#but i am so burnt out getting smacked scratched bit you name it

[leafywillow]

I am... so tired. Both simulatenously love and despise my job rn it's a great time

Using the void that is the tags to vent pls ignore lol

[herofics]

Dabi beats up an asshole ex step-mom, but it’s comfort

Guess who isn't doing so well on this wonderful day, you fucking guessed it, me. They’re childhood friends and the reader stayed in contact with Dabi even after he left his family and they both became villains, the reader not so much but they aren’t exactly a lawful citizen. Also can you tell I’m venting some shit, obviously this is highly exaggerated and I wouldn’t hurt anyone, but god does it feel good to get some anger out. I’m 6cm taller than Dabi and much bigger, and I’m saying this because it ended up being a bit of self insert, or at least with a big reader.

You weren’t really sure what triggered it this time. Scratch that, you knew exactly what made it happen, but you didn’t really want to accept it.

“Fuck!” you yelled as you hit the brick wall for the hundredth time that evening.

You knuckles were bleeding and bruised, but you didn’t care, you barely even felt the pain anymore.

“Fucking bitch!” you shouted and struck the wall one more time.

“Ya know, there’s a perfectly good punching bag right there” Dabi said as he leaned against the doorframe.

You turned around, out of breath, and crossed your arms in front of yourself, trying to hide your hands.

“Can you just go away?” you asked, sounding more desperate than angry.

“Sure can, but I’m not gonna” he scoffed and started walking towards you.

You took a step back, but now your back was against the wall and you couldn’t really get away from him.

“Nowhere to run now” Dabi smirked and forcefully twisted your hands away from your sides, to see the damage you’d done this time.

“So?” you asked, looking away from him.

“You didn’t fracture anything did you?” he asked after a while, and let go of your hands.

“I-I don’t think so”

“Good, cause we’ve got something to do” he turned around and started walking out.

You grabbed your hoodie from the floor and threw it on, following Dabi out of the dusty gym.

“What exactly do you have in mind?” you asked as he pulled his hood up and put on a black facemask.

“That hag of an ex step-mom of yours is bothering you again, isn’t she? We’re gonna go greet her”

“How’d you know?” you asked and shoved your hands into your hoodie pockets.

“You yellin ‘fucking bitch’ at the top of your lungs while hittin a wall kinda gave it away”

“Ah” you shook your head.

You walked through the city, without saying so much as a word after that. When you got to her house, you grabbed Dabi’s forearm and squeezed it a little too tight for his liking.

“You’re not gonna kill her, right?” you asked, while still holding onto his arm.

“Like I said, we’re just gonna greet her” he growled and ripped his arm away from your grip.

“Sorry, I-”

You were interrupted by the door opening and that hag peeking out the door. She saw you and you could see her eyes darken. It honestly gave you goosebumps, and brought back a lot of the shit she had done.

“”What are you doing here? I thought you never wanted to see me again” she said spitefully.

“I didn’t, and I don’t, but he does”

Dabi took his mask off and shoved it into his pocket. Even though you could only see the side of his face you knew he had that crazy gleam in his eyes and he was smiling like a maniac.

“Hello Mrs” he said and pushed her back into the house so forcefully, she fell on her ass into the hallway, leaving a smoldering handprint on her shirt.

“Dabi? Isn’t this enough, she looks scared enough”

“No, not what she did to you” he hissed and you could see the smoke coming from his hands.

“What I did?! That brat is-” she started but Dabi pretty much showed his boot into her mouth.

“No one asked you anythin” Dabi growled and waved his finger in front of her face, before taking his boot off her face.

“You said you wouldn’t kill her” you said, not even really sure if you wanted to convince him.

“I won’t” Dabi said.

“But?”

“But ya might want to call an ambulance soon” he said as he grabbed her by the collar with both hands.

The fabric started smoking and burning and your former step-mother screamed, hopefully more because of fear than pain. You pressed your hands to your ears to muffle at least some of the sounds. You stepped outside for a few minutes, before calling the ambulance, but after a while you couldn’t take the noises anymore and you slammed the door open.

“Dabi!” you finally yelled and grabbed his arm.

Dabi turned his head to look at you and stopped struggling against your grip. Even though you looked angry, it didn’t seem to be directed at him. You were looking past him and down to the human sack of shit laying on the floor. Even though you were obviously angry, you also seemed very sad.

“Fine” he sighed and ripped his arm out of your grasp.

“I called an ambulance, it should be here soon, so we need to go” you said, now looking more like your calm self.

You grabbed Dabi’s hand and started dragging him away from the scene of the crime. When you had put enough distance between yourself and the house, you turned around and noticed that he was bleeding from his face and the hand you had grabbed. You figured your former step-mother had managed to rip a few of his staples off.

“I’ll patch you up once we get back to my place, put your mask back on and maybe you won’t look as suspicious as you are” you remarked.

“Yeah, yeah” he said and took his hand back to put his mask on.

You lead the way to your apartment, when you got there you sat Dabi down on the couch.

“Wait there, I’ve got some replacement staples for you and I’m gonna clean off the blood”

“I can do that myself” he argued, but you weren’t having any of it.

“Oh shut up, you’re too angry to do shit right now, I felt how your hands were shaking”

“Fuck you” Dabi growled and leaned back on the couch.

You carried one of the kitchen chairs in front of the couch and sat down on it, setting the wound cleaning supplies on the coffee table behind you.

You grabbed Dabi’s chin and started cleaning the blood off his face. You had to swipe his hair out of the way a couple of times too.

“You’re too goddamn dirty for this to be of any actual help. Go take a shower you dirty gremlin”

Dabi just sighed, but obliged with your request without much resistance, but he still made sure to smack you on the back of the head as he walked by.

“I’ll give you a t-shirt and a pair of my joggers, so throw your clothes in the washer” you yelled as he slammed the bathroom door shut.

You could hear the shower turn on and while he was in there, you decided to patch up your knuckles. You disinfected your hands and wrapped some gauze around your knuckles. Then you left the clothes you promised next to the bathroom door. You laid down on the couch to wait for Dabi to come out of the shower.

Dabi stood under the warm water for a while. How long had it been since he had actually taken a proper shower, with soap and all. He opened a couple of the shampoos and shower gels, before he found the one that smelled the most like you. He decided not to use it, but instead just took a deep breath of the smell and memorized the brand. Maybe he would buy it for you sometime. Dabi put the bottle back and chose something else that would be better for the burnt parts of his skin.

“What am I gonna do with them?” he muttered. “How do I keep them safe?”

Laying there on the couch, you got to thinking, it wasn’t like you had any love left for your ex-step-mom, but you didn’t really know how to feel about what Dabi had done. It’s not that she didn’t deserve every bit of it, it’s more about the fact that you felt like you should’ve done it yourself and not let Dabi bloody his hands again. You knew what he was, you knew who he worked with and the things he’d done, but you didn’t want to use him like some sort of an attack dog.

The bathroom door opened and Dabi stepped out. He was wearing the pants you’d given him but he wasn’t wearing a shirt. He was drying his hair on the towel and when he was done, he draped it over the chair you had brought next to the couch.

“You good?” he asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine” you said and grabbed the staples and the surgical stapler off the table. “Sit down, and I’ll patch you up too”

Dabi sat down on the couch next to you and was very still during the whole stapling operation. You were used to doing it for him, since you’d been doing this for years, ever since he had had a need for it. You grabbed his chin again and started working on his face, it didn’t seem like the skin had ripped too badly, which was a damn miracle, so you just pressed the stapler close to the old spots and pressed it down. Next was his hand, it looked much worse, but you managed to patch him up with the addition of a few stitches and the staples on top. Even when you were done, you didn’t let go of his hand, you just looked at it and brushed your thumb over the border of normal and burnt skin.

“Do you hate me now?” he asked suddenly.

“I may be annoyed at you, but I could never hate you” you said as you put the last staple to his hand. “Touya…” you used his real name to see if he would react any differently, but he didn’t seem to care. “We’ve been friends since we were kids, and you’ve always looked out for me. You know I appreciate that, but I don’t want to take advantage of your willingness to stand up for me, and I’m not so weak that I would need it anyway”

“I don’t do it because I think you’re weak. I do it because you’re too damn kind to give shitty people what they deserve”

“You might be right about that” you sighed, finally letting go of his hand. “Why’d you choose today to do that anyway?”

“Just felt like it” he shrugged.

“Sure…” you rolled your eyes. “Also, could you put a shirt on?”

“Why? You getting all hot and bothered about it?” he smirked.

“No-no, jackass” you said and hit his shoulder.

“Ouch” he said a bit over dramatically.

“Seriously though, if at all possible, I wish you didn’t have to bloody your hands even more because of me”

“I would burn the whole world down for you, and there is nothing you could do about it” Dabi said quietly, but you could hear he was very serious.

“Thank you, but I’m sure it won’t come to that” you said.

You moved to lay down on the couch but Dabi pulled you down so your head was on his lap. You could feel his hands in your hair and you took a deep breath. He smelled like sea salt and toasted cinnamon. Everything was better like this, just like this.

[hyuckssunchip]

Shakespeare Sucks Pt. 1

Pairings: Jaemin x Reader, ft. Jaehyun, Renjun, Mark, Jeno, Taeyong

Words: 1.9K

Warnings: Language (there is almost always language in my writings), angst, mentions of violence/death

Synopsis:

Like Romeo and Juliet... less death though. You and Jaemin are blissfully unaware of the fate the lies ahead of your relationship. That is until Fate unveils the cruel plans that She has for you.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 |

“You know, if you weren’t so pretty I could actually focus on lecture.”

You blushed, glancing at the light haired boy next to you. But he looked so focused on the lecture you wouldn’t believe that he had just spoken to you. 

Shaking your head you turned back to your notes, scribbling along with the professor.

“If I could stare at you for two hours I wouldn’t have this problem.”

You couldn’t stop your face from heating up, this time elbowing him slightly in his side. 

“Jaemin, focus.” 

“I am.” He whispered back, staring at you.

You smiled, lifting your hand and turning his face back to face the professor. You didn’t have to look to know that he too had a smile adorning his face.

You felt his hand creep onto your thigh, squeezing slightly making your breath hitch. You tried to slap his hand away, an attempt to focus back on your professor. 

The rest of the lecture you were distracted by his overwhelming presence and before you knew it, everyone around you was packing up.

“Jaemin! I didn’t catch anything he said.” You pouted at him, “How are you going to make it up to me?” 

You teased him, knowing that your best friend Mark always took meticulous notes and you that he would give it to you in a heartbeat.

“Oh that’s a shame. I’ll make it up to you at my place.” He grinned, wagging his eyebrows while you giggled, packing your own stuff up. You looked over at his seat, he hadn’t even taken out notes for this class and you rolled your eyes knowing that he wouldn’t need them anyways.

“You know date night is coming up.” He said as the two of you walked out the lecture hall side by side.

“Date night?” You asked.

“Yeah, Friday.” He wrapped his arm around your shoulder pulling you closer to him.

“Since when is Friday date night?” You asked, smiling at your fingers.

“Since Monday through Thursday don’t work.” He grinned turning to face you.

“Right. What are we doing?” 

“I was thinking that cute little diner next to the mall and then we go back and have a cuddle sesh with a movie.”

You blushed, “Why do you always call it that?”

“What? A cuddle sesh?”

You nodded.

“Because we’re going to cuddle? Isn’t it just logical to name it that?” He nudged your side, poking fun at you.

“Right.” You giggled, “You didn’t have to name it anything, like we’ll just cuddle.”

He laughed, “But it’s cuter if I tell my friends I can’t hang out with them cause I have a cuddle sesh.”

Your eyes widened, “You tell your friends that you’re going to have a cuddle sesh?”

“No, but I can imagine it would be cuter.”

You smacked his chest and continued towards his car. “What do you tell your friends?”

You were curious, Jaemin wasn’t very open about many things. For one you had no idea who the majority of his friends were. You simply knew that he tended to hang out around you and Jeno, but other than that he was very mysterious. Not that it really mattered to you, he was a sweetheart and nothing could change your mind.

He shrugged, not offering much, “They don’t really ask much.”

Nodding, you expected that much. It’s not that you felt that he was trying to hide anything from you, he just wasn’t volunteering information.

The ringing of his phone interrupted the comfortable silence that washed over the two of you in his car. 

He frowned at the screen, however, as you looked over you cocked your head in confusion. There wasn’t a contact, simply a number, obviously one that he had recognized. 

He looked up, meeting your eyes with a tight smile, “Let me take this real quick and then we’ll head to my place, okay?”

You nodded into the chaste kiss that he left on your forehead and you watched him leave the car. 

Was it that serious? That he couldn’t talk with you in the car?

Watching his stressed back as you gazed out the window, you had an unsettling feeling rise in your stomach. 

He kept running his hands through his hair, the faint whisper of his hushed words could be heard through the cracks of the car door. Although you couldn’t make out any words, you could tell that he was distressed. 

The slamming of the car door startled you, too caught up in your own thoughts. You sent a small smile, an attempt to ease him as you could tell he had become tense. 

“Everything good?” You asked timidly, not an attempt to pry, but to console.

“Yeah.” He sent back a smile, one that you could tell wasn’t genuine. It didn’t quite reach his eyes. 

The mood shifted quickly as he pulled out of the lot. “Ready? Time to get our cuddle sesh on.”

He grinned and you relaxed a bit, he was less tense, or showed that he was and you felt more at ease. 

You laughed, shaking your head, “Whatever you want to call it.”

However, he wasn’t comfortable and you could tell.

As you leaned into his side, you could feel his muscles tense in anxiety and he was obviously distracted. The movie was the last thing on either of your minds. But you both sat through it anyways, not wanting to break whatever tension there was.

The movie had ended a while ago, the both of you staring at the ‘Are you still there?’ font that had now taken over the screen.

You felt your stomach flop at the sudden movement of Jaemin nustling his head into your neck, taking a deep breath.

“Hmmm.” The deep vibrations rumbled through your body.

“Did you get a new shampoo?” The sudden question would normally leave you giggling but you couldn’t bring yourself to at the moment, it almost felt wrong. 

You lifted your hand to the back of his head and you ran your fingers through his hair, sighing in response. 

“It smells like peaches.” 

You nodded slightly, continuing the rhythm of your fingers tangled in his hair. 

“Baby?”

“Hmmm?” You hummed in response, knowing you couldn’t quite trust your voice at the moment.

“Let’s just stay here forever.” He lifted his feet off the ground and threw his legs over yours, cuddling you closer. 

Again, you just hummed, wrapping your arms tighter around his body.

The odd feeling had slowly faded, but was quickly brought back at the familiar sound of his ringtone.

He groaned, pushing deeper into your frame, shaking his head slightly, planning on ignoring the call. 

When it rang again he let out a sigh, reaching blindly for the phone, leaving you with a clear view of the screen. 

It was the same number.

“What do you want now?” He snapped into the phone, nothing like you had ever heard him sound before.

Your fingers, still wrapped in his hair, froze. 

He slowly got up, pulling away from you and leaning onto his knees, head hanging low.

There was a sharp sound from the other side that could clearly be heard by you and he stood up jerkily, sparing you a glance before leaving the room.

You curled up, the emptiness of his leaving made you suddenly cold. You involuntarily shivered, looking at the reflection of yourself in the blank TV. Your heart dropped, the reflection of a certain object caught your eye, sending shivers down your spine.

You urged yourself not to look at the object, but you couldn’t stop yourself. You stood up, as if in a trance and walked towards the key tray that sat on the table behind the couch. 

How have you never looked at his keys? How could you have never noticed?

Your fingers stretched out, as if attempting to grip the keychain, but the abrupt entrance of Jaemin had you pulling your arm back, as if suddenly burnt.

“You good?” He asked, hand scratching the back of his neck, looking at your surprised expression. 

“Yeah.”

He gave you a wary look, you had made it too obvious that you were startled. 

“How about I take you home now? Before it gets too late. You have an early lecture tomorrow.” You nodded, eyes not focused on anything in particular because your mind was running a mile a minute. 

He gave a small smile, the clinking of his keys catching your attention. You couldn’t take your eyes off of it. 

“I didn't scare you too much did I?” He laughed softly, noting your expression.

You snapped out of it, “No, I think I was just tired, I didn't realize how late it got.” You looked out the window for the first time, the streetlights already lit and shining on the sidewalk.

“Right, well… you ready?” You nodded quickly, shuffling your shoes on and turning around only to find that Jaemin already had your backpack resting on his back.

The drive home was unnecessarily tense, despite your attempt at appearing indifferent to what you had seen before.

Jaemin could sense the weird air, but chose not to say anything. Simply looking over at you every couple of minutes. 

You had arrived at your apartment, normally you would invite him in, or beg him to stay a little longer, but today you had no intention of doing so. 

“Hey Y/N?” You turned back one last time.

“Yeah?”

“I-uh… I’m going to a friend’s lake house this weekend. You want to be my date?” There was a slight hesitation that you caught, but he managed to lose it at the end of the sentence, a hint of humor seeping through. 

You returned the tone, “You need a date?” You laughed slightly, “Of course I’ll come.”

“Great.” There was an elongated pause. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

You nodded waving him off, “Drive safe.”

You watched the small car disappear down the street and your hand dropped to your side, the smile on your face fading. 

Upon entering your apartment the first thing you did was rush to the kitchen drawer. A drawer where lost things were often found, a drawer where you shoved things to be out of sight out of mind, a drawer where you hid things you didn’t want to be seen.

The drawer was emptied to a mess on the floor as you scrambled through the junk, hands flailing in desperate search for what you were looking for.

The glint of the item made you freeze and your eyes locked onto the emblem that you wished didn’t exist. You picked up the charm holding it at arm's length as if it would attack you at any moment.

You were right. You wished you weren’t. You wished your eyes were playing tricks on you, but it was uncanny.

The emblem was the very same that you had seen on Jaemin’s keys. You fumbled with your necklace that hung around your neck for the last twenty one years of your life. With shaking hands you put the two charms together and held your breath as they clicked into place, becoming one. 

You dropped the charms, watching them break apart to their respective forms again, and you felt your stomach lurch.

You felt if for the first time in a long time. 

Absolute fear, absolute utter fear. And you felt it in your bones, blood running cold.

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© Copyright 2021. hyuckssunchip. All rights reserved.

[ecofinisher]

Lady Frost and the Fire King - A familiar partnership - Chap 11

Chapter 11

https://archiveofourown.org/works/31330631/chapters/77469461

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13886468/11/Lady-Frost-and-the-Fire-King-A-familiar-partnership

https://www.wattpad.com/1081907828-lady-frost-and-the-fire-king-a-familiar

(Chapter is about 5000 words long. I recommend to read inside the previous fanfic links)

Kai and Alfida stood together in front of a library and looked at the description at the entrance about the opening time.

„Okay, this must be it,“ Alfida commented. „Shall we go in?“

Kai nodded, then opened the door to enter along with the girl into the library and looked around the place. Alfida showed Kai the reception, where a woman sat using the computer and the two went to encounter the woman.

„Good morning. We‘d like to know if it‘s possible for someone here to help us look for flight tickets to Paris,“ Kai spoke. „Our grandfather told us this was the only way he knew how to obtain and get information about,“ Kai asked earning a nod from the librarian.

„For your grandfather or for you two?“ Asked the librarian.

„Us two,“ Responded Kai.

„Age?“

„I‘m 15 and she‘s 16,“ Responded Kai.

„17,“ Corrected Alfida making Kai grin embarrassed.

„Okay and does it have to be a non-stop flight or a connecting flight?“

„If possible, the cheapest one,“ Added Alfida. „We gotta pay this on our own, eventually,“

„Alright I‘m looking for you two on Brian Airlines, a low-cost airline if you‘re okay with it,“ Stated the woman making the teens nod.

„There are no available low-cost flights to Paris. You would need to choose another destination and see from there, how you could go there to Paris,“ Responded the librarian.

„Well what more can you want, we‘re at the moment out of money and need to go there to get my sister back,“ Explained Kai earning a nod from the librarian.

„How did you get here, if I may ask?“

„It‘s a long story. We‘re really thankful for your help ma‘am,“

„We really are and I don‘t want to be rude or anything, but what are the prices of the available destinations? Are there close to Paris a bit?“ Asked the raven-haired girl the woman, which used her mouse to open the offers.

„60 Norwegian Kroner is if you fly to Vienna, in Austria. Wroclaw in Poland costs 50 Kroner and to Basle in Switzerland 60,“ Mentioned the librarian looking at the two teens.

„For two persons it‘s actually cheap,“ Kai mentioned glad making his crush nod.

„Oh, that‘s for each person,“ Corrected the librarian. „Each of you pays 50 or 60 bucks. So 100 or 120,“

„Oh…..okay, so looks like we have to stay here for a while and find a way to make some money for our flight,“ Kai mentioned making Alfida nod.

„Yeah, we better start to look for a way to obtain money. Maybe Hendrick has an idea and helps us out,“ Commented Alfida.

„I know I can make money with art, I just need to get myself a painting easel and colors. The issue is I will need money for that as well,“

„I‘m thinking about going to Orm and Hendrick and tell what‘s up. Hendrick mostly, he knows this world at the moment better than us,“

„I think you‘ve got a point,“ Kai agreed, then Alfida thanked the woman and walked along with the boy to the outside of the library. „Hey, should we head back to the troll kingdom and see, if we can unfreeze the others?“ Questioned Kai making Alfida shrug her shoulders.

„We could go and try, yeah,“ Replied the raven-haired. „Let‘s get out of here,“ Called Alfida walking the street up with the short boy.

As the school had ended Rollan was alone in the locker room looking at a small book he has as his agenda to see the homework he had noticed down for the week and stored the books we wouldn‘t need for now inside his locker.

„Ay, it‘s been a long time since I‘ve ever done homework. That looks like a lot than usual,“ Spoke Rollan, then stored his agenda inside his bag and got up to close his locker, then noticed his belt he encountered a few days ago. Rollan took the belt out to look at his initial letter and unlocked the aperture under it and tried to adjust it around his waist. „I…..almost got it,“ Commented Rollan trying to squeeze the thick textile through the bands of his pants. Rollan made it and closed his belt, then noticed the old-goldish tune of his symbol get lighter, making him furrow his left eyebrow and in front of him appeared a stone-creature in the air, then it dropped on the ground and it got split into two and both got up scratching their heads.

„Whoa,“ Rollan commented surprised as seeing the two creatures, then got down at the two. „What kind of creatures are you?“ Asked Rollan about to pat the slink creature, then yelped as he burnt his finger on it.

„Hey, hey, hey. Didn‘t you notice the magma on my head?“ Asked the slink stone creature watching Rollan shove his finger in his mouth. „It‘s hotter, than a day at the beach,“

„I‘m sorry,“ Apologized Rollan. „I was kinda astonished by seeing you two,“

„I‘m glad you‘re thinking that way,“ Commented the round creature. „Hey haven‘t we seen each other once? You‘re pretty familiar to me,“

„Not that I know,“ Responded Rollan. „Why?“

„I felt like I‘ve known you somehow,“ Responded the large stone-creature. „I‘m Coal by the way. You‘ve got a name as well?“

„Of course he does, Coal,“ Commented the slink stone creature, making Coal frown and punch him on his face making him fall down on the ground to split into two, now the third creature was much smaller than the slinker one.

„I‘m Rollan,“ Responded Rollan looking at the third creature, which got up along with the slinky one.

„If we‘re going to be together for the next amount of time. I would really love if I could walk on the ground on my own or be carried by you. Anytime I‘m hit or fall down, I split in two and if they fall as well, you‘ll have it worse than in a rabbit burrow,“ Coal commented seeing Rollan sit down on the bench looking at the trio,

„Can I at least know, why I am here talking to you three? What were you doing in my belt?“

„That‘s an excellent question, for some reason a foreign man mixed my powers into this belt, so I assume this would be a way to have the wielder be able to use the powers,“

„Powers?“ Asked Rollan curious. „What kind of powers?“ Asked Rollan, then he heard a loud noise on the outside of the building and ran at the window to look out and see the feet of a large robot stand there blocking the way to the buildings behind it. „Coal?!?“

„The power of fire“ Responded Coal. „You‘re able to create fire and use it,“

„Really? How can I do so?“ Asked the raven-haired boy. „Do I have to say anything?“

„You‘ll get the hand of it. You just have to transform and you‘ll be able to use the powers,“ Responded Coal watching Rollan look out of the window and hear someone scream, then the robot moved back and Rollan dropped his mouth knowing someone might be in trouble right now.

„Does this make me one of the good people if I use the firepower?“ Asked Rollan making the stone-creature shrug his shoulders.

