, tilting his head. “Zeus might decide to take a shot at you himself. The sky is his domain. We’d be serving you on a silver platter to try to travel through it.”

“And flying would be like an act of war, it would mean you’re defying him,” added Y/N. “And you do not want to defy the god of the skies and the king of Olympus.”

Percy searched her face, eyebrows furrowed and lips parted. “Yeah, no one mentioned that,” he eventually replied, his voice full of annoyance. 

The bus slowly pulled to a stop in a gas station, Y/N catching sight of far away trees and she was strongly reminded of the fresh air back when she was living with her mother in a cosy cabin. But that was years ago. 

“Okay, I’m gonna get us some snacks,” announced Annabeth, getting up from her seat and straightening her purple jacket. 

“I wanna come too,” said Y/N, getting up and dusting her pants. 

“I’ll come with you,” voiced Percy, trying to get up on his feet but being pushed back by Annabeth’s firm hands.

“No, you’ll stay right there.”

Percy’s face morphed into a look of disbelief. “What? And how come you’re letting her go, but not me?” he looked towards Y/N, before quickly moving his eyes back on Annabeth. 

“She has a name. And because I asked her,” piped in Y/N, eyebrows furrowing. She crossed her arms, the blood in her veins starting to boil. 

“Yeah, well, I asked her too. Didn’t seem to help,” furrowed Percy. 

“You’re staying here and that’s final.”

“Monsters can’t smell you through that, so that’s where we want you,” added Annabeth, nodding her head. 

Percy’s eyebrows twitched. “I wanna vote.” He briefly looked at Grover, who was worryingly watching the interaction, his gaze shifting back and forth as if he was at a game of tennis. “Who thinks that we should all go get to breathe fresh air and buy our own snacks?” he asked, gazing at Y/N, one eyebrow slightly arched. He deftly raised his hand. 

“There’s no voting,” Y/N and Annabeth said in unison. 

“Chips and sodas okay for you guys?” questioned Annabeth. 

“I don’t think you should just get to decide we don’t vote.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Annabeth voiced, sarcasm lacing her words.

“There’s no point in voting. I just said you’re not coming. Annie agrees,” replied Y/N, leaning forward, looking Percy in the eyes. Her blood was still boiling in her veins and her skin was hot and she knew she would soon reach her limit, before she’d start to erupt, much like a volcano would, but she kept her voice even and her face devoid of any emotion. 

Percy’s lips curled in disdain. “Of course she does! She agrees to whatever you say!” 

Y/N’s lips twitched. “She knows it’s for the better. You, on the other hand, don’t.”

“Okay. I wanna vote on whether you get to decide we don’t vote.”

Y/N’s frown only deepened and bolts thundered in her gaze, flashing. Percy met her eyes, a storm brewing in his ocean gaze. 

Annabeth sighed. “Grover, please, can you help your…” Her voice faltered as Grover started clapping slowly, smiling awkwardly  “...friend?”

Y/N swiftly moved her gaze onto him, confusion lacing her features. She blinked. 

“I really don’t wanna be a tiebreaker,” Grover said, taking all of them in, shaking his head. “I have a better idea.” His clapping increased in a quick rhythm. He opened his mouth and his voice rounded in swift sounds to sing. “Oh, golly, the road’s gettin’ bumpy ‘cause I got me some friends who just can’t get along.”

Y/N’s eyebrows raised, her lips parting. 

“Oh, dear! When the team’s gettin’ bumpy the trick to gettin’ through it is singin’ this song–”

“Dude, what are you doing?” asked Percy, his voice flat. 

Grover blinked, and he moved his gaze from Percy to Annabeth to Y/N, smiling slightly as if the answer was clear as day. “It’s the consensus song,” he simply answered. “Verse two encourages us to say nice things about each other.” 

Percy looked at Y/N, who was still bearing a confused look on her face. Her eyebrows did lower, though. 

“You get a few rounds in and you’d be amazed at how disagreements just kind of… fade away,” continued Grover, his voice faltering at Annabeth’s bored look on her face. 

Silence settled for a few seconds and Y/N briefly glanced at Percy, who was blinking and looking ahead at nothing in particular.

“Chips and sodas okay for you guys?” repeated Annabeth, her hand in her jacket’s pockets. 

“Whatever.”

“Yes, please.”

Y/N scoffed before she left Annabeth’s side, heading for the bus exit. The air was as fresh as remembered. 

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

The sliding doors opened, making way for Y/N and Annabeth to enter the gas station. The cashier was a plump woman in her forties, her face empty of any emotion. She looked bored at best.

“Alright, let’s split up. I’ll get the chips, you get the sodas, okay?” said Y/N, looking around, body tensed. 

Annabeth nodded, before going in the direction of the candies. Y/N looked at her departing figure, before she passed the cashier and stopped in front of the snacks aisle. The refrigerators were humming behind her and she moved her gaze down the alley, trying to read the products. The letters were jumbling together, swirling in front of her eyes in a tangle of mess. She blinked and furrowed. She reached a hand out and took hold of a Lay’s chips bag. She whispered the letters. “La… le… lein?” She shook her head. “That didn’t sound right.” She sighed before she picked up three more identical bags and turned her head to search for Annabeth. She recognized her dark braided hair behind the candy aisle. A small smile blossomed on Y/N’s lips and she let her gaze slide away, taking in the shop around her. 

The smile fell off  her face when her eyes caught sight of a woman staring at her over the drinks aisle. She shifted her weight before she left for the cashier, turning to glance behind her shoulder. Annabeth was just coming beside her. “Don’t look now, but I think we’re being watched.”

Annabeth gave a subtle nod before she dumped all the candies and sodas on the cash register. The cashier raised her eyebrows before she started scanning the products. Athena’s daughter glanced behind her shoulder, as Y/N gave the chips bags to the blonde plump woman in front of her, who was suspiciously checking them both out. “Are you dears alone?” she asked. 

Y/N gritted her teeth. “No.”

“You were right,” Annabeth whispered to Y/N, from the corner of her mouth without looking at her. “Do you think it’s��?”

“Yes,” nodded Y/N, throwing the cashier a tight-lipped smile. 

“That would be 10 dollars,” announced the cashier. 

Y/N searched her pockets before she pulled out a green bill, the face of Alexander Hamilton greeting her. She slammed the money on the cash register, took the bag full of chips, candies and sodas and pulled Annabeth out the gas station. The sliding doors closed behind her with a whoosh sound.

They quickened their steps, Annabeth glancing behind her shoulder, a frown on her face. 

“Don’t panic,” Y/N voiced, looking at her, as they entered the bus. 

“I’m not panicking.” Annabeth stopped in the middle of the aisle. “You go ahead,” she said before she put on the Yankees cap, disappearing.

Y/N sighed, as she approached the boys. 

“Look, I’m not against the idea of consensus, I’m just not sure the song is doing what you think it is, is all,” she heard Percy say. She threw the bag onto his lap and he whipped his head around, his eyebrows furrowed. “Hey!”

She shushed him, waving her hand, and looking at the place where she knew Annabeth would be. She strained her ears, hoping to catch bits and pieces of anything that would alert her of the presence of monsters. 

“What are you doing?” asked Percy, closely watching her. 

Her eyes widened when she saw Annabeth reappear, a frantic look on her face. “Open the window,” she urged Percy, pushing him. 

“What?” 

“Just do as I say!”

Percy opened his mouth to retort, his ocean blue eyes darkening, but he was interrupted by Annabeth. “Guys, you need to open that window! Now!” 

“I don’t think these windows are supposed to–” replied Grover, panic overtaking his features once he saw a Fury getting up from her seat. “Oh, no.”

Y/N swore under her breath and she backed, taking hold of her bow. 

“Go, go, go, go, go!” Grover yelled, getting up and pushing Percy. 

Y/N took out an arrow, and she raised it, not taking her eyes off Alecto, as she slowly advanced towards them, her wings stretching menacingly. She heard the boys forcing the window open, the bus alarm filling the air. 

“Everyone, leave your belongings and exit the front of the bus,” the driver spoke up. 

Y/N inhaled, taking a step back as she made eye contact with the Fury. People got up from their seats, swarming the aisle and slowing down Alecto.  

“Y/N, Annabeth, let’s go!,” yelled Percy, touching Y/N’s arm. She shook his hold off, hearing shrieking. 

Another Fury flew in, breaking a window and turning her attention to Percy. 

“Hey!” Annabeth yelled, taking out her dagger. 

“For gods’ sake!” Y/N mumbled as she raised her bow and launched her arrow. It cut the air, before it targeted the Fury’s forehead at the same time the dagger stabbed her heart. The Fury gave out another shriek, her eyes turning glossy. She turned into an ashy dust and Y/N huffed. 

“We’re done here, let’s go!” said Annabeth, picking her dagger up and jumping down the open window. 

Y/N took hold of her fallen arrow. “Come on, Percy!” she yelled over shoulder, looking at the boy as he picked up the box she recognized as being Luke’s. He nodded, and she took it as a sign he would follow her out the window.

He did. 

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

Birds were chirping and Y/N was happy to be immersed in nature once again. The wind was dancing through the tall pine trees and light was filtering through the deep green leaves. If she closed her eyes, she could imagine she was back home, at the cabin with her mother. But she was on a mission. And she couldn’t let herself be distracted. Not even by the slightest breeze or bird song. 

“Somewhere up ahead this turns into a satyr path,” voiced Grover from behind her. 

“What’s a satyr path?”

“It’s a road through the wilderness. Satyr explorers use them. Harder to track us.”

Y/N’s Converse scuffled, hitting a strayed, small rock. She watched as it rolled down the dusty path. 

“That’s great but if we stay in the wilderness, how are we gonna find a phone?”

She frowned at hearing Percy’s question. She turned to look at him. The blond was holding the box as it was the most sacred thing he’d ever get to hold, and envy’s claw squeezed her neck. 

“What do we need a phone for?” Annabeth voiced the question that was swimming in Y/N’s thoughts and mind. 

“So we can call camp,” stated Percy as if the answer was obvious and plain. 

“For what?” asked Y/N, stopping in her tracks. 

“To get help.”

“We’re not getting help,” she replied, resuming her walk. 

“We don’t need help. We’re fine,” added Annabeth. 

Percy scoffed. “We’re fine? We haven’t even gotten to Trenton, and we’re wandering through a forest. I didn’t even know they had forests in New Jersey, but we’ve found one. I would say we’re the opposite of fine.”

“It’s a very pretty forest, though,” mumbled Y/N, looking up at the towering, sheltering trees. 

On hearing this, Grover threw her a small smile.

“We were sent on a quest by the Oracle, by the gods,” Annabeth said, turning to look at Percy over her shoulder. “What’d you think, it would be easy? It’s supposed to be hard. That’s why only certain people are chosen. If we call camp, we’re basically saying it was a mistake to choose us.”

“I’m completely comfortable with that,” replied Percy, shrugging. “Everyone makes mistakes.”

Y/N scoffed. “We can’t afford to make mistakes. This is a one time only chance.”

Percy blinked, looking at her. He opened his mouth to reply, but Annabeth spoke up, stopping in the middle of the path and turning to look at him. “Why are you so afraid of who you are?”

“What?” frowned Percy.

Grover looked between them, inhaling. “You know, what’s interesting about this particular satyr path is it’s actually the one my Uncle Ferdinand took when he set out on his own quest.”

Percy ignored him, looking at Annabeth. “What was that supposed to mean, afraid of who I am? I’m not afraid.”

Y/N rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. She was getting tired of his attitude. 

“Yes, you are,” emphasised Annabeth. “You aren’t just a kid. Just a kid doesn’t do what you did to Clarisse back at camp. Just a kid doesn’t have Hades sending top lieutenants to retrieve them. You know, you are a part of something so much bigger than we can understand right now. We have to move forward whether you like it or not, whether you want to or not.”

Percy shrugged. “You don’t want to call camp, fine. Then, at least let’s call your mom.”

Y/N uncrossed her arms, lips parting. She shifted her gaze onto Annabeth. She knew her friend well. All too well. She knew that right at this moment Percy had unleashed a storm upon Athena’s daughter. She knew that million thoughts were currently racing through her mind, swirling around and clouding her vision. She knew that she was holding herself back. She knew her friend very well, because they were mirror images of each other. Y/N worryingly searched her face and took a step closer to her.

Annabeth blinked several times in disbelief. “Excuse me?”

“Athena? Your mother?” continued Percy, as if he was talking about the weather. “I’d call my father, but we aren’t exactly on speaking terms. You know, because of the lifelong neglect and all, but you and your mother seem close, So, why don’t we ask her for help?”

“Grover, will you explain to your friend that he needs to pull himself together?” fired off Annabeth, looking fixedly at Grover who shook his head, looking between them, lips parted. 

Percy’s face morphed into one of understanding. “You can’t ask her, can you?” There was an edge to his voice, one that cut deep. “When was the last time she talked to you?”

Y/N took a step forward. “Alright, cut it out. We’re losing precious time here.”

Percy’s gaze snapped to hers. “What about you?”

Her eyebrows arched, hiding behind her hairline. “What about me?”

“Miss Bossing-everyone-around, left and right. What about that?”

Her face fell and she scoffed. “I’m just trying to help, but if it bothers you that much, seaweed brain, maybe I should stop. Leave you to do the honours, but as far as I can see, you don’t even know where to start.”

“You did not just make this about me, we were talking about you,” furrowed Percy,

taking a step towards her. 

