#but she's so genuinely stunned that grant would throw it all back in her face after a lifetime of just the opposite

[holocene-sims]

next // previous

may 10, 2013 6:20 p.m. actual hell

[the-witty-pen-name]

Deadbeat Pt. 1

Lee Bodecker x F!Reader

18+ ONLY

Warnings: age gap (reader is 21), smut/masturbation (implied/mild), cursing, abandonment, infatuation, alcohol, cheating, violence?, mild housewife kink? 

Word Count: 4.3k

Summary: You work at the bar at the edge of town, the Sheriff is going through a divorce and needs to rent a room. 

A/N: I’m terrible at writing summaries and I’m so sorry about that! I don’t think I would consider this a dark!fic, but it does cover a lot of themes, and topics that are darker than I usually write about- but I think that comes with the territory of writing about Lee Bodecker. I’ll make sure to update the warnings for each chapter and do not read if you are underage. I also ignored canon for this one.

There are no tags on this one, because no one has specifically asked to be tagged on smut fics and I don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable!

I hope you all enjoy!

Tags and Requests are OPEN

“Get out of here Lee,” you spat, pointing to the door he just walked into the bar from. “You swore to Janie you wouldn’t touch a drop.” 

“C’mon (y/n),” he said sitting at the bar anyways, a smug grin on his face, making you scoff. 

“I ain’t having anything to do with you breaking your promise to that lovely woman,” you say confirming your point. You wipe your hands on the towel that was hanging from your apron. 

“Jack and coke?” He asks, looking at you with eyes that would be endearingly puppy dog if it weren’t Lee Bodecker. You shook your head. 

“A coke it is,” you say and he gives up trying for now. He regrets telling you on his last visit he’d be swearing off drinking cause Janie finally threatened to throw him out. 

You slide a glass bottle of Coca-Cola down the length of the bar to Lee and he grinds his teeth slightly. The sugar was always his temporary fix. You also sent down his way a small bowl of roasted peanuts, feeling bad for the mess of a man. 

“She’s gonna leave me anyways,” he grumbles and you shake your head, picking up on his attempts to illicit sympathy to coax you into giving him a drop of anything. 

“Stop giving her a reason to Lee,” you point out, gesturing with your hands to emphasize that he was in the same small bar on the edge of town he always wandered into on weeknights. He’d tell Janie he was on duty but he’d really be down in this little box of a building getting drunk as a stunk. 

“She’s the one who gone and cheated,” Lee said in an angry tone, not towards you, just at his situation. “That Miller fellow living a few miles down from me. I see his truck parked outside my house plenty of times to know he’s not just being neighborly.” 

“I’m sorry Lee,” you say with a genuine tone of sympathy. You felt for him and his pain. You knew the stress of the job he led and the pain of knowing the love of your life don’t love you. 

“She’s going to leave me,” he says, staring intently at the condensation on the bottle in front of him. “I’d been trying so hard for her and our marriage and she’s two timing with the neighbor when I’m out working.” 

“And the thing is I don’t even care if she cheated,” Lee continued, “I’d look the other way if I knew she’d be staying with me. But it’s cause I know she don’t love me anymore. That’s what’s hurting me most.” 

“Maybe y’all can work through this-“ 

“This was inevitable,” he says, cutting you off. You don’t point it out, cause he’s clearly distressed but normally you’d have no problem saying to Lee ‘Fuck you, let me finish Sheriff.’ 

“Do you got somebody?” Lee asks you. The question takes you back cause it wasn’t like the Sheriff to ask your about anything personal. He would come in, and you’d shoot the shit, exchange small talk, maybe some harmless flirting for a larger tip, but that was the extent of it. 

“No, not anymore,” you say, having recently broke things off with your boyfriend. “I was seeing Arvin Russell for a couple months, but we just broke it off.” 

“You’re too good for him anyways,” the sheriff scoffed at the mention of the Russell boy and took another swing from his bottle of pop. “How old are you anyways, sweetheart?” 

“Twenty-one,” you respond, not thinking too much about the nickname. He had a habit of frequently using names like that when he talked to the women in this town. You think it started out as a tactic to win re-election and then it just stuck. He nodded. 

“Yeah you two are around the same age,” he said, more so thinking out loud than it being a statement directed towards you. “Why’d you break it off?” 

“Beat up my brother,” you answered, “Granted, the little shit had it coming. Can’t blame Arvin after I heard how the asshole was bothering that sweet thing Lenora. But he just took it too far. Almost killed the kid. The boy saw red so I got myself out of the picture. You can’t be with a boy who does that to your kin.” 

Lee nodded understandingly. You didn’t interpret his actions or questions as genuine concern or interest in you, but that he was just asking you questions to distract from his marital woes. 

“I’d do so many things different if I could be your age again,” he chuckled in a self-deprecating tone. “I’d sure as hell love to turn back time and have myself go down a better path.” 

“It’s not just you, Sheriff,” you reply after collecting money another man sitting at the bar. You nod as a goodbye to the man, and then curse under your breath when he doesn’t tip you. “Asshole,” you mumble, tossing the few pennies into the tip jar. You walk back over to the sheriff and prop your elbows on the bar. “I’m sure everyone is this town wishes the same thing,” you say, trying to make him feel better. 

“I’d love to just be your age again,” he says with a sigh, and then pops a small handful of the peanuts in his mouth. “Young, got your whole life ahead of you.” 

“I’m not sure working in a place like this is setting me up for great things, Sheriff,” you chuckle moving to wipe the bar in the area where that other customer left. “A woman working as a bartender is equivalent to just being a whore according to the eyes of the Lord... at least in this town,” you laugh, using the towel from your apron to wipe the rings left behind on the countertop from the glasses. 

“Arvin didn’t think so,” Lee countered, trying to make you feel a little better about your position. “I don’t think so. Hell, people in this town are so uptight about things that aren’t their business. You’re young, you need a job and you have one. It’s that simple.” 

“I wish more people in this town thought that way,” you reply with a smile. “That new preacher last Sunday-“ 

“Don’t listen to that asshole,” the Sheriff scoffed, and chuckled when your eyes widened at his derogatory words towards the preacher. “He’s a showboating son of a bitch and he’s as phony as they come.” 

“Those ruffled shirts are the most pretentious thing I ever seen,” you say, letting out a big laugh thinking about when he is giving a sermon in what looks like tacky prom attire. 

“Pay him no mind,” Lee said, bringing the bottle to his grinning lips as he looked at you. “You’re a better person than he is.” 

“I appreciate the sentiment,” you chuckle. 

“Have a goodnight hunny,” another customer at the bar says dropping cash on the table as they leave. “Goodnight Sheriff,” the older man tips his hat and then walks out. 

“Have a goodnight Marvin,” you call after him, “Give my love to Loretta!” You clear the empty glass and drop the cash off in the register. 

While you’re moving around, Lee takes a moment to actually look at you. Any man with eyes knew you were pretty, but he ain’t never noticed before just how attractive you were. His eyes lingered for a moment at how the canvas waist apron extenuated your figure. He couldn’t believe this stunning young thing was stuck in a place like this with a dead end job talking to a deadbeat like him. 

“How long you staying for Sheriff?” You ask suddenly, pulling him out of his trance. 

“Uh, not sure,” he says, looking up at the dingy Luger Beer clock that hung on the wall. “Why sugar?” 

“Seeing as though your sober I was hoping I could trouble you for a ride home?” You ask shyly. 

“Of course,” he said without hesitation. “No trouble at all honey.”

“Thank you, Lee,” you say with a smile, making his heart skip a beat. 

He’d talk to you most weeknights and never had this feeling. Maybe he had but he was too wrapped up in his own troubles to notice it. You were such a sweet girl, and he realized what an injustice it truly was for you to be stuck here. 

The thought crossed his mind very quickly about if he wasn’t married- even though he knew divorce was coming around the corner any day now. If he had met you at a different time in his life if it would’ve been better. Instead of meeting you as an overweight, deadbeat of a sheriff which a drinking problem- he’d met you when he was fresh out of school, same age you are now. You all coulda fallen in love, started a family, and that would’ve been enough to keep him from taking up drinking in the first place. 

He knew from the beginning Janie ain’t ever loved him. Hell, he’s not sure if he ever loved her thinking back on the whole relationship. Lustful, without any sort of promise behind it and they both were users. They used each other. He knew he treated her poorly as poorly as she treated him. He definitely had loved her, that much he knew was true, but now she’s cheating- something Lee never thought of doing at all no matter how many fights they had until the early morning hours.  

As you maneuvered around behind the bar, locking up the liquor and wiping down the machines getting ready to lock up for the night, his mind played little tricks on him. The canvas apron was instead a pinafore, and the bar was his kitchen. He’d loved the sight, thinking about coming home to you instead of what was soon to just be an empty house. 

Hell, he wasn’t even sure if he’d even be the one to keep his house. The idea of finding a new house- buying one for you, and being able to start over sounded like a dream life. Hell, he’d run away from this town right now if you said the word. He’s sure he could secure an election in another town, he had the connections to make it happen. 

“I just got to lock up the office and I’ll be ready to go,” you say, untying your apron. He gulps and nods as confirmation. You disappear in the back room, cash drawer in your arms to lock away in the safe. He heads behind the bar to dispose of his empty bottle and the cardboard tray his peanuts were in. 

You come back, your peacoat buttoned and the sash tied around your waist in a bow you had made. You had a small handbag in one hand, and your work apron in the other. Suddenly, he was nervous and didn’t know how to carry himself around you. Undeniably, the Sheriff was developing a crush. He couldn’t shake the feeling. He wanted to ask you out on a proper date, but he knew with his age and reputation- it wouldn’t be fitting. He was moving way too fast in his own mind to keep up with. Just daydreams, he thought to himself, suppressing the thoughts of a future with you for now.

“Okay,” you said, giving the place one more once over to make sure it was all set. “That does it.”

“After you,” he said, holding the door open for you. You giggled, and once you both were outside, you used your key to lock the front door. He held the door open for you to take the passenger seat in the cruiser. As you buckled your seatbelt, he walked over to the driver’s side and then slide into his seat.

You were a little nervous. You weren’t sure why. This wasn’t the first time you’d asked for a ride home. Usually, it’s never this late. When you close, you usually walk home alone. You definitely didn’t live that far, but again that was more dangerous than getting a ride home.

You realized that you were worried about nothing. You thought maybe some would accuse you of something scandalous, getting a ride home from a man so late. However, this was the Sheriff and the streets didn’t have another car on it at all. The town knew where you worked and if anyone were to see you, they’d know you were closing shift and you asked for a ride to avoid walking home this late alone.

“Thank you again,” you said, starting up a conversation as the sheriff was backing out of the tiny lot that was next to the bar.

“Oh, don’t mention it, hun,” he said, “It’s my job to make sure you get home safe. Your house is the white one at the end of Birch?”

“The very one,” you say, looking out the window. There aren’t any street lights, and the only light for miles is coming from the headlights of the cruiser. You don’t catch Lee stealing glances at you as he starts moving forward.

“How’s your ma doing?” He asks, making conversation.

“Oh, she left,” you said nonchalantly, and it makes Lee’s eyebrow raise in confusion.

“Wait. What?” He asks looking over at you for a second before turning his eyes back to the road.

“Oh, I thought you would’ve heard,” you say softly, your façade of indifference torn down. “She left us about a month ago. Met a man from Columbus and moved in with him. The whole town was talking about it for weeks.”

“So, is it just you and Tommy now?” he asks, wondering what kind of a mother leaves her girl to take care of her high school aged brother on what she makes at the bar.

“Oh, he went with her,” you explain, “House is all mine. After the whole thing with Arvin, she decided to pull him out of school and he goes to school in Columbus now. She wasn’t gonna bring him but after that, she changed her mind.”

“They just left you?”

“I chose to stay.”

“No offense but why would the hell would you chose to do that?” he jokes, making you laugh a little.

“It’s all paid off, and my grandpa left it to me and not her anyways,” you explain. “House has been in my name for three years now. And if we sold the house, she’d just piss the money away. Besides, would you move back in your mother now, Sheriff?”

“No, I can’t say I would want to,” he chuckles.

“So, I’m just supporting myself and that ain’t too bad,” you shrug.

“Sounds lonely,” he comments and you nod in agreement.

“It can be,” you admit, as he turns down your street.

“You ain’t worried living alone?” He asks.

“You tell me, Sheriff,” you joke, “If I got something to worry about it sounds like you’re not doing your job.”

“Ouch,” he says and holds a hand clutching his hand to his heart dramatically. It made you laugh, and it made him smile that he made you laugh. God, he loved your laugh.

“Thank you again, Lee,” you say sincerely, quickly kissing his cheek when he parks in front of your house. The gesture takes him back, and he’s relieved you can’t see how red his face is. He’s almost angry at how flustered you make him and you have no idea. “Have a goodnight,” you say.

“Goodnight, (Y/N),” he says, a little shakily. You get out of the car, and he watches you walk up to the porch, your hips swaying naturally, and he bites his lip. He groans, but at his disappointment in himself for staring again. You disappear behind the front door and he hits his palm on the steering wheel, trying to shake whatever feeling this was.

He reluctantly drove home, not wanting to have to talk or see Janie. He knew he was just heading home to a fight for being out so late, even though he knows she takes full advantage having fucking Miller over. His jaw is locked, angry about a fight he hasn’t even had with her yet. His cheek still tingles from your touch, and he thinks about if he should just leave Janie. He could just leave, get an apartment nearby or something. He doesn’t even care if she gets the damn house. He’s bracing himself for another night of fighting as he pulls into his own driveway and heading up to his own house.

He fumbles with his keys in the dark. He thinks he had the right one, but it doesn’t work. He tries another that is the same shape, still doesn’t work. He intakes a sharp breath and tries the first key again- he’s positive that’s his house key. “Fucking Christ,” he mutters when the key won’t even go into the lock. “Janie!” he shouts, pounding on the front door. She changed the locks.

“Fuck,” he exclaims, stomping down the front steps and walking around to the back door. He tries his keys again with no luck. He pounds into the door hard and incredibly loud. He knows she’s there, upstairs in their bed, ignoring his knocks. He tries the kitchen window, but it’s locked. Every window on the first floor is fucking locked. He curses again and heads back to his cruiser. He slams the door shut and his grip on the wheel is turning his knuckles white. Does she expect him to sleep in his car in the driveway?

He doesn’t even think about where he’s going to go, but he knows damn sure he’s not going to give her the satisfaction of sleeping outside of his house in his cop car for the whole town to talk about. He just pulls out of his driveway and starts driving. He isn’t even thinking about what route he’s driving, it’s like he’s driving on autopilot while he screams out every curse word in existence.

By the time he calms down, he realizes he’s driving down Birch again. His muscles in his body tense, and he thinks back to your conversation when he dropped you off. Your mother and brother were gone, meaning you have two spare bedrooms. He knows he shouldn’t but the temptation is way too overwhelming. He has nowhere else to go. If someone saw his car… well, he’d worry about that tomorrow. Your house is two miles away from your nearest neighbor, settled back at the end of a long dirt road. Someone knowing he was there was unlikely. He had people who could save your name. It was all innocent. Janie kicked him out and he knew you had an extra room. Hell, he’d rent a room from you- Wait. That’s perfect. That solved all of his problems and yours. He knows you were downplaying how hard it must be to keep up with the house and by him paying rent, you could take care of the house. It was a win-win.

He felt so confident now and he was so proud of himself for devising this plan. He parked his car out front and then walked up to your front door, knocking gently. The sound of the knock made him now incredibly nervous. He didn’t want to scare you or for you to think he was trying to take advantage. Granted, there would be a lot more than financial benefits to being able to live with you, which he knew were selfish, but the idea of being able to see you everyday was overwhelming. It was the closest thing to the dream he was wrapped up in back at the bar. He could live out his little pretend domestic bliss, and you’d get the money you need for the house. He knew he was insane and this was probably wildly inappropriate, but he knew you were too kind to turn him away.

You opened the door with a small yawn, a yellow bathrobe secured over your nightgown fully, to keep yourself decent when you answered the door. You were going to call the Sheriff when you heard the rapping at your door so late and ignore the knocks, but looking out the window of your bedroom you saw it was Lee’s cruiser parked outside.

“Lee?” you ask quietly, sleepiness very evident on your mumbled voice.

“Janie kicked me out,” he said softly, “Changed the locks on me. Darling, I’m so sorry for intruding but I have no where else to go.”

“Come in,” you say sympathetically, the news waking you up quite a bit. “Lee, I’m so sorry. You can take my mom’s old room; it’s got an attached bathroom you can use too.”

 “Thank you (Y/N),” he says quietly. You close the door and secure the lock and the chain again as he looks around the house.

“Don’t worry about it,” you insist. “I can take you there. Follow me.”

You walk up the stairs, Lee following closely behind and he’s ashamed that he took the opportunity to just openly check you out again. At the top of the stairs there was a hallway lined with photographs in mismatched frames. You point to the door at the end of the hall.

“That’s the master,” you explain, “There’s a bathroom attached inside if you want to clean up or anything. There’re clothes in the dresser if you want pajamas- should be in the bottom drawer.”

“Okay, thank you,” he replies, looking down at you as you yawn again, and he notices how your hair is a little messy. The sight drives him wild.

“Anything in the kitchen is up for the taking to,” you offer.

“Look, (Y/N),” he says, “I know this isn’t the best time to be talking about this, but I really need a more permanent plan on where to go. I know it sounds crazy and out of the blue, but could I rent that room from you? Name your price. I figured… I really need a new place, and you could probably use another source of income to keep up with the house. Plus, it’s safer than living alone…”

“Um…,” you begin to speak, but you bit your lip, showing that you’re intently thinking about his offer. Everything he said was right. You needed the money, and he was right that living alone was dangerous in this town and living with the sheriff is the safest person there was in the whole town. People would talk, of course, but no one would deny that the circumstances were just ideal for the two of you and nothing more. You were an adult, a homeowner, and it was your business who you rented a room too. “Yeah, I think that makes sense for both of us,” you agree. “We’ll sort out the details tomorrow.”

“Of course,” he says with a smile.

“Alright, um,” you say crossing your arms around your chest awkwardly. “Goodnight, Lee.”

“Goodnight, (Y/N),” Lee responds as you head back into your own bedroom. He let’s out a heavy sigh and heads into your mom’s room- or rather his new room. He’d have to figure out how to get his stuff back from Janie tomorrow. He’d really just need his clothes and some other necessities. 

The room was fairly spacious. There was a closet and dresser. The closet still had some clothes of your mom’s left behind, and for the most part, the room looked fairly intact. It was like she up and left with just a few things. Lee shook his head, angry at how poorly you were treated by your mother. He pulls off his leather jacket, tossing it and his hat onto the bed. He opened up the bottom drawer of the dresser, and just like you said, it was filled with men’s clothing. He concluded they had to belong to the man your mom lived with now, more things just left behind.

He tosses a pair of plaid pajama bottoms and a white t-shirt onto the bed, and then he heads to the bathroom.

In the drawer beside the sink, he finds a new toothbrush still in its packaging, that he opens for himself and drops it in the white toothbrush holder on the counter. The towels are all clean and folded neatly on the shelf above the toilet. He finds a new soap under the sink as well, and decided he needed a shower to just wash off everything of tonight off in hopes he’ll feel better.

He strips of his uniform, folding it nicely knowing he’ll need to wear it all again tomorrow morning. He steps into the shower and turns on the water. The hot water just immediately helps him to loosen the muscles that had been so tense. He lets the warm water run down his face and back, just letting himself enjoy the feeling. He lathers up his body with soap and then it finally hits him that he was here, living with you, and then suddenly he’s hard.

“Fuck,” he mutters, resting his head against the shower wall, the running down his back. He was in so much trouble he realizes. As he beats himself off in the shower, his mind is clouded with thoughts of you. The way the apron at the bar looked around your hips, and the smell of your perfume when you leaned into him. The way your body looked as you paraded yourself around behind the bar. The way you have no problem talking back to him when he walks into the bar after saying he’s off the bottle the night before, just making want to shut you up with a rough kiss. The feeling of your lips on his cheek and he imagines your lips on his neck. He thinks about how your hair looked tousled when you just showed him to his room. He lets himself slip back into that same domestic daydream. You being his wife… married to you instead dealing with this goddamn divorce. The absolute sickening sweet domesticity making him groan, as he imagines his hand is yours. Why on earth did he think he’d be able to do this?

PART TWO

[secret-engima]

So I started RWBY (thanks for that, it’s all from you), and I gotta say I love Yang. So are there any Dragon!Yang rambles you have? What about lunweiss too?

It’s been a while since I enjoyed a show like this, it’s nice

Hi!!! Welcome aboard!! And not to taint your opinions but just- idk I feel obligated to warn you that while I 100% recommend V1-V5, V6 is emotionally hard (and has plot points I am Not Happy With) and V7 is just ... a train wreck. A wonderfully animated, woefully badly written train wreck. And I’ve yet to watch v8 so I have no idea what’s going on THERE beyond Oscar being a Suffering Sunshine Boi.

But yes! Headcanons!!!! Also apologies for any spoilers I mention for the show in these? I don’t know where you are in the show and I’ve already talked a lot of spoilers I’m sure XD.

Dragon Yang:

-Yang is excited to go to Beacon actually. Nervous and dreading it, but excited. She’s learned over the two years since returning to Remnant how to manage her strength and limit her lethality, how to hide the worst of her ... odd behaviors. She wants to make new friends, and she’s hoping to see Velvet there (Yang transfers to Velvet’s combat school in this AU and makes friends with her by accident). But she’s also dreading the “living in dorms with strangers” thing.

-Then she learns Ruby is getting to join early and she oscillates between HECK YES SIBLING TEAM HERE WE COME to MY BABY SISTER IS NOT READY FOR THIS. PROTECC. Of course, she’s been training Ruby these last two years too, because she’s afraid of her own strength but she’s more afraid of Ruby being unprepared for the dangers of the world. Ruby will never be a STELLAR hand to hand but she can fight mean and run away and her parkour skills have reached ninja levels even without her Semblance.

-Now she just has to get on the same team as her sister.

-She’s honestly ... highly amused by the initiation exam? Like- yeah sure fling the DRAGON SLAYER off a CLIFF and expect her to be alarmed. Psh.

-She means to track down Ruby and is will on her way to doing so when she runs into Blake first. That’s ... a little annoying. She doesn’t even know this girl’s name (Yang never dragged Ruby off to make friends during the pre-initiation sleepover thing in this AU) but it’s not Blake’s fault so.

-Also, on the note of Blake lemme just sidetrack to point out something interesting in Yang’s mentality. She can tell the moment she smells Blake that Blake is a Faunus.

-She still doesn’t think of her as a Faunus. Because- to Yang, she genuinely doesn’t .... really understand the difference between Faunus and human? To her everyone is human, some of them just have extra bits and more useful senses. And this is a TOTALLY UNCONSCIOUS MENTALITY from back when she was living on Earthland. Because in Earthland, people can look really, really weird (especially in the magic community) and yet they are all still called “humans” and are still treated perfectly normal. Like this girl from canon Fairy Tail show-

That tail and those ears are 100% real, they move and react like actual limbs in the anime, but they weren’t always THERE. When that character was teeny, she looked like a “normal” human, but her magic is feline oriented and so over the years those traits GREW on her. And literally NO ONE BATS AN EYE IN THE SHOW. Not even the people who knew her when she was tiny non-cat human child. She’s far from the only example, but she’s the easiest to think of especially in regards to the Faunus thing.

-So yeah, Yang smells feline traits on Blake and just- doesn’t even react. Doesn’t mention it to anyone because her brain skips right over “cat ears = Faunus” in this world and goes straight to “ah yes, my new 100% nonmagical human teammates. My Sister, Ice Child, and Girl With Decent Hearing Thank Goodness”.

-So while Blake thinks she’s keeping her Faunus traits a secret from her whole team, her partner Yang is just vibing off to the side, perfectly aware that Blake has cat ears but still thinking of her and every other Faunus as regular ol’ humans.

-Yang doesn’t abandon Ruby at the entrance to Beacon either, so Weiss made a ... bad impression on Yang very quickly for yelling at Ruby’s sister for an accident. Yang shut that whole thing down pretty fast, but Ruby was still feeling humiliated and nervous and Weiss was prickly and embarrassed by Yang’s blunt opinions.

-Yeah it’s a good thing they can bond via Nevermore killing because otherwise this team would be way more dysfunctional than it is in the first few days.

-Yang has mixed opinions on Team JNPR. It is painfully clear Jaune has no idea what he’s doing, but frankly she has her hands full with her own team atm and no time to try to gently bully this boy into proper training. She makes a note to do it later. Pyrrha smells lonely and she’s a sweetheart. Nora is wayyyy to prone to getting into Yang’s (and everyone’s) personal space. Ren is nice. He has manners and he smells of tea.

-There’s a scene early on where this guy called Cardin bullies Velvet for her ears by grabbing them and pulling them and I’ve never like how none of the main characters or anyone else try to hELP.

-Ergo, when that scene happens, Yang promptly gets up, twists Cardin’s wrist so that he lets Velvet’s ear go, then picks him up by the back of his shirt and flings him right through the farthest cafeteria window she can aim at from this angle. When his team of fellow bullies take it poorly, she proceeds to throw them through other windows.

-Her only defense when taken to the Headmaster’s office to face down Glynda and a very bemused Ozpin is that 1. at least she didn’t break their jaws or bones like she did the first time she caught someone bullying Velvet, 2. Professor Goodwitch can fix the windows with telekinesis to it’s not like the school was actually damaged and 3. if the Headmaster can fling people off cliffs for initiations, she can fling people through windows for being moronic bullies that needed spanking when they were five and spoiled but never got it.

-Goodwitch is not amused. Ozpin, on the other hand, is highly amused by trying not to show it. Yang can smell it and sense it in his magic tho.

-Yang, later in the dorms, more to herself then anyone, “So Velvet was born with one more pair of ears than most humans have, that’s no reason to be a jerk. I mean come on, he was born with a dumb face but I left him alone until he made the first move.”

-Blake: *vague staticky brain noises of confusion* “She’s ... a Faunus.”

-Yang: Gesundheit.

-Yang meeting Ironwood is gonna be-

-Fun.

-Because she first meets him in v2/v3 when he shows up for the Vytal Festival and brings an army with him and it makes Yang’s instincts SCREECH. This is OZPIN’S territory and this random general man is stomping all over it, bringing his army with him like some kind of power statement and she is immediately ready to Throw Hands with this man on Ozpin’s behalf just out of PRINCIPLE. So when she goes up to visit him at one point and finds Ironwood already there, she ignores the conversation she interrupted by arriving, points at Ironwood and goes, “Is this guy bothering you, Headmaster? Should I through him out the window? Or down the elevator shaft?”

-Ironwood is stunned that a student just- SAYS THAT. Ozpin, who has already gotten to know Yang enough to know that her social default setting is “subtle as a brick that’s been dunked in gasoline and set on fire”, sighs, “I’m fine, Yang. This is General Ironwood from Atlas.”

-Yang clicks her tongue and cracks her knuckles, “I know who he is, he’s the guy who showed up and cluttered up your skies with those rattling junk heaps he calls an army. It’s why I asked if you wanted me to throw him.”

-Ironwood, truly aghast, “Excuse me?”

-(ngl I DO like Ironwood and feel like they did his character dirty in v7 and likely v8 but, especially in v2/v3 he does have a bit of a arrogance problem)

Lunweiss:

-Weiss probably confuses so many people at Beacon. She is a Schnee, so while people are expecting some measure of dignity they are also expecting snobbery or brattiness and instead she’s just- the sweetest, mildest person under her reserve?

-Jaune still has a huge crush on her, she firmly but gently informs him that she’s just not interested. When he is slow to take the hint she gets upset, but that just means she withdraws in on herself.

-Yang, activating her Big Sister instincts: Yo, Jaune. I like you, you’re a good friend. But if you don’t drop it then I’m going to drop kick you off the top of Beacon Tower.

-Jaune: o.o yes ma’am.

-Lunweiss has had ... something of a deprived childhood in both lives. I don’t mean physically, because of course as Oracle and then as Heiress she had the best clothes and finest foods, but just- in the ordinary Teenage Life Experience. Things like video games and board games, carnival food, shopping with friends- she doesn’t have any real experiences like that? So obviously, as soon as Team RWBY realizes this (aka the day they’re lounging around the dorm and Luna asks what “these” are, “these” being Yang’s and Ruby’s collection of video games), they set out to do All The Fun Things with Weiss. Even Blake gets in on it when she comes to the somewhat stunning realization that the life experience even she, the Faunus activist, took for granted, is stuff Weiss has only ever heard of distantly in books and film.

-Weiss, bemusedly attempting to play a video game while Yang and Ruby lean on either shoulder and coach her on the buttons: ...What is the purpose of this?

-Ruby: *initiates lore dump about the video game plot and characters and emotional story beats*

-Yang, yanking Ruby’s hood over her head so she sputters to a stop: To unwind and have fun with friends.

-Weiss: I thought that was what ‘sleepover night’ was for?

-Ruby: People can do more than one ‘fun’ activity, Weiss.

At one point Blake reluctantly takes Weiss book shopping because Ruby, as Team Leader, has organized an entire schedule of “who does what fun thing with Weiss” and this was hers: So this is my favorite book store, the fiction genres are that way, non-fiction is that way, and comics are over there.

Weiss: *looks incredibly, hopelessly lost* Ummmmm

Blake: ... let’s start simple. What kind of books did you read as a kid?

Weiss, a little helplessly: whatever the tutors my father hired deemed proper for my education at the time and whatever books I could sneak out of the library without being caught and told to put them back because they were either “too young” for me, “too old”, or “not proper for a young lady of my standing”. Grandfather had a lot of books that my father put in that latter category and eventually he just- locked the doors to the library entirely and bought a new copy of whatever my teachers or tutors said I needed.

Blake: *listens to this and slowly has an internal crisis that the ‘spoiled’ Schnee heiress has never been allowed to read her own choice of books aka Blake’s favorite childhood activity*

Blake, a little desperately: Are there any books you remember enjoying as a child? Even if they were assigned?

Weiss combs through her memories, decides that’s not productive, and goes all the way back to her Luna lifetime before tentatively admitting: I ... enjoyed reading mythology and other tales set in historical eras with little evidence of being actually true, but entertaining nonetheless, especially since they often had a moral component woven in.

Blake runs that through her internal Weiss Translator: Fairy tales. You like fairy tales. Okay, I can work with that.

[sokkabeifong]

If you're up for it, would you be willing to write vampire Aang x vampire hunter Azula or a roommates au?

aye, aye, anon. everybody shut up I'm in my azulaang feels now. I've never really written either of these characters before so I hope I did them justice! feel free to tell me what you think, good or bad.

"For the last time, there’s nothing I can do,” Zuko grumbled, folding a shirt and throwing it on top of the pile on his bedspread. Azula sniffed at it like her brother’s untidiness was the most offensive thing in the world. “It’s just how it worked out, okay?”

“No, it’s actually not okay,” she snapped. “How on Earth did I end up with some fresh-out-of-high-school boy as my roommate? Are you insane?”

“If you don’t shut up, I might be headed in that direction. Look, it’s not like you have to spend every second of every day with him. You just have to sleep in the same room as him.”

“Oh, and it sounds so much better when you put it like that!” She began pacing around Zuko’s room, which was cluttered with books and clothes as he unpacked his entire life into the small, seven-by-ten-foot room he got all to himself for the next nine months. What she wouldn’t give to be a senior like him. Instead, she was a sullen sophomore with a young brat for a roommate, thanks to her brother’s antics.

