#but like neither of us ever had a normal job for longer than a few days

[jonny-b-meowborn]

I am genuinely so terrified of the fact that I have to find a job now. I'm trying to think of or look up a job that's suitable for my mentally ill autistic ass and I just. I don't know. Everything either requires some very specific qualifications that I don't have, or seems at best awfully exhausting, at worst literally putting me in danger. And I'm not even exaggerating, I genuinely think that working in retail, for example, could possibly kill me if I was forced to do that job for long enough. I sometimes get overwhelmed to the point of crying when there's too many other customers while I'm shopping, I can't imagine working in an environment like that. I suppose physical jobs could work, I've been to this blueberry plantation twice last week and mentally I was fine, but it was. So tiring. And you don't even make that much money a day, I don't think I could earn enough even if I did work there everyday, not to mention it's only a seasonal job. Right now it's fine for me to go there every now and then, but if I wanted to move out and become independent I'd have to get an actual day job. And that sounds impossible. The only job that sounds good to me is being an artist, it's not too mentally or physically difficult, and it's something I enjoy. But I'd have to get commissions constantly or start a small business or something like that to actually survive. And I'm not saying it's impossible, I know that people can live by being an artist, but it's so hard to get into that field. I wish I could do it but I dont know if it's possible for me. Makes me wanna cry. I hate this I hate that my brain isn't suited for this world and still I have to participate in all that shit that everyone has to do. My brain isn't made for working like that

[another-random-paradise]

The future awaits

bringing up the future while you're together

characters: Riddle, Leona, Azul, Kalim

Format: Headcanons

warnings: None that i can think off

Riddle

-You'd probably bring it up while drinking tea together

-He'd go quiet for a moment, deep in thought

-He is so caught up in making sure everybody follows the rules and studying, that he never really had the time to think about it

-He'd be very serious about it 

-He wants to marry you in the future, that's for sure 

-Probably wants a kid or two

-Honestly wants a very typical future, a house, a stable job, ect.

-I'm not really sure what Job he would want/have. Maybe he'd take after his mother and become a doctor, or maybe something to do with politics. I could also see him as a judge, due to his ability to memorise rules, or in this case laws, and his tendency to punish rulebreakers accordingly

-i feel like he wouldn't have preference about wether you work or not

-ALSO, If you are the one to bring up kids and marriage, especially if you start describing it in detail (Like your dream wedding, or what your kids could look like) he'd grow very flustered, very quickly

-Poor guy still isn't used to affection, even if you two have been in a relationship for quite a while already 

-all in all, he'd take the question very seriously. He wants a typical, almost stereotypical, future

Leona

-You'd probably bring it up while he uses you as a pillow cuddling

-He'd scoff 

-"Why are you worrying about that now??" or something along those lines.

- He most likely brushes you off in favor of sleeping

-or at least, that's what he'd tell you

-the question might actually keep him up a bit longer, he's seriously thinking about it

-In his dreams, of course, he'd be king and you'd be his consort, as you rule over the land together, admired by all. But that will sadly remain just a dream, and he knows it

-Instead he opts for wanting a quiet live, where the two of you can just laze around all day, everyday 

-He probably doesn't want to live too close to his brother and sister-in-law, either on the opposite side of the palace, or in some sort of estate a bit further away (idk how moving out as royalty works tbh)

-I don't think he would want kids, too much work

-all in all, a quiet life where the two of you won't be bothered

Azul

-Immediately flustered, no matter how long you have already been dating

-I don't think he'll ever get used to affection

-another one that gets really serious, but this one is really flustered while he talks 

-He'll definetly will want to continue the mostro lounge buisness, just outside of school. Maybe one day take over his mothers buisness too, so she can retire.

-He won't even realise it, but he might just start talking about your wedding, about wether you'll get married on land or in the sea, ect..

-tease him about it, and he'll put Riddle's hair to shame

-tbh he wouldn't want much to change from now, he wants to be with you, keep running a successful business, and stay close with the twins

Kalim

-Immediately gets excited 

-If you're on the magic carpet, you'd have to hold onto him so neither of you fall off-

-Immediately starts rambling about all the things he wants to do with you in the future 

-He wants a VERY big wedding, like the type that continues over multiple days, he just  really wants to spoil you and show the whole world how much he loves you

-He most likely wants a big family, the man has like 40 siblings, he wouldn't be used to anything else

-He's already planning hundreds of party's you two will could hold in the future!!

-He probably won't shut up for a good few hours. Good luck

-You'd have a very annoyed Jamil the next day, because after you brought it up, he would not shut up about wedding plans and stuff. Jamil had to force him to sleep.

-He'd be even clingier than normally after this 

First time writing and posting headcanons, kinda nervous-

Feedback is welcomed, just be nice please!! hope you enjoyed and have a nice day :)

[skyahri]

And Suddenly |BNHA Men X Reader| HC

Characters: Shouta Aizawa, Dabi/Touya Todoroki, and Katsuki Bakugou

Summary: They proposition you for a baby.

Warnings: NSFW themes. Straight up fucking, leading to sex, foul language, you get it. Reader in Dabi's is NOT of sound mind lol.

Masterlist Ko-fi

- - - - -

Shouta Aizawa

He doesn't know what prompted this line of thinking. Nothing had happened, no one had mentioned anything. No, this was all 100% his own doing, and that almost made it worse.

Over the years, you'd occasionally claim to have something called 'baby fever'. There would be days when you'd send him videos of babies babbling, playing, wearing silly outfits, whatever of the sort. You'd tell him your ovaries were aching, that you wanted nothing more in that moment than to have one of your own.

Being the man of reason he is, he'd always tell you that now wasn't the time. Hero work was grueling and your studies kept you busy. You'd assure him that the feelings were always (mostly) fleeting, hormones and all that, and the conversation would end there.

It had always been one-sided, that is, until a few weeks ago when he'd finally gotten a taste of said fever. Let's just say he was not a fan.

Nothing had changed, yet he found himself hyperaware of every little human in his vicinity. It's like his brain did a complete turn around. Brief glances quickly turned into longing stares. He'd internally coo over their tiny socks and bright smiles. Hell, he'd even caught himself waving at a little girl in her stroller the other day and was still living off the high he felt when she giggled and waved back.

He'd only been getting by on the idea that this was temporary. That like you, it'd be all better soon and he can go back to enjoying the simple things in life without his brain badgering him.

But that was weeks ago, and the feeling had only solidified further into his mind.

He tried to reason himself back to normal, but was finding it increasingly difficult to do so. You graduated two years ago and have a great job in your field. He had long surpassed the rookie stage of his career and was thriving. You lived in a decent apartment in a good neighborhood. Money was no longer tight and you'd built quite the safety cushion.

And then there was you. Again, nothing had changed overnight, but he was suddenly plagued by vivid visions of you. How easily he could get you pregnant. How you'd look so sinfully pretty with a round belly. How he'd love nothing more than to take care of you while you gave him the greatest gift he could ever hope to receive.

And he knew you'd love nothing more.

Honestly, he was having a hard time finding reasons not to cave into his desires. Which is how he suddenly found himself in such a position.

He's hovering above you, his red tinted face illuminated by the moonlight. He has your hand pinned to the mattress at an awkward angle, but neither of you are willing to move to fix it. He's darting between your eyes, words caught in his throat and no way to get them out.

Thinking and doing are two very different things, and he hadn't planned on bringing this up at all, let alone right now.

"Don't."

Your eyebrows furrow in confusion, not quite understanding what's going on. One moment he's rolling on top of you, kissing down your neck and over your collarbones. You're fumbling around, trying to reach for the top drawer of the nightstand when his hand shoots out to grab your wrist.

"Shouta, what-"

"Don't bother with it."

He leans down to recapture your lips, but you use your free hand to stop him in his tracks. Your eyes narrow a bit as you try to get a read on him. He usually has little tells that give away how he's feeling, but right now you can't decipher any of them. He looks just as lost as you feel.

"I haven't been taking any kind of birth control."

"I know."

"Then why are you-"

"I want a baby."

Your eyes widen and breath falters. Your hand falls from his shoulder to lay flush against your chest.

"I don't understand. You said we weren't ready."

"That was then, and this is now."

"Shou."

Despite the serious look you give him, your insides are on fire. Sure, the intense and urgent feelings associated with baby fever were always fleeting, but that didn't mean that was the only time you'd felt the desire. You always wanted a family- a husband and kids to love and cherish- and Shouta knew that.

Now here he was, telling you that after a lifetime of friendship, four years of dating, and four more years of marriage, you could finally have what you've always wanted.

He leans back enough to sit on his calves and stare down at you. He seems more sure of himself now. Whatever turmoil he had been going through earlier had subsided, and he was left more confident in his decision. He swallowed hard and fiddles with his hand a bit before deciding to rest both of them on your open thighs.

"I can't stop thinking about it. I thought it would pass, but it just got stronger. I tried talking myself down, but there's nothing stopping us anymore. We're both willing and wanting, so just..."

He's leaning back down, and this time, you don't stop him. You let him kiss you, let him trace his rough hands up your sides, let him claim you with no reservations, all while the condoms sit untouched in the nightstand.

Touya Todoroki / Dabi

Dabi had a tendency to ramble. Sometimes to himself, sometimes to whoever would listen, and sometimes he didn't even realize he was doing it.

Sex was no different.

What he says all boils down to the kind of mood he's in. If he's angry or frustrated, he'll degrade you. He'll call you a whore, tell you that you're desperate and whiney, and will shove your face into the pillow in an attempt to shut you up so he can hear himself speak. If he's in a decent mood (or being generous, as he puts it), he'll praise you. He'll mumble sweet nothings in your ear, tell you how pretty you are, how lucky he is to have you.

All of that is fine. You're more than willing to take whatever he wants to give, but lately he'd taken on an entirely different type of rant.

The first time he mumbled something about getting you pregnant, you didn't think much of it. All men succumb to their instincts at one point or another, and Dabi wasn't excluded from that. But then he mentioned it again a few days later, this time with a little more heat behind it.

You didn't say anything, instead deciding to live in your own little fantasies as long as he wasn't being reckless. Maybe that was a mistake on your part, because it's only a few weeks later that he's completely invested in the idea.

Knees pressed firmly to your chest, he's drilling into you with a new kind of passion. His forehead is against yours, his eyes screwed shut as he clutches at the backs of your thighs. You can't hear all of what he's saying over the sound of skin on skin, but it's enough to have you slightly worried.

"Fuck, I'm gonna fill you up so full."

"Bet I could get you pregnant on the first try."

"I'd take such good care of you."

"I'd be everything he wasn't, give my kids the life they deserve."

Desires to fuck you full have quickly become promises to succeed. Your fucked out brain is urging you to stop him, that he sounds a little too serious right now, but you can't find it in yourself to comply. Dabi is, without a single doubt, completely fucked in the head. This is something you're entirely too aware of and should be the thing willing you to fucking stop him, but it's not.

So you let your mind relax. You throw yourself full force into the feeling of him hitting that spongey spot deep inside. You let him kiss you and touch you and listen to all the little promises he makes.

It's no surprise when he doesn't pull out. You don't say anything when he moves to lay beside you and he doesn't bring it up. Maybe it's some kind of unspoken agreement, or maybe you were thinking too far into what very well may just be a kink. Only time will tell.

Katsuki Bakugou

"Did you seriously not pack any condoms?"

"Why the Hell would I?"

"Is that a serious question?"

You shoot him an incredulous look. He ignores you as he enters the bathroom and begins to strip out of his suit. You follow him, careful not to snag your dress on any of the luggage stacked against the wall.

You glare at him, even as he motions for you to turn around and unzips you. The white fabric bunches at your ankles and he's quick to pick it up and hang it inside the plastic dry-cleaning bag.

"Is that a serious question? You're my wife now, I'm not wearing any more fucking condoms."

"Well, you should've said that before we got here so I could've prepared something else!"

"Why the Hell would you need to do that?"

He scoffs at you and continues hanging his suit up, folding it as nicely as possible to avoid damaging the expensive material. Any sort of frustration you're feeling has been replaced by confusion. You feel like you're having two entirely different conversations.

When he finally turns back around to face you, he's staring down at you like you're the one being unreasonable. Like he doesn't understand why any of this could possibly be an issue.

"So, what? You planned on hitting raw for the next two weeks and just praying for the best?"

"No. I planned on hitting raw for the next two weeks and prayed we'd go home pregnant."

Your mouth snaps shut. Any fighting spirit you possessed is gone in an instant and you're left at his mercy. He places one hand on the wall near your head and sets the other on the counter. He's looming over you, using his size to intimidate you.

"That's what we agreed on all those years ago, right?"

