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fi0r3 · 3 years

Text

Just A Black Coffee

Warning(s) ⇾ profanity,

Pairing ⇾ kuroo x gn!reader

Genre ⇾ fluff and some angst, college au, mini-series

WC ⇾ 3.1k

Summary ⇾ You just got out of a toxic relationship and now you need a new place to stay. Your friend just so happens to know someone who’s looking for a roommate who can help out with the rent for the apartment.

AN: @luv4sakusa wanted to be included in my story so bad so I put her in 😒

j.a.b.c master list || next chapter

Ch. 1: New Encounters

It was two in the morning, you and your boyfriend were in a heated argument. You had just caught him cheating on you, but he was trying to deny it. “Why won’t you just fucking admit it!” Your throat was hurting from screaming so much. “I saw you on the couch with her and you dare to tell me that it was nothing!” Truth be told, you had known for a while now that something was going on, but you were in denial. You didn’t want to believe that your boyfriend of five years would do something like that. Yet here you are right now, confronting him. “Omg, you’re overreacting. I was just--” you cut him off “YOU WHAT? HUH? YOU TRIPPED AND YOUR TONGUE ACCIDENTALLY SLIPPED INTO HER MOUTH?” You didn’t want to start crying, yet your body said otherwise. He stared at you in silence before you stomped off to the bedroom.

“Y/n what are you doing?” “Isn't it obvious? I’m packing my shit and breaking up with you.” You were shoving your things into your suitcase not bothering to fold any of your clothes. He scoffs, “Really? Where are you gonna go then?” “Anywhere without you seems good.” You had no clue where to go, all you knew was that you didn’t want to be near Daisho for another second.

You zipped up your suitcase and pushed past him. He forcefully grabbed your arm causing you to turn around. “You can’t just leave me y/n,” he says almost menacingly. “I think I fucking can when I have a pretty valid reason.” You yanked your arm away from him and walked out of the apartment leaving him alone with the girl. As soon as you were out, you felt a sense of relief, but that soon went away as you realized that those five years you spent together were nothing. And your heart starts to ache even more the further you walk away.

_______________________________________________

You were sat on a park bench, the autumn winds nipping at your nose. You looked at your phone and the time read 2:31 am. ‘I shouldn’t have left while it was this cold’ You go to your contacts and call your best friend Abby. “Y/n?” she says in a raspy voice. “What’s wrong, why are you up right now?” You sigh before telling her everything that happened.

“So, yea I was wondering if I could crash at your place for a bit.” “Bitch of course you can! Fuck Daisho, his bitch-ass doesn’t deserve you.” You chuckle at her string of curses. “I’ll be over soon.” “Okayyy be safe.”

You were thankful for having a friend like Abby. You stood up from the bench and made your way over to her apartment. You needed to start finding a place for yourself soon because you didn’t want to mooch off of your friend for too long. You knew she wouldn’t mind having you stay, but you didn’t want to be too much of a burden because she lived in a pretty small space. You got on the bus that led to her address and looked up some websites for apartment listings to pass the time.

_______________________________________________

By the time you arrived at her place, it was already 3 am. You knocked on her door waiting for her to come and open it. You wait there for a few minutes before the door slowly cracks open. “Hey hun,” she says with her eyes partially open. She invites you in and leads you to the living room to set your things down.

“You can put your suitcase over here and there are some toiletries in the closet if you need them.” “Thanks, Abby, you’re the best.” “Of course, you know I’d do anything for you.” “Yea I know.” “So how ya holdin’ up?” You stared at her in silence for a moment trying to recollect your thoughts. You thought you had cried it all out while you sat in the park earlier, so you were surprised when you felt tears streaming down your face.

You didn’t want to cry over this anymore, but your emotions got the better of you. You held your head in your hands and kept sobbing, unable to stop the emotions from pouring out. Abby came over to your side and hugged you. She didn’t say anything. She just let you cry it out until you were able to compose yourself. Deep down she always had a bad feeling about Daisho ever since the day you announced you two were dating. She just didn’t want to say anything because you were so happy. To her, it felt like she was overstepping her boundaries.

“Ok, I think I’ve cried about this enough for today.” “Well shit, I thought I was gonna have to hear you cry until class started.” You chuckled. “Oh shut up.” “I think it’s time we both go to bed, otherwise we’ll pass out from sleep deprivation in class.” She gets up and brings you some pillows and blankets. She bids you goodnight before going back to her room. You were glad she went back to her room because you didn’t want her to see you crying still. You felt bad that you called her so late so you told her to go to bed. You spent that night crying until you finally fell asleep.

_______________________________________________

You woke up at 7 am, eyes still sore from all the crying you did. You felt so drained, but you had to get up and get ready for your classes. Getting up from the couch, you fold the blankets and place them neatly to the side. You open your suitcase and take out your clothes and some toiletries before heading off to the bathroom.

You saw your reflection in the mirror and were startled at the image before you. Eyes all red and puffy and hair all tangled and sticking up. ‘Yikes,’ you thought. You quickly detangle your hair and wait for the shower to heat up.

When you get out, you quickly dry yourself off and change into a fresh pair of clothes. After getting dressed and drying your hair, you met Abby at the kitchen for breakfast.

“You gonna be okay going to school?” she questions while grabbing two plates, placing one in front of you. You take a seat at the counter and fix yourself some of the food she prepared. “I’m not gonna let this whole break up ruin my studies alright. I just have to hold myself together during the day and break down when I get home,” you say with a strained smile. She rolls her eyes at your remark and takes the seat next to you.

“I swear if I see him I’m gonna--” you interrupt, “You’re going to walk away and not cause any drama.” She looks at you with an unamused face. “I’m serious, I don’t want any drama. I said what I said and I have no reason to talk to him anymore.” She turns back to her food before responding. “Okay fine.” You shake your head as you see the look of disappointment on her face. “I’ll be fine, promise.”

You two finished up your food and grabbed your things for school. Both of you rushed to the train station so you wouldn’t be late for class. You were still in anguish over the events that happened, but you were trying your hardest to ignore those feelings so you could focus on your studies. You were anxious about running into him because you felt like you would start crying again if you did. You didn’t want to have a whole breakdown in school.

You pushed all those thoughts in the back of your head as you reached the front of the school. “I have my club meeting after school so you’re gonna be going home by yourself.” “That’s fine I have my part-time job today.” You bid your goodbyes as the both of you head to your respective classes.

_______________________________________________

You head to the back of the classroom and take a seat. You didn’t feel like socializing with anyone at the moment. Mainly because you didn’t want anyone to notice how red your eyes were. You had tried to cover it up as best as you could but to no avail. You decided to look for more apartment listings as you wait for the professor to come to class. All the ones you found were either too expensive or looked like they would fall apart the second you walked in. Finally, the professor walks in and begins the class.

You barely paid attention during the lecture. You were so tired from basically having zero hours of sleep and stressing out over how you were going to find a place to live. You weren’t that close with anyone in your class so you couldn’t even ask them for help. You had zoned out for the majority of the class. The only thing that you obtained from the lecture was that you had a research paper due in the two weeks that was worth 25% of your grade.

You feel a buzz from your phone and you look down to see what it was.

*Message from Abby*

Abby: “Hey y/n, I just wanted to let you know my boyfriend is coming over later to hang, but don’t worry we won’t make you a third wheel :)”

Y/n: “If I walk in on both you being whores, I’ll kick you out of your apartment--”

Abby: “Whatever”

You turn your phone off and try to pay attention to the last ten minutes of the lecture.

_______________________________________________

School was finally over and you quickly met with Abby to tell her that you might be coming home late because you had to cover for your coworker. “Okay, just remember to be safe, you never know what sketchy ass guy is gonna be around.” “Don’t worry I know how to take care of myself. I didn’t take those self-defense classes for no reason.” She waves goodbye as she heads over to meet with her club.

You walked over to the convenience store where you worked that was only a couple of blocks away from your school. You liked taking the night shifts because it was usually the least busy and it meant you could do some homework. That being said, you also had your fair share of creeps and drunks. You had bought pepper spray just in case anything happens. Though you hoped that you wouldn’t have to use it.

When you arrived, the worker there got up to leave so you could take over. You didn’t have much to do. Your main tasks consisted of restocking shelves, mopping the floors, and managing the register. When it was just you in the store it kind of felt peaceful. Sometimes you’d just observe the people who walk by and other times you’d be lost in thought. However this time, you wanted to be away from your thoughts. You tried to put on some music to drown out your thoughts. For a while, it was working until you saw your ex walking hand in hand with the girl he cheated on you with. You were enraged at the sight. How could he move on so easily, while you were still stuck on it? Were you overreacting? Were you the only one who cared about the relationship? All these negative thoughts started to flood in. You were brought back to reality when you heard the bell from the door ring, signaling that a customer was there. You quickly brush off those thoughts and greet the customer. The last hour and a half went into cleaning the floors and doing a little bit of homework.

By the time you finished your shift, the sun had completely disappeared. Although you were confident in your self-defense skills, you would still be nervous about walking home alone. You made sure that you had your pepper spray with you before locking up. You quickly shoot Abby a text saying that you were done with work and were on your way to the apartment.

_______________________________________________

Upon your arrival home, you were greeted by a very loud and energetic guy, who you assumed to be Abby’s boyfriend. You were caught off guard by his liveliness, especially since it was pretty late. “Y/n, this is Bokuto, my boyfriend.” “Bo, this my friend that I was talking to you about.” You exchanged hellos before you went to the bathroom to freshen up.

“Y/n I just solved all your problems,” your best friend announces to you as you exit the bathroom. “Uh how exactly?” you question with one eyebrow raised. “Bo, tell her” she nudges her boyfriend. You sat down next to them on the couch waiting for his response. “So, Abby told me how you’re looking for a place and I happen to know someone who’s looking for a roommate to share the rent.” Your eyes lit up immediately. “Omg really?!” you ask in excitement. “Yup, I can--” you interrupt “I’ll take it.” Both of them were startled by your immediate acceptance.

“Damn y/n, you hate me that much.” You roll your eyes at her remark. “You know that’s not the reason why I wanna leave.” You turn back to Bokuto to ask who this person is just to make sure it wasn’t some sketchy weirdo. “He’s a friend of mine from high school, he goes to the same college as us. He’s a marketing major.” “Okay, he seems fine.” “Yea, I’ll tell him that you’re interested, and I can set up a time for you guys to get acquainted.” You were kind of excited to meet your potential new roommate. You just hoped that he wasn’t going to be an asshole like your ex. “Thanks so much, Bokuto.” “No problem y/n” he flashes a friendly smile.

After a few hours of hanging out with each other, Bokuto had to go. Before leaving he gave you the address of the apartment, Kuroo’s contact information, and his own. He said he would tell you when Kuroo would be able to meet with you. “Aren’t you glad to have such an amazing friend like me?” she asks smugly. “Uhh if I’m not mistaken it was Bokuto who knows Kuroo not you.” you tease. “Okay, but who was the one who introduced you to him? Me exactly.” The both of you started laughing. “Ok, but seriously thank you for doing this. I’ll treat you to ramen sometime.” “You better.”

_______________________________________________

A week has passed since that day, and Bokuto finally texted you saying that Kuroo was able to meet. You were waiting in anticipation. You were hoping that he didn’t already find someone else during that week of waiting. A wave of relief washed over you when you received Bokuto’s message with the details for the meeting. “So when are you seeing him?” she asks from the kitchen. “Today at 4.” You had about an hour to get ready. “Are you nervous?” “Yes and no,” you respond. “I just hope he doesn’t reject me,” you say while trying to pick out an outfit. “Bo said that he’d be fine with anyone as long as they’re able to pay the other half.” “Do you know anything about him?” you inquire hoping to get a little more information before meeting him. “The only thing Bo has told me is that they’ve known each other since high school and were rival teams for volleyball. Other than that, I’m as clueless as you.” You give her a slight nod.

You finally picked out your outfit and went to go change. “Does this look okay?” She turns around to see what you had on. “Yea you look great.” You go back into the bathroom to look at yourself in the mirror one more time. “ARE YOU SURE?” you yell. “YES STOP WORRYING, YOU LOOK FINE!” she yells back. You leave the bathroom to grab your bag and head to the cafe. “Wish me luck,” you sigh. “Relax, it’s not a life or death situation,” she jokes. You wave goodbye and head over to the cafe, hoping that you wouldn’t arrive late.

_______________________________________________

You walk into the cafe scanning the area to see if he was there. You didn’t even know what he looked like so there was no point in trying to look. You feel a buzz from your pocket. You take your phone out to see a message from Kuroo.

Kuroo Tetsurō: “By the window.”

You look up to see a guy with spiky hair sitting by the window looking at you. You could feel his gaze piercing through you. Your heart started to race. You walked over hoping he wouldn’t notice how nervous you were. “Hey gorgeous,” he says with a smirk. “What’s your name?” His forwardness caught you off guard. “Uh I’m y/n,” you say as you took the seat across from him. “Can I get you something to drink?” he asks. “A black coffee is fine.” He gets up to order the drinks. As he gets up, you catch yourself admiring his looks but you quickly brush it off, especially when he’s going to be your future roommate. Besides you just got out of a relationship. Just as you brushed it off, he comes back with the drinks.

“So why do you wanna be my roommate?” he asks you and you reply with “I just really need a place to live right now, I promise I’ll be a good roommate, and make sure to give the payments on time.” “Whoa whoa whoa there, I just asked for a reason not a whole life story,” he says in a teasing manner. You sit there, cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “Sorry didn’t mean to embarrass you, sweetheart.” Little did he know that it made you feel even more flustered. “Uhmm it’s fine,” you reply. Trying to ease the conversation from what just happened, you say in a cocky manner, “So do you want me or not?” Causing a chuckle to escape his lips.

“This is going to be interesting.”

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voiceless-terror · 4 years

Note

For the comfortober!!!! If you'd like to do some of them, might I request "Back to school/work"??? Picturing Jon, after being v sick, or recovering from an injury finally coming back to work, maybe recovered, maybe not?? And the crew just totally fussing over him ??

Here you are! Just in time for day 25.

The situation at hand is not ideal.

He’d been carrying boxes, heavy, cumbersome things that blocked his field of vision as he made his way to Document Storage. Tim had cast a disapproving eye; Jon’s not the most coordinated, he knows that. But the least he could do was carry a few boxes of statements to their proper filing place.

But he managed to, in Tim’s retelling, ‘completely eat shit’ as his leg came in contact with an errant box, causing the one he was carrying to go flying and Jon to fall unceremoniously on the ground with an audible crack.

Everything’s a bit blurry after that.

He remembers an intense pain in his ankle- he’s been here before, his bones are not the most stable structures (it’s a shame they’re tasked with holding his body together). But that didn’t make the pain any less. Surprisingly, it was Martin who took charge, showing a competence Jon had never seen applied to his research or his Latin translations. He picked him up, managing to avoid putting any pressure on his ankle and summarily put him in a cab, despite Jon’s many refutations that he was fine.

He stopped that after Martin shot him a very unimpressed look.

He paid the cab driver and Jon let him- the pain was starting to make his brain foggy and his stomach nauseous. Martin waited the full two hours it took to get him admitted, even letting him fall asleep on his shoulder in one very embarrassing instance that he hopes will never see the light of day. The result of his clumsiness- a broken ankle, a cast, and a set of crutches that he threw into the closet as soon as he got home. He had a cane, that should be fine.

Martin followed him to the door, making sure he was settled on the couch and fixing him a cup of tea as if Jon were an invalid. Sure, the painkillers he was on did not allow for much thinking, but he could manage to take care of himself. When Martin suggested staying a while, just to make sure he was fine, Jon found himself snapping a “No!” and breaking Martin out of his competent stupor. He shook his head a bit, turning red and letting out a nervous laugh. “I’ll uh, leave you to it then. Let me know if you need anything.” On his way out, he turned to him, face serious. “And don’t even think about coming in tomorrow.” He wasn’t- he’s not a complete idiot.

Okay, maybe he did briefly consider it the next morning. But the soreness had intensified, and he knew he probably wouldn’t be able to make it without breaking another bone.

Getting around was...difficult, to say the least. He spent most of the day on the couch, dry swallowing ibuprofen as the painkillers the hospital prescribed were a bit too strong, despite the ease they provided. God, it was so boring. He wished he had the foresight to bring work home. But his assistants’ texts ignored any query about work, only focusing on well wishes and asking if he ‘needed anything.’ What he needed was to do his job. If he was going to be motionless, he might as well be motionless behind a desk.

The next day, the train ride nearly kills him.

Jon manages to find a seat; people are generally sympathetic when they see a cane and a cast. He should’ve taken a cab, of course, but that seemed a little extravagant. He can manage a few steps.

Probably should’ve brought the crutches as well, but they seemed too unwieldy. When he tried them in his flat they’d put too much pressure under his arms, and he wasn’t sure how to go about adjusting them; he quickly got frustrated and threw them to the side. Patience was never one of his strong suits.

But the pain is unimaginable. By the time he gets into work, he’s huffing and puffing, on the verge of passing out. He’d taken ibuprofen again that morning, but it’s doing very little to help him out. As soon as Rosie catches sight of him, she makes sympathetic cooing noises and attempts to take his bag from him.

“Poor thing,” she says after he refuses for the third time. “Are you sure you don’t need help downstairs?”

Quite sure.

The stairs intensify the aching in his joints and he’s sure every one of his assistants hears the tell-tale thump of his cast landing awkwardly on each step. He’s met with three concerned stares, all tinged with exasperation and disappointment. He’s been eliciting those reactions a lot these days.

“Didn’t Elias approve a week of paid leave?” Sasha asks, immediately attempting to take his bag, just like Rosie. And just like with Rosie, he dodges her arms, letting out an involuntary hiss as he puts pressure on his injury. “Honestly Jon, you should’ve stayed home.”

“And where are your crutches, mister?” Tim’s leaning against the wall, looking for all the world like a disappointed parent. “I happen to know that a cane’s not sufficient when you’re in a cast like that. Not to mention uncomfortable, dragging it all around London. What were you doing, hopping down the street?”

“I had a seat on the train, thank you very much,” he says, attempting to hobble away as fast as he can to take refuge in his office. This was all very overbearing.

“You took the train-?” Martin’s incredulous voice is cut short by a slammed door.

Peace and quiet. His office has always been a nice place to suffer in private.

Not that it remains so for long.

Martin comes in not minutes later, bearing a cup of tea accompanied by a few biscuits. “You don’t seem like much of a breakfast-type,” Martin surmises correctly, “And you’ll need to eat something with the medication they’ve got you on.” Jon does not mention he’s not currently on said medication. It sits in his pocket, heavy and accusing. Instead, he just grunts, barely deigning to raise his eyes from the work in front of him. The door shuts and Jon nibbles at the food before his stomach tells him this is a bad idea.

He does eventually (and very reluctantly) call one of them in- he still wants to go through the files from two days prior, but he’s going to need a bit of help to get there. Tim doesn’t help him walk, however, instead pushing his office chair into Document Storage with surprising care, and helps him prop his leg up on a box to keep it elevated. Tim hands him the files one by one, sorting by date- it’s an easy, companionable task. Tim always was one of his favorite researchers to work with; there’s a reason he asked him to join his team. He’s wearing a jumper in a nice, deep blue shade. Jon is not immune to Tim’s charm or looks, but he’s mostly preoccupied with how warm it looks. His own button down and sweater vest are barely doing the job.

After about thirty minutes of this, his leg starts to ache- the stretch is no longer pleasant, and he attempts very gingerly to place his ankle on the ground. Needless to say, it does not work out very well. If the chair had about two more inches, his foot could dangle without putting undue pressure on his joints. Alas, the chair is already at its highest.

Tim notices his fidgeting, zeroing in on the pain in his face. “Need a break?”

Jon sighs. “I’d rather get this box done, at the very least.”

Tim looks thoughtful at this. “Hold on- give me a sec.” He leaves the room but returns rather quickly, two pillows from the break room couch in tow. “Here- lean on me for a mo’, will you?” Jon manages to get to his feet relatively painlessly, leaning most of his weight on Tim’s shoulders as he puts the pillows down as a cushion, lifting him the desired inches he needs. “Better?” Tim smirks, clearly proud of his achievement.

“Much, thank you,” he admits, just happy to continue working. The throbbing is getting worse with each passing minute. They’re eventually interrupted by Sasha, who announces that she’s gotten takeout for everyone- Indian, Jon’s favorite. Elaborate and unnecessary, but appreciated.

Ten minutes later and he’s sitting in the break room with the rest of them, picking at his curry. He knows he should eat; his mind registers the hunger, but it's hard to feel through all of the pain. Ibuprofen’s just not going to cut it. With great reluctance, he pulls the bottle of pills out of his pocket, unscrewing the cap. Martin notices.

“About time for your next dosage, I reckon?” he questions innocently. Martin doesn’t know he never took the first one, and Jon would like to keep it that way. He can’t handle any more thoughtfulness and care from the man. So he just nods, swallowing two pills and chasing them with water. If he can manage a few more bites of curry, it should be fine.

What he didn’t keep in mind is his original reaction to the medication- that strange, loopy feeling that had him leaning on Martin the entire cab ride home. About thirty minutes later, it starts to hit. And all he can think about is Tim’s jumper.

It just looked so warm. Jon wants a jumper like that. Maybe he has a jumper like that? He’ll have to check when he’s home. There’s a lot of stuff in his closet- dumb things, remnants from his college days. Probably a few of Georgie’s jumpers. Maybe Georgie’s jumpers are that warm? But none of them are that nice shade of blue. Jon wants a jumper like that, yeah. In a nice shade of blue. He’s going to ask Tim where he got it from. But he’s got to be discreet. What if Martin overhears? And then Martin gets the jumper? They can’t all wear the same jumper, that’s ridiculous. He’s already going to have to coordinate with Tim, make sure they don’t wear it on the same day. Jon’s a grown man, he can’t go around matching his employees.

He lifts the phone, dialing Tim’s extension. It only rings once before Tim’s cheerful voice answers. “What’s up, bossman? Everything alright?”

“Tim,” he whispers, just in case anyone’s listening. “Tim, I need you to come to my office...immediately.” No, he has to give a reason or he’ll be suspicious. Why would he call Tim into his office? “Reports, Tim. Research. Bring...your research. Yes. Goodbye.” That seemed natural enough.

For some reason, all three of his assistants are at the door. No, that’s not what he wants. Not what he wants at all. “I only need Tim.” He’s still whispering for some reason. “The rest of you go away.”

They don’t, pesky things they are. Tim moves closer, face both concerned and amused. “What’s going on, Jon?” He beckons him closer- he’s so blurry, it’s hard to focus. When he gets within grabbing distance he tugs at his sleeve, forcing him close to his face. “Er, boss-”

“Tim,” Jon’s eyes are wide with urgency. “Tim, I need to know where- where you got your jumper.”

Tim makes a face, somewhere between amused and confused. Jon does not understand what’s difficult about this question. It’s very straightforward. “Um, sorry? My jumper?”

“Yes!” His voice gets louder, though he doesn’t mean it to. “It’s just- it looks so warm. And it’s so soft.” His voice starts to wobble and his eyes water as he runs his thumb across the fabric. It’s a very good jumper. “Such a nice shade of blue.”

“Okay, did you take one too many of those pills? You weren’t like this earlier.” Tim’s got one arm on Jon’s chest, attempting to stop his wandering hands as his eyes search the desk. “I swear to god, if you’ve overdosed-”

“Don’t be stupid, Tim.” Why won’t he let him touch the jumper? Does Tim not want him to be warm? Rather rude. “I only took two today.”

“Wait, seriously?” It’s Martin’s voice he hears next. “Oh, Jon. You must have been in so much pain.”

“Obviously, Martin!” The snap comes as naturally as breathing- Jon’s an old hand at that, after all. “But that’s not the point-”

“Whoa there, buddy. No need to get tetchy.” Tim’s got both of his hands on his shoulders, his eyes now patient and kind. “You’re high as hell, aren’t you? Think you should probably have a rest right about now, yeah?”

Jon can’t help the whine that comes out of his throat. Rest? No, he wants-

“I swear I’ll tell you where I got the jumper. Hell, I’ll even get one for you if I can. But only if you sleep.”

Jon sighs wearily. If I must. “That sounds reasonable. Thank you, Tim.” He allows himself to be led to a couch, limping all the way. Oh, that’s quite nice. Yes, that’ll do. Tim arranges a pillow beneath his head, and Jon hopes it's not the one he sat on before. His stomach growls, and a thought occurs to him; he grabs at Tim’s arm again, forcing him down to his level.

“Jon, I told you I’d-”

“No, that’s not it. I-I threw out some biscuits earlier. Please send my apologies to Martin.”

Tim’s face is fond. “Will do, boss.”

“And perhaps you could secure me a few more for later.”

A soft snort. “I’m sure I can.”

“Tim, you are invaluable to me.”

“God I wish I had this on tape-”

A soft click sounds from somewhere in the room as if in response. Tim blinks. “Did you hear that?”

Jon doesn’t answer, already halfway towards sleep.

“Huh. Alright, then.”

ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27715163

#my writing #tma #the magnus archives #prompts #comfortember #jonathan sims #martin blackwood #tim stoker #sasha james #jontim #a lil bit but its there #hurt/comfort #ft. a very loopy jon #plz excuse the self-indulgence of this fic #kaiserkorresponds

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lakesandquarries · 3 years

Text

oh it’s you (that i lie with)

for Oumota Week Day 2 - Timeloop

warnings: major character death (temporary but graphic)

notes: title from as the world caves in by matt maltese but i just listened to the cover by sarah cothran. happy oumota week everyone!! consider joining my oumota discord maybe!

AO3 Link

Kokichi lazily spins a french fry through his ketchup as Momota takes a seat across from him. The movement makes the table jostle. Kokichi doesn’t move.

“Getting used to it, huh?” Momota asks. “I guess this is just life now. Beats being dead, at least.”

“You failed, then?”

“I think every smoke alarm is busted.”

At 6:15 pm, the cafeteria will explode. A stray spark will hit an errant gas line and the entire place will go up in flames. There will be no survivors.

Kokichi knows this because he has experienced it eleven times already.

The first time was unexpected. Obviously. When he woke up this morning (eleven mornings ago) in his dorm room he assumed today (eleven todays ago) would be normal.

That assumption was disproven before he died and the day reset, but that’s unrelated.

The first time he died, the last supposedly normal minutes of his life, he and Momota were at this very same table. They weren’t alone then. Their friends had been with them, and Akamatsu had been in the middle of telling a story about a bird flying into the room during one of her classes, and suddenly there had been the loudest sound Kokichi had ever heard. He’d felt an intense, searing heat for just a moment, and then something large and heavy falling on top of him, and then he didn’t feel anything because he was dead.