“If you keep putting it off, he’ll think you’re rude,” Zuko muttered. 

“Like I care what he thinks of me. I want him out.”

“Sorry, sis, looks like you’re out of luck. And you’re also out of my room.” He placed his hands firmly against her back and pushed her through the open door bearing big, black letters that displayed his name. He promptly shut the door in her face.

“Let me in!” she shouted, pounding on the door. “Zuzu! You get back out here and fix this mess you put me in!”

The door remained shut despite her attempts to pry it open. To make matters worse, she could hear Zuko humming thoughtfully to himself in his room like he hadn’t a care in the world.

“UGH. You’re impossible!” she told the door. “I’ll just go and fix it myself.”

Neither the door nor Zuko protested as she stalked out of the senior hall of their small college. The campus wasn’t large, just a base lawn filled with students and trees with the municipal building in the center. She threw open the door and stomped up to the front desk.

“Who’s in charge of dorm arrangements around here?” she asked the secretary, who trembled as she set her pen down. Azula rolled her eyes. People were so wimpy around her, it was pathetic, She supposed that’s what she got for having a ruthless businessman for a father and having the reputation that she did.

“Is there a question you have regarding your roommate, miss?” the secretary mumbled.

“Question? No. Order. My idiot brother made arrangements for me without me knowing it, and now I’m to board with some nineteen-year-old boy. I demand a change at once.”

“I see.” The woman looked doubtful, but she searched her up in her computer. After scanning a few pages, she brightened. “Here we go. Looks like you are indeed supposed to room with a young man named Aang. He just arrived a few minutes ago, actually. Should be up in your dorm.”

“Excuse me?”

Some of her nervousness crept back into the woman’s tone when she spoke. “I, ah, said that your roommate has arrived, He’s up in your dorm.” She handed her a key. “Room 107.”

"Tell me, are you deaf?"

The woman looked startled. "I beg your pardon?"

"It appears so, yes. I told you to change my assignment, not to give me keys to the room."

"Right, right. Um." There was a pause filled only with the sound of the secretary's nails clicking across the keypad, and Azula impatiently tapping her foot against the ground. Finally she glanced up.

"I'm sorry, but your dorm assignments are final. He gave a last-minute receipt and there was no one else to put him with."

Azula tightened her face. "What?" she said, punctuating syllables that weren't even there.

"Uh, I said that your roommate is final. I'm sorry, miss."

"Oh, my God," she hissed, pushing against the desk as hard as she can. "Are you kidding me? You've got to be kidding me."

"I, ah -" the woman coughed. "I'm afraid not. If you'll just take your keys and go up, I'm sure he'll be happy to meet you." She didn't say get out, but it was sort of implied. If there was one thing Azula knew, it was how to take a hint. She was good at giving them, too.

"Fine," she muttered. She let out a strangled choking noise and turned on her heel, walking out of the building with her head held high. "Fine!"

As she stalked through the campus, her annoyance grew. She pictured a small boy, withering under her hateful stare. Perhaps he wouldn't like her and would request a room change. Maybe they would grant him one, for whatever reason, though she highly doubted it. Why would he get it if she, Azula, could not?

She reached the hall where Room 107 was in a few minutes and stared up at it with distaste. A figure in one of the windows fluttered past. Was that him? He was in there right now. Was that his room? Their room? She shuddered at the thought, but shoved the doors open and began the climb up the stairs. Too soon she was facing a plain white door with the number 107 painted on it in bright blue lettering.

"You go in there and put him in his place," she told herself. She nodded once, firm and strong, and raised her hand to the knob. Before she could even touch it, though, it swung open, blasting her face with wind.

"Oh, good!" a voice said, bubbling our front the inside of the room. "You must be Azula!"

She was stunned momentarily. There was indeed a boy inside of her - their - room, but he was not at all what she was expecting. The mop of dark hair in her mental image had been replaced with baldness, but it wasn't necessarily a bad look. His skin was pale and his eyes were grey. Not stormy grey, like a warning for sailors, but bright grey. The kind of grey that came with a sunny day. He was wearing a yellow hoodie with a blue arrow down the front, tan sweatpants, and a blinding grin that nearly broke his face. He genuinely looked happy to see her, and that startled her for a few seconds. She shook her head, regaining her composure.

"Yes, that's me," she said, straightening up. "Now, listen here, boy, I-"

"You want left or right?" he interrupted, gesturing behind him to the symmetrical room they would share. Each side contained a bed, desk, chair, and dresser, and a bathroom joined them in the middle. "I don't care which one I get."

"I-"

"Oh, and I decided to let you use the shower first!" He clapped excitedly as he delivered this information. "That way you get all the hot water and first dibs on towels and stuff. You can use it first whenever, too. I figured it could sort of make up for me jumping in on you like this." He smiled apologetically. "Sorry about that, but they didn't have anywhere else to put me. They showed me a picture of you, though, before I came, and you just looked so nice I thought it wouldn't be a big deal."

She blinked, still processing the first thing he said. "Right. Um, anyway." Her mission came back to her and she stood her ground, though it wasn't as firm as it had been before. "I see that you've already settled in a bit."

He beamed. "Yep! I could help you unpack your stuff, if you want! I'm pretty good at organizing."

A quick sweep of the few posters lining the room and the rugs that lay casually every few feet deemed his statement accurate. She opened her mouth to say that no, she wanted him out of here before she even had time to blink, but somehow the words got lost on the way to her mouth and what tumbled out was, "Okay."

"Yay!" he exclaimed. "This'll be fun! Okay, so which bag do you want to do first? The college people stacked all your suitcases and things over there." He pointed and she followed his arm to see that yes, they had.

"Um." She stared at him, into his bright grey eyes, and suddenly her request to change rooms didn't seem so important. "The - the red one. I'll handle it, and you get the black one."

"Okay, whatever works!" he said happily, and stepped aside so that she could reach her bag. Carefully, keeping her eyes off of him, she grabbed the first suitcase she saw and turned away quickly. He had already retrieved the black bag and set it on top of the right bed.

"Is here okay?" he asked, his face lit up. It was clear he was thoroughly enjoying himself.

"Yes," she said, plopping her suitcase down beside it. Her eyes met his, and an understanding passed between them. She wasn't sure what, exactly, but it made her hands reach put and grab the black bag. "I'll unpack, and you bring me the bags."

"Okay." He wandered over to the pile. She watched him go, his back to her, and felt her lips curving up before she could stop them. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

[nicklightbearer]

whatever here is the fic

we happy few, nick lightbearer is once again hunted by foggy jack but this time he fights back. just..... not.... well.

this is a tickling fanfic fair warning <3

“Nick.. Nick!”

Rolling over, Nick Lightbearer grumbled and pulled the sheets over his head.

“Virgiiiiiiiiillll.. Five more minutes…” “In five minutes you’ll be dead, idiot! Up, up!”

Nick blinked a few times before feeling a small something land on his stomach- with a high-pitched screech, he sat bolt upright, scrambling to throw the blankets off. There was an oof! from the floor where they landed, and Nick shivered as he peered over the bed.

A rat. There had been a rat- wait- Virgil?

“.. What? What! You’re dead! I- I already avenged you- what do you want now??”

The rat huffed indignantly.

“Well, maybe I’m trying to keep your stupid arse alive, huh? He’s headed here already- so put some pants on, for god’s sake, and find a weapon!” “He? He who?” “Oh, for fuck’s sake. Who do you think??”

Who would- ah bollocks. Nick leapt to his feet, clutching at the wall for support as his head spun. God, even the reds and yellows were wearing on him..

“Foggy- Foggy Jack?? But I- I thought he-“ “Oh, come on. Put two and two together, Nicky.” “Ooh, if you weren’t dead, I’d right love to throttle you for the stupid vague clues…”

Virgil wheezed out a laugh that made Nick roll his eyes as he dug through the dresser.

“You may have blasted the bastard right hard, but it’d take more than a riff or two to kill a man. He’s more starstruck than ever, now.” “See, that wasn’t so hard! Straight answers, Virg, straight answers!”

The room wavered again and Nick cursed angrily as he toppled over trying to pull his slacks up.

“Who taught you how to quip back, huh?” “Could have something to do with the fuckin’.. Broken mood booth outside.”

Grumbling, he finally managed to stand up and pull his pants up proper, tugging on his jacket with only a moment’s hesitation. The blue one, yes, he’d rather wear dark colors if he’s hiding from a serial killer.

“Anyway- where is he now?”

There was a pause, and Nick looked up. The rat was gone.

“Virgil..? Dammit.”

A sudden jiggling of his door handle made him gasp, and he backed away before bolting towards the window.

“Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckit in a bucket, ooh, I don’t have my-“

The front door splintered under a heavy blow, and Nick squealed another curse to himself before nearly leaping into the bathroom and slamming the door shut.

”Guitar!” “Mr. Lightbearer.. Do open up, please! I brought ahh.. Some whiskey! A gift from a fan!”

It almost gave him pause before he shook his head wildly.

“No, no. Focus, Nicky!”

He cast his gaze around the room in a panic. Empty pill bottles littered the sink and floor, and he shoved a few of them out of the way to rummage through the cabinet. Nothing.

Nothing but a plunger next to the toilet- though he considered it, the flimsy weight felt more useless than his own fists, and he discarded it quickly.

That left.. the tub.

Wait. The tub! He leaned over to whip the curtain back, and cringed slightly at the sight of the woman inside- thank god, she was clothed. But in her hand was his goal- just last night, he’d been on the.. Receiving end of…

Pulling it carefully from her grasp, he sighed in relief before jolting at the sound of the door splintering again. Fuck, fuck! He couldn’t let Jack see this poor bird- wait-

Checking her pulse, he sighed in relief. Okay, problem for later. It wouldn’t be the first time a woman woke up alone in his house. He quickly pushed out the door again, closing it and jiggling the lock just to make sure it wouldn’t open again- yep!

Then again, that left only himself and the eye that now peered through his former front door, which was largely splintered to bits. He backed up a little before dashing to his bedroom, both hoping and not hoping that Jack would follow.

“Ohh, Mr. Lightbearer… Nicky~!” The slip from formal to a deeper purring tone sent a shiver down the rockstar’s spine, and he clutched at his makeshift weapon nervously as he pushed his back against the door.

“Hey, lock it and get back, idiot! He just broke the other one down, what happens when he slams an axe through this one??” “Virgil- ooh, you’re right!”

He’s always right. Nick jumped back, casting his gaze around the room after clicking the lock shut. Not much to work with, really, but he could.. He could hide- er- well, the closet would be too obvious, right? Or would it be so obvious that he wouldn’t check?

“No, he knows you’re stupid, Nick. Fucksakes.” “Well, what- ooh!”

Pulling open the dresser drawers, he started throwing clothes on the floor next to the window. The rat perched on top of the dresser sighed as he watched, but Nick ignored him for the moment.

“And what, pray tell, is the plan here? D’you have a gun you never told me about? A machete? Hell, even a baseball bat-” “No- I’m fine for weapon, thanks. This is- well- you’ll see!”

Shouldn’t say it out loud, not with how the door groaned as a weight was thrown against it. Nick shuddered as he pushed the clothes haphazardly closer to the wall, then scooted behind the curtain. The pile on the floor was enough to hide his feet- and the curtains were against a black window, so no light would give him away…

It wasn’t perfect. But if the closet was checked first, he’d have the upper hand.

The door splintered after only a few more hits, and Nick held his breath. He could just barely see through the fabric, having his face so close- and seeing Jack again, albeit this time with a slightly more ruffled appearance, made his heart leap into his throat. Terror was enough to keep his fist gripping the weapon, and he watched with wide eyes as the killer stalked into the room, the red glimmer from his own eyes casting an eerie light over the room as a cloud of fog rolled in after him.

It was nothing if not dramatic, he mused, almost inspired by the sight if he hadn’t been fearing for his life.

Jack hummed to himself as he glanced around the room, the familiar tune to Cheer Up bringing a grimace to Nick’s face. Genuinely, the guy was still a fan- it felt bad to be holding a weapon towards any fan for any reason, but..

Seeing the glittering knife that Jack held whipped his perspective back instantly. Fuck, this guy was absolutely bonkers- though, granted, that only made him feel worse- he couldn’t afford to be wishy-washy about this!

As predicted, Jack didn’t even notice the curtains, instead peering under the bed before turning towards the closet.

“Nick, Nick, Nick… Really, I can’t believe you’d let yourself be cornered so easily. Really, I expected more resistance. No activated security system-”

Fuck! He’d forgotten to turn it on in his drunken stupor the night before!

“No bobbies to guard the house, and not a single manager in sight.. Oh, wait!”

A flash of anger nearly made him leap out right there- but no, he’d wait and bide his time.. For just the right moment…

As Jack grasped the handle on the closet, Nick tensed.

“I suppose you don’t have one of those, do you?”

He flung the doors wide with a taunting laugh that died slowly, his outstretched arms lowering with confusion.

“What..?”

Now!

Nick leapt from his hiding place, nearly tripping on all the clothes but somehow managing to stumble so that he was standing on the bed- not unlike someone hiding away from a mouse, except the mouse was a person and that person had a big knife with his name on it, possibly literally.

However, his unsure footing made him miss his target of ‘back of the skull, god, please let me just knock him out’ and instead slam the instrument across Jack’s back. The impact made him tense, and he squeezed the handle nervously-

Only for electricity to zip out of it, making his palms tingle as the killer gasped. Oh, fuck on a stick.

But.. Something was off. Rather than immediately whipping to stab him, Jack stumbled, slamming against the dresser and clutching at his suit.

“What- what in the blazes-”

Well, no time for hesitation! He swung again, this time holding the button down with purpose. Anything to catch this guy off guard, right? It was also far easier to tap repeatedly at his body rather than his head, and… It worked.

Somehow, it worked. Jack’s arms were glued to his sides and he shimmied away from the assault, expression shifting from a confused pout to a more.. Well, his cheeks puffed out and he cringed, but a smile still seemed to tug at his lips. This smile was different, though, and seemed far more genuine than the mask let on.

“Stop- hey, stop! What- waha- wait!”

Ho. Ly. Shit.

Foggy Jack. Serial killer, menace to society, his personal fuckin’ stalker….. Was ticklish.

Okay. Okay. Well, this information was definitely going to be put to use- let’s see- right the fuck now. Nick slid down from the bed, using the Tickler to bop Jack closer to it- an easy task, given that he nearly tripped himself right onto it. With a quick push.. Perfect!

Foggy Jack was now on his bed. Disheveled, covering his mouth to hold back giggles, and with an expression bordering on infatuation shining out from behind his hand.

For a minute, he was stunned, before remembering the knife. Glancing down, though- oh, he wasn’t holding it. He’d dropped it- there, on the floor.

Jeez, it was almost like he didn’t want to kill Nick.

….. Shelving that thought to dwell on later, Nick grinned with as much menace as he could muster.

“Well, well, well. Ya know, mister Foggy Jack, you’re not half so scary like this.”

Jack yelped as the Tickler was pushed squarely against the middle of his stomach, trying to grab it but letting go quickly as Nick tapped the button a few times. The sensations of light electricity dancing across his torso quickly gave rise to more giggles, ones that he could hardly hold back for all the delight he clearly felt.

“Really! Sheesh, if I’d known about this before, all this lot of stuff would have been so much easier.. Hey, arms up!”

Nick huffed, pushing the arms that seemed nearly glued to his sides before just wiggling a hand between sleeve and shirt. For practiced fingers like his, coaxing out more shocked laughter was easy- and with the Tickler now running up and down his stomach, Jack finally broke.

“Waihihihit! No- stop! St- ahaha! It tickles!” “Well, I sure fuckin’ hope it does, lovely… That’s the point.”

Though, to be honest, he wasn’t sure how to handle things from here. Sure, he could wear out Jack and- wait, perfect. He’d just tickle the man until he properly passed out, then run and find a bobby. Perfect!

Though, as he watched the man writhe beneath him, escalated to proper laughter as skilled fingers squeezed at his sides and the Tickler continued tormenting his stomach, he was a tad hesitant. The ticklish near-agony that made shrieks ring out was… Hm, fun!

As he listened to more of that adorably broken-up laughter, he wondered how addicting this sort of drug might be.

“PLEHEASE- DON’T- DON’T TICKLE ME- IHI CAN’T, I CAN’T TAKE IT! M- MAHAHA- NNNNICK!” “That’s Mr. Lightbearer to you, mister Foggy. Go on, ask me proper to quit, maybe I’ll think about it. Probably not.” “Mr. Light- eehee! Lightbeareheher! Please!” “Please what??” “Plehehease- dOHON’T! Stoooohohop tickling mehehe!” “Don’t stop tickling you? Don’t mind if I do, sweetheart!”

Though the petname didn’t go unnoticed by either of them, Nick chose to eliminate any chance of a response by ducking down- the sudden closeness of their faces made Jack go silent, breathless with both laughter and starstruck awe. Nick winked before ducking his face down and  blowing a raspberry right against his neck, sliding the Tickler to press down against his torso again.

The response was immediate. Jack flailed wildly and cackled, beating at Nick’s back weakly as he choked out wordless pleas. Of course, none of them were heeded, and a few more raspberries were instead strategically placed on the man’s neck. In all his years, even knowing that most people were at least a little ticklish around the face (due to the masks, certainly), he’d never garnered a reaction quite this intense. Must be extra sensitive- therefore, weak, and the wheezes between laughs made Nick grin.

It was honestly.. Kinda cute. He was glad that his goal was to tickle the man to pieces, since otherwise he’d normally give a break by now.

As the struggling became weaker, and the laughs reached pitches that frequently dipped into silent snorts, Nick hummed to himself. Now would be a good a time as ever to drop a little.. Finale, let’s say. He pulled back for a moment, easily readjusting their positions- now, with Jack laying limply on the bed and only weakly with his arms linked around his waist, he climbed on after him properly. It wasn’t hard to sit above his prey, wiggling his fingers a little for extra effect- and relishing in the burst of giggles and flinch- before tapping his chin.

“Now, let’s see.. Something tells me you’re nearly tuckered out. But I’m not quite done, oh no.” “N.. No??”

Something about the way his voice was suddenly softer, even shy in a way- it made Nick’s stomach do a few flips.

“No! Of course not. You’ve been awful rude, banging my door down and threatening me. But I can put that behind us.”

Bending down again, he placed a hand on either side of Jack’s head, their faces nearly touching- once again, Jack held his breath, eyes wide.

“.. Close your eyes for me, Jacky.”

The speed at which his hesitation faded to nervousness, then to giddy anticipation.. It was adorable. Jack finally closed his eyes, then covered his face with a shuddering giggle.

From there, it was easy for Nick to unbutton his jacket- and even easier to bury his face against Jack’s stomach, nibbling through the shirt and earning a new set of squeals.

“No! No- ahaha- ooh, you-!” “Go on, give me a laugh! Just for me, Jacky! Ooh, those could be lyrics..”

He hummed a bit with the idea before returning to his previous actions- and it wasn’t long before the laughter died down, Jack barely writhing beneath him. Nick sat up eventually, finally giving it a rest as he watched the killer gasp a few times before he was silent.

… He leaned forward to check for a pulse. Yep. Hammering away, actually, but calming down.

Honestly, he wasn’t sure what to do. Sitting back on Jack’s legs, he gazed down, watching him sleep with a foggy confusion building in the back of his skull.

Sure, a bobby might.. Be able to help. But he was so tired. And Jack was warm- warmer than he expected, and…

Maybe a little nap wouldn’t hurt. He did crawl over to the side of the bed to push the knife under the dresser, first, but.. Yes, a nap.

Popping a spare Joy he found under one of his shirts, he flopped onto the bed, resolving to take care of the matter later. It was probably fine.

[popculturebuffet]

Nightmare Time Episode 1 Review: The Hatchetfield Ape-Man/Watcher World

I take a look at the first episode of Starkid’s new show Nightmare Time! Starkid, returns for a zoomcast, bringing back the casts of both Hatchefield plays for an anthology series of science fiction double feature picture shows! This week’s tales of terror:

The Hatchefield Ape-Man: A british heiress gets romanced by a shaved bigfoot with the help of everyone’s favorite kooky college professor. Forgotten fiances, murder and described nudity naturally insue. 

Watcher World: Bill and Alice return as Bill drags his daughter to a kitschy theme park for a day of family fun, which Alice enjoys and is as respectful about as much as you’d expect. As you’d also expect given Bill’s general luck, things take a turn for the Shining real quick. Spoilers and full review under the cut. 

Well this was a nice suprise. With the ongoing pandemic I genuinely did not think Starkid would be back anytime soon. Having just gotten back into them this years after several years of forgetting they existed via the Hatchetfield plays, I was pretty bummed, if understanding. So last week’s announcment of not only this series but a full scripted series from their sister production company the tin bros was a HUGE shot of happy I needed in this troubling times. Still need to watch spies are forver love the soundtrack nto important. 

Point is the Lang Brothers and their merry band of actors found a way to continue on via  format I didn’t realize existed outside of table reads but is a nice way to do things: The Zoomcast, basically a podcast done live on zoom, with the actors in plainclothes for the most part, with one person, in this case Nick Lang, reading out descriptions of what’s going on. Being a starkid production this also has musical director Matt Bohm playing accompaniment and pretaped if still via the actor’s own camera musical numbers. Overall while i’ts an understandably cheap production, only what costumes the actors have on hand and most props mimed, it WORKS, allowing for way more elaborate set pieces than the stage would allow and is anchored by Lang’s impeccable descriptions and the cast’s amazing as always acting really making the stories pop.  So things worked on a technical level despite having the barest of bones to work with. But did it work on a story level? Well yes, but if I ended my reviews with just that i’d have less than the 3 or 4 fans I do have, so without further ado, it’s nightmare time! The Intro: 

Now normally in my reviews I don’t talk about the intro because I come in mid way or because I just didn’t think to. This is an exception since 

A) I should be doing that anyway or at least when I cover a show’s first episode since intro’s are sometimes one of the most memorable parts of a show 

B) It’s a full musical number that’s been stuck in my head since the trailer for this series and has now set up an apartment there.  C) This series is a musical, if not to the same degree as the two plays before it, so it’d be weird NOT to talk about it’s signature song. 

So with that out of the way the intro.. is fucking impressive. Seriously taking disparate videos with probably as much as the directions “Sing this part of the song and be kind of creepy or alluring or whatever” and making it really flow? Good work, both to the starkids for bringing their a game to it as always and to Nick and Matt really did a good job   editing this together, musically and visually to be an abolute jawdrop. And somehow finding utterly stunning stock image animations that none of us realized were stock footage but still fit the tone perfectly. Just great stuff.  Some stray notes: Mariah is absolutely stunning in both voice and apperance in this, John Matheson’s bit as paul was great, and Jeff Blim of course got a great bit with his always astounding hair blowing in the breeze with him at full high pitch. Just an utterly great intro, and for Starkid’s first series in over a decade, and really ever but semantics, they really brought it. Good stuff. Onto the actual episode content. 

The Hatchetfield Ape-Man: Lucy, a british heiress played by Angela Giarratana, was saved by the legendary “Hatchefield Ape-Man”.. who apparently has a hyphen like spider-men because while sasquatches can do that. Point is she’s come back every year in the hopes of reuniting with her savior but has so far failed.  But as Lucy prepares to leave from this year’s failed expedition, an old friend finally gives her what she needs... old friend to us to her she’s just some grey haired lunatic who showed up out of the mist. Which while accurate, dosen’t quite quantify everyone’s favorite playwright/college professor/murderous psychopath/composer.

Yes at long last Professor Hidgens has returned! I honestly didn’t expect the anthology to bring in such a huge fan faviorite so soon. I mean I expected returning characters, mostly because the project allows old faviorites to come back for their own stories or for the stars of the musicals to get a chance at a much happier ending... there’s a lot of potetial there. That and let’s face it “Jane’s a Car” is a pretty dead giveaway it’s going to be about Tom’s dead wife and Tim’s dead mother coming back in horrible mash up of christine and my mother the car. Maybe. I could be wrong. I also doubt many of you know what my mother the car is and to that I say it’s an old sitcom i’m honestly suprised I know exists and know nothing about other than the title and it being about a son’s mom’s ghost possesing his car apparently. Well that and it was the basis for this. 

Point is, while I expected some returns, I wasn’t expecting one this large and this bombastic so soon, but BOY was it welcome.  So getting back on track after all that, HIdgens seemingly takes Lucy to meet her ape man, who goes by the name Klonk, played by everyone’s faviorite sexy caveman Joey Richter. Also it’s adorable he and Lauren share a streaming screen. I know practicality and all that but their engagment is genuinely a sweet thing to hear about at a time when the world’s going down the toilet fast. Fun Fact: I pegged the Ape-Man was either going to be Jeff or Joey, leaning towards Jeff, though given my love of Joey I wasn’t disapointed with him, especially with the twist... but I was EXASTIC to learn the answer was basically “Both.. kinda?”. But yeah Lucy soon bonds with the ape man, with HIdgens encouraging her since it’s more than he’s gotten out of Klonk in 11 months of looking after the guy, and this way they can get him to learn enough to decide what he wants for himself. 

So a few months, and some romantic bonding between woman and ape-man, pass but a wrench is thrown into Klonk’s wooing and attempt to tell lucy he loves her: Jonathan, Lucy’s just now mentioned fiance and royal dickhead played by Kurt Mega. And credit where it’s do whlie he clearly didn’t have to dress up, he did have a nice 50′s monster movie british person suit he put on.  Lucy is now conlficted and what not even though Jonathan is kind of an asshole who just wants to drag her back home. And i’ts not like Lucy didn’t keep in touch: she sent him texts and probably called, so i’ts not like he didn’t know she was here. He’s also a hunter for extra dick points as if he needed them.  Naturally when meeting his romantic rival he’s a dick.. but raises some valid questions: While Hidgens claim he shaved Konk due to lesions, there’s no mark of lesisons or the shaving. But his natural dickheadedness shines through and Jonathan talks about shooting Klonk before lucy takes his ring off and throws it and Jonathan goes after her.  Annnnd yeah turns out the disposable dickhead fiance for once is RIGHT. In a twist I did not remotley see coming but damn if it wasn’t clever, Klonk.. is Ted from TGWDLM and the plan was to seduce lucy with this con, marry her and then bump her off. It’s a hell of a twist and cleverly hidden since Joey’s such a starkid mainstay, it’s not a huge suprise he was Klonk and thus easily hid the fact he was also Ted. It’s clever stuff and pivots the story nicely. 

Ted is naturally a douchey as ever, going along with Hidgen’s plan to have him marry lucy then kill her and take her dough for themselves.. and unsuprisingly, so Hidgens can get Workin Boys off the ground. Granted there are easier ways to do this with the same scooby doo scheme: Just have HIdgens plan working boys casually, have Klonk really love it and being the sweetheart she is LUcy would fiance the thing just to make them both happy. I mean he can still marry her and ted can still have direct acess to her money if they want, it’s just an easier way that dosen’t shine supscion on the caveman who looks exactly like a local douchebag who everyone he’s met would testify against him. I mean would Paul and Bill REALLY be that suprised that Ted did this? 

Exactly. Then again neither of our “heroes’ Here is very bright, and this scheme only works because Lucy is clearly very sweet, very naive, and very much wants a romantic evening with an ape man after all this time and effort searching, so she wants to believe him. So the fact the best they could come up with is something out of Scooby Doo is unsuprisng but still great.  However things take a turn for the

Pretty quick as Hidgens takes disposable british douche fiance hunting.. then kills the guy after freely admiting he’s a fraud in what’s an INCREDIBLY chilling scene. Seriously it’s amazing how Robert takes a character as loveably redicilous, even his evil and murderous plan during TGWDLM was still hilariously rediclous, and makes him UTTERLY TERRIFYING. Even when dropping my fair lady refrences. Amazing stuff.  So the next day, after Konk “asks” what an engagment is and what not, we then get Lucy wondering just WHERE jonathan is and we get the second biggest laugh of the night as Hidgens gives us the iconic line of “Oh he left... said something about you being crazy and going back to london and basically to go fuck yourself. “. Naturally Lucy has followup questions and goes to find out while Ted, also naturally, isn’t exactly pleased when he finds out his partner in crime did a murder on someone. 

Ted may be a sleazy dickhead.. but even he sees maybe murdering a rich british person who just came here, went basically ONLY to this one location, and whose probably got many people who will misss him, one of whom is their primary target, is kinda dumb. Then again this is a plan that hinges on someone who could easily be identified, as he has or at least probably had an office job and three coworkers who know him, assuming a false identity to marry someone for their money. But again we’re dealing with a guy who thinks working boys is marketable to anyone who isn’t a starkid, and a moron who soon says he does his best thinking while erect. They only got this far because their target REALLY wants to fuck a sasquatch, is sweet but naive and well Ted IS still joey richter, and no longer has the porn stache so there you go.  Ted decides to cut Hidgens out of things.. partly because you know, he killed a person, and partly because instead of killing Lucy, Ted realized he honeslty has a LOT to gain by simply marrying her and staying married. He gains a hot rich wife (his word’s not mine, but angie is genuinely beautiful so fair point), a mansion, and while Hidgens points out the obvious, he has to stay Konk.. that’s actually appealing to Ted as he feels better as Konk, not just because he impresses an attractive woman for doing basic stuff, but because he feels better as Konk. This is.. an intresting turn for Ted i genuinely like. It shows that Ted may, as much as he presents with bluster and ego, actually LIKE the kind of shithead he knows he is. I mean looking at his life he has two workmates who calling them friends is a bit of a stretch, and one who he’s having an affair with but seems detemrined to make her doomed marriage to an even bigger asshole work. He really dosen’t have much as ted so it’s easy to see why being Konk is better: He’s a better person as him who actually has someone who cares about him.  Naturally Hidgens takes this as well as you’d expect and when Ted/Konk tries proposing he goes with the logical option for taking the fourtune for himself:

Yes really. Hidgens strips naked, and swings his arms around like an orangutan to try and convince Lucy he’s the real hatchetfield apeman. Sadly this dosen’t mean we get a shirtless robert manion as he needs to keep the turtleneck on for later, but the mental image.. I had to pause the video for a good minute to laugh over it. Just everything about it from it somehow being a dumber plan than his scheme this episode, to the orangutan swaying to just.. everything. It’s fucking genius.  But Higdens has more than a mighty penis to compete with Ted.. he reveals ted’s phone and Ted ends up revealing himsef by telling Hidgens to go fuck himself. Naturally Lucy is distraught and tries to leave and the professor pulls out his shotgun to threaten her into financing his musical because of course it’s about workin boys. Lucy tries to run, Hidgens tries to shoot.. and ted , doing the first good thing in his entire life, takes the bullet.  Lucy gets ted out of there then locks the door behind them, and we get the SCARIEST bit in this segment as Hidgens leans into the camera, simulating the peep hole of the vault door to the ape man inclosure and begs her to let him out. It’s some real Jack Nicholson in the Shining stuff and it’s utterly terrifying, but it’s also an amazing bit of acting. Nice job Rob.  So ted bleeds out, as much as Lucy wants to save him he knows he’s not going to make it and prefers to die as Konk, finally happy with himself. And I just realized everyone at Paul’s job is horribly miserable. I mean good god, Paul himself has serious depression issues judging by “Let it Out”, Ted clearly hates himself, Charlotte is in a horrible marriage and Bill just got out of one and has a strained realtionship with his daughter we’ll get into more in a bit. I mean honestly, Mr. Davidson is the only one of them who really dosen’t need therapy.. he just needs to tell his wife he wants her to choke him while he jerks off. For as ungodly hilarious as that line is he’s probably the most well adjusted person there. Go figure. 