At first, you don't know what he's talking about. You racked your brain for any semblance of the topic, but when you came up short, you couldn't help but think he might be bullshitting you. Just as you're about to ask him for clarification, you remember a conversation you had not long after graduation.

You'd both had sidekick positions lined up right out of high school. Your careers were up and coming and your relationship was strong. While you were happy with the pace things were going, it didn't stop his parents from pestering you about next steps.

It was probably the hundredth time Mitsuki had asked you about grandkids. You'd given her plenty of reasonable reasons why kids were most definitely not in the cards right now- career opportunities, money, not to mention the fact that you were both nineteen and not even married yet- but none of that seemed to deter her.

"If not now, when can I expect some grand-babies, hm? I'm not getting any younger and neither are you."

"How about we focus on getting engaged and married first, then we can start talking kids."

She accepted the answer, albeit reluctantly, and backed off a bit. Later that night Katsuki had cornered you, asking how you had finally managed to get his mother off his back.

"I told we'd have to get married first."

The memory is foggy after so many years, but it's there. It was a passing conversation, an unimportant day, but it's the only time either of you had mentioned a 'when' regarding kids.

"You know, when I said we'd have to get married first, I didn't mean we'd start the same day."

He scowls and closes in on you further. He adjusts his position so you're pushed against the bathroom counter and you're suddenly very aware of just how little clothing you're both wearing. His hands land on your thighs and slowly make their way up. He grips your waist and lifts you onto the cool marble so he can stand between your legs.

"I think I've waited long enough."

Let's just say you end up with two very bold, very pink lines on the pregnancy test a few weeks after you return home.

[t1ts-4-scattorcio]

can you do headcanons of reader finding out about shauna getting pregnant by jeff when they were kinda 'together' pre-crash?

Shauna Shipman x Reader headcanon + one shot/long blurb

I kind of went crazy and wrote an entire imagine or longer blurb. I wanted to see if I could pull it off but yeah this is headcanons and an imagine combined. I hope you like it. I really suck at story writing but I hope it gets better with time. I'm also sorry this took FOREVER to make.

Headcanons:

You had just moved to NJ from another state and were super nervous about going to school, you were kind of bullied for a few things but especially that you liked girls. 

You needed something to do so you tried out for varsity and actually got in, you were good at soccer but the team was super competitive and known for winning. You had a big reputation to uphold.

Jackie was the first person to welcome you into the team, she was captain and it was her job to make everyone feel safe and like a family, hanging out with her meant seeing Shauna all the time (they were practically latched at the hip) she was right by her side.

It was a good thing since you really started to fall for her. You tried to keep it under wraps but were terrible at it, of course, Jackie spotted it first and was super supportive. She thought it was cute and knew you would be the perfect match. Shauna liked girls too but only told Jackie making her promise not to tell anyone and Jackie obviously respected it. 

Jackie insisted Shauna drive you to one of Jeff’s infamous parties. It was a little awkward since you both just hung out at practice with the rest of the team or with Jackie mediating the conversation between you too. You got to know each other after your favorite song played on the radio which ended up being her favorite as well. You both began belting out the song together and it’s how you became friends. 

You slowly exclusively hung out with Shauna, inviting her over for lunch or dinner after practice, working on homework together at her place, always attending parties together when Jackie couldn’t, and generally being known to be close with each other.

You both were really similar, you had the same taste in music, art, and writing. You both would share each other's work and were impressed with how talented she was (she thought you were amazing at what you did too) You didn’t know that she would draw you when you weren’t paying attention and she would always keep it a secret. That's when she realized her feelings might be more than just a friend.

It turned into beginning to be more intimate, you both slept in the same bed when having sleepovers, and you ended up in her arms in the middle of the night but neither of you ever complained. You held hands when you went to parties just to make sure you both were safe and were overall all over each other.

Shauna was the first to confess her feelings, speeding to your house and telling you how much she liked you, she was 100% nervous and not used to being so open, you thought she was going to tell you to leave her alone, that you couldn’t be friends anymore and it stressed you out beyond belief.

She just ended up kissing you and it was the best day you had in a long time.

Your relationship never was established as a couple, just something private between you two which blurred the lines a lot.

It went downhill after the crash. You would still share a mattress and kisses when no one was paying attention but she slowly became more distant. You didn’t know if you did anything wrong and it scared you a bit. 

It got so much worse the day you all got your periods at the same time, she was quiet and you thought it was just how she normally acted on her period but she seemed concerned and just ignored you throughout that entire week. You were convinced she hate you.

You overheard Jackie interrogate Shauna one day while you were doing your chores inside the pantry and Shuana’s confession broke your heart into pieces, that she would hookup with someone behind your back, and randy walsh out of all the people she would do that with.

You felt sick this time ignoring her, she confronted you and wanted to mend things but you couldn’t hold onto what you knew and just said frankly “you’re pregnant aren’t you” she was stunned and didn’t know what to say other than deny it but you knew better, “don’t lie!” she felt so guilty and it was written all over her face. “I heard you talking about it with Jackie?” Shauna was offended that you listened in which was bs.

You forced her to explain everything “what happened at the party shauna? Tell me!” she couldn’t look you in the eyes and all she muttered out was “jeff” you were confused at first but the wheels started turning in your head. No way would she hookup with her best friends boyfriend and ‘cheat’ on you.

You began to sob, you couldn’t believe it. Shauna begged for you to not tell Jackie, she had the audacity to be more concerned about that then your relationship! 

You felt like a fool, she begged for you to not leave her that it was a mistake and everything could go back to how it was, you didn’t believe her.

 you didn’t know she could be so cruel

Imagine:

You had just moved to Wiskayok, the ordeal was intimidating considering you had never left your hometown. Things were rocky in the beginning, people were pretty cold whenever you tried to be friendly and there wasn’t ever any time to make new friends with how busy school was until you joined the girl's soccer team. It was one of the most competitive teams in the state but you took your shot trying out for varsity and actually got in, you finally found people you fit in with but one individual really piqued your interest.

 –

You opened your locker rifling through books finding what you needed for next period when you felt a tap on your shoulder. 

It was Jackie, the team captain and one of the sweetest people you had met. “How are you liking varsity?” she asked. “It's amazing, everyone is so welcoming and you’re all so talented,” you replied honestly. “Well thank you y/n, we really love having you around,” she responded, “we need more gifted like you.” You smiled bashfully “I appreciate it, thank you.” 

Laughter echoed down the hallway, your eyes glanced over and were met with the doe-eyed girl you were so fond of. Jackie’s gaze followed yours “I couldn’t help but see you eyeing Shauna,” she smirked. Your eyes widened meeting hers, “no I would never” you stammered.

 No one ever knew you liked girls, people you knew in the past didn’t have the best reaction and you didn’t want to be rejected again.

“Hey it’s ok! She’s into you as well.” Your heart swelled at her admission. “You don't think it’s weird?” you uttered unsure.“No, I actually think it’s cute, she’s been needing some love in her life” she chuckled reassuring you. “Stop it I’m not in love” you blushed. “Hm ok, whatever you say” she winked following after her best friend.

_

Practice had ended, you were exhausted preparing for nationals hoping you would win and your nerves started catching up to you. Feeling lightheaded and moved to sit on the bleachers waiting for your ride when you hear footsteps approach you. Jackie greeted you again, asking you how you were feeling but your eyes would drift towards Shauna behind her on the field, you found it difficult to pay attention to the girl in front of you. “You know your eyes are going to be stuck like that if you don’t stop right?” Jackie snickered, “shutup,” you scoffed, Looking back at her. Jackie sighed “you should just go up and talk to her,” she said with a sigh sitting next to you. “It's not that easy” you look down in defeat. Jackie's face twisted in contemplation, standing she placed her hands on her hips, “it actually is” she murmured. 

“Hey Shipman!” she waved your head shot up, eyes wide. “What the hell are you doing?” you whispered harshly “What you should’ve done ages ago” replied annoyed. “Stop it!” you sputtered grabbing her wrist and attempting to pull her down. Shauna’s head swiveled to the both of you, she said goodbye to Tai before walking towards you. “Hey Jackie.” she grinned. “Hey, you know y/n?” she questioned tilting her head. “Yeah, of course, you’re new on varsity right” Shauna questioned, you stood up blushing. “Uh yeah” stammering quietly wringing your hands behind your back, heart hammering in your chest. Jackie looked between you two “well she’s coming to Jeff’s party tonight and needs a ride. Is it cool if you take her?” she said breaking the silence. “Um yeah sure,” Shauna nodded, “ Is 7 ok?” asked. “Yeah of course” she replied quickly, “ok perfect,” Shauna smiled before turning to leave. Your face soured twisting to “Jackie I can’t believe you did that!” exclaiming furiously, “Um you’re welcome!” she retorts. Huffing you cross your arms “yeah whatever.” 

“I will see you tonight!” Jackie winks.

_

You were pacing back and forth, your room was a mess half of the clothes in the closet were strewn on the floor, anxiety at an all-time high. You’re ready to go but your brain grueled over what was going to happen tonight. You’re a confident person and rarely look for approval from others but you’ve never been so desperate to impress someone in your life

You were putting earrings on when the sound of the doorbell rang through the house. Your throat tightened “now or never y/n.” Sprinting downstairs breathing in and out trying to get your bearings, you opened the door and there she was stunning in a red dress. You paused eyeing her up and down, were blown away she was glowing under the porch light, “hey are you ready?” Shauna questioned pulling you out of your stupor, “yeah let's go.” reddening and tripping out the door.

– 

The drive was awkward, the silence was deafening, you felt dizzy your brain scattering for something to say. 

“So how long have you known Jackie?” queried head turning towards her, “oh we’ve been best friends since we were kids” she answered smiled, you hummed sat back into the seat, “are you excited about tonight?” you asked, “yeah it’s gonna be fun. I’ve been needing to relax,” she chuckled, “hm yeah haven’t done anything like this in a while.” you exhaled. 

“Well are you liking it here?” questioned curiously, “it’s taking some adjusting but yeah, I actually really like the team, you’re all are so cool, I hope I can be just as good next year.” You beamed, excitement laced in your voice. You truly were looking forward to the rest of your stay in Wiskayok. “Hey don’t sell yourself short, you’re actually really good on the field you know that?”  “thank you” you stammered shocked, did she really notice you on the field? You felt like you blended in the background but this revelation made your heart soar. “You don't have to say that just cause” your cheeks reddened. “No I promise you are!” she said genuinely “well thanks.” 

3AM by Matchbox Twenty sounded from the radio. Shauna looked over at you as you began to hum, “you know this song?” she inquired sounding excited.“Yeah I went to their show last summer. They’re actually amazing live” replied, facing her, finally having something in common she continued to ask more about the band.

“Who’s your favorite member? Any of the guys or..” you were worried she’d freak out if she found out you liked girls, you didn’t want to ruin the night before it barely started. “I’m actually into the drummer, she’s super hot.” Her response surprised you.

“oh um really?” trying to walk around her answer, “yeah I actually like girls too, that isn’t a problem is it?” she looked over at you gauging your response, you’ve never felt so happy in your life, “She’s also my favorite and I also like girls too.” 

“That’s great y/n” it was the first time that night she truly met your eyes. The next song on the album came on, Shauna started to sing, and you slowly as it turned into belting. Laughter echoed in the car and you were so busy dancing in your seat that you didn’t notice her staring at you, an endearing smile on her face.

Jackie is the first person to greet you. “How did it go?”

“Better than I thought it would” you beamed, “I told you it would work out.” 

–

The both of you spent more time together, you both began spending time at each other's houses, sitting with each other at lunch, working on homework together in the library, and going to your local diner after practice. There was something more intimate there, lingering touches were exchanged, cuddling became normal and there was no hesitance to physically be close to each other anymore. 

It was the afternoon when you heard a ring at your door. You opened it to find Shauna standing there, a smile almost graced your lips before you noticed how tense she was, “hey can we talk?” she stood anxiously wringing her hands together, “sure come in” you ushered her inside, heart beginning to race. Thoughts rushing through your brain.

 what could’ve you done wrong to make Shauna act this way? 

You led her into your room, you were about to speak but she slotted her hand in yours pulling you to sit on your bed. “I just wanted to tell you.. I” she paused not able to get what she wanted to say out of her mouth, “tell me what? Did I do something wrong?” Your voice was tight, anxiety lacing your throat “no, no! Not that at all” she rushed, she gulped “I have these feelings for you and I really needed to tell you.” she whispered quickly, you barely could hear her.

 “Ok, good feelings?” you stared at her confused, frustration laced her features making you feel 10 times worse, “God what was happening” you pondered overwhelmed. You didn’t notice her shifting closer to you, until all you could see was the pink flush on her cheeks and her brown eyes you loved so much. She held your face in her hands pulling you close and kissing you on the lips. Your eyes widen but you settle, a slow rhythm matching hers. It was passionate, so much better than any of the dreams you’ve had/conjured of this moment, it didn’t feel real, butterflies fluttered in your belly. You pull away breathlessly. “Well I have the same feelings as well” you giggle. “Perfect” she whispers pulling you in again.

