#completely forgot what it meant to have shelves higher than me

[dnangelic]

' eh ? the ... the shelf --- i can't reach the top shelf of the freezer ... ?! '

( ... this is a new low , even for someone as small as you . )

' IT'S NOT FUNNY --- !! '

[writingforyourpleasure]

I have a thing for Car wash

Genre: NonIdol!AU, SummerJob!AU

Pairing: OT7 x Reader

Summary: You do car wash as a summer job each year. But this year , 7 new employees are added to the mix.

Word Count: 2k

Warnings: none

A/N: Thoses Butter's concept photoshoot are gonna be the death of me ...

______

Summer’s Job never been dreamy or appealing you always preferred to stay home and play games or hangout with your friends.

You were doing the same summer job from your high school’s years throughout your UNI years, this year was the last year where you could work at the same gas station you usually spent your summer’s at. You were quite happy about this news because your work there wasn’t really enjoyable to say the least.

You were working as car washer.

The staff was limited to you and Gladys. Gladys was an Australian grandma’ with an heavy accent and a loud voice.

You used to complain about the underpaid job and understaff issue to her each year , but even if she tried her best to pay you more each year, the problem of understaff was remaining.

Plus you had the marvelous advantage , note the irony, to be a woman. So of course you had some guy every now and then asking you for some porn kink including cars and water to you.

And of course as soon as you dared to say to them that it was not respectful of them to ask for such favors , well their ego feeling insecure will make them insult you ‘til Gladys will come out and try to dissolve any trouble. And if they didn’t leave… well then Tallulah will come help you out. Were Gladys was a true perfect cottage core granny , Tallulah her spouse, was a weightlifting Olympics coach. So she was , massive and looked very frightening.

But since she was often occupied most of the time Gladys would have to do the trick , and if too much persistent she would call her little brother Jeff a policeman always coming in and out of the shop to check on things.

It was nice, for a summer or two, but seeing as it’s been years since you were first introduce to this summer’s job to say it became painfully annoying was an understatement.

And this year would be the same…

Or so you though.

Gladys finally took your complains about the car wash job being understaffed and recruited a few people to help out .

When she said a few, you though she was talking about 2 to 3 people.

But no, no non no no no. Gladys took in 7 people !

She promised you your check wouldn’t take any damage by the presence of those new employees , but you sincerely doubt that.

And of course you’ll have to show them around and proceed to show them how to wash a car because of course it’s not like anybody could know how to do it by themselves.

You were moody when that tons of information’s felled down on your head, but now finding yourself in front of the 7 new employees changed everything.

Apparently Gladys misspelled car wash job for model’s photoshoot coz’ those 7 boys were for sure way too beautiful to need a car wash job.

It had to be a prank, right?

So being more self aware in what you’ve been for years you showed carefully those men of to do the job. And no it wasn’t cute or sexy, far from it.

You were dressed in your yellow hoodie and black jogging with flip-flop.

For once you wished you had were those fucking shorts looking like panties more than anything, and a crop top or something similar, like all those freaks watching too much porn often asked you to.

But no , and those guys were dressed in matching outfits in jeans and whites tee.

Even if they were very dreamy swoon over , you had more pressing issues to think about.

Like why one of them started a water fight with another one, and putting a stop to it before one of them put soap into their eyes.

“Okay guys!!! Please stop …? I don’t want to have to report you to Gladys on your first day okay? So keep that behavior for when you’re on your own okay?”

“Sorry , we didn’t meant to …” Said one.

“Huh sorry to interrupt , but none of us seems to have catch your name earlier ?” Said the guy with blue hair.

You liked his hair, it was nice, like blue waves , more darker on the edges and lighter on the center of his scalp. He had such beautiful eyes too, so sharp an-

Oh god , wait did you really lost yourself by admiring him?!

“Huh miss???”

“Y-Yeah !!! Haha my name’s Y/N !” You extended your hand , losing your mind for talking in a higher voice to him , good job at not being suspect Y/N….

And you hated yourself even more for being awkward by presenting your hand to him. But he, on the other hand sensed your discomfort and made your move seem completely normal shaking your hand lightly and giving you a cute smile showing off his dimples.

“Namjoon,…. And those two are Jungkook and Taehyung, and I hate to be the one breaking it to you but we’re probably gonna have a hard time keeping them calm.”

“Oh… Okay” You just ended , looking to the two guys involved in the previous water fight, and looking back to Namjoon’s face. He was calm and put you at ease. Hargh you were staring , good job on not being a freak Y/N .

The one all covered in jean from head to toe approached you, and ever so silently spoke to you.

“Hate to be a bother Y/N, but can I have a bucket to wring out my sponge, please?”

“Huh Yeah of course huh-hu….”

“Yoongi’s the name…”

“Oh huh well yeah let me get that from Gladys to you okay I’ll be back in just a sec Yoongi.”

He nodded very calm much to your dismay as you were starting to feel anxious about advising Gladys for more employees, maybe you should have just shut it.

You entered the store who basked in a sunny light as the morning was starting to begin for most of other people’s in the city.

At the register was one of the new employees, he wore a plaid skirt and converse’s with a white thee and jean shirt. You couldn’t believe how gracious his lips draw themselves on his face. They looked pillowy and as dreamy as the six other’s man out there waiting for you.

“Huh hello ? You might remember me from earlier ? Y/N the foremost employee?”

“Of course I do you’re the sweet mango! “

“I’m sorry what ?”

“The sweet mango ! The color of your sweatshirt look alike a mango!”

“I-I Yeah it does…”

“Would you like another nickname maybe? I’m sorry if this one doesn’t fit your style haha. What about little mouse ?”

“Do I look like a little mouse ?”

“No ,you look like a fucking rat”

Said another voice coming from behind you.

“I beg you pardon?”

You turn over to the masculine voice behind you to find yourself facing a chest. Your eyes flew up to the face of the stranger, ready to take down any bratty client. And you were surprised to face a smiling shit eating brunette man glancing down at you . He was snickering and looking at you like he was mentally undressing you with his eyes.

“Yah ! Jin ! Don’t be rude to our new friend!”

You look down to the content in his arms, some sandwiches squeezed between bottles of water.

“Wait your on job duty ! Why aren’t you with the others ?” You started to take over yourself and focus on your task, keeping everything organized.

“Some of us forgot to bring our lunch to work this morning , so I volunteered to go for it , but you’ve been blocking the line too preoccupied to talk to mister big flirt over there.”

He gestured at the cashier.

“We weren’t flirt-“

“You totally were!” Gladys interrupted you coming out from the back of the shop with several boxes of energy bars .

“Gladys I would ne-“

“Don’t lie to me girl ! Okay Jimin go fill up the shelves with those and Jin , you’re lucky you have a nice face, it’s on the house for today so go back to work will you now?”

“Sure thing Gladys! Thank you so much !” He offered her a wink before smirking down at you , going back to his devices.

“AND SHE DOESN’T LOOK LIKE A RAT! BUT YOU SURE TALK LIKE A BRATT!!!” Shouted Gladys at Jin, while a girl was approaching him to take care of her car and asking for his number. He was a blushing mess and Tae had to intervene to talk an eligible sentence to, the poor lost girl, after that.

“Now, Y/N what do you need sweetheart? I mean other than Jimin’s number of course?” She had said it loud enough for Jimin to hear it and bringing a cute smile on his face content of his accomplishments.

“Gladys please stop. “ You warned her with a tired face. She maybe looked old but she was fearless for sure .

“I need extra buckets for the boys, please.”

She leaved the register for what felt only two seconds before bringing over 5 extra buckets for you , to share.

“Thank you , you’re a life savior!”

“I know , should have started a sect when it was trendy.”

You left laughing to her dumb joke , but not before quickly glancing to Jimin. After that event you formed three distinct groups between all of you to get their heads in the game.

But with Jimin busy with helping out Gladys around the store, one of them was standing by himself.

“Okay since your alone I’ll help out for today.”

“Really? Thank you so much I was worried I’ll found myself alone when everyone’s having fun in groups.”

You looked around to indeed found them more busy playing around then actively work in silence .

“Yeah well normally having so much fun isn’t part of the job but I don’t want to kill the mood.”

“I’m Hoseok by the way but you can call me Hobi ! “ He said with a heart shaped smile.

“Y/N. Haha did you had to see Jimin assigning you a nickname too?”

“No this one’s for my crushes .” He said glancing up at you with stars shining eyes behind the comfort of his sunglasses.

“Yah! Hobi Does it mean I’m one of your freaking crushes?!” Yelled a not-so-speechless Jin , across the parking lot.

“Why don’t you come found out ?!” Yelled back a way too enthusiast Hoseok.

The day went by pretty quietly apart from those 7 agents of chaos you were stuck with from now.

Lunch came around pretty quickly and you all went to the back of the shop to have your break there , enjoying the nice breeze of the fan, while chatting.

“So , how come you’re all working here this summer?” You asked between bites of your meal.

“My aunt knows Gladys and told me she was recruiting , and since I was in need of a job I took it.” Said Jimin looking at you oh so charmingly.

“I have a thing for car wash.” Said Jin like it was completely normal.

“Your such a weirdo something hyung I swear… I was in need of a summer job saw the flyers by the campus and thought why not ? Here I am.”

Replied Jungkook slowly slurping down his noodles.

“We wanted to prove some sexist asshole that , no it wasn’t , a job only reserved to women.” Said a disgusted Namjoon swallowing quickly his part of the sandwich.

“I want to be a social entrepreneur.”

Said Taehyung leaving you with wide eyes.

“How is that related to bein-“

“If I succeed to make this place a rentable place from just the car wash then I could do anything.”

“And how would you do that ?” asked Jin dismissing his lunch to look over at Taehuyng.

“What about a photoshoot?”

[willowbleedsonpaper]

Shattered

James Potter x Reader

W.C. : 7591

Request:  Could you write a James Potter story where they have to fake date for a few weeks and the reader develops feelings and thinks James feels the same but doesn’t? And could you include “I feel stupid. I feel so stupid” or “I let myself get attached and now it’s too late”

A/N: This is my first time wrting for James and only the request made me cry, needless to say I cry writing this. I hope you like it lovely anon, and I hope is not too dramatic. Thank you for requesting! Happy reading, Skittles.

Warnings: Cursing, Angst, my english. Let me know if there is something else. Didn’t proofread so I apologize for any mistake.

Flashbacks are written like this!

"Y/N!"

You snapped your head up, staring at the pile of books in front of you in annoyance as the inevitable unfolded before you. 

"Merlin, woman." he said, taking the chair next to you, scraping it against the floor without a care for the library rules, a wide smile always in his face "You are a hard person to find." 

You blinked rapidly at him, biting your tongue before deciding you could only fight fire with fire "Don't you have a map to help you with that?" 

His smile was quickly erased, shushing sounds coming from him like a hiss as he shot a hand to your mouth "You promised you wouldn't talk about it." he said lowly, taking his hand away from you when you nodded. 

"What do you want, James?" you asked with the roll of your eyes, returning to the reading "I'm listening." you told him again when he just stared at you. 

"I need a favor." he said flatly. You took a hesitant glance at him; his body was tense, back straight against the chair as his hand played with one another in his lap. 

"Figures," you mumbled closing the book "What did you do?" you asked him. 

He wrinkled his nose, an offended look in his face "I haven't done anything." he said in a higher voice, leaning against the table "Is what are you going to do for me." he grinned, taking a more relaxed posture on the chair. 

"Right," you scoffed, watching him stare at you in deep thought "Well, what is it?!" 

He took a deep breath and you prepared yourself for the worst. But not a lifetime could have prepared you for what he said. 

"I need you to pretend to be my girlfriend." he blurted out, putting on his most innocent smile as he batted his lashes at you. 

"No." you spat, turning to your books again. 

"Oh, c'mon." he said dramatically, ignoring the complaints from Madame Ponce and the other students. "I'll give you anything you want. Huh? Money, clothes, books. I'll do your homework." he said, his head laying on top of your open book. 

"I wouldn't trust you with my homework even if I was failing all my classes." you pushed his head away from your book, closing it as you stared at him with your arms crossed "Besides, why would you want me to pretend to date you?" you asked, the mere idea sending chills all over your body. 

He smiled tightly, playing with the edge of the table "Evans." he mumbled, coughing lightly after and turning to his sides to see no one had heard him. 

"You sick bastard," you whispered in disbelief, eyes wide as he shrunk under your hard gaze "You want to make her jealous." 

"Only for a while. For her to see what she's missing." he said, his confidence back as fast as it left him "Please Y/N, she would never suspect of you." he said pleadingly with a pout. 

"Why me?" you asked "There are plenty of girls who would die for a chance to date you, so why me?" 

His eyes felt slightly, a nervous chuckle leaving his lips "Well first because I trust you and you are my friend." 

"Debatable, but go on." 

"And because it'll be more believable. Everyone knows we went to a few parties together, spent some time together, snogging and all…" 

"Okay!" you practically shouted "I get it, okay?" 

"Is that a yes?" his eyes slit up, his smile wider than ever. 

You sighed, rolling your eyes as you started regretting your choice already "One month, Potter. If it doesn't work you're on your own." 

"Yes!" he whispered, punching the air in triumph as he stood up 'You're the best." he mumbled, placing his hand on your shoulder as he grabbed  his jacket from the back of the chair and walked away. 

You shook your head, returning to your reading "Uh, almost forgot," you heard him from afar before you felt him place a kiss in your cheek, the heat rising to your cheeks as you stared wide-eyed at him "See you at dinner, love" he said, winking at you before he left for good.

You sat there frozen, the transfiguration essay completely forgotten as you caressed your cheek where he had kissed you. 

You shrugged, quickly taking all your books and bag and running for the place, completely oblivious to the curious eyes from the girls that sat a few tables away from yours, their giggles and low murmurs quickly spreading all over Hogwarts. 

James Potter had gotten himself a girlfriend. 

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

Time flies by when you actually focus on the task at hand. You had spent most of the day at your common room, people coming on going as you stayed glued to the same chair. You had proudly finished your transfiguration essay, started the research for potions and found some books that would prove themselves useful in the coming week.

The halls were empty as you walked peacefully through them, enjoying the echo of your steps on the stone walls. Everyone was already at the Great Hall, you could hear the chatting and laughter as you neared the enormous room, that also meant that you could hear the hurried steps of someone running towards you. 

You slowed down, considering the option of running the opposite way until you saw black curls and an uncharacteristic nervous smile. You had stopped, waiting for him to catch up with you when he forcefully grabbed your arm and pushed you to an empty classroom.

“What the hell, James?” you hissed, turning to him as he closed the door.

“Did you tell anyone?” he asked out of breath, rolling his eyes at your quizzical look. “That we’re dating?!” he said, more desperate, shaking his hands in the air.

“Fake dating.” you corrected him, and he shushed you again.

“Only we know that,” he pointed at the two of you, running a hand through his hair as he paced “Besides anyone could be listening so keep that to yourself.”

“Why are you so nervous?” you asked him with a frown “Isn’t it good that everyone knows?” you asked, confused, taking a seat in the desk as he slowly started to panic.

“I thought I would have a little more time, you know. Make a big deal out of it. Asking you out and then to be my girlfriend, all that.” he explained, his pacing never faltering.

“James, calm down.” you said softly, reaching your hand to his. He took it and you pulled him to sit next to you. “They just saved you some time, we can always say it was a secret.” 

He turned to you with wide eyes, a relieved smile in his face as he nodded “Yeah, that’s a great idea.” he mumbled, cleaning his forehead with the back of his hand “Yeah, okay.” he said more confidently as he jumped from the desk, his breathing even once more.

You did the same, turning to him before you opened the door “Ready lover boy?” you asked, getting a firm nod from him as you got out with him following close behind. 

What you weren’t expecting was his hand on your lower back, guiding you to the Great Hall before he wrapped it around your shoulder, his hand hanging loosely at your side. It wasn’t a long walk to the place he usually sat, but it felt like it. All eyes were on you, and they had different energies to them. Some were happy, like they had been waiting for this for a long time and it had finally happened; others were shocked, the low murmurs with both your names hanging in the air as you strolled down to the table; and the last one and the one you were hoping for, angry, jealous, glares burning your skin as you sat down next to him. 

“So it’s true, then?” asked Remus with a smile, his eyes meeting yours in amusement “You finally won the heart of our Jamie?” 

You laughed, putting your nerves aside and doing what you were gonna be rewarded for “More like he won mine,” you said, looking back at James with a grin “He had been chasing me like a dog, thought maybe he was worth it.” you smiled, getting surprised looks from everyone at the table.

“Has he now?” asked Sirius with a knowing look, staring at James in a silent conversation before he turned to the redhead “Hey Lily, you heard that?”

She met Sirius' eyes with a glare, rolling her eyes “Loud and clear, Sirius.” she mumbled, not even sparing a glance in your or James’ way.

“Yeah well, I got the message loud and clear too, Evans.” said James, with a smug look “I know when to give up on something.” 

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

The announcement of your relationship with James went nothing like you had expected. You went from being just another student at Hogwarts to being James Potter girlfriend, captain of the Gryffindor quidditch team and one of the most popular students. Hell, even Mcgonagall got excited when she saw him, with a few exceptions. 

“So you got detention?” you asked him as you walked through Hogsmeade holding hands. The cold air blowing through your hair while he pulled you closer to him, his body warmer than you would have expected with only the jacket he wore. 

“Maybe,”  he said with a breathy laugh “Totally worth it, though. You should have seen their faces when the cauldron exploded.” he said excitedly, almost jumping the last steps to the Honeydukes. 

“Oh, I can imagine.” you told him as he opened the door for you “What are we doing here?” you asked him, finding him smiling down at you.

“Pick whatever you want, love.” he said, opening his arms as you took the entire shop in. “Well, go on. You must want something, I know for a fact you love these so we’re taking those with us.” he took a bunch of sugar quills from the shelves, carrying them in his arms as he pulled you with him with his other hand.

You laughed, not knowing what to do or say “James, what are you doing?” you asked, making him stop for a moment.

He turned to you, his eyes widening as he picked up a chocolate frog he handed to you with a funny face “What do you think? Buying treats for my favorite person.” he chuckled. 

You didn’t question him as he essentially bought every single candy the store had, you two got out of there with a bag for each one of you.

It was a lovely date, your first one for that matter. A week after the beginning of your little act and he had insisted in taking you out on dates whenever he could. The first one, of course, being to Hogsmeade. After Honeydukes you went to the Three Broomsticks, drinking butterbeers and laughing at every single thing he said. Putting up the act for the prying eyes.

It wasn’t difficult, really. James was actually your friend and you had previously spent time with him and his friends, but the audience made your stomach turn inside of you. You knew the group on the table next to yours were paying attention for every detail they could grasp their hands on, you knew that as more people arrived at the establishment their eyes would fall on you. You felt exposed.

“Hey,” he said softly, grabbing your hand over the table “You okay?” he asked, lowering his head so he could look directly at your eyes.

You nodded your head, smiling over your butterbeer “Just fine.” you lied.

But he wasn’t taking it, he cocked his head to the door, helping you to your feet as he grabbed the bags of your candy. “C’mon.” he murmured on the side of your head before he placed a soft kiss there.

You slowly walked back to the castle, his soothing voice never stopping to tell you about everything he did, for quidditch to pranks. He was an endless source of conversation that you found yourself enjoying, not that you would admit that out loud. 

You didn't even pay attention to where he was leading you, the soft soil underneath your feet making you look forward as the Black Lake appeared before your eyes. 

"James, there's no one here." you told him as you looked at every possible direction. 

He had already sat on the ground, patting the spot next to him "I know," he murmured, pulling you to gin so your head was resting on his shoulder "You didn't look comfortable with everyone looking at you." he said. 

He had his hand running up and down your arms, the motion so soothing you almost ignored all the thoughts going wild inside your head. You looked up at him suspiciously, square noting your eyes even if he didn't seem to notice your gaze on him. 

"And why do you care?" you asked him, trying to sound playful but your voice betraying you as it came out more like a whisper "You have one goal and it's not my wellbeing."

He laughed, glancing down at you before he kept his eyes in the distance. "You're still my friend." he said softly "And you're helping me, the least I can do is make it more enjoyable for you." 

You raised an eyebrow at him, but didn't say anything. You knew the look in his face all too well, it was the same face he made in a particularly difficult quidditch match or whenever he was taking a test; he would frown deeply, wetting his lips every now and then when they weren't in a thin line, he would look a nothing in particular as if he saw something that wasn't there but in reality he was aware of everything around him. He was inside of his own world. 

You didn't realize when you ended laying on the grass, your head on his lap as he played with your hair. You had fallen asleep and the only reason you had woken up from the peaceful sleep was because of him poking your cheeks. 

"Wake up," he whispered in your ear, smiling down at you when you slowly opened your eyes "There you go, sleeping beauty." he said, helping you sit up. 

"Huh?" you asked, rubbing the sleep off your eyes with a yawn "Who's sleeping beauty?" 

"I don't know," he admitted with a shrug of his shoulders. "Moony calls Sirius that when he wakes up, thought it fitted you." he said. 

He walked you to your dorm room in a comfortable silence after you apologized a thousand times for falling asleep on your date, assuring you it was fine. 

"You talk in your sleep." 

"No, I don't." 

"Yeah, you do. Mainly my name, really." he said, wiggling his eyebrows at you. 

He wished you good night, giving you a tight hug before you handed him his bag from Honeydukes. 

"Keep it." he said, closing your hand over the handle of the bag. He gave you one last look before he started to walk away, turning a few times to you still there, shaking your head as he ran when Professor McGonagall voice boomed over the halls calling his name. 

You sighed, going inside your dorm and placing the bags over the bed. A smile appeared on your face as you pulled a sugar quill, a tiny note written in messy handwriting attached to it. 

First week payment. 

You laughed, taking a bite out of the candy as you placed the note back inside. 

"What in Merlin's name? Did you rob Honeydukes?" 

You turned at the sound of your roommate and the door opening "No," you said, a smug smile in your face as you raised an eyebrow to her "My boyfriend bought them for me." 

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

The fuss over your relationship with James had dissipated into a common thing that no one questioned. Watching you close to each other, holding hands at the halls or underneath the table, murmuring things into each other's ears provoking a smile or a chuckle from any of you, kisses on the cheeks, forehead or temple as you held each other close. Only the more skeptic would question the longing stares you two shared at any given moment you were forced apart. 

“You’re amazing.” you heard James over our shoulder as you sat in the common room, close to the fire with a cup of tea in hand. You raised an eyebrow at him, sipping at your tea. 

“Thank you?” you said, placing down the hot cup as he sat next to you in the far too tiny couch. "Don't get me wrong, I am amazing. I just don't get why you of all people would be telling me this." 

"Don't be silly." he said, taking your face in his hands as he squeezed your cheeks "Peter heard Lily talking very angrily about you." he whispered with the biggest smile. 

Your eyes widening, slowly nodding as he moved his hands from your face so you could talk "Oh, that. Nothing new." you told him, and she pulled slightly from you "Don't tell me you haven't noticed the glares and heard the grunts from her as soon as we appear in the room." 

He shook his head and you wanted to laugh, but chose to smile tightly "Oh, Jamie. You are so oblivious." you said patting his cheek softly. 

He pouted, looking hurt at you as he took your wrist in his hand "So the last two weeks Lily has been killing you in her head and I knew nothing of it?" he asked in annoyance. 

"Pretty much, yes. Although I only noticed this week in potions." you said, capturing his interest as he somehow fitted his body on the couch laying his head on your lap. You sighed, knowing he wanted to hear what you got "I don't know what I was doing but you were staring at me with dowey eyes, and you kept bothering me with something…" 

"Nice you pay attention to me," he grumbled. "I was asking you to go see me play this Saturday, you heartless woman." he said with a fake hurt look. 

"Right, anyway. Remember how you told me a joke that almost makes me slip because of how hard I was laughing?"

He nodded, taking your hand as he played with your fingers, a smile appearing on his lips as he remembered "Yeah, I had to hold you so you wouldn't drop the cauldron all over yourself." he chuckled, poking your rib where his hand had been that day. 

"Well, when I finally calmed down…" 

"Hours later if you ask me." 

You slapped his hand "Let me finish," you whined, as he mouthed a Sorry and indicated you to go on "Well, when you stop talking nonsense I caught Lily looking at you before she turned with a glare at me."

"Really?" he breathed out like a kid, hiding the excitement in his voice "What did you do?" he asked you. 

"I smiled at her and took your hand later." you said proudly, keeping your head high with a smile. 

He sat up, crushing you with a hug as he peppered your face with kisses "I told you you were amazing.“ he laughed excitedly. He let go of you, eyes shining as he held up a finger, running up the stairs of the boys room. Minutes later he came back down, a large box in hand with the colors of your house. 

He placed it on your lap, sitting next to you as he gave you space. He nudged your arm when you only stared at the box in shock "Open it." he said encouragingly.

With the shake of your head you took the ribbon, undoing the knot slowly. Once you opened it, staring at it "What's this?" you mumbled, pulling a neatly folded sweater in the colors of Gryffindor . Once it was fully out of the box your nose caught the faintest smell, doubtfully bringing it to your face. 

"James, this is yours." you said lowly, looking up at him. 

He nodded, pulling a scarf of the box as well and wrapping it around your neck "What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't give you my sweater? Besides, I wasn't kidding when I asked you to the game." he said. 

"I know you weren't," you said back, putting the gifts back in the box "I was planning on going whether you were kidding or not." 

"Really?" he said, a little caught off guard "You never go to the games, ever." 

You stared back at him as he leaned back on the couch, talking but you had stopped listening. He was right, you never went to see the games. So why were you so sure you were going? Nothing had changed, sure, you were 'dating him' but you still didn't like quidditch, you had more important things to do, why did you want to go? 

“I'm gonna put this in my dorm." you said, not even noticing you cut him off mid sentence. 

"Sure." he beamed, his face falling a little at the look in your eyes "Hey, are you okay?“ he said, taking your hand before you went away. You gave him a soft nod, gripping his hand before he let you go. 

Once at your dorm you closed the door, lighting some candles as you sat with the open box in your bed. It might as well be your birthday, the sweater and scarf not being the only things there. He had included more candies that you could possibly eat, always teasing you because of your sweet tooth. And at the bottom of the box, another note. 

Second week payment. 

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

The week stretched out like it had never done it before. Your excitement for the quidditch match increased as the day neared, everyone was talking about as they made bets and wore something to support their favorite team. 

And you weren't someone to stay behind, whether it was James' sweater or the scarf, you walked the corridors and attended class with a proud air flowing around you. It didn't matter if James was around you or not, you wore the red and golden colors like a brand. 

To your luck, Saturday arrived and you were up at the first light. You put a little more effort in your looks, making sure that you were comfortable but looked nice for the big day. James had tried to explain why it was so big and everyone was so excited about it, and even if you didn't understand you were thrilled, your body vibrating with the rush of the people around you. 

You got to the Great Hall, the entire team cheering at you walking towards the table as you looked for James with your eyes. 

"Mrs. Potter! “ yelled Sirius as soon as his eyes landed on you, a round of whistles and howling sounds erupting from the mouths of the exhilarated team. You tilted your head at him with wide eyes, lowering your head when you felt an arm around you. 

"Oi! Shut up, Pads. I'm the only one who gets to make her blush." he stated, saying hello in your ear as he climbed on the bench. "Gentlemen!" he shouted, everyone stopping their activities so they could listen. 

"Today is not like any other game we've played in the past. Two things are different today," he said with an almost hungry smile "Those Slytherins have been bragging about their new member, a new seeker. The jewel to their crown they said" 

Everyone started booing, their hands around their mouths as they voices boomed all over the room. Your eyes stared in awe at the man up on the chair, yelling and cheering for his team. 

"But they don't know that we also have a new jewel in our crown!" he shouted, the murmurs spreading as he gave them a wolfish grin "We got ourselves a luck charm." he said, pointing his hand at you. "This is Y/N's first game! Are we going to make this the best game for her or what!?" 

"YEAH!“ they all yelled, the energy in the room turning more and more powerful as they cheered and howled, a pack of lions ready to take on the snakes. 

He smiled down at his team, jumping from the bench and landing next to you "Ready?“ he said, looking over your shoulder before he returned his eyes to you "Remus is gonna sit with you during the game, okay?"

You smiled at Remus, who had been there since the beginning of the speech "Cheer for me, love." he whispered, kissing your cheek and running off with the team before you could answer him.

You stood next to Remus, a blissful look in your face as you stated at the place where James had been a second before. 

"I don't know what you did to him, but please keep it up." he chuckled, offering his arm as you two walked to the quidditch pitch. 

"I'll try my best." you said with a smile, forcing the bitter feeling in your heart away. 

The game had begun smoothly, you and Remus had been sitting down and keeping up a nice chat, he was an interesting person, really surprising that he was so close to Sirius and James. Peter. You understood, he reminded you more of him. But as the chat advanced and he let go a little more you saw that he wasn't as innocent as you thought. 

But at some point you both lost the string of the conversation, Slytherin scoring their first points. You started yelling and cheering for Gryffindor next to Remus, who more quietly supported his house. 

Gryffindor won the game and you clearly had been there to see it. Your hair was a mess, wild from all the jumping and at some point in the game you had discarded the scarf, getting in your way as you followed all the players. It had been a whole experience. 

"Come with me." said Remus to you, pulling you through the crowd as the teams were still flying in the air. 

"Where are we going?" you laughed. 

"The dressing rooms." he said, and there in fact was where he was taking you. 

You lowered your head a little when the Slytherin team stormed by your side, almost flattening your entire body to the wall as to avoid their anger. But that didn't last long as Remus pointed a little forward in the corridor and you met the brightest smile ever. 

It didn't take long for him to get to you, almost throwing his broom to the ground when he ran to you. His arms went around your waist as he sinned you up in the air, a whole heartedly laugh coming from you before he set you safely on the floor. 

He didn't say anything as your hands rested on his chest, looking up to his eyes before he met yours. His mind seemed to be working faster than his body, his eyes shaky looking everywhere before they settled on your lips, crashing his lips to your as he pulled you flat against him. 

It took you a second to react, frozen against him before you wrapped your arms around his neck, pulling him closer. The cheering and whistles made him smile as he kissed you more passionately, only stopping by the loud sound of a door. 

You looked back a little startled, his fingers on your chin bringing your eyes back to him "Slytherins are bad losers." he breathed out. 