Naturally being already insane, Hidgens breaks out, still naked mind, and chases after Lucy. Also noticable is apparently some people thought hidgens was manipulated by the blue shit hive mind in TGWDLM. Which.. no. I do love the guy dont’ get me wrong.. but it was very obvious both from the way his musical number was done compared to the rest of the ones in the musical, and his actions that was entirely him, and his playing the music was so he could join, especially since we don’t see the hive mind use any mind manupluation on anyone else. Regular manipulation sure as seen with you tied up my heart and not your seed, manipulating charoltte into freeing her asshole husband so he could infect her and torturing bill for funsies. Just something to get out of the way. Point is he was always crazy we just now have him chasing an innocentish woman with his dong hanging out to prove it.  He eventually catches her as Lucy catches herself in one of his bear traps when she hits the woods, because he had those for some reason.. and he has a resonable way out: Just give her the 30,000 dollars he needs for his musical. Thing is she dosen’t have the money.. or hardly any. She spent all of it trying to find the ape man and was marrying jonathan for his money and him for her title. And while it is a bit skeezy, it’s very clear both were using each other and likely knew it, and Lucy still comes out the most moral of our cast here.. granted it’s not a big stretch as hidgens is criminally insane, ted’s a skeeze and Jonathan.. well he’s just a diiiiiiccckkkk. It’s not hard is what i’m saying.. much like hidgen’s dick flopping around in the rain. But yeah he dosen’t take it well, Lucy goes up a tree, which is apparently something Becky did once. But before Lucy can die at the hands of a naked thespian, the REAL Ape-Man shows up and tears Hidgen’s arms off, taking lucy in his own arms afterwords and revealing he remembers her. The two hit it off instantly, it turns out his name is chumby in an excellent gag as that was what Hidgens wanted his fake ape man to be named but Ted froze, and go off into the night together. Awww.. what if a naked ape man played by my boy jeff blim and a british person can’t work who can? 

We then close out the segment with a cameo appearance by Jamie Lynn Beatty, who while not part of the cast for this double feature, does get a fun showtune about the ape man. Also fun fact that i found out here on tumblr: That costume is from something Jamie did in HIGH SCHOOL. As in well over a decade ago. Like holy shit, good for her. She looks great in it. But yeah it’s a fun song and a nice way to close it out.  Final Thoughts on the Hatchetfield Ape-Man: This was a great way to start things off. This one was more in line with starkids pre-hatchetfield work, a goofy story with some hidden depth inside. And like the guy who didn’t like musicals it was utterly terrifying in spots so yeah good stuff ,utterly hilarous and a great way to bring back some old faviorites while giving us a neat new protaganist. Good stuff. 

Watcher World:

Now from a mostly comedy with a horrifying ending to just.. pure unfiltered horror and depression! It’s Watcher World! Bill and Alice are back! And given I love Mariah Rose Faith and Corey Dorris, I was exastic to find this was what the second segment was about.. mostly because I had no idea Starkid had teasers for the episodes on their instagram, or I would’ve known Hidgens was coming. I wouldn’t of known he’d be stark naked for the last third of his story but still, pleasant surprise.

So Bill and Alice are spending the day at Watcher World, a run down amusement park on the edge of town. It’s Alice’s last weekend before College so Bill’s trying to reconnect with her by cramming a good old fashioned family vacation down her throat. Alice is less than enthused, both because she clearly resents her dad in general, and because Deb is throwing a huge rager on the same night. My honest interpretation of that is that Deb fully inteded for her girlfriend to come but Bill sprung this on Alice at the last minute and being pretty oblivious and hating Deb, either didn’t care about taking alice from one last night with her friends and girlfriend or didn’t generally think that through. I mean don’t get me wrong normally i’d side with a parent not wanting their daughter to attend a huge teen rager on their last weekend together.. but it’s also Alice’s last weekend in town for some time, and it’s likely a saturday.. so he has another day, and presumibly had friday before this and while things with his ex wife are tense, fighting for an extra day with her would be understandable and i’ts not like Alice, even if she hates Bill, would really fight him on getting an extra day in the town she didn’t want to leave. 

But that’s what I really like about this one that it’s layered. While Alice is slightly more in the right, she’s still shutting her dad out, refusing to let him follow her on instagram (though he does agree with her keeping it private as he dosen’t want Ted perving on her, which tracks, or Ted’s brother doing it which.. wait what?), and being on her phone the whole time to very clearly spite him and rub how much she dosen’t want to be there in her dad’s face. She dosen’t WANT to be at watcher world but instead of trying to talk to her Dad just wants to complain and apparenlty has on all their vacations.. it’s easy to see why Bill is annoyed by his daughter at times and thinks he has to FORCE HER to have fun with him, because otherwise she’d gladly ignore him for their entire weekends together for Deb. She’s so determined to punish her dad for the divorce, that she refuses to see on some level he IS trying, and is just sad about her leaving, and possibly leaving him forever and alone with nothing else in his life but his buddy Paul, whose getting married next week so that’s probably not helping.  On the other hand the reason I say Alice is more in the right is that well.. Bill’s a grown ass men. And while, speaking for himself, grown ass men don’t always make the right decisions, and not speaking for myself neither do fathers... Alice’s acting out is understandable coming from an 18 year old whose been through hell over the last year, having her parents divorce being forced to move, loosing her friends. Bill however just kind of uses her age and angst as an excuse to undermine and belittle her feelings. Because he doesn’t like deb for the very stupid reasons of she does pot, instead of assuring her that Deb wouldn’t cheat on Alice with Deb’s former crush Zigg, starkid’s first non binary character in a nice show that Nick Lang wasn’t just covering his ass when he said there’d be more representation in starkid, which in his defense I didn’t doubt him on but it’s still nice he did so at the earliest opportunity and very clearly plans to use Zigg if he can find a nonbinary actor for them. 

But yeah instead of assuring his daughter, Bill is just like “well sometimes relationships don’t work out” which while true is clearly his self serving way of trying to get Alice to break up with someone he dosen’t like. INstead of supporting her in her dreams of writing plays, one of which was good enough to get her a scholarship, he tries to act like she has no plans for her future and get her to be a doctor for more security, even though having a secure job has done.. no one at his office including him favors. I mean again, the most stable and happy person at the office is the guy in charge, and even he can’t tell his wife he wants her to choke him out at night. He wants her to choke him, he wants her to choke him while he jerks off, he wants her to choookeeee himmm while heeeee jerrrkssss offfff. 

While part of this seems to be that Deb plans to be a starving artist who can mooch off her parents in a pinch, Alice GENUINELY seems to have a full plan for her life. I do get his worrying about her future.. but she’s a smart kid. A bit of a brat but she knows what she wants clealry and clearly has talent. He’s just projecting his own fears on her. He also refuses to accept any responsibility in the divorce.. his hating his ex wife IS valid, as she took his daughter away, uprooted her life a year before graduation and spends gobs of money on impressive outings, the latter two seemingly just to spite him when honestly, it’d of made more sense for Alice to stay with Bill for the year before she graduates and been better for her. However, Bill still doesn’t take responsibly that he too is shoving fun down her throat to try and win her over, hates her girlfriend and refuses to treat her with any respect, and really DOSEN’T know Alice all that well. As we learn during their fun day she has anxiety, and he never knew about it. And the divorce isn’t really an excuse when he had years before that.  It’s the real problem of their relationship: Bill feels ENTITLED to a good father daughter relationship, but isn’t working at it and blames his ex wife or Alice for it instead of himself. While Alice isn’t an innocent as i’ve made clear, putting up walls and not telling dad things, given bill ignores her when she DOES try to tell him about her life, it’s easy to see she’s just given up. If he won’t listen why bother. Which yeah i’ve found myself there with my own dad from time to time. Bill’s not a bad person, he genuinely loves Alice, as he says “to the moon and back”, but it’s very clear from this outing he still loves the little girl who loved him unconditionally and not the complicated and mopey adult sh’es become, and dosen’t WANT to adapt to that and fears once she leaves for college she’ll avoid him for good, which isn’t unfounded. It’s a good, complex rich dynamic.  Naturally with.. all this I covered up front instead of sprinkling it throughout, the day doesn’t go great, with Alice utterly miserable most of the time, and ending up in a goofy novelty t-shirt due to a log ride. She also has an unsettling encounter with park mascot Blinky, our newest adorable abomination, who not only shows up the moment she does something bad on camera but also stares at her ass, which.. Paul you mind coming back for a second?

Thank you. They end up at the Watch Party, a cheesy kids show musical because Bill apparently equates this with his daughter loving musicals. I mean granted cheesy kids stage shows can be rad just listen to this. 

But I get Alice’s annoyance here. Thus we get the return of the sniggles, who apparently serve whatever eldrich deity is around this week and our first song of this segment, The Blinky Song. Which is catchy as hell as well as hilariously dark (”I’m so hungry”), and uses the stock footage well, as I could buy a cheap theme park ran by an eldtirch eye goblin using stock footage. But yeah it establishes Blinky as always watching and kinda fucked up.  Also the sniggles are now clearly the smurgs with Angie’s now being named Sniglette, Jeff being papa Sniggle and James being Snigglotts. However Sniglette considers leaving with another song with a long string of words. Then, things get.. dark as the rest of the sniggles don’t want her to leave and try and mob her, and then Papa Sniggle accidently wings her with a mallet and apparenlty injures the actual performer, before everyone’s ushered out and the usher pretends nothing happened. Good mind screw horror stuff. 

Alice and Bill then bicker a bit with my above point being made as Alice TRIES to get Bill to accept some respoinablity but he refuses and blames her mom. It’s now time for the Tear-Jerker, the reason they came. Bill’s buddy Paul says someone died. They also find three other people waiting in line and when one goes to the bathroom the other two start making out which.. yeah, dosen’t help Alice’s worry Deb’s going to cheat on her. So she takes the first single rider pass she can, with Bill worming his way in as to not let her get away.  The two naturally end up fighting on the Tear-Jerker before it stops up high, and ends up stalled, with the gloriously returning Nerdy Kid played by Joey from Black Friday being as helpful as usual. Seriously bless them for bringing him back. Man in a Hurry also showed up again, bless him too. Alice picks this time to reveal her fear of heights and anxiety, and an approaching storm isn’t helping. So Bill.. steps up. He helps ease Alice down taking her phone for her, if loosing it due tot he rain and helping her stay calm. It’s a REALLY nice portrayal of an anxiety attack, with Mariah herself apparently having them and thus portraying it really well. As someone who has them myself it really hits home and Bills calm attempts to help her are really heartwarming, getting her to describe her musical for him and the two bonding. It’s genuinely sweet.  But.. it can’t last, as Alice freaks out about her phone and Bill for once is in the right, as .. he was you know.. trying to save his daughter having a panic attack, and really stepped up given he was obnovious she had anxiety in the first place, and managed it well. He then gives the utterly heart stomping line “I love you to the moon and back, but sometime’s it’s really hard to like you. “

Just damn. So Alice runs off and both find their way to the fairway. Bill tries winning a doll for Alice, getting into a test of strength where he fails repedatly and is constantly mocked by the barker, played by James Tolbert who also played Blinky.. 

That should be Tolbert’s twitter handle. Anyway point is, Bill keeps trying even as he wracks up 400 dollars in credit card debt, for a 49.95 doll, before eventually the barker and hte crowd’s jeers get to be too much and he does smack it hard, thinking of all of his pent up rage towards alice.. just as the bell at the top takes the shape of alice’s head and explodes.  Bill is naturally horrified by this by the barker assures he loves him.. and that he should totally hobble his daughter misery style to make her not leave him and use the mallet for it.  Meanwhile Alice is at the shooting Gallery not wanting the blinky doll she wins, just blowing off steam when she runs into an old crone played by Lauren Lopez. But this Crone has her phone... which suspiciously has a ton of instagram photos of Deb and Zigg making out while sharing a toke. Granted Deb COULD’VE cheated, but given Alice is insecure, and her phone was given back to her by a witch working for an eye goblin.. yeah maybe just maybe Deb was loyal, and if she wasn’t wouldn’t be dumb enough to put it on instagram. But given Alice is already worked up it’s easy enough for her to beliive that her relationships in danger and if she gets there in time she can stop it and oh look her gun is now a real gun and can help her get the keys.  So yeah it’s time for a creepy as hell Shining-esque showdown, but if both sides were possesed instead of one. It’s.. a CHILLING as hell scene, not helped by Alice wielding a gun again as both fight. I was gripped the entire time and don’t have much to say utter than HOLY SHIT THIS WAS AS TERRIFYING AS IT WAS RIVITING. 

But a crowd gathers as the fight continues.. all with purple eyes which ave been seen on and off, watchers with a thousand eyes.. and with Blinky, now revealed NOT to be a costume probably, above them all. We also get one hell of a line.  “This is an amusement park but not for YOUR amusement.”

So yeah I love this sequence.. and Blinky as a villain. While it’s vague if he and Blinky  are the same entity.. I’m going with not. It’s not a stretch that like Cthulu, Wiggly has brothers in the black and white, with their own motives, methods and ability to get into our world. Unlike Wiggly.. Blinky’s already here and has no real ambition other than to find people to mentally tear apart and set loose on one another for his own amusement. He doesn’t have grand plans of burning the world.. he just wants to be entertained. It’s an interesting and chilling motive and I hope we see him again eventually. I also believe those at the park are trapped there bound after their own day there and trapped doing whatever Wiggly needs. Except maybe squeaky voiced teen. He probably just complains about cleaning up so much blood.  But yeah Blinky is very happy as the fight escalates into the hall of mirrors and Alice looses her gun.. with Bill now poised to strike down his daughter as the mirror reflects the various workers at the park, all encouraging him to kill her... it’s utterly terrifying as Bill’s eyes take on a purple tint.. and we get a POWERFUL use of the score and the “why does it hurt to love you’ bit from TGWDLM.. as Bill sees himself and what he’s about to do, sees his daughter understandably having a panic attack.. and calms her, his eyes returning and the two reconciling.  Of course Blinky isn’t happy about this “sappy bullshit” and brings htem into his domain, charging at them. But kinda missing that giving a pissed off teenager a rifle she knows how to use when you have a giant target for a face isn’t a good idea and she shoots him, with him bleeding a flood of purple goo that sends them out. While I doubt Winky’s dead, he is done with them.  Our story concludes on a sweeet note as the two find their car, and they finally make as tep forward, Bill having seen almost too late how selfish and controlling he was being and accepting his daughter on her phone.. and Alice realizing her need to open up and after checking Instagram, likely finding out those photo’s weren’t real, she throws her phone in the back.. but not before accepting her dad’s request, letting him in. Sure the road ahead is rough.. but the two have made a good first step towards repairing things and loving one another again in a healthy manner. and all it took  was bill nearly murdering her and allice shooting an eye goblin int he face and getting covered in his blood. Cue the credits, a beautiful song called “One Thousand Eyes” with Jeff Blim fucking nailing it. A great way to send off this bit.  Final Thoughts: This was the best one of the two. While Ape Man is really good too, this one took the darker tone of black friday, but with a tighter narrative. By focusing on a smaller cast, the darker elements really played better and the conclusion felt more satisfying.. though it helped that BOTH of these tails ended without everyone dying, and while I doubt EVERY story will have a happy ending, it makes things more interesting knowing that the heroes can get a happy ending this time around instead of an apocalypse. 

Overall Thoughts: This double feature was great, I’ll be getting a ticket to the next one if I can afford it, and if not i’ll see it presumably in December or next year when it comes on YouTube. Really excellent stuff.  So this was a first for me but if you’d like to see more starkid stuff from me, let me know in the comments or my askbox, commission me to review one of the musicals via dm, and if you liked how I did this review follow this blog for weekly ducktales and loud house coverage, and amphibia coverage when that returns, among more fun reviews. And until next time.. don’t blink. Play us out Jeff. 

I really hope this is the ending theme for the series. 

[negasonicimagines]

Want U Back ; “A Resounding Yes” (1)

h request: Does “could we get an ellie x reader fic?? doesn't matter what it is, we just miss you!!” count? I guess “!??!?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?Could I request literally anything with angst and hurt/comfort!??!?!?!?!?!!?!?!??!!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!!?!!!!!?!?!!!!??!?!!?!?!!!!??!??!?!?!?!?!?!!?” fits, haha!

synopsis: Ellie knows she fucked up the second she sees Yukio’s lips on yours. She knows your relationship will never be the same, but can she still regain what she took for granted?

author’s note: hey! sorry for being the worst! Also, do you guys prefer the selectively-omniscient 2nd person POV, or the rigid 2nd person POV that sticks to the reader’s thoughts? I played with Yukio’s original backstory in this, let me know what you think! Just so y’all know, this is only divided up because it’s suuuuper long! I have more to write, but I still plan to finish it soon!

warnings: emotional cheating, break-up, unhealthy relationship (that gets fixed), angst, if there’s anything else let me know! Also, this isn’t really a trigger but this fic will explore a lot of Ellie’s flaws and features her being a Not Very Good Girlfriend in the beginning, so if you really don’t care for the idea of her being a sucky gf, you might wanna skip this one. Also, TROS spoilers

“What’s the difference between a piano and a fish?”

“You can tune a piano, but you can’t tuna fish,” Yukio responds with a giggle. 

“Damn it!” Wade told you the joke that’s so bad it rounds back to good earlier, and the first person- after remembering Ellie would probably just glare at you, of course -you thought to tell was Yukio. 

“Wade told me that one, too,” she explains. 

“One of these days, I am going to beat him to a joke,” you declare, looking to the girl with a smile and cluelessly stealing her breath away.

Maybe she should give you a hint, she thinks. The two of you are close enough already, sitting together on the floor in her room making shrinky-dinks for earrings. She could just grab you and… 

Well, now she’s blushing, thinking of a lot more than just kissing you. 

“Hey, ‘Kio, did you hear me?” She didn’t respond to your next attempt, one of many this evening alone. 

“Hm?! Oh, no, I didn’t, sorry…”

“No worries,” you chirp, and after a few beats of silence, Yukio asks:

“Aren’t you gonna say what I missed?” 

“Oh, it was stupid, anyways.”

“No way,” Yukio argues. “Go ahead.”

“What do you call a donkey with a million eyes and a million legs?”

“Ooh, I haven’t heard this one. What?” The genuine curiosity; the hope for a clever answer… It’s a little too much to take without letting out even a snort, but you manage.

“A monster,” you say, in your most deadpan expression possible, which happens to be a stupid grin at Yukio’s chuckling.

The smile fades, but not completely- never completely, not when you’re around -before she leans in, just a little. But, you know what she wants. A part of you wants it, too. 

You put a finger to her lips, gently stopping her.

“I- I haven’t broken up with her, yet.”

“Yet?”

“You and I have been getting a lot more close. Even closer than before, which I didn’t even realize was possible, but too close for me to have a girlfriend who doesn’t know about it. And I… If I’m choosing, I’m choosing you. I should have before.”

“Before? Y/N, one of my favorite things about you is that you usually aren’t this vague,” Yukio remarks, and you scoff. 

“Can you blame me for being a bit nervous to confess that I’ve liked you as more than a friend for a long time? Like, ‘the only reason I even ended up with Ellie was because I really like both of you and she asked first’-a long time?”

“Not at all,” Yukio admits. “It’s getting kinda late, maybe you should head back… Do you want me to walk with you?”

“I’d rather she didn’t blow up on both of us,” you admit. Yukio’s your official roommate, but the potential for Ellie to level the house in her sleep has perks, including her own room. You sleep there, and your bed in Yukio’s room has been replaced with a futon. Guess it’s time to pack your bags. Should you start doing that before or after you tell her you’re leaving her for her other best friend?

“You’re doing it tonight?” She wonders, surprised as you scoop up the scrap plastic and throw it away. She picks up the scissors, and colored pencils while you put your markers back in their case. Tomorrow, the two of you can heat up your creations. 

“You’ve emboldened me… You usually do,” you tell her. She makes you feel like an equal when you’re together, and since she’s pretty damn great, your self-esteem gets quite the boost. 

“You’re gonna be the death of me,” Yukio replies, blushing. 

“I sure hope not,” you tell her in lieu of a goodbye, and once the door is shut behind you, Yukio squeals in delight. 

As you head to Ellie’s room, the nervousness in your stomach starts to boil. You knock. 

“Y/N?” she questions. 

“Yeah.”

“Come in.” 

You enter awkwardly, but she doesn’t seem to notice the way you fiddle with the door to make sure it closes perfectly quiet, after that one time she got onto you for closing it too loudly. 

“Why do you even knock, anyway?”

“Just wanna respect your privacy. It’s your room.”

“I’d say it’s yours, too, but you don’t really spend a lot of time here anymore.”

“Never thought I’d see the day you were passive-aggressive,” you remark. Normally something like that would be teasing, but now it just feels biting, to both of you.

“I guess you could say love changed me,” Ellie retorts. Love. As if she loved you. The only sign she might is when she mumbles the words back to you. She never says it first, never holds you without you asking, only really kisses you when she wants to-

“I was just hanging out with Yukio,” you admit, snapping out of it. 

“Maybe she should be your girlfriend instead, since you like spending so much time with her.”

You know she’s probably just hurt, or jealous, or… Well, that’s irrelevant. It’d be a fair criticism if she wasn’t such a bitch about it. 

You take your chance: “Maybe she should.” 

And then you grab your go bag from the closet, as well as your other suitcases, the ones you used to move your things here in the first place. You start packing.

“Wait, what? What the fuck are you doing?”

“I said, ‘Maybe she should.’ As in, maybe this relationship has run its course and I’m better off with someone else.”

Ellie blinks. That’s a first, she usually doesn’t allow herself to be phased by the things you or anyone else says. 

“Well, let me clarify for you. That maybe is a resounding fucking ‘yes,’” she retaliates. Ah, that’s what it was. She wasn’t bothered in the least, she just needed time to come up with a good comeback. That’s your Ellie… Well, not anymore. 

It feels like it takes longer than it does, but eventually your things are all tucked away in your bags. 

“You’re not gonna take Gerard?”

“Why would I? You got him for me,” you tell her in lieu of a goodbye, heading back to Yukio’s. 

She opens the door before you even knock, but seems surprised to see you there. 

“I was worried she might try to chase you down,” she explains before you even ask, ushering you in. She takes your bags and sets them down on the futon. 

“As if she’d ever fight for me,” you assure her, but it just puts a frown on her face. She’s already wearing pajamas, so you figure you should change into yours. 

You swiftly do so, not even bothering to tuck yourself away in the bathroom. After all, the two of you have changed in front of each other countless times. 

Yukio’s stunned expression implies this time might be a little bit different, though. You can’t help the twitch of a smirk that graces your lips before you do head to the bathroom, taking the contents of one of the external pockets of your suitcases with you and completing your nighttime routine. 

“Can I kiss you, now?” Yukio asks as soon as you reach her. She’s sitting on the edge of the bed, and she asks the question like she’s asked it a million times and you’ve said no to every single request. You realize that maybe she has asked, in some subtle ways. A hand on yours to comfort you, a longing look in her eyes when you turn away… Maybe she’s been asking you to kiss her all this time, and you just didn’t see it. 

That maybe is a resounding fucking yes, you remember Ellie’s words from before.  

You lower yourself and press your lips to hers. She freezes in surprise before responding, tangling her fingers into your hair and you can feel in every motion how badly she wants this, wants you, like no one ever has, or at least not in a way they’ve communicated. Yukio kisses you like she loves you; she loves you. You smile into the kiss and she pulls away to see it, to see you.  “Wow…” you both sigh, before giggling. 

“Are you sure this isn’t too soon?” Yukio wonders. The fact that she cares to ask is enough to send the butterflies already in your stomach into a fluttering frenzy.  

“You of all people should know that relationship was over before I went to that room this evening,” you remind her. “That this one started before I kissed you, even.” 

You do feel a bit guilty about that part, but it just… Happened. Yukio was there when Ellie stopped being there, bored of you but unsure how to say it, you’re sure. 

Yukio nods, kissing you this time. It’s gentle, she’s gentle, but it’s still loaded with all the feelings you’ve been too ashamed to express these past few weeks.Yes, all of them. You pull away while you can still stop yourself, and nearly topple over with nerves. Yukio pulls you onto the bed before turning the lamp on and afterwards clapping to turn the lights off. 

“That’s new,” you note, still a bit breathless. “Hope you don’t mind me being a tease, but it is a little too soon for that.”

“You’re not a tease. We did what we were both comfortable with. If you’re not ready, neither of us are. Did you and Ellie ever…?”

“Oh, um, yeah. A lot.”

“Right, I guess I should’ve figured that out when you stopped complaining about being a virgin,” Yukio chuckles. 

“So, now we just… Sleep?” You wonder.

“I guess so, but…” The two of you meet eyes. Despite the agreement that you shouldn’t go farther than kissing, there’s still excitement buzzing in the air from the “new” relationship. 

“You can go ahead and transform, if you want. Might help you get in a sleepy mood.”

“Transf-? Oh, right… I don’t really do that anymore, not when I’m sleeping.”

“Why not? You told me it makes you feel safer.”

“Takes up too much space on the bed,” you mumble. “Plus, what if I accidentally claw something up in my sleep?”

“Did- Did Ellie say those things to you?”

Yukio is a sweet girl, but not nearly as bubbly and innocent as she pretends to be. There’s a dark side to her, one just like yours. 

“Yeah, but… You’re probably taking it a lot more serious than she meant it. She’s not like us, Yukes. She has normal parents, went to a normal school before all this. Doesn’t understand.”

“Doesn’t try to,” Yukio complains. “Would it help if I said it makes me feel safer?”

You give a noiseless chuckle. 

“I mean it. Think about it, wouldn’t you feel safer with a guard leopard sleeping next to you? A mamushi curled around your arm ready to strike any intruder?”

“I guess you’re right. Couldn’t you just Rey Palpatine the shit out of anyone who tries to attack us, though?”

“Remind me of that travesty of a movie again and you’ll have to worry about being Rey Palpatine’d yourself. But, uh, yeah, of course I’m right. And Ellie’s more of an idiot than I thought she was,” Yukio says, and you can see her adorably smug smile shining bright in the moonlight. 

“Hey! She’s still our friend!” 

“Yeah, once she gets over me stealing you,” your new- oh, wait, you should probably ask what you are, you realize -remarks.

“Something tells me you’ll figure out soon that there isn’t much to get over. Uh… What are we, now?”

“I’d be honored to call you my girlfriend,” Yukio tells you. “Now, will you please transform into a cute creature for me to cuddle?”

“Didn’t think you were this much of an animal-lover, Yuks,” you remark. 

“I’m a you-lo…” She trails off, realizing what she was saying. “-ver.”

You slip under the covers to strip back down, afterwards beginning the transition. You feel your hands shift into paws, feel even the barely visible hairs on your skin thicken and darken as the features of your face shift and contort into something else entirely. You pop your head back up and Yukio laughs, smoothing the ruffled fur on your head and face. 

“You are so beautiful,” she tells you. You’d thank her, but it’s a waste of energy. You were taught how to push your thoughts into the minds of others like speech by some of the most powerful telepaths ever, but as you have no more psychic energy than even a non-mutant, it’s tiring to use that ability; therefore, any other form of communication is preferable.

You choose to nuzzle her hand, and she’s grinning ear to ear. It’s not every day she gets a real-life teddy bear, well, before now. You’d be happy to do this every day, though you might get bored of the bear aspect.

Yukio bear-hugs your neck, pulling you close. You really do feel more relaxed, tired from the transformation and comforted by her embrace. You give a low grumble, nervous to fall asleep on top of her, even a little bit. She looks inquisitive before seeing your point and releasing you so that you can lay back. You turn over, and she spoons you, nuzzling her cheek against your new fur. 

Your eyes slip shut, and your breathing slows to match hers as the two of you fall asleep.

[eilonwiiy]

All That Glitters

Summary: A fluffy Safi/Merik one-shot set in the Bookends verse.  

Inspired by this ship meme ask: Who tries to start role-playing in bed?   Answer: Safi, but it only ends in a fit of laughter.  Safi is a terrible actress and they both know it.  

Ships: Safi/Merik

Read on AO3: here

*   .   *   .   *   .   *   .

Safi adjusted the sequined torture contraption plastered to her thighs for what felt like the hundredth time since she shimmied into it.  It wasn’t really meant for torture, but when something dissolved the use of her legs and made her feel like a sausage casing, torture didn’t seem so a far-reaching.

This was supposed to be sexy.

She tried shifting her thighs, glued together by sweat, to no avail.  She was beginning to think that maybe she had gone about this the wrong way.  A mermaid seemed like the obvious choice when the idea had popped into her head.  Merik had a strong connection to the ocean, having grown up in Nubrevna, and for as long as she’d known him - which, granted, wasn’t very long - he’d find any excuse to talk about his years spent sailing and adventuring on the high seas as a boy.  But now, with legs tightly gift wrappped in shimmering spandex, it seemed stupid to have eliminated, in her most humble opinion, her best features - if only for the supreme discomfort she was in.  Her boobs weren’t faring much better.  The vinyl shell-shaped monstrosity strapped across her chest would soon become a permanent fixture on her body if Merik didn’t turn up soon.  This was, of course, for him after all.  

It wasn’t that things had grown stale in the bedroom.  Quite the contrary.  Safi found herself spending more and more time with Merik than ever before.  Skipping her morning classes was becoming all too much of a habit to the point where her sociology professor had personally reached out to her by email asking if everything was alright.  Embarrassed, Safi had quickly replied thanking her for her concern and assuring her that she was ok.  More than ok (though she’d left out the finer details as to why in her response).

And yet.

She couldn’t help but feel as though something was out of place.  Between him and her.  They hadn’t had “the talk”.  Yet.  And as Merik had proven on more than one occasion that he was just as maddeningly stubborn as Safi, they never would.  But that didn’t stop her from having many long-winded and, ultimately, unproductive talks with herself.  She was growing discontent with the one-sidedness of it all, especially when she was all too painfully aware of what she was thinking.  She wanted to know what the real Merik was thinking, not the fantasy version she carried around in her head all day - the one that wanted more than the whatever they were doing now.  Because on the days she opted out of her morning class, she wasn’t hanging around for just a tumble in the sheets.  I mean, that certainly wasn’t a deterrent.  Merik was living up to every bit of expertise he’d so boorishly boasted when they’d begun dancing circles around each other.  But that wasn’t all there was to it anymore.  Most mornings when her cell alarm woke her up after spending the night, the desire to stay tucked against Merik’s chest and wrapped in his arms far outweighed doing anything else, and in the last week, she was almost positive she’d picked up on his reluctance to do the same.  This was highly unusual.  When they’d first started hooking up, he’d be showered, dressed, and halfway through eating a banana - what he called breakfast, the barbarian - all before she’d even hit the snooze button on her alarm the first time in a long series of snoozes.  Now, all of a sudden, Merik was following her alarm’s example and snoozing right alongside Safi.  Not so long that he missed class - he hadn’t gone through a complete personality transplant - but enough that Safi awoke to a thoroughly eye-opening ‘good morning’.

Which was exactly why she was laying across Merik’s bed, her bottom half squeezed into the glitziest mermaid tail Amazon had to offer with her top half covered in plastic seashells and glitter like a beach craft project gone wrong.  The plan had seemed sensible enough: if they tried something new in the bedroom, then perhaps it would inspire him to try something new outside the bedroom.  Like, eat bacon and eggs for breakfast.  Or try role-playing as something else.  Her boyfriend, perhaps.

