#criminal minds suspect behavior imagine

[moltage]

I want to see Sam Cooper and Hannibal Lecter have a conversation. Just once

[on-leatheredwings]

Secret Admirer

Yandere! Dick Grayson / Yandere! Green Lantern! Gender Neutral Reader

> romantic > tw/cw: yandere behaviors. Kissing. Heavy petting. > rated M > summary: You should stop playing with fire. Because when you do, you make him want to be crazy. Crazier. And Dick’s worked really, really hard to wrap those habits up. > a/n: wow nothing truly despicable in this one i’m so vanilla now <3 the reader is male to me but feel free to imagine what you want. I rlly like writing pre-yandere + pre-relationship stuff, it’s so fun . may write more for actual smut possibilities > word count: 1472

Newly-acquired powers or not, you are really poking the bear here. 

Dick has known you've been following him since yesterday. He allowed it because who was he if not a performer? He thrived on attention, and especially yours. But today, you had gotten too close to a fight. Sure, you had stayed an appropriate distance away, but the fact it had happened at all was worrying. It made him distracted. Distracted enough that he wasn’t pulling his punches on criminals like usual. 

“Now that it’s getting quite late–” he begins, to which you audibly gasp. An adorable sound. “–how about you finally come out and let me help you?”

He turns around to a swath of darkness that paints the rooftop’s entry door in black shadow.

Behind the corner, you curse. Damn it, he caught you. … Well, you could’ve told yourself this would happen. Dick, the fine friend he was, surely said it would. No one really ‘sneaks up’ on one of the Bats. And definitely not Nightwing, the most tenured of them all aside Batman himself.

You got caught, and lord knows what Nightwing will do to you. You bite your lips, mind running wild. Who knows what Nightwing will do to you, indeed? You feel a pang of arousal at the thought. 

You step out of the shadows, trying to act natural. Nightwing’s eyes lock onto your humble form, and you find yourself warming over every inch of your body. You want him bad.

His body stiffens, for reasons you can’t discern. It doesn’t seem like hostility… you think?

You adjust your domino mask, cursing silently that the adhesive is finally starting to give after a long night of following him around. Stealth isn’t really a natural gift for a Green Lantern, either. Turning down your glow while using your powers to maintain soundless stalking was hard. Harder than expected. 

“What are you doing here?”

You smile, hoping your giddy expression is hidden by the hoodie you’ve chosen to wear on your escapade. 

It certainly is not, which makes Dick pleased.

Now that you've made contact with him, his first thought is that he ought to tell Batman about this. And the rest of the team, while he’s at it. Dick Grayson knows that Nightwing is your 'celebrity' crush, and that you're enamored with the rest of the Bat Family. What if you confronted them someday as well?

On the Batcomputer is a file on John Stewart, complete a footnote that is you. Said footnote has graduated to its own page, now that you have your own hero exploits to document. They'd be less welcoming and more wary of a hero on their turf. He has to protect you.

“I… I…” you croak, tongue heavy with anxiety. You can’t help but be nervous. 

“Sometime tonight?” he teases. 

“You’re beautiful,” you blurt.

He is taken aback, before he recollects his wits. 

“I really like you,” you say again, stepping forward. He lifts his hand in warning. Stay back. You get chills, but don’t stop treading forward. You can tell his eyes are narrowed beneath his mask.

When he’s finally in arms’ reach, you are pushed against the wall. And not roughly at all, you notice. You smile with delight, your hands immediately landing on his shoulders. Nightwing’s glare doesn’t feel hostile at all. Suspicious, maybe. But not hostile.

“... What do you mean by, you “really” like me?” You suspected that he probably wouldn’t believe you.

“Well,” you fluster, “I mean that I really like you.” Dick’s heart jolts. “And I want you.” It nearly flatlines.

Oh, don’t say that, don’t say that, Dick thinks, despite the elation that begins to tighten his throat. You? Want him? If he had known all he needed to do to grab your attention was put on the suit, he would’ve done that ages ago. He felt nearly invisible to you during the day, all his flirtation falling on deaf ears and blind eyes.

At Nightwing’s silence, you lick your lips. An action that makes his eyes dilate behind his mask. 

“I-I’m serious!”

Nightwing leans in closer, as if inspecting the truth in your expression, raking over every atom. 

“You’re playing a dangerous game,” he breathes.

“It’s not a game at all to me,” you say, feeling lightheaded from the small distance between you two. This doesn't feel real.

To love and be loved is all you’ve ever wanted. You’d think that would give you the violet ring of Love. Instead, the ring that had appeared in your hand one fateful night was acid green, sparkling and mesmerizing. Apparently, instead of embodying love, you simply were driven enough to seek it at any costs. Driven enough to never be alone ever again.

You have the ability to overcome great fear. Welcome to the Green Lantern Corps, it said. You had taken it without hesitation.

“Kiss me,” you say, hands rising to cup his jaw. As if he’s not already leaning in.

Your lips meet in an unabashed frenzy. You’re nearly blown away by the pure amount of feeling in his kiss – that's quite a lot of emotion for a stranger. Not that you aren’t equally impassioned. You feel so raw and naked, kissing him. You hope he can't feel all your insanity, your obsession, your infatuation.

However, Dick certainly does, so much that he moans openly, the sound making both your lips buzz.

You make him want to be crazy. Crazier. And he’s worked really, really hard to wrap those habits up. 

You shudder, feeling the pressure of his cup press in between your thighs. God, you wished you could feel the real thing. Your hand slips in between you two, tracing the lines of his abs. Dick shivers. He peels off your domino mask, but you don’t even flinch. You don’t care if he knows who you are. You want him to know everything. Inside and out.

Your eyes flutter open as you gyrate against his hips, sinful and frustrating. You peer up at him, cheeks blazing. You want him.

He looks into your eyes, and it's as if he can read your mind. He wants to swallow you whole. He wants to map every inch of your body. His cock is painfully straining against his suit. You are not a want, but a need.

But Dick is trying to be good, he really is. The night’s not over. He’s still on patrol, technically. You may want Nightwing, but do you want Dick Grayson? If he fucked you on this rooftop, throwing restraint into the wind, would that be taking advantage of you? Do you just hero worship him? All the questions fly through his mind at rapid speed, and he wants them to quiet, before the Angry Orphan inside him decides to just stop caring completely. 

But he… he’s strong. We don't have to be, his mind interjects, screaming at him. But he quiets it. He whimpers at the tightness against his groin, a sound that makes you look at him curiously. You are completely blissfully ignorant to his inner strife. Completely innocent.

Dick narrows his eyes, channeling his best Batman impression.

“You should go home.”

You balk almost comically. “W-wait.” Nightwing retreats, but not before you can grab his wrist. “At least– at least, can we go on a date? Or even hang out? Or–” His thumb traces the curve of your lips, silencing you with a shiver.  

“Go home.” Firmly said, yet gentle.

You frown, though it’s more like a pout. Man, you’re cute, he thinks. “When can I see you again?”

Dick certainly isn’t strong enough to be responsible and say “You can’t.” 

So Nightwing just stares at you, looking… hesitant. The pieces click in your mind. Ah, so he liked it. Your lips curl, like a cat with cream. You take that as a victory.

“... I-I’ll come back tomorrow night,” you state boldly, stealing a chaste kiss before he could argue. Dick has to basically pull himself away, despite his desire to keep your bodies flush and perfectly fitted against one another.

You slip your ring onto your finger, and your entire body glows, rampant with Lantern light. You begin to float.

“Tomorrow!” you blurt, already wanting him again. You zip away, flying home. All the while, you slap at your warm cheeks, trying to see if this is a dream, laughing with glee, mind going haywire with heated fantasies. You kissed Nightwing. You basically groped him. And he didn’t stop you. Oh god, wait until you tell Dick. 

The confrontation went better than expected. At worst, you figured Nightwing would shoo you away, reject you. Despite the abrupt ending, he at least seemed… interested? You try not to dwell on it too much. It doesn’t matter.

You’re a Green Lantern. You’re powerful. Willful. He will be yours, someday.

[railingsofsorrow]

(not so) stupid things

[spencer reid x reader]

A/N: hi! this is my entry for the CM meet cute challenge created by the amazing @imagining-in-the-margins

summary: the one where reader is a detective responsible for a case the FBI is called to work on and as they try to make a good first impression, it slips their mind that one of them does not shake hands.

or... based on the eighteenth episode of criminal minds' S8.

pairing: s.reid x gn!reader

w.c: 1.7K

warnings/content: anxiety (implied); case related violence; mentions of injuries and blood; mentions of needles; two awkward people (try) flirting; fluff; language.

navi

masterpost

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“The number of pathogens passed during a handshake is staggering. It's actually safer to kiss.”

“O-oh,” you stutter out, blinking in surprise and immediately drawing your hand back. How could you have forgotten this?

Your boss had told you some important information about the team you were going to work with: the Behavior Analysis Unit. It completely slipped your mind who the “Doctor who doesn't shake hands” was. You just vaguely knew Aaron Hotchner and David Rossi, but the rest was a bunch of strangers you hadn't connected the name to the face yet. That included the Doctor who was giving you a tight-lipped smile and had sputtered out the most quick statistics data you had ever heard.

Did he just said kissing is safer than shaking hands?

The blonde sighed, her glare towards Dr. Reid softening when she turns to you. She offers her hand and you take it with a light chuckle.

“That's just Spencer's way of saying he doesn't shake hands.” She clarifies. “I'm Jennifer Jareau, but you can call me JJ.” She introduced herself and then proceeds to do the same with the rest of the team. You finally connect the name to the face and you feel more at ease.

“Nice to meet you all,” you say. “I've prepared a room for you to set in during the investigation.” You lead them to the bigger roundtable room you had in the station and wait for them to scatter around to start listing the findings of the case you had until now.

They had a quick way of thinking – it was the first thought that went through your mind as you observed each Agent throw a possibility on why the crimes were happening and the reasoning for the M.O as well. It kind of amazed you how connected they seemed to be to have reached that adjustment within themselves.

The first lead took you to a museum. Your main goal there was to find anything on the suspect you've been following. That required you to speak to one of the museum tour guides who apparently had contact with them as you saw in one of the security cameras.

“How long have you been doing this?”

You immediately grimace at the invasive and completely inappropriate question that leaves your mouth. You couldn't help saying stupid shit when you were nervous. The FBI made you nervous. You had been chasing the suspect for more than three months and only now you were able to find a pattern in their behavior. Obviously, you weren't working alone, but you still feel dumb for not having noticed what is clearly obvious in federal agents’ eyes.

“Doing what?”

Your attention snaps back from the crowd of people to him, whose head was slightly tilted in confusion. The question you made escaping your mind for a second. “Oh. I— Actually. You don't have to answer that, I'm sorry.” Cheeks burning and hands sweating weren't a great combo right now. Your witness still hadn't stepped away from the group of children so you had to wait.

“It's okay.” He shrugs, burying his hands on his pockets. His eyes fall into your fidgety hands and he's familiarized with the feeling of being uncomfortable in big crowds. The museum was full, which was unusual according to you. “Mhm, did you mean how long have I been in the FBI?”

You hum quietly, arms folding across your chest.

“Seven years, five months and twenty-one days.” Your lips part in astonishment.

“Seven years?” You ask, dumbfounded. Spencer nods in affirmation. “You look like a college student—” you quickly cover your mouth with a hand, your cursing being muffled by it. “Sorry, I'm sorry. That came out wrong, I just meant that you look young and—”

“No, no, it's okay.” Spencer chuckled, amused by the whole thing. “I do get that a lot. Technically, I am a college student. I'm on my third PhD.”

Have you just met the next Einstein?

“How do you do it?” You say in wonder. “I mean, I went through college one time and I couldn't wait to get far from it as I possibly could and—” you were interrupted by the sound of his laugh, his eyes crinkling at the sides caused you to smile a little. You realize your shoulders were less tense and you could actually feel your feet again.

Spencer clears his throat before responding, his face carries a soft flush and you find it endearing. “I like studying.” Before you can ask him to elaborate, your eyes narrow at the tour guide, who you were supposed to talk to, stealthily disappearing into a hallway. This is how you end up running around a museum chasing someone that had just moved up to be the primer suspect in an ongoing investigation.

“You okay there?” Agent Morgan's voice pulled your gaze away from the medic stitching up your wrist.

Luckily, you and Doctor Reid succeeded in catching the museum tour guide, leading you to find out that the murders in the city were actually premeditated by two people, not just one. But that didn't go smoothly, the unsub — a curious name the BAU used, you've never heard it before — had a knife in their possession. Just as you were about to snatch it away from their reach while Spencer talked him down, your skin earned a slice right on your wrist because you were bold enough to tackle them to the floor.

Not a nice feeling, but you faced similar situations before, so that wasn't out of the ordinary. That didn't mean you enjoyed the feeling of being poked around.

“I'm fine,” you give him a grateful nod. “Just a scratch.” The image of the BAU's genius flash through your brain. “Huh, is Doctor Reid okay? I'm pretty sure he almost got one of these in his face.” You refer to your cut that was currently being dealt with.

Something that you can't recognize twinkle in the Agent's eyes. Amusement? Smugness? “Oh, Reid's alright. He's actually been asking non-stop about y—”

“Morgan.”

You see his smirk increase when Spencer strides over to where you are. The two share a look that you can't translate due to the tickling of the needle in your sensitive skin.

He's sitting beside you in no time and you're about to say that he doesn't have to bother, but he beats you to it.

“Up to 1 in 10 adults struggle with needles. 16% of them actually avoid getting vaccines because of their trypanophobia.” You look at Spencer as he inhales to keep rambling. “Studies show that many people grow out of that fear, but some remain with it.”

“Clearly,” you mumble, embarrassement causing your neck and cheeks to become red.

His eyes widen and he quickly raises his hands, “Oh, no! That's not what I— I didn't mean to—” he sighs as your lips try to hold back a smile. “I tend to say stupid things when I'm nervous.”

The medic says you're good to go and that's your cue to let out the breath you've been holding in instant relief as you can not longer see the needle. You thank them and step out of the ambulance.

“Like claiming that kissing someone is safer than shaking their hand?”

He stumbles upon an answer which takes you to a laughing fit that attracts some attention. You ignore the ugly looks in order to focus on a warm touch on your shoulder, stopping you from bumping into a police officer.

“Sorry, I was messing with you,” you say slightly breathless, your shoulder tingling where his hand lay. “I say stupid things when I'm nervous, too. I guess we have that in common.” Spencer is grinning when he pulls his hand back. You wonder what his thinking as his eyes travel across your features.

Maybe he's finally concluded that I'm a fool.

“Why would you be nervous?” You look away at a passerby to avoid his stare.

“Nothing, I—” he swallows, folding his arms and unfolding them right after. You don't need to be a profiler to realize he's nervous.

Your slow pace halts when he stops following you. You wait for him to sputter out random statistics or literally anything except for what he says next.

“Can I have your number?” He croaks out. “I thought that it wouldn't be unprofessional after the case was over because technically we aren't working anymore and— you know what? Never mind, forget I said—”

“Doctor Reid,” you say carefully. He clips his mouth shut. “Yes, you can have my number.” He lets out a soft oh and you smile. You ruffle through your pockets to find a pen and when you do find, you silently ask for his hand and he raises it towards you, confusion drawing his brows together.

He feels a tickling sensation as you write your number down on his open palm.

“There.” You offer him a smile to which he replies with one of his own as his eyes scan your scribbling on his hand. A vibration in your blazer forces a heavy sigh to leave your lips. You apologize as you grab your phone. “Ah, yes. I'm— I'll be there.” You turn to Spencer with a disappointed look after the call ends. “Sorry, I have a lot of reports to finish and they need me in the station.”

“It's okay.” He nods. “I understand.”

You don't leave right away though, hesitating in your step. He just as awkwardly stands there. Are you back in high school or something? When have you ever been that shy?

“So, I'll see you around?” You ask.

He outstretches a hand to your surprise, “Yes.” When you accept it, your fingers tingle at his soft skin. Both of you draw yourselves back at the same time. “Bye, Detective.”

You wave at him, already retracting to leave to avoid further embarrassment. “Bye, Doctor.”

You can't help the giddy feeling in your chest as you walk back to your car. A few hours later, your phone screen flashes with an unknown number.

[lovingrosewho]

Framed

Hello there! It’s been a while since I’ve written anything but I recently began watching Criminal Minds again and fell in love with Aaron Hotchner all over again as well, so I just had to write this, I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it :) This is my first Criminal Minds (published) fanfic, and the first Hotch x Reader I’ve written ever! (also the first nsfw)

ONE SHOT (but who knows, it may even have a part 2 on a future maybe not-so-near but not-so-far-away either)

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x Cis!fem!reader

Rating: 18+

Word count: 3467

Summary: reader has been accused of murdering her older, rich ex-fiancé (of course I took my inspo for this piece of fanfiction from Brooke Whyndam, of the movie “Legally blonde”, also, the line “then show them a picture of his dick” is from that movie).

Warnings: NSFW content (innuendo, sex, curse words, age gap - reader is in her mid twenties, Hotch is in his early/mid forties)

“I didn’t do it!” you scream one last time slamming your fist on the table, on the edge of tears.

It had passed around 8 hours already with you in custody, accused of the murder of your ex-fiancé, a (quite older) man, CEO of a big company in town, and as if that wasn’t enough, the best friend of the sheriff.

SSA Aaron Hotchner rubs his face, tired, after observing Prentiss and Morgan’s attempts to get you to confess. It’s almost 3am.

“Sheriff, with all due respect, I think she’s telling the truth” he tells him with a soft voice after a deep sigh.

“And with all due respect, you profiled that the suspect would be a female in her mid twenties, who we’d have to get the information out of her”.

“And we also profiled she’d be seeking for attention and validation which we don’t see it happening do we?” Aaron retorts rolling his eyes discreetly.

The sheriff gives SSA Aaron Hotchner one last glance before grabbing the doorknob of the interrogation room and storming in, Hotch follows close behind, seeing how the sheriff turns off the videocamera recording what happens inside the interrogation room, knowing no good can come from asking the same questions over and over again when everybody is also tired and fed up with trying to get a false confession out of you, which, from your behavior, Hotch knows it’s impossible.

“That’s it!” the sheriff yells “You killed my best friend! Either you confess or I’ll let you rot in here the rest of the 72 hours we can have you legally detained!”

“For the last time, I. Didn’t. Do it!” you yell back.

The BAU team exchanges glances between each other.

“What judge is going to believe you huh? You were engaged to a successful man in his mid fifties! And then he goes and marries someone even younger than you!”

“That was over two years ago!” you talk back.

“You had motive and opportunity, no judge nor jury is going to understand any other reason for you to be with him that is not for the money”.

“Then show them a picture of his dick! That might clear a few things up” you finally bark at him. The sheriff looks at you in astonishment. Morgan disguises a snicker as a cough, Prentiss bites down her lower lip to suppress a laugh, and Hotchner… Hotchner just stands impassive at you.

The sheriff leaves the room enraged, and everyone else follows, not before giving you an apologetic look. Hotchner is the last one to stay. You see the slightest doubt on his eyes and the subtle twist his lips make. You know he’s thinking about letting you go, but he then lowers his stare and gets out of the room, just like everybody else.

You sigh, drained out of energy after all the interrogations. This can’t be happening to you.

You knew since the moment you met John, that just his pure acquaintance could ruin your life. He had many enemies, and even more groupies who belonged to social circles that if you hadn’t met him, you would have never even imagined they existed, but what you had never imagined either, was that after all the heartbreak, loss and pain of what you thought in that moment to be the love of your life, you’d be reliving all those feelings, cause of some stupid cop negligence.

You lay your head slowly on the table, feeling the coldness of the metal surface on your cheek, and close your eyes for just a couple of minutes. You can’t sleep, not until this nightmare is all over, but at least, you get to have a few moments of peace and quiet before some other agent enters the room and begins yet another interrogation, demanding new information. Information you don’t have.

Outside the gray room, where you can’t hear nor see anything, the BAU team argues with the sheriff about your freedom.

“We’ve gotten out of her everything we’re going to get, I’m telling you, she didn’t do it” Morgan tries to reason with him.

“An unsub who planned a homicide this calculated would be equally calculated both on his answers and his behavior, this girl was in shock when we started showing her the case photos and couldn’t get a single cohesive phrase out. You can’t pin this murder on her” Emily backs up Morgan.

The sheriff looks at both of them, puffs a sigh and places his hands on his hips before discussing.

“Look, I get it, you profilers or whatever think you’re better than all of us, but this is still my county, and while I can have her in custody, I will. Who knows? She might even give up a confession or at least some new information. Goodnight gentlemen. And lady” he starts to walk to the exit without giving any of them any chance to convince him “I suggest you too get some rest. It’s been a long day and there’s one even longer ahead of us. Lock up when you get out”.

With that last statement, the sheriff ends the discussion and exits the precinct. Morgan and Prentiss move their heads in disagreement, proceeding to look back at Hotch, who is frowning at the door the sheriff just left through.

“What now?” both the BAU members look at the unit chief.

“Sheriff is right in one thing: you should get some rest. I’ll stay here with (Y/N), keep her company and see if there’s something we missed” he declares “Call Reid, Rossi and JJ, head back to the hotel, I’ll catch up with you in a few hours”.

“Hotch she’s not our unsub” Morgan defends you again “I mean we could, let her go right?”

“I’m afraid not. If we step ahead of the local officers, we might make things worse by getting ourselves kicked out of the investigation. It’ll be of more use the sooner we find something, anything, that might help (Y/N) clear her name and get her out of here” Hotch answers, he’s looking at Morgan but directs his orders to both of them, he knows his team too well to not know for a fact that Emily is the one who’s more inclined to let you go. They both nod silently.

“All right” Emily surrenders, not just because she’s too tired to continue arguing, but because she also knows that perhaps getting back to the hotel and going over some of the facts and scenes with Reid or JJ, might be more useful “Do you want me to stay with you? I mean the precinct is completely empty. You’ll be here all by yourself”.

“It’s okay. You and Morgan. Hotel. Rest. We’ll gather first thing in the morning and go through everything we have so far” he assures and doesn’t wait for a reply, beginning to walk back to the interrogation room, hearing the exit door of the precinct close behind him and the key turning.

When he enters again, he finds you on the same position you were trying to rest, your cheek against the now warm table, your hair falling on it and covering parts of your face.

“I’m not asleep” you mutter softly “I just needed to clear my head, breath and relax for a bit”.

Hotch lets out an almost imperceptible sigh, but everything is so quiet, that you get to hear it.

“(Y/N) I know you didn’t do it” he pronounces just as softly as you.

“Really?” you frown and shift your position, sitting back on the chair, looking at him “Then… can I go?”

He presses his lips into a straight line, and lets out a firm, but still tender “no”. A single tear escapes your right eye and you wipe it off quickly, not quite giving in to the emotions just yet. Hotch notices and comes to stand right next to you, laying on the edge of the table.

“If I’d let you go, the local authorities would not let us continue the investigation and they’d pin that murder on you. Trust me, the best we can do right now is wait a few hours until everyone has cooled down and come back with fresh eyes” he guarantees you, his features relaxing as he tells you this “Everything’s gonna be fine”.

“Everything’s gonna be fine” you repeat his words slowly, then look up at him. Damn it. He’s handsome. It’s no secret to anyone you have a thing for older men, but did that trait really have to emerge right now? You can’t help but to laugh out loud at the thought, it’s absurd to you that you could be thinking of that when you’re being accused of murder.

“What’s so funny?” he asks confused, and distances himself ever so slightly from you, without leaving his place on the table.

“Nothing, just…” you start, in an attempt to explain yourself and don’t end up looking crazy “God, if I had met you under any other circumstances, I’d probably be all over you right now”.

SSA Aaron Hotchner does not move, nor his face changes towards you, but you can see the most subtle blush on his cheeks, and his fists tightening. His lips finally crack up a light smile, finding the situation absurd as well, he quickly remembers the videocamera is off.

“You do realize you could be facing murder charges, right?” he asks playfully, kinda mocking you, keeping the volume of his voice down.

“I know, I know, I’m sorry” you apologize “It’s just so late, I’m tired, and well, you’re smoking hot” you confess with an apologetic, but also mischievous, look. Hotch finally lets out a laugh. Get a hold of yourself, Hotchner, he thinks to himself, takes a deep breath and goes back to his serious stare.

“(Y/N), I understand it’s been a long day in which you’ve been under a lot of pressure, but for me to keep up this game would be not only unprofessional, but also unethical. Your mind is probably just making up this crush for you to pass the time and distract yourself from what is happening. You’ll get over me” he explains sweetly.

“I wish I could get under you instead…” your witty retort catches him off guard, he swallows hard and starts coughing. He’s not used to women flirting with him anymore, not for a long time, let alone women almost half his age.

“I’ll see you in a few hours” he says standing up and reaching towards the door, not really uncomfortable by your approaches, but more by his increasing boner.

“No, okay I’m sorry, please stay with me” you beg him, standing up as well “I was just joking. Well, not really, but just… please keep me company, stay?”

He turns back at you not realizing how close you are, less than a couple steps behind him and he almost crashes into you, but he prevents the two of you from tripping by stabilizing himself grabbing your hips, but his hands can’t get to let go afterwards. You breath heavily, feeling the arousal and heat from the proximity suffocating you.

“Please fuck me” you half ask, half beg, admitting to yourself that what you need right now is precisely what agent Hotchner said: relieving some stress and distraction.

SSA Aaron Hotchner can’t help himself.

Ugh, fuck it, he thinks. It’s the sheriff’s fault for turning off the videocamera in an attempt to scare you and try and trick you into making a confession.

Without any further notice, he grabs your ass and the highest part of the back of your thighs to lift you. Your legs instinctively wrap around his back and your arms around his neck, not breaking eye contact as you let him carry you to the table. He places you on the table with tenderness, caressing your back as he does so. You bring your dominant hand to grab his tie and pull him in for a long, wet, controlled kiss, running your other hand along his arm and chest, ending the trace on his cheek, allowing your thumb to move back and forth on his skin.

Quite to be honest, Aaron doesn’t know how well he’ll be able to perform. It’s been a while since he’s last had sex, and his mind is always either on his job, or his family. He’ll probably won’t last more than a few minutes. But he can try and make it up to you.

He begins to deviate his trace of wet kisses from your mouth, to you jaw, your neck, and slowly your chest, discovering little by little the skin under your clothes, while his hands drop by the side of your waist, hips and legs, exploring you under the midi skirt you’re wearing. His right hand finds the slit between your legs, covered by your panties, and starts caressing it through the fabric. He listens to you moan and brings his other hand to cover your mouth with endearment, letting you know you’ve got to keep quiet.

He moves your panties to the side and traces one finger along your slick, inserting it inside of you. You have to suppress an even louder moan. He moves that one finger up and down, hitting your G spot, inserting another finger when you’re ready.

“Please” you beg once again. Aaron chuckles, grabbing you and getting you closer to the edge of the table, proceeding to get down on his knees and sucking all your juices without any type of heads up. You can’t but let out a loud moan. He looks up at you, and even though his eyes demand silence, you can tell there’s the slightest grin on his lips, before he continues sucking and licking your folds and clit. Your back drops to the table, unable to keep yourself steady so you can watch him. You’re trembling with desire and lust “Agent Hotchner, please” you beg once again. Hearing you call him ‘agent Hotchner’ does something to him. He stands up, wiping a little bit of your juices off his mouth and kissing you afterwards, his hands resting on either side of you on the table, one of them coming to grab each of your nipples one at a time.

“How much do you want this?” he asks softly.

“I need you” you answer “Please, fill me”.

His eyes meet yours and he nods slowly. His mouth comes to encircle one of your nipples as he pulls down your underwear and hides it in his suit pocket, and undoes his belt and trousers, without taking any clothes off. You come up from your laying position to support yourself with your elbows on the table, not wanting to miss how the special agent from the FBI takes his cock out to give it to you.

When he’s got it out and ready for you, he pumps it up and down a couple of times before lifting entirely your skirt and positioning himself in your entrance. He enters slowly, letting you take him all in, allowing you to accustom to his size, and for the love of him, he feels like he could explode any second. He breathes deeply and clears his mind, his ego not letting him end up looking like a teenager having his first time.

“Let me ride you” you ask after a few slow thrusts, needing more of him. He looks at you and nods.

God, what is he doing? At least you’re innocent. Are you? Right? You’ve gotta be. The profile doesn’t fit. But they’ve been wrong before haven’t they?

You exchange positions so he’s laying on the table, you get on top of him and guide his cock back into you again. You part your lips in a moan when you come down on him and begin moving your hips, his hands moving alongside them. You lower yourself without stopping so you can kiss him, rubbing your whole torso on his, your sweat making your skin slip on his skin. He grabs your breasts so he can bring them to his mouth, nibbling them.

Meanwhile, you’re wondering if this might just be another trick for you to let your guard down. But what could you say that might incriminate you? You know you’re innocent. What if he’s not even a real agent?

You’re so close that you can’t give yourself permission to sink into those thoughts, instead, you start riding Hotch faster and stronger, your clit rubbing against his pelvis as you do so.

“Aaron, Aaron…” you moan lowly. You don’t know if it’s okay that you’re on a first name basis already, but it just seems weird to you if you call him ‘Hotch’ like his colleagues.

It seems like he’s perfectly fine with it, as he digs his fingertips on your hips, encouraging you to keep going, feeling how your walls tense around him as your orgasm hits you.

You moan uncontrollably as you come, not being able to keep those in, digging your nails in Aaron’s shoulder suit sleeves. Afterwards, you lay slowly on his chest, until you start feeling like he’s pulling himself out.

“Wait” you gather and pull yourself up again, with him still inside of you “What are you doing? Don’t you wanna finish too?”

He looks at you in disbelief.