Y/N threw him a tight-lipped smile. She stepped towards him, meeting his gaze with furious eyes. “Really? I thought we were saying what was bothering us.”

“Grover,” sighed Annabeth, a plea for help.

Percy whipped his head to her. “I don’t know why you keep pulling him into this. He’s on my side.”

“What makes you think that?”

“He’s my Protector, it’s his job,” stated Percy, raising his eyebrows. 

“He was my Protector first!”

Y/N heard Grover sigh and she took a step back from Percy, turning around and settling on a log. 

“First?” flared up Percy. Her mouth twisted in disdain. “What do you mean first?”

Everyone turned to look at Grover, who shifted his weight and cowered beneath their furrowed gaze. “Very exciting, getting to walk in Uncle Ferdinand’s footsteps. Next best thing to getting to talk to him again”

Y/N swore under her breath, her gaze sliding away from the trio. Her blood was rushing through her veins like hot mercury. She had an itch in her heels, her leg jumping up and down. She raised her gaze upwards, catching the sight of the azure sky between the deep green leaves of the forest. 

“Thalia, Luke, and Annabeth had a satyr protector,” Percy slowly voiced. “That was you.” Then, his voice tensed. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Grover furrowed, sniffing the air curiously. “Do you guys smell that?”

Y/N glanced at him, slowly getting up. “Are you smelling something, Grov?”

“Grover, I’m not kidding–” 

“Neither am I. Just shush.”

Silence settled between them, heavily, induced with tension. Y/N glanced from the corner of her eyes at Percy, who was already looking at her, confusion lacing his features. 

“Hamburgers,” announced Grover, taking off. 

Leaves crunched under Y/N’s Converse as she rushed off after Grover. 

“Grover! What are you doing?” voiced Annabeth from behind her. 

“Somebody’s making hamburgers in the middle of nowhere, on a satyr path,” explained Grover, still confidently leading the way. Soon they came out onto a road, a clearing in the depth of the emerald forest. “Whoever it is… They’re from our world.” 

Y/N’s hand clenched around her bow, knuckles turning white. Her stomach churned. “I have a bad feeling about this,” she mumbled. 

Percy threw her a curious look before he continued on his way. 

Grey, gruesome statues stretched menacingly towards the skies, their mouths twisting in pain. Y/N’s lips parted at the sight. 

“Oh, come on,” exclaimed Annabeth from beside her. 

“What?” asked Percy from the other side, turning to look at Annabeth over Y/N’s head. 

The feeling in her stomach intensified and Y/N gripped her bow as if it were a lifeline. The carved wood was familiar at her touch. 

“Aunty Em has a garden full of petrified stone folks. Yeah, this is someone from our world, all right,” scoffed Annabeth. 

Y/N dodged an outstretched finger as she passed the petrified form of a bearded man. His eyes were bulging out of their sockets in fear and remorse and his mouth was open in a silent, neverending scream. She tore her eyes away, a shudder running down her spine. 

“Anyone wanna guess what Em is short for?”

“Medusa,” echoed Y/N as all of them stopped in front of towering petrified monsters. Her answer came as a breath. Short. Rapid. 

“Oh,” replied Grover in defeat and realisation. His face had fallen, regret painting his features.

Y/N took a step back, goosebumps chilling down her arms. 

“Let’s get out of here, please, while we still can,” voiced Annabeth, an urgency in her tone. 

“You don’t have to tell me twice.”

They all turned around but stopped in their tracks at the sight of a furious Alecto. Her wings were outstretched and she rolled her shoulders, raising her chin. Y/N took out an arrow and she raised her bow, targeting her heart. She felt Percy shuffle beside her, handing Grover his box and taking out Riptide. 

“You should have accepted my offer when you had the chance,” said the Fury, looking at Annabeth and taking a step forward, her claws glinting in the sunlight. 

Y/N’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. She straightened her back, not taking her eyes off of the target, even if her mind was screaming at her to turn to look at Annie. To search her face for unsaid answers. 

“Offer? What offer is she talking about?” asked Percy. 

Tension filled silence laid heavy between them and Y/N counted her breaths, preparing herself to let the arrow fly through the air. Heels clicking on concrete cut the silence, a sure voice echoing soon after. “Not today, friends. Not on my doorstep.” 

Alecto hid her face in a raised wing, scarlet scales catching the sunlight, and Y/N didn’t need to turn around to know who was fast approaching. 

Annabeth exclaimed an “Oh, shoot,” before she turned around, hiding her gaze away, Grover doing the same. 

Y/N swore under her breath. Her hand gripped Percy’s elbow, forcing him to turn away. “Don’t you dare look at her, kelp head,” she whispered harshly, meeting his lowered gaze with furrowed eyebrows. He only nodded his head indistinctly.

“If you have something to resolve, why not come inside and I’ll help? Alecto? Will you be joining us?”

The Fury only turned her body away. 

“No, well I wouldn’t think you would.” A beat of silence. “She won’t bother you as long as you’re with me,” a honey dripped note seeped into her voice. 

Y/N slowly let her hand fall from Percy’s elbow. Her other hand was still clutching her bow and arrow. 

“But it isn’t as though she’ll leave either.” The voice raised in a venomous octave. “Not if it means reporting that she failed to retrieve the son of Poseidon.”

Y/N stiffened and she glanced at Percy. His eyebrows pinched together in confusion and he slightly turned on the spot, his gaze pinned to the ground.

“How did you–”

“A forbidden child has been claimed. How long did you think that secret would keep? It’s a pleasure to meet you, son of Poseidon. I’m Medusa.”

Percy swallowed thickly and risked a glance from the corner of his eye. Upon noticing this, Y/N took hold of his elbow once again. She was shaking her head in warning.

“Percy, don’t,” voiced Annabeth. “She’s a monster.”

“We all choose who we make our monsters, but right now, that one wants to tear you limb from limb…” Medusa replied in disdain. “And I’m offering you lunch. The choice is yours.” 

Heels clicking announced her departure. Y/N let her hand fall away from Percy’s elbow and she straightened her back, staring at the blonde’s profile with furrowed eyes. “You didn’t listen to me! I told you to not–”

“I think we can trust her,” Percy interrupted her, glancing at her before looking at the emerald trees surrounding them. 

Y/N’s eyebrows shot up and she felt her blood boil. 

“Dude!”

“What?”

“I can’t explain it, I just–” shrugged Percy, stumbling over his own words. He turned to look at Y/N, his gaze sincere. “My mom used to tell me her story. And the point was always that she isn’t what people think.”

Y/N opened her mouth to retaliate that they can’t take that risk now, not on this quest, not when she was on her way to find out who her father was, but her glare softened at Percy’s next words. 

“And I definitely trust my mom.”

She could relate to that. Even though she hadn’t felt the warm embrace of a mother in a long time. She closed her mouth and just stared back at him. 

“So I’m going in,” he continued, turning his gaze onto Annabeth and Grover. “You guys do what you want.” He looked one more time at Y/N before he turned to walk away, the sword weighing heavy in his hand. 

Grover stared at both of them, eyes wide as saucers before he left after Percy. 

“What are you–” Annabeth started to ask before her voice slowly died. She turned to look at Y/N, conflict written on her face. 

“We can’t leave them alone, Annie,” replied Y/N softly. “We came as a team, we’re leaving as a team.” She squared her shoulders and threw the bow and the arrow on her back. “And I also can't leave you alone either. So, are you coming? Or are we keeping Mrs. Alecto here company?”

Annabeth took in a breath and nodded her head. “I’m coming.”

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

The bell chimed as Y/N opened the door and stepped into Aunty Em’s home. Immediately, a wave of sweetness enveloped her and her stomach grumbled at the sight of a filled table. She swallowed away her hunger. 

“Thanks for coming,” said Percy as his gaze found hers. She simply shrugged,her eyes roaming around the room. It strangely reminded her of a grandmother’s house. The kind that knitted and held mint drops in crystal, intricate bowls. Also the kind that was wealthy. She could tell by the antique carpet and the centuries old chandeliers.

“This isn’t the same for me as it is for you,” she heard Annabeth say.

“Why?”

Swift heels and a steady voice interrupted the conversation. “You’re concerned I would hold a grudge against you simply because you’re a daughter of Athena?”

Y/N closed her eyes and turned her head away. The sound of a liquid being poured in glasses reached her ears and a frail waft of lemonade tickled her nostrils. She tried to ignore her scratchy and dry throat. 

“You shouldn’t be,” continued Medusa as if she were talking about the weather. “We’re not our parents after all.”

Y/N frowned. Was she even like her father? She faintly remembered her mother saying she had the same eyes as him, but other than that, was she even her father’s daughter?

“And you and I might have more in common than you think.” 

She felt Annabeth stiffen beside her. She took her hand gently. A touch of reassurance. 

“Please, sit and eat.”

Y/N slowly opened her eyes and took in the sight of a thousand, fresh sweets. A glass was filled to the brim with lemonade and she had to tear her gaze away from it to not give in. She wasn’t sure if she could trust Medusa. She trusted Percy enough to follow him but her gut was telling her otherwise. She felt Annabeth squeeze her hand. She squeezed back. 

“So you’re not a monster, what are you then?” asked Percy as he took a seat at the table, chair scratching the wooden floor. 

“A survivor,” Medusa simply answered. 

A shiver ran down Y/N’s spine. 

“You must be a little more than that. There’s a Fury out there that seems terrified of you,” added Percy, while filling his plate. Y/N watched miserably as he started eating. 

Medusa inclined her head, hands laced. “Because she knows what I think of her.” She straightened her dress before she took a seat on a wooden carved chair. And by the squeak it gave out, Y/ could tell it was also old. If she wasn’t aware of whose house she was in, Y/N would have thought she just stepped into a museum or an antique shop. “I don’t like bullies. When one shows up on my doorstep, they end up spending a lot more time there than they planned for. The gift that gods gave me is that I cannot be bullied anymore.” Y/N could detect a small smile in Medusa’s words. She felt Annabeth’s hold on her faltering.

“What my mother did to you wasn’t a gift, it was a curse.”

A pause. “You are loyal to your mother.”

“Yes.”

“You stand by her?”

“Always.”

“You love her?” 

Annabeth took out her hand from Y/N’s and crossed her arms. “Of course I do.”

Medusa slowly nodded her head. “And so did I. So did I.”

Y/N shifted her weight and looked towards Grover who was stuffing his face with muffins. 

“Do you know the story of how I came to be this way?” inquired Medusa. Y/N felt as though she was once again in those stuffy classrooms, where other kids glared at the back of her head and where she never knew the answers to the questions addressed by the teachers (they always did seem to pick her in her least finest moments. Like that one time she saw an eagle perching itself on a wire and tilting its head at her, as if it knew her.)

“I do,” replied Grover, mouth full of food.

“Do you?”

The satyr blinked. “Do I?”

A bell tolled in the distance and that grumbling feeling in her stomach returned.

“Athena was everything to me,” started Medusa. The red on her lips was popping and she was speaking slowly. “I worshipped her, I prayed to her. I made offerings… She never answered. Not even an omen to suggest she appreciated my love. I wasn’t like you, sweetheart. I was you.”

“I think you’re in the wrong,” Y/N spoke up. It hurt speaking, her throat was too dry and the words came out scratched. 

Medusa moved her gaze on the girl. “Am I? How many times did your father show you a token of his love? Did he ever answer your prayers and offerings? Did he ever recognise you as his kin?”

Y/N remained silent. Her lips drew in a thin line and she exhaled through her nose. She could feel Percy’s stare at the side of her face. 

“I would have worshipped her that way for a lifetime… in silence,” Medusa continued as if she wasn’t interrupted just a moment ago. “But then one day, another god came, and he broke that silence. Your father. The Sea God told me that he loved me. I felt as though he saw me in a way I had never felt seen before.” Her words turned acid. “But then Athena declared that I had embarrassed her and I needed to be punished. Not him. Me. She decided that I would never be seen again by anyone who would live to tell the tale.”

“That isn’t what happened,” raged Annabeth. “My mother is just, always.”

“The gods want you to believe that, that they are infallible. But they only want what all bullies want. They want us to blame ourselves, for their own shortcomings.”

Y/N hated herself for finding mirrored truth in Medusa’s words, in bits and pieces of anger and broken trust. 

“That is not what happened. And you are a liar,” screamed Annabeth.

For a moment silence reigned between them and Y/N counted the seconds until someone spoke up. Ten. 

“Something’s burning,” said Medusa. 

Y/N sniffed the air. Nothing was burning. 

“Would you give me a hand in the kitchen? I think lunch is ready.” Receding footsteps echoed in the room. 

Percy turned his head to look at the girls. Annabeth shook her head. Y/N only glared at him, a clear sign that she wasn’t on board with what he was about to do. He blinked and followed the older woman into the kitchen. 

“He never listens,” sighed Y/N, staring after him.

“Grover…,” said Annabeth. The satyr gazed at her, a pastry sticking out of his mouth and crumbs falling down his chin.  “Get ready to run.”

“Or fight,” added Y/N, getting out her bow, determination glinting in her eyes.

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

The dark always seemed to sharpen its claws everytime she was around, taunting her, as if it knew she was scared to find out what it was hiding. Doubt made a nest into her mind as she watched her Converse walking down the stone stairs and around the corner, following Percy. She blinked and furrowed against the thick blackness. The front of her sneakers caught onto a small rock and she tripped, her hand landing on Percy’s shoulder.