Under such a premeditated salacious scenario, it all sounded so childish now, but it was too late to back out.  With a look of determination setting on her sparkly face, she tossed her long blonde hair over her shoulder and adjusted her boobs with renewed commitment.  Tonight, she would initiate and complete.  She wasn’t entirely confident that she’d be able to get herself out of her tail without Merik’s help anyhow.

She hadn’t come over mermaidified.  Kullen had let her in, eyeing the multiple bags of supplies hanging from her arms warily and having the decency to listen to her rambling explanation without question when the plastic leaf garland she planned on using as a vine of seaweed flopped out of one of the bags.  About ten minutes later, he announced that he was heading over to Ryber’s and wouldn’t be back until late tomorrow.  Smart man.  

Safi stared at the bedroom door, a perfect beached mermaid, waiting for her sea captain to walk in and ravish his scaley catch.  Yes, this was good.  This was not at all insane.

5 minutes went by.

Safi wetted her lips, resisting the urge to roll off the bed and refile through her makeup bag.  It would be just her luck for Merik to walk in as she was reapplying a fresh coat of lipgloss.  It wasn’t worth the risk.  He’d be too distracted by the fish tail replacing her legs to notice that her lips had lost their sparkly sheen from two hours ago anyway.  

Another 10 minutes went by.

These sequins were going to leave permanent indentations in her ass if she didn’t move soon.

25 minutes.

His last class was supposed to have gotten out over an hour ago!  Where the hell was he?

30.

That’s it.  She was going to text him.

Then, suddenly, the door swung open and there was Merik, his dark hair tousled wet and his cheeks rosy, like he’d gotten caught in a snow flurry on the way home.  He stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of Safi, his hand gripped around the door knob.  She had turned to stone the moment the door clicked open.  With her torso twisted and arm strained backwards frozen in midair as she tried to acrobatically reach for her phone from the nightstand, their eyes met.

It took Safi several beats of stunned silence for her to remember that she had lines.  She jolted as though breaking out of a spell, the room filed with the rustle of sequins and (fake) pearl necklaces draped around her neck clacking against each as she gyrated back onto her side, all the while Merik still stood rooted in the doorway, his face bafflingly expressionless for a man who had just unsuspectingly walked in on a mermaid floundering on his bed.  

Safi took a single deep breath and began…

“Oh captain, my captain,” she recited in a musical lilt.  “To be caught in one’s net is but my kind’s greatest fear.  But to be caught in a gaze such as yours, I cannot say.  For it is a forbidden love we swim around.  I dare not say what would happen to me if I were discovered in the arms of a land dweller for it is too gruesome to even imagine… but I know of a place where no one can find us.  A secret lagoon that only I know of.  Where the water is warm and… and… what are you looking at??”

Merik’s eyes were narrowed in a deep frown.  Somewhere in the midst of her opening monologue, his attention had shifted to the rest of the bed and - more importantly - not her.

“This place is covered in glitter,” he said bluntly, looking around the room.

Safi blinked, momentarily stunned.  “What?”

“There’s glitter.  Everywhere,” he emphasized, still too engrossed with the contents of his room to even spare a look at her.    

A shock of disbelief robbed Safi of speech for a moment.  “Are you serious right now?”

“Yes, I’m serious,” he said, running a mystified hand through his hair and brushing the tip of his boot on a spot on the carpet that was no doubt fertilized with glitter.  He scowled.  “I’m going to have to burn this place down.��    

Safi’s mouth puckered open and close, fittingly, like a fish.  Heat flashed through her - and not the kind she was hoping he’d ignite from this encounter.

“Better start with the bathroom,” she jeered snidely.

At those words, Merik’s gaze finally snapped to her.  His brown eyes widened half a fraction and, without a word, he bolted from the room.  Safi listened for the telltale sound of the bathroom light being switched on and a smugness flitted across her pursed lips when she heard the satisfying gasp of horror that instantly followed after.      

Angry footsteps sounded from outside the room and Merik reappeared.

“It looks like Tinkerbell was murdered in there,” he accused, jabbing his thumb over his shoulder.  From her spot on the bed, she could see the red flush creeping up his neck that she had come to know so well from their many heated arguments - and the exhilarating reconciliations that followed.  He planted his hands on his hips and stood over her like an angry parent.  So not the role she was hoping he’d be playing right now.  

“Safi, what the hell is going on?”

“Relax, Tink’s fine.”

“Safi.”

“What do you think is going on?” Safi hissed, sounding more like a murderous siren than the seductive mermaid she had planned on.  Strangling him sounded just as pleasurable as sex at the moment.  

“I don’t know!” Merik half-shouted, throwing his hands up.  He looked Safi up and down in earnest for the first time since he walked through the door.  Underneath the irritation radiating off him was genuine confusion and he struggled for his next words.    

“This… is weird,” he finally landed on.  His hands dropped to his sides and his shoulders slumped a little.  He stared into Safi’s eyes clearly hoping she would say something, but she wasn’t in the mood to let him off the hook.  Not when she could feel angry tears prickling at the backs of her eyes.  This was such a stupid idea.  What had she been thinking?  She was an idiot for thinking she could pull this off.  Before Merik, she’d hardly had any experience with anyone.  Besides Caden.  

Ugh, she mentally harrumphed.  Chiseled Cheater.  Just the thought of him set her on fire.  Why after that trainwreck she’d entertained the fantasy of attaching herself more exclusively to another brainless cow was beyond her.  Something was truly wrong with her.  

When she didn’t say anything, Merik let out a rough sigh.  “Safi, I don’t know what you want me to say.”

“Nothing!” Safi snapped, breaking from her thoughts and suddenly finding her voice.  Merik eyes widened.  

“You don’t have to say anything at all,” she continued in a coldly polite manner, raising herself up.  “I’m leaving.  Have a good night.”

Safi flipped onto her butt and began to scooch across Merik’s bed, digging her bound heels into the mattress to pull herself forward and propping her top half up with her hands.  She knew how undignified she must have looked, but she kept her chin held high, ignoring the way every piece of her ensemble made an ungodly amount of noise with the effort of her movements.  Just get up, she screamed at herself inside her head.  Just get up and get out and you’ll never have to see him ever again for as long as you live.

But she did want to see him.  And she hated herself for it.

That was the last thought she had when her feet touched the ground, for when she stood and tried to take a step forward, she toppled onto the floor.

And then Merik was on the floor with her, his face rippling with full-bellied laughter.  She’d never heard him laugh in such a way, so free and uncaring.  It would have sent her heart soaring if not for the not so minor fact that her humiliation was its cause.  Before she did something stupid, like grab his face and kiss him senseless, she reminded herself of that fact, then peeled her upper half off the floor and sent a venomous look his way.  

“Merik, I swear, if you don’t stop laughing, I’ll-”

But what Safi would do, they never found out.  Because when she tried to get back onto her feet, she’d fallen right back down and Merik crumpled into a heap on the floor dissolving into hysterics and clutching his stomach.    

“Stop laughing!” Safi cried, but either Merik couldn’t hear her over his own howling or he didn’t care.  The thought of the latter only made Safi angrier and with a strangled sob she tried to pull herself up by the bed sheets, wishing to get as far away from Merik Nihar as possible and forget that she’d ever met him.  She’d give him an unflattering nickname and forbid Iseult from speaking his name ever again.      

But then, without warning, she was in the air.  Strong arms wrapped under her knees and around her back.  Before she could protest, she was being gently lowered onto the bed, and the next moment, Merik had her caged underneath him.

He wasn’t laughing anymore.

Safi felt the tear that escaped the corner of her eye and slid down her temple before she could stop it.  She looked away, blinking unseeingly at the ceiling and huffed in frustration.  His face was drawing closer, so close that she could feel the warmth of his lips on hers.  And then, he paused.

“You’re acting real crazy, you know that?” he murmured huskily.

An indignant sound burst from Safi’s throat and was immediately swallowed by his mouth.  

It wasn’t this first time Merik Nihar had rendered Safi speechless.  Sometimes it was with his stupidity.  Other times with his bullheadedness.  And then there were times when he kissed her and stole the very air she breathed.

This was one of those times.

The sound of his deep exhalation the moment after their lips met was the only thing that nudged Safi’s lungs to back life.  The kiss was slow and deliberate and the arm still underneath her tightened its hold on her while the other kept himself propped up as to not crush her.  There was something incredibly sexy about the way that coarse wool of his jacket brushed against her bare skin with every roll of his head and Safi wished not for the first time that evening that her legs weren’t bound.  She cupped his face in her hands, dragging him closer, and finally he relented and lied down on her properly, the silken slide of their lips growing hotter, deeper.  In a matter of seconds he had every nerve-ending inside her crackling to life.        

The moment he stopped she wanted to grab him by the collar and yank him back down to her, but she restrained herself, too caught up in the softness of his eyes.  He smoothed her hair back from her flushed forehead, fingers bumping over the seashells among the waves as he peered down at her.  She had a feeling he wasn’t going to be the first person to break under the silence.

“I’m not crazy,” she finally said.  Although her voice was soft, a familiar defensiveness rang through.

The corner of Merik’s mouth curled up.  “I didn’t say you were crazy,” he countered, continuing to gaze down at her fondly.  “I said you were acting crazy.  Care to tell me why?”

Safi pressed her eyes shut and breathed in deeply - or she tried to.  The combination of the constrictive nature of her outfit and Merik’s lower half pressed deliciously against her was making it hard to breathe at the moment.

When she opened her eyes he was, unfortunately, still waiting for an answer.  She sighed.

“I just wanted to try something… new.”

Merik’s brow arched.

“In bed.”

“Oh.”  

There was a pause.  Safi willed her cheeks not to burn up.  She focused on the masculine bump of his throat and watched it slowly bob up and down as he swallowed.    

“Are you… bored?”

“No,” she was quick to answer, unable to stop herself from looking at him when she said it to assure him that it was true.  Relief softened his eyes, but his expression turned serious again a moment later.

“Are you unhappy?”

Safi’s heart thrummed against her breast, too powerful for even the bra so tightly bound to her chest to tamp down.  For a moment she lost herself in his questioning eyes.  The color on his cheeks gave him a boyish glow.  She could lie.  End this now and walk away in whatever humiliating capacity her mermaid tail allowed.  Roll, hop, slither across the floor like a garden snake - whatever.  The point was she would never have to face that feeling ever again if she wanted to.

“I’ve never been so happy with a man before in my life,” she confessed instead. 

Surprise flickered across Merik’s face.  

“So, naturally, I tried to change everything.”

Merik broke out into a chuckle, his eyes brightening with that rare smile of his that Safi was coming to adore so much, and his hand, which had been frozen for some time, resumed caressing her hair.

“By turning into a mermaid?” he asked, amused.

Safi nodded and Merik shook his head ruefully.  He pulled away slightly and peered down.  “How would this-” he gestured back and forth between their lower halves “-even work?”

A watery laugh broke through Safi.  “I don’t know!” she moaned covering her face with her hands, embarrassed, but finally able to appreciate the absurdity of it all.  Merik began laughing too, the sound soothing her jangled nerves, and he gently pulled her hands away so that he could see her.

“Did you have a costume for me?” he teased.

“You brag so much about that damn boat of yours I assumed you had one stashed away somewhere.”

“It’s not bragging.  It’s talking,” Merik corrected evenly.  He arched his brow.  “Where’s Kullen?”

Safi rolled her eyes.  Even with her half-naked underneath him he still couldn’t help his thoughts from wandering to Kullen.  She knew she shouldn’t judge.  She was the same way with Iseult afterall, but really, come on.    

“He’s far, far away at Ryber’s.”

A wolfish grin spread across Merik’s face and to Safi’s surprise said, “Good,” then leaned into her and found that sweet spot between her neck and shoulder with his lips.  Safi’s heart faltered.  

“Seriously?” she breathed, arching into his touch nonetheless.

“You did go through all the effort,” he murmured into her skin, kissing a path along her collarbone.  His hand traced a line down the middle of her chest, leaving a happy trail of goosebumps in its wake.  His fingers spread along her ribcage, a searing handprint on her skin, and his thumb slipped under her bra, brushing the underside of her breast.  A shiver ran through Safi.  Hell-gates, it was going to hurt like hell when the time came to rip those seashells, but holy shit it would be worth it.  Possessed with an urgency to anchor herself she plunged her hands into his thick hair and cradled him to her.

“Plus,” he said between kisses, “I don’t mind trying new things.  Here or… wherever.”

Safi’s hands paused.  She’d never know if he felt the flutter of her heart under his lips, but he lifted his head to gaze up at her from her bare collar.  His dark eyes smoldered with meaning and somehow Safi knew what he was saying.  They always did understand each other best when they kept their mouths shut.

“Really?” she sniffed, careful to put on an air of indifference.  She may have been voluntarily bound beneath him, but she wasn’t about to give herself away entirely.

“Really.”  

They held each other's gaze for a moment, then Merik’s face slowly lit up with a lopsided grin.  Safi tried to contain the smile breaking out across her lips, halfway succeeding.  It was enough for Merik, though, and pressing a tender kiss upon her chest, he returned to his exploration of her neck.  She let her head fall back and a breathy sigh passed through her lips, fingers curling in his hair, only to be cut short by a startled gasp when he nipped her earlobe rather boldly.  

“A little advice for the future, domna?” he said in a low voice, and her traitorous body stiffened at the seductive dominance honeying his words.  His breath was hot against her ear as he took an insufferable pause no doubt for dramatic effect.

“Play to your strengths.”

In one graceful move, Safi pushed him off her and rolled him onto his back so that she was on top of him.  

She planned on doing just that.  

[mistmarigold]

reymir OS {reyyan gets shot}

Preview: Reyyan gets a text from an unknown number that Miran-Aslan are fighting alongside the cliff so she goes there because she’s afraid for Miran.

—-

“Miran!”

One shot was fired, however, it didn’t come from Miran’s pointed gun. Both Miran and Aslan stilled.

They turned to look at Reyyan standing a few feet away from them, staring at them with hollow eyes and a bloodied hand covering her belly.

Miran couldn’t believe his eyes but he ran to her and caught her in his arms before her knees buckled completely, sliding down with her in his arms.

“Reyyan, Reyyan! Hayir! Reyyan!”

He kept repeating, touching her everywhere with his right hand eventually settling it down on her belly, over her hand.

“Miran..”

He looked up at her eyes.

“I’m in love with you.”

“I know, just hold on. We’re leaving, hold on, lütfen! We’re going to the hospital. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry for everything. Just hold on!”

He puts some more pressure on her wound - she jerks and winces - before he picks her up and starts carrying her to his car.

“I wish we’ll meet in another life and everything will be beautiful. Life won’t be so hard for us,” she was speaking so low, Miran could barely hear her.

“We have this life too! Birakma beni. Just hold on, please please Reyyan! Seni seviyorum. Everything will be okay!”

In response, Reyyan’s eyes drifted close but there was a small smile on her face. A tear slid down her cheek from the corner of her right eye.

“Quick, open the door!” He yelled at shocked Aslan standing a few feet away, who follows through. “Take this and drive like a mad man, I don’t care!”

He throws the keys to Aslan who quickly takes up the driving seat while Miran sits in the back with Reyyan in his lap, trying to wake her up by calling her name over and over while putting pressure on her wound with a cloth he had found in his car.

“Birakma beni..”

“Reyyan..”

Miran hadn’t stopped saying those words, his cheeks stained with tears while his arms held the love of his life on the brink of death.

***

Miran sat on the floor, his head in his hands, thinking over every little moment between them right from the very beginning. Over and over again, her stunning smile and her words just kept going through his head. His legs had given up long ago. He didn’t care about anything but Reyyan.

Reyyan, the love of his life. His only person. Reyyan, who kept coming back to him despite everything he made her go through.

Reyyan, his only reason to live.

All he wanted was her to be alive and well; to be happy. He didn’t give a rat’s ass about anything else.

They should’ve left as they had planned. He should’ve been selfish and thought for themselves only. He shouldn’t have let her go far from him. He should’ve listened to her, been there for her.

All of her words came back to him; all the times she had warned him, tried to hold him back from his anger and his rash decisions. All the times she had tried to make him see sense and to protect them first and foremost. He barely got her in his life and he was already losing her.

He looked at his bloodied hands; he was the one responsible for not taking her away when he had the chance.

A nurse rushed out of the operation theatre then, “We need blood for the patient, unfortunately, the hospital has no more reserves for her blood type. Is there anyone with the same blood group?”

Miran was about to volunteer but he knew he wasn’t a match. He looked at Hazar but he shrugged helplessly and shook his head.

“Zehra isn’t a match for Reyyan either, Reyyan shares the same blood group as her real dad.”

“Tamam I’ll go get it! Don’t let anything happen to her, I’m gonna strange everything!”

Miran yelled and was about to head out to search and get things arranged when Mahfuz came rushing in.

“I’m a match for her, let’s go.”

Nobody said anything as the nurse led Mahfuz away.

“Allahim, what do I do? I have a daughter fighting between life and death, an unconscious pregnant wife and a sick daughter at home. Please help me, please help!”

Please let her live, please let Reyyan come back to me, safe and sound. Please let me see her smile again, let me hear her heartbeat again.

Firat took hold of Miran and dragged him to sit on one of the hospital chairs, patting his back and being a human rock for him. The only person who has always stood by him under all circumstances.

****

“She’s out of danger but we’re going to keep her under observation for 24 hours. Only one person can stay with her, granted they don’t cause the patient any stress. We like to believe a loved one being near help the patient get better,” the doctor said as soon as he came out.

There was no question of who was gonna stay. Miran was already heading in when Hazar called out to him.

“Miran.. please take care of my daughter.”

Miran nodded at him and went in with the doctor.

“Doctor bey, can I ask you for a favour?”

The doctor looked at him quizzically.

Miran swallowed, “This is going to sound unethical but for the sake of both my wife and I, can you please say she lost the baby?”

Even saying that - the possibility of it ever being real - shattered his heart but he had to do it. To protect Reyyan.

May Allah never have them go through the pain of losing a child.

“But she’s not pregnant.”

Miran nodded, “I know that and she knows that but it was a lie we had to say for some reasons. So, I would be insanely grateful to you if yo keep it as it is and just tell them what I said. For Reyyan’s sake, please do that and keep a cover over this lie.”

Miran didn’t want to repeat the unfortunate, heartbreaking thing again. It hurt him. He just wanted to get over this nightmare and have Reyyan back to him.

The doctor nodded, “It’s not ethical but I will do it for the sake of my patient’s health.”

Miran sighed, “It’s only for her. Thank you.”

The first look at Reyyan in the hospital bed with wires sticking to her body and her looking pale almost broke him. He leaned against the wall and clutched his heart; he couldn’t breathe knowing it was his fault she was there, it was his fault she got shot and almost died. Knowing that he almost lost her forever. He would die. There was no question about it. He would literally die without Reyyan.

Miran shook his head slightly, she was okay, she was alive and well. She’ll be better in no time.

He took small steps towards the bed, gingerly sitting down on the chair and just gazed at her face. Exhaustion was etched across her serene face. Tears kept streaking down his face as he looked at her face, then the place of her heart with the wires attached, then trailing down to her frail hand resting on her belly.

Reyyan’s heart had held through so many things, so many betrayals, lies and broken promises. No wonder a bullet was nothing in comparison for the amount of heartbreaks she had already been through.

He didn’t know if he could touch her. He didn’t want to get anything wrong or messed up. He almost lost her, he couldn’t take any chances.

“You can hold her hand, she’s doing fine. It might give her some strength as well,” the nurse whispered to him with a smile and a nod before leaving the room.

Miran was so gentle, so cautious with his first touch. It was barely a brush. And then a stroke, eventually turning into a soft caress over her fingers. He took her hand in both of his hands, cradling it with utmost care, before bending down and pressing a feather-light kiss on her fingers, one for each.

“Thank you for not leaving me. And I’m so sorry for everything. From now on, I don’t care about anything else except you. Everything will be okay. Just hold tight. Seni çok seviyorum, Reyyan. Always. Don’t leave me without your light, meleğim.”

***

Miran woke up to Reyyan’s fingers moving around his cheek. It was just a slight stir, barely there but his eyes fluttered open the moment it happened.

“Reyyan!”

She hadn’t opened her eyes and was visibly struggling a little bit. Miran caressed her hair and face, his thumb constantly moving across her cheek.

“Reyyan, bitanem. It’s okay, I’m here. Rest some more. Everything will be fine.”

There was a slight shake of her head, barely there, before she opened her eyes slowly.

The first thing she saw was Miran hovering over her with tear-stained cheeks. She tried to lift up her hand to touch his face but everything felt so heavy and exhausting. She couldn’t do much. But Miran noticed her fingers trying to reach up so he intertwined their fingers softly and pressed a little kiss to her forehead, lulling her back to sleep.

The next time she woke up, Hazar and Zehra were in the room while Miran was nowhere to be found. Zehra was laying on the couch while Hazar was sitting on her bedside.

“Kizim! We’re so thankful that nothing happened to you. We’re so, so grateful that you came back to us.”

Hazar tried to come forward to kiss her forehead but Reyyan held her hand up lowly. He saw it and stopped.

Hazar nodded, “You’re right. I don’t deserve you. I don’t deserve to hug or kiss you and I definitely don’t deserve your love. But I’m sorry, Reyyan. I’m so, so sorry for everything you’ve been through because I wasn’t a good enough father.”

Zehra woke up just then and came towards Reyyan.

“Reyyan, how are you feeling? Are you okay?”

Reyyan nodded, “I am. Please don’t worry and go home. It’s not good for you to be here.”

Just then Miran came in.

“Is Reyyan awake?” He rushed in and headed straight for her, cradling her face in his hands. “Are you doing okay? Are you hurting?”

She gave him her most genuine smile, “It does hurt. A lot.”

Miran sighed, “I’m sorry.”

She turns to Hazar, “I’m not going to stay away from Miran anymore. I’ve done everything that all of you have wanted but no more. And I also don’t want to see or meet anyone anymore except Gül. That’s all.”

Miran stands at the side, “Reyyan..”

She turned to him, “And if you don’t want to be with me then tell me and I’ll leave..”

Miran cut her off, “Of course I want you, Reyyan, what sort of question is that?”

She moved a bit on the bed and winces harshly, her eyes prickling with tears.

“Tamam stop talking. Go to sleep, we’ll figure out everything later. It will be however you want it, no matter what anyone says or do.”

Reyyan sniffed, “I just don’t want to stay here anymore, amidst all this revenge and hate, especially not when our little family is considered. I’m tired of paying for something I’m not responsible for. I want it to stop hurting.”

Hazar looked at Miran sharply, which didn’t escape Reyyan. Moreover, he held his head in his hands.

There was a moment of silence.

Miran swallowed, “Reyyan.. we lost the baby.”

Reyyan knew there was no baby, she knew it. And yet his words cut her deep inside. It was as if everything she had been through wasn’t enough, now she had to mourn the death of her fake baby as well. Even in her imagination, she wasn’t left alone.

She wanted to wail and cry her heart out, she did but all she could do was look at the ceiling and let tears slip out of her eyes while clutching the bedsheet. She gritted her teeth and tried not to sob because god knows her body was hurting so much. But now, her soul was in aguish and she didn’t know how to deal anymore. She didn’t want to be quiet.

Both Hazar and Zehra had quietly slipped out the door somewhere in between.

A sob finally broke out of her leading to a loud gasp and a wince from the pain of her wound.

“Reyyan, I know you’re tired, I know everything is wrong but lütfen I’m begging you, please calm down. Please think for yourself right now. We’ll have our family, I promise you. Please, please stay with me. Everything will be alright.”

Miran took her hands folded into fists and one by one loosened them up, intertwining his fingers with hers instead. Later he took down the guarding rail on one side and sat on the bed, half laying down. He turned to his side and kissed her tears away, replacing them with little kisses all over. Repeating new promises over and over agin with an assurance that they won’t be broken.

“One day we’ll be so happy we wouldn’t even remember these days.”

“We’ll have babies and we’ll see them grow into little beautiful beings and then adults.”

“Our lives would be full of light, love and happiness. Everything will be okay.”

“It’s enough that you don’t leave me without your breath.”

Over and over again, he kept talking to her while gently caressing and kissing her, hoping it would soothe her heart somehow, and give her some peace despite knowing peace was a foreign emotion to a girl like Reyyan, whose heart had been bruised and broken over and over again. He just hoped she’d carry through it one more time and would hold on for a little more. But he wasn’t sure.

Soon after, Reyyan fell asleep with dried tear streaks on her face and her soft, previously shaking hands clutching Miran’s big ones.

[rocksandrobots]

Of Rocks and Robots Ch. 15 - The Arrest

Hiro was familiar with the routine of being arrested. The act of having handcuffs slapped on him and being placed in a waiting room next to a holding cell until his aunt could pick him up, didn't bother him. It was the thought of what would come after that made him nervous. 

This was the second time he'd gotten into trouble for bot fighting in the past six months. He had tried so hard to do better since Tadashi's death, but he still somehow fell short. No matter his excuse, Aunt Cass was going to be furious. Worse than that, she was going to be disappointed. 

The thought of letting her down, especially after seeing her go through so much recently, made his stomach churn and his mind race with worry. So of course his anxiety only went through the roof when his new friend decided to not to take the arrest seriously. 

Varian was all smiles, full of charming wit and seemingly benign curiosity. He aimlessly talked with the police and with the fellow criminals equally, not caring that most ignored his friendly chatter nor for the fact that half of them were willing to kill him only moments ago. 

"Hey, would you look at this cell?" Varian cheerfully asked no one in particular as he peered through the bars at one of the empty jail cells. He held onto the iron bars with both hands, leading back on his heels and swung his head back towards Hiro and the police officer with them. "These are a lot nicer than the ones in Corona. They even got toilets! Which one do we get?" He flashed them both a wide grin and Hiro could only look at him in confused horror. 

Sergeant Gerson wasn't amused. "Are either of you, of, or over the age of eighteen?" He asked in a tired voice as he removed Hiro's handcuffs. 

"No." 

"Then you'll both wait out here until your parents or legal guardian can come and bail you out. The holding cells are for adults only." Gerson drone on. 

"You mean you don't arrest people under eighteen?" Varian asked in disbelief. 

"Oh you're still under arrest alright," The sergeant explained, "but we don't put minors into jail cells." 

Now it was Varian's turn to look confused. "Not ever? Not even if they do something really bad, like theft or something?" 

"Nope. This is just the police station. You're here until you pay bail or are released. If charges are pressed, you then have to go to court and there your sentence is decided. Typically minors are sent to a juvenile correction facility if their crime is severe enough." 

Varian turned his eyes upwards and screwed his lips in thought as he tried to process this new information. "You mean that there's a dungeon just for children?" He asked slowly. 

"If you wanna call it that, sure." Gerson shrugged. He was a little surprised by the kid's wording but then again too tired to care. He'd been in the force for ages and was getting on in years so he just chalked it up to 'kids these days and their slang.' 

As Gerson removed Varian's own cuffs, the teen mulled over the differences between the legal system here and in Corona. “Weeell.. What if the kid in question does something really, really, bad, like murder? Do they still go to this ‘juvenile correction facility’?” 

“Depends,” Gerson shrugged, “what state are we talking about and what degree of murder?” 

Varian rubbed the wrists of his now free hands. He wasn’t sure what a ‘degree of murder’ was so he simply asked,  “Uhhh… assassination?”

“Well now, then you’d go to federal court, that is, ‘ Gerson paused and looked around,’ if the CIA doesn’t get you first.” he whispered conspiratorially. 

“Ahhh… the elite guard.” Varian concluded as if he knew exactly what the CIA meant. 

“Uhhh, can we change the subject now?” Hiro interrupted. He stood off to the side looking back and forth between the two of them nervously. Sergeant Gerson may have thought of Varian as just nothing more than some weird precocious kid, but Hiro knew there was more to it than that. His friend was asking all these questions because he genuinely didn’t know anything about their judicial system, but the subject of the questions, paired with the glib way Varian asked them, unnerved Hiro.  

Fortunately, Hiro was spared any more uncomfortable conversions about the nature of the American justice system when Chief Officer Cruz walked in. 

‘Hiro, your aunt has been called and she’s on her way. You can wait out in the lobby for her instead.” he said. “As for your friend, I have a few questions about his records. If you’ll follow me.” Cruz indicated that Varian should come with him and the boys filed out of the holding room followed by Sergeant Gerson.

“Bye, Louie!” Varian called out and waved at the cell full of criminals as he left. 

The last thing Hiro saw before the door closed was ‘Louie’ giving a little wave back in surprise only for his boss, Yama, to smack him in the back of the head for being friendly to the kid that had humiliated him earlier.

                                                        ------------

Hiro sat waiting in the lobby of the police station as he swung his heels together nervously, his feet still not quite reaching the floor yet. Sergeant Gerson had moved back to his customary place behind the front desk and was busying himself with paperwork. Meanwhile, he could see the silhouettes of Varian and Chief Cruz behind the frosted window pane of the office door. He couldn’t hear what they were talking about, but Cruz had mentioned something about records. Hiro could only hope that Professor Granville had been thorough enough in forging Varian’s documents. 

Just then the door opened and Varian sauntered out, still looking as unperturbed by the arrest as ever. He turned back around to face the chief of police again though, as Cruz continued to ask him questions. 

“And you’re sure you haven’t any legal guardian or adult sponsor here in the states?” He pressed. 

Varian just shrugged and paused as if an idea just struck him. “My college roommate is nineteen, does that count?” he offered. 

“Hardly.” was Cruz’s annoyed response. Student visa or no, Cruz wasn’t comfortable with the idea of a minor being abroad without any adult supervision, and he couldn’t believe that the kid had gotten past customs with just a college acceptance letter. Well, no, he could believe it, he just didn’t approve of it. Who was the kid to call upon when he needed help? Like now, for instance. 

Cruz was just contemplating calling the head of the university, to give the woman a piece of his mind if nothing else, when Hiro’s aunt burst through the front doors. She spotted Hiro and ran to him first, wrapping him in a big hug. 

“Are you okay?” She asked, as she still held him. 

“I’m... I’m okay.” Hiro admitted not returning the hug, guilt still pricking at his mind. 

Aunt Cass eventually let go of him and walked over to speak to Cruz. She and Cruz had been childhood friends growing up and she owed him a great deal for not throwing the book at her nephew. Hiro was a multiple offender and his age couldn’t shield him from his consequences forever. 

“I am so sorry, Diego, but thank you for calling me first. I’m sure after today Hiro will think twice about bot fighting again.” She said sternly while looking directly at her nephew and Hiro shrunk under her glare. 

“Oh, Hiro wasn't ‘bot fighting. I was.” Varian explained. All three looked at him in surprise as he continued. “I didn’t know that it was illegal and Hiro was only there to warn me. He tried to get me to stop, but I didn’t listen. So it’s my fault, if you want to blame someone. Hiro didn’t do anything wrong.” 

The adults exchanged glances while Hiro only looked at Varian appreciatively.  

“Hiro, is this true?” Aunt Cass asked and her nephew nodded yes. 

“He didn’t have a robot on him when arrested.” Cruz admitted, basically confirming Varian’s story. 

“Soo, now what?” Aunt Cass asked looking back at Cruz.