“Well I thought you may wanna rest or…” he begins explaining. You laugh and look fondly at him, lowering yourself again to murmur “don’t stop” in his ear.

Of course, he remembers. Twenties.

That’s everything he needs to start thrusting into you with everything he’s got left.

“(Y/N) I’m not-“ he tries to phrase “I’m not going to last longer, I’m- is it okay if I…?”

“Come inside me” you order “It’s okay, don’t worry, I’m on contraceptives”.

He decides to believe you, for his sake, and fastens his pace until it becomes sloppy, spilling inside of you just like you asked for, his cum filling you and showing between your folds as he brings himself out.

“Oh my god” he breathes out as he brings you down to his chest, securing his arms around your back, bringing you even closer to him “I’ll put you in handcuffs myself if it turns out you’re not innocent”.

You chuckle, tracing circles on his chest through the fabric of his shirt.

“I am. But still, you can put me in handcuffs any time you want”. He laughs alongside you, still feeling a bit like a teenager. A teenager who just did something very very wrong and that nobody should find out about. He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes for a few seconds before his cellphone starts ringing, he answers almost immediately.

“Hotchner” he says calmly “Yes I’m still here. No, everything’s fine, she’s… behaved. Prints don’t match? Well of course they don’t, was García able to tell whose are they then? Right. Well, tell her to keep digging. I’ll see you in a bit”.

After he hangs up he turns to you with a playful look.

“You never touched the gun that was in your purse, did you?” you shake your head.

“Guns and, weapons of any type really, give me the creeps, I just left it there thinking it was someone’s idea of pranking me or something”.

“Well that may have just made your case. You’re free to go. Whoever was trying to frame you did a lousy job not guessing you weren’t going to grab the gun” he tells you arching his brows at you. You stare perplexed at him.

“You’re serious? Oh my god Aaron! Thank you!” you exclaim kissing him.

“Yes, and we should get dressed and get out of here before anything else happens” he affirms gently, helping you stand up so you both can fix your clothes.

“Well, agent Hotchner, it’s been a pleasure. Truly” you tell him when the two of you are walking out of the interrogation room towards the exit.

“Pleasure is all mine, (Y/N)” he says, winking an eye at you “I’d like you to know… I don’t usually do this. I don’t…”

“Aaron” you interrupt sweetly, one of your hands coming to grab his forearm to stop him “I know. I can tell. It’s okay. I know that if I hadn’t initiated it or followed up you would have never even considered it, I get it… but now, can we please do it again?”

He chuckles.

“You know where we’re staying and the number of my hotel room, sweetheart. And I also recall reading on some case file that you’re from Virginia and were just visiting your home town?”

You smile widely at him as you nod, pulling him in from his tie for one last kiss. Or who knows, it might not even be the last one.

MASTERLIST

[animeyanderelover]

190. “You can’t hide from me, my sweetie.” with Itachi?

Tw: Yandere themes, unhealthy mindset, unhealthy relationship, possessive behavior, obsession, mentions of abduction

Prompt 190

Escaping Itachi was easily the most difficult and nerve-wracking thing you would ever do in your life, something you would have gladly forgone if it had been up to your choice. Sadly though, life hadn't given you that choice as you had been abducted by one of the most wanted criminals currently alive. One who, as you had later on found out, had been stalking you for months prior to the kidnapping incident and had fallen victim to his own obsession centering firmly around you. It had been and still was disturbing to think about how he had been watching you every chance he had had, whether you had been with friends at that time or had been soundly asleep, blissfully unaware of the one moment that had thrown your life out of it's path.

You had decided to play it safe by acting rationally, especially when you had realized that Itachi had no intentions to hurt you. You assumed the only stroke of luck you had received was the fact that Itachi was very calm and composed, harbored guilt for what he had done which you had slyly taken advantage of. You had still been wary though, unwilling to let your defenses completely down and also to not make him suspicious as you had imagined that if you would have acted all nice just like that, he would have also suspected that you were planning something. Half a year you had spent slowly collected pieces of information and had hidden money to use for your grant escape. His involvement with the Akatsuki required him to leave you for weeks at times, a perfect chance to escape.

Obviously Itachi had been careful as you had soon found out that he had brought you to a very remote part of the country with lots of mountains and forests surrounding it, the nearest town nearly an hour away, if one knew the way that was. All meassurements to keep you hidden and safe from his enemies and also to make it as challenging as possible for you to escape. He had thought everything through. However, you had stepped up to that challenge and after months of planning, saving up money and getting your hands on books and maps, you had figured out a way to escape and had seized your chance when he had left for yet another mission with his partner Kisame.

---

That all had been nearly 3 weeks ago. 3 weeks where you had not spent more than two days in the same place as you were constantly moving. It was too dangerous to stay for too long in one place for you as you hadn't only Itachi to worry about but also those who might seek vengeance on him and would assault you as the easiest routo to achieve that goal. You had no idea if someone even knew about your strange relationship with Itachi but you wouldn't risk anything. Your face was often half-covered with a mask you wore when walking around, together with a straw hat you had bought a few days ago in a market. You didn't spend much time outside in favor of lowering the risk of getting caught, instead chose to wait in your room whilst working out the next leg of your journey. Your money had to be spent carefully since you didn't have an abundance of it left, at times you even sold some stuff you had packed in your bag for that exact purpose, stuff you had asked Itachi to get you. Nothing overly flashy but items that could be sold to someone since there was always interest for such stuff.

Currently you were staying at a ryokan in a small town near the mountains where you had planned to reside in for two nights to get some rest and stock up your money a bit since you were running a bit low. The fear of Itachi was still freshly on your mind and had fueled your paranoia a bit. You were often looking over your shoulder whilst wandering around, at night you felt your heart starting to race nervously with every little sound and creak around you. It wasn't the nicest way of living but it was better than nothing for now. At times you had this dreadful fear because so far it had all gone too well for you, somehow you had expected more struggles yet nothing had happened so far. Obviously that made you feel glad but in other moments you couldn't help but grow paranoid at the lack of hindrances to the point where you would wildly start to conjecture that in reality you were already being watched, just like Itachi had done it before.

You did your best to not lose your mind though, to stay focused on your goal of leaving Konoha for now and taking refuge in another land. You hadn't contacted friends and family, to your great heartbreak, since you knew that chances were too high that Itachi would spy on them and anything you might send them. You had to stay undercover if you ever wanted to see your town again.

Currently you were sat down, numerous maps placed on the table in front of you as you had started calculating how long you would need for your next walk and where you would stay. You tried to avoid camping outside as good as you could although sometimes places charged too much money and you were left with no choice but to sleep outside. If you were predicting it right, you could skip a few towns on the way in favor of getting closer to the border and would reach the next town available within a day in 8 hours of walking time. That should be doable for you. Then you would head for the next destination in the early morning right after breakfast. You tapped your pen on the spot on the map highlighting the next place you would visit before cleaning the tabletop, folding all maps together and stuffing them in your bag.

Your gaze flew to the window, showcasing a blue sky with a few lazy clouds in it, drifting gently across it. It was still late noon and only few people were in the ryokan as of now, instead walking around the market currently held in the small town. What should you do now though? You were finished with all preparations for your leave for tomorrow. If it would be alright to spend a bit of money outside and have some fun?

Just as you were about to pull out your pocket to count how much money you could afford to spare for a visit to the market, you heard a gentle knock on your door. You straightened your body, head turning quickly to the door leading to your room. You didn't get up to open the door nor did you replied verbally to the knock as you chose to observe quietly. Your inner alarm bells had activated as you couldn't think of any reason why someone would knock on your door. No one here knew you.

When the person outside knocked on the door again, this time faster and firmer, you crawled silently closer to the entrance to your room, standing in front it with fast throbbing echoing inside your chest. Still, you had no intention of opening the door as you just stood there silently, staring at the material covering you from whoever was standing on the other side. Silence fell over the room, a heavy silence that made the oxygen that you breathed in silently feel heavy in your lungs. With bated breath you dared to move your body closer, pressing your ear slowly against the door. You froze in that position for a while, focusing on every sound you could pick up from the other side.

Besides the sounds of the people outside, carelessly enjoying themselves, you couldn't pick up any other sound though. Was the person still there? You would have loved to believe so, however, your gut told you that you couldn't allow yourself to be careless and instead be on your guard. So you didn't move, ear still glued to the wooden door as you feared that one tiny movement could give you away.

Then you heard something though, something coming from the other side and it nearly made you hitch your breath in your throat. You squinted your eyes, focusing on the sound as you tried to decipher what it was. It almost sounded like someone was dragging their fingers over the material of the door and your heart dropped shortly when the sound stopped right next to your ear as if knowing what you were doing. A few seconds passed by, seconds were nothing happened but you felt yourself growing more anxious. Was that...? No, it couldn't be.

"(y/n)."

His voice was muffled through the door but you would have recognized that voice from everywhere. After all, you hadn't heard anyone else's voice for six months during your captivity.

"(y/n), I know you're inside. Open the door, please."

Within a couple of seconds after his words had reached your ears, you found yourself brainstorming every scenario, weighting out your options. Despite his polite tone, you were fully aware that if you wouldn't listen to him after his second or third request for you to open the door, he would use force. He was being polite to not scare you right and careful because he didn't want to case a scene. Neither did you want to cause a scene, for the sake of the unaware people in this city. Your only entry through the door was locked and you had not the skills needed to outrun him. Jumping out of the window was no option either because you were in the 3rd floor and knew that you would have to leave some of your belongings behind if you wanted to be quick. All of which were needed for your survival. Now that Itachi had found you anyways, was there even a meaning anymore to escape? He would find you now for sure, no matter where you might try to run.

Your hand grasped the door pull and you took one last breath to collect yourself before opening it. You weren't really surprised nor shocked to see him standing in front of you, you had somewhat expected him to find you eventually. If at all, you were frustrated that you had come further than you had anticipated only to be stopped now. He didn't wear his usual cloak with red clouds, had instead some rather casual attire to not draw too much attention to himself and his black eyes looked at you. You had a hard time deciphering the emotions behind his gaze and it seemed like he himself was unsure how to feel about you. Obviously he was angry that you had escaped, and that for weeks, but a part of him could not blame you for trying to flee the country and hide somewhere. This guilt softened his anger and left him with conflicted emotions.

The fact that you did your best to stay calm in order to not draw any attention was appreciated by him though, he would have hated to cause a ruckus and use more intimidating methods to keep you silent.

"Do you want to come inside?" was not the first thing you had expected to come out of your mouth after both of you had just silently observed each other, trying to figure the other one out whilst also deciding how to act now. Behaving casually around him was apparently the solution you had come up with as you stepped aside to let him enter. Black eyes were scrutinizing the tiny room, landing on the bag in which you had stuffed most of your belongings. You closed the door and leant back against the wooden material, watching Itachi observing the room for anything that you could try to use and waiting for his next course of action.

When he turned around to look at you again, you could see his eyebrows slightly furrowing, seemingly still unsure what to do with you now.

"You know that you aren't supposed to escape. It's too dangerous."

He had a more serious look on his face but still spoke in a softer tone, as if still holding sympathy for you and your situation. "I know." you replied back, keeping your composure. Both of you kept everything civilized, speaking calmly and that was something you were grateful for in that moment. You held his gaze strongly with your own and noticed the slight clench of his jaw when he saw the flash of exhaustion and sadness in your eyes. Less from the past few weeks and more because you did not desire to follow him back into a life of isolation without anyone besides him. You didn't hate him truly like he had initially expected you to do, at times you almost seemed to pity him and that somehow felt worse at times as it only fueled the shame deep inside of him.

"(y/n)..." your name slipped out of his lips before he could even come up with a sentence he wanted to say to you although you heard the guilt out of his voice with that one tone very clearly. It was always easier to not get angry and stay composed and let your silent sorrow speak for you. He took a few steps closer to you, unsure of what to tell you what you didn't know already. The plain warnings that you could be killed by someone who was after him or the Akatsuki and that your safety could always be endangered. Because of him. That made it hard for him to say anything to you right now, fully aware that all was his fault and that both of you were fully aware of it.

"Why couldn't you just have let me go this time around, Itachi? I have already come this far." you almost whispered since he was standing so close to you. He could not detect any hint of resentment inside your honest eyes, only sadness. Sadness that almost made him want to avert his eyes as it pained him to see you like this, especially knowing that he was the sole reason for your sorrow.

"You know that I can't do that." he replied back, feeling a lump at the back of his throat.

"You can't or you don't want to?" you challenged him softly, leaning closer in hopes of him showing you any sign of obvious guilt, of shame for putting your heart through so much pain. When he shortly glanced away from your gaze, you knew that you had succeeded and leaned back against the door, feeling a little bit less wronged because he at least felt horribly bad about it.

"You're going to take me back now." you spoke out to no one in particular, just stating the facts so that Itachi didn't even feel the need to confirm what you knew already. He longed to comfort you somehow, was aware that he wasn't in any position to try to soothe your pain, not if he was the very person who had inflicted all that suffering on you.

"Itachi, you know that I might try again to escape from you, right?"

There was still no visible trace of anger on his face when you spoke the likely truth to him. You wouldn't give up so easily but had a lingering fear that he would use more forceful methods to stop you from trying again. Itachi was no saint, not with everything he had done.

"I won't let you. You can't hide from me, my sweetie."

You spotted sad determination in his eyes when he mumbled those words, black eyes holding your gaze firmly as if wanting to clearly bring the point across that he wouldn't let you again. His face was close to yours, his soft breath brushing over your face and his forehead pressed gently against your own. There was longing inside those black orbs of his but you knew that his guilt was preventing him from allowing himself to cave in.

"I see..."

[kissofthemis]

Hello!Can i request the nxx biys with a slightly weird s/o?

Like weird as in they're always happy and goofy 24/7 even in dangerous situations?Like maybe something happened to them in the past that made then this way(you can decide on what happened :D )

Oh,and can i be the K Anon?My keyboard lags a lot if i use emojis,so I hope you don't mind if I go by K Anon here :D

Sorry if this is a super long request it's just been brainrottingbin my head 24/7 and i don't have enough writting skills lmao

❤ Artem ❤

At first, he doesn't notice that you have a tendency to laugh off your pain or make morbid jokes. He thinks that he's just more uptight or strict than most people, so he suspects your behavior is actually more akin to how "normal" people act.

It's when you act blasé after a dangerous encounter that he realizes that this seems to be a unique trait, specific to you.

He specializes in criminal cases. He knows that people who feel threatened or have experienced dangerous situations can react in many different ways... but to be this carefree is not something he's seen before.

You don't lash out, but you don't withdraw. You don't scream or cry, but you aren't bottling your pain either. You're an anomaly.

"Mr. Wing, it's a dark world out there." He knows that. "If I'm too serious, I'll crumble." He's never heard you speak in such a flat, detached tone. "So I stay silly!"

He isn't going to pry into why you feel you have to laugh all the pain away, because he trusts you to tell him if/when you're ready.

He knows what it's like to mask his true feelings.

Instead he offers you his shoulder. "If you ever need to turn away from the shadows... I'll shield you if you need a moment to be vulnerable, before putting that smile back on your face."

~♡~♡~♡~♡~

💛 Luke 💛

Your smile and laugh make him warm inside. He likes that you can stay cheerful even when faced with stress or with gloomy situations.

He soon realizes that you're a bit too goofy, a bit too relaxed, a bit too much of a jokester. He's not mad about it, but he wants to figure out why you're this way.

At first he doesn't want to tell you he's investigating your behaviors. He's in detective mode and NSB agent mode at the same time; he won't ask for help nor reveal his intentions when he asks to spend more time with you.

He cares, but his pride can get in the way.

Finally he pieces together the puzzle, with clues and hints he obtained partially from you and partially from totally legitimate public sources, no hacking involved. (/s)

"You could've just asked me!" You laugh and wave him off. "It's no big deal!"

Luke gets stern with you. "You were subjected to immense psychological and physical abuse."

You just smile. "And you haven't been?" His scowl gets deeper. "Tell you what! Promise to look after me, so you don't have to worry about me getting trapped or endangered ever again! And then I'll be able to smile freely all the time!"

He reluctantly agrees.

Don't ask if the plush dog he gives you the next time you meet has a camera in it.

~♡~♡~♡~♡~

💜 Marius 💜

Your cheerful and carefree nature is what draws Marius to you in the first place.

He's constantly under stress. Whether it's school, tutoring, Z, or Pax, he always has some project pending and is subject to intense scrutiny.

You're a breath of fresh air from stuffy old men. You smile, you laugh, you play. He wants some of that l joy back in his life.

Unfortunately, trauma knows trauma. The more time he spends with you, the more he picks up on eccentricities that... don't quite line up with "innocence" the way he imagines it.

He understands the value of secrets and how they can protect others. He's had to keep secrets to protect his family, the company, reputations, wealth, you name it.

But he also wants to work on being more honest with himself, and that means being more honest with his closest friends. He doesn't have many friends, so he wants you to be able able confide in him the same way he can confide in you.

Of course, while he's a bold and bright businessman, he's a timid and inexperienced friend.

He'll try to tease and pout his way into your heart and mind. "Aww, are you laughing at me again, miss/mx/mister?" Tugging at your sleeves and your heartstrings. "Trying to trick me with a fake smile? Miss/mx/mister doesn't trust me..."

Turns out he has to be direct and blunt. You two end up having a heart to heart about your respective fears and struggles, the horrors you've faced, the sorrowful smiles and the humorous tears.

He comes up with an idea. "Here's a key to my studio. Want to turn pain and fear into something bright? Show me what you can paint."

~♡~♡~♡~♡~

💚 Vyn 💚

In case it wasn't readily apparent, Vyn picks up on your act instantly.

He's a psychiatrist. He doesn't know why you act this way, but he can figure out it's unnatural.

(Not to mention he enjoys card tricks. He's also good at perceiving sleight of hand and other "magic" that involves showing someone what you want them to see, instead of showing them the truth and mechanisms behind the magic.)

Instead of playing games or trying to snoop his way into your secrets, he just observes you.

He's skilled at sitting back and watching, waiting, picking up pieces and fitting them together.

You catch him by surprise, however, when you call him out on his behavior.

"Vyn, am I your patient or your friend?" You pout at him and fold your arms over your chest in a highly exaggerated manner, one that is almost comical in nature. You shift back into chuckles and spin around as you wait for his answer.

Your one moment of frustration could easily be brushed off as a joke, but Vyn hears there is actual hurt in your words.

"You are... quite the anomaly," he replies at last. "You wear both the masks of comedy and tragedy. I couldn't help but wonder which was your real face." He leans closer and whispers, "I want to see my friend's true face, beneath all the masks and pretenses. Is that so wrong, dear?"

[lightandheatao3]

The Bunker - Criminal Minds

Chapter 6: The Rot

Summary: Spencer Reid wakes up in a locked bunker to find half the current BAU and two of its departed members unconscious on the floor. The old team is back together but the reunion is not what any of them would have wished for. An Unsub from their past has decided it's time they all stop keeping secrets, even if it means exposing them by force.

Hotch and Derek have been pulled back into a world they tried to escape. Emily, Rossi, and JJ are doing their best to keep it together. Spencer is falling apart.

AKA a found family is reunited and forced to go through the most nightmarish version of family therapy imaginable.

Set months after the end of Criminal Minds: Evolution. Evolution referenced, but not necessary to understand the story.

Chapter Summary: The team rebel in the only way they are able.

Read chapter 6 on AO3 or under the cut. All comments and reblogs are extremely appreciated <3 I would love to know what you like about the story :)

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5

JJ had been the first one to point it out. 25 or 26 hours in, while he had been shivering on the floor.

There was a door on the bathroom. "Oddly considerate," JJ had said. "Seems thematically inappropriate."

This Unsub was obsessed with exposure. With forcing them to be vulnerable. To be seen in the most confronting sense.

She wanted them to be stripped bare.

So why would she give them a door?

Why would she give them soap so they could wash themselves and their clothes? Why insist they don’t leave rubbish out?

Why structure all her rules around cleanliness?

Why lock them in a box, then afford them so many little dignities?

She wanted to break them down, piece by piece, and she had gone to extreme measures to make that happen. They were unanimous in their assessment that this Unsub was not a person who dealt in half-measures. So why was she holding back?

The answer was easy.

She wasn't doing it for them.

With that part of the profile settled, Emily's plan had become an obvious response.

They hadn’t risked pushing boundaries or breaking rules while Spencer had been too sick. He loathed it, the thought of all the time they're lost because of him. Now that he was better- still not healthy by any stretch, but not actively in acute withdrawal- it was time to test the waters and see what kind of response they could provoke.

The profile they had agreed on was this: She was meticulous, desperate for control, enacting detailed fantasies through them, yet actively hindering her own stated goals by providing them with comforts not essential to their survival.

She provided these comforts not for their sake, but because she was uncomfortable.

She was squeamish.

She wanted them to clean because she couldn’t handle the mess. She gave them a door because she didn't want to be reminded of their bodily functions.

She afforded them dignity because she was unable to stomach indignity.

She likely had a significant anxiety disorder, possibly with obsessive-compulsive features. They suspected she may have been raised in a highly conservative or religious environment, perhaps with an abusive parent who instilled a deep sense of shame for any behaviors or bodily functions perceived as unclean.

Much to Spencer's immense displeasure, the pathway to provoking a response was clear.

He was happy to have something to do. It felt good to have a goal. It felt even better to be united in that goal as a team. He and Derek had put their bickering to the side, and JJ was being warm with him again. It was good, he repeated to himself again and again. It was good.

But did it have to be so disgusting?

“You doing alright?” asked JJ sympathetically.

“I am fine,” he said through gritted teeth.

“It’s just that you’ve been staring at it for a long time. I don't think I've seen you blink for a while now.”

“Patulin is the most commonly found mycotoxin in fruits. It has the capacity to be carried on dust and airborne spores, which act as a delivery mechanism for the mycotoxin to reach the lungs, where it can cause acute respiratory symptoms, including hemorrhaging of the lung. Even if airborne mycotoxin exposure is statistically unlikely with this relatively low quantity of rotting fruit, mold exposure is still a very real concern, particularly in enclosed environments with limited ventilation,” he explained tensely. “It can cause respiratory distress, dysregulation of your immune system-”

“Spencer,” interrupted Emily. “I know it’s disgusting. Try not to think about it.”

He flicked his eyes away from the rotting pile of fruit scraps that sat in the middle of the room, over to Emily instead. “There are maggots, Emily,” he said, pained.

“Come on, Reid, I know you’ve got a thing about germs, but you have seen way worse than this,” said Derek. "You can handle this, man."

“Judging by the rate of deterioration and the visible emergence of the fruit fly larvae, it has been two to three days since we stopped returning our food scraps.” he said. "I had sincerely hoped that I would never end up locked up somewhere even more disgusting than prison. At least there they had waste disposal."

“She’ll break, Spence,” said JJ in a whisper. “You just need to not break first.”

He scrubbed his hands over his face, scratching a little at the patchy beard that was growing in. “I’m sorry," he said sincerely. "You’re all stuck in here too. It's just hard not to think about it.”

“Well then, how about we all forget about this for a minute,” said Rossi. “Everyone close your eyes.”

They all looked at him skeptically. He rolled his eyes and gestured at them all to just hurry up and do it.

Spencer watched as everyone else, sat scattered across the four walls of room in a vague square shape, reluctantly closed their eyes. The last ones left open were his and Hotch’s. Hotch met his gaze with an amused shrug, then closed his own.

Finally, Spencer did too.

“You’re not going to make us mediate?” asked Emily wearily.

“I wouldn’t even know how to begin with that. Now, please shut up until directed otherwise,” instructed Rossi cheerfully.

He could still smell the rotten fruit scraps, sickly and sweet with an earthy undercurrent of mold. Every inhale came with the mental picture of a thousand microscopic spores pouring into his lungs. He dug his nails into his forearms and focused on Rossi’s voice.

“Okay, now, I’m going to need everyone to take this extremely seriously,” said Rossi solemnly. “It is of the utmost importance, for our sanity and perhaps even our survival, that you answer honestly. Understood?” He was met with silence. “That was me giving you permission to speak. Are we understood?”

“For fuck sake Dave, just spit it out,” said Hotch of all people, earning a snort from Emily across the room.

“You asked for it,” said Rossi, milking the moment for all it was worth. “Fuck, marry, kill. FBI addition”

The uproar was immediate. They all opened their eyes, cries of “What is wrong with you?” and “You’re a child!” being hurled in his direction amongst amused yelps and bubbling laughter. Even Spencer couldn’t hold back a laugh.

Rossi held his hands up defensively. “Woah! You wanted a distraction, you got it! I didn’t realize you were all so prudish,” he teased.

“Alright,” said Emily, nodding her head. “I’m game.”

JJ shot her a mockingly scandalized look.

“If the boss is in, who am I to say no?” said Derek with a cheeky wink at Emily.

“Great,” said Rossi. “Now, everyone close your eyes again.”

With a lot of eyerolls and exasperated head shakes, everyone did as he asked. Spencer smiled to himself at the absurdity of it all.

“Why do our eyes need to be closed for this, exactly?” asked JJ.

“If you really want to stare at the garbage pile while we do this, be my guest,” said Rossi.

“Fair point.”

“Since you’re so eager, Rossi, how about you go first?” suggested Derek. “Fuck, marry, kill… Jenny Carlile in security, Marina Ferra from the comms department, and… Josie, you know, the one who worked the reception desk until about six months before I left.”

They all laughed at the list, but a laughter that came with a lot of audible cringing.

“Coming out swinging, I see,” said Rossi. “Well, those are three very beautiful, intelligent, lovely women, but kill Josie-”

“What!” yelled Derek. “You’re crazy, man!”

“You didn’t have to think about it!” said JJ indignantly. “What did she ever do to you?”

“Hey, who’s talking here!” said Rossi with a laugh. “I have nothing against Josie, she’s just too young for me. I prefer a woman with some life experience,” he said defensively. The answer seemed to placate the naysayers. He continued, “Marry Jenny. She seems so easy going. And fuck Marina, because, well, do I have to explain?”

Morgan huffed a laugh and hummed in a way that suggested Rossi absolutely did not have to explain. “I can’t argue with that.”

“Thank you. Now in the interest of gender equality and equal opportunity objectification, it’s your turn JJ.”

JJ groaned. “Okay, hit me.”

“Gary Renkin, Ricardo Perez, and… Daniel what’s-his-face from the basement.”

“The basement?” JJ chuckled. “Do you mean Daniel from IT?”

“Yeah, whatever they do down there. The guy who clearly doesn’t get enough sun.”

She laughed again. “Right, give a second... I pick… Marry Ric, because he’s a sweetheart. Fuck Gary. No, I won’t explain. And kill Daniel because an IT guy is a little redundant when you’re friends with Penelope.”

“You make a good point,” said Emily.

“You have to be logical about these things,” said JJ. “Speaking of which, Emily, I hope you're ready for some hard choices.”

“I am so ready,” said Emily. “But give me a real challenge.”

He snorted. She sounded genuinely competitive, and while he hadn’t played this game before, he gathered that it wasn’t one you could ‘win.’ His skin had almost stopped crawling from thoughts of the germs that were infesting every surface of the room.

“If you say so,” said JJ. “Luke, Matt, and Tara.”

The room erupted. Derek wolf whistled; Emily let out a loud “Oh come on!” and Rossi applauded the audacity. He thought he might have even heard a small laugh from Hotch. He smiled to himself.

“What?” yelled JJ, stifling a laugh. “You said you wanted a challenge!”

“How am I supposed to kill one of them?” lamented Emily.

A beat.

“You’re killing Luke, right?” said JJ as a statement, not a question.

“Yeah, obviously,” said Emily without pause. “Fuck Matt, marry Tara. Is there even another way to answer that?”

“What?” laughed Rossi. “What did poor Luke do to earn this?”

“Luke is great,” said Emily emphatically. “He’s just…”

JJ jumped in; “It would be like sleeping with your little brother.”

“That’s exactly it,” said Emily, clicking her finger. “I mean really, the right answer is to kill both Luke and Matt and just pick Tara. Have you seen her?”

“No, I think your first answer was right. That’s what I’m going with,” said JJ with a giggle. “What about you, Spence? Same question.”

He was glad to have his eyes closed as he felt his cheeks warming just a little. “Does it have to be them?” he asked in halfhearted protest.

“Oh, absolutely,” said Emily. “If I had to pick, so do you.”

“Fine,” he sighed. “Okay, so, just to be clear on the rules-” Derek groaned but he couldn't tell if it was affectionate or annoyed, so he ignored it “- these are all mutually exclusive categories? I mean, if you married someone, it would be likely that you would have an ongoing intimate relationship, so what’s the distinction between the marry and, uh, fuck options?”

“Have you never played this game before?” asked JJ.

“No?”

Was this common? Is this something he was supposed to be familiar with? Was this another one of those things that everyone with a normal adolescence had done? He suddenly felt self-conscious.

“For the sake of clarity,” said Emily, “let’s assume they are all mutually exclusive. Think of it as who you want to be emotionally intimate with and share a life with for marry, and who just want to… well, fuck is a fairly self-explanatory category.”

He appreciated that she didn’t make fun of him while she explained. He didn’t mind the teasing from the others. Not really. He teased them right back most of the time. But he didn’t like it when people made fun of him without actually explaining why.

“Thank you.” A beat. “Do I really have to choose?”

“Yes!” came the unanimous, exasperated shouts from everyone except Hotch, who was laughing in earnest now.

“Oh my god, fine! Fuck Luke, kill Matt, marry Tara,” he spat out without thinking.

There was a moment of silence.

He opened his eyes, realizing he must have been the last one to do so, as they were all staring at him. Five pairs of tired, dark-rimmed eyes looked at him from across a pile of rot.

“Interesting,” said Derek wryly.