When he woke up in his bed again he’d assumed it was a dream. Even when the morning played out much like the morning in his “dream” - well, that wasn’t too strange. Saihara had lost his favourite socks, but he did that often. Yumeno fell asleep in the cafeteria during breakfast, but she did that every day. Amami tripped down the stairs and had to go to the nurse, but he never paid attention to his surroundings.

And then, right at the end of breakfast, Momota got down on one knee, presented Kokichi with a ring pop, and asked him to go on a date with him after dinner.

The beginning of the day had been typical. It wasn’t strange for his dream to match with reality, because his life was predictable.

That was not something he could have predicted, unless he had suddenly developed a new superpower.

The first time, he’d beamed at Momota, took the ring pop, and said he would be delighted to and that if this was a prank he’d have Momota killed.

The second time, he’d just said “What the fuck,” and then took off running.

The rest of the day went differently, but it was just close enough to make it clear. Kokichi had snuck around unused halls, spying on the classes he was skipping. Chabashira still had a five minute argument with the teacher during math, Hoshi still spilled a beaker in science. This time he got to watch Akamatsu’s unfinished bird story play out.

Just like before, he went to the cafeteria, and just like before he felt his bones flattened and then nothing at all.

In the present, whatever that really means, he tells Momota, “I hope I don’t get crushed again.”

Momota frowns. “At least it’s quick. The fire was the worst.”

“Well, I at least want some variety. It is the spice of life and all.”

Leaning forward, Momota rests his chin on his hand. His eyes keep darting to the clock on the wall. “I’ll toss you into the fire this time, if you want.”

“My hero.” Kokichi folds his arms behind his head and leans back.

They’d really tried, this time. They’d tried every time. This time, Kokichi had barely broken into the kitchen when he was caught. At least it was one of the kinder chefs. They’d given him french fries and instructed him to stay in the cafeteria where they could see him.

“We still have some time,” Momota argues. “I mean, 6:15 is in like, an hour. We can at least prepare for next time.”

“Hm, would you like to scope out some more interesting places to die? I’m getting bored of the cafeteria. At least maybe something different will crush me.” He’s fairly certain it’s a table that keeps killing him, at least in the last few loops. For a second he’d felt the texture of the wood crushed against his face.

“We’re gonna figure it out,” Momota says. His voice is full of empty confidence, a thin soap bubble that will pop if looked at for too long.

“Well, of course. You still owe me that date, after all.”

Perhaps it’s his imagination, but the glint in Momota’s eyes gets sharper. “I do. I’m a man of my word, you know.”

“You’ve given me your word more than a few times. I think you might owe me a few dates, my dearest Momota-chan.”

Momota’s eyes dart to the clock again, and Kokichi follows his gaze. 5:25.

“I’ll take you on as many dates as you want, Ouma.”

Momota had asked him out again in the third loop, and the fourth. Kokichi had accepted those, though in the fourth one Momota hadn’t bothered to drop to one knee and hadn’t even offered him a ring pop. He’d just turned to Kokichi and asked, “Will you go out with me?”

“I want a ring first,” Kokichi had said in response.

“A ring,” Momota repeated. “What kind?”

“Grape.”

Momota had presented the ring pop, and Kokichi said yes.

In the fifth loop, Momota got down on one knee again.

“Ouma,” he started.

“Will you go on a date with me?” Kokichi asked. Momota reeled back, looking around the room in surprise.

“Uh….yeah.” He stood up, blinking heavily. “How -”

“I have my ways,” Kokichi said with a wink.

He’d skipped his next classes. That had been the first time he broke into the kitchen. He did a decent job sneaking, and his little recon mission was how he figured out the likely cause. He’d only gotten a brief glimpse before the chef kicked him out.

Momota was waiting for him at that same table. “Ouma,” he’d called out, waving him over, and Kokichi obliged him by taking a seat in the same chair he’d died in four times. “Are you hiding something?”

“Always. Are you?”

“You knew what I was doing this morning.”

“I’ve known you were in love with me for months.” Kokichi leaned back in his chair, twirling a strand of hair around his finger. “Obviously I knew what you were doing.”

“But you didn’t! The first - Uh, I mean...Oh, fuck it. You know what’s happening, right?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He kicked his chair back, balancing it on two legs. He was not going to be the one to say it first, and it was so fun to get him worked up like this. “I mean, I know everything, but -”

“The loops! You’re the only one acting different! The first loop, you were surprised, the second loop you were - and now you’re stealing my lines!” Momota leaned towards him, hands on the table.

Kokichi raised a single eyebrow. “Your first performance was your best, Momota-chan.”

“So you are aware. How?”

The chair’s legs thudded against the ground. “I could ask you the same thing.”

“I…” Momota hesitates, bluster wavering before it comes back full force. “Obviously, the universe knew I was the best person to task with fixing this. I’m gonna save everyone, just you watch.”

“Oh, good. I was worried I’d have to do something.” He stood up abruptly, almost knocking the chair over. “I’ll see you for our date, then.”

A hand grabbed his sleeve, pulling him back down. Momota was reaching across the entire table, gripping Kokichi’s sleeve tightly. His brows were pinched together, face unguarded and open and desperate. There was only a second of hesitation before Kokichi ripped his sleeve away, narrowing his eyes at the man across from him.

“You can’t seriously plan to do nothing,” Momota insisted. “There’s gotta be a reason -”

“Maybe I’m supposed to be working against you,” Kokichi said. His expression fell away to blankness. “You’re so eager to trust, Momota-chan. It’s very stupid of you.”

“That shit stopped working on me last year.” Momota jumped to his feet, hands pressed against the table as he leaned dangerously forward. Kokichi doesn’t need to have time traveled to know he will inevitably topple forward and crash into the table. Perhaps he would be the one to die to it this loop. “Ouma, I know you. Fuck, I asked you out this morning, you really think I’m still gonna fall for your evil bullshit?”

“I mean, it’s worked before. Recently, even.”

“You broke in through my window! Look, you’re missing the point. I know you wanna save everyone as much as I do.” His eyes were alight, grin too sharp for Kokichi’s liking.

“It’s in the kitchen.”

Momota leaned forward again, and there it was - he fell face first onto the table.

“Idiot. Maybe the universe did choose me to help you. You’re clearly too stupid to figure it out on your own.”

Momota didn’t waste a second. He pushed himself back up as Kokichi spoke, completely ignoring his words. “See! We’re a perfect team, Ouma. What’s in the kitchen?”

A mess was in the kitchen. Every surface had at least five distinct fire hazards, and all together it combined into something unfathomably dangerous. A stray spark ignited a chain, and at the end of that chain was a crater.

Since that loop, they’d tried different ways to fix the kitchen. They’d tried scoping out times where no one was there (there weren’t any), they’d tried convincing the chefs something needed to be fixed (they’d been kicked out), they’d tried fixing it themselves (the explosion happened three hours earlier that loop), they’d tried setting off every smoke detector they could find (none of them worked).

It’s starting to look a little hopeless.

Students begin filing into the cafeteria, happy and carefree and unconcerned. Akamatsu’s voice carries as she rushes to their table. “Ouma-kun, Momota-kun! I was wondering where you’d gone. The strangest thing happened in math earlier -”

Kokichi lays his head on the table. In his mind, he could only see Akamatsu’s broken body, her flesh beginning to bubble. Her screams were always the loudest.

It‘s always the same. Akamatsu starts her stupid story. Saihara arrives late, feathers in his hair, and Harukawa trails after him and glares at Kokichi.

She usually survives the longest, from what Kokichi can see. She stays standing until the end. Saihara crumbles quick and quiet.

“Are you alright?” Saihara asks as he takes a seat next to Kokichi.

Kokichi looks up at him. He’s too tired for expressions. “You’re going to die in twelve minutes.”

“Right,” Saihara says, and then he turns to Akamatsu and asks if she can help him get the feathers out of his hair.

They smile, and laugh, and talk, and at 6:15 exactly, that spark is set off.

Kokchi lives a moment longer than the last few loops, long enough to see Momota crushed by a falling piece of ceiling.

“Liar,” Kokichi says to him, and then he too is gone.

---

He wakes up in bed.

#oumotaweek2021 #oumota #kokichi ouma #ouma kokichi #kaito momota #momota kaito

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dc41896 · 4 years

Text

Attention

Pairing: Johnny “Human Torch” StormxBlack Reader

⚠️: Tiny bit of angst (if it even counts really), also tiny bit of implied happy times, but mostly fluff💕!

Re-reading over your notes for what felt like the millionth time this week, you softly mumble to yourself the highlighted material hoping that everything would remain stuck in your mind for your practical tomorrow.

“Intramuscular means within the muscle and is given at a 90 degree angle. Intravenous means within the vein, given at a 25 degree angle. Subcutaneous: in the subcutaneous layer at a 45 degree angle. And finally intradermal-,”

“Psst....psst!!”

If only your boyfriend would stop being a grown man child and let you finish studying though.

“Yes Johnny?,” you sigh still looking down at your binder.

“Take a break, I want to show you something.”

“No Johnny we’re not doing that again.”

“I wasn’t talking about that princess,” he smirks moving to lean against the bedroom door frame. “Although I’m not complaining if you want more.”

Giving him a look clearly showing how you weren’t in the mood, he chuckles holding up his hands to show he was done joking.

“Seriously though I want to show you something, so can you please come with me?”

“Just tell me, or take a picture of it on your phone and show me that way. I really have to keep studying and don’t have time for a bunch of breaks.” Straightening up, a low huff leaves his lips as you hear him pad through the living room before coming back holding a new action figure posed as if about to throw a handful of flames.

“Look! It’s me!,” he beams squatting next to you holding out the toy for you to see.

“Mhm that’s nice babe,” you smile not really displaying the reaction he wanted you to.

“I see you’re having a hard time containing your excitement,” he retorts sarcastically, bringing his mini me back towards his chest.

“It really is nice babe, it’s just similar to some of your other toys that I’ve already seen.”

“But with this one, the little flame lights up. See?” Pressing the small button on the back to show the tiny, plastic flame glowing scarlet, a wide smile spreads across his face making you giggle.

“Yes very cool. Now if that’s all, I gotta get back to this okay?”

“Alright,” he sighs standing up to return to his spot on the couch probably cold by now. “Why don’t you come study out here? It’ll be more comfortable than sitting on the floor.”

“Because you’re watching tv and that’s gonna distract me.”

“Not anymore. The game’s off so I’m done for the night,” he playfully smiles stealing one of your study packets making you whine his name. “Cmon you know you’d rather sit on the big, soft, incredibly comfy couch.”

Wiggling his brows, you roll your eyes trying to focus back on the words in front of you, but as always, seeing his adorable pout was wearing you down. Plus the ache in your buttcheeks was really making the couch, or any soft piece of furniture for that matter, sound like heaven.

“And, as an added bonus, your incredibly hot, charming, all around amazing boyfriend will be there.”

“Johnny...”

“As!...support and to help anyway I can of course. What did you think?,” he feigns shock as you shake your head.

“Alright fine. But if you try to distract me just once, I’m kicking you out for the rest of the night, and you’ll have to either get a hotel, or crash with Reed and Sue.”

“Okay deal,” he chuckles helping you stand and gather the packets, pens, and highlighters you needed to continue your attempted all nighter.

Sat in the middle of the plush sectional with one of his legs draped over your folded ones and the other stretched out behind you, so far he’d done well on his agreement. He stayed busy on his phone watching sports highlights with earbuds attached to his head, and hardly ever touched you unless to give a reassuring hug when he could sense you were getting overwhelmed, or softly dance his finger along your arm making you smile. He even started quizzing you from whichever packet you were on as you lied just below his chest playing with his free hand.

From how he was earlier, seemingly a bit more clingy and not wanting to be away from you, something told you deep down this was all he wanted. Just feeling your body near him as you did whatever, no matter how boring the task was. And although a little distracting, you couldn’t be completely mad at him for his antics since deep down you know you wanted it too.

Honestly need may be the better word judging from your noticeably calmer state. Even Johnny could feel your heart rate gradually decrease to its normal speed through his body.

Soon his yawn began to trigger your own set and eyelids became heavy as the questions came slower along with your answers. You tried to fight it off, but apparently your body had other plans making it increasingly more difficult to open your eyes until both of your light snores were the only sound that could be heard throughout the room.

———

“Good morning Mr. Johnny Storm, Miss Y/N,” the computerized security system greets opening the curtains to reveal the bright sun and cause you to stir. Rubbing your eyes, you see all the packets spread on the glass coffee table quickly reminding you of your exam.

“Sherlock, what time is it?,” you ask in a panic as you sit up causing Johnny to shift slightly without opening his eyes.

Also, why he decided to name the computer system Sherlock, you’d never understand.

“11:30 am miss.”

Grabbing your packets as fast as you can, a string of curses fall from your lips as you run about trying to collect your things. By now you were supposed to be on campus looking over your notes one last time before going in for your slot time at 12. At this rate, you’d definitely be over an hour late and received an automatic zero.

“What’s the rush princess?,” your boyfriend tiredly asks stretching his arms over his head as he stands.

“I overslept and I’m late,” you sniff trying to hold back your tears as you search through drawers trying to find your scrubs. “Where are they?”

Joining you in the room, he tries to kiss your cheek only to miss you completely as you rush past him still looking for your clothes.

“Closet babe. By my suit.”

“Well what about the other ones since those need to be washed now?”

“In the basket to be washed.”

“You mean the same clothes in the basket I asked you to wash last weekend,” you retort changing into the faint ash smelling scrubs. Noticing you wiping your eyes a bit more frequently, he manages to grab your arm stopping you from wherever else you needed to go.

“Johnny seriously I don’t have time for this-,”

“Relax okay? Let’s try to call your professor and tell them what happened to see if you can get a new time.”

“It’s not gonna work. This isn’t an emergency situation, I just overslept like an idiot,” you answer pulling away to finish the rest of your morning routine in the bathroom.

He sighs hearing you bang about while pulling his phone from the pocket of his sweatpants trying to find the number for your school. His upcoming events list popping up though makes him deeply chuckle as he shakes his head.

“Oh honey...!”

“Johnny please don’t start. I’m already frustrated a-and overwhelmed trying to figure out what to do and just need to-.” Holding his phone in front of your eyes, you see his calendar showing all his important meetings and interviews, along with your test date.

Which wasn’t until next Monday.

Pulling your phone from your backpack, you go to your calendar to find the same thing making you feel even dumber.

“...S-So I don’t have my test today?”

“No princess,” he smiles coming closer to caress your face with both hands, wiping your tears with his thumbs.

“And I stayed up all night this week studying for nothing?”

“Well not for nothing. You know your stuff now, so you won’t have to worry about it later.”

“Yea,” you sigh looking up at him as you hold onto his strong forearms. “Sorry for snapping at you about the laundry, and for kinda being cranky yesterday.”

“You were stressed. I get it.”

“But still, there were things I could’ve said differently-.”

“I forgive you,” he smiles leaning in to meet your soft lips with his in a needy kiss he’d been craving since yesterday. Biting your bottom lip as he just barely pulls away, your hands wander from his forearms to his flexed biceps, shoulders, and eventually chest stopping to graze your index finger along the small dip below his neck.

“Well since I don’t have an exam today and no classes, I was thinking...”

“Oh I think I know,” he smirks tilting his head lower to nip at your jaw and neck making you giggle.

“I help you do the laundry.” As soon as the sentence left your mouth, his stopped making you laugh harder while he groaned against your skin.

“Alright I promise it’ll get done today, but can’t we do it later?,” he whines with puppy eyes, lifting you so your legs could wrap around his hips as if trying to persuade you.

“Let me finish. We do the laundry so I can have clean scrubs and between loads, I give you all the attention I know you’ve been wanting that I wasn’t fully able to give this week.”

“Hey it’s not like I’ve been that-,” he tries to deny before meeting your eyes as if they were saying “really?”

“...yes please,” he smiles before his mouth returns to your smiling lips.

Taglist: @fumbling-fanfics @honeychicanawrites @honeychicana @lady-olive-oil @themyscxiras @melinda-january @lovelymari4 @maxcullen @literaturefeen @damnitaa @curlyhairclub @plokyu23 @fullofmelaninsarcasmandepression @nunubug99 @felicity-x0 @ellixthea @jnk-812 @jojolu @brwn-sgr @captainsamwlsn @wildfirecracker @nina-sj @iammyownlover @chaneajoyyy @secretmysteriousperson @scoop93535

If anybody wants to be tagged, has asked to be tagged but don’t see your name, only want to be tagged for certain people I write for (can be found on my masterlist), or no longer wish to be tagged just let me know🤓!

#johnnyxwoc #johnnyxblackreader #johnnyxreader #johnny storm #fantastic four #chrisxblackreader #chrisxwoc #chrisxreader #chris evans

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the-acid-pear · 3 years

Text

I just can't get enough it seems, time to start the next Baki the Grappler book!

It seems that this one will take on the saga i saw on the anime (at least by the end) so that's exciting

Chapter 1

First off quality is SHIT lmao

Yesss i remember this. I still think that shit about everyone trembling is a lil... Mmmm bullshit.

Baki be like <:] but in a smug way

Look at Tokugawa my man

OH RIGHT HE LEFT THE TOURNAMENT WITH A CAST

This feels so random

Oh right the synchronicity shit

Baki is so -_- in this manga

Look at the old timer go

YEAH FR TOKUGAWA JUST BROUGHT EXPLOSIVES TO A SCHOOL FULL OF CHILDREN TO MAKE A SHITTY ANALOGY SHSHWKWGGE FREAK OLD MAN

Chapter 2

Ahegao

Epic grandpa

HO NICE

Mf really swam thru the Pacific ocean

Chapter 3

Huh i thought he was Scottish

This random guy was pretty interesting looking, the one executing Doyle

Fucked up shit how they still do this stuff

King, i can somehow still remember his voice in particular fsr

Also since no one reads this i will say it: Doyle does NOT look white ahagdbafhsdbc

I like that he didn't bother killing the doctor

Is that Strydum? 🥺👉👈

Chapter 4

Shagddjd i was going to say that, this dude could have easily taken a different path from violence

GAARN? MY MAN? MY BELOVED GARLAND? IS HE ALIVE STILL?!

FFS NOT FOR LONG HHH LOOK HOW THEY MASSACRED MY BOY...

I mean it's fair, Sirkosky uses weapons, but man, Garland... :'/

This all hits so different once you know the characters :]]]

Chapter 5

That pic is still so brutal

What an absolute troll shsshwgxgd

Also fun fact when i watched the anime i didn't pay much attention at first so I assumed the Russian was Spec (i didn't even know Sirkosky's name)

I love how that was unnecessary shagdhsr

ADAGDFAGAFAD this guy was also great

Spec was fucking insane man aggsggahsfg

I love he's full of tattoos

The absolutely king

OH RIGHT Spec is sus *laugh track*

Chapter 6

Oh hell yeah, grandpa's ex

Baki tf you doing there in the cover you madlad

...bottom storage.

THEY ARE SO MEAN LEAVE HIS SHORT ASS ALONE SHSGJSGS

He's my size btw

Was there a motive for him to be naked or was he just a freak btw?

I love the shape of his eyes ngl

I love how scared the guards are while he just calmly rambles

I don't wanna call yanagi my grandpa because i think yanagi can get it and it would be like calling him daddy but the Gilf™ is Dorian man life is so hard when you are me

I love Yanagi's face lol he's handsome

Chapter 7

Poor Baki lmao he just got better from the maximum tournament and now this

Lmao Baki has a point

Unnecessary, Doyle

Chapter 8

I love how they were recruiting dangerous mfs to beat up this random guy bc his vibes are fucked up

This guy looked a lot like jack

You gotta be brave to shove a knife that sharp into your pants

I love how Baki literally did nothing to em

Baki's face just looks wrong this isn't my beloved child

Imagine you are about to fight this mf and he just shoves his hand inside his pants

Chapter 9

This dude really looks like, fully japanese jack hanma

JWGWKEGWKSGE I LOVE HIM

I love how Spec just showed up dressed up as a fucking monk or something

Chapter 10

You guys know, Dorian reminds me of my now dead great grandfather, with the moustache look even more.

Not impressed, 15 yo Hanayama did the same when throwing a tantrum

He's so insane i luv him

Okay but look at the cut of that outfit look at how well it hugs his chest and waist but flows bellow... Spec my dude you could have been a mad good model 😐 he's even giving me gender envy! 🥺

I love how Baki used both his hands for the handshake

Chapter 11

Ho, speak of the devil, i was just talking of this fucker with Blood

Mf got so old

I like how there was no motive for him to be naked he literally is just Like That

Also it's from here that he got that wasp waist lmao

Mf just flexing at this point lmao

GRANDPA!! <3

Yanagi got cake

That's so unnecessary rude, obsessed. Also, as if you weren't old Yanagi. I see why they broke up now ;/

Chapter 12

11 and 12 are the same fsr

Chapter 13

I honestly wonder where these prisoners got their clothes, like, aside from Doyle that one time everyone else is never shown shopping or even owning money

Also i love the fact that on a daily basis i dress the same as Spec, that definitely says something bout me jagsjsgwhwfwg 😭

To be honest, considering the size of Spec's body, they should definitely feed him more

He didn't wash his hands 😢

Dick and balls too strong ajgshsgsg

I love how fucking, polite he is.

Oh i see, i thought he might have stolen a wallet or something but nah

Btw i genuinely don't remember shit JAGSKSGWJGS even if it watched the anime i forgot most of this

Chapter 14

GOD the way the anime butchered Katsumi, he's so handsome in the manga in comparison 😐

Also i like how they aren't explaining this like, Katsumi was the one who lost, did he wait until Retsu was okay to fight again in HIS ("") dojo?!

RETSU STOP DOING THESE SORT OF TRICKS THAT'S PHYSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE AJDGSJSG

HE'S JUST BUILT DIFFERENT

Okay he actually explained, oddly nice of Retsu to accept tho

Hoho this scene hits different now that i know and like Katsumi

Also I'm not even gonna question where Doppo is, dude is never just around skdgksgd

Chapter 15

I love this genre of cover

WHITE BOY SJDGSJGSHS-

I love that retsu is just watching, he's still an asshole QJGSJSGWH

If i didn't know Katsumi I would say he died

I did actually think he had died when watching the anime

Retsu still has his thicc ass i see

Chapter 16

See all this makes sense now that i know retsu and the shit he has seen and been thru!

Angry lad, lucky his hair didn't burn

I DIDNT EVEN REALIZE HE EXTINGUISHED THE FIRE WITH HIS SCREAM

Chapter 17

Ahegao in the cover

I'm looking at the pages and I'm obsessed with Doppo being described as a "bold, badass karate master", it's so accurate <3

Also Igari being called eccentric, and the mention he defeated Mount Toba!! <3

Baki is slowly looking more like Baki

"my mother is dying"

Tasks keep failing successfully

Chapter 18

mAh boy...

That happens and it's the worst

Musashi you good boy 🥺

Chapter 19

Igari <33

That's insane

Chapter 20

I love that Igari looks legitimately worried and sad, not sweating tho

I love how he didn't have any serious damage until the punches like, okay.

Poor Igari tho

DID HE CHEW EM OFF OR SOMETHING? SHSHWGEGCH

Was anybody going to tell me is Sikorsky and not Sirkosky?

Also i love how legitimately scared Tokugawa is, probably more than when Yujiro picked him up

Chapter 21

The heights are so off in this saga

Oh my fucking god i didn't know Spec was 221

Either heights are all over the place or Yanagi is not 160

Either way HOW CAN YOU BE THAT SMALL? 🤣

GAFSFWEAD Tokugawa like "i own this place 😐"

Doyle is still the most decent one of the bunch

URSURSUTSUSTSRU

LOOK AT YANAGI DORIAN AND SIKORSKY ALREADY GETTING THEIR HANDS READY SBDGSHW

I googled how big Andreas from the tournament was and like, 2.40 😦

LET'S GOOOOO EVEN WITH A BEARD OMFG 😳😳😳

I see Hanayama descended into alcoholism after losing in the tournament. Also tf is with that bag? Was he hiking or something?

Jsgsjsgd Shibukawa is so excited too

I think this is chronically the first time Doppo appears with fully casual clothes, usually he either was in a suit or in his karate uniform

I'm straight up simping to the public now sgsjsgwhw

Chapter 22

LOOK AT THESE DUDES..... 💞

FUCK I WAS GONNA SAY THERE WERE MORE BAD THAN GOOD GUYS THEN LOOKED DOWN AND REALIZED THAT NO, SHIBUKAWA WAS JUST NEARLY OUT OF FRAME 😭

They all look so upset about that information

SIKORSKY NAME GOT SPELLED AS SILCOSKI...

Looking at them drives me insane i developed such a bond with all these fighters

I haven't seen Doppo this excited since last time his wife showed up

BAKI SWEARING?! 😰

How did Tokugawa grab Baki's shoulder?

ALSO WHY TF IS BAKI SO SURPRISED AS IF HE DIDNT GO AROUND BEATING UP PEOPLE WHEN HE WAS 13...

Don't worry Baki y'all will, Tokyo is not that big it seems

Shibukawa swearing 😨

"Imagine being mid but and Spec pulls up on you" "imagine having sex and she takes the mask and it's fucking Spec"

To be fair i would fuck a 2.21 muscular lady without going "hmmm this doesn't seem like a good idea..." in any moment

Chapter 23

I love how Dorian is just looking up

ACTUALLY ALL THEIR STANCES, Yanagi making dead eye contact with Gouki, Sikorsky with a firm pose just as Hanayama, Doyle with hiss chest up but eyes down giving a sense of pride, and, well, then there's Spec being Spec.

I like seeing Sikorsky having fun

I love Spec he played so smart SGSGSGS

😳 love wins!

Oh i had already forgotten about the dojo

Old man Dorian just has that effect on people

Threesome i see /j

He really was just fucking hiking i would love if they ever explained that ough 🥺

Did his facial hair just disappear?? STSGSFSD

BWHEKEGWJG THEY REALLY JUST FORGOT TO ADD IT FOR ONE PANEL IM OBSESSED

Such a good kick tho

The relationship these men can have is so oddly nice like not Doppo and Retsu specifically but all of the fighters in general. Like many of them barely know each other, but they all know their fighting styles and respect each other, plus have no reason to be in bad terms with one another and specially not now that they are all fighting for the same cause. It's just so nice to see em idk JAGSHS

Hey Igari.

Chapter 24

Thank God Doppo went <3 again it had been so long

Babe are you okay? You hadn't put a lil heart in your speech bubble for a while...