There was another silence as everyone waited for the chief of police’s decision. Cruz heaved a sigh of resignation. “I suppose, given that you’re not from San Fansokyo and are a first time offender, I can let you both go with just a warning this time.” 

Everyone perked up at the news but before they could bestow any gratitude the officer continued. “However, I’m still not comfortable with releasing a minor without an adult on hand to grant custody to.” He gave Varian a stern scowl as he said this. 

“Maybe I could take him?” Aunt Cass gently offered. “I’ll make sure he makes it back to the dorms safely.” 

“Alright then,’ Cruz relented. “I leave him to you Cass.” And with that the chief went back to his office to finish work and the trio made to leave.

                                                        ------------

As they walked out of the building into the late afternoon sun, Varian gave a wide grin and was just about to thank Aunt Cass for helping him, when she whirled around and gave the teen a furious glare. 

“What were you thinking!?” She snapped and for the first time that day Varian’s cheery façade fell away. He stood there stunned by her sudden change in demeanor and hurt by her accusatory question.  

“Get in the car.” She ordered before Varian could offer up any defense and both teens sulkily obeyed.

                                                       ------------

Aunt Cass was beside herself with anger and anxiety. There was also another, more disturbing feeling, that she couldn’t quite name at the back of her consciousness, like a cross between a half forgotten nightmare and deja vu. The phone call, the police station, walking out with two teenagers in tow; it all felt eerily familiar and yet somehow, off. 

She was repeating history and yet it wasn’t Tadashi that sat across from her now. She kept glancing over to the dark haired boy slouching in the front seat, reminding herself that it wasn’t actually her child sitting there, back from the grave. 

With a deep breath, she took a look through the rear view mirror to see Hiro sitting in the back. He had just finished texting his friends telling them where he and Varian were at. 

“Is Baymax with them?” She asked. 

“Yeah, he’s with them.” Hiro replied and put his phone back in his pocket. He knew his aunt would want to start lecturing them soon and he knew it’d be best if he paid attention to that. 

“So” Cass asked, “do you want to tell me why you were at the bot fight today?” 

The question was mostly for Varian since he had been the one to participate in the competition, but the teen only remained silent. He instead stared ahead out the windshield not wanting to meet her gaze. 

“Well, I hope you realize now how dangerous and reckless that was. You were incredibly lucky the police showed up when they did, and that Officer Cruz was willing to let you both off with just a warning.” She admonished and gave a meaningful glare at the rear view mirror; hoping Hiro would see how serious she was and realize that he too wasn’t fully off the hook. He did see and wiggled uncomfortably in his seat. Varian, however, still gave no indication that her words had reached him. 

“You could have been hurt,” She continued, “or gotten yet another blemish on your record. And for what? Money? Bragging rights? You’re both so smart and have such bright futures ahead of you. Why waste that on a game?” She slammed the brakes hard as they came to a red light, growing more frustrated by the lack of acknowledgment from the blued eyed teen. “Do you have any idea how many times I’ve been down to that police station in the past two years? It’s not a pleasant experience to know your child is in trouble. It’s.. well, it’s frightening, is what it is. A million questions run through your mind. Are they hurt? Did they hurt someone else? Will they be let back out? Am I going to have to close the shop again? I hope you keep that in mind next time you want to go show off your robot making skills.” 

“Yes ma'am.” Came the hollow whisper from Varian. It was an automatic response, one meant to placate rather than confirm anything the other person had said. Varian wasn’t used to lectures. Even back home when his father would get on to him for something, it was usually just a single order or a weary sigh of disappointment. Quirin had always been a man of few words. Hiro’s aunt however never seemed to run out of words. Had it been anybody else, he may have not cared, but the woman had been so kind to Varian that he now felt nauseous with guilt. 

Aunt Cass huffed in exasperation. She wasn’t getting through to him. And why would she? She wasn’t his mother. He barely knew her outside of the few times he’d come over to visit her nephew. There was nothing to it, she’d have to call the boy’s father and let him know what had happened. Though she had no idea what time of day it was in, where was it, Russia, no, Corona? 

“I’d ground both of you if I could, but I can’t. So we’ll just have to call your father once we get back to the café.” 

That got his attention. Varian looked at her wide eyed with fear and even Hiro seemed worried at that. 

“You better have his number ready when we get there. No weaseling out of it.” She ordered. “Just think what your father will say when he knows you’ve been arrested.” 

The face Varian gave her when she said that statement nearly broke her heart. He looked like he was about to cry. But there was no time to dwell on why he was so upset as the light changed to green again and she had to focus on driving instead. However just as the car began to move she heard the sickening sound of a car door opening and feet hitting the payment. 

“Varian!? What are you doing!?” Hiro called out and Aunt Cass turned just in time to see Varian running away from the car and across the street. She froze in horror as the boy dodged oncoming traffic and the cars behind her began to loudly honk their horns, ordering her to move. She only unfroze when she saw Varian make it to the sidewalk, breathing a sigh of relief. Only to sharply inhale again, when she saw him take off running once more down an alleyway and out of sight. 

Her mind raced. What could she do?

“You want me to go after him?” Hiro asked. 

“You stay in this car young man!” She ordered. She wasn’t about to have two children lost in the city. Coming to a decision, she made a U-turn and headed back to the police station.

                                                        ------------

Varian ran. He ran past buildings, parked cars, and street vendors. He pushed his way through crowds and ducked down dark alleys. He ran until his legs ached and his chest stung with each breath but still he kept on going, blindly turning every which way, not really caring where he went. He only knew that he needed to get away. Away from this strange city and away from his shame. 

Neon signs flashed above and tall glass and metal spires towered over him, increasing his anxiety. What was once a world of wonder now seemed frighteningly alien. The swarms of oddly dressed people that surrounded him started to make him feel claustrophobic as they passed by without giving him a second glance. He just wanted to go home, back to the normalcy of the green fields and the warm fireplace that he would sit by in the kitchen. Where he could look out the window towards the forest and see the stars in the sky as he curled up with a good book or a hot cup of cocoa that he’d managed to save up for.  

Finally, he came to the large bridge that connected the metropolis to the other side of the bay. There he saw the inviting woodland in the distance and took off down it’s walkway. The sun was beginning to set and city lights started to twinkle in the distance as he made his way across. Tears stung his eyes but he dared not stop to wipe them. 

He made it to the other side as night began to settle and the moon started to hang overhead. He ran along the side of the road for a little ways more before taking a sharp turn and diving straight into the forest. The ground was rougher here and he stumbled once or twice over a root or a rock he didn’t see in the dark, but still he kept on running. 

He only stopped when he came to the foot of a giant tree. It wasn’t like any other he’d seen before, massive in size and shooting high into the night sky, but it smelt kind of like a pine or a spruce, but not quite. Whatever, at least it wasn’t another skyscraper, he thought as he collapsed next to the thick trunk, his hands digging into the soft red bark of the tree. He slid down to the forest floor as he began to sob and other more familiar scents and sounds assailed his senses. The smell of earthy moss, the rustle of tree leaves above, the damp grassy ground soaking through his coat, all of it reminded him of the woods near his home and helped to calm his nerves. 

He shuttered another sob and choked back tears. He didn’t know what to do any more. He didn’t want to face anyone he knew or think about how he’d let his father down, again. All he wanted was just to be back where he belonged though he knew deep down that he could never return to that place in time two years ago. He huddled under the tree, resigned, and cried himself to sleep. 

[wistfulwisteriawitch]

Arthur Morgan x Lilith Vallent OC: Vas Ura (My One)/ Vas Soluna (My Bonded) Part 01 Chapter 03: Colter

Part 01 Chapter 03: Colter

I managed to get myself set up, knowing we’d actually be going after John since he was still missing. Attaching the leather over bust corset riddled with knives as well as the leather leg guards I exhaled, it would be interesting to see what they thought of our way of doing things but they seemed rather accepting thus far.

And as we moved to go out, Abigale grabbed my sleeve. “Miss Vallent?”

“Yes Abigale?”

“John…”

“Oh the gentleman that you said was your sons father?”

“Yes…”

Arthur had walked into the room and was warming himself by the fire. “Where’s little John gotten off to?”

“Arthur he hasn’t been seen in a couple days, I fear the worst.”

“John is fine, he gets himself out of scrapes all the time.” Arthur huffed. "Granted he could throw himself on the ground and miss so that's a feat in and of itself."

I cocked a brow, “I’ll go find him.” I pat her arm, “I can track him.”

Arthur groaned, “I’ll go with ya.”

“How kind.” I grinned as I walked by, Hosea nudged me as I sidled by with a smirk and a whispered thank you.

“I’ll come too!” Javier noted. “John would do the same for me and Arthur.”

“Sure, might be good considering the wolves.”

“Wolves?” Javier asked as we mounted up.

I nodded, after ensuring I had everything needed including shotgun with slugs. “Yes, alright you two, flank me, head forward in a V position, and try to keep it unless we head up the mountain, in that case line up.” With that I spurred Luna into a gallop. “Let’s go! Belladonna shadow!”

“Aye Milady!” And with that her horse charged off into the wilderness.

“Shadow?” Arthur inquired as we moved at a quick pace.

“She’ll scout ahead, and send Aristotle if she finds something.”

“And that is—“ A screech above as a Ferrugius Hawk soared past.

“She is skilled in Falconry, her family learned for many years in her home country. Normally their line uses Peregrine, but him...he's been with Belladonna alone, and each member has their own Falcon breed. Birds like that are the largest of hawks to be used for Falconry. And he is quite protective. She found him in Mexico.”

“Ha!” Javier seemed a bit stunned, “you all keep surprising us.”

“We are a surprising people. Javi.” I managed to find John’s trail and exhaled, “fuck he went up the mountain.” Just like the game.

Arthur rolled his eyes, “just like him to have someone dig his ass out of snow.”

I sighed, “Arthur take the middle, Javier take the front, I’ll watch the back.” And with a chiding look as he glanced over his shoulder. “This is what family does.” I noted as we lined up and began to trek up the mountainside, myself taking the end. “Javier do you see where the trail picks up?”

“Yes, he headed up this way.”

“We’ll have to leave the horses.” Arthur noted and I agreed, we got off and began to make our way further along a cliffside. “John!” Javi shouted.

“HELP! DOWN HERE!”

With that I took off, making sure to keep my movements swinging forward to help me trudge through the snow faster. “Mister Marston?” I called finding him on the ledge. “Awe poor puppy.”

“Puppy?! Who in the fuck are you?”

“A friend. Hold the fuck still. We don’t need you bleeding and bringing a bear. Wolves are a pain in the ass enough.” I gathered what I needed from my satchel and made him down a few tonics and salved him up with an antiseptic solution of old mans beard and golden thread. “That will have to do for now, I’ll need to draw any infection out at the cabin. Alright, come on.” I gripped under his arm and hauled him up. “Arthur!”

They were there reaching for him, Arthur laughing, “well now Marston, looks like ya got yer head ate by wolves. How much’a yer brains did they get?”

“Shut up Morgan.”

“You gonna have to come up with a better story for those scars.”

“Getting half eaten by wolves ain’t enough?”

“We got company gentlemen!” I shouted, ”Javier, Arthur— get him to the horses!”

“I got you.” Arthur had one shot down in seconds as the others charged down the slope.”

“BELLA!” A shrill whistle as a large hawk circled over head and dove into the eyes of one of the wolves screeching.

A black streak of horse and woman charged forward from behind us as she leapt off it's back, her body clad in leather padding as she took the tackle of a she-wolf head on while I dodged and sliced a death blow to a jugular. “Come on ya wee bitch!” Bella roared plunging a blade into it’s throat.

Aristotle soared high, blood splattering from his talons and across his feathers as Bella let out a snarl of glee when the final wolf was downed by a blade thunked into it’s throat.

Arthur shot down the final one, sighing and glancing at the two of us. “Remind me never to make her angry.” He mused as Bella ruffled Aristotle’s feathers and set him loose again, “that is a big bird.”

“He’s a beauty inn’e?” Bella asked fluffing her hair out and wiping blood off her face. “We ready?”

“Yes, John how you holding up?” I asked.

“Feel drunk.”

“Good that means it’s working.”

“Oh joy.” Was the sarcastic reply.

We managed to make it down the mountain, Belladonna staying to get the meat and pelts from the wolves.

“She gonna be alright?” Javier asked.

“Worry about the woodland creatures who piss her off.” I laughed.

“Bella?” Belial asked as we rode in, “ah…hunting.” He chuckled and walked off back towards the kitchen area.

Arthur sighed and leaned over to speak to me, “watch the golden boy not get a scolding despite holding up a job.”

Dutch of course was ecstatic John was back and Arthur rolled his eyes.

“Siblings?” I asked smiling.

“We both was raised by Dutch and Hosea. They taught us to read.”

“Awe, I can see that.” I smiled wide at him, and he returned with a shy smile back. He gets a bit of a playful look, “you know for someone so small you sure as hell take up a lot of space.” He sniffs and cocks a brow.

“You know for someone so big you can curl up on the edge of a bed real easy. Next time just huggle-up and I won’t have to latch on like a damn possum.”

It was the first time he genuinely laughed. “I’ll remember that little wolf.” He was glancing over my gear and had a look of confusion.

“Leather, protects quite well.”

“What ya goin to war?” He poked my arm guards and outer leg guards as well as the leather corset flicking a knife handle.

“Life is war.” I tilted my head.

“Hmph, ain’t that just bout right.”

As I was about to ask what he meant Belladonna zoomed into camp with furs and blood all over her. “I’m back!” She said prancing off her stallion Bairn.

I chuckled, “welcome back sister.”

“Didja see the pelt on that she-wolf?” She crowed tugging it off her horse, “it’s like ya hair milady, I should make a new cloak and we can trade.”

“I would like that thank you Bella.” She grinned and whistled for Aristotle who landed on her thickly gloved forearm. “There’s a good boy.”

Everyone in camp balked.

“Wah ya never seen’a damn bird afore?” She scoffed. “Come on pretty boy.” She was feeding him strips of wolf, “lessee what ya da is up ta.”

I rolled my eyes. “You get used to her.”

“Body can get used to anything…”

“Even hanging.” I finished and we laughed walking over to Hosea and Dutch.

“Got anymore maidens that need saving?” Arthur asked.

“No,” Hosea chuckled. “Thanks you three.”

“Javier tipped his hat and walked off as Arthur joined me in the cabin where Abigale tended to Marston.

“Alright, lemme work.” I shooed most people away, and grinned. “Marston this is gonna hurt like a bitch.”

“Ya aint gotta look like ya gonna enjoy it!”

Arthur chuckled, “I will.”

“Of course you would.” John muttered.

I forced willow bark tea down his throat, irrigated the wound with stinging solutions of horsetail and once it was cleaned I made a salve and packed it with bandages. “Don’t touch it. You’ll have a mark but congratulations you were chosen to bear them by a powerful creature. In our ways it means you are protected.”

“Sure felt like that when they bit me.”

“They could have killed you.” I said softly. “But they did not. They left. Think upon that. I do not play with coincidence or dice to tell me my fate rather that things happen for a reason.”

John pondered and cracked a slight grin. “Guess so.”

“Either way, get rest, I shall have Bel bring food, you need to gather your strength to heal.”

“Thank you.” Abigale clutched my hand tight and I nodded, “let Jack see his Pa.” I leveled a gaze at John, “I am sure he was quite worried for his father.”

John seemed to squirm under my direct gaze and I softened it before leaving.

“What was that?”

“It seemed there was some tension in regards to little Jack.” I said.

“That obvious?” Arthur huffed an annoyed sound.

“Yes, but Marston is young, he can learn.”

Arthur glanced me up and down, “hm.” Was all he said.

I really wished I could get into his head sometimes.

— - - - - - - - - - - -

Arthur grumbled, “some people learn too late.” And he walked away, his chest heavy with memories long past. “Other’s should be so lucky.”

She caught his hand, “Arthur, despite that lessons can be passed down to prevent more pain.” Her voice is soft, and that damned look she gives him— it’s not pity, he couldn’t stand it if it was but this is somehow worse— she has an air of understanding, an acceptance about her with him as if whatever he lays at her feet is perfectly fine.

“Maybe so.”

That hand retreats, she seems to be thinking as she chews her bottom lip looking at her feet for a moment.

“S-sorry I know I probably—“

“S’fine.” He assured her rubbing the back of his neck. “Just a hang up he and I have had.”

Lilith nodded, “my brother and I had something similar happen.”

“Oh?”

“Yes…but we managed to talk it out.” Arthur lets out a bark of harsh laughter.

“Me and him? Talk? Shoot, ya ain’t known us long but ya gonna see that’s a bit hard for us Van der Linde boys.”

“Oh that’s plain as day Mister Morgan. But as I said, everyone can learn.” A wink as she sauntered off.

“Damn woman.” He grumbles to himself striking a match on his boot to light up a smoke. He couldn’t make heads or tails of her as she checked in with Dutch and asked him several questions, Dutch did seem to be in a better mood, and she was always checking in with him— she said the word was deference. She acknowledged he was leader. But she herself led the two people she had.

Arthur had to admit the way she did things did scream leadership. It was rare to see such things. There wasn’t anything she herself wouldn’t do that she’d ask of others. Mucking a stall, hunting, ensuring people were clothed, mending, healing…Dutch hadn’t done that for a long time but he did get his hands dirty when needed.

It further solidified Arthur’s ideology that if women ran shit it might be a mite better, he glanced at Susan who was chatting with Hosea before she went off to screech at someone for not working hard enough.

Belladonna walked up to him and grinned, offering her hawk, “wanna pet’im, seems ta like ya.”

Arthur was never one to pass up petting an animal.

Shit he’d pet a bear if it wouldn’t rip his damn arm off.

“Sure, Aristotle was it?”

“Mmhm. He had many ideas of the stars that man. Mi’lady said it suited because this hawk could damn near fly to them with these wings.” She kissed the hawk who let out a little chirping sound as Arthur placed a warm finger against it’s chest feathers. The big raptor fluffed his feathers and crooned, leaning forward and nudging Arthur’s hand.

“Here, he likes meat.”

“Here boy.” Aristotle took the piece and gulped it down and flapped his wings before Bella let him go. “He just nests somewhere?”

“Oh aye, he has a mate somewhere, but I canna catch her, she is too fierce. But she hunts with him and has never left his side. They keep the same mates their whole life.” She smiled up at the sky and sure enough, a smaller hawk circled with him swooping and gliding. “Quite a sight.”

“Sure is.” Arthur grinned. “You all keep any other animals?”

“Oh aye, you should see the family wolves.”

Arthur paused as he walked by, “beg pardon?” He furrowed his brow.

“Milady found a pack of wolves who’s cubs were abandoned. She took them all in, they are the sweetest, deadly, but they are the comfiest things to snuggle with. Sometimes all four of them are with her.”

“And these are….ah…”

“No here. They in the wilds probably hunting, somewhere up north west in the Grizzlies. They look different, no from here. Timber wolves from the west. Darker coats. Then the wolf dogs…all except for Talla—they look like they wolf kin. She is almost a strawberry color but she’s half wolf and half some big dog from Alaska.”

“Been round a lot.”

“Aye, we been all over. The wolves are bout five or so now. Talla and her siblings are with her brothers, she breeds them.”

“Breeds wolves.”

“Just for the family.”

“Ah.” This family got weirder and weirder, “they guard? The wolves not the half breed ones.”

“No no, wolves are quite timid despite people thinking they fierce, unless the family is attacked, they no just go about attacking randomly, Talla and her siblings though, they were bred with a type’a dog that will protect their master anywhere, any time. Talla especially, her mate is a full wolf, but she is far fiercer than he.”

Arthur laughed, “you talk like they people.”

“You talk to yer horse like it’s people.”

She had him there. He kicked at the snow. “Never knew an animal to dislike it.”

Belladonna grinned, “you ken for a scary bastard, ye pretty nice.”

“Don’t know nuthin bout that.” Arthur snorted as he walked off.

Dinner was a lighter affair now that John was back, everyone celebrated with some whiskey and a meal of wolf steaks and deer meat. Arthur watched as everyone milled around, chatted, and tried to liven their spirits, the deaths of ones close still loomed— as did the damn frost.

Some spring this turned out to be.

He glanced at the three strangers who had dropped into their lives as he scribbled.

It is rather strange to be in the company of wolves.

I find that they are a gentle people unless provoked, despite their appearances, the females are far more aggressive then their male counterparts, as Belial seems to have a very playful nature, they all do in fact. Shoving at one another as they walk in the snow to push the other into a drift. Or leaping onto one another’s backs as they run off.

I have only seen wolves play once, when I came across a den by accident when the welping season came. Indulgent and confident in my spot I had used binoculars to watch a game of tag played by the pack. It is of similar air.

Hosea is doing alright, but I know the dark haired woman named Lilith is concerned, he is coughing a lot, and his breathing is labored, he stays indoors mostly under her direction, and she’s been shoving tonics into his mouth whenever he allows it. Seeming hell bent on keeping him alive.

John is alright, a pain in my backside still, but he’s lucky to be alive. … We all are.

Not sure what in hell happened on that boat, but whatever it was it weren’t good. Charles heard that a girl died. Dutch outright shot her…saying it needed to be done….

That ain’t like him…

The red head reminds me of Sean, I wonder where that Irish bastard got off to. Knowing him he’s probably found trouble. Davey…Jenny….Both gone in a matter of weeks….We lost folks before but not like this— so needlessly. They are calling it the Blackwater Massacre.

This family is strange, stranger still is the kindness they show everyone. It is gentle, despite their steel hard spines and unwavering eyes…unnerving eyes.

Eyes that gleam when they look at ya, like a beast’s catching firelight in the dark.

She looked at Micah as if he were nothing but an ant to be pitied for facing a mountain.

Wonder what that’s like….ain’t never said I was confident, I can fight with the best of em…

But I have a feeling this woman could give me a run for my money…

Half inclined to piss her off and find out…

[weirdochick56]

I love you too, you big dork- Bucky Barnes One Shot

Bucky Barnes x Reader

Warnings: Explicit language. Fluff. A bit of angst.

Disclaimers: I don’t own any MCU characters/plots.

Word Count: 6, 034 words

Summary: Bucky and the Reader are best friends. Best friends who are in love with eachother, that is. When the Reader walks in on a conversation Bucky is having with Sam, Steve and Thor in which he says he doesn’t love her, she’s too heartbroken to face him. But maybe a little bit of distance is all it takes to make someone realize that they need someone more than they realize. 

A/N: Guys, I literally refuse to watch Endgame. I’m so scared someone I love (literally the entire cast) is gonna die so yeah. I’m good staying in my world where Infinity War and Endgame don’t exist. (I’m joking. I’m sure I’ll watch it eventually.)

*

You groan softly as another strand of hair gets caught in your lip gloss, and begin peeling it off your lip slowly. Your eyes darted everywhere, hand clutching your small purse so tight, your knuckles turned white. 

There were a lot of people here. Too many to count, actually, and you found yourself bumping into partying bodies every five minutes and having to stumble past in your tall heels after muttering a small ‘sorry’. It was a bit overwhelming. 

When Tony said he was going to be throwing a party to celebrate your latest win, you expected something of a more...intimate nature. Just the Avengers and a few close friends. Not such a huge party, with all the lights and bar filled with drinks and snacks.. and you certainly didn’t expect this many people to be invited. Most of which were celebrities and world-renowned corporate leaders, no less.

You weren’t afraid to admit that although being a superhero and working alongside the world’s mightiest heroes, you felt utterly inferior to all the beautiful models and actresses surrounding your every angle. I mean they were all so tall and slender and just...mesmerizing. And you were just, well, you. Good old’ Y/n. Ordinary and safe. Dull. Tedious. Boring.

You weren’t big on all the glitz and glamour and mystique that came with being an internationally-known hero. Your abilities had given you an advantage when it came to war tactics and fighting and being a wonderful warrior on the field- which granted, also gave you a great advantage work-wise, but other than that, there wasn’t much more to you. 

Most of your life had been miserable thanks to how ‘special’ your abilities made you and consequently, most of it was spent inside your own head rather than caring about your outer appearance and social habitats. It wasn't until you’d been recruited into SHIELD and later on the Avengers and found a purpose- that you started caring about the way you presented yourself to the rest of the world.

Even now, clad in a gorgeous black bodycon cocktail dress, soft curves all on display, and your hair pinned up into an elegant bun with only a few strands framing your delicately-painted face- you couldn’t help but feel utterly uncomfortable. Out of place in this glamorous party entirely.

Your gaze finally lands on a familiar face amidst the colorful party lights huge party crowd and you can't help but heave a relieved sigh.

“Tony!” You tap on his shoulder, having to practically yell over the music. Tony halts his conversation with the famous party guests. 

“...uh sorry, just hold on a sec.”  He smirks charmingly then he spins around to face you. “Ye-” he stops mid-sentence when his gaze lands on you, eyes widening like two saucers and jaw snapping open. “Holy shit,” he breathes, eyes wandering over your face and body a hundred miles per minute, his gaze unbelieving. 

“Damn, kiddo. I knew you were a stunner but damn.” His eyes are practically bulging from his head. 

You feel yourself blush aggressively, smiling in your usual shy manner to hide how much you didn’t believe what he was saying. “Thank you.”

“You look stunning, kiddo.” He smiles brightly, flashing you those pearly whites.

You roll your eyes at him, shaking off the compliment as smoothly as you can. “Thanks. Hey, have you seen Bucky?” You frown, looking around for your best friend. “I know he said he didn’t wanna mingle, but I thought he’d be chilling out in a secluded corner or something for sure. I mean, it’s what he usually does.”  

When you face him again, Tony is smiling down at you, all..knowing and self-important.

You instantly shrink away from his condescending silence, crossing your arms over your chest defensively. “What?”

He laughs smugly. “Nothing. I’m just wondering what exactly it will take for either of you to admit that you love eachother.” 

You’re taken aback by Tony’s words, freezing momentarily with shock. You can’t help it when your heart races at the idea of James Buchanan Barnes actually loving you back but quickly shake the notion off, not wanting to dwell on something that could never happen and as a consequence only hurt you. 

You push an innocent smile out onto your face, ignoring the extreme resistance from your facial muscles and how sick to your gut your next words make you feel. “Well, of course I love Bucky. He’s my best friend.” 

Your shrill tone causes you to mentally cringe as you leisurely swallow the bile creeping out your throat, physically forcing it back down your esophagus.

But Tony sees right through your poorly-executed act, sighing and shaking his head as if he knew. And he did know.

“We both know exactly what I mean kiddo. You can’t keep acting like you’re not completely head over heels for eachother forever.”

You suppress your fluttering heart as much as possible, opting to instead paint a measured smile that could fool the pants off anyone on your face. Choosing your words carefully, you are even more careful to speak them with a breezy kind of casualness to your tone. 

“Ugh. Me and Bucky? Pfft, that’s honestly gross. He’s like a brother. Can you imagine dating a brother?” You scrunch your nose up in disgust then force an amused chuckle as if the notion is absolutely ludicrous even though it’s literally been the only thing on your mind for the past year. “Nothing like that could ever happen between us.”

Every word that comes out of your mouth is a single stab to your chest, but you try to keep your voice leveled and light as a feather. You hadn’t expected it to be as painful to say out loud as it was, though, and despite your resolve to fool Iron Man, your voice wavers slightly. You cringe mentally when Tony raises a single, skeptical, dark brow. 

He knew. He always knew, dammit.  

“Whatever floats your boat kiddo. I guess.” He sighs. “I’m pretty sure I saw him hanging out with Thor, Steve, and Sam out on the balcony.”

You facepalm, eyes lighting. “Oh shit, yeah! How come I didn’t think of that!?” You smile brightly up at Tony, leaning in to kiss his cheek. “Thanks, Tony. love ya’!”

You hurry off as fast as you can in heels (which is a surprising amount). You hear Tony laugh behind you, mumbling under his breath. 

“It’s only a matter of time, kiddo.” 

*

When you approach the balcony, you see all four men seated across from eachother, loud laughter erupting from their mouths and a bottle of some unknown substance settled in between them. 

Bucky sat with his back to you, and you lick your lips when you notice his long hair gelled back into a neat man-bun, your favorite hairstyle on him. His suit jacket was carelessly thrown over the couch he was sitting on and the sleeves of his dressing shirt were rolled up, exposing his veiny flesh arm and his menacing steel one. His back muscles flexed whenever he shifted positions and for a moment you genuinely questioned if James Buchanan Barnes could be considered a kink. 

Literally, anything and everything the man did was sexy. God, he made the most mundane things sexy. Like frowning, or making pancakes or laughing. You sigh, thinking about all the cute facial expressions that handsome face could twist and spread into. 

Interrupting your train of thoughts, you focus back on your friends. They seemed to be having a great time, and you were slightly jealous about not being invited to be a part of the mini-celebration. 

You raise a determined brow, ready to join the party when something abruptly stops you mid-step. It’s Bucky’s voice. It sounds...off.

It’s hushed and pissed-off, very unlike the demeanor the rest of the group gave off with their boisterous laughter and witty smirks. So unlike it, in fact, that it forces you to nestle behind the slightly cracked balcony door and eavesdrop on their conversation. 

Okay, yeah, not your proudest moment, but you were curious as to what the trio of friends could’ve possibly said to Bucky to get him so worked up. His teeth were gritted and his hands were clenched into fists as he leaned threateningly forward. 

“Would you stop fucking saying that? She’s a kid, for fuck’s sake! I could never feel something like that for her.” 

You frown. Who was he talking about? You? You decide not to jump to conclusions, secretly holding onto the hope that it wasn’t, because deep down you know if it was, your heart would be broken.

“...I could never feel something like that for her.” You shudder, waiting for someone else to speak with a racing heart.

Steve sighs. “Buck, man, I love you. You know you’re like a brother to me, but that’s exactly why I have to be completely honest with you.” He leans in, a sympathetic smile tugging at his lips as he pats Bucky’s shoulder comfortingly. “You’re in love with Y/n. There’s no way around it, man, I’m sorry. You’ll have to stop denying it to yourself eventually.”

You swallow a gasp, heart fluttering. Shit, they are talking about me, you cursed mentally, clutching your hands to your chest and pursing your lips tightly. 

The seconds seem to drag on into minutes and then into hours until finally, Bucky speaks up again, voice somewhat defeated. 

“She’s a kid and my best friend. I can’t have feelings for her,” he mumbles decisively and your chest clenches, eyes prickling with unshed tears.  

Sam clicks his tongue sympathetically. “That’s the irony of love, man. You don’t really get to choose who you feel it towards.” 

Thor frowns. “But...Y/n is extremely beautiful. An astonishing character, as well. And she is without engagement.” His frown deepens. “I’m failing to see exactly what the issue is?”

Bucky sighs defeatedly then he turns to the god with a small sad smile that makes your chest ache. It’s devoid of any and all hope which slowly begins to kill yours as well. 

“She is stunning, isn’t she?” His smile lightens up a bit, light grey eyes getting a far-off look. “I always thought she was a classic beauty. Like the ones you saw back in our time, Steve.” He looks at his best friend, who smiles and nods warmly in quiet response. “She’s so smart, too. Do you remember when she first arrived here? How she fixed that problem Tony had been struggling with in his lab for weeks in just a few minutes?” He pauses to laugh incredulously. “It was like-” he motions his head blowing up, making explosion sounds. 

You suppress a giddy giggle, pressing a hand to your mouth as you listen closely. 

“A-and she’s so fucking kind and giving. She never says no to doing you a favor. Ever, no matter what it is or how hard it may be. She’s always more worried about our comfort than her own. It’s so sweet.” He chuckles. “Most of the time I’m worried she’ll neglect herself if she’s hurt in our stead. Because that’s just the kind of person she is.” 