“Care to explain your rationale?” asked Emily with a smirk.

He turned it over in his mind a moment. “I would prefer not to.”

“Because I have a theory that Luke is about 2 beers away from-”

“I would prefer not to,” he repeated more firmly.

She threw her hands up in surrender. They all made a point of not staring too hard.

It wasn't a discussion he was necessarily completely averse to having with them. He'd considered it in the past. Things were changing in the world and even, very slowly and incrementally, in the FBI itself.

It certainly wasn't a conversation he wanted to have in front of the ever-present camera.

Rossi swung his head around to Hotch. “Aaron, your turn to-”

“Absolutely not,” said Hotch in a tone that beggared no argument.

“Oh-kay then… New game-”

He was cut off by a clunking sound.

They all looked around the room, trying to figure out if they had heard the same thing. Spencer wasn't sure if he'd imagined it.

Then, another THUNK.

They looked at each other as if each of them was hoping to find reassurance from the others.

Spencer’s heart pounded so hard in his chest he thought he might pass out.

THUNK.

They looked to the roof.

A steady hiss emanated from above.

Out of the vent in the roof, he saw a wisp of something.

“Smoke,” said Derek, voice tight.

“No,” said Hotch, pushing himself to his feet. “Gas.”

For a moment, time froze.

Then all at once they activated.

They pushed themselves to their feet, with Derek throwing down a hand to help pull Spencer up. They grabbed discarded, filthy and unwashed shirts from the ground and tied them over their noses and mouths.

Hotch and Derek sprinted to the door, pulling at it as hard as they could, desperately trying to leverage it open.

Spencer stared, transfixed at the swirling mist that was filling the room from the roof downward.

“Get on the floor,” he said urgently. Or at least he thought he said, but nobody responded. He tried again, louder this time. “Get on the floor!”

They all froze, whipping their heads around to look at him.

He continued talking as he ran to the bathroom. “There’s no way out. Wet your mask, then get on the floor face down and slow your breathing as much as possible. We don’t have much time.”

He ripped off the shirt tied over his face and soaked it under the water running from the bathroom tap. He passed it behind him to JJ, who was standing the closest to him.

“What?” she breathed out, looking very much as if she was going into the early stages of shock, eyes glassy and confused.

“Give me your mask and put this one on.” He looked back at the rest of them. “Now! We have a minute at most! All you can do is try to minimize the amount you breath in and ensure you don’t hurt yourself by falling when you lose consciousness.”

Hotch stepped forward, guiding JJ to follow his instructions.

“Do what he says,” said Emily urgently, approaching him to help distribute the wet cloth.

They moved as quickly as humanly possible. As quickly as he had ever seen any of them move.

Even as he was wetting the last piece of what he thought was Rossi’s discarded button up shirt and tying it around his own face, the edges of his vision were fading.

He managed to half crawl to the ground until he was lying face down on the disgusting, dirty floor.

The sound of weak coughs and splutters rang in his ears as his vision blurred and blackened.

All he could see, somewhere across the room through the tunnel of his vision, was someone's chest. He couldn't tell whose, but it rose up and down, still breathing.

He held onto that image as long as he could. Whoever it was, they were still breathing.

Then…

Nothing.

[avengerdragoness]

Accents [Mick Rawson x Reader]

Requested by anon: “Mick Rawson from criminal minds suspect behaviour soulmate au?”

A/N: Hey my dears here is a Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior fic! I used the soulmate au where the first sentence is written on their wrist since the request didn’t specify. I hope you all love it!

_____

‘It’s not just the accent that makes me sexy, love’

That was it, that is what is inscribed on your wrist. Written in delicate cursive, peaking your interest every time you look at it. Being a bartender you’ve come across a lot of men, with a lot of accents. Though none of them have said this particular sentence to you.

Honestly, you’ve given up on the whole ‘soulmate’ thing. You’re in your 30s, if you were going to find him, you would’ve found him by now. Right?

Were you just one day going to be standing at the bar one night and this accented, ‘sexy’ man was going to come over and mutter those words to you? Nope, not something you thought would happen. Little did you know….

You were wiping down the bar when a group of around four came in. The bar being pretty packed, you didn’t take much notice of them because they stayed at a table, not the bar. Making them not your responsibility.

But one of them kept catching your eye, a man with dark hair and was rather rugged looking. You’d be lying if you said he wasn’t attractive. Whenever you’d catch a break your eyes would end up landing over there, on him. The others with him had come up to the bar a few times for refills or a new bottle, but never him. You’d catch his voice every so often, that british accent being rather alluring.

‘Could he be..? Probably not.’ Shaking the thought from your head.

However, you’d catch him looking at you sometimes. But not thinking much of it, figuring he was looking at something next to or behind you.

As the night continued fewer patrons made an appearance, many left and a steady flow took it’s place. One or two people would leave and one or two would come in, that was until it hit past midnight. Then people began to flow out rather than in. Taking a glance at the table once more you noticed the man’s friends had left and he sat fiddling with a beer bottle.

He looked up and caught you looking at him, blushing you hid your face. Smiling sheepishly before turning back to cleaning up the bar and getting ready to make last call. Not noticing as he stood from his seat and came to sit at the bar. When you saw him sitting there you were drying glasses, “You know, I could hear your accent from here all night. It’s kinda sexy.” you grinned widely, making your nose scrunch some. Making him find you adorable.

Laughing he said “It’s not just the accent that makes me sexy, love.” Hearing that, the glass almost slipped out of your hands. Looking to see he was wearing a devilish smirk. You let out a small laugh before setting the glass down.

Walking over and leaning against the bar in front of him, “Well ‘soulmate,’ is there anything I can get you before last call?” smiling at him. “How about a name?” he asked smoothly. You held out a hand, “[F/n] [L/n].” He returned it, “Mick Rawson” his accent giving his name a certain je ne sais quoi.

“Well, [F/n], what are my chances of asking you to dinner love? I mean we are soulmates.” Smiling you diverted your eyes timidly, “I’d say you have a good chance. To be honest I never thought I’d meet my soulmate, I guess when you start to doubt the universe it turns itself around on you.”

He chuckled, “But this time in a good way.” Looking up to meet his brown eyes, saying “I get off in like 15 minutes, what do you say we grab that dinner now?” The smile never leaving your features. “I think I’d like to get to know you now and I know a 24 hour place just up the road who’s owner owes me a favor. I’ve waited all my life love, I can wait 15 more minutes.”

You grinned before finishing up your closing in record time, calling to your boss that you were heading out. “Shall we?” he offered you his arm. Linking yours with his you answered, “We shall, love.”

[sophielidaris]

Mick Rawson x reader  Please, do not be scared

The reader moves to a new town and gets into trouble. 

Mick helps her out.

Warinings: Mention of harrassment, mention of shots, description of panic attack, violence, cursing, mention of possible death

There will be: Fluff a lot of fluff, angst, happy end 

I do not own  Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior and I am not making money with this please support the makers and owners of the show. I just want to make people smile =) Comments and likes are welcome ^^ Have fun =)

You tried to catch your breath leaning against your door. First day in a new town and you already messed up. Your door was closed, it was close to midnight and you, you had no key and your mobile batterie of course had died an hour ago. How it came to this? Well first of you got rubbed. He took advantage of you being outside late at night and alone on top of it. It had not really been your fault your flight had a terrible delay. Your phone had died on that airport already when you tried to get useful information over the situation. You wanted to turn it off soon enough, you really thought you did, but as you tried to start it again it simply would not make a sound.

The man robbing you was at least noble enough to let you keep the phone. A phone with no battery. That probably was the online reason he left it with you. Knowing it would not help you to call the police anytime soon. What he did take was your wallet, everything of expensive and to your horror your key. Now he had you address because of your ID and a freaking key! You had tried to ask him for that key, but he just laughed at you. Luckily most of your things would be delivered to your new home tomorrow so you had not much on you anyway, but your wallet and your key were a huge problem. Still you were glad you were alive. You could still feel the cold knife pressed against your neck, the warm blood dripping down. There was still a small line flowing down. To you luck the cut was not too deep, but you had been terrified. You were still trembling. Your hands clenching on your blouse holding it together. He had taken your jacket and ribbed open your blouse. A tear fell down your cheek. You could still feel his hands on you. How they ghosted over your bare skin His touch. You felt dirty and ill. You did not know how much time had passed while he had you. You were shock stare, the knife on your neck not allowing you to fight back or to scream. He had been so fast. You were so close to home and there he was suddenly. He Came From behind and clapped his hand over your mouth. The knife at your side drawing blood to let you know he was serious. He took you in an alley and had forced you to give everything to him. He had ribbed open your blouse. You could still feel his hands hovering over your naked skin. He was wearing a mask. The bastard had planned the whole thing, so it seemed. You were preparing for the worst, when he suddenly stopped and chuckled. The sound made you shiver. “Do not worry missy, this game has just begun.” He laughed. You had never before heard such a cold-hearted laugh. “I will see you soon” with that he let go of you and pushed you to the main street. You did not think twice and started to run. You did not even try to use your phone he had made sure it was dead. You reached the main street, but it was like a ghost town completely empty. You did not think of screaming, because he had shown you a gun and you were quite sure he could still shoot you from the alley. You were still too close. You did not know the way to the next police station and all windows were dark, so you ran to the only place close by you knew. Your apartment. You just stopped running when you were inside the complex, leaning against your door. You knew you need help. Your best option were your neighbours. The neighbours you still needed to meet. You were about to go for the door next to yours when suddenly a person turns around the corridor corner and walk straight in your direction. A scream escaped you and your first instinct was to run until you remembered that the corridor was a dead end. There was only one more door next to yours and that was it. You were about to run up to that door and bang against it, when the figure began to spoke, while stepping more into the light. “Please, do not be scared. I did not mean to scare you.” You realised somewhere in your brain, that he had an accent. Was that British? The man before you were still quiet young and if you had not been so scared you for sure had thought he looked handsome, well handsome was not even fitting it he was drop dead beautiful. The man took careful and slow steps in your direction like trying to not disturb a wild animal. “Hello love, my name is Mick. I live in the apartment next to you. I am sorry I really did not mean to scare you.” He was holding his hands up to show he meant no harm.  You nodded weakly but your body was still trembling. You had problems to stand probably and you really tried but you did not manage to say a word. New tears flew down your cheeks. The man was still getting closer and with every step he took he was repeating that he had no intention of hurting you. He was wearing a small somehow calming smile, while his eyes got more worried with every moment you did not answer. Worried with a slice of anger since he had seen the state you were in, but you somehow knew this anger was not directed at you and he was quick to mask the most of it with a calming smile. Normal people would most likely not noticed but you had always been very shy and as a result of it you learned to read people and their emotions. It helped you to interact with them a bit better and in his posture, you could just see determination and overall protectiveness. Still you could not help but to push your body more against your door and trying to make yourself smaller, as if that would hide you, normally you would have known that it would not help, but you were too scared to think clearly, you felt like a terrified child. Not like a fresh graduate from university. The man stopped walking and took something from his pocket. “Please calm down. I mean no harm. See I am from the FBI. I can help you.” You managed to look up and see his batch. It looked real to you and he was not the man from before. His voice, his way of speaking, everything looked different. He was meaning protection. Someone to help you. He meant safety. You nodded weakly to show that you understood, then closed your eyes, you were feeling dizzy all out of the sudden. Then you realized you had breathed way too fast all the time. You had been hyperventilating all the time. The next moment your legs give in and you were sure to fall to the ground, but two strong arms caught you. At first you first instinct was to fight back to get free and run but the arms were restraining you. He was way stronger than you and obviously knew what he was doing. You were nearly not able to move at all. “Please, love you need to calm down. Calm down and I let you go. I cannot do this right now. In the state you are you would hurt yourself.” His voice was gently and calm, his British accent somehow made it even more calming. “Here,” he somehow managed to guide your head to your chest, while still restraining you. “You can hear my heartbeat, right love? Focus on it, just focus on it and listen to me can you do this for me love?” You nodded weakly you were not able to move more than that. He would let you go, he said he would let you go. Somewhere deep inside you, you knew he meant no harm, but you were panicking and so your instinct was to get free and run, just run and hide if possible. “Can you hear it love?” You nodded again weakly. His heartbeat was steady and calm. So, calm it made you ask yourself how it could be so calm in this situation, but that thought was whisked away fast by your fear. “I want you to breath with me, okay? Just breath with me… In ………and out ….” He was taking slow and deep breaths five seconds in holding it for three seconds and five seconds to breath out. You tried to match your breathing with his, but it was so hard at first, yet he was patient with you. After a few minutes you got better and managed to keep the rhythm on your own. “that’s right, just like this, you’re doing good love. You’re okay, you’re going to be okay. Keep breathing, dear, you’re doing good” You felt his arms losing up a bit and one of his hands gently stroking your hair in a calming manner. “If you want, I can let you go now.” He stated in a soft voice, but you shook your head while hiding at his chest. You were thinking clearly enough again to know he meant safety. He chuckled lightly just continued to stroke your hair:” Okay, love we can stay like this, but would it be okay for you if I move us both into mine apartment? It would be a bit warmer there and you freezing could. I do not want you to get sick.” You nodded weakly again not trusting your voice. Yours and his apartment were the only ones at the floor and yours was out of option. Then suddenly you remembered you remembered what the man had said. Scared you look up at Mick, who got concerned right away. “He-he said...he would come back...he s-said see you soon…he ...he will come back for me…!” “Love, Love I need you to calm down again.” “Does he have your address? “you nodded. “Okay even more of a reason to get into my apartment. I do not want you to be on the floor when he decides to show up and I will call the police right away. Also, I need you to stay away from the door no matter what, okay?” “please help me…” you whimpered “I will love, I will. You are safe now, you are safe.” He got up with you still in his arms. As if you were no real weight for him. “Think you manage to stand while I open the door?” “y-yes” “good” he gently put you on your feet and put one arm around you to steady you. He was quick in open the door guided you through it and closed it securely. Without another word picked you up again. He took you both in and moved you in his bedroom. You were a bit confused why he had to simply put you down on the coach or a chair in the other room. He seemed to see your confusion and answered, “I like the idea of having an extra door between you and him in case he figures you could be at my place.” He stated calmly. You shuddered, he would come looking for you and that meant you were putting this nice young man in front of you in danger. “Y-you d.do not need to do this…You are in danger…because of me…” You looked down. You were so scared, but you did not want someone to get hurt because of you.  He sighed “Love, look at me, “ he gently made you look up with his finger under your chin, “It is my job to protect people and what kind of a neighbour would I be if I would not be helping you. Bloody hell what kind of gentleman” he grinned at you, you were sure he wanted to lighten your mood and you could not help but smile a little at his grin. “I be right back. I the police and also some of my colleagues okay, love? I will be right back. Just stay here please and if someone tries to enter this room without me telling you it is okay beforehand or if you here shots or anything like that, I want you to go and hide here okay?” He went over to his closet which was surprisingly big. “But don’t worry too much I am just being overcautious. I will not let him to you. I shot him if he dares to try and I am damn good at that. I am one of the best snipers this world got right now, and I am skilled with every gun. Oh, and then there would be normal combat and some material arts like...” he grinned at you as you laughed lightly, he was showing of on purpose and you knew it. Still he made you feel saver. This man surely knew how to stand his ground and he was willing to protect you. He was about to stand up, when he stopped and took of his hoody pulling it over your head in the next moment. You blushed at that gesture “You are cold” he murmured softly to explain his action. You muttered a soft “Thanks”. The hoody was warm and smelling of him. You really liked his scent.  “I will be right back, Love” he gently strokes over your hair one more time and left.

 Micks Pov

 I sighed; the poor girl looked like a mess. She had some injuries, but injury severity luckily did not seem to be too bad. Still I wanted to punch the guy who hurt her right now. First on I called the police. I did not like to let the man know that she got help but it would also be no good to have no back up and he surely would have figured out she would get herself help. I also asked for an ambulance. She did not seem to be in any immediate danger, but I needed to be sure and have someone at least check her up. I knew a thing or two about medicine from my time in the Special force, but I felt like a real doctor should check her up. Next on I called Sam. I had a strange feeling about this guy. Letting her walk away but promising to come back, that sounded like the type of man who fitted in our job description to catch. We did not have a case right now, so Sam will find a way to make us the responsible. After I explained everything to him and was sure the police would be here any minute, I went back to my momentarily charge. I gently knocked beforehand to not scare her and softly spoke to her: “It is just me love” I opened the door and had to smile. She had nearly completely hidden away in my hoody which was too large for her, she looked adorable.  I sat down beside her. My weapon was secured at my belt since I found her directly after I came back from a case. I could draw it any minute when there was the need and I was observing our environment all the time yet subtitle enough to let her notice. I tried to seem calm for her. She needed an anchor right now. “Hey, love would you give me your name?” I asked her in a gently tone “(y/N)” she whispered. “Such a beautiful name fitting a gorgeous young woman.” How old was she anyway, I would guess around 22 (sorry if it not your age, it just fits with the university story), so she was just a few years younger than me, still too young to go something like this. I had seen a lot of suffering in my job and back in the military, but I still could not stop feeling sad and angered by it. But that was a good thing, the prove I was still human. “(y/n), I have to ask you a few questions okay about the man and what he did to you. I know it is hard, but it would help to catch him, okay?”  She shook her head…” please...please don’t make me…”. “Love…” I whispered hating to ask her to relive it. “I am here okay; I will not let him hurt you ever again. You are safe. You are safe.” Suddenly I heard Sam call my name a few seconds later I heard keys and my door opening and closing again being locked again. Good thing he was living so close by. He was faster than the police and ha d a spare key. Now there were two FBI agents here to protect the girl who was right now hugging my side, holding on for her dear life. “We are here Sam!” I called out and then gently hugged the girl next to me back “Hush…He is a good friend and FBI. He means no harm. You are okay. He is here to help protect you love, okay?” She nodded but still hid at my side when Sam opened the door. “Hello, my Name is Sam” my friend spoke softly to the terrified girl and smiling warmly at her, but I could see the concern in his eyes. “The rest of the team is also on their way. I called the director on my way here; we got this case.  Think you are right he is a case for us” he informed me. I nodded grimly. We would catch that man. Then there were knocks at the door again and we heart a police officer call out. “I go get them” Sam spoke. A moment later he came back with a paramedic by his side. A man, of course they sent a man. I knew they probably sent whoever was close, but a woman would have been better. The way her closes were torn apart had made me give a good guess at what had happened to her and her reaction to Sam just underlined my conjecture.  As I assumed (y/n) feared the man. She was still way too much in shock to think straight. I was surprised I was able to calm her down by now. When the paramedic asked me to leave, I narrowed my eyes on him. Like hell I would leave him alone with her. She would straight down panic. “No!” she begged holding on to me trying to get away from the man. “Hey, it’s okay I am not leaving, I am staying. I am here… you’re okay, your save” I tried to hush her. Then I heard Ginas voice outside. I would be okay to leave her with Gina. “Hey there is a female outside I know her really good and she is quite badass too, if you want, she can stay with you and I come back immediately after your all good?” She did not even think about it before whispering a soft and weak no. Her voice quivering and tears threating to fall.  “Okay” I muttered softly and pulled her a bit closer to me. Changing our positions, a bit, so that the paramedic could have a better look at her while I was hugging her from behind to still make her feel secure and save but also to be able to restrain her if needed. I felt sorry for her that she still was in this stage of shock but who could blame her she knew no one here, she was still so young and here was nothing familiar at all to calm her down. I really hoped Penelope would manage to contact her parents or other relatives soon. I knew Sam asked her for it and well he probably did not even have to ask and with the address she got her name and she would be able to track her family.  Luckily the paramedic was not a complete idea and did a good job in not scaring her any further. I was relieved she was not hurt more than what I already knew and watched calmly as he tended to her wounds. Shortly after he left my phone was ringing. “Hey P what do you have for me” “I found them, but they won’t be able to come in more than a few weeks. They are making nature films and are somewhere in the deeps of the Amazonas.” I sighed How unlucky could this young woman be. “That’s okay” I heard he speak softly. She heard Penelope, man she has good ears. “They do not have to hurry. I know how much work they have put in this journey…I do not want to be the reason they leave. They are supposed to stay for at least two more month there. I can handle myself…” I smiled at her softly. “Love, I am sure it would be okay for them and I do not like the idea of you being alone in the next days…” “But they cannot be here before two weeks anyway, when I can handle that I can handle longer!” feisty, I thought but it calmed me. It was a sign that she was getting better. Also, I had to admit she got a point.  “Can you stay here for a few minutes Love?” I asked her and when she nodded, I went to meet Sam. I told him of the situation and how I did not like her being alone. WE were discussing things back and forth until Penelope spoke up “If it is any help for you guys, you might want to know that she is well will be working for the FBI” I was confused, I could not imagine the girl handling a gun and she would have been more trained in material skills if she was from the academy. “Not as one of you guys with the guns of course” our friend continued “She is like me. Actually, I just got to know that they were even thinking of adding her to my position as a second person to help, since I am right now working for both your lovely teams. The director had said something about a promising woman to be trained for exactly this position. She was supposed to start this position in training, so that we would not have a problem anymore when I was needed from one of you directly at the case. I just did not know she would be starting so soon. Sam you must remember the director told Hotch you and me of a promising young woman, who is not only skilled with a computer but also good at reading people.” Sam seemed to remember. “Why don’t we know anything about this?” Now was not only I eying Coop but also the rest of our team, who all arrived by now. “It was not sure until a few days ago and she was supposed to start in the next few weeks. I forgot to tell you over the last case.” Yes, the last case had been rough…

“Now that is an interesting turn of events.” Prophet muttered but smiled lightly. “What a way to start a career at the FBI “Beth commented while Gina nodded “Poor girl”. “Hey Sam, I think Mick should watch over her, at least until we got the unsub. He is skilled enough to protect her and she is already trusting him. After that I think it would be a good thing if she would stay with one of the teams or Penelope for working hours once she is fit enough and if it is needed we could take turns of staying with her, until she got better. That way she could already learn about our jobs and gets some experience.” Gina spoke up while smiling at me. I looked at her a bit surprised “Common Mick you a big brother you should know how to calm a scared girl” She teased me. Sam nodded “That might be a good idea, but for now catching the unsub is top priority. I will talk with the director and hotch over everything else later. Mick stay with her and see if she might know something helpful.

Your POV

 Mick came back after some time and you were thankful for that. “Hey love” he spoke softly and sat next to you. “How are you feeling” “okay I guess” I muttered weakly. “Okay let me reframe that: “What do you u feel”.  “I…I am scared. Scared he comes to get me” Mick smiled reassuringly at you and pulled you into a protective hug. It was strange he was the only person who made you feel save right now. You just met him still his arms felt so safe. You just knew he was not the kind of man that would ever hurt you. “You are okay love; we will catch him. You are perfectly save” he hushed you gently and stroke over your hair. He put his chin at your head, and you let yours fall against his chest. You were quite a bit smaller than him. “I heard you will be working with us in the future (f/n). I am looking forward to that. I got to hear that you will be working with a dear friend of mine and helping my team and another great team with good people in it with Information and computer stuff. I was told you are quiet good with that” You were sure he was trying to get your minds of the situation and he was doing a good job. You could not help but blush. “I…I am not bad at it I guess” Mick smiled at you. “Could it be love that you are a bit shy?” he was grinning like he found you acting cute, making you blush even more. “I was right? How cute” now you were blushing professionally, which made him laugh. You really enjoyed the sound of it. His laugh was melodic and beautiful. It calmed you to know that he would be one of the people you would be working with. You had been nervous about the whole thing. The question was would they still want to work with you after you failed that much on handling this situation?  You fell silent for some time and Mick seemed to notice your distress. “What’s wrong love?” you were mulling over with you should tell him. “Nothing. I am fine. Just tired” he raised a sceptical brow at you “Love I am a profiler. That is so not working on me” he nudged you gently “what is bothering you? Or did I take guesses? Well probably more like observations.” “It is stupid really….” He sighed and chanced your position a bit in his arms. He was gently holding you chin making you look in his eyes. “Love nothing that stops a smile to be on that beautiful face of yours is stupid, got that?” His eyes held so much concern for you and were so determent it caught your breath. Not mention they were straight down beautiful. “It is okay if you do not feel like talking about it, but I think it might help you.” He reassured you. “I was ...Iwasustthinkingthatnoonewouldliketohavemeontheirteamafterthis…I mean ...IamnotfittoworkfortheFBInotevenintheoffice” “Whoa there slow down a bit” he laughed amused. “Love-” he spoke unhurried, “you are absolutely fine. I can ensure you that there is not a thing to worry about. They will all understand your reaction and your reaction is perfectly fine. I would be bloody concerned when this would not take its toll on you. I was trained for stuff like this, you were not and that is perfectly okay. You were not supposed to get into a situation like this to begin with” he stated. Then he smiled “Also I am quite positive they will all be pretty protective of you. I mean you even younger than our genius Dr. Reid. You will like Spencer. I am sure of that. He is not much older than you.” “How do you know my age?” you inquired confused. “Oh, Penelope told me. You will love her. She is a bit a nutter, but I am absolutely sure you two crazy computer freaks will get along pretty well” he mocked you. “you might even make Hotch smile more when you continue acting so cute. That would be a rare thing to see” he snickered, and you knew he was trying to lighten the mood, but he really seemed amazed by the idea.  “Believe me (y/n) they will all like you and we will be so protective of you” he promised. “We probably be a pain in your ass” he joked. “At the beginning it will be a bit of proving and learning to know each other but I’m sure you will do great and they will be patient with you. They are good people love. Noting to be afraid of” he assured you. You two continued talking for a while and after some time he got you to talk about what had happened. Yes, there still was some crying but you felt safe with him and when Prophet, how he introduced himself, brought you two some Chinese food you even felt like eating. He asked if you were okay with him staying for a bit so that Mick could talk to the others and to your surprise you were okay with that. You saw the trust in Micks eyes for Prophet and how willing he was to let you stay with him, that you felt save. Still you felt better when Mick promised to be quick.

They did not want you to relive everything again when Mick told the rest of the team. Prophet and you talked for a bit. He welcomed you warmly to the team and said they would get the man who had dared to hurt you. He was also amazed that the FBI recruited you straight from university.

When Mick came back, he was accompanied by three women. Well two woman and one happy jumping ball of colours whose name, you learned, is Penelope. The other two were Gina and Beth. They introduced themselves and stayed for a few minutes. Penelope wanted to stay but Prophet took her with him insisting you needed some peace and calm to rest. If you were honest you were overwhelmed. Mick must have noticed since he chuckled and put an arm around your shoulders in a friendly manner. “You’re okay Love?” “mhm” you nodded a bit unsure of yourself. “Give yourself sometime. I assure you they all are great people. Sam wants to meet up with us a bit later.” He pulled you a bit closer “They will catch that man while I and some police officers will stay here to your protection. You should get some sleep love” You shook your head you. You were still too scared to sleep. He smiled at you gently and made you lay down. “You look exhausted. Please try to sleep” He sat beside you stroking your hair and after some time you fell asleep. When you woke up, he had changed his clothes and you found breakfast near the bed. You wanted to say something when a voice made you shock stare. It was his voice the voice of the man who hunted you. “(y/n? Hey, love you are okay, you are safe.” Mick spoke. You finally sprang into action and hugged Mick to whisper in his ear for just him to hear. “I can hear his voice…he is outside of this room! He just said ‘how is she’ there again the ‘go home man I take your place’” your eyes were wide from panic.

 Micks Pov

 How was that possible. There were only police officers. Don’t tell me he is an officer. I sighed. Just great. That explains why the man was not worried about being able to get back to her. He was probably waiting for the right moment. He must have just arrived, since she did not notice sooner. Yet it was strange, he must surely know she would recognize his voice. Why didn’t he care?

Was this a onetime thing? When it was It meant trouble. That man was not planning on getting out alive. But why her?! She is new in this town. Coincidence? Right type of girl? I had no time to think further about this. I pressed a button on his phone. Writing just one word sending it to Penelope knowing she would contact everyone else in lightspeed. Just one word “officer”. I knew they would understand. Then I ushered my charges in the closet. “lay down on your stomach keep your arms at your side and stay down. Do not make a sound. Everything will be alright” I whispered and give her a breath hug. I had no time to further calm her. Then I pushed the bed in front of the closet. Not letting the door out of my side. The bed ended at the ground. It would not do much, but I took everything that could shield her from bullets. Also, it would buy time should I mess up. I needed to warn the officers outside but how should I do that if I did not know the name. They would take why too long to understand who it is just by the words he said and the only thing I knew was his voice and his physique, which was typical for officers. If I walked out causally, he could use the opportunity and shoot me and I would probably see it too late, because he will shoot as soon as this door moves. He probably already has his hand at his gun. I just could hope Sam and the rest of the team would be fast and better bring a squad team. Until then I could just hope he would not dare to open this door or hurt the other officers. I squatted down next to the bed. This way I could see who enters the room just a few seconds before he would catch my side. I do not need more to shoot than that. I calmed my breath and concentrated on my breath. Given one last plea the girl would stay calm and down.

