#but yeah I figured puppy smell would attract creatures

[blackbackedjackal]

The reason I got a big dog became abundantly clear all of 2 seconds ago when a creature was scratching at my door and scared Blue.

[lokislastlove]

Come One, Come All (dark!Loki x reader)

Summary: A girls night out to the fair takes an insidious turn.

Warnings: Noncon/Rape, knife play, oral (m&f), smut, bondage, kidnapping.

This is a dark fic! 18+ ONLY! Explicit Adult content. Please READ THE WARNINGS! Do not continue if these matters upset you!

Authors Note: I wrote another one! No idea where this came from, but it was fun to write. Still working on improving my smut, huge thanks to @darkficsyouneveraskedfor for some tips and editing the shit out of it. 😘 also I know there is a creepy clown in the pic but I feel like I have to say there aren’t any clowns in the fic. I hate clowns.

Chapter 1:

It was the kind of summer night you dream about, warm enough to keep you comfortable in your shorts and peasant top, but with a light breeze that keeps you cool enough to fight the flush of alcohol in your veins. You look forward to these moments when you are able to go out with your girlfriends and let loose, forgetting about all life’s responsibilities, if just for a single night.

“Come on!” Ash calls over her shoulder, her hand tight around your wrist pulling you impatiently.

“Aww but that looks so good” you groan as you press your face longingly against the glass barrier of the hand dipped corn dog cart.

The sweet scent of the frying corn dough wafts tantalizingly through the air making your mouth water. You friends laugh at your theatrics, having just helped you scarf down a large sugary funnel cake and a platter of nachos, the evidence of which still stains the corner of your mouth. Really, it was their fault for getting you tipsy before taking you to the county fair, everything just smelled heavenly and if you could you would try one of everything.

“Just a slushee?!” You beg as Jen steps behind you and pushes you out of the food court, giggling the entire time.

“Come on, fight the drunchies! You promised you would try that new funhouse,” Jen whines, looping her arm through yours, Ash doing the same on the other side.

“Oh yeah,” you grumble.

“Oh stop it” Ash scolds playfully. “Everyone at work keeps talking about it - it’s like a mini escape room! And I’ve always wanted to do one, please.” She rants excitedly before giving you her best puppy dog eyes.

“Ugh that’s cheating. No one can resist those big brown eyes” you pout, but yield as easily as they knew you would.

“I know” Ash smirks, tossing back her long silky black hair over her slender shoulder.

“This is gonna be so much fun, I promise” Jen bumps your hip, giving you a wide encouraging smile.

You manage a strained grin as you let them lead you through the crowd. It’s not that you don’t like funhouses or the idea of doing an escape room, having always loved solving riddles and doing puzzles. It’s just you don’t like clowns, and every funhouse in your experience has at least one.

“Oh damn there’s a line!” Jen moans as you all stop in front of a large structure covered in flashing lights, the ominous ‘Tricksters Trap’ bathing your face in a violent red glow.

Garish contrasting colors somehow both attract your eye and make it hard to look at. Your pupils dilate with the lines of fluorescent bulbs burning into your retinas. The stereotypical circus music blares through the cheap speakers, reminding you of one of those old Jack in the box toys. And of course, without fail, was the obligatory clown statue hanging over the entrance, like some creepy sentinel there to guide you to your inevitable demise.

“Ugh fucking clowns” you grimace as you pass by the entrance, heading toward the end of the line.

“Yeah they definitely nailed the creep factor,” Jen agrees, her eyes shining with nervous excitement.

“I know isn’t it great?!” Ash squeals.

You stand there taking in the horrific detailing painted on the side of the metal structure. You are thankful when Ash explains there is a time limit, only ten minutes to complete the puzzle or else they kick you out and you have to try again. If you figure out the puzzle you get to leave through the mirror maze and you earn the coveted “I tricked the Trickster” sticker.

“Gotta get that sticker, or else that bitch Katie at work will never let me forget that she got one and I didn’t” Ash complains, causing you and Jen to share a look and snicker.

“Hey! Don’t laugh, this is serious! We gotta be smart and figure this out, failure is not an option” she urges dramatically before collapsing into drunken giggles with you and Jen.

“You ladies seem eager to prove yourselves,” slithers a low voice.

Startled you gasp and spin around quickly. The three of you look up at the tall lean figure standing behind you. He wears a perfectly tailored black ensemble, that matches the color of his slicked back hair. His eyes practically glow green against his alabaster complexion. His sharp cheekbones and angular jaw make your breath hitch, causing his thin lips to curve into a sinister smirk. He is stunning.

“Um, yeah. Well this place has the whole town buzzin’. Seems like everyone is talking about it” Jen is the first to speak.

“Ah I see. Wouldn’t want to miss your chance to take a stab at it” the mysterious man surmised, eyes focused on you.

“We got this shit. Right guys?” Ash assures him as she playfully smacks you and Jen.

“Well, I guess we’ll find out. Good luck,” he challenges with a raise of a brow.

You stare after him as he saunters away without another word. His hips and shoulders sway smoothly, his soft footsteps giving him a dangerous almost feline vibe, like he could rival even the most deadly of predators. As he turns to round the corner of the ride he takes one last look over his shoulder at you. Your eyes lock for only a fraction of a second but it’s enough to send a chill down your spine.

“That was weird, right?” You mutter, eyes still transfixed where he disappeared.

“Eh, just another creepy dude. If I had a nickel for every weirdo who tries to chat me up…” Jen jokes.

“You’d have like a whole 50 cents,” sasses Ash.

You are finally broken from your daze when Ash is pushed into you. You laugh and try to brush off the lingering effect of the handsome stranger, shifting your focus back to your friends. The line goes by quicker than expected, with only one group out of the three ahead of you making it out with stickers. The losing groups return to the line from a back door, bickering about where they went wrong.

Finally it is your turn. Ash claps her hands excitedly, dancing up the metal stairs to the costumed man at the entrance. His red and white stripped suit is expertly torn and painted with fake blood to make him look as intimidating as possible. With a tip of his top hat he welcomes the three of you and begins to explain the rules in his well practiced accent.

“Come one come all to the Tricksters Trap, if you’re feeling lost, just go find the map.” He sings with flair and a perfectly timed bow, directing you to the inauspicious black door.

Taking a deep breath you follow your squealing friends into the darkened hallway. Pausing to look back as the door creaks shut, cutting off the jovial sounds of laughter and chatter with a sudden slam. You flinch at the loud noise and turn back to the dim hallway. The short corridor is lined with wall to wall green velvet curtains barely visible with the green rope lights running along the ceiling.

“Guys?” You whisper when you don’t see them next to you, causing your heart rate to quicken

You call for them again, this time louder, your feet unwilling to move from the spot. It has only been thirty seconds and you are already about to call it quits. Get a grip. You take a hesitant step forward.

“You guys?!��� You call shakily.

“Hey! Come on we found the map!” Jen pokes her head from around the corner at the end of the hall.

She disappears just as quickly, waving her arm for you to follow. You breathe a sigh of relief and rush after her. You enter a large room filled with all sorts of random objects. It’s as if it is designed to overload your senses. The green from the hall carried on into the room, more velvet green curtains hung on the walls that were not obstructed by shelves of books or other oddities. You saw everything from perfectly aligned glass jars filled with alien looking creatures, grandfather clocks, to treasure chests overflowing with grizzled toys.

Jen and Ash are hunched over a table with a map spread out smoothly. It was easy enough to see it was a map of the room and hallway, with what appeared to be three small rooms hidden along the wall behind the heavy green drapery. You go over and pull back a curtain and find a locked door, the other two also hiding a locked door.

“Ok so it looks like we gotta find a way to open these doors” you offer, your anxiety calming a bit as you focus on the mystery at hand.

“Hey look there is some sort of code over here by the lock on the door.” Ash hollers excitedly.

You each pick a door code and frantically search the room. It doesn’t take long for you to figure out you need to use the books on the large shelf along one wall. The first number tells you the book the second refers to a specific page. You find a slip of paper in the book with a riddle written in a blood red ink.

“I make two people out of one” You read aloud.

“You can hold me in one hand, but I’m used to fill the room” Ash reads hers, her face twisting in concentration.

You both look to Jen, “I have two hands, but I can’t clap.”

“Damn no wonder so many people failed, definitely wish I wasn’t drunk right now” Ash laughs.

“No no we can do this, it’s probably items in the room so let’s just focus. We’ll do one at a time.” You assert, pacing the room and trying to take in all the random objects.

“Two hands…” you mutter as you stop in front of a large grandfather clock. “Clocks have hands!” You yell excitedly and open the narrow door.

The heavy pendulums swing inside and you see a shining silver glint off the rounded golden end. You pull off the small silver key, stuck on by a tiny magnet, and jump in excitement.

“Holy crap! You’re a genius!” Jen exclaims running over to take the key and try it in the door.

The key slides in smoothly and the door opens with a gratifying click.

“Woo! Keep going, you are on a roll!” Ash claps as she cheers you on.

“Ok, ok” you giggle before taking a deep breath. “Two people out of one… maybe a camera? Or wait…” you realize as you stare at Ash currently checking her makeup in an antique mirror hung between two curtains.

“Ash! Try pulling on that mirror!” You yell pointing frantically at the mirror in front of her.

Her brows knit together briefly before understanding, grabbing the frame and tugging gently until it swings open, revealing a key hung on the wall.

“Yes!” You all shriek together.

Suddenly, the lights flicker and a loud maniacal cackle reverberates through the surround sound speaker, turning your elation into yelps of surprise.

“Two minutes left” a familiar polished voice echoes forebodingly throughout the room.

“Shit, that scared the crap out of me” Jen laughs clutching at her chest.

The warning gives you pause, managing to shift the spirit of the whole room. Ash giggles nervously as she watches the lights of the room transition from their previous dim yellow light to a menacing red hue. The mood lighting in addition to the increasing volume of the horror soundtrack playing over the speaker helps to put you back into your initial anxious state.

“Seriously? Is this fucking necessary?” You curse, shaking your head.

“Ok let’s get the last one guys! We can still do this!” Jen yells through the cacophony of sound effects.

“Yeah what can we fit in our hand but somehow also fills the room?” Ash reiterated the final riddle.

“These red lights make it so much harder to see” Jen complains bitterly as she rummages through the items inside a large chest.

“Lights… Jen that’s it! A lightbulb!” A smile breaks out on your face as you figure out the final clue.

“Look up there!” Ash points to a solitary darkened light bulb screwed into the ceiling.

“I got it.” Jen jumps onto the table and reaches up, unscrewing it quickly. “There is a key inside!” She shouts.

She unscrews the bottom of the fake lightbulb and received the key before handing it to Ash. Each of you run over to the corresponding doors and turn the key, squealing in delight when they all slide open.

“Is that it?” Jen asks looking into the cramped dark space behind the door.

It was little more than a closet. Barely enough room for each of you to stand in. You were at a loss. You could have sworn that would be the end.

“Guys there is a lever here on the back wall of mine, how about yours?” Ash’s muffled voice calls from inside her closet.

“Oh yeah mine too!” Jen replies.

“Do you think we have to pull them at the same time? ‘Cus mine did nothing when I tried it” Ash says poking her head out to look at you.

“Thirty seconds!” That haunting voice booms again as a tick clock sounds through the speakers, counting down your final moments.

“Ok let’s try it together!” You nod at both of them, before stepping into the tight dark space.

“THREE! TWO! ONE!” You shout, mirroring your friends calls, pulling down your lever with a snap.

There is a moment of silence as the lights of the room behind you suddenly go dark, the music and sound effects cutting off instantly.

“Did we get it?!” You yell.

You don’t get the chance to hear your friends response as the wood door slams behind you, locking you into the small space.

Tags: @darkficsyouneveraskedfor @caffiend-queen

[shtern-and-art]

"Skeppy will probably cry" "Bad will probably cry". Bish, screw, that I am crying!!!

This whole thing was bloody gorgeous and I wasn't expecting that ending. I had no clue what ending to expect but that was definitely better than any I could have hoped for. Forest spirit to soulmate your honour!

I was terrified that you were gonna leave it at the point where he loses the spirit and becomes mortal again. If you had I would be actively sobbing!!!! And oh my god, the art!!! I still can't get over how wonderful your style is.

Imma ask fun things because if I don't I'll sit in a puddle of emotion all night:

What's the first tech thing Bad will buy and how annoying will he be about it? Poor Skeppy trying to answer 101 questions about something he doesn't really use XD.

Is no one concerned that the odd couple from a town they never name has a pet wolf??

Do they immediately go over to a different town or do they wander for a while. Find hidden creeks and befriend bears?

Does Bad still have a connection to nature and animals, like are creatures naturally more trusting of him?

Do they ever visit the og town again?

Does Skeppy still cause absolute chaos in other towns or has he learnt his lesson and only causes minor trouble now?

Does Bad ever try and study again? If he did what would he study and would Skeppy try to study as well?

Does Skeppy steal? I dunno, he just give off the vibe of a naughty lil trickster who'll pocket something if the owner refuses to sell it him.

Immediately after leaving the forest what the first 'argument' they have (not including the car one)?

Would they ever ride horse? If yes, how terrified would Skeppy be?

Skeppy falls outta tree. I don't know why but my mind keeps telling me that this man has great balance until he climbs trees. They are his mortal enemy and Bad finds this both hilarious and terrifying because he is going to hurt himself.

I had waaaaay more questions than I intended to have. My bad '^_^ but this story was way too much fun to read and you are entirely to blame for making it so engaging!

Make sure to take care of yourself and do stretches after and during drawing. You don't wanna hurt yourself <3

AaaaI’m so glad you liked it! :D And, dang, man, I cried while writing that part too :D

And I promised a nice ending for the main story, I did, and this one also makes the most sense narratively! For the story I wanted to tell, at least. Bad can’t really become human again, he’s changed to much. He can only move on, and do something with what he is, and has. And he did! :D That’s really nice and inspiring, this story will always have a place in my heart, heheh <3

Being a guardian spirit connected to a person and all, Bad may be not as strong as before, but he can’t die unless Skeppy dies first. And Skeppy can do that, but he’s pretty sturdy, and his lifespan operates on a whole other scale than human ones. And Bad knowing Skeppy’s real name balances it all out, makes them equal in the power and influence they have over each other.

So hellyeah, soulmates for the win :DDD

I’ll answer all questions under the cut, and this close up from one of the pages!

1) What's the first tech thing Bad will buy and how annoying will he be about it?

Probably a pager! Because it’s a more feasible thing to get than a wholeass computer Bad actually wanted :D An it means Skeppy will have to get one too, and that Bad will be having the time of his life texting him and everyone he can get a number from, even if they’re still in the room with him.

Poor Skeppy indeed, he can learn to appreciate the pagers, and later phones, too, and computers, but he really has 0 idea on how it all works and why Bad is so fascinated by it all.

2) Rat and regular people

Oh, she can shapeshift, just like Bad! If they’re out with people around, she takes form of a puppy, and Bad can pass her off as a weird mix breed rescue doggo.

3) Do they immediately go over to a different town or do they wander for a while?

Oh, since they have no end destination in mind, they can ride around for a bit, go visit some cool places and roadside attractions. Sadly, Skeppy is probably not spiritually or morally ready to full on befriend wild bears yet, and they do need money for gas and snacks. So, at some point they will have to stop somewhere and find work – at least for a bit, to save up. Life’s gonna be a bit complicated with all that, until Skeppy figures out his treasure-finding abilities :DD

4) Bad and nature and animals

He is definitely still in tune with all wildlife! Even more – Bad could become a proper guardian spirit for Skeppy in part because, in a way, Skeppy himself is part of the nature.

So yeah, Bad can understand animals (and plants) and communicate with them; they’re just more free to not take his shit, and Bad’s emotions do not “possess” them unless he makes an effort to do so.

He doesn’t like doing it, tho.

5) Do they ever visit the og town again?

Hm, I think they will completely forget about it for a while, until, like, 30+ years later they will be going somewhere, and find themselves around those parts. And they try to not appear too often in the areas they’ve spent a lot of time in already (they can be pretty recognizable, and also barely show signs of aging). But it’s been a long time, and the town’s really different now… So they make a stop, and spend a day there. They walk the unfamiliar streets between the new buildings, check out the popular hiking trail, the advertisements for hot springs and winter activities. The old cinema is still there, and is hosting an all-night marathon of classic horror movies of the last century.

Bad and Skeppy leave the town after sunset – the day was nice, but they have nothing more to do there. They ride through the forest on a well paved road, with radio playing something barely above the whisper. And in the dark of hot summer night, Bad can see the white stag running between the trees alongside their car. Shadows dance over the shimmering light of it’s fur.