His expression grows serious but still soft and tender. “She wakes up earlier than all of us and goes to sleep later than all of us, working. She thinks no one knows or notices because she thinks no one cares enough to want to know or notice. But I do. I always do,” he mumbles softly, picking at his fingernails. 

A long silence stretches and your heart is beating so erratically in your chest, you’re sure it’s in the process of bursting from your ribcage.

Finally, Steve speaks. “See? You can lie to us all you want Bucky, but it’s yourself who you can’t run away from.”

Bucky blinks as if snapping out of a trance. He clenches his jaw tightly, plunging his fingers into his hair and rubbing hard, messing it up. “Fuck,” he growls, frustrated. 

“I don’t love her. I don’t.”

You take that as your cue to walk in, a disturbingly convincing smile plastered on your face. 

“You don’t love who, Buck?” You play it off smoothly, casually strutting into the balcony.

Sam’s, Steve’s and Thor’s eyes immediately snapped towards you. Bucky, took a few seconds to fully view you. 

He stiffens up at first, then slowly shifts to you, a small smile on his face. It freezes there, though, when his eyes land on you, all dolled up. 

It wasn’t like you at all to dress up. Most of the time, you opted to hide underneath big hoodies and baggy shirts and pants. You just didn’t feel comfortable giving anyone the power to be able to judge your appearance in any way, shape, or form. 

As a superhero, you usually hid behind a large cloak, shielding a bit of your face and body effectively from the public. You’d decided you’d try something out of your comfort zone today. 

So the shock factor was already there, but watching Bucky’s face morph from a very forced relaxed smile to completely gobsmacked expression, lips parted, pupils dilated, Adam’s apple bobbing up and down as he swallowed thickly was absolutely worthy of a picture. 

Sam interrupts your little moment, wolf-whistling.

“Well shit, Y/n. I had no idea you all of that underneath...” he laughs lightly, gesturing towards you lightly. 

Steve elbows him sharply as you raise a brow at Sam. 

“Really Sam?”

He shrugs, rubbing the sore spot on his ribs. “What? It’s true.” 

Steve sighs, rolling his eyes at his best friend before turning to you with his usual chivalrous, soft smile. “You look gorgeous, kid.”

Thor’s smile is brighter than the sun as he takes you in shamelessly. “You are quite the sight, Y/n. Such beauty has never been heard of or seen in all the nine worlds!”

Fighting off a raging blush, you snorted in a very unladylike manner. “C’ mon guys. Stop trying to make me feel good about myself. We all know I’m not that much to look at.”

They all immediately shut your statement down. “Y/n, babe, have you seen yourself already? You’re gorgeous,” Sam huffs, rolling his eyes. 

You try to protest, but Thor quickly cuts you off, a wolfish grin spread on his handsome face. “Y/n, you underestimate your beauty. It shines brighter than many of the stars in this galaxy, I’ll tell you that much.”

You bite the inside of your cheek, trying really hard not to cry with adoration. You didn’t need their approval to feel good about yourself, but it sure was nice to have the accolades of a demi-god.  

“Y/n,” Steve pulls your attention back to him, a comforting smile pulled over his lips. “You’re a beautiful woman.”

With their earnest faces and watchful eyes, you give in to the urge and hide your boiling hot face in your hands, groaning. “You guys! I’m gonna cry.” 

They quiet down and you slowly pull your hands from your face. You’re met with Bucky’s soft gaze, pure, earnest admiration lining every part of his gorgeous face, making his eyes shimmer with a certain honest beauty you’d never seen on him. 

Your breath hitches at the beauty of the way he looked at you. The softness, the sincerity. The support.

You pause, looking at him and for a moment forgetting other people were in the same room as you. right now, only he and you existed. 

You waited with a caught breath for him to say something. His eyes watered, you bite back a gasp at how raw emotion lining his eyes and expression to the brim was.

“You’re beautiful,” he whispers quietly. “Absolutely beautiful.” 

Your heart races and a soft smile tugs at your lips. “Thank you, Buck.” 

He stares at you for a minute longer before swallowing sharply and looking back at his others friends, almost like he just realized they were there. 

You notice the trio looking at him with ‘told you so’ expressions, smug smirks curling their lips. Sam snickers. 

You have hope for a split second. Hope that he’ll turn back around and declare that he’s been in love with you too, that he wants you just as much as you do him. And your heart inflates with happiness and love and you hold onto that emotion for safekeeping. 

And then it’s broken when Bucky shakes his head firmly ‘no’. 

The guys’ faces fall. They know what that means. They don’t know that you also know what that means, but it doesn’t matter because somehow Bucky has once again managed to fix and break your heart in the matter of a few seconds. 

He turns back around to face you and you notice that although he still has that tenderness to him, that softness you saw a few minutes ago, it now looks tortured in his gaze. Repressed.  

He smirks playfully as if to cover it up, but it looks forced. 

“Maybe we could wingman eachother. I’ll get you some hot Hollywood actor only if you promise to get me a Victoria’s Secret model.” He chuckles and winks at you. 

You suppress the fresh wave of tears threatening to spill over and force a small smile. 

“I think I’m good, thanks. I’ll uh-” you push past the huge lump in your throat. “I’ll see you guys later.” You spin on your heels headed for the door.

With one last glance over your shoulder, you catch Steve’s eye. He smiles sympathetically. And mouths a small ‘sorry.’

Before you fully make it outside, you catch a small bit of their upcoming conversation. 

“Really dude!? Friend zoning her? Why can’t you just admit you’re absolutely gaga about her?!”

Bucky groans under his breath, exasperated. “Have you thought maybe it’s cause I’m not?”

You walk away faster, unable to hear more of the conversation. Too painful.

*

The next morning, you walk into the kitchen and find Bucky sitting on a stool, sipping on a cup of coffee. 

You barely spare him a glance, headed straight for the fridge. Normally, you’d be chatting him up, hanging onto his every word and watching with ever-growing excitement and intent as he told you about whatever new adventure he’d been on to conquer the still-unknown 21st century. But not today.

“Oh, mornin’ doll,” he chirps happily, excited to see you. 

You merely smile politely, closing the fridge door behind you softly. “Morning James.” 

And then you simply walk out, water bottle in hand. 

Bucky freezes, raising a brow. 

“James?” he mumbles under his breath. 

*

That afternoon, Bucky is lounging on the living room couch, watching one of your favorite movies of all time, Scream.

When he sees you, he instantly perks up, excited at the prospect of watching a movie with you. “Hey doll, look I’ve got-” 

You cut him off sheepishly. “Sorry Buck, I can’t speak right now, I’m a bit busy.”

He visibly deflates with disappointment but smiles understandingly nonetheless. “Oh..okay.” 

 And with that, he sees you leave in a hurry, suspicion nudging him in the back of his mind. 

He gets worried. Were you...were you mad? But why? What did he do?...

*

The next time Bucky sees you, it’s been a few days since he’s talked to you. You were always rushing off somewhere, suddenly entirely busy. He was getting suspicious...and hurt. You never seemed to have time to be more than just polite to him. 

The other Avengers, on the other hand, got more than just a few minutes of your time.

He was convinced he’d done something to anger you. He just didn’t know what and it was driving him nuts to try and figure it out. 

He’d asked Steve and Sam for help earlier that week but all they’d done is make him feel worse about the whole thing. 

��I just don’t know what I’ve done,” Bucky growls, frustrated. 

Sam and Steve look at eachother, snickering. 

“What?” Bucky frowns. 

Sam sighs. “I think we’ve called you out on your bullshit enough times, Buck. You’re a grown-ass man. Figure it out.”

So he decided to ask the only other person who could tell him what was wrong with you; you. 

And so Bucky waited, hiding out in your room until you come back in.

You sigh as you step into your room, kicking your shoes off and curling your fingers around the ends of your crop top and tugging upwards, intending fully to take it off. 

 “Oh my God, doll, stop!” Bucky’s gruff yell startles you so much, you accidentally send a vase hurtling towards his head.

 He shrieks, ducking down just in time to dodge it. It crashes on the wall behind him, breaking into a milling tiny pieces.

Holding a hand to your rapidly-beating heart, your huff. “Jesus fucking- Bucky! You scared the living heck out of me, you dickhead!” 

He smiles sheepishly. “Sorry, doll.” 

“What are you even doing here?” you breathe, brows furrowing in confusion.

He suddenly grows stern, posture straightening out and eyes leveling with yours, arms crossed over his broad, muscular chest. “Can I know why the hell you have you been avoiding me?” 

You’re taken aback by his bluntness, but manage to mask your shock fairly well with fake innocence, pretending to be busy taking your socks off.

“Avoiding you?” You snort. “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. I haven’t been avoiding you.” 

He chuckles humorlessly, voice gruff with simmering anger. “Oh, don’t lie to me, doll. We both know I’m able to see through your bullshit easily.” 

Something about how sure he sounded in the last statement hit a nerve within you. Your blood boils. How can someone so oblivious to how you felt about them be so sure that they know you so well?

“Stop, Bucky. Okay? I haven’t been avoiding you, so just...leave me alone,” you heave a tired sigh. 

“No.” His response is so quick, so resolute, it nearly gives you whiplash.

You laugh incredulously, raising a brow at him. “No?”

“No.” 

His response is easy. Almost too easy. 

You scoff. “Why?”

He snorts, looking at you like you’d grown two heads. “Because you’re angry with me and I have no idea why, doll.”

“No, I’m not,” you mumble quietly.

“Yes, you are.” 

“Okay. How do you know that for sure?” You challenge. 

The corner of his mouth curls arrogantly. “Your fists are clenched and you’re biting the inside of your cheek.”

He was right. Ugh, of course, he was. You slowly release your clenched fists and relax your tense jaw, sucking on your teeth and avoiding his smug gaze. Your blood boils, even more, swarming your head with angry thoughts. 

“Stop acting like you know me,” you suddenly snap, eyes watering. 

Gosh, why did he know you so well? Why did he have to make not loving him so hard? Why did he have to know small cute details like that? And why did he have to be so- perfect and beautiful?

“But...I do know you,” he states like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. Like there was no other answer but that one.

You wanted him to stop having the upper hand here. But who were you kidding? He always would. Because you were in love with him and he wasn’t in love with you. 

“No, you don’t,” you hiss, hands slowly clenching into fists again, trying to contain your ever-growing anger.

“Yes, I do,” he insists again, so sure of himself. 

“No, you don’t,” you growl. 

“Yes, I do.”

“No, you-”

“Why are we even arguing about this!?” He snaps aggressively before his tone softens. “C’mon doll, we sound like children.” He sighs, licking his lips and runs his fingers through his hair. “l- look, the point is, you’re pissed at me. I just need to what the hell it is I did to deserve it, is all, alright?” 

You bite your lip. “Listen, James just leave me alone please I’m-”

“No, see!? Since when do you call me James? Honestly, Y/n! What the hell have I done to you to deserve you treating me like this?”  His voice cracks as he steps closer to you, hands reaching out to touch you. “Why are you pushing me away?” He whispers softly, hurt.  

That’s it. You can’t hold back all the overwhelming emotions bubbling within you for the past few years anymore. All the hurt and anger of years upon years of loving a man who could never love you back like you did him, come bubbling to the surface. You break like a festering sore after it’s been holding back all it had inside for far too long.

“You made me fall in love with you!” Your scream is powerful, deafening. 

Bucky’s eyes widen, mouth snapping shut, body freezing. If it weren’t for the situation, you would’ve laughed at him. he looked like a deer caught in headlights. 

But you can’t stop now that you’ve started. Unable to avoid vomiting your confession onto him, you continue, fingers gripping your hair.

“Y-you‘re just- there,” you breathe, licking your lips to moisten up your dry mouth. “In me, all the time. Every fucking second of every-fucking-day and I just-“ you lick your lips then chuckle humorlessly. “I’ve tried so fucking hard to fight it off when I realized what was happening. So, so hard. But that only made it worse and before I knew it, BAM!” You clap your hands together. “There you were Bucky Barnes. Everywhere within me.”

Bucky breathes in a sharp breath. “Doll I-“

“And it just drives me absolutely insane. Like- why couldn’t you just stay my best friend? Why couldn’t you just make me want you as a friend? W-why did you have to go ahead and be all sweet and kind and gorgeous and perfect and just-God. You give me butterflies.” You open your eyes as wide as they’ll go. “Did you know that? Butterflies Bucky, I mean...who the fuck gets butterflies?”

“Doll.”

“And I’m just so...” you laugh humorlessly, searching for the correct words to describe what you felt towards this man. This man who- despite everything- you couldn’t help but love.

“Doll.”

“...pissed at you. Because you can’t fucking love me back. Yeah, that’s why I’m pissed! Because here I am, young n’ foolish Y/n; entirely, completely, undoubtedly, fully, stupidly, ludicrously in love with you, James Buchanan Barnes. And there you are, treating me like a kid you can never love back. as anything other than your little sister. So ther-!”

It happens in just a few seconds and you don’t feel it until it’s happening, but Bucky strides up to you in just a few steps, gripping your jaw in his big warm hands before tipping your head back gently. 

Your eyes meet and you swear your limbs are live wires, full with charged electricity every time you look into his beautiful stormy irises. There is so much tender care in them. So much pain and hope and beauty all swirling and creating such a divine turmoil that the breath gets knocked straight out of your lungs, almost like you’ve been punched in the gut or something. 

“Buck?”

Then he crashes his lips against yours and it’s...not everything you dreamed of. No, because what you dreamed of could never compare to what Bucky’s lips on yours felt in real life.

Soft unlike anything you could’ve ever imagined, but firm and anchoring all at once, you can’t help it when you suck in a sharp breath through your nose. Kissing him was like feeding your greatest craving and sedating your every heartache momentarily. Kissing him was like having someone charge you with electricity, your fingertips tingled and your cheeks heated up and you’d never felt more alive. 

It takes a moment for your brain to somewhat process what was happening right now. Bucky kissed you. He was kissing you right now. And it’s only when you begin to comprehend what’s happening, that you respond to the kiss, hands gripping his neck and fingers tangling in his soft strands of hair as you kissed back with all the passion and hurt and anger and love you felt towards him. 

He pushes back, deepening the kiss. Everything about it was demanding and soft and somehow you couldn’t help but think that it fits you and him too well. Like it was how it was always meant to happen. In a heat-of-the-moment kind of way that also said so much more than words ever could. But also soft and kind of inconvenient. Unexpected and all-consuming. You and Bucky. 

The kiss is gone almost as soon as it started and before you know it, Bucky pulls back. You’re both panting softly, and you can feel his warm breath caressing your nose and nothing has ever felt so incredible. 

You’re still unable to fully process what had just happened, your heart is still beating erratically in your chest and your lips are tingly with all sorts of emotions you can’t fully make out right now. 

His hands, all warm and rough and big, are still cupping your jaw, as he tenderly traces a finger over your cheekbone and he’s gazing into your eyes, searching. Searching for an answer. 

“Say something, doll. Please,” he begs quietly.

You blink several times before responding in a passing breath. “Why?” 

He sighs, slumping slightly against you. “Because I love you. As more than just a friend.”

And there it was. All you’d ever wanted to hear the past few years. What haunted your sleep, the very heaviness in your heart that only grew with each passing day. And there it was, staring you right in the eyes. 

You instantly push away from him, tears blurring your vision. “Don’t lie to me like that,” you rasp, voice broken with overwhelming emotions. 

Bucky sputters, panic rising in his stormy grey eyes. “Oh my God doll, no! That’s not it at all, I would never-” 

“I heard you the other night. At the party,” you sob, aggressively wiping at your tears as they rolled down your cheeks. “You told Sam, Steve, and Thor that you could never feel something like that for me. And you meant it.” 

He shakes his head, face twisted into a regretful frown. He says nothing.

Your anger and immense hurt at his silence rise within you in uncontrollable waves of emotion. Your lips quiver in preparation for another wrecked sob to escape your lips.

“I understand,” you rasp. “Can you just-“ you sigh, turning away from him to hide the tears the rolled down your cheeks insistingly. “Leave please?”

“No.”

You wipe a fresh set of tears rolling down your face before spinning around to face him, indignantly livid. “You-!”

“I love you.” His eyes are a stormy grey that leaves you breathless and for the second time, you catch wind of that same raw feeling in his eyes as when he’d seen you all dressed up in that balcony. Vulnerable, raw, carnal.

“I’ll repeat that in case you couldn’t hear it. I. Love. You.”

Your breath catches at his words as he leisurely steps closer to you in short, cautious steps. His eyes never leave yours, their intensity blazing through your very being, alighting your nerves and making your heart pound erratically. You’re frozen in place at the certainty with which he says his words. Astounded.

“I am in love with you,” he gulps, his voice breaking with emotion. “So entirely, completely, undoubtedly, fully, stupidly, ludicrously in love with you, Y/f/n Y/l/n,” he laughs a little as he uses your own words against you.

A joy so unlike anything you’ve ever felt blossoms in your chest and you swallow the growing lump in your throat. “A-are you...serious?”

You don’t know if you’ve mumbled anything coherent, seeing as your heart is thumping so erratically in your ears you can’t hear anything else.

He’s close enough to kiss now, his breath warm and inviting as they softly caress your cheeks. He gently grips your hands in his and leans his face closer to yours.

His nose is brushing against yours, his eyelashes flutter and tickle your own eyelids and your breath gets lodged in your throat, lips parted as they anxiously await his own. They never come though, and just when you think he’ll kiss you again, his lips switch directions and press against your cheek instead, kissing away a tear with a touch so tender and caring, you shiver.

You swallow hard, voice raspy and breathless. “Really?”

His metal hand is cool against your flushed skin as he pulls back to look into your eyes again, earnest and kind.

“Doll I am so confused and unsure about so many things.” He chuckles softly, then turns serious. “But you are not one of those things. Never have been, never will be.”

The vigor in his honesty is striking.

He looks you in the eye. “The only reason I force myself to wake up every damn morning is because I know I’ll be able to see your face. It’s because no matter how dark it gets in here,” he points to his head, then grips your hand and slowly brings it to his chest so it rests over his fast-beating heart. “Or here, I know I’ll always get to see your beautiful smile the very next day. The only light at the end of the tunnel. I just- sometimes my head gets so dark and my heart just breaks over and over again without repair and I think I’ll never get out but-”

“Buck,” you whimper in interruption, too pained at the rawness of his hurt and suffering. 

“No, let me finish, please.” His voice cracks but he still smiling at you with such overpouring joy, you don’t know if he’s sad or happy or both.

 “But then I remember I have you. Even if it’s just as a friend. And that was completely fine by me, doll. Because I got to know you. And I mean really know you, I got to see all your sides. The dedicated, hard-working, focused one. The funny, sarcastic, goofy one. The passionate, fiery one. God, you have no idea how much I love it when your eyes light up when you’re pissed or fired up or when you laugh.” His smile widens. “I also got to see the honest, kind, loving caring side of you. You were always there when I fell apart and you were the only thing that got me through it. All of it. You’re loyal and sweet and selfless and I didn’t care that I wouldn’t get to hold you in my arms or kiss you or call you mine if it meant that I wouldn’t have you anymore.” His eyes water and he grips your fingers tighter as if holding you back from running away. 

“I’ve never met a more beautiful human being in my life. You’re the opposite of me. You’re light and hope and kindness and love and I just- I didn’t want to ruin that. You. Us.”

He laughs incredulously. “But I love you. I love you. God, I’ll never get tired of saying that. It feels so good,” he breathes out to himself giddily. 

It takes a while for him to notice that you haven’t said anything in the span of the past few minutes, but when he’s snapped out of his own ecstasy,  he turns to look at you, the smile falling off his face. 

You’re frozen in your spot, tears freely rolling down your cheeks. 

Bucky groans. “Oh God. I’ve completely messed this up, haven’t I.” He begins freaking out. “I-I’m s-so sorry doll. I didn’t mean to scare you into anything. We can just stay friends just please don’t avoid me again. I promise I won’t-”

“Bucky,” you finally speak up, stopping him with a stoic and expressionless face.

He gulps loudly, “yeah?”

A sweet, tearful smile breaks out on your face.  “I love you too, you big dork.” 

He laughs, relieved. 

You smirk. “Kiss me. Now.”

 He quirks a brow but returns your smirk. “Gladly.”

Then you both lean in and just when your lips are about to meet again, a voice comes booming from the intercom in your room. Or well, many of them. 

“FINALLY.”

 ***

Honestly, IDK. I need some fluffy romance in my life so here it is. 

A Special thanks to:

@wildefire - my Marvel tag (thank you!)

And of course my incredible forevers!

@jessikared97

@lilypalmer1987

@ladyofletters67

@meowsekai

[serendipitioussurvival]

Queen and Gentry - Steter

His life was empty without her, his chest always felt hollow without her. She enraged him like no other and made him feel so fucking vulnerable that he worried she was his weakness. In the same breath when she smiled at him so genuinely it made him feel like he could rock the fucking world. When she had been hurt, however, it made him feel like he was lost at sea in the middle of a typhoon or hurricane. And when he had been too lost in his thoughts it was her gentle calling of ‘Big bad?’ or ‘hey assface!’ that had him returning.

Oh. Fuck.

It started with small things; brief touches against his arm that could be mistaken for her trying to shoulder check him, or offering him meals and little desserts that she had made. Then she started to show up at his address - how she had gotten it made him proud and annoyed, it was his home dammit - and made sure he came to pack meets. Because she gravitated towards his side during pack meets so did Erica and Vernon until they, too, were scenting him as pack. It was insulting and beautiful at first until he began to feel the pack bonds with them form. Stiles had saved them, they followed her as if she were their alpha, and because she was including him - for whatever reason - he was a part of their small pack. 

Because Peter rarely took anything without giving something - though that something was often in the form of scathing replies, sarcastic wit, and dramatic eye rolls - in return, he made sure to start ‘leaving’ books around on magic for the little Spark to read up on. It went from small things to a very real, very important thing the moment she, Erica, and Vernon stood up for him when Scott and Derek found out that he was teaching them how to fight and defend themselves, how to work as a unit. Scott, as expected, was pissed off that they - his pack - were doing something that would promote violence behind his back.

Derek was pissed off that his sired beta’s had not asked him to teach them, especially when he had tried before. 

“You tried, sourwolf? I’m fairly certain that what you did was literally throw around three betas without giving them an idea of what they were supposed to do and or focus on, and then - when they were hurt, you broke their bones to get the healing factor to kick in faster!” Stiles raged, standing in front of the three betas with a glare that was equal to that of an Alpha. “Peter told them how to use their senses, how to get their healing to kick in faster without extra pain. He’s been at it longer, he’s been a Beta longer, he knows how to teach other Betas to control their shift and find their anchors.” then, with a fury that made her breathtaking, she rounded on Scott. 

“And you! You expect everyone to just lay down and not cause a fight because you’re a fucking ‘True Alpha’?! You’re still a teenager, Scott, people will see that before they see you as the ‘True Alpha’ you’re trying to keep as a claim. What if another Gerard shows up, Scott, huh? What if he takes Erica and Vernon again, what if they decide that they want to shoot up some of our pack after they agree to a peace treaty? Huh? What then?!” 

“We still have to give them that option for peace, Stiles!” he urged, confused as to hell why she was so adamant on siding with Peter when she normally was on his side with certain arguments. “Gerard was a mistake, but -”

“Allison was the one who shot them full of arrows!” Stiles was a spastic, energetic, and loud girl. Such was why her calm, curt, still fury was so worrying for those in the room. “Allison, Scott, and I love her like a sister, but it was Ali who shot them full of arrows, repeatedly, because Gerard manipulated her.” 

“Gerard was evil-” Scott tried, angry for her bringing up Allison but also sad because she had. 

“There are more people like Gerard than you know, Scott.” and maybe it was because his friend, his sister, was looking at him like he was a moron or a child, but it had Scott raging. 

“People like Peter?! He killed people too!” and maybe that wasn’t exactly the right thing to say, because now Derek was edging towards Stiles, choking on her anger and wanting her to calm down because Erica and Vernon were tensing for a fight behind her. 

“Peter killed guilty people who deserved to fucking die.” Peter had never had anyone he wasn’t openly manipulating angry for him. For Stiles to be so on his side, to agree with what he had done… “Peter didn’t take a human fucking girl from the middle of a Lacrosse win to beat her senseless so she could be made into a message to the Alpha and her werewolf best friend.” and to that the entire room stiffened.”You knew,” she spat,  “You just didn’t want to believe it.” 

“You-you're lying-” before he could finish the half-hearted attempt to regain control of the situation - his mind, honestly - Erica and Vernon both growled and shifted with intent to hurt him. 

“No.” All it took was for Stiles to look at both of them for them to remain where they were and calm down, burning cinnamon cooling down and releasing its grip on the ‘were’s in the room. “Scott, are you ordering us as Alpha to stop these training sessions?” she was furious, but there was a calm acceptance to her that actually scared the ‘were’s. This felt like a charged moment, like whatever Scott said would change everything. 

“I -” Scott wanted to say yes, he really did, but he understood the need for everyone to learn how to protect themselves. Ever since that lacrosse game, Stiles had quit and gone to some self-defense classes that a few of her dad’s colleagues were putting her through. Now she was learning how to fight werewolves from Peter and Scott - Scott only saw Peter as using this for an opportunity to turn his friends against him. 

“He’s turning you against me, can’t you see that’s what he’s doing?” He tried again, needing his friend, his sister, to see reason. 

“You didn’t answer my question. Is that an order, Alpha McCall?” it was in instances like this that Peter saw how truly remarkable of a wolf she would make. Her fury was calculated and directed with a level of intelligence that would make other Alpha’s blush. She knew just what to say to utterly demolish her opponent and she could say it with a ferocity that rivaled a raging Omega. 

“No.” Scott bit out, shoving his hands into his hair to try and relieve the pressure that was building there. 

“Good, then we’re not going to discuss what I do in my free time with pack members you neglect.” In a movement that could be taken as a challenge to any other Alpha Stiles spun around, openly rubbed her cheek against Erica’s, then Boyd’s, and finally, with a narrowed glare that dared Peter to try and deny her, rubbed the other side of her cheek against his previously scarred one. She smelled of rain when he actually moved his face into the motion, scenting her back despite how stunned he still was. “You are the Alpha, Scotty, but I am the Emissary and this is my pack.” 

After that she and Scott got into arguments frequently, most of which devolved into screaming matches that had the other pack members flinching away from the table. Lydia and Allison were, surprisingly enough, on Stiles’s side, despite saying that Scott still had some good points to his arguments. Peter never needed to be dragged to another Pack meet again as he went willingly. 

It was a month later that she called a pack meeting, asking for everyone to show up. When everyone - including Chris Argent - was present in the room - including one confused Alan Deaton - Stiles entered the loft smelling of Peppermint and ash. 

“I’m adding one more to our pack.” and, as expected, confusion and alarm broke out. 

“Who?” Chris asked her, drowning out the questions of ‘What have you done’ and ‘what do you mean?’

“Deucalion.” she stayed standing in the doorway, arms crossed, defiant and completely set in her decision despite the two shouts that were immediately aimed at her. Scott being the loudest. “You granted him mercy, but you also made him an Omega. Omega’s go fucking crazy, you really want to deal with a crazy Deucalion?”

“I agreed with her,” Derek told him when he stood by her side, surprising Scott further. “He learned how to fight while he was blind, Scott, he learned how to utilize his senses in a way I’ve never even heard of. Stiles, Erica, Boyd and I already met with him a couple times.” 

“You already met him? You already decided on this without asking me, without-” 

“It’s what I’m doing now, Scott. Pack meet, pack discuss, pack decide. I started checking on him to make sure he wasn’t losing his sanity, that was three months ago.” and Chris, god bless him, was the voice of reason right alongside his daughter and Lydia. 

“Erica, Vernon, you’re okay with him joining the pack?” because he had been the one who had taken them captive and held them captive for months until Stiles had found them. 

“He stopped Kali from torturing us,” Erica announced with a shrug from her spot on the spiral staircase beside Peter. “Honestly I think he’s the only reason I’m alive, Kali was especially pissed off that day. He’s… he’s not the same.” 

“I think it’s because he got his eyesight back,” Boyd agreed, arm wrapped tight around Erica while she sat between his legs on the staircase, just a few steps below Peter. “If he tries anything, well, we’re a large pack, we can take him.” 

“He’s another Alpha!” Scott distressed, “he could just kill me and take over the pack!” Stiles rolled her eyes and looked to Derek, as if asking for him to take over. Peter was too awed at the way Stiles had changed, at the way she seemed to no longer be trying to actively hide her true self from everyone and instead embraced it with conviction that had him hungry for her. When Derek put his hands up in a ‘It’s all on you’ motion she sighed heavily and turned her champagne gold eyes on Scott.

“Scott, no offense bud, but I could kill you, and take the Alpha spot. You don’t come to training, you don’t try to run with the others on the full moon, and you’re actively denying your wolf’s instincts.” of course he had, he never wanted to be a werewolf! “See, that’s exactly my point!” ah, this was the point where it would divulge into a screaming match. “You don’t want it, never wanted it, so you’re denying it while trying to keep the authority of it! You can’t be an absent leader, Scott!” 

“You don’t know what it’s like!” it was funny how he became the flailing ones whereas Mieczyslawa was the calm, collected hurricane she was always meant to be. 

“Scott, you don’t have Asthma anymore, you’re basically always fucking ripped, you can literally feel familial bonds, you’ve gained more attention from the female Populus in these past two years than you ever had, and you made first line as well as Captain of the Lacrosse team!” her hand slapped harshly into her chest and drew a flinch from those that cared about her. “You could still be asthmatic getting chunky with me on fast food and snacks spending every Friday night binging video games and sitting on the bench during lacrosse games while we lament about how we wish things were different. You found your anchor, your mom literally told you to fucking stick it to someone who could kill her because she believed in you. You’re only problems are because you’re denying that wolf side of you that you keep seeing as a monster!” 

“Well why don’t you ask me to bite you then so you can be a wolf!” and there it was, the question Peter had been asking himself ever since she had denied him in the parking garage what felt like an eternity ago. 

“Because it would hurt too fucking much to realize you don’t need me as much as I need you.” and that… well, Peter understood that. It brought the whole situation into perspective for him and brought a whole new understanding to her reaction when he had asked her. She didn’t want to be like him, that had been a truth and a lie, because if she turned into a werewolf she would’ve been like him. Bondless, alone and on the road to insanity that most likely would’ve resulted in her death. “Pack vote on Deucalion.” amidst the awkward atmosphere the majority vote was for Deucalion joining, Scott was too stunned to put his own vote in, let alone deny said vote. 

Erica and Vernon flanked her when she took her leave, putting all attention on Scott as he stood, flabbergasted, in the same spot he had been in. Few people glanced to Allison, as if to gauge her reaction to hearing that - was it a confession? - declaration from her best friend toward her ex-boyfriend. 

“Well, it was about time for that.” Lydia expressed with a dramatic sigh as she pushed away from the table. “It’s not a romantic confession, Scott, so don’t go thinking too highly of yourself. Honestly,” she smacked her lips and eyed the room with a hint of distaste. “I hoped she’s snap sooner or later, called me out at the Homecoming but didn’t care that she was hiding her real personality from everyone.” She sniffed derisively and flicked her hair over her shoulder, glaring at Peter with a tone of acceptance that hadn’t previously been there. “Hm.” and with that high pitched huff of approval and acceptance, she sashayed her way out of the room. 