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

The third week  of tour deal with James was nearing its end and you were dreading the beginning of the final one. 

You knew it was wrong, you knew you shouldn't have and you knew that it was doomed since the moment you admitted to yourself that you were falling for James Potter. 

You tried everything in your power to ignore the flutter in your chest every time he took your hand in his, no matter where you were, he always had his hand wrapped around your smaller one. You tried to ignore the fly of the butterflies inside you every time he caught you looking at him and smiled, not thinking any of it as he returned to his activities. You tried to fight the blush in your cheeks every time he kissed you, and you tried so hard to ignore the itching in your hands to pull him closer to you every time he kissed you just like he did after the quidditch match. 

Nothing worked. 

You tried to focus on the things that annoyed you before the bloody deal, his overly loud laughter at things that weren't even that funny, his cocky attitude like he was the best person in the entire world and he knew it, you tried to get mad at him for being so damn charming but you couldn't. 

You found yourself smiling at the sound of his laugh, the pure look of happiness in his eyes as he laughed at something one of his friends said. You would stare at him talking about quidditch, potions and transfiguration because he knew what he was talking about and he wasn't shy about, he loved to talk about it but he didn't make you feel like an idiot for not knowing. You couldn't get mad at him for being the charming man he was because that's one of the spells he placed on you, one of the reasons you were slowly falling for him. 

And you weren't the only one who noticed. 

"Hey, Y/N!" Sirius yelled, jogging to catch up with you at the end of the hall "You have a free period?" he asked, taking your bag from your shoulder. 

"Yes…" you said slowly, watching his every move "Sirius, what are you doing?" you asked when he wrapped his arm around your shoulder, your bag resting on his shoulder. 

"Walk with me, darling." he said, looking around as he led you upstairs "We're gonna have a little nice chat." he smiled at you. 

You had disconnected from every form of reality, suddenly feeling your hands sweaty as you tried to reach for your bag for something to hold onto, but of course he had taken it away from you. 

"James is not with me," you mumbled "He is…" 

"At quidditch practice." he completed for you, meeting your doe eyes with a grin "Relax, I'm not gonna do anything to you. Actually, I think I am going to help you." 

"What?" you whispered, going up the last step at the stairs of the astronomy tower. 

He turned with a sigh, holding your shoulders as he stared deep into your eyes "I know you're falling for James." he said gently, a very uncharacteristic tone from him. 

"I don't know what you're talking about." you blurted out, cursing yourself for saying it so fast. 

"Yeah, you do." he said with a wink "I also happened to know you are fake dating and not the love birds you have everyone believing you are." 

You swallowed hard, your voice gone as well as any rational thought you could have. 

"Breath Y/N, and listen." he said, blocking the only way out of the top of the astronomy tower that didn't include throwing yourself in the air, which didn't sound so bad at the moment.

"I've never seen him like that before, and I don't think he is pretending anymore." 

"Like what?" you dated to ask with a string of voice. 

He looked at you intently, finding the words as he carefully phrase it "He seemed very immersed in you, hasn't spoke about Evans in a while." he told you, leaning against the rail of the stairs "It all kind of clicked when he confessed you were only helping him with certain redhead." 

You shook your head "No, I don't want to know. “You tried to walk past him without a care if he had your bag or if he called after you, but he was fast, gapping your arm in the first step. You looked up at him with a pleading look "Don't give me hope, Sirius." you whispered, lowering your head as you got out of his grasp.

He let his hand fall at his side, your bag hitting the ground as he did. He could hear the faint sound of you crying as you ran away, being worse than he expected. 

As soon as you calmed down a little you washed your face in the girl's bathroom, making sure your eyes didn't look red or puffy as you returned to your dorm. 

Your roommates were there, all in one bed chatting before you walked inside. Their eyes were suddenly and all at once in you, their squeals making you giggle lightly as you one of them stood up. 

She went to their nightstand, getting a bag from the top and a little box. "James left them for you." she said excitedly handing them to you. 

You thanked her, looking down at the bed before you sat with them, putting the bag aside as you already know what they were. Your interest more on the small box that had you and the girls gasping at you opened. 

"It is beautiful." exclaimed one of them as they all agreed in low murmurs. 

A silver bracelet with a star Chem hanging discreetly from the chain, the light caught on the charm making little flickers shine on your faces. 

"Do you want me to put it on?" one offered and you shook your head no, taking the box and walking to the door again. 

"Y/N, what about the bag?" they asked you and you stopped at the door, looking back at it .

"Keep them." you said, walking out the door.

Going down the stairs and to your common room you sat in front of the fire, enjoying the warmth it provided to you. You didn't know when you went from enjoying all this situation, from laughing and just being overall happy to feeling it like a burden in your shoulders. The heaviness in your heart as you thought that all of this was with one goal and it wasn't proving your love to you, but proving the love he could give Lily. 

And yet Sirius' words resonated in your mind. He was his best friend, he knew him probably better than James knew himself, what if he was right? What if he actually saw something in you that he didn't see in her? Could it be that he might be in the same position as you were? 

You took the box and opened it again, the star charm giving you a little spark of hope as you held it up in the light, the tag tied to it making your heart fall once more that day. 

You took it between your fingers and pulled it  from the bracelet, throwing the piece of parchment to the fire as you saw the words burn. 

Third week payment

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

The final week of your agreement was coming towards its end, and unlike the previous week this one passed in the blink of an eye. You spent most of it having an internal battle with the part of you that screamed to get every second you could with James before it all ended, to finally say something to him, anything. Give him a clue of how your feelings had changed over the course of the last month, to tell him you might not compare on any level with Lily Evans but you loved him with every beat of your heart.

You spent nights silently crying in your bed when you realized this wasn't a crush, that you didn't think you might like him or that you were falling for him. No, to this point your heart heavied inside your chest with the burning truth that you loved him.

The other part of you fought to get away from him, to run away from his embrace and soft murmurs, to ignore his calls and smiles. To isolate yourself from him as you tried to wash away the love you had for the Gryffindor, but nothing seemed to work.

Gryffindor had been celebrating their victory like no one ever had before, hosting parties in their common room at every chance they got and, of course, your presence was required there.

“There you are!” smiled James at you as you walked through the portrait. Against your better judgement you decided to listen to your heart. This was the night that you would tell him the truth, you would confess your feelings and how you had fallen hard for him the past month.

“Hi” you giggled, letting him engulf you in a hug. You took in his scent, the way his chest vibrated against your face as he kept talking while he held you, the warmth he radiated. Everything you ever wanted.

When you pulled from him he was smiling brightly at you, taking your hand to pull you with him. 

“James,” you called, not moving from where you stood “Do you think I could talk to you outside?” you smiled softly at him, a shimmer in your eyes that had him nodding his head in a second.

He muttered something to Sirius who looked past him and in your way, giving you a wink and an encouraging smile. 

You led James through the empty corridors, his constant questioning making you stop in one of the windows that faced the courtyard. 

You were gathering the courage, having him sit in the windowsill as you pace in front of him, an amused look in his eyes. 

"Y/N," he said softly, you looked back at him taking deep breaths as he talked "Before you say anything, I just want to thank you. No one would have ever dared to do this for me." 

"Yeah, right." you laughed, relaxing a little. This was James, you had nothing to fear. 

"I mean it!" he said back, looking down at his hands "And… well, I believe this past month has changed us both." Your heart started to beat faster, the feeling in your stomach almost unbearable as he kept talking. 

"I realized something and I think you have too. We became closer, almost inseparable and I- you have no idea how thankful I am." 

"Jamie, I need to tell you something. " You said, frozen in your place as your eyes shakily looked for him. He raised his eyebrows, nodding at you with a smile. 

"I love you." you whispered with a smile, going to take his hand before you realized it was limp on yours. Looking up, the smile that decorated his face before was completely gone as he stared blankly at you. 

"What?“ he asked, taking his hand slowly from yours. “No, you don’t. You were pretending.” he said nervously “Right?” 

Your entire world fell around you when the warmth of his hand left you, you started to feel the castle walls close around you, blocking the air from getting to your lungs as you  stepped back, the pain of rejection worse than you could have ever anticipated. 

You covered your mouth with one hand, hugging yourself with your other arm as you turned your back on him, fighting the tears that threatened to escape your eyes. 

"Oh, Merlin." you sobbed quietly, feeling his hand on your shoulder as you turned to him. 

"Y/N…" he said softly but you couldn't face him, the pity in his eyes enough to make the dam in your eyes break. 

"I wasn’t pretending, not anymore." you whispered, cleaning the tears as more fell down. He called for you again, his voice more insistent. You purse your lips, turning quickly to see him "But you were, weren't you?" you asked in between silent sobs, your lower lip trembling furiously at his face. 

He had his mouth slightly open, looking for the words that never came. Not the ones you so desperately wanted to hear. 

"We were both pretending, remember?" he said slowly, never moving from his seat at the railing "We made a deal." 

"Forget the fucking deal!" you cried, looking for his eyes but finding nothing "So you're telling me that it meant nothing to you?" you asked, his face lifting form the floor. 

He looked sad, broken. Like he was too holding back, his eyes were shakily looking all over your face for a sign that you were just acting, that you hadn't fallen for him. 

"All the smiles and the loving words, the kisses and notes. Everything you did and every word was just an act?" you ask in a whisper, his silence worse than a thousand blades coming down on you. 

You saw him swallow hardly, finally looking at you "Lily was always there. I thought you noticed." he said lowly, voice barely above a whisper. 

You shook your head, kneeling on the floor as you took deep breaths. "I stopped pretending. It felt so real I- I thought, I just thought you would feel the same." you sighed, head hanging low “How could I be so stupid.” you mumbled bitterly “Of course Lily was there, how could I… I feel stupid. I feel so stupid.” 

He stared at you, furiously wiping the tears falling down your cheeks as you kept talking through gritted teeth. He was frozen, not knowing what to do or say that could place the smile on your face again, that could dry the tears from your cheeks and stop the trembling of your body. 

"I'm sorry." he said after a long moment of silence. You had walked all the way across the hall resting your entire body on the stone wall, looking up at the ceiling. You shook your head, standing up straight and looking out the window, at anything but him.

"It's not your fault. You're right, we had a deal and I knew what I was getting into since that day at the library." you let out a breathy laugh "I let myself get attached and now it's too late." you said, giving him a sad smile before you turned and walked away from him "Goodbye, James." 

You blocked everything after that. You didn't hear him call for you or go after you, you weren't even sure if he did. You didn't remember how you got back to your dorm, the door creaking open as you stepped inside. The lights were out, the entire dorm dark with the only source of light coming from the moon. You closed the door behind you not really caring if it made noise, your roommates weren’t there anyway. 

You walked to the bathroom, changing into more comfortable clothing and washing your face to try and make the redness around your eyes lessen, feet heavy as you returned to your bed, a soft yet blinding light capturing your attention. Your breath hitched on your throat at the sight, a flat box rested open on top of your bed with a single note sticking up. 

You thought you would feel numb fire wouldn’t burn anymore as the rain would not make you cold. You knew what you were risking by telling him everything and the worst thing just happened. 

He loved Lily, not you. 

You could avoid him, be another ghost at Hogwarts until your heart healed from the broken pieces. All wounds heal with time, right?

But as you neared your bed, reaching your hand slowly to the dark red paper covering the last gift from him your heart shattered. 

“You like it?” He whispered in your ear, a smile creeping up on your face as you placed the mirror you were holding  back on its place. 

“It’s beautiful.” you whispered as you shook your head “But I already have mirrors, it would be idiotic to buy yet another one.” 

He hummed as he held it back for you “I don’t know, this one is different.” he whispered, rounding you so he was standing behind you. He moved all your hair over your shoulder, staring at you through the mirror before he placed it down.

“You’re probably right, though,” he said with a grin “Wouldn’t want you to have to see your beauty every morning, must be tiring.”

Your hand closed around the handle of the mirror, lifting slowly as you stared back at your empty eyes. This was the last piece of James Potter in your life, the last thing that you would get from the fantasy you lived the past month.

You might have been able to heal from a broken heart, the cracks of it filling with time and patience. But as you stared longer at the mirror, the more painful the memories became until you couldn’t take it any longer. 

Your scream as you threw the mirror against the wall was muffled by the crashing sounds as all the pieces bounced off the wall. Your body collapsed on the floor, never caring about the shattered mirror. All the pain from the cuts on your hands and knees couldn’t be compared to what you were feeling inside, to the stabbing pain as you read the words staring back at you from the floor.

Fourth week payment.

After all, you could always fix a broken heart. But how did you fix a shattered one? 

TAGS:  @fanficflaneuse @nebulablakemurphy @lupins-sweater @accio-rogers @gloriousrebelrunaway @slytherinprincess03 @not-today-anxiety @strawberriesonsummer @infinity1o1 @haphazardhufflepuff

Shattered: @harrypotter289​

Shoot me an ask or something if you would like to be tagged!

[n0wornever]

Writer In The Dark - Luke Patterson x Reader

can you do a Luke x reader where the reader is scared of the dark ? maybe he doesn't know until he scares her in the garage studio when it's dark or something like that ?

The winter holidays were in full swing at the Molina household. Although Halloween had just ended, Ray had already created homemade eggnog and strung lights across the porch outside. The last big thing that the family needed was their fresh Christmas tree. 

“Y/N, grab the door?” 

“Yeah, I got it.” 

The girl shuffled over to the main entrance of the house, propping the door open with a wooden wedge. She moved over to the side of the yard as she watched her brother and uncle lug in the bound tree on their shoulders. Her body started to shiver from the near negative temperatures. Y/N brought her gloved hands to her cheeks, rubbing them for warmth. 

The rest of the family piled in and Y/N scurried behind them, shutting the door behind her. She started the long awaited task of taking off all of her winter gear. She slipped out of her gloves, laying them flat above the coat rack on the top shelve. She then untied her boots and threw them to the side. She finally unzipped her coat and hung it up next to Julie’s. She took a deep breath in and walked across the room in her fuzzy socks to meet her family who was already standing around the tree in the living room as the boys released it from its wrapping. 

Ray had originally only recruited Y/N’s brother to help do some heavy lifting, but he eventually ended up asking her to tag along as well so that should help with decision making. Knowing Julie and her father, they would have sat out in the that farm for hours. Plus, she had an eye for design that had been missing since Grace passed away.

Y/N happily obliged. She loved hanging out with her family, and she really treasured the relationship she’d built with Julie. It also meant that she got whatever great food her mother would wander over with afterward to support them after all their hard work. 

Ray looked over at the tree, smiling as her reached over to wrap his arm around Julie’s shoulders. His joyful gaze was interrupted by a passing thought, his eyes moving over to Y/N.

“I totally forgot the ornaments in the garage, Y/N could you go get those for me please?” 

The girl tried to hold back her groaning. Instead, she plastered on a smile and nodded, moving back over to the front door to retie her boots. She glanced outside the door, seeing the pitch blackness in front of her. 

The nighttime had never been her favorite her entire life. Its presence heightened the general anxiety that swam through her body on a daily basis. Although she was nearly 17 at this point, she slept with a nightlight every night and carried a small flashlight on her keyring, just in case. She pulled her coat on and walked past her family in the living room to get to the back door. She opened it and turned her flashlight on so it was shone forward toward the garage. 

As she stepped outside, she was met by the soft whispers of the wind whipping around her. She tried to turn on the porch light, but it flickered before burning out completely. She tried to refocus on her goal, to grab the boxes from the garage and sprint back in as soon as possible. Through her narrow view of the light, Y/N grabbed the door handle and pulled it open.

Her eyes betrayed her immediately, landing on a dark shadow in the corner of the room. She turned her body completely around, closing her eyes for a moment. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to turn around and refocus on that corner. Instead, she was met by a tall figure almost close enough to be on top of her.

“Hey Y/N!”

She didn’t even get a chance to look at whoever was in front of her before screaming. She ran back to the door and flipped on the room light. It was then that she saw Luke standing in the garage, dumbfounded with a lazy smile stuck on his face. Her chest still heaving, she walked backwards letting her back hit the wall.

“Hello to you too...” 

He said this with a smirk, but she didn’t laugh. Instead she held back tears as her hands started to shake. It took Luke a moment to realize she wasn’t amused before walking over to her. He reached out his hand to grab hers.

“Y/N, are you okay.”

“NO!” 

She yelled louder than intended, he jumped back a bit and let go of her hand. He gave her space for a moment, watching her fidgeted with her arms. When she finally looked back up at him, she gave him a shy smile as she held her wrist in the opposite arm.

“Luke, I’m sorry. I just, my anxiety acts up in the dark. I am learning to control it but you just caught me SO off guard...”

He shook his head, coming back in closer to her. She released her hand and he took the opportunity to grab it in his. 

“Don’t apologize. I’m sorry that I snuck up on you like that.” Luke squeezed their palms together. 

“So, what were you looking for?” 

She jumped in place, the decorations, she had forgotten about those. She started running toward the side of the room, grabbing the box in her hands. 

“These! We’re decorating the tree tonight!”

Luke’s eyes fell, and she immediately regretted what she said. He wouldn’t get a proper Christmas this year. The thought made Y/N’s heart physically hurt in her chest. She clutched the box close to her, meeting his eyes again.

“Wanna come in? The boys might not be able to see you quite yet, but you can at least hang out with Julie and I and being around all of Ray’s terrible Christmas singing?” 

Luke’s usual bright smiled started cascading across his face as he looked at her. 

“I’d like that a lot actually.” 

She started walking toward the door but stopped just short of the frame. She turned to Luke with a smirk and returned her gaze with an eyebrow raised. 

“What?”

“Just try to stay in lit areas of the house, okay?”

He laughed at her request, touching her shoulder lightly. 

“I think I can do that,” He said as he pressed a kiss to her head.

Luke followed her lead, walking into the living room to join the family. Julie looked quickly from Y/N to Luke before she stopped at Luke. Y/N turned around to see what she was staring at, and she was met by the glossy eyes of the hard-headed guitarist. 

She kept the looks short to avoid questions from Ray, but the slight glimpse she got of Luke made her heart burst. His eyes were always locked on her, as she moved her hips back and forth to the festive music in the background or lifting Carlos into the air to reach a higher spot on the tree.

Later that night after everything was set, Ray had taken Carlos up to bed, and her brother took Julie over to Flynn’s, they finally had a moment alone. Luke walked behind her to move back to the garage for the night. Before he did her grabbed onto her waist and whispered into her ear.

“Thank you,” 

He pressed a soft kiss to her temple. She turned face him, and pressed their lips together quickly before she let him disappear out the back door

.

.

.

.

Tag list: @xplrreylo @lovesanimals, @anythingandeverythingfandom, @crybabyddl, @oswin05, @themaddies-obx, @lukeys-giggle, @bumbleberry-pie @kiss-themoongoodbye  @marinettepotterandplagg, @lolychu, @bathtimejish, @dasexydevitt13 @musicconversedance, @txrii  @bestdressedandstressed @daisiesforlacey  @epikskool  @bookfrog247 @carleywhittaker @princessvader15 @rudysbay @spooky-season-bitch  @kcd15  @whatever-happens-imma-stand-tall​

[writingfandomfeels]

Draco - Fun to Be Bad

Summary: You’re dared to steal a book from the restricted section at night, but a certain prefect catches you. Smut.

A/N: Another one that was accidentally deleted

“Okay, seriously, one of you has to choose dare one of these times, we can’t just play an entire game of Truth.” Your friend said. 

“Okay, okay. I’ll take a dare.” You volunteered. 

The group of girls in your dorm playing Truth or Dare began to brainstorm ideas. 

“I’ve got it!” Your friend piped up. “I dare you, to steal a book from the restricted section.” 

You contemplated the dare a moment before accepting and rising to the challenge. Quietly you crept out of your house’s dormitories, sneaking down the hallways leading to the library. Because it was after dark no one was wandering about, except maybe professors… which you desperately hoped you wouldn’t encounter. 

You made it to the library without a hitch. Success! As you walked toward the restricted section, you glanced over your shoulder to be sure. Suddenly you felt yourself bumping into another person. You turned to meet the cool blue eyes of Draco Malfoy. 

“And what business would you have lurking about the library at this hour Y/L/N?” Draco interrogated. 

“C’mon Draco, it’s just me, nobody is even around. There’s no need to be so formal.” You flirted, hoping he wouldn’t report you. “Besides, I only came on a dare. Surely you understand, right?” You took a step closer to him, giving your best angel face. It wasn’t hard for you to turn on the charm with him. Actually, you’d sort of been secretly seeing him lately. It was basically just the occasional snogging in abandoned classrooms or broom closets. You’d never discussed what it meant to either of you and it never escalated to more than just snogging due to lack of time, but tonight on the other hand… 

He stared at you a moment before he responded. “I understand, but as a Prefect I also have a responsibility to turn you in.” 

You sighed. “You’re right.” You said nodding your head. “But before you turn me in…” Leaning in, you gave him a teasing kiss. As you pulled away you had to smile at how he was noticeably flustered. 

“You… should go…” He mumbled, his gaze focused on your lips. 

You pressed your lips to his again. “But do you really want me to go?” You asked. 

His blue eyes trailed up and down your figure. You couldn’t help but notice him biting his lip a little as he stared at you. 

Wrapping your arms around his neck, you pressed your body to his. “Relax blondie, we won’t get caught.” You said inches away. You kissed him again. “And besides,” you whispered in his ear, “it can be fun to be bad.” Lightly you grazed his earlobe between your teeth, then slowly pulled away, watching as he tried to fight it but ultimately lost. 

“Oh forget this.” Unable to contain himself any longer he harshly crashed his lips against yours, embracing you in his arms. 

Slightly surprised by the sudden impact, your back hit against the bookcase behind you. 

Draco placed one hand against the bookshelf to lean on, the other found its way to the small of your back, pulling you closer to him. 

Your heart raced, feeling his body pressed against yours like this. 

His tongue slid in and out of your mouth as you kissed passionately. 

Desperate for more, your hands went to loosen his tie. Once loose enough, he pulled away from you for a second to take it off, along with his slytherin sweater vest, throwing both on the floor. From the way he was panting and moving, you could tell he wanted you just as bad as you wanted him. 

Immediately he returned to kissing you, squeezing your thighs, and biting your bottom lip a little. He began backing up, but keeping his hands tightly around your body, he brought you with him. You opened your eyes for a moment and looked to your left, as Draco moved to kissing and sucking your neck. You noticed he’d brought you over to one of the sections that had the tables in front of the shelves. 

“Jump up, love.” He whispered into your ear. 

Obediently you followed, jumping up so that you sat on the table. He stood with your legs on either side of him. You returned to french kissing while simultaneously undressing each other. By the time you’d finished the buttons of his white shirt, he���d undone your tie, the buttons of your cardigan, and had a few buttons of your blouse undone too. 

“You’re fast.” You commented. 

“Don’t worry Y/N, I take my time where it counts.” He winked with a cocky smile. 

You wanted to hate his arrogance but it only made you melt more. 

Draco finished taking off your blouse, licking his lips as he took a moment to stare at your chest. Confidently you smiled, feeling like a work of art on display. You brushed one bra strap off your shoulder, enticing him to continue undressing you. Once your bra had been tossed aside, you moved your mouth to his neck and the top of his chest, moaning softly against his skin as he massaged your breasts. 

After a moment, he pulled back, changing things up. Slowly he ran his hand underneath your skirt and up your inner thigh, boldly keeping eye contact with you. 

The heat radiated from between your legs as your body begged for him to inch closer. 

Teasingly he slowly ran his hand up your space and over your panties, before hooking a finger over the top of them and tugging them off. Although he wore an arrogant smile, you felt like you sensed the slightest hint of caution behind his eyes. After all, you two had never made it this far before. 

“Touch me.” You whispered the encouragement and he promptly obliged. 

Without any notice, he plunged a finger into you, causing you to gasp at the sudden fulfillment. 

“That too much for you princess?” He asked, his voice cheeky, though he did honestly want to know. 

He had perfectly found your g-spot and was already sending pulsing waves of pleasure through your body. You could hardly hear him over the sensations. 

Managing to shake your head, you muttered out a distracted,“Uh uh. Keep going.” 

Following your request he moved his other hand to begin rubbing your clit. 

You moaned and put your hand behind his neck, pulling him closer to you. Sloppily you kissed him in gratitude as he continued to take you higher. You felt yourself growing more and more sensitive, with each thrust of his fingers. 

Pulling away from your mouth, he brought himself down to kiss your other lips. He continued to finger you while simultaneously licking and sucking on your clit. 

Your hand fell to his blond hair, brushing the white strands away from his face and feeling the softness against your skin. Instinctively you pulled a little at his hair as you came closer and closer, feeling yourself tightening around his fingers rhythmically. But just as you felt like he was about to send you over the edge, he pulled away, stopping completely. 

“What the hell do you think you’re doing!” You shot at him angrily. 

He began unzipping his dark trousers. “Not yet darling. Not until I say so.” 

You shook your head at him, the mixed feelings of arousal and anger swirling together like the perfect toxic concoction. “You sick bastard.” 

“I know you love it.” 

You hated to admit it but he was absolutely right. You’d never had anyone deny your orgasm before and although it was infuriating it also thrilled you. 

“Ready for this, love?” He asked, lightly teasing your entrance with his tip. 

You were sick of the buildup now. You wanted the grand finale more than anything at this point. 

“Just fucking make me cum already Malfoy.” You demanded, no desire to play coy. 

He smirked, and pushed into you. You let out a breathy sigh as you welcomed the feeling of being full again. Methodically he began pushing in, deep, then shallow, never giving you quite enough. The fucking tease. 

“Please, more.” You were practically begging. 

“More? Like… this?” He groaned, angling himself to thrust in much deeper than he had been. 

You shot your head back in response, letting out an erotic cry. 

“Shh,” He hushed, covering your mouth with his hand. “Mustn’t be loud in the library. That’s against the rules.” 

“And this, isn’t?” You added between quick breaths. 

Draco smiled devilishly. 

You wrapped your legs around his torso, all of your muscles tensing as the feelings built back up again. Slightly surprising you, he brought his thumb back to your clit, applying pressure in rhythm with the motion of your hips. 

You moaned again, trying to keep yourself quiet, though it was a difficult feat. He pressed his lips to yours again, kissing you passionately as your bodies lurched together. The muscles inside you contracted more violently and you felt yourself start to lose control. 

“Draco, I-” you started but got immediately cut off by the explosion of euphoria. Letting out a sharp cry, you squeezed his bicep with your hand as you felt the long awaited release. He grunted as he thrust a few more times before feeling it himself. You let your upper body flop forward into his arms, resting your head on his shoulder as you both panted, holding each other. 

“Still planning on turning me in?” You asked flirtily. 

Draco chuckled. “You should probably get back to your dorm before anyone else catches you. I’m sure they wouldn’t be as understanding as me.” 

He helped you collect your clothes and you separated in the halls. 

Once nearly back to your dorm you cursed, smacking your forehead. 

“Damn it. Forgot the book,” you sighed. 

[discoscoob]

Bless me, Master, for I have sinned

Pairing: Dhawan!Master/You

Summary: A total rip off of the kneeling scene from Fleabag, all credit for this goes to Phoebe Waller-Bridge and this post

Word count: 4,2k

Warning: I’m still fairly new to writing smut, basically this is only my second time and the first I’m actually posting so apologies in advance, please be kind 🙏🏻

 The Master had shocked you many times but you had to admit that seeing him stood at an altar, with a bible held in his hands and a dog collar around his neck as he officiated the wedding ceremony of your cousin and her fiancé, was up there at the top of the list of his biggest shocks. 

You hadn’t seen him in months, you had been travelling with him behind the Doctors back after the events with the Kasaavin, since the both of you had grown attached while he was pretending to be O. It all came to a halt when he one day gave you an ultimatum, which was for you to decide whether you wanted to travel with him or the Doctor, telling you that whichever one you chose meant you could no longer see the other. It was one of those head or heart decisions, in the end you had went with your head and every day since you had wandered how differently you would have ended up had you gone with your heart.

You slouched further into the uncomfortable wooden church bench, luckily you weren’t sat too close to the front, you were grateful for the ridiculously large hat you had chosen to wear, by simply tipping your head forward it would cast a shadow over your face and make you less recognisable. 

You spent the remainder of the ceremony bouncing your knee and chewing your lip while glancing at the exit, knowing if you left early you would only draw attention to yourself so you waited until it was over and everyone had left their seats to dodge through the crowd and straight for the double doors, what you didn’t expect was for the Master to be stood at the entrance of the church, nodding and smiling as everyone left, even shaking some people’s hands if they offered. 

You dipped your head once again, this time hiding your face completely beneath your hat as you quickly jogged past him, hoping the old lady who had decided to start telling him about how she also got married in this church was enough to keep him distracted. 

Once you made it to your car you checked all your mirrors and let out a sigh of relief when you saw he wasn’t following you, after removing your hat and placing it on your passenger seat you started your car and began your journey home.

However after you got home you still couldn’t stop thinking about him, he was in your town pretending to be a priest, you wondered how long he had been here and why he was here, was he looking for you? That didn’t make sense, he knew where you lived, if he wanted you he could just show up on your doorstep anytime he liked. 

It was after you had got into bed for the night that you realised you wouldn’t be able to sleep with all these unanswered questions in your head, begrudgingly you threw your covers off you and began to get dressed, you were going to pay him a visit.

 •

 When you entered the dimly lit church you couldn’t help the shiver that shot down your spine, you had never been in a church at night before and you hated how hauntingly airy it felt, so you wrapped your arms around yourself as you warily made your way down the isle. 

The sound of pop music echoed through the empty hall and you followed the noise until you arrived at an archway at the side of the alter, from there the warm glow of a light partially leaked into the shadows and lured you towards it. 

When you entered the room, the sound of banging caught your attention and you turned your head in the direction of it to find the Master jumping with his arms stretched out above him, trying to reach for something in one of the higher shelves of a cabinet. He was too distracted by this task to notice your presence so you looked behind you for the source of the music and found the stereo, you reached out and hit the switch to turn it off

“Oh fuck!” The Master immediately startled when he saw you stood there and he scrambled backwards with his arms in front of him as if you were a threat, still letting out a string of curse words.

“Woah,” you breathed out through a small laugh, somewhat amused by his reaction.