King really punched the fire

I will chose to believe that's true bc it's impressive 😍

You know it's funny like, Katsumi is mad good but he doesn't has as much experience as his dad and that leaves him in disvantage

Hehe i remember that guy

The manga is so much better than the anime ffs

I love that he didn't even realize

Chapter 25

Manga i don't think that's science

Also Baki just chilling with some doves lmao

I'm looking thru old messages see how my og reaction to this was

Huh i found nothing, that's odd. Well my reaction would have probably been like NOOOOO anyway so, y'all can imagine it

You left my dilf handless you fucking asshole good thing he has a wife

Imagine this dude cuts your hand and then just flexes his knowledge about science or whatever

HSSGGSFS THEY FIXED THE NO BEARD ERROR

Illiterate king <3

A guy did this to me once btw!!! Obviously in way smaller scale but he just touched something and the bleeding soon stopped!!!!

Honestly that's the most huge dick energy thing Doppo has ever done

Pfff I'm starting to remember why i liked Doppo so much 🥴

Bitches confused over him running away, tf was he supposed to do? He played it smart since there are no rules

Though yeah an eye and NOW a hand, insane

Chapter 26

Sjshhdhsn tanuki?

Oh, fox, he was calling him slick

Manga is pretty faster than the anime

Chapter 27

Where's your honor, Igari...

He is right sadly enough 😔

Oh i keep forgetting Igari's nature, he was probably trying to pull his silly little tricks again

This is just brutal honestly

Hehe this time i didn't get scared ☺️

I like that at least I'm not the only one who needs their mind off the gutter

Chapter 28

Love seeing em datin <3

He's so aggressive accidentally i love these dorks sm 😍🥺💞

SPEC FFS SJGDHWGW

Chapter 29

SPEC FOR FUCKS SAKE SJSVSJWGSH

Hanayama is such a real bro man

I LOVE THAT HE WAS JUST STALKING BAKI TOO BTW SJDGJDGDHSBDGDGS

To think i will still love hanayama but for entirely different reasons 😌

Chapter 30

Kaoru looks different but idk how

What the fuck is Spec even saying?

The fact that that makes no sense, i still love it a lot tho.

ALSO I ADORE HOW QUIET HANAYAMA IS WHEN FIGHTING

Okay Spec really has a point it really is beautiful

GOD I'M STARTING TO UNDERSTAND THESE CHARACTERS TOO MUCH I NEED HELP AJDGSJSGSHS 😭

But it's beautiful in the sense like, look how built he is! Look at all those scars!!! It IS beautiful it's a masterpiece!!!!!!!

"i choose to believe this is how hanayama always undresses" KSHSKDGSJ THE AMOUNT OF SUITS THIS MAN DESTROYS.. OBSESSED

Though yeah Hanayama in general is also beautiful isn't he?

Chapter 31

I would sob man look at him. Look at Shiba.

NO ONE RISKS HIS LIFE MORE THAN SHIBA YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE I STILL HOLD A LOT OF RESPECT FOR HIM!

A BENCH...

I really don't get why he's letting himself get hit, is he just flexing?

I cannot way to see him do his Technique ™

Chapter 32

Manga is so much superior to the anime, like, i haven't complained about Spec even once bc he isn't annoying anyone, in the anime he was so infuriating!!

I love when they just steal their standing poses sjsgjssgsh

That distortion effect so good

Chapter 33

I still think it's weird they used humans and not machines, though it was effective

I love how Spec managed to punch that statue without calling the attention of much people that's impressive

And i love that he keeps saying man he sounds like me with bro

Hanayama my beloved

Chapter 34

Yeah I'm not reading all that 😐

Oh this explains the holes in his clothes

#luly talks #btg #having a shitton of fun #the anime is NOTHING compared to the manga #the only good thing about the anime is the voice acting which is just on point #but everything else SUCKS man #they made me hate my man Spec and now im seeing he wasnt as nearly as annoying as in the anime #AND THEY BUTCHERED SO MANY FACES... EVERYONE WAS SO FUCKING UGLY #HANAYAMA... KATSUMI... EVEN BAKI WAS MAD UGLY 😭😭#but everything is better now ☺️#also i hit the limit of letters again 🥴#baki liveblog

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itamiiscribble · 3 years

Text

*HiSS* [Katsuki Bakugou/Reader fic]

Chapter 2: *Bite*

"Sensei...", Katsuki drawls out your teachers name in annoyance. Clearly not happy about being paired up with 𝘺𝘰𝘶 of all people to do the stretching exercises.

Aizawa sensei gives him his usual bored expression, informing him that he could gladly do some 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘢 stretching hours after school if he so wishes so.

Spiky boy grinds his teeths in anger and turns towards you. You tilt your head and greet him with a fake smile.

"Ready when you are.", you notify him, keeping up the false facade that you have no problems being his partner. This was Aizawa sensei after all. You don't dare to disappoint that genius of a man by acting like a spoiled child.

Without waiting for spiky boys next comment you begin the work; you start stretching your arms deliberately avoiding your partner in front of you who does the same with a sour expression on his face.

Absentmindedly you glance around the field, observing your class members. That's when you catch the sight of Momo and Mina doing the leg stretches together. You snort in amusement when you see that the pink haired girl had positioned her leg on Momo's shoulder. The black haired girl obviously a little flustered was trying her best to stand in position, scolding the giggling Mina.

"Stop getting distracted and do your fucking job, idiot."

Sigh.

Holding back the urge to roll your eyes, you ignore him.

Not five seconds pass when he-

"Concentration isn't one of your strengths is it, 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦?" he scoffs and continues stretching his arms as if he didn't just insult you.

Seriously? 'Stupid face'? What kind of idiotic nick name is that?!

Fuck.This.Dude.

You quickly calculate the situation, Aizawa sensei is standing estimated 25 meters away from you scolding Mineta (of course). Your class members are all concentrated on their tasks, not looking your way.

Good.

Swiftly you make your move, swinging your right leg laterally towards his spiky head.

Unfortunately Bakugo- as sharp as ever, catches your flying kick in the last moment with his right hand. Growling in annoyance he glares at you, holding onto your foot and lowering it slowly down beside his shoulder, not letting go of it.

Honestly, it should annoy you that you couldn't hit but the result is still satisfying; that venomous look in his eyes is definitely pleasant.

Shrugging, you give him a fake innocent smile and withdraw your leg-

That is what you want to do but apparently spiky boy had other plans; he is still holding onto your foot with an iron grip. Furrowing your brows in confusion you are about to snap at him.

But that's when you feel it and you gasp while your eyes widen in shock.

Katsuki is gently stroking along your calf, slowly letting his fingers wander along your leg all the while looking you straight into the eyes.

𝘏-𝘩𝘶𝘩?!

Mouth agape you look dumbfounded, too flustered and shocked to do or say anything. You look up to him with a baffled expression but Bakugo's gaze is not wavering, he is watching you unshrinking into the eyes.

And there it is again; those red eyes turning into a dark garnet tone.

And you are certain, this was the same countenance you've met last friday. The same eyes that have been hunting you for the rest of the weekend.

And once again, you can't tell what it means?!

All of a sudden using both of his hands Bakugou grabs onto your leg and drags you towards him.

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘍𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘐𝘴𝘏𝘦-

You let out a surprised shriek, trying to control your balance. Quickly you check your surroundings, making sure that no one is seeing this. Whatever this is?! What is he thinking?!

You can't tell.

Seeing that flustered expression on your face, Katsuki looks content, the ghost of a smirk emerging on his face.

Indignant, you want to yell at him tear away his hands from your leg, order him to let you go.

Do 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨.

But when you realize how close you are to each other, your intention of freeing yourself is instantly postponed to the back of your mind.

Drops of sweat beaded his face, enlightened by the sun streaming through the droplets. Creating a shine not much unlike his own quirk. Like tiny sparks or mini explosions, outlining the features of his face. Drawing your attention down the length of his face causing him to look even more fiery than he normally did.

Wait.

Why is he sweating so much?! Just from a few minutes of stretching?! And what is this smell? It smells kind of... sweet?

Doing your best you try to look unabashed, raising up your chin you fake confidence. But those rubin red eyes watching your face so profoundly makes it hard for you to control your act. The smirk on his face becoming more visible each passing second.

And suddenly you are angry. How dare he put you in a situation like this?! You try yet again to withdraw your leg, but evil spiky boy doesn't move an inch, still holding onto your leg with both of his hands.

Giving him your most poisonous look you order him to let go.

He tilts his head slightly and looks at you. Really looks at you. Starting from your shoes his gaze wanders up your body in a slow pace, making a show of checking you out.

𝘌𝘹𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶?!

"Let go, or you'll regret it.", you warn him, ready to punch his face at this point if you have to. Right now you don't care about the consequences, you are angry and still bewildered. You can't make up these confusing feelings inside of you and it pisses you off immensely.

"What if i don't? Will you fucking 𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘦 me this time?", he scoffs bluntly, his eyes looking like he was 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 you to exactly do that, inwardly challenging you.

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯?!

Not waiting for an answer, Katsuki drags you even closer to him, hoisting up your leg over his shoulder to the point that it hurts. Hissing in pain you try to hold your balance.

"K-katsuki!", you shriek indignantly and realize you have to hold onto something or you might fall. And that's what you do, without thinking you put your left hand on his shoulder grabbing it as if your life depends on it.

Katsuki let's out a snort. "This is the first time you called me by my name."

Promptly you raise your head, looking him vicious into the eyes.

𝘚𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺?!

You are standing here- 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘰 if you may add- your right leg stretched over his shoulder hurting like a bitch! And that's what he picked out of this situation to comment on?!

And did you really just call him by his name?

Your expression not affecting him in the slightest he stares right back at you, those rubin red eyes watching you intensely.

"You 𝘢𝘳𝘦 pretty flexible though...", he comments casually and let's his gaze outrageously wander down your body which is pressed against his own (tragically).

Spluttering incomprehensible you try yet again to free yourself from his grasp, but to no avail.

What was he trying to do?!

But most importantly, IS NO ONE SEEING THIS?!

Weak.

Suddenly you feel weak. You can't find anything to counter, the pain in your leg not allowing you to think straight. You can't believe he is making you feel this...this 𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘭𝘦.

You want this to end ,whatever it is. You can't endure those eyes and this indecipherable tension any further.

Realizing that threatening didn't work the first time, you grind your teeth in anger and do the thing you never thought you'd do in your life; pleading Katsuki Bakugou.

You take a deep breath and ready yourself, this is not easy for you, how could it be?!

But is there another choice? The pain in your leg and your muddled mind is preventing you from finding another way out of this.

So, begging it is.

"Please..." It's barely above a whisper but Katsuki is so close, you are sure he heard it.

He raises a brow and grunts dull: "𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 what?"

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧-

"𝗣𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲, let go.", you answer, this time a little louder, your voice sounding pathetically weak. Licking your lips absentmindly you glance down, trying to hide your loathing towards him.

Katsuki catches on to the movement and his eyes take an even more darker tone. Cursing quietly he abruptly let's go of your leg.

Not realizing his intentions fast enough, you can't hold your balance any longer and land right onto your ass.

𝘖𝘶𝘤𝘩.

You look up to him from where you sit with such a venomous expression, people around you would think he is your most hated archfiend. (Which he probably already is, but still.)

He doesn't even look at you anymore, continuing his stretching as if nothing had happened!

Dumbfounded you sit there.

You had begged Katsuki Bakugou.

You let him win.

You let him win because you got weak and the pain had been overwhelming. Yes, it was the pain. You keep on persuading yourself exactly that.

You try to calm yourself.

Quickly standing up you look around. Surprisingly no one is looking your direction, your class members are all fully concentrated on doing their stretching, talking to each other while doing so.

Unbelievable.

You sigh in relief and dare to glance back at your partner. He was stretching his legs now, fully concentrated on his task.

How can he act as if nothing just happened?! What even happened just now?!

What kind of sociopath are you dealing here with?!

Realizing you are not feeling well and most importantly do not want to stand in front of Bakugou any longer, you walk up to Aizawa sensei and excuse yourself.

Yes, throwing cold water at your face will definitely help you gather your thoughts again. Oh yes, that's what you need right now!

These are the thoughts you have while walking towards the girls bathroom, not realizing spiky boy looking your way with a slightly satisfied smirk on his face.

Follow my work on AO3 (*´꒳`*):

https://archiveofourown.org/works/31462658/chapters/77824271#workskin

#bnha #mha #katsuki bakugou x female reader #bakugou katsuki #katsuki bakugou #boku no hero academia #my hero acadamy #fan fiction

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ais-for-alex · 3 years

Text

The Scars of Our Past: Chapter 25

Hi all, things are happening in this chapter!! I’m very excited for y’all to read it and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do 😄

(Filet ‘O Feesh): Just letting you know I’m going out with some of the team for drinks

(Filet ‘O Feesh): I won’t be back until late so don’t wait up for me

(You): Alright have fun :Smiley Emoji:

Why are you staying up for him? He said he won’t be back until late, you’re obsessed.

Leo sighed and purposefully clicked on a YouTube video welcoming the sound of music flowing through his earbuds.

I’m not waiting up for Him, I’m up late searching for music so I don’t get dropped by Madam Maxine, he thought to himself squirming back into the crease of the couch and moving on to another song. Leo had been flipping through song after song for hours desperately looking for one that felt right for his program, unfortunately though it felt like he had listened to every single piece of music on the internet but nothing had caught his attention yet.

Leo let himself get lost in the music, barely noticing the sun sinking in the sky leaving the room cast in darkness, only the light of his laptop and the moonlight streaming through the window illuminating the living room. Sighing again he clicked on yet another piece of music, his ears ached slightly from wearing his headphones for so long.

He was so completely absorbed in the ebb and flow of countless melodies Leo nearly jumped out of his skin when suddenly a loud bang filtered through the music. The living room was washed in bright blinding light as someone flicked on the switch, Leo pulled out his headphones and looked over at the front door curiously. He was shocked to see a man he didn’t recognize stumble into the entryway, he was tall, surprisingly enough he almost looked even taller than Leo himself. The man had an arm wrapped around the limp form of another person Leo couldn't quite make out, he was practically dragging them into the apartment. As he watched the tall man struggle under the weight of whoever they were carrying, Leo caught a flash of bright auburn hair; he was shocked to realize it was Finn.

“Oh my god! What happened?” he asked, jumping up from the couch and making his way over to the entryway.

“Leo?” Finn asked looking up groggily, his face was flushed from alcohol but seemed to light up the moment his eyes caught hold of Leo, his lips broke into a wide smile that made his eyes squint.

“Peanut Butter Cup!” he cried out, struggling out of the tall man's grasp and flinging himself into Leo’s arms.

He couldn’t help the little oof at the impact of Finn’s body crashing into him completely lax as Leo easily wrapped him up in his arms holding him close and secure. Finn sighed happily and pressed his face into the crook of Leo's neck mumbling something unintelligible, evidently he was completely content to be held in his arms.

“You Leo?” the man asked, voice heavy and thick with a Russian accent, “Harz talk about you, new roommate, new friend?”

“Yeah, that’s me,” Leo said, chuckling a bit at the way Finn’s fluffy hair was tickling his neck as he pressed in further wrapping his arms around Leo’s waist.

The tall man laughed, his eyes crinkling in amusement at Finn's inebriated state, “Harz is cuddle drunk, he drink too much tonight. Normal not drink much, now drink too much.”

“I see that,” Leo grinned at that way Finn was still mumbling against his shoulder.

“Hey Kuns, you get Harz in there ok?” another voice came from out in the hall a moment before another man came into view. He wasn’t quite as tall but he had a large muscular build and a long jagged scar running down the side of his face. “Oh, hi. I assume you’re Leo?” he said stepping into the apartment with the rest of them and holding his hand out in greeting, “I’m Jackson, but you can call me Nado if you want, this is Kuny,” he nodded at the taller man next to him.

Leo shifted Finn’s weight so that he was holding him up with one arm and took Nado’s hand, “Nice to meet you guys, I take it you’re both on the Lions?”

“Yeah, this lush dragged us out after the game then proceeded to get pissed out of his mind. Not that I really blame him, Fishy here had a bit of a rough go of it tonight.”

Leo blinked in surprise at Nado’s words, “What do you mean?”

He watched as Nado and Kuny exchanged a meaningful look, an entire conversation happening in the silence.

“You know I think we’ll let him tell you himself when he’s a bit more coherent,” Jackson finally answered. “Anyway, it’s getting late so you mind if we leave him in your hands?”

“Yeah, no problem,” Leo answered without hesitation, “thanks for getting him home.”

Nado and Kuny bid them goodnight and made a quick exit, the front door falling shut with a click behind them.

“Alright, come on you,” Leo said with a chuckle, tightening his arms around Finn who was still cuddled into his side mumbling nonsense against his neck, “let’s get you to bed ok?” Leo held Finn's limp form close, dragging him towards his room. It was a bit of a task detangling Finn's arms from around his body but eventually Leo was able to get him to fall back onto his bed, he let out a huff at the impact against the pillows before beginning to giggle uncontrollably.

Leo chuckled at the sight as he moved to pull off his shoes that were sticky with spilled drinks, Finn’s laughter eventually died down and turned into a groan as he rolled onto his side and curled into a ball wrapping his arms around his stomach.

“Le?” he croaked out as Leo pulled a blanket up over him, “I don’t feel good.”

He huffed a sympathetic laugh and sat at the edge of the bed a little smile tugging at his lips at the sight of Finn, Leo couldn’t seem to stop himself from reaching out and pushing some of that fluffy auburn hair off his flushed face.

“That's cause you’re drunk, Sugar. Try to sleep it off, ok?”

Leo stood to leave but he was stopped by Finn's hand grabbing his wrist, and when he looked down at the man he found chocolate eyes swimming in tears, “Why doesn’t he love me, Le? Why does he always run away from me? Why…” Finn suddenly sat up and moved to the edge of his bed where he had stopped Leo from walking away, “I just want… I want him to love me back. I just want someone to love me.”

“Oh, sweetheart,” Leo sighed, his heart breaking at the sadness and the loneliness pouring out of the man in front of him.

Finn reached out and wrapped his arms around Leo’s waist tugging him forward and pressing his face into the soft part of Leo’s stomach mumbling over and over, “Why doesn’t he love me?”

“Finn,” Leo whispered trying to get his attention but Finn simply held him tighter, “hey, look at me.” Leo cupped a hand against Finn's jaw and gently tilted his head back, big brown eyes blinked up at him through eyelashes dark with tears. “Finn, you are so loved.”

Finn squeezed his eyes closed and shook his head as if to say no I’m not.

“Sweetheart, how do you not see that? I can hear you when you’re on the phone with your parents, with your brother, they love you. And your team, those guys become your family and I know they love you too. And Logan,” Leo paused and watched as Finn opened his eyes and stared up at him, “I think Logan loves you more than he even has words to express.”

“Then…” Finn took a shaky breath, “then why does he keep running away from me?”

Leo felt his heart break, he gently threaded his fingers into Finn's soft hair comfortingly, “I don’t know, sweetheart,” he answered sadly. “But, if I had to guess, I’d say it’s probably because he’s scared. Finn, falling in love with your best friend is terrifying, and I know you know that.” Leo carefully wiped away the tear tracks of Finn's face, he let his fingertips trail down to brush against the red shadow of stubble that had begun covering his jaw. “Unfortunately, not everybody can be as brave as you are.”

“I said something horrible to him today,” Finn said with a sniffle pressing his face back against Leo’s stomach. “I called him a coward,” he whispered into the soft fabric of his shirt.

Leo thought for a moment a little surprised by the revelation, “I don’t know what made you say that Fish, and I’m not saying it's ok,” he combed his fingers soothingly through soft auburn hair, “but if I know you at all I know you didn’t say it just to be hurtful.”

“Leo? What about you?” Finn asked in a small voice, face still buried against his stomach.

“What about me?” Leo asked, genuinely a bit confused about what Finn was asking.

Finn pulled away and looked up at Leo with those big brown eyes of his, still glistening with tears and hazy from alcohol, “Do you love me?”

Leo bit back the urge to say yes right then and there. His heart ached to tell Finn, but now wasn’t the right time, when he was lost in alcohol and sadness. Instead all Leo could do was smile down at him softly, he brushed away a bit of fluffy hair from Finn’s forehead and leaned down to press a chaste kiss there.

“I care about you Finn,” he whispered, “I care about you a lot, but we should leave it at that for tonight, sweetheart. If that’s a question you still want answered in the morning, we can talk about it then, Ok?”

Finn nodded, seeming to accept Leo’s answer. His whole body swayed and his eyes began to flutter shut, Leo grinned thinking that if it weren't for the arms still locked around his waist Finn probably would have just fallen backwards onto his bed.

“Le, ‘m’sleepy,” he said, the words slurring worse than before as he leaned forward and pressed his face into Leo’s hip, evidently content to fall asleep sitting up and just letting Leo hold his weight.

“Alright, bedtime now,” Leo huffed a soft laugh and began to unwrap Finn's arms from his waist. However it seemed that he had vastly underestimated Finn's lucidity as suddenly he tightened his arms and bodily hauled Leo down onto the bed, or more accurately onto himself. Leo gasped in surprise, finding that he was now straddling Finn's torso, as the man between his thighs had simply fallen backwards and taken Leo with him.

“Oh, come on Fish, you gotta let me go, I thought you wanted to sleep?” Leo laughed trying to pull himself off.

“No, don’t leave,” Finn whined, “please.”

Leo shook his head and sighed exasperatedly, “Alright, fine. I’ll stay, but you have to let go so I can lay down because I’m not gonna sit here straddling you all night.”

Finn giggled a little at that but loosened his arms letting Leo slide off of him and settle onto his back. Almost instantly Finn curled back into his side, pressing his face into the hollow of Leo’s throat and sighing happily content in the warm embrace.

“You really are a cuddly drunk,” Leo huffed a laugh but threaded his fingers through Finn's soft hair combing through the silky strands over and over soothingly. “You happy now?” he asked, voice low and gentle, smiling softly when the only response he got was a quiet snore.

***

Leo’s whole body felt warm and tingly as he slowly rose to the surface of consciousness. Finn was a comforting weight in his arms, on his chest, his entire body covering Leo’s like the human version of a weighted blanket. At some point in the night he had shifted, snuggling closer and closer until he was laying more on Leo than the mattress, tangling their legs together under the sheets, and pressing every inch of their bodies together seeking the comfort of Leo’s warmth, the beat of his heart.

Finn still had his face tucked into his neck making that soft hair of his fluff up into Leo’s face and his lips press softly against the tendons there with each breath. Leo breathed in, pulling oxygen deep into his lungs trying to help wake up his brain, he chuckled though, soft and sleepy when a few auburn strands got caught in his mouth.

Currently, Leo had his arms wrapped around Finn one hand had snaked up the back of his shirt to press into the firm muscle of his shoulder while his other hand was splayed against the dip of his lower back holding him close and secure in their sleep. Leo tightened his arms and relished in the happy little sigh Finn breathed into his neck. He let his hands slide down that soft skin carefully, not wanting to wake the man in his arms.

Leo didn't want to move, he never wanted this soft quiet moment with Finn pressed so very close to him to end. Unfortunately though, it had to. Only the night before Finn had been crying for the love of another, and as much as his heart begged him to stay there cherishing in the warmth, Leo couldn’t bear the thought of just being the stand in for someone else.

He knew he probably shouldn’t, but he couldn’t stop himself from leaning in and pressing a tender kiss into auburn bedhead. Leo breathed him in for just a moment more before gently rolling Finn onto his side so he could slip out of bed without disturbing his sleep.

Stumbling groggily from Finn’s room Leo yawned hugely, reaching up towards the ceiling and stretching out his long limbs, feeling various joints crack and pop as he did. Their apartment was quiet, filled with golden morning light as he wandered into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. He snagged a glass from the cupboard and filled it with cool water before heading back towards Finn’s room, stopping for just a moment to grab some Aspirin out of the medicine cabinet on the way.

Leo couldn't hold back the soft chuckle at the sight he found, Finn had pulled a pillow into his chest and curled his entire body around it until he was in a tight ball in the middle of his bed. He had kicked the sheets and blankets down until they were just covering his feet. Leo carefully set the water and pills on his bedside table then before he could think better of it he reached out and bushed the back of his fingers against Finn’s cheek feeling the scratch of stubble there.

Stop it, Leo’s hand flinched back retreating from Finn’s soft sleeping face, you know if you wanted to torture yourself there are easier methods. Why are you still hoping for something? He very clearly is in love with Logan.

Leo squeezed his eyes shut trying to silence the thoughts, he let out a wistful sigh and turned away from Finn still sleeping peacefully in his bed. Wandering over to his own room Leo pulled on some fresh clothes before padding back into the kitchen in his socks. His stomach grumbled as he opened the fridge to peer into its contents.

What exactly were you supposed to cook for the man you like when he had just told you he was in love with someone else? Someone that you also happen to like? Leo asked himself, finally just rolling his eyes in exasperation and began pulling out a variety of ingredients with quiet “Fuck it, we’re doing omelets.”

As he was beginning on the prep work Leo heard the sound of the shower turning on. He chuckled under his breath knowing Finn had probably rolled out of bed and immediately stumbled into the shower wanting to wash off the lingering reminders of his night out drinking. Leo sighed as he reached out and flicked on the burner, placing down strips of bacon once the pan had gotten hot and watching them crackle and pop in the heat. The kitchen steadily filled with the aroma of fresh brewed coffee and cooking bacon making Leo’s stomach grumble again.

Just as he was pulling the last strip of bacon out of the pan Leo heard the soft pad of Finn’s footfalls coming closer, making their way towards the kitchen. Towards Leo. Breathing in deep, he felt tension tight in his shoulders, finally he sighed and turned to find Finn himself standing at the opening of their kitchen. Leo fought the urge to gasp audibly at the sight of him, it seemed Finn had opted to forgo a shirt leaving his dark, damp hair to drip onto his bare shoulders. He was clad in just a pair of simple loose jeans that hung low on his narrow waist.

Leo felt his stomach do that swoopy squirmy thing, as he watched a water droplet drip from Finn’s hair and slide down his strong pale chest, his eyes following it as it slid down his toned stomach until it soaked into the waistband of his jeans. Suddenly realizing he was basically ogling his roommate, Leo snapped his eyes back up to Finn’s face only to find a somewhat teasing smirk there. That smirk turned a bit softer, into an almost sheepish smile at the blush that rose high in Leo’s cheeks.

“Morning Fish,” he said, finally breaking the quiet sanctuary that had settled over their apartment in the golden sunlight, “how’s that hangover treating you?”

Finn chuckled and let his gaze fall to the floor somewhat bashfully, “Not as bad as I thought it would, I’ve definitely had worse” he replied reaching up to rub the back of his neck anxiously. “Thank you by the way, for the Aspirin. That was thoughtful.”