Somewhere after the towns border, the stag disappears back in the forest. But the air in the car stays light and fresh, saving the smell of old pines and dry leaves all though the night.

6) Skeppy and chaos

Well, after the whole mess in the main story, Skeppy definitely learned some lessons, especially about not being a dick :D

But the thing is – he can’t really help the fact that things tend to stir up around him a lot. He naturally brings in chaos into everything, because he is, in part, a personification, or an outlet for it in the world. And so, to feel, well and good, and himself Skeppy gotta do stuff that disrupts balance, and creates some mayhem. And in gave him a lot of trouble in early life, but in the course of the main story he learned that he can chose were he lets that chaos to take hold, learned what can come of that chaos, apart from utter misery.

Like, where it can help dismantle something destructive, and where – bring in the more positive change, that was already brewing, possible, but is stagnant for some reason.

Soooo, I can’t say Skeppy causes only minor chaos in his life, but he sure learns even more about not being a dick :DDDD

7) The studying

I think Bad will want to get a higher education at some point, because he wanted to, and because it’s already new millennia and all that. Bet he’ll go for something very technical and/or literature. Maybe he’ll start by piking up some classes in small time colleges, when they stop in one place for a while, and later get into an online program, because why not.

Skeppy is not a college guy at all. He’ll listen to Bad talk about it, read textbooks if he wants to, can research stuff, buuut going to classes and doing homework is definitely not his thing.

8) Stealing

Well, you’re right, Skeppy can and will steal stuff out of spite! And will be scolded by Bad for it, and will not feel (that) sorry about it. But real stealer between them will be Bad himself :D

It’s just… he has the corvid tendencies, and a hoard (a box) of sentimental mementos from different people and events, and the thrill of stealing something small and harmless is very exciting. Bad is very proud of his little collection. Skeppy finds it very adorable, a bit hypocritical, and kinda creepy. Like, that pretty box he gifted Bad at some point is now full of stuff like:

- pressed flower from the clearing they had a picnic at on their anniversary

- the button the waitress lost that one day the storm caused a black out in the whole town

- some small animal bones

- couple pretty rocks Bad stole from Skeppy’s pockets

- penny that was once glued to the ground

- a handful of teeth people (and not people) lost in fights with Bad

- pen from some fancy hotel

- rainbow dash keychain that belonged to a child

- the list goes on

9) Argument

Oh, that same day they’ll fight over whether they should stay at the really crappy and suspicious looking motel, or go sleep in a perfectly fine forest near the road. Ironically, Bad wanted to try out the motel (because, yay, first time spending the night back in civilization), and Skeppy was the one insisting on sleeping in nature (because the motel looks like it could give you 10 diseases if you even stand near it, and sleeping in the forest is kind of nice, and means they can cuddle).

10) Horses

The guys will probably ride them at some point. Well, Bad will ride, and Skeppy will sit on his horse and hope it knows what to do and where to go, because trying to make this giant thing do something seems dangerous. If they’ll have to actually go somewhere fast, Skeppy will not survive that day, his butt (and legs) will be dead for days to come.

And riding with Bad on one horse may sound romantic and nice, but all romance dies when the gallop starts.

F.

11) Skeppy and climbing

Skeppy is more down to earth kind of guy, more of a “rocks and caves” kind of creature, real-life lizard person or something. Up on the trees and in the air – not really his element, yeah. But it doesn’t mean that Skeppy will accept this fact easy. The embarrassment of never managing to safely make it down a tree is too strong, he just has to do it all over again, and again. And again. Because, clearly, he was distracted this time. And the time before that Bad was teasing him, and it “disrupted his flow”. And, really, maybe these trees here just do not like Skeppy much, and make him slip a lot. Yeah.

So, more often than not, if Skeppy climbs a tree, he will not stop climbing it until he falls, or the tree ends. Bad had to take him off high branches couple times, forcefully, because, of course, Skeppy was sitting there for 2 hours just to properly enjoy the sunset. He can climb down at any point, he just Choses not to. The view is amazing. The bark is literally part of his skin now, not because he holds on tight, no, he’s just Than Much one with the nature )<

---

Don’t apologize for the questions! It’s always so fun to answer them, and it makes me think more about stuff I may have skipped, or didn’t think about before. It’s really nice :3c

Again, thank you for the ask, and for being here for this story! <3

(And I’ll try setting timers for rest breaks while I draw, mb that will help)

---

In The Dark - masterpost

[tisfan]

Terrible Things (You’ve Done)

for @gilajames 1000 - 1500 words

I would adore some fluffy Tony Stark/Victor von Doom werewolf/shifter fic. (With or without Doom still being a villain and doing what he *thinks* is fluffy, but requited love regardless.)

Title: Terrible Things (You’ve Done) Written by: @tisfan Square: G1 - Restricted Dog Breeds Rating: Teen Pairing: Tony Stark/Victor Von Doom Triggers/warnings: none Tags: werewolf AU, dubious sense of humor, first time shapeshift Created for: @bannedtogetherbingo2020 Word count: 1362 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24530134

Summary: Tony Stark is out of time... and he’s done terrible things... Restricted Dog Breeds: the piece that was banned for this discussed information about the dog in question, which are illegal in that township. I thought it would be a cute tongue-in-cheek if this pertained to lycanthropy, which would probably be illegal if anyone believed in werewolves.

Twenty seven days and twelve hours later.

“You can’t be serious, Tones,” Rhodey said. He wasn’t quite blocking the door, but it was getting close to that. He meant well, Tony was sure of that, because Rhodey always meant well, but just this one time--

“Honeybunches, you gotta trust me,” Tony said. “Contrary to what everyone thinks, I know exactly what I’m doing.”

“You have no clue what you’re doing,” Rhodey muttered, but at least he got out of the way. Which was good, Tony could feel in his bones that he didn’t have much time left.

He was out of options.

Von Doom was his only hope, and that was terrifying. And yet, the alternative was worse.

“Let me go with you,” Rhodey said, catching his elbow. “If-- Tones, I don’t trust this guy, you can’t trust him.”

“I know,” Tony said. “But if it all goes wrong, I don’t want you anywhere near that shit show. Tell Pepper I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, you gonna be sorry,” Rhodey said, dragging Tony into a bone-crushing hug. Or it would have been, Tony thought, if he hadn’t been changed. If there wasn’t something else new and alien inside his body, just waiting for its chance. He could smell Rhodey’s human odor, the way his skin felt under the press of Tony’s face, the way his heart beat. Enhanced, animal senses; he was a predator in a herd of sheep.

It was utterly terrifying.

And yet, Tony knew the longing to shed his clothes and run free.

Run with me.

“Gotta go, prickly pear,” Tony said. 

The motorcar was already started in the drive, Jarvis would have seen to that, turned the crank and made sure the steam engine was fully pressurized. Tony had discovered only a few weeks back that a horse would have nothing to do with him, now. He’d nearly caused an accident the first time, the horses panicking and nearly killing his driver, Happy, in the process of rearing and kicking until the carriage wasn’t much use for anything aside from kindling.

The way was smooth, at least.

Von Doom was many things, probably more myth than man these days, but one of them was a lover of progress.

The roads were paved all the way from the city below to his castle.

That said, the motorcar wasn’t made to drive up a mountain, and it took Tony hours to get there.

The sun was setting and Tony was panting for breath, fighting with everything in him not to-- whatever it was that he was going to do.

He barely remembered the parking brake, dashing from the motorcar to the front entrance of Von Doom’s castle.

Maybe he was expected; the door opened under his hand, and Doom was there, green cloak swirling in the evening breeze, that steel mask showing nothing of the man underneath, no emotion, no surprise, no nothing.

No mercy.

The moon peeked out from the horizon, and Tony felt the change shift in his blood.

There was no time.

*

When Tony woke up the next morning, he felt only moderately horrible. A three of ten on the hangover scale. The room was dimly lit, which was good, and he was laying on something that rather resembled a large dog bed, and he assumed that was bad.

He wasn’t dressed, either, which was pretty uncomfortable.

Despite his expectations, his hands weren’t drenched in blood -- although he did have a few feathers clinging to his skin, and his fingers and toes were filthy. 

He shivered again, trying to figure out where the hell he was.

Scrubbed his hands over his face; fingers came back flecked with dried blood. And there was a heavy, leather collar around his neck.

Right. This was really, really bad.

A moment later, the door opened and he caught a glimpse of a metal sabaton, pushing a basket into the room. The door closed with a boom.

His nose, still wolf-sharp and sensitive, told him there was food in that basket. Eggs and toast and sausage and bacon and steak and berries. His stomach, not really caring all that much about his emotional state, growled.

He edged forward cautiously. He wasn’t sure what he was being careful of. That someone would come in and attack him, or that he would attack someone else.

He didn’t feel crazy, but he also couldn’t remember what had happened, the night before.

There were clothes, too. Soft, clean. Tony pulled them on. At this point, anything was better than being naked and vulnerable.

At someone else’s mercy.

He was just settling in for breakfast when the door opened again.

This time, Doom swept in, a few of his identically clad servants behind him, one carrying a bucket  and some towels, the other carrying a chair, which he sat in front of Tony and then Doom sat down in it.

“You’ve done terrible things, Mr. Stark,” Doom intoned.

Tony looked down at his hands. “Just tell me,” he said.

“First, you were completely disorderly, and got into the chicken coop. You’re just lucky that the rooster chased you out before you could eat more than two of my best layers, otherwise I couldn’t have any eggs for breakfast,” Doom said, and he flipped up his metal mask, looking at Tony with the same disapproval that people reserved for misbehaving children. 

Well, somewhat less disapproving than Howard had, since Doom didn’t really look ready to take a fresh-peeled switch to Tony’s backside.

“And you chewed up my best leather slippers, I’m quite put out. Also, you shed all over the sofa. Do you ever brush your hair? Further, you got into the midden heap. Trash, everywhere! What am I supposed to do with you, Stark? You’re like a badly trained puppy. It’s disgraceful.”

Tony’s mouth dropped open, all the muscles in his jaw refused to work.

Finally-- “What?”

“What did you expect,” Doom continued. “You don’t even know who bit you, it’s not like you’ve been initiated. Can’t expect perfect behavior out of your wolf when he’s got paws the first time. It was smart, coming here. I didn’t expect that, but I approve.”

“I didn’t hurt anyone?”

Von Doom rolled his eyes. It was surprising, really, how attractive Doom was. Tony’d heard the legends his whole life of how the man had gotten a trifling cut on his face when he was a boy and sealed the metal mask over it, still hot, to hide from the world.

There was only the thinnest scar on one cheek, and it didn’t make him ugly. As a matter of fact, he was quite handsome, with silvering hair and amber colored eyes. 

“They’re still telling that ridiculous story?” Von Doom said. “No, werewolves don’t eat people. They don’t track down their loved ones to rip out their intestines, and they don’t become mindless monsters.”

Tony held out his arm where the bite -- now a simple pink impression of teeth, fading. Soon it would be gone, he thought -- had been. “And then how do people become werewolves?”

“Bad luck, usually,” Doom said. “Look, don’t let me keep you from breakfast and then I’ll let you have a bath. Tonight, you’ll meet the were who made you, have your initiation. Meet your pack. It’ll be easier, after that.”

“Who made me?”

“He didn’t mean to,” Von Doom said, not meeting Tony’s eyes. “He was hunting, and you struck a creature with your carriage. Do you remember?”

“I thought it was a--” Tony blinked. He’d thought he’d hit a man, at first, that had staggered, drunk, into the road.

The thing in the ditch was no man, and had lashed out violently.

“You thought it was a man,” Von Doom said. “And so it was.”

A strange, sudden knowing filled Tony’s chest. “Who?”

Von Doom swallowed and looked at him. “I would have thought you’d have guessed. He’s me.” 

[magicalsalamander]

Sangria Wine

⊸Pairing: BTS Yoongi ⇆ Reader

⊸Genre: Vampire| CEO| Medical| Fluff| Angst| Slight Horror

⊸Summary: When rent is cutting short and you’re at your last resort. Your job has been cutting your hours slowly, and bills were stacking up. You walk into a donation center, blood donating center for the undead to earn some quick cash, but…the thing is…you’re afraid of needles.

⊸Word: 6.1K 

⊸Rating: teen; mentions of blood and phobia of needles/blood, fainting, vampiric activity, and mentions of mating.

⊸ A/N: Based on my experience with needles and how I’m a wimp and pass out. This Yoongi is pretty cliche, but I mean who doesn’t love a good angsty Yoongi. Thanks for reading! Gif source unknown, but I don’t take credit for it.

→ Masterlist | Moodboard | Next

The nurse takes the earpieces of her stethoscope out of her ears and tilts her head, “Your blood pressure is still high.”

You shy away from her look of concern, this is embarrassing. After waiting ten minutes for it to go down, the results are still the same. It won’t go down from a static 140/80, you know that, “Doctor offices just make me nervous, I’m fine.”

She hums and writes down a note on your chart. Finally she puts two and two together, “White Coat Syndrome,” clicking her pen on her clipboard, “it’s when patients, much like yourself, are anxious because of the people walking around in white coats.”

You halfheartedly chuckle, “Yeah, haha, that’s the one.” You hear it every time you come in to a doctor’s office. You tried explaining it to her earlier, but she put her stethoscope in her ears instead determined it was just a mechanical error.

The hypertension is never because of the doctors, but the needles—bloodwork specifically. Your mind and body are disconnected. You know it isn’t a big deal, it’s a split-second ordeal, boom, bam, done! It’s not even that painful, it’s a mere pinch at most, but for as long as you could remember you’ve had this issue. Although the fainting didn’t start until your teen years, mostly because the nurses offering you candy wasn’t enough to distract you anymore. You even know the symptoms of an oncoming episode by heart now: hearing dulls to a high pitch ring, sudden rise in body temperature, blurry vision then timber you’re out like a light!

Even though you’re aware of the rational side of it, the anxiety is still there.

Your hands feel clammy, as you repeat the words to yourself with a sigh: White Coat Syndrome.

This is your first time at this clinic, so they don’t have that special, little note on record. Which ironically is a good thing, you couldn’t be honest with her and tell her it was because of the needles that perturb you…and that you are likely to faint. You need to be here today.

The nurse wraps her stethoscope around her neck, “Alright, Ms. Y/L/N, everything checks out. I’m going to ready a room and I’ll be back in a moment your receiver should be here soon.”

You nod and she is gone with a click of the door. “He should be here soon,” those words echo in the back of your mind. You busy your mind on something else by reading the posters around the room. They are typical ones the importance of getting the annual flu shot, hygiene and information on human diseases that can affect vampires and other supernatural. You let out a heavy sigh as you read over them three then four times for the sake of not driving yourself crazy. It occurs to you that not only do humans have a huge effect on the environment, but now we’ve effected supernatural beings. Way to go humans.

Three knocks on the door interrupts your reading and the nurse peeks back in, “Are you ready Ms. Y/L/N?”

You wipe your sweaty hands on your jeans and slip off the examination table. You stand still for a few seconds to stabilize your feet. You grab your coat and squeeze it as you respond through a fake smile, “Ready.”

Your feet were leading you down the endless white hallways instead of your overactive mind. The mild ringing in your ears were dulling the noises around you, so you follow the nurse like a lost puppy. Suspiciously this place smells overtly sterile, even to your non-supernatural nose. It’s probably because of all the…blood. You hold your coat tighter to you, “Shut your mind off, shut it off, positive thoughts only.” You could already feel your face flushing from the self-induced anxiety. You keep repeating to yourself like a mantra, “It’s going to be fine. Nothing bad is going to happen, why do you do this to yourself? You know you’re going to be alright.”

You don’t realize you’ve made it to the phlebotomy ward until the nurse you are following opens a room for you. You thank her, and walk into the room rapidly. You take in the new, small room and it was far from what you were expecting. It’s nice…it lacks the same clinical posters from the checkup room and instead it’s replaced with minimal décor. It still smells very sterile though. The nurse speaks from the doorway, “Your receiver will be with you shortly and when the session is over I will come back to check up on you before you leave.”

She closes the door behind her with an eerie click. You heavily sigh as you slump into the first seat you see when your legs give out. Your head is chaotically buzzing, and your heart is beating so hard you could feel your pulse drumming in your ears. This was probably a bad idea—this is a bad idea. You shook your head clearing your thoughts again, no, this was a good idea. You could do this. You could do this! You straighten yourself out and sit near the edge of the seat, tuck your feet together and set your spine rigid. If your receiver will come in here any minute you need to be a bit more put together. If you put it out in the universe it will come true kind of mindset.