“Oh my god I thought you were just in my head then!” He thought out loud, as he blinked rapidly, his arms still held out in front of him as he shifted his weight on his legs, he brought his hands up to his eyes as if he was going to rub them just to be sure they weren’t deceiving him but he stopped himself to point at you instead, “I mean, you were in my head then... but now you’re there.” He waved his hands around as he spoke, it was pretty obvious from the way he was acting that he had had a little bit to drink... or a lot.

You laughed a bit, unused to seeing him behave this way but you gave him a dubious look as you asked, “are you okay, Master?”

“Fuck you calling me Master like it doesn’t turn you on just to say it.” He smiled boldly at you with both hands placed on his hips, he was still dressed up as a priest though his collar hung open now to reveal the top of his chest, the hair there just peaking out from beneath the fabric. 

You stood wordlessly, unsure of how to even respond to what he just called you out on, I mean it wasn’t exactly false but you weren’t going to admit it out loud, your silence was enough and it seemed he realised that as he let out a single hum of a laugh.

“Do you wanna drink?” He offered you.

“Yeah,” you found yourself answering before you could even think about it, you knew that probably wasn’t the wisest decision but it was too late now he had already placed the empty glass on the table.

“Don’t move.” He ordered as he turned around the fetch the bottle, you couldn’t help the way that little instruction made your stomach do a slight flutter.

That’s when he went back to what you had caught him doing when you walked into the room, jumping at the cabinet with his arms stretched above his head, “I don’t seem to have the fucking reach anymore.” He complained as he continued to jump and you watched him curiously. 

“God help me.” He spoke under his breath and with one more jump the bottle was flying out of the cabinet, “woah” he gasped as he quickly caught it before it smashed to the floor.

He gave you a look before he moved back over to the table, you followed him as he poured you both a glass before he picked them both up by their rim, offering you yours.

“Here’s to chaos,” he raised his glass towards you, “and those who get in the way of it.” 

You weren’t exactly sure what he meant by that but you raised your glass to his anyway and they met in the middle with a little ping before you each took a gulp... or two... or three, if you’re the Master. 

“I’m sorry about–“ You began to apologise for choosing the Doctor over him, you weren’t sure why but you felt as though you had to as you looked upon the broken state he seemed to be in.

“Forget about it.” He dismissed before he quickly changed the subject “look at this!” He smiled, placing his glass on the table to turn around to open the closet behind him, he pulled out a priest’s robe and of course it was purple, you smiled nodding, you should have expected it, “look at it!” He enthused, “I knew I wanted a bold... this colour.” He gestured towards the garment. “So beautiful, isn’t it?” He looked at you as if this was completely normal, as if he wasn’t the Master, the renegade Time Lord who destroyed his own planet, now stood here with you in a church, pretending to be a priest as he fawned over one of his robes, refusing to acknowledge the obscurity of it all.

“What are you doing here?” You finally asked him the question you came here to get the answer to, he paused, standing across from the table with his hands clasped in front of him and his head hung so he didn’t have to look at you, he stepped forward and reached for his glass, it seemed he was suddenly very interested in it’s contents as he stared into it while he shifted his weight back and forth until he got the courage to look up at you finally.

“Come with me.” He nodded his head towards the door as he began to walk over to it, you weren’t sure if this was leading to him answering your question or if he was trying to change the subject but you guessed the only way you would find out would be if you followed him, so that’s what you did. 

 •

 You were stood in front of the confession box, face to face, you still couldn’t tell where this was leading but by now you were sure that it was a way to distract you just enough so he wouldn’t have to give you any of the answers you were looking for since he seemed to expect you to be the one to tell him your secrets, rather than the other way around.

“You go in there, I go in there.” He explained to you, pointing to each cubicle of the box, the irony of an alien who wasn’t from your planet explaining one of earths customs as if he had better knowledge of it than you did, sometimes you forgot how much time he had spent on earth, technically he had lived on this planet longer than you had, maybe he did have more knowledge after all. You shook your head, that was too much to think about right now especially when you realised he was really serious about getting you to do a confession with him.

“You’re going to make me tell you all my secrets so you can ultimately trap and control me.” You joked.

“Yeah,” he giggled, before his face shifted to a more serious expression. “No, you tell me what’s weighing on your heart and I listen without judgement and in complete confidence.” 

“Wow how much time have you spent here, did you read that from a script?” You laughed through a gasp, shocked by how precise he was getting this priest act.

“Shut up,” he light-heartedly grumbled at your teasing, “come on.” He encouraged you.

“I’m not a catholic.” You protested.

“Neither am I.” He shrugged and had you been religious you would have stepped away from him in fear he would spontaneously burst into flames, since you were sure that standing in a church and being a fraudulent priest while admitting you weren’t a catholic was asking for trouble. 

“Come on.” He urged you some more, keeping his voice soft. “Just do it.”

“Alright.” You softly agreed and then you both made your way in to the separate cubicles. 

“Okay now you say ‘bless me Master for I have sinned-“

“I’m not going to say that.”

He ignored your interruption and continued with his instructions. “‘it’s been insert days, years months since my last confession’ then I say ‘that’s okay blah blah blah’ until you tell me what’s on your mind... tell me your sins!” He eagerly encouraged you and you were laughing.

“Why would I tell you my sins?” You spoke through a broad smile.

“Because... I want to know.” He told you in a hushed tone, as if it were a secret.

So you decided you would, with a quick gulp of your drink and a deep breath, you would play his game.

“I’ve stolen things... but you would know about that since you were usually the one encouraging me to do it. I’ve had sex outside marriage, something else you already know about.” You laughed to yourself, “a lot of masturbation, a bit of violence and of course the endless fucking blasphemy.”

“And?” He prompted you to share more, it wasn’t hard to see you were holding back.

“And...” You paused, questioning whether or not you really wanted to tell him.

“Go on.” He pushed you.

You took another big gulp of your drink, to try and calm your nerves.

“And... m’frightened.” 

“Of what?”

“That I got it all wrong...” He remained silent as he patiently waited for you to elaborate, “I thought choosing the Doctor was the right thing to do but if it was why do I still think about you every single day and what my life would have been like if I chose you instead?” 

“Do you still travel with the Doctor?” He had asked and you automatically shook your head before he remembered he couldn’t see you.

“No,” you answered quietly.

“Do you miss it?” 

“I miss you.” You confessed, “I think you should have made the decision for me, I would’ve done anything you told me, I trust you would’ve got it right and I wouldn’t be spending every single day thinking about what could’ve been because I would‘ve actually been doing it. So just tell me what to do,” you pleaded, your voice strained from your overwhelming emotions. “Just fucking tell me what to do, Master!” 

Silence. You felt your heart begin to pick up as you waited for him to say something, you dropped your head in dejection.

“Kneel.” Finally came his instruction.

Everything went still for a moment and you questioned whether this was reality or if you had just began daydreaming. Your eyes travelled up to the grid of the confession box.

“What?” You wanted the confirmation that you heard him correctly, that this was real.

“Kneel.” He said softer this time, “just kneel.”

You took a deep breath while you blinked down at your lap, your lips were slightly parted as you lifted your drink to slowly place it on the ledge in the confession box and with that you carefully lowered yourself to your knees in the cramped space, the wood creaked as you moved. Once you were on your knees you arched your neck back and chewed your lip while you waited for what was next. 

You really hope he wasn’t going to get you to pray this was not what you imagined–

The curtain to the cubicle was abruptly pushed to the side to reveal the Master standing before you in all his glory, your breath hitched in your throat while your lip slipped from between your teeth, your mouth rested slightly parted. You stared up at him with doe eyes which conveyed all your desire while he glared down at you with a hard stoic expression.

Your eyes followed him as he gently lowered himself to his knees, one leg at a time and once he was done he was still looking down at you since you knelt with your bottom rested against the back of your ankles while he kept his thighs up right.

He brought his hands up to your face, just letting them hover before he ever so lightly traced the back of his fingers down your jaw until his thumb slightly brushed your chin.

You couldn’t help the way your eyes kept flicking down to his lips and you hoped that they displayed all your need for him and he had enough mercy to grant you your desire. 

Much to your delight he leant his head towards yours and you craned your neck towards him, your lips met in a tender kiss, his fingertips brushed up your throat and the fine hair at the back of your neck stood to attention.

When you pulled away from the simple kiss, you briefly glanced at each other, just to see the affect you had on one another but your glazed eyes barely managed to meet before each of you were focusing your concentration onto the others lips. You fell into another kiss however you decided you needed more than just soft and tender so you pushed into it further, raising your thighs and he chased your lips with his own as you continued to rise until you were stood on both feet, with him not far behind, your mutual desperation increased at a rapid rate. 

You began blindly stumbling, with your hands trying to grab each other anywhere and everywhere all at once, both of you refusing to break the kiss to move in a more effective and safer fashion, until you were pushing him into the door of the confession box. 

You brought your trembling fingers up to where the button should be for his trousers but you had trouble finding it until you recalled he was wearing a robe so you hastily grasped the fabric in your palms trying to get it all out of the way from where you wanted to be which only caused you to grow frustrated.

“Skirt and trousers?” You complained, although you had to admit it made sense considering priests had to be celibate it’s not like they had any need for clothes that allowed for easy access.

He helped you along as he bunched up the fabric in his arms and you were finally able to unclasp the button of his trousers, you felt the fabric which the Master had been holding bunch up against your wrist as he let it drop in favour of wrapping his arms around your waist, deciding he needed to pull you closer, so with your chests flush you blindly walked him until the back of his knees hit a bench and he collapsed onto it with his legs spread wide open, allowing you enough space to drop to your knees between them. You steadied yourself by clutching each of his thighs as you lowered yourself to the ground, never breaking eye contact.

His eyes still shone despite the lack of light in the empty church hall and his jaw hung slack, you caught the way his chest rose and fell with his heavy breaths as he closely watched your every move while he urgently gathered the excess fabric of his robe to get it out of your way.

“I should have never let you go.” The Master panted, “I should’ve kept you all to myself the moment you started travelling with me, I was a fool to share something as precious as you with anyone else, let alone the Doctor.” 

While he was talking you had managed to get his zip down and began palming him over his underwear, you could already feel his length straining against the material from how desperate he was for you.

“You don’t have to share me anymore.” You promised him, while you slowly pulled his trousers and boxers down together until his member was freed from its confinement, it sprung up against his stomach and the Master hissed from the feeling of it suddenly coming into contact with the cold air, churches weren’t exactly renowned for being the warmest of places.

He didn’t have to suffer for long as you were soon wrapping your warm palm around the base to drag it up to his tip, letting your hand  slightly twist around the head before dragging it back to the base to repeat the routine.

His breathing grew even heavier and you didn’t miss the way the muscles of his stomach twitched as you paid close attention to the head. 

With one fist buried into the crumbled up fabric of his robe, keeping him grounded, he moved his other hand to comb his fingers through your hair to secure a fist full of it at the crown of your head.

“That’s enough teasing, pet.” He huffed, urging your head closer to his length and who were you to disobey your Master?

You lowered your head, never breaking eye contact as he watched you with his lids lazily dropped. You brought your tongue out to give the head a quick lick before wrapping your lips around it and hollowing your cheeks as you dragged your head back up until it released with a pop, after that you flattened your tongue against his base and dragged it all the way to his tip which you swirled your tongue around before you closed your lips around it once again, this time moving your head down his shaft and the Master encouraged you further with the fist full of hair he still had a secure grip on, until the blunt head collided with the back of your throat and you let out a splutter, he loosened his grip allowing you to freely raise your own head but you just brought your mouth to his tip before you where sinking back down again as far as you could go.

“So good for your Master,” he breathlessly praised you, which only spurred you on further as his hips began to involuntary thrust up into your mouth, chasing his impending high. 

He broke your eye contact when he threw his head back against the back of the church bench, moaning your name in pleasure and you saw his Adam’s apple bop up and down, swallowing a gulp from the way his mouth watered.

You began to quicken your pace, hollowing your cheeks harder and rubbing the part you couldn’t reach with your hand to bring him towards his orgasm. 

By now your eyes had started watering from the attack on your gag reflex but you didn’t mind since your eyes weren’t the only things that became more damp with each thrust that hit the back of your throat, you clenched your thighs in an attempt to offer yourself some relief but it didn’t go far. 

“M’gonna come,” he warned you through clenched teeth, it was the only noticed you got before his hips bucked towards you a few times until finally his release spilled onto your tongue as your name spilled out of his mouth, he had tightened his grip on your hair making your scalp burn from the harsh hold but it only sent a wave of pleasure through the pit of your stomach. 

Once his body relaxed so did his hold and he gently ran his palm over your scalp to sooth you as he caught his breath, his head still rested back against the back of the bench, you tucked his now half hard member back into his underwear before you nuzzled your face into his palm which he had brought to your cheek after he had stroked it through your hair. 

You had your eyes closed you hadn’t noticed he was reaching forward for you until you felt his hands gripping you under your arm pits, urging you to your feet, you did as he wanted and his hands slid from under your arms and down your rib cage until they gripped your waist and he pulled you down to straddle his lap.

He looked up at you, his eyes bounced back and forth between yours before he extended his neck towards you to capture your lips with his own, his hand moved up to the back of your neck to keep you in place, while his tongue brushed across your bottom lip. 

Your own hands were rested on his shoulders to keep yourself steady, you couldn’t help the way your hips began to grind into his as you searched for anyway to relieve the tension that had built from providing him with pleasure.

After he felt your hips rhythmically stroking against his he moved his hands to your love handles to still your movements with a bruising grip.

You whined in protest but he gently shushed you, dragging a finger over your lips.

“Does my human need her Master?” He taunted, and you desperately nodded as you looked into his sparkling eyes, looking more himself than he had the entire night, a broad smile creeped on his face when he saw the yearning in yours. 

“Use your words, love.” He urged.

“I need you, Master.” You mumbled, vocalising your desires was something you still struggled with but when you travelled with him he had always encouraged you to be vocal, not only did it make it easier for him to know exactly what you needed he revelled in watching you beg him.

He gently patted your thigh, prompting you to lift off his lap with a quick peck to your lips.

“Come on, love, let’s go to my tardis, where I can take proper care of you.” He promised, and you weren’t going to turn him down, not ever again, you still hadn’t got the answers you had come here for but that could wait, for now you had better things to do.

[geekydane]

Talk to me - Tommy Shelby x reader - chapter 2

“Absolutely not, Polly!” The man, Tommy, didn’t raise his voice. That was almost the most scary about him. He didn’t yell even though he was in an argument. He just sounded so… harsh. Without even trying very hard it seamed. 

“I have had a talk with Lizzie and she could really use the help. I’m sure y/n will be a great addition to our company. Her and Michael can help her settle in and distribute the tasks.” Polly said to your defense. She was standing next to you and you saw out of the corner of your eye, that she was about to lay a hand on your shoulder, but thought the better of it and lowered her hand again. In front of you sat Tommy. He was the head of the company and had your destiny in his hands. Mrs. Langston had left without saying goodbye. After your talk alone with Polly she had asked you to stay in her office as she went to talk with Mrs. Langston. You didn’t know what was said between them, but your one small trunk you took with you stood against the wall in Tommy’s office. They must have taking it from the car before Mrs. Langston left.

“What good could come out of a woman that isn’t even able to talk? Let alone unable to work? As i understand, miss y/n here is from higher class in y/country. She might have never worked a day in her life. Perhaps never had to.” Tommy said and fixed his eyes on you again. It was like you stopped breathing every time he looked at you. You were already unable to speak for yourself  but you felt completely helpless whenever those icy blue eyes landed on you. Unable to do anything. 

“I’m sure she will prove you wrong. She has many more skills than you have heard of. Mrs. Langston told me a great deal about y/n. She will not disappoint.” Polly said with a tight smile. What had Mrs. Langston really said? You had known the woman for a long time. Ever since you were small. Mrs. Langston knew how adventurous you were and you were never afraid of getting dirty. You played with every kid that crossed your way, no matter what kind of family they came form and your father let you. He always said that it was healthy to meet all kind of people. It was a way to understand the world around you. That’s why you had traveled around the world with him from the start. Kids don’t need a language to be able to play with each other. Fun and laugher were international language. That also made you fearless back then, but the last years had been so empty and sad that you didn’t know where your previous self was hiding away. A few years ago you wouldn’t have let a man like Tommy Shelby intimidate you. 

After a long while of being stared down by Tommy that sad with his hands folded in front of him he sighed and leaned against the desk.

“Fine. We can let her try for a few weeks but she’s under you, Pol, not me. I don’t have time for this.” He stood up and left the room so quickly that you almost jumped by the sudden movement of him.

“He will come around. I’m sure you will prove useful. You are your father’s daughter.” Polly said and gestured for you to follow her. Your father's daughter? She knew your father? 

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

You were sat in your new home. Home? You looked around in the sparsely furnished bedroom. Only with a bed, one bedside table and a small dresser with clear wear marks in the white painting was in the small room. Not that there were any room for more, but it was so small and sad looking. You were at least use to decorated walls and huge mirrors. The rest of the apartment considered of a smaller washroom with a rusty washbasin, a living room with a surprisingly comfortable couch but nothing more and a kitchen. 

Polly had showed you there and her son, Michael, walked behind you with your trunk. You could have easily got it yourself but Polly insisted. She showed you around with a frown on her face and promised to later help you decorate a little. You didn’t know what to think. It was a foreign place to you so you didn’t have any opinion about how the place looked. You checked the windows to see if there was any easy access to break in and made sure they were all locked. You checked the front door more than once and looked through the peephole every time you heard a sound from the corridor. 

You didn’t really sleep. You couldn’t with all those new noises and you couldn’t tell yourself that it wasn’t nothing. Yes it sounded like someone upstairs turned around in their sleep in a spring mattress, but it could be someone trying to break in. Couldn’t it. You didn’t know the people living there and everything was much louder in the dark. It only comforted you when you saw the sun raise outside your bedroom window and you got up and pulled some clothing out of your trunk. It was very holmly and not really office clothing, but you didn’t know you would be left in Birmingham and let alone get a job in an office right away. There was a very old mirror in the washroom that you had to dry off before you were even able to see your own reflection. You hadn’t brought much for the hair or makeup, so you only got one hairband and tied it around the hair in the back and made a quick bow. 

You walked the exact same road to Shelby Company Limited that you had walked the day before with Polly and Michael. You kept your head down but led your eyes roam on the people that passed you on the sidewalk. Most of them had clean faces but very dirty clothing. They were used to hard work. Among them were mothers with kids that hurried them along to school and housemaids with a braided basket on their arm, surly on their way to fetch some groceries for whoever they worked for. 

You breathed out slowly when you reached the office and stepped inside. The office was quiet so you thought that you might have been there a little too early. You stepped inside the room that was buzzing with life the day before and only found one man standing with his back to you, lifting up the corner of some papers on one of the desks to read something under them. In his other hand hung a cigarette lazily from between two fingers. You regurnized the haircut from the day before on the very man that was going to be your boss. trimmed at the sides, slightly boyish long on top.  He turned after a while. The sound of your heels making sure to announce your arrival.

“Miss y/l/n. You are early. Couldn’t sleep either?” He asked you and took a pull on his cigarette and breathes the smoke out in the room. You shrugged at Tommy and he huffed.

“I forgot you didn’t talk. I’m usually not much of a talker myself unless i have to. Come with me.” He said and started to walk to his office. When you entered the small receiving room that laid before his office, you noticed that another desk was pulled in. Lizzies desk had to be moved to the side, so that there were a passage in between the two desks to Tommy’s door. 

“I think you can guess where you are going to sit.” He said calmly and you walked around the desk and sat down. You didn’t know what else to do.

“Polly is not in yet. She’s the one that should set you up. But i guess you can go and make some tea. The office would appreciate it, if it was ready when they get here. Bring a cup in to me.” And with that order, he was gone and the door to his office closed behind him yet again. How sweet of him to actually tell you where the kitchen were, you thought and started to search the building.

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

Polly came when you were desperately looking for the tea in all the cupboards. You had dared to sit on your knees on the kitchen counter to look for the tea on the top shelves. You were beginning to panic as you heard more and more people were arriving to the workspace. Your first task at your new job and you already failed doing something so simply as to make tea.

“What are you looking for y/n?” Polly asked curious and came up next to you. You tried your best to crawl down from the counter while holding your skirt down. You reached out for the boiler on the stove.

“You are making tea? Didn’t Tommy show you where to find the leaves? It’s not in the kitchen, it’s in the pantry with the dried goods. It may not be the pure kind, it is hard to find that to a reasonable price these days but it almost tastes like ceylon.” Polly explained and showed you the pantry and took out a light brown paper bag. You opened it and smelled the tea. It did smell almost like the pure ceylon the Langstons use to buy for your money. You hurried back to the boiling tea and scooped the dried leaves into the strainer. 

“You must have arrived early. I tried to get here before you. There is a lot to learn before you start throwing around with our numbers.”

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

When she said a ‘lot to learn’, she meant it. Your head was spinning by all the new information. You didn’t hope that you had to memorize everything that was told to you from both Lizzie and Polly. They tried to go through all the companies politics and even though you could see right through the Lizzie woman whenever you saw some kind of ‘hole’ in their explanations. It wasn’t that you knew what was going on, but you had followed along with your fathers work for enough years to know when something fishy was going on. Every country had their game going on and a way to express it. Englishmen tend to remain very still, listen careful to the others associated with them, so the quietness was so thick that it could be felt in the room. But alas, you didn’t dare to react to any of the signs. 

“Oy. I heard you've been taking in strays.” A man came into the room with no warning. It made you jump and your heart skip a beat. Looking up you saw two men walking in. Both of them in a suit and coat with the same kind of half shaved haircut as you had seen on Tommy. It was clearly a thing that was fashion in this part of Birmingham. 

“Not too far of. But i do call her y/n. She’s a person after all.” Polly said with a wicked smile to the two men and the one that was sporting a trimmed mustache frowned for a split second before placing a hand in his pocket like he was getting ready to just stand there and stare at you for entertainment. The other man that looked a little younger stood back with a smoke a blew the smoke out in the air. His eyes narrowed but still directed at you through the smoke. After a moment of silent in the room the older one of them spoke up again in a harsh tone.

“Introduce yourself woman. You are hired into our company. Don’t think we won’t  kick you out if there is any trouble with ya.” You flinched with the hard words which made Polly stand up. 

“Arthur! If you weren’t roaming around drunk at Garrison and actually been here yesterday, you would have know that y/n here is not able to speak. One of the many things that will be beneficial for this company. Polly said in a calm manner. Beneficial? That was the first time you had heard someone calling your ‘disability’ a beneficial or anything else positive. 

“Someone got her tongue? What was she in for?” The younger one asked and nodded his head towards you. 

“She not a criminal. She still got her tongue. I will discuss that with you later. Right now we are settling y/n into her tasks. Tommy is in his office. Go bother him instead.” She said and rounded the table to shush them away. They looked at each other before they let Polly lead them away from the room. They respected her. That was good to know, because they seemed like trouble to you.

“That was Arthur and John Shelby. Tommy’s brothers. There is a sister as well but she’s not here very often.” Lizzie explained to you. Her gaze was still lingering on the door to Tommy’s office.

“I’m sorry for my nephews. They are very protective about this place. As you may have noticed now, it’s a family business. It can both be a blessing and a curse sometimes.” Polly said with a sigh and sat down again and you started going through your tasks again.

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

“Have you eaten at all?” Lizzie said when you were almost done for the day. After some intense hours of training polly left and Lizzie had giving you the first pieces of documents to look through, sort and send out to all the businesses under Shelby Company Limited. Lizzie came over to look over your work when your stomach growled. 

“Y/n. We had a break in the middle of the day. why didn’t you say you didn’t have any food?” Lizzie sounded like a worried mother but you just shrugged. Food was not something you could think about in the middle of learning so much new. You were already exhausted when you reached your break. But all you did was to leave the building and find a place to still alone, without anyone talking to you. You were so use to being alone in a room most of the day. All the new noises, people and tasks made your head spin and all you needed was to relax your head for a moment. 

“I can take you to buy some grocery after work if you like? Then you can prepare something to take with you for lunch. The common man didn’t mass strike for years for us not to enjoy our lunch break.” Lizzie said with a smile and you just nodded at her suggestion. Even though all you wanted was to get home to the rotten shed you now called home, it might be a good idea to be shown around in the neighborhood so you at least could buy yourself some food. 

“Where is my brother?” Yet again you jumped from your seat as another person entered the receiving room. This woman had brown slightly curly hair that swung around her head as she walked with haisty steps towards you and Lizzie. 

“Which one of them are you looking for?” Lizzie said with a bit of amusement in her tone. You guessed that this one was a Shelby as well. It was nice to know that it was only the men that sported the shaved-sides look.

“Ada, keep it down.” Tommy emerged from his room. He must have hear the woman, Ada, shout from inside his office. Ada walked up to him with crossed arms and was about to open her mouth to speak when Tommy put a finger to his mouth to shush her.

“Not here. We can take it in my office.” He said and nodded his head towards you. Ada finally looked at you and to your surprise, actually smiled at you.

“Oh! Another woman in the workspace. Good for you, brother. What is your name? I’m Ada.” She came up to you and reached out her hand for you to take. You took her hand to be polite. Her handshake was hard like a mans. I guess it made sense when she had three brothers. She had to be tough to fit in. 

“Her name is y/n. She doesn’t speak.” Lizzie said and whispered the last part. Like you couldn’t hear her when you were sat right next to her. 

“Maybe she’s a great listener then? Have you been introduced to Arthur’s pud down the road from here? It would be lovely to…” She didn’t get to finish when Tommy stepped in and broke the handshake and her sentence.

“Y/n is here to work, not to be your new girlfriend. You came here to talk to me, didn’t you?” He said, again, with that weird tone where you knew that he was upset but he sounded calm and collected at the same time. It was seriously scary. Ada must be brave, because all she did was to roll her eyes at him and bit you a quick goodbye before walking towards Tommy’s office with him.

“That was a lot of Shelbys at once. There is only one more brother but he’s very young. He’s not involved with the business yet.” Lizzie explained and your head was spinning again. As an only child you couldn’t imagine having to many siblings how they might fight with one another. They all seems so serious with each other. All business. 

“I think we can leave now. Whatever is going on in there could get loud when Ada is involved. You don’t need to hear that. We need to get some groceries for you anyway.”

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

Masterlist

Meet the crazy family!

Just so you know... I don’t have a specific season i’m writing from and i don’t know which of the characters will be in it yet. It’s all a bit of a mix of everything good from the different seasons i guess. I do this very freely and with new enemies and alliances than what you have met in the series. You’ll see later. 

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

Taglist:

@im-the-colourless-sunshine

@fearthequeer595 

@sununicorn

@i-love-you-green​

@imnotsomewhore​

Hope that was everyone??

[janiedean]

Cracktastic here. #30, JB. 😉

30. I am the hero and you are the villain. I am out of options so I came to you for help but there is literally a 90% chance you will let me bleed out AU

(AAAND WITH A TWIST PROBABLY) (also it’s long SORRY NOT SORRY)

He wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t his very last choice.

Except that Jaime really has no other fucking option right now so it’s either the thrice-damned Beauty of Tarth or nothing, a moniker that the papers gave her a long time ago and that has pissed her off since because she’s anything but, and he’s only seen her a couple of times but they were enough to grasp why it stuck.

Privately, he always thought it was kind of cruel, but the only time he tried voicing that opinion Cersei was nearby, so he didn’t really finish voicing it and left it there. Anyway, it’s not like their paths usually cross - she’s usually there to be a nuisance to Cersei, not to him, and he and Cersei have extremely different areas of expertise when it comes to protecting people - being born with superpowers never quite left them a chance to do anything but, but Jaime always enjoyed it, he likes helping others.

Except that right now he’s in a fucking mess because he had bitten more than he could chew and disrupting a whole drug ring that he had been trailing for a while with some help by Inspector Tully from KLPD, who has been feeding him classified information for months, on his own... ended up not being a good idea. He’s faster than the average human, very much, and he can bend fire to his will, but he’s also not invincible and he miscalculated, which means that now he’s been shot one time too many by one person too many and either someone patches him up or he’s going to bleed out in a ditch -

And the only option he has right now is her lair, which everyone knows is right next to where they left him to bleed out but everyone avoids at the same time because who even wants to have contact with her?

Still.

It’s either that or nothing. Maybe he’ll see if he can convince her in exchange for a favor or something.

He drags himself as far as the door, then crashes on his knees before he can knock -

And the door opens, and he sees blue eyes looking down into his, and they’re not as cold as he had imagined they’d be, and he faints.

That was definitely not dignified.

--

He opens his eyes.

He’s lying on a bed - a nice bed. Nothing opulent or covered in silken sheets, like the one at the manor, but nonetheless comfortable, with freshly cleaned cotton sheets embroidered in tiny blue flowers. Now that he looks at them, the embroidery is clearly uneven, but still... somehow charming. He groans as he sits up, and then -

“Don’t,” a voice says, a female voice, “you’ll pull your stitches and it took me a while to patch you up.”

He falls back against the pillow and turns towards his right -

Oh.

There she is.

She’s standing next to the right side of the bed, and woah, she’s tall, he thinks, has to be taller than him even if not by much. She’s wearing her usual dark blue uniform, but no mask over her face now, not that she wears it that often - it doesn’t cover her broken nose and the spots of freckles over her pale face or her too-large lips. Her straw blonde hair is tied up in a messy bun and she’s looking down at him with those large, clear blue eyes, and she looks... sad.

Then she shakes her head and helps him sit up, gently, carefully, and now he can see that he’s in a nice room with blue walls, books on the shelves, a wardrobe and a window staring on the road where he had been dumped.

“You - you patched me up?” He asks, aware that he sounds completely dumbfounded. She snorts.

“You were bleeding out on my damned doorstep, Goldenhand.” She spits the name like it was venom. “And I don’t suppose you crawled over it to die, except that it’s only me and a few others here and no one else can actually patch a wound, so it was either me or nothing. You’re welcome.”

"I just asked,” he says defensively. “I didn’t think -”

“What,” she snorts, and he doesn’t like how that tone makes her sound, she has a nice voice, “that I, the unfortunate Beauty of Tarth, would do something nice for a man in need? Of course you didn’t think.” She sighs, falling down on the chair. “Don’t flatter yourself. Doesn’t make you an exception.”

Ouch. The way she says it, it sounds so sad, it makes him feel like shit. But -

“Sorry,” he says, meaning it. “I just - I guess I didn’t assume -”

“You didn’t assume,” she laughs again, “of course you did not. Again. Listen, please, if you can’t say anything that’s not I thought you would leave me there to die because that’s what everyone would assume considering what this entire city thinks of you just keep your mouth shut and leave it.”