“Hmm,” Leo hummed, not sure what to say to Finn’s earnest tone, “no problem.” He glanced away tuning to flick off the stove, out of the corner of his eye Leo could see Finn moving closer, stopping when he was just barely an arms length away.

“So…” Finn started, maybe a bit nervously, “I think I recall you promising me we could have a conversation this morning?”

Leo ‘s eyes shot back up to Finn’s, not having expected him to even remember their conversation from the night before let alone want to actually continue it. All he found in those soft brown eyes was open honesty as Finn patiently waited for Leo’s answer.

“You remember that?”

Finn swallowed and nodded, “I remember everything from last night, I guess I wasn’t too far gone after all. You don’t have to say it,” Finn said alluding to his question from the night before, “I know it’s probably way too soon for that. But… when you say you care for me, do you- do you mean that?”

Leo bit his lip taking in the way Finn had his hip cocked against the counter he had snagged a piece of plastic wrapper off the counter and was twisting it in his hands nervously but his eyes remained on Leo, waiting.

“Yeah, I do mean it,” Leo finally answered, trying his best to push away his own lingering anxiety that seemed to course through his system, “I like you, Finn.”

Finn let out a huffed exhale, “I- I don’t really know what to do with that information,” he said softly, taking a little step forward bringing them closer.

“You can do anything you want with it, Sugar,” Leo replied, inching a bit closer to Finn himself.

“Can- can I do this?” he asked, taking the last step separating them before leaning up to press a soft kiss to Leo’s lips.

Leo sighed into the kiss as his eyes fluttered closed, feeling every bit of tension melt out of his body at the gentle slide of Finn's lips on his own. It was slow, questioning, as if Finn was asking that same question with his lips as he did with his voice. Leo pressed in, deepening their kiss and hoping desperately that Finn would understand his answer; hoping that in the slide of his tongue, in the bite of his teeth, in every gasp that fell from their lips Finn would understand how much Leo wanted him.

Standing there in their kitchen the two of them slowly deprived themselves of oxygen long enough that they had to finally pull away from each other. Leo still had his eyes closed, panting to catch his breath, his forehead pressed to Finn’s who was breathing just as hard.

“Yes,” Leo whispered, “sweetheart, god yes,” he panted hotly. He had to make sure that Finn understood, had to make sure his answer was seared into Finn’s very soul. Leo pulled him in by the hips crashing their bodies together and catching his lips again, this time he made it deep, and hot, until a soft little whine caught in Finn’s throat. Leo let his hand slide down into the dip of Finn’s back splaying his fingers wide letting a couple just slip past the waistband of those loose faded jeans. He pulled Finn close, keeping their hip pressed flush together and under his touch, under the press of his fingertips into soft skin, Leo almost felt it as Finn’s nerves vanished.

Leo revelled in the feeling of their bodies moving together as Finn began to give back just as much heat, licking and sucking until he had pulled the very air from Leo’s lungs. Strong arms reached up and wrapped around his shoulders allowing nimble fingers to twist into the curls at the back of his neck, Leo couldn't hold back the groan from low in his chest when those fingers pulled gently.

It had been so long since Leo had felt heat like this, so long since it felt like every atom in his body was screaming to get as close as humanly possible to someone else, to Finn. Honestly, in that moment Leo was sure that if there was even an inch of space between their bodies he would have cried out in agony, cried out at the loss of Finn’s touch, his warmth.

Before he let his brain think better of it Leo reached down and cupped his hands around the backs of Finn’s thighs and hauled him up into his arms. Leo swallowed down the surprised gasp that fell from Finn’s lips at being suddenly picked up, he was quick to relax into it though easily wrapping his legs around Leo’s waist and tightening his grip in his hair.

Setting him down on the counter Leo stayed there pressed between Finn’s knees, loving the little gasps and sighs falling from his lips as he slid a hand up a denim clad thigh. Leo didn’t think he would ever get tired of feeling the shivers running through Finn’s body when he pressed a palm against his toned stomach, when he slid it up his side brushing his fingertips over each ridge of his ribcage.

Sitting up on the counter Finn was now tall enough that Leo had to tilt his head upwards to stay connected, he couldn't help but huff a soft chuckle at that it’s so rare that he has to be the one looking up. The thought was fleeting though, as Finn pulled a gasp out of his lungs, fingers tangled in Leo’s hair, his palm cupping the back of his neck.

“You know,” Finn panted when they separated for a moment to catch their breath, he kept his legs wrapped around Leo’s waist holding him close, “you are deceptively strong.” He hummed low in his throat and caught his lower lip between his teeth, “you look so lean but god, the fact that you just picked me up like a rag doll…” Finn’s words trailed off as Leo chuckled softly leaning in to press a kiss against his jaw, then down the pale skin on his neck. He relished in the feeling of Finn’s hands pressing into the muscle of his shoulders, grasping at his back as his mouth wandered lower, his tongue dipping into the hollow of Finn's collar bone.

“How much do you lift?” Finn said through gasped breaths, his body trembling under the press of Leo’s lips.

Leo couldn’t help but laugh at that, he buried his face into Finn's shoulder in an attempt to stifle it, “that’s what you’re thinking about right now?”

“I’m sorry,” Finn said, his own laughter reverberating into Leo, “I can’t help it. Please just tell me, it’s gonna bug me if you don’t.”

A hot rush of affection ran through Leo, it pooled in his stomach and made him smile so wide he couldn’t have hidden it if he tried. He hummed softly and began pressing soft sweet kisses back up the column of Finn’s throat, loving the vibration against his lips when Finn nearly purred at the feeling. Finn tipped his head back making the cabinet behind them clatter as he rested it there.

“You’re cute,” Leo said, sucking a dark bruise just under Finn’s jaw, his teeth scraping against the tender skin, “and around 350.”

Finn huffed and pulled Leo back up to catch his lips in another searing kiss, Leo felt like every place the two of them touched was melting, burning in the heat of Finn, his touch. Leo could barely breathe from the intensity.

“Sweetheart,” he whispered breathlessly, pulling away from Finn just a bit. “Wait,” he started letting their foreheads rest together, Leo still had his eyes closed.

“Why are we stopping?” Finn asked softly, panting just as hard.

“Because, I- we should talk about this,” Leo said, finally blinking his eyes open to watch Finn’s reaction, “you know before we just jump in, both feet first,” he smoothed his hands up those strong thighs still wrapped around his waist.

“Do we have to,” he whispered, keeping his eyes shut.

“Sugar,” Leo murmured, pressing a soft kiss to Finn’s cheekbone where the tear tracks from the night before had long since been wiped away, “last night you were crying in my arms because you’re convinced Logan doesn't love you. Sweetheart, we have to talk about it.”

Finn cracked a little smile at that, “I suppose you’re right,” he said, fingers playing with the curls at the back of Leo’s neck sending tingles and shivers down his spine.

“Fish,” Leo started, his hands wrapping around Finn’s hips, his fingers finding purchase on warm skin, “what is there between you and Logan? I just- I’ve gotta know, because I care for you,” Leo leaned in to press his face into Finn’s chest, “but I don’t want to be a replacement, or a placeholder for someone else.”

“Oh Leo, no,” Finn said, holding him tighter in his arms, “I’ve never thought of you like that. And this thing with me and Lo… I- I wish I had an easy answer for you. Hell, what I wouldn’t do for an easy answer for myself.” Finn let one of his hands slide down Leo’s back, pressing into the dip between his shoulder blades, “Logan is… he’s the love of my life, has been since the day I met him. But he won’t let me love him, and I can’t make him let me.” Finn’s voice was sad and introspective Leo could feel the gentle vibrations as he spoke, “but the things I feel for Logan don’t change the things I feel for you Leo, you’re not a replacement or a placeholder for Lo. You’re just- you’re different, you’re… you,” Finn pulled back a little and all Leo could do was look up into those big brown eyes as he whispered, “and I think I might be falling in love with you too.”

Leo took in a shuddering breath at those words not expecting the weight of them to settle onto his skin like warm bedsheets on a cold winter night.

“I know, it sounds crazy,” Finn continued, “how could someone be in love with two people at once? I’ve told myself so many times not to let myself fall for you, but then I see that beautiful smile of yours,” Finn cupped a palm against Leo’s cheek his thumb brushing softly against his kiss swollen lips making Leo smile almost unconsciously, “It make my heart feel like it’s gonna crack just at the sight of it and I know it’s too late, cause I’m already falling.”

“Leo, I don’t want to lose you. You’ve become very important to me,” Finn said, still holding Leo close like he was treasuring the feeling of him there in his arms, “but, I don’t want to lose Logan either. Not that I really have him, but I just- I want both of you. Is that wrong? Does that make me selfish?”

“No,” Leo said simply, hoping to stop Finn’s line of thinking in its tracks. “No, Finn, you’re not wrong or selfish for loving more than one person. And it doesn’t sound crazy at all to me, because Fish I would be a liar if I said I didn’t feel something for Logan too. Both of you are so unique and perfect in your own ways, how could I not feel for you two?”

Those beautiful chocolate brown eyes of Finns blinked down at Leo as if silently asking him ‘so what do we do now?’ Smiling softly up at him, Leo turned into the palm still cupping his cheek and pressed a kiss there.

“If you want,” he started, “we could just… see where this goes? Logan is unknown right now, but you and me, we could try?”

Finn’s smile was radiant at that simple offer, Leo could see relief break off of Finn like the calving of a glacier. His hands held Leo so tight it was like he was scared that if he let go now this new thing would float away on arctic waters, but Leo wasn’t going anywhere.

“I would love to try this with you,” Finn finally answered, and with that Leo leaned in and caught Finn’s lips in a kiss just because he could. It was soft and slow and filled with everything Leo had been feeling since the day they had met.

Leo let his mouth wander downwards, down Finn’s throat, his lips sliding over sharp collar bones. Finn sighed, his head falling back to clatter against the cabinet again when Leo’s teeth grazed over a nipple. Leo loved the smooth texture of Finn’s skin under his tongue, the way he could feel his heart beating faster under his lips as he continued toying with his nipple.

“Hmmm,” Leo hummed softly kissing a freckle at the edge of his nipple, “you know, my Nanna used to say that freckles were brown sugar. But yours,” he flicked his tongue over another freckle, “yours are cinnamon.”

“Le,” Finn gasped as Leo caught his nipple in his teeth again soothing over it with his tongue, “as sweet as that is, maybe let’s not talk about your grandma when you’re sucking on my nipples?”

Leo couldn’t hold back the laugh that bubbled up out of him as he pulled back away a bit, “Do you want me to stop then?” he asked looking up at Finn with a teasing smirk and one more flick of his tongue against his sensitive skin.

“Don’t you dare,” Finn breathed, he reached up and threaded his fingers into Leo’s curls, softly tugging him back towards his body. Chuckling lightly, Leo obliged, pressing his mouth back to Finn’s chest but continuing to move his lips downwards. Finn whined, his fingers tightening in his hair when Leo’s mouthed at the waistband of those faded blue jeans.

“Is this ok?” Leo whispered the question into Finn’s pelvis, hands smoothing up his thighs to toy with the button of his pants.

Unfortunately, before he was able to answer a loud alarm blared from Finn’s pocket making both of them jump in surprise, Leo could feel his heart racing in his chest.

“Damn it,” Finn sighed with a groan, he banged his head on the cabinet. “I’m sorry, I want to,” Leo felt Finn’s hand tighten in his hair before sliding down to cup his jaw, “I really want to, but I have to go. I’m gonna be late for practice. Can we… rain check?”

Leo huffed a laugh, “Yeah, we can do that,” he stood up straight and pressed a kiss to Finn’s mouth, “I’ll see you tonight? After practice?” he asked hopefully.

Finn grimaced and made a pained noise, “My brothers in town, I told him I’d go to dinner with him. ‘M sorry.”

“S’ok,” Leo murmured, his mouth wandering back to the dark bruise he had made on Finn’s neck and sucking, “when you get home then.”

Finn nodded as his alarm began blaring loud from his pocket again, he sighed and slid down off the counter, “I’ve gotta go,” he whispered, pressing one last soft kiss to Leo’s lips. Leo smiled softly at him as Finn moved out of his reach, rushing around the apartment, grabbing a sweatshirt off the back of the couch and pulling it over his head as he tried to shove his feet into a pair of sneakers. Snagging his keys off the counter Finn rushed towards the front door but paused just before he left, “Bye,” he said softly with a little wave to Leo.

“Bye,” he waved back just as Finn slipped through the door, leaving Leo alone in their apartment.

Read on AO3

Chapter 24 Chapter 26

#sweater weather #coast to coast #leo knut #logan tremblay #lumosinlove #finn o'hara #figure skating #hockey #getting together #fluff #fluff and angst #the scars of our past

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crispycrimebrulee · 4 years

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🎄25 Days of HXH: Day 14: Uvo x Wrapping Paper🎄

Some people may say the hardest part of the holiday season was trying to remember all the people you needed to get gifts for, or the amount of money you needed to spend in order to cover all of those people. Some may say its the amount of holiday parties and get togethers, or hearing all the same 50 Christmas songs on repeat in just about every public meeting spot. For some people the hardest part of Christmas is having to wrap so many boxes in flimsy paper that tears with a flick of the wrist in the wrong direction. Nutcracker by Straight No Chaser

Taglist: @to-move-on-means-to-grow , @lifescreams27, @twistedsmth, @dukinaxael, @weeb-chick-181920

Uvo sat there, blood boiling silently, which if this nonsense kept up any further, it wouldn’t be all that silent.

Y/N had left him a mountain of boxes and tags, ribbons and markers and an astoundingly large amount of tape and wrapping paper and asked him to wrap the gifts up while they’d gone out to purchase more gifts. Uvo said it’d be no big deal, he could more than handle a couple of boxes, an hour or two of wrapping gifts up. Simple easy task, you could do it in your sleep.

He was very wrong.

He was absolutely losing his mind over this task.

In truth, wrapping boxes is a little difficult at first if you don’t understand the general gist of folding the corners right and knowing where to tape. It can get a little wild and haphazard and frustrating, but figuring out the proper wrapping method happens eventually, and all is settled and calm.

Not for Uvo. No no.

In another truth, Uvo was large in many aspects. His hands especially, which left him out of the game entirely when it came to delicate things and tasks. He couldn’t delicately touch certain things, especially if certain things fell in the category of very thin wrapping paper that kept goddamn ripping when he tried to fold it over the corner of a box. It’d been a total of an hour, and he’d wrapped absolutely jackshit and he had told y/n that he’d wrap up the boxes no problem. Once again, this was certainly a problem and the pile of boxes, tags, markers and ribbons was incredibly large and daunting, considering the amount of paper he’d managed to rip without actually wrapping anything.

Grabbing a box, he tried his hand at the gentle tactic, grumbling under his breath.

One side, tapped.

Rotate the box a little, tape the other side.

Folding the ends of the paper, bring them in a little…

Rip.

Ripped again, an ugly tear in the side of the paper. The urge to toss the box across the room was growing quickly, but upon shaking the box it sounded delicate so he refrained.

Uvo calmly stood up, and yelled.

Why was this so hard? He’d watched y/n do it so many times, with alarming speed too, so why was this so difficult? Hands are hands and paper is paper, it should be just damn fine wrapping the boxes like y/n wraps the boxes!

He didn’t even notice (or hear, for that matter, with his tantrum) that y/n had opened the door and was now watching him roar out his frustrations, casually punting a tube of wrapping paper across the room.

The noise that snapped Uvo out of his tirade was y/n’s giggling, clearly connecting the dots on the situation.

He stopped and turned to face them, entranced by the soft giggling.

They walked up to him, barely able to keep themselves together.

“Having trouble, sweetheart?” they asked, taking one of his hands and patting it gently.

He grumbled a bit, going into a small rant about his fingers being too big to fold the paper right and it kept ripping.

Y/N did nothing but giggle as they walked over to the tube that Uvo had punted, picking it up and carrying it over, sitting on the floor.

“Come sit, hun! I’ll help you.” they said, patting the floor next to them.

Uvo shuffled over, sitting on the floor, but not liking the position.

He pulled y/n into his lap and draped himself (gently) over them, watching them grab a box.

They ran their fingers over his hands, causing him to chuckle a bit.

Working his hands and fingers gently over the wrapping paper, they guided his hands in wrapping the box properly, slowly, gently.

Y/N’s hands were much smaller, and softer, soothing and calm.

It was safe to say he was barely paying attention to what they were doing, and that he was simply loving the attention, having his s/o tucked in his lap.

He almost didn’t notice them asking if he got it now, showing him a fully wrapped and labeled box.

“Hmmmmmmmmm… do another one for me, babe?” he asked, propping his head atop y/n’s.

They giggled, knowing full well he simply wanted them close, even if he also really needed to see it again.

No matter, though.

Being close and cozy is always a must, even if it's over wrapping paper.

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snowdice · 4 years

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Big Bang (Sort of) Editing Story [Day 35]

I started writing this fic while editing my Big Bang story, but am going to continue doing it for other things now that Kill Dear is out. I will write and publish 100 words of the story every time I finish doing whatever task I’m doing. If you’d like to block these proceedings, please feel free to block the tag proofread stories. I will reblog this post with the parts of the story I do today. Edited chapters are linked; everything else I’ve done so far is under the cut.

My Master Post Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12

I wanna write something so I’m going to do this.

Chapter 13

Logan was able to quickly set up the station for making protection charms. Patton had always liked making them, though he often used his more as fun accessories than for protection. The one he was going to show Virgil how to make was a very simple low level one used for little more than to keep bugs off of yourself and, in the event of a well made one, alert one to imminent danger by changing temperature. It was a nice thing to hold in the middle of the night if one was frightened by real or imagined threats. It would be warm to the touch when your environment was safe; he thought Virgil might appreciate it.

He and Patton decided to wait until Virgil woke up naturally which only took about 30 minutes. Then, Logan brought him to his set up supplies. He explained briefly the process for making a protection charm. “I will be the one performing the enchantment for today,” he told Virgil. “I will show you how to make your own later, but I thought seeing how to make them would help with the learning process.”

“Plus, it’s fun!” Patton said.

Logan flashed a smile at him. “And that as well. I’ve prepared a small number of possible pendants for you to choose from. You can choose the shape and color, then we will put on a custom engraving, as well as decorations.”

“Glitter! Glitter! Glitter! Glitter!”

“Yes, Patton, everyone knows you’re going to choose glitter,” Logan said, amused, “but why don’t we let Virgil decide for his own pendant?”

“Fine,” Patton said, “but mine will be glitter.”

Logan grabbed the box of blank pendants and offered it to Virgil. “Choose whichever one feels right,” he suggested. Virgil moved forward and looked over the box. “You can touch them,” Logan said. “In fact, I would suggest it as it is meant to be held when it’s done and you may as well get a feel for it.”

At his prompting, Virgil did. He reached into the box and shifted a few to the side. Eventually, he started picking a few up. “I like the crescent shape for holding the most he said,” holding a blue one up, but I don’t know.”

“What’s your favorite color?” Patton asked.

“Oh, um,” he mumbled. “I dunno.”

“Well here,” Patton said, reaching for the box. He dug through it and pulled out every single crescent moon shaped pendant and lined them up. “What do you fancy?”

Virgil considered them all for a long moment and then tentatively pointed the purple one out.

“Great!” Patton said. “Then, we’ll use that one.”

Virgil nodded and Patton picked up the pendant to drop it into his hands. His fingers curled over the shape and he seemed satisfied by the choice, so Logan turned to Patton. “Your turn,” he said.

Patton happily grabbed out a heart shaped blue one, but then paused and exchanged it for a purple one. “We match!” he said.

Virgil smiled slightly at his enthusiasm, and Logan dug out a blue crescent moon shape for himself. “Now that you have your base, you get to choose the engraving.” He opened up the instruction book to the correct page and showed it to him.

Virgil looked over the two pages of designs with carful focus. He wavered between the spiral sun and the flames for a moment, but eventually settled on the flames. Patton chose the interlocking hearts design as anticipated; it was his favorite, and Logan chose the spiral sun design for himself.

“Now, I’m going to engrave this design onto yours,” Logan said getting out the thin pen like instrument and dipping it into the slightly glowing bottle of potion he’d set out. “In the meantime, Patton will show you what we have for decorations.”

He was careful to get the symbol as perfect as he could and then started on Patton’s. Patton apparently managed to corrupt the boy because both of them came back with brushes and glitter to add as decoration.

Logan shook his head and handed them their freshly engraved pendants. “Apply the glitter how you like,” Logan said, moving on to his own engraving. Once he was finished, he selected some glow in the dark paint to decorate his own.

Once he’d finished decorating his own pendant, Logan looked up. “Are you finished?” he asked.

“Yep!” Patton said, shoving his pendant at Logan while Virgil nodded. Virgil had been far less enthusiastic than Patton, having carefully brushed glitter into the flame design only whereas Patton had haphazardly covered his own all over with glitter. Logan took both pendants.

“This,” Logan said, bringing over a different potion, “is used to make sure the decorations never fall off. It basically allows the other substances to become a part of the stone. “It isn’t too dangerous, but I’d suggest you stand back for the moment.”

Virgil stepped back farther back than was strictly necessary and gave the potion bottle a wary look. Logan moved all three pendants to the prepared surface (else they ran the risk of also getting stuck to the table) and put on gloves, having learned that magically gluing rocks to ones hands was not fun years ago. Then, he carefully drizzled a bit of the potion onto each rock. The rocks fizzled loudly, and Virgil gave off a startled yelp before toppling over flat on his face with his wrist glued to his sides.

“Oh no, honey,” Patton said immediately crouching next to him. “I’m sorry. We should have warned you about the noise.”

Logan wasn’t sure what type of action he’d tried to take when the sound started up, but whatever it was, it had caused him to move his arms fast enough that he’d activated the binding potion and it snapped his wrists to his side, overbalancing him.

Patton’s hands hovered over the startled boy, but he didn’t touch. After a few moments, it was clear that the magic keeping Virgil’s hands at his side released because his hands slowly crept forward to push himself up, so his face wasn’t planted against the ground. His eyes still looked incredibly startled.

“Are you alright?” Patton asked.

Virgil blinked. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he said.

Logan took his words as permission to move without risking startling him more. Virgil’s eyes bopped back and forth between him and Patton a few times as he crossed to his wall of potions and grabbed one.

He also selected a clean cloth from a basket on his way over to them. “A light healing potion,” Logan explained as he knelt in front of Virgil. He uncorked it. “May I?”

“I’m fine,” Virgil said with a frown. “I’m not even bleeding. It’s barely anything.”

“Which is why it’s a light healing potion,” Logan said. “You are sure to bruise with the way you hit. This will prevent it and make it stop hurting.”

“Okay,” Virgil agreed after a moment. Logan dribbled a bit out onto the rag. After a moment of thought, he touched the damp part of the cloth with his own finger, just to quash any fears that it would harm him.

“It will tingle slightly,” Logan warned. Virgil tilted his face to let him dab it onto his nose and the light scrape on his face. His nose scrunched up and he moved to rub the sensation away quickly only to have his arms slam back to his sides.

Patton caught him so the sudden involuntary movement didn’t cause him to fall back, and then giggled when Virgil titled his head to what could only be described as pout back at him.

“Aw, poor thing,” Patton cooed, reaching forward to rub a hand across the top of his nose and then his forehead where the potion had been applied for him.

“Better?” Patton asked.

“You’re really bad at this being captors thing,” Virgil commenting, willingly leaning back into Patton. Patton just smiled happily.

Logan took the bottle and got to his feet, before returning it, and then glanced at the pendants as Patton helped Virgil to his feet. The pendants had stopped fizzing, so Logan felt okay reaching in and grabbing them all.

He handed both Patton and Virgil their pendants when they walked closer to the table.

“And now for the actual enchantment,” Logan said. “For today, I already prepared the potion up to the last step as it has to sit for a few hours, but I will show you the last step and eventually teach you everything if you are still interested.”

Virgil nodded, but said. “No more noises?”

Logan smiled. “No more noises,” he confirmed. Then he pushed forward all of the ingredients he was about to put in the pot for Virgil to study one by one before putting them each in it in the correct order. Then he demonstrated how to stir it correctly and told him how many times, though he doubted he’d be able to retain all of the information from this one demonstration. “There,” he said, setting down his spoon. “Now we just all put our pendants into the pot, and they should be ready in 25 minutes.”

Logan showed Virgil around his potion’s lab while they waited, explaining what certain pieces of equipment did and a bit about his organization system. Virgil followed him around, looking at the things he pointed out curiously. He, however, got very distracted when Logan showed him one of the experiments he’d concocted. It was a thick liquid that was super attracted to itself and would form a small ball that could be disturbed by touching it. He seemed to like the sensation of squishing it down onto a table… over and over and over again.

“We should get him a ball of yarn,” Patton said out of the corner of his mouth. He may have been enjoying watching Virgil play with the substance more than Virgil was enjoying playing with it himself. And that was saying something.

21984

Eventually, however, the pendants were finished, and he dragged Virgil away from his new toy to show him the finished product.

“What do you think?” he asked.

“Is it supposed to be warm?” Virgil inquired.

“Yes,” Logan replied. “It’s temperature changes based on if the magic on it senses a threat or not. Warmer temperatures mean you are safe.

“Oh,” Virgil said softly, hand squeezing around it. “I like it.”

Logan found himself smiling. “I’m glad. It’s yours.”

“Thank you,” he said.

“If you would like, I’m sure Patton has some suggestions if you’d desire a way to keep it attached to your person. He in particular likes to make them into necklaces or clip them to his clothing.”

Virgil looked over at Patton and nodded shyly. Patton immediately perked up. “I’ll go get some supplies!” he said.

Chapter 14

“So then,” Patton was saying. “We ran to the stables.”

“We went to gazebo first,” Logan cut in.

“Right, we tried to go to the gazebo first,” Patton corrected, “but Mr. Deknis was over there tending to the tomatoes, and we knew he’d tell Mama the second he saw us. So, then we turned around and went to the stables.”

Virgil tilted his head, listening to the story Patton was telling. Patton was not the best storyteller. He tended to get lost in the middle and embellish, though Logan always corrected him. It was still very entertaining to watch though because he got incredibly animated. He’d even toppled himself over in excitement a couple of times.

Virgil squeezed the small pillow he had in his lap. He… wasn’t 100% sure what was going on. Logan and Patton had settled him on the blanket covered ground near Logan’s bed and proceeded to feed him snacks and talk about a lot of different things. It had started with them talking about what they’d done that day, and when Patton had made reference to something Virgil hadn’t understood, the two of them ended up talking about things from their childhood.