The supernatural are apart of normal society, they live amongst humans. They work, live and function alongside humans. You’ve never been nervous about vampires, or any supernatural being, but today those fangs hold a different emotion.

You breathe in slowly and deeply to make sure you are still breathing. If you aren’t actively thinking about it you would probably be turning blue by now. Inhale and exhale. Inhale and exhale. Inhale and exhale. Inha—three, soft knocks rasped against the door. If I hadn’t been so hyperaware of my breathing I probably wouldn’t have caught it. I jump in my seat then stutter out, “C-C-Come in.” Wonderful, just a wonderful first impression.

A tall, lean figure slips into the room with his back turned to me with his head down. He is dressed professionally with a navy-blue button down and black slacks. Your eye follows his silhouette to his hand strangling the handle of his brown leather briefcase. His briefcase isn’t fully close and a few documents are sticking out of it front pockets. Is the vampire nervous or just…really hungry?

When he turns around, lifting his head, his expression is stoic, lips thin like a line giving away no hint of reaction. You hold your breath when he flicks his half-lidded eyes up meeting yours. His deep, brown predatorial eyes watch yours, observing you from head to toe. It is as if he is waiting for you to break contact first. You feel your saliva thicken in the back of your throat as you struggle to say a greeting. Never before had the mere presence of someone take your breath away. His dark eyes convey his prowess as a vampire, establishing his role in this transaction right away. His naturally dominant aura penetrates the room replacing the ethanol out until all you could smell is his earthen cologne.

Even though you feel insecure under his gaze, you couldn’t help but keep your eyes lock with his. There is an unexplainable pull that keeps you in those two orb’s gravities. He is very attractive to say the least. You swallow hard. Did he have to be good looking? It made your phobia infinity more embarrassing. He had a face that would haunt your dreams and nightmares.

Your eyes broke contact when he watched my throat bob and he knew I had swallowed. I turned away from his gaze and tried wiping away at the blush staining my cheeks.

Just your luck.

After four hundred years you would think he’d learn his lesson by now. He should have perfected the way to living, however, he always forgets that there’s a chaotic variable that ruins perfection: humans. They’re creatures that put too many factors into the pot and it spoils the broth. Things should be simple, but they never are. Things always ends up being troublesome on his part.

He’s spent the last few weeks stowed away in the boardrooms and his office working on a big project. Today, he closed the deal with the international broker and will start importing overseas. Everyone wanted to celebrate the billion dollar deal but he ditched the investors and other executives in order to make this appointment. He didn’t care if ditching them only deepened the rumors about him, he owns the company. He knew his reputation, he even knew the vicious nickname the employees whispered. They called him the red shadow. He was infamously known to be cold, calculated, and a perfectionist. When the red shadow walked to and from meeting rooms, the employees would stop what they’re doing and tremble in fright. Not always literally, but he’d hear it in their frantic heartbeat or the sudden pungent smell of ammonia from stress. They worried that they were going to be scrutinized or that they would be the next on his list. His eyes would hauntingly burn crimson when he was stressed. Despite supernaturals being amongst the normal, prejudice still ran deep. A vampire’s reputation ran deep and was naturally synonyms with fear itself.

In the past two weeks he had reaped the nickname dry. He hadn’t feed properly, and the iron pills weren’t keeping the hunger at bay for more than a few hours at a time. Synthetic Blood bags wasn’t able to truly fill that want for fresh blood either. Normally he liked to feed from a live source every two week, but that didn’t fit his schedule.

As soon as he knew the deal was closing, he made his secretary set up an appointment at the clinic for today. He couldn’t have felt more relieved when he got confirmation email a few days ago, and it’s been the only thing he’s looking forward to. He could’ve brought a donator to his office, but he doesn’t eat and work in the same room and well…it was against the law. Congress forty years ago drew up legislation for stricter guidelines on blood donating and receiving. This was all because too many individuals were found dead as a result of careless feeding. This also forced the supernatural to come to light from the underground. Under the law he was required to feed at a clinic or contract a donator through the government. Humans, he mentally scoffs. The idea of contracting someone revolted him. Although his clients were never usually unpleasant, but something was always off with their scents, too talkative, or just…creepy. He’s never wanted to rely on anyone for anything, especially concerning sustaining his life.

He walks up to the front desk and signs in and takes the typical swab test from the nurse. He swabs the inside of his cheeks quickly and tucked the swab back in its sanitary wrap it came in. He hands it back to the lab tech waiting behind the receptionist. His head is pounding furiously. He runs his free hand through his hair trying to feel for a source. It isn’t painful, but an annoying hard and fast thrumming…almost like a heartbeat.

He is brought back to his senses when the receptionist sweetly smiles at him, “Thank you Mr. Min, please wait a moment and we will begin shortly.” He harshly blinks and picks up his blazer and briefcase finding a seat in the empty waiting room without further word. He deduces that it isn’t another supernatural creature influencing him. Why is his head pounding then? He sits back in his chair and laces his hands together in his lap and takes a deep breath. He rolls his neck as he lets the feeling take over.

Throb, throb, throb, throb.

In the silence of the waiting room he hears it. It’s faint but it’s there. He tunes into the erratic heartbeat that’s somewhere in this building. He holds his breath for a moment to see if the delicious rate matches up with his pounding head.

Lub-dub, lub-dub, lub-dub.

He groans under his breath and licks his lips. The animalistic side to his supernatural tendency is creeping up his throat. He’s never felt so connected to a heartbeat before. His body feels like its crawling with jitters for not seeking it out. His leg begins shaking, he slaps a hand on his tight forcing it to stop fidgeting. He suppresses his instincts to follow the pulse to its owner with all his might. The walls are well insulated for the sake of privacy, but he could feel it so viscerally.

He is about to groan under his breath again when he heard his name being called. He takes a deep breath in and lets his expression fall neutral again, except the bags under his eyes gave away that he is a starved man. He gets up as calmly and follows the petite woman who has similar bags under her eyes as much as she tries smiling through it. That’s what happens naturally when humans force switches their biological clock to nocturnal. “Hello, Mr. Min, please follow me over to the oral cleaning station.”

He follows routine, but as he is cleaning his teeth with the sanitation elixir he feels the pulse beating in harshly his fingertips. He nearly spits out his mouth wash as he feels his fingertips tingle like when they go numb, but you try using them again. The thrumming of energy in his veins makes him lowly moan but he wills it away as by gargling the disgusting mouth wash.

He is clean, but he knows this procedure is also a part of the new act. Human to vampire disease is on the rise, but so is vampire to human. Today following routine is agitating him. He wants to feed, no needs, so that he wasn’t hyperaware of a heartbeat. In order to save his pride he concludes that he is just aware of it because he is starved. He was stuck in the office so long that he must be hallucinating. His senses were overreacting because all he’s had was fake plasma and he wants the organic supply. He is in control, not the salacious pulse. He knows himself better.

He spit out the mouthwash into the sink with disgust and rinses his mouth out with water fast. He wants this done and over with as soon as possible. Sleep, sleep would do him so well after this.

“Follow me Mr. Min, your donor is waiting for you,” he grunts then follows the nurse down the familiar hall to one of the many donating room. The white walls he had seen for years now feels unfamiliar, just as new as the sensation running through his veins. It irked his ego that this is throwing off every one of his senses. He isn’t sure he is following the nurse or his instincts anymore. He unexpectedly groans when he feels a strong beat in his own chest. The nurse turns around with an eyebrow raised. He finishes that groan off with a cough, bring a hand up to his mouth to conceal it politely. The nurse smirks thinking the insinuation is for her. He rolls his eyes as she turns back around.

They walk past rooms and the harder the pulse feels in his veins, chest, and fingers. Its engulfed him and its all he can feel. The nurse stands outside a door and slips a chart into the folder. He stares at the door because itself seemed to pulse. He knows whomever the owner is of the bothersome heartbeat is inside this room. The nurse knocks softly and she steps back, “You have fifteen minutes Mr. Min.” He didn’t respond to her and she tried waving a hand in front of his face, but he didn’t blink or acknowledge her. She takes it as he understood and leaves. He grabs the handle and depresses it when he heard a response, “C-Come in.”

The being behind this door was supernatural he was sure of it, only a voice so enchanting voice could belong to a siren. Why else would he feel such a pull? He pushes the door open like any sailor would. When the door cracks open just an inch, the sweet scent from the room floods into the hallway. His eyes fall hooded as the sweet scent fill his frozen lungs. It put him in a catatonic state that fully wakes his instinctual half. It’s oddly addictive yet bothersome to his core. He isn’t weak to his instincts. He wasn’t.

He steps into the room and closes the door behind him. He slowly looks up from the ground and finally gets a look at the siren. He clenches his jaw as his whole body pulses like an earthquake as you make eye contact. The source of the erratic heartbeat is seated in front of him.

You aren’t a siren…but a human. Human. You’re beautiful like a siren though, but you’re trembling like a leaf. He knows he shouldn’t feel primal about a simple donation, but you are like a frightened bunny under the watchful gaze of a hungry wolf. Yet, he wasn’t one of those dogs, he was a prideful vampire.

His earlier irritation mellows out when he senses your distress. The way your eyes are glossy make him choke back, honestly, he can’t help how endearing you are. His starvation subsides and all he wants to do is take me into his arms and rest the tremors. He wants to feel that heartbeat against his chest.

He shouldn’t do that though, this is a simple transaction. He is a receiver you are a donor. He rolls his neck trying to bring himself back to neutral, he isn’t himself today.

He takes in a deep breath that was unnecessary since he doesn’t breathe. He practically glides over to the seat across from you and sits down gracefully. He cautiously takes your hands away from my cheeks. His touch is gentle and…icy cold, his hands are so cold. You didn’t realize you raised your hands to your cheeks in an attempt to cool yourself down. His touch is the instant relief your burning body is looking for.

It’s electrical, he squeezes your hand feeling the shock light up his nerves. It felt like being jolted by a defibrillator. You were so warm. Warmth, it’s amazing, he hasn’t felt warmth for a very long time, it’s always a numb feeling whenever he touches anyone. Four hundred years is a long time to miss something. He gets a new wave of your scent as your breath hitches in your throat. You must’ve felt it as well. He closes his eyes for a moment holding back the red threatening to heavily bleed into his eyes. He didn’t want to scare away the bunny.

He peels his eyes open slowly, but he didn’t realize he is only inches away from your face. You didn’t move away from him though or back down like he expects. Your eyes are staring directly into his pitch-black feline like eyes and he can’t tear his eyes away from the intense gaze. The dilation then contraction of your pupils signal that you were searching for something in his. What is going on?

His voice comes out low and soft, almost like a breathy whisper, “Hey, it’s going to be okay. I’m not going to hurt you.”

He offers me a soft smile and it feels like a different person is in front of you. The stoic individual can actually be…warm. His harsh features suddenly feel more inviting and you can believe his words. You gulp and lick your lips, finally greeted him, “Hello.”

His eyes follow the movement and cracks a bigger smile; his duality takes you back yet again. He whips his eyes back up meeting yours. He releases your hand, all be it reluctantly, but he knows to keep to himself for the sake of professionalism. But God, does it feel almost painful to let go. He is never like this, he’s never felt the need to be close to someone. He needs to keep it together. Why is a mere human having this much of an effect over him? He links his fingers together to keep the urge from holding your hand again, “Hello.”

You feel the need to disclose, “It’s-It’s my first time…doing this.”

He smirks. God, so endearing, “I could tell.”

You want to whine to physically dispel the cringing embarrassment. You had forgotten that they could hear your heart beat and you’re sure much more. Could he smell your sweat too? What else could he sense! Jesus, you’re a mess and nothing has even happened yet.

He licks his lips, he is having a hard time not focusing on the pulse in my neck. It’s like the beckoning call of a mistress at the door of a brothel in the red-light district. And that scent! That sweet scent of fruits with a hint of acidity from stress is drowning him, it’s like fresh sangria wine. Sangria. Sangre. He off handedly wonders if your lips taste like a mix of the two from the way you are biting down on your lower lip hard enough to bleed. He grunts down a groan that was arising in his throat. This siren.

“What’s your name?” He asks in a husky voice, a byproduct from suppressing his noises. He needs to change the subject and loosen the tension in the atmosphere.

You look up, “Y/n, and you?”

“Yoongi, it’s nice to meet you Y/N.” He tests your name on his tongue and it rolls off salaciously. He offers a hand, breaking his self-promise giving him an excuse to touch you again under the disguise of politeness. You took it willingly. He feels how sweaty your hand had become and then he notices a single tear of sweat dripping down your temple. Were you nervous? Was he scaring you that bad? Its kind of expected for a first timer to be nervous, but sweating? He mulls over it for a second, of course you’d be afraid of him, everyone was, he is a vampire. The red shadow.

However, he didn’t want you to be though. It makes the phantom heartbeat in his chest skip a beat at the thought of you disliking him. The rejection hit him viscerally. He didn’t even know you, yet it really matters. He would never hurt the bunny.

He decides to keep the short conversation going. He never usually offers his donors a bit of conversation prior to a transaction, afterall, they’re a meal. This is business, but here he is breaking his own rules for you. “So, Y/N, what brought you here?”

You pull your hands away this time and squint when you believe you hear a whine from Yoongi. You answer honestly, “Work…has been cutting hours and I need the money to make ends meet.”

He raises a brow, a bit surprised at the honesty. A lot of the clients that come in are here for the gimmick or to satisfy some sort of fetish they have. It doesn’t bother Yoongi, as long as he feed at the end of the day he really didn’t care.

He keeps with his curiosity, “Where do you work?”

You habitually lick your chapping lips tasting the minimal Chapstick left, “MYG Technological Corps.”

He licks his lips as you did, he didn’t realize he was copying your demeanor. When he hears the name of the company his eyebrows raise, that was his company. How had he not known about you? Did you know that he was the owner? Was that why you were so shy and nervous?

He fishes for answers nonchalantly, “Really? What kind of work do you do?”

“Marketing,” you relax a bit in your chair. You find yourself rambling, “I enjoy working there. I’ve just started working about two months ago, so I didn’t know much, but it’s a great place. Except…my team manager, he is…a bit of a fuck up. He piles work on everyone else and when he got reprimand for it by his superior he fires people in rage only to realize his mistake when the persons are gone. Then we, meaning me and two other people, have to take on triple the work. “

He’d been gone these past two months on an international business trip to survey the factories that would be dealing with his products. As soon as his flight landed two weeks ago he locked himself in his office, the twentieth floor and top floor. The marketing department was on the third floor; no wonder he never sensed my presence before. Even though he has never sensed me directly, but maybe…that’s why he was more agitated at work. Why he was more sensitive, and why the pills and synthetic blood weren’t working because you were nearby but never near enough to feel that wild pulse.

You heavily sigh realizing you didn’t breathe during that whole venting. “Sorry to vent, you’re just wearing business type of wear, so I assumed you’d relate.”

Ah, so you didn’t know who he was.

He nods in understanding, a bitter smile lifting his lips, “I do, I do understand.” He crosses his legs to hide the fact that anger is boiling in his gut. Someone is working in his company, representing his name and is treating employees, you, like that. He thrums his nails against the arm of his chair as he pictured different ways to punish that manager. The thought of someone mistreating you made the hair on the  back of his neck rise. He let his black eyes dye burgundy not caring to conceal it any longer. Maybe next time he feeds it’ll be ruthlessly from that guy.

He ask, squeezing the arm of the chair digging his nails into the plastic, “Then why here of all places, couldn’t you take up another part time?” Why would you let someone feed off you…someone that wasn’t him?

You took in his nails and a hint of interest filtered through your veins. He easily could sink those nails into you, easily sink his fangs into you no problem. Your strength will never compare to his, even a flick of his wrist is surely impressive. Every time he smiles his knifelike canines’ peek through, but they didn’t seem as daunting as a needle because of the being it was attached to. Even the red in his eyes…made me feel safe in his presence. Maybe this time around you won’t faint.

You tilt your head while staring at your clasped hands, “I could have found a job somewhere, but if I took up another job on my already overworked and underpaid budget, would there be a different?” You unclasp your hands, ”I would be doing it all over at some other place. I wouldn’t have time to sleep, eat or let alone breathe if I did. This,” you casually point between the both of you, “lets me do the part time gig but I get all that work done at once and I get free orange juice.”

You slightly laugh, but no humor was behind it. You fiddle with your hangnail on your thumb. You press down on the piece hoping for it to mend by magic, but it just acutely hurt. No matter how comfortable he makes you feel, the pain reminds you that this is very real. You are sitting in front of a vampire, a stranger, and you were here to donate your blood to him in return for a few hundred dollars.