He should.

He should, after all it’s not like he had any other reason to assume that, not when Cersei has told him over and over again of the countless times she and the Beauty fought these last few years, but the way she says it -

“Listen, we started with the wrong foot,” he says, deciding that he’s not letting this go. “But you helped me and I obviously am not working with all of the information you have, so how about you help me out and explain what this is about?”

“Oh,” she says, “let’s see. Why did you assume I was going to let you die? Because everyone thinks that I’m spending my time here and only coming out to protect bank robbers or cash in money from supposed minions I have spread all over the city or frighten young children or disrupt your sister’s work while she rescues them? Because I was involved in that incident at that beauty pageant where your sister was supposed to attend but didn’t because she had superhero duties to attend, the entire place exploded and all of those girls forgot ever entering into another pageant again? Because I was the only person in her class who didn’t come to the graduation ceremony and everyone decided I was a sore arse with zero socialization skills and that I’m as ugly inside as I look and so I can only be the bad guy of the situation? Don’t bother answering me, I can see it in your face.”

Jaime closes his mouth. Damn. She sounded really resentful. And he’s about to ask her what it’s it about except that then she reaches up and wipes a tear from her eyes and for a moment her fingers tremble, going transparent -

Right.

She has water powers. She can actually turn into water, if she wants to. She might not be controlling it so much right now, and for a moment he shudders thinking of the months his father tormented both him and Cersei in order to properly control their fire - or well, him, because it took Cersei nothing to learn and it took him longer, but still -

“Well,” he says, “I see there’s another side to your story, so how about you share it?”

“I don’t think you would want to hear it,” she replies.

“Try me,” he retorts back, wishing she would give him a chance, and then she sighs and sits down next to him, staring straight at him.

“Okay,” she says, “let’s see if you do. Starting from the last point... yes, I did miss that graduation. You know why? Because your sister and all her friends hated me. They hated me from the second I walked inside that class when we were eleven, and back then they just made fun of the fact that - well, my father was a regular human, she and the others come from families where everyone in each generation has some kind of mutation, and so I controlled it worse than them because no one taught me. Then, well. Back then I was plain, then I became like this, so then I was too ugly for them to consider, which means that I graduated with a higher score than all of them without a single person who’d talk to me for seven years because oh, right, meanwhile my father died and if I wasn’t at school I’d be at his bedside. But never mind that.” She sighs. “When I left, I meant to - do good. I really wanted to. This - the house was the only valuable thing my father left me, so I sold my own apartment and took residence here, except that all of my former classmates including your sister trash-talked me for a while to anyone they’d know, even contacts, which meant that most children who were in contact with them were fucking afraid of me because they were told I was as mean as ugly, which meant that all their friends thought the same and so on.” She stops, looks down at her hands.

“It also meant that no one in the police wanted to be my contact and the only people who agreed to help me out with anything were criminals wanting to get out without involving the police, which is why I have helped smuggle enough of them to the North with no one being the wiser, but what people knew... became that I helped criminals. Not that I helped take down rings with former criminals having informed me and without the police wanting to help me. Then oh, the pageant. This one you won’t want to hear.”

Jaime, who has felt all of his blood rush from his face, shakes his head. “What about the pageant?”

“Your sister was supposed to run in it but your father told her that Wildfire had to be attend the opening of that group home they named after her.”

“Yeah, I remember that. And so?”

“So, I remember having had a run-in with her the previous day while she was trying to kill one of my informers, and she wasn’t exactly putting her heart in it, and for your information, I have some basic... telepathy skills.”

“You can read minds?”

“Not really, but if someone is thinking very loudly and we’re both running on adrenaline, I can. And she was definitely thinking that if it can’t be me then it can’t be anyone else, so the next day I dropped by the pageant just to make sure nothing was amiss except that the moment I showed up they about kicked me out and I told them that they might need me after, because you know... water powers, but they didn’t want to hear it, and oh, wait, it exploded in wildfire, didn’t it? Except that then I came back and put it out but they decided I started it in the first place. Because of course I was jealous, as if I would even care by now.”

Jaime’s first instinct is defending Cersei, because of course she wouldn’t -

Except that she was pissed off that she missed the pageant.

And she had seemed strangely not sad when she heard the news.

He says nothing.

“All right. And?”

“Huh. You went farther than I thought you would. Well, that’s about fucking it. I mean, each single time I tried to do anything good she had made sure everyone would assume I had bad intentions, most criminals she ends up going after as strangely my own informers so of course I have to fight her, she made sure everyone would hate me while we were in school and I don’t know what she says about this place... actually, what does she say about it?”

“Uhm,” he says, “that... you invite criminals here all the time and you live with a bunch of them?”

She snorts. “I live,” she says, “with five cats, the only single orphan in King’s Landing who isn’t afraid of me -”

“Wait, what’s that about?”

She shrugs, her cheeks flushing darker. “I was going around Flea Bottom at some point because it’s the only place where I can actually help people without people assuming I want to rob them, Pod was sitting outside his door in the middle of winter, I asked him what was wrong, he said his parents locked him out because they couldn’t feed him anymore and he was useless, I tried to have a word with them and they said they didn’t even want him and so I brought him here, what was I going to do? Let him starve? At least someone thinks I don’t want to sell them on the black market. So, I was saying - right, Pod, then there’s my former mentor in school who also was kicked out of her university position a few years later because your father needed it for a friend -”

“Wait, Catelyn Tully lives with you?”

“When she’s not with her family in Winterfell, yes. She helps me with tech and a few other things and she found me a contact to help smuggle people out of the city. And that’s about it, no one else is living here. I run my empire of crime all on my own, Goldenhand, and you’re free to believe me or not but that’s the truth of it. And since you never were a problem and I know you actually are in this because you like it and not because you want the publicity, I had no moral issues with patching you up. And if your sister had been in your place I’d have patched her up too, because as much as I hate her, I wouldn’t let anyone die on my fucking doorstep. There you go,” she says. “That’s the whole truth. Feel free to believe me or not, but if I were you I’d avoid moving for the next couple of days. That was a bad wound.”

She stops, her eyes falling down to her joined hands.

Jaime wants to say something, but he spends five minutes without finding a word, because what do you even say to this, and then she makes a wounded noise in the back of her throat.

“Well, I guess it was good enough you heard me out.”

“Oh, for - can you give me a second?” He blurts. “I lost I don’t know how much blood and you proceeded on informing me of things that I had no idea of until yesterday and which about might be a tad shocking to hear, I never said I didn’t believe you!”

“... Oh.” She shakes her head. “Right. I’m sorry, I just - I got caught up feeling sorry for myself, I guess. You’re right. I’ll - get you something to drink.”

She stands and leaves the room, long legs clad in blue jeans disappearing beyond the door.

Jaime takes a ragged breath and thinks about it.

The moment she comes back and he’s drunk the glass of water she handed him, he clears his throat.

“It adds up,” he says.

“What?”

“Your story. It adds up. With... everything. And with a lot of things concerning my sister I always overlooked because it was convenient. And - I’m sorry about it. You don’t sound at all like the person people make you to be.”

“Thanks, I guess,” she says, not quite looking at him. “I, uh, I - appreciate it. And - I mean, I know who cut you open like that.”

“... You do?”

She nods, wearily. “The Boltons,” she sighs. “Been trying to nail them for a while. I helped some five informers get out while i was doing it. But they’re too much for me on my own and they’re too well-connected. The father tried to hire me once.”

“He did?”

“I told him to fuck off and that didn’t help, so. I haven’t managed yet.”

Jaime nods, thinking on it.

Hm.

They were too much for him and his police connections, but maybe -

“Say,” he says, slowly, “you have informers in their midst?”

“Yes,” she nods. “I’m not going to tell you.”

“I wasn’t asking. But I was thinking - I have contacts in the police. My sister doesn’t care to help me out with this one job and my father can’t care less as long as I honor the family name. You have them from the inside and you live close to their headquarters. And, uh, we are... kinda complimentary. With powers, I mean. Maybe... we could join forces?”

She looks up at him, blinking in surprise. “What?”

“Why not? I mean, you obviously want to dismantle them, I want to dismantle them, we could help each other out, you’re definitely not a horrible person and you didn’t let me die on your doorstep, and if you want a better reputation you’re going to have to start somewhere, right?”

She stares at him as if she can’t believe he just said that and as if he’s considering it, and after a long while he’s hoping he hasn’t overstepped, but then -

Then she tentatively holds a hand out.

“Brienne,” she says.

“Wait, sorry?”

She rolls her eyes. “It’s my damned name, Goldenhand. I’m pretty sure that if I have to work with you maybe it’d be good if we introduced ourselves properly?”

Oh. Oh.

He immediately holds out his right, the one that’s always slightly burned because that’s where he sprouts flames, shaking hers. She has long, strong, warm fingers. Her hold is very careful, very gentle, same as before.

He thinks he won’t mind camping in her house as long as it takes for him to get back on his feet and for the two of them to plan their raid.

“Jaime,” he says, letting himself smile, “my name is Jaime.”

She smiles back, her eyes wide and warm, and they’re so, so very pretty, he thinks.

He’s glad that he dragged himself on her doorstep.

He really is.

[spaceskam]

Moirai (4/7)

yep guess who updated for once 

[ao3]

(part one - part two - part three - part four)

Michael woke, startled and out of breath for the umpteenth time since they discovered Felicity.

He looked over to see Alex sound asleep and cuddled up with a pillow in his arms and another between his knees. Michael’s head was still fuzzy with his dream and he couldn’t offer more than a hand in Alex’s hair before turning his gaze to the fancy baby monitor that Isobel insisted on getting them. It had a camera and it showed Felicity asleep inside the mosquito net-esque thing they’d constructed around the bed to make sure she didn’t take herself anywhere or hurt herself. She seemed fine tonight. So did Alex. So why did he feel like he was on fire?

The dreams had originally started the first night of having her and they were nothing more than hazy images that left him confused and sweaty. Over time, though, they got clearer and clearer. Now, four weeks later, he was getting vivid images of shadows calling his name, luring him to the underground tunnels of Pitlochry. He knew logically he should stay away, but he couldn’t fight away the feeling that he needed to go back.

A few days prior, he’d subtly asked Alex if he thought they may have left something back at Pitlochry. He’d said no, that he’d grabbed everything they saw and that there was no reason to return, but it still didn’t shake the feeling. Even if he found nothing, he needed to go back there whether Alex wanted him to or not.

“Hi.” Alex’s groggy voice tore his eyes from the baby monitor. His face scrunched up through a yawn, his hand reaching out to stroke Michael’s arm lazily. It managed to coax a smile out of him.

“Why are you awake? Your alarm goes off in an hour,” Michael said, forcing himself to lay down. Alex replaced his pillow with Michael’s body.

“Then why are you awake?” Alex whispered. His voice was always much higher when he was waking up or almost asleep. It was a sweet little tenor that typically had Michael reeling. This morning, however, he was a bit preoccupied with trying to figure out how to get back to Pitlochry without him finding out.

“I don’t know. Thought I heard Fiz,” he murmured, finding the lie believable enough. Alex thought so too.

“Did you want me to bring those papers to Kyle?” he asked as he snuggled a bit close. They were almost done completely registering Felicity’s existence, Alex’s computer skills and ties to the military helping out on doing things in a slightly illegal way. All they needed now was for Kyle to sign off, saying he did indeed see the mother who had abandoned her at the hospital. Then she would be all Michael’s for real.

He knew Alex didn’t mean to give him an idea on how to go behind his back, but he did. Michael couldn’t go back there by himself. There was a chance that his trance-like state had to do with the pod as well as Felicity and he didn’t want to risk getting stuck where no one could find him because he got mentally sucked into nothingness. But Kyle could be of assistance.

“Nah, I’ll do it, gotta talk to him about something anyway,” Michael whispered. Alex shifted, pressing a soft kiss to his chest.

“About what?” he asked softly. Michael didn’t answer, letting Alex’s palm glide over his body before resting at his hip. “Just wondering why you’re willingly going to see Kyle.” Alex tacked on, a small smile on his lips as he continued to kiss up his chest.

“Can’t say,” Michael said, trying to give a smile. He’d just have to come up with something he could plan for Alex that would require Valenti’s help. Maybe a birthday party.

“Alright, be cryptic,” he said, moving to catch Michael’s lips in a sweet little kiss. Michael pulled him closer. What better way to get over that mindfuck of a dream than a little bit of Alex in the morning.

Their lazy morning sex was kept short. Alex’s alarm started blaring just after mutual lazy handjobs, their foreheads meeting in the middle to gather their breathing before they reluctantly climbed out of bed. It was one of those days that Michael really could’ve slept in since he didn’t have to be at work until noon, but he didn’t see the point in it when Alex had to get up.

Alex went to take a shower and Michael stepped under the water for a few seconds to wash off, leaving him with the promise of washing the sheets since they hadn’t been careful in not getting shit everywhere.

Michael fell into their normal morning routine with a little bit of lightness now that he had an idea on how to try and make the dreams stop. He made coffee with Felicity swinging herself in the doorway, he kissed Alex goodbye while handing him the lunch he’d packed, and he sat on the back porch while feeding Felicity and drinking his coffee. It was a good routine. A comforting routine.

One that would be better if he wasn’t so bitter from the way his nights always went.

He didn’t waste much time after he finished his coffee. He got Felicity dressed, threw the sheets in the dryer, and locked up the cabin before heading for the hospital with the papers in hand. He shot Kyle a text before taking Felicity out of her car seat.

Michael found it weirdly easy to slip into a life where he had someone to care for. Sure, it helped when he was able to catch a break here and there and his friends had been great at assisting, but he enjoyed doing most of the work. It was cathartic in a way. All the bullshit in his life was worth it if it meant he found her before someone else, someone dangerous, did.

“I need you to do me a favor and I need you to not tell Alex,” Michael said the moment he walked into Liz’ redone lab. Kyle was already there waiting for him. A look of annoyance crossed his face at his words.

“What are you trying to keep from Alex?”

“I’m literally not going to tell you anything until you promise me you won’t tell Alex,” Michael said simply. Pitlochry was all he could think about. He needed to get there, figure out what was calling him back. As much as he didn’t want to go with Kyle, he was also his best bet next to Alex. Alex, who had made it very clear he didn’t want to go back there.

Besides he had seen Michael breakdown before they went the first time and he had seen how he had been effected when they actually went. He didn’t have to be a genius to know that, even if he tried to bring it up to Alex, he would not be a fan of the idea.

Kyle eyed him for a minute before reaching for Felicity. She went to him easily and Michael wondered if that was her silent way to get him to comply. The only human she ever willingly went to was Alex. Yet, today, she curled up against Kyle with her fist wrapped around his thumb. She was staring right at Michael.

“Okay, fine, what?” Kyle sighed. Michael grinned.

“I need you to go back to Pitlochry with me.”

“What?”

“I’m, like, 99% sure we forgot something by the pod. Like, I think we were distracted by her and distracted by whatever it was doing to me to check out the area, so we need to go back and check it out,” he explained. When Kyle didn’t look too convinced, Michael continued. “I’ve been getting these dreams since we went and they’re just getting more intense. I need to go and see if that’ll make them go away. And maybe it’ll explain something about why she was there. You know I wouldn’t be coming to you if it wasn’t seriously fucking with me. And, fuck, you were there, you know I can’t go by myself.”

Kyle sighed slowly and looked down at the baby in his arms. The tail of his lab coat slowly started lifting, fluttering in the wind that wasn’t there. She smiled. He caved.

“Just, why are keeping it from Alex? Wouldn’t he be helpful?” Kyle asked, trying to hide his amusement at her mentally playing with his coat. She was good. Michael would have to bring her around when he was trying to convince other people of things too.

“Yeah, but he doesn’t want to go back there. And I get it, I do, but I don’t want to worry him. It’d be easier to just go ourselves. If we don’t find anything, then there’s no stress on his part. If we do… then I’ll tell him, but that’s afterward and he won’t have anything to worry about,” Michael promised. He knew he’d really have to play his cards right considering Alex was too smart for his own good, but it was worth it.

“Fine, fine, you got a point. The guy doesn’t need more shit than he’s got. What day did you want to go?” Kyle asked, carefully eyeing the empty beaker that slowly but surely started to push its way towards the edge of the table.

“What day do you have off?” Michael wondered. He grabbed the beaker.

“Thursday’s the only day I’m not on call until the weekend.”

“Perfect, Isobel’s already watching her that day. I’ll just tell Alex that I have to work late and we can leave early,” he explained. Kyle’s eyes skirted across the room as he nodded.

“It’s a date.”

-

Alex’s leg throbbed as he climbed out of his car in Isobel’s driveway. It had been a long ass day at the base and while he technically could take as many breaks as he needed, he didn’t like to take them. It was bad enough when he relied on his crutch, the last thing he wanted was to have someone ask if he needed help. They didn’t seem to understand that if he was struggling that bad, he would’ve just gone home. Now that he was off, though, he was limping just a little and he was more than ready to get home.

“I’m about to lose it, I swear,” Isobel said the moment she opened the door. Alex grinned and stepped inside.

Isobel’s entire living room looked straight out of a movie. Every object had floated off the shelves and was circling the room. Felicity was levitating somewhere in the middle of it, smiling widely and kicking her feet in celebration of her little magic act.

“Does she do this all the time? How do you deal with it? How do you make her stop? I can barely even get to her without bumping into a million things!” Isobel complained, groaning. She looked a little more disheveled than usual which probably had everything to do with this being the first time she watched Felicity alone.

“I mean, kinda. Never this much, though,” Alex acknowledged, slowly plucking things out of the air and putting them back where they belonged. Isobel started following his lead.

“Yeah, well, it started out with just a picture of me and Max and I told her to put it down because I didn’t want her to break it, but then she just did it to something else. It was like every time I told her to stop, it got worse,” she grumbled. Alex could picture the proud little smile on Michael’s face. He would’ve thought it was as funny as Felicity clearly did.

“Yeah, no, she was doing that specifically to piss you off. You kind of just have to catch stuff and put it back and she’ll usually leave it alone.”

“Alex, she is going to be the actual worst when she gets older, you know that, right?”

Alex snorted, heading for Felicity this time. “Oh, I’ve already told Michael that as soon as she’s able to completely comprehend, that we’re going to start teaching her what she can and can’t do and control.”

“Seems like she has a ton of control already.”

“Not really. Micahel helps level her out a lot, but sometimes when it’s just the two of us, she’ll throw shit when she’s crying or something,” Alex admitted, bringing her to sit against his hip. “Sorry, she was a lot, though.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. We were good for most of the day. Also, like, do you know where Michael is?” she asked. Alex blinked a couple of times before he raised an eyebrow.

“Work. Where else would he be?”

“Okay, well, hate to break it to you, but he’s not at work,” Isobel scoffed, collapsing into her couch. Alex stared at her hesitantly for a moment before following her. What the fuck did she mean he wasn’t at work? “He has never not answered me before. I even tried to call him, like, mentally and he straight up ignored me. He must be doing something super fucking serious if he won’t answer me. He’s literally stopped having sex to answer me before.” That was true, he was there.

“I mean… he told me he was at work. I don’t see what he has to lie about,” Alex said. The look on her face was anything but comforting. He shifted in his seat.

“I mean, maybe he is. I just… You know what, I’m sure he’s at work. Don’t mind me,” Isobel said with an empty laugh, waving it off. Alex sat there and mulled over what she had just said.

By the time he did leave, he had already decided he wouldn’t be going straight home. Michael was at work. He had to be at work. So, Alex picked up some late lunch/early dinner for them and headed towards the junkyard. When he got there, Michael’s truck wasn’t in sight. He even asked Sanders only to be told he had called in.

Alex’s first thought was that something bad had happened. He tried not to let himself get too nervous but still took it upon himself to drive around town to see if he spotted him anywhere. He wasn’t at the hospital, the Crashdown, the Wild Pony, Max’s, or anywhere else it seemed. As a last-ditch effort, he went to Kyle’s.

He didn’t know what to make of it when he found his boyfriend’s truck in another man’s driveway after having lied about going to work. It reminded him of earlier in the week when Michael had been pretty insistent on meeting Kyle himself. Alex tried really hard to keep his thoughts positive. Maybe there was an explanation. None of them would be good enough to explain him fucking lying, but maybe it existed. He would just go home and wait.

“I’m gonna kill him,” he said through a smile as he looked at Felicity through the rearview mirror. She smiled at his tone.

At least someone found this amusing.

-

“Guerin!”

Michael wasn’t sure how long Kyle had been screaming at him, but he knew it was at least a good while before he noticed. Assumption had proved right and something had overcome him, leading him to ignore Kyle in favor of heading down into the tunnels. Only this time it was past the pod.

“Guerin, I can’t see shit!”

Michael didn’t answer. Couldn’t answer.

Then his feet stopped moving. Michael’s eyes slid closed without much of a warning from his brain, staying shut tight. His hand moved out in front of him, concentrating on… something.

“Guerin. Guerin. Oh my‒Guerin, what the fuck?!”

That something slammed into Michael’s hand with a force that rivaled his own, throwing him to the ground and leaving him out of breath. His eyes still wouldn’t open, instinct moving to cradle the whatever to his chest. What little part of his brain that was in his control told him it was some type of stone.

“Guerin, are you okay? Hey, talk to me, talk to me,” Kyle urged. Michael could vaguely feel hands on him, but they felt like they were touching him over 5 different layers of clothes. He knew it was skin to skin, but, god, it didn’t feel like it.

Then he was being dragged.

He didn’t really catch anything in between that. All he knew was that eventually, somehow, he started regaining clarity. His eyes opened to see Kyle leaning over him in some form of light, huffing and puffing as he pressed two fingers beneath Michael’s chin. He blinked a couple of times.

“Hey, are you okay? Are you with me?” he asked. Michael groaned halfheartedly. He was exhausted. “Michael, I just spent 30 fucking minutes dragging you through a dark tunnel and then up a flight of creepy-ass stairs, you can at least talk to me if you’re with me. Seriously, if you’re hurt, Alex is going to kill me.”

“What happened?” he asked groggily, trying to lift his head only to find that to be too much work. Kyle got in his face, holding open his eyes to check his pupils or something. Michael did his best to swat him off but found that his hands didn’t actually move.

“Well, we got here and it was fine, then you stopped talking midsentence. Then you were like fucking speed walking down the steps and through the tunnel. And you said we were gonna look at the pod, so I stopped around there, but you just kept fucking going. Kinda lost you for a minute until you turned into the human torch,” Kyle explained, still checking over him to make sure he was okay.

“Huh?”

“Yeah, dude, you lit up. I guess it was just your hand or something, I don’t know, but it was bright. Then this tablet thing came, like, flying towards you and you hit your head pretty hard when you hit the ground.”

“Tablet thing?”

“Yeah, this thing,” Kyle said and patted his arm. Michael used all his energy to look down to see his arms had a death grip on some stone slab. He furrowed his eyebrows before letting his head fall again. Kyle’s hand stopped it from hitting the ground again. “I swear to God, you want to give yourself a concussion.”

“Mmm, what’s on it?” he asked. Kyle sighed.

“I don’t know, dude, I can’t see it. Look, can we leave? I want to get out of here. Besides, we have about two hours to get you back before Alex starts wondering and it’s a three-hour drive.”

Michael did his best to help Kyle carry his body weight, but he felt like nothing more than a sack of bones. Everything ached and his legs seemed to weigh a ton each, dragging on the floor even when Kyle was supporting him for the most part.

“Thanks,” Michael said once they exited the prison. It felt like a weight was lifting off of him already. His mind felt a little clearer.

“Yeah, well, I’m only doing this because Alex would probably be sad if I left you to get mind warped,” Kyle grumbled. Michael managed a smile as he got dumped into the passenger seat of Kyle’s car.

“Yeah. That’s why.”

It took him no time at all to go straight to sleep.

-

Michael still felt heavy with fatigue as he climbed out of his truck and trudged towards the cabin. He was more than ready to just curl up against Alex and sleep for a million hours before trying to figure out what the tablet was for. It had only a few inscriptions on it, none of which he couldn’t read, but they didn’t seem to be too different from the ones on the console glass. So, clearly, it was something he was meant to find. He still needed Kyle to tell him exactly what happened because he was still fuzzy on the whole thing, but that could wait. Even if he was super intrigued to know how his hand lit up.

He entered the cabin with a yawn, fully expecting Alex to be sweetly curled up on the couch in his comfy pajamas. Except, tonight, Alex was sitting in the kitchen, staring at nothing and still in his uniform. Okay.

“I’m home.”

Alex looked up with a level of stoicism that made Michael feel nauseous. Man, he could not catch a break today. Alex tilted his head.

“How was work?”

Michael slowly sat across from him. “Fine.”

“Yeah, I bet. ‘Cause I went to bring you food and you weren’t there.” Uh oh. “And so I was really fucking worried and searched the town for you because I thought something happened, but then I found your truck at Kyle’s. You hate Kyle. I can’t think of a goddamn reason why you would be with Kyle and then neither of bother to answer your phones. Can you explain that to me?”

He was not rested enough for this.

“Look, just tell me. Are you sleeping with Kyle?” Alex asked, resignation in his voice. Michael’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head.

“Oh, oh my god, ew, no, what? Alex, what? No! Why would you even think that?” Michael sputtered out, a new level of disgust at the idea. Valenti wasn’t as bad as he thought, but he definitely wasn’t about to sleep with him. Much less cheat on Alex. Fuck all of that.

“Because you lied to me and I thought we were done with lying. I thought we were being honest and talking things through and trusting,” Alex explained. Michael could see that he was hurt and that was a lot worse than the aching feeling in his head or how tired his body was.

Still, he sighed and bowed his head. “Okay, I’m sorry I lied. I just… I knew you didn’t want me going back to Pitlochry.” This time it was Alex’s turn to look incredulous.

“I’m sorry, what? You went back to Pitlochry? For what?”

Michael reached in his bag and shuffled around before he brought the tablet to the table. It looked bleak and plain, but Michael knew better than that. Something about it was special and it was calling to him. He could feel it.

“I know you said you got everything, but I couldn’t shake the feeling there was something there. And, yeah, it fucked with my head again, but that’s why I brought Kyle. I should’ve told you, I just didn’t want you to worry. But I guess I should’ve figured out that you would’ve pieced something together,” he admitted. Alex let out a breath of relief, leaning back in the chair and he brought the tablet with him. Michael watched his fingertips glide over it, his eyebrows furrowed as he took in the admission. “I’m sorry.”

“You should be. What happened?” he asked. Micahel huffed a dry laugh, shrugging his shoulders.

“Couldn’t really tell you. Something got in my head to find this thing and then I hit my head and it was like that plus something in my mind and I kinda shut down for a bit. Kyle tried to explain it to me, but I wasn’t exactly coherent, so we’re just gonna have to talk to him tomorrow. And, don’t worry, he checked to make sure I didn’t have a concussion, like, eight times, I’m fine. Well, I’m fucking exhausted and am like two minutes away from passing out, but I’m fine,” Michael assured. Alex nodded slowly, concern still on his face as he stared. Michael could tell he had a million questions, but, in true Alex fashion, he chose to ask no more. “I can’t believe you thought I was sleeping with Kyle.”

“I didn’t really, I just couldn’t fucking think of anything else. This… makes more sense and I am pissed at you for not telling me, but it’s better than you being dead or fucking Kyle, so I’ll be mad at you when you’re less tired. We’ll work on the tablet and what happened at Pitlochry tomorrow,” Alex said. Michael nodded and slowly let his head hit the table.

Except that really fucking hurt, so he picked it back up.

“Do you wanna go take a bath? I’m sore, you’re sore, and I was still worried about you for the last five hours, so I’d like to cuddle with you if that’s okay,” Alex said softly. Michael grinned sleepily. If a healthy relationship meant discussing your issues calmly and ending it with cuddles, he kind of regretted not trying this out before.

“You really wanna sit a pool full of my filth? Kyle dragged me across the floor,” he pointed out. Another wave of concern hit Alex’s face, discarding the tablet to reach across the table and grab Michael’s had. Michael stared at the tablet for a few seconds before forcing his eyes on Alex.

“Fine, we’ll wash off in the shower first,” Alex said, “How’s that sound?”

Michael brought Alex’s hand to his lips and gave the tablet one last glance for the night before he stood up. It could wait. Alex deserved his attention much, much more. It would have to wait.

“Sounds like the best thing I’ve heard all day.”

[ashenious]

Some Grand Affairs Amongst the Normality - Chapter 1 of ??? (Dante/Reader)

Overall Story Rating: Mature Overall Story Tags: Alcohol, Big Snake, (Like literally a big snake), Blood, Body Horror, Dead Body Mention, Fluff, Gore Mention, Depressive Thoughts, Drugging, IV Mention, Nausea, Nightmares, Reader is regular boring Human, Reader likes to clean, Reader is also a troublemaker, Slow Burn, Suicide Mention, There was only one bed,

For This Chapter: Rating: Teen and Up Warnings: Depressive Thoughts, Suicide Mention Additional: Blood and body mention Word Count: 5053 A/N: “Hey Ashe, didn’t you already post this?” So, this is a re-write of this story I guess. I wasn't happy with the direction I was taking it, so I went back and changed a few things to kind of help me feel better about it. A good chunk is the same as before, but there is also new stuff added.

Part 1/Part 2/Part 3/Part 4/Part 5/Part 6/Part 7/Part 8/Part 9/ Part 10/Part 11/Part 12

AO3 Link: Part 1/Part 2/Part 3/Part 4/Part 5/Part 6/Part 7/Part 8/Part 9/Part 10/Part 11/Part 12

           Books always held comfort in them for you, feeling the pages turn and reading the words on them was always something that was welcome. But today what was not welcome, however, were some of the quotes that were printed on the outside cover of some books.

          You knew the saying of “Don’t judge a book by its cover”, a quote which you recently learned was originally “You can’t judge a book by its binding”, but sometimes the quotes and covers on the outsides of books made it hard to pick up a book without feeling judgement toward it when you were at work.

           There were over 800 books that sat on the carts at the end of your shift, 800 books that someone could stumble upon the next day and pick up to read, and yet there they were, just sitting there waiting to be put back. It had already been a long day, you had been at work since noon, and then, at 8 p.m. you were about to head out and head home, only to repeat the day tomorrow when you also worked at noon.