–

The plane crash ruined everything, you had won the state game, you were at an all-time high and everything was perfect until it wasn’t. 

Groans and complaints were heard all throughout the cabin. All of your periods had synchronized. You managed to pull resources together to tough out the distasteful situation.

You found Shauna quietly sitting on the steps of the cabin. You sat beside her settling down you pressed a kiss to her shoulder nuzzling yourself close. “How’s your day going?” she spaced out seeming to ignore you “Shauna?” she spun her head looking over to you. “How’s the murder between your legs going?” you questioned. “It sucks.” You felt bad for her, you could tell it was taking more of a toll on her than anyone else, “well I think it will be over soon” reassured her, pecking her forehead. 

“I noticed you haven’t been feeling your best just wanted to give you this” pulling out a snack bar. “Where did you get this?” “Secret stash of mine brought it to the trip and was saving it for something important.” Her eyes softened, “you don’t have to”

“I know but I care about you” you planted a kiss on your cheek then one on your lips. She broke the kiss abruptly seeming dejected.“I gotta go, I remember Jackie said she needed help with something.” Rushing to stand. You were left confused ‘weird..’ 

–

You were searching for a bucket Misty needed when voices began to echo from outside the wooden door. “You’re pregnant?!” Jackie gasped, you freeze “yeah” Shauna mumbled, “Who’s the dad?” Jackie interrogated, “Randy” Shauna whispered. “Randy Walsh! Wow I never saw that happening” she laughed, tears blurred your vision, and you felt yourself heave clamping your hand over your mouth. “Did this happen while you were seeing y/n or…” Shauna was quiet, her silence guilty. “Shauna.. Why, you know how much she cares about you.” Jackie chastised, disappointed that her friend would do this to you. “I was plastered and we just got caught up in the moment…” 

You couldn’t listen anymore, you silently sneaked away.

–

You walked into the woods, tears streaming down your face letting out the sobs you had been holding back. The thought of Randy all over her while she had the audacity to treat you like she loved you making you ill. 

You hear footsteps trailing behind you. “Hey I’ve been looking all over for you,” Shauna approached you, but you didn’t respond. “Hey what’s wrong” she reaches out softly holding your wrist and turning you but you rip yourself away from her grasp. 

“You’re pregnant,” said frankly. She stepped back “what I.. no” she denied shaking her head. 

Anger coursed through you, the nerve she had to deceive you. “Don’t lie to me,” you stepped forward. “I heard everything.” emphasizing each word. “You were spying on me” Shauna scoffed angrily. “Spying! I was busy doing my job and it’s not like you were trying to be quiet.” you retorted sharply. 

“What happened the night of Jeff’s party?” she couldn’t meet your gaze, “what happened Shauna with Randy?” furiously leaning in her space, “it wasn’t Randy..” she paused, “what..” Furrowing your eyebrows, there couldn’t have been anyone else. Most of the people at the party were in relationships… but the realization slowly hit you, she ‘cheated’ on you and hooked up with her best friend's boyfriend behind her back.

Your face soured, bile pooled in your mouth. This isn’t the girl you fell for it couldn’t be.

 “Jeff.. in his car” jaw-dropping at her admission. “You can’t tell Jackie” she pleaded, tears welling up in her eyes “you’re thinking about her right now?” you stammered incredulously motioning towards the cabin. 

Fuming was an understatement, you were on the verge of strangling the girl in front of you. You were speechless, Shauna Shipman the girl who spent long nights cuddling in your bed, the girl who secretly drew pictures of you between classes, the girl who defended and promised you were hers broke your heart. Guilt was written all over her face. 

“I was just a toy you could play with until you got bored right?” scoffing exasperated, “that's not true.” She reached out to you, tears falling and lips quivering, desperate to not let you go. “I promise it isn’t” 

You couldn’t help but laugh, feeling like an idiot. You were right this was too good to be true. “You’re so fucked.” you bellowed speeding past her. 

[outsideratheart]

Hope (Alexia Putellas x reader)

After your revelation at the Bernabéu Alexia seems to be more persistent that ever to make amends with you. It wasn’t that you didn’t want your best friend back it was that you didn’t want to give her a sliver of your heart and risk her breaking it again.

You made the decision to project yourself. You would put yourself first and Alexia second.

Not even a month after the El Classico you had national team camp. For once you weren’t dreading seeing Alexia but you wasn’t looking forward to it either. It’s like part of you accepted that she would be in your life but you could determine how much of you she got. 

You had just arrived at the Las Rojas facility when you and Alexia were taken into a meeting to discuss your upcoming schedules. As soon as it was over you left. It wasn’t like it last for ages, in fact in lasted no longer than 20 minutes but you wanted to go to your room and unpack before the light gym session that had been scheduled.

“Y/N wait!” Alexia shouts. 

You don’t have to turn around to know she is running after you, her heavy footsteps give her away. You stop as you enter the elevator, holding your hand out so she can join you. 

“What is is Alexia?” 

When the doors close you begin to feel uneasy. The close proximity between you creates an unwelcome tension. 

At first, neither of you speak. Instead you focus on the level number, the two of you watching them increase with every floor you pass. 

“Alba told me that the two of you went out when she was in Madrid. She won’t talk to me about you but I know she misses you”

“I was punishing her for something she played no part of” you see Alexia shrink in her place and you cannot help but feel a little guilty “Sorry that was—“

“The truth” 

“Still it was uncalled for. I do want to forgive you but it will take a while”

The doors open and you are quick to leave. Alexia doesn’t move though. Your words having filled her with hope that one day you will give her another chance. 

“I’ll wait, along as it takes” 

Now it was your turn to stop in your tracks. You turn to face alexia to see that she is already looking in your direction but she makes no effort to move. 

“I will Y/N”

It was as if she was making a promise. One that you never asked her to make nor was it one you wanted to hear.

Whilst things wasn’t back to normal, things between you and Alexia were getting better. Given it was mostly on the pitch or the way you partnered up to motivate each other in the gym. Even off the pitch you were able to be in the same room as each other without trying to make the other drop dead with your stares. 

A few days later Spain beats Farrow Island 12-0. You scored 4 goals, all coming from assists by Alexia and you assisted her two goals as well. The captains were making a statement and sending a warning to the other teams around the world.

Back the the hotel the team were celebrating by having a pizza night in one of the common areas. 

You know that the team have sensed a shift between you and Alexia, it would be impossible for them not to.

“So now we like Y/N again?” Mapi asks. 

The room was filled with both Barcelona and Real Madrid players but the latter was the minority. 

“What are you talking about? You don’t like Y/N, why?” Athenea asks. She was one of the few players who didn’t know the past you and Alexia shared. 

“She hurt Alexia. They were best friends and Y/N turned her back on her with no explanation” Mapi explains. 

Unbeknownst to the defender, you and Alexia had just finished your media duties and were joining your team mates. 

“If she did that to Alexia than she will do it any of us. I cannot be friends with someone like that”

You can’t believe what you are hearing, well actually you could but hearing them say it out loud breaks your heart. 

“It’s a good job we don’t need to be friends then Maria” your response caught the attention of the entire room and all eyes fell on you. 

When you turn to leave having suddenly lost your appetite and the desire to socialise, Alexia grabs your hand stopping you from doing do. The look in her eyes tells you exactly what she is about to do. 

“Alexia, no” 

“It time they knew, it’s time that they apologise for the way they have been treating you” Alexia’s tone was firm, she was using her captain’s voice. 

“Us apologise to her. She should be apologising to you” Patri retorts. 

“No. I was the one that needed to apologise to her” 

You found it ironic that Alexia felt the need to protect you now when it was her who hurt you in the first place. 

“Alexia. Stop. I want you to stop talking” you felt rage build inside you. You were desperately trying to move on from this and her telling everyone would only make it harder. 

Alexia ignores your request and continues. 

“As you know me and Jenni broke up a couple of months before the World Cup. After we were knocked out I told Y/N I loved her and I meant it” at this point she turns to you but you refuse to meet her gaze. 

“Then I came back to Barcelona” 

You hear Jenni mumble something under her breathe and you know she is making the connections in her head. 

“Y/N wanted to surprise me and when she turned up at my house but instead she saw me and Jenni kissing”

“Y/N I had no idea. Im so—“

“Don’t apologise Jenni, like you said you didn’t know”

“But you and Jenni got back together” Patri quizzed her friend. 

“After that night Y/N didn’t speak to me, she wanted nothing to do with me and I don’t blame her but at the time I didn’t know she saw us and then she stopped talking to me and refused to see me unless it was to do with the team”

You hear several people begin to apologise. 

“I don’t care for your apologises. Any of them” 

With that you storm out of the room. You feel your chest tighten and your breathes deepen as anger consumes you. 

“Y/N” hers was the last voice you wanted to hear right now. 

“Why did you do that? Why are you dredging up the past?”

“I did it for you”

“No Alexia, you did it for you. You feel guilty that I lost some of my closest friends because of what you did so you needed to confess. If you cared for me at all you would have listened to me and never brought it up. I am trying to move on, no I have moved on. It’s time for you to do the same”

Alexia didn’t like the way you phrased your sentence. You have moved on. The tone in which you said it and the look you had on your face. You weren’t talking about Alexia and she knew it, she just didn’t want to think it true. 

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

4 days later you found yourself on a flight to Scotland. If the team wins this game then they will qualify for the World Cup. You were looking forward to it knowing that the team have been working really hard and they should beat the home side. 

“Y/N!” Pina waved her hand in front of your face to get your attention. 

After numerous attempts at apologising you finally decided to forgive the girls for their treatment of you in the past. You weren’t back to how you were but it’s a lot better than it was. 

“Sorry, I was ju—“ you put your phone into your pocket as you turned your attention to the young forward. 

“texting your—“

“Mis” you shake your head, your way of warning her not to finish her sentence. 

 “What were you saying?” You ask. 

You see the way your team mates are looking at you. They can tell you are keeping something from them. 

“She was telling you that some of us are going for breakfast in the morning. Did you want to come? We haven’t been able to bond as a team on our past trips so we thought” Mapi tells you. 

“I would love but I have plans, sorry”

You see the look on the defender face. Out of everyone Mapi didn’t believe that you forgave her and that you only said it for the sake of the team. 

“Maria, don’t look at me like that. I really do want to come but I made plans before we made up, in fact I made them before I even arrived at camp. I’ll text you when I done, maybe I could meet up with you then?” 

Your attempt at comprising seems to have worked. Everyone was happy with the outcome, everyone but Alexia. 

When the team arrived at the hotel. You were assigned room and as always you are sharing with Nahikari. 

“Are you going to tell them?” She asks whilst watching you unpack. 

“We talked before she left. We’re not going to confirm it but we aren’t going to hide it either” 

The lack of response from your friend causes you to face her. There she sits on her bed with a huge smirk on her face. 

“Shut up!” You throw one of your hoodies at her. 

“I didn’t say anything and I’m keeping this” she throws the article of clothing on top of her suitcase. 

“You’re in looovvvveee” Nahikari teases. 

“I’m not but I am open to it” your own admission catches got off guard. After all this time were you really ready to give someone your heart again? 

A knock on the door pulls you out of your thought. 

“Alexia, come in. I was just leaving” Nahikari says which is news to you considering you were in the middle of a conversation, one that was about to get very deep. 

once she in in your room Alexia walks straight towards the window. She looks at the view from your room, it wasn’t special just the high street so you knew something else was on her mind. 

“Alexia”

When she turns to face you her body language gives you nothing, it is unreadable but when you look into her eyes you can see she is hurt. 

“You said you were going to forgive me” she says and you can hear the vulnerability in her voice. 

“I said I wanted to but I don’t think I can” you knew you had to be honest with her if you stood any chance of have a friendship with her. 

“So what, we keep going on like we are strangers”

You never imagined that the word strangers would be used to describe you and alexia. Two people that cared deeply for each other, who would be joined at the hip whenever they were together and two people that were once best friends.

“I never said that. I don’t have to forgive or forget in order to move on”

“But you haven’t moved on Y/N. You’re living in the past and I don’t know what else I can do”

“I have moved on but not in the way you want me to” 

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

Two days later, you find yourself at the front of the line ready to lead your team out. You and Alexia spoke and decided that the best person to lead the team during this match was you. In fact it was her idea which you found strange. Then again since arriving in Scotland Alexia had been weird around you. It’s like she has been avoiding you but doing so whilst been around you. 

