#dangerous even though their boss asked me multiple times and i could have warned them off their case'

[gaytobymeres]

Callan should have got to rant at Hunter more often

[katsukota]

Mean x Meaner

(part two)

I'm writing some of this the same day as part one but i wanted to be mysterious and make it have multiple parts.. 🤫

Same warnings as last time probably ! Spoiler references to the anime and chapters, Part one : 💗

Eventually, and reluctantly, you learned more about each other.

To you, "Bakugou Katsuki" You learned to be his name, was egotistical, over his head, and bound to die in a petty battle after making a stupid mistake. Not one you'd ever make, of course.

You also knew, his birthday was April 20th. A taurus, but on the cusp of aries which made sense. He had a childhood friend who "Pisses me off even more than you do", and had a singular dimple.

The main thing you learned, and what you were most excited about, was finding out he liked spicy food. Just like you.

After being the leagues captive for a good minute, you'd grown unfortunately comfortable and accepting of your situation. Of course, your content mindset didn't change your bossy, and demanding personality. The league had to grow accustomed to you as well, so when you screamed at god knows what hour, shocking only Bakugou, they weren't surprised at your request (more of a requirement) of any spicy food, and now.

Bakugou wasn't new to bossing around and bullying villains, honestly everyone really. But he couldn't help but be left in astonishment seeing how you practically walked part of the league like a dog. You were dominating, and it was clear to him and the LOV, that some demands were to be met if they wanted not even your cooperation, but basic behavior. If they didn't want a shit show, and possibly an escaped witness, your asks were top priority. For a captive, you asserted a role above those who you saw as inferior, even if they had the upper hand. You strung them along, giving them crumbs of hope that you'd help, taking their gifts and turning your head when they asked for anything in return. And that was at best, if push came to shove, he heard of the stories of you and the villains getting into fights that you'd sometimes share during late nights. But nevertheless, you never left, even though you clearly could. You never seemed to even be curious about what could lie outside of this shitty underground bar. You were content with the mutual Stockholm Syndrome you and the league had been trapped in.

Thats how you two ended up there, two bowls of spicy udon. Whilst Bakugou was suspicious, you were relaxed, eating it while complimenting a "Kurogiri" for his cooking.

When you noticed him still being tied up, you got closer, and held the large, bowlish spoon up to his lips.

"Eat."

He wondered what this place was doing to him. If anyone else had even dared to think of this, the whole building would have been sent flying into the air. He would've created a coffin for you in the sky.

But, here he was, opening his mouth carefully to let you press the utensil against his tongue.

A scary thought bubbled in him, that perhaps it wasnt what this place was doing to him, but what you were doing to him.

As he went to swallow, he felt the end of the spoon get jabbed against his uvula and hit against his throat.

Fuck that. You werent doing anything to him. Besides making him feel this burning feeling. It must be hate.

"Hey ! What the fuck ?" He scowled, his face looking like one of a pitbull, bread to fight and be dangerous, but when his fangs were beared, you couldn't help but coo at him.

You laughed again, the one he hated so much. The one he hated falling asleep too, and waking up too. He hated you, and all your pranks, he hated villains, and he hated that they had brought you here. Of course, he hated that because it meant he had to deal with you. He couldn't give less of a shit about you outside of his tolerance. Right ?

To Bakugou, You were like Pandora's Box. But he hadn't opened you, he was thrown into a cage, where a tiger pounced out of the box and injected all the wonders and horror into his brain like a lobotomy.

They were obnoxious, annoying, bossy, rude, loud, brash. The type of person if you were walking in the hallways, hes sure he wouldn't even have the chance to move out of your way before you'd knock him over on purpose. Hes sure that during movie nights, you wouldn't choose a movie you liked, but calculate which one could scare or piss off the others the most. You were a fucking demon.

And worst of all, you were like one of the demons on his shoulder. He was stuck tied up, and even though you absolutely could get him out, absolutely run off together, (hed ditch you soon after, obviously), but instead you stayed behind him, resting your head on his shoulder to piss him off.

"Stop touching me, freak." He snapped, counting down the seconds until the heroes would save him. He wondered, what would happen to you ? Would you even want to leave ? Would you decide to finally join the league ? Would he fight you someday in the future ? Not that it mattered. He could obviously beat you.

You lifted your head up slightly, still in his space, but not touching him. "Hm ? I'm not touching you ? Is your brain fried from all that stupid hero shit ?"

He butted his head against yours, knocking you away slightly. "You're so hypocritical. What about you and your villain shit ?"

"Pfft." You wrapped your arms around his chest. At first, he almost became flustered. Confused at the escalation in touch. "I'm not a villain. I think all of you roleplayers are stupid." Your arms lifted, locking the boy into a chokehold. Not enough to harm him seriously, but enough to rough him up.

He let out an amusing strand of chokes and curses, "I'm gonna blow you to bits !" or "Youre so fucking done when I get out of this crap !" The usual bickering.

Your sadistic tendencies and the laughter you didnt even try to hide ran down his spine. "You sound like a fish out of water, cat got your tongue ? Cmon. Spit it out." You loosened your arms as tears of excitement threatened to spill past your lash line. You'd never admit it, but having someone around did make things more entertaining.

Though, you and Toga had a few hangouts, and Mr Compress was no stranger. You've kept Kurogiri company while hes cooked, you and Twice have had hilarious conversations. You aren't a fan of villains or heroes, but you understand and listened to Spinner whilst he talked about Stain. You wouldnt say you were friends with any of your captors, but youd be lying if you said you didnt have your fair share of human interaction. So why was suddenly having someone like Bakugou around making things more lively ? You attributed it to how easily you could tick him off, and how you two naturally clashed. Nothing else.

Tomorrow would be the official indoctrination. You knew this, as on the first of every month they'd bring you out to the main 'living room' space and gather around you, having an attempt at converting you. You were excited to see how Bakugou would react.

You thought more, unable to sleep. Your ideals were clear, and set in stone. Everyone playing pretend, thinking their some big shot hero or villain was stupid to you. It was a fancy way to make cops and robbers seem like fun.

But if they did convince Bakugou into joining, what would you do ? Its not that you want to be a villain, but the thought of him having that power over you, turning on to the side of your captors made you sick.

No it didnt.

You didn't care about the fact they were your kidnappers, you knew that had little to no control over you. So why does the thought of him leaving make you feel so sour ? Maybe you just don't want to be alone. It can't be anything more.

"What's got your face looking all confused and uglier than usual ?" A gruff voice spoke out.

"Fuckin creep, looking at me while I'm trying to sleep ?" You spat back. Usually you were just rude without any anger, but right now you weren't in your best mood. "Last I checked there isnt any mirrors, so go to sleep before I bash your fatass head in."

"Well fuck me for making sure you weren't dying over there."

"Tomorrow they're going to officially try and bring you into the League of Villains." You looked at him, ignoring the previous scuffle. Usually you wouldn't have told him, curious to see his blind reaction. But you wanted answers, and you were going to get them. "Only god knows why they want your weak ass, youd contribute nothing."

"Shut up, will you ?! I crush the weak, don't categorize me as that, ill fuckin kill you." A nerve was clearly hit, but when is it not ?

"So, you crush the weak ? Yea that sounds strong." You said sarcastically, if he was strong then he'd pick on strong people. But you knew you couldn't get on his ass for that. "Think you'll join the league then ? They don't just crush the weak. They crush everyone and everything. Seems like your idea of fun."

"You're out of your mind." He groaned. Hed had this conversation with you about every twenty minutes. "The heroes are coming, every minute I know they're getting closer and closer. They're gonna get us out of here." His heart sped up. Us ? Why the fuck would he say that. "That's why I'm gonna be a hero. Theyre way fuckin cooler, and always win." Maybe if he was already a hero, he could have saved you from this place sooner.

You rolled over, unable to look him in the eyes. Why was it ? Your heart felt weird, and you felt oddly warm at the usage of 'Us'. "You're delusional," you sighed, "Even if they do save "us", it's not like I'm gonna be some hero."

"Well why not ? It's not like.." He paused. He'd never said anything like this before, 'complimenting' someone wasn't his thing. Fuck he hated you, he hated you for making him say such things. "It's not like your quirk is all that shitty. Like you said, people like us get kidnapped by these losers for a reason."

You wanted to kill him. He wasn't being an asshole, you couldn't even justify just slapping his brain out of his ear. But implying you'd ever be one. It was just silly. You didn't trust yourself to speak, surely it'd shake. Out of rage, of course.

When he saw you respond with a middle finger and lay further away, he changed his approach. "Fine, then what are y'gonna do ? You're my age, you have to be in school. Theres a general study where I go, im sure you could get accepted."

"Pfft, are you gonna miss me or something ?" You snickered. It's starting to sound like he wants you to come with him. Deep down, the thought of coming with him is sweet. It feels happy. But happiness doesn't last, and you doubt that that's what he means. You're just twisting it to tease him.

"What, like you won't ?" You sucked your breath in. What the fuck is he about to go on about ? "Why did you tell me about the League's plan tomorrow ? I know you would've loved to see my face when it randomly came up. Don't tell me you were trying to figure out what I was gonna do so you could gauge your next action ?" You could hear the smirk on his face.

"You're so stupid." You said, sounding unbothered. "Just tryna make sure you don't turn into one of my captors. Sure you'd love to flaunt that power imbalance in my face." You already knew this was not the case.

"Do you think im stupid ?" He groaned, annoyed at your excuse.

"Obviously, the fact you even asked when I made that clear is proof enough." You yawned, pretending to be bored of everything that was Katsuki Bakugou.

"The League is like your fuckin lap dog, if anything you'd just get control over me."

"You already are a dumb dog, I can control you as much as I want from inside this cell. Now shut up before I put you down."

"I'm really going to kill you someday."

[yjano]

Never The Same.

Part 5.

Pairings: Jake x Mc.

Warnings: Swearing, violence, angst, smut, other pairings;), traumatic experiences.

Words: 6.2k

Author's note: Honestly, this story is going to be a big piece of work and a lot of angst. It's not connected to the game at all. Because I always want to try something new and newer. Read it only if you're into angst stories, please. Thank you and let's go!

Nervous, that was the only way I could describe the feeling inside my chest. I tightly grasped the handle of the black bag I was holding. Today was finally the day of Jake's trial. I had spent weeks trying to come up with a strategy for my client's case and was pleased with the one I had come up with. If everything went exactly as planned, Jake would be walking out of the doors of the courthouse as a free man today.

A smile made its way onto my face, if everything went according to plan I would be without a doubt considered one of the best lawyers in the country.

The smile on my quickly faded away however and the nervous feeling inside my chest became even worse once I realized I would be sitting next to the most feared inmate in the country in less than an hour. Jake had attacked me once before, and I wasn't excited about a situation like that happening again.

Jake had proven himself to be dangerous and unpredictable, and I had underestimated my client during our second meeting. Slowly I shook my head a little, that was a mistake I wouldn't repeat.

As soon as I came near the courthouse I could already see a lot of interviewers with microphones and camera's waiting for everyone who was involved in the case. The case had quickly become national news once it was everyone knew Jake had been captured. His capture had been a hot topic ever since. Everyone was dying to know if Duskwood's most feared leader would be put on death row.

A smile made its way onto my face, and a sudden rush of confidence filled up my chest. Ikari and I had gone over the whole case multiple times, and by now her alibi was as solid as a rock. No way the opposite party would see this coming. Ikari was my joker, and I would make sure to use her when the opposite party wouldn't expect it.

Quickly I made my way toward the big beige building and as soon as the reporters saw me, multiple questions were immediately fired my way.

"Miss Estrada, what is your strategy for Mr. Dalton's case?" A woman with short hair asked and a fake smile immediately made its way onto my face.

Like hell I would give my strategy away, that would be the same as signing Jake's death sentence right here, right now.

"I'll use the plan me and my client have been through together." I lied, and after answering a few other questions about the case I quickly made my way toward the entrance of the big building. Multiple questions were still fired at me, but I decided to just ignore them.

I didn't have a lot of time. A nervous feeling suddenly filled my chest. Jake and I hadn't gone over my strategy together, and knowing how unpredictable the leader boss was, I could only pray Jake would just stay quiet and not say anything which could be used against him.

Once I walked into the courtroom a feeling of familiarity overwhelmed me. I had been standing in this exact courtroom many times before, and even though most of the cases I had been here for were small innocent things like a parking ticket or shoplifting, the room didn't give a different feeling now that I was here for the case of my lifetime.

A nervous feeling started to make its way into my chest once again while I thought of who the prosecutor of this case would be. Dante Hiller was known by many lawyers as fierce and hard to beat and the thought of having to go up against someone like him was terrifying to me.

This man was surely going to be a pain in the ass for me, of course, they would put someone like him on a case like this. The man I am defending is being accused of numerous horrible things. Of course, they wouldn't assign someone to this case who would be easy to defeat.

I shook my head to get rid of the negative thoughts in my mind and walked a bit further into the courtroom. Once I looked around, I noticed a lot of people already sitting down in the audience seats and I decided to quickly make my way down.

The sooner I would be able to go through my plan again the better. Once I looked around however I immediately spotted a few familiar faces.

The first person I locked eyes with was Ikari. She was sitting in the first row on the left side and wore an extremely nervous look on her face. She had never been in a courtroom before, and I guessed that the fact that Ikari had to testify didn't help her at all with her nerves.

Ikari nervously smiled at me once she noticed me and I quickly gave her a thumbs up. Without that girl, the case would surely be lost, so I was glad to see that she hadn't decided to back out last minute.

The second person I noticed was a pretty woman sitting on the right side of the room with a small girl sitting next to her. The woman was wearing an expensive-looking dress and had a blank expression on her face, and it looked like this person hadn't felt any emotion in a long time. The girl sitting next to her was around six years old and wore a cute dress. She was innocently playing with the woman's phone while a cute smile decorated her face.

I swallowed deeply once I recognized the two as Leah Silvano and her daughter, Eric Silvano's family. While the little girl probably didn't understand what was happening here at all, Leah surely did. The rich girl had come here for one thing only, to see the man who had killed the love of her life being sentenced to death.

Quickly I looked the other way and gripped the handle of the bag I was holding a little tighter. This wasn't the time to think about all the hurt Jake had brought upon people. I was here for one thing and one thing only. Win this case.

Soon I reached the table I would be sitting at together with Jake and quickly put down my bag. I quickly opened the zipper of the black bag I always used for work-related stuff and got out a few papers and a pen. I gripped the papers and read through them carefully. This was it, my whole strategy. I completely distanced myself from all my surroundings.

However, the doors to the courtroom opened with a loud bang, and four officers came inside. All of them were covering one side of the man walking in the middle, who was trapped in between them like a bird trapped inside its cage. The man was wearing an orange prison suit and metal handcuffs were decorating his wrists and ankles.

A ringing sound sounded through the courtroom with every step the prisoner made and soon he had reached the table I was sitting at.

I looked nervously to my left once Jake was placed on the wooden stool beside me. Jake Dalton gave off a scary aura and even though there were multiple officers present in the room now that he had arrived, I didn't like being this close to him. He was unpredictable, and I didn't like the fact that I couldn't foresee any of the moves Jake would make.

Jake, however, didn't even take a glance at me instead, he slowly started to scan the room he was sitting in as if he was looking for something and slowly I narrowed my eyes a bit. What the hell was he looking for?

I looked at him. Even though Jake was labeled as the biggest crimes boss in the whole country the guy wouldn't be much older than 26. The orange suit the prison had provided him was a bit too big around his waist and the black eye he had had the last time I had visited him had turned into a painful yellow color.

A sad look formed on my face, in a way I felt sorry for everything Jake had gone through. He had barely seen anything of what life could bring, yet almost everyone would love to see life being taken away from him already. So young, yet closer to death than ever.

Even though Jake had been nothing but a horrible person towards me, I decided to try one last time to tell Jake about the strategy I had come up with. Jake didn't have much of a choice anyway, because his future would be decided in the next couple of hours. Slowly I picked up my papers and put them in front of him.

"So, I would..." I started with confidence in my voice, excitement about my plan lacing my voice, but I was quickly cut off by Jake.

"Shut up pretty face, I'm not in the mood for your bullshit." He said, annoyance lacing his voice. Slowly I grew a fake smile on my face and retrieved my papers again. Jake truly was an idiot...

"Please stand up for the judge," One of the members of the jury said and Quickly I got up from my seat.

A few minutes ago the jury had entered the room, along with the prosecutor. The only person who was left to arrive was the judge, and once he would be in the room Jake's trial would officially start. The case would not only determine the future of him, but also my future.

If I would manage to win this case surely my life would never be the same. I quickly looked to my left, only to see Jake still sitting as comfortably as ever, and by the looks of it, he wasn't planning on standing up anytime soon.

Soon a tall man entered the room and took a seat behind the judge's desk. The man was wearing a typical judge robe, and a serious expression was visible on his face. He looked like he had been through a lot of important cases in his life.

Once the man had taken place behind the desk everyone sat down and the judge picked up some papers laying in front of him.

"I want to thank you all for coming today." The judge started in a serious tone and quickly continued.

"We've gathered here together for the case of the national government against mister Jake Dalton." The judge continued, while silence filled the room. Everyone was listening carefully to the words the judge was speaking, everyone except Jake. He still looked around the room and slowly an annoyed look took over his face.

"Mister Dalton is being accused of the following crimes..." The judge started and I was listening to everything the man had to say carefully until Jake softly started to tick against my shoulder. An annoyed look started to form on my face.

Maybe if I would just ignore him, he would stop. Jake however kept on ticking against my shoulder and I found myself completely unable to concentrate on the judge's words as long as Jake kept on irritating me. I shook my shoulder a little in an attempt to get him to stop.

Jake, however, wasn't planning on stopping until he got what he wanted, and after almost two minutes of his constant ticking against my shoulder, I had finally had enough.

"What?!" I whisper shouted while an even more annoyed expression quickly formed on my face.

"Do you know what time it is?" Jake softly whispered to me and a confused look quickly formed on my face. Seriously? This was what Jake was getting me out of my concentration. With a questioning look, I locked eyes with Jake who gave me a challenging look back.

"There isn't a clock here anywhere." He continued once he noticed I was not answering his question. A soft sigh left my mouth and I slowly turned my wrist in Jake's direction so that he could see my watch.

An evil smirk started to form on his face once he had looked at my watch and he softly whispered.

"Only one hour left..."

I simply decided to ignore my client and focus on the case again.

"Now I would like to hear the opening statement of mister Dante Hiller." The judge said and I quickly looked to my right, only to see Dante standing up from the wooden chair he had been sitting on and walking in front of the jury.

"Mister Dalton has committed a lot of horrible crimes, and therefore we ask that mister Dalton will be charged with the death penalty as he is considered a great danger to society," Dante said before slowly walking back and sitting down on the wooden chair he was sitting on again.

"Thank you, Mister Hiller, now I would like to give the word to Miss Mc Estrada, who speaks on behalf of mister Jake Dalton." The judge said while locking eyes with me. In return, I immediately stood up from my chair.

"Thank you, your honor," I said, trying my best to hide my nerves. It would be highly unprofessional of me to show everyone how nervous I was, and I was trying my best to hide the fact that I was nervous as hell.

"Mister Dalton has not committed any of the crimes he is being accused of, and therefore we ask for him to be released from all charges," I said, confidence lacing my voice. A small smile made its way onto my face, I didn't sound nervous at all, even though I was nervous. I had done an excellent job at hiding that fact.

"Thank you, Miss Estrada. Now Mister Hiller I would like for you to call your first witness to the front." The judge said and a smug smile made its way onto the prosecutor's face. The man slowly turned around and locked eyes with a certain black-haired tall girl.

"I would like to call Luca Perez to the front your honor," Dante said and the tall girl immediately made her way to the front, while a serious expression was clearly visible on her face.

A smirk slowly made its way onto my face, I had hoped for Dante to call Luca to the front. I had found a few holes in her story which could benefit Jake, and I would make sure to use them. Everything was going exactly how I had expected it to go.

"Please put up your right hand and answer the question," The judge said once Luca was seated beside him in the booth meant for the witness and the tall-haired girl quickly did as she was asked.

"Luca Perez, do you promise to speak the truth and nothing else but the truth?" The judge asked Luca and the girl immediately answered with a confident yes. A hint of hate was found inside the tall girl's eyes once she locked eyes with Jake, who in return did nothing but smirk back at the girl.

"Now Luca, can you please tell me exactly what happened on september 14th?" Dante asked while looking his witness in the eyes, a questioning tone lacing his voice. The girl softly nodded her head and turned to look at me.

"I was working like I always do when the bank I'm working at suddenly got filled with loud noises." The girl started, and I scoffed a little when she softly started to sob. She was being overdramatic on purpose, and it annoyed me a lot.

"Everything happened so fast, before I knew it two of my colleagues were lying dead on the floor, and I got a gun pressed against my temple." The girl said while a few tears escaped her eyes. She kept on telling me about the day of the bank robbery and slowly I got annoyed.

Even though what had happened that day was horrible, the black-haired girl was acting like her life had been over ever since. I had met the girl before, and when we had met Luca surely hadn't described that day as horrible as she was describing it now. This girl was faking her emotions to make it look worse, and I didn't like it one bit.

"You see ladies and gentlemen, this man is nothing more than a monster and therefore he should be sentenced to death," Dante said once Luca was done with her story. I quickly stood up once my opponent was done, finally getting my chance at asking Luca some questions.

I wasn't gonna lose this case.

"Miss Perez, can you exactly describe what the robber who put the gun against your head looked like?" I asked once Dante sat down. A nervous look overtook Luca's sad expression and she quickly started to play with her fingers. She knew what answer I was looking for.

"They were dressed completely in black and were wearing masks." She answered softly, but loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Ladies and gentlemen, how could miss Perez have recognized my client if the robbers were wearing masks?" I asked while a smirk started to make its way onto my face. Slowly I started to hear whispers all around me and a satisfied feeling took over my whole body.

I had succeeded in making the jury question Luca's story, and I saw that as a small win. Jake was still sitting in the same position as before, and he didn't seem to pay attention to the trial at all, something I thought was strange. How could you not pay attention to the case which would determine the rest of your life?

Soon the judge thanked Luca for testifying and told her to go back to her seat.

"Miss Estrada, can you please ask your witness to come to the front?" The old man asked me and I smiled politely at him. Finally, it was my turn to shine.

"Your honor I would like to ask Ikari to come to the front," I said and as soon as I dropped her name Jake immediately looked up. He was quickly looking around himself and an annoyed expression made its way onto the prisoner's face once he spotted the brown-haired girl he had been looking for.

"For god's sake can that whore never leave me alone?" Jake murmured, clearly annoyed by the fact that Ikari was here. A surprised look grew on my face, these two had been lovers, right? Why did Jake act like he didn't like seeing her?

"Ikari please put your right hand up and answer the question," The judge said while looking the brown-haired girl in her eyes. The pretty girl nervously nodded and did as she was told.

"Ikari do you promise to speak the truth and nothing else but the truth?" The judge asked my witness and she quickly answered with a yes. Slowly I stood up from my seat and walked closer to her.

"Ikari, what were you doing on the 31st of February at around 09.00 p.m.?" I asked a certain tone of curiosity in my voice. Of course, I knew exactly what the answer to this question was going to be. Eric Silvano had been murdered in his office on the 31st of February this year, and I was going to prove that Jake wasn't his murderer, with the help of Ikari.

"I was in my home, together with Jake," Ikari said a bit shy. Jake was staring intensely at Ikari and I was sure it must've made her feel weird. She probably hadn't seen her ex-boyfriend for a long time, yet here he suddenly was, creepily staring at her.

"And what were the two of you doing in your house?" I asked, trying to distract her from the intense stare she was getting from Jake. It didn't matter to me what these two had done together in the past, the only thing that mattered to me was the next words Ikari was going to say.

"We had sex all night, Jake didn't leave my house until the morning after," She said while a blush started to form on her cheeks. A feeling of pity started to form inside my chest, it must've been embarrassing for Ikari to say something like that in front of a lot of people.

"This is fucking bullshit, I haven't seen you in 3 years." Jake suddenly said, slowly standing up. As soon as the words left his mouth, my eyes became as big as saucers. What the fuck was he doing? The inmate was ruining my whole plan. Slowly he walked up to me and went to stand right next to me.

"I killed Eric Silvano." He suddenly said and a shocked expression made its way onto my face. What the fuck was happening right now? Why was Jake confessing to the crimes he committed?

"I did rob that bank, and I did kill all those people inside of it." Jake continued and I looked at him with disbelief in my eyes.

Everything I had done had been for nothing, Jake had decided to sign his death sentence and there was nothing I could do against it.

Suddenly everything went so quickly, one moment Jake was standing next to me, and the next he had pressed the metal chain of his handcuffs painfully hard against my throat. However before anyone could do anything the whole room was filled with a loud booming sound, followed by gunshots.

A scared feeling quickly started to build up inside my chest and I quickly closed my eyes. I tried to fill my lungs with air but found myself unable to do so because of the metal chain Jake was pressing against my throat. This surely must be a nightmare right?

My worst nightmare had always been not being able to breathe. The feeling of not being able to fill my lungs with air anymore absolutely terrified me, yet that was exactly what I was unable to do at the moment.

A ringing noise was filling my ears as a result of the explosion on the right side of the building. My vision was filled with black spots because of the lack of air in my system and the enormous amount of dust that filled the room as a result of the explosion.

Slowly the prisoner behind me was releasing the pressure on my throat a bit and immediately I gasped for air.

"You'll do exactly as I say, or Sina will pay for it."

I suddenly heard the deep voice of the prisoner whisper inside my ear and tears immediately filled my eyes. How the hell did Jake know my sister's name?

Quickly multiple tears escaped my eyes and were rolling down my cheeks. I couldn't risk anything if my sister was involved. It was me who decided to be the leader's lawyer, not my innocent little sister.

My vision became somewhat clear again and I looked with a terrified look at the scene happening in front of me. The complete right side of the courtroom had been blown up as it had never been there in the first place. There were pieces of the wall scattered around the whole courtroom and multiple people could be seen laying on the floor. A horrified look quickly made its way onto my face once I realized all the people on the floor were either passed out or dead.

Multiple people with black masks and dark clothes were standing too close to Jake and me. Those people were here for one thing and one thing only. Get Jake out of here and kill anyone who tries to prevent that. All the men and girls were standing in a circle around me and Jake, and they were holding pretty big guns.

"Release the girl!" One of the guards who had been standing next to the entrance of the courtroom screamed while he pointed his gun at the black-masked man standing in front of Jake.

More tears started to roll down my cheeks and a small sob made its way out of my mouth. I was scared as hell and I could only hope that the crime boss would do what the guard told him.

As soon as Jake started to laugh a little and shake his head, I knew that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

"How about you just give me the keys to these handcuffs," Jake answered the guard and even though I couldn't see my former client's face. I just knew that Jake would have a smirk on his face. He had been fearless back in prison, who knows what he would be capable of outside of it?

"You won't get them!" The guard screamed back and quickly Jake increased the pressure on my throat again. The suffocating feeling from before quickly returned and I instantly started to panic. My body was screaming for air and I was desperately tugging at the metal chain of Jake's handcuffs.

"I wasn't asking," Jake spoke while a hint of amusement could be detected in his voice. He was enjoying all of this and I started to panic even more. If I wouldn't able to get some air in my lungs. I would pass out soon.

"Kill him," Jake said and immediately after his words a booming sound sounded through the room. I immediately stopped tugging at the metal chain and slowly pressed myself a bit further against Jake's chest to decrease the pressure he was putting on my throat.

A few tears escaped my eyes once I saw the man who had tried to save my life fall lifelessly to the ground. A big red spot quickly formed on his chest and the smell of gunpowder soon filled my nostrils.

An evil laugh made its way out of Jake's mouth and the scared feeling inside my chest increased a lot. The man who was standing behind me was no human, he was a monster.

Quickly one of the girls dressed in black ran towards the lifeless guard and started to search his body for the keys. A few more tears escaped my eyes when I dared to look into the guard's open eyes only to find death and a scared look in them.

This man had died trying to save ignorant me who had thought I could get the biggest criminal in the country to cooperate with me. Why did I have to be so stupid?

Soon the girl found what she was looking for and quickly returned to Jake before starting to get the handcuffs off her boss. As the girl stood in front of me, I couldn't help but somehow recognize her eyes. Her eyes were the only part of her face that was visible, yet I was sure it wasn't my first time looking into this girl's eyes.

The black-dressed girl quickly looked away the moment she caught me staring at her and a confused look quickly formed on my face.

The moment both handcuffs were removed from Jake's hands. I immediately gasped for air, only to start coughing right after. Slowly I lifted my fingers to the spot on my neck where Jake had been painfully pressing the metal string of his handcuffs into my skin. A burning feeling immediately formed once I touched my skin and I softly hissed, this would hurt for a long time.

"Let's go." One of the other men said and Jake nodded before demanding a gun. I couldn't help but feel even more terrified now that Jake had both hands free. Even though he had been suffocating me non-stop when he was still handcuffed there was so much worse Jake could do now that he could move his arms freely. Hell, he even had a gun now.

"Hands behind your back," Jake said before pressing his gun against my temple. I quickly obeyed and a big lump started to form inside my throat. This would be it, Jake didn't need me anymore and would kill me now. I quickly squeezed my eyes shut and swallowed deeply.

However, instead of the deafening sound of Jake firing the gun, I felt a cold metal thing press against both my wrists. I slowly dared to open my eyes and a surprised look made its way onto my face.

Jake was putting his handcuffs around my wrists and a feeling of hope started to rise in my chest. Maybe they would just handcuff me and leave. However, the feeling of hope soon faded away once Jake spoke the following words.

"Let's head for the roof, Lexis you're in charge of my new toy."

Tears immediately started to stream out of my eyes non-stop once he had said those words. My life was over, once I would end up in the world where Jake belonged. I would be as good as dead. Why did he have to take me, why couldn't he just let me be?