„I‘m just here to follow your orders. Whatever path you chose, is up to you,“ Responded Coal watching Rollan look out of the window and frown.

„They need a hero? They will get one!“ Announced Rollan earning applause from the three stone-creatures.

„Then all you need to do is say, Coal, I‘m fired up,“ Stated the stone-creature.

„Coal, I‘m fired up! Ah ha, ha!“ Shouted Rollan opening up his arms and have his clothing get replaced by brown boots, pants, that were marked with fire-themed symbols resembling an engravure. On his body he wore a dark-brown pullover with small streaks, forming lava running down the clothing. Above the pullover, he wore a gray vest with similar patterns to the ones from the pants, and his belt, which now works as a miraculous was dark-red and the cover with Rollan‘s initial got brighter. His skin got darker along with his eyes and his hairstyle became fixed up resembling a fire flame with its colorings as well starting on the ground with dark brown, leading to red up to the end, which was orange and yellow.

„Wow!“ Commented Rollan astonished looking at his appearance, then ran at the exit and shrieked as the door got smacked back to encounter students from the fencing class run into the locker room accompanied by their class teacher.

„There‘s fire!“ Shouted a girl pointing at Rollan‘s superhero form, which looked around to spot the empty room.

„Where?“ Asked Rollan watching the disappear behind the locker while the rest of the team looked at the superhero. „Why is everyone looking at me as if my head was on fire?“ Asked Rollan and Mr. D‘Argencourt took out his smartphone to show Rollan his looks as a superhero and he got surprised as he saw himself as a superhero and his hair was burning at that exact moment. „Oh that‘s what you meant,“

„Get in here!“ Shouted a red-dressed fencing student, which stood at the entrance waiting for other students to leave the court and Rollan ran out heading to the field passing by a few students encountering Kim Chien Le, who he met on his first school day.

„Hey, Kim! Where‘s the danger?“ Asked Rollan watching Kim point at the outside, making Rollan nod and ran at the outside of the court to spot, a large, dark-blue car robot with two white stripes on its legs and arms holding with its left hand a police car with an agent in it. Rollan spotted on the ground Sabrina Raincomprix, which watched in shock the Roboter threatening her father.

„Papa!“ Shouted the redhead, making Rollan swallow hard.

At another part of the schoolhouse, Gerda was in the restroom washing her hands and moved to the side seeing there was no handpaper available, but a strange, electronic device, which had an etiquette with instruction on how to dry her hands in there. Gerda looked at her hands and slowly put them inside the device, which began to blow wind at Gerda‘s hands to dry them and the side of the device had a small display counting from ten down until it would stop drying. As it stopped Gerda took out her hands, then smiled at seeing it made its job good. Gerda picked up from the floor her bag, then walked out of the restroom out a the library opening up the bag to check her material, she had in it and noticed the wreath Rollan told to have found. Therefore the blonde removed the wreath from her bag, then looked at the reflection of a large metal cart and observed herself inserting the wreath on top of her head. As she‘s done that, a blue spirit appeared beside Gerda floating over the lavatory, shrieking at the girl at the sudden appearance of the small creature.

„Hello. I‘m Snowflake,“ Greeted the spirit. „I‘m coming in peace, don‘t worry. I‘m able to grant you powers...the power of ice,“ Explained Snowflake watching Gerda, which had gotten calmer. „With me, you‘ll be able to use ice. You‘ll be able to freeze things, create things, destroy things. A lot is possible if you learn to figure it out,“ „Like the….Snow Queen?“ Asked Gerda curious making the spirit nod, then she spotted someone and hid inside Gerda‘s backpack. „Hey!“ Shouted Gerda opening the backpack. „Get out of here, I need to talk to you,“ Gerda ordered, then she noticed at the end of the library a student, which was wearing a red hoodie and black pants staring at her confused. „I…..can‘t find my phone in there, but I‘m able to talk like this on it. That‘s pretty cool, isn‘t it?“ Asked Gerda faking a grin at the student.

„Uh…..we gotta hide, there‘s another akuma out there terrorizing the city,“ Stated the student making Gerda nod.

„I will come, don‘t worry,“ Responded Gerda watching the boy move on, then from Gerda‘s pocket came out the spirit, making her frown. „Why didn‘t you show up?“

„You‘re my new holder, right?“ Asked the spirit making Gerda shrug her shoulders.

„I don‘t know. You just appeared at the time I‘ve set this on my head,“ Commented Gerda making Snowflake nod.

„Then I assume you are if the wreath is supposed to go to you,“

„Maybe,“ Commented Gerda, then Snowflake floated forward and Gerda followed the spirit to see above the top of the room two TV screens hanging with the news of the akuma alert.

„Shadow Moth akumatized another citizen, which turned into an Autobot and is causing trouble in Paris,“ Explained the purple-haired moderator on TV.

„Oh oh, that‘s right here at our school,“ Commented Gerda earning a nod from the spirit.

„So what do you think? Do you want to give it a chance and use your powers to take down that monster over there?“ Questioned Snowflake. „I think the superheroes would love to have another helping hand. What do you think?“

„I‘ve never done this before. I don‘t know if I can even pull this off,“

„You can do that. You‘ve got me and my powers. You don‘t have to get worried about being hurt or killed. You're sheltered pretty well as long as you have me activated,“

„Okay I could give it a try,“ Gerda answered. „I‘ve defeated the Snow Queen once when I was younger. This will be easier…..I hope at least,“ Gerda commented, then Snowflake patted Gerda on her shoulder.

„Don‘t worry Gerda. You will do just fine. Say, Snowflake freeze and you‘ll transform,“ Added the creature making Gerda nod.

„Snowflake, Freeze!“ Shouted Gerda having her entire look exchanged. Her clothings had vanished and her entire body was covered in a long, blue winter coat with big snowflake patterns spread around the outfit. The wreath got the similar colors of the outfit, the hair had gotten lighter along with the skin, and around her eyes, up to the side of her ears, she wore a mix of ice-white and blue make-up powder with smaller dots and snowflake spread over it along a part of her cheek.

„Woah I look like a….a mini Snow Queen,“ Gerda commented. „Or no this looks like a regular winter cloak,“ Spoke Gerda, then heard the door of the library get kicked back by Kim Chien Le and Ethan, the student he played basketball with holding up the doors, so a few students ran in for safety. Gerda looked from the second floor at the two, then she had an idea and looked at the stairs beside her and looked at her hands, then held them open wide and shoot ice from her hands and she approached the stairs, so she would freeze them. Gerda smiled, then jumped on it sliding down at the first floor, then Gerda shrieked and pushed down a redheaded student and flenched her teeth in shock.

„I‘m sorry Nathaniel,“ Commented Gerda looking at the redhead scratch his head and look up at the girl bewildered from knowing his name. Gerda saw him not caring about what happened, then she ran out of the library and a few students got at the door to see the mysterious person, that had just run out of the library.

„I feel like I‘ve seen her before,“ Commented Kim making the blonde student shrug his shoulders watching the superheroine freeze the long stairs, to slide down on her back.

Rollan stood at the exit looking at the robot, which held the police car in his hands, then he whistled to catch the robot‘s attention.

„Hey! You have to pick someone who‘s worth your level!“ Shouted Rollan‘s alter ego, then he heard a whooshing sound and turned his head back to see the ice-themed superheroine come along. She had made herself a path to the exit with ice, where she was trying to slide on, but she ended up falling down on her front. Rollan got down on the ground to offer her his hand. She took his hand to get up, then tripped over the ice and hit her forehead on his nose, causing him to shake his head surprised at the mishap.

„Are you okay?“ Asked Rollan raising up the girl carefully, then looked into her blue eyes and got lost in them. „Que Hermosísimo...“ Commented Rollan making Gerda grin embarrassed at her slipping, then both turned around as they heard Sabrina cry about her father in danger.

„Have you got any idea?“ Asked Rollan. „I don‘t know, how I can get up there,“

„Maybe we should attack him from here,“ Suggested Gerda, then Rollan nodded and ran towards the supervillain, making Gerda drop her mouth. „What are you going to do?“ Asked Gerda watching the superhero move his arms back causing two fireballs on the hands, then jumped up and hit with them the feet of the supervillain, causing the metal of the feet to melt a little. Rollan looked up at the robot, which moved his feet hard yeeting Rollan across the air, so he would crash with his back against the wall of the school. Gerda ran at the superhero to check for him, then helped him sat up.

„Are you okay?“ Asked Gerda making him nod.

„Yah,“ Replied the brunette. „My fire isn‘t powerful enough to harm him,“

„I saw,“ Responded Gerda and looked at the supervillain, which used his other hand to open the door of the police car, then stopped as the policeman began to shot with his gun at him.

„I think I have an idea,“ Gerda said running at the robot then used her ice power to build around the feet of the robot ice and Rollan sat up observing her doing that. Rollan looked up at the robot, then at the schoolhouse, and had an idea, then run into the school building leaving Gerda alone trying to stop the villain with her ice power.

For a long while, Gerda continued using her ice power seeing she made it to froze the feet of the robot in it, then smiled as he didn‘t move his feet in it. Gerda raised her hand in victory, then the robot tried to pull out his right leg, making pressure on the ice, which began to decay, making Gerda wide her eyes as her plan didn‘t quite work well.

From above the schoolhouse, Gerda spotted Rena Rouge fly against the car, then catapult herself away from it, while pushing Roger Raincomprix out of the vehicle and she landed on the ground, followed by catching the heavy man almost bringing the heroine down on the ground.

„Gosh! Are you heavy!“ Complained Rena Rouge, then the supervillain broke out off the ice and Gerda ran in Rena‘s direction throwing ice at the supervillain to stop him, unsuccessfully.

„Sorry, we‘re new here,“ Gerda commented watching Rena Rouge drop the policeman on the ground, which ran to his daughter and shrieked as the robot dropped the police car over the two.

„Watch out!“ Shouted Rena Rouge then Gerda used her ice power causing a long bridge to appear over the Raincomprix‘s and it hit the bridge, causing it to break, making Gerda scream and before it fell on top of the family Ladybug showed up, coming from the school and used her yo-yo to pull them away, before getting hurt.

„Well done, Ladybug!“ Chanted Rena Rouge, then Ladybug pointed at the school court, where the two members ran into and Ladybug noticed the foreign girl and figured out, that she was wearing the ice miraculous.

„Where did you find that miraculous?“ Asked Ladybug pointing at the wreath.

„It‘s actually mine,“ Gerda responded. „Or it‘s very identical to the wreath I lost,“

„Look….“Ladybug commented, then she heard the shatter of a window, then looked up along with Gerda to see the fire-themed superhero jump out off the window against the supervillain, landing on the middle of his leg, then he used both hands to create a fireball and grabbed the iron of his leg to melt it.

Ladybug facepalmed, then watched Gerda use her ice power to freeze the leg of the villain, then she stopped as she saw the robot push Rollan off his leg into his doom, then Gerda quickly used her ice to freeze the villain‘s foot and Rollan landed on the ice, slipping against Gerda's arms, which caught him. The boy grinned abashedly, then got dropped to the ground as Ladybug approached the duo.

„I see both of you are new. Per coincidence, I already defeated this villain once. The main goal is getting into the head of the villain and destroy the car keys,“ Stated Ladybug, then she heard Cat Noir‘s staff and looked from above the houses behind the bakery to see the cat-themed superhero come along and land on the head of the supervillain, then he knocked on the head of the supervillain.

„Cou cou!“ Greeted Cat Noir gazing upside down into the cabin of the car to see the human, that was akumatized and used his staff to break the windshield, then the robot moved with his upper body hastily causing Cat Noir to fall off, then grab himself on the waist of the robot.

„How shall we get up without any help?“ Asked Gerda looking at Ladybug, then Rena Rouge had an idea and grabbed the girl on her shoulder.

„Follow me you two,“ Asked Rena Rouge switching from Gerda to Rollan, then both followed the fox-themed superheroine and Ladybug looked at her yo-yo, then threw it up to activate her lucky charm.

„Lucky charm!“ Shouted the heroine, then received a large ladder and chuckled about it. „Wow this is actually useful….in a way,“ Commented the spotted heroine, then looked around the place and noticed the car of the police agent lie broken in front of the stairs, then she had an idea and ran at the car to place the ladder over the car. Ladybug watched Cat Noir jump off the Autobot, landing on the ground, and observed the Autobot hit himself on the leg, making Cat Noir grin.

„You‘ve got a plan, bugaboo?“ Asked Cat Noir, then Ladybug pointed at the ladder.

„I had expected you to remain up on Apace there for a little longer and jump down at the ladder, but now I think you‘ve gotta do it in another way,“

„From above the school?“ Suggested Cat Noir, then heard the window of the school getting broken, then both looked up to see Rollan‘s superhero form fly towards the supervillain, getting closer to his head, beginning to distract him. „I wasn‘t aware he could do that,“ Cat Noir commented surprised making Ladybug chuckle.

„Rena is quite imaginative, isn‘t she?“ Asked Ladybug looking at Cat Noir, which then understood, Ladybug had already figured out it was an illusion. Rollan‘s alter ego jumped out off the window and Cat Noir jumped at the middle of the ladder and got on the top of it, making the ladder swank down and Rollan‘s landing on the other side catapulted Cat Noir up at the driver cabin, thereafter Cat Noir broke with his staff the side of the window, then blocked with it the driver and activated his cataclysm to destroy his car keys to reveal the akuma.

„Bingo!“ Cat Noir chanted, then the villain packed Cat Noir on his head, trying to hold him down, and moved his hand close to Cat Noir‘s hand.

„Why is it taking so long?“ Asked Rollan looking at Ladybug, which noticed Cat Noir‘s odd movements from down, then she looked up at the roof to see Rena Rouge and Gerda‘s alter ego.

„Hey, snowgirl! Jump down and help the fire guy up at the robot head to help Cat Noir out!“ Ordered Ladybug, then Gerda looked down at Rollan‘s alter ego, which waited for her to jump down. „Don‘t worry,“

„Come on, you‘ll do just fine. I trust you,“ Rollan said loud, then Gerda jumped down landing with her feet on the end of the ladder catapulting Rollan up on the robot, then he landed on top of Cat Noir and grabbed the hands of the villain to prevent him to remove the ring off Cat Noir‘s hands.

„What‘s the next plan?“ Asked Rollan, then Cat Noir moved his head to look at the villain trying to find another place, where an amok could be located eventually.

„Do you see here anything loose?“ Asked Cat Noir, then Rollan looked around noticing on the rearview mirror a religious necklace hanging on it. He then kept looking around the vehicle and glanced back at the mirror.

„What about the necklace on the mirror?“ Asked Rollan making the superhero nod.

„That must it be, destroy it,“ Ordered Cat Noir, then Rollan picked the necklace and pressed it tight together causing fire with his hands, so it would get pulverized by him, then a blue feather flew out off the broken windshield making Cat Noir smile. „Well done,“ Complimented Cat Noir and Rollan watched the feather fly out, then they heard Ladybug activate her healing light to restore everything back to normal and around the robot passed by her light and removed the robot, dropping the two superheroes on the ground. Rollan got confused, afterward looked around himself to see, what had happened and looked at Cat Noir.

"Is your hair really burning?" Asked Cat Noir looking at the rookie, which was checking the surroundings wondering, where the robot had gone.

„Where did the robot go?“ Asked Rollan. Cat Noir spotted the citizen, that had been de-akumatized appear on the ground and beside him stood a blue, American muscle car. Cat Noir got up and went down on his knees to check on the man.

„Did you get caught on another illegal race, Anthony?“ Asked Cat Noir making the man shake his head.

„Not really, but I broke the speed limit and got my license taken away. I actually deserved it anyway, but I have let the anger take over me,“ Explained the driver, then Rollan looked into the car to see the necklace on the mirror, then got down to the man as well.

„That necklace in there, I used to have one from my mother, but I‘ve lost it,“ Commented Rollan.

„I‘ve got it there as a lucky charm,“ Stated the driver. „But I should really keep the velocity down. Not because of my life, I could bring someone else in danger or even erase someone‘s life, who‘s most likely to be innocent,“

„We never know,“ Commented Cat Noir, then Rollan got up to approach Ladybug, Rena Rouge and Gerda‘s alter ego, then smiled at the girls.

„We‘re not quite the skilled heroes here,“ Commented Rollan. „I‘m not sure, how we got to be them or if we deserve it,“

„Actually I‘ve lost your two‘s miraculouses during my last fight and I needed to retrieve it, but you two were fighting without any hesitation and trying to help. I think I‘ll let you keep them. Now that Shadow Moth is stronger than before it would be really good to have more team members. This was your first time, you two will gain skills with the time,“

„Yes,“ Agreed Gerda looking at Rollan‘s alter ego, which smiled at her and bowed down at the girl.

„Have you two actually a name?“ Asked Rena. „You know a superhero one?“

„Exactly, no one has to know who our identity is. No one. This is most important, cause if Hawk Moth knows about our other identity, we and our family and friends will be in danger,“

„Sure,“ Responded Rollan.

„I promise,“ Gerda added.

„So, what‘s your hero name?“ Asked Ladybug. „Paris needs to know, who these two newbies are,“

„Well I would need to think about how I should call myself...something feminine,“ Stated Gerda while Rollan pondered about it.

„Fire King, I‘m Fire King,“ Stated Rollan making Ladybug smile.

„It does‘t have to be complicated. Something very simple like uhm….Ice Queen“ Suggested Ladybug making Rena chuckle.

„Or Frosty, Frosty-girl, Queen Frost…….Ice Frost….“ Suggested the Fire King making Gerda chuckle, then she figured out a name she could use.

„Hey, I think I‘ve got one…...What about, Lady Frost?“

„It‘s up to you, if you like it,“ Mentioned Ladybug earning a nod from Rena Rouge.

„I like it,“ Rena commented making Gerda smile.

„I find it suits you,“ Added Fire King earning a nod from the light blonde girl, then Ladybug lifted her fist up in the middle, then watched Cat Noir and Rena Rouge get beside the two and look at the two newbies. Rena Rouge moved her eyes calling the attention of the two rookies, which smiled and placed their one hand in the middle to do a group fist bump.

„Pound it!“ Said the group together, seconds later Fire King and Lady Frost repeated their sentence, then saw Cat Noir‘s ring beep.

„Oh excuse me, I gotta go, see you another time,“ Cat Noir said waving at the group.

„How long have you been superheroes if I may ask?“ Questioned Lady Frost watching Ladybug think about it.

„I think about two years, almost,“ Replied the blue-haired girl. „I‘ve got a lot of experience on my back. You two are new, inexperienced, and are probably new to us all. Eventually to each other as well. The more we work together in the future, the better you two get,“

„Thank you for your confidence, Ladybug,“ Commented Lady Frost giving the heroine her hand to shake, then saw Ladybug‘s earring beep.

„Oh I gotta go as well, before I transform back,“ Warned Ladybug earning a nod from Rena Rouge, which saluted at the duo and ran away. Ladybug used her yo-yo and swung away, disappearing behind the building and Fire King and Lady Frost looked at each other.

„Do we know each other?“ Asked Fire King making the ice-themed heroine shake her head.

„Probably not. I don‘t seem to recognize you,“ Responded Lady Frost making the brunette nod.

„I felt like I‘ve seen you before,“ Commented Fire King. „I don‘t know, maybe your eyes made me feel like I‘ve seen them before,“

Lady Frost chuckled, then patted the superhero on the shoulder.

„Probably just a coincidence. There are more people with blue eyes. Might just be a coincidence,“ Explained Lady Frost. „I have to go. We will see each other next time,“ Mentioned the blonde making the fire-themed superhero nod and watch the heroine ran into the school court. Fire King smiled enchanted as the heroine went upstairs and leaned his back against the railing of the school sighing.

[vicunaburger]

Admittedly, I’m Hard to See

Fandom: Beetlejuice the Musical Chapters: 17/? Pairing: Beetlejuice x OC (Holidae) The Players: Beetlejuice, Lydia Deetz, Holidae Bell Word Count: 1,924 Warnings: M for Mature Content

Notes: TW: Mentions of Hospitals, Not-Quite Self Harm, Injury

Chapter 17: In Which We Lie by Omission

Toast was a tricky food to master.

Not only did one have to factor in the age and setting of each, individual toaster available, but the thickness of the bread was vital to the equation. There was thin line between “just right” and “burnt offerings”, usually moving from one end of the spectrum to the other in the literal blink of an eye.

Lydia squinted her eyes, peering into the orange glow of the toasting mechanisms, trying to determine the level of toast her bread had achieved. Behind her at the kitchen table, Beetlejuice sat quietly, deep in concentration as he mulled over the newspaper spread out before him. Normally, he could solve the weekly bridge puzzle within a few minutes, but his mind was somewhere else, and the answer was eluding him.

With a soft growl, he erased the notes he had been making in the margins of the puzzle, smacking the bits of eraser off the table with more force than what was needed. The soft scritching of graphite against newsprint started up again, only to be interrupted -again- with muttered curses and furious erasing.

His bestest best friend was town between asking him why he was so irritable that morning, or continuing to monitor her toast situation. Both options were precarious paths to navigate, and both of them could end in misery if she wasn’t being extra careful.

“So… hard hand dealt out this week?” Lydia made the first cautious move, still focused on her breakfast. “It’s always the diamonds that get me. You get week after week without them, and then the whole hand is littered with them. Do you think actual bridge is easier to play? I mean, after you scour the world for two other people that not only know but can play it.”

There was no response from the spectre; not even a sound of half-assed acknowledgement.

Concern overtook caution, and Lydia turned to face the dead silent man at the table. Beej was just staring at the paper now, the pencil being thoroughly chewed to bits within the maw of teeth he sported, the end dangling like a cigarette out of the corner of his mouth. Reaching over the table, she snapped her fingers close to his face, trying to get his attention.

“What did I tell you about eating pencils? Quit- quit doing that! You’re gonna drool all over the table.” The petite woman snatched the pencil away from him, raising her voice a little. “Earth to BJ? You in there today?”

He snapped upright with a frown, licking his teeth free of graphite and wooden splinters like an animal, “Did my little Holly-Jolly have a cat?”

Blinking, she took in his navy blue appearance, the space around him seeming to shift like it was an out of focus photo, “A what- oh god, my toast!”

Lydia plucked the now charred pieces of bread out of the toaster, setting them on a plate as smoke gently wafted into the air. Grumbling, she sat down that the table across from him, grabbing a butter knife and attempting to scrape away the burnt coating.

“A cat? Nah, Holli’s allergic to most animals.” She replied, glancing back at the empty bread box on the counter, “Ugggh, out of bread. Knew I should have sent her to the store…”

“Holidae lied to me.” Beetlejuice’s reply was flat, spoken from low in his chest. “Why would she lie to me, Lyds?”

The crunching of the knife against crispy bread stopped immediately at his use of Holidae’s proper name. Lydia’s brain started clocking a thousand impulses a minute, going through several ways to continue the conversation without endangering herself or the house.

“Okay… okay… we need to back this conversation up really fast because you jumped the tracks on me, buddy.” She continued to work on her breakfast, trying to keep the atmosphere light. “What did she supposedly lie about?”

“The cat,” one clawed finger started picking at a small hole in the tablecloth.

She waited to see if he would elaborate before trying again, “She told you she had a cat? Alright, that’s not a huge offense yet, so what was the context? I can’t answer the question without all the facts, Beej.”

Beetlejuice was tearing the tablecloth now, “We were takin’ a shower-”

Lydia grimaced, “I want you to keep any sleazy, porno-riffic details to yourself, or I won’t help you.”

“Nothin’ happened in the shower.” There was a flash of his usual humor peeking through the distress, but only for a moment. “She’s got these big scar things on her arms so I asked her and she said it was a cat. But if she never had a cat, then she lied right to my face. I lie to other people, sure, but nobody lies to me. Not anymore. No offense.”

“None taken,” she shook her head, sighing heavily. “Unfortunately, this is not an adventure I can lead you on, my friend. I am not in charge of Holli’s personal… things. Don’t ask her about it, don’t mention it again. Forget you saw anything and move along.”

She waved her hand in a Jedi-like fashion, earning her a deeper frown from the ghoul. Exhaling a long breath of air, Lydia stuck an unburnt bit of toast into her mouth, chewing thoughtfully. If she just spilled all of Holli’s dirty laundry to BJ, there was a very good chance Holidae would drag her to the third floor and toss her out an open window. If she kept quiet like a church mouse, Beej could very well do the same thing; and truth be told she was not ready to spend an entire afterlife being annoyed by the ghostly guide.

Better the devil you know?

“I will tell you once and only once: you are not allowed followup questions, nor are you allowed to interrupt me for any reason. Capice?” Lydia stuck out her hand for him to shake, knowing tempting him a deal would get him to behave for the time being.