“Sorry,” she mumbled. He only nodded his head in response. 

Scorching fire travelled down the room, illuminating it whole. Percy turned around, coming face to face with a petrified victim, a woman who seemed to have begged for mercy in her last moments. Percy, startled, gasped and took a step back, bumping into Y/N.

“Sorry,” he mumbled. She didn’t answer. 

Thousands of statues stretched before them, losing themselves in the depth of the room. “Well, she definitely has a collection worth of envy in her basement,” said Y/N, sarcasm coating her words.

A door creaking and closing with a resounding slam alerted the group and Annabeth waved them over. “Come on.”

They ran through the labyrinth of statues, once in a while throwing a look over their shoulders. 

“There’s four of us and only one of her,” started Grover, his voice slightly wavering. “If we split up, she can’t be watching us all at once.”

Y/N shook her head. “She’s smarter than that.”

“I agree,” added Annabeth once they all came to a stop. “I don’t think it’d be that simple.”

“It could be,” replied Grover, sure of himself. “Here’s the plan. I’ll get in the air, I’ll draw her attention. As soon as you hear me say Maia, you guys–”  His voice got muffled by the sound of flipping wings and he was raised in the air. “Oh, boy! Okay! Um.. Off. Down.”

Y/N watched helplessly as Grover disappeared in the abyss of the basement, his whimpers and screams faltering. 

“So, we’re gonna need a new plan,” voiced Annabeth. 

“Yeah,” echoed Y/N.

“We are not our parents until we choose to be,” Medusa’s voice travelled to their ears, authoritative and powerful, a knife in the heavy silence. Y/N scrambled into a run, her Converse sliding against the stony floor. She settled behind the statue of a man with a back wide enough to hide her from petrifying eyes. Across from her, stood Percy, behind a crate, watching her with a fearful gaze. She raised a finger to her lips.  

“You three have chosen.”

She slowly took out her bow and arrow, her eyes catching sight of a stretching shadow. Hissing of snakes reached her ears and she raised her bow. 

“A daughter of a self-righteous mother, who chose self-righteousness for herself.”

She gritted her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut..

“A daughter of a stand-by father, who chose to remain deaf to the cries of the innocent.”

A familiar fire travelled through her veins, bringing her to a boiling point. She scowled. 

“And you, you could have shown your father what it means to stand up for someone you love. You could choose to save your mother, instead of doing your father’s bidding. If neither of you will help teach these lessons, perhaps you should be the lessons.”

Heels clicking alerted Y/N that Medusa was getting closer. She could hear the snakes better now. 

“When I ship your statues to Olympus… maybe that will get my point across even better.”

“You won’t,” Y/N’s voice boomed.

“The unclaimed one. Pity. I understand you, child. You’re forgotten, just like me,” Medusa’s voice echoed. 

“You understand nothing. You claim to know me, but you don’t.”

“Come out. Let’s have a look at you.”

Y/N came out from behind the statue with her head held high, bow clenched in her hands and an arrow raised. Her feet were unsure, though. It felt as though she was walking on thin air. 

Heels clicked and Y/N took a step back. She had to maintain a distance in order to launch her arrow. Her ears strained. From her left, she could hear Percy taking out his sword. 

“Don’t I? We’re the same, you and I. I feel your envy and fury. And I know how much you long after your father, how much you miss your dear mother. But I can help you. I can soften your pain. Open your eyes, child. Let me see your eyes. Let me see your father’s eyes.” 

She almost complied, like a lost child on the first day of school. The hold on her bow slightly weakened and she felt the pain she always buried deep inside her, the one she had lived with since her mother took her last breath on a hospital bed. She wanted it gone. Erased. But then she remembered the promise she had made to her mother on her last day, she remembered her aunt’s kind smile and the bow was raised once again, the arrows glinting in the firelight.

“No,” Y/N growled. And then she launched her arrow. A pained hissing reassured her that it reached its target, slashing one of the snakes in half. 

Grover’s yelling brought a smile onto her face and she ducked once she heard him zigzagging through the air towards her. “I didn’t really think this through!” He crashed into a pile of craters, breaking them. Y/N heard Annabeth yell “Now!” and she dared open her eyes.

She saw Percy’s sword glint before it came down, cutting the air and slashing what Y/N assumed to be Medusa’s neck. She inhaled before she came beside him. Somewhere behind her she heard Grover complain about his back and Annabeth fretting over him. Percy gulped before his foot kicked the air. Squelching filled the air and Y/N’s nose scrunched up. “Nasty.”

Percy kneeled and took hold of Medusa’s invisible head, grunting and scowling in disgust. “Aw, man.”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t wanna be in your place either,” replied Y/N, eyeing the air between Percy’s hands. 

“You found it?” asked Annabeth, nearing them. 

“Hope so,” replied Percy, getting up.

“There’s one more thing we need to do,”  affirmed Y/N with her hands on her hips. 

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

Watching Percy bravely take off the Yankees cap and petrify Alecto, sent a shudder down Y/N’s spine. If she didn’t know any better, she would have thought she was witnessing an already written Olympian legend, the kind written on time consumed, yellowed scrolls. 

She exhaled as Alecto’s petrified body fell to the ground, shattering in million pieces. Percy put the cap back on, turned on his heels and marched towards the door, where Y/N was patiently waiting. She opened it for him and they slowly descended the stairs towards the basement, the quiet settling between them.

She squinted against the darkness, but her feet tripped the second time that day. She huffed in annoyance, once she regained her balance and dusted off her pants.

“You okay?” inquired Percy, the ocean in his eyes shining in the dark.

“Just fine,” she simply answered, an edge to her tone. 

Torches lit their way and they came before a still Grover and a worried Annabeth, who was throwing them looks.

“Grov? What is it?” Y/N asked, as she stopped beside him. Her eyes caught sight of a marble white statue. A satyr. He had the ghost of a smile on his lips and a daring posture. Realisation dawned on her and she whipped her head towards her friend, watching him swallow tears away.

“Uncle Ferdinand,” replied Grover in a broken whisper. 

“Oh no,” voiced Percy. 

Y/N hesitated before she let her hand gently fall on Grover’s shoulder. She squeezed it for a second, trying to muster a soft smile. She failed. Y/N could never imagine losing her aunt. A pang pierced her heart at the thought of it.

“Grover, I’m so sorry,” said Annabeth, coming closer to him. 

“This is as far as he got on his quest. We aren’t even to Trenton. But look at him,” the satyr chuckled softly, his eyes shining with unshed tears. “He’s not like the others, he… He doesn’t look afraid.”

“Sounds like someone I know. It must run in the family,” smiled Y/N.

Grover met her gaze and softly smiled back. “Thank you, Y/N.”  He then blinked his tears away and cleared his throat. “You used the, um, you used the head to get rid of Alecto?”

“Yeah,” answered Percy, watching his best friend with concern simmering in his eyes.

“Good. That was the right move.” He wiped a stray tear. “Uh, we probably should get going. It’ll be dark soon.” 

“But what are we gonna do with the head?” interjected Percy, pointing towards what remained of Medusa. “I just took down a Fury with it and I wasn’t even trying. We can’t just leave it for someone to find.” 

Y/N crossed her arms and opened her mouth to reply, an idea already forming into her head, but Percy beat her to it. “Leave the hat on and bury it in the basement, that oughta keep it safe.”

Her arms fell to her sides and her gaze swiftly moved onto her best friend, but Annabeth’s face was devoid of emotion. Stone.  “Sure. Now, can we talk about the bigger issue here?”

“What bigger issue?” frowned the son of Poseidon.

Annabeth raised her eyebrows. “You could have saved your mother? That’s what she said to you, like you discussed it already. Is your mother still alive?”

Y/N looked at Percy expectantly. 

“She’s with Hades. But I appreciate your concern.”

Her mouth fell open and her eyebrows pinched together. “Is this why you’re on the quest?”

“Guys, just please stop,” Grover’s meek voice came from behind them. 

“Oh, I’m concerned,” continued Annabeth, her voice sharp as a knife. “What are you actually doing on this quest and why did we have to hear it from Medusa?”

Percy shook his head, his face scrunching up and he rolled his eyes. “Okay, while we’re at it, “You should have accepted my offer?” What’s that about do you think? And why did we have to hear it from Alecto? And seriously, Y/N? What was that stunt that you pulled?”

Y/N scoffed, cocking an eyebrow. “What stunt?”

“I feel your envy and fury? Let me see your father’s eyes? You almost lowered your bow. I saw you!” he screamed into her face, taking a step closer.

“But I did not!”

“Enough,” yelled Grover, turning around. 

A beat of silence. Y/N glared at Percy’s profile, lightning flashing in her eyes. She crossed her arms and shifted her gaze from him. 

“The hat was a gift from her mother. It’s the only thing she’s ever possessed that connects them. That oughta matter to you,” continued the satyr with a steady voice. 

“Okay, but how are we gonna make sure this thing is safe?” asked the blond.

“I’m not up to that yet,” Grover replied sharply. “And you know Y/N’s trying to find who her father is. You were like her once, too, Percy, so I’m sure you understand where she’s coming from. But she didn’t let her guard down.”

Percy shifted his weight awkwardly, gazing at the girl beside him. She caught her eyes with a still thunderous glare.

Grover turned to the girls. “And you girls, really? His mom’s alive. Can you imagine how confusing that must be for him? Feeling like he may have to choose between the fate of the world and the fate of the only person who’s ever cared about him?”

She could imagine. If her mom was still alive, she for surely, without a doubt, would have done the same. Y/N’s arms weakened but they didn’t uncross. “What are you trying to say?” she softly asked.

“Why are you talking like this?” added Annabeth. 

“Because all day I’ve been trying to keep this quest on track without upsetting either of you.” He deeply inhaled and exhaled, calming himself down. “But maybe things need to get a little upsetting before they move forward.’ He turned towards Percy. “She asked you a question back in the woods, and you never really answered. What are you so afraid of?”

Percy blinked and shifted his feet. “What are you talking about?”

“You heard me.”

“I don’t know.”

“I think you do. You’ve been fighting with them, you’ve been fighting with me.”

“ Because the Oracle said one of you would betray me. Okay?” flared up Percy. He sighed and licked his lips. “You shall be betrayed by the one who calls you a friend, and you shall fail to save what matters most in the end. That’s the rest of what she said to me. I chose Annabeth because I couldn't imagine we’d ever be friends. I chose Y/N because I thought I could rely on her to protect me, to protect us. And I chose you because I thought if I can count on anyone to be on my side, no matter what, it was you.” He squared his shoulders and his voice broke. “And now, I’m feeling so alone. I don't know what to think or who to trust.”

A silence settled heavily over them. Y/N sighed, her gaze still pinned to one of the statues. It horrified her but she didn’t have the courage to look anyone else in the eye. “I guess I’m jealous,” she eventually voiced.

She could feel Percy’s steady stare on her. “Why?”

“You’re claimed.” Her tongue weighed heavily and she had to swallow some of her pride away in order to speak. “And I’m not.” 

“It’s not like I have the best relationship with my dad. It’s practically non-existent.” 

She heaved, turning to look at him, her eyebrows still furrowed. “Maybe, but he sees you. He knows you, he cares enough to claim you. Mine didn’t and continues to don’t.”

Percy shuffled his feet. “I’m sorry.”

“I don’t need your pity.”

“Yes, I know, it’s just–” he sighed. “This is why you’re on the quest, right? To get the attention of your godly parent?”

She hesitated, averting her gaze for a moment. She almost had the urge to tell Percy off, to turn her back on him and return to the camp to drown her invading thoughts in archery training and tree climbing. But she didn’t and she let her arms fall to the sides of her, her eyebrows and eyes softening in a sad gaze as she turned her head to catch his ocean eyes. “To find out who I really am,” she corrected him softly. 

Percy nodded, at a loss at words. He raised his hand as if he wanted to touch her shoulder in a reassuring manner but changed his mind at the last second. “We’ll find out together.” He turned towards Athena’s daughter. “I didn’t mean it that way.”

Annabeth hesitated, looking at the ground. “Alecto offered to help our quest if I gave you up on her.”

“What did you say?”

“I killed her sister,” shrugged Annabeth. 

“Medusa offered to help me save my mom if I turned on the three of you.”

“And what’d you say?”

“I cut off her head,” he replied as if he was talking about a normal Tuesday.

Grover looked at all of them, wisdom swirling in his eyes. “You didn’t choose to be demigods. We didn’t choose this quest. But we can decide that as long as the four of us are together, none of us are gonna be alone.”

Y/N’s eyes caught Percy’s and she blinked. He pursed his lips. 

“And if we can’t do that, we might as well just head back to camp right now. ‘Cause we won’t make it,” continued Grover, a note of finality in his voice. 

Percy’s gaze shifted between them, a focused look in his eye. He slightly nodded his head, his curls catching the golden light of the torches. “I think I’ve got a better idea what to do with this.” 

He marched towards the desk settled between crates and forgotten statues. His green shirt fluttered and Y/N jogged to catch up to him. He got behind the desk and flipped through a notebook. From where she stood Y/N could see scribbles, black on white, some of them hastily written, others noted in cursive writing. “Hermes Express. She ships these things all over. Some of it goes to Olympus.”

Upon hearing this, Y/N frowned and she took a step closer to the desk, taking hold of the notebook and turning it towards her. Her eyebrows raised in slight surprise. Right there, in neat handwriting stood her father’s address. 