You are here to challenge yourself, “Also…I’m challenging myself.” You whisper out, “I hate needles. I usually pass out when I get my blood drawn. I’m healthy, but it’s just this weird psychological thing that I have to get over. I want to overcome it and getting paid in the meanwhile kills two birds with one stone. I think that the ‘needle’ being a person instead of sharp metal of piece will help me overcome the fear.”

He laughs, fangs on full display, “So I’m just a talking needle?”

You laugh along with him, although not with the same degree of delight, “I didn’t mean to offend, it just makes it easier to think that way.” You wipe your sweaty palms on your jeans again, but it doesn’t seem to clear the moisture.

The nurse knocks on the door and comes in, she bats her eyelashes at Yoongi, “Have you taken the donation yet Mr. Min?”

You feel your fingers beginning to tremble as you picture his fangs puncturing your neck or wrist. I feel the phantom stab and picture blood gushing out into his mouth. Your brutal and sick imaginations continue on in your childish imagination. The edges of your eyes dampen along with the onset feeling stomach cramps from the sudden nausea.

It’s just a pinch. It’ just a pinch, why were you making this a big deal?

He shakes his head, a bit perturbed that his time with you is being disturbed, “Give us more time.”

She looks at him with a simpering smile and looks at her watch, “I can give you twenty more minutes since you’re the last patients for the night.” Yoongi nods curtly and she steps back out of the room.

He turns and looks back to you. He hears it first, the furious heartbeat, then notices your closed off body language. In a split second when he wasn’t looking, you are back to where you had started. You are picking at your nail, but your eyes are glazed over, lost in your thoughts. He stands up then crouches down in front of you so he could get your full attention. He puts both hands on each side of your chair’s arm rest, forget boundaries he needs to be by your side. “Hey, hey, Y/n, it’s okay. We don’t have to do this if you don’t feel comfortable. Y/n? Y/n? Can you hear me?”

The delusions fade as his voice cuts through your thoughts when you hear your name. Your eyes shot up and look directly in his red eyes. You want to do this, no, that’s not true, you need to do this. You need the extra hundred dollars to make rent. You need to do this!

“I know.” You blink away the tears, clear your throat and lift a shaky hand to brush your loose hair away from your shoulder. With pseudoconfidence you expose the unmarred flesh of your neck to Yoongi and tilt your head to the side, “…but let’s do this.” Your hands were shaking as you lower them down waiting patiently for him to act.

“Y/n, we don’t…,” he whispers your name, but he couldn’t help stare at the pulse under your flesh. He could feel the bags under his eyes lifting. In hindsight he know this may be a wrong idea, but he didn’t want to push you away. You were being brave, and he wanted to respect that. He could smell the fear and anxiety tainting your sweet scent, spoiling the sangre wine. It’s been hard to control himself so far, but miraculously he repressed the monster within. He wants a taste of your sweetness. He needs to answer that pull he feels towards you.

He gets up and moves you to the couch, so you are more comfortable. You readjust yourself and offer your neck again without meeting his eyes.

It’s just a pinch, then it’ll be over soon.

He touches your neck as a test, running the back of his knuckles over the soft flesh. He wants to see if you are okay in small steps. He could feel the spike in your heart rate when he touched you. His instincts enjoy that reaction, his primal half wanted to pounce. He wouldn’t do that though, with you he’d treat you right. He declares as his voice drops a few octaves, “I’ll take care of you, I promise.”

“I-I trust you.” You nod, and you scoot closer to him proving your point.

A small smirk took over his lips as you lean into him. His eyes soften as he watches you, “I promise to make it quick and painless. I won’t hurt you but tell me to stop if want this to stop.”

You clutch at his shoulders wrinkling his crisp, white shirt and nod, “Okay.”

He cautiously wraps his hand around the small of your back. He brushes away the lingering pieces of your hair from your neck. He watches the pulse under your skin and he could hear the beautiful melody along with it. He couldn’t ignore it any longer, or pass it off as hunger, he wants you and only you. No one else can do this, no one else could touch you like this, or taste you. That is his song.

He tangles his hand into my hair and the other tightens around your waist, his body shakes with your overwhelming warmth. He pulls you closer to feel it against his chest like he wants. Your pheromones are so enticing, it’s fine dining at his clutches. His mouth is watering and his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallows hard.He ran his tongue over his centers and pricked his tongue on his sharp fangs and leans into your neck. His soft hair tickles your skin as he inches deeper into the crevice of your neck. He flicks his tongue over the shallow dent of your neck and shoulder. He shivers, eyes half-lidded and crimson red your skin taste more delicious than he imagined.

“Yoongi,” you faintly whisper. You could feel your hearing ring in your ears as your vision was blurring. You know what is coming, so you clutch onto him tighter repeating to yourself: It’s going to be okay, it’s going to be okay. You try fighting it off by focusing on your breathing instead of the ringing, but his breath against your neck was too much to ignore. The fangs, those pearly white fangs that are going to sink into my neck!

He responds with a noncommittal hum waiting for you to say something. He kissed his way up your neck feeling for the strongest pulse and when he found it he licked it, his saliva partially numbing the area temporarily. When you didn’t tell him to stop, he sunk his fangs in to a vein. The next second blood flowed into his mouth in a steady stream. The taste was euphoric answering his primal desires. “Fuck,” he moans to himself. He’s never tasted such a delicacy; no other blood had ever been sweeter or smoother on his tongue.

He hears your whine at the prick and he pulls you closer to him for support. He runs a hand up and down your spine to ease your tension. He sucks blood from the wound tasting the fine sangria wine. He wants to keep tasting, but he knows that would be dangerous for the both of you. He takes his fangs out cleanly, something that came with practice. He twirls his tongue around the wound to clean up the puncture, the enticing red lines running down your neck weren’t going to be wasted. “My mate,” he growls out as he gingerly licks the wound close. He was so lost in his high the words slip past his lips.

When he comes down from his high he quietly asks, “Are you okay?” Affection firmly is anchored in his chest as he cups his palm over the mark. He had not realized that you are clutching at his shirt tightly, but when he fully pulls back your body keeps moving with the momentum. Your eyes roll back and you slump against the couch passed out. “Y/N! Fuck! Y/n!” He was so lost in the euphoric taste he didn’t feel the jump in your pulse or the slumping of your body against his. You are too addicting, too sweet, too delicious. You are the dangerous one.

He wants this to work, he wants you and only you. If it meant he had to help you overcome this fear, he was willing to do it…because you’re his mate. His own words finally hit him as he stares at your paling face, you are his mate.

He turns to the door and screams, “Nurse!”

Copyright 2018 © by magicalsalamander. All rights reserved. 

[nickelkeep]

‘Cause My Monsters Are Real

Main Pairing: Dean/Cas (there are a lot of background pairs) Rating: Teen+ Word Count: 7900 Warnings: Angels are Dicks.  On Ao3

"Later Lenore!" Sam waved to the vampire as Dean nodded towards the kitsune Amy. The brothers walked towards the exit of Singer Protection Agency, looking forward to starting their weekend hanging out with their friends at the Ghoulhouse. It was a creature comfort, doing the same thing every Friday night, unwinding after a long week of protecting their charges. 

They left the building and headed the few blocks towards the restaurant, enjoying the sounds of the kids enjoying the last bit of daylight before the sun went down. A few people waved to them on their walk, having known the pair since they were kids in the neighborhood. It was a close-knit community, and the boys liked keeping it that way.

Dean opened the door to the Ghoulhouse, letting Sam in first. A cheerful voice behind the counter greeted the brothers. "Hiya, boys! Your table is waiting. Charlie's already back there with Dorothy." Their adoptive mother, Ellen, smiled at them. "Sending back two phantsmales for you?"

Sam smiled and nodded while Dean spoke up. "Yes, please. It was a long day. The girls decided to watch some scary movie before bed, so they kept us on our toes."

"You got it. Go, sit, and relax. Jo'll be around with them in a sec." Ellen winked at them before setting off to make their drinks.

The brothers made their way back, finding the phoenixes sitting next to each other at the corner table. They were pressed up close and whispering, only separating at Sam and Dean's approach. "Hey, guys!" Charlie beamed up at them, before noticing how tired they were. "Long day?"

Dean plopped in the seat next to Charlie while Sam took a place a few down from him. "You have no idea, Red."

"It was ok." Sam chimed in. "Early shift was easy. Magda and Emma decided to go to the movies."

"Yeah, it was later in the shift that sucked." Dean rolled his eyes. "They went and saw some scary movie. Something with a clown, which left me without a partner." He glared at Sam. 

"Hey, I was perfectly fine. Just become that which you are afraid of." Sam shifted into a clown before shifting back to his standard form. "Still, of all things."

"Please don't shift like that again." A warm southern drawl came from behind Sam. "You're gonna scare the missus." Benny and Andrea joined them at the table. "You would think they'd be afraid of Vampires, but no it's clowns. Something we can be afraid of too."

"I think you meant that you can be afraid of Benny." Dorothy chimed in, causing the whole table to laugh.

The table finished rounding out with the addition of Rowena and Jo after she brought the drinks from the bar. They were relaxing when and happily chatting when a familiar and well-loved face appeared.

"Garth!" Dean raised his glass toasting the werewolf. "Long time no see! How's fatherhood treating you?"

"It's great," Garth responding, grabbing a chair and sliding it over. "Bess is in her glory, and the little one is doing awesome. I love her so much." He smiled a toothy grin that didn't quite meet his eyes. "I'm not here about me, though. I debated coming at all, cause I know how sacred our Fridays are, but I figured you'd want to be prepared."

Sam leaned around Rowena, his arm draped over her shoulder, "What do you mean he'd want to be prepared?"

"You too, Sam. This affects both of you. It literally just happened." Garth hung his head like a kicked puppy. "So, I was back in today, filling out my paperwork to start back up on Monday. And I overheard it."

"Spit it out, Wolfman." Dean leaned his chair back on two legs, foot resting on the table.

"Magda's getting her own room. Emma's getting a new person in the room. They're splitting you two up." Garth looked pathetically at Dean. "You're getting a new partner."

Dean instinctively kicked out, sending him backward and onto the floor. "Ow. What?"

"I'm sorry man, I'm just repeating what I heard. Their guardian took in another kid, I guess they figured it was best to put the kid with Emma than to give the kid her own room." He looked at Sam. "And you've done so well with Magda, they didn't want to separate you from her."

Charlie offered her hand down to Dean as the whole table went quiet. Dean took it and got back to his feet, setting his chair back up. "Are you sure, Garth?"

"I swear on Bess and my pup, Dean."

Dean and Sam locked eyes. The pair of them had been assigned as a team to a bunk bed once Sam was old enough to start working at the protection agency. While Dean had worked solo before Sam joining the force, Sam never worked alone. This was going to be a challenge for them both.

Sam spoke up first. "You know we won't ever shoot the messenger, Garth. Thanks for warning us. It gives us the weekend to prepare for Monday."

"Like I said, I really debated coming. But if it were me, I know I'd want to be told."

"That's probably why they said it within earshot of you." Dean nodded before clapping him on the shoulder. "So you sticking around, or heading home to the missus?"

"I need to get home, but I can probably start really joining you all again next Friday." Garth stood up and slid his chair back to the other table. "Take care, and I'll see you two on Monday."

Dean slumped back in his seat as Garth exited the Ghoulhouse. Both he and Sam had lost their spark for the evening, and no one contested it when they said they were heading out for the night.

The following Monday, they were met at the door by their boss - and adoptive father - Bobby. "Mornin' boys. I'm pretty sure you know what's going on, but let's make it official." He nodded his head towards his office.

Once they were inside, Bobby held up his hand to keep them from talking. "Look. I didn't want to split you two up. But the kid that's coming already has a monster assigned to them. We didn't expect them to put her with Emma. You know we can't rip monsters away from their kids." Sam and Dean nodded solemnly. "I did make sure that you two still are set up next to each other. Least I could do."

"Anything you can at least tell me about the new monster or their kid?" Dean slouched back in his chair.

"About the monster. All I know is that their name is Castiel." He slid a folder over to Dean. "He's got a clean record, and has been with this child since birth, much like you and Emma."

Dean picked up the folder and opened it. "It's all blanked out?" He tilted it to show to Sam, who was leaning over. "What is he? Freaking Green Ops? His child gonna hurt Emma?"

"I don't know, Dean." Bobby took off his baseball cap and ran his fingers through his hair. "The only thing I know is that if there's anyone in this building that I trust to hold up against him, it's you."

"So is this mine and Dean's last day working together?" Sam inquired, leaning forward in his seat.

"We'll still work together every day, bitch."

"You know what I mean, jerk."

"Freaking Idjits." Bobby put his hat back on. "Yes, now go get to your station before I put you in your own nightmares."

"That threat has never worked with us, old man," Dean winked before rushing out of the office with Sam.

Their last night working together, Sam and Dean set up under the bed, relaxing and listening to the girls chat before they drifted off to sleep. They were happy and excited to have another sister join their family. Emma and Magda had spent the day with the girl, her quietness chalked up to her nervousness

"You just like to talk a lot, Emma," Magda said through a yawn, nestling down into her pillow.

"I do not." Emma retorted. "I just have a lot to say."

"You won't forget me, right?"

"Mags, you're going to be right across the hall."

"I know, but ever since Jody and Donna adopted me, it's been you and me together," Magda paused, "It's going to be weird on my own."

"I know, but it'll be ok. If you have a bad dream, you can come back and share the bed with me. I'll chase them away for you."

The brothers snorted at that comment, the girls oblivious to their presence.

"Promise, Emma?"

"I promise. Now get some sleep. We have to help Claire move in tomorrow."

Sam and Dean smiled at each other and became more alert, ready to protect the girls at a moment's notice.

To the surprise of the brothers, both girls had a peaceful sleep. They were unsure of who to thank, or if they should be thanking anyone. They returned back through the portal as the sun rose in the human world, signing off on their day's paperwork, before leaving for the day.

The next morning, as promised, Sam had his own station set up next to Dean's. It hadn't sunk in that they wouldn't be protecting as a team any more until that moment. Sam started moving a few of his personal effects over when a new scent caught his attention.

The same smell caught Dean's attention, as he looked up from his desk and saw a tall, attractive, brunette standing at the entrance to the portal bay. Dean looked back to Sam, and mouthed Is that him? and was met with a small shrug.

As the mystery man came closer, the brothers could make out that he was wearing a tan trench coat over some kind of suit. They shared another look, their heads tilting in confusion as he approached them. "I'm looking for Dean Winchester?"

Dean stood up from his seat and extended his hand. "That would be me. You must be Castiel."

"Yes." The new guy drew out, his hand taking Dean's and shaking it. "I understand we're to be sharing a portal."

"Yeah, we'll be working together." Dean shot a quick look to Sam, who remained silent but was clearly perplexed. "I understand Jody took in your kid, Claire?"

Castiel leaned in and squinted his eyes, as though he were evaluating Dean. "How do you know so much?"

"Our kids were talking last night." Sam cut in. "Hi, I'm Sam. Up until today, my kid Magda was Emma's bunkmate." He offered his own hand.

"I see." Castiel shook Sam's hand before turning back to Dean. "How soon can we cross over? I need to get to Claire as soon as possible."

Dean picked up a device on his desk and tapped it awake. "We should be able to cross over in a few minutes. They're getting ready for bed now." He turned it to show to Castiel.

"They're in bed, why can't we go now?" Castiel shoved his hands into his pockets.

"We're supposed to wait until lights out."

"The portals cannot be detected by the kids. They do not glow, they do not absorb light. We can go now."

Dean shook his head. "Look, not to be rude, or put down the last place you worked, but we have rules here. And our rules say when the lights go out, we can open the portal." Dean fidgeted with the scrying glass in his hand. "I know Emma, the best. Unless your girl sleeps with the light on, which Emma cannot do, the lights will be going out any moment now."

The scrying glass went dark. "Now, can we go?" Castiel asked, moving to stand behind a white line.

"Yeah." Dean sighed. "You gonna be ok, Sammy?"

"It's Sam, Dean." The younger brother winked at his older brother. "And Magda is almost ready for bed. I'll be going soon myself."

"Alright, then." Dean flipped a few switches and hit a button, causing the machine to whir up and their portal to open. Before he could say another word to Castiel, the monster was already through. "After you, jackass."

Sam laughed. "He's allowed to be nervous. His charge literally just made a huge change, Dean. Don't tell me you wouldn't be freaking out if Emma weren't going through something similar."

Dean opened his mouth to say something before shutting it. He glared at his brother. "Not cool." He walked up to the portal and waved to his brother before stepping in. "See you in a few."