The girl named 'Lexis' quickly went to stand behind me and gave me a soft push in the direction of the exit of the room once the rest of the group started to go in that direction. The group of them quickly made their way out of the courtroom, and I couldn't help but feel sick to my stomach at the sight of the countless bodies we passed when we made our way out of the room.

Did these people have no remorse at all?

All of them were walking at a fast pace, while they held their guns tightly in their hands. Soon we reached the stairs and quickly made our way upstairs, as soon as we reached the first set of stairs however I couldn't help but lose my balance.

Because my hands were cuffed behind my back, I didn't have any chance to catch myself and thus I fell onto the stairs with a hard smack.

Immediately a sharp pain shot through my left knee and a pained sob made its way out of my mouth. Immediately all of them looked at me, something which made me even more scared than I already was. All of them with guns were looking at me and I desperately tried to hold in my sobs.

"Stand up," Jake said once he kneeled to be at eye level with me. A demanding tone was lacing in his voice and out of fear I immediately tried to do so. Tears were streaming out of my eyes non-stop now and a terrified look was displayed across my face. Never in my life had I been this scared before.

Quickly I tried to do exactly as Jake told me to but immediately failed once a sharp pain shot through my knee again once I tried to put some pressure on it. I quickly lost my balance and closed my eyes, waiting for the impact of falling again. A surprised look made its way onto my face however once I felt two big hands grab my waist preventing me from hitting the ground.

I opened my eyes again, only to see the big hands of Jake surrounding my waist. He quickly moved closer to me and picked me up bridal style.

"Let's go, we can't waste any more time here," Jake said, a serious tone lacing his voice. All the people quickly nodded and began climbing the stairs again.

Every move Jake made felt like a sharp knife was piercing through my knee, and while I did my best to prevent myself from sobbing some of them still made their way out of my mouth.

Jake however didn't pay any attention to the sounds that came out of my mouth and were still quickly climbing the stairs.

Soon we reached the top of the stairs and one of the men with masks quickly opened the door outside. I squeezed my eyes a little once the bright light from outside hit my face and soon the group was standing on the roof of the courthouse. Immediately the loud noise of ambulances and police cars filled my ears and a spark of hope rushed up my spine. Maybe they would still be able to save me.

Suddenly loud noises from inside sounded through the door and all people quickly pulled their guns towards the door on the roof, except for Jake who was still holding me. These footsteps were surely those of the policemen and I hopefully looked at the entrance of the roof. They would be here any minute now.

"How much longer for the smoker to arrive?" Jake asked while he was looking around himself, almost as if he was searching for something. The sky had a bright blue color yet it was cold. Soon I started to shake softly while my lips slowly turned a bit blue. I had never been a fan of the cold weather and I was kind of thankful for the heat radiating from Jake's body.

Even though I didn't like the situation I was in one bit, I was thankful for the small amount of warmth I was able to get from

"Surrender or die!"

I suddenly heard someone scream nearby and a soft laugh erupted from Jake's mouth.

"They never learn, do they?" Jake asked and he quickly put me on the ground. A smirk was visible on his face once he put me down and I was scared to death about what would happen next.

"I'll teach them not to fuck with me," Jake said and immediately got a nod from the smallest girl of the group, the one I swore I had seen before. Jake quickly loaded the gun and tossed it around a bit as if it wasn't some deadly object he was holding. A serious look suddenly covered the former prisoner's face and he immediately pointed the gun toward the door the sounds were coming from.

"Surrender yourselves!" One of the guards screamed but was immediately put to silence once Jake planted a bullet right between his eyes. Slowly tears started to escape from my eyes again as I watched in horror how yet another lifeless body hit the ground with a thump.

The scene I was watching was like something straight out of a horror movie and I wanted nothing more than to just turn the tv off and go to bed. Unfortunately, this was my life right now and there was nothing I could do about it except hope one of the guards would hit their target.

After a few minutes of the police and the men in black firing bullets at each other, an unfamiliar sound was sounding in the distance and I slowly looked around myself. In the far distance, a black helicopter could be seen, and by the look of it, it was approaching fast.

"Fucking finally." Jake softly whispered as he quickly walked towards me again while his people were still shooting at everyone trying to come near him. Quickly the ex-prisoner put his arms around me again and swiftly lifted me from the ground.

Even though I was scared as hell of Jake who was holding me right now I couldn't help but snuggle a bit closer to him. The ground had been cold and I would do anything to get a bit of warmth in my system at the moment.

Soon the black helicopter was flying directly above the courthouse and it quickly started its landing, the helicopter was the biggest I had ever seen and the scared feeling in my chest started to get worse again. Once everyone would enter that helicopter it would be over. There was no way the police would be able to capture Jake and he would be a free man walking again.

But even worse, once we would enter that helicopter I would be considered a lost case. I would never be able to see my family or friends again.

And who knows what Jake would decide to do with me? Tears quickly started to stream down my face when visions of me being tortured and killed filled my mind. Whatever it was that Jake had in mind for me, it sure wouldn't be anything nice. Jake didn't seem like the type to have mercy on someone.

As soon as the black helicopter was standing on top of the courthouse Jake immediately made his way over toward it. A guy with long brown hair opened the door of the helicopter and a bright smile was plastered on his face.

"Hackerboy, finally done playing around?" The unknown guy asked while happiness lacing his voice.

"You bet I am, can you take her from me?" Jake answered his friend and the guy immediately started to nod. Carefully Jake handed me over to his friend and within no time I was sitting in a black leather seat. Within a few moments, the gang quickly got in the helicopter and once the long-haired bearded guy gave the signal to the pilot to take off we were gone. I was sure of it now. My life was over.

[whisker-biscuit]

The Lines We Cross: Chapter 18

The Eye of the Storm

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How long did you think we could make it? How far did you think we could take it? We couldn't be bothered, we didn't have time to think so far ahead...

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The ship was crawling with guards. They swarmed the deck and the hull and had even started spilling over the side of the ship to search lifeboats and the waters below. Flashlights, lanterns, and even welding torches bobbed and weaved all around to turn the relentless hunting into a deadly, mesmerizing light show.

Sly watched it all from his safe perch on top of the highest chimney of the tallest building he could find. Smoke curled up and around him, thick enough to obscure him in case anyone thought to look up but not so heavy that it was choking. He curled his rigid tail a little closer around his legs as the radio in his hand – swiped off the first person he came across before it became too dangerous to try – crackled to life.

“Any sign of him?” Asked whoever was the newest overseer over these men.

A chorus of no’s was the answer, and the first person growled.

“Keep looking. We’ll find him – there’s only so many places he can hide.”

The raccoon would have been amused by that if there was any room for it alongside the fear. For all that people claimed to be observant, they never thought to look up until it was too late. He glanced up himself, reflexively, and stared at the sun barely starting to peek out through the waning storm clouds. There was no dark shape in the sky; no prominent shadow present that wasn’t supposed to be there.

It did little to ease his mind as he looked back down at the deck and its light show.

When the storm machine began descending without any warning, a cacophony of confused voices shouted so loud that he didn’t even need the radio to hear them, and multiple searchlights turned towards the blimp’s windows as it touched down a little roughly at the ship’s bow. Raleigh’s goons were startled by the strange turn of events – and Sly could hardly blame them, since the frog almost never let his prized machine drop that low – until a new, horribly familiar voice quelled all questions instantly.

“No need for concern, chaps,” Raleigh said completely unphased, as though it was his decision to land the blimp and Sly’s hopefully-unnoticed partner. “If our little intruder wants to confront me directly, why should we deny him the privilege? Continue searching the rest of the ship in case this is a diversion, but otherwise leave my storm machine alone. We’ll soon see if this is an act of courage or cowardice.”

Sly gritted his teeth, equal parts angry and afraid, and took it as his cue to move. He crushed the radio against the brick beneath him with the blunt end of his cane, then dumped the broken tech down the chimney before heading across the rooftops towards the downed blimp. No one heard him and no one thought to look up just in case.

Just as their boss had ordered, there was not a single person hovering around the door to the blimp’s interior. The raccoon tested it and found it unlocked, which only served to spike his anxiety even higher. If there had been any remaining doubts about where Raleigh had hidden his portion of the Thievius Raccoonus, they had been banished straight away by this open invitation.

Mere moments after he had the thought, rapidly approaching footsteps made him whirl around with his cane at the ready, just in time to see the shadow of Inspector Fox hurrying around the side of a nearby building. Eyes wide, Sly folded his cane and frantically stuffed it in his backpack – just in time for her to turn the corner and see him waiting for her.

“Thank god, you’re still alright!” She breathed, audibly relieved as she came up to him with wary glances thrown over her shoulder. “I was worried the guards might’ve caught you before I could find you.”

“Nah, they’re too busy running around like headless chickens. It’ll take a lot more than that to catch me.”

Carmelita nodded like she hadn’t expected anything else. It made his heart swell dangerously. “Back-up is on their way, hopefully within the next hour now that the storm is winding down. I thought I should go ahead and try to nab Raleigh before he has a chance to do anything. Feel like joining me this time?”

“I think I’ll help you another way, actually. Those goons will come sniffing around here now that the blimp is grounded, and I don’t want them going inside and overpowering you with numbers. When they show up, I’ll play decoy and keep them away so you can stay one-on-one with the big guy.”

The lie fell a little more sluggishly off his tongue, but he didn’t let himself stumble over the words or why it was suddenly harder. Just to be sure he’d sold it, the raccoon made a meaningful scan of their surroundings as if worried someone might pop out any second, and he saw from the considering expression on his partner’s face that it was a successful play.

“…Okay,” she conceded, giving him a searching, concerned look. “I trust you to handle yourself, but don’t hesitate to get off the ship if it becomes too dangerous. I don’t want you getting yourself caught because you’re playing hero.”

“I won’t. Promise.”

“Good.”

Carmelita turned towards the door, hesitated, then turned back around to pull him into a hug. It startled him so bad that he let out a strangled squeak…but didn’t push her away. She seemed to realize what she’d just done, because she let go of him almost immediately with her cheeks blazing red through her fur. They stared at each other in the silence that followed until she ran her hand through her bangs and pivoted on her heel, leaving him stunned and unable to do nothing but watch her disappear inside the blimp.

It took almost an entire minute for his brain to reboot, and that was just enough time for him to deem it safe to slip in after her.

Sly followed the fox at a distance, unable to see her but not needing to with the way she barreled down hallways and up stairwells on a single-minded mission. His face was aflame and his thoughts were racing, and the only thing keeping him silent through his distraction was hard-trained instinct.

She had hugged him. She had hugged him. Surely, it didn’t mean anything. Surely that was something she did with all her work partners, just like the nickname thing. Surely, he was reading too much into it and turning it into something it wasn’t.

But what if he wasn’t reading too much into it? What if she – what if the hug actually meant something? The hug, and the compliments, and the sideways glances he’d been noticing lately that had seemed so weird at the time but now almost felt like –

He stopped moving. Took a few deep breathes, pulled out his cane and extended it, closed his eyes and grounded himself. It didn’t matter what he thought it all meant. Right now, what mattered was that she take down Raleigh, and that he steal back his book without either of them noticing. He could tangle himself up in knots over her intentions afterwards, when they were both out of danger and with an actual chance to talk.

Newly concentrated on the more important, more dangerous task at hand, Sly hurried to catch up to his partner – or at least, catch up to the distance he had been maintaining behind her. One final doorway ahead, he heard her voice echo out, angry and resolute. It made him slow to a stop just outside the new room so that he could peek inside and gauge the situation.

Carmelita, standing on a large lily pad on the outskirts of another huge indoor swimming pool, with her shock pistol in hand and the blimp’s windows forming a half ring behind her. Sir Raleigh, elevated at the far end of the room on a grandiose velvet throne with a sneer on his face as he spoke, letting the raccoon catch the very tail end of their back-and-forth.

“–obviously, I should have snuffed you out the minute I learned you had taken Muggshot down. So, without further ado, let me make amends by, what…?” He placed his hands together in gleeful anticipation and screeched, “bloating to gargantuan size, and squashing you like the insignificant bug that you are!”

Ruthless declaration made, the machinist’s throat swelled up so fast that he was suddenly three times his original size before either Inspector Fox or her unseen partner could even blink. The fox shouted and began shooting at him as he launched himself off of his throne towards the lily pad closest to her.

Sly took that as his cue.

He inhaled as deeply as he could and concentrated, feeling the effects of invisibility shimmering across his body like an inverse stage trick, and edged into the room by the outer walkway circling the entire place. His eyes darted all around the area, trying not to get distracted by the sight and sound of the fight taking place when he had very limited time. Carmelita could take care of herself; she had already proved that twice over, and he was no longer worried.

What was infinitely more important was finding those missing pages before either of them realized he was here.

The raccoon darted around to the platform the throne was sitting on, hauling himself up to it and somehow not exhaling through sheer willpower. Only once he was safely hiding behind the gaudy thing did he drop the technique to catch his breath, listening to his partner’s shouting alongside shock pistol shots and Raleigh’s occasional grunt of pain. Just to reassure himself, he risked glancing around the giant chair to study the situation.

Carmelita was jumping from lily pad to lily pad, dancing out of the way of the frog’s deadly hopping with ease and timing it with a barrage of electric bullets every time her feet hit solid ground again. Raleigh was tanking them surprisingly well, bloated as he was, and it was clear that endurance would be the winner of the fight.

It was…remarkable, truly, to see one of the monsters who had controlled his life for so long forced to cede ground to the whirlwind of a woman who was Inspector Carmelita Fox.

He crouched back down before he could be mesmerized by her actions, kicking himself for getting distracted, when he noticed a knob in the base of the throne. Daring to hope, Sly ran his fingers carefully around it until he found confirmation – four barely-perceptible lines formed a rectangle around the knob. It was a hidden safe, and there was only one thing he could possibly think of to be inside.

It was so much harder to open this one than Muggshot’s, and not only because of the battle raging just outside his flimsy cover. Raleigh, the paranoid tinkerer that he was, had turned the damn thing from a simple built-in safe to a complex mess of gears and locking bolts. Sly laid down on the cold metal floor and pressed his ear against it, forcing himself to block out everything that wasn’t the imperceptible click of a hundred tiny pins.

When he finally found the last gear and felt the lock give under his touch, Sly silently swung it open and could have cried in relief to see the pages of the Thievius Raccoonus sitting inside. He pulled them out, holding them just as reverently as all the others he’d retrieved, and started putting them into his backpack as he pushed the safe door closed with his foot. The sounds of fighting were still ongoing, and he glanced out to watch again.

Raleigh was significantly worse for wear; he was barely keeping his enlargement beyond his regular size and even at a distance, the raccoon could see the sheen of sweat and stress-mucus across his entire body. Carmelita, breathing heavily but looking mostly uninjured, had put distance between them again to reload her weapon. The former was shaking with exhaustion and rage, and the latter was shaking with tired triumph.

It was too far for the frog to jump to reach her before she could. The battle was almost over, and it was clear to both fighters and their hidden audience that the inspector was probably going to win it. Sly inhaled, half out of relief and half to trigger his invisibility again to sneak back out –

And then lost his breath entirely as Raleigh’s tongue flew straight out of his mouth, hitting the fox’s pistol with perfect accuracy.

The weapon was ripped from her hands by the sticky, muscular force, sent flying to the other end of the room and landing on an empty lily pad too far for her to reach in time as the machinist took advantage of her shock to bear down on her. He slammed into her so hard that she went flying as well, and Sly could only watch in horror as Raleigh cackled and poised himself for a jump that would surely squish her.

His cane was suddenly in hand. A scream crawled up out of his throat – a single, begging, terrified word.

“Carmelita!”

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Carmelita watched her shock pistol disappear from her grip as though it had happened to someone else. She had been so close to winning, so close to knocking the pompous criminal out for the count that his surprise attack had genuinely caught her off balance. She gasped, brain stalling on her lost weapon’s trajectory like a rookie fresh out of the academy for half a second too long, and half a second was all it took.

The full weight of the bloated frog rammed into her, sending her skidding backwards until she was forcefully stopped by the nearest wall. Her head smacked against metal and stars exploded across her vision. As the fox struggled to get her scrambled senses back under control, she felt rather than saw the shadow that fell over her from above.

“Carmelita!”

Sly’s shout was like a shock of static in her mind. She rolled sideways out of reflex, just in time for Raleigh to slam the ground beside her with enough force to make the ground shake. A cold, slimy hand shot out and grabbed her by the throat before she could react again, hoisting her up to the tips of her boots.

“Do my ears deceive me, or did I just hear our lost little vagabond?” He sneered, holding her aloft as he looked around the deceptively empty room. “I wondered how you could have possibly made it out here alone. Have you been gallivanting around with this trollop while she’s been taking us out one by one?”

He shook her. Carmelita grunted and clawed at his grip to no avail. It was getting hard to breathe.

“I don’t have time for games, Sly. Come out, now, before I pull this wench’s innards out through her –”

There was a flash of gold and blue out of the corner of her eye, moving with the speed of a bullet as Sly came flying down like a targeted missile – and that target was Raleigh. The raccoon swung – something, in his hand – in an arc, and it made contact right between the frog’s eyes with all the force his lithe body could muster. Raleigh staggered backwards, dropping Inspector Fox with a disoriented shout of pain and anger, who got her hands under her just before her head could hit solid ground for the second time in minutes.

She looked up, vision no longer swimming, and saw Sly half crouched in front of her, a protective barrier between her and Raleigh. The fur all along his neck was stiff and prickly, and she could now clearly see the thing he was holding; a golden cane with a long brown handle, at the ready for another swing. It was familiar in a way her mind refused to process, too delayed by the blow to her head, and the fact that he was here, had just saved her life, and…

And that Raleigh…knew his name?

The frog had deflated from the blow, and now he stared at the spectacle before him with a hand at his head. His expression twisted from furious pain to cold, calculated understanding in seconds.

“So that’s how it is,” he sneered. “I knew Muggshot and Mz. Ruby had been brought down way too easily, and now I know why.”

Raleigh somehow sounded both angry and delighted. It sent a shiver up Carmelita’s frozen spine, and she could see Sly beginning to minutely tremble.

“You traitorous little whelp. What did they offer you to sell us out, hmm? Money? Reduced sentencing?”

His eyes danced with terrible joy.

“Freedom?”

It was like a spell had been cast; Sly went completely stiff, and the criminal smirked. Inspector Fox struggled to make sense of everything as her eyes darted between Raleigh, and her partner, and the cane he was holding.

It was familiar. Why was it so familiar?

“Do you really think they’re on your side? That they won’t turn on you for who you are and what you've done? Do you think that she –” he gestured to Carmelita, still uselessly gaping, “– won’t cast you to the sharks as soon as you outlive your usefulness?”

The raccoon didn’t turn his head to look at her. But she could see his cane lowering, bit by bit, and she would have yelled at him to keep his guard up if not for the way her gaze couldn’t seem to leave the thing in his hands.

It looked like…

“You’re lying.” Sly’s voice was shaking.

“Am I?” Raleigh gave him a pointed, smug look, then made a show of looking the fox up and down. “I recognize you. You’re that new inspector Interpol has been toting around. What was it they called you? A ‘perfect paragon of law and justice’? Please.”

The frog turned back to Sly.

“Someone like her isn’t going to give you what you want.”

“And I’m supposed to think you are?” He asked, a hysterical edge to his voice even as they both watched the fight slowly drain out of him. “I know what you’ll do to me. I know I won’t get any mercy from you.”

What the fuck is going on? Her mind screamed for an answer as if either of them could hear it. What are you talking about? Why do you know each other?

Why does that cane look like –

“Oh, quite right, I won’t be merciful in the slightest. But at least I’m honest with you, brat, and I can honestly say that I’ll let you live despite the stunt you’ve pulled. We both know your fate will be so much worse if you keep doing what you're doing. Or did you already forget what happened the last time you tried to –”

“Don't,” the raccoon whispered. He sounded on the verge of a breakdown. Carmelita could relate.

“Then stop pointing that bloody cane at me and come here.” Raleigh snapped his fingers like he was summoning a butler. “If you do that right now, I promise I won’t let it slip about your little…escapades. Give me the cane, and all the pages you’ve stolen, and the status quo continues without a word of your failure to my dear old friend.”

Stolen. Sly had stolen something from the others. He had stolen from these criminals with that cane.

Realization was a bullet hole through her heart.

Inspector Fox watched in disbelief as her partner – the raccoon – the thief – began to shuffle towards the grinning frog, tail limp and body resigned. Closer and closer, never once looking back at her, until he was nearly in Raleigh’s reach. Then he finally looked at her, and she wondered what expression was on her face for his to close off so thoroughly.

Then, with whatever fight was left in him, Sly swiveled around and swung his cane so hard and so fast that it was a golden blur that collided with Raleigh’s temple. The machinist crumpled where he’d stood, the last of his strength spent with that final blow, and the raccoon stood over him looking white as a sheet.

Finding it hard to get her feet under her with the way her legs still turned to jam, Carmelita forced herself to stand up as everything around her bled away except for Sly in front of her and the perfect clarity now inside her head.

“…Sly,” she said, if only to finally find her voice. “What was that.”

It wasn’t a question. He didn’t respond.

“What the fuck was that?” She repeated, as clarity drained into shock into anger into heartbreak into anguish. “You knew each other. You knew each other. He called you by name. You – he – you worked for him. You’ve been working for him! You’ve been working for all of them!”

His fingers clenched tighter around that cane, but he still didn’t answer. Didn’t even look up.

“And then you – he said you stole something. What did you steal?!”

Silence.

The fox could feel tears gathering in her eyes. “All this time. All this time! All this goddamn time we’ve been working together, and you acted like you wanted to help me! You acted like you weren’t just playing me like a fiddle this entire goddamn time!”

She curled her hands into fists, digging nails into skin, trying desperately to keep the tears from overflowing and wishing they were only there because she was so angry.

“Was I just a means to an end for you? Some – some overly-trusting cop you could use to do the dirty work while you stole from your fellow criminals?”

Sly stared down at the frog at his feet. Carmelita wanted to scream; to grab him by the shoulders and shake him until he at least gave her the courtesy of looking at her.

“Tell me right fucking now, Sly!” She growled. “Was it all just some elaborate con?!”

“.................At first it was.” And oh, how she had to strain just to hear that whisper. “When I first helped you find Muggshot, in Mesa, I thought I could just wait for your raid party to show up. Get what I needed during the chaos while you were all too busy killing each other to notice.”

He finally looked up at her, and suddenly she wished he wouldn’t.

“But then you went in and fought him on your own, and – and you won.” The awe in his voice was just as potent as that night in Muggshot’s hotel lobby. She didn’t know whether to cry or curse. “So then I thought, “maybe I’ll stick around her for a little while”. Just a night or two until things had cooled down. Until I was sure it was safe. It was better than being out in the open, right?”

The fox wasn't sure if he was talking about Interpol, or the gangsters, or the Five themselves. And the way he said it – as if he expected her to sympathize with his deception – made her want to vomit. When she didn’t respond, Sly made a twitchy movement with his head like he was a marionette. Like he was the one who’d been strung along all this time, and not her.

“You have to understand,” he pleaded, a desperate edge to his voice while she could slowly but surely feel herself turning to stone. “Carmelita, it was about survival. I had never met anyone strong enough to stand up against them and come out alive. When I saw you coming down those stairs that first night, I thought – I could get out with you. I wouldn’t have to do anything they said ever again.”

You’re saying it like you didn’t already have a choice, her thoughts rang out in her head. If they got loud enough, maybe he would hear them. You’re saying it like you couldn’t just decide to stop being a criminal and turn your life around.

Carmelita’s eyes broke from his to fall on the disastrous aftermath of the fight with Raleigh.

Her shock pistol, halfway across the room.

“Then why come with me?” She asked, quick, before he could see where her attention had gone. “If you were so desperate to get away from…‘everything’, why didn’t you just leave after Mesa? Why join me on a case that would put you in danger if you really wanted out of it?”

Her voice came out steadier than she felt. Sly flinched under it.

“Because they all took something from me,” he said, and she could see stained papers just barely peeking out of his half-unzipped backpack that surely had not been there before. “And with you, I knew there was a chance to get it back.”

An open wall safe and a broken window. Snuffed candles surrounding an empty pedestal. Private, printed emails. Insight about the Five that the public had not been privy to. Stealth and surefootedness and secrecy.

That cane. That cane. That cane.

Sly was staring at her. Waiting for her to say something, or do something. Absolve him of guilt, perhaps, for the part he’d played in all of this. He was staring at her and waiting – hoping – for her to save him, like she had on an abandoned street in Mesa.

But he had been a civilian back then. And now…

“I…I have one more question, Sly.” It came out as a whisper, but it rang through the still air like a gunshot. Her mouth was dry and her heart was pounding in her chest.

He looked at her.

She looked at his cane.

“What’s your last name?”

It was like she had slapped him. His expression was perhaps one of the worst things she’d ever seen. Slowly, his arms – that cane – fell to his sides, and the reeling betrayal twisting up his face fell away into the cold, flat stare of the criminal he truly was.

“I think, Inspector,” resigned, deadened eyes met her own, “that you already know the answer.”

She ran.

Ran for the other end of the room towards her weapon. The whistle of something flying through the air was her only warning to duck as a golden blur swung right where her head had just been. She used the momentum of the dodge to turn the forward stumble into a roll, narrowly avoiding another swing that had been aimed at her legs.

Her pistol was right there. She stretched for it, desperate, when he physically collided with her and sent them both sprawling. They wrestled in a tangle of furious limbs, each grappling for the upper hand and terrified of what might happen if they didn’t get it.

She was stronger than him, with more hand-to-hand combat training. Her legs wrapped around his knees like a vice to stop his kicking, and she rolled them both over to press her full body weight on top of him. Her hands reached for his left arm –

Cold metal touched her neck.

Carmelita froze, staring down at the heaving raccoon who had hooked the crook of his cane around her throat just under her chin. He was still pinned, but his hand was tilted at just the right angle that a single jerk of his wrist could snap her neck. Time stopped as they stared at each other.

“Let – let me g-go,” he commanded quietly, voice trembling but devoid of emotion.

She gave a shaky exhale.

“Let me go or I’ll kill you.”

She wanted to call his bluff. She wanted to roll her eyes and tell him he wouldn’t ever do anything like that, and then they’d both get up and laugh about it and move on like they always did. Forget this moment and this day and every decision she’d ever made to step foot on this godforsaken ship.

Neither of them was laughing now; she could see the fear and desperation in his eyes under that careful layer of blankness. There was no joke about this.

He would kill her.

Slowly, the fox pulled herself off of him, painstakingly aware of the metal pressed flush against flesh. Their eyes never separated as he shimmied out from under her, and his taut grip on the cane never wavered. Once they were no longer touching, she sat back on her heels and carefully raised her hands in the air.

“Put them on your head.”

She did so.

Everything about Sly was robotic. His eyes were bottomless pits of nothing. “I’m going to stand up, and you’re going to stand up with me.”

They got to their feet together. Her neck was starting to ache. She didn’t dare move further.

The raccoon, the criminal, finally broke eye contact to look down at the ground. The shock pistol was sitting practically at their feet. She had been so close to beating him, to catching him. He looked back up at her and she almost swore she saw some of that detachment in him crumble.

Just for a moment, he looked sad. So very, very sad.

“Goodbye, Inspector Carmelita Montoya Fox,” he said, and she tensed as she felt the shift in him. Her instincts screamed as she prepared herself for the worst.

He drew his leg back.

“It's been fun.”

Sly kicked the shock pistol as hard as he could. It skipped across two lily pads and slid to a stop right on the edge of a third one, teetering over Raleigh’s personal pond. His cane came off her neck at the exact same moment, and he bolted.

They both did.

Inspector Fox ran after her pistol a second time, but the raccoon didn’t follow her. She jumped on the pad her weapon was balancing on and immediately dove to catch it before it could fall into the water. The sound of shattering glass rang in her ears as she turned with her weapon held high, just in time to watch him throw himself through the broken window of the blimp.

She sprinted for the gaping hole, staring down at the dark ocean waters below and searching for any sign of the partner who had betrayed her on every conceivable level.

But there was nothing to find.

Sly Cooper was gone.

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How bad did we want it, and good did it feel - driving fast, until we crashed into each other's hearts...

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A/n: So uh. Is now a bad time to say I'm going to be on vacation till the end of October?

I promise I won't leave y'all on such a horrible cliffhanger for that long. I'm planning to update again this Wednesday night as a sort of apology gift before I go, and hopefully that will tide folks over until I get back. I swear to god I did not plan it out this way, but the last two hiatuses pushed everything down farther than I expected, so it was just a not-so-happy coincidence.

Anyway, this chapter. Ohhhh this chapter. I've had the reveal planned since the beginning - the scene where Raleigh outs Sly was one of the first things I wrote when I started giving the AU more thought, and that was over a year ago now. I've been sitting on this for a while. Hopefully it was just as soul-crushing to read as it was to write.

[matryosika]

Untitled #4

pairing — changbin x reader

genre — smut 18+

word count — 6.4 word of pure smut

warnings — bodyguard!changbin, bratty!reader, slight bulging kink, female masturbation, oral (m), squirting, slight voyeurism, degradation, humiliation, overstimulation, salirophilia, use of petnames, slight corruption kink, very very mild impact play, multiple orgasms, unprotected sex, cum eating, body cumshot, breeding kink, creampie.

note — i think this one came out way more filthy than other things i have written, but i am happy with it. it has more smut than actual plot and even though i thought it was going to end up being a timestamp drabble, i got too carried away? anyways, i hope you enjoy! sorry for it being too long. please remember that english is not my first language and if there are any grammar mistakes, i will correct them asap. and on the note, since i am writing about changbin, i have received several asks about shoot me. i should update it soon, i know! i did face a writers block while doing it and, even though i wrote a fairly amount of things, i havent been able to open my drive because i feel like it doesn't meet my expectations lmfao, i am indeed procrastinating. but i do feel sad reading those asks because i want to give you all a closure, so i will work hard.