Mount Olympus, 600th Floor, Empire State Building New York, NY

“Percy, you can’t ship Medusa’s head to Olympus,” replied Annabeth in disbelief.

“Why not?”

“Because the gods won’t like it.”

“At all. At all at all,” added Grover, shaking his head. 

Percy frowned and leaned his hands on the desk. “Why? That’s what you do with dangerous stuff. Like batteries, you just send ‘em back where they came from.”

“Okay. Look, this is a bad idea,” voiced Annabeth, a clear worry seeping into her tone.

Y/N raised her eyes from the notebook. A slight smirk was pulling at the corner of her lips. “I think it’s a brilliant idea. Make them see us.”

The blond turned his gaze onto her and shared her smirk. There was mischief shining in his eyes.

Annabeth scoffed and threw her best friend a pointed look. “They will see this as impertinent.”

“I am impertinent,” shrugged Percy.

“Yes, but we’re not,” puffed the daughter of Athena.

The satyr shook his head. “Really, very not.”

“I am,” said Y/N as she crouched down and took hold of an empty box, passing it to Percy. He threw her a brief smile, putting in the invisible head. He slammed the box onto the desk.

“Look. Medusa tried to derail our quest. She’s got serious beef with your mom. When you look at it that way, this seems kinda like tribute or something, doesn’t it? And besides…” He reached into the box and took out the blue cap with a grimace painted on his face. He held it to Annabeth. “...this way, a part of your mom’s still with us.”

She hesitated before she let her fingers wrap around the familiar fabric of the cap. “Thank you.”

He smiled at her lightly, warmly, as only a friend would. Y/N found a tape, forgotten on the corner of the desk, and she passed it to him, still smirking. He raised his gaze to her and took it from her, their fingers touching only for a fleeting second. “Be sure to sign my name as well, seaweed brain.”

His smirk broadened. “Will do.”

“So this isn’t exactly what I meant. By choosing each other,” Grover shook his head. 

Y/N rolled her eyes. “Lighten up a little, Grov. We just took down Medusa together. There will be fewer statues in the world now.”

“That’s not what I meant and there are actual dangers involved here that cannot be–” 

Slow clapping filled the air and Y/N’s smirk turned into a full blown grin.

“You’re gonna sing the song, aren’t you?”

Percy met her gaze and he started clapping faster.

“Okay,” continued Grover evenly. 

“Oh golly, the road’s gettin’ bumpy.”

“Whatever.”

“Consensus.”

A giggle escaped Y/N’s lips. Yeah, she could trust Percy. 

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

A/N: Percy and Y/N being partners in crime is my Roman Empire. Also, I introduced Y/N's fatal flaw in this chapter. Can you guys guess which one it is?

If you'd like to be added to my main tag list or the series tag list, drop a comment or send me an ask!

Lots of love xx

Main tag list: @bohemianrhapsody86 @andreead @asgards-princess-of-mischief @islayhawkin

Series tag list: @mynicknameisgasoline @constellation-archive @leptitlu @br3nt-12 @utterlyunawarewriter @spidermansfangirl

[cherriesnfangs]

“ Is it that sweet ? i guess so “

༺♡༻

ESPRESSO

re4r! leon s. kennedy x agent!reader

cw - nsfw ( MDNI ) , minor deaths , blood/spit

up blood , touch starved leon, hair pulling ,

fem! reader, exhibitionism , both parties are

consenting .

this is my first fanfic so please let me know

on how i did , my love <3

word counter - 10k

BANG !

a loud noise that permeated throughout the hallways of the abandoned and worn down factory on the island that him and his assigned partner were on but he was currently in another room — looking for his things because when he got knocked out and someone or something stole his gear so he was defenseless for now but not entirely .

stumbling in front of the mysterious woman , the plaga infected villager before turning around and yelling out curse words in spanish before multiple rounds of shots began firing at the villager to make sure they wouldn’t be standing for very long . the villager ended up on the ground but it looked up at her with its piercing red eyes with the dark colored veins that were prominent within its eyes and it was met with a bullet to the head , its blood splattering everywhere amongst the dirt ground of the village outpost . the woman looked at the dead body as it squirmed and writhed underneath the heel of her shoe and she heard a plethora of squeals and squelches that came from the dead villager body and saw multiple tiny tendrils come out from the crevice of its neck .

disgusted , she brought out her combat knife that was custom made to her likeness and she brought the knife to the tendril that was seeping out through the crevice of the once dead villager who now was about to have its head explode but she managed to kill it in time . standing upright and dusting the imaginary dust that happened to be on her pants and looked at the body before averting her gaze back upright in the decrepit hallways of the castle of ramón salazar , the worshipper of lord saddler , the creator of los illuminados .

footsteps now emitting in the background as they began to do a subtle shuffle against the factory grounds with shards of glass crunching underneath the boot of the mysterious person behind the woman , turning her head to look at him from the corner to see on whom it was but it was nobody than the person that she was assigned to help on the mission to retrieve the president ‘s daughter from the sinister cult ‘s grasp .

leon s. kennedy .

the blonde haired man looked down at the villager before it was reduced to nothing but a thick black smoke and it disappeared into nothingness and he looked at the woman right next to him . you . one of the other assigned dso agents that were supposed to help him in his rescue mission , asked by the president himself to have him and you rescue ashley graham , his daughter that happened to be kidnapped by the cult and brought back to spain on one of the remote islands . you take a quick glance to gaze straight forward before stepping first , the soles of your combat boots crunched above the broken shards of glass and made squishes and splats with the small water puddles that were within the factory grounds .

the other dso agent tilted his head upright , his blonde locks now resting against his forehead and his lips pursed into a thin line — the man pressed forward and following in suit after you as you two turn a corner , something caught his eye .

his gear but his jacket wasn’t to be seen so he deemed that one of the villagers had stolen it in the process when he was in the other room with the other guy that happened to let him out of the chains after he ran off . leon raised his leather fingerless gloved hand to his temples before rubbing them subtly — mostly out of slight impatience and irritation due to one of his personal favorite jackets were stolen but he quickly brought himself back together quickly before she could notice that he was slightly irritated and he brought himself back together with the same poker face that was mistaken by everyone that he was already mad .

leon saw the door that was holding his stuff captive , he furrowed his eyebrows and tried to maneuver the door but it became fruitless . he looked around to see if there was another way until he heard a whistle calling his attention and he looked in the direction that the whistle called to get his attention , you happened to stand in another part of the factory that had broken walls and rusted metal pipes sticking out from the broken off walls of the factory . in different corners stood in idle were barrel debris that were previously smashed in by you and grabbed the handgun ammunition from the barrels that only gave her 10 — which would do you good for now until you meet back up with the merchant to see if there was any bullets that he had in stock .

leon followed in pursuit and he made his way around the barriers that had rusted pipes sticking out precariously . once the two assigned dso agents made it around to the other side of the room that held his utility belt captive along with his gun and harnesses , he noticed a yellow wheel crank that was attached to the other door and thought that it could be used to open the other side of the door . leon took a quick glimpse at his things before turning the wheel in clockwise motion while the door was lifting up . once he stopped , thinking that it’ll stay opened — the door started to slowly drop down but he couldn’t take chances so he looked at you , who was scanning out the area of the room that you two were in and he whistled you over .

“ hey , can you hold the wheel so i can rush back and get my things ? “ he asked , the tones within his voice seemed to be a bit gruff but it was just how he normally talked so it wasn’t something new to react about . you looked at the wheel before giving a silent nod and walked over to the blondet and took a hold of the wheel , your hands subtly brushing up against his own gloved hand before he had time to pull away as you turned your attention to the wheel before looking at him through the corner of your eye and giving him a subtle nod in silence .

“ i’ll hold this while you go get your things , don’t worry . i got it over here if any villagers come up . “ you spoke , holding the wheel in place so the door wouldn’t slowly descend and blocking leon ‘s chances to get his utility belt back from inside of the room . the blondet gave a small nod , knowing that you got it from the other side and he turned on his heel and walked back towards the room , stepping over shards of glass and he took a subtle glance at you from the corner of his eye in a quick glance because he didn’t want you to see that he was staring at you and he averted his icy blue eyes towards his fingerless gloved hand and looked at it for a moment .

‘ her skin is soft .. ‘ he thought to himself , his mind wondering if it was just your hand that was soft and his thoughts began to process things a tiny bit further before he blinked out of his thoughts before they turned against him and started to show suggestive imagery . “ hey — kennedy , we don’t got all day and we got to rescue ashley . “ you exclaimed from the other side of the room that held his things captive for now because you continued to hold the wheel crank so the door didn’t descend back into its original place . leon furrowed his eyebrows slightly and gave them an eye roll to take a glance at a corner of the ruined factory — green herb was sitting on top of crates , juxtaposed upright and a subtle wind through the cracks of the opened walls of the abandoned factory made its leaves shake and do a subtle dance .

the blondet went over and grabbed the herb and stuffed it into his pockets , soon would be crafting a mix of his red herb that he kept on pockets because his luck whenever it came to red herb instead of the other two colors were more common than he’d thought that he’d been . coming into the room , he grabbed his utility belt that held all of his items and heard a small click from the belt emitting a soft noise that was able to be heard because of how eerily quiet the factory was — it was quiet that you can possibly heard the little scurries of rats moving along or a subtle breeze of the wind coming into the broken walls of the factory .

seeing that leon made it into the room , you released the yellow crank wheel that brought the door down slowly and brought your hands together and brushed them off and watched the man put his utility belt around his waist . “ you should be able to get through now , leon . “ you spoke and turned around , checking how much ammunition you had left from killing the villager that was reduced to black smoke from minutes ago as your locks draped and hung in mid air, framing your face before you swipe your revolver to the side , the barrel forcing its way back into the gun and your eyebrows knitted together before stuffing your hands into your pants , pulling out a fresh box of handgun ammunition .

hearing the subtle clinks of the bullets being inserted into the chamber , leon adjusted his belt and opened the steel bar door and pressed forward with you following in suit . the smell of rust , blood , decay and other unknown things were evident within the abandoned factory on the island that you and leon were told that ashley graham or code name — “ baby eagle “ was on this island and in a church somewhere but until then — you had to pass by some landmarks so it was memorable , at least . the subtle crunch of glass and the squelching of crimson colored blood was made underneath the soles of your combat boots and leon ‘s shoes as to make the atmosphere seem less tense with unsettling noises — but hey ! what do you got to lose ?

as the two of you made your way out of the exit of the abandoned factory , the mysterious man who had a black cloak but a dark forest green bandana that was covering most of his face except for his eyes and right next to him seemed to be an old fashioned type writer with a black stand up torch with a mesmerizing purple flame that emitted some light around its edges and shone down some lights that danced along with the sparkles of the colored fire as the sound created a satisfying crackle .

“ let’s do some business , ey ? “ the mysterious cloaked man asked and stood with a wooden desk table in front of him with a faded crimson and gold designed table cloth and an old fashioned table lamp as he placed his fingerless gloved hands amongst the table and stared at the both of you two , opening his cloak to show a litter of deadly firearms , ammunition , resources and first aid spray along with some guns that were hiding underneath the cloak and the man stuffs his cloak back to its original state before staring at the two of you . you quirked an eyebrow before shoving your handgun into your gun holster and brought out the amount of peseta ‘s that you’ve managed to find — 15 , 000 peseta ‘s in a small pleather pouch and the man looked at you with a subtle hint of amusement .