Virgil found himself entranced by their stories about playing in and running around the castle. It was all so different from what Virgil had experienced.

“…but, right as we were about to get to the ladder to climb up into the hay loft, Logan tripped!” Patton said, arms whipping around him. “He fell into a container of grain for the horses and it spilled all over the place. He tried to get up but grabbed the edge of the water trough and apparently it wasn’t very secure because it fell over and soaked him. So, then he was wet and covered in grain. He looked hilarious.”

“I did not!” Logan protested, but it did not sound like all of the other times he’d corrected Patton’s stories that night.

Patton looked over at him. “You did! You woke up the cute stable hand and he laughed himself silly at you, and by the time we got you even partially cleaned up, your dad had already found us. That’s how we got caught.”

“I have no recollection of these events,” Logan clearly lied, his cheeks a bit flushed.

“Liar,” Patton claimed. “You complained about picking grain out of your sheets for weeks.”

“No,” Logan growled.

“Yes! It’s okay. It was a good laugh.”

Logan’s eyes narrowed on him, and he looked pissed, but a second later, his expression lightened up. “You know what else was a ‘good laugh’?” he asked.

There was a second of silence before…

“Don’t you dare Logan.”

Logan looked him directly in the eye. “Patton was thirteen,” Logan started, but was interrupted the next moment when Patton lobbed a pillow at his head. Logan grabbed the pillow and leaned forward to smack Patton back with it. “He was thirteen and had just ‘discovered boys’ as his mother and my father called it when they attempted to explain his behavior to me. The focus of said ‘discovering’ at the time was the son of an ambassador from Lamir” who was staying for the summer, a seventeen-year-old boy by the name Bernardo.”

Virgil flinched back as Patton suddenly threw himself across the semicircle they’d made with their bodies to tackle Logan to the ground. He watched as they ineffectually wrestled on the ground for a few seconds before Logan, voice strained continued to speak, while battling Patton’s hands away from his mouth.

“Patton’s only knowledge about flirting… ow… at that point was laughing at everything someone said and touching their arms and shoulders.” Logan managed to flip himself onto his stomach which was a horrible move as far as Virgil was concerned. It put him at a disadvantage to get out of the pin. However, Patton just kept reaching for his mouth and didn’t bare down on his neck to try to cut off his oxygen like Virgil expected. So, perhaps it was a rational move. “Our parents were speaking leaving Patton, Bernardo, and I in the garden,” Logan mumbled into the ground. “Bernardo said something ‘funny’ and Patton went to slap his shoulder while laughing, but shoved too hard… Patton did you just lick my face?!”

“And I’ll do it again if you don’t shut up!” Patton threatened. That was a… weird fighting strategy.

Logan paused to consider his options. “He shoved Bernardo into the fountain and when Bernardo asked him why he did that, he ran away and wouldn’t talk to him the rest of the summer!” Logan rushed out.

Patton reached over and grabbed the nearest pillow, proceeding to whack him viciously in the back of the head. Logan was lucky the nearest object was a pillow and not something any sturdier. “It’s not funny!” Patton yelled, smacking him even more, which was when Virgil realized Logan was laughing despite the pinning and pillow pummeling. “It’s not!” Patton said. “I really liked him!!”

“He was seventeen!” Logan said. “It was never going to happen!”

Patton groaned and rolled off of Logan to lay on his back and stare at the ceiling. “But he had so many muscles,” Patton said. “He probably could have thrown me 10 yards.”

“And that is… a benefit?” Logan asked, rolling over onto his side to face him.

“You don’t. Get me.” Patton tilted his head to look at Virgil. “Anyway,” he said. “That is the story of how I died at 13.”

Virgil stared at him, and Patton’s forehead crinkled looking at him.

“Is something wrong, honey?” he asked.

“What was that?” Virgil asked.

“What was what?”

Virgil just blinked at him. Patton seemed to think for a moment.

“Oh, did you think we were fighting?” Patton asked. “Like, really fighting?”

“You weren’t fighting?” Virgil asked.

“No, sweetie,” Patton said. “We were just playing.” He popped up into a sitting position. “Well, play fighting, but emphasis on play!”

Virgil looked over at Logan for confirmation. “No one is harmed nor was there any intention to harm each other,” he assured.

Patton grabbed the pillow he’d been smacking Logan with. “Like this!” he said. “Bap.” Unlike how he’d smacked Logan ruthlessly, he basically just touched Virgil’s shoulder with it.

Virgil squinted at him.

“Bap!” Patton said again, smacking him again, this time with a little bit more force and on the cheek. Virgil’s nose scrunched up. “Pillow fight!”

“Pillow fight?”

“You try,” he said, pointing to the pillow in Virgil’s lap.

Virgil glanced down at the bands around his wrist. “Um…” he said. “I don’t think I can?”

“Oh, right,” Patton said with a frown. He bit his lip and glanced over at Logan. “Maybe…”

“Ill-advisable,” Logan said.

“But…” Patton said. “Pillow fight.”

“We would have to be very cautious and make sure there were no weapons in the area.”

“No weapons but pillows!”

“Fine,” Logan relented to whatever was going on. “Let’s clear the area.” Virgil watched them with mounting confusion as they removed everything within a few meters radius of him except for pillows and blankets.

“There!” Patton said after a minute. “All done!”

“What are you doing?” Virgil said.

“We’re going to have a pillow fight,” Patton said.

“But I…”

“We’ll temporarily allow your restraints to be in the third setting like when you’re in the closet.”

Were they serious? Were they stupid? Virgil could have killed them dozens of times with the second setting and now they were giving him even more range of motion?

“You have to promise not to try to hurt anyone though,” Patton said. Virgil stared at him dumbly, as Patton held out his pinky finger. “Pinky promise.”

“Pinky promise?”

Patton nodded solemnly. “We lock pinky fingers and make a promise. It’s the most binding promise in the universe.”

Virgil looked at his finger, confused. He’d never heard of that type of deal. “What kind of magic is it?”

“No magic,” Patton said. “Just friendship.” Virgil tilted his head but brought his hand up so Patton could twine their fingers together. “Now, promise you won’t hurt anyone.”

“I promise I won’t hurt anyone,” he said.

“It’s a deal!” said Patton, squeezing Virgil’s finger with his own briefly before drawing away. “I trust you.” Virgil felt a rush of something that was no type of magic he’d ever come into contact before but was definitely far more powerful.

Logan came over to them and waved his hand over the restraints on Virgil. They buzzed slightly and Virgil looked between them. “So, I just hit you with pillows?”

“Try not to hit too hard near the face, and Lo and I should probably take off our glasses before we start, but yeah,” Patton said, taking his glasses off as he said it. It was yet another foolish move on his part. “It’s fun, and it doesn’t hurt.”

“Okay…” Virgil said.

“I will demonstrate,” Logan said as he took a pillow and smacked Patton in the stomach.

“Hey! No fair!” Patton giggled. “We haven’t started yet!” This did not deter Logan however, as he continued to smack Patton with a pillow.

“On the contrary,” he said. “It has started, and we’re getting you first.”

“No,” Patton whined, but the way he crumpled to the ground under the onslaught seemed far too staged to make Virgil worry. He didn’t even try to curl up into a ball or to protect his head, just taking the hits and giggling.

Logan looked up at Virgil and motioned with his head. Virgil inched over and looked down at Patton. Logan slowed for a few moments. “Go on,” he urged.

Virgil bit his lip and reached forward to smack Patton lightly with his pillow which seemed to do nothing to him but renew his peels of giggles. From there, it was easy to continue. Logan picked up the pace of his strikes and he and Virgil proceeded to ‘fight’ Patton until he couldn’t breath through his laughter and pushed the pillows away, curling up on his side to recover.

23897

“No what?” Virgil asked when Patton sat up.

“Now I get vengeance!” Patton said, popping to his feet and smacking Logan in the face. “Help me Virgil!” So, Virgil turned on Logan and he and Patton gave the prince the same treatment. Then, because it was only fair, it was Virgil’s turn, though they were a lot more careful with him then they’d been with each other, and really Patton spent more of the time checking in on Virgil then actually hitting him with the pillow. It was nice. Fun. And when Virgil pushed them away, they pulled back. Then, it was Patton’s turn again and they went around teaming up on each other and sometimes just smacking at each other at random.

Eventually, they slowed, and all ended up laying near each other on the floor.

“Well, that made me hungry,” Patton said, sitting up and stretching. “I asked Mama to make us a bunch of mini sandwiches with different flavors. I’ll go get them.”

He hopped to his feet to walk over to where they’d stored the food earlier in those little glowing magical balls Logan had for food preservation.

Logan and Virgil sat up too, and Virgil offered him his wrists.

“Right,” Logan said with a blink. He made a motion and Virgil could feel the magic weighing down his hands once again. He’d almost forgotten, Virgil thought with an internal sigh. They’d given an assassin free range of motion, had a pillow fight with him, and almost forgotten to restrain him again. What was Virgil going to do with these idiots?

Chapter 15

Patton strolled up to the doors to the royal wing, his arms crossed casually around his middle.

Kalani raised an eyebrow as he approached and gave her the most innocent expression he could. “Whatcha got there, Pat?” she asked.

“Hmm?” he asked, as his sweater squirmed. “What do you mean?”

She considered him for a moment. “Well, I see nothing suspicious here,” she said. “Do you Owen?”

“Nothing,” he replied without hesitation.

Patton grinned at them both.

Kalani leaned in like she was going to tell him a secret. “Who is it?”

Patton made a show of glanced around like he was hiding it from anyone passing by. Then he shifted around to pull up just the bottom of his sweater.

A small black paw reached out from the depths of his sweater and swatted at the air.

“Ah, I see,” Kalani said, reaching out to touch the little paw. “Hello, Mittens.”

Patton giggled as Owen poked the cat’s stomach gently through the sweater, making her wiggle a bit and try to bite him.

“Well,” Patton said. “I better be off with my totally normal sweater.”

Kalani nodded and stepped to the side, and Patton was free to head down the hallway to Logan’s room. Patton knocked on the door with their new extra secret knock and Logan all but ripped open the door. “I’m late. I have to go,” he said, darting past Patton.

Patton smiled, happy that his plan to be running a little late to come watch Virgil had worked so well, even though he felt a little bit guilty about it. He hoped Logan wasn’t late to his meeting, but he also knew that if Logan had noticed Mittens, he wouldn’t have let her into the room.

Virgil was already out of the closet, sitting on one of the chairs. Patton came in and smiled at him. Unlike Logan, Virgil’s attention was immediately drawn to the oddly shaped lump in Patton’s sweater.

“You’re not very good at hiding things,” Virgil said.

“It worked on Logan,” Patton defended himself.

“Logan was about to rocket into space if you didn’t show up in 5 seconds,” Virgil pointed out. Patton just shrugged, and Virgil tilted his head. “What do you have?”

Patton grinned wide and carefully pulled Mittens out of his sweater. She did not resist this maneuver at all, simply purring. He held her up for Virgil to see. “Ta da!”

“A cat?” Virgil said.

“This is Mittens,” Patton said. He then turned to Mittens. “Mittens, this is Virgil. I thought I’d introduce the two of you!”

Virgil blinked at the cat. Mittens blinked back. Patton thought maybe he should have let them sniff each other from under a door before doing this.

He didn’t need to worry though, as Mittens started purring after a moment. “You can pet her,” Patton offered. Virgil looked up at him. “Just…” he said.

“She likes chin scratchies!” Patton prompted.

Virgil reached out a hand to scratch under her chin and that was the end of it. Mittens stretched out her chin happy to get the attention and Virgil’s eyes widened at how soft her fur was. It was a work of minutes before Virgil was sitting down on the floor and Mittens was happily kneading his thighs and spinning around in circles to make sure he pet every inch of her.

“I did not understand why people like cats,” Virgil commented. “All I’ve seen of cats is people coming back with bloody scratches from trying to pet them, so I never even tried.”

“Well,” Patton said. “Cats are just like people. If you’re nice to them, they’re more likely to be nice to you.”

Virgil’s hand paused briefly on the cat’s head, but then continued with the petting a moment later. Patton wondered what he was thinking about, but didn’t press.

“She seems to like you,” Patton said.

“Don’t know why.”

“Hey, don’t be mean.” Patton scolded.

Virgil hands jerked away from the cat he’d been petting and then were forced abruptly to his side in reaction. Mittens meowed, seemed very unhappy with the jostling as well as the sudden lack of petting.

“Sorry,” Virgil said, eyes wide. “What did I do wrong. I didn’t mean to be mean to her.”

It took Patton a moment to sus out what he was talking about and felt a pang in his chest when he did. “Oh, no honey. You didn’t do anything wrong. I meant don’t be mean to yourself.”

Virgil gave him a confused look. Mittens bumped her head against his chin and with a blink, he cautiously went back to petting her.

“Of course, she likes you sweetie, you’re a good boy.”

“I came here to kill the king. I’ve killed before.”

Patton smiled sadly. “I don’t think you ever wanted to,” he said. Virgil seemed to grow very interested in mitten’s ears. Patton scooted over so he was sitting beside him and carefully brought a hand up to touch the top of his head. Virgil sort of curled into him, pressing his face against Patton’s shoulder, but continuing to pet the cat.

“It’s fine. You’re going to be okay now,” Patton said softly.

Virgil shook his head against Patton’s shoulder.

“Yes,” Patton insisted. “You’ll be okay. You won’t have to go back.”

Virgil didn’t respond for a long moment. “You can’t keep me in Logan’s closet forever,” he said softly. “When his dad comes back, you’re going to have to turn me in.”

Well, that was true, but… “It’ll be okay. No one will hurt you.”

“The kings would be assassin?” Virgil asked skeptically.

“Thomas is nice. He’ll understand.”

“He’s nice to you. He’s nice to Logan. Maybe he’s even nice to the people he rules over, but what am I? An enemy assassin who would have slit his throat if I hadn’t gotten the wrong room.”

It…it did sound bad when he put it like that, but, but… “Thomas will understand,” he promised, hugging him tight. “He will, and we’ll keep you safe and I’ll introduce you to every single cat in the castle. In fact, we’ll get you a cat to keep as a pet if you want and he or she can snuggle you as much as you want. I’ll show you all around the gardens and introduce you to Mama and help you figure out what your favorite type of cookie is. You’ll never have to hurt anyone again and no one will ever hurt you again.”

Virgil drew away a bit and shot him a half smile. He clearly didn’t believe him, and it made Patton’s stomach twist a bit. Patton knew. He knew Thomas would be nice. There was no way he’d hurt Virgil. Virgil was just a kid and with Logan and Patton on his side, there was no way anything bad would happen to him. He could see it from Virgil’s perspective though.

“I like her feet,” Virgil said, touching Mittens’ little black paw that contrasted her otherwise white coat. Mittens purred and began kneading his legs again with those paws. “I’m guessing that’s why she’s named Mittens?”

“Yeah,” said Patton softly. “‘Cause she looks like she’s wearing mittens.” Virgil leaned forward to kiss her little head and that little action made Patton’s heart ache for him. He deserved so many kitten kisses. So many.

Patton was determined to make sure he got them.

Chapter 16

“Well done,” Logan complimented when Virgil looked up at him for approval. It was the first time Virgil was trying to make the protection charms without Logan’s instructions. Logan was of course still in the room in case he had questions and the boy had a written set of instructions next to him, but for the most part Virgil was doing it on his own.

“Now,” Virgil said squinting down at the paper next to him, “we wait for 35 minutes.”

“Fifty actually,” Logan corrected offhand, focused on his own potion.

“Oh, yeah, right,” Virgil said. He grabbed the timer and set it for the appropriate time.

Then, he stepped away from Logan’s nontoxic potion station. Logan saw him edge a bit closer to peak at what Logan was working on, though he was careful to maintain a distance. Logan wasn’t sure if this was because he’d been warned of the possible harmful substances Logan sometimes used at his experiment table or because he was worried Logan might not want him to approach.

Logan looked up at him. “You can come closer. Nothing here is very dangerous.”

Virgil nodded and walked over to peer at the boiling pot. “What are you making?” he asked.

“I am once again attempting to invent a potion that will reliably remove cat hair from surfaces,” Logan said, glancing over at Patton.

Patton looked up from the bracelet he was making and stuck his tongue out at Logan.

“I can never seem to find an adequate solution,” Logan said.

“The solution is to accept all parts of kitty love!” Patton insisted.

“Or maybe the solution is to exile you from my room for the rest of time,” Logan muttered. Patton chose to ignore him and go back to working on the bracelet.

“Do you want any help?” Virgil offered Logan.

Logan smiled at him. “I’m actually almost finished with this step and there isn’t much left to do but thank you.”

Virgil nodded. “Oh, okay,” he said. He shifted back and forth a few times.

“You’re well on your way to mastering this potion,” Logan said. “I was thinking that next I could teach you how to make a tracking charm. I marked a passage about it in the book on that shelf.” He gestured to one near the station Virgil had been working at. “Why don’t you go ahead and read that while you wait?”

“The…” Virgil said. “The green book?”

“Yes,” Logan said. “I left a bookmark in the correct page.”

“Um… yeah, sure. I’ll go… read that.”

Logan nodded and turned back to put the finishing touches on his own potion as Virgil walked away.

Logan finished up his potion up after a few minutes and covered it to let it simmer. He looked over to see that Patton had flopped onto his back, still working on the bracelet and Virgil had sat near to him with the book on his lap open. Logan walked over to them.

“What do you think?” Logan asked.

Virgil glanced up at him. “Erm,” he said. “Looks good.”

“Which option do you like better?”

“…The second one.”

“Really?” Logan asked, surprised.

“Uh… yes?”

“I’m surprised,” Logan commented. “I figured you would shy away from the ones that required a blood sacrifice.”

Virgil’s eyes widened. “Oh,” he said. “I… didn’t notice that. I would like to not do that one, please.”

“You didn’t notice?” Logan asked. “Half of the entire first page is dedicated to a discussion of it.”

There was a beat of awkward silence.

“Virgil,” Logan said. “Can you read the first paragraph on that page?”

He grimaced.

“You can’t read?!”

“Logan, tone,” Patton snapped when Virgil flinched.

Logan took a breath. “I am not upset that you cannot read, but what have you been doing for the past week when I have given you written instructions for the protection charm potion?”

“Not… read it.”

“How have you been making the potion?” Logan asked.

“I just remember the steps, and if I’m not sure I ask. You’re usually distracted enough that you barely notice.”

“If I had known this, we would have done a completely auditory explanation.”

“Sorry.”

Logan sighed. “You didn’t need to pretend, Virgil.”

Virgil blinked up at him. “Sorry.”

Logan just shook his head. “There is nothing for you to be sorry for. In fact, you are the one who is owed apologies from many people in your life for a multitude of reasons.” He knelt down to take the book from him. “Here,” he said. “For now, I will read this passage to you while we wait for the potions to finish brewing. Later we can talk about changing my lesson plans in reference to the potions as well as adding reading lessons into your schedule.”

“You… want to teach me how to read?” Virgil asked.

“If you are willing,” Logan replied. “It’s a useful skill to have and opens up many doors.”

“I don’t know if I’ll be any good at it,” Virgil said with a frown.

“If you can memorize an entire potion recipe from start to finish with inadequate vocal instructions, I’m sure you can learn the alphabet perfectly well.”

“Okay,” he replied sounding a bit doubtful.

“And once we get you to an appropriate level, I’ll let you read a book about stars I enjoyed in my youth.” He seemed pleased with that prospect, and Logan smiled at him. “For now though, let’s read this together.”

“Okay,” Virgil said. Logan opened the book in his lap and started to read. He noticed that Virgil was leaning over to look at the page despite the fact that he couldn’t read it, and so he began to point to the words as he read. His reactions to the words on the page were honestly quite funny when Logan caught them. His nose would scrunch up in confusion every time he thought an instruction nonsensical, and he’d squint his eyes at the words as though willing the sounds and letters to connect in his head. Logan wouldn’t be surprised with his memory if he had parts of it memorized by the end.

26422

After a few minutes of reading, a light weight descended on Logan’s shoulder. Virgil had settled his chin on Logan’s shoulder to peer at the words. Logan did his best not to draw attention to this fact and shot a glare at Patton when he clearly noticed, sitting up to smile widely at them. Luckily the boy was sensible enough not to squeal as he oh so clearly wanted to. Logan pointed out a picture while explaining what the caption said and then giving a personal antecedent. Virgil touched the page curiously and asked a question about the story before laying his head back down on Logan’s shoulder. They continued in this way until the potion was finished.

Chapter 17

Virgil’s suspicion was growing. Logan and Patton seemed to have something planned. Luckily, whatever it was didn’t seem to be malicious, at least, Virgil hoped it wasn’t. He truly didn’t think that Patton had it in him to be so clearly excited about anything cruel. He also didn’t think Logan had it in him to be cruel, he was just was better at masking his excitement.

“What?” Logan asked innocently when Virgil gave him a pointed look the second Patton left to do ‘something’. Virgil would almost believe he truly wasn’t planning anything if it wasn’t for the way his lips twitched just a bit at the corners. Virgil glared harder.

Logan dared to laugh lightly at the expression on his face. “Come here,” he requested. “Patton wanted me to make you pick out a book for him to read to you tonight since, I quote ‘You’ve gotten to read him all sorts of stories the last few days.’ I attempted to explain that it was not purely for fun, but he insisted.”

Virgil grumbled, but wandered over to look over at the books laid out on Logan’s bed, settling his chin on Logan’s shoulder. “What do they say?” he asked.

Logan pointed to each in turn. “Five Dragons and a Flame. The End of May. A Stone in the Meadow. Or you can continue to read The Never-ending Garden.”

“I want to finish The Never-Ending Garden,” Virgil decided.

“Good choice.”

“Now will you tell me what you’re doing?” Virgil asked.

Logan just chuckled. Honestly, it was like he didn’t know that he had an assassin right next to his carotid artery. “Why do you think something is happened?”

“Patton’s a shit liar.”

“Be careful,” Logan said. “I might just have to tell him you said that.”

“Then I’ll tell him what you said when you accidently dropped the lavender into that potion,” Virgil threatened back.

“Hmm,” Logan said. “Truce?”

“On that,” Virgil agreed, “but you still need to tell me what’s going on.”

“It is a surprise. A nice surprise,” Logan informed him. He looked at Virgil’s face. “Don’t pout at me.”

Virgil had not been aware that what he was doing was pouting, but he did whatever it was harder.

“Patton would murder me,” Logan claimed, “but I suggest you try that on him the next time you have a chance. You will certainly get whatever you want.”

Virgil sighed and gave up, figuring he’d learn whatever the surprise was soon enough. He chose to flop down on top of the pile of pillows on the floor that had been laid out already. It was his fourth ever slumber party and the first had only been a week ago. He did not know much about slumber parties, but that felt like a lot.

Goodness, it had already been two weeks. He looked up at the ceiling. He felt safe here. He felt like he didn’t need to watch Logan’s every move as he organized things in his room, but it wasn’t going to last, was it? The king was set to be back in a week. Virgil needed to actually attempt to escape soon. He hated that fact. He didn’t want to leave, and he certainly didn’t want to go back. Maybe he wouldn’t. Maybe he’d figure something else out, but no mater what, he did have to escape, and soon. He looked over at Logan who was slotting the books Virgil hadn’t picked back into place on the bookshelf. Not tonight.

There was a knock on the door in a familiar pattern, and Logan walked over to open it for Patton. Virgil sat up to shoot a confused look at the giant thing that Patton rolled in.

“Ta da!” Patton said excitedly.

Virgil blinked at him.

“It’s food,” Logan explained.

Virgil perked up immediately. That must be a lot of food if he needed that to carry it.

“I know you haven’t gotten a chance to try a lot of different foods, so I asked Mama if I could use the kitchen earlier today and made a bunch of different type of food samples for you to try.”

That sounded like literally the best idea in the universe. These people were very good at surprises and Virgil would not question them again ever for the rest of his life (or, well, the next couple of days he was around them before he tried to escape and either managed it or died a bloody and painful death).

Patton seemed to feed off of Virgil’s excitement, practically vibrating himself as he gestured to different parts of the cart. “We have a bunch of types of cheese and crackers, mini sandwiches, different smoked meats, six types of pasta, and every leftover I could find on this shelf. On this shelf, we have things with hot sauce, things with spicy dry rubs, curries, and things with a lot of peppers. I’ve ordered them by spiciness level so we can what you can handle, and we’ll only go as far as you want. Then this shelf is a bunch of types of cookies, mini cakes, pies, and ice cream!”

“We are not starting with the sweets,” Logan said firmly.

“But Lo!” Patton whined.

“We do not want to make him sick, do we?” Logan asked.

Patton pouted. Virgil honestly had no preference. All food was good food in his experience.

“Fine,” Patton said. “We’ll start with the cheese.”

They had him sit back in the center of the blanket pile and handed him little portions of things. Some of the cheese tasted weird at first and Patton would giggle at the faces of surprise he made, but Virgil managed to if not like, then tolerate almost all of them.

Then came the different sandwiches, some hot and some cold and all of the pasta and leftovers. Virgil eyed the plate of fettuccine alfredo long after they had moved on.

“You can have some more at the end if you still have room,” Logan promised with a fond smile. Virgil frowned at him. “You want to try all of the food, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Then you can’t eat an entire plate of fettucine alfredo.”

“Maybe you can’t,” Virgil said darkly.

Logan just rolled his eyes and passed him another plate.

Eventually they moved on to the next shelf full of what was deemed ‘spicy food.’

“Part of this is figuring out what level of spiciness you can handle,” Patton said. “So, tell us when it gets to be a bit too much and we’ll move on two the deserts. Also, milk helps wash the spicy stuff that so drink some if you need to!”

Virgil nodded and accepted the first dish on that rack.

Virgil, it turned out, liked what they called “spicy” food even though some of it made his nose run a little bit. It was kind of fun to eat them, honestly. Some of them hurt a tiny bit, but they also tasted really good. It was strange.

“I am impressed and horrified,” Logan said when he finished that shelf. “Do you… have nerve endings in your mouth?”

Virgil shrugged. “Well,” Patton said, sounding pleased. “Now it’s time for the best part! Assuming you still have room.” Virgil nodded immediately and Patton handed him a plate he’d covered with chunks of cookies he’d torn off. He ate every single one of those and then went through the rest of the deserts. Everything was fantastic and he’d like to investigate a few of the cakes once more, but…

He pointed insistently at the fettuccine alfredo.

Logan shook his head but handed it over. “How many stomachs do you have?”

Virgil did not care to respond, choosing instead to shove his mouth full of pasta.

When he was done with that, he laid back to relax and digest the food, feeling very content. Logan and Patton had also eaten a bit of the different dishes and were finishing up themselves.