"come on, let me out" you yelled in exasperation, banging on the door several times to attract changbin's attention, "i'll be back before midnight, i promise".

"your parents gave me strict orders that i must follow" he limited to respond, standing outside of your bedroom door while scrolling through his phone.

"oh, come one" you hissed, throwing your high-heels around the room, "you are so fucking annoying".

changbin smiled to himself, thinking that he was finally going to have a moment of peace. but, out of all the people in the world, he knew well that peace and your name couldn't even be spelled in the same sentence.

he had been working with you and your family for months now, usually while having them around. he would often drop and pick you up at the university campus, he would accompany you to all your weekend hangouts with friends and made sure that you didn't get on trouble nor danger.

as if your parents were not annoying enough, forcing you to have someone behind your back at all times, it was their profession who always had them on alert. being successful lawyers who did all the dirty work no one wanted to do came with consequences that forced them to be prepared with whatever, that being the main reason behind them being uptight.

"you can wait for me outside the party" you mumbled against the door once again, hoping to get changbin's attention for him to unlock it, "i promise i will behave".

"your parents are out of town and they told me you weren't allowed to go out. not even out of your room because of that last time you escaped to go to your friend's house and returned 3 days later." changbin replied with a serious tone, resting his head on the wall behind him while your last words rubbed him in a way that they didn't need to.

i promise i will behave.

"then, can you hang out with me?" you queried from the other side of the door, one of your brows arched eager to hear his response.

however, it wasn't what you expected.

"y/n, please let me do my work".

"god," you groaned in frustration, kicking the mattress of your bed, "it must suck to be 23 and be as bitter and boring as you are".

changbin scoffed at your comment. it wasn't that he was a bitter or boring man, but he understood that that was only the part you knew about him. he strived to be completely responsible and professional at his job so he couldn't go around doing things that could get him in trouble or damage his image in front of his bosses.

having a close relationship with you being one of them.

"changbin, i am hungry" you mumbled once again, waiting for him to open the door so you could storm out of your room before he could catch you.

as far as you were concerned, there were not many of your father's bodyguards that night since they all traveled abroad with him so trying to escape from just one wasn't going to be such a hard task. it wasn't like you hadn't done it before.

"order something and i will pick it up for you, then i will bring it into your room" he responded, again, unbothered.

"can i go to the kitchen?" you inquired, resting your head on the cold surface of the door.

changbin lifted his gaze up from his phonescreen, wondering if he was being too harsh on you. even though your parents did tell him to keep an eye on you, they never mentioned anything about you being around the house as long as he was there with you.

locking his phone and carefully placing it on the pockets of his black pants, one of his hands reached out for the keys to your bedroom and proceeded to unlock the door.

as soon as you heard the noise, you couldn't help but smile to yourself. isn't he so naive?

he opened the door slowly, looking at you to see any kind of impulsive action or weird behavior. however, you just stood there in front of him with your pink tight dress on, your leather purse in one hand and your high-heels on the other.

"wh-"

"i will be back at midnight, alright?" you rushed to say, pushing him away from the door so you could start running downstairs and leave by the kitchen door.

however, you underestimated how qualified changbin was to do the work of a bodyguard. it didn't took him more than 5 seconds to approach you and grab you by the waist, your hands being forced to drop both your purse and your shoes at the start of the staircase.

"didn't you say you were going to behave?" he groaned as you struggled to run away from his grip.

for a minute, as much as you were embarrassed of admitting it, you didn't wanted to stop struggling against him.

feeling his body pressed against yours with such strength was turning you on. his arms around your waist and your arse brushing against his crotch was something that you were most definitely not going to forget. the way his heavy breathing sounded in your ears along with the smell of his cologne was as heavenly as you ever imagined it to be.

"you are just a little brat who doesn't know how to follow orders," he grunted, picking your body up and walking you back to your room.

and, even though your mission failed atrociously, you were not completely upset.

you were still going to have fun that night, although your plans had changed.

"get to sleep," changbin panted while forcing you inside of your room, closing the door as soon as you stepped foot in it, "and stop talking to me".

you rolled your eyes in annoyance, feeling how your whole body burned just by the few seconds you were close to changbin.

saying he was attractive was an understatement, and saying that his only charms were physical traits was a lie. there was so much to him that you couldn't understand, and you realized how difficult it was going to be having him around since the very first day your father introduced him as your personal bodyguard.

his smile, his voice, his hands, his body, the way he dressed, talked, acted and smelled... all of him was an invitation for you to dive into your filthiest and darkest fantasies, ones that you wouldn't even dare to say out loud because of how embarrassing they were.

you had always dreamed about him in between your legs, making you cum while having you begging for more and more. and, even though you had thought about approaching him with such an indecent proposal, it was very rare to be left completely alone with him in an intimate space.

until tonight, of course.

"if you are not letting me go out," you sighed, collapsing in your bed with your back resting on the mattress and your eyes fixed on the ceiling, "can you at least help me?"

"what do you need?" he queried, still outside of your door.

"i was going to meet up with someone," you mumbled, stretching your whole body on top of the bed, "you know..."

"y/n-"

"since you are not giving me permission to go out, it's only fair that you take care of the job" you pouted, your right hand caressing your whole body on top of the thin, pink fabric of the dress you were wearing as you awaited for his reponse.

"get to sleep," he replied, the tone of his voice dropping while closing his eyes, bringing back the memory of your body in that short dress, "read a book, i don't know-"

"i am not in the mood for that," you slightly wined, your nipples getting harder under your underwear begging to be touched, "just come into my room".

"you know i can't do that, y/n" he spoke. this time though, you could feel the torture in his voice. you knew he needed it just as much as you so, with the right amount of pressure, it was going to be easy for him to give in.

"there is no one around," you mumbled, spreading your legs opened while your digits caressed your wetted slit, "and i promise not to tell anyone so, what's stopping you?"

no response from him.

"they gave you strict orders for not letting me out of the house but they never said anything about fucking their daughter, am i right?" you queried once again, your fingers teasing to pull your own panties to the side, "i don't understand why you wouldn't fulfill my plea".

"my job is to take care of you," he hissed, his head slightly banging on the wall behind him as he tried his hardest to maintain his posture, "nothing else."

"then take care of me properly," you replied, feeling a tension growing in your lower back that just needed to be released, "come inside and take care of me".

"y/n..."

"or is it that i am not attractive?," you rushed to say, thinking about how you were going to play your cards this time around. "if you don't want to fuck me because i am not your type, just say so, you don't need to make up excuses about your job".

"get to sleep, yeah?" he repeated again, his eyes closed shut while your words lingered on his mind over and over again.

"is that it? you don't find me attractive?" you insisted, running your fingers along your wet panties. "that's such a pity, because i find you incredibly attractive".

changbin's cock twitched inside of his pants, feeling light-headed because he never thought he would hear those words coming out of your lips.

"you are so, so, so attractive changbin" you whined, sliding your panties to your side while your digits got coated in your own juices, "just now, when you were forcing me back into my room, i got so wet".

changbin swallowed hard at your words, all the blood in his body traveling down to one particular point.

"if you don't want to fuck or see me," you panted, spreading your legs even more, "can you at least hear how i touch myself thinking of you?"

"y/n, please don't tempt me" changbin whispered, but it wasn't loud enough for you to hear it.

"just listen to me," you moaned, pumping two of your fingers inside your cunt, "how bad i need someone to fill up my holes".

changbin's erection was starting to hurt inside of his tight pants and he couldn't ignore the uncomfortable, yet arousing feeling of being hard.

"are you hard already, changbin?" you questioned with a whine, rubbing circles on your clit with one hand while the other worked on your cunt.

changbin's hand traveled instinctively to his bulge, palming and teasing himself while he struggled to keep his mind clear.

"come on," your lewd noises were coming out louder than before and he was on the brink of opening that door just to see you. no touching, no fucking, not anything else. he just wanted to admire you and move on, just to stop torturing his mind thinking about how could you possibly look while playing with yourself, "please come and fuck me, my fingers aren't enough".

the mixture of your words, his heavy breathing, fast heartbeats, growing bulge and dizzy mind drove him to take one of the worst decisions he could ever take that night: opening the door.

and there you were, laying with your dress slightly pulled up and your legs spreaded, two of your fingers buried deep into your cunt while your hips bucked mercilessly against nothing.

"see, i know you were smart," you panted, licking your lips without breaking the eye-contact with him, "it is more fun when you get to look, isn't that right?"

changbin's gaze fixed on your glistening cunt that was practically ready to be used, admiring how your digits got lost inside of it wishing it was his big cock instead.

"it feels so good," you moaned, your eyes falling to the pleasant sight of his bulge under his pants, "but i bet you would feel ten times better".

changbin licked his lips with both of his hands inside the pockets of his pants, not caring to hide his growing erection at all. the more he saw you and listened to your whines, the more prominent and uncomfortable it got.

slowly, his hand started to caress his bulge on top of the fabric of his pants, the scene ending up being way more filthy than you could ever imagine.

"i know you want to fuck me," you moaned, moving your hips against the mattress while you fucked yourself, "why do you keep resisting it?"

changbin's serious demeanor wasn't unusual, but still- you couldn't help but feel frightened by the way he was looking at you. he looked even more intimidating than he usually did and, as much as you loved it, you didn't know what to expect from it.

"please changbin-" you cried while bucking your hips against your fingers, increasing the pace of them, "don't you want to fuck me? don't you want to know how it feels to be inside my pussy?"

the thing that had him on edge the most was how wet you were. the lewd noises your fingers made everytime they fuck themselves into you had him seeing stars, thinking about how delicious you would feel while clenching around him.

the only thing stopping him from fucking you was himself. and god, how much he hated himself for that.

"i am so close," you whispered, closing your eyes and letting your head fall down onto the pillow, "fuck, i am going to cum".

it was only after hearing those words that he decided to act on them, slowly walking towards your opened legs and placing one of his hands on your thigh, the tip of his digits barely touching your skin but still managing to send shivers down your spine.

"please make me cum" you begged, still with your eyes closed and your sore fingers sloppily working on your cunt, "i need you to be the one who makes me cum, please".

changbin couldn't control himself any longer. you were on full disposal for him, wet and ready to be used as he pleased. the way your pussy and asshole throbbed at the anticipating orgasm had him on edge, his bulge starting to feel unpleasantly painful while the need of it to be released grew stronger.

"make yourself cum," he mumbled for the first time in a while, "or is that something too hard for you to do on your own?"

your heart sank at his words, the desire of making yourself cum for him growing bigger and bigger by the second.

"go on," he hissed, slapping your thigh softly, "prove to me how much you want to have those holes filled".

you arched your back against the mattress, eyes turning white while they rolled to the back of your head. changbin's soft slaps increased their roughness, making you scream in pain right before cumming for him.

"is this getting you on?" he queried, holding your leg with one hand while the other alternate between your thighs, slapping them, "you filthy slut".

it was those words what made you reach your climax, moaning in pleasure and pain while you tried to close your legs and withdraw your hand from your cunt. nonetheless, he was quick to stop you.

"you were begging just a few seconds ago to be fucked and yet one orgasm is all you can take?" changbin asked, forcing both of your legs open while you were still at the highest point of your climax, "make yourself cum again".

"i can't-" you shyly cried, every single friction becoming overstimulating for your sore cunt. changbin was mad and, as wicked as that was, it only made him ten times hotter to your eyes.

"you made yourself cum once and you can't keep on going," he scoffed, keeping both of your red thighs opened for him, "what makes you think you will be able to take my cock properly?"

your back arched again, feeling the painful pulsations every time you rubbed your digit against your bundle of nerves.

"can you h-help me?" you whispered, realizing that your second orgasm wasn't that far from happening but you were just too sensitive to keep on touching yourself on your own.

he dragged his fingers lazily from your thighs all the way to your drenched core, even the slightest touch of his digits making you buck your hips in anticipation, "i'll only help you if you promise to keep that pretty mouth shut the rest of the night".

"you know i can't do that", you scoffed, the soft laugh getting lost in a painful whine.

"if you are not going to shut up," changbin groaned, two of his fingers sliding inside your throbbing cunt making you let out a faint cry, "then make sure to put on a good show for me".

you rolled your hips against his fingers, voluntarily clenching around them just to tease changbin even more. your digits kept on working on your bundle of nerves, trying to maintain the same steady pace changbin was fucking you with his fingers.

"can i tell you a secret?" you weakly whispered, trying your best to keep both of your eyes open, "can i?"

"tell me" he mumbled, biting his lower lip while the veins on his neck and arms became more prominent.

"no one has ever made me cum before," you panted, rolling your head back while you felt the overwhelming mixture of pain and pleasure, "and i mean it".

changbin tilted his head, letting out a smug smile while he curled his fingers inside your walls, automatically hitting that sweet spot that made your hand grab onto the bed sheets.

"my dumb slut," he hissed, leaning towards you without stopping his work on your cunt, "is it that you are hard to satisfy or that the cocks you fucked didn't know how to treat you properly?"

he curled up his fingers one more time, making you close your legs around his arm almost instantly, "i am guessing the second one".

"changbin-" you moaned, wrapping both of your hands against his wrist between your thighs, "fuck, changbin".

"do you want me to stop?" he whispered near your ear, his deep voice making your whole body tremble, "or do you want me to keep on going?"

"slow-" you cried, trying to hold back your orgasm, "fuck, i-"

however, he didn't followed your request. instead of slowing down, his fingers acquired a much faster and deeper pace, brushing against your g-spot every time they reached the deepest spots in your cunt.

"changbin, i am cumming" you cried, trying to push his hand away from you but he was much more stronger, "changbin-"

and before you could say or do anything else, your arousal started dripping out of you like never before. it made a mess everywhere, on your panties, on your bedsheets and on changbin's arm that was now glistening with your arousal.

"oh my fucking god" you moaned, covering your face with both hands while his digits ran along your wetted slit trying to collect the most of your orgasm, "i am sorr-"

his fingers parted your lips and pushed themselves inside your warm mouth, forcing you to taste yourself. "clean them up," changbin commanded, his swollen lips slightly parting at the same times yours did, "all the way down to my knuckles".

with tears in your eyes and trembling body, your tongue collected all of your arousal off of his fingers.

this was another whole side of him, one that you never thought it existed. he had always been a sweet and caring man around your parents, serious when he needed to be and, most importantly, very professional about his job. whenever he wasn't working, he seemed to be a pretty decent man with a pretty decent life.

yet, just like you, he had a filthy side that you never thought you would discover before.

"undress yourself for me" he pleaded, wanting to have you all naked for himself. it didn't took you long to fulfill his request, taking off your panties, dress and bra.

"i bet you can take one more orgasm, can't you?" he groaned while pulling his fingers out of your mouth, his words making you tremble under him almost immediately.

you looked at him with hesitant eyes, wanting to keep on going but afraid that three orgasms a night was about pretty much you could handle. as much as you loved the feeling of his fingers fucking your cunt harshly, you wanted something else.

something he could give you.

"i want you to fill my mouth," you whispered in between gasps, your needy eyes making changbin feel a thousand different sensations in just one moment.

"since you are so good with words to the point that you can't shut up," he hissed, gripping a fistful of your hair and forcing your head to keep the eye contact with him, "why don't you describe me exactly what tou want?"

suddenly, you felt shy. the teasing and bratty y/n disappeared as soon as changbin asserted his dominance on you, making you cum for the first time that night by just slapping your thighs and whispering filthy words.

"word by word, i want to hear those filthy thoughts of you out loud," he commanded, "i want you to realize how pathetic you sound while begging for me".

you licked your lips as tears started to prick in the corners of your eyes due to the embarrassment but, as much as you wanted to deny it, it was turning you on maybe a bit too much.

"i want to be kneeling in front of you," you mumbled with broken words, still feeling your cunt throbbing, "and i want you to force your cock inside my mouth until i am gagging and crying around it".

"keep on going" he ordered, unzipping his pants with his available hand and pulling them down to reveal his hardened erection.

"i want you to fuck my face until i beg for you to stop" you sighed, your eyes fixed on his erection. it was big, bigger than you had anticipated, "i want you to degrade me while you use my mouth over and over again".

"arent you a cute little fucktoy?" he queried, kneeling on the bed while he aligned his length with your mouth, "when was the last time you fucked?"

"a while ago" you admitted, feeling his soft tip parting your lips.

"i can tell," he replied, caressing your hair and pushing it away from your face, "only a slut in heat would touch herself for people to hear".

without giving you a proper warning, he thrusted his cock inside your warm hole, making your whole body squirm on the bed. "be a good fucktoy and take it all in" he groaned, letting out small sighs each time his cock reached a deepest spot in your mouth.

slowly, he pulled out only to slam his hips again with the same intensity and roughness than the first time, making you gag and cough around his length.

"i want to see those pretty eyes filled with tears" he mumbled, "if by the end you are not crying, i will make sure to keep fucking that slutty mouth until you are".

you nodded eagerly against him, taking him all in one more time. one of your hands traveled to his cock, wishing to stroke the parts that couldn't fit in your mouth, but he was quick to stop you.

"use those hands to make yourself cum again," he clicked his tongue, grabbing them by the wrists and pushing him away, "i want to feel every single one of your moans around me".

you didn't think it was physically possible for you to keep going but you were determined to show changbin that you deserved to be fucked by no other than him.

just like the first time, you drove both of your hands to your aching cunt. your helpless fingers collected your previous orgasm as a lubricant and started to fuck your throbbing pussy once again. one hand worked on your cunt while the other paid attention to the clit, wanting to reach your orgasm as fast as possible.

"you are so good with your tongue," he groaned, his head falling slightly back while his lower lip got caught in between his lips, "who taught you to suck cock that good? you filthy slut".

he continued on pounding his lenght inside you, glancing at the way your fingers got lost inside your cunt while your moans and cries were being drown by his cock.

"i bet you parents are so proud of you," he hissed, pushing your head further onto his lenght, "their good, pure and innocent daughter turned out to be the best slut i have ever used".

you couldn't help but clench around your own fingers while listening to his words, feeling ashamed of how good it felt to be degraded by him.

"i am going to make a mess out of you," he groaned, increasing the pace of his thrusts unside your mouth. "and you are going to enjoy every second of it, understood?"

with teary eyes you nodded against him, feeling that familiar tension on your lower abdomen and back indicating that you were getting closer to your climax.

however, changbin had fantasies in mind that he wanted to fulfill.

his thrusts started to get faster, the movements of his hips against your mouth sloppier and the frequency at which groans and moans escaped his lips only indicated that he was one second away from his sweet release.

"fuck, y/n," he hissed, pulling his cock out of you while he stroke himself. you wanted to cry and protest, thinking about how much you wanted him to fuck you. but still, the minute his sticky arousal landed on your face and chest, you couldn't help but return to be a mindless mess.

nonetheless, he didn't stop there. gripping a fistful of your hair again, and after cumming over your face and neck, he thrusted his cock inside of your mouth one more time to finish cumming down your throat with a loud groan.

"don't you dare to waste it" he groaned, pushing your head to the base of his length to make sure that his cum wasn't going to leak out of you, "swallow all of it and show me your clean mouth afterwards".

you did as you were told, taking his orgasm completely into your mouth and sticking your tongue out to show him that you had heen obedient.

"good slut" he mumbled, pulling himself completely away from you and leaving you laying in your bed, covered in his cum while you still attempted to reach your own orgasm.

"do you want me to fuck you?" he queried, standing on the edge of the bed, admiring how filthy you looked. you nodded eagerly, not bothering to clean up the mess he made on your face and breasts. "then turn me on again," he ordered, his hand working on his half-hardened length.

you touched yourself for him one more time, sticking out your tongue to lick the rest of his arousal that was sitting on your lips.

it didn't took him long for his erection to appear again, dragging his eyes all over your body while you relentlessly bucked your hips against your digits. seeing you all covered in his cum while you continued on fucking yourself just because he ordered you to was such a pleasant scene for him.

every day you acted like a little spoiled brat who had everything she wanted with a snap of a finger and, to be completely honest, you used to get on his nerves constantly because of it. seeing you completely fucked dumb, all dirty and ruined with your cunt exposed for him and the neediness to be filled with his cock felt both like heaven and hell.

he shouldn't be fucking with you, yet here he was.

"changbin, i want to cum" you cried, the sounds of your wetness contributing to his growing erection, "can i cum? please, please, can i cum?"

changbin couldn't help but smile fondly at your words. you were asking for his permission to cum, even when you didn't need to.

"look at me," he demmanded, stroking himself while he watchef you falling apart, "don't close your eyes while you are cumming, i want you to look at me".

you nodded weakly, feeling already your own juiced coating your digits. keeping your eyes opened while orgasming was such a hard task for you, but you were determined to fulfill it only to make him proud.

"i am cumming" you barely whispered, your eyes rolling back slightly while you did your best to look at him.

"how does it feel, y/n?" he questioned, approaching your body that was agressively shaking at the overstimulation of another orgasm, "how does it feel to be covered in my cum while you fuck yourself like a pathetic slut in heat?"

"it feels good" you groaned, both of your eyes closing due to the overwheming sensation of your high, "it feel so good, i feel so good".

changbin smiled at your frustration, admiring how your body twitched every few seconds after overcoming your high. needless to say, you had completed your task sucesfully.

even so, it was inevitable for him not to worry about you. after 3 orgasms, it was expected for you to feel weak and tired and, as much as he wanted to fuck you, he needed to make sure that you wanted it as well.

he had no problem on ending the scene right there, walking towards your bathroom to get a couple of tissues to clean you up.

"changbin?" you sighed, opening your eyes confused as he swept away the rest of his arousal off of your face and breasts.

"tell me, y/n"

"i don't deserve my reward for being an obedient slut?" you queried, a faint smirk appearing on the corners of your lips while changbin looked at you in awe. if he thought he had good resistance when it came to sexual encounters, you were definitely on another level.

"you came 3 times and you still want more?" he questioned, returning back to his previous instance.

"i told you," you mumbled, looking directly at him, "no one has ever been able to make me cum before and i am getting addicted the feeling of it".

changbin scoffed, putting away the rest of the tissues and undressing himself in front of you. and god, was he fine.

"you are such a well-trained slut," he sighed, getting in between your legs while he left kisses all over your abdomen and breasts, "you really have me considering risking my job just to be able to make you mine every fucking day".

you moved your hips in circular motions against him, feeling the tip of his cock brushing against your already abused bundle of nerves.

you let out a deep sigh, clenching around nothing while he leaned on to your body even more. both of your arms locked behind his neck, pulling him even more towards you.

"can you imagine us?" you mumbled, your lips teasing his, "fucking at my college campus, at your car, at a restaurant, at the movie theater or at the fitting room of every shop we visit? after all you are my bodyguard, your job is to follow me around 24/7"

"is that what you need?" he queried, tilting his head and crashing his lips agsinst yours ever so slightly, just to give you a taste of him, "having your holes filled every single day?"

you nodded slightly, your fucked out gaze fixed on his. "i want to be your personal slut" you whispered, dragging your tongue along his lower lip, "i want you to use me as you please, i want you to boss me around and give me orders because i am willing to do anything just to please you".

"you are such an adorable slut," he hissed, burying the tip of his thick cock inside you, earning a gasp out of you, "i bet you are always wet and ready to be used by anyone who sticks their filthy hands in your panties".

you arched your back against him, feeling your walls stretching as he thrusted himself deeper and deeper inside you.

"you are taking my cock so well for a slut that can barely take her own little fingers," he groaned, grinding his teeth while he felt your tight walls welcoming him.

due to the soreness and overstimulation, it took you a while to be able to take his cock properly. giving you forehead kisses and desperately squeezing your hand each time his cock went inside you, you couldn't help but feel even more turned on at this facet of him.

"god you are dripping," he mumbled once his hips were able to start acquiring a steady peace without hurting you, "3 orgasms aren't enough for a needy cockslut like you?

you shook your head while pouting, feeling the need to hold his body against yours because the feeling was way more intense than before.

"don't do that," he groaned after feeling both of your legs locking at his lower back, forcing himself even deeper inside you, "or else i am not pulling out".

"who said i wanted you to pull out?" you moaned, locking your legs around him even harder. a mischievous smile appeared in your face as soon as you saw changbin's countenance changing back to his dominant self.

"you can't get more of a cumslut, can you?" he hissed, the pace of his hips increasing while his words came out more as growls rather than mumbles, "you are practically begging for me to fill you up with my cum".

"fuck yes" you whined, buring yourself in the crook of his neck, "don't act like your perverted mind hasn't think about me that way".

changbin continued on fucking you, the tip of his length reaching that spot inside your walls that had your toes curling up and your hips bucking at a specific angle against him.

"good thing you know," he groaned, the sounds of skin hitting skin along with the lewd noises and words flooding out your whole room, "everytime you wore those cute short dresses out, all i was able to do was jerk off in the car thinking about how much i would love to take you right there and breed you over and over again".

"you pervert," you whined, feeling just the right tension starting to build uo one last time, "instead of doing your job- you spent your time masturbating to the thought of me" you sighed in between broken words and moans.

"you just looked to good," he continued, biting his lower lip and closing both of his eyes while recalling the memory of your pure image being ruined by his filthy thoughts, "all i wanted was to see my cum dripping out of your pussy and making a mess on those short dresses you love to wear".

"fuck, changbin" you moaned, clenching around him while you listened to his dirty words, "just like that, please".

"does my cock fill you up good?" he questioned, resting his weight in his forearms just to be able to see your pretty face all fucked up and your tits bouncing each time he pounded his cock inside you, "get used to it, because from now on i will be fucking you whenever i please".

"yes, fuck yes, yes, yes," you repeated over and over again, having one of your hands against your hardened nipples while the other rubbed against your aching clit, "i am so close".

"cum for me," he ordered, increasing the roughness of his movements, "show me how grateful you are for this cock".

it was almost embarrassing how it didn't took you long to reach your orgasm, painfully moaning against your body while you cursed under your breath over and over again.

"keep on clenching that cunt around me," he ordered, the words barely coming out of his lips by how tensed his jaw was, "prove to me that you deserve my cum inside that pretty hole of yours".

and even though your body was too fucked out and weak to respond on its own, you tried your best to follow his request. moving your hips mercilessly against him, whining his name over and over again begging for his cum and keeping the eye contact with him throughout the whole moment was everything he needed to milk himself inside of you.

"don't. you. dare. to. waste. it" he grunted, pounding his cock inside of you at the end of each word, "be a good slut and keep it all inside that pretty body".

he continued on slamming his cock just a few more times before resting his whole body on too of you, one of his hands caressing your hair. a few minutes were spent of silence, while you and him tried to stabilize your breathes and overcome the overwhelming sensations you just felt.

"i lied" you cooed softly with a smile, interrupting the silence and seeing the strands of his black hair sticked to his forehead due to the sweat, "i wasn't going to hook up with anyone, i just wanted to tease you".

"this was meant to happen," he sighed, his eyes fixing on yours while he caressed your cheeks, "i knew it from the very first time i saw you".

"and you still accepted the job?" you queried weakly, your eyes slightly closing.

"that was the only way to be close to you" he smirked, admiring how beautiful you looked even after the sinful acts you two commited.

"what would you do if my parents find out about what we did?" you asked him.

"about what we did?" he questioned, leaving a kiss on your cheek and then on your jaw, "or about what we will continue on doing?"

[enchantestuff]

miscommunication - charles leclerc

in which your Pierres little sister and reap the consequences after an eventful night in Monaco with his best friend

I think I'm going to make this into a series, like 3 more parts maybe??

part two

GIF NOT MINE!!!

warnings: smut, my failed attempt at angst (I tried), language, em yeah

3k words (I have no idea how that happened) 

You had known Charles for years, which wasn't particularly surprising considering you were Pierres little sister.

When you were little you envied their friendship, constantly trying to insert yourself in their games and conversations. You had lost count of the amount of times they slammed a door in your face, demanding you to leave them alone. You hadn’t realised how annoying you were being as you followed them around everywhere, even if Pierre had scolded you for it each day.

When you were a teenager, Pierre purposely kept Charles away from you, telling him that if he even looked in your direction he wouldn't hesitate to end their friendship. You, of course, had no idea of the threat not that it mattered as you didn't paid any attention to the infamous duo during those few years, living in your own little world full of clothes , friends and different boys.

Now, however, you were an adult and all you wanted to do was support your brother throughout his career. In recent years you had gone to as many races as you physically could, but of course you had your own job and unfortunately didn’t have the time to attend any race this season.

Pierre was disappointed, he loved having you there to support him, but he understood that you had your own life and never placed any blame on you. After years of the two of you constantly ignoring each other and bickering, you had finally begun to act like siblings and all he wanted to do was make up for lost time.

You had thankfully gotten three weeks off work - well they weren’t necessarily weeks off as you still had to do your job, but your boss insisted that there was no need for you to trek to the office everyday when you were perfectly capable of doing the work at home on your laptop. The timing couldn't have been better with the triple header just around the corner, it almost seemed like a miracle and you were gonna enjoy every minute of it.

You grinned as you texted your brother.

Any spare tickets to the race :)

He replied almost immediately.

You're kidding, which one?

All of them?

Your texting was cut off by Pierres contact photo appearing on your phone. You answered instantly only to hear Pierre screaming through your speakers, he also slipped in a few delighted curse words before finally letting you talk.

“My boss gave me the next three weeks off so I’m going to go support my favourite brother” you grinned.

“Your only brother” he remarked and you could practically hear him rolling his eyes.

You spent the next few hours catching up and retelling pointless stories. You had gone to sleep with a lazy smile on your face and  woke up the next morning to a text from Pierre, telling you that he had organized your passes for the three weekends as well as the flights, all you had to do was find a hotel. He slipped in the name of the hotel that he was staying at, and to your luck there was still room available. Now all that was left to do was wait.