I was listening in on the conversation outside. It was quite calm until suddenly one of them decided to leave for the toilet. I cursed at his timing. The unsub was probably waiting for just one officer to be with him. One less person to fight off.  I was thinking about a way to stop him when I heard a shot and a scream “My leg!” “Wh- “another shot. That man was fast. “Argh my foot! Watch out!” shouted the other officer. It least he has not killed them yet. No matter how much I wished to run out to help them and shout the piece of shit, I knew I would blow my cover and be walking target. That would not be helping anyone. I wished I would know their position. I heard steps coming closer to the door. So, he is leaving them alone and coming for us. Why would he let them alive? They just meant danger, was this some kind of game for him? They could still shoot him! The question was how good they were at it. When he was heading for the door and they missed, they could hit us. They must know that, and he probably knew how good they were at this, but was he really taking the risk, they would not shoot? “He has a bomb!” I heard one of the officers shout out as the door slowly opened so that was it. The door opened enough for me to see. He was wearing the bloody bomb under his jacket!  No wonder they would not shoot. In his hand was a gun but no trigger for the bomb. So, it probably timed or not even that. Maybe it was just one crazy way of protection.  Still I was not them. “Hey Mister!” I shouted as he had fully opened the door and realised, I was not in his sight. He turned around a bit to look at me. Oh, how I loved the fuck that people act out of reflexes and instincts. I no way they trained me to suppress them as good as possible when needed. He turned around in the direction of my voice to see me and his hand with the gun came my range. Nothing anymore between it and my gun except for air. No other arm blocking my shoot anymore. My finger pulled the trigger and the bullet got his hand before he was even aiming at me.  Good thing I was scrunched down, making it harder for him to see me and aim at me. As a trained sniper and special force, I had no problem shooting out of this position, not matter with what gun.  His gun dropped to the ground. His wrist was bleeding. I took his confusion to jump to my feet my gun was now targeting his head. “Don’t dare to move. Your little protection jacket will not stop me from shouting you.” I did not say bomb because I feared it could freak (y/n) out even more and make her do something that could put her in danger. Even when I was not sure, if she would even get out of the closet with the bed in front of it. Still I wanted her to stay down. Stay in the cover of the bed as good as possible.  The unsub seemed to catch himself and let out a maniac laugh “You would not dare! You would not shoot me. You know what happens when you miss! You know how much force this has?! It would blow up the whole house easily” Great now she surely figured it out. I nearly wished she just fainted, but that would also be problematic. Please stay calm.  I did not speak to her not wanting to pull his attention to her. Also, I had to be fast. When the squad team arrived, they could realize too late he has a bomb and they will probably not here what is going on inside here. The first time I was annoyed that the door and walls here were quite soundproof. So, he wanted to play cocky. Well two could play this game. “So, you have a bomb and what? I do not see a trigger, so I guess it is timed maybe not even that. You are in no rush, but I know guys like you, you have a plan and you must pull it through you have to satisfy your desire. I am not what you wanted. I was not even part of your plan. Some officers, yes but a guy from the FBI? I guess not. Your plan crumbles but still I do not see you in any rush, which means this timer is far away from its end or the bomb not timed at all.” I grinned at him smugly to annoy him further to get him out of his comfort zone, making him nervous. I saw his look flatter for a mere moment. “I tell you an interesting fact about me. I am a trained sniper, one of the best. A clear headshot is a piece of cake for me even with this gun. I also do know a thing or two about bombs and I know that what you have constructed there is not endangered by concussion.  I can understand why. Would be heard to move freely when every step could blow you up. I have seen bombs like these hundreds of time.” Yes, I had a lot of missions where we came to face often more than one bomb at one point of it.

He became more insecure.  I needed to hurry I was positive the squad team would arrive any minute.  I had no more time to talk him into given up his bomb jacket and surrender. There was a noise at the door he turned to look at it and I shot his leg hitting a mark that would make him go down for sure. The squad members would not shoot out of reflex at him if he was already at the ground. As the door cracked, I yelled in hopes to stop a smoke bomb” FBI Everything under control. Before the leader could even announce them. “Target down. FBI Mick Rawson. Everything is under control.”” My man!” I heard Sam shout. The squad team came in but without a smoke bomb. I would have hated to lose sight of the unsub, even when he was injured. “We need an ambulance and a bomb commando” I told the arriving. “Give me cover, I need to take a look at this bomb. Just to be sure” The squad man seemed unsure. “He knows what he is doing” Sam said, and the squad member listened. If this thing was timed, we needed to know now. We could not wait for the team to arrive. I took a closer look and was relieved I was right. No ticker no hidden traps. He clearly had done this for the first time. It was quite messy honestly. A wonder he did not blow up himself with this thing while constructing it.  We had to wait for the specialist to remove it though. “Make sure he does not move; we need to wait for someone to get this thing off of him.” “They will ne here soon.” Sam confirmed then look to the closet “Go get her out of there.” I nodded at him and left the unsub at his gunpoint. I was sure with him and the guys from the squat team he would mean no harm no more. One of the members of the squat team helped me with the bed. I knelt down in front of the closet opening the doors slowly, to not scare her. “Love? (y/n) …” The next thing I knew was that she was hugging me desperately crying her eyes out. Who could blame her? “Hey, hey Love you are safe now. You’re okay, you’re okay. I got you. I got you.” I tried to sooth her.  I picked her up and took her with me out of the room. I did not want her in the same room with him and the bomb. When we got to the corridor my team was running in our direction Penelope in tow. The team seemed relieved, but they all patted her head or squeezed her hand. “We should get her out of here. Where is Sam?” Prophet asked. “Inside,” I answered, “he is fine”. “we can go to my place” P offered. It is not far from here and comfy!” We all nodded and left. While Beth stayed with Sam es back up.

 A few weeks later I came back late at night from a mission. I passed (y/n) s door and noticed the light was still on. I stopped for a moment and a soft smile fell on my lips. Gently I knocked at her door. “It’s me” a minute later she opened the door. Man, she looks more tired than I was. “Love, why are you still awake?” She looked down. “Nightmares again?” I guessed. She had been having a lot of nightmares the first weeks. She shook her head. “Did something happen today at work. Was some idiot mean to you?” She had her first day to day and I was bloody annoyed we had been on a case far away. I had wanted to at least bring her to Penelope in the morning. “No! they were really nice actually” I smiled “That’s good to hear.” I ruffled her hair making her giggle. Oh, how I loved that sound. I knelt down a bit to look directly in her eyes “Tell me what is bothering you. You look so exhausted. Why are you not sleeping?” “I-it is silly really” did she just blush? Yes, she did! “Still I would like to hear.” I encouraged her “Penelope said you were on your way home and I heard you got hurt on the case. I …I just had to know you came back home safely.” Now I was stunned. She was worried about me. I grinned “I am perfectly fine Love. See just a scratch. There was a lot of fuss about nothing, really.” He showed me his arm “I disarmed the guy and dodge his first attack. I am perfectly fine. That police office who called P just made an elephant out of a fly.” She nodded. “I do not know about you, but I am hungry! Pizza? I got two in my fridge” I winked at her and before she could say a thing, I picked her up and throw her over my shoulder. She squealed. Good thing our apartments were the only ones at this floor. “Mick! It is nearly midnight!” “Yes, perfect time for pizza!” I laughed. Inside I sat her down on the coach. Over the last weeks we developed a good friendship it was not unusually for us to hang out together. “Mick you know I will fall asleep soon” “I do not see a problem there.” Not that this would happen the first time. “But I do not want you to put me in your bed and then take the coach for yourself. You had a hard day!” “And it gets better with you here so?” “argh you are unbelievable!”  “Am I Love?” I chuckled and went to the kitchen to put the pizza in the oven, when my phone began to ring “Hey P, are you okay?” It was kind of late for a call after all, so I was concerned. “Is she with you?! Is y/n) with you?!” “Yes, she is Penelope she is laying at my house and is perfectly fine.” “Good! I was writing with her, when she suddenly did not answer anymore.” “Yeah I came back a few minutes ago and whisked her away sorry for that. I did not mean to still her from you.” I laughed softly. It calmed me that Penelope was also looking out for her. “Oh, you Mister are the only one who is allowed to steal her from me. I ship you two you know. I mean I have a boyfriend so I cannot have you, but she is single and you two would be perfect for each other! “I laughed “Slow down there P I” “Oh do not dare to say you do not like her. I do not have to be a profiler to see you are totally into her and I am more than positive she is into you and just way too shy. I expect an invitation to the wedding by the way. Now go back and use your sexy British voice for something useful! But if you hurt her you will be in big trouble. I like that girl a lot so do not mess this up and hurt her. She is such a sweet young woman. So, and now stop listening to me and finally do what you want to do since weeks. Seriously the teams are already making bets and I do not want to lose. How can you take that long to ask a girl out!” Wow, that was overwhelming. Did that woman need to breath?! Yeah, she was bloody right I liked (y/n) a lot hell I was so falling for her, it kind of scared me. I was never having a problem with…. but her, she was a different story I did not want to mess this up or to pressure her. All the time Penelope continued to talk. “Stop! Breath.” I commanded her “Good and now excuse me I promised a beautiful lady food and something to drink. Have a good night P.” “you too and good luck.” I so knew she was grinning “Good night.” I laughed softly. I threw the pizza in the oven and smiled. She was right I should make a move. I was sure now for more than a week that (y/n) at least started to have feelings for me. I was not profiling her, well at least not willingly that had been more of an instinct or reflex, picking up on all the small signs. I went back to the coach and saw (y/n) nearly falling asleep she looked so tired. Maybe I should wait with the whole confession thing until the next morning and just keep her with me. Here she would at least sleep. I knew she said she did not have a nightmare, but I also knew there was nearly no night where she did not have one. I stopped counting how many nights my sniper instincts picked up on her crying and woke me up. Some nights she calms down after a while, some she gets more panic. That are the nights I knock at her door and take her over to mine or stay with her until the morning making sure she feels save. I even picked her door a few times because she was too terrified already to realize someone was knocking. The nightmares got a bit fewer in the last weeks and I was thankful for that. It made me feel better whenever I was away for a case. I never silenced my phone then and I told her she could always call me. Yet I was still worried knowing she did not want to be a burden and often enough did not call me even when she needed someone to talk. I started to teach her somethings about self-defence.  Morgan also said he would train with her if she wanted to and I hoped someday she would say yes. Just to get her use to someone’s else fighting style, but for know she was too insecure of the whole fighting thing and physical contact was an issue. She was fine with me. She even calmed down in my hugs the second I pulled her in my arms. With everyone else she always needed a few seconds to really calm down and recognize that she was safe. I know with time this would get better and hopefully not be an issue anymore and we all understood and did our best to support her and make her feel safe. Still I was furious that the bastard affected her so much. I would love to use him as a punching bag at some days. So, I did everything I could to make her feel safe and give her the feeling of being able of protecting herself.

  Your Pov Mick came back, and you were rubbing your eyes. You felt sleepy now that he was with you, you felt your whole body relax. It was strange how safe you felt with him. “Hey, sleeping beauty thing you can stay a wake long enough for a bit of pizza?”  You nodded determent but honestly you were not so sure. He laughed and sat down beside you. “Come here” he opened his arms for you and you gladly snuggled up to him, while he put his arms around you. You sighed content when he began to tickle you. All you tries to escape him were in vain. He was much stronger than you and he knew what he was doing. Holding you in place was a child’s game for him. After some time, he stopped and grinned at you “I adore to hear your laugh (y/n)” he whispered near to your ear and you blushed professionally. He just smirked “you know I noticed something love.” He whispered stroking your hair. You looked up at him. You were laying on his chest by now, him sitting against the arm of the sofa. “I noticed”, he began again, “Something in your behaviour around me, the way you look at me and I cannot say I do not fancy stolen the looks I am getting” he smiled while you blushed deeply “Well this confirms this further.” He chuckled and gently stroke your cheek, “Could it be love that you are falling for me?” You bit your lip, yes you were, you definitely were but it was hard to say it out loud, what if he did not feel the same, but the way he was asking gave you hope that maybe he would…yet you were not sure, he could literally have everyone, did he really choose you? “Oh Love” he laughed as you still did not answer, “stop toying with a poor man’s heart!” He was over dramatic and smiling. He was teasing you. He was so sure about this, like he could completely read you. “I “you took a deep breath “ I like you a lot Mick and I fear I am falling head over heels for you…I love you…” you said while looking straight in his shining eyes even when you were scared of his reaction his eyes were too arresting to look away. A grin broke out over his face and he chuckled again. “I love you too (y/n). I want to be the one by your side the one who protects you, the one you come running too, the tosser you complain about because I did something stupid or made you worry but not too much until I manage to get you forgiveness, the one who holds you in his arms when you need someone, the man that you love. I want everything with you, the hard times the good times, everything as long as it is with you” You started to cry at is words. Hell, some people did not get such a speech they are asked to marry the other and yet here he was saying these words to you. “I love you Mick” you whispered still a bit overwhelmed while he just smiled at you. “You are the best thing that happened to me, my hero, my best friend. I must be the luckiest girl to get such a loving, sexy, intelligent, dorky,” He laughed at that “badass gentleman to say he loves me.” “Love, you are going to make me blush! I have a reputation!” He laughed but his eyes were shing from happiness. “May I?” he asked softly. You nodded and he turned me around just to press his lips to sours in the next moment. You were so focused at each other that you got startled by the alarm of your food going off that you fell to the ground.  Mick took the sudden noise better than you and reacted. He somehow managed to roll you over so that he hit the ground before you and you were laying on top of him. Damn he was fast. “You should be more careful love; you could get hurt” he sounded sincerely concerned. You on the other hand were more concerned about him “Are you hurt?” you inquired immediately. Mick just laughed “I am perfectly fine, Love and Blimey, I must say I do enjoy our position” He winked at you and you felt your cheeks burning. Out of nowhere he rolled you over smirking down at you now towering over you “Still I must say I prefer this position” He whispered huskily in your ear then he stole a kiss from you and pulled you up with him “ as much as I enjoyed our situation there is pizza waiting for us! Also, “He looked lovingly at you “we can do everything in our own tempo and way, okay love? I will never be impatient with you just to get this straight from the beginning.” You just kissed him, and he grinned “I wonder who lost the bet”

[rachaelswrites]

The Past is in the Past

Chapter 2

Spencer Reid x Daughter!reader

Warnings: None (let me know if I miss any)

It had been a slow day at the BAU and the whole team was looking forward to an easy day. Spencer was especially looking forward to it. Between work at the office and teaching his seminars, he hadn’t had too much time to be at home and relax. He was already planning a quiet night in, with takeout, a book, and spending time with his daughter. 

All his plans were ruined when Garcia came barging into the bullpen, case file in hand, “This is a bad one,” she said as she walked by the desks. All the members of the team exchanged glances as they got up and headed to the roundtable room. 

“Luckily this is a local one,” Emily said as everyone filed into the room. 

“Yeah but the location is not so lucky,” Garcia replied, “It’s at Freedom High School,” Garcia said, glancing over at Reid.

The whole team knew that’s where you went to school and Reid didn’t like the direction this was heading. He reached for one of the files sitting on the table, hoping to ease his anxieties but his phone rang. He set the file down and reached for the phone and pulled it from his pocket. 

“I’m sorry, it’s the school,” he said. He stood up from his chair and stepped out into the hallway. 

“Garcia, who's the victim?” JJ asked. She had the same worry as Spencer did. What if it was you? Spencer had lost so much. He couldn’t lose the last good thing he had. 

“It’s not Y/n thank God,” she said as the whole room relaxed, “But another student, Georgia Andrews, was murdered and found about forty minutes ago,” she explained, “She was found in a janitor’s closet with multiple stab wounds.”

“In a school environment, it can’t be too hard to find the suspect,” Matt said. 

“The school went into lockdown about thirty minutes ago and they have a person of interest. No one has come in or out of the school,” Emily said, “There is a high chance that our unsub is in that building and we need to get over there right now.”

“Who’s the person of interest?” Luke asked, “It’s not in any of these,” he said as he flipped through the files. 

“It’s Y/n,” Spencer said as he re-entered the room, “They just called me and said she’s their person of interest.”

“Oh my God, Spence,” JJ said, getting up from her chair and going over to him, “Did they say anything else?”

“No but I need to get down there now,” he said, moving away from JJ and back to his chair, “I know she didn’t do it but I need to get her.”

“Go ahead Reid,” Emily said, “We’re officially on this case which means you can’t work it but you can be there for Y/n.”