The game ends 2-0. You get pulled away to do media but you watch your team talk to the Scottish players. You spoke English very well, you were the best of the team but even you found the Scottish accent difficult to understand so you can only imagine the difficulty your friends be must experiencing.

“Hello you” you are greeted by the person that had been catching your eye for the last 90 minutes. 

You immediately pull her into your arms as she buries her face in the crook of your neck and in response you place a gentle kiss to her temple. 

“I’m sorry we beat you” 

You can feel her smile against your neck. 

“No you’re not but the sentiment is sweet” 

“You’re right I’m not but I have no doubt that you will be joining us next summer” 

“I hope so” 

“Caroline, listen to me. I may have only been playing with you for a couple of months but in that time I have seen what you can do and tonight I saw what you bring to this team”

“Thank you Y/N. Ermm” she begins rubbing the back of her neck. “My parent/ are sitting over there” Caroline points the the family & friends section “they would like to meet you” 

“I would love to” you follow your girlfriend over to the stands.

Alexia watches the two of you from the other side of the pitch. Seeing you happy makes her happy but it hurts knowing that she isn’t the reason for your happiness. What shocks her more is when she sees Caroline introduce you to her family. This along with the hand holding and the way you sneakily kiss her cheek confirms what Alexia has been thinking for the past couple of days. 

“She was going to tell you but she didn’t know how” Nahikari tells her.

“I thought there was a chance, I still love her Nahikari, I never stopped. Not when I was with Jenni and not when we were at our lowest. It had always been Y/N and now I’ve lost her”

[beefromanoff]

Project Mockingbird Ch. 17

summary: back to life as usual after New York, some insight into Charlotte's mind.

pairing: Bucky Barnes x OC

author's note: hi guys! this chapter is shorter than normal but I really wanted to get something out since it's been a minute! I've been on vacation so I've been writing here and there but nothing ready to put out yet. I promise there will be a few chapters coming VERY soon with more action! thanks for reading, as always!

tag list: @bangtanxberm @scott-loki-barnes @kayhi808 @charmedbysarge

(let me know if you want to be added <3)

chapter list

As the early morning sunlight bathed the Avengers' compound in a warm glow, Charlotte stood outside Bucky's room, gathering her courage. She had been wrestling the idea for nearly an hour, but now that she was here, uncertainty gnawed at her. It was an unholy hour of the morning, the sun just barely beginning to peek out over the horizon. She was clad head to toe in her black athletic wear, tennis shoes shifting on the floor as she debated making a run for the elevator. 

Don’t be stupid, it isn’t that big of a deal. If you don’t deal with it now, it’ll just be weird later. 

With a determined exhale, she knocked on Bucky's door, the sound echoing through the quiet common room. After a brief pause, the door swung open, revealing Bucky standing on the other side, pulling a gray hoodie the rest of the way down over his abdomen. The smell of black coffee wafted out of his room.

"Morning," he greeted her with a small smile, raising an eyebrow inquisitively. 

"Hey," Charlotte replied, trying to sound nonchalant. "Figured I’d get an early start today and I know you usually do, too. Might as well run together?”

Bucky's lips twitched in amusement, and he stepped back to let her in. The bed was already made and she had a hunch he’d been up for longer than he’d admit. "Sure, why not? I could use the exercise."

Charlotte couldn't resist a teasing grin. "Yeah, Sarge, you've really been letting yourself go," she quipped, her eyes flicking playfully over his chiseled frame for a moment longer than strictly necessary.

Bucky chuckled, shaking his head as he finished lacing up his shoes. "Yeah, yeah. Let's go, then."

They made their way out of the compound and onto the trail that wound around the nearby lake, the crisp morning air doing a better job of waking them up than coffee ever did. Neither of them spoke much, but to Charlotte’s relief, it was a comfortable silence rather than a tense one. Both sets of eyes were locked on the swell of color across the lake as the sun broke from the horizon. After some light stretching, more of a formality for super soldiers anyways, they began to run. As they fell into step beside each other, any tension that had lingered between them dissipated, replaced by the easy camaraderie that had become second nature over the past months.

“You sure you can keep up, old man?” Charlotte grinned over her shoulder.

Bucky shot her a mock glare, a smirk playing at the corners of his lips. "Please. I could outrun you blindfolded and carrying an extra fifty pounds." He lifted his left arm out of his stride and waggled his fingers at her. “Which I am.” 

Charlotte rolled her eyes, laughing. “Well you’re in luck, because I forgot to bring my blindfold."

“Damn.” He shook his head, loose hair falling with the motion and the wind blowing past him.

The rest of their run passed in a blur of lighthearted banter, normalcy flooding what had been a big question mark after this past weekend in New York. What happened, or almost happened, hadn’t been discussed by either of them. 

______

“Eat shit, Rogers.” Tony threw his hands up as Steve sailed a dart right into the bullseye -- again. 

“Nobody likes a sore loser, Stark.” Steve grinned good-naturedly and held a bottle out to Tony. “Drink up.” 

My stomach hurt from laughing (and eating) way too much, but I didn’t regret either. I was certain that my head would join in the pounding when I woke up the next morning. Rather, when I woke up later today, considering the clock read just past 1am. Pepper had long since gone to bed, and shortly after went Sam and Calla. Peter had passed out on the sectional, narrowly avoiding having something profane drawn on him by Steve’s well-timed challenge of darts. Natasha stood confidently to the side, waiting to challenge whoever the winner was, clearly Captain America himself. I held onto my glass with no intention of finishing the champagne inside of it. I’d gotten myself a refill over an hour ago and only taken one sip. 

Maybe because the molten lava in my chest threatened to burn me alive if I let any more of my judgment fall away. Bucky sat across from Wanda and I, one hand holding a glass of water and the other draped across the back of the couch. His face had a grin plastered on it as he watched the game unfold, but his eyes were just as dazed and unseeing as mine felt. After Sam had snapped us out of…whatever that was, we’d both retreated back into the party. Besides the occasional white-hot bits of eye contact across the chaos, no evidence of our moment remained. I couldn’t decide if I was grateful or resentful of Sam for stopping us, whether he knew what he was doing or not. Based on our history, he might have thought he was breaking up a potential bar fight. I’ll give him that much. 

After watching Natasha wipe the floor with Steve, who was only slightly more gracious in defeat than Tony, Wanda stood and declared that she was going to bed. A murmur of agreement went around the room, the rest of us slowly succumbing to exhaustion from the day and the alcohol. 

“Leave it all, my cleaning staff is paid very handsomely,” Tony waved his hand as he stumbled towards the elevator. “Goodnight you vagrants, the pleasure is all yours.” 

“Char, you coming?” Wanda looked back at me as she strode towards the doors on the far side of the vast living room. 

“I’ll be a few minutes, I’m gonna find some Tylenol.” I smiled warmly and returned her blown kiss as she nodded. Liar. While I could probably have benefited from some, finding medication wasn’t my priority. I turned back to the living room where Steve had slowly roused Peter and was all but carrying him to an empty room. Bucky was looking on, unsure if he should help or laugh. As Steve retreated further from us, Bucky turned and locked eyes with me. The sudden quiet and lack of distractions felt like it was crushing my chest as I stared into his blue eyes. He was only ten feet away from me, which somehow felt too far and terrifyingly too close all at once. Before I could move, speak, or think, Natasha’s hand stuck out in front of me. 

“Here you go. I assume it’s a double dose for you like the other two.” She opened her fist to reveal a handful of small, white pills. In the other, she offered me a glass of water. “Drink up. It’ll help for tomorrow.” 

I nodded and obliged her, swallowing the handful of pills and washing it down with the rest of the glass as I tried not to will her to leave the room. 

“Need any, Barnes?” 

“No.” He shook his head. “I quit drinking about an hour ago.” His eyes flicked back to me. 

“Smarter than you look.” Nat winked. “‘Night, Buck. Come on, I’ll show you the best room left.” She looped her arm through mine and led me towards the dark half of the room everyone had disappeared to. I let her pull me away, but my gaze lingered behind me. 

“G’night Sarge,” I willed myself to sound normal but heard the breathlessness in my own voice.

“Goodnight Charlotte.”

As we got to the threshold of my room for the night, Nat squeezed my arm. “Listen, you can do what you want with who you want. I won’t stop you. But not many good things have come out of drunken late nights at this tower. Sleep on it, and if you feel the same way tomorrow, I’ll buy Barnes a box of condoms myself.” 

“Nat!” I hissed, my cheeks warming as I scanned the room for any sign of him. His door was already closed, the faintest sound of a shower running coming from behind it. 

“Sweet dreams. Thank me later.” She winked and disappeared behind the door next to me, leaving me alone in the massive, suddenly oppressively quiet, space.

______

Later that evening, the normal routine commenced. Sam had taken advantage of the beautiful spring weather and grilled burgers for everyone, claiming his time to shine was during barbeque season. They’d eaten on the balcony and watched the sun sink down. It was a normal day of training, but it felt longer to everyone after being gone for the weekend. 

Charlotte rolled out her neck as she stood at the sink, stiff from all the martial arts work she’d done with Natasha earlier that day. “Next?” She reached out a hand, Wanda giving her another stack of dirty dishes. 

"Hey, careful with that plate, Char," Natasha teased, a smirk playing on her lips. "We don't want to break any more of the fancy dinnerware. I think SHIELD takes it out of our paychecks."

Charlotte rolled her eyes, but couldn't suppress a grin. "Hey, if SHIELD is so great at engineering, why aren’t the plates superhuman-proof," she retorted, earning a chuckle from Wanda. She’d broken a dish during her first rotation on clean up duty, not realizing how slippery the soap made them. Even though their teasing was good-natured, part of it still made Charlotte shrink inside. She hadn’t wanted to admit the reason she didn’t know anh better was because she’d never actually done dishes before. It was yet another small, seemingly insignificant task that had just never been necessary. She’d either been stealing food, eating on the cruise ship she sailed to the United States, eating takeout, or most recently, living off of hotel room service in Las Vegas. She’d never even owned her own set of dishes. She didn’t fear judgment from any of them, it was more of her own insecurities that she preferred to keep hidden. Everyone treated her so normally, had been so accepting that she hardly felt out of place at all. Calling attention to everything she didn’t know or hadn’t done seemed counterintuitive.

As they finished tidying up, the group reconvened in the living area, settling in for a movie night. Peter took charge of selecting the film, much to the amusement of the rest of the team.

"What's it gonna be this time, kid? Another one of your vintage classics?" Sam quipped, earning a mock offended look from Peter.

"Hey, my taste in movies is impeccable, thank you very much," Peter shot back, scrolling through the extensive list of options on the large screen. A collective ‘no’ came from the group when he passed the Star Wars saga yet again. They settled on an action-romance movie that Charlotte had never heard of, but if it fit the criteria of both Wanda and Peter, she supposed it couldn’t be half bad. 

The movie was good. As she watched the action sequences, Charlotte found her mind whirring away, cataloging their fighting styles and the acrobatics of the actors. Frowning, she realized how impractical and unrealistic it all was. She shook her head, willing herself to forget anything she’d just witnessed, lest it come back to bite her in the ass in a training session. 

Shoddy fight scenes aside, it was a good movie. The two lead actors were beautiful, looking like a match made in heaven. About halfway into the movie, the tension between them finally unfolded in a steamy makeout with lingering camera shots that left little to the imagination. Sam jokingly covered Peter’s eyes, lightening the mood as the room laughed. 

However, as the characters onscreen stripped off their clothes, Charlotte's discomfort began to intensify. She watched with a mixture of fascination and trepidation as the scene unfolded, her heart rate quickening with each passing moment.

When the characters moved to the bedroom, the camera again lingering on their wandering hands and heavy breathing and the movement of their bodies, Charlotte felt a surge of insecurity wash over her. She couldn't help but compare herself to the characters onscreen, feeling acutely aware of her own lack of experience. It hadn’t bothered her this much in a while. She recalled the first time she’d watched a salacious scene, sitting in her bed in Las Vegas, and felt herself blush despite being alone. She’d realized she was older than almost everyone she’d ever met and somehow less experienced. The only thing that brought her comfort was the fact that she had no prospects and, more importantly, no interest in being physically intimate with anyone. 

But now…

She couldn't shake the nagging feeling that she was somehow inadequate, especially when she recalled Steve's jokes about Bucky's past exploits as a ladies' man. He had been older when he was captured by HYDRA, already a man. She’d been so young, basically having grown up in the facility. Although she was grown now, there were certain experiences she just never felt comfortable having. Shame crept up her cheeks as she watched the female onscreen moan, looking ethereal and beautiful and so confident. 

Sensing her discomfort, Natasha cast a concerned glance in her direction. "You okay, Char?" she asked softly, her voice barely audible over the soundtrack of the movie.