As Dean came through on the other side, there was no sign of Castiel. He still wasn't sure what kind of creature his new partner was, and it was considered rude to ask. He thought back of when he first caught Castiel's scent, and he realized he couldn't determine his creature type from the smell either.

Dean walked back to where he and Sam had long ago made a makeshift camp out of forgotten books and toys, hoping that Castiel had found it and set up for the evening already. The spot was empty, but Dean shrugged and sat back and relaxed, listening for both Emma and Castiel. He pulled out the crossword puzzle he had been working on, cursing himself for forgetting to ask Sam what an eight-letter word for someone who returns is.

After about a half-hour, Castiel finally showed up. "Do you not check the perimeter?"

"Nope." Dean didn't bother looking up from his crossword puzzle. "Do you know a seven-letter word for an idealized person?"

"Eidolon," Castiel responded, not missing a beat. "Why don't you check it?"

"Because this is a safe place, Cas." Dean put the paper down and looked up at his new partner. "Emma has lived here her whole life. I have been assigned here almost my entire time as a protector."

"So you've gone lazy. You're not the great Dean Winchester I've heard of?"

"First, rude. Second, you've heard of me?"

"A lot of people have heard of the Winchester Brothers. You two are some of the strongest Protectors out there. I feel guilty about splitting you up."

"Not your fault, Cas." Dean put the paper on the makeshift table in the middle of the camp. "You didn't choose to put Claire in the same room as Emma."

"True," Cas nodded, "But all the same, I feel–" Cas paused. "I'm sorry, hold that thought. Claire's having a Dream."

"Want me to come along?" Dean stood up, ready to go on Cas' command.

Cas shook his head. "I appreciate the offer, but not yet. There are things you're not ready for." Cas vanished.

"What the hell?" Dean looked around, trying to find any sign of where Castiel went. He heard the whimpers and cries of Claire, determining them to be hers as they were an unfamiliar sound. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair before climbing out from under the bed to check on Emma. She was still peaceful, unaware of the Dreaming girl above her. Dean gently touched Emma's finger to confirm she was either dreaming or dreamless before hopping back down and heading back to camp.

Alone again, Dean picks up the crossword puzzle and starts working on it. The shift is weird for him. There's no Sam to banter with, there's a strange creature that he can't bring himself to hate working with him, and Emma's having an incredibly peaceful night again.

"Seven letter word for a source of terror or dread." Dean rolls his eyes. "S-P-E-C-T-E-R. Specter."

"Could also be a banshee." Cas walked back into the encampment.

Dean turned his head and was able to make out the shadow of wings behind Cas. He tilted his head and was about to ask before shaking his head. "Nah. there's an S in the first spot."

"Makes sense then." Cas sits down across from Dean and offers his hand. "I want to start over."

"Okay?" Dean took Cas' hand and shook it. "I guess I should reintroduce myself? I'm Dean."

"And I'm Castiel. My Charge is Claire. She has been through quite a bit and has been through many of these foster homes. She has trouble adjusting, so she's like a magnet for the Dreams."

"How many does she have a night?" Dean looked up towards where the girl slept, concern and empathy in his eyes.

"Usually, only one or two." Cas shrugged. "When I heard about coming here, I must admit, I was..." He trailed off, trying to find the right word. "Hopeful?"

"Hopeful?"

"I know of your work with Krissy Chambers. Sam's work with Magda, which I'm sure you had some hand in. Dreams hardly affect them anymore. Emma is sleeping peacefully above us." Cas ran a hand down his face. "I guess seeing you sitting down and just lounging, it wasn't what I expected."

"That's what you meant when you said you knew me."

Cas nodded.

"I'm going to be frank with you, Cas–"

"I thought your name was Dean?" Cas tilted his head and squinted his eyes in confusion.

Dean laughed, "That was good man. That was..." He froze. "You weren't telling a joke." Dean pursed his lips. "What I mean, is I'm going to be upfront with you. I lucked out." He points to his eyes, his ears, his nose, "My senses? I know what's coming before it hits. Being a shifter helps in this gig."

"I can see that."

"I also won't lie. I'm terrified that something's gonna happen to Emma. I was always terrified that something was going to happen to Krissy. Keeps me on high alert. Even now, conversing with you? More of my attention is on her." Dean shrugged. "I mean, I'm enjoying talking with you, but she's my first priority."

"Of course, Dean.”

The corner of Dean's mouth curled up in a smile. "You want to do a last check on Claire? I'm gonna do one on Emma. Shift's almost over."

"I probably should. I'll meet you at the portal in ten?" Cas disappeared, leaving Dean to pocket his crossword puzzle and head back up to check on Emma.

After checking that she was sleeping well, Dean headed back to the portal and waited for Cas. His new partner was just a couple minutes behind him, and together they exited through the portal as the sun started to rise in the Human world.

Back in their world, Cas and Dean said their goodbyes, with Cas heading out while Dean waited for Sam.

Sam came out a few minutes later, stretching out and yawning.

"Long night, Sammy?"

"Magda had the Dreams twice." Sam ran his fingers through his hair. "She's not used to sleeping alone. Tossed and turned all night. She cried out for Emma several times."

"Shit. Poor girl." Dean clapped his brother's shoulder. "Nothing too hard for you, though, I'm sure."

"Yeah, fighting those bastards are easy enough. It was just back to back, and making sure she was peaceful before I left." Sam looked at his desk and shook his head before grabbing his paperwork. "I'll do this at home. How was your day? Castiel drive you crazy?"

Dean thought for a second. "No, not really. I get why he was the way he was this morning. Like you said, if it were Emma, I'd probably been all riled up too."

"Did you two talk a lot?" Sam stretched again before pushing Dean towards the exit to the portal hall.

"When we could?" Dean shrugged. "I mean, he was focused on Claire. It was her first night in a new place."

"What all did you talk about?"

Dean looked up at his younger brother. "What is this, twenty questions?" Dean shrugged. "Apparently we're decently known as protectors? And he wanted to start over, cause he knows that he came across kinda curt earlier."

Sam leaned in once they were outside. "Do you know what kind of creature he is?"

"Nope, and I'm not going to ask."

"Didn't he have to go fight a Dream?" Sam tilted his head. "I mean, you offered to help, right?"

"He did go to fight a Dream. And he literally disappeared. So tell me, walking encyclopedia, how many creatures can do that?"

Sam shut his mouth and started counting on his fingers.

"Sam, seriously. It's blacked out in the file for a reason. When he's ready to share, he can share." Dean yawned. "Dammit, now I'm tired. Thanks for that."

"You're welcome. Ghoulhouse for dinner?"

"Hell yeah." Dean turned and dragged Sam with him, heading to where they knew their adoptive mom would feed them.

The next day at work, Cas brought each of them a coffee and took the prep time of their shift getting to know the brothers. He shared some of his and Claire's history, confirming that he had been with her since she was born. When Emma had a Dream, he offered to go with Dean, so he could watch the shifter's fighting style. Cas stayed back and let Dean fight, an appreciative smile on his face when the Dream was easily defeated.

Cas and Dean started talking more during their shifts over the week, and the following Monday, Cas asked if Dean wanted to tag along if Claire had a Dream. Dean quickly agreed and offered the same that Cas had done for him, to stay back and let Cas handle it. When Claire's dream hit, Cas vanished, but Dean shifted to a bird and flew to her bunk, getting up to her right behind Cas. He stayed in form, and he stayed out of the way, but watching Cas fight, confirmed what he had seen that first shift, Cas has wings of his own. Once the Dream is defeated, they both head back down, but Dean remained quiet and doesn't bring up Cas' wings. 

Their weeks together turned into a month, and it hit Dean that he found a new friend, a new confidant in Cas. He has told his partner things that he has never told other people, except maybe Sam and especially not Sam. Cas had never made fun of him for his secrets nor judged him when he needed to vent. It made him smile that Cas so willingly accepted him.

There came a night in their second month together when Claire has a Dream that's so bad, it's actually two Dreams. Cas didn't see the second one about to attack him, and Dean shifted into wolf form and pounced on it. He tore it to shreds as Cas quickly dispatched the one he was fighting. Soon Claire is sleeping peacefully again, and once Dean is back in human form, Cas pulled him into a tight embrace.

One Friday night, several months after Cas had joined the crew at Singer Protection Agency, Sam and Dean joined their friends for a night of fun at the Ghoulhouse. Dean was telling Charlie and Dorothy about something he and Cas had gotten up to on his shift while Benny and Sam were conversing behind Rowena's back. 

Dean went to take a swig of his phantasmale and frowned upon finding it empty. "I will finish this story in a moment, ladies. I need a refill." Dean stood up from his seat and headed over to the bar, unaware of Benny and Sam right behind him.  

He flagged down Ellen and sat on the stool to wait his turn when Benny and Sam sat down next to him, pinning him to his seat. "Uh, hey, guys. Personal space?"

"Got a question for ya brotha," Benny leaned in, ignoring Dean's request. "What's going on between you and Cas?"

Ellen walked up, and Sam held up three fingers before chiming in. "I mean, I have to agree with Benny, and we hardly ever agree on anything. Why isn't he here spending time with us?”

Dean sputtered. "Uh, cause we're work friends."

Benny and Sam both turned and pointed at the table. "How many of those people started as work friends, Dean?" Sam asked. "Hell, Garth and Dorothy still work there."

"And honestly, Cher, I don't hear you talk about anyone the way I hear you talk about Cas."

"I don't know what you two are talking about." Dean shrugged. "You all are just used to mine and Sam's shenanigans, and now that it's not me and Sam, it's throwing you all off."

Ellen walked back over with their drinks. "That was probably the case, what is it, five months ago now? But the only thing we don't know about your Cas is what kind of creature he is." She reached across the table and ruffled Dean's hair. "You're like a smitten kitten."

"I don't care how poisonous your venom is, Mom, I will transform and bite you."

"You keep pretending Dean." Ellen winked and headed to help another customer.

"I hate you all right now. Are you all like this?" Dean looked back and forth between Sam and Benny.

Benny nodded. "Pretty much, Cher. Andrea wanted to start a betting pool, but Charlie said your head is too far up your own ass."

"Rowena then offered to charm you two together, but I think that was where we drew the line," Sam added.

"He's a friend," Dean slid down off of his stool, squeezing out from between Sam and Benny. "Even if I did like him like that, I don't think he returns the feelings." He started walking back towards the table.

"What's the worst that happens?" Benny asked, following along. "You find out he isn't interested."

"No," Dean replied as he sat down. "The worst is that it makes things between us weird, and I lose my friend. I like how he gets me." Charlie wrapped her arm around his shoulder before giving him a kiss against the temple.

"Aye, but Dean, if yer friendship is what it sounds like, then ye saying that ye've got a thing for Castiel isn' gonna destroy it." Rowena leaned against Sam as he sat back down.

"I really didn't want to do this, Dean." Sam threatened. "But if you don't invite him next Friday, I will."

The whole table went quiet and looked from Dean to Sam several times. The tension grew with each second that Dean neglected to answer. The older Winchester looked at his friends, each with a different look of concern or excitement on their face.

"Fine."

The table erupted in cheers as glasses clanked together.

It had taken Dean all weekend to build up the courage to ask Cas to join him at Ghoulhouse that coming Friday. He debated between making it seem like a date, or friends hanging out, or something else altogether. As he got dressed in the mirror, he recited what he was going to say to Cas when he saw him that morning. 

"Cas." Dean shook his head. "No, too macho." He cleared his throat. "Hey, Cas." Dean smiled and nodded. "So, I'm pretty sure I've told you about Fridays at the Ghoulhouse? Well, I was wondering if you'd like to come with me this Friday." He closed his eyes and bit his bottom lip. "Dammit, Sammy. I hate you so much right now."

"Nah, you love me." Sam laughed, his body leaned up against the doorframe, causing Dean to jump. "Really? That wrapped up you didn't smell *or* hear me? That's insane."

"Shut it, Samantha."

Sam pushed himself upright and entered Dean's room. "You ready to go? Sooner we get to work, sooner you can get this over with."

"You gonna make me ask as soon as we get there?" Dean's jaw dropped. "What if he says no? I have to spend all day in the human world with him."

"Yeah, I think you'll be fine." Sam pulled Dean by the collar of his shirt. "Let's go Romeo." Dean whimpered but followed along.

Once the brothers arrived and got to their stations, they were surprised to not find Cas waiting for them. They had gotten used to his punctuality, and were used to being at the agency before they were. Sam shrugged and looked at Dean. "Maybe he's caught in traffic?"

Dean shook his head before walking over to his desk to start calibrating their portal. He kept an eye on his scrying glass, noting that it was odd that Emma wasn't in her room at such a late hour. He looked over at Sam, who was also waiting for Magda to go to bed. "Do you think they went to see a movie or something?"

Sam ran his fingers through his hair. "On a school night? Jody wouldn't let them do that. I'm half tempted to go through the portal and make sure they're ok."

"How about I do that, and you stay here. You can cover for me." Dean started powering up his portal. "I know the house better than you do."

"Bobby finds out..."

"And he won't, will he?" Dean shot Sam a look, which was returned with one of Sam's own.

"FIne. Go, before someone realizes you're in there before the kids are asleep."

Dean winked, saluting Sam before stepping into the portal, and underneath of Emma and Claire's bed.

The girls' room was much brighter than he was used to, considering one of them had left the light on. Dean took a moment to let his eyes adjust to the brightness before shifting into his bird form. He darted out from under the bed and looked around at his surroundings. Almost immediately, he notices the most painful thing. 

Claire is gone.

Her bed sheets are made up, but the small knickknacks that she's accumulated over the past five months are gone from her dresser. The pictures of her, Magda and Emma that were on her mirror, removed. It was like the only person who lived in the room was Emma.

And with Claire gone, that meant that Cas was gone.

Afraid that he was going to collapse, Dean landed on Claire's dresser and recomposed himself. He finally came to terms that he had feelings for Cas, and Cas was gone, ripped away from him like a page from a book. He flapped out his wings and started flying again, desperate to know why they were gone.

Dean flew down the hallway and listened for the sounds of Emma or Magda's voices, finding them in the living room with Jody, Donna, and what he assumed to be another police officer. The girls were exhausted and distraught, while their moms were both complete shells of themselves. All he had to do was listen for a few minutes before realizing that Claire had run away.

"Doug, listen, can we send the girls to bed?" Jody asked, a silent pleading clear in her tone.

"I just have one more question."

Emma patted Jody's leg. "It's ok Mom, we want Claire home." Magda nodded in agreement.

"What was the last thing Claire said to you before you went to bed last night, Emma?"

"She said, 'No matter what you hear, don't open your eyes. The angels are coming tonight.' She's always been a little obsessed with angels, especially one she named Castiel." Emma's shoulders dropped, and Dean nearly fell off the perch he had found. Cas was an angel!?

"Thank you, Emma." Officer Doug nodded to Donna and Jody. "We're keeping the cop car outside tonight, and we still have people on the lookout."

Dean hopped off his perch and flew back to Emma's room as fast as he could, transforming and sliding the bed. His legs hit the portal, and he was pulled through, landing on his ass in front of Sam and Bobby. Bobby crossed his arms and glared down at him while Sam rolled his eyes and looked affronted, as though he had been in the middle of telling the greatest story of all time.

"So, you were saying, Sam?" Bobby looked up and prepared to yell at Sam when Dean cut in.

"Cas is an angel?" Dean took in a deep breath, trying to slow down his heart rate. "Did you know? Did you let us work with a goddamned angel Bobby?"

Bobby looked around and saw all eyes on them. "My office. Now."

"No. They're sending Emma and Magda to bed. They're fucking traumatized, and you know the angels are going to send the Dreams after them. I'm not leaving my charge alone." Dean stood up and brushed his knees off. "I only came back through the portal cause I misjudged my landing."

"What happened?" Sam looked at Dean.

"Claire ran away, saying that the angels were coming for her. Or did they come for her? I don't know. But Emma's in danger, Magda's in danger. And for fuck's sake, Cas and his charge are in danger." Dean rolled his neck and shoulders. "Yell at me if you need to, but it's going to be after my shift is over. Sam, go get your portal open."

Dean waited until Sam's portal was open before jumping back through his. The room was dark, and he could hear Emma sobbing in her bed. He knew how close Emma had become to Claire, he and Cas often chuckling at the girl's conversations at night.

"Castiel," Emma sniffled, "I don't know if you're real, but Claire said you're the only good angel left." Dean moved closer so he could hear her quiet prayer. "I don't know why she had to leave, but she needs to come home. Please keep her safe. Please?"