          But tomorrow could’ve been a busy day; you never knew when more people than normal would come in. You had the regulars who would come in everyday or sometimes on specific days of the week, but there were always people who’d come in you had never seen before; those were the people who you wanted to make sure you’d help them find what they needed as maybe they could be overwhelmed by the vast choices in the library.

          Maybe that’s what motivated you to re-stock all the books after hours, the thought of maybe being able to help someone who came in and, since you always had to look at each book you put away, you’d know exactly where to find a book that that person was looking for.

          You knew that wasn’t 100% the case though, as much as you enjoyed helping people who came into the library, the actual reason was that the library was all you had now-a-day, and all you were going to do when you got home was start the cycle of your day all over again.

          Every few books that you put away, you’d read a quote on them that bothered you, the ones specifically saying things about excitement within the pages of the book they were on. You weren’t sure why, usually those were the quotes that would draw you to a book, but you couldn’t find the care you needed to write down the book title and author to read it later like you usually do.

          You knew that at some point in the future, there was a good chance you’d have to re-shelf that book again, but today wasn’t a day where you wanted to start a new book, even if it did sound interesting, so you hoped that you’d come across the interesting sounding books in the near future.

           Maybe it had been a week since you had lost interest in reading new things. A month maybe? It had been a long time, and you weren’t sure when it had started, but the feeling persisted. Normally, you’d be able to read a decent sized book every 2 days, a long list of them you had made while re-shelving waiting for you to pick up after you finished the one you were currently on. There was a lot of down time between helping people find books within the shelves, so you often spent your time reading something but you had been stuck on the same book for at least a week, its bookmark having not moved since the day you started it.

          It was a persistent feeling, one that was terribly annoying as well, and one you wished would go away soon. But this wasn’t the first time you had felt like this, as this happened quite often actually. You had wondered what caused this feeling, what took your motivation away to do what you loved, but the thoughts that came to you about why you felt this way were less than pleasant.

           They often circled back around on themselves, the thoughts focusing on how mundane everything was, how unhappy you were with what you were doing. The thoughts were as persistent and annoying as the feeling of no motivation and unhappiness, and as they stuck in your head, they often found their way to thinking about death.

           It was horrible to think about death, you knew it, but sometimes your brain would find its own way there, it lingering on what you could do instead of doing the same thing over and over. You knew this wasn’t what you wanted, death or remaining in the same boring cycle, but still the cycle of horrible feelings continued, the months drawing on with no change in your routine and the horrible feeling coming and going with unpredictability.

          When you had left at 3 a.m., all the books had been placed back in their homes, every single one now waiting for someone new to pick it up possibly the next day. You weren’t happy, but you were content with yourself, having wanted to quit shelving books when midnight came around, but still you persisted, wanting to change the day up a little to see what would happen.

           Your thoughts still remained the same however, the circle of unhappiness and death still finding their way into your mind where they had been simmering the entire time you put books away and then as you walked home.

           It was exhausting staying up so late, your body and mind exhausted from the events of the day. Nothing new had happened on your shift, and even though you stayed late to try to shake things up, you had just continued to do your same job for an extra 7 hours.

           It was infuriating, knowing that nothing had changed even when you tried to make change happen, you sighing at the idea that this was going to be your routine forever as you walked your way home, the path you took being the same that you had taken every day since you started at the library.

           You hoped that tomorrow would something different, the morning jobs already done ahead of schedule. There would be plenty of free time to do anything when you walked in tomorrow, a thought that gave you no hope in something new happening the next day as that free time only meant more time for you to sit and stare at the book you hadn’t touched in a week, the thoughts and feelings in your head halting you from opening it.

           But, unbeknownst to you, the world wanted to take you seriously for once, your need for change something that the world felt like it could help with as it hadn’t taken you too seriously before because it never really needed to. You were only just one person amongst the rest, someone who you considered to be less than extraordinary, and yet, the world decided to grant you this one small wish for change this one time, it feeling like you were ready for the shakeup. But why in the hell was the change a completely new and bizarre looking creature staring you down just a short way from your home right now? Was the world really a world of sick humor and terrible games it wanted people to play? Apparently, it was and so as you froze in place in the middle of the alleyway, you wished you could forfeit your ticket to play whatever game you were in now.

          Hesitantly flicking your eyes from the monster’s persistent eyes to different parts of its body, you slowly pieced together what you were looking at. At first you could only see its eyes staring, the darkness of night and the never lit up alley way had made it hard to see more. But as you stood frozen and in a stare down with the beast, your pupils grew and more of the monster became visible.

           It was massive, probably the height of one of those enhanced trucks that speed down the road on their extra tall wheels, but length wise it was hard to see as its head lay on the ground while it stared and it’s body rounded off above it so that you were unable to see down the alley at all. You assumed it was pretty long but considering that the alley went on for quite a ways down, you were unsure just how long it could be.

          But all it was doing was staring, no blinking, no moving, just…watching. And as you returned the gaze back to it, you could only hear your heart beat in your ears, your blood pressure higher than it’s probably ever been before and clouding any chance you had at catching someone before they snuck up on you. Which was absolutely the worst thought right now, but you’d definitely rather take on an alleyway thief than whatever it was you were staring at right now.

            It was impossible to see any colour on the beast either, as the darkness wasn’t allowing your eyes the ability to see that detail. But once your eyes were able to see more detail, you noticed something odd sitting in the front of its mouth: a little foot sticking out.

            Covering your mouth quickly, you couldn’t help but feel a small chuckle leave you at the sight. Reminding you of a cat that forgot it had its tongue out, you did your best to not laugh out more the more you stared at the creature. Maybe it was because you were so scared and disgusted, but as you failed to keep yourself from chuckling, you just let yourself laugh out loud.

           It was as you were laughing that the creature retracted the foot into its mouth and gave you a new look, probably one of confusion as you couldn’t really tell from its lack of eyebrows. And as your laughing died down, you slowly wiped away a small tear in your eye as you looked over the monster again, with only a single thought coming to mind as you got another good look at it.

           “Tsu…Tsuchinoko?”

           “How DARE you! I’ll eat you for dessert for such disrespect!!”

           “Fuck.”

          It had been a long time since you had to run, probably since gym class your last year of high school when they wanted everyone to run a mile in under 10 minutes, but it was just as terrible feeling as you remembered. And as you threw your arm out to grab the pole on the corner to help you turn as you bolted out of the alley, you cursed yourself and your dumb knowledge of random cryptids. You swore that after today you would no longer read the random folklore books you found at work sometimes.

           You knew the monster was behind you, you could hear it smash through the alley as it came after you, but you had already stared at the thing long enough, so there was no way you were going to turn around to look at it.

           Rounding around the corner of the corner market, you began to follow your path to work for some reason, probably defaulting to it by habit. Running over the bridge where you saw no other people, you glanced over the guard rail lining the sides, momentarily wondering if the fat snake monster could swim.

           Hearing a loud hiss from behind you, you threw your gaze forward again to watch the path you were on, deciding now wasn’t the time to find out if you could out swim a snake while in a deep river.

           Throwing yourself over the railing of the bridge to gain more distance in front of the beast, you yelped as your bag caught on the decorative edge of the railing and slammed your back into the bridge.

           Panic beginning to rise to levels you’ve never felt before, you threw your torso forward and slid yourself free from your bag, and as you took off again, you felt a bit sad at the idea of losing all your things. But when you looked back to where your bag hung and you saw the monster sliding over the railing toward you, that feeling quickly disappeared completely.

            Thinking about where you could go, the thought of running to the other bridge that crosses the river and then trying to run back to the alleyway to go home to hide came to mind. Cursing loudly when you realized your keys were still in your bag, you tried to think of another place to go. Work? You’d definitely lose your job if you brought in a snake monster right now as it definitely not be gentle on the books. The police station? What the hell could they do, there was a 10 foot tall snake hot on your trail and they’re barely able to stop petty thieves on most days.

           While deep in your thoughts, you began to feel the pain coursing through your body at all the running and jump you were doing, and cursing yourself for being lazy and never exercising, you tried to steady your breathe as you continued on, adrenaline probably the only thing keeping you going at this point.

          It was as you entered the river side park did you finally enter an area full of lights, and as you landed on pavement that ran parallel to the water, you threw your head back to look at the very persistent creature.

           Illuminated by the park lights, you saw the monster for all it’s glory, and it was absolutely putrid looking, with its dark brown coloration and it apparently being covered in moss behind its fat center.          

          Glancing for only a moment, you returned your eyes back to the park in front of you, quickly catching site of a person walking on the path toward you.

��          “Hey!!” you called out to the person, “Watch out, there’s a monster!!” Seeing the person unflinching at your warning, you continued on past them, your eyes falling to the side for only a second to catch sight and meet their bright blue eyes as your body moved passed them. Gulping as you kept going on the path, you considered covering your ears as you worried what was going to happen to the person

           But only a few meters down from where that person was did you hear a noise you weren’t expecting, and at the sound metal sliding against metal, you tried to turn yourself around quickly to see what was happening behind you. As your head turned ahead of your body, you watched as the person who you passed slid a sword easily through the large snake monster’s face, stopping the beast in its tracks.

           Stopping in place with your eyes wide and your breath continuing to come out quickly, you slowly slid your hand over to your other arm to grab some skin and pull, thinking about how you might be in a nightmare right now and it’d really be great if you could wake up. But feeling the pain from yourself, you knew this was reality.

          The snake and the person stood still, supposedly in a stand off against the other. It was amazing that the snake was still alive with a sword sitting inside it’s face, but anything was possible at this point, hell, the thing could even be immortal, and you’d believe it at this point. Another terrible thought to have, but your mind was racing right now at what was happening. Pulling yourself to reality at the sound of hissing, you felt yourself step back a little from fear.

            “Spaaaaaaaardaaaaaaaa…” you heard come from the snake in a low growl. Unsure of what exactly the creature was saying, you returned your foot back forward again, hoping to hear more of what may be said. Watching as a free hand from the stranger began to raise behind them, you watched as they held up one finger at you, causing you pause your movement.

          “Just give me one second here.” The stranger said, their voice almost cheerful as they spoke. Completely confused, you complied and kept yourself in place.

           It was only a moment later that the stranger moved, their sword being pulled freed from the monster and being thrown through its face again, this time horizontally. The snake monster hissed louder at the sudden assault, with its being retracting at the pain and its body pulling in on itself and its skin rolling as it shrunk in on itself.

           “Oh man, you’re quite round, aren’t you?” The stranger said as they placed their sword over their shoulder. “And you’re bleeding quite a bit too! The park workers are going to have to clean all this up now.”

           Glancing at the ground where the snake once was, you noticed the pavement was covered in a green liquid, assumingly blood. Trying to think of any animal that you’ve read about that could have green blood, you shook your head to bring yourself back to what was happening. And as your eyes went back to the back of the stranger, you heard the snake begin to move.

           Expecting it to charge toward the stranger, you stumbled back a bit, surprised when the chunky creature took a sharp turn into the river, its body quickly being submerged in the water and disappearing completely. Seeing the bubbles slowly disperse within a couple of seconds, you kept your eyes on the spot where you last saw the beast.

           “What a pain…” you heard suddenly from the direction of the stranger. Turning to face the person, you watched as they rubbed the back of their neck just before returning their sword to their sheath.

           As the person turned around to face you, you looked over their full body under the park light. They were wearing a long red leather coat, something that looked way to heavy to be wearing this time of year, and they had white hair, something you found odd for the fact they looked not too much older than you. But when your eyes met their piercing eyes again, you froze as they stared you down. Trying to sputter out literally any words, the man interrupted you.

          “What’d you do to piss off that thing?” he asked as he walked over to you. Stopping right in front of you, he glanced to the side and toward the area where the monster entered the water.

           “I, uh…” you said finally after a few moments of silence. “I called it…tsuchinoko.”

           “…What the hell is that?” The man asked, his eyebrow raised as he turned back to you.

          “It’s uh…a really fat snake in Japanese folklore that likes to lie and drink too much.” You admitted, feeling embarrassed at having to explain the insult that landed you in this mess. Hearing a laugh rip out of the man’s throat, you couldn’t help but chuckle a bit.

            “That’s amazing!” the man said between laughs, his hand resting on his chest as he continued to laugh. “No wonder it was so mad!”

          “Yeah, it chased me down from over the river.” You said as you turned and pointed to the bridge you had crossed a bit ago. “I’m surprised it didn’t catch me, I’m not exactly the most fit person…”

          “It must have been too fat to catch ya.” Responded the man as his laughs slowly died down. “Wish it hadn’t run away into the water, I was hoping to finish it here.” He said as he turned to face the river again.

          Following his gaze to the water, you slowly stepped forward a bit, pausing suddenly as fear hit you at the idea of the monster being anywhere in the water. Hopping back 3 steps, you tried to relax yourself, your hand on your chest to try to help you breathe slower.

          “You scared?” the man asked watching you jump back. Nodding at him, you kept your gaze on the river. “If it comes back, I’ll make sure to kill it. Where do you live?” he asked as he glanced at you from the corner of his eye.

           “Over the river, not too far away from here.” You answered as you pointed at some faintly lit buildings just over the river. “It was sitting in an alleyway I walk through when I go home. Not exactly what I was expecting today to happen.”

          “I bet.” The man chuckled. Watching as he motioned you to follow him with his hand, you paused for a moment before following him as he walked toward the bridge.

           Reaching the remains of your bag near the start of the bridge, you gathered all that was left of the bag and what was inside, scooping everything into your arms and holding it all close. Relieved that everything you owned looked to be in okay shape, minus a bit of dirt on everything, you ran up the bridge to follow behind the man again.

           Finally, having got your breathing under control after some walking, you raised your hand up to your neck to check your heart rate as you walked, slightly surprised it hadn’t given out from how fast it was going earlier.

            After you finished counting, you looked up to the tall man in front of you, your eyes focusing on his hair and then the sword upon his back. Your mind wandered off slowly as you felt like you knew who this man was with how distinct his looks were.

           “Which way now?” the man asked as he stepped off the bridge. Pointing to the alleyway that was visible from where you both stood, the man began to walk toward it, you hesitating for a second before you jogged up in front of him, you clutching your things to your chest a bit tighter.

          “That… thing had a….er, it was eating…someone… in the alley when I found it,” you sputtered out to the man as he stopped at the sight of you halting right in front of him. “I’m not sure what else could be down there…”

           “Oh, you didn’t mention that before,” he replied, his eyebrow raising a bit. “Don’t worry, I’m not squeamish or anything.” As the man laughed a bit, he placed his hand on your shoulder, squeezing it lightly as he stepped around you and began to walk toward the alley. You gulped, not terribly worried about how squeamish the man was, but more so worried about yourself and how you didn’t really want to see the ‘leftovers’ the snake creature left behind. Even with worry filling you, and a lump sitting in your stomach, you followed the man again.

           The red coated man stopped just before the alley with his back pressed against the wall nearby, you stopping just a few feet behind him as he did this, and as he leaned his head into the alleyway to peer down it, you wondered how anything that may be in the alley could not see him and his bright head of hair.

           “It’s clear.” You heard from the person before you, him slowly making his way into the alley and you stepping quickly to catch up to him, not wanting to be alone for any amount of time. “Where is it you live again? You pass down here every day?” the man asked, his head glancing back at you as he spoke.

            “It’s those apartments just ahead, you can see the entrance there,” You replied as you pointed forward to your apartment. Lowering your hand, you continued “And I do. I’d have to go all the way around the block to the next street if this wasn’t here. It saves a bit of time. But now that extra time doesn’t seem so great after…what I saw.” As you finished speaking, you watched as the man in front of you began to slow down to a stop, the sight of blood splattered on the wall now easier to see as you both neared it.

           “So, this is where you saw big and ugly?” Nodding your head and humming a confirmation at the man, you brought your hand up to your nose, holding it closed as you quickly passed around the halted man, trying your best to not look at the blood. Even with your best efforts, the sides of your sight allowed you to see a bit of the wall, it being covered high up and practically painted completely in a splash of bright blood. You felt your stomach flip at the minimal sight, you gulping to try to help the feeling.

          You didn’t stop moving until you were out of alley, you halting just as you stepped out just before you turned around, your hand slowly releasing your nose and allowing you to breathe normally again. The stranger was no longer looking at the horrid sight, instead he was just a few paces behind you, his eyes watching you as you waited in place for him. When he got closer to you, you gulped, quickly flicking your eyes to the spot of blood before looking back to the man.

           “Should…I call someone about that?” you asked, your voice low so only the approaching person could see.

          “I’ll take care of it,” he replied, a small smile on his face. “You should head inside. That’s your apartment, yeah?” as the man pointed to your apartment, you turned and looked at your home for a second, before turning back and nodding at him.

           “Yeah, but…aren’t they going to want to talk to a witness…?” you asked softly, a bit confused as to how this man was going to handle this situation.

          “Like I said, I’ve got this!” replied the man, his hand resting lightly on your shoulder before it pressed down to turn you around, his other hand joining after you turned around as to motion you toward your apartment. You complied with the movement, your head reeling with a thousand questions, one especially pertaining to who this man was, what he was even doing out this late at night, and why he seemed so vaguely familiar to you.

           As you walked to your door, your mind began to go through all the regulars you saw at work, knowing very well that he wasn’t one of them, but you talked to so many people every day that it was possible he had come into the library before, even just one time. Having no recognition of ever seeing someone so young with such white hair, you thought about someone you were talking with earlier in the week who came into work asking to see your boss to make a delivery.

          You had called your boss up over the phone, telling the person who was in front of you that he would be right out. You began to make small talk with them, them telling you things about their job, and you hearing quite a few odd things that had happened to them on previous deliveries they had made in the past.

           And that’s when you remembered one crazy delivery story they told you about in the short time you talked with them, it not being the first time you had heard the story from a delivery person who came into to deliver something to your boss.

           “Oh, I know!!” you said suddenly, causing the man behind you to jump in surprise as you halted yourself just before your apartment door. “You’re the pizza customer I hear about sometimes! The one who never pays and runs a shady business!” Turning from your front door and facing the man, the description you had been given by at least 3 delivery drivers matched as the man had such distinct hair and such a unique wardrobe, features that each of the delivery drivers were very specific about when they described him to you.

           “…Er, I guess?” The man responded, his face contorting a bit which told you he was very confused.

          “Sorry, my boss orders delivery a lot, so I talk to a lot of the delivery drivers in the area. I remember a few telling me about you.” You said, face slightly red at having to explain. Hearing a chuckle from the man, you smiled a little and reached for your keys. “But the shady business part explains why you fought that fat snake and what you’re going to do once I go inside though. So, I won’t ask too many questions then.”

           “Sounds good to me.” The stranger said as he gave you a thumbs up.

          “Well, maybe just one…” you said, watching as the man rolled his eyes. “What…WAS that thing? It wasn’t a regular snake I’m assuming?” you asked, shuffling through your keys for your front door key.

          “Well, it was…” the man said before he paused, his hand coming up to rub his chin lightly. “Listen, if you see it again, just call me.” He said finally after some seconds of silence and pulling a small card out of his front pocket.

           Taking and looking at the card, the only things on there were a phone number and an address that wasn’t very far away. Nodding and putting the card in your pocket, you placed your key into the lock and unlocked your door.

            “Understood.” You said as you pulled open the door slowly and grinned. “Thanks for walking me home, shady business pizza guy!”

          “Dante. My name’s Dante, not…that.” Dante said, sighing a little at the nickname, a cocked smile on his face. Chuckling a little, you introduced yourself before you stepped into your place, waving at him for a second before closing the door and making sure to lock the doorknob lock and place the dead bolt in its place.

            Feeling the card inside your pocket, you slowly turned yourself around and walked all the way inside, mind racing at what all had just happened. Pulling the card out slowly and feeling it in your hand, you glanced down at it as you placed all your things down inside the kitchen, feeling a bit better knowing that that card was going to be staying on your person for a long time.

[aph-oklahoma-46]

Angel & Demon AU, Part 2

//No prompt this week so here’s a continuation taking place after Emily met Alex.

Huutsuu sat at a table, looking around the cabin. The structure was mostly wooden, and though it wasn’t exactly tiny, it wasn’t very big, either. Clearly, it was originally intended for just one resident. The room she was in now was some kind of combined kitchen and living room, with a dinner table and stove at one end and a couch and fireplace at the other. There was a hallway leading out of the living room, down which there were doors to a bedroom, closet, and other rooms that Huutsuu wasn’t sure what they contained. The whole building was strewn with jars and bundles and books, all of which appeared to be spell-casting items. Huutsuu had thumbed quickly through one of the books while Alex went to go find her new clothes, and she discovered it was a notebook he’d been keeping. Most of it seemed to be research notes on various magic experiments.

Eventually, sitting still became too uncomfortable. Huutsuu didn’t do well with being stationary anyway, but she also had her tail tucked up under her clothes, along with her wings folded tightly against her back, underneath her shirt, none of which was comfortable. Adding in the soreness and aches from forcing her way through the barrier, Huutsuu just wasn’t in the best state. Alex had left the room again to make her a place to sleep, should she choose to stay for the night, so Huutsuu walked around the living room for a bit, stretching her tail. Her wings would have to wait until she had more time alone, because her shirt didn’t have holes to stretch them through, and she didn’t want Alex to walk in and see them. She had learned a long time ago that letting people think she’s human is a lot easier than having to deal with screaming people and exorcists.

Huutsuu found a drawing on the mantle of the fireplace that showed Alex standing with two women. They all seemed very happy, standing close to each other and smiling. The closer Huutsuu looked, the more similarities she saw between the people in the picture. Huutsuu decided they must be siblings. She frowned as she looked at the picture, placing it back on the mantle. Her own brother was going to be mad when he found out about the trouble she’d gotten in. And that she talked to a human. And that she, a demon, was gonna stay at said human’s house, despite the fact that said human was apparently a magician of some kind and knew enough about demons to effectively ward against them.

Yeah, Colonneh would definitely be upset with her. Things don’t usually work out very well when either of them spends too much time around humans, since they almost always find out that they’re demons.

Huutsuu shrugged. She didn’t really have a choice, this time. She couldn’t leave the barrier of wards for fear of being found by higher demons, against which she wouldn’t stand a chance until she healed a bit, so she would have to wait until Colonneh came for her. Acutely aware of the soreness in her shoulders and wings, Huutsuu sighed. That could be a few days from now, so she’d have to keep this up most of the time. Still, it’s better than getting eaten by hell hounds or something worse.

Footsteps sounded down the hall and Huutsuu jumped, tucking her tail back behind her and wincing as it smacked a bruised part of her leg. She turned to the entrance to the hall just as Alex reappeared.

“So,” he said, “You can stay in my room if you’d like. I only have the one bed and bedroom, or I’d let you stay in another one.”

“Where are you gonna sleep?”

“Probably on a cot in my study or in here.” He gestured to the couch. “Why don’t you come back to the kitchen so we can talk.” Alex smiled and moved to the kitchen. As Huutsuu sat down, he went to the cabinets. “Hungry?”

Huutsuu was going to say no, but her stomach growled, and she remembered she hadn’t eaten since before she was chased through the woods. “A little, yeah,” she muttered sheepishly. Alex brought some food and plates over, setting them down and waiting for Huutsuu to eat before he started.

“So, first things first,” he spoke casually as he put bread and cheese on his plate. “What exactly are you?”

Huutsuu almost choked on a mouthful of bread. “What?” she mumbled around the bread, trying to look confused. “I’m uh… I’m a girl, I’m pretty sure… Human, just like you.”

“If you were human, you wouldn’t have set off the warning system connected to my wards. Also, I don’t know any humans with a tail or feathers dropping out of their back.” Alex held up a brown feather and gestured behind Huutsuu. Her tail was flicking nervously behind her.

Stupid thing, she thought to herself, snatching it and holding it down, which only made her wince.

Alex sat the feather on the table and went back to his plate. “Now, you can tell me who and what you are, and how you ended up here in the state you did, or I can tell you what I think is going on. What do you say?”

“…What do you think?” she answered. Maybe she could go along with it.

“Alright. I think you some kind of lesser demon, and you got chased here by something else. You managed to get through my wards, but you still triggered them and my alarm system, so you have to be at least partly demonic. I’m assuming you were chased here by another, probably significantly bigger demon, since you weren’t the only thing that my wards detected.” He looked up and smiled, not unkindly. “How am I doing so far?”

Huutsuu blinked. Alex continued.

“Based on what little I know about you, I’m going to assume you’re an imp or something similar. That probably means you ticked off some other demon, and since imps aren’t especially well-liked among demonic beings, it didn’t exactly go your way. You got here and decided risking wards was better than getting attacked by whoever was chasing you.” He sat back and looked at her.

Huutsuu didn’t speak right away, instead watching Alex to see what he would do. She wasn’t used to humans paying that much attention, especially to her. They usually assumed she was another homeless child playing tricks and left her alone so long as she did the same. She looked up at Alex. He didn’t seem upset or angry. He didn’t even look irritated. Instead, his face showed mild concern. Huutsuu pulled her legs up and wrapped her arms around them, thinking. She couldn’t go outside the warding, and Alex seemed safe enough. Besides, she was in no state to leave on her own, and Colonneh wouldn’t be here for who knew how long. She took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’ll leave if you want.”

“That’s not what I want. I want to help. Now that you’ve eaten, why don’t you come with me to get fixed up? Forcing your way through a barrier meant specifically to keep demons out probably wasn’t a pleasant experience, and you’ve been cringing the whole time you’ve been here.”

Huutsuu nodded and got up, following Alex to another room. It looked like a study. The walls were lined with shelves, which were filled with books, journals, papers, ingredients, strange items, and other such things. There was a desk against the wall, under the window, and another table with bowls and a mortar and pestle on it across the room. Alex pulled a chair out and gestured for Huutsuu to sit while he searched through the shelves.

Soon enough, Alex had bandaged the worst of the wounds on her arms and legs. Luckily, her torso, and all the vital organs inside, were more or less uninjured, save for a bit of bruising. Huutsuu’s wings had been singed here and there, and the stress of passing through the barrier must have been what caused feathers to fall out, but Alex helped with that as well. Once he was certain the worst of the injuries were taken care of, he asked for her name.

“Um… people usually call me Sparrow when they’re mad at me, because apparently I’m annoying like a house sparrow.”

“Well, what do they call you when they’re not mad at you?”

Huutsuu thought for a minute. “They’re usually mad at me. Besides, I’m not gonna tell some random magic user my real name. I guess you can call me Emily. That’s what I use when my brother and I go to towns.”

“Alright then,” Alex said. “Emily it is.”

Colonneh sat up straight. Something was wrong, it had to be. He hadn’t heard from Huutsuu in a few days, and he’d been so busy he wasn’t able to go check on her.

She’s probably fine, he thought. She knows how to take care of herself, and as long as she doesn’t go looking for trouble, she shouldn’t find any… Yeah, I should go check on her.

Colonneh got up and collected his things quietly, so as not to wake up the other person, and left quickly.

Once he was outside, he made for the tree line. He wanted to get to Huutsuu as quickly as possible, but it wouldn’t be wise to be seen in town without a disguise. As soon as he had enough cover, he halted the magic that made him appear completely human and flew just under the tree tops.

As Colonneh flew, his thoughts drifted. It was so stupid of him to leave Huutsuu alone for so long! Even in the best of hiding places, she wouldn’t stay put for long, eventually going out to explore or play tricks on some hapless farmer or hunter. That wouldn’t be such a bad thing, really, so long as she didn’t draw the attention of too many priests, but the demons who lived in the foothills were known to be very territorial, and to hunt lesser demons for sport. If any of them were to notice and imp in the area, they would go after it.

As his thoughts grew steadily more upsetting, Colonneh forgot to watch where he was going and smacked into a tree.

“Ow, shit.” He rubbed his forehead and took off again, traveling as quickly as he could toward his and Huutsuu’s last hiding place.

//I think I’ll make a separate fic for this on AO3 at some point, along with the Royal and Deity AUs. Idk, they’re just getting kinda long.

[sasuhinasno1fan]

Treasure Hunt for the birthday boy

Finally official, it’s our fav red paladin’s birthday! After season 4, I wasn’t sure how I felt, the poor boy wasn’t there at all, but he did such a good job leading the rebels. This poor boy needs love and rest. So if you pay attention, you might notice this is in a sequal to the Lance birthday fic I posted.  I think there are very small details, Lance’s necklace the biggest thing. I even mentioned @fishwrites Watercast, I was craving an update when I wrote this. Again, this whole fic was inspired by PointlessBlog’s birthday that he and his girlfriend filmed. Ok, I hope you enjoy and fingers crossed I don’t mess up this fic. Edit-I tried posting this yesterday but it wouldn’t upload for some reason

Lance tried not to wince as the door to his and Keith’s room closed. Usually he would sneak out of the room to go and surf with Hunk down to the beach or to leave for any meeting but that wasn’t the reason this time. It was Keith’s birthday and Lance had presents to finish wrapping and hide.

The two had been busy all day yesterday and halfway from were Lance had been hidden in their guest room wrapping gifts, Keith almost set the house on fire when he forgot about a pot of veggies he was boiling. Home cooked dinner didn’t happen and then Keith remembered they were supposed to get the ingredients to the cats’ special birthday dinner, which meant a trip to the grocery store and dinner at Burger King as a pre birthday dinner for Keith. After finishing making the dinner for the cat, Lance was in no mood to be bending over to wrap presents. So he made sure to turn the alarm on Keith’s phone off and keep the cats out so Red wouldn’t try and wake her owner up. He had been tempted to stay just to watch Keith sleep more but then he remembered the really big gift for Keith and got himself up.

“Alright you two, I need you to keep quiet while I finish wrapping your dad’s presents. You can help but keep the noise to a minimum.” Lance told the Russian Blue and Somali cats that followed him as he opened the door to the guest bathroom and opened the closet door. Behind the stacks of towels and linens, Lance hide the finished presents and the ones still waiting, as well as the wrapping paper and tape. Lance coxed Red and Blue out of the tub and into the guest bedroom.

Lance laid out his first gift to wrap when Blue started to scratch at the floor length mirror. Lance had been focused on his blue furred cat when he looked at his reflection, eyes drawn to the blue chocker around his neck. Not even 3 months ago, Keith had gifted him with the promise ring in the shape of an Avatar The Last Airbender betrothal necklace. Their friends like to call them the Zutara ship that never happened. They didn’t get a long at first, to be honest, Lance thought Keith hated him. But eventually, as they got to know each other better, feelings started happening and they started dating. Lance had one of the best birthdays thanks to Keith and his friends and he wanted to repay him as much as possible.