Charlotte hesitated for a moment, her mind racing with a whirlwind of conflicting emotions. Finally, she nodded, offering Natasha a forced smile. "Yeah, I'm fine," she replied, her voice tinged with uncertainty.

After the credits rolled and the rest of the team began to disperse to their rooms, Natasha lingered behind, her gaze fixed on Charlotte as she grabbed water from the fridge. 

"Hey, you seemed a little off during the movie," Natasha remarked gently, her voice soft and reassuring. "Is everything okay?"

Charlotte hesitated for a moment, grappling with her embarrassment before finally deciding to confide in her friend. "Yeah, I guess I was feeling a bit... out of my depth," she admitted.

Natasha's brows furrowed as she asked gently, “How so?” 

Charlotte hesitated for a moment, her gaze flickering to the TV screen where the romantic scene played out before returning to Natasha. "It's just..." she trailed off, her cheeks flushing faintly as she gestured vaguely at the screen. "I just don't have much experience with... that," she confessed, her voice barely above a whisper. Her normal bravado and attitude was nowhere to be found, instead seeming like the scared little girl she still felt like on the inside more than she’d like to admit.

Natasha's expression softened. "It's okay, Charlotte," she reassured her, her tone gentle and reassuring. "Everyone has their own journey, their own pace. You’ve been in survival mode, on the run for years. I can’t imagine this was top priority for you."

“No,” Charlotte admitted, chuckling. “No, not really.” 

“I’ve been there. Believe me, I’ve had long stretches where I was only thinking about how to stay alive. This,” She waved at the screen. “Is something you only want when you’re safe and cared for and have the luxury of thinking about. You haven’t had that before.” 

Charlotte nodded, her mind racing with a flood of conflicting emotions. "But now…I do.” She ran a hand through her dark hair. “Except…I have no idea what the fuck to do.” 

“Well, it does come pretty naturally.” Natasha grinned, elbowing her. When Charlotte’s mask of concern didn’t break, she softened again. “Hey. Look at me.” She gripped her friend’s arms and looked her straight in the eye. “If you want me to lay it all out for you, step by step, you know I will. No judgment. If you want to learn it on your own, there’s a few websites I can send you to…although they have questionably accurate depictions of…everything. Just tell me how I can help you and I will.” 

“This is stupid, I know,” Charlotte squeezed her eyes shut and pinched the bridge of her nose. 

“It’s not stupid, Char.” Nat’s voice was quiet. “We’ve all been robbed of some pretty big things. It’s dehumanizing. The last thing I ever want is for you to continue to feel crippled by the things that were taken from you.” 

"Thanks, Nat," she murmured gratefully, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "I needed to hear that."

As Natasha turned to leave, a thoughtful expression crossed her features. "Oh, and one more thing," she added, casting a meaningful glance in Charlotte's direction. "If it helps, Barnes hasn't exactly been a ladies' man since he got back, either." She winked. “Maybe you can practice together.”

Charlotte's eyes widened in surprise, a flush creeping into her cheeks at Natasha's words. "You had to ruin it," she called, throwing the water bottle at her. 

Easily dodging it, Nat grinned as she walked backwards toward her room. “Did I?” 

[fcxyviixen]

void

summary: mammon finds a young girl in the human world after being summoned once again. after hiding her for a little while, lucifer finds her and a fight starts. mammon leaves with the girl, however during that time a dark voice starts to pull at him. a deep feeling like tar by drawing strength on his wrath. he was gone for 14 years, the curse growing stronger.

pairing: n/a (mammon and brother centric)

rating: 14+

chapter wc: 1428

warnings: mentions of blood, mentions of guns

reunited, poorly

Mammon looked out the broken window of the apartment. Dragging on a cigarette as he stared at the empty streets. His hair was a bit longer and thicker, more fluffier than the years prior. His blue eyes no longer held their shine, just deep dark ocean blue eyes. He flicked the ash out the window, then the bud. He ran a hand through his hair as he checked the time. It had now been exactly 14 years since Mammon had left the Devildom after the fight, and the demon kept true to his word, he didn’t go back. But, his brother’s sure as hell wasn’t letting him go. Every few years they would get a lead on him, but then he’d disappear with his daughter, Riko.

“Hey, Dad. I’m back.” Riko, the girl now entering 20 years old, greeted as she pushed the door open. This little girl had considered Mammon her father, the only one she ever had. “Welcome back. Where were ya?” Mammon asked, grabbing her for a side hug. A small smile on his normally dull lips. “Had ‘nother job from boss lady.” Riko said, placing her work bag on the torn up couch. Riko had begun to pick up Mammon’s type of speech. “Got a good payday for it.” She smiled, opening the bag. Some cash falling out. Mammon picked them up and set them on the couch. Normally his greed would make him want to take it all, but ever since leaving his greed isn’t as strong. Mammon noticed something was off with Riko. “What is it?” Mammon asked, crossing his arms. Riko sighed before rubbing her neck, “Code Demon.” She muttered, she noticed the anger in Mammon’s features as she said that. He just sighed heavily, something his elder brother used to do because of him before. “Where were they? Did they spot ya?” Mammon asked. “Near the abandoned building north of here.” Riko answered. “They’re definitely getting another lead, do we need ta disappear again?” She asked, watching her father pace the apartment. He then smiled a bit, a deep sickening smile.

“Let ‘em come.” Mammon smiled, a deep voice coming from him, along with a dark aura around him. He shook his head then looked at her, the darkness gone in a blink of an eye. “Which ones?” he then asked. “All six of ‘em, and a seventh one I haven’t seen before.” Riko answered. “Are you sure we’re gonna stay and let them find us?” She asked. “We’re both stronger now aren’t we? We can take ‘em.” Mammon said, grabbing a dark gun with red markings out of her bag. “You have this, and your magic and I have my demonic powers. As a team we’re unstoppable, remember Riko?” Mammon said Riko took the gun. “Damn straight.” She said. Mammon looked out the window again, looking north. He could feel their powers, their anger. His eyes narrowed as his sight allowed him to see farther down. He saw Lucifer and Beelzebub walking out of the building. He just watched them, however he didn’t see the seventh demon Riko mentioned. Mammon hummed slightly before walking away from the window. “Looks like they’re coming this way.” Mammon said, sitting down on the torn up couch. Riko sat down next to him. “Uhh.. Ya know just in case we get caught.. What do we do?” Riko asked. It was something neither of them talked about since it didn’t seem like the others would. “Don’t say a damn word to any of ‘em, resist all ya can.” Mammon said. “They’ll most likely try to separate us, so we can’t plan shit.”. Riko nodded, “Guess that’s the plan.” She said, holding her gun in her lap. She remembers the day Mammon took her away from his brothers.

It was something terrifying for her, but she felt safe when he came. She knew Mammon, the person she called ‘dad’, would protect her with his own life. She smiled a bit, “I’m really lucky to have you dad.” She said. Mammon looked at her, giving her a toothy grin. “I think we’re lucky to have each other.” He said, pulling her into a side hug. Mammon shot up soon after, the demonic energy feeling stronger than it was just 10 minutes ago. Especially next to the broken window. Riko gripped her gun, her finger next to the trigger. Mammon took a few steps towards the window, his demon form ready to manifest in a few seconds. He quickly reached out the side of the window and grabbed whoever was there. Throwing them inside and letting them get cut by the broken glass. The demon hit the ground with a large thud, trying to push themselves up, Riko’s gun was pressed to his temple. Mammon took a good look at the said demon, “Well, well. If it isn’t Belphegor.” Mammon said, his voice taunting. Belphegor looked up at Mammon, but didn’t move much when he saw the gun. “Mammon-” Belphegor tried to start, “I don’t want ta hear it.” Mammon cut him short, glaring at the youngest demon. Belphegor wasn’t in his demon form, he didn’t want to fight his older brother, but he was currently cornered by both Mammon, and the human. And a cornered demon doesn’t end well. “Well what are ya gonna do now Belphie?” Mammon asked, the nickname that used to hold so much love, now held so much resentment. “Mammon.. Please. Hear us out.” Belphegor pleaded. Mammon paused, a sickening voice in his head. Mammon.. You’re being cornered. It’s a trap.

Mammon glared at Belphegor before speaking again. “You’re brave, confronting me all by yourself. Where’s big ol strong Lucifer, or your twin Beelzebub hm?” Mammon asked, taunting Belphegor and stalling him. Trying to get what the younger demon had planned figured out before acting.

“I wanted to try and talk to you myself..” Lie. “Lucifer’s really sorry for what happened 14 years ago!” Lucifer isn’t. “Just, let’s try and fix this Mammon. To be a family again. Nothings been the same since you left.” He’s lying, everything’s been the same except for them not having their punching bag. Mammon continued to glare at Belphegor before laughing, a wicked sick laugh that didn’t sound like his own. “Really, Lucifer is sorry? The Avatar of Pride himself. Please, do you really think I’m that stupid Belphie, or well you do.” Mammon smiled, throwing his hands into the air. Riko just watched in silence, continuing to hold the gun to Belphegor’s head. “Mammon.. He is.. He hasn’t been the same since you left. He was the reason why we’re looking for you.” Belphegor tried to plead, but his eyes failed him. Belphegor’s purple hues landing on the wooden door. Lucifer’s here. The sickening voice screamed.

Mammon looked pissed, dark magic condensing in his hand before throwing it towards the wooden door, causing it to crack and break. The elder demon on the other side, just like the voice said. Lucifer held his arm up to block the attack, the demon’s shield appearing.

Lucifer wasn’t in his demon form, just in his regular human form. He dropped the shield as he looked at Mammon. He almost looked as if he was sad.

He’s tricking you, he isn’t sad. It’s an act.

Mammon glared at Lucifer, dark energy manifested around Mammon. His demon form, which looked dangerously different from 14 years ago. Mammon’s twisted horns were much larger than before, and looked even sharper.

His normal demon form which was just a leather jacket that covered his shoulders and leather belts around his chest, was now just the leather jacket part, the belts now were along the sleeves or his waist.

The white lines around his chest were no longer white, they were a blood red color. His bat-like wings much larger than before, and more spread out. His normal hands, replaced with dark claws as some of his veins even looked solid black, as if the dark energy was coursing through them. His eyes seemed to have turned colors as well, his usual blue and yellow eyes replaced with deep blood red ones. Mammon snicked as he saw Lucifer’s surprise at the different form.

“What surprised to see that your “precious” little brother has grown stronger?” Mammon asked, raising one of his claws up. Lucifer was a bit surprised, but the elder demon wiped it off his face quickly, like he usually did with every other emotion.

“Mammon..” Lucifer began, staring right into his younger brother’s blood red eyes. “Long time no see, little brother.”.

[kaiwewi]

Sharing is Caring #5

[Masterlist: Sharing is Caring] [Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4]

Synopsis: the villain seems to be seeking a diplomatic solution, but Hero already has other plans.

Two weeks.

Two entire weeks! Lost. Stolen.

But hey, fantastic news! Their pretentious health-freak demon had turned out to be just some apparently telepathic scientist villain. Hm, yes, great. Completely reassuring. No problem in sight anymore. Perfectly peachy. Didn’t they just feel so much better already?

Yeah … nope.

If anything, Hero was even more angry. Livid. Fuming.

The stupidly neat pile of notes on the desk did not pacify them in the least. Neither did the seminar certificate. That the villain had gotten the highest possible grade somehow seemed yet another insult, further mockery. Like the villain was trying to prove themself a superior version of Hero. Like they thought they were so perfect and benevolent, doing Hero such a grand favour, and now Hero owed them compliance or something.

No way.

Negotiations? Cooperation? Yeah right. Absolutely not.

As if they would ever surrender to some lowly, lying body thief. How dare the villain use that patronising tone with them, as if Hero was just an unruly child throwing a silly tantrum? How dare the villain pretend this messed up situation was normal and everything was fine and the two of them could just coexist?

The bastard had made it sound like they were planning on making a permanent home of Hero’s body. As if Hero would ever tolerate the villain’s presence. As if they would stand by and do nothing while the villain robbed them of half of their time – half of their life.

Or rather, their whole life, considering they couldn’t hope to have any normalcy at all when they could never trust in tomorrow. They wouldn’t be able to make plans, or sustain friendships, or hold a job. If they didn’t get rid of the villain, Hero would only ever be able to live spontaneously, one day at a time.

And that wouldn’t do. Besides, this was their body and theirs alone!

The villain might have won a battle, stealing a staggering two weeks at once, but Hero was not going to lose the war. Their righteous revenge would not be long in coming.

But they had to be smart about it. Their first theory, about switches occurring once the one in control had slept thrice, was officially obsolete. The pattern they’d thought they’d found in the data must have been a coincidence; even if it had worked out for them last time. However, it was ludicrous to assume that someone like the villain might have only slept three times during the last two weeks.