“ why don’t you take a look at that ? i got some good things on sale for you two , strangers . “ he spoke , his voice with the hints of gruffness through the dark forest green bandana that was precariously wrapped around his face besides his eyes and patiently waited to see if you were wanting to sell , trade with spinels or buy anything from what he has in stock but in the long run — you ended up buying more gunpowder and resources to make your handgun ammuntion and a few bottles of first aid spray — giving some to leon because he wasn’t sure if he picked up any peseta ‘s on the way to the merchant ‘s little temporary store and with whatever of the peseta ‘s you had left , you ended up giving them to leon so he can repair his combat knife .

after having a temporary stop at the merchant ‘s stand , you and leon turned to see a gate that needed a key to get it open , much to your dismay . out of the corner of your eye — you notice a crate that was poorly painted with reflective yellow paint and your curiosity got the best of you , walking over and avoiding the giant heaps of old and damaged wood planks with concrete debris getting mixed up within the giant heaps , lifted the sole of your boot and kicked it , out came dropping a small bag of peseta ‘s . kneeling down and picking them up , you avert your gaze to the blondet who seemed to stare down the way and noticed a wooden gate . doing a subtle jog to catch up to the other agent , the two of you walked up to it after previously defeating a tendril infested villager who was welding an axe . you brought your pistol back into the holster and was about to open the doors until leon beat you to it .

pressing with the palms of his leather fingerless gloves and leaning forward to open the doors , subtle grunts were audible and you maneuvered past him . “ such a gentleman . “ you spoke with your head turned to look at him but not entirely and staring to catch a glimpse of him through the corner of your eye , the blondet rolled his icy blue eyes to another corner and pressed forward with you , him following in suit . seeing a plethora amount of wooden beams and huts on each side and some villagers held their flaming arrow cross bows in hand , not noticing you or leon coming into their place .

your eyebrows furrowed slightly and you went nearby leon and you looked at him through the corner of your eye with your lips pursed slightly , “ get ready — it looks as if they aren’t rolling out the red carpet for the both of us . “ you spoke and noticed handgun ammunition on a crate but it was grabbed by leon before you could’ve grabbed it — drawing out your pistol and your hand delicately placed on the wooden walls of the gorge where the villagers had built shacks and wooden platforms to support them within the safety of the gorge . leon drew out his pistol and saw a small amount of villagers , the two of you took a glance at each other before giving a subtle nod and stepping out from where you two were you previously were hiding to avoid their lurking gaze so you don’t get ambushed and possibly killed in action .

after multiple rounds of bullets and multiple splats of the tendrils that would’ve come out of their once alive bodies that were taken over to bounce back and try to see if they can kill you or leon off but it all went fruitless because him and you managed to kill off the last of the villagers that were attacking you and flying throwing axes at the two of you . you wipe the blood off of your mouth that managed to get on you after you used your own tactical knife that was custom designed to your liking . leon watched from the corner of his eye as his dirty blonde locks fell in front of his face for a few moments and he raised his head up .

remaining silent, the dirty blonde haired man opened his barrels of his handgun only to notice that he’s slowly running out and the cloaked mysterious man who was generous enough to sell you things and new guns didn’t seem to be anywhere near in sight so he’s going to have to go on a manhunt for gunpowder and resources if he wants more handgun ammunition for his gun . leon turned to look at you and he decided to clear the air and started speaking , “ find the hexagonal key . “ he spoke gruffly and began searching through the wooden huts that stood amongst the wooden bridges and ground within the gorge . you watched him disappear into one of the houses until he was further in .

turning your back , you carefully walk across one of the wooden bridges that seem to be steady with how many dead villager bodies were precariously strewn across it because of how many bullets were going through their skin, piercing their flesh as some blood splatters manage to make it onto your cheek . you take notice of this and bring your fist up and wipe it — smudging it within the process but hey . at least it’s off for now so you don’t have to worry about the president’s daughter becoming scared if you were going to turn into one of them .

examining one of the houses on an upper level , you walk in and find two barrels with reflective yellow paint that was poorly painted and set in juxtaposed . you take notice of the miniature log cabin and you bring your foot up and smash the barrels together , watching them crumble to the ground and out pops handgun ammunition and small sacks of gunpowder . within the other log hut , leon wasn’t so lucky when it comes to herbs or resources — he mostly had found gunpowder or red herbs and very few green herbs but he was stuck in thought and he was staring at his gloved hand and where his calloused hands grasped over yours gently back in the abandoned factory and at how soft your hands were and his eyebrows seemed to furrow in subtle frustration . he couldn’t get over the subtle touch of your hand and it led to him wanting more .

shaking his head in one movement to the side , he grumbled incoherent cuss words underneath his breath but he looked in front of him on the small white vanity that had paint chipping in all the places and making it collect dust in front of him that had a green herb in front of him and a singular bag of small resources , sitting juxtaposed atop the white paint chipped vanity in front of him . he grabbed them and used his red herb he previously found and made a mixed herb and stuffed it into one of his cargo pant pockets . leon looked around for a moment to gather his surroundings to see if there was anything he needed to collect before he left the house .

unfortunately for him , there wasn’t much left except for the plaga symbol drawn in a deep shade of red with a blue medallion hanging in mid air with a gold plaga symbol in the middle . leon brought his gun up but it already shattered before he could shoot it , quirking an eyebrow as he turned around to see you stuffing your gun into your gun holster . leon eyed you up and down for a quick moment and he shoved his gun back into his holster . “ mind telling me next time that your gonna try and shoot me ? “ he quipped in a gruff tone, you rolled your eyes to the side . “ you were taking too long to shoot at a medallion that was in your eye sight already now cmon i’ve managed to find the key that we need for the gate that’s nearby the abandoned factory . “ was all you had spoken to him and you began taking your leave out of the log hut .

leon watched you walk out of the log hut and he hesitated but he was about to reach his hand out to grab yours but you walked out before he could have the chance to . reluctantly , he followed out of the log hut and he watched you climb down a ladder and dropping down the rest of the way there as he grabbed onto the ladder and slid down it with his boots touching the edges of the ladder as he slid before jumping off at the last few steps on it , landing safely as he looked at you with a nod of approval . the two of you traversed through the terrain of the gorge and pushed back towards the abandoned factory so you can insert the hexagonal shaped key in the hole and you can pursue on the mission to find the president’s daughter , ashley graham . the air began to go crisp as a subtle wind began to blow , your locks were being blown with the wind in the direction but only a small amount of them .

leon ‘s dirty blonde locks also blew within the wind as the two of you began trailing towards the abandoned factory after visiting the gorge to find the key for the gate . once the two of you made it back , the cloaked man with the purple lit torch was nearby and he looked at the two of you .

“ well , well . “ he spoke gruffly , “ welcome back , strangers ! got many good things on sale and it looks like you’ve finished a request , well done you two . “ he spoke enthusiastically even with his gruff and hoarse tone beneath the surface of his bandana wrapped around his nose and mouth . you looked at leon for a moment before stepping up to the merchant , with a good amount of peseta ‘s and things to sell to him from what you’ve found at the gorge and in return , both you and leon got a good amount of beautiful , shiny pink spinel that dazzled within the suns rays as you looked at it for a moment — her reflection casting in the gemstone ‘s pink exterior and a hint of sunlight shone on the pink spinel as she raised it up in the air to make sure that it was real .

luckily enough for you though , it was a real spinel . you and leon split the reward down by the two of you— since leon had gotten the most of the blue medallions, you gave him four while you kept the three pink spinels . while you were busy with the merchant and looking through his wares and items that he had , leon was distracted by looking at the gate but then he looked at the key then your hand . your soft and gentle touch meant everything to the man , unbeknownst to him . leon was a touch starved man ever since he went to raccoon city . he craved for others touch and he wouldn’t acknowledge it unless someone ‘s hand or arm accidentally would brush up against him then he’d consistently chase after that feeling again— longing for that same touch until he gets satisfied then he leaves .

but when it comes to you— you were mostly too into the mission because the president had asked you and leon personally to find and retrieve his daughter from one of the vacant islands on the coast of spain where a sinister cult by the name of los illuminados had kidnapped her and planned on using their “gift” to infect her and have control over the united states . leon was lost in thought and he couldn’t hear the sounds of your voice and the merchant ‘s calling out to him as it was all a blur , like he was tuning out everything to make him feel better . “ Leon ! “ you called out slightly louder as you stood in front of him and it seemed to click that you were calling out to him as he blinked and looked back at her . “ what “ he spoke gruffly, leon didn’t register that he was zoning out for a few moments but the merchant in front of the two of you quirked an eyebrow , “ are you alright , mate ? “ the merchant questioned and leon gave a quick nod. you remained silent and you stared at him for a moment but you ended dropping it .

throughout walking amongst the dirt grounds of the village and the abandoned factory, leon inserted the hexagonal shaped key and cranked it while the gates opened slowly— after he did just that , it was your turn and you pushed open the door and saw more factory rubble laying amongst in corners and some in the way but they weren’t too big and pillars that were broken at the top that had rusted pipes sticking out of it as the two of you progressed through , killing every villager you’ve managed to spot and within the distance— there stood two barrels that were poorly painted with the same yellow reflective paint, sitting juxtaposed in a corner and it was your turn to break them . lifting up the sole of her shoe — she smashed the both of them with one quick hit and fragments dropped down and scattered around where she busted the barrels and green herbs and peseta’s came out of it .

leon heard the sound of the barrels being busted and he turned to look at you , seeing that they were now broken and it made him wonder about you and him once you two get out of here safely with ashley graham and heading back to the united states . would you like to hang out afterwards ? would you like to probably hang out eventually more often than just one hang out ? maybe even a relationship? the questions remained unanswered and unasked for now because he didn’t know if you also thought of him like that . but boy , was he wrong .

you knew that when it came to missions, you were serious and determined because you didn’t want anything to bother you when your on dangerous missions such as this because of the sinister cult with its members currently hunting you and leon down at every chance they spot you , but outside of the missions and outside of headquarters if they decide to be nice to you and give you a few weeks off so you can prepare for the next mission— you were more sociable and showed more emotion unlike you when it came to being in missions . you and leon adamantly pressed forward in search of ashley graham but you were now told that she was residing within a church that you needed to find a key for because ganados had hid it across the lake .

After finding three gas cans filled with gas liquid for the motor boat that was near the wooden docks, you and leon made it back to the boat— it looked like a piece of shit but it’ll do for now . getting in the boat, you sat at the front of it and looked to your right to see a finite number of spears and it made you look out into the large body of water , you saw a small ripple underneath the brown murky water and that caught your eye but you couldn’t make it out on what it was but what caught you off guard was the sudden jumping of a motor and you rapidly turned around to see leon trying to jump start by pulling it out and watching it go back into the motor as he banged it slightly, doing the same motion again until it started to kick up into high gear with the gas running through its motors before using the motorboat and running out into the large body of water .

“ hmm .. how romantic of you to take me out on a boat ride , ‘eh leon ? “ she asked , a slight tease was laced within her voice and you leaned your elbows on your kneecaps and leon rolled his eyes but he gave a dry chuckle, “ very . “ he spoke with a one liner , you held your same smirk but it quickly dropped once you felt the water ripple underneath you with large waves coming through, almost getting into the motorboat and you turned around to see if there was anything in the water . what seemed like a few minutes , a large roar emitted from the water and out came a large sea monster and your eyes widened slightly but you looked at the spears and grabbed them , you turned to look at leon, “ i’ll hit and you steer! “ was all you said and once the monster popped out of the water, you threw a spear at it which subconsciously was attached to the boat without you or leon knowing until you saw a line being attached to one of it. all of a sudden, the motorboat jerked and it followed where the sea monster was going.

being almost thrown off the boat, you landed against leon’s chest, landing with a harsh grunt and a grit of your teeth as you looked up at leon who did the same thing that you did. steadying your posture and trying to make your way by returning to the front of the boat so you can but leon grabbed you and held you tight as the boat jerked to the side, following the sea monster was swimming rather rapidly. your back was pressed up against his chest and it only got worse as it followed the monster within the lake or .. the name that was on the wooden sign when you two passed it labeled lago from earlier . you managed to get your grip and you got away from leon ‘s chest and made your way to the front, making sure to stand completely still whenever the boat turned into a different direction when it was jerked to the side .

standing your ground and raising a spear, you waited til the monster would’ve been out of the water before you’d hit him entirely . after what had deemed to be like half an hour and being jerked to the side and almost hitting trees that happened to spawn immediately out of the water and protrude its dead tree branches out and with leon managing to steer the boat out of the way so you two wouldn’t get hit and the motor boat wouldn’t have broken apart , the monster managed to sink to the bottom with a plethora amount of sharp spears protruding from the confines of its skin that you aimed and shot at the monster— crimson red color then started to come out from the bottom of the lake . you thought it was over until you felt a strong taste of iron at the back of your throat, you scramble up to your feet and peer over at the side of the boat and cough up blood, spitting it up and coughing as blood mixed with saliva drips down to your chin and you look at the palm of your hand— seeing blood on the palm of your hand . you didn’t have any energy left but you guessed leon didn’t either because he did the same thing that you did and the both of you passed out on the boat , feeling nothing but subtle and gentle rocking of the water .

after what seemed like an hour— you stirred awake, regaining consciousness and remembering that you passed out on the boat, feeling a rush of a headache and feeling a small taste of iron from the blood you spit up, you groaned and sat up . feeling a body semi on top of you that only made you propped up on your elbows and you saw leon’s body that was laying haphazardly on top of you as he still remained unconscious . you look at his features for a moment and hear his soft and subtle breathing , taking in his features— she brushed a bit of his dirty blonde locks out of his eyes and she stared at him for a moment but when she saw him suddenly opening his eyes, she quickly pulled away her hand away from his dirty locks and looking out into the body of water . you narrowed your eyes and try to take a glimpse of your surroundings as leon mutters out a soft groan out in subtle pain because of the sudden sensation of coughing up blood and going unconscious because of the unknown , what exactly ? he doesn’t know why they coughed up blood but leon thought that it was from the jerking of the boat being pulled and how hard of sharp turns they did with the monster pulling the motorboat .

but you were thinking as to why you started acting like this— even though, you two were literally in the middle of the lake together. in a boat and you still needed to get back to the church so you can rescue the president ‘s daughter from the church and get this rescue mission done and over with so you can go back to your house / apartment and rest up til they decide to call you back for your next dangerous mission that’ll probably last days, weeks or even months— depending on how dangerous it is . leon rubbed his temples before getting up slightly and moving his hands unknowingly to the sides of your body with his free hand as to prop himself up before he went back to sitting down and steering the motor boat and try to find the key for the church gate—

“ uhhh.. leon? “

hearing your voice seemed to snap him out of his thoughts as he looked down at you, only to see that you were staring up at him but leon just stared right back at you as he eyed you up and down with his same furrowed eyebrow look— something was screaming at him to get off of you and apologize but.. there was another part of him that was telling him to have your gentle touch on his body again because he will never tell you but he was craving your touch again . leon just ignored your question and he just stared at you with his icy blue eyes, staring into your orbs as he made his eyes half lidded .