Spencer nodded as he gathered up his things and headed out the door. He stopped by his desk to grab whatever else he needed before making his way to the elevator and to his car. He was freaking out so he couldn’t imagine how you were feeling. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that you were innocent and this was all a misunderstanding. You could be being framed. He knew how that went.

~~~~~

He arrived at the school around the same time the rest of the team did. As soon as he parked the car, he got out and ran inside. Luke ran in after him, the rest of the team close behind. Spencer pulled open the office doors and walked in, looking around for you and whoever was in charge. He spotted your school’s principal and the chief of the DC police, “Why the hell is my child being held as a person of interest in a murder investigation?” he demanded. 

“Sir please calm down,” the chief said, “We have reason to believe your daughter-” Spencer cut him off before he could finish his sentence. 

“What reasons? Y/n hasn’t had a single disciplinary issue the whole time she’s attended school in this district and there is no indication of violent or criminal behavior in her past.”

“We believe family history should be taken into account,” the principal said. 

Spencer snapped his head over to him, “And what history is that? Y/n is too young to show signs of schizophrenia and since I don’t have it, her chances of having it are decreased.”

“I meant the incident in Mexico about three years ago. When both you and Y/n were arrested near the border,” he explained, “I believe you were arrested on a murder charge and drug possession?”

“He was but Agent Reid was exonerated after three months,” Emily said, finally making her way into the conversation, “So there is no reason to take that into account. We don’t think Y/n is our unsub.”

“Let me talk to her,” Spencer said, “I want to talk to her.”

“We can’t let you do that until we question her and get her official statement,” the chief explained, “But after that you can.”

Spencer seemed satisfied with that so he took a seat across from the conference room where you were being held. He could see you but you hadn’t noticed him yet. Those rooms were pretty soundproofed so it was hard to hear anything happening outside of them. He watched you and took note of how scared and anxious you were. You were messing with your hands, which were still coated in blood. 

He had a basic understanding of what happened. He knew you said you tried to save Georgia but you couldn’t and he knew that was eating away at you. He watched as you started to fold your arms on the desk, resting your head on it. He watched as your leg started to bounce up and down, getting faster and faster as time went. He saw movement in the room and focused back to your head, which you were now hitting against your arm. He knew you were beating yourself up over this and you were taking it hard.

Taglist

@thatsonezesty13

[fandom-imagines-stories]

Run to You Part Two

Derek Morgan x Reader

Words: 2494

Part One

Summary: Having been dating for a while, you finally feel comfortable enough to introduce your boyfriend to your daughter, Angelica. Derek takes on the role better than you could have imagined and you start to feel like a family. Then one day, Angelica disappears from a friend’s house and your ex husband starts making demands. 

Notes: Thank you all for the support you’ve shown for this series so far! Funnily enough, this three parter is actually similar to a Fox Mulder x Reader series I started a couple of months ago that may or may not see the light of day. I guess if you guys really like this plot and if you like The X Files, let me know if you’d be interested in that. 

Warnings: Mentions of domestic abuse, stalking, kidnapping. 

More Criminal Minds: HERE

-

Derek made a half-hour drive take twenty minutes and pulled up to the front of the school. Local police had already been called in and were bombarding you with questions. He broke through the wall of officers to get to you. 

“Oh thank god,” You exclaimed and he took you in his arms without a second hesitation. “She’s gone.” You sobbed into his chest. “He took her. I know he did.” 

“Ma’am, I need you to calm down and tell us who you think took your daughter.” A female officer said calmly, taking another step towards you.

“Stop crowding her. Everybody back up!” Derek ordered. 

“I’m sorry, sir, who are you?” Another officer asked, sounding defensive. Derek pulled out his badge. 

“SSA Derek Morgan. I’m from the Behavioral Analysis Unit.” 

“It’s a little early to call you guys in, isn’t it?” The first officer said. 

“I’m not here officially. I know the missing girl.” 

“Then we’re going to need to ask you a few questions.” The defensive officer snapped. You pushed in between them. 

“I know who took her. Please, we have to find my baby.” 

“Y/N, just take a deep breath, okay.” Derek put a hand on your shoulder and waited for you to calm down a little. “Now, what do you mean you know who took Angelica?” You tried to keep a sob from escaping, but the tears fell freely. 

“Her father.” You watched Derek’s face morph with confusion. “My ex-husband.” 

-

You sat in the police station with Derek’s hand running up and down your back as you slowly sipped a glass of water. You hardly remembered getting there or seeing members of Derek’s team arrive. Since there was already a leading suspect, the BAU wouldn’t be called in, but Agent Hotchner and Agent Prentiss came anyway to help Derek consult with the police. 

“Ma’am, my name is Gina. I’m going to need to ask you a couple of questions, okay?” The officer from earlier started. You nodded, drinking the rest of your water. 

“Um, Derek, maybe you should go talk to Agent Hotchner and Agent Prentiss. Ask them what they need to know from me.” You suggested. You didn’t want to have to explain everything to him like it was an interrogation. Derek nodded in understanding and gently kissed the side of your head. 

“Let me know if you need anything.” He gave Gina a thankful smile and joined Hotch. 

“The police said they don’t have any problems with us being here as long as we stay out of their way.” Hotch informed, casting a sympathetic look in your direction. “How is she?”

“Her little girl is missing, Hotch. She’s doing about as well as you’d expect.” Morgan sighed. 

“What do we know about the suspect? She seems pretty certain that her ex is the one that took her daughter.” Prentiss asked. 

“Just his name and that they used to be married. I’m gonna call and see what Garcia can dig up.” He pulled out his cell and kept his eyes on you as you spoke to the officer. 

“All-knowing goddess, what can I do for you?” Penelope answered cheerfully. 

“I need your help, babygirl.” He said seriously. “Y/N’s little girl is missing.” 

“Oh god.” She gasped. With still so many more questions, she readied her fingers over her keyboard. “What do you need?”

“Lance Booker. Anything and everything you can find on him: properties, businesses, residences, especially places in the last six years.” He heard a flurry of typing before she answered. 

“Got it. I’ll send you the list forthwith.” There was a long pause, followed by a sad gasp. 

“What is it, Garcia?”

“Lance Booker’s ex-wife, Y/N… your Y/N? Ugh, I hate my job sometimes.” 

“Penelope!” He shouted into the receiver, his sudden outburst making Prentiss jump. 

“Sorry, sorry.” Penelope fretted. “At the time of their divorce six years ago and Y/N receiving full custody of their daughter, Y/N filed a restraining order against Booker with claims of domestic violence. She’s filed multiple reports of stalking since then, but without breaking any of the terms of the restraining order, the police haven’t been able to hold him for anything.” Derek’s hand tightened around the device to the point where he heard the shell crack. 

“Thanks Garcia.” 

“You’re going to find her, Derek.” Penelope assured him quietly. He took a deep breath. 

“I’ll keep you updated. Keep looking into this guy and anyone else who might have taken Angelica.” He snapped his phone shut and pressed it against his forehead, trying to calm himself down. He needed to be the one who held it together. He couldn’t let you see any anger or panic in him because it would just make you angry and panicked even more. 

It seemed like you were finishing up with the officer so he started back in your direction. Seeing him, you stood. Judging from his expression, he knew. 

“Derek, I can explain.” You wanted to reach out to him, but you kept your arms tightly wrapped around yourself as if it kept you from falling to pieces. “I wanted to tell you.” You wiped a stray tear from your cheek. “I wanted to tell you about all of it. About Lance a-and our marriage and everything that happened, but I just didn’t know how.” His eyes softened and he ran his hands down your tense arms. 

“You don’t have to explain anything to me, baby.” While there were so many questions in his mind, none of them mattered. All that mattered was that you were here with him and Angelica was out there somewhere with that man.  

The group fell silent as your phone started to ring. With a shaking hand, you looked down at the unfamiliar number, glancing back up at Derek for instructions. He nodded slowly while Prentiss called Garcia to get a trace on the number. You took a deep breath and answered. 

“Hey baby.” The voice on the other end sent a tremor up your spine. You kept your eyes locked on Derek’s to keep from hanging up right there. 

“Lance, where’s Angelica?” You tried to sound calm but you wanted to rip the bastard apart. 

“You know, she doesn’t even remember me?” He hissed. “When I picked her up from school, she had no idea who I was. But I guess that’s what happens when you decide to replace me for six years.” 

“Lance, please. I need to know that she’s okay.” 

“Of course she’s okay. She’s got Agent Morgan protecting her, right? Oh wait, he failed at that too.” He barked furiously. Your body tensed up even more. 

“How do you know about Derek?” You asked slowly. Derek’s expression didn’t change, but he felt a shot of guilt go through him. He was the trigger. 

“I have ways of knowing.” 

“He wants you to change the subject. Keep talking about Angelica.” Agent Hotchner instructed, keeping his voice low so the other end wouldn’t hear. You nodded in understanding. 

“Lance, I need to know that Angelica is okay. I need to hear her voice.” You kept your voice as level as possible. There was a shuffle on the other end and you nearly broke down when you heard Angelica’s confused voice. 

“Mommy? W-where are you? I wanna go home.” 

“I’m coming, baby. Everything is going to be okay.” You cried, hearing the sound of the phone switching back. 

“We’re going to be a family again.” Lance growled. “I’ll call again soon.” The line went quiet and you finally stopped holding your breath, leaning against the desk. You let the phone slip out of your hand and fall to the floor. 

“Did we get a trace?” Morgan called to the agents behind him, keeping his eyes glued on you. Hotch sighed. 

“Garcia said there was something interfering with the signal.” 

“Lance was a phone technician, he knows how to hide.” You said blankly. “He won’t let us find him until he wants us too.” 

The agents and officers around you were in a frenzy trying to dig up all of the information they could possibly find on Lance. Every time they said his name, you felt the back of his hand or the heel of his boot. For six years, you had been free of him. Angelica had been free of him. How dare he come back and ruin what you had built all on your own?

 Something inside of you switched. You weren’t just  frightened anymore. You were pissed off.

-

You didn’t move. You didn’t eat the food Derek had put in front of you. You didn’t drink the water he’d brought either. All you could do was stare at the phone, leg bouncing up and down anxiously. You hadn’t wanted to go home, but both the police and Agent Hotchner thought it would be a good idea in case Lance tried to contact you there. A team was setting up a device to hook your phone up to so they could control the line. All you could do was watch from the kitchen table, hands clasped in front of you like you were praying.

Derek watched you from the living room as his team set up the phone. He sat down on the couch, running a hand down his face. He should have asked you about Lance sooner. Maybe he could have prevented this if he only knew what had happened. 

“We’re going to find her, Derek.” Prentiss said, sitting down next to him. She’d watched the way that this was tearing him apart. He didn’t respond. Both watched as the youngest of their team approached your table. 

“Miss Y/L/N?” You looked up, finding the agent you could only assume was Dr. Reid. No one else was that young. 

“Yes?”

“I, um, I’m Dr. Spencer Reid. I work with Morgan- I mean, Derek.” He asked to sit down and you just nodded in response. “I would like to talk to you about your ex-husband, if that’s okay?” 

“I don’t know what else I can tell you.” You sighed, pinching the bridge of your nose. “Lance was… mean. He was controlling and when he didn’t get what he wanted, he got violent. But he never hurt Angelica. Ever.” You stared at the table’s wooden surface. “I was always there to protect her.” You felt a tear slip down your cheek. Reid’s lips formed a thin line. 

“What was he like before? When you first met him or when you first got married?”

“Well he wasn’t the monster he is now, I can tell you that.” You sneered. “When I met him, he was sweet. Sure, he was mysterious and attractive, so I did whatever he said, but he was romantic and- and different from the other guys I’d dated. When we got married, I thought ‘this is it’, you know? Standing in that little church, everything felt exactly like it was supposed to. But after Angelica was born, everything changed. It was like he’d been hiding this creature under his skin all those years and it was finally emerging.” 

“Do you remember anything specific that might have triggered this change?” 

You shook your head. “I just remember the first time it happened. There weren’t any warning signs or anything. He hadn’t been irritable or upset. He just… snapped. Angelica was in her high chair and she had thrown her bowl of food on the floor. He must have heard the sound and he came into the kitchen. When I knelt down to clean it, he grabbed my hair and pulled me up, screaming about how it was my fault. How I made a mess and that he was going to show me what happens to people who mess up his life. And then he hit me. He hit me over and over and left me on the floor to clean. I should’ve- I should have left him right there. I should have taken her and run, but I didn’t. In my head, it wasn’t his fault. It was because of his past, it was because of me. I should have run. I should have left. I should-” 

“Miss Y/L/N.” Reid interrupted, allowing you to gasp for air. You must have forgotten to breathe. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he was stopped by the shrill, dooming sound of the phone. 

You bolted from the table and joined the agents in the living room, waiting for the signal to answer. 

“Okay, you remember how it works?” Derek asked. You nodded. “Alright. Keep him talking. Don’t let him go off the subject of Angelica. You just want your daughter back. You don’t want to hurt him.” He pointed at the device and you picked up the receiver with a shaking hand. 

“Hello?” 

“Tell Agent Morgan he can’t replace me.” 

“Lance, I’m tired. I just want Angelica back safe.”

“No, you want to play happy family with your BAU boyfriend. He isn’t her father. I am!” He spoke with the fury of a madman. Derek looked at the rest of the team grimly. Lance was spiralling. 

“What do you want me to do, Lance? I’ll do anything to get her back, just please, I miss my daughter.” You cried. Derek pressed the button and muted the call. 

“Y/N, you have to keep calm. I know it’s hard, but Lance is trying to push you. He wants you to break, but you can’t.” He took your hand, softening his tone. “I’m right here. You can do this.” Under Derek’s comforting voice, you could hear Lance start to ramble. 

“I just want us to be happy again. Do you remember when we were happy?” You waited for Derek to press the button again before responding. 

“Y-yeah, I remember.” 

“We can be happy again. We can be happy again…” His voice trailed off and you heard a shuffling sound. 

“Wait, don’t hang-” You exclaimed, but the line went dead. You slammed the receiver back down and kicked the coffee table it sat on. “He’s going to kill her. He’s going to kill her.” You pushed a lamp over and listened to the bulb shatter against the carpet. Before you could break anything else, or hurt yourself, Derek locked his arms around you, pinning yours to your side. “Let me go! He’s going to kill her! It’s my fault! It’s all my fault!” 

He kept a hold of you as you screamed, sitting down on the couch with you on his lap. The other agents just stood, watching the scene of turmoil. Reid was standing completely skill, eyes darting in between invisible words in his head. He suddenly looked at Prentiss. 

“Get Garcia on the phone.” He said, turning back to you and Morgan. 

“What did you get?” Prentiss asked. She was still trying to decipher everything that Booker said. Reid swallowed. 

“I think I know where he might be keeping Angelica.” 

-

General Tag: @rae-gar-targaryen; @takemepedropascal; @childhood-imagination;  @mylovegoesto; @yellowbadgergirl; @itmejado; @suckmyapplejacks

Series: @ weasleytommy, @ lowsodiumfreaks67, @panhoeofmanyfandoms

[rocorambles]

A Game of Cat and Mouse

Pairing: Iwaizumi x Reader

Genre/Warnings: Cop and Criminal AU (Cop Iwaizumi, Criminal Reader), NSFW, Sex Toys, Degradation, Overstimulation, Bondage

Summary: Bad girls get punished. And criminals who go out of their way to make Iwaizumi’s life hell on a routine basis deserve extra special punishment.

Author’s Note: This is for the NSFW Haikyuu HQ Gifting Event! @multifandhoem I hope you enjoy~ (I really got carried away with the plot in this fic. One day I will learn how to write porn without plot, but for now, please accept my porn with way too much plot.)

Irritating Iwaizumi Hajime might be your favorite activity in the world. There’s just something so satisfying about watching his usually calm and stoic face shatter into an angry feral mess. And maybe, just maybe, something deep in your belly stirs as he growls and snarls at you, something primal in you writhing in excitement as he bares his teeth at you and chases you. 

You’ve lived a life of sins and crimes for as long as you can remember, but hard work has taken you a long way. So really, there isn’t any need for you to continue your petty thieving ways. You’re set for life with the money you’ve accrued from the countless successful exchanges you’ve made. It’s almost obscene just how much people are willing to pay for a few shiny stones or swatches of paint on a canvas. 

And yet you can’t help yourself from revisiting your bad habits of creeping in the shadows, analyzing floor plans, strategizing routes. Only now, your plans are centered around a brooding spiky haired cop with the most beautiful green eyes you’ve ever seen instead of the number of zeros at the end of a number. 

You don’t know exactly what about Iwaizumi resonates so strongly with you. Sure, he’s handsome, but you’ve run into your fair share of handsome officers. You dare say Officer Sawamura could give Iwaizumi a run for his money in the looks department.

Maybe it’s the hints of wildness you see underneath his straight-laced façade. 

Maybe it’s the fire you see blazing behind his reserved countenance.

Whatever it is has you keeping tabs on him, has you concocting plans just sloppy enough for Iwaizumi to get tantalizingly close to you, but put together enough to have you escaping his grasp each and every time. And you cackle at the way his eyes light up when he thinks he has you pinned down, only to furiously scowl at your retreating figure when you taunt him with a flirtatious air kiss and a cheeky “maybe next time, sir”. 

It’s an endless game of cat and mouse, but you don’t think you’ll ever tire of it. And you’re beginning to suspect that even Iwaizumi finds it amusing to a certain degree. 

You had been at a loss for words when the officer had merely trudged into the jewelry store you had been waiting for him in at your last heist, only to casually lean against the wall, folding his arms across his chest as he regarded you holding the store’s most expensive strings of diamonds and pearls in your hands, teasingly holding them up to his face. And you hesitantly lower your arm, unsure what to do as the silence and stillness of the night stretches. 

There’s no growled threats or pointed firearm in your face like there usually would be right about now. And you swear there’s a hint of a smirk on the handsome face across from you as the two of you just stand there, stuck in the strange heady tension filling the air. 

But you almost drop everything you’re holding at Iwaizumi’s next words. 

“If you want my attention that badly, there are better ways of going about it.” 

It’s Iwaizumi’s turn to laugh as your trademark smirk falls off the lower unmasked part of your face and he confidently saunters over to you, strong arms boxing you in against the glass counter, enjoying the rush of power he feels about the tables finally turning as you shyly look anywhere but at him. And something roars triumphantly inside of him when you gasp as he hooks his hand under your chin and forces you to meet him gaze on. 

“I’ve spent the last few months wracking my brain for answers. Why were you suddenly committing so many meaningless robberies? Robberies of stores and items so far beneath your caliber? Was it just coincidence that you were only committing crimes on the routes and nights I was working? Was I just imagining that it seemed like you were actively trying to avoid injuring me every time we clashed? None of it made any sense. But then your stupid flirting started and it made me think that maybe there was some rhyme and reason to your suddenly erratic behavior after all.” 

There’s silence as he lets you register his words and the rattling of jewelry as he plucks the expensive strands out of your hands and carelessly tosses them back in their case. But he softly smiles when you don’t deny his words and make no move to push him away or escape. 

“I believe in new beginnings and fresh starts, so when you’re done with your thieving ways, come find me. I’m curious about the woman under the mask.” 

It’s weeks before you have the courage to even secretly trail after Iwaizumi again after that encounter and even then, you don’t do anything but keep watch over him. 

His words echo in your mind and you don’t have the urge to steal and ring an alarm to beckon him towards you. Not when the greatest treasure of all is just within your grasp whenever you’re ready to summon the will to finally reveal your identity and meet him person to person in broad daylight instead of slithering around each other in the twisted tango of cop and criminal. 

But you aren’t ready yet and you merely keep tabs on him for now, curiosity and protectiveness getting the better of you, and if Iwaizumi notices the moving shadow that seems to follow him wherever he goes, he doesn’t bring attention to it. There’s something comforting, maybe even endearing, about how you’ve become a guardian angel of sorts to him, especially with the increasing body count and grizzly crimes being committed. And although he wishes you were safe and sound, tucked far away from the ricocheting bullets and corpses, his heart warms at the bouquet of lilies he finds on his doorsteps when he stumbles back home, empty and defeated, the weight of his partner’s death from a particularly bloody shootout still fresh on his mind. 

There’s no note, no letter, but he knows. Knows that it could only be you, knows that no one outside of his team or the criminals they had been fighting with could possibly know about the death so soon unless they happened to witness the scene. And that night he sobs himself to sleep, clutching your flowers to his chest, unaware of the way you forlornly stare at him from the roof across the street, heart aching and wishing more than anything that you weren’t such a coward, that you were brave enough to slip inside and comfort him in person. 

But life has a funny way of working, of not caring if you’re ready or not and your lives crash together once more in an unexpected way. 

Iwaizumi is promoted to lead the new task force aimed at squashing down the rising crime syndicates. You’re proud of him, but you can’t quell the anxiety that courses through you as you watch every raid that takes place, wondering if and when the day will come where he’ll be outmaneuvered, keeping your own skills sharp, praying that you’ll never have to use them again, but just in case…

And you thank whoever’s listening that you had kept up with your training as Iwaizumi’s team is ambushed and overpowered one night. Your heart drops and bile rises in your throat as officer after officer crumples to the floor, but you force yourself to calm down, to find an internal steady rhythm as you glide through the shadows, swiftly and secretly making your way towards the man you’ve become so attached to. 

You fight down the panic when you finally reach him, try to still the tremble in your hands as you quickly scan the growing dark red stain spreading across his shirt from his wounds, almost collapsing in relief when you find that they’re all superficial wounds, nothing life threatening or critical. 

The silent scuffle between the two of you is awful and you’re thankful that blood loss and pain have weakened him as you forcefully drag him away, nails gripping tightly into his skin as you roughly lead him to your apartment despite his struggling, despite his desperate desire to go back and help his few remaining teammates. And you’re both fiercely snarling at each other when you’re finally safe inside your apartment, fury raging in both of you as you snap at each other. 

“You should have let me stay and help!”

“So that you could end up dead like the rest of them? You were clearly outpowered and outnumbered!”

“Well you should have just let me die then, instead of helping me escape like a coward.” 

A resounding crack echoes throughout the room and it takes you some time to register the smarting pain in the palm of your hand and the fresh red mark on Iwaizumi’s cheek. But before you can even stutter an apology, a hand is fisting the front of your shirt and lips are crashing against yours in an angry impassioned act and you whimper as you are forced to taste his frustration and gratitude, his losses and gain, his despair and hope. 

And when he disconnects and the two of you gasp for much needed oxygen, you stand in the middle of your apartment, arms wrapped around each other, only the sounds of Iwaizumi’s sobs and your comforting words flitting through the air as he buries his face in the crook of your neck and you rub soothing patterns on his back. 

The rest of the night is a domestic peaceful drawl and you gently lead Iwaizumi to an armchair in your living room before scurrying away to rummage for your first aid kit and returning to kneel between his legs as you clean his injuries, apologizing as he winces at the sting of warm water and soap against his open wounds. There’s a soothing flow as you tend to him and you relax with every swipe of the towel, fingers and hands lingering just a tad longer than they should on his skin. But you stiffen when his uninjured arm raises and calloused fingers lightly trace the bottom of your mask. 

There’s an unspoken question in the way he delicately plays around with the corners of the fabric, but it seems deafening to you as your heart races. Maybe it’s the pure intentions in his eyes or the fact that your walls are weakened in the confines of your apartment, but either way, you don’t pull away, tilting your head up and stilling in silent confirmation. And something flutters in your chest as he gingerly removes your mask, heat rising to your face as green eyes stare at your face in awe for the first time, fingertips tracing every inch and line, mapping every groove reverently. 

It feels like eternity before you resume dipping the towel into the soapy water and treating him. But bandaged and deemed well, Iwaizumi is ushered to your shower and you shove a pile of clean towels and the largest loungewear you have into his hands, fully intent on locking him in the bathroom as you get a grip on yourself. But he has different plans in mind and you’re speechless as he firmly grasps your wrist before you can retreat with your tail between your legs. 

“Stay with me. Please.”

How could you possibly deny those honest eyes? 

Swipes of a soapbar against skin become intimate caresses and before you fully register what’s happening, you’re being pressed against the wall as Iwaizumi plunders your mouth, rough hands roaming all over your body as he fully explores everything you have to offer. You whimper as the hot water is suddenly turned off, the cold air crashing against you, but you let out a content sigh as a hot body wraps you in its embrace, carrying you to the sanctuary of your plush bedding. And all you know before you blissfully pass out is the sound of your wanton moans as you break apart over and over again, on Iwaizumi’s tongue, fingers, and cock, tears and drool cascading down your face as you alternate between begging for more and crying for him to let you rest before you ultimately pass out from the deliriously overwhelming ecstasy.

The sun is barely creeping in, a few slim tendrils slipping past the cracks of your window blinds when his eyes flutter open and something warm spreads in his chest as he slowly turns to observe your still soundly sleeping figure, a small upward quirk of his lips betraying how right it feels to wake up beside your vulnerable state. And although he can’t deny the allure of your body creeping through the night, he thinks that you’re the most beautiful like this, unmasked and body unconsciously seeking his presence and warmth as you curl into his space, your face nuzzling into his chest, head perfectly settled under his chin, the soft glow of sunlight enhancing your natural beauty. 

But he grimaces as his alarm continues to blaringly ring in the background, frowning as he reluctantly separates himself from you and carefully untangles himself from your bed sheets, quietly traipsing out of your room and dialing a number on his phone when he’s out of your earshot.   

Guilt and dread claw at him as the ringtone goes on and on and his throat is dry when he hears the authoritative voice through the speakers. 

“Iwaizumi? Are you okay?!”

Iwaizumi wishes he had a glass of water as he chokes out a polite greeting and he can feel hot tears prick at his eyes as he ceaselessly apologizes. Apologizing for abandoning his men. Apologizing for a failed mission. Apologizing for being such a failure as an officer, as a leader. 

But he quickly shuts up at the sharp tone that pierces his ear as Sawamura barks his name and he waits and waits, holding his breath, preparing to give up his badge, only to splutter in surprise at the warm relieved chuckle echoing across the speaker. 

“I’m glad you’re at least well enough to give me a headache with your wallowing. Good men died and we’re going to feel their loss for a long time. I won’t deny that. But no one blames you, Iwaizumi. You’re a good man, a great officer, and an even better leader. Rest up, grieve, mourn. Do whatever you need to do for the next few days. And when you’re ready, I expect to see you in my office so we can strategize about how we’re going to honor our fallen teammates by giving these criminals hell.”

He barely has time to stammer a “yes, sir” before the line clicks shut and the tears finally roll down his face as he clutches his phone in his hands, bittersweet gratefulness and sorrow blending together. And as his cries come to an end, a determined glint flickers in his eyes as he wipes the last of the salty trails away, the resolve of a man seeking vengeance forming inside of him. 

But that could wait until he was back in the swirl and chaos of the precinct. For now, he has other loose ends to tie and he quietly walks back to your room, smiling at the sight of your still slumbering figure nestled in your blankets as he makes his way towards you, intent on slipping back underneath the covers besides you. But he lets out a muffled pained curse as his foot knocks over a box besides your bed, the crash of objects dispersing across the wood floor rattling you awake, and you blearily blink your eyes open only to stare in shock and horror as Iwaizumi curiously holds up a set of black bondage restraints and a jeweled butt plug from among the scattered items, before sending an amused look and a quirked brow your way.    

If you were drowsy before, you’re wide awake now as you lunge out of bed, throwing yourself at Iwaizumi as you frantically try to regain possession of some of your most intimate belongings, pouting when he holds the items out of reach, a mischievous grin on his face as he looks down at you. 

“Are you familiar with the stoplight system?”

You pause your futile jumping as you try and bat your toys out of his hands, balking at the underlying meaning in his question, waiting for him to just laugh it off and move on. But when all he does is bring a warm hand to gently cup your face, his thumb brushing against your cheekbone as he patiently gazes at you, letting you make the final decision, you melt and lean into his touch, shyly nodding your head as you blissfully sigh at the way it feels so right for him to be touching you. 

“Words, princess. I’m not going to be gentle. Not after all the teasing and headaches you’ve caused me. So I need to be sure you’re ok with this, that it’s what you want.” 

Brief descriptions of red, yellow, and green are barely out of your mouth before you’re suddenly being forcefully shoved onto the bed, body instinctively flailing in self-defense as you try to register what’s happening while binds are roughly being wrapped around your wrists and ankles. But you mewl in arousal as Iwaizumi’s weight settles on top of you, his hard chest pressing you against the bed as he dexterously ties you up until you’re in a spread-eagled position underneath him, unable to move even an inch. And your breath hitches at the hungry look he pins you down with as he sits back and enjoys the view of your trussed up body on complete display for him. 

But you grow impatient as the minutes drag by and Iwaizumi gives you an unimpressed look as you begin to fight against your restraints, whining for him to get on with it already. And he shuts you up with a punishing pinch to your inner thigh that has you yelping before getting up from the bed and perusing your box of toys. 

You crane your neck in every way as you try to get a sneak peek of what he has in store for you, but Iwaizumi puts that idea to a screeching halt as he slips a blindfold around your head and all you know is darkness and anticipation. Despite the way you try to intently listen for any warning, you squeal in surprise when a hot wet mouth latches onto one of your nipples, fingers tweaking the other and your entire world narrows down to your two perky buds, the lewd wet sounds of sucking filling your ears. Mouth and hands alternate and you can’t keep up with the fluctuating patterns, your breath coming out in pants, your pussy beginning to glisten with arousal, and you sigh in relief when the assault stops, glad to have a moment of reprieve, only to wail when the intense pressure of nipple clamps sears through you, the cold weight of the chain connecting the two clamps piercing your senses as it settles onto your skin. 

Pain and pleasure echo through your mind so loudly that you don’t sense Iwaizumi moving until fingers suddenly slip inside your dripping pussy and your back arches, the nipple clamp chain jingling with the movement and a rush of humiliation courses through you when Iwaizumi chuckles, commenting on how wet you are already. 

“I was going to prep you a bit more, but looks like this cock hungry hole is more than ready.” 

You’re practically salivating as something hard nudges against your entrance, already delirious just from the prospect of being filled with Iwaizumi’s cock once again, but enthusiasm turns to confusion which turns to pleasured shock as your rabbit vibrator is shoved inside of you and immediately set to its highest setting, your clit and walls stimulated so sharply, so suddenly. 

It’s so good, but it’s not enough, it’s too much, it’s not what you want. 

“Haji-Hajime, please. Want to cum on your cock. Don’t want a toy! Too much. At least turn it down. Haji-AHHHH!” 

You scream as you’re forced to an orgasm, body convulsing, jaw going slack, and you wait for the toy to be removed, wait for the settings to be lowered, only for dread and disbelief to fill you as a sticky thick substance is being inserted into your puckered hole, a lubed finger slowly entering you, taking its time to explore and spread your tight hole as the vibrator continues to ravage your pussy and clit at full intensity. And drool begins to seep from the corners of your mouth as you tumble headfirst into overstimulation as a plug replaces the fingers inside of your ass, nestling inside of you as you come to terms with the overwhelming feeling of being double stuffed. 

“Ha-Hajime please please please. Too much. I can’t-”

The plug inside of you is teasingly pulled just enough for you to feel the stretch of your hole, only to be shoved inside you once again and words are too hard to think of as the vibrator is thrust in and out of you, the slick sounds of your gushing cunt embarrassingly loud even above your whimpers. 

“Maybe I should make you cum for every robbery you ever committed. Maybe then you’ll actually behave and be a law-abiding citizen. Would you like that? Being too fucked out to even think about breaking the law?”

“No! Please! I’m sorry. I’ll be good. I swear. Just please let me rest.” 

“Sorry, princess. Bad girls need to be punished.” 

A strangled sob escapes you as the vibrator is pushed even deeper inside of you, the smaller tip grinding even further into your clit and your cries are swallowed as Iwaizumi settles besides you, affectionately capturing your lips with his as he watches you break apart once again, smirking as your body and face try to draw closer to him, seeking comfort and relief as overwhelming pleasure drowns you. 

But he doesn’t stop. Not even when your begging and pleading turns into incoherent babbles and wanton noises. Not even when you’re too tired to even move, your body only twitching here and there from overstimulation, completely slack and mindless as pleasure melts your brain into mush. 

Only when the vibrator finally runs out of batteries hours later, the mechanical whirring coming to an end, does he finally relieve you of the object and you dazedly stare at him as he removes your tear-stained blindfold, slumping in relief that it’s finally over, wanting nothing more than to curl up in Iwaizumi’s arms and sleep for a long, long time. 

But he has other plans for the two of you and even in your exhausted state, your eyes fling wide open and you weakly whimper as he positions himself in between your legs, guiding his cock to your spent hole and easily slipping inside before caging you with his arms.

Your eyes roll back at the sudden intrusion and despite how wrecked you are, how used you feel, arousal once again begins to coil up inside of you as your walls accommodate the new object. 

All you can think about is the cock inside of you. All you can think about is the way it fills and stretches you. All you can think about is the way it drags against your sensitive walls as Iwaizumi begins to piston his hips in a brutal steady rhythm. 

The room is a cacophony of Iwaizumi’s grunts, your broken moans, the sound of skin slapping against skin and you can feel yourself losing to the pleasure as the now all too familiar knot in your stomach tightens once again, your body tensing and pulling taut against your restraints as something builds up inside of you. 

Iwaizumi isn’t doing much better, so pent up from watching you beautifully fall apart over and over again in front of him, so close to the real thing as he hovers above you, memorizing the blissed out look on your face, mentally recording every gorgeous sound that slips past your lips, and this time it’s all because of him. 

He increases his pace, groaning as your walls tighten around him as if they don’t ever want him to leave them empty, something feral inside of him howling as your mouth opens in a silent scream as you crash one last time, your body shaking and trembling, your cunt spasming around him as he spills long thick stripes inside of you. 

When there’s nothing left to give, every last drop of his essence deep within you, your body boneless and limp beneath him, he gently lays on top of you, burying his face in the space besides yours, murmuring praises and words of affirmation as he blankets your body with his. 