“Blue stop,” Lance said, nudging her head away from the tape, before ripping off one last piece to finish the last present. “Perfect, now I need to write the cards.” Lance planned to hide the gifts, the last one the most spectacular so he needed to write the hints in a bunch of cards. Once they were all taken care of, Lance got to work. He hid the presents with their clue cards in the right place, making sure it was hidden but obvious enough.

He distracted the cats with breakfast so he could finally pull out his phone. He didn’t want to risk going back upstairs to grab his camera.

“Good morning everyone. It’s pretty early and usually I’d be surfing this early, but I’m up for a different reason. In case you don’t know, today is Keith’s birthday. October 23, Keith Kogane, turns 24. Yes, he’s older than me but I’m taller, so I can put things on higher shelves. Anyway, I just finished wrapping Keith’s gifts and I want him to find them before we eat breakfast, which I’ll be cooking. Of course, I’m really excited for him to see his last gift.”

Blue meowed at her owner when she was done with her food, making Lance look down to see Red licking at Blue’s bowl.

“Your girlfriend is really greedy Blue. Ready to go wake up dad?” Blue meowed back at Lance before trotting off towards the steps, Red following after a nudge from Lance. He filmed the cats going up the stairs and let Red start scratching at the door before he opened it for them, watching as they jumped up on the bed, where Keith was curled up. Red sat by the pillow and started to pat at the bangs of Keith’s hair, moving to his face when he didn’t move. Keith only twitched his face but still didn’t move. Lance was sure Red huffed in annoyance, while Blue pushed herself under the covers and the lump moved down to where Keith’s feet were.

Keith finally seemed to stir as Red started meowing up a storm. Lance tried to control his laughter from behind his phone as he filmed the whole scene. He saw Keith’s feet flinch away, no doubt from Blue’s rough tongue that had to be licking at his toes.

“What’s going on?” Keith asked sleepily, turning on his back, looking utterly adorable as he looked completely confused.

“It’s time to wake up.”                                                                                                  

Keith moaned in protest and he flopped both arms over his eyes. “What time is it?”

“Like 9. Come on, up. It’s your birthday.” Lance said, walking closer to the bed to poke on Keith’s stomach.

Keith just moved his hands to Lance’s arm and started tugging. “Doesn’t that mean I can sleep longer? Maybe with you as my pillow?” He opened his eyes finally to see a sea shelled case phone pointing down at him. “Are you filming me?”

“Yes. I could totally leave this in.”

Keith just moaned some more, still tugging at Lance. It was obvious to Lance just how tired his boyfriend was, if he wasn’t making a fuss about looking embarrassing on camera. He stopped filming and plopped next to Keith, who turned on his side and wrapped his arms around Lance’s waist, looking close to falling back asleep again.

“Keith, babe, come on. You can’t sleep the whole day away. We have to do stuff.”

“What stuff? We can’t have a proper party with Shiro and Allura out of town.”

“Oh, so you can’t do things with just me? Come on Keith, don’t hurt your boyfriend here.”

Keith let out an indifferent noise, dozing off again. Lance sighed, if his boyfriend didn’t look so cute, he’d be demanding Keith get up now. He was fine gazing at his boyfriend’s sleepy face for now. Didn’t mean he didn’t take a picture to upload to Instagram.

Finally Lance got Keith up and into a hoodie by playing “I want a hippopotamus for Christmas” over and over again until Keith almost wacked Lance’s phone out of his hand. Lance planned to annoy him again with the song on camera.

“Can you film me on my camera? Or we’re you going to do it on your channel? Unless you wanted to merge the two together.” Keith asked, running his hand through his hair to flatten it. It didn’t help much. He let his hair grow even longer but he would constantly complain about how he had no clue Allura did it, he wanted it back to it’s regular length.

“I was planning on filming but we could merge them. I just really want to get your reaction when you see your last present.”

“Ok.” Keith looked intrigued, so Lance handed him his first card. Keith tried to open the envelope carefully but the paper ripped leaving Keith glaring down at it. “Every time.”

“Maybe you could use that knife your dads gave you yesterday.” Lance pointed out, looking over at the bedside table on Keith’s side of the bed.

“I think this video would get taken down if I showed that. Thanks YouTube.” It was no surprise Keith was not happy about new regulations YouTube had in terms of what videos could get ads on them.

Keith pulled the card out and opened it. “Should I read it out loud?” Lance made an affirmative hum. “Happy birthday samurai, you’re now older than me, your first present is in a tree. Tree? Lance you know I hate riddles.”

“There’s a hint, keep reading.”

“Not an actual tree, one we have in the house.” Keith looked confused before he looked over at the red furred cat curled up like a loaf on his pillow. “Oh, the cat tree!”

“There you go. See, not so hard.”

Lance got up and followed Keith down the stairs into the living room were the cat tree was. Lance saw the gift in the hammock part, but kept his mouth shut as Keith looked for it.

“Aha! I found it! And it’s covered in cat fur.”

“We haven’t cleaned that thing in like a month. Are you really surprised?” Lanced pointed out as Keith dropped onto the couch and started ripping the paper. In a thin box, Keith pulled out a blue phoenix suncatcher, the blue plastic hinted with iridescent.

“Oh wow, where did you get this?” Keith asked, holding the large wired circle that held the extravagant phoenix near the light that came from the window.

“Remember that online store I showed you the other day? The one with the dragons?”

Keith looked thoughtful before his eyes light up with recognition. “Oh yeah. They had earring of dragons’ wings.”

“I was extremely tempted to get you a hair pin.” Lance said, tugging at the hair that had Keith had been growing, its length falling down Keith’s back.

“It’s getting cut on Wednesday so thank god you didn’t. I can’t wait to cut it back again.”

“I like your long hair.” Lance whined, as Keith pressed the attached suction cup on the window and rescued the card from the ruined paper.

“Having to wait like half an hour for it to dry and brush it through so it doesn’t have knots, is not worth it Lance.” Keith opened the envelop with a bit more success this time. “It’s covered in fur but I hope you like it, the next present is where the mic is. I know that one.”

Lance followed Keith into the office where Keith stopped at the sight of a stuffed hippo seating in his chair. Like the cat one Lance had, it had a t-shirt with Keith’s channel marking on it and held a dagger in its stump. On its lap was another card as well as a small gift bag.

“What did you get me?” Keith asked, picking the bag up and opening it. “Face masks, sheet masks. Are you trying to tell me something?”

“Maybe something along the lines of I want more spa days with you.” Lance knew Keith could not stay still to do spas, but he wanted to share his favourite past time with Keith.

“I mean, we can do it tonight?”

“Oh, I am going to pamper you tonight samurai.” Lance said, almost seductively.

Keith turned red covering his face. “I’m cutting that out. You are so embarrassing.”

Lance just laughed, “Do you like it?”

“Well I know what I’m cuddling when you’re out of town. Is it like the one Shiro and Allura got you?”

“Yep, don’t be surprised if Hunk ends up with one next year. Open the next card.”

“Bet you didn’t expect that last one, tell me where you can find bowl of fun. Hint, my little sibling and nieces and nephews try looking for it. Is it the candy bowl?”

“So smart, this is my boyfriend everyone. Future husband.”

“Not yet. Do not start rumours!” Keith instructed as he went to the kitchen and opened one of the overhead cupboards and pulled down a large bowl filled with candy. Lance always made sure it had candy in there to offer to people no matter the time of year.

Keith moved candy around before pulling out a small jewellery box. Not ring sized but the size of a necklace. In the box was a feather pendant. What was different about this was down the middle and with a small ball attached was a blue crystal.

“Is this from that glow in the dark collection?”

“Yep.”

“Oh this is so cool. Did you get me the feather because of the new book I’ve been reading?”

Lance nodded behind the camera. Keith had been obsessing over a book about a mermaid and avian falling in love. There was official merch but Keith always seemed to miss it. Lance thought it was the best of both worlds.

“I love this. Thank you. Where’s the card?”

“It’s in there, it’s just smaller.”

Keith dug around some more and rescued the small card. “You really went all out on hiding these.” He pointed out as he tried to open the envelop.

“You should see me when mama puts me in charge of hiding Easter eggs. We can still find eggs a week later.”

“Dear god, I’m not waiting that long to get my presents. Ok, your eyes glow just as bright as this necklace, you sappy asshole.”

“That last part wasn’t part of the riddle.” Lance clarified, not even sounding sorry.

“Your eyes glow just as bright as this necklace, where do the clothes go to be speckless? Does that even rhyme?”

“Kinda. Do you know what it is?”

“The mashing machine, in the basement. Which I hate.” Keith moaned

“I can hold your hand.”

Keith didn’t even think about it before taking Lance’s hand dragging them to the door that lead into the basement. Lance laced their fingers together as Keith pulled them down the stairs and turned the light on. The basement was a bit scary with the exposed brick and overall unappealing appearance wasn’t the most exciting. Lance saw the gift and its card sitting on the washing machine but the container of Tide Pods seemed to block it enough that Keith couldn’t see it.

“Do you want me to get it?”

“Please.” Keith would separate the laundry and fold it, but he hated even walking anywhere near the washing machine.

Lance handed the camera to Keith and went over to take the wrapped gift and card, trying not to flinch at the sight of the massive cobwebs forming between the washer and dryer. He hated spiders. Keith hadn’t even waited for Lance to get back to him before going back up the stairs.

“We should really get down there redone.” Lance said handing Keith his second to last gift.

“Or we could move after the lease is up.”

Lance actually stopped filming to focus on Keith. “Would you want to move?”

“I mean, we’ve been living together for what? Year and a half right? I love this place but I would like my office space and we do want a better yard and we are the farthest from everyone. Not now though, but…”

“It’s on your mind?” Lance finished for Keith, who nodded in reply. “I mean, I wouldn’t mind it either.”

“Ok. We’ll talk about it later?” Keith asked. “I want to talk about this seriously when it’s not my birthday.”

“Alright. Come on, let’s go open your present on the dining table and then I can make you breakfast.”

Keith waited till Lance had balanced the camera on a candle that sat in the middle of the table.

“Ok, I think we’re good. I hope this doesn’t fall.” Lance said, hands still held around the camera ready to catch it if it toppled over.

“I think we’re fine. Here, hold this.” Keith ordered handing his boyfriend the card before demolishing the wrapping paper. He pulled out a white sweatshirt with a cat shaped pocket for his hands and at the end of the strings for the hood, instead of plain tied strings, they were black paw prints. “Oh my god.” Keith said before dissolving into laughter.

“Look at the back.” Lance instructed, looking too proud of himself.

Keith turned it around and looked at the single navy bow in the back where a tail would have gone if it had one. Keith couldn’t control himself as he let his head hit the table as he started dying of laughter. “Why?”

“Why not? I showed it to Shiro and he bet you’d never wear it.”

“I will. I just can’t believe you got this for me. Wait, does it have cat ears?” Keith asked rhetorically as he fingered the white cat ears on the hood. “God, have I told you how much I love you?”

“No recently.” Lance said smugly as he let Keith kiss him on the cheek. “Here, open the card.”

“Wear your new cat ears with courage, your last and best present can be found in the garage. Wait, we don’t have a garage and there’s no hint.”

“Your present is waiting in Shiro and Allura’s garage. But breakfast first.”

“What? Lance, no! Lance!” Keith complained as Lance disappeared into the kitchen.

“Lance is being a little shit.” Keith told the camera as they sat in an Uber over to Shiro and Allura’s house. The two weren’t even in the country because they went to England for Allura’s family reunion. He didn’t even understand why they didn’t take their own car over.

“No I’m not.” Lance said, not even looking up from his phone.

“You won’t tell me what the hell could be waiting in the garage or why we didn’t just drive over there ourselves. Case in point, your being a little shit.”

“Ok rude, just because it’s your birthday doesn’t mean you get to be mean.”

“You won’t tell me anything!”

“You have such little patience. It’s amazing you can do YouTube, I mean waiting is practically part of our job.”

“I hate you.”

“Love you too.”

Before Keith could throttle Lance, they finally got to Allura and Shiro’s house. Lance went to their mailbox and pulled out the remote for the garage out before going over to Keith who was waiting by the garage.

“Ok, here you go.” Lance said, filming the very annoyed look on Keith’s face. He knew all this waiting would be worth it.

Keith ducked down once the door started rising and almost toppled over once he shot back up, looking at Lance with a look of surprise.

“You didn’t. Lance, no you didn’t!” he sounded excited, bouncing in place.

Sitting next to Allura’s unused car was a red Ducati; the same one Keith had been dying for for the past several months.

Tears were in his eyes as Keith hugged Lance, who stopped filming to hug his boyfriend close.

“Do you like it?”

“Yes I love it. When did you even get this?”

“I bought it a while ago and it was delivered yesterday and I got Thace to help me drive it here.”

“What? Thace? My Thace?” Keith asked, finally pulling away but his face a mess of tears.

“Yeah, here.” Lance wiped some of Keith’s tears off his face and pulled out his phone and pulled up a video.

“Ok this is really quick but I’m at the gas station with Thace, Keith’s dad, one of them anyway, to put gas in Keith’s present.” The Lance in the video said, as he filmed Thace filling up the motorcycle. “Took a while to figure out, but Thace, think Keith will like this?”

“Keith will be in tears no doubt.” Thace stated before the video finished.

“I can’t believe he knew.” Keith said, hiding his face in Lance’s neck again.

“I didn’t tell him till 2 days ago. I’m glad you like it. Happy birthday samurai.”

“Thank you.” Keith pulled himself away and pulled Lance into a long kiss before he pressing a kiss to his cheek and pulling him into another hug. “Thank you.”

“Say hi!” Lance told all the people sitting around the burner. Their usual group birthday dinner lead them to a Korean bar-b-que place, Keith’s parents joining them in place of Allura and Shiro.

Keith had cried for a bit more before his excitement got the better of him. He wanted to ride, now. Lance had the foresight to get red and blue helmets and once they were on, they were on their way, driving all through town, Lance pressed against Keith as he sped through traffic. If Lance didn’t know Keith knew how to drive a motorcycle, he would have feared for his life even more. Keith insisted they get a table near the road where he parked his bike.

“Keith, am I losing you to a bike?” Lance asked pointing the camera at Keith, who still had his eyes trained out the window.

A hand gripped Keith’s chin pulling his gaze away from the window. “It would do you some good to pay attention to your boyfriend.” Ulaz, one of Keith’s dads instructed like Keith was still a kid who needed disciplining. The tall dark skinned man looked out of place between Keith and Pidge but his husband was opposite him.

“Yes, listen to your dad.”

“What, he’s already getting sex tonight anyway.” Keith said, not even paying attention to the camera pointed at him, though it slipped out of Lance’s hands at the statement.

“Keith, I have to edit that out!”

“Hmm?” Keith truly hadn’t been paying any attention.

Pidge dissolved into giggles at Lance’s red face while Ulaz and Thace rubbed their foreheads at their son’s obliviousness.

“I don’t think anyone is going to be able to get Keith’s attention away from that bike for a while huh?” Shay asked as she helped Hunk turn the meat when she saw Keith’s attention drift back outside.

“I hope Lance is fine with being ignored for a little while.” Hunk joked, just smiling at the glare Lance shot him.

Lance pulled out his phone and opened YouTube, typing in a familiar set of words. He hit the correct video and turned the volume up, making sure to pick up the camera to catch the moment. The first set of bars of “I want a hippopotamus for Christmas” started playing and Keith went from paying attention to his bike to full on glaring at Lance.

“If you don’t turn that song off right now.” Keith warned

“What, I’m sorry I can’t hear you over the soothing voice of Gayla Peevey. Maybe if someone would pay attention to their boyfriend.”

It was a miracle they hadn’t gotten thrown out of the restaurant when Keith tried lunging at Lance. Hunk yelled at them not to knock over any of the food if they wanted to be feed and Thace was able to smooth things over. It didn’t mean Keith didn’t whack Lance when they were leaving.

“I so can’t believe you did that in the restaurant.” Keith complained as he climbed into bed, Lance loosening his choker so he could sleep.

“Had to get your attention somehow.” Lance said as Keith crawled up to him and flopped himself down onto Lance’s chest, his fingers automatically drifting to the pendant on the necklace. He liked playing with it whenever he was close enough to Lance’s neck.

“Still though. Other than the scene in the restaurant, I did have a good birthday. I even really enjoyed that pampering session. Thank you.”

“Your welcome samurai.” Lance said, pressing a kiss into Keith’s bangs before letting his head rest on Keith’s.

While some people would complain that Lance didn’t make Keith’s birthday as extravagant as Keith made his, Keith was more than happy with his birthday.

[quatschmachen]

Indeterminate Forms

Welcome to the 2020′s y’all.

XXXX

The phone conversation did not go as Étienne planned.  He was somewhere on that awkward plane of existence between the plane of being shocked and mystified.

He was shocked that Calvin had even phoned him, or even knew that he was in Edmonton. Honestly he had kept it under wraps not wanting to cause much fuss about his arriving. It was one of those unavoidable business meetings that he had contemplated skipping.  However, after having Élyse yell at him for being stupid when she discovered that he was literally thinking of not going, he ended up slumped on the plane, stomach in knots, contemplating if there were better ways to die.  He planned to be there for the three days of the meeting and then get the fuck out of dodge. He had quite honestly been avoiding visiting Edmonton, because even though things had seemed well and resolved with Ed vis a vis friendship between them after his party, there was no way he was going to stomach actually seeing Ed be happy in his natural habitat. Yes it was one of those silly feelings of raw salt, but after being added back to Facebook the onslaught of happy relationship in a way acted as some splinter in his soul. Probably it could be stated to be jealousy, the idea that good relationships could exist, and that somehow they were still together and apparently taking up another sport? When the hell did they have time to rest?  

What had not helped these feelings, was the fact that, even though they had made up during his birthday bash week, when Ed had gone back home their communication had simply not picked up from where it had been before the entire complicated mess had happened. Honestly, he had been expecting at least a few skype sessions a week to keep up on each other’s lives, but apparently Ed was too busy renovating his house and adopting three chickens to sit down and chat to him on the computer. (He was pretty annoyed at all the cute chicken photos Calvin kept posting, that featured Ed playing with them, like who the heck would have thought of building chicken puzzles?)

He had realized that he was being an idiot, and had decidedly shelved any feelings of distress that he may have felt those few months after his 375 birthday bash, when he understood that while they may have made up he was most definitely not the priority in Ed’s life anymore. Honestly he was extremely glad for Ed that he seemed to be looking so happy, that his eyes were sparkling in the photos, he had never looked so good. Living with Calvin seemed to be exactly what he needed, and it was just irritating to admit to himself that everything that Ed apparently needed could not be provided by him.

So be it then. He had worked on making his own life better, extended friendships, was even having a casual ongoing friends-with-benefits situation with Isa. It was the fact that sitting on this plane, heading to a city he had not been to for many years, everything was suddenly resurging all the feelings he had managed to repress, the hurt and confusion… the realization that no matter how hard they tried the past would not come back…

His friendship with Ed had finally reached that mellow stage of distant friendship, where there were sometimes conversations but more often than not, due to the tugs of their busy life, the friendship was forgotten like an old mix tape at the bottom of a drawer. Taken out now and then, as now, usually with a burst of unexpected feelings triggered by situations instead of songs.

So when Calvin phoned him up, his voice inviting him to ditch the hotel and come spend the night with him and Ed, Étienne was attempting to figure out what had happened.

“How did you know?”

“Your Facebook selfie at the airport?” Calvin replied amused, “I doubt anywhere else has a shrine to Oilers hockey.”

“Oh.” Fuck. Étienne had only wanted to show off the weird bagel he had found, he had completely forgot about background giving him away. “Ehhh really I am fine –”

“Where you at now? I’ll pick ya up.”

“Oh well I dunno… I’m on some bus that will take me to the city train?”

“Century Park, gotcha. See you in fifteen buckaroonies.”

Hence the conversation not going as Étienne had planned. He knew it was a bad idea to show up the day before for the meeting tomorrow. He had begged Élyse to go for him, but after giving him a Look before showing him her packed schedule he had to concede that he had to suck it up for this one meeting.

Her reassuring words “you’ll be out of there before you even landed” did not ring true now.

With a sigh he gazed out across the countryside. Fucking Calvin McCall. The idiot. The man who he tried to hate as much as possible, but to his great irritation was not able to. Seeing the Ikea pass by, he wondered how long it would take him to reach the train station.  Was Calvin actually going to show up? Did Ed know about this? Why oh why had he posted that stupid photo… The bus pulled up to the station; grabbing his bag, he got off and looked around. For a moment he thought perhaps he could run away until he heard his name being shouted, and his eyes landed on a large red truck, with Calvin standing beside it looking excited.  Calvin was looking good, no longer was he such a bean pole, he had filled out slightly and obviously had been working out. His face was slightly sunburnt, and Étienne suspected if he were to remove his shirt there would be a farmer’s tan underneath. As he walked closer, he also noticed with some surprise that gone was the ever-present hockey mullet, and instead his hair had been trimmed rather professionally, sharpening him somehow. Etienne mused that perhaps he would not want to cross Calvin when it came to business dealings.

Eyebrows raised Étienne took a breath and then with resolution walked towards him. “Calvin, how do you even climb into that thing? The door is higher than your ass.”

“Howdy to you too,” with ease he reached forward and grabbed Étienne’s bag, Étienne releasing it attempting to play everything cool and ignore that his heartrate had picked up a little bit. “This truck does a magic trick.”

“What, it shrinks?”

“No, no,” Calvin responded, a smile playing around his lips as he opened up the passenger door for Étienne, “The electric step goes down… see?”

With some fascination he watched as the step did in fact go down, making it easier to high jump into the passenger seat. He had known about such things, but had not ever experienced it personally. Where he came from monster trucks was not the fashion.

After Calvin was also seated, Étienne managed to grumble, “Not sure why you need a vehicle that is partially an Olympic sport to climb into.”

“Oh god…” laughing as he shoulder-checked, before pulling out, Calvin added, “You sound like Ed when I bought this.”

“Oh? Well… it makes sense… he is shorter than me… does he need a foot stool as well to climb in?”

“Practically.”

Why was it so easy to talk to Calvin? He hadn’t talked to the man in over a year since their last brief conversation at a city meet.  His feelings honestly were rather mixed concerning him, and he was annoyed that there was a large part that had grown to like him. Probably due to the fact that during the last city meet Calvin had managed to save him from being stuck in a group activity with Lucas, calmly stepping in and changing the dynamic. Glancing over to Calvin, who was humming a little tunelessly as he drove, eyes focused on the road, Etienne focused on the back of his neck, fascinated by the shorter hair.

“What happened to your hair? It’s so short.”

“Eh, wanted to try something new, Ed said it was time for me to look the part of a businessman… and honestly it seems to be working. My deals have increased rather well since the haircut…” pausing at a red light, Calvin shot Etienne a smile, “What about you? Growing your hair out to become a hippy?”

“No.” The response was a little sharper than he meant, and awkwardly Étienne decided to change the subject that was bothering him, “Does Ed know? That I am coming over?”

“Of course not, but he doesn’t need to know until he gets home,” came the prompt reply.

“Wait what – you invited me over to his house –”

“Technically our house now, I’ve been there for four years ---”

“And he doesn’t even know? I mean he doesn’t even know I’m in the city,” Étienne protested.

“Ummm you know my stance on that, you were being a Grade A weenie there, Étienne. Not letting us know you were coming to town.”

“That I should have told I was in the city?” Étienne huffed as he looked out the window, his eyes drawn to the river below, “I just don’t want to cause awkward city situations…”

“Umm hmm. It’s just some Western hospitality that’s happening Étienne, we’re not inviting you over for dinner and an orgy.”

“Of course,” Étienne mumbled focusing on the passing river bank, the truck passing off the bridge towards the large hill up into downtown. “Hey… you have some new buildings up.”

“Yeah, Ed’s actually grown half an inch and he won’t shut up about it.”

“Doesn’t that mean he needs new pants?”

“Naw he just let the cuffs down… he’s really good at alterations… hell he attacked all my clothing first thing. He made them fit me better.” Pausing at a red light, Calvin winked at Étienne, “Good thing you’re not going to be here too long, otherwise he might spruce you up into something people might desire.”

“Uhmmm, I am very desirable thank you very much,” Étienne retorted, his eyes widening, “Mon dieu, is that the new arena? It looks like a giant… blob.”

“Don’t tell Ed that.” The light turned green, “If you look out your window as we pass you will see the statue of Gretzky…”

“Oh god not that statue,” Étienne groaned, “I remember it outside Skyreach…”

“Mmhmm. A phase that never seems to end unfortunately.”

“You would suspect something was wrong with him if he didn’t like Gretzky.”

“True, true.”

Finally they reached Ed’s house, Calvin pulling his truck into the neat and tidy garage next to Ed’s smaller truck.

Neatly leaping out, Étienne looked around the large garage, “I never understood this about Ed, why does he always have a truck? Especially when he keeps talking about public transportation and greenhouse gases.”

Giving a shrug, Calvin opened the garage door, “No way I could explain it in a manner you could understand. C’mon buckaroo, I gotta get dinner going.”

He had not seen the renovations in person, and coming in from the large garage which was connected to the back alley, he was not prepared to step out of it into the back garden. The backyard was neatly segregated, rows upon rows of vegetables growing on one side of the sidewalk, some planks laid out between the verdant greenery. Around the vegetable portion was a strong wire fence, no doubt to keep the chickens out. In the far-left corner stood what could only be described as a lifted chicken mansion. Three chickens were waddling around the yard pecking at the grass and clover. One of them was pecking at an apple which had fallen from the trees -  somehow it had managed to roll free of the nets which had been neatly set out under the branches with the purpose of catching the apples. Around the lower trunks seemed to be some weird sticky stuff, and when he looked closer he realized it was an ant catcher.  There were some other fruit trees which he had no idea what they were. Along the back of the house was a large patio made of some dark wood, a table and some Muskoka chairs set out. A BBQ gleamed in the sunlight, and nearby, as if it was not enough, stood a metal fire pit.

Finally, with great reluctance, he looked at the house and let out a low whistle. It was about three stories now, the old bungalow completely gone. It had a dark blue siding, and large windows. However he could not spot any solar panels.

“I thought this was an eco friendly house?”

“Yeah… those fancy roof tiles are secret solar panels, so are the windows,” Calvin replied indifferently as he walked up the pathway keys in hand. “And we run on geothermal heating… really self sufficient.”

“The garden is huge!”

“Yeah. Now he has me as slave labour his obsession has increased… this year we’re trying more heritage tomatoes. Ed ended up going to that friggin’ Enjoy Centre in St. Albert and after seeing a talk by friggin’ Jim Hole about friggin’ tomatoes he comes home with all the friggin’ tomatoes and I swear to god if I have one more friggin’ caprese salad I am going to go out and murder a cow –”

Entering through the back door, Calvin carefully set down Étienne’s bag on the landing, before removing his cowboy boots and placing them in the cubby. He expertly put on his pair of slippers and climbed up into the kitchen, “The purple ones are the guest slippers.”

“You do know I have to check in at some point, right?”

“Eh? You can just stay in the guest room, Ed’s not gonna mind. Save some money.”

“Calvin I’m booked in–”

“Did you pay already?”

“No.”

“Cancel.”

Étienne protested as he followed him to the guest room, the room he theoretically knew about but had never actually stayed in previously.  The room was a pleasant shade of cream, with white lacy curtains, the bedding a neutral pattern of blue squares. On the wall hung a vintage photo of the High Level Bridge.

“You sure this is a good idea, Calvin?”

“Yes.” Placing Étienne’s bag down on the bed, Calvin steered him out of the room. “I gotta go get some food. Do you want to see the basement expansion?”

“Of course, I have not been here since the place has been renovated.”

“Not sure why not, you’re always welcome y’know. Ed’s mighty proud of his basement…” descending down the stairs from the main floor, they entered what was obviously a gaming room. Walking past the pool table, Calvin opened another door which had more stairs.

“Is this the murder hole?” Étienne joked.

“No, it’s the cellar… well larder… cellar…” Calvin responded and as he turned on the light Étienne’s widened as if he had found the portal to Narnia.

“What?” He gazed at the two rows of shelves, stacked neatly with various jars, pickled items, jams, neat bags labelled ‘apple chips’.  There were other items too, such as a tub of potatoes, another tub of onions. If there was an apocalypse tomorrow, Ed would be ready. There was also a rather well stocked wine cabinet which he admired.

“Yeah Ed’s gotten into food preservation too, haven’t bought jam in three years.”  Apparently not dazzled by this plethora of food, Calvin walked over to one of the two freezers at the end of the room and opened it up.

“Wow, this is amazing…” Étienne breathed gazing at the jams with interest.  “What does that other door lead to?”

“Ice room.”

“…no way. You mean like with saw dust? River ice?”

“He freezes tap water into large cubes. He’s paranoid that when the electricity goes the freezer will melt and all his hard work will disappear.”

“Hard work?” Étienne looked at the freezer with more interest, “What do you mean?”

Calvin was standing beside it, and he motioned in. “You see these containers?”

“Yes?”

Étienne stared at the piles of frozen food, tin trays of various sizes with a simple white lid. On each lid was written the name of the food and the date it was made.

“Ed uses the stuff he’s grown to make meals that are ready to go. Super handy especially during the work week when we are on the go.”

“What do you mean….” Étienne frowned,” Are you saying Ed has literally made all the food in this freezer?”

“Uh yeah? Hasn’t he ever cooked for you?”

“Well yes but… I mean never lasagna… usually a soup when I’m sick… or something…” come to think of it whenever Ed visited his fridge did get full of food for some reason. He had never thought of Ed being so productive with food. Ed never brought it up the fact that he loved cooking with him. Not liking this line of thought, he turned once more to the jams and idly picked one up. “What is this chocolate cherry jam?”

“Ohhhhhhh there still is some? I thought I ate it all! I looooove it. It’s sooooo good. I eat it right out of the jar and Ed yells at me... says something about other people needing to be able to eat it… pshaw… Grab it, I’m suddenly feeling peckish.”

“Ok…” Étienne’s eyes couldn’t quite take in all the neatly preserved food around him, he felt like he was in heaven. “So even these apple chips?”