Dean swallowed hard and climbed up to her mattress, hiding at the foot of Emma's bed. He whispered, knowing that she couldn't hear him. "Oh, Emma, he's real. And if I know him, which I like to think I do, he's doing everything to keep her safe. I just want to know who's keeping him safe." Dean blended into the shadows and moved up near Emma's head, ready to fight any Dreams that came her way.

As daylight started to break, Dean gave Emma one final check, confirming that she had finally fallen into a peaceful sleep. The angels had not been kind to her and had sent four Dreams after her that night. The number was unprecedented. The most Emma had ever had in a night was two, and that was usually when she watched a scary movie.

The angels wanted something. They were trying to find Claire or Cas or both of them. Dean hopped back under the bed, sliding through the portal where he was met by Sam and Bobby. He nodded exhaustedly, hitting the button to shut down his portal, before following after Bobby.

They entered Bobby's office, where he gestured for the two of them to sit. Sam immediately sank into a seat while Dean shook his head no. "If I sit down, I'm gonna fall asleep. Four, Bobby. They sent four Dreams after Emma."

Sam looked up. "Shit, and here I was bitching about the three that came after Magda." He ran his hand down his face. "You said Cas is an Angel?"

"He was." Bobby interrupted. "He's a Fallen."

Dean shook his head. "They're extinct."

"You gonna make me spell it out for you, idjit?"

"It's why everything was blacked out in his personnel folder." Sam smacked his forehead. "And why he can vanish. He has all the powers of an angel, just cut off from their central source."

"Where would he go, Bobby?" Dean pleaded. "If he and Claire are in trouble, where is he?"

Bobby shook his head. "You can't go there, Dean."

"Stop me, Bobby."

"You almost got branded an Outsider today!" Bobby slammed his fist on the desk. "There is a reason we use the portals, there is a reason we can only go when it's night–"

"Fuck the bureaucrats, Bobby. The guy I love is in trouble. You know I know how to get over, with or without a portal." Dean's green eyes flashed feral. "Where is he?"

Sam cut in. "Dean, you need to think about this. Yes, you care about Cas, and you've grown to care about Claire. But what if you drag the angels right to them? As a Fallen, they'll kill him on sight, and we don't know why they want Claire."

Dean snarled and started pacing. "I can't just sit here."

"Garth is tracking him. He's one of the few monsters left who's allowed to cross through without using a portal." Bobby admitted. "Technically, you can also ask Rowena really nicely if she'll go look for him too. She's not a monster, she's a witch who just prefers the company of monsters."

Sam's ears turned bright red. "I can call and ask her." He pulled his phone out of his pocket and stepped outside.

"Dean, I know you care about him, but if you're gonna go find your guy, you need to do this right." Bobby walked to the front of his desk. "Sit down."

Dean sat down in the chair in front of Bobby, resting his head in his hands.

"We'll get you a temp pass." Bobby clapped his hand on Dean's shoulder "Benny's lady can probably pull you some strings, right? I can say you need it for work."

After pulling some strings, Andrea was able to get Dean a three-day pass to the human world. Rowena agreed to join Dean and use her powers to track Cas and Claire, and Garth would join them once they walked through the veil to the Human world. 

"Ye know, Dean. The plus side to this whole trip, unless the werewolf has found him first, I can be the firs' ta say I've met yer boy." Rowena smiled up at him before stepping through.

Dean took a deep breath, centering himself before following. 

The human world was much brighter than he remembered. He had been brought to the Monster realm when he was young, and Sam only a pup. Hunters had burned his mother alive, and when his father went after them in revenge, he was slain with a silver bullet. Bobby and Ellen had found them, back when monsters could freely move between the realms, two malnourished pups, and took them in, raising them as their own alongside Jo. Despite the assholes who killed their parents, they were raised to see the good in humanity, taking an oath to protect them.

Garth jogged up to them. "Hiya, Dean, Miss Rowena. I got some good news, and I got some bad news."

"Bad news first, please" Rowena raised her chin and squeezed Dean's hand.

"The bad news is that the angels are also on the hunt, and may have caught wind of Cas and his charge."

Dean let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding. "So what's the good news, man?"

"I know where they are.”

Dean lunged forward and pulled Garth into a huge bear hug. "You found them? Where are they? Can you take me to them?"

"Calm yerself, Dearie," Rowena pulled Dean back. "Did ye miss the first thing Garth said?"

"Yeah, if I take you to them, you risk exposing them." Garth looked at Rowena. "You, however."

"'Cause I'm human? Are they only looking for Monsters?"

Garth nodded. "Let's get you out of the open. We're masked at the moment, but it won't be long before my shoddy spell work fades off and they know Rowena's with us."

The three of them drove to a local hotel that Garth hadn't used yet. Once set up inside, Garth pulled up some information on a laptop. "So, I was able to trace them here." He pointed to an empty spot on the map. "They've taken up in an abandoned hotel. When I went and took a look, I saw that it's done up with all kind of anti angel warding. So I guess, your Cas is a Fallen; otherwise, it would keep him out too.

"Claire doesn't leave, ever. Cas makes a run every few days." Garth scratched at his beard. "The angels have only tried to approach it once, and one angel was instantly immolated."

"Sounds like Cas. He likes to have a plan for everything." Dean smiled fondly.

"There is one other thing. I found out why the angels want Claire. She's a former vessel." Garth leaned back in his chair.

Dean sat on the edge of a bed. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"Angels are going extinct. They're looking for former vessels and anybody strong enough to support an angel possession to make new angels."

"I dunnae if that a good thing they're goin' extinct, or a bad thing that they're tryna ta make new ones." Rowena rubbed her temples. "Do ye think Cas would be against bringing Claire ta our world?"

Dean nodded. "He probably would have done it immediately if he thought it was a good thing."

"So what we need is to make sure Claire's not appealing to the angels, and bring Cas back to our world." Garth agreed. "Dean and I can look that up if you go to Cas and let him know that his boyfriend is worried sick about him."

Dean blushed. "We never actually got that far."

"Dude, trust me when I say he misses you." Garth chuckled. "And Claire knows all about you."

"Really?" Dean perked up. "I mean. That's good."

"Yer being ridiculous, Dean." Rowena smiled. "Now, either give me something only the two of you know, or something I can give him to show him that I'm coming from you."

After some prep work, Dean telling Rowena an embarrassing story about getting stuck under Emma's foot, and a quick outfit change, Garth drove the witch over to the abandoned hotel. Dean stayed behind and was looking through hunter's research for anything that could strip a human vessel of the ability to hold an angel.

After about an hour, and so many bullshit spells later, the door to the hotel room opened. Not looking up from the computer, Dean started to ask how everything went when he found himself knocked on the floor in a warm, tight embrace.

"You idiot. I left so you wouldn't get hurt, but you still came after me. What were you thinking?" Cas hugged Dean tightly, clinging to him as though he were going to disappear.

Dean returned the hug nuzzling into Cas' neck. "I was thinking that I couldn't lose you, dumbass.”

Rowena walked in and closed the door before looking at Claire. "At least they pointed out the obvious for us."

"That they're stupid? Yeah. I still want to tell Dean that, though. Cas has heard it enough from me over the past two days." The sassy blonde looked down at the two men on the floor. "Are you two going to get up? I want to actually meet Dean."

Cas pushed himself up and off of Dean, standing up before offering the shifter a hand. Dean stood and offered a hand out to Claire. "Nice to meet you."

"When I'm not sleeping? Yeah, I know what you do." She tossed her long hair over her shoulder. "Thanks for being Emma's protector. She's a cool kid."

Dean nodded before asking the obvious. "Why are you two here?"

"Rowena told us of your plan," Cas responded. "Claire doesn't want to be a vessel, and I want to come home. With you."

"I already know of a spell. I was friends with a witch. The feathered assholes got her when they found out she helped me. Her name was Tasha." Claire frowned. "She still made sure the spell got to me." She opened her backpack and pulled out a notebook, handing it to Rowena. "Can you make it happen?"

"I have no supplies here, but I can make anything happen when I have them." Rowena winked. "We can either bring her into the monster realm where all my things are, or we take a few days which Dean doesn' have."

"I don't have to stay in the monster realm, right? We can purge the grace or whatever it is out of me, and I can go back to Jody and Donna?" Claire asked. "I actually felt at home there."

"Aye. I travel back and forth a bit. Humans can come and go. Technically the monsters can, but it's frowned upon."

"Only Angels can't cross through," Cas responded, a sad smile across his face. "So we'll all be safe."

"Then let's go!" Claire clapped her hands together. "The longer we wait, the faster they can find us."

"You got it, kiddo." Dean took Cas' hand into his. "Let's go home?" Cas nodded and followed Rowena, Garth, and Claire out to the car.

The trip back to the Veil was quick. However, they were greeted by a small group of what Dean assumed were angels. Cas quickly stepped between them and Claire while Dean and Garth stood between Cas and the angels.

"Castiel, brother, it's been a long, long time." The angel at the head of the pack called out. "Too long. The halls of the host miss your grace."

"I was no longer your brother the day I was stripped and marked as fallen, Hester," Cas called back. "My grace is missed, but I am not."

"You insisted on protecting the humans. They're pets. Pathetic on their own."

"She was my charge. I was her guardian angel. You all chose to listen to Michael!"

Dean and Garth shared a look and a slight nod, both ready to shift if needed.

"And Heaven will fall if we don't have angels," Hester responded. "Give her over, and you can live your heathen ways."

"Ugh." Rowena rolled her eyes. "Enough. I just wanna go home and drink some tea." She cut open her hand, squeezing some blood onto a sigil she had drawn in the ground with her foot. "Angelis ad Caelum!"

The group of angels that had blocked their passage through the veil disappeared. "Good, that worked. Cas, be a dear?"

Cas walked forward and healed her hand.

"Good, let's go home. I really wasn' kidding abou' wantin' my tea."

Once back in the Monster Realm, Garth went to check in with Bobby, and let them know that Cas and Claire had been found and that Claire would be in the realm temporarily. Rowena called Sam and took Claire to her home, stating that Cas needed to rest, and the best place for him would be with Dean.

Dean stood next to the Fallen and hesitantly wrapped his arm around Cas' waist, pulling him close and resting his head on his shoulder. "You scared the crap out of me, Cas."

"I can only imagine. It hurt me to leave you that way." Cas rested his head against Dean's. "Claire and I barely had any notice."

"Come on, let's get you rested in an actual bed." Dean started walking towards his home.

"Is it comfortable?"

Dean smiled and nuzzled into Cas' neck. "I'll be in it with you."

"Are we actually going to get any rest in it?" Cas' eyebrow raised in curiosity.

"That part," Dean stopped, turning to face Cas, "Is completely up to you." He leaned in and kissed the Fallen, hoping to show how excited he was to have him home.

[wlovat]

surprising return : chapter 2, part 1 . I’m uploading this on tumblr, and @mysticaldreampatrolhoagie is putting it on ao3. it’s so long that chapter 2 will have two parts, which I will upload shortly.

Taking a deep breath for air, he widened his eyes and coughed to try to get the blood out of his throat, choking him. Eli sat up and spat out the last traces of blood that remained in his mouth, his heartbeat racing as he looked around trying to understand what had happened. Shit, he felt like a truck had crushed him.

He tried to remember why he still was on this fucking park, there was blood coming out of his mouth and he was feeling like he hasn't eating for days, but his last memory had been of him and Josh walking around here.

Food. Eat him.

What? No, Josh wasn't food, he could be cute in that puppy way but certainly not delicious like pizza, so why had he thought about eating him? Speaking of the idiot, had he left Eli here and gone after Sam and his precious cards? No, that didn't make sense, he needed Eli's costume to get in there and looking down, he realized he was still using it despite how sticky the fantasy was inside. 

Placing his hand on the underside of the costume where his belly was, Eli looked down at his fingers and realized that something red covered them. Blood. Fuck, he had more blood on his costume than on his cousin Lisa's first menstrual pad, but he wasn't hurt and there was no one around him. And with the amount of blood on his clothes, it was fucking bullshit that a horde of ghoulies had no longer devoured him. He was too handsome to die like that. That was when something came to mind.

This blood is gonna get the ghoulies fucking fast

Wait, that was his voice. What if this blood was from Josh and he was talking about it? Maybe whatever had happened during the fucking hole in his memory was that Josh had been injured. Shit, he thought as he got up and walked to his bike, which luckily was still in the same place as before, - what was also weird, but Eli was too happy to see it to care about it - riding on the rump and turning it on.

Josh couldn't die now. Not when he was starting to like the naive idiot, he'd even considered letting him go back to the mall, obviously as long as Eli owned it and he followed his orders. 

Our food?

This time this thought came as a voice, but Eli wasn't going to eat Josh even though the prospect looked strangely good. The moments he had spent with him a few hours earlier had been the best since the adult's shit hit the fan and the apocalypse knocked on his door. Eli for the first time didn't feel lonely, - he loved Mavis but she still was a mannequin - he felt like Josh could be the brother he never had. So maybe the hunger that was starting to hammer in his head and digging a hole in his stomach was fucking with his mind.

But that didn't mean he didn't like the idea of ​​owning Josh either. After all, Josh and the losers were living in his mall so technically he owned them. Shit, what he wanted to fuck around, he didn't care about the others, if Josh wasn't alive and with his precious cards he would kick those losers out of his mall faster that people buying during the Black Friday. Also, he wouldn't admit that maybe he was worried more about the idiot than his cards, after all no one ever said that Eli fucking Cardashyan was honest to anyone, even to himself.

Putting on the costume mask and getting ready, Eli drove toward the mall. As he passed the streets, he wondered how empty it were even though his blood must have already attracted at least one ghoulie, but he wasn't the type who refused to abuse luck so he just kept going his way. Parking his motorcycle near the back entrance and placing a tarp over it, Eli entered the elevator that started up to the first floor, closing his eyes and leaning his back against the metal wall as he remembered how Josh thought he could keep up him away from his own mall. Dumbass puppy. As if Eli wasn't the king of this fucking shit and didn't know what was his.  

Laughing at the memory that reminded him of a jealous older brother, he heard the elevator stop and opened his eyes, looking straight at the doors and expecting more than he would like to see Josh with his stupid sword pretending to be the hero and not the dick he was - okay, stop fucking around, maybe he wasn't a real asshole like Eli, but he was still a low level one - but all that received him was the sight of Gay Wesley pointing his sword at him with his sociopathic boyfriend by his side grunting like a dog. Just behind him was Angelica with her flamethrower in her hands like a little arsonist and beside her the witch with a crazier than usual look, looking like his mother when she saw him buying unnecessary things.

Fooodd! Now!

"What's up, losers" he smiled and ignored the scream, waving at them when instead he should have taken a picture of the dumbass faces they had at that time. 

"Eli?" they all asked at the same time, looking like the free musicals crap that he was forced to go as a kid because his parents couldn't afford to go to the movies.

"What? Happy to see me, suckers? Looks like you saw a fucking ghost" he teased as he placed his finger on the tip of Wesley's sword and lowered it without resistance. "I see Josh stopped being an asshole and let you back, where's him?" he questioned, snorting when they didn't answer.

"Has a mutant cat got your tongue? He really thought that just because I disappeared for a few hours he runs this shit?! Dick! He'd better have my fucking cards or I'll kick your motherfuckes ass out of this mall" Eli pointed and glared at them, passing through them without looking back and opening the door to the inside.

His mall looked the same, he thought as he took a deep breath and spread his arms, no smell of old shit or rot anywhere and just the smell of wealth and money welcoming him. The sweet wind of the air conditioner and the sight of the various stores that now belonged to him brought the familiarity of what had been his home for six months. Fuck, the Sultan was back to his kingdom.

"Josh!! Where the fuck are you?" he put his hands around his mouth and shouted, walking through the mall meanwhile, "C'mon don't be a pussy! If you show up I promise I won't kick you out and let these losers live here. Okay, maybe if you don't have my cards intact any of this shit will happen but that doesn't matter right now" he said the last part lower as he passed the food court, after all Josh didn't need to hear that.

"Josh!!!" he shouted for the last time "What the hell, where's that idiot? Shit" he cursed because maybe he was starting to get worried. Not that anyone could judge him, a day ago Josh was acting like fucking cops when they see blacks or immigrant people the moment he set his feet here, so why the fuck hadn't he come after him the moment he breathed the same air as him?

"Elii!" he heard his name being called and stopped walking, turning to see Wes coming toward him with the main group of losers right behind him.

"Wes, my favorite gay" Eli started as he put his left hand on his shoulder, ignoring the killer look that Turbo gave him and paying more attention to the fact that Wesley didn't see to care about the blood on his hand "Look, you'll find this very funny but I'm not here to fight with you ... at least not right now. All I want is my cards and your dear friend Josh is with them, so I just need to find him so I can fulfill our deal" he talked, all the time smiling.