And when you finally come back to him, eyes looking a little more clear, voice regaining your sassy tone as you demand that he undo your restraints, he’s more than happy to oblige, carefully releasing you, rubbing every sore limb, letting you use him as your personal body pillow as you throw your arms and legs around him and bury your face into his chest, almost instantly falling into a deep exhausted slumber in the safety of his presence. 

There will be proper, much needed conversations and discussions when the two of you are both awake, sitting across each other with steaming mugs of coffee placed in front of you, hesitantly yet hopefully probing for answers. What are the two of you? What does the future hold for both of you? 

But for now, Iwaizumi lets his eyes shut, lets himself be lulled by the rhythmic rise and fall of your chest as he holds you close to him, protectively curling around you as sleep embraces him.

[starshiningsirius]

Dr. Jerkyll and Mr. Hyde (Yandere Leech twins x reader)

An au idea I had came to mind based off @yandere-wishes Victorian twst story and @yandere-romanticaa 's Extraterrestrial story.

I love these two eels and I'm late on their birthday but it's still their birthday for me.

The clear moonlit sky shown brightly over the waters of the ocean. As yet another scream echoed within the streets of a supposedly vacant city.

The detective woke up with a start but not from the scream, but from the ringing of her phone. A report she had been writing stuck to her face from the humid atmosphere. She picked it up getting a few details from Idia, who was panicking on the other side of the line. Considering he worked in the criminal department at the desk and didn't have to see any bodies whatsoever you would think he'd be calm when trying to say what happened.

"Calm down Idia. Tell me what happened?" Her voice was gentle since yelling wouldn't help his nerves.

"Therewasanothermurder! Theyclaimedanothervictim!" He spoke so fast that his words wouldn't be understood by most but she was used to this with him and every word was caught by the detective's ears.

"Where's the crime scene?"

"In front of Sam's shop on Crystal Road, Ms. Y/n L/n." The voice of Idia's younger sibling popped up a contrasting his older brother's cowardly behavior.

He wanted to be just like his older brother so he spent his days in the office with him. Though there were times when Idia tapped out and his brother had to step in.

"Thank you both. I'll head their now." She hung up after hearing a farewell from both brothers.

The candle was long out and she grabbed her gun, notebook, and pen within the darkness, before venturing out the confines of her home.

When she got there a crowd had surrounded one spot in particular.

Cater was already there taking photos of the scene as it was his job being a forensic photographer.

"Hey, hey! Y/n's here, make way!" The crowd parted for her as soon as he announced her presence.

Whispers were muttered as she passed through into the middle of the crime scene. Mostly about how she hadn't caught this killer yet. She ignored them though and went on to meet with her coworker.

"It never ceases to amaze me how your always here first Cater, if anything you should be a suspect." She started off saying to her compatriot.

"Can't help it if I want to stay informed dectective, I just want to stay informed before anyone else." His smile on his face was out of place as he took another photo of the corpse.

"Who was it this time?"

"Such a poor fate to befall dear Monsieur Heart." A new voice joined in the conversation.

"Rook, I see you've arrived but can I get their name please?" The detective said sighing at the theatrics of her friend.

"His name was Ace Trappola, I can't imagine how Monsieur Spade must be feeling about this tragedy." Rook feigned a sorrowful look.

"Oh yeah A-Deuce kun were inseparable, I feel sorry for him. Think he knows already?"

"If there as inseparable as you say Cater then I suppose not, he isn't here yet otherwise I'm sure he'd cause a scene." She noted.

"That doesn't make him a suspect though right? I mean sure he's been a suspect in many crimes before, but Deuce kun far too soft!" Cater was a bit frantic at the thought alone.

"No, I doubt it was him he wouldn't want to disappoint his mother with something as vulgar as murder, he cares for her far too much to do that." That calmed his worries.

"You know I've heard Monsieur Heart have many laments on how his delivery to Roi d' Rose-" Cater didn't let Rook finish.

"RIDDLE?! No way he did this! Have you seen how strict his mother is? Just waltzing in their office and so much as suspecting her son is a one way ticket to hearing her screams! Besides I doubt his mother would even let him out this late anyway, he's always about following the rules set in place for him." Cater says with an imaginary sweat that could have formed to express his fear and anxiety.

"True, and I can't afford another headache from that lady, but we could get some valuable intel from him about Trappola's demeanor the past few days seeing as it may be a pattern in the serial killers motives."

"What about Sam? He's gotta know something considering the murder occurred in front of his shop." Cater's gaze went toward the shop to the right of them.

"Ah the shop keep, a wonderfully eccentric man with many secrets." Rook stated his opinion of him from what he gathered on his own free time.

"Says the French man whose got info on everyone from stalking them on the street." The detective says shaking her head at the strange man next to her who happily smiled at her statement.

"I wouldn't call it that more so getting to know my prey more personally." She sighed hearing his reply.

"A crime analyst such as yourself is such a good cover up!" Cater's response made her sigh once again.

She shook her head toward her coworkers. They took their job in a mild manner but beyond that they did do well to get it done. Even though the means of how they did it were very much questionable in her eyes.

She looked toward the ground seeing the body of the former male right on the cusp of adulthood. His orange hair was a bit disheveled and the looks of shock on his face petrified in time.

"Ah, the dectective is already using those perceptive eyes of hers." Cater's words fell on deaf ears as she was examining the crime scene closely.

"As expected of Reine de la déduction, such dedication in her work. Très bien!"

Their bones were disfigured, just like the last person. No one has this type of strength it didn't make any sense. The only lead that was given but she noticed a glowing substance in his mouth.

"Cater, Rook, I need some confirmation. Out of all the other times these cases have been appearing there weren't any liquid substances to be found beside the occasional blood right?"

"You are correct."

"Yeah, nothing else to be found from what I could see." They both confirmed her suspicion.

She had to go talk to Jade again, but first thing tomorrow she had to interrogate Sam, as well as Riddle Rosenhearts which was sure to be headache on her part.

* * *

His mother was an agitation to say the least. During her entry into his mother's office and upon stating the reason for her entry, Riddle's mother had already hated her the moment she finished speaking. Yelling and hollering about how her son would never commit such a crime even though the dectective never stated he was a suspect in the slightest.

She only asked to question the behavior of Mr.Trappola as of late before he met his end. He was under no suspicion whatsoever but she wasn't having that and kept screeching until her son had to calm her down.

It was much more pleasant afterwards but the headache Y/n had in the early morning just listening to her screeching didn't disappear throughout the whole endeavour.

Just before she bid him farewell he apologized deeply for his mother's behavior with a red face of complete embarrassment. To which she replied it was alright and thanked him for his time. Unfortunately though she had to bear that burden on her own as Rook and Cater had their own jobs to partake in analyzing the other crimes and investigating the trend within the series of murders. It was unfair but that was life. By the time she exited their establishment it was already in the afternoon a little after lunch.

Next was to venture to Sam's shop which was right where the crime had taken place. The body was already removed and taken to forensics, so the only thing left was a broken street lamp.

"Ah, well if isn't the dectective, I believe I already know the pleasure of seeing you here on this fine day," He tipped his hat to her with a smile on his face.

"Afternoon to you too Sam. I would like to acquire any information you have on the murder of Ace Trappola that occurred last night, in front of your establishment."

"Such a shame the little demon, was too young to have bite the dust. But you know as well as I my information comes with a price."

"A thousand madols should suffice a description of what you saw right?" She questioned handing a stack of the paper currency to which he smiled at.

"All I know is that last night was certainly something else. I heard a smash of a lamppost outside my window, up on the second floor. Shop was already closed though. When I looked down I saw what looked to be two silhouettes outside the window. One way taller than the other though, I recognized of Trappola on the ground and something glowed within the hands of the killer, a vial of sorts. He poured it down the throat of the little demon, but Trappola put up a good fight before it was over."

"Over? Can you specify?"

"As in he was left on the ground for dead, it looked like he was choking on whatever was consumed. The killer held him tightly after he realized he was choking. It was similar to a hug but one that was more deadly than a normal one. After he dropped him to the ground and walked away laughing hysterically at who he squeezed."

"And you weren't going to go to the police to inform that you had witnessed the murderer of a serial killer!" Her voice had raised a bit in volume as her agrevated state didn't alleviate since earlier in the day.

"I'm not one to get involved in others private life, Dectective. I've got a business to run." She understood his point though exhaling a sigh through her nose.

"Right. If you want to keep your life you keep your mouth shut. Alright I thank you for the intel." The dectective closed her notebook after writing down many notes on the case.

"Pleasure doing business with ya, Dectective! Best of luck to you as well! You'll be needing it more than anyone." She was only able to hear the first part of it not when his cheery demeanor went away.

She walked out to her final destination of the day, a close friend of hers. His name was Jade Leech, a smart man that excelled in pharmaceuticals just as did Riddle's mother but in a more different sense. His potions were revolutionary with in the subject of alchemy and his botany skills and knowledge made his fame and fortune.

He's helped her on countless cases before, with his expertise in potions it aided in knowing key components to solving head bangers such as this.

As she reached the door of his manor she knocked before waiting a moment or two to see his smile.

"Dectective, how pleasant it is to see you today." He flashed his signature smile toward me, with pearly teeth straight and white.

"It's nice to see you too Jade. May I come in?"

"Your always welcome here, though I must say you do look exhausted how about I put on some tea?" He made way for me to step in.

"You don't have to Jade."

"I insist, naturally I should show good hospitality to all my visitors. Your free to take a seat wherever you like."

"So how are your mushrooms doing?" She said starting up conversation on a favorable topic for him. He was in the kitchen that connected to the empty dining room, that opened the way to the living room where she sat.

"I imagine you didn't come here just to speak on how my mushrooms are doing alone?" He spoke it in the form of a question but he already knew the answer with a knowing smile on his face that she couldn't see but knew he had.

"You are right, my apologies, I actually require your aid with a substance that could be the key in solving the recent serial killings." She watched as he walked in with two plates in hand.

"It's fine, I'm glad you can come to me for help." He served the two plates, one in front of her and the other in front of himself.

They had pasta on both of them with the mushrooms I mentioned. It smelled heavenly. Her stomach growled loudly which caused Jade to laugh lightly.

"I'm assuming you haven't eaten much of anything have you?"

"No I had too much work to do today." She blushed looking away from him.

He sighed making a small 'tsk' noise.

"You have got to take better care of yourself, that dedication of yours is admirable but otherwise you'll drive yourself into an early grave with that sort of work ethic." He chastised.

"Ah, I just don't have the time these days, I'm sorry for all the trouble you have to go through for me." Her eyes traveled toward the food with a slight guilty feeling.

"You speak as if your some sort of burden on me, quite the contrary I worry for your safety and yours alone. You may be a skilled dectective but, I care for your well being first."

Her face grew to an intolerable temperature that would make people think she was sick. She was very much surprised by his words. The first time anyone has ever said anything that endearing to her in a while.

So to ignore the feeling of her heart racing she picked up her plate kept her eyes trained on it. Her expression looked to resemble pouting.

"L -let's just eat then shall we?" She stumbled on her first word internally cursing as she heard Jade's laughter.

. . .

After they had eaten Y/n had spent some time explaining to Jade the situation with Trappola's murder and handed him the vile of the substance found at the crime scene.

He listened attentively and chimed in few times for clarity. He said he would have the analysis of the substance done within two days. Soon enough she was on her way out the door even though he had offered her to stay the night she had declined politely. It wasn't weird since they were close friends with one another anyway. Not to mention there were times where she would fall asleep while waiting for Jade to finish his analysis and he would be nice enough to place her in a room.

"Thank you Jade, I would have loved to spend more time with you, but I've been really busy as of late with all these murders." She thought for a moment and then looked up at him. He was a bit tall, scratch that he was tall, of course so she got on the tips of her toes and placed a kiss on his cheek to show him her gratitude.

Jade's face lit a flame, cheeks flushed as he touched where her lips made contact.

"I'll see you later." Was all she said before walking away briskly passed the gates of his house not looking back.

She would've heard the glass breaking inside the male's house in which indicated another presense inside.

. . .

Two days had passed and the dectective was trying to piece together what was the link between these series of murders.

She had to go check with Lilia who is the pathologist that had completed an autopsy on all the bodies of the victims. As eccentric as he was he was more tolerable than the combo of intricacies that are her co workers. Then again everyone in this office was weird in their own way.

"Ah, dectective what great weather we're having today, is it not?" He said with a smile on his face.

Unlike Jade he was significantly shorter than him so she had to look down a little to see him or stand a few feet away.

"It is indeed, Lilia. You seem to be in a good mood today."

"That is because I have made a breakthrough on today, while working through the night." His smile grew and the magenta eyes affirmed his happiness toward the news he had to share.

"On Mr. Trappola's body, I have found something strange but interesting nevertheless! A scale and not only that, but there is something you should see for yourself!" He brought her over to said man's corpse luckily the bottom half of his body is covered and the top half as well up to his shoulders.

Lilia grabbed one of his tools for dissection and beckoned her to come closer as she showed her what he had found. That's when she saw it.

Lilia had a small knife and maneuvered it to a small spot itself, lifting up a small piece of skin that was already slit and based on the size of the knife and similarity to another a butter knife it wouldn't have been able to cut the skin.

"There are two more like this on this side of his neck and three on the other side. So it seems like they're gills.

"What about the other bodies?"

"I spent the night examining those as well and they all have the same gills but Trappola here is the only one who had a few scales."

"So maybe the substance has something to do with these oddities on him. Trappola probably ingested some."

"It's quite possible that whoever this murderer is trying to test the substance on the person instead of themselves but based on Trappola's few scales being the latest attempt it seems they are making improvement for whatever the elixir's use is. These strange characteristics it reminds me of some fairytale I heard some time ago." He drifted off sounding like an old man reminiscing.

"Enlgihten me then Lilia." Knowing just how Lilia liked to ramble on about myths and legends like he'd seen them and lived through their stories.

"Well if you insist but this one involves merfolk certainly you've heard of mermaids and such right these scales on legs don't they remind you of those types of things. Gills on their necks so that half people half fish would gain the ability to breath underwater."

"Ah right but this is reality. Seeing is believing though right? Who knows though maybe they could help with the case." She was skeptic hearing about a bunch of lore that could just be coincidental but she knew better than that. Coincidents were more than just preordained.

. . .

Now back at Jade's manor the dectective was contemplating what in the world such a myth could play a factor in a murder scene. It just didn't make any sense as to why the person would need such a potion. What type of person would you have to be to go that f-

She couldn't finish that thought since Jade had opened the door.

"Ah, Jade good day to you-" the dectective looked up toward him to see the tall man staring at her for a bit longer than a few seconds. She did notice the strand of black hair usually on his right was on the left.

Unconsciously she reached up and was about to grab it before her hand was grabbed.

"Just what are you doing little dectective?" His voice got a bit darker towards the end sending shivers down her spine for a second before she saw his eyes in front of her and thought to herself for a second.

'Was his gold eye always on the right?'

A slight tighter squeeze on her hand woke her up form her head. She was reminded of the situation again. She could feel his breath closer to her face, she was internally malfunctioning and was losing her train of focus.

"Ah, I was, I was just trying to flip your black strand of hair." She stuttered and didn't internally curse herself this time since the proximity was still a factor in her brain turning to mush.

Jade suddenly smiled a wide one at that. Usually it'd be small and polite even when teasing he'd have a signature closed eyed smile keeping the adorable image of his flustered dectective in his head. But that wasn't the case this time. This smile was more menacing and sent bad news toward all who saw it.

Jade towered over her a bit more leaning to the right a bit toward her ear.

"Dectective do you know what you remind me of?" He questioned with a wide smile on his face.

He leaned in too close for comfort his breath could be felt on her right ear, while his hand on her shoulder kept her still.

"An adorable little shrimp! I could just eat you up!" He said it slow to build up suspense but it sounded serious and at the same time.

She pushed him away feeling her face heat up tremendously like an oven.

"J -Jade!" She couldn't find the words to describe what she just heard feeling beyond embarrassed and having her heart pound loudly that she swore he could hear.

"I -I have to go, thank you for your time!" She frantically stated about to run off but before she could Jade had grabbed her wrist and pulled her back.

"Aww can't I get a kiss too, little shrimp? Besides aren't you forgetting something?" She was too put off by the request to understand the sentence, but her mind did process part of the sentence and she remembered why she came here.

He held up a folded up sheet of paper in his hands toying with her holding it out of her reach.

How could he say that in such a cool voice? Her nerves couldn't handle so much teasing, it wasn't unlike him but it seemed he had gone over his usual gentlemanly behavior.

She hurriedly kissed him on the cheek in which he hadn't expected such a quick response to his question with a blush on his face becoming apparent and his frozen stature. She took the opportunity to jump up for the paper and ran from near the doorstep bidding farewell with the sheet of paper she had took in hand leaving a blushing male to watch her run out. His smile grew as he saw her frantic behavior, excitement bubbling within him.

He ran outside to the backyard of the mansion to go share his newfound happiness.

. . .

"Jade! Shrimpy is really cute!" The one male spoke to Jade in a tone of voice that was different than that of a few minutes, one that would have made him believe he was Jade himself.

There appearances were so similar, cept for the eyes and voice they were twins after all. With a little makeup and easy voice tone change one could hardly tell the difference anyway.

"I'd thought you'd understand if you saw her up close, Floyd." Jade was actually outside tending to his mushrooms in the garden while his look alike was entertaining the female detective that had left in a hurry. Though knowing his brother he could already assume how it must have went. Thinking of his little dectective being so flustered indefinitely brought out his sadistic side a bit.

"Can we keep her?" Floyd was so fond of her seeing her turn red, hearing her heart beating loudly, when she stuttered and that kiss on the cheek pretty much sealed the deal for him. She was so full of life and it brought excitement for him since he had to stay within the manor and avoid everyone. His behavior would be brash and scare many in the public eye not only that but his strength was inhuman which could cause problems for the person on the receiving end. Especially if you were trying to blend in.

They only came from the sea to see the lives of humans and unlike one of their friends who started a business in this day and age. Jade could survive on land with the ability to easily fool others with a facade whereas Floyd couldn't do that all the time and would probably squeeze someone for no reason other than boredom.

He didn't like being confined but after seeing the dectective sleeping on the couch once, he became curious as to who she was and why Jade spent so much time helping her. He knew for a fact his brother was not at all kind or generous. He was beginning to finally understand.

"We are but you have to be patient, you did give her both sheets of paper before she ran off correct?" His brother inquired finally seeing the hunger in his brother's eyes.

"Yup, she gave me a kiss just so she could distract me and take it. Shrimpy is so cunning she makes me want to squeeze her and pay her back for catching me off guard like that." The thought alone sounded enticing to Floyd, he couldn't wait to wrap his tail around her.

"I need you to go on another 'outing' tonight we have to perfect this first if we want to have any shot at having her to ourselves." Jade's words did nothing to damper his mood as his excitement reached a new level at the thought of showing his little Shrimpy off to everyone.

They were trying to get make a potion in which a human could become a sea creature, though it was easy for Jade to make one for himself and Floyd to come on land. The same can't be said for a person that's been human and has not a single gene that ties them to the ocean. Altering genetics is difficult and delicate and one mistake and their dear little detective could end up just like those poor unfortunate souls that were test subjects. Jade would never risk bringing her with them under the sea if he wasn't sure she'd make it.

"Okay~ Jade!" He said eagerly!

Now that Floyd was on board as well he would be more motivated and inclined to help, making it more easier for Jade as he wouldn't bother and complain so much about being on land longer.

. . .

She barely slept a wink after what had occurred. Every time she thought about her encounter with Jade she'd blush and bury her face into a pillow with frustration.

She tried before to get some of her work done before that, but that didn't work out too well as her mind drifted back to the same situation.

How close he was, the warmth of his breath against her ear, it was enough to make her brain stop functioning as if he were there again.

He seemed far more clingy than usual and she didn't know how to describe it other than strange. The notes from the alchemist were neat and precise and confirmed what Lilia and her examined on the bodies earlier in the day. But that wasn't the only thing that fell from the folded piece of paper. It was another small piece with neat cursive that matched the analytics on the other page.

'Would you like to spend your day off with me?'

Yet another reason she wouldn't be getting much sleep tonight.

. . .

After getting off from work she mentioned to her coworkers how Jade had offered her to spend her day off with him. Well they asked what she was gonna do with her day off since it was a rarity. First Cater asked her if she said yes to him yet. She said no and he understood from the get go that she was way too flustered to even respond to him. So he offered to go respond to him on her phone.

Rook congratulated her and went on a rant about love even though she tried to get through his head it wasn't a date. He asked what she would wear and she had no actual clue, in which Rook took that as an invitation to lend his aid and expertise.

He brought her to one of his friend's businesses. Cater said this place was highly recommended and that anyone whose anyone came to the place for a makeover. Specifically called Vil's beauty salon and boutique. She didn't understand how a person could have both but he seemed to be managing it fine. The said shop owner gave her one look and shook his head at her appearance.

His words were, "What a poor excuse for a girl to go on date with such a potato face such as that, it's shameful for not only you but the guy as well."

He had her try on clothes and by the end of it all, she felt different. Her head hurt from all the pulling around of her hair. She had put on enough clothes that she believed she was playing dress up. The outfit settled upon was different from her usual style and she had on makeup for the first time in her life.

Rook and Cater applauded Vil's work new appearance. The dectective had to admit that when she looked in the mirror she understood why Vil had such a reputation that Cater reccomended him highly.

She had to buy all of it of course and thanked Vil immensely for his efforts. There was actually a discount considering Rook brought her and she looked so 'pathetic'. He had a victoriously smug smile on his face and complimented his own efforts before waving the trio off. She thanked her two coworkers and bid them farewell, looking forward to the her first day off in a millennia.

When she met Jade the next day at his door he was plenty surprised by her appearance. He blushed with his eyes widened in astonishment at the change. Not to mention on the side of the manor Floyd could see just how beautiful she had dressed. It was going to be a long day especially with the heels she was wearing and trying her hardest to walk in.

. . .

The two friends went to Clover's bakery where Jade offered to pay for any sweets she wanted but it seemed they were terribly busy today and the line was a bit long not mention the place was packed inside so there weren't any tables to sit in.

Trey said it was nice to see her out and about for once not on dectective business for once. He said hello to Jade as they were all friends though she only knew Trey from Jade who introduced me. On rare occasions she would go to his bakery for something sweet. He handed them two cupcakes for free but also asked for a favor for him.

"Can you give deliever Riddle this tart please? His mother isn't home and he rarely ever gets anything sweet. I usually have Ace do it but-" He looks away for a moment.

"It's fine, Jade do you-"

"It's no trouble at all, we'd be happy to." He says with an enchanting smile on his face.

Trey handed over the box containing the tart to them and they made their way over to the clinic where Riddle resided.

On the way Jade and her conversed. She asked him why he agreed so quickly and he responded with his own unique answer.

"I know it's in your nature to help others. Yet another fond trait of yours."

It's more embarrassing hearing it for the first time and out loud no less. She could feel her face heat up again.

"Then there's when you turn into a cherry, one of my favorite traits." He said in a teasing tone with a smile toward her making the dectective flush even more and look away biting into her cupcake. To ignore the laughter emitting from her friend alongside her. Now this is the Jade she knows.

. . .

To be completely honest both of them enjoyed their time today with one another. They had delivered Riddle's tart which was almost a complete disaster.

Considering she asked Jade to be lookout in case his mother came back. Long story short she did arrive earlier than expected. After she and Riddle heard her voice outside the walls right near the entrance gate, the dectective told Riddle to go before she found him with the tart. Riddle was far more worried about her but the dectective told him she'd be fine.

By fine she meant ducking in the rose bushes for cover, there weren't any thorns surprisingly all been cut off. She waited for Riddle's mother to enter the house and had to scale the wall that was located next to an alleyway. Climbing up was the easy part but getting down was the hard part. She was wearing heels and that drop looked like she would possibly break a bone if she landed the wrong way.

She came to a decision to take a leap of fate and let her heels drop to the ground. One thought passed about Vil being pissed about her ruining them. She shook her head though and pushed herself off.

Before she could land someone else caught her. Looking up at her savior she saw the two colored eyes of Jade. Who smiled happily at making it on time.

"Ah look at that, my assumption was right. I thought you'd take this route out their place. It would've been such a shame if you were to get injured."

"Thank you Jade, can you put me down now please?"

"I don't think so I'd rather hold you like this until we get to the resturant for everyone to see." He playfully said watching her face heat up.

"Wha-? N -no I can walk on my own!"

"But you might have hurt something besides someone who can't get their words out is akin to a child so they must be coddled correct?" His teasing was endless today.

. . .

After leaving the Monstro Lounge a business run by one of Jade's friends, Azul Ashengrotto, the sun had already long set.

"Let me accompany you to your apartment, Y/n it's supposedly dangerous to be out after dark correct? Or you can just spend the night again?" He offered.

"I have to decline besides I've already used enough of your generosity I don't want to take it for granted. It's been such a great day thanks to you Jade, wish we could do these more often cept for the fact I have work tomorrow." She said in a relaxed tone.

Despite all the teasing she really did enjoy herself with the man. Having her heart beating loudly all day and having her brain short circuit was all too amusing to the man beside her, but out of everyone else even his own brother she made him feel strangely different. He couldn't explain the feeling itself, but he knew for a fact he'd never do all of this for someone he would use.

"You wish to spend more time with me? I can grant that you know." Jade had said that so simply and out of the blue but in a calm tone as well.

"There's no way you can do something like that but I appreciate the thought. It's fine though you've done enough already. I'd rather not burden you with a simple wish." She said with content.

Before he could respond to that statement fast footsteps hurried over to them both and made the pair turn around.

"I saw the killer it was Mr.Leech! He ran away from the scene!" His hair was a light green, eyes full of life and the loud tone of his voice was distinct.

"Sebek what do you mean you saw Jade kill someone he was with me the entire time!We just left the Monstro Lounge Azul saw us leave!" The dectective was defensive pertaining to justice being served, not to mention her friend was being accused and she had been with him the entirely of the day.

"No it was him I saw him Felmier was killed by him!"

"Felmier was killed?! You should've started with that! Take me to the body did you make sure he was dead?!"

. . .

Sebek had spread all about the town that Jade was the murderer even though the people who had seen us together throughout the day vouched. Trey, Riddle, Azul, Rook, and Cater even Vil had seen them together. Some actually took Sebek's words in and started to distrust Jade even so.

Vil and Rook two friends of Felmier had paid for the funeral costs as Epel's family was struggling. It was admirable to see the young man take on the vicious job as Vil's protégé. It really was a shame. Vil actually kept up a face and Rook though he looked upon the casket with blank like expression it was easy to tell he was out for blood. Jade did show up to pay his respects even though some glared at him and were suspicious.

Vil came up to dectecrive during the repass and told her to make that fool pay dearly. She would of course no argument there. Epel had been a good kid and may have been a bit brash but still good nonetheless. So was Ace.

And thus a good day ended on a sour note.

The dectective would have more sleepless nights. Lilia performed an autopsy on Epel's body with Vil standing by his side to make sure he didn't damage it. Even he was shocked to see more and more scales near his legs and gills that were more prominent.

These people were getting even more closer to there goal it seemed and she couldn't do a thing. She was so frustrated at that fact alone. Jade's analysis did help some though. Looking through shops though that sold what would be the components of the elixir nothing suspicious could be found in any of the people who had brought those items. Not to mention those who did didn't have all the items brought from another store, there was no reoccurring name in sales.

Speaking of Jade though she had begun to think back to Sebek. He wasn't the type to lie not on the name of the mysterious nobleman Malleus Draconia that he served would he ever embarrass himself to stain his name even slightly. That's what Lilia told her at least.

He said Jade had did the deed. But he was with her the entire time. Come to think Sam's description had also matched Jade's strange behavior before he gave her the analysis, but it didn't make sense. Jade was one person he couldn't be in two places at once!

Maybe someone was trying to frame him and to that extent she went to go question if he had any enemies of the sort. His response was that he didn't have any as far as he knew. That could have been a good lead.

With no others she sighed looking extremely worn out and Jade had a frown seeing her state. He insisted she stay the night and she denied saying she had to finish this case even more so now. He at least offered her a meal in which he put slipped some sleeping pills that made her fall asleep after eating.

Both pairs of two colored eyes gazed at her peaceful state not liking how she'd exhaust herself with so much work. Only for the sake of others and waste time and effort for people that isn't them. It was annoying to Floyd and agitated Jade more than he liked to admit. She did say she wanted to spend more time with them right?? If only she didn't have that stupid job. Even more a reason to push the date up to the next few days.

. . .

About a week and a half had passed and the dectective had no other leads still. It was killing her to say the least. All those unfortunate victims and those families and friends that mourned definitely weighed on her shoulders, guilt eating at her insides. Such a shame too within the end of the day she was at home taking an evening nap on her day off in which she didn't even go out today. Her phone buzzed waking her up from her slumber.

A text from Jade. It had been awhile since they last talked seeing as she fell asleep at his manor again even though she didn't intend to.

Rubbing her eyes she read the text from her bright phone screen.

'Meet me at the dock at 10 today.'

She wasn't as flustered as last time in fact she considered not going as this case took top priority. But this was Jade, her closest friend, and she hadn't taken much of a break as her nap was only 30 mintues probably the only amount of sleep she would get today if she was being honest with herself.

She reluctantly sighed and decided to get ready an hour before meeting him and walk there a bit early to have some time to her own thoughts. She thought about going to Vil's shop to buy another outfit but it would have been a waste if they were only meeting for a short time. Not to mention she didn't want Vil to come to the conclusion she was slacking off with Jade even though the bags around her eyes were very much proof.

As she sat at the edge of the dock admiring the stars the waves hitting the edge of the pier calmed her head. It was nice to say the least.

She wondered what Jade would have to talk about. She looked at her phone and saw it was 10:05, Jade being late was a surprise, hopefully if she waited a bit longer her worry would ease. That atmosphere could not have lasted any longer.

A slight wind blew and during that exact moment something pulled her under by her feet into the cold ocean waters below. She managed to hold her breath and open her eyes to see nothing but darkness even with the moon behind the clouds right about now only endless shadows were there.

She could barely hear but she could have sworn something swam by her. Arms touched her waist which almost made her scream for a moment though that was something suicidal. It touch the sides of her stomach and stayed there for a moment.

Even though she tried to struggle it was fruitless when the thing that held her tickled her sides making her open her mouth and succumb to breathing in water then choking soon after. That wasn't the only thing to occur since the next second lips were on hers and a fluid trickled down her throat along with the water that she was trying to swallow. The tongue of said thing dipped inside her mouth and would have made her gag if they hadn't pulled away.

She regretted it the moment they did cause she still could breath and with her mouth open she thought she would take her final breath. Both or what she assumes were two people backed off letting her go to meet her demise with her slowly closing her eyes. She didn't notice the glow of what transpired around her lower half of her body. She could finally take in some much needed breaths except her neck for some reason felt sore and she could no longer move her legs separately to try and swim up for air.

Looking down she saw the horrid image of a long tail with a fin on the end where her legs were supposed to be. The pain form her neck was from three newly formed slits on either side of her neck. Her fingers traced over them finding this whole situation unbelievable. When she finally came to her senses she found herself hearing voices as well.

"Shrimpy's still here! It worked, Jade!" A cheerful voice could be heard in the cold waters that surrounded her.

Something slimy wrapped about her new found lower half. Pulling her closer to be within someone's arms. They held her a bit too tight like all the air, water in her lungs could have been? Did she still even have those anymore she wondered? Even still the amount of pressure put on her by the creature hugging her was able to be felt.

He was laughing happily spinning around in circles with the former human female getting dizzy by the second.

"I can see that Floyd. How wonderful, but do take it down a notch she only was just turned after all." That voice was all too familiar. She couldn't help but say it aloud, but that couldn't be true.

"Jade?" Her voice was a whisper but of course he still heard it.

"Yes, my dear angelfish what is it?" He responded in an endearing tone that was calm despite the situation she was just put through.