Back to square one. Unfortunately, they’d have to consider the inconvenient idea that the switches could be entirely erratic.

So, poisoning themself was also off the table now – the villain was right, it wasn’t feasible in the long run, and the unpredictability of the right timing made physical discomfort too much of a gamble to be an effective weapon – but they still had a plethora of alternatives up their sleeve.

“Demon or not,” they said, though they were pretty sure the villain couldn’t actually hear them, “compared to what I’m about to put you through, hell will look like a sweet vacation spot.”

…

An hour later, they finished installing the last mini speaker below their desk drawer’s newly constructed false bottom and hooked it up to the rest of the secret audio system they’d hidden all over the room. – Five mini speakers, each with their own specially programmed time switch controls, connected to tiny audio players full of short, creepy sound clips. A power bank on each of them would ensure they weren’t going to run out of energy even if Hero should be unconscious for longer than a few days again. The entire setup could run uninterrupted for at least ten days. As long as it stayed undetected, that is.

Of course it would have been funnier to simply blast wretched music or unbearable noise, but then the speakers could easily be located. Therein lay the real genius of short clips played at a low, almost subtle, volume and at random intervals: it would be near impossible to determine where exactly the noise had come from before the speaker fell silent again.

The villain would never find anything without tearing the entire place apart; and, the first few times, the sounds might even seem mere figments of the imagination.

What a recipe for paranoia and anxiety.

They were already rather proud of this one, but they weren’t quite done yet …

With a sadistic smirk, they fetched their bottle of bitterant. Colourless and odourless and, as the name implied, disgustingly bitter. The stuff was meant to be used as nail polish to discourage nail biting, but Hero had decided to put it to even better use. They whistled an upbeat tune as they went over the contents of the fridge and applied the bitter liquid to all the villain’s vegetables and healthy snacks. Served that bitch right for throwing all the fast food away, again.

The lighting was next up on the agenda. Nothing flashy here. Just some occasional, quick flickering to add to the overall uncomfortable atmosphere. A few seconds at best at a time – never long enough to immediately warrant closer inspection.

Then came the TV. With just the right gadgets and a few tweaks it would develop a mind of its own and turn on by itself in the middle of the night with the volume turned all the way up. Given the villain’s proper sleeping routine, they were in for a bunch of rather unpleasant awakenings.

Snickering, Hero connected one last master time switch control to the system as a whole and set it to activate at a few minutes past noon tomorrow. If they were still around by then, they’d simply postpone the activation by 24 hours. And should the villain be the one to wake up tomorrow … well.

Time for some good, old-fashioned psychological terror.

———

To be continued...

For my other stories, visit my [MASTERLIST] ♥

taglist: @annablogsposts

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

Game over, you lose!

Que sera, sera

(Bound, but the string wins.)

Marinette was a normal girl with a normal life.

Two bakers for parents, a job that she had followed them into instead of going to college. A coworker that was also her best friend. A ‘mild’ coffee addiction that had become so expensive that her parents had added coffee to the menu so they could use it as a business expense. Really, there were a million other girls like her in Paris.

Well, other than the fact that she had a soulmate.

She hadn’t found them yet, even at the ripe age of twenty-five, but she was willing to wait. Her parents were soulmates, and they were so happy that she knew it could only ever be worth it.

But, for now, she must wait.

Do her job, like the normal girl with a normal life that she was.

Like now. She stood behind the counter, giving the American tourists their weirdly early lunches. At least she was almost done with their lunch rush. Just a few customers more before she could switch with Adrien and let some of her frustration with rude customers out on some dough.

“Alright, I’m at the front, I need to order,” the last man in line said. “I’m just going to stick you into my pocket. Hold for a minute?”

Marinette’s eyes caught on the man’s when he shoved his phone into the breast pocket of his business suit, and for a moment she swore she knew him. She swore that he knew her. Because there was something there, a moment where they scrutinized each others’ faces, in that way you only do when you recognize someone but can’t quite place who they are or where you’d met. But how could they have met before? He was American, she was French. So, she looked away, down at the cash register.

“Can I take your order, sir?” she asked, putting a little bit of an extra accent into her English. She found that it often pleased Americans to have a sense of ‘authenticity’, and was happy for the extra tips.

She felt his gaze linger for just a moment longer before he looked away as well.

“Well, according to a random old guy on the street, this is the place to come for croissants and coffee,” he said, and she was surprised to find that he spoke perfect French. “So, I guess I have to try those.”

She raised an eyebrow. “You take the advice of random people on the street?”

He shrugged, a small smile on his face. “He was very convincing. And it’s not like I would know any better than the locals.”

“Mmm. Maybe I should send Adrien out to try and nab tourists, then,” she said, her eyes gleaming with mirth as she set his order on the counter. “Thanks for the business idea.”

He swiped his credit card without even waiting for her to tell him the price.

“It’s what I do,” he said, lifting the cup to his lips.

Her eyes widened, and she reached a hand out even if she knew she couldn’t reach him in time, trying to warn him that the coffee was still hot.

But she was too late, and the man was burned.

And so was she.

He gave a small hiss of pain. She mumbled a curse, her hand flying up to her mouth as something bitter and way too hot curled itself over her tongue.

Neither of them cared that much, though.

Because their eyes locked once again, and suddenly the familiarity from earlier made so much more sense. Of course they had felt that they had known each other despite never having met, they were soulmates. People always talked about how eyes were the windows to the soul, and theirs must have recognized each other.

Marinette slowly reached down and pinched herself.

She was awake. And, from the man’s slight wince, so was he.

Slowly, he lifted his phone back to his ear. “Actually… I think I’ll call you back.”

He set his phone down on the counter, and sent her a tiny, if awkward smile. “You know, when this day came, I always thought I’d be… smoother.”

She giggled. “If it makes you feel better, I had a whole speech prepared.”

“If you want to tell me when your break is, I’d love to hear it…” His eyes flicked down to her nametag. “Marinette.”

Her heart skipped a beat.

“Well…”

“Tim,” he offered.

“Well, Tim, I get off in about two hours, if you want to go get lunch with me. Though I’m not sure either of us will be able to taste it now that you’ve gone and burned us.”

He laughed, and she wanted nothing more than to make him laugh like that for the rest of time. Wanted to bottle the bright look in his eyes and the faint blush dusting his cheeks.

He leaned forward, his chin coming to rest in his hands, a smile on his face.

And, for just a moment, the world around her changed. It was still Tim, but he was younger now, probably just out of high school. It was still Tim, but now there was a mottled bruise forming on his jaw. It was still Tim, but his face is twisted with anger and there was very real hatred darkening his eyes.

But she blinked, and it was gone.

He smiled at her still, and she returned it, however hesitantly. She had never met Tim before, so her mind must have conjured up the image as a form of self-sabotage. Or something like that. She wasn’t exactly all that well-versed in psychology.

She didn’t have to be to know that the look on his face at that moment was nothing but kind and, possibly one day, loving.

“It’s a date, then.”

“Sounds like it is.”

[astrabear]

my labor, and my leisure too (pt. 3)

The final installment! Even longer than the second one! At some point I'll clean it all up and chuck it on Ao3. (Where, FYI, it will be tagged as "creator chose not to use archive warnings".)

part 1 here part 2 here

*******

It was one of the toughest weeks she could remember, partly because they all seemed to be working at cross purposes. Some of them were trying to refine the current plan while others were trying to find any reason to abandon it. No one wanted to admit that a decision had been made, while at the same time wanting to spend as much time with Nicky and Joe as they could. Joe and Nicky, in turn, seemed torn between wanting time alone together and wanting to maintain their usual routine. It was, unsurprisingly, impossible to say goodbye while also acting as though everything was normal.

Nile woke up each morning feeling nauseated and numb. It all felt unreal, like there was a glitchy forcefield between her and her surroundings. No one slept or ate enough. They needed to be in top condition; there were too many ways this could go wrong, and she couldn’t bear the thought of… of whatever happened, being for nothing. She tried to set a good example, and she could see that Nicky and Joe were trying too, but there was a limit to how much any of them could choke down their food or hide their exhaustion.

Gert cornered her after a few days of this. “I thought we were going to keep talking,” they said angrily. “I thought it wasn’t settled yet. Everyone is sure acting like it’s been settled.”

Nile was too tired and heartsick to be diplomatic. “Sure, we can talk. What do you have to say that hasn’t already been said? Have you managed to find some ingenious plan that we previously overlooked? Or maybe you’ve got something that will convince the two of them that their lives are worth more than however many thousands of people will be helped by this?” What the hell, Freeman, they’re not even sixty years old yet, what are you doing? Pull yourself together.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “That came out worse than I meant it to. But it’s true – we’ve got to give them a reason.”

“How’s this for a reason? We get to make choices too. It isn’t just up to them. We can choose not to go along. We can scrap the mission ourselves.”

It was a thought Nile’d had herself more than once, so she knew how to respond. “Okay. Do you think their lives are worth more than all those thousands of people?” She wanted to say yes. Yes, they are worth all that and more. Yes, I would gladly trade thousands of strangers whose faces I’ll never see for my two oldest friends. Gert’s eyes blazed, and she knew they wanted to say it too.

Neither of them did. The fire in Gert’s eyes died out, and they looked away.

“I get it,” Nile said as comfortingly as she could, “I really do. I was about your age when Andromache died.”

“But that was years. Decades. Right? You didn’t just…” they waved their hand vaguely. Send her off to die.

“Decades, yeah. Decades of worrying about her, wondering each time if that job would be the last. Practicing more field medicine than I ever expected to learn. Watching over her in hospital rooms. She wasn’t interested in retirement either.”

“So was it…worse like that? Compared to now, I mean. Or better?”

There wasn’t a lot that Nile remembered from back then. Impressions, feelings. A few still images, a handful of memories seared into her brain with holovid clarity. Smiles and laughter and tears and blood.

She sighed. “I don’t think it works like that.”

“No,” said Gert. “I guess it doesn’t.”

...

By the time of their scheduled update meeting at the end of the week, they were all running on empty. All of them but Jerrah had gathered in the briefing room, and Nile couldn’t bring herself to either page him over the comms system or start the meeting without him. The other four shuffled awkwardly, waiting for someone to do or say something. Nile just stared at her hands. She felt heavy, as though someone had cranked up the artificial gravity too high. Even raising her eyes to look around the room was too much.

At last, Lijie cleared her throat and said, “We’ve been going through the notes and things. Gert and I. And we uh… we haven’t found – “

Jerrah stumbled into the room, out of breath. “Hey, sorry I’m late. But I have an idea.”

...

They missed their window, but the asteroid’s path gave them another one a few months later. Nicky and Joe fretted at the delay, but to Nile it looked like they were sleeping and eating better. It was a relief to see that they were not so set on martyrdom that they’d object to slowing down a mission that had already stretched out so long.

Jerrah kept them all too busy to brood anyway. By the time the next window approached, Joe and Nicky had armor that provided more protection, with less weight and stiffness, than Nile had ever programmed into her simulations. She couldn’t get him to admit it, but she was pretty sure that he had invented an entirely new material to do it. It could, possibly, help them survive the explosion.

Especially in combination with the miniature gravity modulators he embedded in their boots. They weren’t very strong, and they’d run out of power quickly. But a few minutes of lower gravity to help them run faster might get them far enough from the blast to make a difference. A few minutes of higher gravity after the blast might keep them on or near the ground until the atmospheric dome reformed and the artificial gravity came back on. The auto-pressurization function already in their helmets might keep them alive during that time too.

Maybe. Possibly.

Nile got Jerrah alone once - after Nicky twisted his ankle training with the boots and spent the rest of the day complaining about how long the muscle knitter took to work - to ask if all this new equipment lowered the risk enough that someone who was still healing could set up the explosives after all.

He looked at her solemnly and asked, “How low would the risk have to be, for you to send one of us in to do it?” She thought about spinning off into space, never slowing, never found. Quỳnh had said she’d felt her lungs fill with water with each revival, so did that mean coming back to life with one breath of air already inside? Would your lungs explode immediately each time, once the helmet system gave out? Or would you have a whole 15 seconds to contemplate your situation before the hypoxia knocked you out? She knew the odds of passing near enough to something large enough to have gravity were so low as to be basically zero, but if you did…? What if you got burned up by a star, or incinerated falling through a planet’s atmosphere? What if you regenerated on a planet that couldn’t support life? What if…?

Jerrah must have seen all that in her face. He nodded his understanding. “Not that low. Not nearly that low. This isn’t a guarantee of anything. Or even much of a probability, if I’m honest. It’s just a…”

“A hope?”

“Or a wish. I’m sorry.”

She squeezed his arm reassuringly. “Don’t be sorry. It’s more than we had before.”