“ uhhh.. sorry for this suddenly.. there’s not really much space on the boat . “ he tried his best to play it off because he didn’t want to tell her the real reason as to why he’s on top of her .

you eyed him up and down while he was on top of you because you didn’t know if he was telling the truth or not but you tilted your head up and you instantly knew what was going on . there was differently more space but it was slightly limited because of the two wooden seats in the back and in the front but you averted your gaze back onto the dirty blonde haired man— you performed a smug expression written across her features . “ not enough space.. huh? “ she tilted his chin up to make him quit staring at her and avert his attention to how big the boat really was . leon subtly leaned into the touch of her fingers caressing his chin but he quickly snapped out of it as much as he could but he remained on top of you before looking around to see at how much room there was on the boat that was remaining still atop the body of water .

after removing her fingers from his chin, he flickered his blue orbs down to look at you for a quick moment before narrowing his eyes. “ do it again. “ he gruffly asked and you quirked an confused eyebrow but you realize what he meant and she brought her palm back up to his chin and gently caressed it , thumb brushing over his chin and she saw the slow close of his eyes , he leaned into her touch . if this man was a cat , he’d definitely be purring right now because of her soft and gentle touches that he was eating up so graciously and he eventually lowered himself down onto her body, getting in between your legs and stuffing his face into the crevice of her neck, smelling the subtle notes of your perfume and he wrapped his arms around your upper body . remaining stiff for a quick moment but she eventually wrapped her arms around his neck and back, drawing circles and other unknown shapes and words into the shirt of his back .

after realizing a few moments of a welcoming but subtly eerie silence have passed, you’ve come to realize that there was a small feeling of lips on the crook of your neck. you look at leon from the corners of your eyes and stare at him for a moment as he continues to pepper soft and gentle kisses to the flesh of your neck . since you two didn’t really have much of a label— it was just strictly colleagues who work for the same department . but in leon’s eyes, he saw you as someone who he thought he would possibly settle down with and maybe become even more than just “colleagues. “ but maybe as friends? no. way more than friends because you two were already familiar with each other , he knew your name and last name— where you mostly go to your favorite coffee shops because you would talk about them nonstop at how their coffee is .

peppering subtle kisses to the flesh of your neck, eventually leaning in closer to grab at your hand and cup his cheek while doing so , she stroked his cheek with her thumb and her breath became hitched as he began sucking on a sensitive spot on her neck but something within you clicked. you and leon were out in the middle of the lake . where ganados can see what your doing with binoculars . your cheeks began to flush and you look down at leon— trying to see if you can get him to stop .

“ leon— leon . you should stop because we’re in public.. and out in the middle of a lake where they would see us …“ you breathed out but he looked around from when he pulled away from the crevice of your neck as he looked down at you and he gave a dry but breathy chuckle that sounded like a soft tickle of the throat and he leaned down to your ear .

“ i guess we’re giving them a free show . “

was all he spoke before he returned to the safety of your neck, nuzzling in between your jawline and the crevice of your neck . he continued to leave subtle notes of hickeys and kisses on the skin of your neck, her breath starts to hitch with each soft hickey he created on your neck . you lifted your head up so he can gain more access to your neck , your cheeks had started to become flush because of the kisses and hickeys leon has started to create amongst your neck and placing them precariously in various different spots . remaining with the subtle hitching of your breath , you wrap your arms around him as to make an attempt to pull him closer into the crevice of your neck .

with your attempt, leon did the thing you were making an attempt to have him push further into the crevice of your neck as he kept your legs spread apart with him being in between them . after what seemed like a good few minutes, he pulled away from your neck and caught a glimpse of his work— your neck was covered in hickeys and kisses flushing from the underside of your jawline and down to your collarbone , some hickeys ranging in light shades of red while some of them ranged in a mauve color— heavily sucked . your cheeks remained flushed in color as you turned to look up at him as your eyes looked half lidded . leon gave a dry chuckle and he leaned back down but he stopped in place and kept his icy blue orbs on yours— like asking for consent because he didn’t want to continue unless you gave him consent .

you looked at him and nodded, giving him your consent but then you remembered that you two were still on a boat . within a lake . you shot your self up, almost hitting yourself heads against each other but he managed to pull away quickly before that would’ve happened out of quick instinct— leon quirked an eyebrow as he looked at you as to why you quickly sat up, you looked at him with a slight head tilt .

“ we can’t do it within the middle of the lake— can we at least go somewhere in private ? “ you ask, looking around for the nearest private place as leon followed your gaze to a nearby cave and he thought about it but sighed softly,

“ sure , let’s head over there . “ he spoke gruffly and sat near the engine of the boat .

within one of the wax filled caverns that had the detail as of melting wax and some altars were hidden in small dips within the cave — some villagers were watching over the giant altar itself with torches and pitchforks as to make a futile attempt to find the two agents that were sent to reclaim the president’s daughter before lord saddler infected her with las plagas and sent her back to infect the president and then infect the united states . within a small corner of the cave , subtle smacking noises were heard and noises of suckling were heard but with the sounds of cave noises and occasional noises outside of the cave from the lake and nature surrounding the area— it was blocked off thankfully .

you continued sucking leon ‘s dick and you remained on your knees , regardless of the rocky terrain of the cave but to your aide, there was a soft piece of rock from where you and leon stood that didn’t seem to be within the villager ‘s peripheral vision . as you continued to move your head up and down in a rotation position — leon emitted soft groans and breathy sighs as he watched you through half lidded eyes sucking him and very well , his lips occasionally parted to release soft groans that emitted from his throat as he placed his hands on the wax dripping covered wall , his fingerless gloved covered hands gripped on whatever he managed to grab so he didn’t have to grip on your locks and cause you discomfort and pain .

“ just like that .. your doing such a good job . “ he murmured softly with his gruff tone of voice and looked at you through half lidded eyes as he stared at you from above through his eyelashes . you responded well to praise and continued moving forward and backward before placing your hands on his black cargo pants covered thighs and gripping them slightly as you took him deeper into your throat . her locks were now sticking to her face from how humid the air was getting . your eyebrows knitted together as you proceeded and leon lets out a sharp breath before keeping his gaze on you while you take his dick in your mouth generously .

“ i’m almost there , just keep going a little bit longer . “ he muttered to you and one of his hands that were previously on the wall grasped at the back of your head gently, gripping some of your locks out of instinct because of how close he was getting to cumming down your throat .

feeling his gloved hand grip at your locks on the back of your head gently , you continued to move forward and backwards as your grip on his black cargo pants were starting to tighten . more audible noises of slurping and sucking were becoming evident within the space you two were sharing amongst each other and a thought was screaming at the back of your head, telling you two to be quiet because of potential villagers or ganados drawing in closer to you two so you didn’t want to get caught by them but the thrill of being caught was equally more exciting — even if it was by the plaga infected villagers .

“ i’m getting closer . “ he warned within his gruff voice and with him gripping onto your locks with the back of his hand slightly , he knew that he told himself to not push your head down because that’ll be rude to you but he couldn’t help himself , especially if you were sucking his dick like a champ . leon ‘s eyes fluttered closed and he leaned his head backwards , emitting more breathy moans and groans and making sure to keep the noise down because he didn’t want to catch the attention of wandering villagers nearby . his blonde locks strayed away from his face and tilted his head back , he bit down on his bottom lip before releasing it as he turned his head down to look at you and see how you were holding up while sucking his dick .

after what seemed about a few minutes of endless movements of moving your head forward and backwards along with sucking and slurping noises that were evident within the spot that you two were currently residing in . leon then lets out a sharp but shuttering breath as he brought the back of your head closer to the hilt of his dick and kept you still — feeling the warm feeling of his cum trickle down your throat , your hands grip tighter on his cargo pants . your eyes fluttered shut tightly and with him cumming down your throat made it hard to breathe but only slightly as you had to take heavy intakes of breathing through your nostrils . she eventually pulled off of his dick after slurping his cum down her throat and she swallowed what was left of it as leon began taking heavy breathing with his eyes shut closed but he opened them slightly to peer down at you through his eyelashes while his eyes remained half lidded .

with the deafening silence and the occasional sound of heavy breathing , leon brought you upwards so you can stand upright so you didn’t have the occasional feeling within your knees that you were about to give out because of the rough terrain of the rock , pebbles and cracks within the rocks and the occasional smooth feeling of the wax that was pressed up against your back . you looked at him and you felt him press up against you and he remained silent but you can tell what he was waiting for . all that it took was a simple nod and you brought your hands to your pants and already soaked panties , pooling them at the bottom of your ankles but leon was starting to get slightly impatient . he leaned his head down towards you as some of his dirty blonde locks dangled from the top of his head , the two of you were now touching foreheads and his eyes gazed upon your features but his eyes lingered a bit longer on your lips .

within the back of leon ‘s mind , something was screaming at him to kiss you but he was refraining unless you made the move first because he didn’t want to seem like the guy to be desperate for a kiss . you noticed his lingering gaze upon your lips . your soft and plush lips looked inviting to him but he remained still with his forehead touching against yours . his fingerless gloved hands were brought down to your hips and he used one of his hands and pushed your panties out of the way and he lined up his dick to your dripping pussy . you take a sharp breath as he just grinded up against your clit . he continued the teasing and the occasional grinding up against your clit , feeling the wetness emanating from your pussy .

with your breath hitching subtly , your cheeks began to flush more and you flutter your eyes closed , not explicitly saying it or admitting it but you were starting to get impatient with how much he’s been teasing you for what seemed like an antagonizing amount of time which felt like an eternity of endless faux thrusting to your pussy but leon ‘s cheeks began to flush slightly without turning into any color but he kept his head tilted down towards you, his forehead leaning against your own as his dirty blonde locks began to intertwine with yours and he eventually gave up on the teasing and he lined himself up and slowly inserted himself into your dripping pussy . with the slow but swift movement — with leon letting out a breathy groan as his eyes fluttered shut at the warm and comforting feeling of your pussy, you let out a shaky moan but that was quickly covered by leon ‘s fingerless gloved palm because he could’ve sworn he heard a noise and unfortunately for the two of you, he was right as he heard footsteps directly above . silently cursing at his but an idea popped into his head as he grabbed your hips while he was still inside of you and he turned to look at you .

“ jump . “ he asked you and you reopened your eyes to look at him through your half lidded eyes and obliged , jumping and he swiftly caught you as he wrapped your legs around his waist and pressed your back flush against the wax dripped hole that the two of you were in as he kept his hands holding up underneath your thighs and to provide additional strength , he saw a makeshift seat and he placed you down on the seat but just to be making sure that you didn’t slip off , he kept his hands wrapped underneath your thighs and he looked at you through his dirty blonde locks .

“ remember to be quiet , we don’t wanna get caught . “ he muttered before leaning his head into the crevice of your hickey covered neck and to your shoulder blade as to silence his groans and moans so none of the torch welding of pitchfork holding villagers would come in and try and kill them while they were like this . you let out a shaky breath but you kept your arms around leon and waited for him to move and get fully adjusted to his size since he was buried to the hilt inside of you . after feeling comfortable, you nodded while remaining your eyes closed but once leon saw your nod, he began to move forward and backwards in a rotating movement . leon silencing his soft and breathy groans to the crevice of your neck and you remained with your eyes but closed but you reopened them but only half way til they were half lidded and you kept one of your hands over your mouth to make sure as an added step into not getting caught by ganados .

with each movement he made inside of you, you released a shaky and breathy moan into the palm of your hand , making sure to keep your legs wrapped around his waist tightly but not too tight to the point it’ll cause him discomfort . leon kept moving in and out and making sure to hold you firmly in place and the soft subtle noises of skin slapping was evident within the hole you two were residing in for now . leon continued thrusting inside of you while his hot breath was emanating from his nostrils and gently caressing the skin of your neck . you shiver at the contact but you kept the palm of your hand around your mouth to keep your moans and whimpers at bay so the wandering villagers nearby .

leon ‘s breath started to become more hoarse and he started to make his thrusts more quicker , making sure to keep his fingerless gloved hands around your thighs and waist so you didn’t slip off of the makeshift wax seat you were currently sitting on to keep you dormant for now . his thrusts continued to get quicker as skin slapping against skin was starting to become slightly louder in between you two and the hole you two were currently in , his heavy balls smacking against your inner thighs from how quick his thrusts were becoming but what caught you two off guard was a sudden loud rumble of footsteps and voices— all shouting and chanting words and leon quickly halted his thrusts and wrapped a hand around your already covered mouth as his eyebrows furrowed, remaining silent while staring up at the ceiling of the hole you two were in as you two heard a plethora of footsteps stepping from above the both of you as you avert your gaze to the ceiling of the hole you two were in until an idea popped in your head and you held a mischievous expression across your features .

while you were about to act upon your idea, leon was more focused about not getting caught by the villagers even though he started it out in the middle of the lake . you pulled leon ‘s hand away from your mouth and you brought yourself away from him , his dick slowly leaving your pussy with a soft and wet pop! you were missing the feeling of being full but leon looked at you with a furrowed but raised eyebrow look as he watched her push him onto the wax makeshift seat, he lets out a soft grunt but his mouth was instinctively covered by yours as you crawled onto his lap, straddling his thighs with yours own as he brought his hands to your ass and he looked up at you with a his signature curious look that was mixed in with his all time knitted eyebrow look but his eyes remained half lidded . you lowered yourself down back into him, you let out a shaky breath and you let yourself get comfy as you slide your combat boots underneath his thighs . she gripped his shoulders to gain more stability as you began moving up and down . your breath was becoming shaky with each movement and your eyes closed as you continued bouncing on his dick, his hands still gripping your ass as to make sure you don’t accidentally fall off . the chanting whispering and the amount of footsteps were still above you two but you decided to be risky .

you continued to riding on his dick, you leaned your head into the crevice of his neck to silent your moans and whimpers . leon continued releasing huffed grunts and silent groans as you continued bouncing on his dick while ganados were up above . evident sounds of skin making soft sounds of smacking against skin were slowly starting to become noticeable in between the two of you as you kept fairly quiet as to make sure that ganados doesn’t hear you two from down below . you continue to let out soft but quiet moans as you continue riding him . you would eventually want to go more quicker than your pace now but leon already had beaten you to it .

leon , with keeping up with his thrusts, he continued to thrust upright and his fingerless gloved hands on your ass . you continue with riding him as you toss your head back with your hands still upon his shoulder blades, you continue releasing out some soft whimpers and low moans as you remain to stay quiet but leon on the other hand— he had other plans, his thrusts went more rougher and quicker and his breathing was starting to grow more intense and heavier . leon removed one of his hands and grabbed your locks tightly, pulling your hair back as his thrusts began to get more rougher and quicker and you accidentally let out a loud moan before covering your mouth instantly , eyes widening and leon ‘s hips stilled for a moment and his icy blue orbs turned to look up at you through his eyelashes but he held his signature half smile and he continued his thrusts— rough and more quicker than the last .

your hand was covered over your mouth to contain your moans and you lean your head forward to lay your forehead against the crevice of his neck as to better hide your moans there as you hear the footsteps up above you two still for a second before walking away as they search for the mysterious noise that was heard randomly out loud . with ganados out of the way , leon ‘s thrusts grew more sloppier and desperate as he began huffing and his grip on your ass and hair tightened .