She glanced toward the voice to see what appeared to be a creature similar to that of an eel by the tail. Her eyes trailed up to the sight of his face. It was him no doubt about it. The eyes were exact and so was the hair the only difference was the body and skin.

"Aw Shrimpy why'd you acknowledge him first? I'm here too." A voice whined in a more child like tone directly in her ear. It brought a shiver down her spine.

'Shrimpy?' That was unmistakably the nickname Jade gave her when he acted weird.

She turned toward his way and saw a sharp toothed grin on his face when she looked at him.

"Floyd you haven't even introduced yourself." Jade sounded like his normal self and this Floyd person was just the complete opposite of him.

"Oh right Shrimpy I'm Floyd, Jade's brother and your going to be with us in the sea from now on! Isn't that great? I can't wait to show you all my favorite places you'll love it!" He sounded so excited while dread built up in the mermaid.

"What do you mean stay here?! What have you done to me? Who, what even are you two?!" She said those words with malice laced into them having them both chuckle in response.

Jade had also wrapped his tail about her upper half restraining her further. He brought himself closer to her face, a smirk etched on to it.

"My, my, Y/n you did say you wanted to spend more time with me, isn't this what you wanted?" He tilted her chin up showing a sadistic smile on his face that only built up even more dread than what his brother had already.

"I didn't realize or expected anything like this and you know that! Why would you do this?! You! You-" She thought for a second processing all that had occurred the past couple of weeks.

"You killed them you gave them that exlixir that ended their lives. Every single one of them." This time it was the other brother's turn to speak.

"There's our little dectective she's so smart!~" Floyd just made her completely uncomfortable with how he would call her that nickname and whisper words in her ear.

"Why? Why would you do this?" She became defeated knowing turf like this was theirs and she stood no chance against them in the first place.

"Eh why? Is Shrimpy really that blind Jade?" Floyd mocked her with no remorse as tears streamed down the dectective's eyes at the thought of letting so many people down.

"Why? My dear angelfish haven't you noticed? We've become quite enamored with you. Hm no better word to put it is obsessed, at first it was just me but with Floyd's impatience I just had to get him in on understanding why we didn't go back home already. As for those people they were necessary for testing the elixir for this very moment. We couldn't have you dying on us afterall." He said with absolute calmness evoking rage within the mermaid.

She clenched her fists.

"So many were sacrificed, I should've died, instead." She murmured the last half but both the twin eels heard it.

There expressions turned dark and their tails gripped the female tighter startling her from her state of guilt.

"Eh, why would you say that Shrimpy, we can't have you leaving us. We finally got you all to ourselves and I haven't had much time with you, and yet you say you want to leave." Floyd's arms contracted her more than Jade's tail already, now she understood what it must have felt like for Trappola.

"He is right Y/n dear, we only want what's best for you and having you say that only makes our blood boil so please understand." Jade gripped her chin with a scary amount of strength. This was the first time he ever seemed so much more intimidating to her.

"Don't ever say something like that again am I clear?"

From that point on she was stuck between the twin eels who loved her so. She only wished she could have been able to listen to Sebek when he said the truth. Mr. Leech did do it just not the one she thought.

[princess-of-the-corner]

So I’m thinking more on the Afton Family dynamics. And I have some. Some thoughts. 

Mostly I was wondering whether William was a good father despite everything and.... I’m not sure where to put this as ‘good’ or not. 

He did love his children. While he had already killed before and was planning to kill again, losing two of them did make him snap. But that doesn’t mean he was a good father. 

Every time I try to think of it, I think of this one Criminal Minds episode. 

It’s Season 6: Episode 10: “What Happens At Home”. In this episode the team adds a new member because she has a unique perspective. Her father was a serial killer, and she might be able to pick out more specific behaviors in a group of men who have such overlapping traits in what the rest of them usually narrow down. 

The scene I’m thinking of is when they have the suspects gathered for her to watch the family dynamics. I’m just going to copy and paste what she says. (Seaver is the daughter, Prentis is another Agent she’s with.” 

Seaver: “It won't be overt. The kids probably won't be afraid of dad.” 

Prentis: “They won't? These guys have explosive tempers, don't they?” 

Seaver: “Definitely. Anger wasn't normal at my house. Usually when it happened, when it exploded, it was an anomaly. A surprise. If anything, my father was overly solicitous. Too nice. And if I wanted anything... Bicycles, toys, dolls... All I had to do was ask.” 

Seaver: “In groups, he always held my hand. Always. Sometimes so tight, it almost cut off the circulation. But I can never remember him putting me on his lap, holding me in any way.” 

Prentis: “Ashley.” 

Seaver: “And... He'd always have these talks with me. He was terrified someone would take me.” 

Prentis: “Because he knew what was out there.” 

Seaver: “Yeah, men like him. You know, maybe this man recently bought gifts for his kids. My dad used to buy me things all the time. What kinds of gifts? Anything. Everything. I told you, there was nothing... 

Seaver: “My whole life, there's only one thing I wanted that I couldn't have.”

Prentis: “Which was?” 

Seaver: “A pet.”

This is what I’m imagining with the Aftons. 

William being, on the surface, a loving father who would do anything for his kids. But he also keeps them away from him because he knows what he is and he doesn’t want that to effect them. That’s why he’ll show them the lab and the other animatronics, but tell them to never go in alone. 

And yes, he would give them anything and everything. All they had to do was ask. But even as kids they knew something was off. 

Most people knew. Even if they didn’t know. There was something just a little wrong. 

Sure. He was good at hiding. But even Henry was suspicious, even if he refused to believe it. But after Sammy’s death, he did keep Charlie away.

Of course there’s also the question regarding how things changed. When two kids died. 

William obviously grieved their loss in his own.... murdery way. But what about Michael? Especially because at least Evan’s death was his fault? 

I don’t think he could bring himself to fully hate Michael. Which is the one reason he’s still alive. 

But killing the other kids involved? Killing another child with the same name and stuffing him into the same animatronic that Michael put Evan in? There was some fury there. It’s still there. 

In the present with Security Breach era stuff, William still does love his children, even as they try to stop him. They do not quite feel the same. 

[folkloreguk]

❥ My Sweet Evil Heart (C.Chanhee)

A/N: I wrote this as part of an angel/demon collab for The Boyz! You can find the masterlist HERE. This was really fun to write and I got to live out my alternate universe dream in which I'm a detective...I hope you like it, I'm always welcome to any form of feedback!

genre: demon!Chanhee, detective!reader, angst, fluff, reader is constantly sleep deprived, Chanhee is the sweetest demon ever

synopsis: You, a highly respected detective in your department, are investigating a case of a very strange demon who seems hesitant to do evil...but can you trust someone who is supposed to be the personification of wickedness?

words: ~ 10.6k

Have you ever met someone deeply unhappy? Someone who seems to, at all times, be fighting a war inside of themselves? Have you ever felt empathy for somebody, even though they tested you, over and over, as if the worst part inside of them was trying to make them lose you on purpose? Did you hold on and never stop believing in them? Or did you say something to drive them away, making them think they would only hurt you in the process of you trying to make them see clearer?

This is the story of a demon, whose every cell demurred at his evil nature. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves and start with the basics.

Being one of the head detectives at the local police station was not an easy-going, nor an amusing job. Whilst working on serious cases, lacking proper sleep was not an uncommon occurrence for you, and in some instances, self-care came up short until the mystery had been solved and the guilty ones were locked away. Every case pulled you in and swallowed you whole, keeping you deeply invested for days and nights until your brain felt like it had turned to mush and your body worked on autopilot, until you functioned a little like a highly intelligent zombie. And yet, you couldn’t imagine yourself doing anything else in your life. The thrill was close to an obsession, and seeing justice being served thanks to your work was more addicting than any drug could ever be to you.

Most crimes in your world were committed by demons, of course. They were your worst enemies, the monsters you saw in your nightmares and the reason you never strolled down a street without a gun by your hip. It wasn’t forbidden for them to walk the earth, so long as they kept to themselves. Their evil nature made it almost impossible for them to uphold these terms, though. You wished you could lock them all away in some putrid prison cell, or better yet, send them back to where they crawled out from originally. But the law couldn’t convict beings before they had done anything wrong. So, it was on you to make sure you kept an eye on the sinister beings, figure out what they were up to and stop them before they could actually hurt somebody. Like that morning, when you were called to a liquor store to investigate a break-in.

“My name is Y/F/N Y/L/N, I am the lead investigator,” you greeted the store owner with a handshake upon arrival. “Can you tell me exactly what happened?”

“I came here this morning at around 7 to open up the store. When I got out of my car, I saw the broken glass of the window,” he explained.

“What was taken from inside the store?” you inquired further.

“That’s the weird thing. Nothing is missing from inside,” he said.

“We might just be dealing with vandalism,” you thought out loud. “Do you have security cameras?”

He did, and so you went along with him to the back of the store. It was true, the interior of the shop seemed completely untouched. You suspected whoever had done this had never even intentioned on entering. There was a college campus not too far from the store, and you recalled countless times you had witnessed careless vandalism done by some intoxicated students during a Friday night. It was a very human-like crime. Demons weren’t known to do things by halves. Their crimes were usually the go-big-or-go-home-type of crimes. But then, when you watched the security footage, you were stunned.

At precisely 3:29 am, a dark figure appeared in front of the window. They lifted their arms, swinging a baseball bat against the glass. And against your speculation, they did climb through the hole in the window. With no mask or disguise whatsoever, the demon man looked right into the camera in the corner of the room. The abyss of darkness in his pitch black eyes was unmistakable. He looked around, as if he was debating on whether he should have done more, but then, to your utter confusion, spun around on his heel and climbed right back out the window.

You assured the store owner you would be looking into this case. With nothing left to do, you headed back to the police station. You had taken the security footage with you, and the moment you arrived in your office, you played it on your computer screen. Over and over - only puzzling you more, with each rerun you saw. You worried this might only be a warning. Not seldom had you been a witness to demons playing with their prey, feeding off the fear of innocent souls. Was this one indulging in one of those little twisted games? Right away, you uploaded the demon’s face onto the database for criminals, even if vandalism didn’t compare to the serious allegations that stood against other faces on that list. While you turned your attention to other cases, his features wouldn’t leave your mind. Even when you left your office at night, he was still the most prominent person in your memory.

By the time you began your walk to your home, the sun had disappeared. You couldn’t help it, even if technically you could finish work earlier, your desire to solve your assigned cases was always higher. Had you just walked home at 5 pm, you were sure to end up on your computer at home, researching and digging around on the web to discover possible clues. This way, at least you had all resources you would need at your office at the police station.

Now, in the dark, the streets were rather abandoned, most shops had already closed, and the moon dimly cast light through the clouds. Those conditions were what made it a breeze for you to notice your shadow. The figure had been following you for 5 minutes now. Judging by how carelessly loud their steps sounded and by their not-so subtle choices of hiding spots, you could tell this wasn’t something they had practice in. Purposely, you didn’t turn around, so they wouldn’t realize you had caught on to them a while ago. Instead, only a minute or so from your home, you took a turn left into an abandoned alleyway. Your hand was on the gun in your belt.

Just as you had stepped into the alley, you turned. He was right behind you. With dark orbs glaring and teeth snarling he came at you, knife in hand. Your eyes widened – you recalled his face vividly – as you took in the situation in the blink of an eye. After all, you had watched the security tape of him breaking into the liquor store countless times only hours ago. But you had the upper hand from the very moment you had spun around. His build wasn’t particularly strong, but you knew you should never underestimate demons. You grabbed his shoulders and along with him, your body crashed against the red brick wall to your left. He struggled against your grip, but his determined and feisty expression was the by far the most intimidating part about him. His face was inches from yours but looking into the sort of darkness that were demon’s eyes did nothing to you. Your hand was around his wrist with the knife – which he was aggressively trying to bring down on you – but only at first.

Because suddenly, something uncommon occurred. So uncommon, in fact, that not a single cell in your body could believe it. He willingly dropped the blade. It hit the asphalt, the metallic sound echoing in your ears. He relaxed his arm in your iron grip. Demons never gave up. They fought until you had forcefully brought them to the ground or done worse to them. Their ironic god-complex and evilness didn’t allow them to step away from a fight – until this one had come along, apparently. And then, as if his behavior hadn’t already stunned you enough, he did the unthinkable.

“I’m sorry,” he said. Without a doubt you thought you had misheard him. Swiftly, you pulled your gun out of your belt and pointed it at his face. One thing you knew. You weren’t going to play along in his little games. In panic, he rose his hands, showing defeat.

“Quit playing games, devil’s son,” you hissed. “What is it you’re trying to achieve here? You’re sorry? For what?”

He was hesitant. With every second, your curiosity only grew. Either, he was a skilled actor or…you had no idea what else it could’ve been about him.

“I almost killed you. That’s what I’m sorry for,” he said. “Does that get me a prison sentence?”

Your eye twitched because this didn’t seem right at all.

“You broke into a shop and attacked me, but then stopped out of your free will,” you assessed the situation. “You’ll most likely get away with a fine and your name in our register.”

If you had been awaiting an evil grin or any sort of enjoyment in his face, you’d be waiting endlessly. If anything, he seemed to be…disappointed?

“But you’re a cop, right?” he said. “You can lock me up, can’t you?”

“Didn’t you hear what I said? You won’t be locked up if you don’t commit a crime severe enough. As much as I hate it, considering you demons are running free, it’s the law,” you said.

“You don’t get it,” he said. And he was right, you really had no idea. “I should be locked up. You need to get me to jail before I hurt somebody.”

His face was dead serious, but you didn’t want to believe a single word. How could you, when your daily life consisted of hunting down his kind, because all they brought upon the earth was chaos and death?

“Give me one good reason why I should believe you,” you said, unimpressed.

“I will tell you anything you want to hear,” he said. “If you bring me to a police station. You guys have these lie detectors, don’t you? I will take a test if that’s what it takes for you to believe me.”

~

So, that was how half an hour later you still hadn’t returned at home, but rather found yourself back at the police station. Almost everyone had gone home by now, so you took the liberty to choose the biggest interrogation room available. A few minutes and he was sitting in front of you, hands in handcuffs and his body connected to the lie detector.

“Okay, here’s how this works. I’ll start by asking some simple questions, and then we’ll get to the bottom of whatever your intentions are,” you explained.

“Alright. Go ahead,” he said. This was your first time seeing a demon take this sort of test. Usually, you couldn’t be bothered because you knew all they did was lie whilst smiling you in the face.

“What’s your name?”

“Choi Chanhee.”

“Where were you born?”

“In hell.”

“Did you break into a liquor store last night?”

“Yes.”

“Did you intend on killing me tonight?”

“…Yes.”

“Is that your definite answer?”

“…No.”

“How come both of your last two answers are lies?” you asked. “You didn’t intend on killing me, but yes is your definite answer?”

“I can’t stop the evil in me but I’m trying,” he said. You were stunned. The answer was the most truthful of them all.

“What do you mean?” you asked.

“I was never like the others since I came to earth. I’ve never felt a rush like they do, causing mischief and hurting humans. I don’t belong. It’s as if there was a demon inside of me, but it’s not controlling all of me, do you understand?” he said.

“I’m not sure, but go on,” you said.

“I don’t want to hurt anybody or destroy things. But on some days, I’m walking down the street and my body starts following the devil’s orders instead. I usually snap out of it quickly and stop myself. That’s why you’re still alive,” he explained.

“You’re telling me you’re some sort of good demon?” you asked. “Why don’t you go back to hell, if you’re struggling so much on earth?”

“I hate it there,” he said. “And either way, I’m banned from there forever.”

Your head raised as you stared at him.

“Banned?” you asked.

“I stopped a bunch of demons from killing a woman once,” he said. “Safe to say they weren’t happy to hear that, back at home. I couldn’t go back, even if I wanted to.”

“Can you tell me the name of the woman?” you asked. And he did. All this time, he really had been telling the truth. When you searched up the woman’s name in the computer, it only confirmed your suspicion. She really had been under attack when an unidentified person had interrupted and saved her life.

“I can tell you names of demons,” he said. “If you do me the favor of locking me up, I can sell out everyone I know about.”

You massaged the sides of your head and sighed. This guy really was one of a kind.

“I already told you, I can’t put you in jail for something you didn’t do,” you said. “That’s against the law, and then it’ll be me who ends up behind bars instead of you. I’ll have to let you go.”

“What if I mess up?” he said. The amounts of firsts you were experiencing in the timespan of an hour were giving you a headache. Never had you felt compassion for a demon before. But you were only human, and when you noticed the genuine concern and insecurity in his soft voice, you couldn’t stop yourself.

“How long have you been on earth for?” you asked.

“I don’t know, a few years, I guess?” he said.

“And in those few years, which of your deeds would you rate the most criminal out of all?” you asked. Any other demon would have been able to give you multiple answers, one more vicious than the other. He, on the other hand, took his time and even when he answered, he didn’t sound at all sure.

“I’ve broken into a house before, destroyed a car window and one time I stole a dog,” he confessed with his head tilted towards the floor.

“What happened to the dog?”

“I…gave it back,” he said. A laughter erupted from your throat against your will. In a friendly manner, you pat his shoulder before retrieving the keys to his handcuffs.

“Trust me, you’ll be just fine out there,” you said. “Whatever it is you’re doing to stop yourself from being evil, it’s working. I will let you go now."

Even though he wasn’t happy with your answer, he knew he had no choice but to comply. As you walked him through the hallways towards the exit of the station, you could only think of one thing: your beloved bed. Not only your body but especially your brain was drained from energy. You desperately needed a refill by getting a good night’s sleep.

“You’re the first person who’s been really kind to me,” he said, as you held the door open for him. The night air was cool, and you quickly zipped up your jacket to your chin.

“You gave me no reason not to be,” you replied.

“I almost stabbed you,” he said, bluntly.

“Almost.”

“For most people, me being a demon is reason enough to loathe me.”

“Well I guess I’m not most people,” you said. His smile was gentle, but his black eyes would always give him away. “I’ll be here at the station every day, if you have any concerns or need somebody to consult. But right now, all I want is my bed.”

“I understand,” he replied. “Thank you. Goodbye.”

“Good night,” you said, before you parted ways. Once more, you journeyed home. He remained on your mind until the moment you slipped off to dreamland that night.

~

The days passed without a trace of him. You followed your routine, but one thing you couldn’t help. You simply had to tell every person who worked with you about the changed demon you had met. No one really wanted to believe you. It was kind of understandable. Some thought you were testing their skills, seeing if they could figure out you were lying. Others went as far as to suspect your lack of sleep had given you hallucinations. But you didn’t let it go. And after all, you were a highly respected member of the police force. Some said they wanted to meet this demon gentleman, as they had renamed him.

But then you were called to a brand new homicide investigation and all of the jokes at the station were blown away by the intensity and buzz the case brought with it. You had a murder to solve. There was no place for sweet demon men in any part of your brain. Not for now. And as always, you slipped into old habits – staying up all night, living on coffee and quick meals – the toxic behavior was almost inescapable. Your fellow detectives tried their best to keep you healthy and most importantly, sane. They took you with them to get salad for lunch, invited you over for game nights (a futile attempt at giving you a break) and told you to go to sleep on time. After all, they needed your brain to function at full capacity for the case. You knew people were relying on your knowledge, and you weren’t doubting your capabilities. But a highly intelligent zombie was still a zombie. And so it happened that one Thursday night your boss sent you home. Not because you weren’t doing a good job – rather for of the opposite reason.

“You are allowed back at the station when you’ve caught a full night’s sleep. Do what it takes to take care of yourself,” your boss had said. Her tone displayed as much strictness as her eyes showed concern. Truth be told, you were too exhausted to even argue against her order. That’s when you knew. You really needed a rest. You dragged your body home.

“Hello sweetheart,” you greeted your pet bird, who chirped excitedly when you set foot into your apartment. “Guess what. I’m home early.”

As much as you wanted to drop into a slumber right away, your stomach growled. And you weren’t in the mood to wake up half-starved. As you prepared some left-overs from the fridge, you heard your bird call from the living room. “Peek-a-boo!” he sang. It caught your attention. He only played this game with you – when you were outside in your small garden and he was watching you through the window. So who exactly was he talking to, now?

You picked up a knife, because as a detective it was practically your job to be paranoid, and tiptoed into the living room. It would be harder for an intruder to spot you in the dark, so you pushed the light switch. Slowly, you advanced to the window and gently pulled the curtains aside. A shiver ran down your spine when you saw the figure standing between the trees. They didn’t seem to be hiding, if anything they were lazily resting their back against the garden fence. Maybe they weren’t aware you were watching them. Bold of them to assume they could intimidate you by acting so nonchalant. You cracked the window open slightly.

“If you don’t leave my property within the next ten seconds, I’ll have you arrested for trespassing,” you announced. The figure flinched. The moment he stepped into the moonlight and raised his arms, you remembered his face.

“Choi Chanhee?” You opened the terrasse door and stepped outside.

“Are you going to hurt me?” he asked, eyes glued to the knife in your hands. Quickly, you lowered your hand.

“What are you doing here?” you asked instead of answering his question.

“I didn’t know where else to go,” he admitted.

“And so you thought creeping around in a police woman’s backyard was an appropriate thing to do? Wait…have you been stalking me?” you asked. You should have cut back on the sharp tone, but you felt half-asleep and this was the last thing you needed. Plus, the immanent realization hit you, that you had not noticed him at all. You had been so caught up in your work that you had not recognized a demon lingering around your home address, watching you. It hurt your pride a little – and could have ended very differently, had it been a more malovent demon than the one standing in front of you. This one looked terrified, kneading his hands nervously.

“I thought you wouldn’t be upset with me…that maybe you would understand. Because you’ve been the only one who’s listened to me. I’m just trying to find a purpose,” he said, “And my head tells me you’re the right direction.”

Demons. They’ve always had a fondness for the dramatic. But his words tore at your heart strings. His behavior resembled a child who had done wrong and was in the process of being scolded.

“Do you have no home?” you asked, softening your voice.

“I’ve lived with other demons. But they don’t want me there, anymore,” he said. For obvious reasons, you thought. Your head was racing. There was no way you could leave him standing there in the cold. But letting a demon into your home sounded like you must have had a death wish. It’s not like you didn’t have enough space, though. With an extra guest bedroom that nobody had ever used before, he would be just fine. There was no excuse. You cursed your parents for making you get a bigger apartment “In case you got married and had children soon.” You never know what could happen, they had said. And how wrong they had been, but how right they had been on that last part.

“Would you say you’re a tidy person?” you asked. A gigantic yawn came over you, and once again your stomach grumbled.

“What? I mean…I think so?” he said.

“Are you hungry?” You were in disbelief. Maybe it was the zombie in you that had a heart so soft, it took pity on a demon.

“I’m starving,” he said.

And that was how you came to have dinner with a demon. Spoiler alert: It wouldn’t be the last time. You ate quietly, trying hard to fight tiredness but it was no use. Afterwards, you showed him the room he could stay in.

“How do I make this up to you?” he asked.

“We’ll think about that another time, alright?” you said, “I need to sleep now. I’ve got an unsolved murder case waiting on me tomorrow.”

That night, you locked your bedroom door and slept with your gun on your nightstand. Just in case. Even though you were almost fully convinced the demon in the bedroom across the hall was more harmless than a five-year-old, he was still a demon.

~

When you woke up and saw your boss’ message on your phone, you couldn’t believe it. She wanted you to stay at home for the day. Apparently, you needed the rest and she had no interest in getting into trouble for overworking you (which she obviously wasn’t, you were the one doing this to yourself). When you walked down the stairs, you had almost forgotten about the previous night. It felt a little like it had all just been one wild fever dream – that was, until you spotted the demon sitting on your sofa, your pet bird on his shoulder.

“I let him out, I hope that was okay,” he said. You were dumbfounded. “Listen, I just wanted to say…thank you. Tell me whatever you need me to do and I’ll get it done for you.”

You wanted to go to work. But you knew he would be no help making that possible. Your mind was already wandering off to your case, the tips of your fingers burning with anticipation to search the internet for clues. Your grumbling belly interrupted your eagerness.

“Um…you could go to the grocery store for me?” you asked.

~

You went back to work the next day. Unsure of what to do, you decided to keep your demon housemate a secret for now. The other detectives would have probably written you off as insane, and you needed them to take you seriously. To be fair, maybe you were a little crazy. But he had been really good on the first day. Only one incident, which involved him dropping an egg on the kitchen floor, stood out to you. Of course, that could happen to anyone. But any other person would not have apologized in the way that he did. Normal people wouldn’t have acted so guilty, had it been an accident. But as long as his malice remained to that extent, you could live with it. You almost laughed at the idea of him purposely watching the egg roll off the counter and not doing anything.

He sure was strange. But little did you know, his egg-dropping shananigans were only the beginning of his uncontrollable little pranks he would pull on you.

Once he let your bird fly out the window. When you came home you discovered him outside, talking to your bird, begging him to come back inside. Little did he know, all it took was a whistle and a few treats and you had him sitting on your shoulder, ready to go back inside. One night you returned home to find him staring at the ceiling in the dining room, a kitchen towel in his hand. When you asked him what he was trying to achieve there, he told you there was a mosquito sitting above him.

“So, why don’t you kill it?” you asked. He looked shocked.

“Kill it?” he asked, “We should probably just shoo it outside.”

That’s when you knew. Choi Chanhee wouldn’t hurt a fly. Literally. All those times you had worried about leaving him home alone with your bird vanished in an instant as you laughed.

“You’re right. Killing is one of the worst sins. But sometimes, especially when it comes to mosquitoes, you don’t need to worry about any consequences. If anything, I’ll be grateful,” you assured him.

Another instance made you think maybe you had been too quick to judge him as harmless. When you walked into your bathroom in the morning, rubbing the sleep out of your eyes, you almost jumped out of your skin. A red substance stuck to your mirror in what seemed to be random shapes. On impulse, you called his name. On second look, you realized what he had done. The red was merely ketchup, and the random shapes weren’t so random, but they spelled “meeting at 2 pm”. When Chanhee appeared in the doorframe, he already wore his sorry expression.

“What did you think you were doing here?” you said. “You know where the post-it notes are!”

“I- He- The demon in me wanted to scare you…I’m so sorry,” he said. It was difficult to be mad at him when he was so sweet. You had, after all, told him to remind you of your meeting you had that day. He was so easy to forgive, too. Whenever he went to buy groceries, he returned with a bouquet of flowers, and after he had figured out your favorite candy, he made sure you never ran out of your supply. You liked being alone, but suddenly it felt nice to have someone waiting for you at home. A warm sensation filled your heart whenever he asked you about your day during dinner.

Even if after dinner you had to argue with him as if he was your son, because the demon in him had decided to take on the form of a teenage boy who was too lazy to take out the trash. You were still seated at the table, rolling your eyes at the demon’s horrible attempt at being evil.

“Don’t make me ask you one more time,” you threatened him, although you didn’t know what you would have done had he continued to argue against you. Only when he reached for the knife that he had already put down tidily on his plate, your eyes widened. His knuckles were white around the metal and you leaned back instinctively. Your gun was still in your belt – you had sat down for dinner straight after returning home – but you didn’t want to use it. Not on him.

“Chanhee,” you spoke in a calm tone. His face was unreadable. He wasn’t making eye contact. Instead, his gaze was glued onto the blade in his hand, staring blankly. His eyes blinked, almost robotically. Something changed in his demeanor then. There was a tremble in the hand that was clutching the knife. It grew more uneasy by each passing moment. Your heart was pounding in your chest and you kept your eyes trained on him, trusting your reflexes.

“Fine,” he suddenly said in a grumpy tone. Then he dropped the knife. The metallic sound rang in your ears for seconds afterward. You let out the breath you didn’t know you had been holding on to, as you watched him get up and retrieve the full trash bag from under the sink. You had been sleeping with your bedroom door unlocked for weeks. Even though it pained you, that night you locked your door again.

~

At 3:28 am you awoke to the sound of breaking glass. You allowed yourself to yawn and rub the sleep out of your eyes for just a moment, then you were on your feet. Gun in hand, you opened your door. Across the hall, the door to Chanhee’s room stood ajar. Light came from downstairs.

“Chanhee?” you called quietly. No answer. But your ears picked up shuffling and the sound of shards of glass being moved around. You approached slowly, trying not to give yourself away. Then you heard the quiet sobs. Your arm with the gun dropped to your side when you stepped into the kitchen.

He was sitting on the floor like he was one of the shattered pieces of glass himself. When he saw you, he flinched and tried to dry away his tears. But it was no use. They kept coming, and you had already seen them either way.

“I dropped it on purpose,” he said, referring to the broken glass. Another sob went through his body, making your chest ache at the sight of him. “I’m sorry.”

“I have nine more of those. It’s alright,” you assured him. Gently, you sat down by his side. You put your arms around his hunched frame. He stiffened at first but calmed his muscles after a moment and let you hold him.

“Shh, it’s okay,” you said. Whatever it was that was hurting him so much, you’d be here to fight it off for him.

“I can’t stop the evil in me,” he cried. His weeps seeped through your skin and tugged at your organs. It felt like a thousand tiny, sharp needles in your heart.

“It’s a part of you. It’ll never fully go away. But look at you, you’re doing such a good job holding it inside of you,” you whispered. He shuddered.

“I tried to kill you,” he stated. “I don’t deserve you. You’re so kind. You do all this for me, and I tried to kill you.”

“But you didn’t,” you said. “And that’s what counts. We all have urges inside of us…but it’s what we end up doing that truly counts and makes us who we are.”

“But it’s so hard,” he cried. His face was in the crook of your neck as he sniffled. The small teardrops that touched your skin felt like ice. “And all I do is bother you. I’m an inconvenience. Why don’t you just lock me up with the other demons? Why give me another chance every time I mess up?”

You couldn’t believe he would hate himself so much. Chanhee had more compassion than a lot of the humans you knew had. Some days he sat and pet your bird for hours just because it made him happy, he always had money on him to give to the homeless people in front of the grocery store and he almost cried thinking he forgot to pay for an item at the store (which you had obviously paid for).

“How could you even compare yourself to other demons?” you said. “If you want, I will take you in to work with me sometime. Then you’ll see the atrocities others commit. Even among humans, you’d still be sorted into the best of the best. I believe in you and that you will do good.”

He only sobbed harder at what you had said, and you felt the need to pull him in just a little tighter. You softly rocked your bodies in an attempt to calm him down.

“I would fall apart without you.” Between the hiccups and tears his words sounded like a broken confession, but that’s why they hit so hard.

“You’re not alone in this. I’m here for you,” you whispered, lips right by his ear. Your hands were in his hair, stroking his head as if you could pour all your emotions into this one gesture. What else could you do to show him you would never abandon him the way his demon people had? And it seemed to do the trick. His fists that had been clutching your shirt loosened up and his sorrowful crying turned into mellow breathing on your skin.

“Aren’t you sleepy?” you asked. “Let’s get you back to sleep. Tomorrow things will be better.”

“I haven’t been able to sleep well for three days,” he said. “But I need to clean this up first.”

He let go of you and started to pick up shards of glass. There was still a haggard expression on him, and his cheeks were painted red and tear stained. And yet he was determined.

“Let me do this,” you said, touching his arm. “You can’t even keep your eyes open. Go to bed, Chanhee.”

This time, he didn’t argue. But his good behavior didn’t stop the apologetic, almost battered look at you. He knew you would be by his side no matter what – but what he needed most was his own forgiveness. And you could tell by the way he spoke about himself that it would take a while until he was ready to accept himself as he was.

You heard his heavy steps on the stairs as he walked to his room. Quickly, you gathered the biggest shards of glass and then used a hand brush to collect the tiny pieces. This wasn’t what you had signed up for when you had taken him in. You thought you’d have to argue with him daily and that you’d miss having your personal space and privacy. You knew it would be new, living with another person after living alone for so long. But nothing could have prepared you for the way Chanhee had swept you off your feet with his adorable charms. You didn’t need to fake excitement when you came home to him, nor did you ever have to force yourself to tell him about your day or have any conversation with him, for that matter. He was truly enchanting with the way he made you care so much. Especially when you had assumed all demons were your sworn enemies.

When you finally dragged your tired body upstairs, you softly pushed open the door to his room, only to see him lying wide awake.

“Can’t sleep?” you asked. “Even though you’re so exhausted?”

“No,” he spoke. Even his voice made no attempt at hiding the sleepiness. His look was pleading. “Can you please stay with me…just for a little while?”

There was no way you could say no to his lovely gaze and messy hair and outstretched arms. So, you crawled in next to him under the covers. Your faces were inches apart. The last time you had been looking into a demon’s eyes this close-up he had been lying face-up and dead on the side of a road. Those eyes had been lifeless, and yet you felt like they had still held so much ferociousness, even in death. Now you only saw concern and genuine care in the black orbs across from you. You admired his softly sculpted face. It was one that seemed like it would much rather belong to an angel.

“You’ve been working so much,” he whispered. “You must be much more tired than me.”

“I’m used to it,” you said, “I enjoy my work because I’m doing it to help others.”

“You’re a good person,” he stated. There was something in his voice you couldn’t make out. Regret? Admiration?Maybe it was both.

“So are you, Chanhee,” you said. Without second thought, you leaned forward and pressed your lips to his cheek. He didn’t flinch nor pull away. Instead, his pretty lips curled into a smile as he closed his eyes, ready to finally drift off to dreamland.