“You good there?” Patton asked after a moment of Virgil just laying with his eyes closed.

Virgil nodded.

“Did you like your surprise?”

“Uh huh.”

“It seems he will not be doing any of the other planned activities for a little while at least,” Logan said. “So now might be a good time for you two to read,” he suggested. “I’ll get the rest of the food stored in case we want something more later.”

“Okay,” Patton agreed. Virgil didn’t open his eyes, but felt Patton settle next to him. Virgil rolled slightly, so his head rested against the side of Patton’s leg. A hand touched softly down on the top of Virgil’s head and Virgil heard a page flip. “So, let’s see. I’m not sure when exactly you fell asleep last time, but how about we start at the Troll Bridge?”

Virgil hummed his ascent.

“Okay,” Patton agreed as he started to read. “‘Melly stepped onto the bridge backwards while sticking her tongue out at Al, but Lydia’s eyes widened as a large looming figure stepped up behind her….’” Virgil listened happily to him read about the four children. He liked this book. He hoped they managed to finish reading it before Virgil had to go.

Chapter 18

They made it all the way to the big blowout between Al and Melly where Melly got mad and left the group to their fate in the magical garden by the time Virgil awakened completely from his food coma (he’d never actually fallen asleep, or at least he always responded when Patton asked) and squirmed around for a bit before sitting up.

Logan hadn’t been particularly interested in the story he’d heard many times before and was reading a book of his own on Patton’s other side, but he put a bookmark in his book when Virgil sat.

“Want to take a break from reading?” Patton asked. “We can do a bit more later, but we have more than just food and books planned for tonight.

“Okay,” Virgil agreed easily.

“Great!” Patton said clapping his hands. “We’re going to introduce you to the most fun sleepover party event ever!”

Virgil tilted his head.

“Dress up!” Patton said. “Also make-overs. We’ll do you first and then we’ll help you learn how to help pick out other people’s outfits and make-up. If you want to, of course.”

“Sure,” Virgil said with a shrug.

“Yay!” Patton hopped to his feet. “You stay here. Lo and I will get everything ready.”

He pulled Logan to his feet and over to the chair that was the perfect height for doing make-up.

They set up what they’d need for make-up and then Patton instructed Logan to grab the clothes of his they usually used for this sort of thing out the closet that Virgil wasn’t set up in while he grabbed the pieces he himself had brought upstairs and strew them over the bed so they could see anything.

Smiling happily, Patton looked over at Virgil who had stood up in the giant pile of pillows and blankets to watch him with intense eyes. He looked like he was memorizing every action Patton took as though expecting a test at the end. He was so adorable. A rush of affection and a touch of mischief hit him suddenly.

“Hey Virgil,” Patton said. Virgil looked over at him. “Can I tackle hug you into that pile of pillows?”

“Tackle hug?” he asked.

“I run over and hug you so hard that we fall into the blankets. I do it to Logan all the time without warning, but I didn’t want to confuse you.”

Virgil considered the offer for a couple of seconds. “Okay,” he finally decided.

“Great!” Patton did a little hop before launching himself across the room. He slammed into Virgil, who apparently had very good balanced because they didn’t immediately fall backwards, but then he seemed to remember that he was supposed to let Patton slam him into the pillows, and so he fell back on his own power.

Patton giggled when they hit the ground and drew back to look at his face. “I got you!” He leant forward to kiss him on the nose. “Oh wait! I should let you fight back.” He propped himself up on one arm and held out the other hand. “Pinkie promise not to hurt anyone if I let you use the 3rd setting again?”

“Pinkie promise,” he agreed with a grin, linking their pinkies.

“Great!” Without hesitation, Patton did the hand motion to allow the restraints to be in the third setting.

Patton was on his back almost instantly, but he didn’t even have a chance to think about worrying before Virgil pressed a kiss to his nose in a mirror of what Patton had done a moment before. “I got you,” he said proudly.

“So, you do,” Patton agreed with a laugh. He reached up on of his hands to card it through Virgil’s hair. Virgil leaned into the touch and then practically melted on top of him. “Virgil,” Patton laughed. “It isn’t nap time.”

He grumbled something unintelligible into Patton’s neck making Patton giggle more.

“Sweetie, please.”

Thankfully Logan saved him from the unrelenting cuddling by poking Virgil in the side. “I have finished preparing the stations for the makeover and dress up. You need to get up now.”

Virgil made a noise that sounded like a growl, but he did roll off of Patton.

Patton hopped to his feet and helped Virgil up before pulling him over to the piles of clothes. “We pick the outfit first, but you don’t put it on. Then, we do your make-up and hair based on it. Then, we get you dressed and do touch ups. Okay? Pick anything you want.”

Virgil looked over the options, eyes going a bit wide. “It…” he said. “It all looks really fancy and expensive. Are you sure you want me to touch any of it?”

“We wouldn’t be offering anything we didn’t want you to touch,” Logan said gently. “In fact, I insist you touch all of it. Beyond just appearance, making sure the texture of the fabric is agreeable is a large part of this activity.”

Patton picked up one of the pieces of fabric he knew was very soft and offered it to him. He touched it with careful fingers, his eyes lighting up at the feel of it. They had to continue nudging him into feeling the different fabrics, and he hesitated when they asked him to pick his favorite at the end, but eventually he shyly pointed at a dark purple dress.

Patton clapped. “Great! Ooo, I already have some ideas for make-up that will go with that.”

Virgil let Patton pull him over to the chair they’d set up and settled down on it.

29009

Patton hummed. “I think silver and purple make-up mostly?” he said.

Logan nodded and they grabbed a few things from the make-up kit. Logan let Patton do most of the make-up as he tended to be better at the more creative parts, but Logan was the one who gave him the fancy winged eye liner with purple sparkles because he was really good at them.

“You look fantastic!” Patton squealed when they were done. He held up a hand mirror for Virgil who studied himself in it for a long few moments. “Do you like it?”

“It’s really nice,” Virgil confirmed. Patton smiled and hugged him.

“Next hair. We have a lot of accessories. I’ll let you pick from the purple ones.”

He and Logan sorted through the jewelry box full of different hair accessories for the royal family and ended up finding three purple ones. Patton hesitated a bit over one of them, but Logan picked it up and set it in front of Virgil for him.

“Your choice from these three,” he said.

One was a purple feather with little hooks to braid into hair, one was a smattering of purple and silver stars that would weave through the back of someone’s hair, and the last was a string of silver leaves with purple tips that would wrap up the back of a person’s head from a bun.

Virgil thought for a moment and then pointed to the one made of leaves.

Patton glanced at Logan who took the hairpiece. “I’ll do your hair right for that one,” he said. “I know how it fits.”

He grabbed the brush and carefully ran it through Virgil’s hair. Virgil seemed to like the attention, leaning into the touch, and a smile flickered over Logan’s face. Logan started gathering the hair together to make the low bun that would be the base of hair arrangement. Patton honestly did not expect him to speak, but then he did as he started to secure the piece with pins.

“This was my Pa’s favorite hairpiece,” Logan said. “Not the father you came here for, but my other one. He died when I was six.”

Virgil went shock still. “I don’t have to...”

“I wouldn’t have let it be offered if I wasn’t okay with you using it,” Logan said.

Virgil didn’t move as he finished securing the hairpiece. “There,” Logan said when he was done. He picked up the hand mirror and positioned it so Virgil could see. “It suits you.”

“I…” Virgil said. His eyes were wide, and he clearly didn’t know what to say.

“Now,” Logan said. “I believe there are some other pieces of jewelry that would match this very well in the other room. I…” he turned away. “If you will excuse me.”

He turned away and exited through his bedroom door into the hallway. Patton watched him go and then turned to Virgil. “I’m going to go make sure he’s okay, okay?” Patton asked. “You didn’t do anything wrong, there’s just a lot of emotions.”

“I can take it out…” Virgil said.

“No,” Patton said. “I think he likes that you’re wearing it.” Virgil bit his lip. “He never really moved on,” Patton felt inclined to say. “This is… a lot for him, but I think it’s good too.” He leaned forward to kiss the top of his head, being careful not to mess up his artfully done hair. “I’ll be right back.”

He turned to follow Logan out of the room.

Chapter 19

Thomas sighed in relief as the door to the royal wing finally came into sight. He was exhausted from his journey to Lamir for many reasons. Beyond just the physically taxing journey, he’d also had to deal with the emotions of loosing someone he had thought of as a friend while also trying to help her young daughter who had just had the crown thrust upon her.

Now he just wanted to see his own child and curl up into bed. He smiled at Owen and Kalani as he approached. “Is Logan here?” he asked.

Owen nodded. “The prince and his royal advisor are having a slumber party.”

Thomas smiled. “Of course, they are,” he said.

He said goodnight to the two guard as they’d be getting off duty soon even if he did manage to drag himself out of his room again tonight and walked past them into the hall.

He walked past the room where they kept the jewels, though was unsurprised to see that the room was unlatched as Patton loved playing around with the different jewelry and had probably left it open when he grabbed them. He was however surprised when his son’s room’s door was thrown open, as Logan usually couldn’t stand for the thing to be open with or without him in it.

Thomas didn’t think much of it however, and simply walked over to look inside. He was surprised when he didn’t see his son or Patton and instead saw that the only person in the room was a young boy that Thomas did not recognize. He was seated in one of Logan’s chairs and had his head tilted looking at himself in the mirror. He seemed to be trying to get a look at the ornament on the back of his head, and Thomas felt his heart seize a little bit when he recognized the hairpin.

He hadn’t recovered from that gut punch when the boy’s eyes drifted and met his in the mirror. There were a couple of long seconds where the two of them stared at each other in silence.

“Hello?” Thomas finally managed to get out.

Panic. There was suddenly horribly intense panic in the child’s eyes, the likes of which Thomas had never seen before. Thomas could only blink dumbly as he hopped to his feet like his seat was suddenly made of hot coals and then threw himself across the room to the opposite side from Thomas.

He looked around himself, back to the wall and considered Thomas with wildly spooked eyes. Clearly, he realized that he was pinned in Logan’s room by Thomas being in the door.

The boy dropped suddenly and disappeared under Logan’s bed.

“Uh,” Thomas said, confused and shocked and still a bit in pain from seeing that piece of jewelry in use. He crossed slowly over to the bed and bent down to look under it, moving the bed skirt slightly to the side. He saw a small shaking blob curled up into itself under the bed. “Um, hi,” he said softly.

The blob did not respond except to continue shaking.

Thomas frowned and settled himself onto the floor. “It’s okay,” he said softly. Had he been here stealing things? Thomas had to wonder as he wasn’t sure why someone here for legitimate reasons would be acting so terrified of being caught. Though, that posed the question of how he’d gotten past the guards, and why Logan hadn’t noticed him. “I’m not mad,” Thomas said. “You’re fine.”

The boy looked up briefly from his knees looking terrified. Thomas tried to smile at him gently, but that just made him hunch into himself more, his breathes coming faster. That wasn’t good.

“No, shh,” Thomas said softly. “It’s okay. I promise it’s okay.” He did not seem to believe him, and Thomas winced. What was he supposed to do? He couldn’t just leave him here but trying to talk him down himself didn’t seem to be working.

Luckily, a familiar voice spoke from behind him then. “Dad?” Logan asked.

Thomas looked back at him. Both Logan and Patton were standing at the door, a couple of pieces of jewelry in their hands. They seemed very surprised to see him.

“You… seem to have a guest,” Thomas informed them.

“I…” Logan said, beginning to edge into the room like he was expecting something to blow up at any moment. “Yes.” He got to Thomas and squeezed himself between him and the bed, putting a physical barrier between Thomas and the boy. Confused, Thomas took a couple of steps away without challenge. “That,” Logan glanced behind him. Patton had moved to the opposite side of the bed from Logan and Thomas and had gotten to his knees to look under it. “That is Virgil.”

Thomas blinked at him. “Virgil?” he asked.

“He’s… new to the castle,” Logan explained. Patton started speaking softly the boy, but Thomas could not make anything he said out. “Patton and I… invited him to a sleepover.”

“The guards didn’t mention anything,” Thomas said, sure that they would have warned him if there was a stranger in the royal wing.

“Uh, well, Virgil is… shy and we didn’t think you’d be back for another week. So, we snuck him past them.”

“Shy?” Thomas asked doubtfully. That was a lot more than shy.

“Particularly of adults,” Logan said.

Thomas took a moment to let that sink in. “Oh.” He was… scared of adults. Thomas could imagine many reasons why that might be the case and none of them set well. “I see.”

“Hey, no, sweetie, stop that,” Patton said, sounding distressed. Patton had managed to draw Virgil out from underneath the bed, though they were both still mostly hidden behind it and Thomas had no question in his mind that if he went to step towards them, Virgil would be back underneath it in a moment. Currently the boy seemed to be clawing at his own head. “No, baby shh,” Patton said, trying to stop him from tearing the pinned in hairpiece out, Thomas realized. “I’ll get it out,” Patton promised him. “Just calm down and let me do it.” He sounded close to tears, and Thomas couldn’t particularly blame him with the way the boy was acting. “You’re hurting yourself, baby.”

He must know, Thomas realized. If Logan had known he was here, then he must have allowed him to use that hairpiece. He’d probably even told Virgil that it belonged to his dead father. Now he was probably terrified that Thomas would be mad at him for touching it, especially when he’d come in to find Virgil alone without Logan to explain.

Patton managed to get all the pins undone and placed the piece delicately on the bed before wrapping himself protectively around the boy and hushing him.

Logan was looking back at them as well. He looked between the puddle of upset on the floor and Thomas. “Could…” he said. “Could I maybe come and see you in a few minutes, Dad?”

“Of course,” Thomas said. “Of course, I’ll go wait in my room. Take as much time as you need.”

He was careful to move slowly as he stepped towards the door, so the poor thing didn’t notice him move and mistake it for him approaching. He closed Logan’s bedroom door softly behind him feeling even more drained than he’d been before as well as anxious and a bit sickened. He went to his own bedroom to wait for Logan.

Chapter 20

Logan let out a slow breath as his father closed the door behind him. That could have been very, very bad. He turned his attention to Virgil and Patton. Patton had curled himself around Virgil as much as physically possible and had tucked the boy’s head under his chin.

Logan slowly rounded the bed and knelt in front of them. “It’s alright,” Logan said, cautiously moving to put a hand on his shoulder. Virgil didn’t pull away. “I asked him to leave. It’s alright.”

Virgil tilted his head slightly too look at him. Logan rubbed a circle into his back as he slowly got control of his breath.

Logan smiled softly at him and reached out to touch his cheek with a gentle hand. “You… didn’t hurt him. You didn’t even try to hurt him.”

Virgil shook his head.

“Why not?” Logan asked curiously. “It was a perfect opportunity.”

“Promised Patton,” Virgil mumbled, and the idea that perhaps the thing that had saved his father’s life was a pinky promise just about gave Logan a migraine, but then Virgil ducked his head. “And it would make you sad.”

“I see,” Logan said, heart in his throat.

Virgil kept looking towards the floor, his eyes starting to fill with tears again. “Are you going to turn me in now?”

He was shaking and barely holding back a fresh wave of tears. Logan knew of course that no one would hurt him here if he turned him in to his father and the guards, but he also knew that Virgil would be terrified if he did so. He was already terrified. Logan didn’t want to know what he thought the fate Logan would be condemning him to.

“No,” Logan said before he could even truly think it through. “No, I’m not.”

“You’re not?” Virgil asked.

“Well, there wouldn’t really be a point, would there?” Logan asked. “The reason we planned to turn you when father got back in is because you posed a danger to him, but you have just demonstrated that is no longer an issue.”

“Really?” Virgil asked, sniffling a bit and Logan saw Patton’s arms tighten even more around him.

“We will have to figure out a better cover for you than just that you’re new to the castle, but I believe it will work fine. No one besides the two of us would ever guess your origin anyway.”

“S-so I can stay?” Virgil asked, “and you won’t throw me into prison or execute me?”

“I promise you were never going to be executed Virgil,” Logan said. “Even if we turned you in, but yes you can stay with us. We’ll figure out a backstory for you that doesn’t involve assassinations and you’ll have to keep up the lie, but I doubt anyone will question it.”

“I’ll do whatever you want,” Virgil said, chocked up. “Thank you. I really didn’t want to go.”

“Well, you’re our friend now so there will be no going anywhere,” Patton said kissing him on the cheek. Virgil relaxed back into his hold, pleased with the affection.

Logan smiled at them both. “Can I see your wrists, Virgil?”

Virgil blinked but offered them and Logan tapped the restraints doing a quick incantation. They popped off after a moment.

“You’re letting me go?” Virgil asked, eyes wide.

“Of course,” Logan said. “We’re not just going to keep you prisoner for no reason.”

“That’s…” Virgil said, eyes watering as he clearly was trying not to cry. “You’re the best people I’ve ever met.”

“I wish that was not so clearly the case,” Logan replied. He slowly reach up and set a hand on his shoulder. “I’m going to go speak with my father. Patton will stay with you.”

“Okay,” Virgil agreed, seeming a bit hesitant.

Logan smiled softly and leaned forward to gently touch their foreheads together. “I will be right back,” he assured. “We will finish our slumber party, though perhaps we will table the rest of the dress up activity for another night.”

He stood then, leaving Virgil in Patton’s capable hands to exit his own bedroom and cross the hallway to his father’s. He took a brief moment to compose himself before knocking on the door.

“Come in,” his father called.

Logan opened the door to see his father sitting on one of the armchairs in his room. Despite the almost disaster that had taken place a few minutes ago, Logan found himself smiling at the man. It was nice to have him home.

“Sorry about that,” Father said.

“It was more my fault than yours. If I knew there was a risk of you coming home today, I wouldn’t have left him alone.”

“Is he alright?”

“I believe so,” Logan answered. “Patton is with him and will certainly smooth out any lingering distress.”

“Good,” his dad said. “That’s good.” There was a pause and then he gestured at the seat beside his.

Logan settled himself down on it. “How was your trip?” he asked. “You’re back a week early.”

“Yes,” Father said. “The trip went better and worse than anticipated.

“How so?” asked Logan curiously.

“Well,” Dad said. “The purpose of the trip was to convince the new queen of Lamir, Cecil not to ally with Mocnejsi, but by the time I’d arrived there wasn’t really a risk of that.”

“Why not?”

“After investigation, it turned out that Cecil’s mother had been poisoned by an assassin from Mocnejsi.”

“Oh,” Logan said, mind already racing.

“They figured out that one of the young women who had been hired on in the kitchen for the winter had done it, and had learned her origin when they questioned her,” Dad informed him. “Considering Cecil was immediately approached for an alliance with Mocnejsi, their aim was likely to manipulate her going forward because of how young she is. Luckily, Cecil is a smart girl and has the help of her mother’s advisor as well as her own. By the time I got there, my only real role was to extend my condolences and reaffirm out alliance. I would have stayed longer, but the possibility that Mocnejsi may think to attack us in a similar way hastened me home.”

“That…” Logan said. “That is wise. I assume you are going to institute more security.”

“I am, yes,” Dad replied. “I would like your input on plans in the coming day.”

“Of course,” Logan agreed.

Dad smiled at him, “But for now,” he said, “I think it’s time you get back to your slumber party and I get to finally go to sleep.”

Logan nodded and got to his feet. He leaned over to hug his father perhaps a bit longer and harder than was strictly necessary, but Dad did not seem to mind at all. “Goodnight,” Logan said.

“Goodnight, son.”

Chapter 21

Virgil woke with something soft but kind of stringy in his face. That was weird. He didn’t know what in the closet would feel like that. In fact, as he woke more he noticed more things that he couldn’t sus out the origin of, particularly the warmth curled up against his side. Curious, he blinked open his eyes. Oh, right. Patton.

The soft stuff in his face was Patton’s hair and the warmth next to Virgil was the rest of the boy’s body. Patton had all but refused to let Virgil go last night after Logan had taken off the restraints and Virgil hadn’t minded the attention. They must have fallen asleep together in the piles of pillows and blankets on the floor.

Virgil brushed his hair gently away, internally (for fear of disturbing him) shaking his head at him. He’d fallen asleep hallway on top of an assassin. He had no self-preservation instincts. He looked at his wrists. It seemed no one had any self-preservation instincts. This of course, included himself as instead of running off when free in case they decided to turn him in after all, he had fallen asleep on the floor with Patton too.

He looked to the side and saw Logan was already awake, reading on one of his chairs. He seemed to sense Virgil’s eyes on him because he looked up after a moment.

“You can get up if you like,” Logan said. “He is a heavy sleeper and won’t wake up if you squirm out of his grip.”

Virgil frowned, unsure if he wanted to risk it.

“I have breakfast ready for you.”

Okay, Virgil was going to risk it.

He carefully squirmed out of Patton’s grip, leaning down to press a kiss to his forehead in apology for leaving him before getting to his feet.

Logan handed him a plate of eggs and toast when he walked over and gestured to the chair next to him. Virgil sat there to eat while Logan continued to read.

#not writing #proofread stories

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elsanna-shenanigans · 3 years

Text

June Contest Submission #11: Chances

Words: ca. 5,000 Setting: Modern AU Lemon: No CW: Brief mention of blood

“Sarge, where are you?” Anna shouted as she ducked beneath a low-hanging tree branch. She cursed beneath her breath when one of her braids caught on the branch As she pulled herself free from the offending limb, another clap of thunder echoed from the ominous clouds that painted the afternoon sky. Her ears strained to catch any signs of the large canine bounding through the forest. The only sounds Anna was met with were the rustling of the trees as heavy currents blew through them.

This weather wasn’t supposed to be a possibility. Anna had triple checked the forecasts before they had left this morning. It was supposed to be a simple nature get-away. She had planned the trip for her and Sarge to get away from the city for a while. The two had been inseparable since Anna had adopted the retired Saint Bernard from one of the local shelters. She knew the congested city life was something that Sarge wasn’t used to and when she had mentioned this to her Uncle Kai, he offered to let them use his hunting cabin for the weekend.

The cabin had more than enough space for Anna and Sarge. It was only a few hours from Anna’s house with a scenic drive. Sarge’s tail wagged nonstop during the drive and as soon as they had arrived, he leapt out from Anna’s jeep and eagerly explored his new surroundings. After Anna had finished unloading the vehicle and threw on a proper hiking outfit, they had set off on a lengthy hike.

Sarge was ecstatic as he raced down the trail ahead of the freckled woman, sniffing here and there. It was around 4 in the afternoon when Anna noticed the brightness and various sounds of the forest were both dimming. They paused in a clearing for a quick break. As Anna drank steadily from her canteen, she realized that dark clouds were moving in. They were full of rain and quickly covering the peaceful blue sky. With a deep frown, she had replaced her canteen and lowered her gaze to call Sarge back to her side, but discovered she stood alone in the clearing.

After that, the wind had suddenly picked up as Anna began to frantically search for her four-legged friend. Now, here she was, stumbling through the brush with her heart racing and panic settling deep within her chest as the thunder grew and lightning accompanied it. Anna groaned as a light rain began and she grabbed her hood, pulling it up over her red hair before shouting for Sarge.

A new sound caused her to freeze as she cupped a hand around her ear, desperately hoping it would repeat. There it was; Sarge’s signature low bark reverberating throughout the trees. Anna bolted in the direction she assumed it was coming from. A grin split her freckled face as the barking grew louder. She avoided another branch and pushed through a particularly thick cluster of trees, wincing as the branches added a few more cuts to the steadily growing number that now resided on her limbs. Anna wiped the moisture from her face before peering out into the area she now stood in.

It was another clearing but smaller. Sarge was pacing back and forth on the other side, whimpering. Anna breathed a sigh of relief, even as a cloud of confusion settled above her head.

“What’s wrong, Sarge?” she asked, as she began to cross the clearing. The canine whined in response with a slight wag of his tail. Anna neared Sarge and saw that he was standing on the edge of a ravine. The rain fell steadily now as she stopped next to Sarge. She ran a hand through his wet fur, not caring in the slightest that a good chunk of it would adhere to her palm.

“What riled you-” Anna cut herself off while peering over the edge of the ravine. A flash of lightning lit up their surroundings and revealed a muddy human shape at the bottom. Anna slipped off her pack and rummaged through it, retrieving a flashlight and shining it down. The circle of soft light revealed an unconscious woman with striking platinum hair. Anna chewed her lip while a million thoughts raced through her head. Another large gust of wind nearly knocked Anna over the edge but Sarge braced his large body against her knees. She steadied herself, knowing she had to act quickly.

“Alright, buddy,” Anna said, as she delved into her pack once more. “We’ll get her, don’t worry.” She slid a coiled rope from her bag and rose to her feet. The employees at the shelter had thoroughly explained Sarge’s training from his previous life. He had been a search and rescue pup, and an amazing one at that. In the month Anna had had him in her life, she had tested out various commands that her research revealed are common when training search and rescue dogs. Even though he was an older dog, he was in great shape and showed no signs of slowing down. Anna didn’t see any harm in refreshing his training because who knew if there’d ever be a time to rely on it? And here we are.

Mud splashed beneath her boots, splattering across her toned legs as she trudged toward the nearest tree. Uncoiling the rope, she secured one end around the trunk and the other around her slender waist. Another drawn out whine from Sarge as she made her way back to the ledge of the ravine. Another glance proved her previous theory that it wasn’t all that deep. She scratched Sarge’s head lovingly and placed a gentle kiss on his furry forehead.

“Okay, big guy, I’m going down to grab her. Best case, I’ll be able to rouse her so it’ll be a bit easier. If not… I’ll get creative. I’ve got more rope in the pack.” The young woman took a few deep breaths while Sarge stood off to the side. Another clap of thunder shook the trees as Anna gripped the coarse rope tightly and spun around with her back to the pit below. Remember your climbing techniques.

Another deep breath and Anna began the journey down the ravine. Slow, but steadily, she climbed down. Her foot slipped on a soft spot in the wall and she cried out. A loud, worried bark came from Sarge in response while Anna quickly regained her footing and attempted to slow her racing heart.

“I’m good, buddy,” she called up, before continuing downward. After what felt like ages, Anna’s feet finally planted on the firm, although extremely muddy, floor of the ravine. She sputtered when the rain began to pour, and she swiped her face before pulling out her flashlight and flicking it on. She swept the light across the woman, revealing an extremely pale, mostly mud-covered face. Anna clicked her tongue with the light shined on a large gash in the woman’s forehead. The lean 25 year-old squatted while reaching out to gently shake the woman. Anna’s hand had barely clasped around the woman’s bare, dirty shoulder when the figure stirred, and eyelids fluttered. Thunder continued to roar above their heads, so Anna leaned closer, placing her mouth inches from the woman’s ear.