You grinned giddy as you stepped off the plane and walked toward the baggage collection area, excited to finally get back to watching races in person. You rubbed your eyes in surprise when you spotted your brother waiting for you. “Pierre?” you screamed delightly, running up to him and pushing his body into a bone crushing hug. It felt like you hadn’t seen him in forever even if it was only a few months.

“Bonjour,” he laughed as he hugged you back.

“I thought you were busy all day today” you exclaimed once you pulled away from him.

He sheepishly shrugged at you with a lazy grin on his face. “I may have lied, are you ready to go?”

You nodded your head at him and for the first time in a long time your mind drifted towards your brother's best friend, Charles, who you hadn’t spoken to since an eventful night in Monaco a few months ago.

You cursed yourself as you thought back to that very moment.

Charles was having a party at his lovely home, you can't remember now what you were celebrating but everyone was ecstatic. You could hear the music from across the street and you knew before you even entered the house that it was going to be a night to remember.

The moment you stepped foot inside you were surrounded by multiple drunk people, all with large grins and hooded eyes plastered on them and you laughed as almost everyone stumbled around the house.

You spotted your brother in the middle of the room dancing with a pretty blonde, he had a goofy smile on his face and you knew from that sight of him alone that he was wasted. You were the only sober person there, at least that's what you thought until Charles had made his way to you with two cups in his hand, alcohol for you and water for him.

“I thought you were celebrating,” you mused as you took a sip of the dark liquor.

“Someone needs to keep these drunk idiots in check,” he joked.

“Well in that case” you said as you handed your drink to a stranger and took a sip of his water instead. You laughed at the bewildered look he threw your way before continuing, “I'm not going to let you tackle this party alone.” The smile that formed on Charles was genuine and your breath hitched in your throat at the sight.

You surprisingly enjoyed yourself the whole night, maybe that was because you knew everyone there, but most likely it was because you spent the whole night with Charles.

A few hours into the party he turned to you asking to dance, you didn't even hesitate to say yes, nerves surrounded you immediately and they only got worse when his hands dipped dangerously low on your hips. Your eyes automatically searched for Pierre and you left out a sigh of relief when you couldn't find him anywhere.

The thought of getting caught fueled both you and Charles, so when he spun you around to face him neither of you hesitated to connect your lips. You considered yourself lucky that everyone around you was too drunk to notice your heated make out and used it to your advantage. You pulled him even closer to you, moaning in his ear when he grabbed your bum and giggling at the whimper he let out.

You felt dizzy. The fact that you were both sober made your first kiss even more real.

You were anxious when he asked you if you wanted to go somewhere more private but agreed nevertheless, hoping that maybe he had wanted you for as long as you had wanted him.

He had tenderly kissed you again once he closed the door behind him.

“God, you have no idea how long i've waited to do this,” he moaned in your ear and although you knew that was just something people said in the heat of the moment, you let yourself believe it. You let yourself believe every single word that left his lips and got even more attached to the moment.

You revealed a piece of yourself to him that night, not only a physical part, but a part of your heart as you admitted your deepest secrets to him. “Fuck, Charles, I’ve always wanted you,” you moaned when he gently placed you on the bed.

You attached yourself to the kisses he placed all over your body, you paid attention to every bit of affection that he showed you, never once wanting him to stop. When he positioned himself next to you and asked if you were sure you told him there was nothing you've ever been more sure about.

You had both simultaneously moaned when he entered you, laughing at each other afterwards, which made your heart flutter. He was Charles, your brothers best friend and yet sex with him felt so natural.

He placed a tender kiss to your chest before he started moving and you couldn't help but hold him close to you, he didn't seem to mind however as he nested his head in the crook of your neck, letting you hear all the soft gasps and grunts that left his mouth.

You arched your back in pleasure when he reached the deepest parts inside you, your toes curled and your eyes rolled back and all you could think was God why didn't we do this sooner?

“Don't stop, please Charles, don't stop” you moaned in his ear, and if you weren't in a completely different world you would have noticed the shiver than ran down his entire body at your words.

“Trust me, mon amour, i never want to stop”

You weren't even aware of the moans the left your lips until Charles had grabbed your chin and looked at you with desperation written all over his face, “Merde, Y/N, i want more than anything to make this moment last but If you keep making those pretty little sounds you're gonna make me cum”

Your heart skipped a beat at his words “Shut me up then”

And he did, he grunted as he reconnected your lips, swallowing your moans and letting out his own in the process. From the kissing, to Charles’ moans and the rolling of his hips it didn't take you long to release the knot in your stomach.

You regretted it now, thinking back on it, it had completely ruined your friendship with Charles. Your daily silly texts to each other had ceased to exist, your weekly facetime calls had died and a piece of you had broken.

You didn’t expect any less, he was your brother's best friend and even though you always found him insanely attractive, you knew deep down he would have found your little crush on him weird. You always had the suspicion that he saw you as a little sister, and the way he completely ignored you after your hookup had proven them to be true.

You couldn't hate him, or even place the blame of your failed friendship on him as you also went out of your way to ignore him, something that you really regretted but couldn’t change.

“You alright?” Pierre asked as he grabbed your suitcase in his hand.

“Yeah sorry i - i don't know what happened to me there,” you choked out, walking alongside Pierre to his car.

“It's free practice tomorrow, you coming?” he asked once you were both sitting comfortably in his car.

“Yeah, of course” you nodded as you watched the tall buildings pass by in the window.

“Everyones misses you, you know?” he quickly glanced over at you while he drove, wondering what the hell you were thinking so hard about.

“Yep” you sighed, “Me too,” but all you could think about was the Ferrari driver and how awkward it would be to see him again

You had shut yourself in your hotel room for the rest of the night, the flight and overly long check in had taken all the remaining energy out of you and all you wanted to do was curl into the hotel bed and sleep for as long as you possibly could. So that's what you did, until Pierre rang your phone, telling you that he was leaving for free practice in half an hour, wondering if you needed lift, which of course you did you had mumbled to him while scrabbling out of the bed and running to your bathroom to take the quickest shower of your life.

You had somehow gotten ready in time and before you knew it you were walking around the paddock with Pierre next to you, basking in the glorious sun.

Pierre whistled in excitement when he spotted Charles walking out of the Ferrari motorhome. The brunette quickly turned at the sound, a smile forming on his face when he spotted Pierre, his eyebrows raising soon after as he finally noticed you next to him. Your heart beat loudly in your chest as he got closer and closer to you.

You stood firmly in your spot, uncertain if a hug would be too big of an action after months of silence between you both, quite frankly you didn’t even want to touch him, the pain that he had caused you cutting too deep. Unfortunately, he beamed at you and grabbed your hips, pulling you into his chest and rocking you both side to side.

“Hi,” you laughed, unwilling to cause a scene in front of your brother, you moved your arms to wrap around his neck.

“It's great to see you” he admitted when he pulled away and you felt your throat close up at his words. “I’ve missed you”

“I missed you too,” you smiled and although it wasn’t a lie, the words felt dirty leaving your lips. You shouldnt have missed him, not when he left you lying alone in his bed after you both had sex.

“God, you're acting like you haven't spoken to each other in months,” Pierre laughed, and you and Charles shared an awkward look with each other. The silence that followed was unbearable.

You cleared your throat as you looked around the paddock. “I'm going to get some water” you quickly spilled out and abruptly turned in the other direction, ignoring the confused look that Pierre shot in your direction. You had only taken a few steps when Charles grabbed your arm and pulled you behind a random building.

“Shh it's me” he flinched as you pushed yourself away from him, “it's me” he repeated looking at the bewildered expression on your face.

“You couldn’t have just talked to me like a normal human being?” you argued, “Did you really have to drag me behind a building?”

“I couldn't talk about you know what around you know who” he threw back and you rolled your eyes at him.

“Oh! You dont want to talk about us having sex infronf of Pierre” you snapped and he covered your mouth with his hand. You bit his hand and he gasped in response.

“You bit me!” he half shouted.

“You didn’t seem to mind last time” you commented , relishing in how flustered Charles had gotten.

“We need to talk about that” he choked out, looking absolutely anywhere except your eyes.

“Oh so now you want to talk about it?” you asked with an accusing tone to your voice, surpringing not only Charles but also yourself.

“I know it was a dick move, I just” he sighed “I didn’t know how to bring it up”

“How about maybe not leaving straight away? How about sending me a text explaining how you felt instead of leaving me in the dark for months? If you thought it was a mistake you could have just-”

“I didn't think it was a mistake”

You couldn't help the effect those words had on your heart, but suddenly you were even more furious, he was unintentionally playing with your heart and you didn't know how much more of it you could take.

“Then why didn't you tell me!”

You were frustrated and he wasn’t helping one bit. He had left it too late, the damage was done, you had spent months regretting your decision to climb into bed with him and a few words lazily strung together to form a sentence wasn't going to erase the emotional damage he caused you. It didn't matter anymore whether it was intentional or not

“I didn't want to ruin our friendship”

“That is the dumbest excuse I've ever heard!”

You could feel tears pricking your eyes and all you wanted to do was sob your heart out, but you refused to cry in front of him, you didn't want him to know the effect he had on you. “Look your late and i - i need to breathe”

You didn't give him a chance to reply as you ran away, unable to face the boy who broke your heart: the boy who had given you everything you could possibly want, only to snatch it out of your grasp.

You cursed yourself for getting attached to that moment because now, every time you closed your eyes, all you see was him panting on top of you and all you could feel was his lips on your skin. It was a memory that used to delight you but now all it brought was sadness and pain.

You knew your attachment issues would bring you pain one day, but only now as you crouched down next to some random building, did you realise it would be physical pain. You clawed at your neck in desperation. You couldn't breathe. Your tears were practically suffocating you and you couldn't help but think Charles' hands ripping your heart from your chest was the cause.

Unknowingly to you, Charles watched your retreating figure with tears forming behind his eyes. It had finally hit him how much he fucked things up. He thought he was doing the right thing, he thought maybe you needed space, maybe you would have regretted it.

He wore his heart on his sleeve that day, everything that he told you was true, he was just so scared. So scared that he would be left heartbroken, that his feelings were unrequited, that maybe, just maybe, you would be disgusted with yourself for what you two did.

He left early the next morning to hype himself up, to finally tell you about his feelings for you that had been bubbling around in his stomach for years, but when he returned to his bedroom you were gone.

He didn't realise how much waking up to an empty bed would affect you, just as much as you didnt realise how much leaving would affect him.

He was never good at communication, but it was so easy with you, so why didn't he pick up the phone? He had no excuse except that he was scared.

It was his fear that hurt him the most. It was his fear that broke your heart and that had hurt him so much more than he thought was possible.

[phoenixyfriend]

Anakin Introduces his Jedi Babies (and Himself)

Context:  Anakin and the Jedi Babies, chrono

Warnings for: canon-typical dismemberment, unfortunately-aimed puppy crushes

Word count: 5,839

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

The first time a Jedi meets a Skywalker, it’s on Bandomeer.

The planet is close to Mandalorian space. Finding someone associated with Mandalore is, technically, not that surprising. There are even Mandalorian operations on the planet.

What is surprising is the fact that the person from Mandalorian space is an unfamiliar Jedi Knight who is utterly unstoppable.

(Obi-Wan Kenobi has no way of knowing how similar his experiences are to what might have been, on this planet. Mandalore has been interfering in operations here ever since Ylliben Skywalker started reporting visions about the coming catastrophe. Where that interference has helped or hurt... well. There’s no way to know.)

(Is there?)

When Xanatos shows up and starts taunting Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon, there’s a giggle from the doorway.

All three have to turn to look at the individual in question.

Mid-twenties, leaning against the doorframe, slim but strong, covered in dark fabric and half a set of armor. A scar by one eye, well-kept hair, and a smirk that could burn the longest fuse. A lightsaber, unlit, in one gloved hand.

This man is... very attractive, Obi-Wan thinks. This is not an appropriate thought for the situation. Obi-Wan thinks he can maybe blame it on the exhaustion.

“No, no, keep going,” the stranger says, sounding like there’s a laugh stuck in his throat. He waves dismissively. “Let’s, ah, let’s hear the master plan. Good ranting voice, maybe a six out of ten on the ‘I’m better than you’ and a four on the actual intimidation. You can do better.”

“Excuse me?” Xanatos hisses, sounding incredibly malicious to Obi-Wan’s ears. “Just who do you think you are?”

“And now you’re overselling it,” the stranger sighs. “Are you new at this? You seem new at this.”

“I would... also like to know who you are,” Master Jinn admits, shifting uncertainly as he tries to keep both du Crion and the stranger in his sights.

“I’m just your friendly neighborhood Jedi Knight, here to fight darksiders because... that’s my life, apparently,” the man says, looking down at his arm for some reason. He shakes his head and looks up at them with a bright grin. “Do you need some help, Master Jinn?”

“You still haven’t told us your name.”

“This is true,” the knight says. “That said, I’ve been told by my boss to explicitly avoid naming myself while on this mission for a variety of reasons.”

“Your... boss,” du Crion drawls. “Not the Council, then.”

“Current supervisor,” the stranger offers as correction, completely unconcerned. “It’s a complicated situation, don’t worry about it.”

“I don’t worry about nonentities.”

The man purses his lips like he’s trying very, very hard not to laugh again. It’s very mocking. “Sure, kid.”

Xanatos has had his lightsaber out ever since Obi-Wan and Master Jinn entered the room, but he does one of those fancy, meant-to-be-intimidating one-handed saber twirls as he turns to face the Knight.

The man’s smirk widens. “You do realize you’re going to lose, right? C’mon, kid--”

“I’m older than you!”

“I did like zero research on you as a person, just your many and varied crimes; how old are you?”

Du Crion’s face goes pinched. “I’m twenty-five.”

“Ah, yeah, no, I’m older,” the knight says. “Only a few years, but I’m also a delightfully obnoxious little bastard who ages real slow for, uh, reasons--”

Obi-Wan is fascinated. This man is very strange. And very pretty.

Obi-Wan may be light-headed. Is he bleeding? Blood loss would explain this.

Obi-Wan isn’t bleeding. Damn.

“--anyway, I’m sure I’ve got a more interesting life with more mature experiences than you,” the knight says. “So even if I wasn’t older in body, I’d be older in spirit.”

The knight’s entire sense of being carries such an air of banthashit that Obi-Wan can barely believe it. It’s almost impressive. Obi-Wan wonders how often this man just opens his mouth and immediately gets punched in the face.

“You talk a lot for a man in someone else’s domain.”

“Hey, look on the bright side,” the knight says. “At least I’m not flirting with you. That’s what my master did with almost every darksider we met except his grandmaster.”

Du Crion pauses.

Obi-Wan has the distinct feeling that he and Master Jinn have lost any control they might have, at any point, had over this situation. They hadn’t had much control in the first place, but anything they did have is squarely in the stranger’s court right now. The silver lining to that is that du Crion is thoroughly distracted and has also lost some control of the situation.

“Besides,” the man continues, completely ignoring the very red lightsaber that is being very obviously readied for his death. “This is not that big of an advantage for you. I mean, hey, the fancy central console that can only be reached by skinny walkways with no railings are a nice touch, all chromed metal and minimal lighting, very dramatic, but there’s no lava. I’m not, like, chained to a rock in the middle of an arena for a public execution at the hands of starving animals the size of a fighter ship. You’re threatening to kill me personally instead of standing in the most expensive box of the theater, sipping your wine and congratulating yourself on step one of a plan that has another fifty-thousand steps and no end in sight. You--”

“Is there a point to this?”

“I’m just saying, I’ve been in worse situations by better darksiders than you. This is sad. You’re sad. Try harder.”

Obi-Wan makes a little noise in the back of his throat. Nobody seems to notice, but Master Jinn does put a hand on his shoulder. That’s nice.

“I don’t have any interest in setting up a public execution.”

“What kind of a Sith wannabe are you?” the knight asks, tilting his head. Obi-Wan distantly notes that his hair is longer than initially assumed; it’s just held back and curled. “Public executions are a whole thing. It’s like you’re not even trying. Tell me you’ve at least got vague plans to hand me off to a pirates instead of killing me so you can make some comment about me not even being worth the effort.”

“Are you trying to get yourself killed?” du Crion asks, his voice the kind of forced casual level nonsense that shows he’s actually very, very frustrated. Obi-Wan could almost believe that du Crion is as uninterested as he’s pretending to be.

“If I was trying to get myself killed, I’d... pick a fight with the Trade Federation, maybe? I mean, I survived that when I was nine but they’d probably take me more seriously this time.” The knight taps at his chin. “I don’t even know where the actual Sith is, but--”

“There are no more Sith,” du Crion scoffs.

Oh, the knight looks pitying now. Obi-Wan likes that much more than he should. It just really suits the man’s face.

Quin’s going to make so much fun of him later.

“I have fought multiple Sith,” the man says, slowly and clearly, as though explaining something to a child. “My master fought more than that. I lost my arm to a Sith when I was nineteen. You can say they’re gone, but I don’t trust like that.”

“It’s not a matter of trust,” du Crion says, rolling his eyes. “It has been a thousand years since the Sith were wiped out. Much as I’d like them to still be around, I’m not going to--”

“Oh!” the knight exclaims. “You’re lying! You do think they’re back, this whole mess is you auditioning.”

Du Crion stares at the man as though he’s lost what few marbles he had. “Excuse me?”

“You want to be the next Sith Apprentice,” the man says, cheerfully unconcerned by the mounting tension in the air. “That’s adorable. Well, no, actually, it’s very bad, both for you and for everyone else, and now it means I can’t just kill you in battle like I was planning because the Jedi are going to need you for information. Blast.”

Du Crion’s eyes widen. It is not in fear, but in incredulity. Obi-Wan thinks that it’s all in the eyebrows and the tight, befuddled smile. “You were planning to kill me, Jedi?”

“I mean... yeah, kinda,” the knight says, shrugging. “Quick and clean option, that.”

This time, Master Jinn is the one that makes a disbelieving noise that both of the bitchy twenty-somethings ignore.

“You’re a Jedi,” du Crion points out, entirely pleasant.

“...yes,” the man says, not meeting anyone’s eyes. “Technically.”

Du Crion is very much distracted by this. “Technically?”

The man wiggles a hand. “Arguments can be made. I certainly was trained as a Jedi and consider myself to be one. My knighting was according to protocol, and at the Temple. Technically.”

“...but?” Master Jinn prompts.

The knight smiles like he’s got something very spicy in his mouth and is unwilling to admit it’s too much for him. “But nothing! Don’t worry about it. There’s a fight to be had with a Sith wannabe who doesn’t realize he’s not going to measure up.”

“Arrogant,” du Crion accuses.

“No,” the knight immediately says. “You just don’t fight a galactic war without learning which opponents are actually going to kill you.”

Obi-Wan leans into Master Jinn’s side, his legs feeling a little too much like jelly. He whispers, “I have so many questions.”

“As do I, Padawan,” Master Jinn mutters back, and something in Obi-Wan’s heart twists. He’s a padawan! Master Jinn’s actually going to go through with it!

The fight does actually happen, at that point. The knight lights his saber and leaps forward, flashing through Djem So movements without a moment’s hesitation. For all the trash talk and boasting, the fight isn’t actually over very quickly. Du Crion is good, even without having had a chance to spar against a real person since he left the Order. Power flows around him, dark and heavy and sharp in ways that the Force usually isn’t, and the red saber snaps through the air with a speed Obi-Wan can barely track. Xanatos du Crion is, without question, danger incarnate in this moment.

The unknown knight is better.

There are attempts at banter, mostly by the stranger. Du Crion is too focused on the fight to bother responding. Obi-Wan just clings to Master Jinn, trying to stay awake and aware. It’s difficult, given the past few days, and even with help from the Force, he’s flagging.

The way the knight moves is... captivating, though.

(Quinlan’s going to laugh at the top of his lungs, later. Obi-Wan’s going to blush and stutter and bury his face in a pillow, and Bant’s going to pat his back like the amazing friend she is, and Quin’s just going to laugh, like an asshole.)

The fight doesn’t end cleanly. The knight cuts du Crion’s saber in half and, in the same movement, cuts the man’s hand off.

Obi-Wan’s seen too much blood in the last few days for it to shock him, but the smell is... unpleasant.

“I don’t suppose either of you carries Force-nullifying cuffs?” the knight asks, holding his saber to du Crion’s neck with an expression that is amused and satisfied in equal measure.

“No,” Master Jinn says. He seems... very bothered. Well, du Crion was his student once. Obi-Wan can’t imagine he’d be very calm if he had a student that went dark and started killing children. “Was cutting off his hand really necessary?”

“I feel like half my fights end with either someone dying or someone losing a limb,” the knight muses. “Sometimes that limb is my own, even!”

Obi-Wan isn’t sure if the man is manic or just trying to throw them off their rhythm. It probably doesn’t matter.

“Okay, I have Force-nullifying cuffs of my own,” the man says. “But these things are expensive as hell, and they weren’t paid for by the Order, so just giving them to you isn’t really on the table. That said... my ship kind of got shot down on the way here. If you could give me a ride off-planet--”

“Our ship was also shot down.”

The knight blinks at him, and then kicks du Crion in the hamstring. It’s not a very hard kick, but du Crion shoots him a look of offense that’s probably justified. Getting kicked when one is already down is never a great feeling.

“Stop shooting people,” the knight scolds.

Obi-Wan feels vaguely like he’s having a fever dream.

“Okay, new plan,” the man says. “What kind of ship did you come in?”

“KYL-3400 small transport,” Master Jinn says, with not a little hesitation. “Why?”

The knight grins. “I’m going to cannibalize it for parts.”

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

Jango has known Anakin Skywalker for six years. Many of those years have been spent being yanked into babysitting for the man. For reasons Jango doesn’t feel like examining, this will likely continue.

“You’re late,” he says, as the man in question stumbles out of a battered ship that looks only barely like the one that left three months ago. “I thought you said Bandomeer was a quick fix.”

“Ship got shot down, had to help some Jedi, ran into fucking Onaka on the way back,” Skywalker grouses. “I feel like shit. Where are my kids?”

“Buir says you have to go to medical.”

“Yeah, sure, whatever. My kids, Jango.”

“They can visit you in medical.”

“And, what, Mereel’s gonna go there for a debrief?”

“Your debrief is going through me,�� Jango says, and doesn’t let himself flinch when Skywalker makes a face. “He’ll check in later.”

“Yeah, no,” Skywalker says, taking a step forward and then swaying with a curse. “Listen, this actually does need to go to Mand’alor direct, not just the Alor-in-training--”

“Please don’t do that with my language,” Jango immediately says. “That’s not--no. ‘Alor-in-training’ isn’t a thing. Don’t do that.”

Skywalker turns on his heel with a frustrated snarl, and Jango’s eyes widen as the stupid tunics the man wears flare out.

“Is that a blaster wound?”

“No.”

“Yes it--for fuck’s sake, Skywalker!” Jango growls and just goes over to grab the taller man by the shoulders and march him to medical. “I’m calling your sister.”

“Don’t tell Shmi, she’s got enough to--”

“I’m calling your sister,” Jango snaps. “And you’re going to deal with it. Ka’ra, do you even think? Is there a brain in that head of yours?”

“I’ve been told my braincell is lonely.”

“I’m going to shove you in a trash compactor, dikut’la jetii,” Jango mutters. “Are you hurt anywhere else?”

“If I say yes, will you let me go deal with it on my own?”

Jango strangles his own scream and shoves Skywalker into the nearest examination room. “Fix him!”

The medic looks up, raises a brow, and turns to Skywalker. “What did you do?”

“What didn’t I do?” Skywalker shoots back, grinning like they’re sharing battle stories over a drink in a cantina.

The medic--Mirka’lu, he thinks--crosses her arms. “General.”

Oh man, the medics must be angry with him already if they’re already jumping titles like that.

“I’m just a knight--”

“General Skywalker.”

The man in question grimaces. “I maybe got shot during an altercation with some pirates.”

“Uh-huh.”

“And... I maybe--maybe--picked a fight with some Hutt enforcers.”

Jango’s going to wring his neck.

Right after he calls Shmi.

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

Komari does her level best to not shift nervously under the judgmental eyes of the man they’re pretty sure is the Mand’alor. Her master’s got the situation under control. She’s just there to observe. They’ve got an entire team--

“Is that your way of telling me that your Order did minimal research on the situation before coming to intervene, and the only reason you bothered to reach out is because one of my men, weeks ago, let you know that Death Watch is setting traps for both my people and yours?”

Komari feels the flare of annoyance from Master Dooku. She doesn’t react, but she can hear the tension when her Master speaks.

“I assure we would not have attacked on Galidraan unless attacked first, or if we’d found solid evidence of the actions we were informed of,” Master Dooku says, quiet and even. “All your messenger did was save us all a little time.”

Mereel smiles thinly. “Saved us all some lives, more like it.”

“Perhaps.”

“Ah, jetiise aren’t the only ones with Force-Sensitives,” the Mand’alor says. “I’ve more than a few under my command. Visions aren’t foolproof, I’m aware, but I’ll be damned if such a warning goes completely ignored.”

Master Dooku makes a low humming noise. “Be that as it may, I’m unsure of what it is that you’re expecting out of our... presence. We are not here to help you claim your presumed throne. We are only here to stop the killings we were told about.”

“I don’t need your help to reunite my people.” Mereel waves a hand, batting the mere suggestion away. “But I’d appreciate the help with taking out the terrorist group that’s actually going out and murdering the helpless, this planet’s farmers and doctors and children. Kyr’tsad isn’t just a thorn in my side, Master Jedi.”

“And what proof do I have that you aren’t just the same kind of monster as you claim they are?” Master Dooku challenges.

It’s a little brazen, considering how dicey these negotiations are. For all that Komari herself doesn’t wince, someone behind her outright hisses in dismay. She agrees with the sentiment.

Mereel just laughs at them. He catches the eye of one of the armored individuals along the wall, human or close to it, and nods to himself.

“Right,” the man says. “Well, we have our own Jedi. Would you like to meet him?”

Master Dooku is immobile, as if carved from stone. The rest of the group is... not.

“I suppose that would be acceptable,” Master Dooku says, and Komari feels the tension in him wind further through the training bond. There are a million questions to be had here. None of them can be answered without the supposed Jedi.

“Great,” the Mand’alor says. He leans back in his seat and turns to the door. With the press of a button, the door slides open. “Ben!”

A child darts into the room, stops, and bounces on their feet. Probably male, Komari thinks, and very anxious. The child’s eyes dart about the room, taking in every single Jedi in sight. When that gaze lands on Master Dooku, there’s a flash of recognition and... not hate, but distaste. Confused and distant dismay, maybe. The child turns back to Mereel.

“Mand’alor,” the child greets, still bouncing. “Am I needed?”

“Thought I told you this meeting was for grown-ups,” the Mand’alor says.

Ben shrugs. “I wanted to listen in.”

“That door is soundproofed and you know it.”

“So?”

The Mand’alor grins. “Do me a favor and go fetch your dad.”

“Buir’s still sleeping,” Ben says, grave as dirt. It’s a strange expression for such a small child. He can’t be older than eight, and Komari’s pretty sure even that’s a stretch. “Shmi’s gonna be mad if he has to wake up before the bacta’s done.”

“I just need him for negotiations,” Mereel assures the child.

“Aggressive negotiations with a lightsaber?” Ben asks, and Komari nearly chokes.

“No, just regular ones.”

Ben nods sharply, and then turns and runs out.

“That boy...” Mereel mutters, but it’s fond. “Anywa--”

“BUIR!” Ben’s voice echoes from the hall, faint but audible, along with some very loud banging on what is presumably a door. “DAD! WAKE UP, THE COUNT IS HERE!”

The Count? Komari wonders. Even Master Dooku seems surprised.

The question is clearly on more minds than just her own. Mereel raises a brow at Master Dooku and gestures vaguely. “Didn’t know any of you were nobility. You a Count, Master Jedi?”

“No,” Master Dooku says, and before the Mand’alor can press further, he adds, “but if I were to retire from the Order, the title would be mine to inherit. As I have no intentions of retiring, I am not and will not be a Count, but I assume that is what the child is referring to.”

“Ben,” the Mand’alor corrects. He seems pleased with the reasonable answer. “Ylliben Skywalker. I suggest you refer to him by name.”

“You have a fondness for him,” Master Dooku notes.

Mereel shrugs. “No more than any other child, objectively, but his father is one of my more effective allies, and he gets antsy about things. Saying ‘your child’ won’t be a problem, but ‘the child’ is... well.”

The smirk is a challenge that Komari doesn’t feel ready to meet. She’s glad it’s not hers to handle.

“Why do you ‘have’ a Jedi?” Master Dooku asks, pushing the conversation back to the point Komari’s sure he was initially aiming for.

“Found him in a snowstorm, brought him inside,” Mereel says, grinning. “And then he refused to leave, the shabuir. Troublesome man, like you wouldn’t believe, but useful.”

“Like a feral tooka,” someone behind Komari mutters. She feels a part of her soul die.

You can’t just say that in front of the Mand’alor! she screeches in the depths of her mind, despairing.

“Exactly,” Mereel agrees with a laugh. “Skywalker’s a feral tooka.”

Komari dies a little more.

“Talkin’ shit about me, Mereel?”

...oh no.

This one’s pretty.

The man is tall, dressed almost entirely in black, and looks like shit.

“You look like you got run over by a herd of bantha,” the Mand’alor notes.

“I got back less than a day ago,” Skywalker growls out. He leans against the wall behind the Mand’alor’s desk. He folds his arms. He glowers around the room. “The kriff is Count Dooku doing here?”

“Master Dooku,” the man in question says, a little pained. “As I informed Mand’alor Mereel, I may technically have claim to that title, but I am a Jedi. So long as I remain a Jedi, the title isn’t actually mine.”

Skywalker makes a face, and then shakes his head. “Fine. Whatever. Jaster, what the hell do you need from me?”

“Well, some manners would be nice.”