The force at which he smacked his palm against hers, coupled with the grip he took hold of her hand, made her wince in discomfort. She could hear the faint popping sound between her knuckles as he squeezed extra hard, pulling his hand away with an unwavering stare. Lydia rubbed her hand gingerly, pouting as she tried to think of where to even start. Certain tidbits of information could be dangerous if let slip to him by accident; the ghost tended to err on the side of literal meanings of certain idioms or phrasing, which wasn’t helpful when trying to explain a serious topic in a less-serious way.

“Yes, they were self-inflicted. No, they weren’t intentional.” Lydia began, gauging his reaction carefully. “You ever notice that when she gets nervous, she starts to scratch at her skin? Like she’s suddenly itchy?”

The spectre nodded, but kept quiet to honor his ‘no interruptions’ caveat.

“Holli has these… instances where she gets too much into her own head. Not literally. She just starts thinking about different things too much and starts to forget to pay attention to where she is or what she’s doing in the moment. There was something… someone upset her-” She stopped herself, fumbling over the words as she spoke them.

“Someone?” He couldn’t help himself, digging his claws into the table.

“Irrelevant.” She snapped, “The point is, when Holli forgets things, she tends to forget important things like eating or sleeping… breather functions. It used to be really bad in college, before she started managing it better.

Lydia watched him carefully as he listened intently, taking note of his solemn mood, “Well, I went on that trip with dad and Delia a few summers ago, remember? And I didn’t… hadn’t paid attention to the fact Holli was having an episode. She always told me not to fret about her, since she was an adult and… well…”

She paused, taking another bite of toast. Even though Holidae never once put the responsibility of her mental health upon her, deep down, Lydia regretted not catching the early warning signs of Holidae’s episode. Lydia was still dealing with her own internalized issues, and Holli always told her to take care of herself more than anyone else.

Beej tilted his head sharply, knowing his friend was thinking hard about something, but he wasn’t sure exactly what it could be. Lydia only thought that hard when she was trying to concoct a lie, or spare him some tedious details that wouldn’t have made sense to a demon like him. Breather details. Things he never had to experience, or things he never needed to consider.

Swallowing her toast, she continued softly, “When I got back, Holli had been admitted into the hospital. They said she hadn’t slept in days, which made her vividly hallucinate random things in the middle of classes; it’s why her arms are torn up. From what the doctors could understand, she claimed she needed to ‘remove the layers’ because there was something wrong? Or she said it was burnt somehow? She doesn’t remember anything… not even me being gone! The first thing she asked me when I saw her in the hospital was if I had missed my flight. It had been a week since I told her goodbye.”

Lydia let out a humorless laugh; memories of her friend hooked up to machines like Frankenstein’s monster with wires all over flooded her mind. Holli looking like death warmed over, sitting confused in the hospital bed and picking idly at a cup of jell-o.

Holidae had been more concerned about her. Her vacation. Not even comprehending her situation until a few days later.

Wisely, the young lady did not disclose the gruesome details of Holidae’s recovery to her demonic pal. Something deep in her gut told her that he wouldn’t have been thrilled to learn about the agonizing healing process; long nights unable to find relief as the skin stitched back together. Pain killers only did so much.

“Just… don’t bring up the scars again, okay?” Lydia sighed, a bit relieved to get that weight off of her shoulders.

Sometimes, it was good to talk things out with a third party; human status notwithstanding. Before Beetlejuice could give any sort of response, the front door opened, the sound of keys clattering into a ceramic dish filling the silence.

“Lyddy, they were out of that weird cereal you like, so I got you the off brand in the industrial sized bag. Should last a few decades.” Holidae’s voice carried into the kitchen, causing both Lydia and Beej to turn toward the entryway to the hall.

In a flash, the demon vanished from his seat at the table, reappearing in the foyer much to Holidae’s shock. With a snap of his fingers, the bags she was balancing in her arms were neatly placed on the kitchen counter, and Holidae herself was wrapped tightly within his grasp.

“Whoa… hey, Juice, are you okay? I was only gone for like an hour.” Holidae was muffled against his coat, half her face pressed into his shoulder.

“Exactly! A whole hour! What if something cool had happened and you weren’t around to see it? Or you might have been kidnapped by angry lawn gnomes! Which means I would have to heroically charge in and save you from their clutches, and of course you would reward me with a night of hot, passionate- oh. You know what? That sounds super special awesome.” He was babbling, pressing sloppy kisses all over her forehead. “Go back out and make yourself attractive to lawn gnomes. Go GO GO!”

Quietly, Lydia listened from the kitchen, surprised that Beej actually listened to her warnings about keeping Holidae unaware of what she had told him.

Then again, there was no guarantee he would keep that promise for long.

Writing Tags: @hoodoo12 @mr-geuse @paxenera @leiasolo77 @go-commander-kim @a-subconscious-manifestation @asriells @missihart23 @heknowshisherbs @mrgeuse @amywright @beetlebitchywitch

[devilbat]

Camping, Check

Loki x reader with Peter Parker

Warning: maybe swearing, but just fluff, check

What should have been a quite camping trip. Well somewhat quite camping trip, you did have Peter with you, so chatting was going to happen. But when then the god of Mischief decided he wanted to tag along it went from somewhat quiet to dear God’s you might kill him and Peter.

Tents, check

Sleeping bags, check

Sleeping mats, check

Your pillow cause everyone else can worry about their own, check

Camping chairs, check

Cooler with food, check

Camp stove, check

Shit ton of water, check

Whole trees worth of firewood, check

Matches, check

Murder Axe to kill someone with possibly, check

My clothes cause they can deal with packing their own, your not their mother, check

Toiletries, check

“Hi y/n.” Peter squeaked out, from behind you. Make you jump a bit. Turning on your heels to look at the kid. “I’m ready for our adventure.” He smiled at you.

“One Peter Parker, check.” You breathed out, as you searched for his name to check him off the list. You went back to checking the rest of the the stuff off before you were on your way.

Lanterns, check

Sunscreen, check

Hammer, check

“So y/n whatcha doing?” Peter asked as he rocked back and forth on his heels.

Duck tape for spider-kid Mouth, check

“Making sure we have everything we need.” You stated not looking up from the paper.

“We could always ask Mr. Stark if we forget something.” Peter piped up, trying to peek over your shoulder.

Rope Incase I have to tie a child up to a tree, check

Stakes, check

“We are not calling Tony. This is going to be a no calling for Tony trip. So please reframe from getting yourself tangled in you webs.” You looked over you shoulder and smile.

Scissors to cut the kid out of his webs, because you telling him no will not stop him from doing so, wether or not he has help, Check

Plate & utensils, check and check

“Y/n?” Peter asked coyly. Jumping up and down around you. God who gave him sugar. Oh you know who. That was a dumb question. You really could kill Tony at times.

“Hmm?” You looked up at the kid eyebrow raised.

Mosquito spray cause this girl not getting eaten, Check

“Where’s Mr Loki? Isn’t he coming?” Peter asked. A bright smile on his face.

“Hello pet.” Loki purred into your ear from behind. Making you squeak out. Turning fast on your heels to smack the god. Who chuckled at your weak attempt.

“God damn it Loki. Don’t do that.” You hissed snaking him again.

Loki, check

Frying pan to beat Loki over the head with, double check.

“I do love it when you take my name in vain.” He smirked. Grabbing ahold of your hand, keeping it against his chest. All the while Peter got situated in the car.

The reasons why you decided to take Loki with you camping, unknown check

Your sanity went out the door, check

“Loki, will you please just get in the car.” You sighed pulling you hand away from him. “Remember keep you hands to yourself we don’t want to scare the kid.” Loki smug smile spread over Loki’s face. Oh this was going to be interesting.

Going on what should be an two drive but will most likely take five, cause someone needs to pee, check

Possibly going to be annoyed the whole drive there, check

It was a long drive most of it was Peter asking loki question about Asgard and what it was like there. You had to admit you love hearing Loki’s tails about his home lands. He was good at telling stories like his brother. There was about twenty minutes of silence before the kid decided to tell loki about some of his, neighborhood friend spider stories. And boy half the time you couldn’t understand him, he talked so fast.

Finally here without killing anyone, check

You pulled up to the camp grounds and checked in to you spot. It had been a very long drive and one you were happy to be done with. Stepping out of the car you stretched the cool mountain air filled your lungs. Now to unload the car. You turned around about to direct the two chatty Kathy’s. (This was the most You ever heard Loki talk. He would not shut up. Why did he never want to talk like this with you. Oh you know why, he like to keep his mouth busy, on you.) looking over to where you had left them last. Only to find a full SUV and two missing super idiots.

Unloading the car by myself, check

Nether one helping you put up the Tents, death, I mean check

Hours later, both Loki and Peter walked into the camping spot. Sweaty, stinky and covered in mud. Okay only one was sweaty, stinky and covered in mud. Loki looked untouched in whatever had happened to the poor kid. Which you most likely knew the reason why.

Loki causing chaos to poor Peter, check

“Loki, what did you do to Peter?” You you question the god.

“Lady y/n, I did nothing to the poor boy, he fell.” Loki smile sweetly a little to sweet. With a shrug.

“Yeah lady- I mean y/n I fell, it was pretty cool. I was swinging showing Loki a new web combo.” Peter eagerly a little to eagerly told you. You raised an eyebrow at the two specially.

“Mmhmm. Seems convenient like conveniently disappearing on me while unpacking.” You huffed crossing your arms.

“Is there anything we can help you with darling?” Loki purred. Oh that ass.

Loki possibly never getting lucky again, a strong check

“Nope did it ALL myself. Now please clean the boy up.” You hissed, glaring directly at Loki.

“Fine.” With a flick of Loki’s wrist, Peter looked like what he did before they disappeared.

“Now put this on!” You handed a bottle of big spray to the kid. Quickly he did as you asked while you did the same with the other bottle. Once you were done you handed it to Loki.

“I’m not putting that god awful smelling thing on my body.” Loki hissed at the bottle.

Loki being over dramatic, check

“Loki you’ll get bit! Please put this on.” You looked up at him. You know this is going to be an argument you won’t win.

“I am a god. Your Midgard bugs could do nothing to me.” Raising an eyebrow challenging you.

Loki thinking he is better at everything because he is a “God”, check

Later that night, you had the fire going. It was almost romantic if there wasn’t a kid presented. Peter had started making Smore’s. You had been trying to figure out how to tell loki he wasn’t sleeping in the tent with you. Let alone the fact he would have to sleep on the ground. As you watched the fire die down.

Possibly dying by the hands of a “king” for making him sleep on the floor, checkers

Peter had fallen asleep at some point, in his camp chair a half burnt marshmallows on a stick in his hand. You got up and stretched with a yawn.

“Loki could you.” You pointed at the kid. Loki stood looking over at the kid before he walked over towards you. Pulling you into him. Kissing you forehead. “That was not what I was asking.” You giggle. “Can you put Peter in the tent.”

“As you wish my love.” With ease you watched the god pick up Peter. He disappeared with him then before you could turn around was back beside you.

“Well good night loki.” You kissed his check as you walked over to your tent. Only for Loki to follow you. “Where do you think your going?” You turned around to look at loki.

“Do you really think I’m going to sleep on the floor? Let alone without my girlfriend?” Loki huffed.

“Yes, remember you wanted to come. And I told you there were going to be things you were not going to like. Well this would be one of them. And it’s called roughing it for a reason.”

Loki challenging you, check

“And beside he doesn’t know, I thought you wanted to keep this us hush, hush.” You pointed at the the kids tent.

Loki actually listening to you? Umm maybe check

The next morning you woke up. You stretched only to notice a few things. In your groggy state.

Large soft bed, check

Silky satin sheets, check

Soft breathing against your neck, check

Strong arms wrapped around your waist, check

“Morning my love.” Loki smooth voice purred into your ear. He moved around like he was trying to get comfortable

A god not listening to you. And apparently can’t sleep on the ground, why check

“Loki!” You sighed, turning around to look at him. Biting you lip when you saw his face. Little tiny red bumps scattered along his handsome face and neck.

Loki getting eaten alive by mosquitoes, oh yes that’s a check.

“Something wrong Loki?” You asked as he started to itch.

“No, nothing is wrong!” Trying hard not to itch.

“You feeling a little itchy there?”

“No!” He glared at you.

“So those red bumps are nothing?” You hummed in amusement. You hand moving along his bare torso, feeling more bites. Making him squirm under your touch.

“No just a trick love, see I’m fine.” Loki used his magic to glimmer himself with no bumps. But you could still feel them. So you started to scratch him lightly over his sides. “Stop your meddling women. It’s nothing.”

Torturing a god, triple check

How you manage to get Loki on his back was astonishing. But you showed no remorse as you felt around his check. Driving the god crazy, only wanting to scratch himself. He quickly removed you from him, jumping out of bed. Backing himself away from you. A mischievous glint in your eyes, the same one he would do to you. Pulling yourself off the bed as you stalked towards him.

“The God of mischief taken out by Midgardian bug.” You giggle as You lunged forward. Tackling Loki. You had him on the ground at your mercy.

“Infuriating woman, I am not going to yield.” Loki hissed.

“Umm hey guys?” You and Loki froze., looking up to see you were outside the tent. With Peter standing there rubbing his eyes.

Shit, check

The kid finding out we’re dating, check

“Oh hey, umm I’m just Umm trying to.” You rabbled Trying to think of something. “I’m trying to put calamine lotion on his mosquito bites. Someone is regretting Life choices right now.”

“Where is the bottle?” Peter raised an eyebrow.

The kid not buying it, check

“I lost it?” You shrugged.

“That is very convincing my love.” Loki chuckled from under you. “Now please put something on these infernal bites.”

Later that day and a whole bottle of pink lotion. Loki was covered in pink spots. And mopping in the camping chair.

Taking a Picture of Loki without him noticing, check

Definitely going to die when he finds out that said picture has been sent to everyone in the compound, check

Loki regrets not wearing mosquito repellent, check check

Now onto bribing the kid, to not tell tony, check

Permanent tags: @kitkatkl @lokilvrr @instantnoodlese @drakesfiance @meyoko10 @jackheart180, @miraclesoflove @wolfcore227, @mr-hiddlestons-Pet, @madleiine, @teageowen @scorpionchild81 @redlipsinkorea @mintzxi

Tom/Loki Tag’s: @theoneanna @graveyard-groupie @silverquartx @moonfaery @kcd15 @moonlightprime @youveseen--thebutcher @shockwavee @sabine-leo @screw-real-life-i-pick-fandoms @vethrvolnir, @darkprincessloki92 @archy3001 @chaoticwithpurpose @paanchu786 @metalheadspider @myownviperroom @arosewithdaisies @jilldsumner @witchbitch-stuff @too-cold-for-youhere @sterwild

[therainroguefanfiction]

🔥 ℝise Ⱥbove I̾t ◈ Chapter 031 [Finals Begin!]

📑 Table of Contents | ◂Backward

Word Count: 2,786

⊱ ────── {⋅. 🔥 .⋅} ────── ⊰

〈“Some legends are told, some turn to dust or to gold. But you will remember me, remember me for centuries. And just one mistake is all it will take, we’ll go down in history.” Fall Out Boy, “Centuries”〉

⊱ ────── {⋅. 🔥 .⋅} ────── ⊰

“Do you see him, kid?” I asked, holding his ankles in my hands.

Riku was sitting on my shoulders so he could look over the crowd. He crossed his arms, resting them on the top of my head. “Nope. There’s Mt. Lady, but my brother isn’t anywhere around. Where is that idiot?”

I hummed, approaching the blonde-haired hero. “Let’s gather some clues.”

“Like Scooby-Doo!” I could hear the smile in his voice and chuckled.

She noticed us approaching and lifted her chin, hand on her hip. “Did you finally come to apologize?”

“Not even on your life,” I deadpanned. “Oi, Riku.”

“Right! Have you see a teenage boy that’s really desperate for your attention?”

If I wasn’t holding his ankles to keep him from falling, I would have facepalmed.

She sweatdropped. “There’s a lot of those, you’re gonna have to be more specific.”

“Umm, well, he’s eighteen-years-old, never had a girlfriend that isn’t an anime character, got rejected from two different colleges, he’s a huge pervert with a large stack of dirty magazines under his bed and his favorite color on a girl is pink! Does that help?”

My eye twitched. Really starting to remember why I don’t fuck with little kids… I cleared my throat. “Maybe start with his name…”

“Yuki Reigen.”

“Okay. Now, what does he look like?”

He hummed thoughtfully. “He’s kinda short for his age and he dyes his hair blonde, but he’s really bad at it so it’s super streaky. He wears blue contacts but his eyes are actually brown like mine! His skin is kinda oily, especially his nose, even though he uses this weird smelling cream. He thinks it works but it doesn’t at all!”

Mt. Lady tilted her head, her finger on her chin. Her face suddenly lit up with recognition. “Oh yeah! He was so desperate for my number, he said he’d do anything for it, it was honestly pathetic. I was just about to tell him he could have it after being my slave for two years, but then he suddenly panicked and ran off.”

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” I asked.

“Yeah, you’re a creepy old hag!” Riku added. “My brother will never be a slave to someone as ugly as you!”

“What did you just call me, you brat?!”

“Mt. Lady!” Woodsman came speed-walking up, putting his wooden arm between us before she could advance. “You’re supposed to be patrolling!”

Riku started to shake, his fingers curling around my short hair as he sniffled. “S-She’s so s-scary! She threatened to h-hit me!” His crying alerted the other people around us, who stopped to see what was going on. Hearing his words made a few of them glare at her, clutching their children closer.

The color drained from her face and she hastily tried to explain the situation. “W-What? No, I -”

Woodsman put his hands on his hips, glaring at her. “You made this child cry, now say you’re sorry!”

“But I didn’t -”

Riku started to cry louder.

“O-Okay! I’m sorry, just stop crying!”

His cries died down to soft sniffles. I swear if he gets snot in my fucking hair I’mma rage.

Woodsman turned to us with a sigh. “I’m really sorry about her, she has no filter. You really should be getting back, the finals will be starting soon.”

“I can’t.” I motioned toward the kid shoving his face onto my head. “He can’t find his brother and I’m trying to help find him.”

“Oh, I see. Here, let me take over.” He held his hands out and I bent down so he could gently grab Riku under the arms, lifting him up and over my head before bringing him into his arms. “Don’t worry, I promise I’ll find his brother.”

I nodded, ruffling Riku’s hair. “Don’t leave that idiot brother of yours again, okay? And no more jumping from the stands.”

He nodded, wiping at his wet eyes with the back of his hand. “Thank you, big sis.”

Woodsman nodded his head at me before walking away, Riku leaning over his shoulder. His sad expression morphed to a smug grin, all traces of his tears gone.

I exchanged a look with Mt. Lady and I knew we were thinking the same thing – children are fucking demons.

⊱ ────── {⋅. 🔥 .⋅} ────── ⊰

“Thank you, Cementoss! Hey, sports fans, are you ready?! After all the action you’ve already witnessed, it’s time for the real battle to begin! Can you feel the excitement?! Our competitors are on their own now! Sometimes heroes have only themselves to rely on! Heart, skill, strength, wisdom, courage – they’ll have to use all of these things to rise to the top!”

A bead of sweat rolled down my cheek as I took a deep breath. Why the fuck do I have to go first? Man, there’s gonna be so many fuckers watching me. Just the thought makes me want to die. Maybe I’ll just forfeit…

Strong hands landed on my shoulders. “You’re pretty tense, kid. Nervous?”

I turned around to face Snipe and Toshi. “I’m always tense, it’s a way of life.”

“Don’t worry, young Jen, you’ll do great.” Toshi gave me a thumbs up and a grin. “You fought against young Reggian a bit in the cavalry battle so you know a bit about his quirk already.”

“Somethin’ to do with air, I think?” I scratched my cheek.

“Just don’t kill ’em and you’ll be just fine,” Snipe put his arm around my shoulder, pulling me into a half hug. “We’ll be rootin’ for ya, kid.”

“Thanks, guys.” I grinned.

“Well, well, audience, let’s cut to the good stuff and not delay these finals any longer! Welcome our first fighters – with a potty mouth and an attitude to match, it’s Jen Winchester from the hero course!”

I stepped through the doorway, hands shoved into my pockets. My eyes squinted as the sudden bright light invading my vision. The crowd was screaming, but I did my best not to pay them any mind as I approached the arena.

“Versus! His sanity is seriously up for debate, it’s Regina Reggian from general studies!”

“Hey, I’m lucid sometimes, twatwaffle!”

“What did he just call me?!”

“A twatwaffle.”

“Don’t ever say that again, Eraser…”

I rolled my eyes before glancing across to the other doorway where Regina was exiting from, looking smug. Man, this guy really has a face I just wanna punch. With a fucking metal chair.

“The rules are simple – immobilize your opponent or force them out of the ring! You can also win by getting the other person to cry uncle! Bring on the injuries because we’ve got our very own Recovery Girl waiting on standby! So put your morals aside and don’t be afraid to play dirty, but of course, no life-threatening crap, folks, it’s not allowed! Real heroes use their powers to throw villains in jail, not kill them!”

“I’ll stop anyone that tries to get too rough,” Cementoss said calmly. He was sitting beside the ring, directly centered with it in a chair he had made with his quirk.

I scratched my cheek. Call me old-fashioned but should they really be encouraging teenagers to beat the ever-living shit out of each other? Sounds fucking suspect.

Regina grinned at me. “I’m gonna force you to give up, nerd!”

“Not even in your dreams, kid.” I grinned back. “Be careful, you don’t wanna get burnt.”

“Ready?!”

“You’re a magician’s red burnin’ chicken looking ass.”

“What the fuck does that even mean? Your taste sound like ass. I’m gonna fucking annihilate you like Kunimitsu Tezuka did to the dinosaurs.”

“Nani the fuck?”

“BEGIN!”

We both took our stances. He held his hands out like he were gripping a sword and the air around him started to solidify, forcing the hilt of a sword. The blade started to form… is that a fucking cactus? “Hey! This is my cactus and his name is Pablo!”

I sweatdropped. What is with this guy? “Oi -” I suddenly gagged as something solidified in my mouth. It tasted like if you took Kirishima’s dirty gym socks, wiped your ass with it, and then pureed it with rotten onions. My stomach turned as I spit it out, coughing violently as I tried to ignore the taste on my tongue. Is that… a mother fucking sock?!

“Winchester just spit up a sock! What is this sorcery we’re seeing, folks?!”

“Take this!” Taking advantage of the distracted he had created, he moved in close, swinging the sword above his head. My hand shot up, connecting with the translucent spikes of the cactus. They broke the skin, small drops of blood flowing from the holes.

“Reggian has successfully launched the first attack! How will Winchester respond?!”

“Am I a fucking joke to you?”

“No, you’re a nerd.”

“Hmph, can’t argue with that one, but you’re gonna have to die now, thanks!” I squeezed my hand, increasing the temperature of my skin until the cactus exploded. My hand was throbbing.

“PABLO, NO!!!”

I punched him in the stomach, sending him stumbling backward, clutching his stomach and coughing.

“You’ll pay… for killing Pablo… you thot!” He held his hand up and the air started to solidify. “Improvised special move, Pablo Jr!!” He threw the small, potted cactus at me and I grunted, smacking it away. As soon as my hand touched it, it exploded.

“It’s hard to see but if you look closely you can see a bunch of translucent spikes now stuck in Winchester’s body from that last attack!”

“Son of a bitch,” I grunted. He lifted his hands again and I dashed forward. I won’t even give him the chance to – smack. I fell face-first on the ground, the cold cement seeping through my clothes.

Silence fell over the stadium before a roar of laughter erupted.

“Oh my god!”

“Did you see her face?!”

“I’m so glad I came, this is hilarious!”

“What a classic move!!”

“I’m wheezing, someone help!”

“Ahahahaha! Class 1-A isn’t looking so cool now, is it?!”

“Shut up, Monoma!”

“No one can get past my second improvised special move – Banana Peel Field!!” Regina laughed loudly.

“I can’t believe it! In all my years, this is the first time I’ve ever seen anyone slip on a banana peel during the sports festival! This is great!!”

I slowly lifted my head, my teeth clenched in annoyance. I fucking slipped on a mother fucking banana peel made of goddamn air. This fucking brat is toying with me and it’s pissing me off. I pulled myself to my feet, my blood boiling as flames engulfed my hands. I thrust them out to the side and lines of fire shot out in all directions, swirling around the arena.

I clenched my fists, grinning when he took a step back. “I’m not gonna give you the chance to give up, but don’t worry bro, I will give you the chance to die!” I slammed both fists against the ground, the concrete splitting as fire snaked through it directly toward him.