Peter wasn’t sure how he was supposed to actually react to the current scheme of things. Not only had Stiles openly declared that Peter was a part of her pack, but she would also openly fight Scott for his current placement in her scheme of things. Her pack, which consisted of Deucalion, peter, Erica, Vernon, and apparently Lydia. From the look that was shared between Chris and Allison, the two were in favor of what Stiles was saying. It was then that Peter made sense of the little touches she made sure to do to him, the way she made meals or gave him little baked goods. How she was always, always trading sneers with him and openly challenging him. The entire time she had been scenting him, considering him pack, showing him he had a place with her. 

He was strangely touched and insulted that a teenage girl thought that she could force a pack bond on him just because she didn’t want to deal with him going omega crazy again. In the same breath he knew that wasn’t why she had done it, she would’ve told him outright if that had been her reasoning, instead she showed up at his house so often that her scent could always be found in some corner of his apartment, left a few of her jackets - there was even a cover she used when she showed up very suddenly declaring that she was going to use his couch to sleep and if he touched her she would wolfsbane mace him. He had been too stunned at her brashness to even react before she was curled up on his couch with a fluffy cover curled around shoulders. 

When he had recovered he had wanted to bang his pots together, toss her off the couch, play the T.V at its loudest volume. Instead he found himself walking softly, barely using the oven, let alone the microwave in case the sound was too loud to wake her up, and checked on her frequently to make sure that she was fine. 

Little tart took that as permission to do it frequently too. Still, through all this he only knew of Stiles being ‘Stiles’ - he didn’t want to make her presence seem permanent in his life by hiring a P.I to find out her real name (since none of her fucking friends knew it, thank you Scott) - and was utterly floored when it was Deucalion who called her true name out in the middle of a sparring practice. 

“You’re doing good, Mieczyslawa, this time focus on the way the air feels against your skin. You’re not a werewolf, but you can feel the change, every human can. You just have to attune yourself to it.” she nodded and vanilla sprouted from her in her pleasure at having her true name called so perfectly. “I’ll go slow and progress the more successful you are.” another nod but neither were ignorant of the stares centered on them. Stiles was not a werewolf but she was doing better than Erica and Vernon when it came to the training Deucalion implemented. She was doing so well, in fact, that it often meant she was doing lessons with him on the side, or during breaks in between their training sessions. 

She didn’t dodge the first time Deucalion shoved her though she did follow his movements when he stalked around her. After the first three shoves she managed to dodge or swipe his hand away, then after that she stumbled only twice, managing to keep up pace with him until he started using his werewolf speed. 

“Okay,” she sighed heavily and settled into a stance, captivating them all with her pure ozone that leaked from her. “Deuce, try again.” to his credit he did without hesitation. Where she once fumbled she was now sure in her movements, where she was choppy she was now graceful, and the pace with which she moved had increased until both their limbs were nothing but blurs. “I’m fucking NEO!” she shouted in glee after the session, cackling madly with Erica at her side, questioning just how the fuck she had done that. 

Peter, however, was trying to remember how Deucalion had pronounced her name, tried to form it without being too obvious. He would never admit, even under the threat of torture, that he was jealous that Deucalion knew what her real name was and, from the way they were talking in another language that sounded harsh and beautiful, could also speak whatever language it was she was fluent in. 

“It’s Polish,” Deucalion answered his unasked question when Erica and Vernon left with Stiles hours later. Peter tried not to seem too interested when he looked at Deucalion but felt his eyebrow twitching when the man was wiping his hands on a rag, grinning slightly every time he glanced at Peter as if he were amused. “Her name and the language.” he wondered how he knew but refused to ask it, he didn’t want him to think that Peter owed him for answering simple questions. If he elected to talk without being asked anything then that was his business, Peter was just enjoying his confusing day. “We looked into the human who taught a sireless Beta how to control himself, though we thought she was a Druid at first.” with a shrug Deucalion tossed the rag on his shoulder and crossed his arms over his chest. “You can imagine our surprise and suspicion when we found she wasn’t a Druid and was purely human.”

Purely human? Yes, that’s what he had thought at first too.

“Then she trespasses onto our territory, charms Ennis, and takes our hostages before they can even be utilized.” yes, he had been shocked all to hell and back when she showed up at the old Hale House with two twitchy Betas and a ghost. The ghost being his niece whom he thought was dead, another one who had been abandoned like he had. She had recently gone back to South America - Beacon Hills was ‘too cold’ for her - but she and Peter kept in touch through Skype and phone calls. 

“Erica says you stopped Kali from torturing them,” to his credit the Alpha sighed heavily and sank into the pillar of the porch. “Why?”

“Because Derek was supposed to kill them, if they perished before they got the chance then that was one less beta who’s abilities he could absorb.” He was honest, at least, so points for him. “Now… now I think it would’ve been a great loss to involve her any more than she had been.” it most definitely would have been, Stiles had the severity of loyalty that made her put her own life in front of those she cared for. 

Peter didn’t expect him to be one of those people, especially since he could fucking heal. 

“You stupid, idiot girl!” he panicked and clutched her tighter to his chest while Chris drove them to the hospital. “What gave you the right!? I can heal but you can’t you -” her pinched expression turned wry, even though the pain he was trying to drain from her but couldn’t because the little tart was somehow stopping him from doing it. “Let me take your pain!” 

“You’re-” she groaned and shut her eyes tight, “So dramatic, it’s just a - just a bullet.” Just a bullet, yeah for him maybe! It had been intended for his heart but she had fucking jumped right in front of it and took it instead. He would kill her, he would save her first and then kill her and then bring her back just to kill her again for causing this pain in his chest. He hadn’t even wanted her fucking pack bond and now he could feel the pain she was denying him from taking through it and he couldn’t- “Peter, breathe.” and with her calm placations he raged. Her, who was currently bleeding profusely into Chris’s back seat, was going to tell him to calm down when she could be dying!? 

“Fuck you.” he snapped, then - “Let me take your pain damn you!” her brows furrowed even deeper at that, as if she didn’t know why he couldn’t. 

“I’m not - not stopping you from doing it.” and it was hard to tell if she were lying or telling the truth because her hummingbird heartbeat was fucking normal and that did absolutely nothing for his control. “An-anyway, hunting season, I just, rounded a mend when - someone took a shot.” she grimaced and sank into Peter’s hold. “Didn’t - didn’t-”

“My daughter and Isaac stuck around to try and find the Hunter while Peter and I rushed you to the hospital.” Chris finished when she started coughing, jaw tight every time he looked at her through the rearview mirror. “We were tracking the deer when we came around the cliff face overlooking the city when the shot rang out.” she sagged completely against him and nodded briefly, eyelids lowering slowly as the exhaustion set in. “The hunter used a 30.06 and that’s a common hunting rifle caliber. It’ll all be plausible.” Chris was impressed with her ability to come up with an alibi even through her pain, that didn’t mean he was calm. He didn’t have a werewolf’s sensory amplification but he could smell her blood as if it were covering him. The normally fair-skinned girl was now sickly pale with sweat making her hair stick to her forehead and her eyes - which were regularly black - now looked sunken. 

“Peter, don’, don’ wolf out, kay?” she breathed, “‘m fine. ‘n don’ wolf out ‘n Scott, either. Chris, don’ le’ em.” she cleared her throat and hissed when Peter jumped out of the car the moment Chris pulled it up in front of the Emergency entrance. “Hi, ‘lissa!” she chirped when several nurses motioned for Peter to put her on a gurney, beaming even though her eyelids were drooping shut again. “Fancy meet’n you here.” 

“I just thought I'd stop by.” Melissa offered through the tears that had started to shed at the sight of Stiles covered in blood. Chris was rushing in the exact moment they wheeled her away, leaving two panicking adults while another nurse tried to get answers from them. He took over easily enough, especially when Peter completely froze at the sight of her blood on his hands. Chris could only assume what was going through his head - he was certain that it had to do something with the darkest part of his memories -  and didn’t want to push him too far less he snap and wolf out. 

It was strangely easy to get Peter to one of the showers in an empty room they’d been led to so that he could wash his arms and hands. Nothing could be done for the shirt, but then again Peter would still be able to smell her blood. Erica and Vernon came later, breathing hard and immediately gravitating near Peter. Jeorek came minutes later and was immediately dragged away by Melissa and a doctor. 

Peter was furious, he was sad, he was enraged and he was so fucking confused. He couldn’t take her pain but she wasn’t stopping him from doing it. She had taken a bullet meant for him and he was covered in her fucking life blood and he didn’t like it. She had placated him even though she were in pain and he didn’t fucking know what all of this meant. 

He knew his bond that he had with her hurt, that it was aching and dulling the longer time went on - he wasn’t sure if that was because she was dying or because she was sedated, he hoped beyond hope that it was the latter. If it was the former he- well, he wasn’t sure what he would do, or how he would react. He knew, faintly, that his thoughts were calm and hectic, that he had underlying thought processes ranging from several ‘what ifs’ to dozens of ‘but this could happen’, none of it really went focused on for more than a second overtop the large, terrifying thought, of ‘She could die.’

She could die. 

She could die.

She was probably dying.

She was - and it was because of him - maybe not directly but indirectly. She, she forced the bond on him without asking! He had asked her if she wanted the bite and now she was taking him down with her and-

“Peter,” he curled his hands into fists and dug them into his abdomen, not wanting to look at them any longer, not when he could still smell the blood that had once coated them. “She’s going to be okay,” he looked up them, glaring at Chris and his calm freaking demeanor that had him wanting to rip his fucking throat out. “The bullet nicked an artery but she’s okay.” 

“It wouldn’t have nicked an artery if she hadn’t jumped in front of me.” he growled, fists pressing tighter into his abdomen so he wouldn’t run them through his hair or into someone elses throat. 

“You’re pack, of course she was going to jump in front of you.” Erica growled, pacing in front of Vernon - who was standing by the wall with his arms crossed across his chest. 

“I never asked to be pack!” 

“You never told her no!” Erica snarled at him, flashing her eyes and challenging him in a way that had his ass slamming right back into his seat before he could flash even a hint of fang. “She claimed you as pack over and over and you ever once told her no!” Peter rose with the calm fury he’d perfected all his life, truly on the edge now that this Beta, this beautifully protective and ignorant beta had tried to challenge him. HIM. 

“I don’t want to be part of her pack.” he didn’t, he really fucking didn’t, not when she could get hurt and die at any fucking point, Spark or no. She could heal, she’d heal faster than a regular human, but she couldn't heal a bullet to the heart or head or throat. She was human and he couldn’t deal - he wouldn’t be able to take it if she died. Not when it made him feel every single one of his pack bonds burning all over again as his family died. As they suffered. 

“Then tell her.” Jeorek challenged, arms crossed tightly to prevent himself from reaching for his gun to shoot the bastard that would dare leave his daughter now. “You don’t want to be a part of her pack then you tell that to her face and break that bond instead of letting it be drawn out.” how dare them, how dare all of them do this to him, try to keep him in a place he didn’t want to be! 

He had stormed out with full intent to come back and tell her that he didn’t want to be a part of her pack. 

He never did. Never went back or went to visit her despite every nerve in his body and every urge of his wolf telling him he needed to go see her, to make sure she was okay, to confirm that she was healing. Instead, he focused on researching what he could about the hunters that would dare hunt in Argent territory and avoiding the general populous. 

Mieczyslawa, of course, had to take that plan and just fucking wreck it. 

“You are the most idiotic mother fucker this side of Beacon hills.” Stiles Stilinski groused, standing in his doorway, looking as emotionally wrecked as she was physically. Damn him he couldn’t actually look at the brace on her arm that kept it slung against her chest. He couldn’t look at the bandages and wound dressing that peaked out from beneath her loose top. “You want to be emotionally stunted for the rest of your life? Fine. You tell me right now you want out of the pack and I’ll leave you alone, forever.” 

“Just like that?” he snarked, claws coming out to impale the wall of his door, not that she could see it anyway. “After dragging me to pack meets for months and dragging me into your little group of misfits you’ll let me go, just like that?”

“Yes.” damn him he loved that she could tell the truth and lie all with a single word. He loved and hated that her eyes were like gold, burnt and broken but so defiant that it made him hate her all the more. “I won’t force you to be somewhere you don’t want to be, but only if you really don’t want to be there. I’m not going to take half-assed excuses or reasons, Peter. You’re a grown-ass man, if you give me some bullshit excuse then I’m going to tell you to fuck off until you give me a better one.” who the hell did she think she was. He didn’t need to give her a reason or an excuse. If he said he didn’t want to be in her fucking pack then that was all he had to say!

“I don’t,” he growled out, knuckle deep in his drywall. “Want to be,” cinnamon began melting with brown sugar, gold eyes turning to a dark russet brown in her acceptance and grief. “In your pack.” he expected her to fight, was ready for it, but that cinnamon and brown sugar turned too sweet, too rich for him to take too many deep breaths. She stared at him for a moment, then two until he was finally ready to snap at her. 

“Fine.” his heart dropped to his stomach when she turned around and marched away, quickened steps doing nothing to take away her scent from his doorway. He hadn’t been able to bask in her scent for a week, hadn’t been able to see her or appreciate the small things about her habits that actually made him yearn for her. Now, with her scent so potent in his doorway, he found he wanted to just stand there, breathe her in even though it was physically painful to do so. Cinnamon and brown sugar, the too-sweet warmth that made his throat close up and his eyes burn. The scent that had built and built until it was overpowering her natural scent and leaving him with it saturating the area of his apartment. 

The smell of her heartbreak. 

He didn’t run after her despite every molecule in his body telling him to - if he were being honest it was because his body and wolf were telling him to go after her that he fought it so hard. He got three noise complaints that night and, by the morning, had a new living room table ordered to be shipped to him. 

He thought she’d message him at least once within the next week. 

She didn’t. 

He didn’t hear anything until he dragged his ass with the conviction that he didn’t care, he was just trying to figure out what his Nephew and true Alpha McCall were planning, to the pack meeting. 

There was no pack meeting, only Derek and - surprisingly enough - Cora were chilling out in Derek’s loft. They seemed just as surprised to see him as he was to see them. Then, then there was anger. Anger from Cora. 

“Now you show up.” she stalked towards him with a fury that was both impressive and confusing. Why it was directed at him he had no idea. “After a whole month, Uncle Peter, you are just now showing up?!” and then she was punching him right in his solar plexus, catching him off guard with how fast she went from confrontational to physical. 

“Cora, he doesn’t know.” Derek groused, sighing heavily over the dozens of open books laid out on his table. “Stiles isn’t in Beacon Hills.” that, that had taken his breath away far quicker than Cora’s punch had. She wasn’t in beacon hills? Why the fuck wasn’t she in Beacon hills? Where was her father, what was being done, why wasn’t he - why couldn’t he -

Well, he wouldn’t really have to be informed if they weren’t pack, would he? He wouldn’t have been able to feel if she were near, not with the aching chasm that was once the bond between the two of them. Still, he had pack bonds with Erica and Vernon and nothing felt off, they knew where he lived and he hadn’t been told by them that Stiles was gone. He hadn’t seen anything in the news about missing persons and there was no way in hell that Scott wouldn’t be currently lording this over him if something had happened to her. Not when all his theories about Peter being the biggest asshole since fisting became a thing were proven true. 

“Where is she?” he didn’t care, he didn’t care he didn’t care. 

“France.” Cora bit out, “Chris, Allison, Erica, Vernon, and Isaac all went. You would’ve been with her, would’ve known, if you hadn’t screwed up somehow!” the rest was far too many expletives about his character, personality, and his lack of dedication to things he was attracted to in Portuguese for him to give much thought to. 

“Deucalion went too, Peter.” that stung even though it shouldn’t have. He had told her he didn’t want to be a part of her pack, hadn’t visited her while she was in the hospital, hadn’t reached out to her first. Even so, even despite all that, Deucalion had gone and Peter hadn’t, not even to make sure she was safe, not to look over the betas who had become pack to him without even having meant for them to. 

“When are they due back?” Cora shut her brother up with a glare when he went to answer Peter. 

“Why don’t you ask her yourself, Uncle Peter? Or are you scared?” the growl he centered on her was worthy of Alpha status. Peter, of course, did not do that. Not until it was nearing the two-month mark and the silence of his apartment was overwhelming. No amount of nights out could fill the silence, running never exhausted him as much as he needed so he could just pass out when he went home. Home that was now empty, home that was no longer home. Home with jackets that weren’t his and a cover that no longer smelled like Stiles, a place that no longer had traces of her or pack, a place that suddenly seemed much too big and much too quiet. 

‘You’ve reached the voicemail of ‘Name here’-” he hated that her voice alone made his every limb settle, hated that it filled the ache that had been in his chest. Especially when she was snickering and giggling while trying to remain serious, he could practically see her in front of him making faces while recording the damn voicemail. “If you’ve important business, leave a message, if it’s important call again, hang up, and call again.” so, of course, he did just that, only it wasn’t Stiles that answered. 

“I am unsure who this is, as you’re listed as ‘Big Bad’,” Deucalion rumbled, sounding as if he had just been woken up. “What is it?” Peter hung up. 

Deucalion had answered Stiles’s phone, Deucalion who sounded as if he had been asleep had answered Stiles’s phone. Deucalion who had to be around Stiles for him to be near her phone, asleep, in Paris, together. 

His cell phone vibrated in his hand, he actually hesitated to answer it when ‘Little Spark’ flashed across the screen. “Is everything okay in Beacon Hills?” a very groggy Stiles urged, causing his stomach to hollow immediately. She had been around Deucalion, they had to be in the same room, and they were most definitely sleeping together. But were they sleeping together, or sleeping together? Why did his wolf lament and his heart ache at the possibility?

“Why are you in France?” he countered, refusing to play to her tune and instead demanding she play to his. He heard the shuffling of covers and the creak of a mattress that was obviously of poor quality, and then her heavy sigh that had his anger rising. 

“Why do you care?” she sounded so tired and defeated that he almost asked if she were okay. Damn the habits he had developed when she had been present in his life, like a leech or a tumor. 

“The Pack meant to be protecting Beacon hills just ups and vanishes without finding suitable replacements? Fairly certain I should be aware of that much, at least.” not the wisest thing to say, considering the fact that she was frustrated with him. 

“We have suitable replacements. Derek, Cora, Scott, my Dad, and the Police are all protecting Beacon hills.” He really should just leave it at that, lest she think he cares more than he actually did. Or showed that he cared as much as he did? He clearly cared for her, even if he didn’t actually want to. “I’m not - is there anything else?” didn’t have any time for him, did she? Not when she was busy with Deucalion and her pack in France. 

“When are you coming back?” it was snapped and curt and definitely dangerous in ways that let on more than he had been comfortable with. 

“I don’t know.” she sighed again, “Hopefully before school starts again.” he heard her heartbeat clearer and a muffled ‘Yeah, yeah I know, we’ll be fine. We’ve got time.’ and then another person joined her on the bed, or rejoined her. “Peter, was there something else?” she was dismissing him? As if he didn’t matter?

“Of course,” he purred, “wouldn’t want to interrupt your time with Deucalion.” he heard her intake of breath and felt minute satisfaction with the fact that she seemed so affected by his barb. Then he felt guilt, and not because he was wrong or because he had so obviously hurt Stiles, but because he could feel the protective anger through the bonds he had with Erica and Vernon. 

“Too late,” calm, calculated, and with the force of a fucking freight train. “Goodbye, Peter.” 

He crushed his phone when he heard the dial tone.

He contemplated flying to France just so he could throttle her and promptly decided against it incase she saw it as him going out of some kind of affection for her. Still, staying in Beacon Hills was out of the question. He needed to go somewhere, needed to get away from every memory that haunted him and the ghost-like laughter that tickled the back of his head. He had a plane ticket to Ohio booked and his bags all packed and ready in under eight hours with only one stop in mind. He just wasn’t expecting Derek and Cora to be skyping Stiles in their dining area. 

“-ay, that’s what the Druid’s here are saying. They’re going to give me a sapling from their Nemeton to take to ours, it should purify whatever dark energies are polluting it and give it enough power to start being able to draw on the currents once again.” she sighed and ran a hand over her face, the black sling contrasting ominously against her skin and tank top she wore. “There’s also another Spark here, they’re apparently common, but not whatever I am. If we find out whatever it is that I am I’ll end up coming back once school is over and spend a couple months learning how to do… whatever it is that I do?”

“Stiles,” Derek began, concern clear in his tone and on his features. “You look like shit. Are you sleeping any?” 

“Uh, I think we all got like four hours last night?” Erica pushed her way into the screen, glaring darkly at the side of Stiles’s face for even trying to lie. 

“Stiles slept an hour and has been taking her Adderall left and right like they’re fucking hard candy.” Peter stepped further into the Loft without much thinking about it, his pesky wolf clearly wanted to see Stiles. “Hello asshole.” Erica greeted with a sniff then, with a level of sass Lydia would approve of, flicked her hair over her shoulder and stalked out of the screen’s frame. 

“Yes, well, my shit sleeping habits aside.” Stiles groused, frowning angrily at her arm as she readjusted her sling. “That’s everything that’s happened so far. We’ve got another week or so and then we should be on our way back. I’ll have to plant the new sprout into the current Nemeton and purge whatever is blocking the energy flow before school starts,” she fidgeted a bit with her sling, then glared once Deucalion snapped at her to stop messing with it. In Polish. 

Peter did not learn Polish for Stiles, he had learned it so he would know if they were talking about him to his face. It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that he could now perfectly pronounce her name. Hearing the two of them bicker at one another in Polish had him wanting to put his two cents in just so he could see her reaction.

“Stiles, find you a Euro boyfriend and get fucked.” Derek and Stiles, simultaneously, inhaled their drinks and fucking spat them everywhere. 

“Cora!” they spluttered inbetween hacks, glancing at her in abject horror while Erica cackled like a witch in the background. “Not only is that a fucking awful idea, but I actually have to stay a virgin for the ritual I’ve got to do for the Nemeton Sapling.” not sleeping with Deucalion then, interesting - not that he cared either way. “And I’m not going to end up getting anyone in Beacon Hills after either. People aren’t interested in me.” she shuffled a bit in her seat, “None that I’m interested in, anyway.” He almost whined at how sad she sounded and caught himself from correcting her that plenty of people found her attractive. Every time he, Erica, Vernon, and Stiles went out she’d get multiple stares of lust from multiple men. 

“Okay, what about Derek?” 

“I don’t see him like that and he definitely doesn’t see me like that, even if my age wasn’t a factor in his decision making.” yes, she and Derek had come to a mutual fondness for one another after she rescued his Betas and, as such, were at a mutual understanding of the other. Cora huffed and crossed her arms. 

“Well, then I’ll find someone from South America. You should date someone, Stiles, get you someone to temper you out or urge you on. You’re fucking amazing.” Peter wondered briefly if Mieczyslawa Stilinski was like a drug to Hale’s. Derek hadn’t liked her at first and neither had Cora, now both were friends and advocates for her. He loved it and hated it, they were his family and yet they were friendly with the one who had manipulated him into being in a packbond with her when he was fine with his solidarity. 

“Am I not an option?” Peter drawled as he rose from his train of thought, having meant it as a teasing remark that came out much too curious for his liking. That had Derek and Cora both turning to look at him despite his attention resting solely in Stiles’s dulled iris’s. 

“You’ve already made your choice clear and I’d rather not hear it again.” his choice? About her? Was he missing something? “Der, Cora, I’m heading off. Take care of one another and please watch out for my dad.” she hedged a moment before murmuring a quick goodbye and ended the call, leaving his niece and nephew to stare at him with a level of interest that had him defensive. 

“Do you want to be an option for Stiles?” Cora, damn her, inquired with a gleam in her eyes that reminded him far too much of Stiles when she was teasing him. Of course he wanted to be an option, he always wanted to be an option when it counted for things that would give him a leg up in situations. Stiles, however, was like a laser straight through the fog of his bullshit that could cut straight to the heart of things with him. He hated that she had that effect over him, as well as the fact that she seemed to never react the way he wanted her to when he was messing with her. 

Still, did he want to be a genuine option for Stiles? His life was empty without her, his chest always felt hollow without her. She enraged him like no other and made him feel so fucking vulnerable that he worried she was his weakness. In the same breath when she smiled at him so genuinely it made him feel like he could rock the fucking world. When she had been hurt, however, it made him feel like he was lost at sea in the middle of a typhoon or hurricane. And when he had been too lost in his thoughts it was her gentle calling of ‘Big bad?’ or ‘hey assface!’ that had him returning.

Oh. Fuck. 

She anchored him, she anchored him and took the foundation of everything he knew and just wrecked it because she was his anchor. 

“Uncle Peter?” She had become his anchor, she had somehow wormed her way into a bond with him and taken his interest in her motives to make him complacent with her plans! The devious little minx! She was his anchor, how the fuck - why was she his anchor? She was like a fucking hurricane, hardly anything about her was stable like an anchor should be! Why - what- “Uncle Peter!” he snapped his jaw and growled, brought back to reality by Cora standing right in front of him. At some point he had dropped his bags and was now breathing hard, heartbeat thundered through his ears and raising his rage. 

“I’m leaving!” he snarled, grabbed his bags, and fucking ran. She was his anchor, Mieczyslawa Stilinski was his anchor and he - 

Loved it. Hated it. Did she know? Had she intentionally -?! 

It had taken him five minutes to get his temper in check and not put his claws through his steering wheel. No, he couldn’t deal with this, he couldn’t - he needed to get away. Time away would help, it’d give him the chance to put his thoughts in order. He needed time away from everything that reminded him of Stiles, he needed time away to try and get her out of his head and to get the festering wound that replaced where her bond once had been healed. Yeah, yeah, he would go to Ohio, he’d take that flight, now he just needed to get there. 

He spent all of a month in Ohio before he could no longer take it. Every brunette he saw made him think it was Stiles, every time he heard the audio of any Marvel movies he immediately expected to hear ten facts about the movie from Stiles. Whenever he heard tinkering laughter, or smelled vanilla, he immediately thought of her and he couldn’t take it. His month away forgetting her had been spent in agony remembering every little detail about her. No one had her skin tone, no one looked as good with moles and freckles like she did, no one smelled as honest and sincere as she did. 

No one reminded him completely of Stiles but everyone reminded him of the little things about her. He hated it, he saw her in everyone, almost like a ghost he couldn’t escape. It was why he was surprised all to hell that she greeted him at the airport, pale and with blackened eyes but sporting a smile that was absolutely mischievous. He should’ve been angry at seeing her waiting for him or even joy, anything but the sinking feeling that something was wrong, that this wasn’t Stiles. Not his Stiles. 

“Peter,” she purred, eyeing him with a hunger that was not what he was used to associating with Stiles. “welcome back home.” he approached her slowly, suspiciously, and then out of a need to control the situation when her sandalwood and vanilla smelled burnt. “I missed you.” that sounded wrong, almost like whatever was in front of her was twisting her around in an attempt to twist him. 

“Missed you too.” he drawled, willing to play the game so he could try and catch whatever this was off guard. “When did you get back?” 

“Week and a half ago,” her pout was adorably wrong, whatever this thing is was trying too hard to be her. “I missed you.” she went to hug him when her whole body froze, fury and abject horror clashing like tidal waves. “Not him,” she growled, clearer now than earlier, “Not him you fucking -”

“Stiles?” her eyes shot up to look at him, one black and broken while the other was her champagne gold. It was like she was frozen in that moment, half her features contorted in fury while the others were contorted in pain and sorrow. Something was possessing her, clearly, and she was fighting it so valiantly but -

“Yes,” she drawled, black flashing to bleach white as a single tear fell from her eyes, “but none of my loved ones.” his phone rang the same moment the lights to the entire airport shut off, encasing Stiles and the way black bled into her gold as the last image of her he’d see for a while. 

“What the hell,” Peter ground out as he answered his phone, lights back on and Stiles nowhere to be seen. “Is going on?”

“I assume you’ve met the Nogitsune, then.” Chris sighed through the phone, “Are you injured?”

“No,” what an insulting thought, “but I do believe that she agreed to a full possession just now.” a very sharp, angry ‘What?’ came from the backseat of whatever vehicle Chris was currently driving. “Nogitsune, then we’ll just need darling Alpha Scott McCall to bite her so we can recapture the Fox.” if only it had been that easy. Stiles, possessed or no, was still Stiles in that she took everything they knew and just flipped it right side down. 

“Oh,” the Void Stiles cooed, eyeing Peter with hunger and distaste. “You’re so lucky, little wolf, you have so much anguish and pain that I’d grow fat if I fed off of you.” she sighed, wicked gleam in her eyes glittering roughly against the low light in Derek’s loft. “Not my loved ones,” she mocked, irritation mixing like ash with her scent.

“Which is why you were able to break Noshiko’s tails, but now why you can’t hurt me, Jackson, or the twins.” gold eyes flicked to him at that, surveying his features for some hint of a lie before she broke out in a wide, malicious smile. 

“You don’t know. You didn’t leave the pack and Beacon Hills and her, because you didn’t know!” he hated that whatever he had said was the wrong thing, hated that it brought it such glee. “She was so sure! Beautiful, turgid little pieces to my game. Erica, tell him, tell him what little Stiles told you.” it was cooed in a faux sexy sneer with hands that were not supposed to be grabbing at her hips the way they were. 

“Stiles doesn’t love with just a little of her heart, she loves with everything she is. When she heard the story of how the twins were abused it reminded her too much of when her mother got sick and she vowed to give them a better chance at life, to show them kindness.” Erica began immediately, smile like poison when Void Stiles seemed to deflate with how easy she began spilling the secret. “She sees what she could’ve ended up as in Jackson, alone and trying hard to be noticed, to do everything perfectly. She hates that she sees that in him and hates that he hates her, but she still wants to show him that he’s enough.” Void actually looked a little angry at how easily these dark secrets were being exposed, even if the reactions of those around them would have normally satisfied it. “You, she would’ve helped you originally with your plan, Peter. She’s said so multiple times to anyone whose cared to listen to her. Then she fell in love with you, and you told her to fuck off.”

Void seemed energized at his reaction to that particular bit of information. When had she told him of her feelings? When had he told her to fuck off with said feelings? Why did his chest feel like it had dropped into his gut and his heart had stopped dead?

“She chose you.” Void cheesed, “She chose you but you didn’t choose her! Oh! She would’ve went insane before I’d even gotten a hold of her if she didn’t have her pack.” disgust was in its tone even as its eyes slipped to the doorway and it began grinning awfully when Noshiko and her daughter appeared. “Now it’s a party! Tell them, Noshiko, how you summoned me and then betrayed me, tell them how this was the necessary outcome!” it threw her arms wide in indication of the scene, it was then that Derek and Scott struck, resulting in Derek being thrown into a pillar and Scott latching onto his friends arm with his teeth. 

The oni appeared the moment Stiles’s skin dried up and cracked, advancing immediately on the downed girl before the Nogitsune could leave her. 

“No!” Peter roared, launching himself at one of them to buy her time. He didn’t think to do so he just naturally threw himself in front of her, threw himself at the danger so he could give her time. He couldn’t think about her confession, nor his denial of it, nor why he felt so fucking hollow. Chris and Deucalion immediately took up arms to assist while the twins - startled as they were - tried to launch themselves into the foray, slivers of pack bonds shimmering in their chests that felt so sweet they ached. 

Try as they might two Oni broke through just in time to place its hand into a fist by her face, catching the escaping Nogitsune Firefly. One Oni stayed behind as the rest converged into one to check Stiles, even as her skin began falling away like a clay outer layer to show a pink-skinned Stiles with frazzled hair and wide, tired gold eyes. 