“I got shot and am putting myself in a position to get yelled at by baar’ur Mirka’lu for coming here when I’m supposed to be on bed rest,” Skywalker growls out. He kicks Mereel’s chair, glaring at the back of the man’s head. “You’re lucky I put on pants.”

Mereel seems unbothered by this statement or treatment.

Komari thinks her eyes may currently be the size of dinner plates.

“You’re the one from Bandomeer.”

Skywalker’s head snaps up to focus his gaze on Master Dooku. “Say what?”

“You’re the one my former Padawan encountered on Bandomeer,” Master Dooku says, something satisfied in his tone. “He said you refused to give a name, but the physical description does match.”

“Oh, lovely, Jinn’s been gossiping,” Skywalker mutters. “That’s just--”

“General Skywalker,” Mereel says, voice finally slipping to something more stern than amused. “If you could please focus.”

Skywalker rolls his eyes and mutters something about painkillers.

“Buir?”

Skywalker’s head tilts to the side, and he holds one arm out to the side. The kid from before--Ben--darts in to cling to the man’s side. A slightly taller Togruta follows in and ducks in under his other arm. Both children keep a wary gaze fixed on the same person, and their adult...

Every look from this man is a new challenge to Master Dooku.

“They’re yours?”

That is the exact question Komari was hoping her master wouldn’t ask.

“We’re in Mandalorian territory,” Skywalker says. “They’re Force-Sensitive orphans with an incredible amount of potential. If I didn’t claim them, someone else would have.”

It’s not an airtight justification--the man could have just sent them to the Temple--but the air around him is roiling with aggression. This man does not like Master Dooku, and is more than a shade protective of these--his--children. Komari shifts her weight and worries as the pregnant silence grows heavier.

“As you say,” Master Dooku allows, and some of the bowstring-tight tension in the room loosens, drains away like foul bathwater. “If I may... I was unaware you were a General, nor that Mandalore had a standing army large enough for such a position.”

“He’s not,” Mereel says. “Used to be, won’t tell me where. It’s not my business, or yours. Title’s a holdover from whatever war he was fighting before we got him.”

Komari is not the only person whose heart drops as Master Dooku says, “Qui-Gon claimed that the rogue knight he’d met on Bandomeer mentioned a galactic war against the Sith.”

Mereel blinks, and then turns his seat around to look at Skywalker. The other Mandalorians look at Skywalker. Every single Jedi also looks at Skywalker.

The Togruta child sticks her tongue out at Master Dooku.

“I did say that,” Skywalker says. “What of it?”

“You know, when I said I didn’t care what fight you were running that turned you into a soldier, I kind of assumed it was something on the level of, say, a system-wide civil war,” Mereel drawls. “Not galactic Force nonsense.”

Skywalker shrugs. “Don’t ask questions you don’t want answers to.”

“Because you’ll lie?”

“No, I’m just going to be really annoying about it,” Skywalker tells him. The Togruta giggles and shoves her face into his side. “Or, hell, I’ll let Ben do it. We both know he can talk circles around basically everyone in this room.”

“Skywalker.”

“Mereel.”

The two hold gazes for a moment that lasts just a little too long, and then Mereel breaks it off. “We’re talking about this later.”

“Of course, Mand’alor,” Skywalker says, with a grim sort of smile. “Wouldn’t dream of doing otherwise.”

Mereel doesn’t seem particularly impressed by that.

Komari wonders if anyone else remembers that Skywalker was supposed to be here to make negotiations easier.

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

Yan Dooku is having a Day.

He’s not entirely sure whom to blame for this mess. Perhaps Yoda, for suggesting he handle this mission. Perhaps the governor of Galidraan, who decided collaborating with terrorists for his own gain was a good idea. Perhaps Jaster Mereel, whose influence and power is enough that Yan needs to tread carefully. Perhaps Qui-Gon, for giving him just enough information about Skywalker to cause some drama.

Perhaps Skywalker for being a recalcitrant, ornery bastard who delights in Yan’s suffering.

(One of the Mandalorians calls him that to his face, and Skywalker informs the man that “my mother always told me I didn’t have a father,” and stares until the Mando stammers out an apology and turns on his heel.)

(The smirk on Skywalker’s face is certainly informative.)

“Hi.”

Yan looks up from the datapad he’s been using to try and punch out a report, for all that he can’t find the words he needs, and sees the Togruta youngling from Skywalker’s side hanging upside-down from a ventilation grate.

He blinks evenly at her. “Good afternoon. Is that your normal manner of traversing the building?”

“Yeah, when Jan-Jan isn’t yelling at me about it,” she says, and drops from the ceiling. Seemingly without paying attention, she directs the grate itself back into place with the Force, screws reattaching themselves with only the slightest whisper. She’s done this many, many times.

“I’m afraid I don’t know who that is.”

“Jango Fett,” she clarifies. “Ad be Mand’alor.”

Child of the king.

He does remember that much from the briefing.

“I see,” Yan says, rather than try to tackle whatever the usage of such a nickname implies. “I’m afraid nobody’s seen fit to introduce you, youngling.”

“I’m Sokanth Skywalker, but most people call me Soka,” she says, with a bouncing, shallow bow. Full of energy, this one. “I’m eight.”

“The General is your father, then?”

“Mm-hm! He adopted me when I was almost two,” she says, and climbs up onto the bench. She wraps her arms around her knees and beams up. “Ben was still a baby, and we didn’t go get Shmi until a few months later when Skyguy could afford it.”

“Skyguy?” Yan prompts.

“My dad,” she explains, head tilting a little as she studies his reaction. “I... I’ve always called him Skyguy. He took care of me before he adopted me, for at least a year. He says I called him Skyguy when I first started talking, back then, and then he didn’t make me stop when he adopted me.”

“I see,” Yan says. “Does your father know you’re speaking with me?”

“Probably.”

“And would he approve?” Yan hints as heavily as he can. “He doesn’t seem to like me very much.”

“That’s because we’ve all seen what you could be,” she says. “But you’re not the Count yet, so it’s okay.”

Information. “Ah. Visions, then. That would explain some things.”

“Ben gets them the most,” she keeps talking. “But it’s not just that. It’s like... patterns. The Sith are going to target you, because they’re going to think you’re worth corrupting.”

“And you’ve seen enough Sith to know that?”

“Yeah.”

“Visions are not foolproof,” he says, trying to keep his tone gentle. He’s not used to interacting with children of this age, and this one comes with a father in the Mand’alor’s confidence, someone he can’t afford to irritate by making a daughter cry. “I have a friend who is very prone to visions, and some come true, some don’t, and others--”

“Are self-fulfilling,” Sokanth finishes for him. “I know that. But my dad’s actually fought Sith, y’know. The guy who cut off my dad’s arm used to be a Jedi Master, like you, and he was all fancy-schmancy and a history nerd for Sith stuff, and didn’t like the Council or their decisions very much. Like you.”

That’s... very personal.

“A surface-level similarity is not enough to make the claim that I am to become a Sith,” he says.

She blinks at him, eyes too large for a face that’s so near to human in bone-structure. It’s unnerving. “Whether or not you Fall is your choice, Count. All I can tell you is that you are the kind of person they look to groom... if only as a pawn.”

The words are too old for a girl her size.

“You speak as if you’ve faced the Sith yourself,” Yan says, well aware now that he needs to tread carefully, but... “You’re too young to go out into the field. I can’t imagine your father would allow a child like yourself to go up against someone that dangerous.”

She blinks those too large eyes, and tilts her head in the other direction, and then smiles. “You care. That’s good. Keep that compassion, Count.”

He raises an eyebrow. “I feel like you’re evading the question.”

Sokanth giggles. “Maybe. Buir doesn’t like us talking about it much. It makes him sad, ‘cuz he can’t help us not hurt, and a lot of it is really scary. It’s like... my memories are too big for my head. I don’t get a lot of visions, but I get a lot of dreams of things that happened that I’m not alive for. And buir does remember those things happening, so it’s true, and it happened, but I only... sort of remember it, and when I think about it too hard, it hurts my head. Or I get nightmares about it, and I don’t like those. Ben’s got it worse, though. He has more to fight.”

It’s a lot of information.

It’s confusing information.

It’s... possibly information that the General has asked her to feed him for reasons he can’t even begin to guess at.

“In this war your father fought,” Yan asks, “were you a soldier as well?”

“Commander,” she corrects, voice soft. “That’s what the dreams call me, before they start screaming.”

“How old are you really?” He asks, before he can quite stop himself.

She laughs, suddenly bright again. “I’m as old as I look. I’m eight. Just because the Force gives me memories I shouldn’t have doesn’t mean that my brain isn’t a kid. Sometimes Ben tries to act older than he is ‘cuz of the memories, y’know. Buir gets sad whenever he does that, ‘cuz he thinks we deserve to be kids before the galaxy goes to hell again.”

“He’s sure of such a thing?”

“It always does,” she says, with the air of someone who isn’t sure how their conversation partner could be quite that dense. Her voice takes on a sing-song cadence, like she’s telling a fable instead of a philosophy. “War always comes eventually. Not every sentient is selfish, but enough are, and they tend to be the ones that claw their way to the top. The rich and powerful will take and take and take, and then, when there’s nothing left, they will use their living stepping stones to tear each other apart. All we can do is be ready to end it as quickly as possible once it comes.”

Yan lets the claim sit for a long, quiet minute. “Did your father tell you that?”

“No,” she says. “Ben did.”

The six-year-old.

“He has a way with words,” Yan manages.

“Sometimes he uses his stuffed animals to host courtroom dramas,” she says. “He makes me look up the right laws so it can be procedurally accurate, ‘cuz he’s a nerd but so am I, and it makes Skyguy happy when he sees us playing like that instead of just doing saber forms and stuff.”

Yan has... no idea what to do with that. “I wouldn’t normally call courtroom dramas a normal children’s activity.”

“Yeah, but Ben’s a nerd,” she says, as if that’s all that needs to be said. Maybe, for her, it is. “And there’s only so much time I’m allowed to spend hunting.”

Right. Togruta.

“And what was your father doing at that age?”

“I’m not allowed to talk about that,” she says immediately. “Because it’s very private and he and Shmi get upset if we bring it up, ‘cuz of trauma and stuff.”

Shmi. The... sister, he thinks. People seem to be unclear on that. He’s heard a few refer to the teenager as just “one of Skywalker’s,” so that’s something to consider. She’s near-perfectly halfway between the children and the General, in terms of age, so it’s a little ambiguous where she fits.

That said, he’s been in a lot of places in his time as a Jedi Master. It’s taken him a little longer than it should have to realize, but he thinks he’s got at least part of the puzzle.

Skywalker’s a slave name. Tatooine, specifically.

It’s not confirmation, really, but...

Well. He thinks it’s better he doesn’t dig, on that subject.

“Hey,” Sokanth says, tugging at his sleeve. “Can I ask ya something?”

“I cannot promise an answer, but you may ask.”

“Can you spar with Skyguy? I wanna see who wins.”

[prettywordsyouleft]

Conveniently Yours - Epilogue

Summary: You knew better than to enter a marriage of convenience with your boss’ grandson. But you wanted that senior partnership, and it wasn’t as if Jaebum was a stranger - you knew him rather intimately. It was only a year together, and then you could divorce him and achieve your biggest career goal. But would it be as simple as that?

Pairing: Im Jaebum x female reader

Genre: romance / marriage of convenience

Warnings for overall story: suggestive, swearing, mentioning of body parts and sex, a miniscule amount of angst, inequality in the workplace, a disapproving mother-in-law. In this part: that typically cliche ending trope I tend to overuse and need to stop using *coughpregnancycough*

Prompt: no prompt

Author’s note: This story is a drabble/mini series. It covers over an entire year in just eight short parts. It’s not as in-depth as this world could have been done, but I hope you enjoy it all the same.

Word count: 690

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Epilogue

“Mrs Im, can you please explain to me why the senior partner of my law firm is on a sudden leave?”

Smiling up at Jaebum as he entered your bedroom, you watched as your husband soaked you in silently, his eyes slowly blinking.

“You’re in bed.”

“I am.”

“You’re never in bed. What’s wrong? Did that asshole Park give you yet another migraine? I swear, we should have left him at Im and Jones. Fantastic lawyer or not, you could have partnered with anyone else in this sector.”

“Jinyoung isn’t the reason I’m in bed right now, though he wasn’t thrilled I’d be taking a leave of absence.”

“Did you hurt yourself? I told you those heels you insist on wearing are dangerous.”

You rolled your eyes, remembering the multiple times he had removed you out of everything you wore but those heels. “No, I didn’t fall. Though, I guess I better be more careful in the future.”

“I’m not following.”

“What do you think about this house here?” you asked, turning your laptop around to show Jaebum. “It has four bedrooms and a reasonably sized backyard. It could do with some renovations, which we could get done over the next few months before we can’t.”

Jaebum merely stared at you.

“I know when your grandfather asked me to sign up as your wife five years ago that he wanted great-grandchildren, and I almost laughed in his face at the mere concept. And then, when I broke out of the contract and left the firm, he wasn’t thrilled with me at all. Especially since I stole his other favourite candidate to boost my newly purchased law firm. But do you reckon he’ll forgive me for all of that in nine months’ time? Well, more like seven. It turns out that morning sickness doesn’t come as early as—”

Jaebum’s lips crashed down on yours desperately, stealing away your breath and the rest of your sentence.

You had taken the leave of absence for only a week. You knew when it came to actual maternity leave that you would be more concerned about the running of your firm. By then, though, you would have trained up your recent employee to handle your cases as you took a much-needed break from the stresses of other people’s relationships.

You needed to focus on your own a little more carefully now.

“You’re pregnant?” he finally asked when his kisses turned tentative, as if he needed to be careful with you. “I thought you didn’t possess a single maternal bone in your body?”

“Hey! I think I do okay with Mark and Tessa’s triplets, don’t you? If I can babysit three of them for an evening, I’m sure to do fine with just one of our own.”

Jaebum’s mouth tipped up. “You sure it’s just one?”

“Thankfully,” you admitted with a quick exhale that made him laugh. “I had to get it checked immediately as soon as the test came back positive.”

“And to think, you were going to give this all up after a year with me,” Jaebum teased, kissing your temple as he finally joined you on the bed. You watched him soak you in with those bedroom eyes of his, laughing silently at how they had finally gotten you in the predicament you now faced.

“You had your chance to escape back then.”

Jaebum kissed you as he shook his head slowly. “There was no way I could escape you. I was yours long before our marriage of convenience.”

“Conveniently mine?” you wondered as his hands explored your body, eliciting waves of arousal despite the first trimester fatigue you were resting at home with.

“Conveniently yours,” Jaebum agreed, kissing you again.

“I could get used to that. I mean, if this marriage needs to have a reason, it ought to be that I belong to you, right?”

“No modern woman like yourself would belong to anyone.”

“Not anyone else,” you confirmed in a whisper, staring into the eyes of the man who had loved and worshipped you for years. “But for you, I think I can negotiate that into our ongoing contract.”

_________________

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[jilliannotfound]

prepare for a long ask (i’m sorry)

my brain is very full so hear me out-

dream smp casino/mafia au-

now i was at first thinking Kinoko kingdom (karlnapity) are the owners of the casino cause yk Las Nevadas Quackity but then i remembered “Syndicate” (by Derivakat) which has a jazzy vibe and was like, what if the Syndicate was a mafia ‘family’ that ran a casino and reader is their star performer who starts off every night with a performance of “Syndicate”. reader’s performance is used to kinda establish the Syndicate’s power over the casino and to remind the patrons anything they do will be under the scrutiny of a mafia with literally two of the most renowned mafiosos’ (Philza whose reputation of traveling all over and taking down many a mafia family precedes him and Technoblade who has taken down mafia families singlehandedly) in the city, maybe even the entire country.

the Eggpire is like a rival mafia that is trying to take control over the city so it isn’t uncommon for them to try and infiltrate the Syndicate casino. so i was thinking, what if the people who are Pro-Omlette (but not in the Syndicate so Puffy, Foolish (since it’s not confirmed he’s part of the Syndicate), Awesamdude and Eret) are staff at the casino. they were each like a lone agent after their mafia family split up/they left and decided to join forces with the Syndicate to make sure the Eggpire didn’t gain total control of the city. Maybe Sam is a bodyguard stationed either outside the casino or manning security cameras switching with Puffy, Eret can be like a stage manager/backstage to aid the performers and make sure no one sneaks into the dressing rooms or the light control area backstage and Foolish is like a bartender keeping an eye out on the main floor of the casino for any activity.

Dream was the former head of the well-renowned Dream Team mafia family until the family split. he’s notorious for breaking apart mafia families before disappearing into the night and traveling to a new city. occasionally he’ll hire some aid but they never last long.

Ponk used to be an on-sight medic for the casino in cause of bar fights or performers getting injured on stage but after many rumors (later confirmed to be true) of him being a member of the Eggpire he was fired and not allowed to enter the premise of the casino again.

Kinoko Kingdom was a rival casino/mafia family to the Syndicate’s but they’ve decided to have a truce to make sure Dream and/or the Eggppire don’t take over their city. Their casinos have different vibes with the Syndicate’s being more of a hub for mafia and business activity with jazzy music on the constant and famous for civilized and tame yet very entertaining entertainment whilst Kinoko’s casino is like more of a rowdy type casino, famous for high stake bets, drinks with high alcohol content and lively music and entertainment that can be seen as a bit too glitzy and tacky. Like you go to Syndicate casino for a night of business deals and building yourself up to the top, the type of casino you would bring your boss to, whilst the Kinoko casino is the type of casino you go to let loss and risk it all with cheap entertainment and even cheaper booze. their truce works out because their casinos are so different that competition wouldn’t be worth the cash (and the Syndicate knows they can easily take on the Kinoko mafia in a fight but shhhh)

there’s multiple places a reader character could fight but as a primarily Technoblade simp at heart i had to put reader as a performer in the Syndicate casino-

~🦫Anon (if this title isn’t already taken-)

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕊𝕪𝕟𝕕𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕖

DSMP x Reader (in-game)

Summary: Request

Warnings: None?

A/N: Okay… I have a few important things to say. First of all, this story is not completed. This request is so genuinely good and I have been trying to work on it for far too long and have had very little success. With that being said I still want to publish the small bit of this story that I’m proud of.

Second of all, I would like any other dsmp writers on this platform to feel free to take this request and perhaps do with it what I wasn’t able to. If you write this story, please tag me because I’d love to see what you do with it. You can also use this bit I have written and am sharing to start off your own version of the story (just give proper credit)!

With all of that out of the way, please enjoy!

—

The Syndicate. One of the highest-end casinos in the country, and certainly the most powerful, being run by two of the best-known mafiosos.

Philza was best known for his travel, being able to track down anyone anywhere and take care of them.

Technoblade was easily the scariest man you could meet. He’d single-handedly taken down more mafia families at the age of 21 than most senior-aged mafiosos could even dream of.

It was rare to see either of the men in the casino, let alone to see them together, so when the pair came through the doors with power in their steps everyone knew something serious was in order.

They took their seats at the bar as Foolish prepared their drinks and Eret directed the casino's attention to the stage.

This performance was a nightly occurrence, the same jazzy tune came from the band's instruments as Y/N emerged from the curtain.

Hey, I'll tell you a little secret of mine

If you promise not to tell, if you have the time

Everyone has gotten you, always on the run

But if you join the Syndicate

Life could get a little more fun

It was the song of the casino, used to remind everyone just how much power it holds.

When all of the horses and all of the men

Won't learn from history, it's all the same in the end

I've told you once and I'll tell you again

The Syndicate is looking for a couple new friends

It reminds the patrons of the casino that no matter what they do, the Syndicate is always watching, studying each of them in hopes of finding some new friends.

Fight for freedom, fight to end the pain

Hey, this is serious, it's not just some little game

'Cause the anarchy's part of me, tyranny bothers me

End it all properly once and for all

They call us the villains 'cause they know we'll take the fall

The members of the Syndicate were a force to be reckoned with, composed of strong fighters and quick thinkers constantly working to take down anyone that dare stand in their way.

The Eggpire was their current concern. Run by a man named BadBoyHalo, the Eggpire was a whole other breed of mafiosos.

They preached about the Egg, whatever the hell that was supposed to be, and always wore a signature red color that made them easy to spot. Sometimes you could even swear there was a red glint in their eyes when talking about it.

After the incident with Ponk, their old medic that got caught up in the red whirlwind, the Syndicate became extra wary of the Eggpire, willing to do just about anything to take them down.

This is exactly why the two most powerful men were sitting together at the Syndicate’s bar with their eyes locked on the stage.

Fight for freedom, fight to end the pain

Hey, this is serious, it's not just some little game

'Cause the anarchy's part of me, tyranny bothers me

End it all properly once and for all

They call us the villains 'cause they know we'll take the fall

When all of the horses and all of the men

Won't learn from history, it's all the same in the end

I've told you once and I'll tell you again

The Syndicate is looking for a couple new friends

Oh, a couple new friends

Oh, oh, oh, oh

Oh no, no

You'll gain a couple new friends

As the jazzy instrumentals faded out, Eret poked his head out of the curtain on the side of the stage, gesturing for the resident singer to come backstage.

Y/N smiled at the audience and walked through the velvet barrier to be greeted by the deep-voiced brunette.

“Did you see who’s out there tonight?” They asked him.

“That's why I called you, they wanna see you.”

Y/N took a deep breath and headed out onto the main floor.

They’d been part of the Syndicate for most of their life and knew they weren’t in any danger near Techno and Phil, but the anxiety still pounded in their head as they approached the men.

Y/N sat on the stool next to Technoblade and the two turned their stools to face them.

“Lovely performance!” Phil praised

They shot him a kind smile and braced themself for the inevitable harsh news that would follow the attempted small talk.

“We need you to do something.” Techno said bluntly. “You know Las Nevadas?”

“Yeah, of course.”

It was another casino ran by Kinoko Kingdom, another mafia family. They used to be considered one of the biggest threats to the Syndicate because they had quite literally appeared overnight and nobody knew anything. Once the Eggpire popped up though, it was safest to become fast friends with the three men that ran Las Nevadas in hopes of strengthening their forces against the red abomination infecting families all over.

“We had a meeting with Quackity and he’s got a bad feeling about some guests that have been stopping by their area. It’s a shitty casino, we all know that, but he thinks it’s more than just some random troublemakers.”

…

:]

[etceteraon]

losing heart | hjs

pairing: gamer!jisung x female reader

genre: f2l, fluff, romance, angst

warnings: slight language

word count: 10.2k

summary: after meeting and starting to date your close online friend of a few months, you start to realize that maybe you might have been better off staying online.

a/n: this is my first fic and I really hope it's enjoyable, I worked really hard on it and hope it meets any expectations. I also wanted to thank

@softbbyg0rl

for being so kind as to help me proofread this and actually help me expand upon it, I'm really thankful for their help and this probably wouldn't be half of what it is without them helping me out. I am indebted to them /j. I also had another friend help me read over this and I promised them a jeongin x reader in return, so expect that in the near future!

Video games had never been an issue for you before. You enjoyed them yourself normally, occupying yourself with various titles and genres of video games. Growing up you were known as the nerdy kid, finding interest in things that the other kids deemed ‘weird’. Really it was just that they were closed minded and couldn’t accept anything that was different or new. Anime and video games were entertaining, it didn't matter to you what other people thought about it. It was something that had helped you bond with some of your family members, and had helped you make a few friends over the years, one of them being your current boyfriend, Han Jisung.

The two of you had met online in a game you both enjoyed, Genshin Impact. Normally conversation in this game wasn’t much, just asking what the other needed and helping the other out with it. Things like domains, bosses, etc. After that was all said and done, you said your goodbyes and left, more than likely never encountering the other player ever again. When you and Jisung had met in the game however, things had gone much differently. It was only after about an hour of grinding domains that he had asked for your Discord, the two of you chatting on there for a few weeks before you both mustered up the courage to voice call. A few weeks after that, it was video calls. Only a couple months later, you two were very close friends, playing games and hanging out whenever you both had free time.

How quickly you two had clicked was a mystery to the both of you, but even your online friends were surprised at how fast you had let Han Jisung into your circle. Normally you were very particular about who you spoke to, let alone on a daily basis. Whenever you first met someone you usually spent the first few weeks getting a read on their personality and getting to know them before even thinking about actually getting close to them. It seemed Jisung had just rubbed off on you so quickly you hadn’t had a chance to actually go through your usual process.

When Jisung had suddenly brought up the idea of meeting in person just six months after first meeting each other online, it came as a shock to you, not expecting him to be the one to suggest it since you had learned he was actually an introvert despite his online persona. You had both learned that you lived relatively close to each other, having discussed where you lived previously. It was still about a two hour trip from your house though. Jisung of course had suggested he be the one to travel, but you didn’t want to cause him any more anxiety than he already had and told him you’d be more than willing to do the traveling.

A week was all it had taken for you to get on a bus and travel from your hometown to his. Jisung was texting you the entire ride there, clearly nervous with how many questions he was asking, probably wondering to himself if he should just call it all off. Your other online friends had gotten quite jealous since you hadn’t even met them yet, but you had to remind them just how much further away they were compared to him. They couldn’t argue with that. The two hour ride hadn’t felt long, your legs relieved to be standing upright as you exited the bus, holding your bag close as you looked around nervously. You had never done something like this before, and you honestly hadn’t even realized just how nervous you were up until now.

Scanning the busy sidewalk, you squinted, nibbling on your bottom lip as you struggled to focus, your heart slamming against your chest. Having to wear masks didn’t make things any easier, only being able to see the top half of people's faces really limited your ability to recognize someone you had only ever seen over the phone. After a few minutes, you had begun to wonder if Jisung had up and ditched you. Scrambling for your phone, you nearly dropped it, hissing as you unlocked it and looked over your messages with Jisung. He had said he was on his way to the bus stop a half an hour ago. It couldn’t take him that long could it?

About to call him, you walked over to the bench and sat yourself down, pressing the dial button and placing the phone up to your ear, looking around sheepishly, silently wondering if you were going to be ghosted and have to take another two hour drive home. Faintly you could hear the sound of a phone ringing, furrowing your eyebrows in confusion, you turned your attention to the source, seeing a rather short male with bleach blonde hair running towards the bus stop with a motorcycle helmet in hand. It was only moments before the male wearing all black actually reached the stop, looking around, locking eyes with you for a moment before pulling out his phone that was ringing and taking less than a second to look at the caller ID before answering.

“Y/n? I just got here- Where are you?” He questioned, nearly making you scoff into your phone’s receiver as you stood up, looking directly at him and cocking an eyebrow.

“Right in front of you.”

The slow turn and the look of realization was more than comical. Jisung’s eyes widening and then scrunching as he smiled under his mask. Hanging up the phone he slowly walked over, rubbing the back of his neck as he cleared his throat, shaking slightly with anxiety. “I uh, I’m sorry for getting here late. I kind of ran into an issue and had to do some last minute problem solving.” He explained, earning a head tilt from you. “What kind of problem?” You asked, wanting him to elaborate.

A quiet chuckle left his lips as he held up the motorcycle helmet he was holding, motioning back towards a bike that was parked on the side of the road. “I only had one. So I had to go and buy another.” You were sure your expression had matched Jisung’s from just moments before, in shock as you realized the motorcycle was his. If he was slow at realizing you were right in front of him, you were slow in realizing something much more obvious. “You never told me you drive a motorcycle…” You trailed off, Jisung nodding slowly in agreement.

“Ride a motorcycle but yeah. It never really came up and I’m not one of those people who constantly brags about riding one. It’s just a mode of transportation and happens to be cheaper than a car.” He shrugged, and honestly, you couldn’t argue with his reasoning. Clearing your throat, you shrugged your bag further up onto your shoulder, shifting your weight back and forth on your feet. “Well, I’m here. Now what?”

Jisung paused for a moment, seemingly processing your words before motioning towards his bike once more. “I figured we could go back to my place. I figured I’d order food since I’m not the best cook as you know. Almost burnt down my apartment on multiple occasions. My roommate is there, but he’s really chill. You’ve heard him every now and then on call or on mic. He normally keeps to himself, but I already told him about you coming and he doesn’t mind.” He stopped, thinking about whether or not that was everything he was wanting to say. “...Yeah. Unless you don’t feel comfortable with that of course. We can always go somewhere public and just hang out like that.” He offered, clearly not wanting to make you do anything you didn’t want to do.

“No, that sounds great.” You assured him, seeing his eyes scrunch as he smiled again, nodding happily. “Okay cool, let me just-” He stepped forward, getting alarmingly close and leaning forward. It felt as if your heart had stopped beating and the world was moving in slow motion around you. But before you could let your mind wander too far, Jisung placed the helmet he had been holding on your head, knocking you right out of your trance. “-ouch…” You mumbled, Jisung leaning back just slightly to look you in the eyes.

“Sorry, it’s kind of heavy, but it’ll keep your head intact.” He joked quietly, making sure everything was tight, locked and secure before stepping back and flipping the shield to cover your face, smirking slightly as he smacked the top of the helmet. “You good in there?”

Rolling your eyes, you flipped the shield back up to glare at him, smacking his arm as he laughed. “So you’re an ass in person too?” Jisung clicked his tongue before snapping his fingers and shooting finger guns at you. “You know it.” You were internally cringing, but before you could even think about teasing him for it, he was walking over to his bike and you had no choice but to follow, trailing behind him like a lost puppy.

You watched as he got on his bike, pulling his helmet on with ease and starting the engine, the loud sound making you flinch. If Jisung noticed this he didn’t comment on it, simply looking over at you and moving his head to the side, signaling for you to get on the bike. You had never rode one before, so this was a nerve wracking situation. What happened if you fell off? What if you got into an accident? Your mom had always told you just how dangerous motorcycles were. What if this was a bad idea?