“Ah, shit -”

The flames shot up from the ground, hitting him in the gut and lifting him off his feet. I teleported behind him, pulling my leg back before slamming my shin against his back and into the cement. He coughed, doing a somersault to avoid my boot. He breathed heavily, lifting his hands again, but I didn’t give him the chance, teleporting behind him again. Pain shot through my skull and I knew I needed to end it soon.

The flames raged on my arm as I cocked my arm, bringing my fist against his face. He flew backward and I stomped my foot, sending a wave of flame to propel him farther. It smacked into him like a spout of water, forcing his body out of bounds and pinning it against the wall. His eyes rolled back in his head as he lost consciousness, the flames dying out. The air spikes in my body disappeared.

“Reggian is out of bounds!” Midnight raised her hand, the metal cuff clanking from the movement. “Winchester advances to the next round!”

“Woah, that chick is kinda scary, don’t you think?”

“She told him to die!”

“That’s not a very heroic thing to say…”

“Reggian did really well!”

“He’s hilarious! Imagine having him as a sidekick.”

“Right? There’d never be a dull moment!”

“His power is pretty unique, too. If you think about it, the uses for his quirk are pretty limitless.”

“Right? Fire’s a pretty basic quirk, no creativity there.”

My eyes narrowed at my hand, watching the blood drip to the cement.

“Go see Recovery Girl.” Midnight ordered.

“Yeah, whateva.”

“And with that explosive display, we have the first victor of the finals! Class 1-A’s Jen Winchester! Ah yeah~ that was a pretty amusing first fight, kids! Both of you fought bravely, let’s show them some love!!”

I won the fucking match, but I feel like a fucking loser. I shoved my hands into my pockets as I approached the dark hallway. I wanna go home.

“Hey, big sis!”

I glanced up at Riku’s voice. He was leaning over the railing again, waving his hand like crazy. A taller boy stood behind him, gripping the back of his shirt to keep him in place. That must be his older brother. Good, I’m glad the Woodsman was able to find him.

“You were so cool out there! Your power is uber strong!” he grinned brightly, closing his eyes. “I wanna be just like you when I grow up!”

My heart skipped a beat as warmth flooded me, my lips twitching up as I released a breath I hadn’t realized I had been holding. Thanks, kid… I needed that.

⊱ ────── {⋅. 🔥 .⋅} ────── ⊰

“Gimme some sugar~” Gran pressed her lips to my cheek and patted my bandaged hand. “There, all better, deary.”

“Thanks, Gran.”

“Why the glum face? You won, after all.”

I sighed, falling back onto the bed and staring up at the ceiling. “I don’t know. I mean, I know I won the fight, but he won over the crowd. They totally hated me.”

She hummed. “There will always be times when people prefer one quirk over another. Don’t let it get you down, deary. You’ll always be number one in my heart.”

I smiled, turning onto my side and propping my cheek up against my palm. “Can I ask you somethin’?”

“Of course you may.”

“What does it mean… to be a hero?”

She sent me a surprised look before humming, her hand on her chin. “Well, everyone views it quite differently. At its very core, a hero is someone that wants to help others, but everyone has their own reasons, their own desires, to become a hero.”

“But I don’t,” I frowned, picking at the white sheet beneath me. “I don’t have that drive. I’ve thought about it a bunch of times, but I can’t think of a reason to fight. Besides… if people find out who my mother is, won’t that make them hate me, anyway? Bakugo told me not to tell anyone. He was dead serious about it. She was an A-Class villain turned pro hero. No one trusted her…”

Gran set her small hand over mine, her voice warm. “That may be true, but you are not your mother, deary. You’re your own person and if they view you differently, well, that’s their loss. No matter what happens in the future, you will always have a place here at U.A.”

My fingers wrapped around her hand. “Do you think… I’ll find a reason to be a hero?”

“I do, but you must remember that you grew up in a world where heroes are nothing more than fiction. It makes sense that you have no desire to be a hero because you grew up believing that such a dream simply wasn’t possible. I believe that, with time, you’ll find your reason to keep fighting. You just have to have some patience. These things can’t be rushed.”

I chuckled. “Patience has never been my strong suit. When I was a kid, the loading screen for my new game was taking too long so I kicked the TV.”

She laughed, patting my hand. “Yes, well, you are still young, deary.”

I glanced at Regina, who was unconscious on the bed across the room. “He gonna be okay?”

“He’ll be just fine. I’ve healed his wounds, now he just needs to recover his stamina. No need to worry.”

“Che, as if I’d worry about that idiot.” I rolled over onto my back, folding my hands behind my head. “Can I rest here for a bit?”

“Of course, deary.”

“Thanks, Gran.”

She pressed a kiss to my cheek before returning to her work, leaving me to mull over her words.

⊱ ────── {⋅. 🔥 .⋅} ────── ⊰

▸ Forward

📜 Read more by checking out my masterlist 📜

[01010010-posts]

— our love is a starred staircase; i jump two steps at time but you can only go one by one.

i. → becoming human. “and this is hen.” “mhh, very interesting.” “.... i hate you.” he unwillingly cracks up, slightly turning to the other side because, honestly, he’s not that bastard (maybe) “sorry–” he bites his lips, not wanting to be exposed, gosh, he really is such a bastard “it’s just that– well, how do i put it.... learning a new language from scratch, without any download, it actually is difficult.” there is it again, that devilish sneer “i swear to god, love” “okay, okay. i’ll say it. but please don’t be mad. it’s your handwriting. it’s hard to read. it’s so ugly you could be a doctor.” he’s doing his best, he vows, but since being deviant his sense of humour has highly been affected. you lose no time in emerging onto his jolly demeanor and begin smacking him “you’re not being fair! ouch– please! you promised to not get angry!” he refuges his hair behind his knuckles, while still enjoying taunting you “i’ve spent the past hour memorizing things with you and that’s how you repay me! and i didn’t promise that!” he lets you tease him for too little, and without even realizing it you’re in his grasp, frozen, sweetly pouting, a mouth that he kisses “you’re right, here’s your reward, teacher.” “did you at least learn something?” “ohh, yes, a wonderful lot. i learnt how to kiss you here, here, and here.” and saying that he follows his preaching, teaching you where he adores to leave lovebites. ii. → pieces of you between the pages. it’s not his fault. sometimes night shifts happen. but he hates them abysmally. why? because, as much as he gets bored when you’re sleeping, he can’t help but worship those endless hours he has available, basking in the lone presence of your body, recording each minute thing, with such limited time on this earth, then, he.... but tonight is a little different. he phoned you for a while (you had to force him to hang up), assured that you finished eating at a normal pace, didn’t steal too many snacks from the cupboard, watched something nice and got to bed at a reasonable hour. yes. he’s not your mom but he likes to remind you that his way of loving is varied. of course, soft words and i love yous and invisible smooching were not absent at the roll-call. he’s not only your mom after all. ahh, almost forgot. this is just routine. the deviant thing tonight is: a book. your book. your favourite book. you probably forgot it in his bag. but it’s not very important right now. he picks it up, the spine slightly visible from the black fabric incorporating it. it’s an ordinary book. he sits, and since he’s kinda alone, nobody prevents him from propping his long legs on his desk, relaxing in his leather ergonomic chair. reading a bit won’t hurt. the content, the plot, it’s not really important. what he’s actually reading is: your underlined parts. you normally don’t do that, you said one time. it ruins the paper, you said. yet in this one, this one, so important to you, you used graphite pencil to emphasize. mostly, about love. iii. → doing nothing. “i won’t stand for this!” he huffs in a bit of what appears to be the middle of an angry and annoyed tone. his arms hurriedly coming into a fold around his chest, he doesn’t really know how to react. you try to hide your benevolent smirk, an android this cute shouldn’t exist “why? you’re already doing it.” “that’s– that’s because it was your turn to choose what we should be doing this evening.” “so you’re peacefully protesting?” you urge him, now holding back snorting is almost impossible “.... kinda.” and at this point you’re nearly choking on your own laugh “you’re making fun of me?!” he finishes his retort and darts, indignant, sitting upright on the couch. so so so sorry but you have to cover your face with your digits and turn towards the other side because, honestly, you’re not that bastard as to burst into laughter in front of him (maybe) “gosh– it’s– it’s– pfft– i apologize i’m– ahahAHAHA NO PLEASE NO!” while you were, indeed, mocking him you lowered your guard and him, a weapon, took that as his advantage “PLEASE BABY” “ohh, we’re begging before i even get serious? my my, you’re quite weak.” his fingers carefully threading between your ribs, stroking your skin in a delicate manoeuvring until he’s satisfied with his revenge “you’re terrible.” he grins, both short of breath from being such imbeciles “i am.” he gently lowers down your crouched shape, half on the sofa the rest on the floor, and kisses your reluctant cheek “what’s the plan, then?” “don’t think i’ve changed my mind. i don’t want to do anything. i want to continue until i reach absolute zero.” iv. → your things // your place. he doesn’t need to shower, nor to bathe, and if he indulges in those activities it’s just to bond, he assures you. but suddenly it’s not so credible when you, wanting to surprise him, come back to your place without telling, sneakily unlock the threshold and tiptoe to search for him to no avail. you’re about to open your mouth and shout, to see some sort of shocked reaction, maybe a jump from the scare, but he’s not in the living room. and not in the compact kitchen. and not in the bedroom either. then, where could he be? you silently ponder, a tap of your shoe asking if he left to go shopping. but you know, the fridge is not that empty. could he be....? without letting out a sound you enter the bathroom, certainly not expecting the sight that presents to you. a single curtain separating you from his shadow. of course, you can’t resist the call. with a swift movement you pull the nylon and expose him, who can’t help but nervously shriek in distress “ah! what the fuck!” you cackle “surprise!” he sighs, exasperated by your childish behaviour, and turns off the water “is that my.... body wash?” your attention shifts rapidly, taking in the image of his fully naked anatomy but pointing an index at his palms “what–” he halts mid-sentence, his cyan eyes darting to his fingers “oh, well, huh–” “you’re using my body wash.” “i can explain.” “you always say you’re too upgraded for bubbles.” “.... my phrasing is not exactly that however i was just– curious.” “to try my body wash.” “yes. to try your pink velvet sunflower body wash.” “wait. how do you know the exact name. suspicious.” if his forehead wasn’t already shimmering from the droplets of your interruption he would be drenched in cold sweat “.... i analyzed it.” “you fucking ate shower gel.” “in my defense–” v. → what do you do when you’re happy. he longs for moments like these. for when you both come home, him entangling his arms around your waist as soon as the door closes, leaving a trail of tiny pecks from your shoulder to your lobe, slow as a snail, savouring each millimeter of skin, each little relaxed spasm your muscles have, each complaint you attempt to address to his figure, each tender giggle escapes your mouth. he longs for moments like these. the same as when your shared friends send a text at the last minute, asking if it’s okay to come over and then maybe go somewhere, drinking or eating doesn’t really matter, it’s just to be together. and you sweetly smile, a bit tired after work, but still willing to say ‘yes’, serene in the comfort of not even having the need to change into fancy clothes, only bustling with secret excitement, waiting to be in stitches in the back of a non-automatic car. he longs for moments like these. as that time you both got a couple days off and decided to spend them in a countryside house, clutched by vines of different species: virginia creeper, common ivy and climbing magenta roses. and as soon as the door closed you rushed, gliding on the worn burnt sienna cotto tiles, up the old rusty stone stairs, reached the top and opened the small cabin, only occupied by a toilet and a small painting (‘in bed’ by federico zandomeneghi. a girl with long auburn hair, facing a floral wallpaper, resting in a tranquil atmosphere while stretched out in her bed under light blue covers.). you promptly proceeded to push the wood window frame, letting light invade the whole space. he was right beside you as your head stuck out, inhaling the fresh air and remaining speechless in front of the sun, the sky, the clouds, the as much red roofs interspersed with yellow lichens and green moss, the rest of the panorama composed by infinite sweeps of earthy fields. he longs for moments like these. vi. → our things // our place. “don’t forget to brush your teeth.” he whispers from behind you, his face reflected on the mirror in which you’re admiring yourself in search of some imperfections. you absentmindedly chuckle “i know” your eyes fixated low, watching the drain of the pale china sink. logically, the most convenient way of getting the toothpaste to exit the tube, is to squeeze from the end and let it come out on its own. of course, he noticed, you don’t do that. you, as if reading his mind while he’s standing close, watching and mimicking a human nightly routine, do the complete opposite of what he’s thinking, pressing your thumb at the very start of the mixed aluminium-and-plastic bottle you’re holding. a tiny bubble forms where the cap should be and you hint a smile. infos bothering his vision at the corner of his irises: it’s some internet articles about teeth blackening, mostly persistent in asia. it’s somewhat fascinating to him, or at least, it’s different from the constant obsession with lightening. he wonders what you would think about it. he wonders if you even know about it. white gel slowly fills your tongue and coats the ends of your lips. you’re kinda messy, he admits, but finds it utterly adorable nevertheless. vii. → dying human. your hand. your hand is what kept him alive for so long. because, despite his appearance, he’s as old as an adult can be at this time of your life. your life. two parallels tracks that never meet, going their way, wanting to touch but never able to. you, growing old. him, growing and nothing more. because he can’t be old, can’t he. he will never be old. he must be about.... no, that’s stupid. no hypothesis could change anything. it doesn’t matter which numbers he should have in his ID – not that androids have any in the first place –, what matters is the inequity of your age “you’re always beautiful” you murmur “mh? look who’s talking” the end of your mouth curls up in a childish smile, wrinkles adorning all of your features “flatterer. i could be one of your grandparents for all you know” he gives you a lazy expression, lids half closed, nevertheless content, a bittersweet happiness. he takes your right hand in his and draws it near his cheek “it’s rough, c’mon” you’re a bit ashamed but he lets the warm rays of sunshine glimmer onto him, eyes slowly leaving space to complete relaxation “no, it’s tender, don’t worry, just as you.”

[herondaleholly31]

“I’ll keep you warm”-Ben Hardy X Reader

Overview: You and Ben take Frankie on a winter beach walk :) 

A/N: It’s been a while I know. Who would’ve thought being in your final yea of A-Levels actually meant you had to work? I’m back on top (at least for the moment) so I am catching up on the some writing so hopefully I’ll upload some more soon. Since my last imagine there are a lot more of you so this is just a quick Hi and thank you for reading my stuff it really means a lot. I hope you like this imagine too. If you have any requests send me a message :) 

Like and Reblog!! 

Word count:1615

Frankie was barking with wild excitement. His head kept popping up from the boot, no matter how many times you asked him to get down. When he saw the glittering mass of sea the dog got so excited, he started barking at the window, only stopping when he got too excited and smacked his head on the window.

“Is he alright?” Ben whipped his head around.

“Watch the road!” You laughed, lightly pushing his cheek to look forward “and he’s fine. Ok, next right.”

The music blasted from the speaker of your old car, the bass so strong it was causing the tub of chewing gum to vibrate violently.

“Remind me why we had to drive your old car?” Ben half asked, half yelled.

“It’s a tradition! I always come to the beach in this car.” Your feet stretched further on the dashboard, looking over at Ben who eyes were back on the road. Damn, he looked cute; particularly when he chuckled at your last comment, shaking his head slightly. As he continued to drive to the shore, your chest felt warm. It felt great to be home.

 As soon as you pulled into the makeshift car park and the engine spluttered off Frankie was at it again, scratching against the boot door and whining. You opened the door and he shot off like a cork. Ben called him to stop and the dog skidded to a halt, kicking sand up into a small hazy cloud. The car park was deserted, normality in the middle of February. The tracks of car tyres and dragged body boards with pattering’s of feet had been dusted away, making the place seem almost forgotten. It made your blood tingle with excitement. That was until You peered into the boot and groaned “oh noooo.”

“What?”

“I didn’t bring enough layers,” you shook your head “I’m such an idiot it’s freezing.”

“But Ben, I never get cold at the beach,” your boyfriend mimicked you higher pitch voice “The beach was practically my bedroom when I lived here.”

“Oh, you’re so FUNNY!” after failing to think of a comeback all you could do was mock his laugh. Ben’s face softened.” I’ll keep you warm love” he grabbed your hand and tucked It into the nook of his elbow, yelling at Frankie to stop sniffing and start walking.

 Light grey clouds scuttled across the sky, a watery sun peaking through the cracks onto the deserted beach. It was nearly golden hour and a chilling breeze lapped at the sparkling water. The scent of salt stuck in your nostrils. Frankie, too excited to stay with you, bolted down the sandy path and shot towards the water. His bark caused seagulls to fly from where they stood, cawing indignantly. You and Ben took your time, him holding onto your hand so you wouldn’t slip on the crumbling sand dunes. Voices raised to be heard over the wind you two huddled close together as you walked by the shore. Occasionally Ben would break away to throw Frankie his tennis ball; bowing when you’d applaud a particularly long shot. His cheeks were flushed pink with cold but he was grinning widely, his blonde hair tangling into a messy mop. One time you stretched out to fix it but he swatted away “I want the beach look,” he laughed. It was nice to see him so relaxed. Back in the city Ben rarely had time to stop; if it wasn’t a movie then it was interviews, dinners with directors, gala or benefit nights. They were fun, but it was always work. Here, he could concentrate on him and you. Being just your boyfriend, not working you into his schedule like you’re some kind of business partner.

“I can see why you and your friends would come here,” he said, “It really is beautiful.”

“My friends mum owns the beach café on the hill” you pointed to the cliff that curved towards the sea “we used to spend all summer making bonfires and eating free chips.”

“Please say she’ll give us free chips,” Ben groaned.

You shrugged “She might give them to me.”

“Will she change her mind if I use my full name?”

“Using your fame for free food?” you pretended to wipe tears from your eyes “I’m so proud.”

 An older couple were strolling in the opposite direction. They wore matching green coats and walked with the lack of purpose that was common on a Sunday afternoon. They smiled sweetly at you and Ben, the way that you cuddled into each other, your paths weaving haphazardly when one of you would laugh so hard, you’d stumble. The wife turned to her husband and asked if he remembered what it was like to be that young and in Love. The husband looked over, saw the way you’d steal kisses and how Ben would jump on your back in a piggyback motion, roaring with laughter when you’d almost topple over head first into the sand. A small light haired dog yapped by the sea shore in delight, biting at the waves and looking confused when he wasn’t unsuccessful.  The husband looked back at his wife and smiled. Yes, he said, I still feel like that now. He loved the way his wife blushed,linking her hand with his. They continued to walk across the beach, the sound of you two ringing in their ears.

 “Did you see that couple walking along the beach?” you asked, dusting sand off your knees and upper thighs-it had already gritted into your wellie boots. “They were so cute. Do you think you’ll still love me when I’m that age?”

“I’ve got to be with you until we’re like that?”

“Rude.”

“I have no doubt about it,” Ben winked. He got distracted saw his dog splashing in the froth “Frankie,” he sloshed over to scratch behind his dog’s ears “You coming?” he called to you still on the shore. You shook your head and tried to protest, but Ben wouldn’t hear it. “Come on,” he grabbed your hand and dragged you in.

“Ben nooo” you tried to pull back but your boyfriend was persistent. 

“If you don’t stop whining, I’ll push you.”

“You wouldn’t.”

He wiggled his eyebrows before gently pushing your shoulder “oops.”

“Stop it.”

He did it again, harder. “My bad.”

“Ben,” you shoved him and he stumbled, causing seawater to slosh onto his jeans.

“Oh, you wanna play that game?” light shoving dissolved into a play fight, pushing hard enough to stumble but not to fall over-that was until your boot slipped into a dent in the sea floor. You wobbled, gasped, and fell with a soft smack into the sea. Instantly your skin numbed with cold, skin and clothing sticking together like glue. Your eyes stung with salt as you gasped for air. Although you couldn’t see you could hear Ben laughing hysterically.

“Oh my- “

“I’m so sorry,” Ben gasped “You just…. you” he couldn’t finish his sentence as he fell into silent laughter.

“BEN!” You watched your boyfriend flailing about, clutching his sides and his laugh becoming higher and higher with hysteria. “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?” When you stood up your clothes made a sucking gloop before starting to pour like a shower. Your teeth started to chatter. “I’m so cold.”

“I wish I’d filmed it.”

“I have no spare clothes. I’m cold and wet and I have no clothes. DON’T YOU DARE MAKE A JOKE,” you pointed warningly. Ben closed his mouth again. When you tried to walk out of the sea more water trickled down your stomach. Tears pricked at your eyes. “I’m cold.”

“Oh Y/N” Ben’s face softened as he saw how upset you were. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.”

“You got me wet,” you whined.

“I’m not going to make a joke, I’m not going to make a joke,” he closed his eyes and shook his head smirking. Ben followed you as you went out to the sand, then started to take off his jacket. Ordering you to take off your wet clothes he pulled off his big hoodie, goosebumps already littering his skin “Here.” Without hesitation, you pulled the jumper over your head. Although the warmth spread across your skin that wasn’t enough for Ben, who pulled you into his chest and wrapped his coat around so you were smooshed into his chest. He rubbed his hands violently on your back. You moaned softly as the warmth made your skin itch slightly. Ben rested his chin on your forehead, drawing you closer as your shakes subsided. He didn’t want to let go though. “Warmer?”

“Much warmer.”

“You’ll laugh about this one day.”

You poked at his side, causing him to jerk “ow! Okay maybe not.”

“Stop moving I’m getting cold again,” you smiled.

“You were the one who made me move!”

“You pushed me into the sea so I win this argument.”

Ben shook his head but he was smiling. You lodged your chin onto Ben’s chest, admiring this angle of his jaw and lashes. “Wanna go get those chips now?”

“In a minute. I want to hold you like this for just a bit longer.”

In the background, Frankie was barking at a seagull. The waves crashed onto the sand. The sun was starting to set, staining the sky a burnt orange and smudged with grey clouds. The jumper was soft against your skin, and you already knew you were going to steal this jumper. Ben felt a wave of calm with you in his arms, your heart beating against his chest.

 “I would push you in the sea a thousand times more if it meant I could hold you like this.”

“So, you admit you pushed me on purpose?” you teased.

“Just shut up and let me kiss you.”

“With pleasure.” 

[warriorofdragons]

Light in the Dark Chapter 2: Recovery and Introductions

Word Count: 5.7k

Warnings: Language

You wake up to find yourself in a hospital bed. Although the room you’re in is definitely no hospital. You attempt to sit up, but whimper at the burst of pain in your side.

“Don’t move,” a man’s voice says, “You’ll only make it worse.”

Glancing to the side, you see a man in armored gear over medical scrubs standing beside the bed. Not taking your eyes off of the man, you slowly settle back down. A bit of movement catches your eye and you spot another individual similarly dressed walk away from you and out of the room. Your eyes widen when you notice that the “door” to this room has bars on it. It currently sits open but you see a heavily armed guard just opposite the door, staring silently into the room.

You have no memory of how you got here or where here even is. Looking down you notice there’s one of those heart rate things on your finger and an IV in your arm. Reaching with your left hand to pull up the collar of the hospital gown you’re dressed in; you see there’s a fresh bandage on your wound.

“Don’t touch that.”

You bristle at the man’s voice.

Smoothing the gown back down, you bring the blankets over you. You stare up at him, but he doesn’t even move to look at you. You can’t see his face, but you decide it wouldn’t be a good idea to ask him any questions.

The sound of footsteps across the hard floor draws your attention.  Looking back towards the door, you see a blue-haired elf followed by a big, red-haired man. They both stroll towards you and stop at the foot of your bed. The elf glances at the man still standing beside you and nods at him. The man moves away from you and quickly makes his way out of the room. You stare silently at the two in front of you. The elf’s blue hair is mostly tucked behind his ears save for two strands which fall just in front.

He’s well dressed of course, what elf isn’t?

His three-piece suit is a dark purple, the jacket has leaves and vines in a lighter purple embroidered across his shoulders and down his lapels. The vest continues this motif by being completely embroidered. His pocket square and his tie are the same lavender color, and as your eyes drift to his neck you fix your gaze on the silver gorget tucked neatly over his tie and under his vest. You can only actually make out a few of the words, but you don’t need to read it. The gorgeous elf in front of you was just like most of the elven men you’d seen in elf town.

Your eyes shift from the elf to his human companion. The big man was rather plain in comparison, his suit was brown and black, his hair being the only color that stood out on him. There’s a glint of metal near his waist and as you focus on it, you stiffen when you realize that it’s a badge.

Your eyes focus on the elf once more, “Who are you?” you ask.

The elf lifts his head up, “The Special Agent in Charge,” he replies.