Unlike the rest, however, it drew its knife down the length of Stiles’s bitten arm and promptly disappeared, leaving Stiles to fall to the ground and break the rest of the clay that had been around her body - including the mark that used to be on her arm. Scott’s bite, too, was gone, with no blood as evidence that it had ever been there in the first place. 

“Stiles!” Jeorek cried, clutching his daughter to his lap so he could search for a pulse and relaxing only when he found one. “C’mon baby girl, wake up.” he pleaded, tapping his fingers against her cheek a few times to bring the light back to her wide-open eyes. It didn’t sit right with Peter, seeing her looking up with dead eyes as if was a foreshadow into her future. He didn’t care that he was projecting his turbulent feelings to those around him, didn’t care that he knew this feeling as the panic and desperation he felt when his family had burned, knowing he felt no familial ties to the spark. 

“H-hey pop,” she greeted, voice raw and barely above a whisper.

[jackdawyt]

The final issue of Blue Wraith is here! And so is my breakdown and review!

Like both previous issues, we start with a flashback, this time we witness the very moment Leto became the Fenris we know today with his lyrium tattoos. As one of Danarius’s remaining slaves, Fenris is commanded to go into the lyrium sarcophagus with the compromise that his family will be freed. Something worth noting is that the sarcophagus requires a sword and lyrium to work, perhaps in the future, we may see this being used with red lyrium, or the red lyrium idol, not to mention, the red lyrium idol has it’s own ritual blade too. So, the idol could serve both purposes of fuelling this device.

We skip to the present day back in the Arlathan Forest, picking up from the last issue. Fenris, Vaea, Autumn, and Francesca are slaughtering their way through the Qunari forces, one of them killed Magister Nenealeus’s slaves, who had plenty of information about their magister’s whereabouts. Fenris goes slashy slash with his greatsword, Francesca uses her plant magic while Vaea kinda just watches the mayhem.

Meanwhile, the Qunari Viddasala escapes the scene, Vaea slightly touches Fenris on the back and immediately he turns to show her his rage, as she apologizes.

Following that, we shuffle to Ser Aaron, Calix, Marius and Tessa. Since the last issue, they had a lyrium-infused man explode whilst charging at them. Marius calls it a failed experiment, we can speculate this failure even further since the device was supposed to be used by elves, not humans.

The group discusses chasing after the Tevinter caravan, the very same envoy they’ve been following since issue one carrying the sarcophagus, on it’s way to Castellium Tenebris where another lyrium device potentially awaits them.

As a quick recap for the group’s mission objective. In the previous comic - Dragon Age Deception, Ser Aaron and company discovered that the ‘red lyrium imbued’ weapon they’re looking for on behalf of the Inquisition, was supposed to be at House Qintara’s estate in Ventus. However, an Agent of Fen'Harel impersonating the head of House Qintara sold this device to House Danarius at Castellium Tenebris in exchange for information. It must’ve been informed to die for because that agent was killed in the Qunari invasion, while the rest of the group escaped with an updated MO - get the weapon from Castellium Tenebris.

However, Casse, Ser Aaron’s horse is hurt, and can’t ride too well. Ser Aaron suggests that they need the help of Francesca and her magic. The group becomes impatient and decides to move on at a slower pace for Casse’s sake.

Shuffling back to Fenris, he apologizes for reacting to Vaea’s touch, saying that she bears no blame for not knowing his marks can cause pain when touched. He admits his angry reaction was influenced by losing the Viddasala. Since the group has no more leads to go on, they free the rest of Magister Nenealeus’s slaves and a little boy tells Fenris about a caravan heading to Castellium Tenebris. Fenris asks Autumn to track the Viddasala, and if Vaea and Francesca will join them.

Meanwhile, Ser Aaron and company are back on the road catching up to the caravan. Ser Aaron speaks with Calix on Casse’s origin, she used to belong to Grand Duke Gaspard. He called her Casse as if to say he was a broken thing. Before Gaspard could put her down, Ser Aaron stepped in and took the horse from him, he’s been with him ever since.

In a sudden hurry, a barrage of Qunari charge towards the group on horseback, the Viddasala and the rest of her forces that escaped Fenris’s blade. They too are after the caravan, seeking the lyrium sarcophagus.

Magister Nenealeus’s caravan pulls up to a cliff-side as they witness both the Qunari and Ser Aaron’s company mounted on horseback. Magister Nenealeus gathers his men and promises that for their sacrifices today, each Soporati who has magical capabilities will be elevated into a Laetan, a social level that is much more respected across the Imperium.

Shirallas, Fenris’s old elven companion, is seen on horseback working as Nenealeus’s new magekiller. However, he has not yet acquired his new lyrium tattoos through the sarcophagus like the other men. Instead, Magister Nenealeus has a worse scheme for the elf, he intends on putting Shirallas through the same sarcophagus process, however, using red lyrium instead, creating a never before seen red lyrium tattooed elven warrior. A worth opponent against Fenris.

Thus explains why Francesca’s father was needed for this experiment. He displays a speech for the soldiers, that their sacrifice will restore the Venatori, House Danarius, and House Nenealeus.

As Ser Aaron and Company are fighting the invading Qunari - Fenris, Vaea, Francesca and Autumn arrive at excellent timing! Autumn even gets a bloody kill. As the entire group charge ahead towards the caravan, the lyrium infused men reveal themselves.

The caravan leaves, as Francesca, using magic, grapples her father with a vine, ‘yeeting’ him off the caravan and to the ground. Fenris encounters Shirallas as he says he’s almost got the power he seeks, a power that only elves can handle. And a lyrium-infused man charges at Fenris and explodes.

As the Qunari add to the mixture of fighting, Calix admits he’d rather take cover than fight. Vaea and Ser Aaron tag team the battle, once more together again. The Qunari forces are surrounded by a group of lyrium-infused men, exploding their existence to smithereens.

The explosion leaves the forest desolate of life, Francesca finally gets the moment she was looking for, a confrontation with her father. She exclaims that she saved him, he picks himself up and smacks Franny across her face with his staff calling her a worthless child, shouting: “do you know what this cost me?”

This was his chance to restore the Venatori and the Invidus House, to reclaim their greatness. He asks where is Francesca’s brother as she lies on the ground. Vaea steps in and tells him that his son is dead and that his daughter was trying to save the only family she had left.

Magister Invidus attacks Vaea, calling her a knife-ear. He looks at Francesca and said the wrong child died. Fenris steps in to protect Francesca, holding his sword to his head saying that he will break the promise he made to Franny if he hurts anyone else again.

Magister Invidus turns around and says only my daughter would cut a deal with the Blue Wraith. As he attacks Fenris with his magic, and from what we can assume a red lyrium staff. As he summons a spell, Francesca yells for him to stop, she stands up and stabs her father in the heart with a vine spell. Instant death for Magister Invidus.

Fenris tells her she had no choice, while Vaea pushes him aside and weeps with Francesca, this panel truly is heart-wrenching and stunning showing the relationship growth of both characters.

Calix talks to Ser Aaron about not being built for any of this, he gives Francesca her gemstone back. He previously swindled this stone from her in Dragon Age: Deception. I feel this exchange shows the growth of Francesca since the previous comic and throughout all of Blue Wraith. She’s no longer that naive young lady, she’s found her own voice, made valuable friends and grown into the next heir of her house.

Francesca gives the gemstone back to Calix as he decides it’s time to leave the group, she tells him to take the stone to Fort Viridan, he’ll be granted safe access there. As everyone wishes him goodbye, we have the saddest of farewells. Autumn has a choice to make, does she go with Calix, or stay with Vaea and the rest. After a tear-jerker of a scene, Autumn stays with Vaea and squad.

Calix throws in a cheeky ’Princess Bride’ reference and Fenris joins the group even with his track record. He urges everyone that they’ve got to get to that sarcophagus before Shirallas uses it, while Vaea introduces him properly. Francesca heals Casse, and they all set out on the road to Castellium Tenebris, while Ser Aaron makes a comment about an adventure he had in the Dales traveling with elves who had dreams of restarting the Emerald Knights. As Ser Aaron tells his tale, the issue comes to an end.

Ending on a cliffhanger! Here’s hoping we’ll one day hear Ser Aaron finish this tale. There are so many things in this issue that demand another comic run, so we can get some answers!

All in all, Blue Wraith as an entirety has been perfect for me. As someone who grew distant with Fenris, it’s great to see him 10 years later with huge depth to his character, this comic has genuinely fleshed him out so much, and I respect him way more.

However, my favorite dynamic throughout the entire comic run has been Francesca and Vaea’s friendship. I’ve loved seeing these two characters start this adventure as strangers, and at the end of it, see them sharing emotional moments together as friends. I have grown to like and respect these characters as much as characters in the game, and because of that, I want to see their stories continue on.

Everyone involved in Blue Wraith has done a fantastic job, I listened to a recent podcast with Nunzio DeFillipis and his wife, Christina Weir and I noticed so many things I felt are worthwhile to share. 1st, Nunzio and Christina are truly delightful people, they shared about how writing Dragon Age comics has been a dream job for the two of them. You can tell from the way they talk about the franchise and BioWare, they love Dragon Age and are having an absolute blast creating these comics.

Although they’re building a future for the games with this red lyrium weapon plot and discovering  Castellium Tenebris’s secrets. These comics aren’t supposed to act as a prologue for Dragon Age 4, they’re about building the Dragon Age Universe and adding more lore and elements to it. So, yes they are helping the shape of what direction Dragon Age 4 may go in, but other than that, they’re just supposed to be fun! 2nd, these comics are created solely for filling the void of Dragon Age, establishing characters, locations, tones, even clothing styles.

So, even though we’re Dragon Age fans and we take everything too seriously, try not to with the comics just yet. At least until we have solid information on the next game.

With that, I would like to point out one negative thing about the recent comic runs, and that is the fact that they’re too short! With the long wait ahead for Dragon Age 4 ahead, having a five-issue comic with an issue popping once a month would help the wait for that game so much, that’s half a year of Dragon Age goodness. But I can understand why.

Regardless, that’s all I have to say on Blue Wraith, I eagerly look forward to the future, we know the writers are teasing another comic run and I know I speak for everyone when I say we’re just as eager for that too!

[victoriaholmeswriting]

Daughter of the Pearl

Chapter One: The Governor’s Ball

Read it on AO3!

Rating: M

Words: 2473

A/N: This fic (at least this chapter, anyway) is loosely inspired by the fic “Ballrooms and Battlefields” by @imaginepirates.  I highly recommend their fic; I absolutely adored it!!

A/N 2: This chapter is long, so buckle up!

The corset gripped her torso like an iron fist as (Y/N) Barbossa, the daughter of the much-feared pirate captain, walked up the stairs of Governor Swann’s mansion.  She was accustomed to binding her breasts everyday, but not her waist.  This was just ridiculous.  What were they thinking? Did fancy-to-do women not breathe?

She pushed the questions out of her mind.  The absurdities of the English Aristocracy did not matter at the moment.  She needed to concentrate on getting into this ball.

There was only one guard standing before the large double doors, but he looked to be in a rather unpleasant mood.  The redcoat scrutinized her with blood-shot eyes; eyes that told her the reason for his nasty demeanor -- a severe headache from last night’s indulgences.

“Where’s your escort, miss?” he asked as she reached him, cutting off the pleasantries she had prepared.

Using every ounce of self-restraint she had to continue smiling instead of rolling her eyes in the exact same manner as her father, she replied, “Surely, you will forgive the absence of my escort as my father is presently abroad.”

Lie with a hint of the truth and a bushel of confidence.  Her father’s teachings echoed in her head.  She had been quite young when he first told her this.  Now, she was almost better at lying than her father -- a fact that lead to a promise between them never to lie to the other.

The abrasive redcoat was still eyeing her suspiciously and trying to work through what to do with his mead-muddled brain, when a gruff voice intervened.  “An exception can be made under the circumstances, Private.”  A blonde man about her height with a cocky grin kissed her hand.  “Especially for a beautiful specimen such as this.”

This night was really going to test her patience and restraint.

“Thank you, lieutenant,” she said, glancing at his uniform and with  He’s your way in. Don’t stab him. He is your way in. Do. Not. Stab. Him. repeating in her head. 

The musicians struck up a new song.  It was beautiful with delicate emphasis on the cello.  A harmonious medley that was far from the chaotic hymns of Tortuga.  Several of the fancy-to-dos made their way to where the music must be coming from to dance.

The lieutenant followed her gaze and smirked.   “May I steal a dance from you?”  He still had hold of her hand.

She brightened her smile ever so subtly and took a slight step closer to him.  “I would be delighted!”  She most certainly was not, but she was better at hiding her ulterior motives than the man leading her to the ballroom, whose unsavory expectations were written so plainly they may as well have been written on a sign around his short neck.

“Arriving to the center of the room, the lieutenant abruptly pulled her flush to himself before starting to dance.  She concentrated hard on keeping her composure, though she was becoming increasingly uncomfortable.

Just this one dance, then I can mingle, get the information for Father and leave, she secretly fumed as he swung her around.

He pulled her close again, but, this time, the hand that pressed her against him was too low to be proper.  And she could feel him growing hard against her hips.

Fury boiled over -- throwing her cover out the window.  She shoved his chest wither her free hand, but his grip only tightened.  

“Let go of me,” she growled, a menace in her eyes that had sent pirates scuttling away.

“Now, now,” he threatened, “our dance is not quite done.”

“Oh, I would rather disagree.”

The lieutenant’s face blanched at the sound of the deep, polite voice laced with a careful amount of suave sarcasm.  He dropped his hands and hastily backed away.

A tall, handsome Royal Navy officer put himself between them.  He glared at the now cowering lieutenant with a rage he was struggling to contain.

“Cap-Captain,” stammered the slimy bastard.

Her eyes snapped up to the taller man.  Could this be the captain that has brought down so many pirates in recent years?  She took in his appearance, wanting to resign it all to memory so she could pass it off to her father later.  

Dark-brown hair; authoritative posture; stern, but handsome face; broad shoulders; pale, soft-looking skin; green eyes with a hint of grey like the sea during a storm….  

She shook the spiraling thoughts away.  Focus, Barbossa! There’s still a job to be done.

“Yes, that would be my title.”  The captain’s voice dripped with venom.  “Now, go patrol the fort before I...discover reason to demand your resignation.”

The lieutenant swallowed hard, taking a few steps back before turning on his heel and all but running out of the mansion.  The captain’s glare followed him until he was out of sight.

When he turned to face her, she was surprised by the dramatic shift in his expression.  The anger was still there, but it was overshadowed with concern and apology.  Those mesmerizing eyes were so honest -- almost vulnerable -- as he spoke.

“I am so sorry for my subordinate’s deplorable behaviour.”  His words were rushed and breathy.  “I swear I will deal with him later.  But….  Please, tell me how I can make amends to you.”

She was once again taken aback.  His genuine kindness and chivalry was something she had never experienced in a life of piracy.  She suddenly found herself deeply intrigued by the rather young captain and desperate to keep his company as long as possible.

“Dance with me,” she said, praying she didn’t sound as pathetic as she felt.

He blinked several times and furrowed his brow, looking like she had spoken to him in another language.  “I’m sorry?”

“Grant me a dance with my rescuer and all will be forgiven,” she bargained, mustering up her briefly forgotten confidence and adding the coy smile to match.

The kind, young face relaxed a bit, though he blinked several more times and studied her face carefully as if he would find something to indicate he’d misunderstood.

“Of course,” he agreed, deciding he had heard her correctly.  He tentatively held one hand out to her and waited for her to take it.

For the third time, she was completely stunned by the kindness displayed by the gentleman in front of her.  She asked him to dance with her, but he made no more towards her.  Instead, he waited for her to close the distance.  The stark difference between him and the bastard he’d sent running -- and most of the men she’d known in her life aboard the Pearl -- was astonishing.

A new song began, slightly jarring her back to where she was and why she was there.  She took his hand, marveling at how soft it was despite the calluses -- and how well hers fit into it.

Stepping towards him, she found breathing difficult in a way that had nothing to do with the corset.

“May I ask your name, miss?” he asked as they began to dance.

“You wish to know my name?” she questioned. Causing his brow to furrow again.

“Is that such an odd request?”  A hint of the snark she’d heard in his voice earlier returned beneath the polite concern, though it seemed more playful this time.

She shrugged as she moved around him, consciously concentrating on not getting distracted by the odd sensation growing in her chest.  “Well, I guess I shouldn’t be given how pleasantly opposite you are compared to my last dancing partner.”

Renewed disgust flashed like lightning in his stormy eyes.  “He didn’t even ask for your name?”  The question was forced through clenched teeth.

“Forgive my boldness, Captain, but I rather don’t think it was my name he was after.”  She dropped her gaze for a moment, pushing the thoughts conjured by that reality out.

The captain swallowed, his gaze becoming a bit distant.  “No, I don’t believe it was.”  He dropped his head, refusing to meet her eyes.

Gently, she placed a hand on his cheek, not caring how improper it might appear, and tilted his face so she could look him in the eyes.  “I am eternally grateful to you, Captain….”

“Norrington,” he finished.  “But, please, call me James.”  His face grew pink and warm beneath her palm.  The blush blossomed so far, she wondered if his chest had gone pink as well.

No! Do not think of that! You will soon be returned to the Pearl and he will be hunting your kind.

But that feeling in her chest blazed brighter as a small, beautiful smile tentatively appeared on his face, relaxing the clenched jaw.  Everything about him seemed to relax with her touch.

“Thank you, James,” she breathed, heart fluttering.  “My name is (Y/N).”

The beautiful smile grew.  “It was my honour, (Y/N).”

The music stopped.

People moved past hem, some casting scrutinizing looks their way, as the musicians laid down their instruments and excused themselves for a brief respite.

(Y/N) dropped her hand (noting with silent glee the disappointment that replaced it); James took a step back that looked to have physically pained him.  

He opened his mouth to say something.  (Y/N) perked up; a deep desire to hear whatever he had to say filled her very being.

“Captain Norrington!”  A scrawny, curly-headed servant boy ran up to him.  The top of his head hardly cleared James’ elbow.  She would have found him adorable if she did not despise him for the intrusion.

“What?” James snapped at the boy.

The boy froze in alarm, eyes wide.  “G-Governor Swann wishes to speak to you about Tortuga, sir.”

James’ eyes shot from the boy to (Y/N).  They bore into her, clearly looking for some recognition or revelation born from the boy’s words in her features.  Of course, she knew about Tortuga -- in fact, she had been there many times and she knew her father was planning to go there for supplies upon their departure from Port Royal.

Could this be the raid Father caught wind of?  She suddenly realized Captain Norrington might hold the information she’d donned the bloody corset for.

She needed to play her cards well.

(Y/N) allowed her brows to knit ever so slightly as she feigned ignorance.  “Tortuga?  Sounds rather odd.  What is it?”

James said nothing for a moment as he considered her, but must have come to the conclusion that he could trust her.  

Fool.

He sighed and addressed the boy first.  “Very well, run along, I shall join him presently.”

James looked around before stepping closer again and speaking so that only she could hear.  “Tortuga is a notorious pirate town not all that far from here.  I will be leading a raid on the town in search of known pirates and other such heathens to bring them to justice.

(Y/N) admired the man in a new light upon hearing this whispered declaration.  This was indeed the ruthless young officer flying through the ranks, taking down countless pirates as he went.  The handsome, kind gentleman was the stone-hearted pirate hunter whose rumored raid had inspired Captain Barbossa to send his beloved daughter to this ball.

But the man studying her features for any sort of reaction was not so cold as the stone-hearted bastard she’d heard stories of in recent years.  She had seen the blinding rage and sense of heroics to be sure, but this man’s heart was not stone.  Of that, she was quite sure.

She smiled sadly, placing a hand on his upper arm.  “I shall pray for your safe return, James,” she promised sincerely, gently caressing his arm.

His beautiful smile returned, brighter than before.  “May I be so bold as to hope for another dance after I have spoken to the governor?”

“I would be delighted!” she answered sweetly, concealing the confusing pain that constricted her heart.  Why did it suddenly hurt so much to lie to him -- someone she hardly knew?

No.  That was the thing.  She truly did wish to dance with him again.  But now that she had the information she came for, she needed to get back to the Pearl.  It would be best to set sail while the ball was still in full swing.  That was the plan. She knew that.  She helped develop that plan.  So, why was she now hesitating?

Pull yourself together! You are a Barbossa and, if he knew that, he’d arrest you or even kill you right here and now! 

Wouldn’t he?

She forced her mind to shift back to the task at hand as James beamed at her before excusing himself to answer the governor’s summons.

Once he was out of sight, her smile dropped, no longer caring to keep up appearances.  She wandered for a few moments before locating the door to the garden and slipping outside.

The garden was vast with high walls and hedges, but a stretch of wall directly to the left of the door had vines that would be easy to scale.  Laughter drifted from somewhere to the west, but there was no one in sight.

Careful as to not make a sound, she tore the heeled shoes off her screaming feet and stashed them under the nearest bush.  The stockings were resigned to the same fate.

“(Y/N)?”  Her spine went rigid at the sound of James’ confused voice.

She turned to face the gentleman that had so captured her intrigue without any façades or barriers, unwilling to lie to him further when it was no longer necessary.  Her favoured dagger was cold against her thigh, but she had no desire to reach for it.

James looked between her, the stashed articles, and the wall she’d hardly made two paces towards.  “What are you doing?”

The hurt in his voice mirrored the expression on his handsome face.  Guilt bubbled within her, adding itself to the myriad of other confusing feeling that began upon their meeting.

All false pretenses of propriety gone, she stepped right up to him and placed a hand on his cheek.  He stiffened, but leaned into it, almost subconsciously, as he waited with furrowed brows for an answer that would never come.

She caressed his face with her thumb.  “I hope we will meet again someday, Norrington.”

Before James could respond, she’d closed the distance between them, meeting his soft lips with hers.

He hesitated for a brief moment before surrendering to the kiss.  It was gentle and sweet.  Neither wanted it to end.

But just as quickly as it started, so the kiss came to an abrupt end.

Captain James Norrington stood there, stunned; only opening his eyes in time to see the first woman to get past his barriers dropping over the wall -- her face alight with adventure...and something else he couldn’t quite name.

Tags: @madshelily @klinenovakwinchester @tesserphantom @josiecarioca

[jeanstoppable]

10TH OF OCTOBER

~keep a place for me~

The shifter girl kept finding her, probably already had her scent down and was purposely showing up at the spots she frequented—for what reasons? She didn’t know. Was it troublesome? Most definitely. Even scaring her didn’t work, the girl would always bounce back and even more so determined. Her persistence was giving Gabrielle all kinds of headaches one can experience.

So, she figured to stalk the shifter one day.

Gabrielle blew off a stray hair as she crouched on a tree branch whilst hiding behind it’s thick foliage, providing a pretty nice hiding spot way above ground. She peeped through the small spaces between the leaves and silently observed the girl below.

The shifter was on one knee, inspecting something on the ground and then jerked her head up, seemingly sniffing the air around her.

Interesting.

Gabrielle had never seen a shifter do their version of a hunting, rather she more or less didn’t care at all what they did. Beyond curious, she leaned forward unconsciously and...

Creak.

The girl whipped her head around at record-breaking speed, eyes narrowing and glaring towards where Gabrielle was at. Her arm startlingly disappeared and luckily enough, Gabrielle managed to dodge the sailing projectile that appeared out of nowhere—did she throw a damn rock?—leaving a scratch on the tree’s surface.

Alarmed, Gabrielle shifted to another position—

and made the mistake of landing on a light branch.

SNAP!

Body lurching backwards, Gabrielle tried to stop the descent by grabbing anything she could reach but failed as her vision was momentarily blinded by the leaves. A shocked cry broke free from her throat.

And then—

What the…? I didn’t hit the ground, did I?

Gabrielle slowly fluttered her lids open, as if in a daze, and found herself staring at those glowing honey orbs that haunted her as of late and noted that they seemed much brighter tonight. Seconds after, she only now came to the realisation that both of their faces were only a couple inches apart.

Regardless of the fact, it still didn’t stop Gabrielle from dropping her gaze down to their lips. She didn’t know why they were so transfixing at that moment and at the same time a strange feeling surged in her veins, mimicking the strong impulse she gets before a feeding.

But she fed already so what’s this...hunger?

Those lips parted and a gentle purr followed, “Are you just going to stare or are you going to do something?”

Gabrielle blinked and then a mortified expression overwhelmed her features.

“You seem comforta—“

Gabrielle hauled ass out of those awfully sturdy arms and tumbled on the cold ground with the grace of a three year old.

“Crap!” Exclaiming in pain as she landed wrong on her arm, thinking she must’ve sprained it, all while trying to stifle her small and short grunts.

Please don’t notice. Please don’t say anything.

“HOLY!”

Great.

“Are you okay?” The shifter asked, going down on one knee again as her hands automatically reached forward to help but suddenly stopped and was just awkwardly waiting in the air, hesitant to touch her without permission.

Gabrielle brushed the gesture off and sat up, wincing a little as she cradled her hurt arm close to her chest. Meanwhile, avoiding the girl’s piercing gaze, that might as well leave a sizable hole if she didn’t stop, and felt her cheeks flame in embarrassment. She shut her eyes and fervently wished—someone please take her out of her misery—and kept quiet.

“Um…”

“Just leave me alone, Copper.” Gabrielle finally snapped, tired and humiliated, influencing her words that were much harsher than she had intended it to.

It seemed like forever when she thankfully heard the rustling of clothes.

“Open your hand.” Copper suddenly said and from her tone, she could tell the shifter was a bit miffed.

“Didn’t I tell you—“

Something hit her on the shoulder.

Confused, Gabrielle peeked at what it was and was left stunned to discover a white bandage roll, partially unraveled. Her eyes jerked upwards, a refusal for help ready on her tongue—because dammit she really didn’t want any of it—only for the shifter to...disappear?

What an enigma.

Gabrielle thought as she stared hard at the abandoned bandage on the grass and gradually picked it up, uncertain if she should use it or just leave it there.

She did tell her to get lost, at the very least—

Gabrielle decided she didn’t want to deny it anymore. It would be far too ungrateful, and besides, she really did need it.

Just this once.

. . .

Once became a few times and then a few more times, then a few times too many.

“Don’t you get tired of this?”

“Of what?”

“...Me.”

Copper only laughed and shook her head as if she found the question silly.

“I couldn’t stop even if I tried.”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

After that, she started looking at her in a new light—a better one.

. . .

She’d surprised her yet again when Gabrielle found her at the top of a tall tree that looked over the gloomy lake just a distance from the academy. It was foggier than usual so the view wasn’t that great, but it makes you focus more on the moon though.

“I’m offended you didn’t tell me.” Copper pouted, swinging her legs to and fro, eyes never straying from the view.

“...You never asked.” Gabrielle pulled herself up the last branch and settled for standing, instead of sitting, beside the girl.

“From now on then.” Her voice was light yet showed signs of weariness, “I’d like you to keep a place for me.”

Bold. If there was one word to describe Copper, it would be safe to say that she’s very, very bold.

In fact, she’d mentioned it to her in the past on multiple occasions and the girl merely thanked her as if it was a compliment every single time. Perhaps now, Gabrielle can see that while it’s a particularly hard trait to deal with, it was also endearing.

At first, Gabrielle was unsure about letting her find out about the secret spots she liked to keep to herself and sometimes share with her twin—yet in the end, she agreed to it.

A tiny part inside couldn’t help but pick on Copper a bit though, “You’d invite yourself anyway, no matter what I answer.”

Her laugh rang pleasantly in the air, “Looks like I’ve done you in already.”

Perhaps she had, and Gabrielle had no idea.

. . .

“You’re late.”

She rolled her eyes, a cheeky smile shaping her lips. “I’m guessing you like keeping me on my toes, Gabrielle. This spot was pretty hard to find.”

“Losing your touch, Copper?”

“Shut up.” She grumbled, making the other one chuckle in amusement.

The shifter faced away, muttering under her breath about how the Night Stalker kind was dreadful company and went on and on and on. It brought a genuine smile to Gabrielle’s lips after hearing her familiar chatter. Although several seconds later, those chatterings stopped and the air was oddly silent.

“...Um, hey.” Copper’s voice was kind of subdued, speaking in a hushed tone all of a sudden.

The mood instantly sobered.

Raising her guard up, Gabrielle asked with pinched brows, “What is it?”

Copper didn’t reply right away. The other would have tried to read her expression but since her back was to her, she couldn’t see what face the shifter’s wearing now.

Then, softly she asked her a question.

“When will you call me by my first name?”

Gabrielle turned mute.

“You know what?” Copper suddenly blurted out loud, her sentence coming out shakily. “You talking to me is enough and I...I—forget I ever said anything.” The shifter was racking her brain for anything, any subject that she can steer the conversation towards even if it was abrupt—

“Would you like me to?”

Copper’s knees threatened to give out but forcefully pushed on as she turned around at a steady pace and finally met Gabrielle’s gaze, looking sheepish and hopeful and nervous and somehow all at once.

“Okay.” Gabrielle nodded calmly.

Still feeling like she’d forced it on her, Copper added and insisted at the last moment, “...You don’t have to. Copper’s fine as it is.”

Let’s just move on and...

“Valerie.”

Copper’s eyes bulged out, her jaw went slack and then promptly closed it, a rush going straight to her head and a pleasant feeling spread throughout her whole body down to her toes.

“Again, please.” She sounded small yet the request was bold.

Gabrielle decided to humor her as she leaned back against the tree trunk, “Valerie. Valerie. Valerie.” She repeated the name as many times as she wanted and then when her eyes swiveled back—

Those honey orbs shone. Brilliantly. Blazingly. They were simply mesmerizing and if she wasn’t careful, Gabrielle could mistaken them as jewels. As stars.

“You’re way too happy about this...” She broke off the eye contact, secretly trying to get her heartbeat under control.

Valerie laughed again and this time it lingered in the air, “You have no idea.”

. . .

You said to keep a place for you. And I did, I searched and I kept and then searched again and again until I ran out of places to give you.

So, tell me. Where else? Because surely you know that my heart’s already taken, so I cannot keep a place for you there if you have it wherever you are and wherever you go.

Then...how about you keep a place for me instead?

“I couldn’t stop even if I tried.”

Ah, so you have since the beginning?

. . .

EXTRA:

here’s some general info about what supernatural beings they are—

Night Stalkers aren’t strong but they’re incredibly agile and have swift reflexes, allowing them to surprise their prey. Although if they lose their element of surprise, they have to be very careful with their attacks because if they fail, their next movements should be ones that offer escape.

Essentially vampires, their eyes turn red in the night to adjust to the darkness but in the daylight, they’re normal eye colors. Other details to be specified later.

On the other hand, Shifters have two types: Full Shifters and Half-Shifters, the former can transform into their animal bodies while the latter can only adapt animal-like features and their movements, some are granted brute strength and are a fearsome kind to cross. But there exists peaceful shifters as well. Other details to be specified.

💖HAPPY BELATED INTERNATIONAL LESBIAN DAY💖

(A/N: oh wow, i had so much fun writing this, so much fun and I think the words just flowed in this one and my fingers were moving across the keys—okay um so! Yesterday’s prompt was about these two, and today’s prompt is all about how their feelings slowly evolved. It’s getting there, I would have loved to add in more scenes in this but it’ll be too long again so maybe next time! No art but maybe tomorrow? :> hope yall enjoyed this as much as I have, PEACEEE)