Suddenly, Jisung was off of his bike and his hands were on your waist, lifting you up and onto the motorcycle, flipping your face shield back down before getting back on himself. He kicked the stand up so he was now balancing the bike himself. Looking back at you, he raised his voice so you could hear him over the sound of the motor. “I’d suggest you put your arms around me unless you wanna fall off.” Mean, but you knew he was just trying to tease you. You didn’t waste any time to wrap your arms securely around his waist, your head resting against his back. You swear you could feel him laugh as he flipped his face shield down, but you didn’t have any time to really think about it before he was off, riding down the streets of Incheon with you clinging to him for dear life.

The ride to his apartment felt like forever when in reality it only took a few minutes. Your grip on him hadn’t loosened in the slightest, far too afraid of falling from the motorcycle. Even after he had parked and turned off the engine, you were still sticking to him, an audible laugh leaving his lips as he took off his helmet. “You plan on letting go anytime soon?” He teased, you only shaking your head in response. He snickered before carefully prying your hands off of his waist, getting off of the bike and helping you off before taking your helmet and tilting his head slightly, noting your expression. “Was it that bad? I tried to be a little less reckless than normal.” His tone was joking, but you could tell he was genuinely concerned he had scared you.

“N-No it wasn’t that bad, just not used to it.” You assured him, stumbling slightly as you tried to take a step forward, his arms quickly reaching forward and holding you so you didn’t fall. “Jeez, we’re lucky you don’t have very far to walk.” Again with the teasing. You weren’t surprised by it though, Jisung had always been like that when you two talked. You scoffed, hanging on to his arm as you steadied yourself. “Shut up Ji. Where’s your place?” You questioned, Jisung smirking before leading you towards the building, letting you hang on to his arm without much thought. He didn’t seem bothered by it in the slightest despite having told you that physical contact made him nervous. You wondered what had changed. Carefully leading you inside and through the building, the both of you made it to his apartment, you finally letting go of him as he pulled out his keys and unlocked the door. If his roommate was home you weren’t sure why the door was locked, but you didn’t bother to question it as the door opened and Jisung motioned inside. “Ladies first.”

“When have you ever considered me a lady?” You joked, stepping into the apartment and looking around curiously, Jisung scoffing at your question as he shut the door behind the both of you. “Since always. You are one are you not?”

Shrugging, you didn’t answer his question, tugging at the straps on your bag as you walked further into the apartment. For some reason the decor didn’t really feel like it matched Jisung. After all, he had this whole e-boy/rocker look going on and you had fully expected the apartment to be messy and unorganized, but it was the complete opposite. It was clean, spotless even, and it made you wonder if he had cleaned simply because he knew you were coming to visit. Turning to look over your shoulder, Jisung smiled sheepishly, fiddling with a zipper on his leather jacket. “My roommate helped clean everything up. It doesn’t usually look like this.” He admitted, making you laugh and shake your head. “I figured as much.”

As if on cue, another male stepped out of a room in the hall, locking eyes with you and giving you a questioning look before noticing Jisung standing beside you, putting two and two together as a smile started to form on his face. “Oh, you must be Y/n-ssi.” He stated matter-of-factly, making his way down the hall towards the both of you and holding out his hand to you in greeting. You gingerly grasped his hand, smiling softly as he began to introduce himself while shaking your hand. “I’m Yang Jeongin, 01’ liner.”

Your eyes lit up at the realization that you were both the same age, “L/n Y/n, also 01’ liner.” You stated, watching as he relaxed a little realizing that he no longer needed to be so formal with you. The two of you let go of each other's hands, “Ah, well it’s nice to meet you Y/n. Jisung hyung has talked about you a lot.”

Raising an eyebrow, you glanced back at Jisung who smiled and shrugged as if to say he didn’t know what Jeongin was referring to. “I hope it was only good things.” You returned your attention to the male in front of you, watching as he chuckled and quickly nodded his head in agreement with your words. “Only good things. He’s always going on about how much he enjoys your company and how pr-”

“Yang Jeongin- '' Jisung cut him off suddenly, the younger male’s eyes widening before a mischievous smile crossed his face. The two males exchanged various expressions, you watching in confusion as they had a silent conversation with their faces. After a few moments, you cleared your throat, feeling awkward just standing between the two as they acted as if you weren’t right there. Snapping out of it, Jisung looked at you, quickly putting on a smile as he placed a hand on the small of your back, leading you towards the hall. “How about we hang out in my room, hm?”

“Wha- but I thought-” You trailed off, Jeongin following behind the two of you. “Seriously Jisung hyung? I thought we were all gonna hang out-” He mumbled, Jisung shaking his head as he practically pushed you into his room, stepping inside and shutting the door on Jeongin before the younger could hold it open. Locking it, Jisung turned to you, noticing your quizzical expression. He chuckled nervously, placing his hands in his pockets as he averted his gaze. “I just thought it might be better to hang out alone for a little while.” He stated, though his words sounded off, like he was only partly telling the truth.

You decided not to pry however, glancing at the door behind him. “What about Jeongin? He seemed upset.” Jisung shook his head, moving away from the door and closer to you. “He’ll be fine. He’s only being like that since we don’t normally have people over. After we hang out on our own for a while and go back out there he’ll forget about it.” He sounded so sure of himself that you had no reason not to believe him, nodding slowly as Jisung bit down on his bottom lip, seemingly debating something in his head.

“What’s up Ji?” You questioned, said male letting out a breathy laugh, not at all surprised that you had noticed something was going on in his head. “I uh- well I didn’t want to make it weird or anything but… I was wondering if I could give you a hug?” He sounded like he was nervous, and that suspicion was confirmed when you noticed how he was refusing to look at you, shifting back and forth on his feet. You found this cute, giggling quietly as you looked him over. You had just been practically glued to him while he was taking you back to his place on his motorcycle and now he was all shy and nervous because he wanted a hug?

Wordlessly, you crossed the remaining space between the two of you, wrapping your arms around his waist and looking up at him. Jisung tensed up slightly at your touch, remaining still for a moment before wrapping his arms around you, holding you close and resting his head on top of yours. “I made that weird didn’t I?” Snickering, you nodded, still keeping your hold on him but closing your eyes. “Just a little, but it’s fine. You make everything weird.”

An offended sound left his lips, earning a laugh from you as he pouted. “I do not make everything weird.” He mumbled, watching as you slowly pulled away and sat down on his bed, glancing around the room to actually take everything in. The decor in his room definitely made more sense, anime posters and figurines, manga, various instruments, LED lights adorning the ceiling, his gaming setup. It was all very Han Jisung. A light blush adorned Jisung’s cheeks as he cleared his throat and sat down beside you, nibbling the inside of his cheek. “Sailor Moon huh?” You teased, watching as his ears turned red with embarrassment.

“You’re gonna make me take all of this down right now I swear.” He huffed, eyeing you as you took your bag off and set it on the floor before falling back onto his bed, looking up at the ceiling and kicking your feet. “I think it’s cute. I like Sailor Moon too, she’s pretty.” You admitted, meeting his gaze to show that you were being honest.

“I mean, what’s not to like about her? She’s funny, sweet, caring, cute- plus she has a cute cat and super powers. Not only that but her outfit when she transforms is adorable. I’d wear that if I could.” You trailed off, watching as Jisung’s expression changed. You couldn’t read what it was, but there was a slight sparkle in his eyes as you spoke about his favorite anime character. “What are you thinking about?” You pondered, Jisung smiling as he snapped out of his trance, laying down beside you. “I just didn’t expect you to like Sailor Moon too. We never talked about that before so I didn’t even know you liked anime.” You considered his words before realizing that he was right, nodding slowly.

“I do. I watch it every now and then when I have time, but I grew up watching it. Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon, Naruto, the essentials.” The two of you talked about anime and your other interests besides gaming for a while, simply laying on Jisung’s bed as you both relaxed and spent time together, getting to know each other a little more. It was almost comical how easily you two got comfortable with each other despite having never met in person up until then. You both stayed there for about an hour before Jisung had brought up his music, asking you if you wanted to hear what he had been working on. Of course you obliged, sitting up as he grabbed his guitar and made his way back over, playing a few songs for you after getting over his initial nervousness to sing in front of you.

You praised him for how good he was at singing and playing the guitar, also mentioning just how thoughtful and beautiful his lyrics were. He turned bright red at your compliments, shaking his head as he put his guitar back, holding out his hand to you as he came back over, asking if you wanted to go out into the living room and watch some TV and order some food. Of course you agreed and took his hand, getting up and following him out of his room and into the living room where Jeongin was sitting, his eyes moving from the TV to the both of you. “Oh, are you finally gonna come out here and hang out?” You could tell he was upset, but not enough to cause his voice to sound angry.

Jisung simply nodded at his roommate, going over to the couch and scooting him over before sitting down himself and patting the empty spot beside him for you to sit. You made your way over to the two males, slowly sitting down as you looked at what Jeongin had been watching, some YouTuber playing a game you had never seen before. Looked like both of the boys were gamers, which made sense. Jisung took the remote from Jeongin, switching it from YouTube to Netflix and clicking his account before handing you the remote. “You can watch whatever you want.” He told you, pulling out his phone so he could order food, Jeongin looking over his shoulder as he mumbled to the older male what he felt like eating. You laughed quietly, shaking your head before returning your focus to the TV.

You picked out an animated movie you hadn’t seen in a while, reaching forward and setting the  TV remote down on the small table situated in front of the couch. Leaning back you noticed Jisung’s eyes glued to the TV, confused at his expression until Jeongin also looked up. “Ah, Jisung hyung watches this all the time. I think I’ve seen it at least twenty times.” He mumbled, your eyes widening as you leaned forward to grab the remote. “I can pick something else if you both have already seen this-” Jisung quickly reached forward, shaking his head as he took the remote and set it back down.

“No, it’s fine. If you want to watch it, we can watch it.” There was something different about his voice, but you couldn’t quite place what. Nodding, you went back to your previous sitting position, Jisung mumbling something you didn’t catch before handing you his phone. “What do you feel like eating?”

The three of you debated over what to eat for a while, mainly because you would suggest something, they would agree and you would go right back to asking them if they were really okay with what you had picked and then you were back to square one. Eventually you actually managed to decide on something, Jisung ordering for all three of you and then focusing on the movie. The three of you sat in silence, enjoying each other’s company. It was about halfway through the movie that the food arrived, Jeongin getting up before Jisung could, opening the door and thanking the delivery person before bringing the food in and shutting the door behind him. He quickly sorted out the food in the kitchen before bringing it all over, handing both you and Jisung yours before sitting down and starting to eat his own, not even bothering to wait or thank Jisung.

Giggling, you quietly thanked Jisung who shrugged it off, saying it wasn’t a big deal as he began to eat. The rest of the night was spent pretty much the same, the three of you watching various movies before Jeongin decided to retire for the night, saying goodnight to both you and Jisung before shutting himself in his room, leaving you and Jisung alone in the living room. Once the movie you were watching was over, Jisung cleared his throat, causing you to look over at him, feeling a little tired, but not trying to show it. Of course, it seemed like Jisung knew even with you trying to hide it, a soft smile on his lips as he slowly stood up. “You can sleep in my bed. I’ll take the couch.” Always the gentleman.

You opened your mouth to argue but he shook his head before you could, “I’m not letting you take the couch. So either you take the bed, or I end up on the floor. If you sleep on the couch I’m sleeping on the floor, so either way I’m not sleeping in my bed. Would you rather me sleep on the couch or the floor?” He didn’t give you much choice, but you knew he wasn’t bluffing. Groaning, you lifted yourself off the couch, ignoring his cheeky laugh as he led you back to his room, turning on the light and showing you where everything was in case you needed it. He then reminded you that he’d be on the couch in the event you needed him for anything, saying goodnight and giving you another hug before leaving his room and shutting the door to give you some privacy.

Everything felt like a daydream up until that point, a sigh leaving your lips now that you were alone in his bedroom. You locked the door so you could change into your nightclothes. After you had done so, you moved to unlock the door, your attention grabbed by an out of place manga just after. You walked over, picking it up and moving to put it back in its place, only for pages to fall out of it, your eyes widening when you thought you had accidentally ruined something of his, only to notice when going to pick them up that they were song lyrics and different ideas for songs. You felt like you were invading his privacy, quickly trying to stuff the pages back into the manga before your eyes fell upon your name. Furrowing your eyebrows, you couldn’t help but look over the page, eyes widening.

There was a knock on the bedroom door and before you could react Jisung was already in the room. “Sorry I forgot that I need to get my clothes-” He stopped once he caught sight of you, clearly in shock with how he simply stood there. You smiled sheepishly, placing the paper you held back into the manga and closing it. “I didn’t mean to look through it. I was going to put it up because I saw that it wasn’t where it was supposed to be and then a bunch of pages fell out.” You tried to explain, Jisung finally moved to take the manga from you, setting it back down on his desk before looking you in the eyes.

“You read it didn’t you?” His voice was calm, but you could tell by how quickly his eyes were scanning your face that he was anxious to hear your answer. Nodding, you bit down on your bottom lip, unsure of what to say or do. Jisung sighed, taking a step back and running a hand through his bleached locks, “God- I didn’t want you to find that… I meant to tell you, like actually tell you. I wanted to send you that song once I had finished it.” He mumbled, his admission making your cheeks heat up a little. So you weren’t reading too much into everything.

Reaching forward, you pulled Jisung into a hug, clearly surprising him as he squeaked in surprise. “Wh-” Before he could even finish his question, you interjected. “I like you too Ji.” It was simple, it was to the point, it was the truth.  You felt Jisung tense in your grip before relaxing completely only seconds later, pulling you closer to him as he let out a breathy chuckle. “So, I don’t need to send you that song?” He questioned, looking down at you as you smiled. “I’d still love to hear it.” Smiling, Jisung leaned down, pressing a kiss to your forehead. “I think I’ll finally be able to finish it now.”

That was how everything had started, and that was what got you here. Laying in your shared bed staring up at the ceiling as the subtle sound of clicking and the drag of a computer mouse filled the room. You weren’t sure how long you had been laying here, but it had been a while. Slowly, you turned your body to the side, seeing your boyfriend's back turned towards you, facing his monitors, headphones over his ears. You weren’t sure when was the last time the two of you had actually spent any time together. In between work and his constant gaming addiction, it seemed you were always left to occupy yourself. When you got back from your job, he was usually asleep, so you’d climb into bed with him and sleep yourself. Almost every time when you would get up, he’d either be gone or sitting at his desk and playing video games. That was when your dislike for video games began.

Today was no different it seemed, a quiet sigh leaving your lips as you reached over to your nightstand, picking up your phone and checking the time. It was late. Though you could have guessed that by how dark the room was, the LEDs on the ceiling the only thing illuminating the room. They had been Jisung’s idea, but you hadn’t objected since you figured it would be both of your living space and he ought to have some things of his own as well. You felt a sinking in your chest as you came to the realization that your fear was more than likely true. You had gone off to work that morning hoping, praying that Jisung would at least remember your birthday. But it seemed he hadn’t, far too engrossed in his video games to even notice you were awake.

Gulping, you pulled yourself off of the mattress, deciding you weren’t going to make a big scene. You left the bedroom in silence, going out to the small living room of the apartment and sitting yourself down on the couch in front of the TV. You could feel tears pricking at your eyes, but you wouldn’t let them fall. Reaching forward, you turned on the TV, figuring a distraction would help keep all of your emotions at bay. That or it would drown out the sound of you crying once you finally broke, knowing it was only a matter of time before that actually became reality. You didn’t even bother to actually pay attention to what you had put on the screen, merely turning up the volume as you pulled your knees up to your chest, lowering your head so you could no longer see.

You weren’t sure where things had gone wrong. Really, nothing had. You and Jisung had been very happy from the beginning, and you had no issues up until you both actually decided to move in together. You thought that living together would have actually made it easier on the both of you, not having to manage your work/life load as much. Trying to date while living two hours away from each other and having jobs on top of that made things harder, but now that you two were actually living in the same apartment, it felt like you actually spent less time with each other. Odd how that worked.

In the moment, you were tempted to just grab your things and leave, overwhelmed with the amount of emotions you were feeling. Anger, sadness, betrayal, loneliness… it was all just piling on. It probably didn’t help that you never expressed how you were feeling, pretending everything was just fine when you knew it wasn’t. You were just never one to create a problem, opting to just suffer than make anyone else uncomfortable or feel bad. The sound of someone knocking on the door had forced any tears that were about to fall back into your tear ducts. You knew Jisung couldn’t hear with his headphones on, so you begrudgingly picked yourself off of the sofa, sulking over to the door and prying it open, looking out with a dead expression up until your eyes met ones you hadn’t seen in months.

“Chan?” You breathed, unable to believe he was actually standing in front of your apartment. When you had moved in with Jisung, you had moved to Incheon in order to not make it hard on him. This had caused you to leave your family and friends behind, including your friend since middle school, Bang Chan. He always had impeccable timing. Beaming, Chan held out a box that held a cake in it, a present in his other hand as he tilted his head sweetly, his curls falling just slightly. “Happy birthday Y/n! Surprised you didn’t I?” He chuckled slightly, watching as you took a step back, a hand over your mouth as you tried to contain yourself.

It seemed to be just enough to send you over the edge however, tears spilling from your eyes before you could stop them, a broken sob leaving your lips as Chan’s happy expression quickly changed to one of concern. “Oh God-'' He didn’t even ask to be let in despite having never visited yours and Jisung’s apartment before, stepping in, he shut the door with his foot. It took him only seconds to find a place to set down the cake and present he held, bending down slightly as he held your arms and tried to look you in the eyes, seemingly searching them for an answer. “Y/n what’s wrong?” He had known you for so long, there was no getting out of this one.

He knew that you never cried in front of anyone unless something was really wrong. That or you had been holding in your emotions for too long. This time it happened to be both. You weren’t able to blame it on being happy to see him, he’d be able to tell you were lying immediately. God why had he decided to visit you now of all times? Sniffling, you tried your best to stop crying, shakily wiping away your tears before Chan wiped the remainder away with his thumb, arching an eyebrow as he awaited an answer.

“I-I just… God…” You fumbled over your words, not exactly sure how to explain what was going through your head to Chan. Of course, it seemed he could sense this, taking your wrist and leading you over to the couch you had previously been curled up on, sitting you both down and smiling softly. “You can take your time Y/n. I’m not gonna rush you. Just tell me what’s going on and why you’re so upset.” He always had to be so understanding and kind. You just weren’t sure if he would be as understanding and kind to your boyfriend after you told him what was bothering you. He had always been overprotective and had even tried to talk you out of moving in with Jisung in the first place.

“O-Okay well, it’s really not that big of a deal. It’s just Jisung and I haven’t been spending much time together lately. I’m just lonely and upset.” You mumbled, watching Chan’s jaw harden at the mention of Jisung, his eyes narrowing and growing dark as he tried to put the pieces together. There were things you weren’t telling him and he knew it. “Is he busy with work?” He questioned, your heart clenching. Chan really was just going to get to the root of the issue wasn’t he?

“He is sometimes…” You trailed off, nibbling on your bottom lip as you avoided Chan’s gaze. You hated it when he got angry. It was rare for him to do so, but when he did, he was terrifying. “What about other times?” His voice was cool and even, showing no signs of anger, but you knew better. You knew he was probably itching to get his hands on Jisung and in your mind you were wondering whether letting him in was a good idea.

“Well… when he gets back from work he usually sleeps or plays his games. When I get back from work he’s either at his job, sleeping or gaming. I mean, gaming is his form of stress relief so… I get it. It used to be mine so I can’t really be upset with him for that. I can’t be mad at him for sleeping or going to work either. It’s not that big of a deal.” You were making excuses for him and you knew it. But you didn’t want Chan to lose his cool. The thought was more scary than spending your birthday alone. “So he’s choosing video games over you.” Chan stated bluntly, anger creeping into his voice.

Slowly, you decided to look at him, only to see he wasn’t even looking at you now, but rather around the apartment, one of his fists clenched as he tapped his foot against the hardwood floor. You didn’t respond to his statement, so it was only a few moments before he looked you in the eyes, giving you a look that told you to correct him if he was wrong. You searched your mind for something, anything, but you came up with nothing, gulping as you slowly lowered your head, sighing shakily. “I-I guess.” You whispered, feeling your body grow cold as you admitted it to yourself aloud. Chan cleared his throat, nodding as he looked around the apartment once again. “Is he at work right now?” The silence that filled the apartment was his only indication of that, but when you looked around, unsure, he could tell that he was wrong in his assumption.

“He’s here right now isn’t he?” He scoffed, the anger he had been holding back making a swift appearance as he got to his feet. Eyes widening, you quickly grabbed onto your friend's arm, knowing he could easily overpower you and do what he wanted, but he wouldn’t. He may know you like the back of his hand, but you knew him just as well. “Chan please. Don’t make this a big thing. I’m already upset and things getting out of hand is only going to make it worse.”

“Y/n-” Chan started, looking back at you, anger fading as he looked into your eyes, knowing that ultimately he was going to do whatever it was you asked of him. “Can I just talk to him? You and I both know that you don’t deserve to be treated like this.” He bargained, only causing you to shake your head in disagreement. “You know for a fact that you won’t be able to hold yourself back if you ‘just talk to him’.” You gave him a knowing look and he simply huffed, averting his gaze. He knew you were right.

“You brought cake right? How about we just have that and hang out? That’d make me feel better.” Chan’s tension had eased slightly at your request, taking a deep breath as he nodded, deciding he was simply going to appease you since it was your birthday after all. Getting off of the couch, Chan grabbed the cake and present he had set down in a hurry, going into the kitchen and setting it down once again. You followed shortly after him, looking over as he opened the box, a soft smile gracing your lips. He had remembered your favorite color. “It’s very pretty.” You praised. Chan clicked his tongue as he opened a pack of candles, starting to place them on the top of the cake. “Of course it is, I picked it out.” He teased, causing you to roll your eyes and smack his arm. “God you’re annoying.”

Snickering he shrugged his shoulders, pulling a lighter out of his pocket and carefully lighting the candles. “Yet you still miss me. Crazy how that works.” Looks like you two were right back to how you had always been. He wasn’t wrong though, you had really missed him. Being pulled away from everything you knew just for Jisung had been hard, but it had been something you were willing to do for your relationship. One you weren’t even sure was there anymore. Pulling you from your thoughts, Chan started singing. His voice had always been amazing. After he had finished, you blew out the candles, Chan grinning and ruffling your hair before pulling out the candles and starting to search the kitchen for something to cut the cake with. “So, what did you wish for?”

He always asked that question. Every single birthday of yours without fail. You always responded with the same thing. “You know I can’t tell you that. If I tell you it won’t come true.” Laughing, Chan shook his head, amazed that you still stuck by that. “You actually think that matters?” He questioned, earning a nod from you as you opened the drawer that held your kitchen utensils, pulling out a knife and handing it to Chan who thanked you before getting to work on cutting the cake. “Have any of your wishes come true that you haven’t told anyone about?” He pondered, the question making you think back on your previous birthday wishes.

“Mmm, there have been a few actually.” Chan gave you a questioning look, pausing as he did so. “Like what? Since they’ve already happened you should be able to tell me right?” You considered it before figuring that he was probably right, pulling out two plates and forks before sitting yourself down on one of the barstools that were placed along the island in the kitchen. “For my sixteenth birthday I wished for a skateboard and I ended up getting it that day.” You stated, Chan smirking as he continued to cut the cake, shaking his head.

“Maybe because you had been bugging your parents for it for a whole year. Only to never use it despite me telling you I’d teach you how to ride it.” He added in the last part just to chastise you, placing a piece of cake on a plate before handing it to you along with a fork. “I highly doubt that had anything to do with your wish.” You rolled your eyes as you took a bite of cake, humming quietly. He had remembered your favorite flavor of cake too. Of course he had.

“You don’t have to hate on me for believing in birthday wishes just because you don’t Chan. I get it, you’re too grown up to believe in something silly and childish like birthday wishes.” You could tell he got slightly irked by your words, scoffing as he got himself a piece of cake. “That’s not even it-”

“Then what is it?” You cut him off before he could finish, tilting your head slightly as you stared at him. Chan slowly took a bite of cake, looking you in the eyes, considering his next words carefully. “None of my birthday wishes ever came true. So I stopped believing in things like that. I think it’s endearing that you still do though.” He admitted, causing you to frown. “None of them? Not one?” You questioned, Chan seeming to think back on it as he stood there in silence, looking down at the cake. “Mm, I guess there was one that came true?” He sounded unsure, but you leaned forward in your seat, smiling as you waited for him to elaborate.

“I think it was my eighth birthday? The memory is kind of foggy, but I remember wishing for another sibling. It’s kind of dumb now that I think about it, but it did come true.” He shrugged, looking back up at you as you giggled while taking another bite of cake. “I’d say that’s a pretty big wish. The stars probably just figured that wish was enough for a while.” Chan rolled his eyes, snickering as he shook his head. “Yeah sure, whatever you say Y/n.”

The two of you enjoyed each other’s presence for a while, seeming to forget about the issue at hand which was exactly what you had been wanting. Not wanting to confront it or make a big deal out of anything. Chan was helping you ignore your problems and you were more than grateful, the male stating that he wanted to watch you open the present he had got you, so you both moved from the kitchen to the living room, the TV still playing whatever it was you had put on. Gingerly, Chan set the present on your lap, waiting patiently for you to open it.

You had always gotten nervous when it came to opening gifts. You were never a fan of surprises and presents were just wrapped surprises. Slowly, you pulled the tissue paper out of the bag, peeking inside. Your eyes widened once you realized what it was he had gotten you, gasping as you practically ripped it out of the bag, looking it over with wide eyes. “Oh my god- This is so expensive Chan. You really shouldn’t have.” You pried your eyes from the present to meet his gaze, seeing just how happy he was with your reaction to the gift. “I knew you’d like it. I’m sure you’ve been eyeing it for a while now. You always do that with the new lines.” He stated, making you nod in agreement.

“I actually had this in my cart for when I could afford it. It still scares me how well you know me. I never even told you about the new line.” Chan simply shrugged, acting as if it was no big deal. “What can I say, I’m just that good.” He chuckled, already leaning back as you reached forward to smack him.

For a few hours the two of you just sat and talked, not even realizing just how late it was getting. The two of you were making up for lost time, only able to talk over the phone or text, sometimes video call depending on just how busy the two of you were. Life as a producer was busy, that was also part of the reason you were so surprised he had shown up at your front door. It was the last thing you had been expecting. Just like you hadn’t been expecting Jisung to leave your bedroom. It seemed he and Chan had noticed each other’s presence before you had even noticed Jisung, standing silently in the hallway as he looked between the two of you. You immediately turned your gaze to Chan, seeing the look that was on his face before had returned. That wasn’t good.

“Who is that-?” Jisung finally spoke, looking at you with confusion and slight fear. It was then you remembered that Jisung and Chan had never officially met, your eyes widening as you motioned over to your childhood friend. “Chan. Bang Chan. I’ve told you about him, remember? My best friend since middle school.” You explained, Jisung’s expression growing more relaxed as he slowly nodded, remembering discussing him before. “Ah, yeah. We’ve never met before.” Jisung smiled, making his way over to the couch and holding out his hand.

Chan stared at it for a moment before deciding not to be a total ass. He took his hand and shook it, gripping it tightly before paying Jisung a sickeningly sweet smile. “No we haven’t. I’m sorry for not telling you before coming over but I thought I’d surprise Y/n for her birthday.” There it was. You had been expecting him to say something, but you hadn’t been expecting him to say it right out of the gate like that. Confusion was written on Jisung’s face for a moment before his eyes widened in realization, his gaze quickly flitting to yours. “O-Oh…” It seemed he finally understood the tension coming from Chan.

Slowly you lowered your gaze, fiddling with the present Chan had gotten you. Jisung took a moment to look at it before looking to the kitchen, seeing the cake sitting on the counter. “Y/n… I’m… I-I didn’t realize…” He stammered, unsure of what to say or do. After all, there wasn’t much he could do now. “It’s fine.” You mumbled out, forcing a smile as you looked up at him, hating to see just how upset and guilty he looked. Chan on the other hand, wasn’t having it.

“Look, I know it’s our first time meeting and Y/n told me not to make a scene, so I won’t. However, it’s not fine. You should know Y/n well enough to know that she doesn’t like to voice what’s upsetting her. You may be busy with work, or stressed, or whatever, but you ignoring her for your video games is something that shouldn’t be happening. Forgetting her birthday? Don’t you think that’s a little much? Do you see the problem? Y/n shouldn’t have to beg you for attention. You should be paying attention to your girlfriend regardless of what your work life is like and if you can’t handle that, you shouldn’t be stringing her along. She doesn’t deserve that and you know it.” His words were harsh and to the point, but he got across what he wanted to. Jisung gulped, biting on his lower lip as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“You’re right.” Jisung mumbled, hanging his head. “I’ve gotten so absorbed in gaming because of stress from work, but that’s not an excuse. I should have been paying more attention to Y/n, so much more attention. I-I honestly can’t believe I forgot her birthday. I didn’t even realize just how bad I was getting… I just…” He sighed, stopping himself as he turned from Chan to look at you, taking a few steps closer before bending down slightly to look you in the eyes. “I’m so sorry Y/n. Really I am. I don’t have any excuses. How I’ve been treating you is wrong and I realize that. I promise I’ll change.” He spoke softly, searching your eyes as he apologized.

You could tell he was being genuine, seeing tears pricking at his eyes as he spoke to you. “You’d better or I’ll come right back here and take her home with me.” Chan muttered, causing you to roll your eyes at him. “Chan-” You chided, earning a sigh from him as he stood up, placing his hands in the air as a sign of defeat as he made his way into the kitchen. “Sorry, I’ll give you guys a minute.” It was clear he didn’t want to, but he would do it for you.