Special Agent? Oh no.

“Where am I?” you ask.

“What didn’t nobody tell ya? You’re in the Magic Task Force HQ,” the red-haired man interjects.

Your eyes widen and you can hear the rate monitor beside you spike.

This is your worst nightmare. This is exactly what you’ve feared all these years.

“How did you find me?” you question trying to harden your resolve.

The Special Agent tilts his head at you, “You don’t remember?”

You don’t. You really don’t.

“It’s all kinda fuzzy,” is your response.

He studies you carefully. His human counterpart chuckles, “Sweetheart, you called us.”

“What?” you whisper horrified.

“Yeah, you practically begged us to come rescue you,” he continues.

Shaking your head, he has to be lying there’s no way you would call the very people you were trying to avoid. That was the last thing on your mind. The only way you would have done something like that is if…it was a last resort.

Realization hits you and you gingerly place your left hand on your side. Looking back to the elf, he still has his head tilted at you. Probably waiting for you to come to this conclusion on your own.

“How bad was it when you found me?” you ask tentatively.

He raises his head and takes a long inhale and slowly exhales lowering his head again. You hated it when elves did that.

It was a well-practiced move that looked casual, but in actuality he’s scenting you from across the room. When an elf wanted to scare someone they would get in their personal space to smell them. You know your fear must be radiating off of you but whether or not he enjoys it, he makes no show of it.

Dipping his head down, he closes his eyes for a moment and then opens them again to stare directly at you.

“You had lost a lot of blood. You were barely conscious and likely delirious,” he said simply.

“It’s probably why you were so flirty on the phone,” the ginger says with a smile.

“What?!” you exclaim, again horrified.

“I was flirting with you?” you ask.

He shakes his head, “Not me, Ol’ Kandomere here,” he says nodding towards the elf.

“Montehugh,” the elf sighs. His eyes dart towards the man as if he’d wished that he hadn’t mentioned that.

Flirting with the elf you could believe, the man’s gruff voice did nothing for you.

Kandomere’s on the other hand….

To put it simply his voice was…. nice.

You remember being alone, had you heard that voice in a compromised state like the elf suggests. Well, might as well if the odds are you aren’t going to live very long.

But you had lived and now the embarrassment was creeping it’s way into your face.

“Kandomere is it?” you begin.

“If you say that’s a nice name I swear,” Montehugh interjects.

“I- what? I wasn’t…how many times have I said that?” you blurt out confused.

The man takes his hand out of his pocket and holds up two fingers, smiling. You think for a moment, “Wait, when was the second time?”

“I was just about to get to that,” Kandomere states, looking at his counterpart, he then strides towards over to you until he’s standing next to your bed. Reaching into his jacket pocket he pulls out something small and sets it in your lap. Picking it up you examine it.

It’s a leather restraint.

What’s left of one anyways. There’s a part where it’s…been burnt through.

You swallow.

“After surgery you woke up sooner than anticipated. Evidently, the anesthesia did not agree with you,” he explains. “You suffered a panic attack and then attacked my men.”

You screw your eyes tight. “Did I kill anyone?” you ask fearful of the answer.

“No.”

You look up at the elf in both surprise and relief. He raises his eyebrows, taking note of your reaction. He extends his hand towards you, palm facing upwards. You place the restraint back in his hand and he pockets it.

“No one suffered any injuries either,” he replies, walking back to rejoin his companion.

“I-I don’t like to be tied down,” is all you manage to say.

“Apparently not,” he remarks.

“Now, how did you sustain your injuries?” the elf questions.

“I was attacked,” you respond.

“By?” he inquires.

“By a dragon,” you whisper quietly.

“The L.A. Dragon doesn’t go around attacking people. Unless they attacked him first,” Montehugh says pointedly.

“It wasn’t him okay!” you exclaim. “It was another dragon, a grayish-blue dragon with orange eyes,” you say quietly, casting your eyes downward. “Burning orange eyes.”

Montehugh looks to Kandomere.

“What else can you remember about that night?” Kandomere asks.

Rubbing your forehead, “Um, well there was an elf with him for one,” you say.

“An elf?” he asks, surprised, “What did this elf look like?”

You sigh, “He was tall, had silver hair, typical elven eye color… you… you know,” you say gesturing towards Kandomere.

“Is there anything else?” he questions.

“Because that’s real specific, no seriously it’s a lot to go off,” Montehugh says sarcastically.

“It was fucking dark okay!” you exclaim. “And I was a little bit more preoccupied with the dragon bearing down on me.” You attempt to cross your arms but immediately wince the moment you so much as move a shoulder and stop.

“Alright, that’s enough,” the elf says looking to Montehugh.

The man pulls his hands out of his pockets and puts them up in a relenting fashion. The big man sighs, “Are there any other details you’d like to share with us? Like where were you when this happened? Was there anyone with you? How did you escape? No, seriously how? It’s a dragon.”

You blink, “One: outside the city,” you say, counting off on your fingers. “Two: no it was just me, the elf, and the dragon,” you lie. “And three: I used a magic portal.”

“You made a magic portal?” Kandomere asks.

“Yes,” you lie again.

“Oh, also the elf is also a Bright,” you add.

“That might have been good to have mentioned at the beginning,” the man says. Montehugh then looks to Kandomere, “I guess we got one down, one to go.”

“It would appear so,” the elf replies, glancing at his companion.

“Okay just so we’re clear the dragon gave you that gash on your side?” the big man questions gesturing towards you. You nod.

“How are you not dead?” Montehugh asks.

“It was just a scratch, like when you smack a fly out of the air, it was at least lessened by the protection spell I had up,” you reply.

“Protection spell?” he asks.

“It’s like a dome of magic energy, with a radius of about five feet,” you explain.

“Ah,” he says nodding. “Like a bubble.”

You smile, “Like a bubble.”

You swear for a brief moment there’s a tiny upward tug at the corner of Kandomere’s mouth, but then just like that it’s gone again.

“And the storm?” the elf asks.

“Ah about that, I…that was me,” you admit, “I was using it to hide from you guys and the elf.”

Kandomere nods.

“If you could give us an approximation of where you were the other night, so that we can investigate and see if we can’t find this elf and this dragon,” Kandomere says.

You tell them to the best of your knowledge, after all it wasn’t your idea to head out there in first place. And then they take their leave and you’re left alone with your thoughts. The memories of what really happened playing over and over again in your head.

                                                                   *******

You had just finished the lunch they had brought you when the elf walked into the room. He headed straight for you and when he got near, pulled a stool up next to your bed and sat down.

“Yes?” you ask hesitantly. He’s without his jacket currently and sporting a silver-gray vest with a black tie and slacks.

He crosses his arms and eyes you for a moment.

“Yesterday after lunch the cameras in here went dead for about ten seconds,” he states. You swallow.

“What were you doing in those ten seconds, Hm?” he asks.

His eyes flicker over to your left arm. You look and remember that you’re bruises are now gone. Fuck! You shouldn’t have been so obvious!

Turning back to him, he levels his gaze with yours.

“Well? Show me what you were up to,” he says.

Nervously you clench your fists and lower your gaze.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” he says softly. You meet his eyes once again and there’s this… gentleness you hadn’t expected from him in those silver eyes.

You pull back the covers and slowly lift up the shirt you had been given, just past your navel. Enough so that you could both see the edge of the bandage and the wound. Tenderly removing the bottom part of the bandage, you place your left hand on your abdomen.

Kandomere leans forward and his eyes dart from your hand to your face.

You close your eyes and focus. After a moment you feel a warmth spread from your hand to your abdomen and from there to your chest. And you feel you can breathe a little easier.

You have to stop though, because you feel a wave of exhaustion suddenly hit you. Slowly, you open your eyes and you blink a few times. Then you focus on Kandomere, who tilts his head at you and leans back.

“Was that all?” he asks an amused smile on his face.

You nod tiredly. His brows pinch together slightly.

“You don’t need to do that. It’s not necessary for-“

“It hurts Kandomere,” you interrupt him. You take a few slow breaths, “It hurts to move, it hurts to breathe.”

“We have pain medicine to help with that,” he offers.

“And what about the elf?” You ask shaking your head, “I’m human, it’ll take me months maybe even a year to heal. Do you really think that elf is gonna wait for me to get better? Or do you think he’s going to take the opportunity to finish me off?” you question.

His expression is unreadable, but there’s that slight pinch in his brows again.

“Alright,” he says.

“What?” you ask confused.

He stands, uncrossing his arms, “I’ll let you keep healing yourself,” he replies.

You’re momentarily stunned; you hadn’t expected to be able to convince him.

“Provided,” he leans in close, “that you stop tampering with the cameras and other equipment. And you don’t use any other magic without my authorization,” he says.

“Deal?”

You nod. “Deal.”

“Good, I’ll get the medics to start redressing your wound after lunch from now on. At this rate you’ll heal over those stitches,” he continues.

You hadn’t thought about that. You hadn’t thought too far ahead in all honesty. You just wanted out of here.

“I need you to work with us, not against us,” Kandomere finishes.

You smile at him and nod, “I can do that.” He smiles back, “Now get some rest,” he says, and with that he leaves you alone once again.

                                                                  *******

It takes you about five more days after that to finish healing your wound, until all you’re left with is a scar. To your continued surprise, the elf had come to check in on you every day. He hadn’t told you any more details about your case, only that he was still looking into it. You had been disappointed by that; you were honestly hoping that they would have caught the guy by now. Although, if you and your “Aunt” Selina were able to give them the run around, the elf almost certainly would.

At least today they were going to let you go home.

“Here,” one of the agents says, handing you a bin with some fresh clothes and a pair of shoes. The man was dressed in a suit and had a gun and badge on his hip, but at least you could see his face. You frown looking down at it and lift your head to stare at him.

“These are mine,” you say.

“Yeah,” he responds.

“From my apartment,” you state flatly.

“Well, I mean they searched your place obviously,” he retorts.

Your shoulders slump.

“One of the female agents picked that up for you, the other day though,” he adds, waving at it.

You sigh, and take a moment to look through it. There’s a pair of jeans, some flats, a grey, plain t-shirt, and matching bra and underwear.

Now you definitely know a woman picked this out.

It’s all relatively plain but comfortable clothing, at least you won’t stand out too much. Also, a man would have never picked matching underwear.

You take the bin and go to the bathroom to change. They’ve been relatively unconcerned about you going to the bathroom alone, because the bathroom you’ve been using is a single person one anyway and there aren’t any windows. They also post guards outside the door if you do decide to try anything. But you’ve been well behaved since you woke up (the second time), which has earned you a little leniency, (though you suspect the elf might have had something to do with it as well).

You get dressed and try to get a look at yourself on the reflective surface of the faucet. There’s no mirror in here. They’re not foolish enough to give you something potentially sharp you could use. You comb your fingers through your hair and grumble to yourself; it’s dirty and needs to be washed, but that’ll have to wait until you get home.

When you exit the bathroom, the agent walks you down a series of hallways and stairs until you get to the main entrance of the building. The agent checks his watch before putting his hands in his pockets, clearly bored. Looking through the double glass doors, you can see a couple more buildings not far from here.

You’re only made to wait a couple of minutes however, before you start to see two familiar faces walking towards you. The agent glances up at them, “Ah, there they are right on time.”

Kandomere and Montehugh walk through the two doors and up to you.

“Hey! Look at you up and walking around,” Montehugh remarks.

You smile at him and shake your head.

“Can I go home now?” you ask.

“Not quite we still have a few things to discuss,” Kandomere says.

Your shoulders droop, “But I thought-“

“Soon I promise,” he responds, holding a hand up.

You still didn’t fully trust him, but he has kept his promises so far. And you get the feeling you don’t really have a choice in the matter anyway.

The agent claps his hands together, ”Well, she’s all yours,” he says, more than happy to be rid of you. Kandomere nods to the man.

The elf then gestures for you to follow him. And you walk between the two as you leave with Montehugh in front and Kandomere behind you. Stepping outside you breathe deep at the scent of fresh air. And hope that it’s not the last time.

You walk from the building you were in, to the larger of the neighboring buildings. This one appears to be the main office building and as you enter, the three of you walk past the reception desk to the elevators. Upon entering one of them, the two flank you and Montehugh presses the floor button. As the elevator goes up, you shift uncomfortably. The elf spares you a brief, sideways glance, before looking forwards once more. The elevator stops and the doors open and the elf lightly places a hand on your back, urging you forward. You obey and step out and then the two escort you down the hallway. You pass by an open area with a bunch of desks and other agents milling about. Most of them are human with a couple of elves speaking to lower ranked agents. But you do see a handful of dwarves working on paperwork at their desks. You continue past this area and past what appears to be a break room, along with several closed office doors. Glancing down a hallway you stop.

There’s a woman’s bathroom. And you forgot to actually use the bathroom earlier.

“I have to go to the bathroom,” you say. Both agents turn to look at you. Montehugh furrows his brows, “Look, if you think we’re just gonna let you walk around unsupervised.”

Knitting your brows together, you stare at him a moment, “I would like to request a female agent,” you finally say.

“That can be arranged, Montehugh?” Kandomere prompts, turning to the man.

Montehugh smiles, “Heh, yeah I think I know just the lady for the job.”

The big man briskly walks away and after a few minutes, of which you stood in awkward silence with the elf, he returns with a dwarven woman. Her long red hair is pulled into a thick braid that runs down her back. She’s wearing a purple blouse with a black cardigan and black slacks. And a gun holstered on her hip.

“This is Agent McTavish,” Montehugh declares with a smug smile.

Her green eyes are fixed on you untrustingly. You can’t really blame her, she’s just been asked to watch a human Bright.

“Gwendolyn, if you please,” Kandomere says.

She stiffens a little at the use of her first name.

“Alright, come on,” she says motioning you in the direction of the bathroom. “Let’s get this over with,” she then mumbles.

McTavish has you walk in front of her into the bathroom, her hand placed over her sidearm. As you go into one of the stalls and turn around to close the door you see her staring unblinking at you, and you slowly close the door, finally breaking the uncomfortable eye contact.

When you lift up your shirt, you spot the still fading scar on your right side. You brush your fingers over the mark. With a few more healing sessions it’ll be completely gone, but you need to recoup your strength first. You let out a sigh and finish up, carefully opening the door when you reemerge. That’s when you notice the shoes Agent McTavish is wearing. They’re a pair of white and black Mary Jane heels with little, black bows on them.

“Your shoes are cute,” you comment pointing to them.

“Thank you,” she deadpans, refusing to take her eyes off of you.

You smile at her and walk to the sink. Agent McTavish moves to stand behind you. Washing your hands you look up and can barely see her head and shoulders over the counter.

“Hey how do you-“ you start to ask.

“There’s a stool,” she says flatly, interrupting you.

You look under the counter and sure enough there’s a wooden stepping stool tucked under the counter. “Oh,” you reply.

You dry your hands and once again she has you walk in front of her as you leave the bathroom. She then escorts you back to Kandomere and Montehugh.

“Thanks, Gwen,” Montehugh says.

She nods at him and then walks away.

“Alright, Sweetheart, let’s go,” Montehugh says with a smirk.

You sigh and follow the two agents once more.

The two lead you down a hallway to a door and Kandomere opens it for you. You walk into the rather spacious office. It was bigger than the other offices you had passed earlier leading you to presume this one must belong to the elf. Directly on the opposite end from you was a heavy wooden desk with a leather office chair and two leather chairs in front of it. The large glass windows that covered the entire wall behind the desk had the blinds pulled open letting in the afternoon light. To the right there was a leather couch with a glass coffee table in front of it and a standing coat rack beside it. To the left there were a couple more leather chairs turned out at an angle to face one another with a small end table between them, along with some filing cabinets on the side furthest from you. Kandomere strides over to behind the desk and takes a seat, and gesturing to one of the chairs in front of him he says, “Please, sit.” You sit in the left chair and Montehugh sits in the one next to you.

Once you’ve made yourself comfortable the elf speaks, “We’ve investigated the area you’ve specified and there’s nothing there.”

“What?!” you blurt out shocked.

“There’s nothing there, because it’s been glassed,” Montehugh announces.

You look from the man to the elf.

“Which is evidence enough that a dragon was there,” Kandomere states. “However they have covered their tracks and it will be difficult to find them,” he continues.

You lower your head.

“We did find something else,” he says, reaching into his desk and pulling out a file. Opening it he takes out a few photos and places them on the desk in front of you. You pick up the pictures and examine them, the twisted and melted bits of metal that was your car is almost unrecognizable.

“Had a chopper sweep the area to look for anything else, found that about ten miles from the site,” Montehugh explains, tapping the photos in your hand.

“Bastard, flew off with my car,” you scowl.

“I was hoping it’d still be okay but-“ you mutter.

You glance up and Kandomere has his eyebrows raised slightly and his fingers steepled as he rests his arms on the chair.

“I tried to make a run for it when the dragon showed up, but then he just picked up my car and disappeared with it,” you explain.

His pale eyes stare at you closely.

“You had a bag with you, when we found you,” Kandomere begins.

You’re afraid you know where this is going.

“Yes,” you admit.

“And in it we found a couple of spellbooks: one in Övüsi and the other in English,” he continues. And there it is.

“There were also some spell components. Our guys down in the lab think they were a part of a tracking spell,” Montehugh chimes in.

“And a number of the components had already been used,” Kandomere states.

“So I will ask this once, what were you doing out there?” he asks flatly.

You can’t tell him. If you tell him, you’ll definitely end up in prison.

“I was looking for something,” you say.

“That much is obvious. What were you looking FOR?” the elf questions, his tone serious.

“A necklace,” you say. It’s not entirely the truth, but it’s not exactly a lie either.

“It…it belonged to my Aunt. My ex-boyfriend stole it and told me he threw it out there. So I went looking for it,” you lie.

He raises his head slightly and his eyes move from you to Montehugh and then back.

“But it started to get dark and I got a little lost heading back to the car and that’s when I accidentally stumbled on the elf,” you continue to lie.

“Then what happened?” Kandomere questions.

“He seemed angry that I had discovered him and shouted something into the sky,” you say.

“Like what?” Montehugh asks.

“I don’t know,” you admit, shaking your head. That much is true, you don’t know what language the elf spoke but it hadn’t been Övüsi.

“Then the dragon flew down and scorched the ground. I put up a spell to protect myself and then tried to run to the car,” you explain. “The dragon took off with it, then came back, landed and did this,” you finish, gesturing to your side.

Kandomere nods, “Thank you, for clearing that up. Now, seeing as you don’t have a car, I will have a couple of agents escort you home.”

“We’re also gonna be watching your place for a while,” Montehugh says, “Don’t want you skipping town on us.”

“Oh one more thing,” Kandomere speaks, reaching into another drawer. He pulls out a clear plastic bag containing: your wallet, keys and cell phone and hands it to you. You open the bag and take out your cellphone; noting that it’s been switched off.

“I’ve taken the liberty of programming my work cell number into your phone. Should you need me,” he offers.

You stare blankly at your phone. Did the elf just give you his number? I mean it’s his work number, but still.

“I won’t, but thanks,” you reply, and stuff the phone into your back pocket.

“Can I go now?” you plead.

“You may,” he replies.

Montehugh stands, “Alright, come on, Sweetheart,” he says.

“Don’t call me that,” you snap with agitation.

You follow him out of the room and back down the hallway until you reach that room with all the desks again. The two of you maneuver through them until you spot a familiar face. The dwarven woman from earlier is silently watching you approach, along with a pale man with greasy, slicked back hair.

“This is Agent Davidson and you’re already familiar with McTavish,” Montehugh states. You nod.

“Alright now play nice, Princess,” Montehugh remarks with a pat to your shoulder before walking away. You sigh at the new moniker he has chosen. Turning your attention back to the two agents, “So is this your partner?” you ask her.

“No,” she responds quickly.

“Her partner is out sick, so I’m fillin’ in,” Agent Davidson explains.

“She usually sits right over there,” and he points to a desk with a nameplate that reads: ‘Hernández.’

You look at her desk and then look across from it to see that Davidson’s faces hers.

“Maybe she got sick of staring at you,” you joke.

McTavish covers her face with her hand and tries to hold back a snort. Davidson frowns.

“Alright, let’s go,” he says now shoving you in the direction of the elevators.

McTavish follows, “Sick of staring at you,” you hear her snicker under her breath.

                                                                 *******

They escort you to your apartment and you unlock the door. You flip on the lights and walk into the living room. Agent McTavish stays at the threshold of the open door, while Agent Davidson stays in the hall.

You knew that the MTF had searched your place. As soon as they had found out your name you knew they would come here.

But looking at it?

It’s more disheartening in person.

The books have been thrown off the shelves, the couch cushions and pillows thrown to the floor. The potted plants have been uprooted, ripped from their containers and soil is now spilt all over the floor. And it seems someone stepped in it at some point, because there’s boot prints leading around the room and then out the door. From here you can see they’ve gone through the cabinets in your kitchen and left a lot of the drawers and doors open. Glancing at your bedroom down the hall to the left, you can see that your clothes have been strewn about the floor. Turning your attention back to the living room, you spot a picture frame that had fallen off the wall and onto the floor. It’s laying face down and when you walk over to it and crouch to pick it up, you’re met with the tinkling of glass as it falls out of the frame.

Shoulders slumped, you sigh and place it back down.

You can clean later.

You look over at McTavish who’s taken a few steps in and is looking around. She opens her mouth to say something then thinking better of it, closes it again.

You walk back over to her, “I’m probably just gonna take a shower and then head to bed,” you state, gesturing down the hall.

“Um, there’ll be an agent by tomorrow morning to pick you up,” McTavish says.

“Alright, what time?” you question in a quiet, emotionless voice.

“Eight,” McTavish answers.

You nod. Agent McTavish looks around again and fixes you with a look of sympathy. It’s a far cry from earlier today, but at the moment you just want to be left alone.

“Well, goodnight,” McTavish says.

“Goodnight,” you respond, shutting the door as she and Agent Davidson leave. You lock the door and put the chain over it.

Walking to your room you turn the light on, you briefly survey the damage you couldn’t see from the hall, set the plastic bag down, and reach into an already open drawer from the dresser and pull out a pair of panties and a nightgown. Then you walk into the bathroom and set it on the counter. You take off your shirt and then move to take off your pants and realize that your phone is still in your back pocket. Turning it on, a cursory glance shows you have no new notifications, but looking through the missed calls you have plenty of them.

Of course they looked through your messages.

Dozens of missed calls from people at work, your boss, and… your Mom. Closing your eyes tight, you then switch to look at your voicemails.

It’s full.

The most recent ones are from your Mom, there’s some from your boss, and your coworkers too. You scroll back further and stop when you see a familiar name. Selina.

You stare at it for a moment and then press play.

You hold the phone to your ear and after a moment you hear a voice, “Hello, it’s me. I think I have a lead on where we might find that thing I was telling you about. Meet me in our usual spot in an hour.”

Tears well up in your eyes and begin to stream down your cheeks.

Taking the phone you stalk back to your room and throw it down on the dresser and return to the bathroom and slam the door. You take off the rest of your clothes and hop in the shower. Turning on the water, you lean back against the wall and bury your face in your hands, and sob.

You don’t know how long you stayed in the shower, but at some point when you’ve calmed down somewhat, you actually manage to wash your hair and use soap. Eventually, you do get out when the water turns cold and forces you to. Drying off with a towel, you put on the clean clothes and wander to your bedroom.

Spotting the phone you pick it up absentmindedly and plug it into the charger you left near your bed. Whoever had searched your apartment had also searched under the mattress and you take a moment to shove it back into place. Placing the comforter and pillows back onto the bed, you close the bedroom door and turn out the light. You sit on the bed a moment staring into space and then reach to pull the covers back. You rest you head on the pillow and curl up, wrapping the covers tight around you. You close your eyes and try to go to sleep.

[27dragons]

For @captn-sara-holmes​. Happy birthday, and happy end of school!

Do the Math

Clint was chugging down a mug of burnt coffee in the teachers’ lounge when Principal Fury found him. “Just got word from the WSC,” Fury said without preamble. “They’re sending in an inspector today.”

The Working Schools Council was a bunch of meddling asshats who wouldn’t know good teaching if it bit them on the ass. Fury didn’t look impressed when Clint relayed that fact to him.

“It doesn’t matter if they’re a bunch of nanny goats wearing party hats,” Fury said. “They have the power to suspend teachers and even shut down the whole school, so for once, I need you to keep your kids under control and at least pretend to be teaching something of value when the inspector arrives.”

“I teach my kids plenty!” Clint protested, which Fury damn well knew, because that was why Fury kept giving him all the problem children.

“Just try not to stage a revolution again,” Fury growled, and stomped back toward his office.