“From the trees outside. Usually we have more but hey it’s nearly time to make more.”

Furtively Étienne grabbed a bag of the chips, and followed Calvin out of the cellar.

“Why do you have so much food? Are you able to eat it all?”

“Of course not,” Calvin laughed, “Ed donates what he makes to various organizations, let me tell you he is very popular when it’s the holiday season. It’s his way of giving back to his city.”

“Oh.” While Étienne knew that Ed liked to cook and make jams, he had not realized the extent that Ed had gone to growing his own food. In a way it felt bittersweet, as if he should have known all about this information. Thinking you knew someone well only to realize there was a whole other dimension that was hiding on another plane. Whenever he remembered visiting Ed, he remembered the bungalow, its sides needing paint, the neglected fruit trees in the back and the garage that could barely hold a truck.

In a way this entire renovation felt like Ed had undergone a transformation when he was not looking, sloughed off the chrysalis to turn into a butterfly that he would not even recognize. His anxiety about seeing Ed in person increased. Sure Calvin was being very friendly, acting as if this was just a common occurrence in his life, but Étienne still wondered how Ed would react. Hurt? Surprised? He was beginning to doubt that Ed would even recognize him at this point. Somehow, it felt like in the past few years Ed had managed to grow more than he had in the last twenty. In a way the idea of meeting Ed was like meeting a stranger.

Thoughts in this unpleasant swirl, he followed Calvin into the kitchen and sat down at the blue Formica table, feeling somewhat reassured that not everything had changed. Ed had had this table since the 1950’s, and laying the jam and apple chips on top of it, he smiled remembering the numerous times that they had ended up having sex on it. That was in the past now, and as he watched Calvin bustle about the kitchen, preheating the oven for the lasagna, the scene drove home the fact that his part in Ed’s life was over. At least, the extent he had played in Ed’s life. It was ironic that with the advancement of technology and the ease of communication over the years, the times when they were closest was when it was the most difficult to speak.

He was overwhelmed with nostalgia for the old bungalow, this new place too shiny and foreign, the marble surface of the counter seeming to scream ‘you don’t belong here anymore, you never belonged here.’

Trying to distract himself he opened up the bag of apple crisps and popped one into his mouth, hating the fact that they tasted absolutely delicious. Calvin slid the lasagna into the oven, and then sat next to Étienne with a sigh. “Woof, this should be ready by the time he gets home in an hour.” Lazily he reached over and grabbed a couple apple chips munching on them. “Do you mind if I bring my laptop in here? I need to finish up my work…”

“You were working?”

“I do have a job,” Calvin rolled his eyes as he stood up, “Lucky for you I was taking a break and caught your photo. Have no clue as to your logic on not contacting us. Geez Ed’s going to lose his nut when he finds out.” Giving a smile, Calvin left Étienne alone in the kitchen.

Not exactly sure what to do, Étienne sat there eating the apple chips, his eyes roving around taking in the magnets on the fridge holding up various photos, lists, and a City of Edmonton recycling guide. Leaning forward, he took another look at the photos. Calvin and Ed in large cowboy hats clearly at the Stampede, arms around each other laughing at something just beyond the camera. Another one was of Edith posing awkwardly outside the cat café, she was wearing a cat themed dress and obviously wanted to just get inside the place already. Another picture featured Calvin and Caroline lying on a beach somewhere, Caroline wearing a ridiculously huge white hat and a white bikini with red polka dots. Calvin was wearing sunglasses and a speedo, he lay under the shade of the umbrella, but it was clear in the photo that his legs were turning red with sunburn.

He nearly passed over the next photo, the context not immediately clear. He had to take a second glance when he realized with surprise it featured him in it. It was an older photograph, obvious from the style of glasses and the cheesy nineties clothing they were both wearing. Calvin was also in the photo, and Étienne remembered that it had been one of those city meets. They had been in Winnipeg at the time, and he had been irritated at how Calvin kept trying to hang out with them (especially since he had been trying to get Ed into his hotel room for some afternoon delight). His smile was tense, Calvin oblivious was cheerful as ever and between them stood Ed giving a sort of fake smile towards the camera. It was odd that Ed had put this photo on the fridge, it wasn’t the most flattering of them.

With a clatter Calvin entered the kitchen again, and set down his laptop. “Want some coffee?”

“Yes please.” Taking out his phone, Étienne decided he could at least aimlessly scroll through Facebook for a while. “What’s your Wi-Fi?”

“Eh it’s that sticky note on the fridge,” Calvin lazily responded, waving his hand in the general direction.

Standing up, Etienne peered closer at the fridge, finding the sticky and entering in the information. His tummy rumbling as the smell of the lasagna began to permeate the kitchen.

The silence between him and Calvin was rather companionable, the tippity tapping reassuring that there was still some business left to do in the world. A half hour had passed before Calvin shut his laptop down, stretched, and looked over to Étienne. “Sorry about that, it was on a tight deadline, had to get it in. Anyways, how have you been?”

Once more Étienne found himself surprised at how easy the conversation between them flowed, losing track of time, not even factoring in that Calvin had to get up and pop the garlic loaf into the oven to heat up, until he heard a door slam.

“I’m home!” Ed’s voice rang out.

“Hey Ed! Guess what—”

“Hold on Cal, just let me get changed.” Ed cut him off, and there was a brief glimpse of him going down the hallway, fingers already loosening his tie, suit jacket lazily slung over the crook of his left arm. It was apparent he was desiring to escape his work clothes.

“Oh well…”  Calvin sighed as he glanced over to Étienne. “It’s going to be a gamble what he comes out in.”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh… you’ll see.”

As if to prove his point, Ed reappeared wearing the rattiest Oilers sweat pants known to mankind, there was a large hole that had been patched up on the knee and it was clear the elastic was about to break at any moment. The shirt that he was wearing was no better, it was tired, the floral pattern faded, and some sort of paint stains were splattered over the left sleeve. His hair was all messy from the quick change, and he had obviously not bothered to comb it, the effort apparently beyond him at this point of the day. Etienne was arrested with the fact that Ed had let his hair grow longer, it was at that point where it was not quite his style in the 80’s but no longer so short that it had to be neat.

“Hey Cal, thanks for getting the lasagna ready,” Ed was saying as he entered the kitchen. That was about the point that his eyes landed upon Étienne. His expression transformed from calm to one of complete horror, and he froze there for a moment, before looking accusingly at Calvin. “Why- why didn’t you inform me we had a guest?” he managed to ask in a squeaky yell.

“Well, I was but you just didn’t want to listen to me.”

“Uhhh I need to change,” and he quickly left once again, his face bright red in embarrassment.

“Why did he-?” Étienne didn’t finish the question, just raised a brow at Calvin.

“Because apparently only I am the person allowed to see him in his lazing-about-the-house clothes?” Calvin responded with a small smile, “I think he’s dying in the bedroom at this point, trying to figure out what to put on that’s both comfortable and clean.”

“He didn’t need to change though,” Étienne responded, understanding completely the concept of lazy house clothing.

Ed had reappeared before Calvin had a chance to speak, this time in neatly pressed jeans, and a paisley button up shirt tucked into them, a buckle in place. His hair had been expertly combed, almost as if he was about to go out for dinner.

“Uh, hey Étienne. Didn’t know you were dropping by?” The raised intonation indicated that he wanted to know what the hell was going on.

“Oh right well, I have business here for a few days, honestly I was planning on staying at a hotel, but Calvin here insisted I come over.”

Ed was setting the table, “Oh no that’s nonsense, you should stay here for the night, we have a perfectly good guest room-”

“That’s what I told him!” Calvin interjected.

“–no need to waste money on a hotel.”

“Well, Calvin made me cancel, so I am here for the night.”

“Great. Good. What do you want to drink?” Ed had already opened the fridge and pulled out two beers, apparently reading Calvin’s mind as to the exact drink he desired with lasagna.

“Beer is good,” Étienne responded.

Pouring the beer into a frosted glass (Étienne was rather surprised that Ed had been keeping two glasses in the freezer), Ed set the beers down, and then got one for himself (but not in a frosted glass.) He felt a little awkward that with his arrival Ed apparently was missing out on his pre-prepared frosted glass, but knew if he were to bring it up Ed would just look at him like he was an idiot.

The timer beeped and Ed took the lasagna out, expertly dividing and serving them the same size of portions. This action was repeated with the garlic bread, and after he had refilled the drinks, he sat down.

The only sounds for the first few minutes were the forks scraping against the plates as they attacked the meal, Étienne inwardly crying in happiness at how delicious it was, but also glad that he didn’t have to think of anything to say.

“You can slow down Étienne, it’s not going to run away,” Ed wryly observed, and with a start Étienne realized he had nearly finished the lasagna, the other two still had plenty left on their plate.

“Well… it’s so delicious, it reminds me of some I had many years ago,” he responded.

“Mmm of course it does,” Ed responded with a small smile, “It’s Papa Giovanni’s recipe, remember when we went to his restaurant in ’92? I ended up taking a cooking class with him and memorized all the recipes… which was lucky since he died two years later.”

“You what?” Étienne frowned as if processing this, “You mean you have been capable of making the lasagna I have been craving all this time and you didn’t bother to inform me!?”

“You never mentioned it?” Ed responded rolling his eyes, “I can make many things Étienne, perhaps if you stuck around for a bit you would discover this.”

“Maybe I will,” Étienne responded as he broke a piece off his garlic crusty bread and began to mop up the lasagna.

“What brings you to Edmonton anyway? You say business but not what it is.”

“Transit meeting.” Étienne responded.

“Oh, the one Edith was supposed to go to, but shoved onto me?”

“Wait- you’re going to be at the meeting tomorrow?”

Giving Étienne another Look, and in the slowest most patient tone ever, Ed said, “Perhaps if you had sent me a message, I could have told you this and saved you the hassle of booking a hotel? Why, were you trying to avoid me on purpose, Étienne?”

“Uh,” Étienne was not sure what to say and probably the answer was clear upon his face, because Ed and Calvin seemed to share a glance with each other that to him said ‘we are communicating without words because we are a perfect couple who can read each other’s minds through the power of gay love, and fuck you Étienne.’ The exact reason why he had wanted to avoid this situation in the first place.

“Ah well I suppose even the best laid plans get disturbed by idiot blonds in big trucks,” Ed sighed out, earning a jab from Calvin’s elbow. “Owww.”

“You’re so rude, Ed! I am an idiot blond in a large truck.”

“Riight, whatever you say, darlin’.”

They had finished eating, and Calvin stood up, went over to Ed, gave him a small kiss on the forehead and picked up the dirty dishes, moving them to the sink.

“For puddin’ we’re literally going to eat chocolate cherry jam out of its container.” Calvin announced.

“What – Oh my god you didn’t find my secret stash for guests,” Ed moaned.

“No, I didn’t, Étienne did.”

“It’s still not dessert, just eating jam!”

“I was kidding, obviously it is…” With a flourish, Calvin opened the freezer and pulled out a tub of Moose Tracks, “Ice cream!”

They ended up moving out onto the patio, the warm evening sun washing over them as they ate ice cream, drank beer, and watched the chickens.

The awkward moment of before seemed to slip by, their conversation turning to catching up on each other’s lives, and perhaps with the aid of beer, relaxing them.

The evening seemed to pass by a little too fast, and after figuring out what time they were to be ready, Étienne found himself tucked into the guest bed freshly washed, wearing his travelling pajamas (basically a sport shirt and pajama pants).

Staring up at the ceiling he tried to make sense of his day, surprised at how easy it was to sink back into conversation with the two men, begrudgingly thinking that he had even missed talking to Calvin on such a casual basis. Hell, he was jealous that Calvin got to eat like a king every day. Closing his eyes he drifted off to sleep, a sense of peace permeating him. Peace or being full with lasagna at least.

[fanfic-inator795]

Lego Batman Oneshot: Weapon of Choice

Plot: Honestly, it made sense. Dick already had his own costume and his own utility belt, so why not his own signature weapon? Unfortunately for the dynamic duo, finding the perfect Robin-suited weapon seemed like it would be easier said than done...

Despite being known for it’s dark clouds and gloomy atmosphere, Gotham had managed to receive a bit of good weather for once. Not too hot and humid, but still bright and sunny. Truly a perfect summer’s day!

...Not that Batman or Dick would know, or even notice since both of them were in the Batcave - where it always seemed like nighttime. 

But hey, who said nighttime was a bad thing? Nighttime was when Batman did his best work, after all! Beating up criminals, catching bad guys and putting his amazing detective brain to work - which is what he was currently doing as he tried to piece together how several barrels of radioactive waste from various facilities around Gotham had disappeared, as well as trying to figure out who could have taken them.

Unfortunately, thanks to a certain sidekick/son, he wasn’t getting much work done...

Sure, after living with the kid for several months, Batman had gotten used to how curious Dick could be when it came to both sides of his home. Just a couple weeks ago, Dick had tried mattress surfing down one of the bigger flights of stairs in Wayne Manor. That had actually been a fun distraction, especially once his bat-dad had joined in.

Today however, Dick’s curious nature was proving to be just a distraction - and a fairly frustrating and annoying one at that. It seemed like every five minutes, Batman had to leave ‘Puter to go and stop his son from breaking something or from touching one of the more dangerous weapons that he had in his arsenal. 

The breaking point (literally) had been when Dick accidentally cracked one of his Kryptonite spears. “Okay kid, enough!” Batman snapped as he snatched the spear back, “Seriously! Just stop touching everything!”

“...Right,” Dick nodded, looking down at his feet as his eyes started to water a bit, “Sorry, Batman...”

“...*siiiigh*” His face softening a bit, Batman put the spear back on the weapons rack that was labeled “Awesome weapons for BvS fight only”, and put his hand on his son’s shoulder. 

“...Sorry for yelling,” he mumbled, causing Dick to glance up at him again, “It’s just... Come on, even you’re not this touchy when it comes to my stuff-” And normally he was more interested in the Bat-vehicles and the hundreds of bat-costumes anyway, not the weapons. “So, what’s going on with you today?”

The boy shrugged sheepishly. “I guess I just thought that, while you were working, I would... test out some of the weapons you have?”

Batman raised an eyebrow. “Why would you want to do that?” He gestured to his arsenal. “Honestly as cool as they are, most of these things can only be used against certain villains or in certain situations.” Maybe a bit wasteful, but that didn’t matter. Batman always stuck by his methods. “Besides, you’ve already got your own Bat-a-rangs!” He also still had the Bat-Shark Repellent, though to be fair, that was nearly useless given how few sharks and shark villains there were in Gotham.

Dick nodded, smiling a bit. “Yeah, I know. And, don’t get me wrong, Padre, your Bat-a-rangs are really cool!” However, his smile faded a bit as he glanced away once more. “But, I mean... It’s just...” 

The Dark Knight blinked in surprise. Normally the kid absolutely loved having anything that was bat themed! Why the sudden change? Did he not think bats were cool or something? “What? What’s wrong with Bat-a-rangs?”

“Nothing! They’re really cool!” Dick repeated, “It’s just... Don’t you think that it makes more sense for just Batman to use Bat-a-rangs?”

“...So, what? Do you want yours to be called Robin-rangs or somethin’?”

“...Uh, y-yeah, maybe!” Dick answered, shrugging again, “Or, maybe...” He looked at his father with wide, hopeful eyes. “Maybe, I could have my own weapon?”

...Ohhh, so THAT was it! 

Batman smiled, looking both relieved and even a bit proud. His son was already growing up a bit... And honestly, it made sense. Dick already had his own costume and his own utility belt, so why not his own signature weapon? Every hero had one (or at least, the ones who didn’t just rely on super-strength and speed did), and he certainly wasn’t about to deny his son one!

So, with a grin, Batman answered, “Well of course you can! I mean, you are a hero, aren’t you?”

Dick grinned widely, giving a small hop in excitement. “Yes Sir!”

His father grinned back at him. “Good. ‘Puter!” 

There was a small beep from somewhere in the vast and deep Batcave. “Yes Sir?”

“Go ahead and bring out any and all weapons that could be used on a typical crime fighting night.” “Okay.” Suddenly, robotic arms came down and took away any weapons that were meant to only be used against super powerful opponents as well as weapons that were more offensive than defensive, such as swords and axes. Then again, those were usually too heavy for Dick to wield anyway, so he didn’t mind. 

However, even with those factors narrowing his choices down, Dick could still see plenty of weapons that were still there - as well as a few new ones that had been brought out. “Alright, kid,” he heard his bat dad tell him, “Go ahead and start trying them out.”

Letting out a small cheer, Dick ran forward and grabbed the first weapon he spotted: Nunchucks. “I didn’t know you had ninja weapons, Padre!”

“Yeah,” Batman nodded with a small smirk, “They may not be my style, but they are pretty handy - especially whenever the League of Shadows starts showing up. Go ahead and give them a swing!”

“Okay!” Sticking his tongue out a bit in concentration, Dick started to slowly swing the nunchucks. Then a little faster, then even faster. “Hey, I think I’m starting to get- AH!” He had wanted to try and do a move with the weapon, but even just moving his arm a bit had caused him to temporarily lose both control and concentration - which in-turn caused the blunt weapon to hit him right in the face. 

“Oh my gosh!” Batman gasped, running over to him, “You okay?!”

“Ugh, yeah...” Dick nodded as he rubbed his face, wincing a bit, “Um, let me try that aga-” But before he could even start swinging, the weapon was pulled out of his hand.

“Uhh, maybe we should come back to this one later,” his father suggested as he held the nunchucks up, allowing another robot arm to take them away, “Okay, buddy?” 

“Alright,” Dick agreed, feeling more disappointed in his fail than the actual loss of the weapon. Turning back to the various shelves of weapons, he hummed a bit as he thought about his next choice. 

He saw a shield, and while that was certainly handy, he could easily think of a couple other heroes who used shields. And they were fine, he had nothing against them! He just really wanted to have his own weapon, his own thing. Like having a costume or a theme song, you couldn’t just copy someone else!

Standing up on his toes a bit, Dick quickly spotted another weapon up on a higher shelf. Reaching up, he pulled down a- “Boomerang?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Oh yeah, that old thing.” Batman gave a small, slightly nostalgic smile. “That was from waaaay back, back when I was still designing all my cool stuff and trying to figure out what weapons Batman would use.”

“Oh. Cool!” Dick examined the boomerang. Unlike its future counterparts, there were no special additions to make it explode or release smoke or signal a bunch of bats. But hey, it still looked like a decent boomerang. Pretty strong too. Deciding to give it a shot, the young sidekick brought his arm back, threw the boomerang deep into the Batcave, and waited for it to return.

...And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

“...I don’t think it’s coming back, Padre.” “Yeahhh, that’s why I upgraded to the Bat-a-rang.”

Thankfully, there were still plenty of other weapons to choose from. It didn’t take him too long to find a black bow and arrow set. DEFINITELY cool - and something he felt like he could actually use! ...Though, when he thought about it, Dick really did consider himself more of a ‘close-up’ kind of fighter. So, the bow and arrow was put back.

Another shelf held more ninja style weapons, such as shuriken and sai - but as cool as they were, they weren’t quite Dick’s style either. Other weapons though - like the tiny balls that could release giant nets when activated, or the flash grenades that could distract even the toughest opponents - definitely were. But, at the same time, those weren’t exactly ‘weapons’. More like useful tools to add to his utility belt. Of course that was still handy, but it was also just a bit disappointing...

After several minutes of searching, Dick sighed, stepping away from the arsenal. “On second thought, maybe I should just stick to using Bat-a-rangs...”

“Hey, come on, kid...” Not completely sure what else to do to help, Batman just patted Dick’s shoulder a couple times. “Look... if none of these weapons work for you, you could always build your own. That’s what I did, and I know you’ve got the talent to do it too! ...And, at the very least, I guess we could turn a few of the Bat-a-rangs into Birdy-rangs or something like that.”

“...” Despite still feeling down, Dick glanced over and gave his father a small smile for his efforts. “Alright... Thanks Da-”

Suddenly, a high-pitched mechanical sound came out of nowhere, making the Dynamic Duo flinch for just a moment before the realized what the sound was. “The Bat-Fax!” 

Sure, it wasn’t very high tech- ...In fact, it wasn’t high tech whatsoever. But hey, the Bat-Signal couldn’t work all the time (even if clear nights and villains attacking during the day was very rare in Gotham), and since Batman usually forgot to take his phone off vibrate, the Bat-Fax really was the best back-up option. “Come on!” Batman ordered as soon as the fax was done printing from his cowl, “Let’s go!”

“I’m right behind you, Padre!” Dick replied, determined as he ran after the hero. Maybe he didn’t have a weapon, but that wasn’t going to stop him from joining the fight! He was still his own hero along with being a sidekick! Besides, nothing wrong with using just good ol’ fists and some Gym-Kata, after all!

()()()()()()()()()()

The road was nearly completely covered in glowing green goo, cracking the pavement underneath and leaving a sort of burnt plastic smell in the air. As soon as it was close enough to them, the spreading goo then began climbing onto the buildings, swallowing brick after brick and even causing some of them to collapse. 

“Mmm, yes,” Bane grinned under his mask as he watched the destruction, “Gotham will become nothing but a big green puddle when I’m through!” Of course, the few remaining Gotham citizens weren’t exactly listening to him, since they were too busy running for their lives, but Bane didn’t mind. He just wanted to keep gloating. “I know I may have said this before, but it still rings true: I will be your reckoning, Gotham!”

“...Ummm, don’t you mean WE’LL be your reckoning?” a gruff yet slightly feminine voice asked as a bit of the goo rose up, giving Bane a look. 

But the man just rolled his eyes. “Yes yes, fine. We’ll be Gotham’s reckoning. There, happy?”

Clayface huffed. “I knew I should have teamed up with Penguin instead...” she mumbled.

Just then- *screeeeeech!* The two villains turned and saw the Batmobile park right behind them, just narrowly avoiding the puddles of radioactive clay. Without any hesitation, Batman and Robin then leapt out of the car, a stern and determined glare on their faces.

“Ah, the Batman! I was wondering when you would show up...” Bane told him, not sounding too concerned whatsoever. 

“Call it being fashionably late,” Batman retorted, narrowing his eyes, “So, never thought I’d see you two working together-”

“Yeah, there’s a reason,” Clayface dryly commented, though it was ignored by both the heroes and her temporary partner-in-crime.

“-But I see you’ve managed to put all of that stolen radioactive waste into a quote-unquote advantage for the two of you!” Batman then added with a mumble, “Which, no offense Robin but I probably would have figured that out sooner if you hadn’t kept interrupting me. Just saying. ANYWAY-” He took out one of his special Bat-a-rangs, one equipped with liquid nitrogen, and got ready. “I’d say your fun is about over, and it’s time to clean up!”

“Mm, you can fight if you want, Batman,” Bane told him while Clayface began to smirk, “Just don’t blame us if you start to feel overwhelmed, or outnumbered!” With that, the glowing clay-goo began to bubble and grow, causing the Dynamic Duo to take a couple steps back. After a couple seconds, more Clayfaces began to form out of the goo, all of them chuckling as they quickly surrounded the heroes.

But this didn’t deter them too much. “We may get outnumbered...” Batman started to say as he began putting on his electrified metal-knuckles.

“But we’re not outmatched!” Robin finished for him, his fists already at the ready. And with that, the fight was on!

*POW!* *BLAM!* *SMACK!* *SPLAT!*

As powerful and huge as Clayface could be, she still wasn’t much of a fighter. Plenty of good defense, but very slow. Nearly every attack the heroes threw landed, and while the damage from them would vary, most of them still did something!

Electrified punches, strong kicks, in-sync fighting, and (of course) a few icy Bat-a-rangs brought her glowing army to just three or four of herself left! It also didn’t help that whenever she did try to go on the offense, Robin would always have his bat-dad’s back, and vice versa! Clayface growled in frustration. She had to do something! 

Deciding that she’d had just enough teamwork for today, she allowed part of herself to flow over and grab onto Robin’s foot while he was distracted by the fight. “Huh? Hey- EEP!” Even if he noticed it right away, Robin still couldn’t get himself free in time, and gave a yelp as he was lifted up.

“What’s the matter? Afraid of flying solo?” Clayface taunted before easily tossing him several feet aside, through a streetlamp (causing it to break apart) and onto the hard sidewalk. 

Batman gasped slightly. “Robin!” He tried to get over to his sidekick, but was easily blocked by Clayface’s reforming army. She shoved him to the ground, and the numerous Clayfaces started to laugh as they surrounded him. 

But of course, it took a lot more than radioactive clay to make Batman give up. “’Puter!” he shouted, “Firefighter mode! Now!”

“Okay. Activating fire extinguisher.” The hood of the Batmobile transformed into what looked like a sort of cannon. 

“Huh?” Before Clayface could even ask what the annoying bat-pest was up to, she was blasted with several gallons of cold, thick foam - foam that could fight against both fires AND chemicals! And as the Clayfaces began to screech, Batman got back on his feet and continued the fight. 

“...Ughhh.” Sitting up slightly, Robin groaned. “Don’t, don’t worry, Padre! Ugh, I-I’m on-”

There was a loud thud as something big and very heavy landed in front of him. Slowly, Robin looked up, and found himself staring into the glowing, green eyes of Bane. The Boy Wonder gulped.

“What do we have here, hmm?” Bane said as he continued to loom over him, “The radioactive waste may not be able to slow your father down, but perhaps I still have one advantage left...”

Robin scooted back a bit, trying to hide his fear the best he could. After several weeks of crime fighting, he had certainly gotten used to going up against intimidating villains. But even so, he hadn’t had too much experience with Bane, plus the guy was just pretty intimidating in general! 

“So what do you say, Bird Boy?” the terrorist asked, “Are you going to come quietly? Or am I going to have to make you be quiet?” 

“I-I-” Moving back a bit more, Robin flinched slightly as he felt his hand brush up against something metal. His eyes widened a bit. The streetlamp! Of course! “...Sorry Bane, but-” He grabbed the long piece of slightly broken metal and brought it forward, smacking Bane right in the face with it while knocking him down. “-I don’t feel like getting kidnapped today!”

“OW! Why you-!” Picking himself off the ground, the masked villain then rushed forward towards the boy. Luckily, his metal weapon wasn’t just strong, but it was light too, which allowed Robin to jump and flip over Bane with ease. At the same time, he used each moment of momentum and added height to land more attacks. *WHAM!* *SMACK!*

Bane growled. “Enough! You will be defeated!” Raising a buff arm, Bane then slammed his fists down, nearly hitting his tiny opponent. But rather than be intimidated, Robin just gave another glare and decided that it was about time for this fight to end.

Using the metal pipe as a pole, Robin launched himself upwards, somersaulted downwards, extended his leg, and kicked his would-be kidnapper as hard as he could in the face - which finally knocked him down for good! Not quite unconscious yet, but still hurt enough to know that he had lost. 

With that, Robin sighed, still gripping the metal pipe tightly. ...After a moment though, he noticed just how quiet it had gotten. Oh no, did he miss something? Had something happened to his dad?! 

Quickly, he turned around - and saw both a single, nearly-defeated Clayface and Batman (who was mid-punch) staring at him in awe. “...Whoa,” was all either of them could seem to say. As for Robin, he just gave them a sheepish smile in return. 

With the two villains defeated and the goo now mostly harmless, it didn’t take long for the Gotham City police along with several clean-up crews to come onto the scene. Their own job now done, the Dynamic Duo stepped aside, sparing a few waves and “You’re welcome”s to the various grateful citizens before heading to the Batmobile.

“That was some pretty great fighting out there, kid,” Batman told him as soon as they had a moment alone, a proud smile on his face, “I couldn’t have kicked Bane’s butt better myself.”

Robin grinned, his eyes widening. “Really?!” 

“Yep. ...And hey, looks like you finally found yourself a weapon,” his father pointed out, “Not bad. Not bad at all.”

“Heh, yeah!” Robin nodded, twirling it around a bit, “Who would’ve thought a metal stick could be so handy?” He then frowned. “But wait, shouldn’t I leave this here, so they can rebuild the streetlight.”

“...Oh, right. Yeah, that’s probably a good idea,” Batman nodded. However, after a moment of thought, he gave the boy a small smile. “Although, I do have another idea...”

()()()()()()()()()()

“Come on, Grandpa! Bat-dad says it’s almost ready and I want you to see it!” 

“I know, Master Dick, I’m coming,” Alfred replied, holding back an amused chuckle as the boy dragged him along. 

In retrospect, it wasn’t that big of a deal. He was pretty much just receiving a present, and not even a surprise present at that. But even so, just the thought of having it was enough to make Dick excited. 

In no time at all, the two of them made it to the armory - and just in time. “Just finished putting the finishing touches on it,” Batman announced as he turned to face them, making sure to keep his son’s present behind his back. 

Dick’s smile grew as he rushed forward. “So it’s ready then? Can I have it now, Padre? Please?”

“Wait for it...” Batman told him, forcing him to wait just one second longer before he revealed his new weapon: a shiny, metal bo staff. “Tada!” 

Gasping a bit, Dick took the staff from his father and looked at it. “Whoaaa!” It was so shiny! The metal had also been painted a dark red with a couple gold highlights - which just made it even more special in Dick’s opinion, considering that his father usually only built stuff that was either black or very, very dark grey. 

In this form, it was only about the length of his arm, but with a flick of his wrist, the staff extended. Grinning, Dick did a couple test swings at the air, along with a couple flips using it. He’d still have to practice with the staff a bit of course, though he had a feeling that this practice wouldn’t be too hard at all. Just like with his suit, having the staff just felt completely natural - completely right. This was definitely his weapon. 

“So, pretty cool huh?” Batman asked once Dick had finished testing it out. 

Dick didn’t even hesitate with his reply. “It’s perfect!” he shouted, making both Batman and Alfred chuckle a bit, “Thanks, Padre!”

“No problem, kid. ...Though, in my opinion, it’s not totally perfect. I mean, we could always make it even cooler later. Like, maybe make the ends of it electrical or something.”

Alfred frowned a bit at that. “Erm, yes but, perhaps those adjustments could wait until he’s a bit older?” He suggested, looking a bit concerned.

Batman rolled his eyes slightly. “Fine, we’ll save it for your birthday, or maybe your adopted-versary.” 

“Heh, yeah,” Dick nodded, still admiring his new weapon, “...Though, I don’t mind if I have to wait a bit longer, really.” He smiled at his father. “It’s like I said. To me, it’s already perf-” Catching something out of the corner of his eye, Dick jumped up slightly as he threw his staff down, hitting the boomerang dead center and causing it to fall to the floor before it even had the chance to hit them. 