“ i’m close . “ he warned with a gruff tone of voice and he tried to pull you off of his dick so he didn’t accidentally release inside of you but you kept firm on his lap, staring down at him and you held a soft mischievous but pleading look . “ you can release inside— i’m on the pill . “ she murmured out softly and in a hushed tone just in case if any wandering villagers happened to be nearby with their pitchforks and dynamite . leon closed his eyes for a moment and looked back up at you for a moment before returning his rough and rapid thrusts— them eventually growing sloppier as his breath began to hitch and he released your hair and snaked his forearms around your waist as to hold you tightly. he began thrusting upwards into you rather quickly and his heavy balls were smacking against your ass . you continue to let out loud moans into the palm of your hand , so you didn’t attract any villagers near where you two were located . her head was tossed back and your hands lay splayed across his tee shirt clad chest . with his thrusts getting more sloppier , more desperate and erratic . leon kept his forearms wrapped around your waist in a bear hug like fashion and he snapped his hips upwards into you and he lets out a loud groan while in return , you released a loud moan once his hips snapped up towards you and bringing you to the hilt of his dick, feeling something warm slowly oozing into your pussy as you leaned against leon ‘s shoulder and your lower body twitched and shook slightly as you two remained within the pose as you two tried to catch your breaths .

remaining your head leaning against his shoulder blade , her chest began rising up and down slowly as to regain some of the energy back that you two depleted together . leon ‘s chest was rising up and down against hers while to take a moment to catch a breather after the intimacy that happened between you and leon . he brought up a gloved hand to your chin and gently caressed it before tilting it to make you look at him as he leaned and pressed his lips against yours . her eyes widened slightly because she wasn’t expecting to be receiving a kiss from him but you ended up returning the kiss . her eyes fluttered closed as you brought your hands and cupped his cheeks and caressed his cheeks gently with your thumbs , leaning in to the kiss slightly before pulling away slowly and earning a soft smack , staring at him through half lidded eyes as he slowly chased after your lips and encased them with his own softly . obliging with his request , you leaned back into the kiss and did your same ministrations ; cupping his cheeks and caressing them in the palms of your hands and your thumbs .

after pulling away, there was a soft smack that was evident and the pair stared at each other for a few moments and she began smiling a dopey smile , they basked in the afterglow of sex that they’ve just now finished , “ never would’ve thought you’d see me like this , leon . ” she quipped slightly , her eyebrow quirked upright to make her expression more smug but leon gave his signature pissed off look but he closed his eyes within the process before giving a dry chuckle and a half lopsided smile as some of his dirty blonde bangs came across his forehead and you reached up and brushed them out of his eyes before he reopened his eyes . “ i didn’t hear you complain . ” it was his turn to quip and he leaned back in for another kiss before you denied him of that by pushing his face away gently and you gave a snicker , “ okay there lover boy , we got a mission to finish and the presidents daughter to rescue . ” you speak in a quipped matter of fact like tone .

leon emits a dry single chuckle before lifting her off of him and tucked his now soft dick back into the confines of his black boxers and cargo pants . you pull up your panties and cargo pants and clicked back your utility belt holding your handgun holster and knife sheath on the side of your hip and hearing the similar click of the utility belt around the hip , you turn your head to look at leon before reaching up and brushing his hair to make it more neater , doing the same to your hair , you brought yourself back into the mission mindset and exited the hole with leon , following in suite .

༺♡༻

hi guys ! cherry here <3

this is my first fanfic so if there’s something wrong

with it , don’t be shy and let me know ! <3

I’ve tried my best to see if i can capture re4r leon ‘s

personality and his mannerisms so if it seems

out of character for him then please let me know ! <3

𓆩⚝𓆪 TAGLIST 𓆩⚝𓆪

none yet <3

if you want to be apart of my taglist , lmk ! <3

you can let me know by pm’ing me !

[illubean]

Hi, I'm kind of sending this to all the people I saw who write for demon slayer...so could you do a "What would it be like to be Obanai's adopted daughter and his apprentice"?

Obanai W/ a Tsuguko!Reader

Characters: Iguro Obanai Type: Platonic, Headcanons, Fem!reader implied?, Found Family

didn't explicitly make Obanai Reader's dad just because when you do the math he would've been 16 at the time of finding them but the relationship is still there

Warnings: none? spoilers maybe? tad bit angsty at the end...

even though this guy is mean and merciless he's not EVIL

bro is still human with human emotions, so when he finds a small helpless child (9-10) while out on a mission he's not just gonna leave them there

you kind of reminded him of himself

which is how he ended up taking you in

originally he was just going to bring you back to the city and let you go off wherever but you continued following him and he just couldn't get rid of you

and now he's stuck

your young impressionable mind soaked up his mannerisms like a sponge

without even being taught directly, you managed to make your way around swiftly and unnoticed, often times scaring the man who took you in

he acts annoyed by this but you're kind of growing on him and he's lwky impressed

any time he goes out he demands you stay in the estate, and not wanting to disappoint him you listen (Obanai is very much a hater of rule breakers)

you never actually got to see him in action, but once you were a tad bit older you found out his occupation (upon asking about the sword he carries) and decided you wanted to be just like him

so when he became a hashira and the test thingy came up you literally BEGGED him to let you take them

he would refuse without giving you any reason besides "because I said no" at first (because he has a soft spot for you and rather not put you in danger ever though he won't admit it)

butttttt after seeing your determination and catching you watching him train to practice later he finally decides to train you

he has this whole elaborate, harsh training regimen and he says if you can't pass it you won't be able to become a demon slayer

he's so mean throughout the whole thing...(its tough love)

despite his seemingly impossible to reach standards you end up succeeding yayyyy and you take the test thingy and don't die yayyyyyyy yayyyyyyyyyyyyyy

#very proud Obanai moment (he won't say that though)

he continues training you and now you're officially his tsuguko cus yk...you're part of the corps now

he kind of distances himself from you in public, keeping an eye on you from afar

people don't even think you're his tsukugo and when you tell them that they're like WHAT (esp zenitsu...)

whenever you guys go on missions together he lets you hold your own but is quick to step in if anything goes wrong

the first time you accidentally call him dad (or any other familiar honorific of some sort) he literally stops in his tracks like "what did you just call me"

and you're like oops my bad..heh...

if you ever say it again he won't stop you (it actually means a lot to him)

originally he tried keeping you away from Mitsuri but she thinks your guys' dynamic is the cutest which made him stop actively trying to keep you away

will smack you upside the head or chase you around if you tease him for it later

that look he gave Tanjiro after he found out he got to spend time with Mitsuri during hashira training? yeah, he does that to every other slayer (especially male) who has ever interacted with you (but in a platonic, protective sense)

he watches as you climb the ranks and hopes for you to replace him as a hashira once he dies

he thinks you're a much better person than he is and much more deserving of the life you have, and he hopes that even once he's gone you'll continue to thrive

[thewhitespiderwitch]

Because Pierce ignored her and treated me like his daughter instead and she wanted the attention.

I turned her down when she wanted to help me on missions, because she's "daddy's little Recluse"...

And now she's pissed at me and wants revenge. She thinks that she could be me if not better than me.

Hey guys

So Pierce's daughter said that she'd let everyone go if I turned myself in..

Maybe it's for the best

I actually have a purpose now and I'm actually doing something...

No one seems to care about me anymore.

I think I am going to turn myself in to HYDRA.

@your-fav-russian-assassin @whosafraidoflittleoldme17 @thebestmerc-1 @mutantontheloose @justawhitewolf @proud-owner-0f-americas-ass @americas-favourite-fossil @serenastark-official @the-best-black-widow @official-buckybarnes @we-love-redwing @thebestmerc-1 @jade-lopez-maximoff @ireallyliketacosokay @goddess-of-birds @asta-barnes-rogers

[su-talks-about-things]

There's something so deeply sad about this picture.

He's so far from her.

Like he's outside looking in...

[bluerosefox]

Back at it again with a DPxDC prompt.

It does have deaged Dani (Ellie)

Only this time its KonxDanny idea!~

Supernova, Kon's new hero name since Jon took over the Superboy name now, wasn't expecting to be called out to... especially in the sky... by another floating/flying person and-

WOW

They were cute as heck.

Glowing green eyes, and white hair, a bit shorter than him. He was floating in the air with a soft glow around himself as well.

And he was holding a white haired, very similar looking toddler in his arms, only the toddler had longer hair that was tied in pigtails. And the toddler was staring at Kon with large, almost sparkling eyes.

The young man, around Kon's age if he guessed, smiled and floated a bit closer, his face friendly and warm. When the young man stopped he kindly asked "Hey, would it be any trouble for you to autograph something for my daughter? She's a huge fan!"

[psychomusic]

here is tar'x laran!!

he is a cipher agent, husband of suri sauthon, and father of vegoia. (he's technically my swtor character but I've decided to use him as a fully mine oc, giving him a completely different story and even biology soo he's not cipher nine)

backstory under the cut! + more of his biology and culture in the notes of the ugly second pic

tar'x laran was born on the harsh planet of iritran, one of the earliest colony world of iridonia. as the little world (almost as big as a moon) didn't have much to offer, and had a pretty rough environment, those first colonizers were left stranded, they then evolved into a subspecies, and then were found again thousands of years later by some falleens, member of the black sun. they quickly made an outpost there, to better disguise their illegal trades on ord mantell, but with their growing arrogance and power, and the diminishing of their need to hide, iritran officially became colony of the falleens.

his parents belonged to the mercenary class. even if it paid well, and was generally considered an upper class under the black sun's rule, the life of a mercenary was obviously dangerous, and his mother died on the job when he was about 13. his father, instead, had lost the lower half of his legs for the same reason some years prior.

the amounts of credits the couple had earned thanks to their job, though, gave tar'x some time to train before he had to start working to help his family. his father trained him very harshly for a few years, so that he could become an expert mercenary able to provide for his family - now consisting of the two and a younger brother, ram'tha, aged 3.

that was the plan: he'd become a mercenary like his parents, and he would provide for his father and his brother, whom he loved very dearly. it was mainly tar'x who took care of him. ram'tha was a strange kid, too - it's not that their parents didn't love him, or had other business to do, they just weren't naturally as good with him as tar'x was.

ram'tha was a silent kid, he didn't speak a word before age 4 and in a few weeks he started speaking with full, comprehensible sentences, as if he hadn't been completely silent for years before that. he would spend a lot of time going around - or wanting to go around - and for some time, his favorite hobby was "touching new things". tar'x didn't question it and just took him around and watched over him. sometimes he would bring home stuff for him to contemplate. he didn't know what a force sensitive was, yet, and he wouldn't have recognize the force even if it had shown itself through more blatant ways like telekinesis. ram'tha was very good with sensing abilities and was particularly well versed in psychometry, for his age. it was obviously a rougher and raw version of what trained force-users could develop, but it was enough to keep him entertained as a child. tar'x would've understood that a long time later.

the gentless of taking care of him made tar'x life bearable, after his mother's passing and during the harsh training. when the sith came to his town and took him away when he was just 6 years old, he immediately joined the imperial army. his skills as a mercenary made him stand out among the others and he quickly drew the attention of intelligence agents, who recruited him. he began as an informer, spying on criminal syndicates that would hire him as mercenary thanks to his family's reputation.

as he gained experience, his superiors decided to promote him to cipher, and he abandoned his name to become cipher thirteen. he thought that such a position would help him find his brother: without a name that could give away his reasons, and with more intel within hand's reach that any other department in the sith empire.

I'll slowly post some of his most important missions, i already have the one where he met suri in the drafts. i just wanna find some time to quickly sketch something to go with it. I'll link the rest of his story down here after they're posted! (if it doesn't work, he has his own tag)

also! ram'tha is my brother's oc (u can find him at @utskushii-hito), and he made a post about him! go read it!! <3

[denkies]

I know that thematically speaking, Miri is going to go back to Rei and Kazuki. The point of the entire show is found family. But episode 10 SHATTERED my heart into a million pieces and I started crying.