She turned to walk away, but he called her back. “Nile. Don’t tell them.”

“I won’t. I’m pretty sure they already know.”

...

The security system didn’t extend to the edge of the atmospheric dome; it didn’t need to. The sensor buoys would detect anything approaching the asteroid anyway. Except, as the team had worked out, when the alignment of the buoys was just right relative to the other asteroids in the belt, a small enough object (such as their shuttle) transmitting the right kind of energy pulse (they’d retrofitted an emergency beacon months ago) could follow a very narrow and intricate course (painstakingly programmed by Nicky and Lijie) and land in one particular spot, just a few degrees of the dome’s circumference. And it would not be detected.

The shuttle flight was less excruciating than Nile had expected. There wasn’t as much banter as usual, but there was some. What there was not, was the suffocating dread of that first week. They’d had a nice dinner the night before that was very pointedly not a goodbye party or an anticipatory wake, although there had been a lot more hugging and hand-holding and significant looks than their dinners generally included. Everyone looked tired (but not exhausted) and determined. And if, whenever they weren’t too busy, Nicky and Joe held hands so tightly their knuckles turned white… well, Nile would deny disproportionately assigning them tasks that didn’t require both hands.

The only small hiccup came when they landed and everyone scrambled into their gear. Joe and Nicky hung back a little, moving slowly. Oh, she thought, gloves and helmets. Of course. She herded the others out of the shuttle to give them some privacy. From the corner of her eye she saw them lean their foreheads together, and she hurriedly shut the hatch behind her. She didn’t need to see how they spent the last moments in which they could touch each other.

Once they were in formation with the others, they were as focused and ready as they'd ever been. Joe and Nicky, side by side, she thought, with all their friends around them. How they've always been, how they want it to always be. She took point and settled herself firmly in her body, in the present moment. For more than two millennia, if there was a job in front of Nile Freeman, Nile Freeman did that job.

She allowed herself one last moment to think, you never know, if immortality is real then anything is possible. Sometimes the universe is kind. But if there has to be an ending, I guess this one's not so bad.

Then Jerrah’s tablet beeped, signaling that the security system had gone offline. She unholstered her sidearm and started walking, knowing they'd all follow. "All right, people. Let's do some good."

[wickedsrest-rp]

Name: Elijah Nazarian (Henri Broussais) Species: Empath Occupation: Miner for Erebus (CIA Agent) Age: 32 Years Old Played By: Amélie Face Claim: Fabien Frankel

"What a jolly, beautiful day it is!"

Henri was born in the city of Reno, Nevada. His father, Julien, was a door-to-door merchant, who crisscrossed the district to find new customers. His mother, Nadia, meanwhile, wanted to be a singer. She worked as an executive secretary in a company that sold vintage cars. On Saturdays, they went to town. Julien gambled, always in small casinos, the kind that could be fooled by his tricks. Nadia did audition after audition in the city’s music halls, hoping to find her place and finally quit her bread and butter job.

Fame never came, neither did the riches. Henri returned home from school one day. He was in 7th grade. His mother had left a note on his pillow. That was the last he heard of her. It wasn’t just her job she felt unhappy with. She had never wanted to be a parent. Julien on the other hand, had once claimed he wanted that sort of life, but was about to realize that being a single parent was nothing like anything he had known. Henri resented his father more than he did his mother. The reason was simple enough : with mom out of the picture, it wasn’t long before they started having money problems, and it wasn’t much longer before he figured out that she had been the one keeping the boat afloat while his father drilled holes into the hull. 

The saddest part for Henri might have been acknowledging that his father had gone down such a steep rabbit hole he no longer realized how much of a failure he was. He always could tell that his mother was not a happy woman. He could always tell that being a good kid helped, that bringing home good grades helped. Perhaps it was why she had left. She knew he'd be okay, 

Still, he felt the urge to get away from his good for nothing father. Henri was getting better each day getting a read on people to the point where he could finally tell how his father was feeling. That was a sight bound to make anyone flee.

He enlisted with the U.S. army when he was 17. He liked having rules, a rigid frame to conform himself to, and he figured emotionally constipated people would be a nice break from the hell that had been dealing with his father and hormonal highschoolers. It turned out that there was no such thing as emotionally constipated folks, only people who didn’t even understand their own emotions. 

Henri decided to embrace his skills. His superiors, convinced that his interrogation skills were wasted here, convinced him into applying for the Pentagon’s training program. His experience abroad, the strong recommendation letter his captain wrote for him, along with the languages he already spoke along with his people skills helped him a great deal with recruiters. 

They assigned him to AARO (All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office) to deal with matters that strayed from normal business. 

It has been a few years now, and he’s seen his lot of small towns, of species, or supernatural nonsense. Assess, contain, control or destroy the threat. This was all he had to do, anywhere he went. Using discretion and diplomacy, he was supposed to do his best to find a peaceful end to most issues. 

Now posing as Elijah Nazarian, a miner from Wyoming, Henri is ready to tackle yet another stunning example of supernatural nonsense: the mineral abnormality. Wicked’s Rest seems like a much tougher piece of work than anything else he has dealt with in a while, but it will take a bit more than a bunch of rocks to scare him away. The only trouble is, it’s hard to negotiate or mess with the feelings of a stone…

Character Facts:

Personality: Adventurous, confident, cocky, opportunistic, resourceful, solitary, manipulative

Elijah Nazarian is one of the aliases Henri uses while working undercover for the CIA. 

Elijah is from Wyoming, and has been working in mines ever since he finished high school. He’s passionate about minerals and used to go spelunking as a teenager (sometimes illegally).

Elijah grew up raised by a loving family, who was sometimes too busy to constantly keep an eye on him. 

Elijah was one of those kids who was obsessed with all things prehistorical. Every once in a while, he'll go to the natural science museum to get a look at fossils and minerals there.

Another obsession of his, though one Elijah will stay quiet about is Celine Dion, his mother's favorite. He pretended to detest it growing up, but now that he's out of the house, he associates her music with fond memories and he can sing along to most of her songs.

[labwebs]

@redhead-reporter​ gets ANGST/a sorta plotted thing

If anything, the fact that so little had changed between Peter and MJ once he’d finally admitted his feelings both to himself and to her was probably a decent indication that he’d been denying said feelings for possibly longer than he’d even realized. Maybe at first his tagging along on some of her investigations was just simply him looking for more information, too. He’d done it both in and out of the suit before she’d even figured out who it was beneath the mask. And, he knew, was likely part of the reason MJ’d put two and two together and figured that Peter Parker was the web-slinger.

But as their partnership, friendship, and now this had grown, he’d found that going with her had turned into being just as much about making sure that MJ was safe as it was them both trying to make the city a better place. They’d both been working towards that lofty goal for years before their paths had crossed. Him fighting crime head-on, her shining an unforgiving light on the criminal cockroaches and the methods they used. Neither one of them was ever going to give up what they did best, so they looked out for each other where they could. Which often meant nights like this- MJ charming her way into what was supposed to be a construction site shut down for the night by assuring the guard that she was just there to pick up something her boyfriend had left behind, him sticking to the shadows and using the scaffolding to keep an eye out. Sure, he could’ve just swung them both in under cover of night, but MJ’d wanted to have a chance to talk to the security and see what she could glean there before poking around. This construction site seemed to be taking a long time even by NYC standards. Something was definitely up.

It was pretty standard- something they’d done before and would likely do again. MJ knew what she was looking for, Peter (Spider-Man) was the lookout. But maybe they’d done this a few too many times- or at least enough to get noticed. Knowing MJ’s reputation and who followed her around, they’d taken care laying this trap. It was only a glint of light off of the silencer that reflected from passing traffic that’d warned him. With no time to explain, he jumped-  crashing unceremoniously into MJ and knocking her down and out of the gunman’s line of sight. 

“Stay- uhg,” he started, but was quickly cut off. Spider-sense already going haywire thanks to the still-unseen sniper, Peter hadn’t clocked the figure coming out of the shadows behind him- a figure that’d just so happened to have a very sharp knife- and something like an electric staff to make sure the notoriously nimble spider stayed still long enough to get the job done. Harder to dodge than bullets. Quieter than an explosion that’d bring the cops. Even as the pain bloomed out from where the knife had entered his body and the electricity traveled through his nervous system, he had one thought: Get MJ safe. Stumbling forward, running on autopilot as he tried to shut it all out for just long enough, he scooped her up and shot a web towards the water tower of a nearby building. Unable to get his feet under him, the landing was ungraceful- both of them instead rolling to a stop. Peter lying much stiller than normal...

[acommonloon]

a lure

One bright Friday a friend was saying there were no more door to door sales. Another disagreed immediately saying there were. A few of our group recounted stories, most old but some more recent about sales persons at the door, and one mentioned the dreaded J.Wits and a grandma who said she’d go to their church if they’d go to hers. I thought, we rarely get anyone at the door but...

The next day I happened to pop in the livingroom as the doorbell rang. I'd been on the patio with music playing, D was hanging up laundry. I'd gone in to grab my phone off the charger otherwise neither of us would have noticed the young woman at the door.

At first glance through the storm door glass, I saw she was slim with straight blonde hair that didn't quite reach her shoulders. She wore slacks and a polo with a company logo. Her face was lightly freckled and she'd just sat her bag down on the step to rub something on her face. When I opened the door, I think it startled her.

I've been replaying our interaction off and on ever since, trying to figure out what seemed so off putting about it.

I've been a communicator since I was 18, when the Air Force gave me a job doing that. I meet new people constantly as part of my job, I'm used to putting people at ease.

I wasn't bothered someone was at our door, I was properly dressed, I greeted her with a smile and a hi, so I was surprised she seemed so uncomfortable yet determined to hide it as she began her obviously rehearsed pitch.

She threw out her hand as she said her name was Abby, I shook it lightly, then, conscious of how I loomed over her, I moved back to sit in the rocker next to the front door. I belatedly realized the other chair, normally next to me, was missing, I hadn't replaced it after repainting the deck, but I was sure she would be gone quickly so I simply asked what I could do for her.

She apologized for having lotion on her hand then asked that age old door to door sales person question, "So I guess you're the father of the house?"

<sigh> we're doing this. Yes well there's no kids living here now but yes, I'm Shane.

She rushed on saying she was a college student from Ohio, Kent State... in Ohio.

I smiled through discordant thoughts of old news clips of student crowds, smoke canisters, and gun shots clashing with the mundanity of “There aren't door to door sales anymore. "

I realized this was going to take longer so I invited Abby to move down the porch to where there were two chairs. Then I excused myself to find D to rescue me or at least share whatever this was. The house replied to my calls with silence. <sigh>

I returned and Abby resumed her pitch saying this was her summer internship, all four years, she'd worked for a company called Southwestern Advantage selling children's books. She said it with gusto. Had I heard of it?

No

Her delivery was bright, emphatic, and unnatural, I couldn't imagine she'd been doing this for four years.

<Oh boy> I said, "Let me see if my wife wants to come out."

I stepped inside again and called out for D. Again silence. I imagined her standing still absolutely quiet. She hates strangers at the door. I wasn't giving up until I found her. I said, "Um there's a woman at the door selling kids books, want to come see?"

I returned alone and Abby resumed, still using dialog I found unnatural and uncomfortable.

I listened as she said this was her first time in this area which, I had no reason to disbelieve and everyone was so nice!

I had every reason to disbelieve that and suspected she'd been told off more than once. I could imagine how that might make her skittish. <sigh> I began to wish this could be over.

She mentioned some of the people on the street she'd already met, using one's first name, Able, twice as if that would break the ice. I didn't know that person so...

I said, “Look it's fine, can we skip the sales patter and get to what you'd like to sell me."

She gasped. "Oh no no, this is just me." She said. "By the way, I don't know what it was, but when I first walked into your yard, it smelled so fresh. Do you know what that is? "

<sigh> ...... um maybe the water feature? I replied

Yes maybe.

Then I said, "They did spray the yard two days ago.

she replied, but doesn't that usually smell bad?

Yes

Okay, I'd asked to go off script so my bad.

Then she asked, "Have you seen me on Facebook?"

What, uhhh no. I didn’t explain that unless she was a bar, brewery, or restaurant, I'd never see her on Facebook.

Well that's okay she assured me, here’s someone you might know. She said a name then tilted her tablet so I could see a picture of her shaking hands with the county sheriff. Isn’t that a great picture? she asked. <sigh> okaaay.

Yes Abby, so to be honest, we have a house full of books for kids. Our kids have asked us to stop buying books for our granddaughters because they have so many. We sometimes still do if we happen on one we really like. So could you just show me your books?

Okay sure straight from the bookmobile that’s what I call my car she giggled. Then she pulled a book from her bag and asked, Do you know why peacock feathers are pink?