Once upon a time, Fury had been a brilliant teacher, Clint mused, but administration had made him sour and grumpy.

Clint shrugged and poured himself another mug of horrid coffee. It sounded like he was going to need it.

[There is a readmore! Read more!]

“Okay, everyone, take out your math workbooks and turn to page 78,” Clint instructed the class. “Work on those problems, and I’ll be coming around to help anyone who needs it. Raise your hands if--”

The door to the classroom opened to reveal the most beautiful man Clint had ever seen. Tall and broad-shouldered, with longish hair tucked back into a tail, and piercing blue-gray eyes. He smiled as he met Clint’s gaze and said, “Mr. Barton?”

“I certainly hope so,” said Clint before he could put a rein on his mouth. “I mean. Yes, that’s me.”

“Great,” the guy said. He came all the way in and extended a hand. “Mr. Barnes,” he introduced himself. “I’m the inspector.”

Clint’s world came crashing down around him. “You’re the inspector?” he repeated. “Uh. I mean, of course you are. You’re here to... inspect.”

“That’s the job,” Barnes agreed, still smiling. “Don’t mind me, I’m just going to observe quietly for a little while. You carry on.”

Right. Carry on... teaching. Because that was what Clint was supposed to be doing right now. “Right. Uh.”

A hand shot up in the back of the class, and Clint dragged his attention away from the inspector. “What is it, Tony?”

“I already finished that page!”

“Well, then do the next one,” Clint suggested.

“I did that one, too! I finished the whole workbook last week!”

Clint resisted the urge to put his head down and grown. Tony was one of the smartest kids he’d ever encountered, and was a holy terror when bored. “Okay, why... Why don’t you help me out, then? You can explain it to Steve if he has problems.”

Steve was bright enough, but he’d missed almost a month of class due to illness and was still struggling to catch up.

“I don’t need no help!” Steve protested.

“You’ve already done the first one wrong,” Tony told him, leaning over to look at Steve’s workbook.

“Nuh-uh!”

“Yuh-huh!”

“Boys,” Clint said sharply. “Inside voices. Steve, it’s okay to be wrong sometimes. Let Tony help.”

“Tony is a stupidhead showoff,” Steve grumbled.

“If I was stupid, I wouldn’t have anything to show off,” Tony pointed out with relentless logic.

“Do you two need to spend some time out in the hall?”

Steve glowered at his workbook and slumped down in his seat, crossing skinny arms across an even skinnier chest. “Fine,” he huffed.

Clint sighed and turned to the rest of the class. “Okay, now--”

“Mr. Barton?”

“Yes, Jane?”

“Loki is copying from Thor.”

Personally, Clint thought that was Loki’s problem, since Thor was at best an indifferent student. “Loki, do your own work.”

“I don’t mind!” Thor said cheerfully.

“It’s against the rules whether you mind or not,” Clint said, and hoped it didn’t come out as tired as he felt. “If you need help, raise your hand and I’ll come help. Otherwise, please just do the work quietly.”

A whole two minutes passed in silence broken only by the scratching of pencils and Tony and Steve’s whispering in the back corner. Clint used the time to watch Barnes wandering slowly around the room, checking on the supply cabinets and the small bank of computers.

The inspector was still smiling, albeit faintly. It made him unfairly good-looking.

“Mr. Barton! I hafta go to the bathroom!”

“Sit down, Wade. We all know you don’t really have to go,” Clint said, trying for his most reasonable tone. “You just want to wander the halls.”

“Nuh-uh, I really hafta, hafta!” Wade clutched at his crotch and danced from one foot to the other. “Please, Mr. Barton! You’ll be my favorite teacher forever!”

“Imagine my disappointment,” Clint said drily, then coughed as he remembered that the inspector probably wouldn’t appreciate him being sarcastic at the children. “Have a seat, Wade. We’ll have a break in half an hour. You can hold it that long.”

“Mr. Barton!” demanded Natasha, waving her arm wildly. “Mr. Barton!”

“What is it, Natasha?” Natasha was usually quite good at math and she hated asking for help, so she must be really stuck.

“Loki says I hafta marry Bruce ‘cause I’m sitting next to him and he won’t take it back!”

Or not. Clint suppressed another sigh. “You know Loki’s wrong,” he pointed out. “No one has to marry anyone if they don’t want to.”

“You don’t want to marry me?” Bruce asked, pouting.

“Gross,” Natasha pronounced.

“I am not gross!” Bruce shouted, because of course that flashfire temper of his would flare up with the inspector in the room.

“Hey, Bruce, come on, she didn’t say you were gross,” Clint tried, putting himself between Bruce and Natasha. “She probably just meant--”

“All boys are gross,” Natasha clarified, at increasing volume. “I’m going to marry a girl.”

Clint rubbed at his face and snuck a look at the inspector, who was -- ohgod -- jotting a note on his clipboard. “And that’s fine,” he said, “but no one is marrying anyone until we get our math done. So if we could just focus, please, for a little while?”

“I’m not gross!” Bruce yelled.

“Bruce, c’mon, let’s just do the math. You like math, right?” Clint tapped Bruce’s workbook. “I know you don’t want to have to go back to the principal’s office again this week, so let’s just... calm down, okay?”

“I’m going to marry Steve,” Tony announced, draping his arms across Steve’s shoulders.

Steve pushed Tony away. “You hafta ask first, stupidhead,” he grumbled.

“Guys,” Clint begged. “Stop pushing and stick to the lesson, please.”

“Who’re you gonna marry, Mr. Barton?” Pepper asked.

Clint covered his face with both hands. “I’m not marrying anyone,” he groaned. Not least because he was probably going to get fired for being unable to keep his kids on task. “Can we please just save it for recess? Okay?”

Another hand went up and Clint resisted the urge to groan. “Yes, Sam? Please tell me this isn’t another thing about who’s marrying who. Whom,” he corrected hastily, even though they hadn’t gotten to that in their grammar lessons yet.

“No,” Sam assured him.

Cling let out a sigh of relief. “Okay, what is it, Sam?”

“Wade made a mess.”

The half-pot of coffee in the teacher’s lounge was even more burnt than it had been this morning, but Clint didn’t care. If he wasn’t allowed to drink alcohol at work, then he was for damn sure going to have more coffee. He sloshed it irritably into a mug and took a gulp.

“So that happened.”

Clint nearly did a spit-take, then swallowed the coffee quickly to avoid the spit-take. It burned his throat and he whimper-screamed and fumbled the mug.

The inspector lunged forward and caught the mug before it could shatter on the floor. “Wow, sorry, didn’t mean to startle you like that.”

“Holy shhhhamrocks,” Clint gasped. He rubbed at the outside of his scalded throat. “Don’t sneak up on me like that.”

“I wasn’t sneaking, really,” the inspector said. Barnes. Clint was good with names, honest. “And there’s no kids here; I won’t tell if you curse. Are you okay?”

Clint huffed and picked his coffee mug back up. “You were there,” he said. “What do you think?”

“I think you need something stronger than day-old coffee,” Barnes admitted. “Fury told me you had all the troublemakers in your class.”

“Buddy, that was a good day,” Clint snorted. “They didn’t even try to organize a coup to take over the school.”

Barnes laughed. He had a nice laugh. It made his eyes shine. He probably thought Clint was exaggerating.

“So give it to me straight -- am I out on the street?”

“Nah,” Barnes said. “I’ve seen so much worse, you wouldn’t believe.”

“I probably would,” Clint said. “When I was a student teacher I got paired with this old bat who I swear was still disappointed that we’re not allowed to smack kids around anymore.”

“Yeah?” Barnes tore the corner off the sheet on his clipboard and scrawled something on it. “I’ve got to get back to the WSC office to write up my report, but you should give me a call. We’ll grab a few beers and trade stories.” He tucked the scrap of paper into Clint’s shirt pocket, then grinned and walked away.

Clint fished the paper out of his pocket. It read, “Bucky Barnes” and was followed by a phone number.

Clint scrambled for the door, catching up just before Barnes reached the end of the hall. “Did you just ask me on a date?”

Barnes glanced back, those eyes sparkling. “You do the math.”

~fin.

[exothermic-filth]

Drinks On Me

 Uni and research has kicked up a FUCK ton for me, so I apologize for going AWOL on everyone, especially to those I’ve promised stories/updates on. But thank you for sticking through and I hope you enjoy this as much as I did while writing it! (I had the utter, horrified realization I basically was gone for roughly a year. I am... so sorry OTL....)

Junker-Adventurer!Reader x Junkrat mini-fic. NB reader, SFW (except for a bit of swearing). To celebrate having 45+ followers <3 Never thought I’d make it this far, so cheers!

It’s been a long day. 

The sun is beginning to set above the horizon and you thank the heavens for small mercies. The heat dissipates from the air as fast as the scorching sun rays fade. You see a scraggy outcrop of rocks ahead in the distance: perfect place for a break. With a bit of encouragement, you urge your battered motorbike onward. 

By the time you reach the rocks, the air is cool and downright delicious. With a flick of your foot, the stand pops out and you’re letting your bike lean and rest. A quick circling reassures you that you’re alone and you finally relax, stretching out the stiff joints from sitting and riding all day. 

You unpack and settle down. A bit of foraging yields just enough twisted branches and bone-dry sticks for a nice small fire. You double-check the crate you’ve got strapped onto the back of your motorcycle: nice and tight, not going anywhere. Visions of gold dance in your head as you think about the profit these babies are gonna’ bring you. Junkers will pay coin for booze, but rumor has it the Queen herself would paid handsomely for specialty liquor imported (stolen) from the outside. 

Usually, you’d never risk building a fire but you’re feeling confident. There’s something about tonight that feels different: the air is (marginally) crisper and the stars feel brighter. Despite being a ragtag outsider, you’ve always enjoyed Junkertown. The Junkers made for vivacious, if not interesting company. And the thought of refreshing your rations and supplies definitely put an extra pep in your step. 

You rustle through your pack and produce a battered tin pot and a depressingly light sack. Normally, this would warrant a “tsk” but tonight, you’ll feast. Within minutes, you’ve got a nice little gruel going. Some precise rigging and you’ve got a few lizards to roast as an entree. 

You stare out into the distance, listening to the gentle snap and crackle of the fire, the sweet corn meal gruel bubbling away softly. Life is good.

Before your muscles could truly relax, you feel the skin on the back of your neck tingle. Before your mind could even register, you’ve got your shot gun in your hands, pumped and ready to shoot at the intruder. 

“Evenin’?” Came a nervous giggle. 

You blink, “Do I... do I know you?”

A tall man stands before you, looking a bit worst for wear. Despite the impressive amount of bombs and ammo strapped to his chest, he’s bruised and cut up all over. His left eye bulged out in a black and blue mess. 

Despite all this, the man puffs his chest out and looks insulted, “Do you... Do you know me? How do you NOT know me?”

You scowl, “Because I’ve never met you before?”

“Darl’,” he says, rather condescendingly, “I am a man whose reputation proceeds him. I am THE-”

You stand up aggressively, “I don’t care WHO you are or who you THINK you are. What do you want?”

He scowls back, “How the FUCK do you NOT know who I am?”

You feel a sharp pang of fear in your chest; this man isn’t fucking around. The bandoliers on his chest glint dangerously in the fire light. 

You raise the gun but take a step back, “Alright... who are you then?”

The man looks like he’s been waiting for this question his entire life. He throws his arms out in a grand, theatrical gesture and declares, “I am the INFAMOUS JUNKRAT!” 

“...who?” You raise a brow. 

He drops his arms to his side and balls his fist, “Oh come on! I didn’t get fuckin’ kicked outta’ Junkertown for nothin’!”

You struggle to keep the chuckle down, “You got kicked out of Junkertown?”

“Oh? You think that’s funny do you?” He snarls. 

“Well.... yeah, you got kicked out of the most lax city on earth,” you laugh, incredulously. “You can literally do almost anything there.”

“Lax?” He sputters, “LAX?! I couldn’t get a bomb in edgewise anywhere with ol’ Queenie up my arse about it!” 

You lower your gun, giving him your most disarming smile, “She’s got a point there... Junkrat? You said?”

“The one and only,” he grins back, matching your charm with his. 

You take the time to look at him: underneath the soot and dirt, and despite the nasty shiner he’s sporting, he’s not bad to look at. Even though he’s a few meters from you, you can smell the smoke on him, that burnt charred smell... of... lizards?

You jump, “SHIT!”

He starts back, shocked, then realizes why you freaked out. 

You toss the gun aside and rescue the lizards from the fire and throw them on your pack to save them from completely scorching. 

You stand back up, dusting your hands, “Alright. So. We can stand around all day and you can be insulted with me not knowing who you are...” 

He crosses his arms, a hint of a smile playing on his lips, “Or?”

“We can sit down and enjoy some charred lizard and corn gruel,” you gesture openly. 

The tall man slouches a bit and smiles sheepishly, “Yeah, I’d like that a lot.”

You plop down onto the dirt and offer him a blackened lizard on a stick.

He takes it and plops down by you, “Thanks, mate.”

You watch him tackle the meat with ferocity, “You always do this? Stumble into people’s camps and get insulted when they don’t know who you are?”

He pauses mid-bite, “Only when I’m particularly hungry.”

You give him a friendly kick, “You could’ve just fucking asked!”  

He laughs and goes back to ripping another mouthful off the lizard. You observe him and his injuries: all the mottled bruises, the nicks and scratches all over his body. They’re fresh. 

“Got yourself in a fight recently?” You ask casually, but quietly your ears are perked. A knot of regret begins forming in the lower pits of your stomach: what kind of trouble could this one potentially bring?

He makes an awkward gasping noise, trying to talk and swallow lizard at the same time, “Sure did. Showed those drongos what for!”

You smile, eyes casually flitting around and behind his hunched figure, “What was the fight about?”

“Oh the usual,” he straightens up and takes a deep breath, “‘Oh Junkrat you can’t mod the mech with that!’ or ‘Junkrat you can’t throw that at the Queen!’”

You blink, “You’re a mech fighter?”

He scoffs and rolls his eyes, “As if I’d be any of those hot-headed ego maniacs!”

You scoff back and raise a brow, leaning towards the fire to grab the bubbling corn gruel off the embers, “Alright, then what is it that you do, Junkrat?”

“I’m a mech mechanic,” he puffs out his chest and crosses his arms. “I’m trying to work me way up through the ranks right now.”

“There’s ranks?” You give a bemused smile. 

“Oh sure,” he nods emphatically, “You start off as a complete bottom of the bucket mechanic, doing stupid shit like polishing the weapons then you work your way up before they trust you enough to start unscrewing shit and putting shit back together.”

“And where are you right now?” You blow on the corn gruel and tuck in. 

Junkrat looks particularly proud of himself, hooking his two grenade straps with his thumbs, “I craft the explosives.” 

“Impressive,” you rummage through your coat’s inner pockets, before finally finding your flask.

He flicks his eyes up, interested, “Now, what do you have there, mate?”

You pause, meeting his eyes. You didn’t want to admit it. But the way he said it was slow, and low, like he was asking a dangerous question. And it made you...feel. 

You clear your throat and unscrew the flask’s top, continuing to give your best disarming smile, “I never told you what I do for a living, did I?”

“You certainly didn’t,” he finished his lizard and tossed it behind him with a laugh. “So, who do I owe the pleasure of meeting this evenin’?”

“Well,” you gently shake the flask, gauging how much is left, “My name is *Y/N* and I am you local, friendly booze supplier to Junkertown.” 

“Oh my,” he grins, leaning forward, “So I can thank many a wild nights and shitty mornings to you, huh love?”

You find yourself chuckling, almost missing the fact that he just slipped a pet name into that interaction.

“Partially,” you take a sip, “Lord knows Junkertown must use more than just me considering how much you Junkers drink like it’s your lifeblood.”

He holds a hand out. It’s a familiar gesture for you, a bonding ritual really with any stranger you’ve met. And honestly, it’s just good manners out here. You pass the flask to him, your fingers grazing his during the hand-off and you find yourself lingering a bit longer than you wanted.

You clear your throat again but he doesn’t seem to notice. He takes an appreciative sip and smacks his lips, a confused expression forming. 

Taking advantage of the situation, you lean in and whisper conspiratorially, “Not what you expect?”

“It’s... light, and uhm, what’s the word,” he’s scrunching his face in thought. “Delectable? No... delicate! It’s delicate tasting.”

Keeping the hushed tone, you grin, “Between you and me, I hate the way most liquor tastes. This is just my own personal brew.”

“I’ve... I’ve never tasted anything like this,” he’s taking another swig, trying to parse out the flavors and notes. 

“Yeah, you get bored on the road, you start mixing and blending your own brews,” you jerk a thumb towards your bike. 

“You travel alone or is this a group venture?” he gestures generally. 

“I work alone,” you shrug, turning your gaze towards the fire. You feel yourself drifting a bit. 

“Do you like it?” 

“I do,” you murmur.

“Wasn’t a very enthusiastic ‘I do,’“ he elbows you in the ribs gently and you’re suddenly pulled back, very aware of how close he is to you. 

You blink for a moment and put on another amiable grin, “Haha, I do, I really do! It’s quite fun and it’s a decent adventure most of the times.”

“And the other times?” He asks, softly, in that same dangerous, low tone from before.

“It’s... quiet. You’re by yourself a lot on the road. So it’s... quiet,” you reply, a bit more morose than you intended. 

“Well then,” he stretches his arms above his head, “Good thing I inconvenienced you and stumbled onto your camp, huh?”

You laugh, “Yeah, I didn’t think I’d have any dinner guests but this was a nice change of pace.”

He smiles then his frame shifts a bit awkwardly and his voice lowers, “Uhm, truth be told *Y/N* I wasn’t feelin’ too great when I did run into you. But this was fun. I needed it.”

“I think I needed this too.”

He takes a deeper swig from the flask before handing it back to you, “I’ll confess, I’m on my second strike with the Queen. One more mess-up and I’m not allowed back into Junkertown.”

“Ah,” your eyes flick once again to his bruises and cuts, “She can be a real hardass, huh?”

“And then some,” he scoffs mirthlessly, “But thanks, I mean it.”

“Of course,” you don’t really know what to do so you give him a gentle pat on his knee.

He flinches at first but relaxes under your touch. 

He clears his throat, a clear flush growing on his cheeks under all that dirt and grime, “So, uhm, *Y/N*?”

“Yes, Junkrat?” You smile. And it’s your real smile. You don’t feel the need to put up disarming pretenses. 

“Call me Jamie,” he grins sheepishly, “My real name’s Jamison but no one calls me that.” 

“Alright,” you nod, “Yes, Jamie?”

“Were you just going to camp out here until tomorrow then head into Junkertown?”

“Yeah, that is the plan. Why?”

“Well, uhm, not that I’m shittin’ on your choice of accommodations but there are better places than outside at night in the Outback. It gets freezin’ cold,” he says seriously. 

You hold back a snort and solemnly nod back, “Ah yes, I hadn’t considered that. In all my years of camping and trekking through here, the freezing cold!” 

“So, I have a proposition for you,” Jamie opens his palms outwards like a salesman getting ready for his pitch. 

“Alright, I’m listening.”

“You should come into Junkertown tonight. Stay at my place, and come tomorrow morning you’ll be right there in town, ready to do business,” he says with a final, dramatic flourish of his fingers. 

“You’ll be alright with that? A stranger crashing at your place?” You raise a brow, still smiling ear to ear.

“Least I could do to pay you back for dinner and drinks,” he stands up and dusts himself off, before offering a hand to hoist you up. 

You take it, bringing yourself up to your feet, “Oh, my pleasure, really.”

He starts kicking sand into the fire and turns to you with a glint in his eyes, “Oh, I should warn you there’s only one bed back at my place.”

A shiver runs from the nape of your neck down your spine, “Well. You did say it gets freezin’ cold out here. We should make the most use of it.”

He stops, your matched boldness surprising him. He laughs a bit and says, “After a long work day tomorrow, will you have dinner with me again?”

“Of course,” you start packing up some of your gear. You flick your eyes towards him and with a leisurely softness in your voice, you reply, “Drinks’ on me.” 

[holyarcadeglitter]

Some water for your plance

So, i wrote a little fanfic about the thing (you know the thing. not the Don’t hurt her! thing, the other thing. yeah, that thing. .if you don’t know what it is, read on and you’ll find out.) 

A disclaimer: I haven’t written fanfic in about, 7 years, and i haven’t written in general in about, 4, so I’m a little rusty- sorry about that

Below the cut, you’ll find:

Plance (obviously)

Wholesome Garrison trio goodness

A little mention to the garners and my love of them 

Platonic Hance

So, here’s my first fic in 7 years  (´ ∀ ` *)

Lance buries his head in his hands, a frustrated sigh escaping his lips. "That's... How many? Six? Seven batches? Quiznack, why am I so bad at this?!" He says, his fists coming down on the table. Frustrated tears threaten to spill from his eyes, but before they do, he hears a gentle voice coming from the door to the kitchen. "Um...Lance? Watcha' doing, buddy?" It's Hunk, poking his head in. Surprised, Lance turns on his heels, regaining his composure. "Oh, hey! What's up man! I'm just uh, chilling, doing kitchen... things," He says, feigning suavity. Hunk raised an eyebrow skeptically, but his eyes glimmer. Kitchen things, he thought, I love kitchen things! "I'm pretty good in the kitchen, you know," he says, walking through the door, grabbing a duckling-yellow apron from the hook. He loops the top around his head and fastens it around his waist. "I don't want your help!" Lance says, uncharacteristically flustered. Hunk's eyes grow, but upon seeing the jars of empty peanut butter, he susses out the situation perfectly. A small smile plays at his lips. He knows what Lance is doing, and he knows why he wants to do it alone. "Listen, Lance, I'm not sure if this is to get over Allura or show her you care about all girls and you can look after her but-" "This isn't for Allura." Hunk sighs.

"I know. If you'd have let me finish... I don't know why you're doing this for her- not Allura- but I know you want to do it alone. You want to do something for her, just for her, and no one else, and if someone else helps, it’s not as sentimental, right? So, I won’t do anything for you, but I'll help supervise you. Okay?" Lance narrows his eyes at Hunk. "And what do you get out of helping me?" "Well for starters, the new castle kitchen won't spell like burnt peanuts," he says, smirking. Lance casts a sidelong glance. "And, I want you to teach me to play that game you and Pidge always play. We're still the Garrison trio, right?" Lance looks back up and smiles. "Right. I can do that." Hunk smacks him on the back and claps his hands together. "Okay, so the first things first, I can tell why those-" he points to a tray of blackened cookies "- are inedible. Why are those?" He asks, pointing to what seems like normal cookies. Lance's face contorts for a moment. "Why don't you try one and see for yourself?"

Gingerly, Hunk grabs one and takes a small bite, immediately regretting his decision. "Quiznack, Lance, how much salt is in here?!"