“Oh my... Very good reflexes,” Alfred commented, clearly impressed.

As for Batman, he just smiled slightly as he picked the old boomerang up. “Oh hey, I was wondering where this thing went.”

“Huh, I guess it really is like they always say,” Dick shrugged, “Boomerangs always come back. ...Eventually.”

“Yeah. ...But Bat-a-rangs are still way better.” “Oh definitely.” “Certainly no doubt about that.” 

THE END

((Lol, hope you guys enjoyed this! Also, to anyone confused as to why I made Clayface a girl in this: the character is voice by Kate Micucci in the movie, so I assume they’re female. But this isn’t confirmed in the movie so maybe Clayface is still a boy in the Lego!Verse? Idk, I’m just speculating. But yeah, anyway, thanks for reading! ^v^))

[jeichanhaka]

The Robbed That Smiles

Chapter Five

Noticing who was there and that the Sanctum door was still wide open, Lokki fell quiet; behind her Reyda hurried forward, concerned greatly by how agitated the frost giantess was. The mischief goddess’ sea-colored eyes roamed over her surroundings and the faces of the Avengers in the Sanctum foyer, the room suddenly struck so quiet a pin drop would sound like a sharp clap.

Just as suddenly the quiet vanished when Thor let go of Strange and instead hurried to Lokki, absolutely beaming. “You’re with child, sister?” The thunder god asked, ecstatic. Out of all the Avengers, he had been the first, aside from Loki himself, to truly view Lokki as who she said she was. And as such, he fully viewed her as family, like some recently rediscovered lost sibling. A much more welcomed surprise compared to Odin’s reveal of Hela.

“I….” Lokki fidgeted while smoothing out her blouse, spreading the soft material so that it once more fully covered her abdomen. Until that moment, most of her middle and lower abdomen had been bare. And despite her previous unabashed display of nudity in front of Stark, she felt more exposed now than a week ago. She nodded. “I am.”

Thor grinned forgetting all about why he and Rogers had come, and instead started asking various questions of the frost giantess. Things like: How far along was she? Did she know what she’d name the baby? Or even what gender it was to be? Who was the father? His exuberance was so great, he barely paused for the frost giantess to respond.

“Ahem.” Reyda interrupted the thunder god’s parade of questions, and whispered something in Lokki’s ear after noticing that the frost giantess’ demeanor had flipped. Where she had been blistering angry, Lokki was now subdued and reticent. Even more so after Thor asked about the father of her child. The obstetrician gave Lokki a reassuring look and gestured towards the room they’d been in mere moments before. After Lokki nodded in reply to the Asgardian healer’s wordless question, Reyda turned to Thor. “I was just giving Lady Lokki a check up, so please save all inquiries for later. And if possible, could you take this disagreement or whatever you’re in the midst of somewhere else?”

“Of course.” Strange immediately answered recognizing the concern in Reyda’s eyes and interrupting Thor who seemed childishly reluctant to do as the healer asked. Before the thunder god could protest, he continued. “We have a misunderstanding to clear up and should focus on it first and foremost. Unless Thor doesn’t mind his brother being blamed for something he did not do?”

“Of course I mind!” Thor bristled, the next moment following Strange and Rogers on their way out of the Sanctum. Only pausing to halt Loki from following. “You should stay here. Some of the Midgardian leaders are chomping at the bit to lock you up, brother. I believe a few won’t even care if you are innocent this time.”

“I…” Loki started to protest, but then thought better of it. If the Midgardian leaders wanted to lock him up for simply existing, he wasn’t going to just walk into their laps. Maybe if he came up with a trick that would royally fuck with them, but at the moment he preferred to not. “I’ll just relax with a book in the library.”

“All right, brother.” Thor nodded, about to resume his way out, but hesitated and glanced towards the office door; Lokki and Reyda having just returned to the tiny room. There was reluctance in his eyes, not wanting to leave his pseudo-sister alone - mostly from excitedly wanting to celebrate the news and glean all he could about his newest family member, but also from a wary dread. He didn’t know why, exactly, but hearing Lokki was pregnant filled him with concern.

“Brother? Shouldn’t you be on your way?” Loki gazed at Thor, scrutinizing the thunder god. His tone having a terse underbite to it - in an unlikely to happen again turn of events, Strange had left the Sanctum without reactivating the higher defenses of the library. An oversight the mischief god was salivating to turn to his advantage. All those old tomes waiting for his peruse on their shelves.

“Loki...the stories father used to tell us as children...you remember the ones dealing with the female frost giants, right?” Asked Thor, missing the excitedly knavish look of his brother’s due to the mischief god standing closer to his blind-side. As such he also missed Loki’s swift change in emotion as the younger man realized what Thor meant.

According to Odin’s stories, (the few that concerned female Jotunn), pregnancy and childbirth were among the most dangerous occurrences in Jotunn women's lives. The mortality rates amid both infants and mothers were so high, that one of the earliest truces between Jotunheim and Asgard was brought about when an Asgardian helped safely deliver a Jotunn baby that even the mother had given up hope in delivering alive. (That Jotunn mother was the head-consort of the strongest clan-father in Jotunheim during that time period, hence the truce.)

“Brother?”

“It’s nothing to be concerned about.” Loki lied, implicitly understanding that his doppelganger wouldn’t want the concern that would result in Thor learning the truth. That her chance of a successful pregnancy was horribly low. Furthermore, Lokki would have both Dr. Strange and Lady Reyda observing her and her child’s health, she wouldn’t need anyone else knowing. “I’m sure father’s stories were just stories - at least those ones. After all, he himself was told those stories by his father. And Female Jotunn ceased fighting in wars completely long before father’s first battle. It’s highly guaranteed he never met one.”

“....” Thor listened to his brother, whose tone was much smoother and believable than when he lied about Lokki sleeping in. But that was the same for so many other of Loki’s lies. His brother was so adept at persuasion and deceit that it was impossible for the thunder god to discern when the mischief god was truthful and when he was not. Thor only managed it when he began assuming that everything his brother said was a lie, especially if it fucked him over or benefited Loki some other way.

“Are you really going to do this now? Disbelieving me about something private concerning, well, myself of sorts, while the Midgardian government is deciding whether or not to imprison me for a prank I didn’t actually do?” Loki rolled his eyes and gave a heavy exhale, his next words scoffing. “Do you really think any version of me wouldn’t prioritize my own safety over your or anyone’s feelings? How much do you think I’ve actually changed?”

Thor opened his mouth to reply, before giving into the other’s argument. It was valid and not self-serving as far as the thunder god could tell. As he started to leave, Stephen Strange suddenly reentered and waved his hand towards the library, magically securing it. Loki’s eyes bulged, his teeth clenching as his rare chance to delve unhindered in the Sanctum library was robbed from his grasp.

“I nearly forgot.” Said Strange, though Loki wondered silently if that was true. It could’ve been, but the mischief god doubted the Midgardian wizard forgot or overlooked much of anything. It certainly hadn’t taken him long to realize Lokki’s condition or to realize Loki knew it before aiming his dagger at his double’s abdomen. More likely, the wizard had wanted to fuck with him by presenting Loki with an opportunity to access the library, before ripping it away. Probably hoping to do so at the very moment Loki picked up a book. Thor delaying the mischief god had likely interfered with that part. “Library is off limits. As are my and Wong’s private spaces. Also, try not to destroy anything while I’m away or I may just personally escort you to your Antarctic prison regardless.”

With that, Strange left again, not bothering to gauge Thor’s or Loki’s reactions to his threat. Unsurprisingly, the mischief god’s reaction was furious, simmering rage and quiet plotting on how to get back at the wizard. Thor’s was shock mixed with rethinking of Loki’s argument to get him to back off of his concern about his brother’s female double.

“Just go.” Loki snapped, recognizing the beginnings of distrust in his brother’s face. It incensed him. “If you think I’d mislead you about Selfie’s health and the safety of her child just to get you out of the Sanctum so I can pilfer through the library, then fuck off. Go suck up to your little Avenger buddies and their government. Have the Midgardians lock me up in that arctic prison, or banish me, whatever. I don’t bloody care.”

“Loki, I….” Thor trailed off and watched as his brother stalked off, realizing that it was pointless to argue. He had without realizing it crossed a line, ticking off Loki in a way he hadn’t in years. Not since they’d arrived in Midgard 3 years ago with the Asgardian refugees fleeing Ragnarok.

That time he managed to royally piss off his brother by doubting Loki’s claim that he’d left behind the Tesseract in Asgard. At first Thor had believed his brother’s claim completely, but had faltered due to the distrust every one of his fellow Avengers felt towards Loki. Eventually the mischief god’s claim that he passed by the Tesseract in Asgard’s vault, and though sorely tempted, had decided simply not to take it just seemed false.

Even after three years with no sign of the Tesseract or any hint that Loki had it stashed away somewhere, the other Avengers still suspected the mischief god had it. That saying he left it alone in Asgard during Ragnarok was a lie. That disbelief had even spread through New Asgard, and was the real reason Loki had been unofficially exiled from the settlement after one week. (It was an unofficial exile because Thor, as leader of New Asgard, refused to exile his brother. He had instead suggested Loki travel around Midgard for a while.)

That suggestion and the reason for it had peeved his brother, who had then proceeded to comply by traveling country to country, all under the radar. No one even knew where Loki had gone or was doing for about 3 months following his exile from New Asgard. It wasn’t until his official exile from Norway that anyone heard any news of him, and when Thor questioned him later, Loki practically admitted to purposely getting exiled from the Midgardian country so his big brother wouldn’t have to ever worry about him returning to New Asgard.

Thor had never felt more like an ass.

But by then Loki had gotten over it, similar to when they were children. Once his brother felt he’d gotten full revenge, he stopped focusing on the particular slight. It wasn’t until they grew older that the mischief god started nursing grudges longer and despite getting payback. (Or at least that was Thor’s observation which, since he’d never noticed his brother’s increasing envy and enmity until it culminated in the mischief god trying to destroy all of Jotunheim to prove himself worthy of the throne, didn’t say much.)

‘Loki.’ Thor gazed after his brother, before turning and leaving the Sanctum. Nothing he could say at that moment would help, and he felt whatever he did say, would simply exacerbate the situation. And that was just with his brother, he had no clue how his brother’s female doppelganger would react. He sighed.

As Thor exited the Sanctum and headed to where Rogers and Strange waited, ready to head to the meeting between S.H.I.E.L.D and the country’s government concerning Loki, someone peeked out of the window of a house across the street. Not an action suspicious in itself, but the furtive way they did so combined with the fact that the house in question had none of the usual signs it was inhabited - curtains, parked car, furnishing or lights of any sort - got the thunder god’s attention.

He nearly started to head towards the house, only to be stopped by Rogers and Strange, the latter muttering ‘don’t’ while the former grabbed his arm. “What? Who’s…”

“U.S military, judging by the weapons and uniform.” Rogers replied, keeping his voice down and making sure not to peek incessantly at the house or an innocuous looking car parked down the street. “Doctor and I noticed them while waiting for you. They seem to be waiting for us to leave the vicinity.”

“What? Why?” Thor watched Rogers, while instinctively trying to turn back towards the uninhabited house. It was from habit that he turned his blinded eye towards the Midgardians watching the Sanctum, keeping them unaware of his knowledge of their presence.

“Likely to attempt capture of Loki.” Strange drawled and prodded the thunder god towards the van Thor and Rogers had arrived in. “Rogers just finished telling me that the meeting about the Statue of Liberty didn’t go well. At all. And that you practically stormed out of the meeting, adamant that you wouldn’t allow your brother to be imprisoned. Or interrogated.”

Thor’s face lit with anger. “Just let them try.” He growled, determined more than ever to confront the people watching the Sanctum. Strange sighed and simply portalled the thunder god away, stepping through another portal after gesturing to Rogers. The other Avenger quickly got into the van, shutting the door, before being portalled away himself to a lookout point overlooking the Sanctum. Moments later the van started to drive off, remotely driven by Stark, to convince those watching that Strange and the Avengers had all left.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Gray eyes peered into piercing sea-green ones as Reyda waited, her physical exam of Lokki concluded although it wasn’t as thorough as the Asgardian doctor would’ve preferred. It was as thorough as she was comfortable being, at least until the female Jotunn answered some questions. The hyper-active frost was troublesome enough and warranted caution, but the moment Reyda touched the mischief goddess’s abdomen, she’d paled. Warranting caution was an understatement.

“Please answer completely and truthfully.” Said Reyda, keeping her tone steady and neutral; her gaze sweeping over Lokki’s suddenly inexpressive face. The frost giantess’ demeanor, though still poised, had shifted with the doctor’s first question. A question that still hung in the air, palpable and needing no repeat.

How many times had she, Lokki, miscarried?

After about a minute of silence, her patient refusing to answer, Reyda sighed. “Milady, I cannot give you the best care if you don’t….”

“Four.” Lokki cut across the Asgardian doctor, finally getting out the answer, her throat hoarse as she swallowed back her emotions. The seidr cuffs around her wrists prevented her from hiding such behind an illusion, prevented her from hiding the paleness of her cheeks at Reyda’s question and the redness around her eyes. “Four times.”

“Four?” Reyda drew in a breath, her lips parting in horror as her thoughts filled with everything she knew about Jotunn pregnancy. Female frost giants became more tender around the womb area the more unsuccessful pregnancies they had and their frost more active. Having touched Lokki’s abdomen, noting how sensitive it was and tender as well as how active was the goddess’ frost, she had expected to hear an answer of two. Maybe three. No more than that, as a Jotunn’s fertility cycles generally ceased if more than three pregnancies were lost. “This is your fifth pregnancy?”

Lokki nodded.

Reyda swallowed, shaking internally. Every part of her wanting to express her trepidation and horror. Not just from empathy for the Jotunn, but from the knowledge that her ‘expertise’ in Frost giant pregnancy wasn’t near enough to deal with this. The more times a Jotunn miscarried, the harder it would be to carry to the minimum weeks needed for a successful birth. “Have you ever carried to term?”

“...” Lokki glanced at the doctor, her sea-colored irises having been focused on the paintings adorning the wall across from her. “By term do you mean minimum weeks or maximum?”

“Either.” Reyda replied, chiding herself for foolishness the next second. The mischief goddess’ size, although tall and decent by Asgardian standards, was runty by Jotunn. There was zero possibility that Lokki had carried to the max gestation week limit for Jotunn. Doing so would’ve meant death for the goddess during labor. Unlike Asgardians or Midgardians, Jotunn females had a range in which it was possible to give birth to a healthy baby with an over 90 percent survival rate. This was on top of a gestational period over double the length of a Midgardian - 90 weeks instead of 40. Carrying for longer than the minimum gestational time simply resulted in larger births rather than runty ones. “I meant the minimum 50 weeks.”

Seeing the Asgardian flustered, Lokki grinned, although subduedly. “I know. I wouldn’t be able to carry to 90 weeks or anywhere beyond 62 without severely risking my health.” She paused, chewing on her bottom lip. Standing before her, Reyda held her breath waiting for Lokki’s answer. The frost giantess shook her head. “No. I’ve only ever reached 46 weeks.”

“I am so sorry.” Reyda blurted, noticing the watery film over the mischief goddess’ eyes; something Lokki tried to mask, refusing to let the Asgardian see her emotions. After a few moments and a series of calming breaths from both women, the doctor asked her next question. “Do you know how far along you are?” She paused. “I know it’s part of my job to determine that, but…It is difficult to gauge precisely without scans or further tests.”

Caressing her abdomen protectively, Lokki glanced down at her hands, her expression unreadable. “...between 26 to 32 weeks.”

Reyda’s eyes widened and scrutinized the frost giantess’ abdomen. “26…? But...you barely look more than 14 weeks…You…” The Asgardian doctor covered her mouth and shook her head, staring at the mischief goddess dumbfounded. Although Jotunn pregnancies developed much slower than Asgardian or Midgardian ones, they still gained significant weight by the 20th week. Lokki barely looked pregnant. “I’m sorry, but...you don’t look...if you’re serious, you haven’t gained enough weight, I….”

“I gained.” Lokki countered, bristling at the doctor’s remark; her sea-hued eyes glaring annoyed at Reyda. Her jaw clenched and she peered with an angry, pale face at the Asgardian; at the same time her frost started to act up. Ice soon lined part of the seidr cuffs around her wrists. “My weight prior just wasn’t....” She took a deep inhale, a steadying breath or two, while her frost calmed a bit. “I didn’t get with child under the most, shall we say, ideal conditions…” The goddess closed her eyes, her demeanor turning more taciturn. “I thought it impossible, actually, you…” Lokki swallowed, opening her eyes to gazed at Reyda eye-to-eye. “The you of my universe said it was impossible, that after my last…that any Jotunn who’s miscarried as much as I…you said it was impossible.”

Reyda blinked, briefly thrown by the reference to a parallel universe’s version of her, and she bristled slightly at the accusatory edge in the frost giantess’ voice. An edge meant for the version of her from Lokki’s universe. “...Your current pregnancy was unexpected?”

Lokki’s mouth twitched, her gaze grown cold. “Very. If I’d known…” Shaking her head, she frowned, muttering the rest of her sentence under her breath. The next moment she shrugged and asked if they were done, muttering that she was hungry while already walking to the door.

“Almost. Just one more question.” Reyda replied, while Lokki shrugged and stopped just before opening the door, her hand on the handle. “The father of your baby…”

“No.” Lokki spat, her body suddenly completely tense. “I will truthfully answer any questions you deem important to ensure I have a successful pregnancy. But I will not answer that.”

“You didn’t even hear my full question.”

The frost giantess spun around and scowled at Reyda, vehemence coloring her irises. “The only thing relevant about him to you as my obstetrician is he isn’t Jotunn. Nothing else is relevant. And I will answer nothing else about that...about him.”

Reyda swallowed, shivering at Lokki’s glare and at the Jotunn’s spite-filled, venomous tone. Her breath caught in her throat and she closed her eyes to settle her trembling. As she opened them she realized Lokki had left the room, and she exhaled.

After a few moments standing there alone in the room, a loud crash drew her attention, followed by cursing and sucking in of breath, the sound similar to a hiss of pain.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Norns!” Loki hissed and wrenched back his hand from the door handle, his fingertips blistered. After perusing the library, rereading a few of the safe books that Strange didn’t mind the mischief god reading, he had quickly grown bored. Not even peeking into Strange and Wong’s rooms to see what tricks he could play assuaged the tedium. For a moment he considered peeking in his doppelganger’s room, and perhaps glean just how alike they were, but decided against it. Instead he decided to leave.

His first clue that something was up should’ve been being unable to simply teleport out of the Sanctum. Ordinarily no one aside from Sanctum wizards could portal in or out, but Strange had bent the protection spell to allow Loki to leave by magic. Just as long as the god took nothing belonging to the Sanctum with him. Allowing this saved them the hassle of escorting Loki out after every visit, which sometimes occurred multiple times a day. (He was marked as a potential threat by the Sanctum itself, thus he wasn’t allowed to simply leave unsearched.)

His second clue...well, that was the strong magical protection brimming from the front door itself. That should’ve given him pause, but instead he ignored it and tried leaving the Sanctum. Only to be welcomed by pain as he grabbed the knob. The strength of its magical protection was enough to blister his skin, burning him despite his Frost Giant heritage.

“What the fuck!” The mischief god cussed, glaring at his fingers then at the door knob; his sea-colored irises brimming with irritation. It increased when he heard Reyda hurrying towards him.

“Is everything okay?” Asked the Asgardian lady, her gray eyes locking on Loki’s blistered fingertips. She quickly approached, only pausing briefly to think about how it could even be possible to burn a Jotunn. It must have been through whatever seidr or magic the Midgardian sorcerers used - flame alone wouldn’t be enough. “Are you…”

“I’m fine.” The mischief god swiped his hand away from Reyda’s reach, not feeling like dealing with the healer’s concern. Although he enjoyed such attention normally, having received it so rarely growing up and usually only after manipulating the other party, Loki was focused on the protective magic that had scathed him. Was it possible that the Midgardian wizard wanted to keep him prisoner? That despite what Strange said about explaining the misunderstanding to the government, they were going to lock him up anyway? He glared hatefully at the door.

“Hm? What…” Reyda gazed up at Loki, absently reaching for the door handle herself. Before she touched it, Wong called out from upstairs.

“Don’t!” The monk warned while descending the stairs, using a minor magic of his own to prevent the Asgardian healer from accidentally touching the doorknob. “Strange activated the Sanctum’s Sanctuary Protection spell before he left. No one but Sanctum cleared wizards or those escorted by them can enter or leave.”

“Oh.” Muttered Reyda, while the mischief god beside her turned to face the monk.

“....” Loki glowered at Wong, while using his seidr to alleviate the pain from his fingers as well as mask the damage. “You could’ve warned me before I tried leaving. I passed by you on my way down. You could’ve said something.”

Wong simply shrugged, amused by the mischief god’s frustration. The thought to warn the trickster had crossed his mind, but a part of him that disliked the god had argued that thought down. And he didn’t regret it.

“I see.” Loki seethed, before shifting his frown into a calm smirk; one identical to any he wore during his captivity in Asgard’s dungeon. That expression much more sinister. Vehement. Wong felt a shiver go up his back, something that made the mischief god’s smirk widen. “Where’s Selfie, by the way?”

“Selfie…?” Reyda queried, gazing up at the mischief god before glancing at Wong; the Midgardian’s face filled with worry.

“My female double.” Replied Loki, his smirk spreading at Wong’s horrified demeanor - the look on the Midgardian wizard’s face revealing he knew about Lokki’s condition; something Loki had been unsure about, considering the monk had gone upstairs before the mischief god had blurted the fact out earlier. “She at least should be warned, no? It would be dreadful if something happened to her pregnancy because Wiz here decided to be spiteful.”

Reyda gasped and nodded vigorously, turning towards the Midgardian. Before she could demand Wong help warn Lokki, a shout and loud banging caused them to jump. The shout belonging to the female Jotunn. Face drained, Reyda hurried towards the sound along with Wong.

[psychic-timetraveler]

Found a cute lil Christmas prompt from @drink-it-write-it about a snowball fight and I’m here for it. I love my demon children so, more Katden!

"You started a snowball fight with me and things escalated, but now you're looming over me, breathing hard" AU

–––––––

Kat had been watching the snow fall throughout most of the evening. It just looked so pretty as the flakes fell from the sky and laid perfectly onto the lawn, glistening against the street lights from the town not too far away. She loved the winter time. Especially snow. 

Her boyfriend, on the other hand, didn’t quiet care for the cold. It didn’t matter that he was a heater, fueled by Hellfire itself in his demon veins. He just didn’t like the snow and found it annoying when it sizzled out when it touched his skin. But there wasn’t a lot he wouldn’t do for his lovely girlfriend.

“Holden, I’m going outside to play in the snow.” Kat smiled to him. “Come out with me?”

He had been dusting one of the higher shelves in the library, awkwardly hovering above the ground. “In a few minutes, darling.”

“Is that a yes?” She smiled.

“In a few minutes.” He repeated. “I want to finish this up before I lose concentration.”

“I’ll hold you to that ‘few minutes’ remark.” She happily skipped to the door. “Don’t keep me waiting.”

With that, she headed outside to the snow covered church grounds. The best part about being a vampire was that she never got cold. So she could easily stand outside in a short skirt and low cut long sleeved shirt and be completely fine. Her hair was tied back in a ribbon but she undid the ribbon and tied it around her neck instead. This was a time to leave her hair down and just have some fun.

She transformed into her cat self before diving into the pristine blanket of snow besides the stairs that led into the church. Almost acting as if she had a ball of yarn, she rolled around on her back a few times. She shook herself off before pouncing through the snow, going no where in particular. 

Eventually Holden kept to his word and walked outside. They were two perks of supernatural beings, one who never got cold and the one who was always warm. He emerged in just a t-shirt and chinos. He crossed his arms over his chest and smiled a bit at his girlfriend having the time of her life bouncing around in the snow.

“Having fun?” He asked with a small laugh. She was always so amusing to watch.

“Yes.” She switched back to her human form, now laying on her back in the snow. “Come on, make a snow angel with me.”

“I’m allergic to all things holy.” He joked. Though it wasn’t a total lie. He was allergic to holy things, but snow angels probably weren’t one of them.

“What if the snow was holy water?” She asked, sitting up in the snow with a smile on her face.

“Then I’d be shit out of luck.” He gave her a smile in return.

“Let’s test that theory.”

He was going to ask what she meant by that, but his question was soon answered as a snowball hit him in the face. The snowball slightly skewed his glasses, knocking them so one side showed off his demonic eye while the other still protected the other. He wanted to be mad at her, but wasn’t. Instead he took his glasses off and set them on the stone wall besides the stairs.

“Oh, it’s on.” 

She squealed in delight as she saw him make a snowball and start to run towards her. She jumped up and made another to throw it at him as he threw one that hit her in the leg. She released the demon and he wanted revenge on the snowball. Any chance she could get to let him loosen up, she’d take it.

The two threw snowball after snowball at one another, just enjoying the time they were having acting like children. It wasn’t often they would do childish things like this, so they’d take the chance when they could. 

Eventually the snowball fight ended when Kat pounced on her boyfriend and knocked him to the ground. Thankfully there was enough snow to cushion the fall where it wouldn’t hurt either of them. She wouldn’t have done it if it didn’t hurt either of them. 

They were laughing and panting from running around like the children they were. 

“Truce?” He asked finally, smiling up at her.

“Hmm? Maybe.” That was until she dropped one last snowball on his face and she giggled as it melted instantly upon contact. He was giving her a ‘really’ look that made her laugh harder. “Now it’s a truce.”

Some days Kat forgot that Holden was surprisingly strong being a demon and all. This was one of those days where she forgot. He managed to get a hold of her and flip her onto her back and he on top of her now. 

She loved his eyes behind his charmed glasses, something about the borderline unearthly green made her smile. But his demon eyes, now they were something to fall in love with. The pitch black had a warm and welcoming feeling to her and the almost neon green irises were full of love and caring... and she could sense a bit of playful anger from the last snowball to his face. 

To her, he was handsome, demonic side and all. Seeing a more playful side of him was always refreshing instead of his “boring” side. He was a mystery that only she was able to crack on oddly specific occasions and she loved it. She loved how much he trusted her and how much she trusted him. 

“What?” He finally asked her.

She didn’t realize how long she’d been staring at him. Kat just smiled. “I love when you goof around with me.” Though that was just code for ‘I love you for you no matter what’. 

With that, he ruined the moment by tossing some snow down the front of her shirt. She let out another squeal of betrayal before tossing a handful of loose snow at his face.

“Twat!” She laughed and pushed him off of her. That gave her a few seconds to brush the snow from between her boobs.

He laughed and laid down in the snow next to her. She soon joined him, shoulders touching as they stared up to the cloudy sky as the snow fell on them. Well fell on Kat at least. It piled up on her but melted instantly against Holden’s bare skin. 

As they just enjoyed the winter evening around them, they managed to interlock their pinky fingers together. They laid there in silence for a few minutes, just enjoying each others company. Kat saw a lovely playful evening with her boyfriend, while Holden thought this was a fun way to spend Yule. It was connecting with nature after all. 

Kat adjusted herself and decided to flop down on top of Holden again. He was very warm and perfect for a cold evening. Despite her not at all being cold, he was just warm and it was an excuse to cuddle up with him. He wrapped his arms around her and rested them on her lower back.

He had a heartbeat, she wasn’t sure how but he did. It was nice to listen to it every once in a while, missing her own sometimes. The beating was soothing to her and knowing that it was him made it even better. It relaxed her and almost lulled her to sleep. 

She was about ready to completely fall asleep on him before he kissed her head. “Let’s go back inside.”

Despite being comfy, she agreed. She flopped off of him onto the snow again to let him get up. If she were lucky, he’d pick her up. Or at least help her to her feet, either or. This time he was only feeling slightly generous and offered her his hand to help her to her feet. She took it and he yanked her into a standing position.

Though he wasn’t expecting it, she jumped on his back and wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his shoulders to keep from falling. He was strong enough, he could easily carry her. He accepted his fate and carried her back to the church. 

He leaned her towards the wall where he set his glasses. “Grab my glasses, doll face?”

She did as he asked and immediately tried to put them on his face. He sighed, accepting his fate once again. He could barely see out them through the water droplets that accumulated from the snow. 

He dropped her when they got into the church again. She made her way upstairs to change into a pair of cozy pjs and out of her wet clothes from the snow. It gave Holden a few minutes to get his shit in order with the library. 

He took his glasses off again and clipped them to his shirt collar. Not like he needed them anyway. He locked the door and with a snap of his fingers he snuffed out the candles in the bottom floor before heading upstairs.

By the time he got up there, Kat had already stole one of his shirts to get cozy in. It was something he would just have to deal with. She was making tea in the kitchen for the two of them. With a fake finger gun, he lit the fireplace. It just seemed right to have the aesthetic of a snowy evening with a fireplace going.

Holden changed out of his wet clothes into another t-shirt and flannel pj pants. By the time he threw the wet clothes in the bathroom to dry over the shower curtain, he was being handed a mug of tea. Kat was making her rounds, giving him a mug of tea before hunting down the remote for the stereo. 

When they moved in with one another, Kat made sure to provide some of her electronic devices. Holden learned to love it, against his own will. Also the couch she had was also coming with. It was so much better for cuddling than his reading chair. 

Though neither of them really celebrated Christmas, she put on some instrumental Christmas music on to compliment the snowy evening. It was good cuddling time. Holden knew exactly that’s what she wanted to do and he was not opposed to it in the slightest. 

He laid down first, setting the mug of tea behind him on the end table. She gave him a second before completely ruining all of the comfort he gained and now had a vampire laying on top of him. 

She hummed contently into his chest, listening to his heart beat again. Now she could really fall asleep on him. He ran his hand up and down her back for a while before she started biting at his neck.

He smiled a bit. “We’ve been over this, you don’t want what’s in there.”

She kissed his neck instead. “I know. But you didn’t recoil away from it this time. That’s progress.”

He rolled his eyes. “It’s something.”

Her kisses trailed up the side of his neck and onto his jawline before finally kissing his lips. He kissed her in return before she sighed contently and flopped back onto his chest.

“I love you.” She smiled.

He ran a hand through her hair. “I love you too.”