"Sooo, where is he?" he asked for the last time, his patience becoming strangely short and an suddenly irritation hitting him. Not that he was a very patient guy, but with the financial conditions he used to have he had gotten better at it. Luckily, Wes said something even if it wasn't what he wanted to hear.

"He is with Sam" Wesley spoke as if that were obvious as his mind tried to process the fact that Josh wasn't here, which might have increased his irritation, "What?? Don't tell me that idiot left me in the middle of that fucking park, completely drenched in blood and in danger of being captured, or worse, devoured by ghoulies to be with his little girlfriend?!! This delicious body is a dish full for those brainless creatures!!" Eli said louder than he wanted to, showing his hands and gesturing to his body as he spoke.

"No, you asshole! The bitch became the new queen of the jocks and kidnapped Josh while you were supposedly dead" the voice that scolded him was from Angelica who looked very angry as Eli's brain took a few seconds to fully understand what she said.

"What do you mean Sam kidnapped Josh? I thought they were lovebirds. And what do you mean, supposedly dead, shorty? I disappear for a few hours and everything goes to hell?!" he said, trying to figure out what the fuck was going on.

"Eli, what do you mean, hours? It's been three days since anyone saw you so we all thought you were dead" Wes answered him and this time it was his turn to put his hand on Eli's shoulder, who said the first things that came to mind "No, man that makes no sense. I was on a mission with Josh to rescue  Sam and take my cards, and suddenly I don't remember anything else. And what about Birom? He rules the school and the jocks so how the hell is Sam the new queen?" 

"The principal blew up the school and arrested everyone he intended to eat. After that he commanded the jocks to try to destroy Glendale but we stopped them along with Josh and Sam" he explained but soon after was interrupted by Angelica.

"Yeah, we get to save everyone and everything was fine for the first time since this shit happened but then that bitch decided she was the new leader… and Josh, that idiot with hero complex tried to ask her to stop but she chained and knocked him down. We had no choice but to run away" she finished, clenching her hands into fists and with unshed tears in her eyes, and honestly Eli didn't know if they were tears of sadness or anger, maybe both.

Taking Wesley's hand off his shoulder, Eli turned and ignored the others behind him, placing his hands on his eyes and closing them as he tried to concentrate. 

Okay, everything was fucked up but he had to think. If the principal exploded the school it meant that probably his cards too but suddenly that didn't seem to matter so much now, and they sure were irreplaceable but so was Josh. He could just leave Josh with the girl he did everything he could to stay and even though she now acted as a dictator, it was all his fault. He could fool the losers and get them out of here, which would mean he'd have the whole mall to himself again and go back to his previous life, with Mavis and everything he could want... but a friend.

Maybe he could just get another friend, but that meant he would have to find someone who knew him, endured his unique personality, and at least liked him like Josh, which already drastically reduced his options. Shit, he couldn't do that. He didn't need Josh, he didn't need anyone but he wanted him here, with him. Letting out a breath and lifting his head, Eli took his hands from his eyes and looked at them, 

"And what are you suckers still doing here? I thought you cared about your dear friend Josh but I don't see any of you going after him. We all know the idiot won't save himself" he said as he smiled and put his hands on his hips, shaking his head when Wesley answered, "Obviously we want to go after him but Sam has an army now, Eli. We can't go there without a good plan" 

"You may not have a good plan but I have one" he spoke and crossed his arms as he approached them, his gaze almost predatory even if he didn't realize it "But for this work, you will have to follow my lead. And... will have a price" 

"Are you insane, your fucking prick?!! I'll show you how the fuck I'm going to follow you!" Angelica screamed and would have jumped at him if the witch hadn't wrapped her arms around her torso pulling her against her chest.

"Eli, you can't ask this from us, you know that!" Wesley said as Turbo growled.

"Okay, okay" he raised his hands in surrender which seemed to calm them but Eli could still see the tension exhaling even when they breathed "So since you don't want my help and you sure have a better plan, I'm going to sit in my massage chair, relax and listen to a good rap while I have a snack" he bluffed, rubbing his palms and shrugging.

"Good luck, losers. 'Cause you will fucking need it" he waved and laughed, turning and taking some steps until he heard what he wanted.

"Wait!" Wesley's voice echoed through the mall as turned back, looking at them "We will do that".

"Wes! We can't trust this, asshole. He will betray us as soon as he gets the chance!" Angelica screamed as she glared at Eli, looking more like the little psycho he always knew she was. 

But Wesley didn't seem to mind, leaning on one knee and placing a hand on her shoulder, "We have no option. Sam has been with Josh since yesterday and we don't even know how to get close to her, much less rescue him. I know we can't trust him but it's the only way if we want Josh back" this seemed to convince her because she no longer protested when Wes got up and headed toward Eli, stopping in front of him,

"What is your plan?" he asked before crossing his arms.

"What? I guess I didn't hear the part where you say that you and the others loser will be my bitches" he smiled sarcastically and raised an eyebrow, not doubting for a second that he wouldn't say what Eli wanted.

"Really, Eli?" Wesley snorted in discontent but continued anyway "We'll follow you if you really have a plan that brings Josh back, and after, our deal is ended. Happy?"

"Of course I have a plan, my dear Wes" he laughed and spread his arms as he spoke "In fact, it's a very simple one. Me, you and the big guy here" he patted the Turbo's chest "will go to school and give Sam exactly what she wants in exchange for her giving Josh back to us"

"And what would that be, Eli?" Wes asked and he was happy to answer. The strategy Josh used against him was exactly what would save him. Life was a fucking ironic bitch. "What all those who rule want…" he paused, approaching and whispering beside Wesley's ear,

"More power"

And maybe for a mere second his vision had turned red and when he looked over the former jock's shoulder he saw the almost frightened look the witch gave him. But right now he was too ecstatic with a feeling he didn't recognize to care. His plan was underway and no one but him knew what lay ahead to any of them.

Food!

Food!!

Food! Food! Food!

FOOD!!!!

Shut up, shit. He mentally shouted back at the words that sounded like the damn beat of loud music his neighbor used to play at dawn. Fucking dick, glad he was dead. 

Eli tried to think straight as he slammed the bathroom door behind him, trying in vain to end the hunger that was consuming him. He had eaten every kind of food he had here, even what one day was salad, but nothing looked the same. Everything seemed to taste like moldy shit. And the worst was that only one thing seemed delicious to him:people. As they prepared for the mission, Eli put his plan into action but every moment he saw someone's throat he looked like a fucking drunk in abstinence. Thirsty for it. Shit, he needed to get his shit together.

As soon as he got to the sink, he turned on the tap and wet his face, immediately throwing up everything in his stomach. Fuck, now he looked like his cousin Nina. Turning off the tap and taking a deep breath, he squeezed the edges of the sink until his knuckles turned white, staring at the shit he'd just thrown.  

This is not food, Eli. 

We need real food.

"Who the fuck are we?" he asked irritably, looking at his reflection in the mirror and startling when he saw his eyes turn black and his teeth sharpened, black veins pulsing beneath his skin from his arms to his neck. "What the fuck?"

We are you. We became you when you bled to death in that park, choking in your own blood.

"What? What the fuck are you talking about, I didn't die. I'm not a fucking ghost, I'm Eli fucking Cardashyan" he pointed a finger at his mirror image, feeling ridiculous for talking to his reflection. All that was missing in his life was gone crazy.

Hahaha! Since you don't believe me maybe I should show you, Eli. But don't say I didn't try the easy way.

The voice gave a cold laugh just before Eli fell to the floor on his back, the sensation of choking on something he couldn't take from his throat taking over him, like drowning. But that wasn't bad enough, because soon a sharp twinge of pain in his abdomen seemed to come out of nowhere, as if he had been in shock before, causing him to put his hand to try to press what appeared to be an open wound, the pain getting even worse.

With that, he vividly felt the despair and the fear of death falling like a bucket of cold water in his mind and he suddenly remembered. The memory of putting Josh in the cage and smiling at him as he said that if he we would betray him he would know.  From the moment he prepared to leave the park but soon after was attacked and stabbed, fighting for his life on Josh's lap who looked so scared when he could only make a joke before life drained from his body. The last thing he heard being the desperation in Josh's voice as he begged him to wake up.

Eli coughed with unshed tears in his eyes as his mind came back to reality and he looked at the ceiling of the bathroom with one hand on his belly and the other on his neck, trying to organize his thoughts. He was fucking dead. He felt the fucking blood come out of the wound at the same time it choked him, his body dying in Josh's arms. But if he died then why was he alive? What was he?

It doesn't matter now, you are we! And we need to eat, we need blood and Josh is the perfect target. Tall and delicious, this will satisfy us.

"No! You fucking prick" He said more tired than angry as he sat and leaned his head against the wall by the sink, looking up. "I won't eat Josh. I don't have a shit brain like those fucking ghoulies. I'm human… obviously above average but still human" 

No, we are neither ghoulies nor humans. We are more than that, Eli. Now... you are more than that.

The voice hissed and maybe that should have made Eli panic just like any sane, normal and boring person, but no one ever said he was any of those things. Getting up and looking in the mirror again, this time Eli didn't back down when his appearance changed. "What do you mean more than that?"

You can have everything, Eli. Everything you ever wanted and couldn't have, and when you finally had it, some idiots just took it from you. But if you accept what you are, that side of you and the hunger that comes with it, no one else will take anything from you. You will have more power than any of them have right now. You will be the fucking king of this city. Like you always wanted…

Those words interested Eli more that it should but he honestly didn't give a shit. What were the old human right and ridiculous conceptions after the apocalypse to someone that wasn't human anymore? He could eat animals most of the time and people when it was needed if that guaranteed him everything he ever asked and begged for. A fair life for someone like him. But still have something that he wanted.

"Okay, I accept it I will eat what we need but only with two conditions" he said and smiled as he turned back to being handsome as before.

What? Just say it.

"First, you won't take over this wonderful body anytime you want and do shits that you know I won't like. Besides we can be one but I'm the fucking boss when it comes to my body, okay?" when the voice didn't answer, Eli considered it a yes and continued,

"And second, I decide who we eat or not and Josh… is off limits. Ever" he said while looking into his own eyes, his voice firm and no longer playful.

Okay, I get it, pussy. But why don't you want to eat the idiot? After all, it was he who invaded what was yours and took it from you. He is the cause of all your problems.

It made Eli laugh and shrug "This is none of your fucking business. It's my shit to lead"

No, Eli, I believe you didn't understand. I know what you are going to do after "rescuing" Josh. I know your plan and while you may be the smart one, your power comes from me.

He lickimed his lips and decided there would be no problem with him answering that. There was no one there, and whatever was inside him and changed what he was wouldn't tell anyone "Because he is my friend. And if you know me so well you should know that he's the only one I've ever had, that what I've always wanted besides power was this, someone who was my real friend. And I don't eat or hurt what belongs to me so that goes for you too" he explained and closed his eyes, expecting that the voice would mock him for it but the next words spoken surprised him,

Okay, if he as well as the mall belongs to us then I don't care. As long as we can have blood in our mouth soon.

With his lips in a way that might even seem manic, Eli opened his eyes, his next steps already in his mind when he spoke to his reflexion before leaving the bathroom.

"We don't need to worry. Sam will need to be convinced and that will include what you want" and maybe the idea of this could have made Eli laugh.

Walking through the sections of his mall, Eli wore a dark blue shirt, a black jacket over top and black jeans, and sneakers that he could never buy before, as well as the rest of his clothes. But according to all the good movies he watched, style was important during negotiations, and he wouldn't ignore that. He was coming from a conversation with KJ and the other stragglers that Josh had tried so hard to protect. At least now they would be useful for something besides fucking with his stuff. 

Heading toward the main exit, he soon saw Wesley holding his crazy boyfriend's face, with Angelica and the witch seeming to be arguing right behind them. "Oww! Did you lovebirds not have time to fuck before you came here?" he teased as Turbo growled and Wes rolled his eyes, ignoring him when Angelica answering for him. "Oh shut up, asshole! You're here to rescue Josh not to talk shit!" 

"Well, you're lucky I'm willing to help you even after you act like fucking plagues and invade what's mine. So maybe you should treat me better, shorty" he said, raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms. His eyes widening when Angelica smiled and pointed at him what appeared to be a mini flamethrower, all indicating that she was going to make him a pile of ashes until Wes lowered her arm, an expression of pure disappointment on her face as she put the object in her bag. Fucking little psycho.

"Okay, Eli, that's enough. We have to go if we want to get there before it gets dark" the fake samurai said already opening the door with Turbo by his side but Eli still had something to work out "Wes, Wes, Wes, Wes" he said as he gestured for him to come to him,

"I think you losers forgot that I said there would be a price for my help. And I'd like to charge it now" he explained and Wesley sighed deeply but went to him.

"I want two thirds of my mall. Of course I could demand all that is mine but I will have mercy on you. So, I stay in my part and all of you in yours" he explained and shrugged, Wesley's eyes showing his exasperation as he looked to Angelica, seeming to come to a silent deal when he faced Eli.

"Okay, so we'll be in the section where we put Josh's stuff and you won't bother us, so we won't have to see your face for a long time. Deal?" he challenged more than asked, as if daring him to demand anything more. But otherside, he should know that Eli was the fucking Sultan of this place who knew he could push some more, after all he was enjoying being the one to play with Wesley this time.

"Of course, my dear Wes. But you see, unfortunately, and for because you fucking fooled me last time…" he laughed sarcastically and turned to Angelica whispering "Yeah, karma is a bitch, not my cousin in that case" he continued this time to Wesley,

"I don't trust you. I wouldn't trust you not to kill me at night much less to fulfill your part of that shit" 

"The feeling is mutual" Angelica cut him off with a fake smile but he just ignored her, stopping in front of Wesley and crossing his arms "So the only way I can make sure I have what I want after that, is by having what you have now. I want the control of the gates. And I want it now or I'm out" he said, pointing behind him to emphasize what he meant. 

Eli watched with pleasure the different emotions that progressively passed over the face of his favorite gay samurai. Incredulity, anger, mistrust, doubt and worry that was probably for Josh. But in the end, when their gaze locked at that moment, they both knew the concern would win.

Taking the gates' control out of his armor, Wesley lifted his arm and stood very close to Eli looking at his eyes with what was probably the most serious look he had ever seen in him "If I even suspect you're not on our side, if you even dare to think about betraying us for a second and putting Josh's life on the line, I'll forget any vow I have ever made. I'll finish you, Eli, completely. You understood?" he whispered as Eli concentrated on not letting himself tear his throat.

Let's eat him. He isn't your friend.

Yeah, but he's Josh's fucking best friend, he answered mentally and gave the most real smile he could as he took the control and stuffed it in a pocket inside his jacket "Don't stress for me, Wes-Wes. I'll fulfill my part of the deal and help you save Josh, and after that I will no longer be forced to live with you suckers. Everybody wins" He shrugged and put on his sunglasses. Passing them and opening the door before shouting "C'mon motherfuckes! We have a negotiation to attend" 

They were approaching the perimeter of the school, Eli riding his motorcycle to the trees near the main building while Turbo and Wesley would go to the back of the stands where the jocks’ vehicles were. By the time Eli pulled over his motorcycle and took off his glasses, he knew it was his fucking time to prove why he had managed to keep a mall for himself for six months and ward off any stragglers away. Like his cousin Jay did to all the girls when he tried to flirt with them.

He began walking through the field, knowing that the American Ninja Idol stage and the fact that the sky was already dark would hide his presence until he was where he wanted to, soon seeing from afar how distracted the jocks looked with some playing while others watched a violent football game that was really predictable of them. Sam was smart, keeping the brainless idiots happy would only increase their loyalty to her.

Stepping out from behind the structure of the American Ninja Idol while feeling his vision turn red for a few seconds, Eli walked quietly (and being honest, he was fucking badass doing that) until he was standing in the middle of the football field with his hands in his pockets, several things happening at once. 

The players immediately stopped what they were doing, probably too surprised that he dared to stay in the middle of their game to attack him. Good for them if they didn't want to have their ass kicked. Sam looked completely shocked but it was short lived as she hid it very well when she faced Eli with a cold look while Mona stepped at her side protectively. And finally, Eli saw Josh. He looked like shit, even more than usual.

Maybe because Eli's vision seemed to have gotten better, he could see the moment Josh fainted and Sam shouted for him to wake up, the poor idiot had chains restraining him and a collar around his neck connected to Sam's throne. His face was covered with bruises, and even from that distance, Eli could smell the blood coming from the back of his neck from what he thought was a concussion. What?  When he was bored he learned a lot of important shit.