“Ma’am? Can you hear me? My name’s Anna. You’re hurt and at the bott-” She was cut off as the woman’s eyes suddenly flew open, revealing the most striking sapphire-esque irises that Anna had ever seen. Anna found herself paralyzed as the woman blinked. She began to stir and slowly sat up. She groaned and lifted a pale hand to her head, wincing as she felt the gash there. Anna observed the many emotions that crossed the woman’s face: confusion, pain, fear. The muddy woman spun around suddenly, as if registering that Anna was with her. She shrieked, and began to scoot away from Anna as fast as she could. It was effective, though odd, and Anna found herself having to suppress a giggle at the sight before her.

“W-who are you?” The woman croaked out, her voice hoarse and raspy, as if it hadn’t been used in a while. Anna blinked, attempting to formulate a coherent thought.

“My name is Anna, and I’m here to help you out of this ravine,” she spat out, and was finally ripped from her stupor as lightning slashed the sky and a howl rang from Sarge above. The woman began shaking at the sound of the dog, her eyes darting to the top of the ravine.

“W-what was that?” she cried out, curling in on herself and hugging her knees to her chest. Anna could tell that she wasn’t just shaking from Sarge; the woman had to be freezing. She was so caked in mud that Anna wasn’t even sure if she had clothing. The hiker had to force this thought from her mind before it averted her from the task at hand.

“That’s just my dog. Listen, I’m very sorry, but we really don’t have time to do full introductions here. The storm hasn’t even fully hit. I need to get you out of here. You’re wounded and we should find shelter. Can you stand?” Anna shouted to make herself heard over the rain. The pale woman’s jaw dropped, as if to protest, but the next clap of thunder halted her. With a grimace, she unfolded herself, and rose shakily to her feet. Anna could see that the wound was still bleeding as red mixed with brown. She thrust out her hand, offering it to the other woman, who stared at it with a dead-pan expression.

“Please, let me help you,” Anna insisted, wiggling her fingers. The woman met her gaze, sapphire eyes dancing with teal, before nodding and grabbing Anna’s hand. Anna inhaled sharply when the cool touch of the woman’s hand ignited a new sensation within Anna, but dismissed it as she pulled the woman toward her. Anna didn’t fail to notice the way the woman was shivering. She shuffled through the contents of her pack once and thrust a poncho out toward the woman, who stared at it blankly.

“Here, wear this. You’re probably in shock, and don’t feel the cold,” Anna insisted, pressing the poncho against the woman’s chest. Gingerly, the stranger accepted the poncho, slipping it around her shoulders.

“T-thank you,” she told Anna as her pale lips curled slightly with the ghost of a smile. Anna felt her face heat up and waved her hand nonchalantly as she stepped up to the wall of the ravine. Weighing the pack in her hands, she eyed the ledge, and made a quick assessment before tossing the container into the air. She wasn’t expecting Sarge to jump up and snatch it out of the air, but it brought an enormous grin to her face. She rubbed her hands together.

“Okay, here’s how we’ll do this. Climb onto my back,” Anna instructed while squatting. When there was no sound of responding movement, Anna straightened and turned to face the damsel once more. The stranger’s posture was rigid, as if standing with defiance. Anna cocked her head and wondered if the woman had issues with trust. Would I willingly trust some random person in the middle of a forest, though? Anna thought.

“Hey, I know this is a lot at once, but it’ll be okay. I’ll keep you safe. You can trust me…” Anna’s pep talk faltered when she realized she didn’t know the woman’s name. There was a deep breath and then one of those cool hands was squeezing her own.

“Elsa. My name is Elsa,” was the reply, as she motioned for Anna to take the position again. The name reverberated in Anna’s head, with that hoarse, yet pleasing voice causing her pulse to race. The woman’s -Elsa’s- weight settled on her back as cold arms fell on her shoulders. Long legs wrapped around Anna’s hips as she stood. Warm breath skittered along her neck as Elsa’s face rested against her warmth. Anna suppressed the fluttering in her chest.

“Hold on tight, okay? It will feel like forever, but I promise you the climb isn’t long. And once we reach the top, we’ll head straight toward my cabin. It isn’t far from here,” Anna told Elsa, who nodded against Anna’s neck. The pale limbs tightened around her torso as Anna held the rope taut and began to slowly scale the wall. For a few moments, the sky was free of the lightning and thunder that had been plaguing it, and the two women listened to the heavy rain. A breath that Anna hadn’t realized she’d been holding escaped as Sarge came into view. He was barking and running around excitedly. She couldn’t help the grin that crossed her face. It quickly disappeared though, as lightning struck the tree in which the rope was secured to, slicing the trunk in half. Anna’s eyes widened when she registered what had occurred, and she cried out as the rope grew slack and she felt herself tip backward.

She squeezed her eyes shut, preparing herself for the imminent crashing that was about to happen. Seconds that felt like years passed until she came to her senses and realized she wasn’t moving at all. Her eyes snapped open to find that Sarge was gripping the rope in his mouth and jerking back his head, desperate to pull his owner up. Before she allowed herself to revel in this moment, Anna snatched the rope and hauled them up the rest of the way, collapsing on the ledge. Her chest heaved as Sarge’s large nose nudged her everywhere in an attempt to get Anna up. Adrenaline coursed through her, though she was still as a statue as she tried to comprehend how close to death she just was.

A cool hand curled around her wrist, bringing Anna back to earth. She opened her eyes and once more was struck with the beauty of those sapphires that lived within Elsa’s head. Anna couldn’t stop her eyes from wandering. Rain chipped away at the mud that covered a majority of Elsa, revealing more of her body. The poncho Anna had lent her was see-through, and Anna could just barely make out the light fabric of a tank top that clung to the woman’s slender torso. Swallowing heavily, Anna shook her head and brought her attention back to Elsa’s face. She couldn’t help but briefly admire the symmetrical planes of Elsa’s face. From the dainty button-like nose, to the high risen cheekbones, and finally onto the lush, yet pale lips. Lips that were moving, forming words that Anna couldn’t hear over the rush of blood through her veins. She honed her focus and tried instead to read the words.

“We should find shelter now, right?” That brought Anna back down and she sprang to her feet, gathering her senses. Anna found it odd that she couldn’t dismiss the fact that the damsel she’d rescued was a few inches taller in height. Snatching her pack, she grabbed Elsa’s hand and pulled her into the brush so she could gather her bearings. The hiker shielded her eyes from the rain and attempted to locate shelter. There was a loud bark from Sarge and Anna glanced over. His tail was wagging and he was jumping around, signaling for Anna to follow. She couldn’t help the pride that swelled within her chest.

“Okay, Sarge. We’re gonna follow Sarge, okay, Elsa? Are you able to walk, or would you like my help?” Anna offered, earning a look of concern from Elsa, who was currently attempting to release her hair from the band that held together the destroyed braid on her head. Anna’s eyes flickered to the wound, knowing that she needed to attend to it ASAP, but couldn’t properly perform the task in the eye of a storm.

“We’re going to follow your…dog?” Elsa asked, not sounding particularly amused. Anna nodded.

“He used to be a search and rescue pup. He knows what he’s doing,” Anna replied, and Sarge barked in agreement. Elsa sighed, fingertips gingerly brushing her head. She winced, and Anna figured the shock was wearing off and the pain was beginning.

“I can walk,” Elsa said, almost with a huff. Anna quizzically raised a brow, but didn’t comment as she turned to Sarge.

“Lead the way, buddy,” Anna said, and Sarge took off. They stomped through the wet earth and piles of leaves, circled around fallen trees, and ducked beneath reaching limbs. For a bit, it was silent, save for the rain, until a particularly loud rumble of thunder disrupted the silence. Anna nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt Elsa’s cool hand slip over her own. Anna cast a sideways glance at the woman, but she was staring straight ahead with a clenched jaw. Anna squeezed the hand reassuringly, and watched as Elsa’s face softened.

Moments later they arrived at a cave and the trio ducked inside. Luckily the cave had enough scattered twigs for Anna to collect and get a small fire started while Sarge stayed near Elsa. Finally satisfied, Anna left the fire to warm up the small area and walked over to Elsa, who was absently petting Sarge. Anna grabbed her First Aid kit and knelt before Elsa.

“Can… Can I clean your wound?” Anna asked quietly as she brushed her hand against Elsa’s arm. The other woman started, blinking rapidly before meeting Anna’s worried gaze. Anna didn’t like the way Elsa’s eyes were darkening and glassy. Hopefully she doesn’t have a concussion. Elsa nodded. Anna opened her kit and set out everything she’d need to take care of it.

Anna wasn’t all that surprised that Elsa wasn’t open about her pain. The stoic stranger didn’t even flinch when Anna gently cleaned the gash with alcohol. Anna secretly admired that ability; she was so obvious with her pain, and emotions, and, well, everything about herself.

“So… what were you doing in the forest by yourself?” Anna asked, trying to make light conversation. If the woman did have a concussion, Anna knew it wouldn’t be best for her to sleep for a bit. Elsa shrugged, her eyes glued to the orange and yellow glow of the fire. Anna clicked her teeth together.

“Well, Sarge and I are here on a weekend get-away. See, I adopted him about a month ago, but I know the city isn’t something he really loves. He loves being in nature, and so do I. So, my uncle offered his cabin for the weekend. We went on all these really neat scenic trails today. Was hoping to get a pic of Sarge and I at this one spot, but we didn’t make it there. Which is totally fine because there’s always tomorrow,“ Anna rambled, unaware she was doing so as she finished cleaning Elsa’s forehead. She turned away to search for the proper bandage.

“My friend Kristoff really wanted to come. But I had to convince him we could go another weekend, because I wanted to spend time with Sarge.” The dog barked at the sound of his name. “He pouted quite a bit, but I bought him some pizza and he was fine,” Anna finished with a giggle as she situated herself in front of Elsa again.

“You’re quite an optimistic person, aren’t you?” Elsa murmured, so quiet that Anna had to pause her task and glance at the pale woman below her to make sure she had actually said something. Anna’s face grew warm when she realized Elsa was staring intently at the smaller woman.

“Y-yeah. I mean, there’s always something to look forward to. Even in this situation,” Anna responded, placing the bandage. Elsa laughed dryly.

“I fell down a ravine and bashed my head open. My supplies are gone. My car is nowhere near here. All because I was startled by an animal. God, I just came out here to get away from… everything… everyone…” Elsa said with a tired voice. Anna pondered this as she finished doctoring Elsa’s wound, knowing much couldn’t be done about the swelling until they could go back to the cabin.

“City life suffocating you as well?” Anna asked as she scooted back. Sarge heaved a sigh as he rested his head in Elsa’s lap. For some reason, Anna didn’t think Elsa was much of an animal person, but that didn’t seem to matter now as those pale hands ran through thick, white fur.

“Something like that,” Elsa responded.

“Were you planning on spending the weekend in the forest?” Elsa shook her head.

“I just wanted to take a day off and try a nature thing. You know, you always hear people talking about how relaxing and soothing hiking is. No one ever mentions freak storms or ravines or deer scaring the shit out of you,” Elsa grumbled, nearly pouting. Anna couldn’t hold back the giggle and Elsa’s eyes fell on her, studying. Anna’s giggle turned into a cough as she quickly turned to face the fire.

“Well, if you actually let yourself relax, it definitely is. Try taking in the sounds, the smells, the sights. It’s usually so peaceful,” Anna said with a sigh. Elsa huffed.

“That has always been one of my weaknesses: relaxation,” Elsa said. Anna wasn’t all that shocked. Ever since they had arrived at the cave, Elsa’s posture had been stiff and her face composed. Sarge groaned, rolling over onto his back, not-so-subtly hinting for belly rubs. Elsa cocked a brow, but obliged, unable to deny the cute canine.

“Well… it seems like you could use more help. I can take you back to your car in the morning, if you’d like. The storm doesn’t appear to be letting up and we should rest soon,” Anna said. As if in response, clouds crashed together above them. Elsa chewed the inside of her cheek as she contemplated.

“Yes, I would appreciate that,” she finally said. Wind leaked into the cave, swirling around them and causing both women to shiver. Anna searched through her pack once more, and removed a sleeping bag and dry clothes. She smirked, mentally patting herself on the back coming, for once, overprepared. Anna tossed clothes over to Elsa, who just stared at them.

“Won’t do you any good to sleep in wet clothes. Change into those,” Anna instructed, as she took her own set and wandered to the back of the cave. She could feel Elsa’s eyes on her, and heard a choking sound as she began to peel off her soaked clothes.

“H-how can you just strip in front of a stranger?” Elsa managed to say. Anna shrugged, stepping out of her shorts and into the sweats.

“We’re both adults aren’t we?” she replied. There was silence, except for the sound of rustling clothes. Anna finished sliding the dry t-shirt over her head with a sigh and spun around, expecting Elsa to have finished. Her jaw nearly hit the floor when her eyes caught flashes of pale, flawless skin and the flexing of toned back muscles before her brain reconnected to her body and she quickly faced the wall. Her heart thudded and she squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to erase the images that seemed to be seared into her eyelids.

“You can turn around now, Anna,” Elsa said, seemingly unaware of Anna’s mistake. Anna took a deep breath and returned to the fire. She glanced at her watch, and couldn’t believe it was already nearing midnight. She tossed Elsa a protein bar and ripped open one for Sarge as well. Elsa observed it a moment, before delicately opening the packaging.

“So, I’ve only got one sleeping bag, because, well, obviously I’m only one person. And you know, I didn’t really think I’d need two. So uhm,” Anna’s face flushed but her heart skipped a beat when Elsa’s melodic laughter flowed through her ears. Oh, man, I want to hear more of that.

“Do you always ramble?” Elsa questioned, her eyes lidded as a yawn tumbled out from between her lips, which had grown darker as she warmed up. Anna grumbled beneath her breath as she began to busy herself with taking apart her braids.

“Yeah, I tend to do it because I don’t like silence. And, well, when I’m ner- anyway,” Anna quickly caught herself as she raked her fingers through her thick red locks. “You take the sleeping bag and I’ll just cuddle Sarge. He gives off enough heat to warm an RV,” Anna commented. Another ripple of laughter from Elsa and Anna watched as a brilliant smile stuck on the pale woman’s face. Elsa ran a hand through her tangled platinum hair, wincing as it caught on some snarls. She sighed.

“I must look like an absolute wreck right now,” Elsa said. Anna scoffed, earning a puzzled look. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

“I obviously don’t know you, but I doubt there’s any way you could look terrible. Even covered in mud, you still have the appearance of royalty,” Anna blurted and mentally slapped herself. She felt the blush spread down her entire neck as she avoided meeting Elsa’s gaze. Anna rose to her feet and tossed the sleeping bag over to the other woman. She snapped her fingers and Sarge trotted over.

“Anyway, we should get some rest. It’s been quite the day,” Anna said, settling against her beloved companion. She could feel Elsa’s eyes on her as she buried her face in Sarge’s fur.

“Goodnight, Anna,” Elsa’s voice floated across the small space. Anna’s mind took quite a while to shut off as it was playing the day’s events on a running loop. When she finally toppled off the cliff of consciousness, she didn’t move for hours.

Anna was unsure of what had dragged her from the depths of sleep as she stirred, rolling over onto her back and prying her eyes open. She blinked a few times, trying to remember where she was as she stared at the dull colored roof above her that shone with the reflection of early morning sun. She spotted a few stalactites and her memories of the previous night flooded back. With a groan she sat up, wincing from a spike of pain in her lower back. A soft weight settled in her lap and she glanced down, noticing the sleeping bag that covered her thighs. She stood, rolling up the bag and stuffing it in her pack. As she straightened and stretched her limbs, she took a gander around the cave. Anna was a bit surprised to see Elsa and Sarge huddled near the entrance. Elsa’s head turned, catching Anna’s eye.

“Morning,” she said, flashing Anna a heart-stopping smile. Anna’s lips twitched and she gave a small wave as she walked toward her. Sarge turned around as well and leapt at Anna as she approached. She laughed, nearly toppling over. She gave the dog a hug as she settled down beside Elsa.

“Morning, you two. You seem to be getting along with Sarge,” Anna commented, as the Saint Bernard flopped down on the other side of Elsa, who hummed, scratching beneath his chin.

“I’ve never really been much of an animal person,” she said. Called it. “But this guy has a calming aura.” Anna grinned at her.

“Yeah, that’s why I brought him home with me. He’s my rock.” A comfortable silence fell over the trio as they both turned to gaze out into the dawn filled forest. The ground was still wet from the storm and there was evidence everywhere; from the broken tree branches to the puddles of water that were scattered along the forest floor. Sun shone through the trees, flushing the forest with hues of orange, yellow, and a soft blue tint.

“Alright, let’s head toward my cabin so we can get cleaned up. Then I’ll take you to your vehicle,” Anna said, climbing to her feet and extending a hand toward Elsa. With a quick tug at the snarled mess of her blonde locks, Elsa nodded in agreement and accepted Anna’s hand.

_____________________________

A few hours later, the three were piled in Anna’s jeep as they headed to where Elsa had left her own vehicle. They were both freshly showered and sated with a breakfast that Anna had insisted on making. As they rounded a corner and pulled into the lot where Elsa’s car sat, they got out and Sarge ran circles around them, barking excitedly.

The two women watched him in silence for a few moments. Anna’s mind ran rampant with thoughts until finally Elsa turned to face the shorter woman.

“I’d like to thank you once again for helping me. I’d probably still be stuck at the bottom of that ravine had you not come along,” she said, flashing Anna a dazzling smile. Anna felt her face warm as she nervously ran a hand through her red hair, which currently rested against her chest.

“Y-yeah no problem! I-I mean it wasn’t any trouble at all!” Anna stammered out. She could feel her palms sweating as she paused, trying to work up the courage to ask the question on her mind. Sarge came bounding up, running into the back of Anna’s knees, causing her to stumble forward. She squeaked as she fell, only to be caught by Elsa’s surprisingly strong arms. Anna felt her heart pummel her ribcage as she stared into those sapphire eyes. There was another nudge in her side from Sarge’s muzzle, as if sending her encouragement. Anna swallowed, casting her gaze downward as she stepped back a bit.

“So, I was wondering. You know how you said you’d like to learn to appreciate nature and try to relax, but you just couldn’t seem to get it right?” Anna said quietly, rubbing an arm. Elsa tilted her head as she peered at Anna curiously.

“Yes. I couldn’t crack that code,” she replied. Anna nodded.

“Well, I was thinking that maybe we could hang out and, you know, get to know each other a bit? And, maybe, the next time I come out here I’d invite you and… I could show you some things that work for me and…” Anna’s voice trailed off.

“Hmmm. Well, I suppose I never properly thanked you for coming to my rescue. So, how about I buy you dinner and we’ll see where that leads us?” Elsa offered with a grin. Anna’s eyes shot up to meet Elsa’s once more. She felt her own lips curled upward in a returning smile.

“I’d like that,” Anna said. A bark sounded from Sarge, as if agreeing with them. The women laughed as they kneeled to pet the large canine. A single thought ran through Anna’s mind as she buried her hands in Sarge’s thick fur: What are the chances?

#elsanna #submission #June 2021 contest #prompt: storm #cw: mentions of blood

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atths--twice · 4 years

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Chapter Nine 9/9

The Kosher Deli December 25, 2017 One week later

Mulder looked up from an email from Cera, as the bells on the door jingled, announcing an arrival. It was not Scully, but an older man and a little girl wearing hot pink furry earmuffs and a matching coat. They walked past him and he watched them approach the counter, smiling as the girl looked at all the cookies, as she decided on which one she wanted to buy.

He looked back down at his phone, at the photos she had sent over and he shook his head. The night she had been attacked in the amusement park, she had captured pictures of Elinor, unbeknownst to her until a couple of days later.

Elinor had not appeared as a ghost, but as a slightly out of focus person, getting clearer the closer she came to Cera. Not an angel in a graveyard, but a vengeful woman in her wedding dress. Mulder shook his head at the physical proof of an apparition that he held in his hand and all he could think was that it had nearly cost Scully her life. Not worth it.

Nothing was worth that.

“Hey,” Scully said, suddenly beside him and he jumped as he turned to look at her, locking his phone and putting it into his pocket. “Scare you?” She smiled as she sat down carefully, taking a chip from the bag in front of him.

“What have I been telling you for the past few days? I don’t get scared, remember?” he lied, his heart racing in his chest.

“Hmm,” she hummed, eating the chip and taking another. “Couldn’t wait for me?”

“You said twenty minutes and it’s been... at least thirty. So, I needed something to tide me over.”

“I believe the new established understanding is, if it’s longer than twenty minutes, bacon is involved. All the bacon.”

“Jewish deli, Scully,” he quipped, looking around and she laughed softly.

“Touché,” she said as she stood up just as carefully as she had sat down, brushing off her hands, and sliding off her coat and leaving it on her chair. “I’ll go order for us, you wait here and keep the table.” She stared at him and he raised an eyebrow. “Pastrami on rye, extra mustard, pickle on the side.” He kept staring and she smiled. “Coleslaw, unless the potato salad looks homemade.”

“Ahhh, Scully…” he said, more than a little aroused.

“Twenty five years, Mulder,” she said, shrugging and walking away.

“Yeah,” he said softly. “Twenty five years.”

He sighed as he watched her waiting in line, seeing her unconsciously rubbing gently at her chest. Knowing it was the ache of the bruises that covered the skin beneath the black sweater she wore, he shook his head, rubbing at his mouth.

They had only arrived home yesterday afternoon, after Scully had spent a couple of days in the hospital, making sure she was all right after nearly dying at the Boudreaux house. The ambulance had arrived not long after she had passed out and taken her to a hospital nearby, him following behind in the car.

He had not been allowed back until she was in a room, no matter how he had raged or flashed his badge. When he had finally been allowed back, he had walked into her room, believing she was asleep and causing him to pause in the doorway. But then she had opened her eyes and reached her hand out to him. He had walked over to her, grasping her hand and kissing her forehead, before resting his against hers.

“Thank you,” she had whispered, her thumb rubbing over the top of his hand.

“Scully,” he had whispered, pulling back to look at her.

“Stay with me. Don’t leave.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” She had tugged at his hand, trying to move over, groaning as she did. “Hey… careful. Let me help you.”

He had helped her shift over a bit, took off his shoes and suit jacket, and slid beneath the blankets beside her. Lying on their sides, she had nestled into him, his arms wrapped around her, and her hand grasping at his shirt.

“Mulder…” she had sighed, her breath warm against his neck, falling asleep almost instantly.

In the next few days, she had quite a few visitors for someone who knew no one in the area. Sheriff Lavonne had come to take their statement and her eyes had flicked to Mulder’s as he stood in the corner of the room, listening to her doctored version of events.

She had already told him what had happened, or what she thought had happened, shaking her head as she had said she did not know what was real or imagined.

“You think you imagined it, Scully?” he had asked, and she shook her head with a sigh.

“I don’t know, Mulder.” She had looked at him with a shrug, looking down as she rubbed the blanket between her fingers. “How can I explain to others that I believe I was trapped inside of a mirror with a woman who died over 150 years ago? I can barely comprehend it. How can I explain that without ending up in the psych ward?”

To that question, he had no answer.

Arielle, Davis, Cera, and Adam had come to see them, eager to tell their story of what had happened.

The four of them had met up, sharing the stories each had heard over the years concerning Elinor and Mary. When they had hit a dead end, they had done the same as Mulder, scouring past records for any information. They had called family members, friends, and friends of friends, asking if anyone they knew had ever mentioned or knew of stories related to Mary and Elinor.

They had found a person related to James Cormier, a man who had heard his mother tell stories that she had heard about lost loves and being sure to choose the right person as your life partner. To never settle for the most beautiful or wealthy because both will fade. But love, it lasts and remains forever, no matter a person's social standing.

“Better to be poor and happy than rich and miserable,” Arielle had said and the others had agreed, but then debated that being happy and a bit rich would not be so bad. They had all laughed and then they continued the story.

After they had spoken to Reese, James’s distant relative, they knew what they needed to do.

“Truth be told,” Davis had said, shaking his head. “The minute Arielle showed me the pictures Cera had taken a few years ago, I knew what we had to do, but I was terrified to actually do it.”

“I was too,” Arielle had said, taking his hand and looking at him with a nod. “I felt nauseous at the thought of even being there. But then, we went and saw Farrah and Tyler in the hospital, something I had been unable to do until then, and I wasn’t scared anymore. I was fucking pissed.” Davis had nodded in agreement, clenching his jaw.

They had driven out, stopping at a hardware store for sledgehammers and protective eye goggles, gaining curious looks, but no comments from the gum chewing young girl who had rung up four people buying such items in the middle of a storm.

When they had pulled up to the church, Arielle and Davis both had a moment of hesitation, breathing hard and shaking in the pouring rain.

“But then Cera…” Arielle had said, tears in her eyes as she reached for her friend’s hand. “She grabbed my hand and that was all I needed. She nodded and we walked together in the rain, determined to end it.”

Knowing exactly where it was, Cera leading them, still holding Arielle’s hand, they had each taken a sledgehammer and put on their goggles, lightning flashing and the rain making it harder to see, but not impossible to get their task finished.

Simultaneously, they had hit Elinor’s headstone and the large statue of Mary that had been ordered to be erected there by Mary’s mother Elizabeth, years after Mary’s death.

“Hany, the slave girl who had been befriended by Mary, had also been entrusted with letters Mary had written when she was the most ill regarding her concerns about Elinor, that were to be given to her mother after Mary’s father had died,” Adam had explained. “Mary did not like her father and he did not seem to care for her either. After his death, Hany came back to that house she had lived in as a slave, and told the truth she had kept secret for years. Mary’s mother had the statue made as a sense of revenge: that Mary would always be there no matter where Elinor was. So… that bitch had to come down.” The other three had nodded vigorously and Mulder had looked at Scully, impressed by the little group of badasses.

Not stopping until both were piles of rubble, they had fallen to the ground, everyone but Adam crying, feeling free, the rain washing them clean.

“I didn’t even feel cold,” Arielle had said, crying and wiping her eyes. “For the first time in nearly two months, in the pouring rain, I didn’t feel cold.” She had looked at Mulder and he had nodded with a smile before glancing at Scully. She had wiped at her own eyes and looked at him, understanding that their actions had not only saved them, but had been what saved her as well.

When Scully had been released from the hospital, they had gone to see Farrah and Tyler, who were now awake and making a slow recovery, much to Doctor Audrey’s relief.

“It’s going to take a long time for them to heal,” Scully had said, taking a deep breath as they walked down the hallway, slowing her steps for a second. Taking another deep breath, she had placed her hand on her chest, giving him a nod. “I’m okay. Just some bruising.” He had stared at her, knowing he had been the one to put the bruises there, in his desperate attempt to keep her heart beating, and she had shaken her head.