~

From that night on he seemed to improve a little, day by day. No more breaking things or having to argue about simple house chores. It occurred to you almost as if he had turned into something more human – so much that you dared to take him to work with you. People there had found the idea of your new demon friend strange, and you were sure some would take more than a little convincing to let down their guard around him. You couldn’t blame them for the prejudices – you had once been the same, after all. But Chanhee was okay with it, even when you had explained to him that some people might hate him, just because of his black eyes and what they meant to people. He had lived years of receiving that sort of treatment. Nonetheless, it pained you to think about how used he was to it. It took bravery and thick skin to walk into a police station the way he did that day. He was fascinated, looking behind the scenes. Perhaps you found it amusing how alarmed everyone was when they first laid eyes on him at the station. His ability to turn around their views of his species within twenty seconds or less was nothing but astonishing. He very willingly took it upon himself to walk down to the nearest coffee shop and order ten cups, also earning him the sympathy from the last few sceptics. When you were deep in conversation with another detective, discussing the possible whereabouts of a highly wanted demon, Chanhee suddenly interrupted you.

“I know an underground club where they like to go after…committing crimes,” he said. “Every demon in this city knows about it.”

At that moment you realized his full potential and what good he could really do. That was, if he was ready to sacrifice his people. But he just had – without even blinking. He could be an immense help to you.

“Young man I can see you have a bright future, should you ever decide to join the police force,” said your boss from across the room. Seemed like she had the same idea as you. Chanhee only smiled shyly but couldn’t hide the glint of pride in his eyes.

~

The following days you instantly made arrangements to get Chanhee an interview with the head of the station. He had been scared, at first.

“What if the other people there hate me?” he suspected.

“They might make assumptions about you in their heads, you know, because you’re a demon. They only know demons to be evil. But the moment they realize how good of a person you are, I promise they’ll change their mind,” you said. “You’ll be precious to us, and if you want to do good, the police is where you can be the most helpful. You’ll change lives, maybe even save people.”

“Yes, I want to help,” he said. “I’m done with my kind.”

“I’ll talk to my boss tomorrow,” you assured him. “If you’re too anxious to come in to the station, maybe she’ll allow you to work from home, from my office here. This is just a try, okay? If you really enjoy this work, you’ll have to learn and earn your badge.”

The way he looked at you filled you with so much pride. He seemed to have found some hope. Like he could finally spend his time in a productive and truly good manner. You couldn’t wait to see how he would do.

~

A tiring day and many discussions with higher-ups at workplace later, you returned at your home, late at always. Your fingers tingled with excitement and you wanted to yell for Chanhee the moment you walked through your door. You had managed to score an internship for him at your station. He was allowed to start as early as the following week. As you walked up the stairs, following the shuffling noise you heard, you imagined his face when you told him the news. You knew he’d be ecstatic. His smile would make you so happy, and you almost grinned at the mere thought of it. The noises were coming out of your office.

“Hi, Chanhee. Guess what my boss-,” you started. Then you fell speechless. Paper was scattered all over the floor. Drawers stood wide open. The orderly sorted piles of case files you had been working on were dispersed into every corner of the small room. Photos and pieces of paper were falling out of the folders. And in midst of it all stood Chanhee.

“Y/N- I’m so-,” he said, helpless.

“Don’t,” you said. Every ounce of excitement was gone from your voice, replaced by an ice cold tone you didn’t know you had in you. He flinched, but you couldn’t keep in what you had to say. “You’re impossible. I can’t fucking believe this! These are real cases, Chanhee! I’m trying to save real people here! This isn’t some broken mirror or a spilled cup of water. I can look past a shattered glass, but this is too much…I honestly thought you were getting better…”

Somewhere you knew you were being too harsh. But your job was your entire reason for existing. This was your life mission, laid out in front of you as if a hurricane had rampaged through the room. It would take days for you to rearrange the files. You weren’t even sure if you’d be able to find the correct places for each piece of paper.

“I’m sorry,” he said, voice cracking because he was about to cry.

“I don’t want to see you right now. Please get out. I need to clean this up and you can’t help me with this,” you said, trying hard not to scream out of frustration. Your eyes were already scanning the floor. You had no idea where to even start. With low-hanging shoulders and teary eyes that were threatening to spill over, Chanhee slipped past you. He granted you one more look before he scurried out of the office like a frightened animal.

Even though your stomach was grumbling from starvation and you could barely stay awake – as always – you needed to get some of the cleaning done. Now. Or you would go insane. Plus, you needed time away from Chanhee. While you collected the paper from every inch of the wooden floor, guilt slowly started to nag at you. You had never raised your voice at him to this extent. And he was sensitive. It wasn’t his fault, that’s what you always told him when he blamed himself for messing things up. He knew that. You cursed at yourself. How could you be so impulsive? All too well you knew how he felt about his demon half. You were supposed to be there for him, to tell him he was doing a good job and to make sure he didn’t beat himself up. Now you had achieved the complete opposite. A dull ache in your chest accompanied your hungry stomach.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. In a haze, you stepped down the stairs and to the door. You needed to apologize to Chanhee. When you opened the door, a delivery girl from your favorite restaurant stood there, handing you an order. You were puzzled.

“Already payed for,” she checked with a beaming smile, “Enjoy your meal!”

“Thank you,” you said, voice numb. Before you knew it, she had turned on her heel and was on the way back to the car.

“Chanhee! Your food is here,” you shouted, assuming he was the one who had made the order. You got no answer. When you set the bag down on the kitchen table, you saw a note, addressed to you.

Y/N,

Words can’t express how sorry I am about what I’ve done. All my life I only wanted someone to love me. In you, I thought I might have found what I had been searching for all this time. But I messed up. I always do. I drove you away from what we had. I’ve wondered why I always end up disappointing people. Now I know it’s because it’s the only thing I’m truly good at. You deserve someone you can trust blindly, someone who will walk through fire for you, someone who will take a bullet for you. I can’t give you that. I can’t even trust myself. Thank you for giving me a home and for being the most generous person I have ever met. You will always be in my sweet evil heart. Don’t worry about me too much. I will find my way and you will find yours. Who knows, our paths may cross again. I ordered your favorite food. I know you’re always starving when you get home from work. Enjoy it and don’t let it go cold. Make sure you get enough sleep tonight, and don’t forget to take your water bottle with you tomorrow, you left it here this morning.

I’ll hold you in my happiest thoughts forever,

Chanhee

You only snapped out of your motionless state when one single tear dropped down your cheek and onto the note. A heavy blanket of sorrow and regret sunk into your whole body. The emotions seeped through your skin and before you knew it, you were a sobbing mess on the kitchen floor. You wanted to take him in your arms and tell him you forgave him. Hell, you had forgiven him minutes after you had yelled at him. You should have gone to him then. Had you only apologized quickly enough, perhaps he’d still be here. Then he’d be eating dinner with you, and although you’d be frustrated, you both wouldn’t be alone.

Your tears fell into your food while you ate it, unable to control your sadness and frustration you had against yourself. They mixed with the shower water as you stood in silence under the hot stream, overthinking everything. Your pillow was wet from the crying as you struggled to fall asleep. Like a broken-hearted zombie you trudged across the hall and into his room. Chanhee’s covers still smelled like him and you hugged them tightly, as if you could hold a piece of him and bring him back that way. But there was nothing you could have done. He had left, and it was alone your fault.

~

The next day passed like a vivid fever dream. While you were sat in your meeting, you couldn’t possibly focus on the case your team was discussing. Instead, you pondered whether your makeup was able to conceal your puffy face and the dark circles under your eyes. If it was obvious, at least people didn’t seem to point it out. Maybe they were so used to seeing you tired that it would take a lot more than some tiredness and lack of concentration to arise concern. It was the first time in years you really wanted to go home after work. In fact, you couldn’t stand the laughter and good mood at the police station for one more second. All you wanted to do was scream and cry, and seeing people joke around without any idea about your feelings only intensified your desire. Of course, you could have confided in somebody. But you were afraid they would tell you Serves you right or I told you. You don’t think you’d be able to handle those blatant assumptions and the mocking.

Your plan for the night was set: You’d sit in the bathtub for half an hour, then you’d wrap yourself into a human burrito in a blanket and fill your brain with some brutal movie that would make your life seem like it was mere child’s play. But as most things in your life lately, nothing went as planned. Because after only five minutes in the hot tub, your phone rang on the other side of the room. The first time you ignored it. You really tried. But then it rang again, and you looked up to see the caller ID. It was your boss.

You groaned and quickly stood up, not giving up on the prospects of a peaceful night just yet. But then you heard her message – a break-in at a bank, one dead bank employee, five hostages, a possible shoot out. They were calling for back up. And when there was a chance to throw bad guys behind bars, the most inviting bath or an exciting movie suddenly turned dull.

Not fifteen minutes later you had jumped out the bath, gotten dressed in your uniform, taken your gun and ammunition, and were pulling up at the scene your boss had ordered you to. The bank was in the city center, close to the main square. The police team was stationed in a side street. Some of the team had already been sent to the front of the bank, where the police was attempting to make contact with the robbers.

“They’re holding four hostages in the back of the bank. One of them is at the front, right by the glass doors for us to see. The robbers have guns to their heads. If we come closer, they’ll shoot them,” your colleague informed you.

“Demons?” you asked. Against your will, Chanhee appeared in your mind. You wondered how he was doing. Was he hiding out in somebody else’s garden right now? Had he found a bed to sleep in? Then you quickly shook your head. This was not the time for heavy emotions of any kind.

“Yes. Five of them,” your colleague added. You huffed.

“What do they want us to do? Are they demanding anything?” you asked.

“They want us to let them leave with the money,” she said. You grinned bitterly and nodded.

“What about the back entrance?” you asked. You knew the layout of this bank and had been there multiple times in the past.

“That’s our route. Besides the one at the front, the other demons are inside the bank. The entrance isn’t guarded. A team of four will go to the back and try to sneak up on them. When we have a clear line of fire on all the robbers, we’ll take them out at the same time,” she explained.

“Alright,” you nodded, fixing your bulletproof vest around your upper body. You were ready for this. To others, missions like these would have been nerve-wrecking, and you would have been lying if you said you were completely calm. But the adrenaline was already rushing through your body, and fear was something you hadn’t felt since your very first operation.

“All ready?” your colleague asked the other two members of the team who would go into the bank. You received nods and professional expressions. You had all trained together and were used to functioning like one unit. Sticking close together, you rounded the bank, using a side street so the demons wouldn’t see you approaching. In your ear, the voice of your boss was giving orders and checking in on you. The street was dark and devoid of any life except for your team. Multiple of the surrounding streets had been evacuated and shut off to the public. The scene had something straight out of a heist movie. Except this time, the robbers weren’t going to pull of the perfect theft and get away. You would make sure of it.

“We’re almost there,” you said. “Twenty meters to the entrance. Awaiting permission to go inside.”

“You have permission,” your boss spoke over your earpiece. One last look at your teammates, and you were on the move. Sneaking inside soundlessly was easy. The backrooms were all empty. As you passed abandoned offices, you saw knocked over office equipment and paper scattered on the floors. Lamps had been left on and you heard the faint buzzing of a running computer that was most certainly unoccupied. Moving swiftly, you walked along the corridors, guns pointed ahead at all times. Your teamwork was untouchable. One of you made sure the path was clear, then the rest followed.

“You are one room away from the entry hall,” your boss said.

“Understood,” you answered and slowed down your steps. A cat wouldn’t have been able to walk more silently than you did. Now your ears picked up voices. Somebody was crying. There was shuffling of feet on marble.

“Shut up!” a male voice yelled. The crying faded out into muteness. In the dark, you could make out figures. A few countertops and a good distance separated you and your team from the demons and the hostages. You nodded to your colleagues and they understood. The four of you parted ways, moving into the room and taking shelter behind the bank counters. Once again, you checked the situation. Close to you, four hostages sat on the floor. A woman was still crying, and you could tell she was struggling to keep herself quiet. Around them, four demons stood, dressed in black. Their ski masks kept their faces hidden, but their body languages told you enough. They were not to be messed with. By the far entrance, the fifth demon was positioned with the remaining hostage, and you could spot the police cars outside in the town square. From behind your hiding spots, each of your teammates had a clear line of fire on the demons. The fifth one would be taken out from police outside the bank. You were just about to send a signal to your boss to let her know you were in position. Suddenly, the scraping of feet on the floor alarmed you.

“What was that?” one of the demons barked. The noise had come from your colleague beside you, who was now flinching. You had no time to think. No time to complain about her mistake. If you didn’t act now, they were going to close in on you.

You jumped up, pointing your gun at the closest demon. Right away, the remaining demons had their guns aimed at the hostages’ heads. Your colleagues had done as you, guns held towards the demons. Now you got a proper look at them. They were towering over the hostages, who were crouched on the floor in intimidation. The one in front of you only chuckled. Humans didn’t laugh like this. It was pure malice and recklessness displayed in front of you.

“I thought we told you to stay away,” he began. The only thing you could truly note about him was his mouth. The rest was covered by his mask and where the white of eyes should have been, two orbs of darkness sat, eying you like prey.

“Let the hostages go and we won’t shoot you,” you ordered, with a surprisingly calm voice.

“And why would we do that when we can just kill them?” he asked. His gaze momentarily focused on his fellow demons, as if he was a stand-up comedian and he had just delivered the funniest punch line.

“You will die if you harm even one of the hostages,” you stated.

“Oh, is that so? Humans never learn, do they?” he said. This monster was completely insane. And suicidal too, it seemed. “Go on, shoot.”

First, you thought he was urging your team to shoot. Then you realized, he was looking at the demon closest to you. The very demon you had your gun pointed at. He was asking the other demon to shoot at the hostages. You were preparing to pull the trigger.

But then your mind started racing. You stared at him intensely as your heartbeat quickened uncontrollably in your chest. The dark eyes. The soft lips. His skinny frame and gentle hands. You knew exactly who this demon was. You’d be able to pick him out of any crowd. What the hell was he doing here?

“Shoot!” the bigger demon shouted again, but Chanhee didn’t budge.

“I told you he was goddamn useless,” one of the others said. “Get rid of him.”

“You don’t deserve any of this money,” the bigger demon snarled, and his hand went to his belt. You knew there were human lives on the line. What you were about to do could be considered not only stupid, but wildly imprudent. Emotions were supposed to be left out of police operations. But how could you not have been blind with shock? You were going to let your heart control your body over your mind, and if it was deadly so be it. The bigger demon was now raising his arm at Chanhee.

Before you knew it, you had jumped out from behind the counter. You mirrored the demon’s actions and you pointed at him, pulling the trigger. At the same time, his gun went off. Just in time, you had pushed your body between the two demons.

“Y/N!” Chanhee shouted.

The bullet hit your shoulder and you fell backwards. Burning heat spread through your insides as you stumbled and reached for anything, anyone to hold on to. You could only think of Chanhee, and how your bullet had pierced through the big demon’s skull perfectly. Then, your colleagues opened the gunfire. The shots sounded almost muffled through the intense amount of adrenaline in your blood and the initial effect of being hit. Your body fell to the ground with a heavy thud, and a wave of agony spread through you. You grimaced at the excruciating pain, hands grasping at your shoulder. All you could see was white, before you sank onto your back and the world went dark.

~approximately 18 months later~

“Y/N,” Chanhee said, for the sixth time within the last ten minutes. You pressed your phone harder against your ear, holding it up with your shoulder. Your hands were too busy writing a police report on your laptop.

“Chanhee, I promise I’m writing the last few sentences already,” you assured him. He liked it when you came home early, leaving enough time to relax on the couch with him, instead of falling into bed like a corpse. Today, he was especially insistent, urging you to stay on the phone with him until you had finally packed up your things and left the police department. You guessed he was just trying to make sure you couldn’t stop somewhere along the way and start working on something new. And maybe that fear wasn’t so far off the truth.

“I’m done,” you said. “Status report: I’m switching off the laptop. Now I’m taking my bag. I’m getting up. I’m locking my office behind me. I’ll be home in twenty minutes or less.”

His laughter on the other side of the line made you smile. You couldn’t wait to see his face and get to hug him.

“Alright. I can’t wait,” he said. “I’ll see you.”

The walk home was calm. A soft breeze went through your hair and in the distance, you heard sirens of an ambulance. Promptly you were catapulted back to your memories and into the vehicle after you had been shot. Going in and out of consciousness, you kept repeating one name: Chanhee. When you woke up in the hospital bed, you half-expected him to be sitting there, waiting for you to wake up. But of course that was not the case. He had committed a crime – or at least tried to commit one. The prosecution was in his favor. They acknowledged his compliance with the police and his hesitation to hurt the hostage. Plus, he sold out the other demons and showed no resistance at any point. His regret and sorrow was apparent, nonetheless his mistake caused him 11 months in prison – by far less than the other robbers got.

People had called you insane for standing by him. Others thought you brave and newspapers named him the first good demon in the world. Every week you visited him in prison, often more than once. You made the most of your short time to talk, and with your kindest words you let him know that you were still here for him. Every visit you learned a bit more about how he had ended up in that bank.

After he had walked out on you, he had nowhere to go. So, after strolling the street mazes for days he found himself in the very demon night club he had once warned you about. Most unsavory figures twisted his mind into thinking doing good was no use. They made him believe he would never be able to escape the demon in him, and he might as well embrace the malice. They more or less pulled him along to the robbery, while he overthought the whole thing. It hurt you, seeing him cry as he recounted how scared he was when he saw the hostages. Some of them ended up injured, but all survived. You knew he would have never forgiven himself, had one of them died.

The day you picked him up from prison was a day you’d never forget. Holding each other in your arms felt so right, and you had missed it tremendously. His months at the prison hadn’t been easy, but you made sure he felt loved and cared for when he finally returned. He almost refused to believe that you would open your doors to him again. It was no question to you. You’d always be here for him. Even when he insisted you keep your office at home locked at all times. You trusted him almost a hundred percent by now. His demon only came out rarely, especially in times of stress or intense negative emotions. But you only treated him with kindness, and he gave back just as much of it.

“Chanhee I’m home!” you shouted as you entered your home.

“I’m up here,” he spoke. You ran up the stairs, excited to see him. Your eyes fell onto the open door of your office. For a moment, your heartbeat quickened as you approached it. You must have forgotten to lock the door that morning. Slowly, you pushed it open.

“Hello,” he grinned. You only chuckled as you watched him, sitting by your desk, a book in his hands. “I hope you don’t mind me being in here. This chair is so comfortable.”

“It’s all good,” you said. “Do you know what day it is today?”

“Umm…Friday?” he asked.

“It’s been exactly two years since you first started living here,” you said. “I think we should get some take out and celebrate, what do you say?”

“I can’t believe it’s been two years,” he said. “I’d love that. And you know what? I think I’m ready to start the internship at the police station.”

You smiled proudly. He had put his book down and was getting up.

“You’re going to do good things,” you said, wrapping your arms around him. He finally had found his place. His home. And you were never going to give up on him.

[sk1fanfiction]

the many faces of tom riddle, part 2

 -you dislike frank dillane’s portrayal of tom riddle only because you don’t think he’s attractive-

FULL DISCLAIMER THAT THIS IS JUST MY OPINION OF A CHARACTER WHO DOESN’T HAVE THE STRONGEST CANON CHARACTERIZATION, AND THUS ALL THIS IS BASED ON MY CONCEPTUALIZATION (and this time, featuring a bit of armchair child psych from a student).

Wait, don’t clutch your pearls just yet. Compose yourself.

I am about to explain why it’s not actually that bad, and Dillane’s portrayal is vastly underappreciated.

I definitely agree that his portrayal comes off as ‘creepier’. It’s not helped by the stylistic decisions in the scene -- the smeary, green filter gives the scene a sinister quality. 

Even Slughorn looks suspect here, which is somewhat appropriate, given that he is complicit in this crime. 

Again, this scene is very much intended to be slightly off.

You’ll notice (and I’ll discuss this again when I talk about Coulson’s portrayal) that Dillane is almost always shot from at least slightly below, which makes the lower third of his face look bigger (and thus more menacing). The lighting also makes his eyes glow in a really unnatural way. There’s an echo-y effect to make his voice (and not Slughorn’s) sound unnerving.

People talk about how Coulson would have looked in this scene, and if he was filmed in the same way (monotone, smeary/shadowy filter, and always from below), he’d look a bit creepy, too.

But all of this, imo, is for a pretty good reason. Slughorn isn’t the POV character. Harry is. Harry is learning about how a young Lord Voldemort wheedled the secret of Horcruxes out of an unsuspecting teacher. Unlike in COS, he expects Riddle to be evil. And, so, Harry’s new perception of Tom Riddle literally colors how we perceive him.

Take this shot, for example: he does that head-tilt thing that Coulson does, and it’s actually... kind of... cute???

Imagine Dillane filmed from slightly above, like Coulson usually is, and it looks even more innocent. (I mean, come on, he does not look like he’s killed four people, does he?) It’s not hard to imagine teachers being taken in by this kind of act.

Even that little smirk he does when the camera (aka, Harry’s gaze) pans in, is for Harry’s benefit. No one else noticed that. 

However, I still fail to find this creepy, like, at all. Yes, it’s a fake smile, but he’s portraying a different side of Tom Riddle to Coulson. Whereas, in COS, he’s in his vindictive, murderous element, where he’s free to express himself, in this scene, Tom Riddle is doing what he does best -- manipulating and managing appearances. 

This entire scene is an act. And because Harry knows it’s an act, it should look a bit stilted. 

From the Hepzibah Smith scene in the books: Voldemort smiled mechanically and Hepzibah simpered.

So, Harry is pretty adept at parsing Tom’s fake expressions.

But just look at the expressiveness in his face: he goes from brooding, he blinks, and his entire face changes to this charming (fake) smile. 

At the risk of sounding elitist, I’m a bit tired of seeing the word ‘psychopath’, which is not an actual medical diagnosis recognised by any psychological or psychiatric institution, being tossed about, especially with reference to Tom Riddle (and from a neuroscience perspective, it’s doubly annoying). There’s no such thing as ‘insanity’ or ‘psychopathy’ or being ‘crazy.’

-although I use it too a shorthand in conversation to distinguish ‘canon’ Tom from his ‘softer’ OOC counterparts, I really shouldn’t-

Unfortunately, I’ve seen the ‘psychopath’ comment used time-and-time again as an excuse or a full explanation of ‘why Tom Riddle went evil’ (JKR in fact, has made a weird comment in an interview, basically saying that ‘psychopaths can’t be redeemed or learn adaptive coping skills’ or whatever), which really just goes to show the lack of understanding and compassion when personality disorders, especially, are concerned.

But what I like most about the opening of this scene, actually, is that first, listless expression. And this is where we get slightly into headcanon, but Tom Riddle is the opposite of a happy, mentally healthy teenager. By Dumbledore’s own admission, he has no real friends. He has no parental figures, no real attachments. Yes, he might derive some pride or enjoyment from being good at magic and top of his class and all that, but I really don’t think even Tom finds that truly fulfilling. There is nothing that makes him happy. 

In fact, although some might perceive it as ‘creepy’, I think that listless expression is an accurate window into Tom’s psyche. 

I know people aren’t big on Freud, but I think that he does make some interesting points (also, cut the guy some slack for being relatively open-minded for the Victorian Era, and inventing psychoanalysis and while yes he did say some sexist stuff, good luck finding a field of science that isn’t male-focused and makes crazy generalizations about women, especially back in the day) about the possible origins of thanatophobia, the fear of death.

According to Freud, thanatophobia is a disguise for a deeper source of concern -- he did not believe that people were capable of conceptualizing their own death to that extent. Instead, he believed that this phobia was caused by unresolved childhood conflicts that the sufferer cannot come to terms with or express emotion towards.

Now, I know Freud almost always attributes mental distress to childhood experiences, but I think in this case, it really has some merit.

According to attachment theory, the basis of how we form attachments in adulthood is dictated by learning it from experiences with caregivers in the first two years of life. We know Tom was born in an orphanage, and that he didn’t cry much as a baby, and subsequently, probably received very little attention. Compounded with possible genetic factors and his caregivers being afraid or wary of his magical abilities, he later struggled to form attachments because of this -- I would actually go so far as to say that by the time Dumbledore meets him, Tom Riddle is severely depressed. 

And that flat affect and anhedonia, I think, comes over very well in Dillane’s portrayal. There’s kind of this resignation -- a very deep sadness and loneliness to his character.

Of course, he doesn’t derive any comfort or fulfillment from human interaction, because (to borrow the description from the Wikipedia article on ‘Reactive attachment disorder’, which Tom meets all the criteria for) he has a “grossly disturbed internal working model of relationships.” In other words, he is unresponsive to all offers of attachment because of this unacknowledged trauma.

(You could arguably class Tom as having an avoidant attachment style, but I think in his case the trauma and its effect on him are severe enough to call it disordered.)

RAD isn’t particularly well-characterized (especially neurologically) and quite new in the literature, but here are some links if anyone is interested in doing a bit of digging: Link 1 | Link 2 | Paper 1 | Paper 2

And, instead of trying to resolve this conflict in a healthy way, or at least recognize that this is why he can’t be happy and try to learn how to cope from there, he (a) represses the desire for human attachment and (b) funnels that negative emotion into being the fault of Death, the Grim Reaper (again, to borrow Freudian terms). 

And we all know how that turned out...

(And now, this should go without saying, but psychoanalyzing fictional characters has nothing to do with assigning a morality to mental disorders. Mental illness is neither a cause nor an excuse for criminal behavior -- in the same way that the cycle of violence is a phenomenon, not an excuse. Tom Riddle did not become a genocidal murderer because, in common parlance, he was a ‘psychopath’ -- he was not necessarily ‘predisposed’ to evil and could just as easily chosen to not follow the path that he did -- instead, he willingly made poor choices. This is a descriptive analysis, not a justification -- a ‘how’, not a ‘why’)

Here’s a Carl Jung quote that articulates it better:

“I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become.”

Yes, he’s a bit stiff (and a lot more formal than in COS during his *conversation* with Harry). But, and here comes the controversial bit, this is appropriate for a portrayal of a schoolboy in the 1940s. The upright posture is accurate -- respectful, polite -- everything Tom Riddle would have been expected to be (and even Coulson, in that scene with Dumbledore in COS, is quite stiff). Even the way he looks at Slughorn and maintains eye contact is very *respectful.*

And, Dillane (I think he’s seventeen or eighteen here) actually looks like a believable sixteen-year-old. I’m sorry, I love Coulson’s portrayal as well, but he looks around nineteen in COS; so in HBP, he probably would have looked at least twenty-two or so. (Sorry, not sorry).

This may be influenced by my own interpretation of the character (because I imagine Tom always looks young for his age, and Dillane fits that archetype, but I don’t think that’s very popular), but I think young Tom Riddle is supposed to be *cute* and a bit stiff/shy/awkward (being charming and awkward is very much possible), if you consider the way Dippet and Slughorn treat him. 

To support this, he says very few words to Hepzibah Smith (in the book, that scene’s not in the movie), and is very... bashful and coy during the whole interaction? I think yes, he’s charismatic, but he’s not loud, suave, openly flirtatious or particularly verbose. Tom Riddle should have a quiet magnetism, and to me, that came across in Dillane’s portrayal.

"I'd be glad to see anything Miss Hepzibah shows me," said Voldemort quietly, and Hepzibah gave another girlish giggle.

...

"Are you all right, dear?"

"Oh yes," said Voldemort quietly. "Yes, I'm very well. ..."

Even the ‘ugly, greedy look’ described in the books, when Slughorn starts spilling his secrets, is there. This is how he’s supposed to look! Slughorn glimpses it, but doesn’t understand its significance. Harry does. 

“Slughorn looked deeply troubled now: He was gazing at Riddle as though he had never seen him plainly before, and Harry could tell that he was regretting entering into the conversation at all.”

Remember the context of this moment, as well: He’s just discovered how to create multiple Horcruxes. Excuse him for looking a bit creepy (if not now, then when?).

Here’s two direct quotes of Harry’s impression of Tom Riddle in that scene: 

“But Riddle's hunger was now apparent; his expression was greedy, he could no longer hide his longing.”

“Harry had glimpsed his face, which was full of that same wild happiness it had worn when he had first found out that he was a wizard, the sort of happiness that did not enhance his handsome features, but made them, somehow, less human. . . .”

Tom Riddle’s Horcruxes are a direct metaphor for his refusal to allow himself to heal from his trauma -- instead, he continues to inflict destruction on himself and others.

His desire to continue creating more Horcruxes sort of resounds with the fact that self-harm can also become a compulsion.

I’d also like to digress a bit to discuss the Gaunt Ring, while we’re at it. While we’ve talked about his attachment issues in general, this discussion is particularly pertinent to father figures. And while Tom’s attachment issues are extensive, I think there’s ample evidence that as a child, he craved acknowledgement and acceptance from a father figure -- the man who gave him the only thing Tom truly owned -- his name. He would have had a vaguely defined mother figure in Mrs. Cole, perhaps.

"You see that house upon the hillside, Potter? My father lived there. My mother, a witch who lived here in this village, fell in love with him. But he abandoned her when she told him what she was.... He didn’t like magic, my father ... He left her and returned to his Muggle parents before I was even born, Potter, and she died giving birth to me, leaving me to be raised in a Muggle orphanage ... but I vowed to find him ... I revenged myself upon him, that fool who gave me his name ... Tom Riddle. ..."

We know that by June of 1943 (COS flashback) Tom has already uncovered the truth of his parentage; he knows he is the Heir of Slytherin via the Gaunt line, and he describes himself to Dippet as ‘Half-blood, sir. Witch mother, Muggle father.’

In Part 1, I discussed the high probability that as a presumed ‘Mudblood’, Tom Riddle was treated rather poorly in Slytherin House. But by this scene in the fall of 1943, he is surrounded by a group of adoring hangers-on. Why?

In my opinion; the Gaunt Ring. We know that Tom stopped wearing it after school, so its sentimental value couldn’t have been that great. We know he likes to collect objects (which I believe stems from his attachment issues -- he seeks comfort in things instead of other people).

Signet rings (such as the one belonging to Tutankhamun seen above) were used to stamp legal documents and such, in order to certify someone’s identify -- like an e-certificate, if you will. Like Tutankhamun’s ring, the Gaunt Ring bears an identifying symbol -- Marvolo Gaunt tells us proudly that it bears the Peverell family crest.

By the Middle Ages, anyone of influence, including the nobility, wore a signet ring. Rings in antiquity were auspicious -- they signified power, legitimacy, and authority. And so, I believe that all the Sacred Twenty-Eight families would have worn these, too.

And so, bearing the Gaunt Ring would have established Tom Riddle, symbolically and in the eyes of the Sacred Twenty-Eight (his future supporters and followers), as the legitimate heir to the House of Gaunt. This is why, I believe, Tom coveted the ring as soon as he saw it -- not just because it was a family heirloom, and not just because he thought it was a pretty toy for his collection.

(He curses it so that no one else but him can wear the Gaunt Ring safely.)

This is why, to make the legitimization literal as well as symbolic, Tom murders his father and grandparents. It’s not just an act of vindictive, murderous rage due to his perception of being rejected by his father (although it is that, too). And so, Tom, abandoning his search for a father figure (and possibly also giving up on the possibility to allow himself to heal from his own personal trauma rather than continue to inflict it on others), ‘cleanses’ his bloodline, to make himself truly legitimate. It’s rather telling that instead of affirming his legitimacy as a Riddle, which would have put him in line for a nice inheritance, and hey -- money is money -- (thus accepting his half-blood status), he simply kills them all. He has done all the murdering he needs to become immortal (and he hasn’t had the discussion about multiple Horcruxes yet); but yet, he does it again. Frightening stuff. 

(Just look how the others look at Tom. All but the one to his left -- possibly Nott, Rosier, or Mulciber -- have their torsos turned towards him. Their attention is on him, while he knowingly regards the viewer/Harry. Tom seems a little uncomfortable with the attention.).

“And there were the half-dozen teenage boys sitting around Slughorn with Tom Riddle in the midst of them, Marvolo's gold-and-black ring gleaming on his finger.”

...

“Riddle smiled; the other boys laughed and cast him admiring looks.”

...

“Tom Riddle merely smiled as the others laughed again. Harry noticed that he was by no means the eldest of the group of boys, but that they all seemed to look to him as their leader.”

The ‘gang’ are true hangers-on; Tom doesn’t seem to pay them much attention. 

So, if not via careful flattery or charisma, the attraction must be status.

And perhaps yet more telling...

"I don't know that politics would suit me, sir," he said when the laughter had died away. "I don't have the right kind of background, for one thing." “A couple of the boys around him smirked at each other. Harry was sure they were enjoying a private joke, undoubtedly about what they knew, or suspected, regarding their gang leader's famous ancestor.”

That, in my opinion, is as good as we’re going to get as proof that Tom’s shiny new signet ring (and by extension, his new status) made a big impression on his fellow students.

So, when he returns to Hogwarts, he is ‘pureblood’. He is cleansed of his Muggle roots, and becomes the legitimate heir of the House of Gaunt, now well on his way to becoming Lord Voldemort...

Watch the scene again, with a critical eye, and imagine Slughorn’s perspective, instead of Harry’s. There’s nothing creepy about Tom Riddle... unless you know what he is...

Strip away all the effects of Harry’s gaze (and notice, here he’s still looking at Harry), and he’s quite the charmer, actually.

(I will concede that I don’t like the promotional images where they have him looking like he’s up to no good. And I do wish he blinked once in a while.)

My challenge to you: Rewatch the scene with an open mind, and let me know if you agree that Dillane’s portrayal comes off as depressive rather than ‘creepy.’ And if not, why do you dislike his portrayal?