Sighing quietly once Chan had left the room, you looked to Jisung and patted the part of the couch Chan had just been sitting on, waiting for Jisung to take his place before sitting crisscrossed and facing him. “Ji… I’m not gonna lie and say I’m not upset. I am. I’m really upset. I had honestly thought that you would pull through and remember my birthday but you didn’t. It honestly felt like a stab to the heart. However, I’m also not going to say you’re completely at fault since I haven’t been honest and voiced how I was feeling to you. Keeping quiet and just letting things get worse was my own doing and I’m sorry I didn’t communicate with you.” You mumbled, Jisung furrowing his eyebrows and shaking his head as he reached forward, taking hold of both of your hands. “Hey, no. You’re not taking the blame for this. You shouldn’t be apologizing to me when you haven’t done anything wrong. You never once forgot anything important to me and I forgot your birthday. That’s huge and I’m gonna be apologizing for it forever. I should have realized what I was doing to you. That was my fault not yours, okay?”

You frowned, getting ready to disagree. “I’m not budging on this one. You have no reason to be apologizing to me. You know I’m right.” You didn’t, but you weren’t going to argue with him. Once Jisung saw you were done trying to blame yourself, he sighed, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to your forehead, the memory of the day you had first met in person coming back to you. “I’m really really sorry and I’m gonna make it up to you somehow, I promise.” You hummed, closing your eyes as Jisung pulled you into his chest. This was more contact than you had with him over the past few months.

“You’re making a lot of promises tonight Han Jisung.” You mumbled, wrapping your arms around him and looking up as he nodded in agreement. “I know, but I plan to keep them. I’m going to change and I’m going to make it up to you.” Smiling faintly, you hummed again, not wanting to say anything else as you rested against your boyfriend's chest, closing your eyes as you allowed yourself to relish in his presence. You hadn’t fully forgiven him, you were sure he knew that as well, but you were just glad the biggest thing was out of the way and you wouldn’t have to tiptoe around the issue anymore. The rest of it would be him regaining your trust and fulfilling his promises. “Happy birthday baby.” A quiet mumble left Jisung’s lips as he kissed the top of your head, earning a smile from you.

“Technically her birthday has already passed. It’s nearly two in the morning.” Chan suddenly cut in, causing both you and Jisung to turn and look at him, you with a glare and Jisung with a questioning gaze. “Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. I see you two have made up for the most part so uh, seeing as I traveled two hours to get here, you both mind if I crash on the couch?” You opened your mouth to speak, but Jisung beat you to it. “Sure, it actually pulls out into a bed since my old roommate comes over sometimes and crashes. I can set it up for you.” His sudden agreement surprised you, but you decided not to question it, Chan nodding as he motioned towards the door.

“Cool. My stuff’s in my car so I’ll be back.” He then left without another word, Jisung watching him go before looking back at you. “Am I sleeping on the floor then?” He questioned, causing you to roll your eyes. “Ji, when have I ever made you sleep on the couch or anything like that?”

He smiled faintly, shrugging his shoulders as he lifted himself off the couch before helping you up. “Well technically the first day we met.” Shaking your head you went to the kitchen, putting the cake and everything else away as Jisung moved things around in the living room before pulling the couch out into a bed. “You were the one that didn’t let me sleep on the couch. I was going to, but you forced me to sleep on your bed.” As Jisung was fixing the pillows, Chan walked back into the apartment, this time locking the door behind him. He set his things down by the couch, giving Jisung a sideways look when their eyes met. “What-?” Jisung trailed off, looking down at the bed before looking back up at Chan.

“Blankets?” Jisung’s eyes widened. “Oh. Oh yeah right, sorry.” He swiftly turned and walked down the hall towards the small closet that held clean blankets and pillows they kept aside. From the kitchen, you gave Chan a look that told him to knock it off, the male deciding to act like he had no idea what you were looking at him like that for. Jisung returned with blankets in hand, setting them down on the bed. “There, is this enough?” He questioned, Chan looking them over for a moment before simply nodding. “Yeah, that’s fine.” No thank you, no ounce of appreciation in his voice.

Jisung cleared his throat, nodding slowly before turning around and making his way into the kitchen where you were cleaning up and telling you that he’d do it. It took a bit of convincing, but eventually he had kicked you out of the kitchen, finishing up by himself. You huffed as you went over to Chan who was fixing his bed for the night. “You know you don’t have to be such an ass to him. He apologized.” You mumbled, keeping your voice quiet so Jisung didn’t hear. Chan sighed, straightening out the blankets before grabbing his bag and setting it on the bed, looking through his things. “I’m still pissed at him. He’s lucky I didn’t beat him into the ground. The only reason I didn’t is because you told me not to.”

“And I appreciate that, but he is still my boyfriend and I would like for you two to get along. I don’t want to have to play mediator any time you two are around each other.” There was silence for a moment before Chan sighed, nodding in agreement. “Fine. I’ll tone it down.” Smiling, you gave him a small hug, “Thank you.” You peeped, him only groaning in acknowledgement.

“Where’s your bathroom so I can change?” You showed him to the bathroom before starting back down the hall towards the kitchen, only to meet Jisung halfway, him holding your gift from Chan in his arm, folded nicely. He lifted it, smiling sheepishly. “He’s really good with gifts huh? I know you’ve been eyeing this thing since the new line came out.” You were genuinely surprised he had known that since he had been so preoccupied the last few months. Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion and he seemed to notice. “You leave your tabs open a lot on your laptop. When I wake up for work you usually leave it out, so I noticed that you were looking at it fairly often.” He explained, your eyes widening slightly. “Oh… I didn’t even realize.” You half-whispered, Jisung chuckling quietly.

“I’ll go put this up.” He smiled before brushing past you and into your room. Chan left the bathroom only moments after, changed into a t-shirt and sweatpants much like Jisung had been wearing as long as you’d been awake. “You should sleep. It’s late.” He spoke, causing you to nod before watching him make his way down the hall towards the living room. “Are you going to sleep?” You asked, knowing that he had issues sleeping, always had.

“I’m gonna try, but don’t let me keep you up. I’ll be fine out here, I’m a grown man you know.” He teased, earning a quiet laugh from you. “Okay, well thank you for everything tonight Chan. I really appreciate it.” Turning, he smiled, his signature dimple smile. “No need to thank me. I just expect you to travel two hours for my birthday now. I’ve set the bar high.”

Your playful banter went on for a while longer before you both said goodnight and you retired to your shared room with Jisung. Stepping inside you shut the door behind you, immediately noticing Jisung busy unplugging all of his gaming stuff. Your eyes widened, “Ji- This isn’t… I didn’t mean you had to-” You couldn’t even form words, Jisung turning to look back at you. “I know. I just think it would be best for me to stop completely for now. Get things back in order before I even think about introducing this back into my life. It got way out of hand and I don’t want that to happen again. So I’m prioritizing.”

“B-But that’s… don’t you think it’s too much?” Your voice was quiet, unsure as Jisung shook his head, unplugging one final cord and picking himself up off of the floor, dusting himself off. “No. Considering I’ve put you on the side burner for months now, I think it’s more than enough. Gaming will always be there, but I don’t want to lose you because of it.” Shifting uncomfortably, you picked at your fingers, unsure about the whole thing. Jisung walked over, pulling you into his arms and resting his head on top of yours. “I’m sure about this okay? So don’t worry about it.”

“Okay…” You trailed off, deciding that if it was Jisung’s decision, you didn’t have any reason to argue with him. “Okay. Well, how about we go to sleep, and since you’re off tomorrow, I can take tomorrow off, probably call in sick-- and we can go do something, just me and you? There’s a fashion show downtown I believe. You can wear your new present from Chan and you’ll be the best dressed person, along with the best looking. Then we can go out to eat, or before. Whatever you wanna do baby.” Smiling you relaxed in his grasp, “That sounds great Ji.”

[wlwmarvelenthusiast]

Could you do carol x fem!reader but like so angsty that I can cry myself to sleep even tho I’m on antidepressants and can’t feel anything but plz let there b a happy ending thank u so much love u

I'm not sure if this qualifies as angst but here's a draft I had that I edited a little to fit the request. I hope it does the trick :)

It Wasn't For You

Summary: A mission gone horribly wrong drives a wedge between you and Carol. Is the bond fixable, or are the things you both said unforgivable?

Pairing: Carol Danvers x Reader

Warnings: Language

Word Count: 2,998

You weren't sure what that emotion was that was boiling in your blood as you stormed back to your apartment. Was it worry? Were you just upset? You let it sit with you a moment as you unlocked the door. It wasn't either one of those things. It was rage. It was hot, unbridled rage. The cause of it was a certain Avenger who you had thought loved you enough to not do what she'd done. Clearly, she hadn't.

She was right behind you, stepping through the doorway before you could slam it behind you. You growled under your breath as she invited herself into your home, closing the door only once she was in. You didn't even bother turning to face her. You went straight to the bar and poured yourself a drink, not offering her one and not planning to let her touch a single drop of your alcohol. You took a sip of the hard liquor.

"Would you listen to me for one goddamn second?" She huffed out.

"I listened to you for multiple seconds, Carol. It doesn't change any facts."

"I did it for you!"

"I don't give a fuck."

Truly and honestly, you didn't. What she'd done was immoral, infuriating, and wholly unforgivable. She could get down on her knees right there in front of the bar and you wouldn't have batted an eyelash. It wouldn't be enough. In fact, you were convinced that nothing would be enough for you to forgive her. It didn't matter how much you had loved her yesterday or the day before. It didn't how much you loved her today.

"I'd do it again," she assured.

"Then I would do this again," you turned to finally face her, eyes locking with the brown ones that could usually instill a sense of peace in your chest, but today seemed to have no effect. "We're done, Carol. I think it'd be best if you left, please."

You could practically hear her heart dropping into her stomach. There was a part of you that ached to bring her into your arms and soothe that hurt look off her face. You knew better. That piece of you would fade eventually. You'd learn not to love her anymore. In fact, you could probably learn how to hate her. The boiling rage that was flowing through your very veins could assist you with learning that.

"Please-"

"I'm asking you to go," you said, firmer this time. "Please, get out."

If she'd had a tail to tuck between her legs, she absolutely would have. She didn't even bother to protest again. The expression you'd plastered on your face made it clear it wouldn't have done anything anyway. She slowly made toward the door. Her hand touched the doorknob and she cast her gaze back to you once more. You didn't dare let your features soften. You could've sworn there were tears in her eyes as she turned the doorknob and left.

You breathed out as the door closed behind her, finally daring to let tears streak down your cheeks.

*

You stared down the super soldier, neither of you wanting to speak first. He was the team leader though, and basically your boss. You knew even if he was the first one to speak, you were going to be the one spilling everything. You didn't want to, not one bit, but you knew you were going to have to anyway. You wondered if you had the strength to talk about it. You wondered if he had the strength to listen to your recollection of events.

"I just need to know what happened so when they ask-"

"Fuck, Steve! Natasha fucking died and we're sitting here having this stupid conversation," you shouted, rising to your feet, tossing the papers in front of you off the table, and moving to the window. "I have a goddamn funeral to plan!"

"Look, neither of us wants to talk about this, but we have to!"

You sighed, clasping your hands behind your back as you looked out at the compound grounds. There were agents training, running laps around the building. Sam was the one guiding them, seeming to enjoy barking orders at them. You tore your gaze away from a sight that seemed to have lost its beauty now that Natasha wasn't there alongside the Falcon, chuckling with him as they watched the new recruits huff and puff.

"It was me or her and Carol chose me," you finally gave. "I was what would have been fatally outnumbered and Natasha was down. She was in the jet. Carol could have either gone and stopped the jet from crashing, or she could pull me out and neutralize the enemy. She chose the latter. That's what happened. Happy?"

"I need your report."

"I need to plan Natasha's funeral!"

You stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind you. You let out the breath that had been stuck in your chest, leaning your head against the wall and shutting your eyes. It hadn't been an easy couple of days. You'd have been surprised if you'd gotten more than three hours of sleep in the last three nights combined. Somehow, though, you still didn't feel tired. You felt a lot of things, but that wasn't one of them.

As if losing Natasha wasn't hard enough, you were also grappling with crippling amounts of anger and guilt. Natasha should have been the one that was saved. She was the obvious choice, and yet here you stood, and Natasha was gone. The anger, though? That was all for Carol. She had promised you that her relationship with you wouldn't have affected her at work, but it had. She'd saved you when she should have saved Natasha and all of those people in the impact zone.

"Can we talk?"

Speak of the devil.

You opened your eyes, using your shoulder blades to push yourself away from the wall. Immediately your entire stance got defensive. You crossed your arms over your chest. You watched as she searched your eyes in hopes of being able to read them like she usually did, but knew it would be to no avail. You didn't want her to know anything about what you were feeling. She didn't deserve to know what you were feeling. All she deserved was to be on the receiving end of your rage.

"No. I told you we're done, Danvers. We don't need to talk anymore."

"I'm not letting you go that easy."

"You don't have a damn choice!" You laughed humourlessly. "You can't stop me. You don't own me, and you definitely don't own my heart."

With that, you stepped around her, walking toward the doors of the compound. You could hear her footsteps trailing behind you. You didn't bother to turn around and glance at her, or even open your mouth to tell her to go away. You just let her follow you as if she were going to get something out of you. She wasn't going to. The last thing you wanted to do was hear some sort of failed explanation as to why she'd decided to save you. You knew why. It was because she couldn't separate home and work. You never should have trusted her to be able to.

You stepped out into the sunlight, cursing the sky for being so bright and sunny when it felt like it should be dark and gloomy. A storm cloud and roaring thunder might appropriately match the way you felt inside. Instead, you were forced to pull your sunglasses down over your eyes as you headed back toward your car, feeling you could use the walk toward it instead of making it come to you- a feature Tony has insisted you needed. As you arrived though, Carol finally reacted.

"Jesus Christ, would you hear me out?" She said, anger in her voice as she grabbed your wrist.

"Let go of me."

"Talk to me."

"I already said no. Let go of me," you demanded.

You ripped your arm out of her grasp, glaring at her as she retracted her arm. You unlocked your car, getting into the front seat. You didn't even glance at Carol as you started the engine, put the car into drive, and pulled out of your spot, leaving her behind.

*

It was early when you woke up the next morning, and immediately your day went different than normal. Your eyebrows furrowed when you stepped out of your bedroom and found an envelope slipped under your apartment door. It was completely unmarked. You knew the danger of anything unmarked. You were an Avenger. You couldn't find it in you to care, though. Without Carol's arms around you, you tossed and turned. Losing Natasha hurt so much more without Carol there to hold you through it. But it was her fault.

You reached down and picked up the envelope. You sliced it open with the knife that was resting on the table beside the front door. What you pulled out was a single piece of lined paper. It had clearly been ripped out of someone's notebook, the torn rings hanging off the left side. You unfolded the paper and immediately recognized Carol's handwriting inside. You crumpled it up and prepared to throw it, but then you hesitated.

She wasn't there. You didn't have to talk to her. You didn't want to talk to her one bit, but you were dying to hear her side of the story. This way, you didn't have to risk breaking and losing yourself to emotion in front of her. You uncrumpled the paper and held it out in front of you. You took a deep breath and let your gaze drift over Carol's familiar handwriting once before you moved your eyes to the top of the page.

Y/N,

I really hope you didn't throw this out. I suppose if you're reading this, you didn't.

I know you don't want to talk to me. If I were you, I might not want to talk to me either. Your best friend died and it is entirely and completely my fault. I know that. It is my fault. I could have saved her, and I didn't. I just need you to know why.

I know you think that I broke my promise. I promised you, Steve, and every Avenger, including Natasha, that I would never let our relationship affect our work. It must seem like I failed to do that. I didn't break that promise. I love you. I do. But I wouldn't do that.

I knew that saving Natasha was more likely to be successful than saving you. Saving her would have meant saving those three civilians too. Not saving you, though, meant that they would have gotten away, and it meant they would have killed dozens of our agents on their way out. There were so many of them. They outgunned our men by too much. I didn't do it for you. I did it for them.

It breaks my heart that I couldn't save her. If I could have given my life for hers, I'd have done it in a heartbeat. If choosing her over you had been the right choice, I'd have done it. I promise you that.

I love you, even if you can't love me back.

- C

*

Tears spilled from your eyes as the empty casket was lowered into the ground. When a hand brushed ever so lightly against yours, you stiffened. You glanced for a moment over at the woman beside you. Those brown eyes were locked on you as well, for a moment, before turning back to the burial. You took a deep breath before moving, threading your fingers between hers. You pulled a little closer to her.

Maybe you should have listened to her. That letter you'd received yesterday had been a lot to think about. You'd been so angry with Carol because she'd closed you over Natasha and you'd been selfish enough to think it was because she couldn't separate her feelings for you from work. When you'd found out that wasn't the case, it had taken away all your reason to be angry at her. What happened to Natasha wasn't her fault.

Once the red had faded, you'd realized how stupid you'd been being. Carol had obviously been hurting and you'd been gatekeeping pain because you'd been blaming yours on her. The guilt stewing in her gut was probably millions of times worse than yours. She'd had to make that choice out in the field. It was the right choice, you saw now, but that would never matter. You knew how that felt, and you'd pushed her away and left her to deal with it alone. You wouldn't blame her if she couldn't forgive you for that.

When the funeral ended and people started heading toward the reception, you stayed glued to the spot. You could tell Carol wasn't sure what to do. Her hand had tried to pull away to give you space, but this time it was you that didn't let her leave you. The hand that was in hers tightened enough that she got the message. You had to wonder if she'd stay to hear it. As always, though, she was better than you. Her efforts to move away stopped.

You stayed silent for a moment, standing in that position and wondering what to say. There might not have been words enough to express just how sorry you were. There might not have been anything you could say that would make her forgive you. You deserved that, though. You broke up with her. There was no obligation for her to take you back and you hadn't given her any reason to want to. You were the one who had pushed.

"I'm sorry, Carol," you muttered, knowing full well that wasn't enough. "I'm sorry for everything. I was selfish."

"I get it," she admitted. "It's okay."

She was better than you.

But it wasn't okay. What you'd done to her was far from okay. You'd taken one look at the guilty relief in her eyes after that mission and decided that she'd sacrificed Natasha for you. She was allowed to be relieved. You would have been, if the roles had been reversed. Just because you lost Natasha, didn't mean Carol wasn't allowed to be a little relieved that the love of her life survived. Now, you didn't get to be that.

"Baby... Carol, I just wanted you to know that I read what you wrote and I'm sorry for how I'd reacted. I'm sorry I didn't stop to hear you out before that and I'm sorry I pushed you away when you were obviously hurting."

She dared to pull you a little closer. "You can still call me Baby."

You had to let out a light chuckle at that, despite the tears on your face. You wondered if you were mourning Natasha or your relationship with Carol. Whatever the case, she reached out and brushed the pad of her thumb across your cheek. You couldn't resist leaning a little harder into her hand. She got the message, opening her hand and cupping your cheek, her palm pressing delicately against your skin and her thumb continued to trace your cheekbone.

"You were hurting too," she assured quietly. "You reacted that way because you were grieving. You needed someone to blame."

"It shouldn't have been you."

"I was easy," she said, hands sliding down so they were both in yours. "I could have saved her and I didn't. Whatever reasoning I might have had, that was the truth."

"I'm supposed to love you."

"You don't love me?" She questioned.

"I do! Of course I love you, Carol. But I haven't been great at doing that recently. I should have-"

"You love me and you were grieving your friend. That's it. And I love you too," she said, squeezing your hands. "Can we stop being broken up now?"

She was standing in front of you, a tiny smile on her lips, and forgiving you. She was asking you to take her back, like it wasn't supposed to be you on your knees begging for her forgiveness. You stepped forward, taking your hands out of hers so you could instead put them on her cheeks, and pulled her toward you until your lips had met. She kissed you back immediately, her hands finding your hips. She pulled away from you.

"So yes?" She said, a hint of teasing in her voice. "Because Natasha got us together and breaking up for good over her casket would not be honouring her memory very well."

"No, it wouldn't," you said, leaning your head onto her shoulder. You looked down at the wooden casket. "I miss her so much already, Carol."

"I know. Me too, Honey."

Your heart felt the slightest bit lighter now. You would've given anything for Natasha to be okay. The fact that she was gone still felt like a knife through the chest. At least now, though, you had Carol to hold you at night and kiss the tears off your cheeks. She had you to do the same for her. That was all either of you could do. Now, only time could lessen the pain. Carol put her arms around you and held you closer.

Just as you went to tell her once again that you loved her, her phone rang. She pulled it from her pocket, frowning at the number that was coming from outside the country. She showed it to you and you took the phone from her.

"Hello?"

"Did it work? Do they think I'm dead?" Said the so familiar voice.

You glanced up at Carol, sure the shock on her face matched yours.

"Natasha, what the hell-"

"We've got a new mission. Are you and your lovebird up for it?"

Carol kissed your cheek and then spoke to the woman on the phone. "Absolutely."

[young-dumb-and-vaccinated]

The Sommelier (Hannigram x Female!Reader) pt. 5

More people said yes to Hannigram, which is good because Will is already involved in the plot and it would be awkward to have him just disappear. Also, I had someone request a Hannigram x reader in my asks. Apologies to the one person who voted no; I promise there will be more solo Hannibal x reader content in the future.

Hannibal decides to that y/n could do with some extra protection, but doesn’t anticipate what she has to tell him.

I have no idea how to make a proper tag list but @deadman-inc-bikeshop and @dovahdokren here you go 

Trigger warnings: discussions of alcohol, victim blaming

“When I saw his face, I immediately knew he had never once experienced the touch of his own hand, let alone that of a woman.” Charissa read out loud to everyone on staff. “Or, that he was buried so deep in the closet he found Narnia, but those two things aren’t mutually exclusive.” 

It was expected to be a slow night, as was normal for an ordinary Tuesday. On nights like those, you could get away with more, like reading a tabloid article out loud for everyone to hear. 

“I can’t believe [F/N] actually went public.” One of the new busboys commented. “What an absolute madlad.”  

“Did you just unironically use reddit terminology in an actual conversation?” You narrowed your eyes at the kid. 

“[F/N], you are making a very dangerous enemy.” An older waitress said, cryptically, from the corner of the room. 

“Who, Jason?” You gestured to the busboy. “What’s he gonna do? Make me cringe myself to death?” 

“You know that’s not who I mean.” She frowned. “I’m talking about Chase Mulvaney.” 

“Don’t be ridiculous.” You shook your head. “He’s not stupid enough to come back here.” 

Charissa made a noise that denoted her doubt. “I dunno, [F/N]. You’d have to be pretty stupid to start stabbing people at a crowded restaurant in broad daylight.” 

“But he was smart enough to get away, right?” Jason asked. “That’s gotta count for something!” 

You and Charissa exchanged glances. Neither of you had the emotional bandwidth to explain white privilege again. Instead, you just humored him. 

“Yeah.” Charissa lied. “He was smart enough to get away, meaning he probably knows better than to come back.”

"You're kidding yourself." A third waitress, who's name you couldn't seem to place, added. "People always say that killers are these galaxy-brained superhumans, but they're not. Mulvaney believes he's divinely ordained, so any thought that pops into his coked-out head is a sign from god."

And so shattered your thin firmament of denial. You made a point to never learn this person's name just out of spite.

“Oh, shit.” You said, trying to hide your genuine fear with a sarcastic voice. “Maybe he is coming back for me.” 

Charissa glared at the two other waitresses, equally pissed at them for scaring you.

"And it'll be your own fault for provoking him with that article." The older waitress said.

"Holy victim-blaming, batman." You mumbled.

“Alright, listen up, y’all.” Matthew announced to the group. “In ten minutes we open for dinner. Remember, if you want to switch shifts with another person, you have to run it by me first. I don’t want to see anybody but [F/N] at the bar tonight, capiche?”

“Yessir.” You saluted him and made your way over to the bar. You’d been doling out your bartending shifts left and right to avoid even the possibility of being cornered by another Freddie Lounds. You were only prolonging the inevitable, though. Eventually, you needed to return to the bar.

You passed the hostess's stand, where Charissa was stationed. Suddenly, you felt someone grab at your arm.

"Fucking hell, dude?!" You flinched violently and your heart rate jumped. "Don't do that!"

"Shit, sorry!" Charissa looked immediately regretful. "But, look!"

You followed her gaze through the window where a fancy car was parked. He leaned against the door, adjusting the cuffs of his dress shirt.

Now your heart was beating fast for a completely different reason. You squeezed Charissa's hand, trying to keep a lid on your nervous excitement.

"I think your luck's starting to turn." She said in a sing-songy voice.

"Yeah, I bet he'll protect me from the Baltimore Butcher." You whispered, trying not to giggle like an elementary school girl.

"Oh, could you imagine those arms around you?" She sighed deeply, her hand firmly against her chest. "I would die."

"Not until he sinks his teeth into your neck." You smirked, gnashing your teeth together.

"I would let him." She rested her chin on her hand.

"Yeah, me too." You agreed.

"I would give anything to trade shifts with you." Charissa groaned.

"Well, you heard the boss." You shrugged, suddenly feeling much better about your assignment. "I gotta stay behind the bar."

"Oh, pobrecita." Charissa rolled her eyes. Underneath the stand, she put up her middle finger in your direction. "Suck a dick, [L/N]."

You walked backwards towards the bar, keeping your eyes on your friend. "That's the plan, baby."

You tried to make yourself look busy. You dared not look at him as he entered the restaurant.

He exchanged pleasantries with Charissa then took his seat at the bar. You pretended not to notice him right away, only to give you an extra second to compose yourself.

"Hi there." You greeted, knowing you'd feel stupid no matter what you said. "Er- good evening."

"[F/N] [L/N], I assume?" He asked.

Fuck, you thought. His voice was dark, low and made your insides tremble. Even though part of you knew he was going to know your name, it still felt so sensual passing his lips.

You realized you had waved to him with your bandaged hand. That's how he was about to identify you so quickly. "Yes, I am she. I mean- her. Me."

Way to go, dumbass. You thought. Now he knows you're nervous and he's going to wonder why.

“God, I need to stop wearing this damn thing.” You said, clearing your throat. “What can I get for you tonight?” 

He was quiet for a moment. "What do you recommend?"

"Well, that depends." You said, pulling your gaze from him and grabbing a few wine glasses down from a high shelf. It was the only way you could maintain your composure.

"On?"

"What you're having for dinner, for one." You said. "And whether or not you're a vulpine tabloid journalist trying to corner me into a dubiously ethical interview. That's also a factor."

"So that's how Miss Lounds wore you down?" He concluded. "With wine?"

You rested your elbows on the bar, filled with an intoxicating confidence. "She tried wine first. Then she tried to get me fired because she asked for chardonnay and I brought her chablis. And when that didn't work, she siphoned my gas."

"I wish I could say that was out of character for her." He looked at you, apologetically.

"I take it you've had your own run-ins with Freddie?" You smiled.

"She's tried to infiltrate my practice multiple times." He sighed. "She's entered my office under a fake name with a recording device in her purse."

"What a sick fuck." You said, before remembering you really weren't supposed to curse in front of customers. You covered your mouth. "Sorry."

The corners of his mouth turned up into an amused smile. "Don't apologize. You're right."

“So you’re a doctor?” You asked, hoping he wasn’t the type to be offended by questions. 

“I’m a psychiatrist.” He nodded. “I used to work as a surgeon, but I find the mind much more compelling.” 

"Seriously, though." You pushed yourself back to your feet. "What can I get for you?"

He eyed the wine menu and then looked back at you. "What is your favorite red?"

"My favorite red?" You placed your hand on your collarbones. "On a night like this, I enjoy a nice, dry Argentinean Malbec."

"In that case," he thumbed through the list once more. "I'll have a bottle of Cobos Chañares from 2016, please."

You smiled. You wouldn't mind taking a sip of that if he offered. "Right away."

You carefully pulled the solid black bottle from its crevice and placed it on the bar. You removed the plastic seal and reached for the corkscrew. The bottle opened with a satisfying pop, filling the air around you with the strong, complex and seemingly contradictory aromas.

You poured a bit of this criminally expensive wine into his glass. He smelled it, then swirled it for a moment before taking a sip.

"Redcurrants and vanilla," he began. "With floral notes that operate with the precision of interlocking gears in a clock. Everything in its place."

"So you're a sommelier and a poet?" You tilted your head and filled his glass. "I'll bet you make women swoon at every corner."

You never had the best grasp on flirting, but even you knew that line was awful.

“Are you flirting with me, Miss [L/N]?” He asked, clearly not too worried about the consequences and enjoying the flattery. “Or are you just trying to get a taste of this Malbec?” 

“Little bit of column A, little bit of column B.” You shrugged. “Though you are as handsome as everyone says, I’ve had my eyes on that wine for slightly longer.” 

You fought the urge to slap your hand over your mouth. You had just broken the cardinal rule of workplace gossip. Panic reverberated through your body as you tried to break down his unreadable expression. 

Once again, he just looked amused. “I’ve seen those lingering glances, the way you all whisper and giggle. It’s flattering.” 

You felt your cheeks growing hot. “...I see.” 

“If you tell me what they say about me, I’ll let you have a taste.” His eyes bored into yours. 

You paused, trying to decipher exactly what he was offering. Then it hit you. 

“Oh!” You interjected. “The wine.” 

“Yes, that’s what I meant.” He said. “Dare I ask where your mind went?” 

Your cheeks stung from all the uncomfortable smiling. “I’d really like to keep my job, thanks.” 

“Have you never heard of bartender-client confidentiality?” His voice lowered and his eyes found your lips. “Nothing we say tonight has to leave these four walls.” 

Your insides turned to jelly. He rested the wine glass in his hand and offered it to you. Your hands shaking, you cradled the glass like an 18th century French village prostitute being offered a mug of hot soup. You brought the glass to your lips, the strong, overwhelming smells assaulting your orifices.

You let the wine grace your tongue. You had taught yourself to overcome the sting of the alcohol and focus on the undertones. Your eyes rolled back in to your head and you let out a little noise of pleasure. 

“Christ on a bike, that’s decadent.” You said, gasping for air a little bit. You quickly passed the glass back to him before Matthew could see you. “Thank you.” 