Lance shrugs. "Man, I just read the recipe. Half a teaspoon." Upon suspicion, Hunk checks the sugar container, which is labelled in Altean. "This is salt." Lance looks down sheepishly and folds his arms. "Yeah, I knew that. I was just... testing... something," He lies. Hunk stifles a laugh. "All right Lance, I don't have enough time to teach you Altean, but I will direct you as to what's what. Next, why is the oven on 365?" "That's what the recipe says!" Lance exclaims defensively. Hunk checks over it and grunts. "Yeah, 365 degrees Fahrenheit. This oven is in Celsius, so let's turn it down to about, 180," Hunk says, doing so. "Now, keep going as you would and I'll supervise, Okay?" Lance pouts, hiding his flushed face. He was Lance Quiznacking McClain! He doesn't need help with anything, much less some cookies! But, Hunk had agreed to helo him, which rendered him somewhat bashful, but also happy. He went about following the recipe as best he could, occasionally stopping to glance at Hunk, who would nod approvingly or direct him. Eventually, after an hour (because as much as he disliked it, Lance needed to be careful and go slowly), a batch of 26 perfectly evened cookies were produced from the oven. The boys stared at the plate with pride. "Good job, buddy! You did real well," Hunk said proudly, patting him on the back. Lance beamed. He knew he could do it- of course he could- but seeing them in front of him made him happy. "Let's take them to her," Hunk said, taking his apron off and folding it neatly. Lance, on the other hand, threw his in a wrinkled bunch on the nearest chair, much to Hunk's dismay. "Just like this? We can't! They need a bow, or a... a box or something!" Hunk smiled and turned to him. "Listen, I know you want to impress her-" "False, but carry on," Lance interrupted, a blush forming on his cheeks. "Fine. I know you want to show off how... cool you are, but sometimes a simple display of appreciation goes further than a glitzy show. We know that from that time Coran had an... ear-worm and made us do the Voltron show," he says, placing a supportive hand on Lance's shoulder. Lance looks up at him and a smile forms. "Yeah... yeah, you're right, but...," he says, jumping up and running out. "Wait, Lance! Don't tell me you're getting cold feet!" Hunk yells. "Nope, just getting something, be back now!" Hunk stares at him in bewilderment, but accepts he wouldn't catch up. He looks down at the plate and smiles, then transfers the cookies to a pistachio-green plate. Lance returns shortly after, a small flower in his hand. Hunk smiles knowingly as Lance places the flower in between two cookies, ensuring it doesn't droop. He glances at Hunk, who nods affirmatively, and takes the plate, walking to the room of the green paladin. ***

"Come on, are you kidding me?!" Pidge  screams in frustration. She throws the controller, irritated, before hearing a knock at her door. Now what, she grimaces. "Yeah, what?" She yells. Hunk enters first, and notices the TV screen. "Hey Pid- is that The Last Fantasy? You got that when you got Kaltenecker, right? You still haven't finished it?" Hunk's eyes light up. Pidge grimaces, though Hunk doesn't see this as her back is still turned. "No, I haven't, because of this stupid level!" "Oh man, you should let-" "Ahem." "Oh, right, I'm gonna come in," Hunk says, realising it's his cue to move so Lance can take over. He steps in holding the plate. "Whaddya' wan-" she stops as she turns, her eyes falling to the plate. He scratches his head. "Hey Pidge! Remember that time you wanted to leave the team and Allura asked you about yourself- not that I was eavesdropping- and you said you liked peanut butter cookies? Well, I thought, since we're friends, and we won that cow together and were in space together that I could maybe bake you some!" He says much too quickly. His face flushes. Now you've done it, you idiot! He curses himself. Pidge wears a perplexed expression, and a flurry of emotion crosses her face- confusion, frustration, and lastly, a gentle happiness. "You got these for me?" "Well, no I actually made them. They're amazing and I didn't burn any!" He says proudly. "This time," Hunk murmurs. Lance shoots him a glance, and he stifles a giggle. "So yeah, I also got a lily from the garden, since, y'know, it's the national flower of Italy. I mean, I think it is. I can't remember," He fumbles. "It's... really pretty," she says, her eyes glimmering. She takes the flower and puts it in her hair, moved by the gesture. "How does it look?" She asks, smiling shyly. "Great! Pink suits you," he says, a bit more boldly than he intended. Her smile falters a bit. "Like Allura?" She whispers. "Huh? Heck no! It looks good on you as Pidge, Pidge... Katie? A-anyway, I got this one because it was the most vibrant. The gardeners really know how to nurture and look after these plants- I mean, they’re amazing! A-and I thought you'd like it. I mean, I would've gotten you a green flower, but I don't think those bloomed, so I just... yeah," He stops, out of breath. He was nervous. He didn't want to upset her, He genuinely believed the flower looked good. Her smile returned, brighter than before. It was the first time any other paladin- aside from Shiro- had called her Katie. She liked it. It was just a name, one she wasn’t used to being called, but she liked how he said it. "Thanks Lance. I really appreciate it. I'm going to have one of those cookies now," she says grabbing one. She takes a hearty bite, crumbs falling from the cookie. Lance and Hunk wait in anticipation- they hadn't tested this batch. "H-how are they?" Lance asks, biting his bottom lip. She swallows and beams. "They're so good! Thank you Lance!" She says, smiling bashfully. She knows Hunk probably helped- there was no other reason for him to accompany Lance- but she didn't point it out. She knew he tried and she appreciated the gesture- she appreciated him. "Y-yeah, of course they are! I made 'em! Anyway, we're gonna go now, leave you to it." He places the plate upon the side table near what seams to be a hunk of blue trash and turns to leave. She grabs his shirt before he's able to. "Hey, could you um, help me with this level?" She asks quietly, expecting him to turn her down to fawn over Princess Allura or spend time with his family. He turns to her and smiles. "Of course I can. I'm the best sharpshooter around, remember? Oh, as long as Hunk can join us too," he says, winking and pulling Hunk under a friendly headlock. Hunk chuckles. "I'll leave you two alone, since there's only 2 controllers," He says, wanting to give them space. "No way! We can take turns! And eat cookies together," Pidge says, winking at him. Lance nods and gives Hunk a secret wink. We don't need to rush, we have the whole of space time to be alone.

So, yeah, that was my silly lil fanfic. Hope ya’ll enjoyed it!   o(≧▽≦)o

[kitchenwitchsuperwhovian]

We’re All a Little Mad Here

Pairings/Characters: Loki x Reader, Mr. Gold, Captain Hook, Prince Charming, Jefferson/Mad Hatter, Steve, Tony, Sam, Wanda, Vision, Thor, Natasha x Bucky mentions

Summary: Loki is surprised by the reader and what a surprise it is.

Prompts:  The TV Show Once Upon a Time and the Marvel character Loki.

Word Count: 5,231

Warnings: Nipple play, ice play (maybe?), bareback sex (it’s fiction people: Wrap it before you tap it.), shapeshifting, & marking the skin.

A/N: This is for @angryschnauzer and @feelmyroarrrr #FallForYou challenge. Hope you lovelies like my little spin on a somewhat classic fairytale. I know that I’m a bit late because life sucks sometimes so thank you for waiting so patiently. I did change some of the Marvel storylines to fit my story so any mistakes, I claim freely as mine. Thanks to my grammar beta, @leatherwhiskeycoffeeplaid.

*All Gif’s/Images used are not mine*

“Natasha, you grab the drinks and popcorn and I’ll start the que. Extra butter please.” Y/N shouted as she got comfortable on her beige couch.

“Yea yea yea, you heathen! Extra butter for you and cinnamon sugar for me. So, what episode are we on now?” Nat asked while noisily munching on her snack.

Y/N shot her a dirty look and smirked when Nat gave her the cross eyes while shaking her head back and forth. “Your favorite. How Jefferson became the Mad Hatter…” A faint blush rises on Natasha’s cheeks as Y/N snorts in glee.

Natasha gives her the stink eye and pushes her lightly in jest. “I never should have told you I think he looks like a younger, sexier Bucky. I’m never gonna live this down, am I?” Nat smiles widely as Y/N shakes her head no and continues to chuckle softly.

With the back to back missions lately, finding time to unwind with her fellow Avengers has been scarce. After a mission gone bad two years ago, Nat and Y/N became as thick as thieves, lending each other the support needed to come back to a small semblance of the new normal. Nat watches Y/N out the corner of her eye critically and her rapid-fire thoughts make a quick connection. Now to be subtle and ease the confession out of Y/N is the tricky part. She’s almost as good at keeping secrets as Fury and her.

“I have an idea. Why don’t we play the shots game with Once Upon a Time? F.R.I.D.A.Y. can record the rules and let us know when to take a shot or do a dare or truth or something. Like every time Gold says “dearie” or Snow gives a hug and so on. Come on, Y/N. We deserve to let loose after the shit we’ve seen in the last few weeks. PLEASE!” Natasha begs as she crawls over Y/N’s legs and pouts in her face using her best puppy dog eyes.

“FINE! But none of that nasty ass tequila. Tony still won’t let me use the pool by myself after last time….” She mumbles as Nat squeals and heads for her private stash of vodka. Y/N is in awe as she sees her remove a back panel of the freezer to pull out her almost full bottle of Diva Vodka that Tony lost to her in their last game of poker.

“Been saving this for just the right occasion. Tonight sounds good. Tony really knows his alcohol…” Nat murmurs as she sips the deliciously crisp vodka with a satisfied smirk on her ruby red lips.

Y/N eyes the shot glass like it’s going to jump up and bite her. She hesitantly downs the shot and comes back up gasping for air at the wicked burn the alcohol has going down her throat.

“Fuck Nat! Warn a bitch why don’t you? I really don’t want to know how much this costs do I?” Y/N wheezes as Nat sends a saucy wink her way.

“Nope. Just know that Tony never does anything by halves, alcohol especially. So let’s get started.”

As both women laugh while they make a standard set of rules, the men of the Avengers are back from a grueling mission. Mostly scratches and battered, war-torn suits but luckily the men walk away with no major injuries.

“Debrief and then take the rest of the week off guys, no missions pending of course. Thanks for the assist Thor and Loki.” Steve thanks them as he and Bucky discuss seeing a ball game tomorrow instead of staying in. Tony is helping Bruce to his quarters so he can de-stress from Hulking out for most of the mission which leaves Loki and Thor with no immediate plans.

“I think that a certain female would like your company brother.” Thor laughs while heartily patting Loki’s shoulder hard as Loki throws him a glare and a grimace.

“No idea what you mean. And take a shower. You smell like burnt wiring.” Loki huffs as Thor laughs at his poor mis-direction.

“I do believe the fair Natasha and Y/N are engaged in a... oh yes…. A binge in the entertainment room.” Thor suggests kindly as a brief flash of green sparks in Loki’s otherwise emotionless face.

“Brother, a word of advice, if I may?” Thor asks softly.

Loki sighs in resignation and faces Thor, standing resolutely still in a closed off position.

“As if I could stop you. Go on, Oh Great and Wise King.” Loki snarks as Thor waits patiently for some sign that Loki is open to what he has to say. Once he sees a slight softening of his posture and his eyes express his inquisitive nature does Thor impart his thoughts.

“Waiting too long and keeping secrets leads nowhere. Look at Father. Tell her how you feel before it’s too late. Or she may find another...I believe the Captain said that he admired her greatly the other day…” Thor states boldly as he sauntered out of the room, leaving Loki to ponder his words carefully.

“She would never be interested in someone like the good Captain Rogers. His is too by the book. She takes risks all the time. Well-calculated but risks just the same. She needs someone to fuel her passions as well as her mind and Rogers is a dullard in comparison to her wit and beauty.” Loki mumbles as he slowly proceeds to his debriefing.

After a quick shower and change of attire, Loki makes his way towards the entertainment room only to come to attention at Y/N’s shout, “NATASHA!”

With daggers is both hands, fingers gripped tightly to control his anger and magic, Loki stalks towards the slightly ajar door to be faced with the most unusual sight he’s ever seen. And he’s thousands of years old.

Natasha is standing in front of the viewing screen making kissing faces at the face of a man who looks suspiciously like a younger Barnes while Y/N cackles from the couch, steadily counting down to one.

“Three...Two...One! No more making out with Jefferson. I know he looks as fuckable as Barnes, Tash, but the amount of tongue you just used has me wondering just how cozy you and Winter have been lately….” Y/N pouts as Natasha takes a shot and plops down onto the couch with a silent sigh.

“Fine, I’ll tell you but you gotta swear on your collection of Howlies comics to never repeat what I tell you or I’ll burn them in Tony’s fireplace.” Nat whispers as Y/N’s face suddenly becomes serious. She takes a couple of moments to study her friend who has suddenly gone quiet and contemplative over her empty shot glass.

“Deal now what's going on in that spider-brain of yours?” Y/N whispers back as she gets comfortable in her mound of stolen pillows.

“James has been having frequent nightmares for the last few months with the upsurge of Hydra takedown missions. A lot of it is just memories of the torture he was inflicted but a couple times have been where the team was the people he killed. He sleeps better with a warm body by him at night to whisper things like what year it is, where he is, his full name and birthdate. Then he has someone to ground him in this reality.”

“Some nights he just needs a release, like something or someone to wear him out enough to get some solid sleep. So two months ago, we kinda hooked up. And they do not lie about super stamina!” Nat laughs at Y/N’s wide eyed stare.

“Details woman! I need details! Size, shape, favorite move, all of it girl!” Y/N squeals as she hugs Nat tight.  As she fills Y/N about the nitty gritty details about her and James, Natasha spies a certain God standing still in the doorway, taking in everything Y/N is doing. She has enough sobriety in her system to catalogue his reaction to Y/N’s more than oblivious nature.

“So while we’re talking about attractions and likes, anyone catch your eye?” Nat smirks as Y/N drunkenly tries to pour another shot. Some spills on the table and in a surprising move, she swipes up the liquid with her tongue and smacks her lips in satisfaction. Y/N fails to hear the low groan of hunger from the doorway as Nat laughs at her friends drunken antics.

“Well, Hook is hot cause ya’ know, badass and all. Charming is okay for like the one night stand. So is Jefferson to be honest but I think I’d rather bang Gold. Just imagine the experience the man has plus the accent combines with his magic, fuck I could come just from his dirty talk alone.” Y/N sighs as she looks at Tasha through hazy eyes.

“Oh sweetie, I meant the real world, you know like Sam or Cap or Tony. Why the men from the show though?” Nat asks honestly as Y/N takes a moment to collect her scattered thoughts. Dark smiles and lingering gazing float heavily in her mind as with a sigh, Y/N hugs a pillow tight to her chest as she feels the tears start to gather in her eyes.

“You know how everyone says that they’ve been in love, Nat. Even Tony, the…..how did he put it? Billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. I’ve never been in love and no one has loved me either. Family love is different than romantic love. Who wants to be with a woman who can do what I do, Nat? I’ve always been on the sidelines looking out at the world as the world around me falls in love. Hell, Cap experienced love before the ice so that means I have a chance though, right?” Y/N whispers with a choked hiccup, as she valiantly tries to suppress the deep sadness her disclosure revealed.

“Sorry for the sudden pity party Tash. I just needed to get it out into the Aether so I can move on. Who knew a woman of my age still dreamt of her own Prince Charming? I think it’s time for bed for me though. Stay and finish the episode and keep taking care of James. I know you both need each other more than you let on. Goodnight sestra.” Y/N kisses the top of her friends head and walks quietly back to her room with a melancholic air. She just misses the slight flash of green of Loki’s magic as he makes himself disappear. She also doesn’t acknowledge Tony or Sam as they pass her in greeting and both look to Loki with questions he cannot answer.

A few days pass and things seems to get back to normal. Y/N keeps up the cheerful face her friends have come to expect from her but a pair of somber forest-like eyes watch as cracks appear in her facade which none but he and the widow catch. Nat corners Loki later in the library and confronts him on his feeling for Y/N. Once she judged him sincere, they plot of a way to show Y/N how appreciated she really is.

Y/N is laying facedown on her queen size bed, pillows strewn haphazardly around her frame, covers bunched over her cold feet to ward off the sudden chill in the air. When she notices a puff of white breath escape her lips, she rolls her eyes and shouts for Loki to enter. He laughs low and mischievously and it resonates through Y/N’s frame like a lust-filled fog.

“To what do I owe the pleasure of your company, oh God of Mischief and Revelry?” Y/N snarks as his grin grows slightly wolfish.

“Do I need an excuse to see such a beauty as yourself, oh sweet princess of my heart.” Loki states softly as he stands near the head of her bed, looking at hY/N expectantly with his hands crossed over his heart and his lashes flutter like a cartoon princess.

A soft blush graces her cheeks as she scoots over to allow room for his lithe form.

“Join me in the clouds, Prince Loki. It will be an experience you shall never forget.” Y/N coos as she gives him a sultry pout. His sudden bark of laughter has a spark of glee flashing in Y/E/C eyes.

“Seriously, park it oh great and powerful God. I want snuggles and your body has a nice chill I like to cuddle with. Don’t tell Tash or she’ll mess with my thermostat again. A whole month of near freezing temperatures is cold enough for me….” Y/N whispers as she resettles the pillows around her head.

Loki removes his green leather cover and unfastens his weapons belt to gently lay them both on her black recliner. Another moment has his shoes kicked under the bed and his shirt unbuttoned and falling to the floor with a soft thud. Y/N barely bites back the moan at the sight of his unblemished skin but something catches her eye. A deep scar appears on his torso but the next second, is winked out in favor of smooth skin.

As Y/N continues to stare at Loki’s chest, he begins to fidget and squirm under her intense scrutiny. He is stunned when she quickly rises to sit at the edge of the bed, firmly grabbing his sides and places his form directly in front of her panting lips. She licks her lips slowly in concentration and the low growl he emits shocks her out of her focused inquiry.

“Loki, is this an illusion?” She whispers while trying to read the truth in his eyes. By the darkening of his pupils and his sharp intake of air, a moment of stillness takes over the once over-loud room.

He coughs a little to clear his throat and croaks out, “Everything can be an illusion with the right mindset.” He watches on in fascination as she seems to sweep away his illusion to reveal bits of his Jotun form. He growls low in warning as she edges closer to his natural state. His illusion is completely shattered by her actions as she gently places a kiss to the deepest of the scars and murmurs a low hum of sorry’s that have tears falling from both their eyes. His in shame and fear and hers in sorrow and pain for the tortures he had to have faced to garner such scars.

A quick knock on her door has both jumping apart in guilt as Y/N yells a watery, “Come in.”

Steve pokes his head around the corner of her door with a sheepish grin. “Sorry if I’m interrupting anything but have you seen Buck and Nat? We’re supposed to have a TV marathon of one of the shows on my list and I’ve looked everywhere.”

At Loki’s snort and Y/N’s giggle, Steve looks them in the eye and tries to use his best “dad voice” to get some answers.

“Sorry, Steve but I think that you’re shit out of luck on this one. Ask Sam and Wanda to watch with you since Tony, Thor, and Vision went out earlier.”

With one last questioning look, Steve huffs out the door, kinda pissed his so called friends decided to ditch him. As the door clicks shut once more, bothe occupants burst into maniacal laughter at their truly clueless friend.

“You would think one in such an advanced age might catch on to the fact his two best friends have hooked up would cross his mind but he really is that clueless…” Loki mutters as Y/N takes in his relaxed demeanor. She gently takes his hand and pulls him to sit next to her on the bed. They both take a moment to relish the comfortable silence as peace settles over their minds.

“How did you see? Not even Thor can see through the elaborate illusions I create. Fools him every time, the dolt.” Loki asks in honest curiosity.

“It’s a part of my unique ability. I can see to the heart or the truth of a matter, if I concentrate enough that is. I’m an emotional empath on a good day but wading through so many emotions constantly clouds the pathways. I guess it was the right time to see the unseen. Are you mad?” Y/N asks softly as she nervously fiddles with her fingers in the blankets.

“Mad, no. In awe, yes. You have no idea how much I need someone to see. Not just the illusion but to see the real me and not cower in fear or to rise in anger to battle.” Loki whispers as he gently takes her twitching finger and places them in his hands calmly. He clears his throat and asks in trepidation, “Do you wish to see it all? My true form. I must warn you, it is quite a shock.”

“If I can handle a naked Bruce after a Hulk-out, I can pretty much handle anything.” Y/N states proudly as she squeezes his hands in reassurance.

With a flurry of green flashes, Loki’s Jotun form pops into existence. Where once pale skin and forest-green eyes was, a sky blue of swirls and scars shadows a sullen and wounded crimson eyes of red. A subtle flinch is the only reaction he has as she gently traces the patterns across his cheeks and brow. At a nearly silent sniffle, Loki meets her teary eyes and she whispers it’s okay as he clings to her trembling frame.

A harsh bark of laughter proceeds the psychological breaking of the dam of Loki’s emotions that is released in the arms of an understand Y/N. As she gently coos nonsensical words while rubbing calming circles in his war-torn skin, Loki feels a feather-light touch in his heart as a glow of warmth fans into an ember of peace. The ember flames into a warmth that he has not felt since he was in Frigga’s last gentle embrace. The rush of emotions leaves Loki weak and tired so Y/N gently lays him in her bed and makes to leave so that he may rest.

“Stay, love. I need...well…” Loki trails off as his illusion gradually returns him to his former state. However the lingering look of pain, panic, shame, and fear in his emerald eyes have Y/N pulling back the covers and snuggling in close to his slightly chilled chest. With a sigh of acceptance, they both drift off to sleep, dreaming of each other.

The perception of a cool breeze across her neck has Y/N stretching into the sensation. As the breeze descends her body, gooseflesh rise in reaction across her flesh.  Her nipples pebble as she moans in sweetest of agony when the breeze seems to swirl and suck as a lilting male voice whispers from her dreams.

“Open your eyes, Y/N. Dreams are meant to be made into reality.” Loki whispers across her chest as the chilling sensation ebbs and swirls around her neck like a gentle kiss.

Y/N gradually opens her sleepy eyes to see a smirking God lingering over her scantily clad chest.

She watches in fascination as a cloud of cold air escapes his sinful lips to twirl and twist around her beaded nipple. A low moan escapes as Y/N arches into the phantom lover. “Loki, please.” She begs as the wind gets harsher and colder. Just as she’s on the razor’s edge of ecstasy, the mist disappears as if it never was.

Y/N’s harsh panting has a smug grin forming on Loki’s lips as she tries to collect her thoughts in order. They scatter like the wind as Loki gracefully slides his slender fingers along the bottom of her lace bralette, looking in her eyes for permission to continue. At her shallow nod, his grin turns wicked as he tears it in two and descends on her breasts like a man starved. He manages to nip and lick at every sensitive spot except the beaded pearls throbbing for his touch.

A pained groan of denied pleasure has Loki chuckling darkly across her sensitive flesh. “Did you wish for something, my dear? Or is it someone you wish for?” He whispers as he suddenly changes into Prince Charming.

“Do you wish for a noble knight to take you to heights of pleasure you’ve only dreamt about?” he whispers as he lightly pinches her left nipple.

“Or do you wish for man to make you mad with desire?” As Loki morphs into Mad Hatter, dark kohl-lined eyes and all as he harshly nips and licks the throbbing tips.

“Or do you wish to be taken over and over again until nothing but the sea can calm you?” Loki whispers as with a flourish of green mist, Hook appears with a realistically sharp hook on his left hand. Y/N watches in equal parts fear and fascination as he takes the tip and gently rakes it across her sensitive tip, grinning in approval at the lusty moans Y/N tries to suppress.

“Or would you rather have a Dark Lord magically make every wish come true, dearie?” Loki pants as his features transform into Gold, wicked grin and all. “Do you wish for magic hands or teeth, my dear?” He asks in his gravel-laden accent as phantom hands play with her over-stimulated breasts while sharp teeth nip and bite her painfully hard nipples.

“Hmmm, dearie. What will it be: A Prince, a Madman, a Pirate, or Me? Choose wisely for magic always comes with a price…” Gold whispers into her ear as everything suddenly fades into silence. Y/N takes a deep breath and looks at the illusion of a forgotten fantasy as soon as her Dark God appeared next to the God of Thunder all those years ago.

“I choose you. The God of Mischief and Revelry, Loki Laufeyson Odinson. All parts of you, Jotun included love.” Y/N whispers as she hangs all her hopes and future dreams on the one being with the ability to crush her into dust, if he so chose.

All of the illusions fade away to reveal the crimson orbs of her love, silent tears falling down his beautiful sky-colored face. In a voice choked with emotion, his whispered plea reaches her ears on a breath of chilled air. “Again, my love. Say it again.”

“I.” *kiss* “Love.” *kiss*  “You.” *kiss* “Loki.” *kiss*  “Only you.” Y/N murmurs softly against his tear-stained cheeks, ending with a soft press of lips and a sigh of relief.

The kiss quickly turns hungry as Y/N moans at the chilled relief to her pleasantly tortured nipples. Loki uses his magic to make all of their clothing disappear. At the insistent throbbing of her core, she surprises Loki by rolling them until she is riding his thick, muscled thigh. The delicious friction of his flexing thigh has Y/N panting as she glides her wet, swollen lips over his muscles, straining for the release she was denied with Loki’s earlier teasing.

“Pet, slow down. We have eternity to seek these pleasures. Let me show you how to be worshiped by a God.” Loki pants as Y/N’s slick leaves a trail up and down his thigh, her leg occasionally brushing his shaft. Her mewls of need cause the rise of his magic to ebb and flow around her tender and aching bud in a swirl of suction. Y/N’s eyes go wide before they roll back into her head and she screams his name to the heavens in release. Her fluids run free down his thigh and pool under him while she shivers and shakes.

She slumps onto his ridged form and attempts to even her breathing. Y/N absentmindedly is tracing circles and swirls around his sensitive nipples and with a sharp flick of a nail, she grazes the tip. A stuttered moan from Loki has Y/N looking at him in a haze of lust. A truly sinful smile graces her features as she rises above him to rest her mound on his torso. A slow roll of her hips as she braces her hands on his shoulders has his eyes crossing in pleasure and Y/N chuckles darkly over his lips.

“Ready for more, my Dark God?” She pants as she grinds on his shaft, her juices coating his painfully hard cock.

“Are you, Y/N?” Loki breathes across her lips as he suddenly grasps her sides with his nimble fingers and glides them across her dewy skin.  She moans quietly as his hands and magic work in tandem across her back and ass while he sucks a dark mark upon the delicate curve of her neck.