“I’ll take the bruises over the alternative any day,” she had said softly and he had nodded, placing his hand on the small of her back as they had continued out of the hospital.

“Food should be up soon,” she said, sitting beside him, pulling him from his thoughts.

“Great, I’m starving.”

“Maybe this will help tide you over until then?” she asked with a smile, placing a black and white cookie in front of him on a napkin. He nodded as he looked at it, breaking it in half horizontally, two pieces of equal amount of both colors.

“Look to the cookie, Elaine. Look to the cookie,” he said, quoting Seinfeld and he handed her half. She laughed and nodded as she took a bite and he did the same.

“Order for Fox? Fox, your order is ready!”

“Really?” he asked, staring at her and shaking his head. She shrugged, not meeting his eyes until he started to get up and she looked at him, her eyes shining. “I’ll remember this, Miss Scully, mark my words.”

“I’m sure you will… Fox,” she giggled and he shook his head with a smile as he walked up to the counter.

“Fox?” the girl at the counter asked.

“Yeah, that’s me,” he muttered, and she nodded, sliding their tray of food toward him.

“Thank you for coming in today, Fox. And Merry Christmas!” He looked at her and nodded.

“Happy Holidays to you,” he said, picking up the tray and turning around. He shook his head as he saw Scully grinning at him as he walked back to their table.

“Did you get the food okay then, Fox?”

“You best watch it,” he said, setting the tray down as she took their plates off of it, and he moved the tray to the side.

They ate in silence, sharing food back and forth as they always had, and he found comfort in the comfortable. Glancing at her as she stopped eating to take a deep breath, he shook his head needing to tell her something that had been on his mind.

“I know I’ve joked that I don’t get scared anymore,” he said quietly, setting his sandwich down, and wiping his hands clean. “But… I was more scared than I have ever been when I couldn’t bring you around. You were so cold-”

“Mulder-”

“I thought I’d lost you, Scully. I really did.”

“Your panic face was showing?” she teased and he looked at her, his expression serious.

“I’m not joking. I’m not-”

“Mulder,” she said quietly, covering his hand with her own and squeezing his fingers. “I know. I… I was scared too. Very scared.” He nodded as he looked into her eyes and they spoke the best way they knew how; silently. He squeezed her hand with a deep sigh and a nod and she squeezed back.

Not saying anything further, words unnecessary, they sat quietly holding hands, in a busy Jewish deli on Christmas afternoon, her head resting on his shoulder, as life bustled on around them.

#XFCase2020 #The X-Files #XF Fanfic #New Case #Coming Home #Christmas together #Sitting together as the world carries on

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jinmukangwrites · 4 years

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Whumptober Day 25

Blurred Vision | Ringing Ears

Ao3

Summary: Early into Damian's run as Robin, he finds himself in the aftermath of a warehouse explosion.

-o-o-o-o-

Damian's ears are ringing. That's the first thing he's aware of. The high pitched chiming that's almost as grating as the bells sewn into the tips of Christmas hats. The next thing he becomes aware of is just… pain. Biting close to agony. He shifts, tries to cringe away from the pain, but all it does is tug at something crushingly heavy that lays over his body.

It's a task and a half just to pry his own eyes open. They're crusted, with blood or just normal gunk he's not sure. All he knows is that when his eyes finally open, the only thing there is to see are blurry blobs of orange shooting up towards a black abyss. It's then when he realizes just how hot he is.

Desperate to figure out what's going on and where he is, he brings his hands to the heavy pressure laying over his chest. It doesn't go anywhere when he pushes, but he really doesn't feel that strong, and he’s not sure he’d be able to push against the pressure even if he understood what was going on. He blinks his blurry eyes and licks his chapped lips, but nothing happens besides him being made aware of a pounding ache at the side of his head.

He tries to relax his body now, maybe lay there and let himself calm down from the confusion of waking up disoriented, but the moment he lets his muscles go limp, he catches sight of a big, hulking figure approaching quickly through the orange blobs.

Immediately, Damian's in fight mode. The figure stops before him, towering like a dark demon, before it kneels down. The second it's within shot, Damian lashes out, throwing out a fist to try and hit… hit somewhere.

It's useless as his small wrist is easily caught in shadows. The fingers wrapped around his wrists feel tight enough to bruise.

Something booms through the ringing in his ears. Something that sounds like the muffled sounds of voices on the other side of a thick wall. Damian tries to focus. Tries to tug his wrist. Tries to at least listen to the deep voice that almost sounds familiar… he just can't place why. He knows it. He can’t place anything at all.

"-eve it or not, I'm trying to help-"

And then Damian can't focus anymore, not as the figure leans over him and shoves off whatever is pinning Damian down. His entire world becomes one of vertigo as the strange person hefts him up and over his shoulders in a fireman's carry. Damian's ribs scream in protest, and it's all he can do at least try to struggle. However, a strong arm wraps around his kicking legs with laughable ease. Damian's soon rendered helpless, hanging from the person's broad shoulders, his hands able to do nothing but weakly hit their leather jacket clad back.

His vision sways. He's pretty sure he might be bleeding from his ears. And the pain only intensifies as he's carried.

Damian almost wants to cry in frustration. He has no idea who this person is… or what they want with him. What if they were the one who hurt him? What if it's them who caused Damian to wake up here?

What if this was an enemy, and Damian couldn't even struggle.

Pathetic.

"-ot you- I got-"

Damian blinks, or maybe falls asleep, and when he opens his eyes the world is speeding past him and his head feels heavy with a biker's helmet that doesn't belong to him. There's a large body pressed against his chest, and his arms are wrapped around their torso and somehow tied to stay there.

The world tilts, and Damian loses consciousness again... which is better than throwing up like he almost does.

-o-o-o-o-

Waking up is even worse the second time. Mostly because Damian is more aware to feel just how much pain he’s in.

He groans and tries to shift, but once again he’s stopped.

Only, this time it’s because his hands are zip-tied together and attached to his belt. His eyes fly open with a shot of adrenaline. He reaches into his utility belt and tries to find something to free himself with, but he quickly finds that there’s nothing there. His belt has been completely disarmed.

“Stop moving around so much,” a voice suddenly growls, but it’s muffled. Like Damian has cotton stuffed in his ears. He’s now awfully aware of a persistent and sharp ringing right behind his eardrums. “I worked hard on your stitches.”

Damian opens his eyes and while nothing goes into focus, he’s still able to direct his eyes over to who he least expected to come to his rescue, but who he supposes he’s now the captive of.

Jason Todd. His big, muscled form sits across whatever small room Damian’s in with his hands across his chest. His helmet is nowhere to be seen, but the vague outline of red over his eyes suggests he’s wearing a mask. Damian forces his body to relax and compose itself as he does his best to study his surroundings. All he can really make out is the vague walls of the room—painted a distasteful brown—and the bare, hard as a rock mattress he lays on top of. He tries to shift into a better position, to not look as vulnerable in front of the enemy, but he’s quickly stopped by two different things.

One is the plastic bindings around his ankles. The other is that the movement makes him very aware of those stitches Todd was talking about.

Instead of risking making a fool of himself by wriggling like a caterpillar, nor risking tearing his stitches, Damian glares at Todd through the haze of blurriness.

“What-” Damian starts, but he’s cut off as his chest explodes into fire. His chest hurts.

Todd stands up as Damian desperately tries to get a hold of himself. He tenses as the villain gets too close and reaches to the side to grab something blurry.

Damian tenses as Todd holds out whatever he’s holding out to Damian’s face. Damian cringes back, but Todd has none of it. He grabs Damian by the shoulder and hefts him up so he’s sitting, his body haunches over slightly as his hands remain trapped just under his belly button. He hisses at the smarting the movement causes and blinks spots from his eyes.

Todd lets go Damian, unfortunately, has to catch his breath as a seed of confusion settles at the back of his skull. Even though being lifted like this hurt… Todd was shockingly gentle.

Before he can even try to consider what that could mean and how that ties into whatever crazy plan Todd had up his sleeves, the thing held out to him earlier is once again shoved under his nose. Sitting up may have rubbed every single one of his injuries the wrong way, but it’s also somewhat cleared his head; enough so that he can tell that the item held to his mouth is…

An opened bottle of water.

Damian scowls. “How do I know it’s not drugged,” he growls. Or gurgles. It feels like someone took a blade to his mouth and carved the inside of his esophagus apart.

“Because,” Todd says, sounding insultingly amused, “I have a syringe filled with actual sedatives that I’ll give ya if you keep being difficult. Drink.”

Damian is almost tempted to turn down the water out of spite. But his chest… feels like it’s on fire. Even the thought of speaking another word gives him the feeling that something red hot and unpleasant is dripping down his throat. Instead of saying anything, he opens his mouth and shoves any embarrassment he would normally have somewhere else in his mind. Todd rather… carefully… pours the water into Damian’s mouth. At first, the liquid stings, but soon enough Damian doesn’t even care about how undignified it is to be given water like this. It feels cold and refreshing going down his throat. Soothing. He tells himself that it’s just him accepting help. Grayson says accepting help is never shameful.

Granted, Todd is the one who has tied him up and made him helpless to quench his own thirst.

But he’ll worry about the details later.

Once the plastic bottle is empty, Todd puts the cap back on and then begins to crush the plastic between his hands, twisting it at the middle mindlessly as he regards Damian. Damian regards him as well as he tries to figure out what exactly is going on and what will happen from this point forward.

He clears his throat. “Why am I here?”

“Cuz you almost got yourself blown up in a warehouse,” Todd says back, his voice sharp.

Ah. Damian remembers now. He snuck off away from Grayson during patrol after they had an argument about Grason not trusting Damian to go off on his own. He found… some sort of shady deal going on by the docks and… while the rest of the details are a bit harder to recall, he still knows that it quite literally ended with a bang. Todd must have been close by.

It doesn’t explain why he helped Damian though. Nor why he took Damian back here.

Instead, he glares at the fuzzy outline of Jason Todd. “What do you want from me?”

Todd shrugs. Leans back, twists the annoying bottle in his hands some more. “Nothing. I’m just waiting for the sedative to kick in.”

Damian freezes. Then glares. Of course. Of course he’s drugged Damian anyways.

Almost immediately after that, he feels a wave of dizziness take over. Damian sways against his will, but before he can completely fall over, Todd grabs him by the shoulders and lowers him back onto the mattress.

“Don’t take it personal, squirt,” Todd mumbles, his voice becoming very far away. Damian’s blurry vision begins to swim. “It’s just gonna be easier to deal with big bird while you’re knocked out. And you can’t try and fight me if you’re asleep.”

Damian blinks hard and tries to make sense of the swirling world above him. “Wh… what…”

“Just wait, next time you wake up, you’re gonna be back home with everyone worrying bout’cha.’

The end of Todd’s sentence becomes nothing but words bouncing around uselessly around Damain’s skull. Before he knows it, his eyelids are unwillingly closing and everything becomes silent.

-o-o-o-o-

Todd is right. The next time Damian wakes up, he’s in his bedroom, Grayson immediately perking up to attack him with... unwanted?... cuddles and worries. Time has definitely passed, and he’s painfully aware of every stitch, bruised rib, and burn on his body. He explains to Grayson once his stomach is no longer rolling that Todd hasn’t done anything to hurt him besides drugging him.

Grayson then explains that he got a note from Todd to meet him to pick Damian up and then didn’t get a single explanation as to what Todd’s intentions or plans were once he got there. Apparently, Damian was handed over willingly and without much tussle besides some sass. Todd left before Grayson even got Damian to the car, saying to forget about the safehouse they were at because he’s not going to be using it again.

Damian can tell Grayson is trying to find reason in Todd’s recent actions; it’s like he’s trying to convince himself that Todd is still some version of a boy he knew long ago, before he went off the deep end and started killing anyone he saw problematic.

Damian doesn’t tell Grayson of Todd’s shocking gentleness. He doesn’t want to give his hopes up.

Because while Damian, too, finds Todd’s behavior odd tonight, he also knows that perhaps seeing Robin go into an exploding warehouse brought up specific memories for the man. Damian is aware of the circumstances of his demise. He probably just didn’t want to see someone go out the same way he did with the same colors and name.

One thing is for sure, Damian will continue to treat Todd like an enemy until he can prove himself to be trustworthy.

Until he can prove that gentleness isn’t reserved for accidental kidnappings and ransoms.

Weeks pass, and Damian is reluctantly cleared by Pennyworth to rejoin Grayson into the city for patrol. They run into Todd then, and if Todd happens to not hit as hard as he normally does… well… Damian keeps that to himself.

For now, at least, they’re enemies. But Damian has known Grayson long enough to know that nothing is set in stone, even a bloody warpath.

#damian wayne #jason todd #dick grayson #robin #red hood #nightwing #dick grayson is batman #dc #dc comics #batman comics #jin writes #fic #fanfiction #whumptober2020 #no.25 #blurred vision #ringing ears #kidnapping tw #noncon drugging

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oliviastan17 · 5 years

Text

Just a dream (2/7)

Length: 3.1k

Warnings: 18+, language, fluff, smut, abusive ex, shit ton of angst

A/N: You all asked for part 2 so here it is! This picks up right where part 1 ended. I hope you like it! Hopefully part 3 will come soon! Reblog if you feel like it! DO NOT POST TO ANY OTHER WEBSITE! I do not own any of the gifs.

When Sebastian woke up the next morning you weren’t in bed with him. He sat up on the edge of the bed and looked at his clothes still piled up on the floor. He could not have stopped the smile from forming on his face if his life depended on it.

He slid his jeans on and zipped them up while walking from your bedroom to your living room. He found you sitting at your dining room table with one knee up by your chest while you read something on your laptop. You took a bite out of a piece of pumpkin pie you were holding like a slice of pizza when you heard him laugh.

“Don’t judge me,” you said with a warning tone and your mouth full.

“No judgment here. Only adoration,” he said as he walked over to you. He leaned over and gave you a kiss that was interrupted by your phone buzzing on the table. You glanced at the caller ID and rejected the call with a swipe of your finger.

“There’s coffee over there if you want some,” you said while pointing to the coffee pot.

“Do you want to go get real breakfast?”

“Pumpkin pie is the breakfast of champions. I’m shocked you don’t know that.”

He laughed while pouring himself a cup of coffee.

“No, I actually have to start getting ready for a meeting,” you said with a slight pout as you stood up to refill your coffee. Your phone buzzed again and you rejected the call again. He took a sip of his coffee as you walked towards him wearing only your red sweatshirt from the night before and some black underwear. He pulled you in for kiss. As he deepened the kiss he quickly picked you up off the floor and set you on the counter in the kitchen. He had one arm around your waist and was stroking your thigh with his other hand.

“No, you can’t do this to me now. I really have to go to this meeting,” you said as you pulled away. You didn’t want him to stop but you needed him to so you could keep your job.

He took a deep breath. “Can I see you tonight?”

“If you let me get ready now, then, yes,” you said as you smiled and kissed him.

“Yeah…” Kiss. “You should…” Kiss. “Get ready…” Kiss.

Your phone buzzed once again.

“For fuck’s sake,” you grunted while hoping off the counter. You grabbed your phone off your table and rejected the call for the 3rd time that morning.

“Do you need to get that?”

“It’s just those annoying robocalls,” you lied. “I’m gonna get in the shower. I can drop you by your place on the way to my meeting if you want.”

There was something about the way you changed the subject so quickly that stood out to him. You had already gone into your bathroom and closed the door or he would have questioned you more.

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

The next few weeks were crazy busy for both of you. There were long night shoots which were brutal to say the least and then the added task of trying to switch your sleep schedules back to normal was driving you crazy. You were still finding time to see each other and staying the night together a few times a week but he couldn’t help noticing you were being a little distant. And he didn’t know why.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” he asked. You were being so quiet at dinner and barely ate.

“Huh? Oh…uh sorry. I’m just so stressed right now…and tired. Work is crazy,” you said with a forced smile.

“Let’s go. I’ll take you home.”

You pulled your phone out to check the time and then placed it on the table.

“I’m just going to go to the bathroom before we go.”

Something’s not right he thought to himself.

He paid the bill and checked some emails while he waited for you. Your phone lit up on the table with a text message and the light caught his eye. Underneath the notification he noticed it said you had 17 missed calls. 17? Yeah, something is definitely not right.

“Ready?” you asked as you walked back up to the table and placed your hand on his back.

“Yeah.”

The ride home was quiet. Sebastian was having an internal debate on whether he should confront you about the missed calls or just let it go. Your mind was preoccupied. You were just staring out the window with your elbow resting on door and your hand holding your head up.

“You still getting those robocalls?” he asked staring straight ahead at the road.

“Yeah. I’ve blocked some of them but others keep calling.”

“You should just change your number.”

“I’m going to once this shoot is over. Right now there are too many people from work who have this number. It would be a nightmare to change it right now.”

He nodded and never once took his eyes off the road.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked as he pulled up to your house.

“I promise I’m okay. I just need to sleep.”

You leaned in and your hand pulled his face in for a kiss. “I’m sorry. I know I haven’t been myself this past week. I just have a lot going on right now.”

“It’s okay. Go get some sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said and then kissed you again.

Once inside you went straight into the kitchen for a glass of wine, made sure your phone was on silent so any unwanted calls wouldn’t wake you during the night and then straight into your shower (with the wine, obviously) hoping the hot water and alcohol would relax you enough so you could sleep. It worked well and once you were in bed it only took you 2 minutes to fall asleep. You actually hadn’t realized just how exhausted you actually were.

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

You were in much better spirits the next day at work. Maybe it was getting some much needed sleep or the fact that there were only 2 more days of work until shooting went on break for Christmas…Sebastian really didn’t care why.

“Okay, here you go,” you said to Anthony while handing him a cell phone. “You are going to open this folder, scroll down to the third message, and click this button.”

“Yeah yeah, I got it Y/n.”

“Please don’t break the phone this time,” you said pleading. “Just put it in your pocket until the camera is rolling.”

“Now that’s just offensive. I’m a professional. I don’t have time to push random buttons and make the phone freeze.”

You tilted your head to the side and gave him a look that said you are so full of shit.

Your walkie beeped-“Hey Y/n Sebastian said the arm is pinching him.”

“Be there in a minute,” you replied. “I’m begging you Mackie…please don’t break it.”

He placed the phone in his jacket pocket and you gave him a smile as you mouthed the words “thank you” then headed over to Sebastian’s trailer.

“Hey, what’s the problem?” you asked while walking in and closing the door behind you.

“I’m going to need you to not wear those leggings while we are at work. They are very distracting,” he said as he pulled you in to kiss you.

“Then I’m going to need you to stop wearing blue because it brings out your eyes but we both know that’s not going to happen,” you replied kissing him back. “What’s wrong with your arm?”

“Nothing, I just wanted to get you alone for a minute.”

You smiled while rolling your eyes and gave him a quick kiss before pushing him away.

“You know, they can’t fire you cause your name is in the title but they could absolutely fire me for having an inappropriate relationship.”

“I wouldn’t let that happen. And besides everyone here likes you better than they like me,” he said snaking his arms around your waist.

“Hands off when at work,” you reminded him.

“Are you coming over tonight?”

“I’m watching Noah and Harper, remember?”

“Oh I forgot. How about…”

He was cut off by your walkie talkie beeping

“Y/n, Kari wants to talk to you.”

“Yeah, on my way,” you said over the walkie talkie.

You gave Sebastian one last kiss and turned around to leave his trailer. He playfully smacked your ass and when you turned around he had the most charming smile on his face. You shook you head and rolled your eyes as you left the trailer.

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

The next day at work was the last day before you went on a break for Christmas. It would be a short day, by filming standards at least, and then tonight was a holiday party for crew and cast members.

This being a ‘paid for by Marvel’ party, you were expected to dress fancier than normal. Since you lived in jeans, leggings, and pajamas it was not at all something you looked forward to.

Sebastian picked you up at 10 and when you opened the door he took one look at you and could feel his eyes dilate.

“You look…I…I don’t have words,” he said as you wrapped your arms around his neck and smiled.

“Thank you. But don’t get too used to me dressing up cause tomorrow its back to leggings and sweatshirts,” you said as you kissed him.

The party was amazing with expensive champagne and some of the most delicious food you had ever tasted. While you very much had a no touching policy when at work you in no way stopped Sebastian from putting his arms around you and whispering in your ear. This was also the first time you had seen Chris since the last time you all went out. He smiled and gave a thumbs up seeing the PDA.

Sebastian eventually managed to lead you away from the crowd and over to a corner of the room where he leaned against the wall pulling you in and kissing you.

“You ready to go?” you asked even though you could feel the answer hardening in his pants.

“I’ll meet you outside. I have to say a few goodbyes,” he replied.

You said a few goodbyes as well and walked out with a couple people who worked in the set design department and waited for the car to pull around. Sebastian and Chris walked out soon after.

For Sebastian, it happened in slow motion almost. He saw you standing about 25 feet away laughing and taking a picture with some co-workers when someone he didn’t recognize came up and grabbed your arm. You turned around and he couldn’t hear what you were saying but you didn’t look happy. You started to walk away from him but he grabbed your arm again, this time with much more force. You pushed him back and this time Sebastian heard you yell “Stop it!”

“Y/n!” Sebastian called while he and Chris were running towards you.

The man looked up and pulled hard on your arm causing you to wince.

“Oh, this must be the reason you’re not answering my calls. Is this who you’re fucking now?” he screamed.

The look on Sebastian’s face while running towards you was one you had only seen when he was playing the Winter Soldier. It was like focused rage. If you didn’t know that in reality he was like a little lost puppy you would have been scared of him.

You managed to pull your arm free just in time to place your hand on Sebastian’s chest and push him back.

“Scott, get the fuck out of here,” Chris said as he stepped in between you and your ex.

“I don’t have to listen to you. Slut is probably fucking you too,” said Scott.

“Seb, get Y/n out of here,” he said calmly over his shoulder while Sebastian grabbed your hand and led you to the car. “If you ever touch her again…” Chris began to say but what he said next was so quiet you couldn’t hear.

Sebastian was so full of adrenaline he was shaking.

“Are you okay?” he asked in a monotone voice as the car pulled away.

All you could do was nod. You were in a state of shock with silent tears falling down your face. Scott was a cheater, yes, and he had been calling you nonstop for the last few weeks but he had never physically hurt you before tonight.

As you walked into Sebastian’s house you walked straight into the kitchen and opened the cabinet where you knew he kept a pack of cigarettes. Neither of you smoked very often but right now you desperately needed the calm nicotine provided. You walked outside to his backyard, lit the cigarette and took a long drag. He followed you outside, handed you a beer and lit one of his own.

“So…robocalls huh?”

You slowly nodded keeping your eyes forward.

“Talk to me.”

You took a deep breath.

“I guess one of his friends saw us waiting for our cars the night of James’ party and he told Scott. He started calling the next day. I answered once to tell him to fuck off but he just kept calling.”

“And why didn’t you tell me?”

“I don’t know Seb. I mean, it’s not like you are my boyfriend or anything and…” you said as you turned and looked him in the eye. He had a hurt expression on his face.

“Wait…that’s not what I meant. I just mean we haven’t talked about it or made it official or anything and I honestly didn’t think Scott was this insane. I thought he would leave me alone eventually.”

“Okay. Well, let’s talk about it. Are you seeing anyone else?”

“No.”

“Do you want to?”

“No.”

“Great. Me too. We’re official. That solves one problem.”

You turned to look at him with tears in your eyes.

“How is this even going to work Seb?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re done filming in 2 months. You don’t live here. I can’t move to New York.”

“First of all, come inside. You’re shivering,” he said as he stood up and took your hand to lead you inside.

Once inside he put his arms around you.

“Second, I get offers for jobs that film here a lot so…”

“And how is that fair to you? To have you accept a job just because it’s here?” you asked breaking the hug as you brought your hand up to rub above your left eyebrow. That was your tell that you were stressed. He had seen you do it multiple times on set.

“Wait, is this why you have been stressed? You’ve been thinking about this for a while haven’t you?”

Your lack of an answer was all the answer he needed.

“Oh my god, you have got to talk to me! Stop shutting me out or this is never going to work,” he practically begged. “Shit! And I thought being around you while you were engaged was frustrating,” he said as he turned and walked into his bedroom.

You took a moment, took off your shoes and then followed him.

As you walked in he was taking his shirt off and then he sat on his bed. His phone rang and he looked at the caller ID, then answered.

“Hey man…yeah she’s okay…” He took a pause then said, “Chris says you’re annoying but he’s got your back.”

“Tell him he can suck my…”

“Yeah she says she loves you too,” he cut you off. He knew what you meant.

“Alright, see ya,” he said and then hung up. “You two are the most dysfunctional friends I’ve ever met.”

You smirked as you walked over to him. You hiked up your dress as you sat on his lap straddling his legs.

After taking a deep breath and touching your forehead to his you said, “You’re right.”

“I know,” he said with a smile as his arms pulled you in closer. “Look, we don’t have to figure all this out tonight. But I’m willing to fight for this if you are.”

You pulled your face away from his to look into his eyes. Your hands cupped his face while you nodded. You pulled him in and pressed your lips to his while he unzipped your dress and pulled it off over your head. When you brought your arms back down and rested them on his shoulders he could very plainly see red marks above your elbow from being grabbed earlier. Very gently he kissed your right arm and then stared into your eyes while tucking some hair behind your ear.

Bringing you closer so that his lips touched yours again he held you tight while he leaned back and then rolled over to be on top of you. With one hand holding him up, the other hand was softly touching your breast and then he traced his way down to your underwear leaving a trail of goose bumps. He broke the kiss to remove them and then took off his pants. Crawling back on top of you he kissed you so intensely it caused a soft moan to escape your lips.

Forget the foreplay. He needed to be as close to you as 2 people could possibly be.

Your back arched as your bodies connected fitting together like puzzle pieces. Your hands moved up to the back of his neck to draw him in for a kiss. He began moving his hips to pump in and out while he kissed your neck. He sped up his pace while one of his hands held him up and the other one had a grip on your thigh. He was (as usual) hitting every single right spot, including a new one you didn’t know you had, and then he felt you tighten around him. With an “Oh god!” you let go and came, probably leaving behind some fingernail marks on his back which he didn’t mind at all. With a few more thrusts he came right after you did.

As he laid on his back with you lying on your side and your arm resting on his chest he thought about how something was different tonight. The sex was always great with you but tonight it felt more…intimate. Like you had finally dropped the walls you had built up because you had been hurt before and let him in. Everything that happened tonight made you vulnerable and instead of hiding, you let him in. He made you feel safe.

Normally you weren’t a very cuddly sleeper but you never moved from his side that night.

Next Chapter

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