It sounded like a question I’d heard before but I was really desperate to get this over with so I didn’t say anything but just raised my brow in question. Because they eat pink shrimp! They’re clear so…

I don’t remember how I convinced Abby I wasn’t buying any books but she had the hutzpah to ask if I’d advise her of who else on the street might be interested. I warned her away from two neighbors who I thought would be mean and told her of two who had kids and mercifully she left.

When I walked in D was standing right there. So? She asked.

So what? I replied.

I can’t believe you didn’t buy any books? She laughed.

Yeah me either she was the worst.

Oh I saw her on Facebook D said. No way was I going out there.

I looked at her trying to convey my feeling of disbelief and betrayal.

Yeah two teachers bought books from her. Not the smartest teachers.

[all-eyes-lead-to-the-truth]

All Eyes Lead to the Truth | Revelations (3x11)

All he wanted was to go to Heaven.

Owen never went to church when he was young. He didn’t have that kind of family. He barely had any family at all. It was just him, his mother, and his grandmother, and neither of them paid him much attention anyway. They never said it, but he knew it was because of how he looked. 

He was bullied at school and stared at on the street, but he was used to it. He didn’t know life any different. He looked weird and people knew it. End of story. 

And when you look weird, your options are few. Nobody wants a big bald freak opening them up and taking out their appendix. He would never stand in a courtroom or in front of a classroom. He thought maybe he could be a cop, but he was too scary to be a good guy. So he stayed out of sight. He kept his head down, did his work, paid the bills. 

He dropped out of school and worked odd jobs for most of his life. He eventually found himself working at a church, cleaning toilets and mopping floors. At first it was just another paycheck, but one day he started listening. 

He noticed how happy the music from the organ at the altar made him, how calm he felt when the voices of the singing congregation washed over him. He would close his eyes and take a break from washing windows or dusting statues to soak it in. His body would fill with peace in a way he’d never experienced before. 

He learned a lot while keeping the church clean– the stories of Jesus, the teachings and beliefs, but he also discovered the many sides of religion. He saw the greed, the envy, the pride. The priests who looked tired and spread thin. The volunteers who bragged and showed off. The kids who cried, the elderly who wept.

He saw weddings and funerals, those who believed and those who were there for nothing but the wrong reasons. 

He watched people pretend to be godly churchgoers only to step outside the doors and yell at their spouses as they got in their Volvos and BMWs.

He took it all in, not sure where his place was in the big picture of all these people coming to worship. Until one day, long after moving on from his job at the church, God spoke to him.

Standing stock still in the garden of his employer’s house, he heard His voice. 

Protect him. Keep him safe. 

He should have been scared; it wasn’t normal to hear a voice in your head when there was no one around. But he wasn’t. He was filled with a sort of light. A purpose. The words felt like an embrace, more comforting than any hug he’d received from his mother, more assuring than any words ever spoken to him. 

For those brief moments, as that love surrounded him, he knew everything would be all right. God was with him. He was meant for someplace better than this. But first, he had a job to do. 

The only thing that mattered was the boy, Kevin. Whatever it took, whatever he had to do, Kevin was his priority now. He kept the family’s lawn perfectly mowed, no longer to pay his bills, but to stay close and protect their child. Everything he did– what he ate, how he dressed, how he arranged his day– was with the intent of doing God’s will. 

He gave of himself, abandoning what little life he’d had, to honor God’s words and do as he had been called. 

As he sat with his arms tied behind his back, he watched the FBI agents. The man only wanted answers, but he assumed the woman with the cross would understand. 

“You believe me, don’t you?” he asked her. “I mean, you must wear that as a reminder.”

She looked down towards her cross. He knew deep in his soul that she wanted to believe– he could feel it surrounding her– but she locked her faith inside. If only she could trust, in herself and in Him. 

“Mr. Jarvis,” she said, and he could tell she was shaken. “My religious convictions are hardly the issue here.”

“But they are.” He was angry because he now understood that nothing was more important than one’s faith in God. “How can you help Kevin, if you don't believe? Even the killer, he believes.”

Her partner made some sort of joke that Owen chose to ignore. 

“Mass on Christmas, fish on Friday,” he said, remembering the things he’d learned from his years at the church, aware that she would know them too. He wanted his words to hurt, to make her see how wrong she was.

“You think that makes you a good Christian,” he continued. “Just because you don't understand the sacrifice, because you're unwilling, don't think for a moment that you set the rules for me. I don't question His word. Whatever He asks of me, I'll do.”

He jumped to his feet and then male agent turned towards him. “Sit down, Mr. Jarvis.”

It was so simple, if they only understood what He wanted. He needed to keep Kevin safe. It was the only thing he had to do. 

“I just want to go to Heaven.” 

He needed to get to Kevin. They were wasting time. 

He could hear the voice. 

He’s near. He’ll kill him. Protect the child. 

He didn’t think; he simply did what was needed. He barely felt the glass against his skin or the hard ground under his body. The strength of something more powerful than himself brought him to his feet and propelled him forward. 

He needed to get to Kevin. He would protect him until the moment his life ended. He would do God’s will, and as he left this earth, he would enter His kingdom, greeting Him with open arms and a smile across his lips. 

Read the rest of All Eyes Lead to the Truth on Ao3

@fridaysat9

[voxelfoxkae]

LOTS of words I need to get out of my system regarding my previous job and how I got there.

I went to uni for computer science. After a few months, I worked out that I needed money. I picked up a job at the nightclub on campus. I was pretty good at it. They moved me to a supervisor. When I finished my degree, they offered me a job as a manager (+ a few months of Covid inbetween).

I had no experience being a manager, but they assured me that I was more than capable and that they would support me in this role. Turns out: that was bullshit.

I don't want to say I was bad at my job, but they certainly made it out that way. I was constantly overwhelmed; nothing I did ever good enough. They had so many expecations of me that were either out of reach without support (which they failed to give) or unrealistic in general. They put so much for me to do on fuckin "35 hours a week" (a normal 40 hour work week with an hour's lunch per day) that it was ridiculous. I was 22 working 60/80 hour weeks. All the time. Being paid for 35.

Apparently, they eventually decided that having me around was no longer something they wanted and I learned about the wonders of being "managed out", where a job is made so bullshit that you no longer want to work there and you just quit. Saves them firing you (which means you don't get the protections that come along with it).

But I did just that. I quit. I knew I was going to quit when they yelled at me for something and I left the office to go and sit in my car and cry. Granted, there were probably signs before then that I should have paid attention to, but that's the one that pegged it.

I gave in my notice, I worked one (1) more week, and then used all of my holiday on leaving immediately (because of course I didn't have time to take any fuckin holiday either).

Since then I have gotten a new job doing much the same thing, but the difference here is that I am being taught new things and I am being supported. I am content. I am happy. And people here are happy with me. Like, I am surprisingly frequently getting comments and compliments on how well I work and how competent I am and the knowledge I have, and these are legitimately not even things I had considered about myself. Because of where I was previously and the expectations laid on me that I always failed, I had just gotten it ingrained into me that I was just shit at my job and awful at the whole thing.

It's... nice. I like this.

My previous workplace replaced me with one of the staff members I was managing, and as it turns out, they deeply underestimated how competent I was. This staff member is lovely and I adore them greatly, and we are wonderful friends, but she is not up to the standard that I was at. They had her on a six-month contract which has now expired and neither her or them want to renew it. And they are replacing my job with... TWO jobs. That's right: they determined the amount of work they were giving me as a first-time manager is worth that of two experienced managers.

Hilarious.

Anyway I got this in my mind because I was going to offer them help over freshers week, but reading back through some emails I had in order to find a contact I remembered all of this bullshit.

So ya. Brain go brrrr.

[eldritchazure]

here’s part 3!! it’s a bit shorter i think but ya know

in the third year, alrighty stralka had long lost count by that point, things had almost settled into a new kind of normal. they scavenged for food and resources, stole when they needed to, and fought with other urchins and sometimes even local law enforcement when to defend themselves and their meager supplies. their hair grew wild and unrecognizable from the neat bowlcuts they used to be. they acted more rihannsu than vulcan in those days, even when they weren’t in public. they no longer spoke of things like their parents. they were each other’s family, and talk of their old life would only cause them grief, and grief caused distraction, and distraction was deadly.

stralka and cavair did most of the work, because they were the oldest and strongest, even occasionally taking on odd jobs from kind people who were willing to look past their unfortunate appearances and stralka’s strange accent. occasionally, the jobs were from less charitable people and were of dubious legality now and again, but they took them anyway because they paid more. with such basic medical tools, stralka had amassed quite the collection of scars. his left ear had so many notches in it, it was just shy of being shredded. cavair hadn’t faired much better. meanwhile, the others guarded their little group of lean-tos and took care of sekal.

t’miva was the loudest and most aggressive, and she was left in charge when stralka and cavair were out. she often pretended to be braver than she was, and her anger mirrored stralka’s. they were both fiery and had a willingness to get their hands dirty to protect the others. she looked up to stralka, and that made stralka very nervous.

vantik, who now had one less eye than when he started, seemed to have an affinity for medicine. at the very least, whenever stralka cauterized a stab wound with a heated up knife, vantik did his best to clean and bandage up the wound. and since no one had died yet, they all assumed vantik was doing a pretty good job. he and t’miva weren’t related, but they may as well have been twins. they had always been close as a result of being the same age.

sava was quieter than the other two. they were clever and the fastest of the bunch, and therefore were the best thief of the bunch. whenever money was especially tight, sava wandered unassumingly into a crowded street and came back with pockets that clinked lightly as they walked.

sekal was the baby of the group. they all worried about him constantly, and called him sek’kam, despite the fact that he was probably too old to be called such a childish nickname by now. he neither protested nor endorsed the nickname. he did not speak much at all. he only communicated through the limited rihan sign language he’d learned from cavair, or, more often, the familial bonds they shared.

cavair had yet to be included in the family bonds, but he was on his way. at first, the others had been extremely skittish around him, especially sekal, but eventually they warmed up to him. he was the one who taught vantik how to disinfect and bandage wounds, and sava how to pickpocket. he also had also been teaching them rihan, so they were all mostly fluent in it by then. he was especially close with stralka in particular. the others were like siblings to stralka, and cavair was his best friend. stralka hadn’t really had a best friend before, and it was nice. they had saved each other’s lives so many times by now that they’d both lost count. they were partners in crime, literally. and cavair was still so easy to talk to. the two were nearly inseparable. cavair insisted on taking the night watch so that stralka could actually catch a few hours of  sleep. stralka insisted that cavair eat all of his food instead of giving it to the others. stralka knew that if anything ever happened to him, cavair would take care of the others. the first time stralka mind melded with him reinforced this.

cavair had been badly injured while on a job, and stralka couldn’t move him. they had to wait for vantik to come to them with their makeshift medkit. cavair’s face was twisted up in pain and the strip of sleeve stralka had ripped to staunch the bleeding was soaked through with green. stralka was at a loss. he hated how helpless he felt. he hated seeing cavair in so much pain. it felt almost like a physical ache. he scrambled for an idea as he murmured empty platitudes of “everything is going to be okay” and “you are going to be alright”. if only he could somehow ease cavair’s burden. he’s gladly take on some of cavair’s agony if he could. and then he realized that oh, he actually could do that. he’d momentarily forgotten he could do that. (sometimes it was almost like he forgot he was vulcan at all. and that was… unsettling, to say the least.)

he presented the plan to cavair, and though it took cavair a moment to formulate a response through the likely blinding pain, he assented. stralka took a moment to center himself with some difficulty (he usually didn’t bother these days unless he had to initiate a mind meld with one of the others and had fallen a bit out of practice), before moving his fingertips to cavair’s meld points and murmuring, “my mind to your mind, your thoughts to my thoughts.”

stralka’s first impression was fire.

it was, to say the least, most unpleasant.

stralka was very inexperienced (and as such probably shouldn’t have attempted this in the first place), but he managed to take on some of the flame so that it was easier them both to manage. after the initial burning pain, it really wasn’t so bad. it was actually… kind of nice. it was easy. distantly, stralka was aware that cavair’s breathing had evened out, and that they were breathing in sync now.

cavair showed stralka his mother and all of the places he’d lived in and people he’d met growing up, and stralka showed cavair the little sister he’d had in another life, and the beautiful, larger-than-life rock formations on the beaches of t’paal that he’d hung around and explored as a child.

they stayed that way, distracting each other to the flame that was still simmering in the background, until vantik arrived.

afterwards, stralka discovered a bond that hadn’t been there before. it was a new kind; it didn’t feel quite the same as the familial bonds he had with the others. it was golden and it glowed and when he poked curiously at it, it was warm. stralka smiled ever-so-slightly to himself, and knew the expression was mirrored on cavair’s face.