And this is more incentive for Rei to kill his dad. This man is the reason why Miri had to leave, he basically took their daughter from them. Neither Kazuki or Rei are going to just roll over and let that happen. Maybe Rei would have, before Miri, but she changed him. He's going to have the strength to stand up to his dad, because to be loved is to be changed.

[hxperion]

//thinkin about how Jack spent so much resources into building angel's chambers and making it the most difficult thing to break in to. Like even if you get past the forcefield that kills you instantly you still have to make it past a lot of loader bots and constructors. which some one them have literal small nuclear war heads, installed as a weapon. Not mention to the BNK-3R fight which was a pain in it self and as he puts it, the weapon he personality created to defend the outside of the chambers. Furthermore he has a biosignature installed plus a voice recongizer where you gotta sound and be him to even enter her chambers. and once you in the chamber he has custom loader bots label as angelic guardians . Constantly being in there to defend against plus the shields he has on the Eridiumn injectors and Angel herself. Like this man did everything to keep his daughter prisoner. //

[femininominon]

had an incredibly complex dream last night- by my amateur interpretation I think it means I should avoid people who come to my back door trying to sell jam and jelly and also I need to have sex with a trans girl

[chaos-deimos-et-eris]

Everyone knew that the Fenton children were not close. Don't get them wrong, they teased each other and fought as they walked home together but that was it. The Fentons had moved to Amity when their youngest was 8 but neither had gone to school until the following year, to take care of their youngest, the Fentons had said.

It was clear the the older, smarter, Jasmine had resented Daniel for that. She had been seen for weeks into the new school year walking slightly ahead of her glaring brother. This early separation had saved her, setting her apart from her crazy parents and rabid and werid brother. Danny settled into a sweet boy and Jazz walked her brother degilantly to and from school and when she left the house on the weekends to go to the library, she no longer went by herself.

But no one in Amity really forgot those first few weeks. The older Fenton started terrorizing the city and the children started to pull each other into random bathrooms to wrap burns and cuts. They did not meet up in school, did not greet each other in the hallway, did not play or sit together in recess, did not talk on the way home. The Fenton house disappeared for the weekend and when it reappeared, Jazz had wordlessly dragged her brother to the girls bathroom to wrap a cut and they were both sitting in their seats by the time the Monday bell rang. The Fenton kids presented a perfect united front. Amity did not forget those first few weeks.

Danny was a sweet boy. He loved space and liked going to the library and had befriended a boy named Tucker. Jazz was a sweet girl. She liked magic and helped her classmates with the homework and befriended no one. Jazz was an angel, the city's golden child, smart and independent. Tucker was shunned and left with his only friend Danny. It was better to sacrifice one then to deal with the devil child.

It was better to sacrifice both then to deal with the parents. The only CPS agent that was ever sent had said it was a false alarm. The city watched nervously as guns were installed inside the house. The children presented a united front and Amity said nothing and didn't hold it against her.

Jazz turned 13 and walked Danny to school but did not walked him back. He had befriended another child, a Samantha that had just moved and hadn't been warned. The children walked after school to the nasty burger before separating, the trio to Tucker's house, and Jazz to library. They still waited for each other on the corner to walk the last stretch into the house together. The city thanked the Foley's for their sacrifice.

Jazz and Danny start talking to each other on the way to school, facts about space and magicians. Sam and Tucker proved to be too cool and smart to be ignore by their communities, taking care to interact outside of Danny. The Fentons nearly kill someone and Danny is alone when the first punch is thrown. He does nothing. Good, the city hisses, maybe he will go away. Jazz picks up an interest in child psychology. Good, the city praises, maybe she can fix him. The Fentons are acquitted. Amity learns to work around them.

Jazz is in high-school and still walks her brother to school. Their walks are filled with space puns and test taking tips. After school Sam meets with environmentalists and goths and Tucker with the geeks and nerds and Danny walks to Nasty Burger to eat and meet up with his sister. The walk back is silent. Amity thinks that if their brother was Danny, their walks back would be silent too.

Danny is in high school and clumsy. He used to graceful, but now he drops everything. A teacher, new to the city, notices his hands, covered in the pale white of scars made of blade and the shiny pink of burns healed not quite right. A delinquent, she huffs. No one notices that Jazz's hands are the same.

Not two weeks into the school year there is an explosion at Fentonworks. The Fenton parents had not been in the house (unfortunately the city muttered angrily, robbed) but their children had (unfortunately the city whispered mournfully, robbed). The Fentons had been frantic and when no bodies had been found, they took to the streets looking for their children.

But the city remembers wrapped burn and guns and united fronts and weekends at the library and they had been such sweet kids (they choose to forget those first few weeks and how they treated Danny because while not everyone is perfect in life like Jazz had been, nearly everyone becomes perfect in death) and so the children are declared dead, thier bodies vaporized by the heat from the explosion. They wished Jazz (and her brother too they guessed) the best and Amity Park finally finally finally get ready to rid themselves of the Fentons.

DP x DC prompt:

Daniel was seething. It's been a year since he left the league and they've already found him. Well, it was his mother who found him. Not that that was any better but at least it wasn't Grandfather.

It also shouldn't have taken him so long to dispose of those soldiers. They weren't even that capable. Far below his level and yet he struggled. He needed to resume his training soon or else he would become rusty.

He cursed himself for getting too comfortable with civilian life. Not that his life was comfortable, far from actually.

He had been adopted by a pair of mad scientist with no concept of lab safety; and for all the intelligence they had, they couldn't fathom how to properly take care of a child, leaving their daughter to take care of herself and now her newly adopted sibling!

He sighed. He was starting to get angry. He couldn't afford to get angry. Especially not at Jazz. She was only two years older than him and was doing her best. She's also the only good thing in his life right now meaning that he had to cherish her, not break her. (He wouldn't be like his brother)

His mind stayed on Jazz for a while before immediately increasing his speed. He really needed to resume his training. How could he be so slack to forget such a possibility! Daniel desperately hoped that his sister Jazz was okay and that they wouldn't dare.

Entering through his bedroom window he rushed straight to Jazz's bedroom. It was open. She wasn't there.

Daniel started to panic when he heard a muffed scream coming from downstairs. Adrenaline coursed through his veins as he rushed down the stairs and into the kitchen.

In all honesty Daniel expected the worse. To see his sister Jazz dead on the floor, thick red gushing from her neck, the scent of blood in the air. And there was blood, it just wasn't her's.

Daniel always prided himself on having a vivid imagination. It was a great way to escape after an especially hard training session with his brother. But he would have never imagined this.

In the small, laughably suburban kitchen of the Fenton household was a sight to behold. In the air were two mangled bodies, unidentifiable if not for the league's emblem still visible on one of them. And on the wall was a splatter, a rather big one. It wasn't blood. It was too dark to be. But whatever it was was very unlucky.

In the center of the kitchen was Jazz. Her arms were outstretched, burning sigils rotating at the end of each palm. Her eyes glowed a bright icy blue.

Upon noticing him everything stopped. She looked fearful. Tears threatening to come forth.

"Wait I can explain, just don't tell mom or dad! Please!"

Daniel, still a bit shocked but not as much, simply walked into the kitchen towards the cupboard. Taking out a clean towel he unsheathed he sword and began to clean it.

He looked over his shoulder towards Jazz. She didn't look as scared but her eyes still held some fear. So he spoke, making sure the still bloody sword was in veiw.

"I won't tell if you don't." He flashed a grin his tiny fangs peaking out.

Jazz sighed as in the weight of the world was lifted off of her. She looked at him and smiled.

"Mom and Dad aren't going to be back for a while. Wanna help me clean up?"

[cats-in-the-clouds]

my sister got engaged and we’re all really happy for her but my bitter rain cloud of a dad (who naturally she told last) is giving her a bit of passive aggressive grief about it despite her boyfriend being like the best man of our generation (presumably either because he’s not catholic or because my dad sees them as young dumb unemployed people who aren’t ready for marriage or because he’s mad he barely has any real love with his own wife or something). so like pray for us? i wish i knew what to do

[guppybibi]

Girl Dad!Simon who had to get his newborn baby girl taken away from him because he was practically drowning them in his tears. (He denies that it ever happened now)

Girl Dad!Simon who went dead asleep after the delivery, it was unintentional of course, he wanted to help you as much as he could but his body just dropped on it's own. The worst part was is that he basically missed all of the baby's 'firsts' although he managed to wake up just in time for the first nappy change.

Girl Dad!Simon who spends a little bit too much of his free time staring at his daughter. It only worsened when you guys finally got dismissed from the hospital, you tend to find Simon crouching by the crib and watching the baby's every move pretty often. It's like bird watching, he says when you ask him.

Girl Dad!Simon who sobbed more than his daughter during her first day of school, was going to say the most melancholic goodbye but she just excitedly runs off to school and leaves her dad hanging.

Girl Dad!Simon who refuses to miss any important event in her life, no matter how small it is. Will literally call during a mission so he could see his daughter's piano recital.

"Simon? Why do I hear gunshots??"

"Don't mind 'em luv."

"How do you even have your phone right now??"

"Sneaked it."

[joelsgu4tar]

JOEL MILLER FIC RECS

⇾ 18+ minors DNI, read at your own risk! ⇽

an appreciation to all my favourite writers out there you deserve all the love <3

Series

— Something To Fight For by @auteurdelabre | After a disastrous blind date you decide to stay away from the miserable Joel Miller forever...

— I Know Who You Are by @punkshort | A fall on patrol causes you to lose your long-term memory, forgetting the identities of your friends and loved ones. You have to learn all over again how to survive in a post-apocalyptic world, and you learn things about yourself along the way.

— The One You Need by @loliwrites | When you move into town hellbent on keeping everyone at arm’s length, your neighbour Joel finds his way into your life.

— By The Grit Of Sandpaper by @penvisions | An offhand comment from you inspires Joel to branch out and create helpful kitchen wares. And it seems everyone has been gifted one from him, except for you. It makes you rethink the casual friendship you had developed...

— I Wanna Be Your Lover by @shellshocklove | Miserable after losing your job, your friend drags you out to a club to dance away your sadness. on the dancefloor, you meet a handsome stranger, who then whisks you away into his fantasy world as his assistant for his porn career. what happens when the lines get blurred?

— If The Door Wasn't Shut by @heartpascal | months of travelling with Joel and Ellie come crashing down on you, the fear is suffocating.

— Stay In Bed by @psychedelic-ink | After your grandfather’s passing, you find yourself moving into his home in Texas. You meet the Millers; Tommy, his older brother Joel and his daughter Sarah. With time, you and Tommy become close friends and Sarah visits you often. But Joel…Joel keeps his distance.

— That's A Real Fucking Legacy by @wyn-n-tonic | When Tommy disappears in search of a better life with a promise to come back for you, his years of absence and the grief it leaves behind drives you and his brother closer together until the man you're sharing a bed and starting a family with is Joel Miller and not the one you always thought it would be.

One-Shots

— No Time To Die by @davosmymaster | The main difficulty of being Joel’s closest friend is not falling in love with him, but you still do. Those feelings are buried until you join him on a mission to trade supplies with Bill and Frank. With your life now hanging by a thread, Joel is determined to get you to safety, but the clock is ticking faster than he can run.

— White Lies by @poeticpascal | Joel would do anything for you. He does anything for you. And he makes sure you don't know a thing.

— Saying Thanks by @vivwritescrappythings | Joel is your grumpy patrol partner who doesn’t even talk to you in the streets of Jackson. But one night a man grabs your arm at the Tipsy Bison, and Joel’s decided he doesn’t like it.

— Soft & Sweet by @cavillscurls | You share your first kiss with the last man you ever expected: your older, grouchy, overly protective patrol partner, Joel Miller.

— Who We Are by @gracieheartspedro | Being stuck on the road with an older guy you've been crushing on for ages won't be so bad, right? wrong. because he's been pining after you, too. and one of you will have to give in eventually.

— Warm Me Up by @tightjeansjavi | While on patrol, you and Joel find yourselves caught in a treacherous snowstorm.

— Love In the Time Of Cordyceps by @sameheart-sameblood | When the world ends, you promise you'll never love again. Joel Miller makes that rule hard to stick to.

— Puppy Love by @absurdthirst | You always follow Joel Miller around, you've got his back. You're in love with him. Putting up with Tess's nickname of puppy dog, you don't realize that Joel feels for you until the end.

— Light The Flame by @yeollie-plz | Your mom moves the two of you back to Texas and attempts to reignite an old flame. What will happen when she learns his candle now burns for you?

— Best I Ever Had by @endlessthxxghts | Someone tries to hit on you on your night out with Joel, insulting your man in the process, and oh you don't like that. You blow off some steam in more ways than one.

— Make A Move On Me by @freelancearsonist | You've been teasing Joel every day since he started remodelling construction on your house. He finally works up the courage to do something about it - but not in the way you expect him to.

— Fire Walk by @motherofagony | A chance encounter at a motel has you crossing paths with a stranger in a blue t-shirt.

— Cry Baby by @psychedelic-ink | bodies have been dropping left and right in the most brutal ways in Jackson. As the relentless wave of deaths continues, your mind becomes increasingly restless. however, you find a sense of comfort and solace in the presence of Joel. who might be hiding secrets of his own.