Every aspect of that sight made Eli's blood boil, and that feeling he couldn't identify came back. But now he had no time to waste, he had a trade to make. It rimmed. "Sam Dean. Girl, looks like you're better than ever" he smiled and crossed his arms.

"Just being the leader they need, and that Josh could never be" she spoke and looked at her ex before facing Eli again "But I thought you were dead, Eli Cardashyan" she raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, you know what life is like now, I could be dead or not depending on the shit you heard" he laughed and spread his arms, showing that there was no injury. That shit of being better was so fucking useful "So who told you a lie like that?

"Josh. I heard him talking to himself about someone named Eli having died in his arms. Saying that was all his fault and honestly, he looked very bad for your death. But you seem to have fooled him, Eli" she said the last part with a mixture of admiration and satisfaction, which only made Eli angry but at the same time a sense of recognition appear in his mind. She really was a cold queen, doing what she needed to be in her position. If he didn't like Josh so much, maybe they could have been allies.

"Perhaps. But that's not important now, is it? After all, you've become the fucking queen of the sport tribe but we both know that's not enough for you. Not when you could rule our entire dear city of Glendale. So maybe, I could help you with that shit" he said as Sam leaned against her throne, his expression thoughtful as she gave a small smile.

"Obviously not, but what could you do to help me? Or rather, how would you be helpful when you don't even have your mall anymore?" she teased and Eli started to laugh. He already expected that.

"Yeah, that's funny, but maybe you shouldn't believe in rumors coming from losers. I have my mall back and not only that, but I'm also the only person who holds the key for you to dominate the other tribes without even striving for it" Eli watched Sam's expression change from mocking to interested.

"Information, baby. When you have six long months, unbearable boredom and a fucking genius brain like mine, you discover a lot of interesting things about people. Like, the weaknesses and secrets of all the tribes" he said, shrugging and hoping that by now Wes and his crazy dog ​​should have broken the jock vehicles.

"And what do you want in return? We both also know that you're not the type to give away information for free" she rested her chin on the hand and waited for an answer.

"Obviously yes, I want something in return. I want Josh" he said and pointed to the fallen body beside the throne, Sam's expression showing how confused she looked "What?"

"You heard me, Sammy. In exchange for giving you all the important shit from all the tribes, all I want is Josh and a promise that you'll leave us alone. Simple as that and then you'll really be a real queen… but if you don't give me him, you know, some bad things can happen" the smile left his face at that moment and Eli felt the tension between the players, Mona and Sam increase. As expected of them, no one who just came out of shit likes to be threatened.

"So, what if I don't want to? Bad things, Eli?" she smiled coldly and gestured for Mona to come over, who was quiet and staring at Eli as if she knew something was wrong "Mona, I bet if I left him with you for a while, this idiot would say all we need without having to make a deal, right?"

"I'd give him the treatment of a piece of shit. So yes, he would surely find a way to be useful or else I'd throw him with the ghoulies to them split him in half" she said angrily and signaled to the jocks, who tore down the wooden walls surrounding the ghoulies below the American Ninja Idol stage. The stupid creatures immediately huddled in the fence, desperate for any piece of meat.

"Yeah, I'm sure this would be a very interesting experience, Mona" he said and winked at her, who rolled her eyes "But since you refuse to make a deal, Sam, I think I'll have to kill each one of you until I get to Josh" he threatened darkly, feeling anticipation and hunger crawling beneath his skin what made him look at the ground to stop it, which only got worse when everyone started laughing.

He heard the echo of the players, the audience, and Sam's laughter across the field, the noise turning deaf as all he could hear was the roar of their blood circulating in the veins. The idiots were so busy laughing that they also barely noticed the ghoulies retreating to the other side of the fence and crouching as his eyes turned black and Eli felt his vision turn red and something take control of his mind. 

My turn!

He could no longer hold it back. He was no longer Eli, and the only thing that he could think was flesh and blood.

"Knock him down" he vaguely heard Sam's voice ordering the jocks, all going in slow motion as one of the pieces of shit gripped his shoulder. 

At that moment, Eli lifted his head and gripped the asshole's hand tightly enough to break it and make him scream as he writhed against his grasp, a manic smile and sharp teeth in his mouth as he turned the jock's neck and bit his throat in the jugular. Tearing his skin and muscles as blood gushed into Eli's mouth and down his throat, making it easily one of the best sensations of his life to devour more and more pieces of flesh and feel life come out of the body beneath him.

But the moment the jock died, it tasted like rotten, dried food. It was no longer worth it. Immediately he dropped the body like trash and looked ahead, feeling the scent of fear spreading throughout the area and making the thrill of the hunt even greater, but the irritation from somewhere above spoiling it. He saw through the red, Sam screaming desperately for the sacks of flesh around him to do something and attack him, and the poor idiot who had a metal baseball bat in his hand stepped forward and used it to hit his head with a force that would kill him before. But not now.

Now, it only made him turn his face and his amusement increased when he looked into the jock's eyes and saw the terror in them as he futilely tried to hit his head again, which didn't happen because Eli gripped the object with his left hand and easily crumpled the metal, tossing it aside and taking a few steps forward. When his prey tried to pull away, his hand went straight to his neck and squeezed his windpipe, a small laugh coming out of his mouth as he watched him struggle to breathe, using his strength to throw the jock to the floor and jump on him, biting and devouring pieces of his shoulder as he drank the blood until life left that body as well. Useless.

He analyzed the preys around him, choosing the one that seemed larger and would have more to eat this time but when he was about to approach to devour it, he heard a scream. "Eliiii! Get away from them" Mona's voice came into his ears and her shitty words made him growl, shouting back without even bothering to look at her "You don't rule me. I offered a fucking deal and you chose to fuck with me. Now, I will love to devour each of you until I get what I want"

Eli laughed codly and was about to eat his next meal when he heard Sam say "So take him!" she slammed her fist into the throne's arm, her voice steady but her tone apprehensive as he perceived that she was hiding her fear behind anger. It pleased him, to know that he had left someone like her, that was a little higher in Eli's conception of power, in that way. So this words was enough to make him turn and look at her but his focus be on what she was offering him. In the human lying on the floor next to her.

[kurara-black-blog]

Terror Of The Ancient Noah Mask

Date: 02/12/18

Words: 2048 *snorts*

Warnings: Klance, Inuyasha AU, Crappy.

Tag: @moonsworllld ; @xarphay ; @skydisneylover ; @mutantgurls ; @spooky-the-owl

A/N: I love Inuyasha, I love Voltron. I love Lance. his is not very good, but I really wanted to write it~

This is episode 11 of the anime!

With his bicycle ready to go, Lance carefully looked around him, trying to spot any red in the middle of the green forest. He was alone, thankfully, no signs of the hothead nearby. With a short relieved sigh, he started pedaling with everything he had, which was a lot, mind you, in direction of the well.

Sadly, Lance didn’t have much luck.

“Wait a second, idiot!”

Lance was able to stop before he rolled over the boy, although a part of him told him he should have just rolled over that annoying dog. Said dog was standing there, looking like the angry bastard he was, violet eyes flashing with a temper.

“You’re going back to that weird world?! Are you trying to run away?! We have shit to do!”

“Oh, out of my way, mullet dog! I have exams to take and I can’t afford to miss them!”

The fact was that Lance had to keep his grades up if he wanted his Exchange Program to go on without any difficulties. He was already risking a lot by not attending class for so long, and maybe Mr. Shirogane was destroying his reputation with all the weird diseases he used as an excuse. Because life couldn’t be hard only in Feudal Era, no, it had to be hard in his world too.

“Well, fuck that! I’ll destroy this so you can’t run away anymore!” Keith—the half-dog—grabbed a large rock, ready to destroy the wooden well. Lance didn’t hesitate.

“Keith, sit!”

Keith stubbornness was no match for Lance’s consecutive commands of “sit”, the boy falling face first on the floor, the rock falling on top of him. He groaned, cursing Lance in between his groans of pain.

“Who said I’m running away, dog?! I’ll be back in three days! Stay here!”

With that, Lance was gone inside the well.

“Why didn’t you bring the dog man with you?”

“No way, that mullet head is impossible to deal with! It was a bother to even come here without him stopping me!” Shoving the last bit of food in his mouth, Lance huffed, “Talking about coming back, Mr. Shirogane, I am glad you worry so much, but can you not throw sake in my head next time?”

The old man only laughed heartily, petting the family cat, Black. Lance smiled softly, it was hard to be angry with the man. He reminded Lance of his own grandpa, all wise eyes and cheekily knowing smiles. Finishing his meal, Lance thanked Mrs. Shirogane, Mr. Shirogane’s daughter, for the food, messed Tsuna’s hair, Mrs. Shirogane’s son, washed his dishes and went to his room to put on his uniform.

It would be a long day at school.

At least his hair didn’t smell like sake anymore.

After a very embarrassing conversation with his friends about his really bad health, and an even more embarrassing encounter with who could be the cutest boy in school about his very poor health, Lance could say with absolute certainty he was done.

“You’re dating Inai?!”

“No.”

“I think he likes you!”

“I know, Taira.”

“Well? Don’t you want to date him?”

“I’m not really interested in dating right now.” It was a complete lie, of course. It is not that Lance didn’t want to date, it is because how could he explain to his boyfriend or girlfriend the reason they couldn’t go out in the next month it’s because he has to go back in time to collect pieces of a super powerful glass ball?

Yeah. No.

Ushijima Amari, Akagawa Taira and Yuhara Natsumi were three kind and funny girls that were glued at the hip even before Lance came in the picture. They had promptly welcomed Lance in their group, and he was forever grateful. He hated feeling like a fish outside water.

Staring at the honestly horrendous slippers Inai Hachiro gave him, Lance wondered if the boy was somehow related to Mr. Shirogane, remembering the old man’s weird medicines and whatnots.

“Could it be… that you are already dating someone?”

“No, no, no! Nope. Not dating. Single as they come.”

“Then, then! What’s your type?”

Lance sighed, knowing they wouldn’t shut up unless he gave them something to satiate their hunger for gossip. He loved the girls, but they could be pretty annoying when they wanted. Not as annoying as Keith, but almost.

“Someone who’s not violent or selfish… Also, someone accepting and affectionate.”

The complete opposite of Keith, go figure.

While Romelle prepared some herbal medicine for a sick villager, Keith grunted. Hot pain pierced his spine every time he tried to get up. That rock really did a number on him.

“Keith, stop laying around and go find information of the Jewel fragments.”

“Shut up, you old witch! Go eat some grass!”

Keith swore that day, laying on the floor of the old priestess’ house, that he would punch Lance in the face as soon as that boy came back from his world.

“Can I sleep here today?” Tsuna asked, interrupting Lance’s studies.

“Of course, if you don’t mind the lights being on.”

That day could, at the very least, be called weird. A sudden fire in one of the deposits, Mr. Shirogane getting hurt and being found passed out with sacred seals all over his face and even inside his mouth, then suddenly one of the firemen trucks taking off like a madman was driving it. As if it wasn’t enough, Mr. Shirogane had recovered the conscience for enough time to mutter some random words about the Meat Mask and how no one should touch it.

Lance surely didn’t blame the boy for not wanting to be alone.

“Something weird is happening, I think. Grandpa wouldn’t do something so weird.”

The older boy opened his mouth to agree, but the sudden noise made him change his plans. Grabbing the flask were he kept the Jewel fragments—it was an instinct to immediately search for them when something happened—, Lance threw himself on Tsuna, protecting him from pieces of what once was a wall.

The basket of a firetruck was struck inside his room, and from it came out something. A creature made of melted blackness, with no defined form. It seemed to leak away and yet gravitate towards its center, that center being a white mask in the middle of the blackness. Painted eyes stared at Lance, carved smile sending shivers down the boy’s spine. The creature’s voice came, smooth and monotone.

“The Jewel… give me… the Jewel…”

“A demon! In this time?” Lance thought, eyes widening, “Must be the jewel’s presence!” As soon as he reached that conclusion, the boy lifted Tsuna in his arms and ran. He had to get out of that house. He had to get Keith. He had no means to fight at the moment, dressed in his cotton pajamas and comfy slippers. He should’ve brought his bow.

He would do that if he survived to see a next time.

Lance did not stop running when the monster attacked, dogging to the best of his abilities. He was glad Mrs. Shirogane was visiting her father in the hospital, he really didn’t want to think what would’ve happened if she was. Stopping for a moment, he put Tsuna down. His bleeding hand-when had he cut himself?—left a trail of blood on the boy’s shirt, but they didn’t have time to worry about it.

“Tsuna, I need you go to the well and get Keith.”

“And you?”

“I’ll distract it until Keith gets here. Please, Tsuna! Go get Keith!”

With that, Lance started to run in another direction, attracting the monster’s attention to him. All he could do was to hope for Keith to come quickly.

If anyone asked, Keith was not anxiously expecting Lance’s return while staring intently at the bottom of the well. He was not.

“How about of going after her instead of staring at the end of the well?”

“Shut up, stupid fox, isn’t it time for you to go to bed?”

“I’m just saying, you should go after her, you know, actually be productive?”

“Pidge, you have five seconds before I kick you back to where you came from.”

The damn fox just smirked, amused by the dog’s temper. Keith opened his mouth to growl out some insult when his nose picked up a familiar smell and his head snapped to look back at the bottom of the well. Pidge looked at him puzzled.

“I can smell… Lance’s blood.” Pidge widened her eyes, staring at what to her was just a normal well. Keith didn’t waste time, preparing to jump inside, “Pidge, go back to Granny Romelle, I’ll go find Lance,” Without giving her time to answer, he jumped.

“… That idiot is so in love with Lance.”

If anyone asked, Keith would admit being a bit surprised at finding the boy that Lance lived with crying while trying to open a hole in the well’s floor. Not sure how to deal with kids, Keith smiled cockily, hoping his show of self-confidence would somehow calm the boy down.

“What’s the matter? You seem troubled.”

In a few minutes, he was jumping from rooftop to rooftop, the boy on his back. He could smell Lance’s blood clear as day, even with the overall weird smell that world had. The hanyo disliked the smell a lot, Lance’s smell wasn’t made to be tarnished with blood, his own or otherwise. Keith could feel a growl trying to rip through his throat, whatever made that boy bleed would bleed twice as much.

He almost sighed in relief when he saw the boy alive and relatively well.

“Sankon Tessō!”

With his claws he opened the way by slaying the strange glob monster in half. Getting near Lance, he let Tsuna get down, who immediately hugged the blue-eyed boy.

If anyone asked, Keith was not glad the boy was ok.

“Don’t worry, Tsuna,” Lance said, trying to make the boy stop crying, “Keith will help us now.”

“Dunno about that.”

“What do you mean, mullet?” Lance soft gaze rapidly turned into a glare.

“I may help if you apologize.”

“Apologize? For what?”

“Don’t tell me you forgot!” Keith pointed accusingly at him. “You almost destroyed my back with your sit command and now you’re asking for help as if nothing happened?!”

“Oh, that! Well, I’m sorry.”

“You aren’t being sincere!”

“Just help us already, mullet dog! That thing has a fragment and I can’t fight right now, so stop whining like a kicked puppy and fight!”

“Who are you calling a kicked puppy, stupid boy?!”

Their fight was cut short when the monster’s body came together again. Lance informed Keith about the mask being the center of the creature, the half-demon taking out his sword, ready to fight despite his last fight with the Cuban. It’s not like Keith was actually planning to leave the humans to fight the demon alone. The mask did had a fragment of Jewel.

“I am the Meat Mask… centuries ago, I was carved from the tree trunk that received a fragment of the Jewel… I have been devouring people since then… I want a body… a body that won’t deteriorate quickly…”

Lance shuddered, muttering about creepy masks and stupid glass balls. Keith let a growl finally get out at seeing the boy’s fear.

“I don’t know how many people you’ve devoured until now, but you’re way too fat!”

To think all it took was a swing of the Tessaiga to end it all. The mask was gone in a flash of light, the fragment falling in front of them. Lance was quick to grab it and put in the flask with the rest of the fragments.

“Hey.” Lance turned to look at him, bluest blue eyes soft and thankful, “You okay?”

“Thank you, Keith.”

“Tch, whatever.”

If anyone asked, that was not a blush on Keith’s cheeks.

“Can I ask you one more thing?”

“Hm?”

“Take us home? I have exams to take and Tsuna has to go to school too.”

“What am I?! Your horse?!”

“Oh, c’mon, mullet dog! Just take us home before I get late!”

“No!”

“Keith!”

Tsuna could only watch as Keith begrudgingly let Lance hop on his back, the two still bickering.

“Tsuna, come on!”

“I’m coming!”