“Loki.” She moans and he helps her grind across his aroused flesh by grabbing fistfulls of her ass and directing her motions. A drop of precum oozes from his shaft and his mind is suddenly overrun with filling her with his seed. Y/N feels his shaft throbbing and with every slow grind across her clit, the waves of her arousal threaten to break.

“Loki, more please. I need you...oh” Y/N cries out as a tendril of his magic pulses within her depths. As he sucks and bites at her nipples, his magic thrusts gently into her sheath with a life-like intensity that sends her senses reeling.

“Fuck, oh, Loki, I, oh…” Y/N moans as his magic sends tendrils of icy waves to caress her g-spot with an insistent rhythm. With a choked cry and tears of joy streaming down her face, Y/N’s cunt spasms uncontrollably as her second orgasm breaks and her vision goes white. When she comes back to herself, she is lying on the bed with Loki’s face poised above her clit. With a gentle puff of air across her clit, Y/N whimpers as the over-sensitive bud throbs in time with her erratic heartbeat.

“Welcome back love. Ready for more?” He whispers as he adjusts his position and his shafts glides smoothly across her slick covered lips, flushed red and pulsating in need. She lazily drapes her arms around his neck and gently guides his lips to hers as she whispers her wish.

“Make me yours, my Dark God.”

Y/N has no time to brace herself as Loki takes his shaft in hand and guides it slowly into her quivering sheath. Once his hips rest flush against Y/N’s, they both take a moment to relish the closeness of being joined as one. Y/N looks into his eyes and watches as a spark of magic swallows the pupils while they darken to a midnight sky, Loki pulls his shaft out till only the tip is resting inside Y/N. He waits a heartbeat, waiting for a sign from Y/N’s body that she is ready for him.

When she squirms and tries to lower onto his shaft, he grins wickedly and licks his suddenly dry lips. “Loki.” Y/N whines and the air leaves her in a rush as he grips her legs and spreads them as wide as they can go while gently pushing them out till she is white knuckled and gripping her knees tight to her chest.

“Hold on, love.” Is Y/N’s only warning before Loki begins a punishing pace of thrust and retreat. The very air is lost to Y/N as each stroke fuels the raging fire and passion that is Loki. All the while, his lips hover over her ear, crooning filthy words of lust and desire.

“I'm going to fuck this pussy so hard that you won’t be able to walk for a week. Look at this cunt taking me so well. Can’t wait til you strangle my dick as you cum from my voice alone. You’re just a slut for my cum, aren’t you pet?  Do you want that, Y/N? To be my little cum slut? Want me to cum in you all night and day, only stopping to sleep. I want to cum so hard Y/N that my cum will leak from you for hours after I’m done with you. I’m going to cum in this pretty little pussy. You’d like that, wouldn't you pet? Your hungry little sheath milking me dry, waiting for my seed to take root. Will you let me take you, anywhere, anytime, just a receptacle for my cum until your belly is nice and round with my child?”

At the image of being pregnant with Loki’s child settles in her mind, Y/N screams her release into the room, Loki’s pleasured grunt echoing shortly after as he picks up the pace of his thrusts. She feels a foreign pressure below as her cunt flutters with her ongoing climax. Loki looks her in the eyes and when he has her full attention, he slowly licks her nipple and sucks it into his warm mouth. Her eyes widen in arousal and a tiny bit of fear as he suctions hard and nips the aching bud between his teeth. At the exquisite pain, her sheath clamps down once and Y/N’s entire body bows hard as a sudden rush of liquid gushes around his shaft. The pressure sends her senses into overdrive and without a break in its intensity, Y/N is rendered unconscious.

“Y/N!” Loki shouts into her chest as his neck strains and his back bows hard while his shaft pulses warmly within her clenching walls. He collapses ungracefully onto her unconscious form as his cock continues to spasm and jerk with his prolonged release. He lets out a ragged sigh as the pulsing of her walls slows to a gentle throb which caresses one final pulse of cum from his sensitive cock.

Loki lifts his head to ask Y/N a question and is startled to see her snoring softly with a blissed out expression on her face. He gently moves around a little so that she is not crushed under his weight without removing his cock from her depths and settles in to sleep. He likes feeling connected to her and when they wake, they can work out where they wish to go from here. All he knows is that without her understanding and loving nature, he might as well be as Mad as a Hatter.

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Sestra: Sister

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

SCSI... awkward morning boner

Hanji was still making him take it easy, so what she didn't know didn't hurt him. Currently scrubbing away at the filthy clinging to the peeling kitchen walls, Eren was enjoying the sensation of not being curled up in his bed, feeling like he was bleeding to death. Compared to the last time the Government had gotten their hands on him, he was quite lucky. They'd chained him down, but instead of slicing him open like a side of beef, they seemed more intent on testing new drugs and injections. Some his body burnt through before he felt any effect. Some left him feeling sick to his stomach and some left him hallucinating. Then, just as suddenly as they'd arrived, they'd left. Possibly because he'd bit one, but it was more like a warning nip, barely a bite. Somehow the whole Castle seemed to know what he'd done. Mikasa had scolded him over, while Armin warned him to keep his head down and not to go out alone. It wasn't like he could go out anyway. Hanji had ordered strict bedrest until the bleeding stopped, while Levi insisted on making him take two showers a day. He didn't like the constant attention from the pair of them, so the house felt like a treat after two weeks of whatever that was. Scratching at the lifting wallpaper, he let out a small cheer as it came away. The wood beneath was so much nicer, a warm timber that was nothing like what they'd had back in Shinganshima, yet still pulled at his heart as the memories flashed to the front of his mind. His mum's cooking. The way she sang as she baked, and the way she always hugged him after she scolded him. His dad working hard, spending hours in the basement where he and Mikasa were banned from entering. Probably because they were too young to understand not to poke around. The way the his bed was way too small, but his mother would climb in next to him to read him stories, while Mikasa teased him. Fighting back his tears, he clawed at the wallpaper, trying pull down as much as he could "Eren?" Sprung in the act, Eren looked to Hanji "Are you ok?" "What? Of course I am. I'm not about to be defeated by wallpaper" "You're supposed to be resting" "I was. But how much damage can I do by peeling wallpaper?" "This is you..." "I'm fine and I'm sooooo sick of resting. I was scrubbing the walls and it finally began to lift" "Mhmm. Any bleeding?" Hooking his fingers in the creases at between his lips on the side of his mouth, he bared his teeth for Hanji to see, before gagging at the taste of wallpaper glue and soap. Hanji rolling her eyes as released his mouth and glared at them in annoyance "You probably shouldn't go putting your fingers in your mouth" "You say that now. How did you get away from Levi?" "I jumped out the window. You're lucky you're not up there. Eld's about to declare mutiny" "We both know he'd never do that" "He should... we've been cleaning all morning" "You can help in the kitchen?" "You want me to cook?" "I would rather you cleaned. The oven still has ash in the tray in the bottom" "Ereeeen. I'm not made for cleaning" "What are you made for then? Distracting him?" Hanji jumped, throwing her hands up in surrender as Levi huffed "I wasn't distracting him!" "Was she distracting you?" "No. She was volunteering to clean the oven out" "I would rather die than let her clean the oven. You do the oven, while Hanji does the walls. Are you ok brat? I can't tell if you're about to shit yourself or burst into tears" "I'm fine, sir. I'll start on the oven" "Alright. Let Hanji know if you feel sick" "Yes, sir" Leaving as quietly as he'd appeared, Eren stared at the now vacant doorway. He couldn't work Levi out, no matter how many times he tried. He'd found the man staring at him. He'd found Levi actually making jokes when it was just the two of them. He'd make sure he ate and asked if was ok. It wasn't like Levi was a stone cold arsehole and he'd always kind of been there, but something has shifted between them. He didn't know what to call it. Levi valued his cleanliness and hated people being in his room, yet, he insisted Eren use his shower. He didn't even yell at him when Eren accidentally got blood on the shower wall. He just washed it down like it was nothing. Maybe Levi was going through some kind of midlife crisis? Or maybe his scent was still off... Mikasa and Armin had told him it smelt like he was sick, which he was at the time. He couldn't really smell himself since the injections, and thinking too hard actually hurt. They'd done something to his head, though he couldn't remember what "Eren, I was trying to get out of woooooork" "I know, if you're that bored, you can just keep me company. I'll need fresh water and wood for the oven" "I'll do it. It's too much for you" "Hanji, you can't be serious. I'm fiiiiine" "I'm not going to accept that until your scent goes back to normal, and you have another heat" "I don't want another heat. I'm happy if I never go into heat again" "But you'd make such cute babies" "Do I want to know what the father's going to be? And you removed my womb..." "Ah, but I bet you could father a baby. We should have a baby!" A cleaning rag flew across the room, smacking Hanji in face "You two can't be trusted together. Hanji, go take over the medical room with Gunther. Brat, go change that shitty water" "Yes, sir" "I've told you think before, but when we're like this, it's Levi" Eren's heart did the weird fluttering thing only Levi's voice brought, as the back of his neck grew warm. Levi felt too personal... and brought back the memories of moaning his partners name more than once.. way more than once "I think I prefer "sir", sir" "Suit yourself. Stop standing there and get moving" "But Leeeevi. I can't take this" "Then get out" "Can I take Eren?" "Will it shut you up?" "You won't hear a word from me until dinner" No... he was enjoying working... he shot Levi a pleading look, hoping the man wouldn't send him out "Eren, help her gather wood" "What? But..." "Do you have a problem, brat?" "This is third different order you've given in the last half an hour..." "Overexposure to Hanji will to that to you" Evicted outside, Eren wasn't impressed. Hanji was already talking about something or other she found exciting, while Eren just wanted to go back to peeling off the wallpaper. Leaving her to rambling, the teen went about gathering up every broken stick and branch in the immediate vicinity of the house, wondering just what kind of people chose to live out here where it was so isolated, and what had happened to them. They looked to be pretty self sufficient. There were three long and over grown vegetable patches, a well, and an endless supply of wood at their front door. They'd probably hunted rabbits for food, and other small forest creatures that wandered their way. Sniffing the wind, he looked to the forest longingly. He wanted to shift. He wanted to run. He wanted to hunt down half a dozen rabbits and bring them back for his team, and he wanted Levi to praise him when he did. He liked Levi way more than he should, especially given their partnership hadn't really amounted to much. He'd spent more time in the castle than out in the field with the man. When Erwin had been so quick to give them their first mission, he'd thought that was just how things were done. He knew his first two missions hadn't been great, but he'd helped Isabel find peace. Surely that had to count for something?! "What'cha thinking?" "I want to go for a run" "Sorry Eren, not just yet" "You don't even sound sorry" Hanji sighed, he already knew what was going to come next. The sticks at their feet suddenly much more interesting than they had been "You've only been back on your feet for a week. You need to take it slow and you need to trust my judgement" "I do trust it. It's just... I'm fine. You telling me I can't do things... it's frustrating. I feel fine. I want to contribute, and I was until you got us kicked out" "You like cleaning?!" "I like being busy. It's frustrating enough that we don't go on missions, or I'm sick, or it's my stupid heat. I want to hurry up and learn more, and I can't do that when I'm in the castle all the time" "Things have been shaky, but it's not all been that bad. You've been working really hard in your classes" "Classes I didn't even know I needed. Erwin sent me straight out and into the field, and I fucked that up. No one knows how to handle me or how to treat me" "Because we've never met anyone quite like you" "I know. I'm just... I'm not as smart as everyone else. I'm not naturally gifted and if it wasn't for this stupid power, I'd be dead. Levi has to keep saving me and it's exhausting" "Have you talked to him about what they did to you this time?" "No. It's not like they did a whole lot. Injected me with stuff. Made me drink stuff and take pills. I feel fine now. My healing powers are working just fine too" "You've had to heal?" "No. At least not outside your finger prick tests, and we both saw I healed like normal" "It worries me that your gums were bleeding" "Medicine has side effects. I've seen it before" "Would you really rather be cleaning?" "Yes" "Alright. Go back to the kitchen and see if Levi has something for you to do. We aren't going to gather more firewood unless we go further in" "Really?" "I don't like seeing you hurting and I don't like saying no. I really do care about you" "I know you do" Giving Hanji a firm hug, Eren headed back inside the house. * After three full days of cleaning, the house was finally up to Levi's standards. The mattresses had been taken out and left in the sun to dry, the house then aired completely before every single surface was scrubbed clean, leaving a fresh citrus scent throughout the building. For added protection the bottom windows had been boarded, left to allow the smallest streams of light through, without risking safety. The doors on the top floor now had brackets for thick wooden planks, so they could be barred from the inside. Finally, around the house had been cleared of all the debris, anything useful moved to the house's root cellar and the rubbish burnt. Between the 6 of them, they'd managed to get it done, and now Eren had a safe and clean place to have his heat... and they'd established an emergency supply station, but that was a distant thought in Levi's mind. He felt proud that Eren could have his heat here, and the boy seemed so happy about it all. His smile should be banned. It was like the whole shitty world lit up each time he did. And Levi didn't like the way it left him feeling. On Hanji's insistence, they didn't return to the castle immediately. He hadn't been keen on bringing Eld, Gunther and Petra along, but with Eren once again being labelled a monster, the castle was in a state of wary silence. The kind of silence where just a look could start a fight. He didn't believed anyone was foolish enough to try and throw down with his team, yet Olou's death was still too raw. He wasn't about to lose another squad member, especially to the hands of some shitty human. So it was better they let everyone gather their thoughts and calm down. With everyone else sleeping, Levi was curled up on the end of the sofa in the living area, the fire in hearth across him was on its dying legs, and the light was barely enough to read by. He probably should have attempted to sleep, but he could hear someone above him pacing back and forth, the floor boards creaking under the weight. He wanted to ignore the noise, but he also wanted to make sure whoever it was, wasn't about to sneak out in the middle of the night... which we wouldn't be surprised if Hanji or Eren did. Hanji's odd hours had lead to a weirder sleep pattern than his own, and Eren had too much energy for his own good. The kid had already peeled every last scrap of wallpaper from the kitchen walls, Hanji having given up telling him he needed to rest. If the kid said he was fine, he probably was. Closing his book, Levi was about to push himself up, when the door above creaked, whoever it was now walking towards the stairs. Watching, Eren slowly emerged, the kid chewing on his lips as he rubbed his arms "Oi, brat. What are you doing?" Tripping over his own feet, Eren face planted on the floor. Levi couldn't help but laugh under his breath. The kid hadn't even considered the fact he wasn't sleeping "S-sir?" "Don't give me that. What are you doing?" Picking himself up, Eren walked over and dropped down on the opposite end of the couch "Brat?" "Sorry. I couldn't sleep sir" "I heard. Something on your mind?" "It's nothing, sir" "Eren, you don't have to keep calling me sir" "Sorry" Resisting the urge to throw his book at the kid, Levi settled back against the cough "Now. Why couldn't you sleep?" "I'm just not tired. I tried working out, but I'm still not tired" The kid looked plenty tired. Deep bags hung under his eyes, while Eren was fighting to keep them open "Try again" "It's nothing" "It's not nothing" "Fine. It's stupid" "No, what's stupid is that you're not just spitting it out. What's the matter? Blocked up?" "The house just reminds me of home..." "You're old home?" "It was destroyed by wolves" He already knew that. Everyone knew that "And this place reminds you of it?" "Yeah. It's really pathetic, but I keep dreaming about my mum" "What was she like?" "Scary. I was always getting into trouble with Mikasa and Armin, and mum would always yell, but then she'd always make sure to hug me and tell me she loved me, just in case something happened. The day she died, we had a huge fight. I wanted to go outside the walls and she just wanted me safe... sorry. This is really pathetic" "You're a brat. It's not a big deal to miss your mum" "She'd be so disappointed" "In what?" "In me" "What makes you say that?" "I'm some kind of monster... she was a great mum, but I'm just..." "You're a Lycan" "Yeah. That" "So?" "I just want to be normal" "Being normal is overrated" "Being normal means people don't want you dead" "Is that why you can't sleep?" "I keep seeing Olou blame me for what happened to him" "Olou wouldn't blame you for that, and if you think he would, you never really knew him" "He didn't deserve what happened" "No. He didn't. And now all we can do is kill the filth that killed him" "And what happens when we wipe them all out? They're going to kill me. I know I'm on borrowed time, but I want to see the world... I promised Mikasa and Armin that we would" So the kid was scared of his own mortality. They lived in a world where any day could be there last, but Eren was looking past that, looking to a dream Levi honestly didn't think could ever be reality. He'd seen plenty of people declare they were going to see the world, only for them to end up fodder for the werewolves on their doorstep. It was hard to know what to say, the kid was discouraged enough as it was "All we can do is fight" "I know. It's stupid. I'm being stupid" "I thought your lack of sleep might be from the last round of experiments" "They weren't as bad as the first time" "Do you want to talk about it?" "There's not much to talk about. They were trying different drugs, that's all" "They didn't torture you?" "No. Not that I remember. I think they did something to my head, but I can't remember what" "And no more bleeding?" The blush on Eren's face was barely visible in the low light "Uh. No... um, thank you for helping me bath. I can't remember if I thanked you... or if I thanked you for letting me use your bathroom" "You didn't make that much of a mess" "Still. You shouldn't have been in the position where you had to take care of me. That's to say, um, I know Hanji probably bullied you into, but thanks anyway" "It's fine" "I think I might head back up to bed. Sir, are you really fine with sleeping down here on the sofa?" "I'm not so old that sleeping on the sofa's going to do any damage" "I wouldn't call you old, sir. But if you're calling yourself old" Kicking out and hitting Eren in the leg, the boy pouted at him "Hanji would have laughed" "Do I look like Hanji" "No, you definitely don't. You should try and get some sleep too, sir. Hanji was talking about heading back to the castle soon" Shitty brat. He was decade too young to be telling him to go to bed "Hanji probably wants to get back to her experiments. Don't worry, we'll be here for a few more days" "Then maybe... do you want to go for a run in the morning?" "Alright brat. Now get to bed" Falling asleep still in the same corner of the couch, Levi woke to find himself covered with two thick blankets and a fresh cup of tea waiting for him. Sitting quietly in the same spot he'd occupied last night, Eren was reading the book he'd abandoned "So you can read?" Snapping the book closed, Eren looked to him in guilt "Sorry, sir. I didn't mean to wake you" "You didn't wake me. How long have you been awake?" "Not too long. The tea is fresh. I only just sat down" "The others?" "Sleeping. Hanji's snoring picked up around sunrise. Petra looked ready to smother her. They probably won't be up for another hour or so" Levi nodded, pushing the blankets back. Eren immediately putting the book down and moving to start folding the blankets "Damn brat. You can't wait, can you?" "Just trying to be useful..." "Go wait outside, I'll be out shortly" "I'll do the blankets first" "Brat, it's fine. Go wait outside" "Sorry, sir" There was no way he was letting Eren see he was rock hard like some shitty teenager... the kid was too just too much. *

[thedouchebrigadesympathizer]

The door flew open, no knock to be heard as you patted your hair dry with a plush and fresh smelling towel. You didn’t need to raise your head to know it was Dabi, and you didn’t even flinch when the door was thrown shut behind him.

He stood, hands at his sides, and flexing his fingers. Through the vanity mirror you stood in front of, you saw how his eyes glinted with a hardness to them, fists clenched. He was pissed, and god dammit, now you were going to be caught in the crossfire.

“Yeah?” You turned to him, shaking your hair with the towel and messing the damp locks into a less than attractive shape.

“I’m here to vent.” And with those words, he closed the space between the doorway and your bed, dropping dramatically down into your messy sheets and groaning.

You sighed, running a brush through your hair before setting the brush on your vanity and jumping onto the bed next to him, patting his shoulder.

“Lay it on me, Dab’s.”

Muffled by your comforter, Dabi stifled a laugh. “I can’t believe you just called me that.”

“What is wrong, my Burnt Toaster Strudel? Whats getting you down? FuckHands McMike?”

“Augh, you’re the worst.” He rolled, flipping onto this back and kicking his shoes off the edge of the bed, where they fell with dull thuds. He exhaled heavily before scratching at his chest and watching the ceiling.

“I don’t feel like I’m accomplishing what I need to do.”

“Thats rough buddy.” You said, but eased your head to the side, catching damp chair across your cheek and watching Dabi’s eyes follow the pattern of your popcorn ceiling. “But why do you think that?”

“I was supposed to have done countless things by now, and I feel like…” Dabi frowned, closing his eyes and shimming his arm under your neck, wordlessly asking for you to be closer to him. “I feel like where I am now is no where close to the goals I’ve set for myself.”

You inched closer, resting a hand on his chest and biting your lips. “You’re achieving Stain’s ideals, aren’t you?”

“I guess.”

“Isn’t that all you wanted?”

“No,” He said wistfully, the word almost pained. “No. I wanted more.”

“What more do you want?” You murmured, hoping to encourage him to dig deeper than the surface.

There were so many thoughts in his head, too many wants in his heart, it was difficult for Dabi to focus on just one. Still, he filtered through enough before settling on a need that ravaged his heart, that controlled his deepest desires.

“I want to kill Endeavor.” He said finally, opening those cerulean eyes and peering down at you through his lashes, awaiting your response.

You blinked, not expecting that kind of response. “I don’t follow.”

He gave a woeful smile, rolling his head to face you fully. “You wouldn’t. But that’s fine.”

“Why kill him?” Your brows furrow, entirely confused. When had Endeavor ever encountered Dabi? Why would he care what the number two Pro Hero in Japan did. Why would he care to end his life?

Brushing damp strands of hair from your cheek, Dabi raked bright eyes down your features, taking in every apprehensive flash behind your eyes and smiling contently.

“Doesn’t matter. But, I needed to say it.” He pinched your cheek lovingly, so glad in the moment to have someone like you in his life. A friend. A trusted friend. “So thanks.”

You made a face, smacking his pinching fingers away and sitting up on an elbow, pushing hair behind your ear and giving him a stern look. “Dabi. Seriously, why are we killing Endeavor?”

“We?” Dabi repeated, tossing an arm behind his head and raising an eyebrow. “It’s just me doing the work, Princess.”

“You’re beating around the bush, I know it’s your specialty, but god damn it man.” You  smacked his knee. “Whats up with this? You’ve never mentioned Endeavor before.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Dabi stated firmly, losing patience with your prodding. “Forget it.”

Sitting up now, you nudged his knee again. “You can’t walk in here and be all upset about something, say you want to kill a pro hero as powerful as Endeavor and then be like ‘Nah man its chill let’s just take a nap, I’m Dabi and nothing bothers me’. I’m not falling for it. Spill.”

“I don’t want to.” There is a edge in his tone, but of course you press further.

“I’ve known you for three years, this is the first I’m hearing about Endeavor, Dab’s. Tell me.”

Dabi lays there, silent as the grave. His chest thuds erratically, because amidst his growing irritation, part of him urges the young flame wielder to confess. He’s held it in for so long, and you have patiently waited by his side- never probing for an answer until now. It was his own fault, for storming into your apartment after watching the news, seing Endeavor, his father, plastered across the glossy screens of The League’s many televisions.

He’s a trigger for so many emotions. Rage. Sorrow. Worry. Guilt.

It isn't fair. It’s never been fair for him or his siblings. It never would be as long as Enji Todoroki lived. Still, was it his place anymore to claim it his right to take his life?

Yes.

But, also no. Maybe that could be Shouto’s choice instead.

But there he was, teetering on the edge of a confession. His biggest confession. His most well kept secret to ever be forged inside his soul. No one knew, so would he tell you?

“Dab’s.” You urge again, the warmth of your hand finding his cheek, where a thumb runs the edges of his scars, the ones that had you had never gazed reproachfully upon. The scars you accepted, along with his cocky and demeaning personality. The personality that carried a heavy handed ideal. The Ideals given by a murderer, a murderer whom Dabi looked up to. Who he emulated, or at least tried.

And yet, despite the bodies you knew he had dropped, you stayed.

You didn’t care he was a villain, a murderer, a thief.

“Promise you won’t leave.”

It comes out, a plea. A reaching hand, asking for your acceptance. He watches as you seem to look confused before offering him a nearly pained smile.

“Why would I Dabi?”

“Because I’m damaged, and your love is too good to lose.”

Calloused fingers take your hand from his face and the dark haired man takes a shaky breath, gaze hardening and jaw clenching.

“My name was Seiichi Todoroki. And Endeavor is the reason why my name is Dabi.”

This wasn’t a request, it was freehand. I was feeling saderino so I wrote to make myself feel better. Enjoy a little bit of humorous angst. Dabi’s “real Name” is based off this post (Here)