“Now, indulge me.” He instructed, glancing at the fresh pink lipstick mark on his glass. “What do the lovely women of Terroir whisper while I’m just out of earshot?” 

You rested your elbows on the bar and leaned in close. “They say you’re a vampire.” 

Judging by his unchanging neutral expression, it clearly wasn’t the first time someone had made that connection. “Perhaps they’re on to something.” 

“One of our line cooks used to say you were the devil.” You informed him, hoping that was one he hadn’t heard before.

“Used to?” He raised his eyebrows. 

“Until Chase Mulvaney came around.” You instinctively ran your fingers over your bandages, as if to make sure they were still there. It was a nervous tick you’d developed anytime someone brought up that day. “He’s stopped talking about, like, anything having to do with his religion ever since.” 

“It takes a lot to get an evangelist to stop evangelizing.” He refilled his glass. “Do you think he lost his faith?” 

“I heard someone say in passing that it was because he and Chase Mulvaney went to the same church.” You whispered. “But I can’t verify that.” 

“I’d say it’s more likely than a regular customer being a vampire, wouldn’t you?” 

“I wouldn’t trust their word because they made a regular customer into a vampire.” You corrected, hoping he would overlook the fact that you were one of them. “Secrets may stay within these four walls, but they tend to bounce around. It’s only a matter of time before one escapes, and you’d better hope it’s not one of yours.” 

This man must have been an exceptional therapist, because, there you were, baring your soul to him after fifteen minutes and one sip of wine. Occasionally, you were pulled away from the conversation by another customer who had the audacity to also want a drink. But, very few people came to you with the sole intent of drinking on a Tuesday evening. You and the sommelier talked until closing time. 

“Thank you for a lovely evening, Miss [L/N].” He said pulling out his wallet. “You are as delightful in person as you are on paper.” 

“Thank you, but I never caught-” you said, but stopped yourself. “I mean, you never gave me your name.” 

He signed his name on the paper check, then pulled out a fifty and unceremoniously handed it to you. “Now why would you want to ruin the mystery?” 

“Nothing we say tonight has to leave these four walls, remember?” You grinned and crossed your arms. “Come on, I won’t tell anyone.” 

He took the customer copy of the receipt and scribbled something down on it. He the folded it in half and slid it in your direction as if it contained nuclear launch codes. 

“Join me for dinner someday.” He ordered. “I’ll supply the Malbec.” 

[thedelusionreaderbitch]

Kaz Brekker x Reader - Your What?! Part 1/2 (Soulmate au)

A/n: So I can't believe I'm doing this but... This a soulmate au! With Kaz fucking Brekker! I'm just going to cry in the corner now... I also decided to split this into two parts, so part 2 will be out tomorrow!

Warnings: language, mentions of trauma, mentions of the menagerie, mentions of death, I think that's it? You have been warned!

Summary: You and the crows are on a mission and your soulmate mark starts burning

All rights go to Leigh Bardugo, Netflix, and you! I just own the plot!

Soulmates are the bane of my existence.

You can say otherwise, tell me that I live in a wonderful world to have a chance to even meet my true love or whatever. Personally, I think it's bullshit.

Come on! Most people probably don't even meet their soulmate because the whole system is stupid! Maybe it was different billions of years ago when people couldn't have the same initials but now it's not about the initials.

It's about the pain.

Knowing the initials is just a slight sign to help you along your journey. The pain where those initials are is what it really is.

When your soulmate is hurt or in danger you mark will burn. Depending on the level of how much pain or danger they will be in it could feel like a mosquito bite... Or feel like your getting stabbed multiple times.

In my opinion well really... I don't give two fucks about it. It is what it is but the worst part about soulmate marks is when the person dies.

So when your soulmate is going to die, or is VERY close to death your soulmate mark fill start to flicker. Apparently it's worse then the normal pain you face with soulmates. When the person dies though...

In the case that your soulmate dies, the mark will slowly fade away causing you excruciating pain that could last YEARS. (Dramatic I know.)

That's what I used to think anyways.

When my sister finally escaped the menagerie I was ecstatic, but then she got dragged into the whole 'ice court heist,' so that was fun. In the time that everything happened I eventually got dragged down with her when Ketterdam was on lock down looking for criminals.

Then I found my soulmate.

Kaz fucking Brekker. Or Kaz Rietveld would be more correct, I guess.

After the whole heist was finally over we decided that fine, we could bond and we did. Being us, we didn't tell anyone not to stir up trouble, (we both had enemies) and because Inej Ghafa was my sister. Her and the others would be very protective of me.

Not like they can stop me though.

"Y/n." I snapped my head to look up to Kaz and he raise's an eyebrow at me.

"Don't kill Pekka." I roll my eyes at him. Since Kaz did tell me about his past I told him if he wouldn't kill Pekka I would.

Or at least his son.

I sigh. "Fine but don't expect me to give him a fucking birthday present."

"I never said you had too." Kaz says blankly and I almost grit my teeth together at the thought of Kaz having no emotions. Wow, people really don't know him. Though I guess that's the point.

The Crows and I start walking towards the warehouse-club and Kaz walks with me step by step. That must means he's worried because most times he doesn't even look at me when we're on a job to not show weakness.

Shit.

I brush my hand quickly up against Kaz's gloved ones and I give him a nod.

A promise.

A promise to make it out alive as long as he does. I step back and lower my pace so I'm not leading with Kaz anymore and I fall into pace with Inej and Nina.

My mind goes to when Kaz found out I was his soulmate. I had found out on when he went on a mission one time and I just... Didn't tell him.

*Flashback*

The walls of the Crow club all the sudden become suffocating as I stare intently at Kaz. I spin on my heels and dash out the doors tears filling my eyes. I don't even know where I'm running, I just needed to escape out of the Crow Club.

I need to escape the disappointment.

I slide down onto the wall of the alleyway feeling like a fool. How could I have ever thought someone like Kaz could love me. Regardless of the soulmate mark he didn't even know about.

I sense a someone is in front of me and I go to lift my head up and a man has me at gun point. I go to grab my knives. Shit. I curse every saint ever in existence. They aren't there. I don't even have a gun.

Bare fists I guess it is for me.

We turn in a circle and he clicks the safety off his gun and in a split second I duck when I hear a short, boom!

I growl in pain as a bullet goes through my shoulder and he goes to shoot again and...

BANG!

The man drops dead to the floor.

I turn around and behind me is Kaz holding a gun, but his face is in pain and worry is there as well, spread across his face more plainly then I had ever seen before.

"Your my soulmate." He mutters and I barely hear it. My chest heaves and I just nod my head not being able to speak.

He come's over and pause's right in front of me, just a foot away. Slowly, he takes off his gloves and he nervously takes my hand and laces our fingers together.

Then we start walking back to the Crow Club.

To a new future. Together.

*Flashback over*

"What do you even have against Pekka Rollins anyways, Y/n?" Inej questions me as we speed-walk to the warehouse where some Dime Lions are stirring up trouble.

My brain scrabbles to put something together but I have always been a efficient liar. No offense to my sister she's fantastic at what she does, but lying had never really been her thing.

"Rollins is a barrel boss." I shrug my shoulders seemingly uncaring even though there is so much more layers to it. But I guess I'm not lying.

Yet.

"So is Kaz." Nina points out but I already planed for that response.

"And we're dregs. Pekka is a big barrel boss, he scares off people from coming to the dregs. It's a problem and it's getting on our ass's." I grumble.

"I didn't know it mattered to you that much." Inej states. I wanted to scream in her face. He killed Kaz's brother! He almost killed Kaz! He creates monsters where ever he goes and tries to control them like caged lab rats! But I couldn't do that, so furiously I snap at her.

"Well it should to me, it's my job."

Nina and my sister both look at me weirdly, oh crap. They don't know I have basically the same authority as Kaz. Fuck.

*Flashback*

"Why give me a promotion? Isn't there other people who could use it? Who would do better than me?" I ask Kaz as he goes through the papers on his desk.

"I wouldn't trust anyone else to do it." He looks up to me and starts to get out of his desk. He goes to the door but before he can open it I grab his arm.

"I basically have the same power over the dregs that you do. I don't think that's a good thing."

Kaz just shrugs his shoulders and opens the door.

"What's a king without his queen Y/n?"

*Flashback over*

"Wait what?" Nina asks confused.

At least it goes off the topic of me hating Pekka Rollins with everything I have. Internally I sigh at my foolishness, I had only accepted Kaz's request recently, so no one really knew who was helping him out all the time.

*Flashback*

"Nemesis." The man whispers as I circle around him using the blinding light and the darkness to my advantage.

"Yes, and I get to decide if you live or die. Tell me, did you kill that little girl - Oh what was her name? Sarah was it?" I say loudly my voice confident and dangerous.

"No-no!" The sleaze ball yells and I throw one of my knives at his hand. The knife goes through his hand sticking it to the wall. The man screams out in pain.

"Liar." I hiss.

"Fine! Fine! I killed her!" He manages to scream out. "I killed her." He sobs as he says those three words again.

"Good." I say as I secretly pull a knife out behind my back into my right hand.

"I will grant you mercy." I whisper into his ear.

"Oh thank you!" The man sobs. "Thank you!"

I quickly slit his throat and he chokes on his blood for a few second and horror frames his face, before he falls to the ground.

Dead.

I hear a click of a cane and I whip my head around to face the one and only Dirtyhands.

"You know killing him was accepting my offer, right?"

"I know." I don't have to look at him to know a small smile that has become reversed for me, is sitting on his face.

Then I remember what he said to me when he first gave the offer. I turn to face him as I try to hide my smirk, and I look at him right in the eye.

"My Crow king."

And I turned and walk away.

*Flashback over*

"Well-" I start to say but I'm cut off from Jesper's very excited 'we're here!' Thank the saints though, because it gives me time to escape they're questions for now.

"You all know the plan."

Nina puts her hands on her hips. "Only the parts you deem important enough for us to know."

I nearly snort and a small smile grace's my lips. They really have no idea, well obviously some idea being that the ice court heist existed.

Kaz rolls his eyes and makes a go motion.

Inej goes to slip through the shadows but before she's totally gone I make eye contact with her before she leaves. It clearly says our conversation is not over and stay safe.

I suck in a breath, I always hate it when I have to say goodbye to anyone. Especially when that some person could die.

Running over to back of the warehouse, I pull my hood up trying to be the most concealed that I can be.

Wylan is going with Jesper to go make a distraction so they'll be going through the front doors. Nina will be going to go flirt to go get some extra info, perhaps steal some things on the way and wiggle her way into the top floor where the Dime Lions are. Matthias and Kaz will be going together with them posing as the warehouse-club guards. Inej will be going through the roof, while I'll be going through the back.

In the end everyone will get to the top floor so we can exterminate some Dime Lions, and get into the vault where a whole bunch of kruge is. Hopefully there will be enough so I can put my share's with Inej's so she can get that upgrade on her boat that she needs. It's not like I'm going to use the money to do anything useful, she deserved it and plus I intended to stay with this city.

I silently slide sneakily into the window, coming out of the other end with a knife in my hands. If I have learned one thing from living in Ketterdam, it's that you can never be too prepared.

I stay close to the wall as I see someone roll down the rope-ladder. I grin to myself,

Right on time Inej.

I climb up the ladder without fear of falling down even if the ladder was just made out of rope. I get to the top and Inej offers me a hand and I take it.

The top floor is basically empty except for some Dime Lions henchmen that are laying around, dead or knocked out.

Then, I guess there is also the vault full of kruge.

I look around the room everyone is here except for-

Kaz.

"Where's Kaz?"

Matthias looks a bit uncomfortable and guilty as he shifts nervously on his two feet.

"He said he had to take care of something and to just go."

I sigh, well I know he isn't in danger... Yet. My heart is screaming for me to go after him, but it wouldn't look good for Dirtyhands or Nemesis. Knowing Kaz he's probably fine, he would just want me to open this vault I guess.

The fact that my soulmate mark isn't burning is probably also a clear sign that he's fine.

Get yourself together Y/n.

"Can we open the vault without him?"

The others look mildly surprised at my response (excluding Nina, and my sister).

"You might be able to do it, your one of the best lock pickers there is. Only second to Brekker." Nina states.

I bit my lip and start to walk over to the vault. I let my hand fall over the lock. I let it feel the certain gears and the parts that make up the lock.

The shank of the lock would be easy enough to undo with some man strength to help pull that open. Though that would be the last step - I need to stop thinking too far ahead.

It's a very simple lock that any petty thief could probably do in 32 seconds flat. Besides the fact that it was absolutely ginormous to fit over a fucking vault.

"Inej I'm going to need some help!" I yell across the room to my sister who is in the shadows on a look out, to make sure no ones coming here.

She comes and strolls over to stand beside me. I put my hand up the lock, and I grab one bar and I move it to the side but I hold it there with my hands.

"Can you find the bar to the left and pull it up once?"

Inej does and I hear a huge click! ring through the room.

"We should wait for Kaz till we open it." Inej states and I nod my head in agreement.

"So while we wait." Nina start's talking... Oh no, that can't be good. "We should maybe share the fact that Y/n is Kaz's second hand!"

Angry courses of what! come throughout the room.

"The fuck does Kaz think with putting you in all that danger!" Jesper yells and I see Matthias nod along with him.

"I'm already in danger most of the times I'm Inej's sister!"

"You should have told us!" Nina shoots back.

"You guys are really talking about this while were on a heist!" I shoot back.

My soulmate mark starts to tingle a bit but I ignore it, being that this conversation will most likely take a lot of energy.

"It still puts you in unnecessary danger." Inej and Wylan point out.

Fury rakes through my body. Who are they to tell me that's it's 'dangerous'?! I live in fucking Ketterdam!

"I don't know if you haven't noticed, but I'm not a doll! I can take care of myself! And you can't say anything because 60% percent of you guys don't even fucki- Ahhh!" A string of curse leave my mouth as I collapse against the vault.

"Y/n!"

To be continued...

Words 2480

-thedelusionreaderbitch

Shadow and bone taglist: @kaqua @rika90 @thefandomplace

[moonbaby26]

(gif from Jason Passaro’s youtube edit here)

Title: One Shitty Friday Night (Part 1)

Pairings: Peter Maximoff x Fem!Reader, Colossus x Shadowcat

Summary: Set after the events of Deadpool 2, you and your boyfriend Peter are on a double date downtown with your fellow X-Men Piotr Rasputin (Colossus) and Kitty Pryde (Shadowcat) when Deadpool and Russell arrive unexpectedly. Chaos and violence naturally ensues, including taking down mafia henchmen, dealing with news media and paparazzi who circle in with the action, and a jealous Peter. This will be concluded in Part 2 with the mixed reactions of Logan, Charles, and Erik when you all bring Wade and Russell back home, etc. 😄

Notes: For simplicity’s sake as Piotr R. is normally called “Peter” as well, he’ll just be referred to as Colossus here.

Warnings: Some alcohol use. And it’s Deadpool, so a lot of cursing and irreverent jokes of course. This started out as just crack!fic that became actual fic that had to be split into two parts because it hit post limit. Holy cow.

Peter Maximoff x Reader Masterlist

—————————

Kitty all but snorted, trying to put her drink back down on the table before it could end up fully sideways instead as her laughter left her trembling.

Colossus sighed quietly, but you could still see the warmth in his eyes as he looked down at her before helping dab up some of her errant wine off the table with a thick cloth napkin.

It was late Friday night, and save for your semi disapproving, large and very Russian designated driver, the other three of you were now several drinks deep and a bit too loudly enjoying Peter’s retelling of the Led Zeppelin cover band debacle. You’d been there with him that night, but it never got old the way Peter told it.

“I shit you not, and this guy still keeps hitting on Jean.” Peter continued, his third nearly empty glass of craft beer still in hand. “Scott’s about to fry the dude. They’re playing Immigrant Song, and these lasers start up. All dudebros in the club go wild, and Scott tries to sneak off a warning shot. Freaking air balls it! I have to move like forty people and it still blows a damn hole in the wall. But nobody even noticed! Fake Robert Plant is screaming his heart out and everybody is just eating it up. I swear my Dad could have flown in there, cape billowing and they still would have thought it was part of the show!”

You were at risk of being elbowed in this small restaurant booth, with how animated Peter was as he spoke beside you. But you didn’t mind. The lighting was dim, possibly verging on romantic, the smell of good food from the kitchen reminded you of what was to come, and you were just enjoying time with some of your favorite people.

When Peter did finally drop his hand again though, the not so subtle movements of it then up your thigh also promised something much more personal later tonight. Maybe it was the warmth from the mixed drinks you were also nursing, but you shifted your leg a little, pushing even more into his touch under the table. Your movement just signaled your silent agreement to him that tonight would be a perfect night to be throwing clothes on the floor as soon as you got back to your shared room at the mansion.

It’d been a long, tiring week after all. Helping teach classes during the day and training your ass off in the danger room every night, you didn’t think it was unreasonable to cut loose a bit now.

Even Colossus was chuckling a little at last, but the big guy was always softest around Kitty. You in particular had been one of her biggest supporters when she’d first confessed her attraction towards him. You’d noticed his bashfulness with her as well, and all the little glances he’d given her long before she’d ever worked up the courage to ask him out.

But that seemed so long ago now, it was hard to really remember a time when they weren’t together. Almost as long as you and Peter really.

You glanced up as the waiter came back by to check on you all, saying your food would be out in a few more minutes and asking if anyone needed more drinks.

“Oh gosh, we’re really running up the tab right?” Kitty smiled.

You could see the little bit of relief in Colossus’ expression as she waved the waiter off though, her current wine glass still nearly full. “I’m fine for now, thank you.”

Peter glanced at you and you nodded as well. A buzz was fine, but you didn’t want to be climbing the mansion stairs full on drunk tonight. “I’m good.”

As the waiter left, your conversation got a little more subdued. You leaned into Peter somewhat, hip to hip in the booth as he put his arm around your waist.

Kitty was now talking about a movie she thought you should all go see next weekend if you could. You were just in the process of agreeing as you’d wanted to see it too, when Colossus suddenly went stock still, a look of real surprise on his face.

Kitty evidently noticed as soon as you did, you both staring up at him in unison.

“Do not turn around,” He instructed to you and Peter, eyes locked on something behind you.

Of course when told to do one thing, it would take everything in Peter’s willpower to not do the opposite. But to his credit he actually did hesitate. “Do we need to be dodging something? I mean, I can move us if I need to, man. You just gotta let me know.” Peter stated.

“I don’t think he’s seen us yet. Please do not draw attention.” Colossus responded, still frustratingly vague to the rest of you.

But he hadn’t metaled up yet, his skin still entirely human looking. So on the plus side, it couldn’t be someone he thought an immediate physical threat.

You glanced to Kitty for some hope of explanation as she was seated beside Colossus and facing the same direction. But she was too short in comparison to him, and couldn’t see all the way across the booth dividers as easily as he could. “Well who is it?” Kitty demanded quietly.

But you heard an impatient voice carry over clearly from the nearby restaurant entrance.

“Look, you know he’s here. I know he’s here. Don’t make me leave you guys a bad Yelp review. I will totally Karen that shit up. I’m just here for him.” A pause. “...And some of the cannolis. God, I love those things. You went a little scarce on the filling last time though. Don’t make me add that to the Yelp review.”

You heard the hostess stutter, fear evidently building. “Sir, firearms are not allowed in this restaurant. The owner, he, I...I can’t.”

There was a loud sigh from the man, the distinct sound of a gun cocking, and then all hell broke loose.

“WADE!” Colossus screamed, your entire table flipping as he stood up, metal now encasing him in this even larger form.

Abruptly you were now standing back by the entrance yourself. Peter had one arm around you, and the other around Kitty as he let you both go just as instantly, having just brought you there before he disappeared again.

That little flare up of vertigo from the speed and sudden stop didn’t mix well with the alcohol, and she and you both stood there another moment, queasy as Peter appeared again with an armful of guns.

It would have been comical as he clearly had no idea where to put them now, but everyone else that had still been in the restaurant was already screaming and running for the doors in a panic.

The owner of the multiple guns couldn’t care less about the crowd however, only turning his full focus to the lot of you then in exasperation.

“Oh my God, you anti second amendment, mother fuckers. I’m in the middle of a job here!”

“You can’t just point guns at innocent people, Wade! We have talked about this many times!” Colossus retorted, all seven foot of him now standing over Deadpool with paternal like annoyance.

“For fuck’s sake, it’s called a threat. I wasn’t going to kill her you overprotective, asshat! Now Giovanni is probably holed up in some pussy ass panic room, or he’s already ghosted me out the back door! And yes, I know that is such a stereotypical mob boss name and totally sounds like the Pokemon villain. Fuck him and his always trying to take Pikachu! He had a talking cat the whole time who just wanted his love, but no, got to have the electric rat. Fuck!”

“Language, Wade!” Colossus scolded. “There is still a child present!”

And honestly in all this insanity, that was the first time you actually noticed Russell also still standing there. Everyone else in the room had now fled out into the street.

“I’m fucking fourteen,” The boy replied defiantly. “And yeah, we were working!”

“Daddy and angrier metal daddy are just talking, hon.” Deadpool commented, waving a hand.

There was a small gust of air beside you and you looked to Peter knowingly. Wade’s guns were now all on a table, though intentionally still distant from your current position. “So I just made a couple laps.” Peter spoke up. “The cops are already coming, and there’s still a bunch of guys in the basement. They were opening some crates, probably getting weapons? I didn’t know if we were taking them out yet though. I didn’t touch anything. But is Giovanni like a big dude with gold rings and all?”

“I’m telling you besides the drug and human trafficking, it’s practically more criminal how much he sets back Italian-American stereotypes. They are an honest, manicotti making people goddamn it.” Deadpool answered.

You really were starting to regret the amount of drinks you’d had. If you’d known tonight was going to be anything like this, you would have gladly stuck to water. Your head was already trying to throb a little as you finally spoke. “So, does this guy actually have warrants out on him? If the cops come, they’re all going to end up shooting each other most likely. Can we just defuse this by giving him up to them?”

“I would say we assist to prevent unnecessary bloodshed, if that is the case, yes. I’m sure the Professor would prefer that.” Colossus agreed.

“Freaking goody two shoes, all of you.” Wade sighed. “But he has to get arrested or dead okay? I don’t get paid otherwise.” He paused though, then looking back up to Colossus before suddenly elbowing him. As if he’d even really feel that. “And hello rudeness, are you not going to introduce me to your little girls night out club here before we go bust some heads in a gratuitous X-Force/X-Men hotties crossover?”

“X-Force?” Kitty asked, sounding as already over this as could be.

“Well, we are a little empty on the roster at the moment. Some...unfortunate parachuting incidents. Wind advisory that day. You know how it goes.” Deadpool shrugged.

By her expression, no. She did not know how it went.

But the sooner you started, the sooner this could be over. Colossus motioned to each of you in turn, “Peter, (Y/N), and Kitty. These are my teammates and friends.” He nodded back to Deadpool, “And this is Wade.” And then to the boy. “And Russell.”

Of course you already knew who they both were. It’d been a bit of a scandal really, with the whole Essex House fiasco and the deaths that had occurred there. Fair or not, a lot of the blame had ended up on Juggernaut the second time around though you thought. Which is why Charles hadn’t had to deal with too much bad press in the aftermath.

You could not let this become another Essex House situation for the X-Men though. You were about to speak up about heading to the basement together and Deadpool staying out of your way so you all could neutralize everyone without any fatal hits, when he gasped dramatically, making you freeze again.

“Kitty!? Like an actual girl named Kitty? Oh my God, this whole time I thought you were his cat!” He hit his own leg, laughing. “I’m thinking, holy shit this guy loves his goddamn cat, but who am I to judge you know? I had a dog named Mr. Shuggums. Cutest little fucker.” He took a breath. “I miss him.”

“Wade.” Colossus groaned. “We do not have all night.”

Okay, so there was still something sweet about Colossus gushing about his girlfriend even to this manic mercenary. But no kidding, this show really needed to get on the road here.

“Guys, why don’t we just let Peter disarm them all, Colossus, you grab Giovanni, and Kitty and I deal with anyone who still resists? No one has to get hurt, and then it’s all done, easy.”

“And then we go find somewhere else to eat. Killing me here. I wanted that damn calzone and tiramisu.” Peter sighed, pulling his goggles back down over his eyes again. “More guns coming up.”

He disappeared at once, but when he didn’t return immediately as you were so accustomed to, you and Kitty exchanged a nervous look.

And after only another few seconds, your instincts told you something had definitely gone wrong.

“Is the basement directly beneath us?” You asked Deadpool sharply, already reaching out a hand to Kitty. Your adrenaline was starting, all good feelings gone as it was now time to act.

But you’d worked together long enough now, you didn’t have to explain your plan to her or Colossus.

Yet when the previously mouthy merc had no instant response, just staring at you in thought, it was clear he hadn’t done any recon beforehand at all. He’d literally just walked in here and expected everything to work out.

“Perfect.” Kitty said sarcastically, glancing quickly to Colossus as she took your hand. “You’re our backup, dear, in case our vertical entrance doesn’t work out. Come find us.”

“Always.” He said, already turning, his weight shaking the floor as he ran to look for any stairway downward while you and Kitty dropped straight through the floor.

It was surely a risk of its own to use her phasing ability so blindly as this. You could end up in a too small crawlspace, in underground piping, a sewer system, anything really. She’d make sure not to go solid until it was safe, as to not impale or bury you alive of course. But if Peter were in trouble, there was no time to waste by ending up at a dead end and having to go back up and try again.

You’d held your breath, as there was no way for you to process oxygen either as your lungs and every other part of you shifted through the other matter. It was darkness and insulation, pipes, and conduit that flashed by at first. But in the fractions of seconds that it took to fall, you had already powered up. The white light of your energy field overtaking your body, shielding you both as you did fall into a larger open area.

It was even darker than the restaurant above, all concrete and dampness. The glow from your body was the brightest thing there as much more men than you’d expected all turned in surprise. You saw the glint of multiple gun barrels now, but the thing you wanted to see most was Peter’s silver hair as you’d scanned the area for him instantly.

There was a stairwell in the distance. He was laying near the bottom of it. But you had no time to be shocked or afraid, only anger swelled as you released Kitty’s hand, making you solid again. “I’ll get him.” Was all you said. Letting her know to protect herself as you flew to him. Bullets couldn’t hurt her if she was ready for them. But Peter would be defenseless without one of you now, and by means of your power of flight you were the faster of you and her.

The man closest to Peter had a different kind of gun though you realized. Something you didn’t recognize at all as he aimed at you. You splayed your palms to create an energy shield in front of you as he pulled the trigger.

It didn’t make a sound though. But everything around you instantly distorted as pain exploded through you. You saw five or six of him now, as your feet hit the ground, unable to concentrate enough to fly then. But even as you stumbled, realizing your shielding wasn’t fully stopping whatever that weapon was doing, you were still able to expand your shield rapidly, hitting the man with the force of a car in your pain and sending him flying into a nearby wall, the weapon clattering to the ground lightly against his now limp body.

But you still felt like you were going to puke.

“Kill them you idiots!” Someone screamed.

You dropped yourself, laying over Peter just as quickly, grateful to feel him breathing as you focused through the pain to extend a shield around you both as the gunfire started.

“Bitch!” Another man yelled as Kitty just walked unharmed through all the flying bullets towards you.

“Shadowcat actually,” She said, skilled enough in her powers to choose what was solid and what wasn’t. Just the outside of her fist being all she needed to crush his nose in one punch with a squirt of blood, and only the end of her foot used as she swept her leg after to knock his own right out from under him.

Even among your own team, sometimes people could forget that that petite Jewish girl was about as skilled a martial artist as anyone could be.

“Babe?” You heard against your ear though, glancing back down to Peter. There was real relief even in the chaos as you saw him smile up at you.

He talked back against your ear in the noise as Kitty continued to utterly wreck the guys around you. “I fucked up a little, right? That gun...they already had it going, aimed at the door when I came back, a trap...I think I hit every stair on the way down...I still see like three of you right now.”

“Ditto.” You breathed.

And then there was another even louder noise as the remnants of a door also came flying down the stairs. Colossus barreled in behind it like a stampeding elephant, Deadpool right behind him as they leapt over the both of you and joined the fray.

“We found the basement!” Deadpool announced gleefully, swords swinging. “Don’t think they’d even locked the door back actually, but fuck if big Russki doesn’t love a dramatic entrance!”

For a moment you thought all your words about at least trying not to kill had been for nothing, thinking Deadpool was going to chop these men into literal pieces. But even as blood sprayed left and right, you realized he was just cutting tendons. The men then unable to hold their guns, unable to stand at all as he crippled each he reached in succession.

It was still completely horrific, but hell, how much could you really ask for from someone like him? Especially when you yourself had slammed that one man into a concrete wall as if he were a ragdoll. You glanced over anxiously for a moment, glad to see him shifting a little, but still crumpled exactly where you’d thrown him. He was alive, a small relief at least.

——————————

Obviously the other gunmen hadn’t had a prayer either though once you’d all been down there together.

Colossus already had a still cursing Giovanni slung over one shoulder as you were now helping Peter back up and trying not to step in all the blood as you all walked over to Kitty.

“What a mess...very interesting weapon though,” She spoke of that odd gun that’d been used on you and Peter, it now in her hands as she turned it one way and then another examining it. “I’m bringing this back with us. The police don’t need anything like this. Hank and I can figure out how it works. And how to defend against it hopefully before we run into another one of these out in the field.”

“It seems this Giovanni was more a threat than expected,” Colossus said, giving the still squirming man an unhappy look, before looking back to you all. “Are you alright, Peter?”

“I’m still hungry.” Peter grumbled, an arm over your shoulder to still help stabilize him as his other hand went to his head as if it were pounding. He also had some bruising starting on his face, no doubt from his tumble down the stairs. “I wouldn’t have drank so damn much if I’d known we weren’t going to eat...”

With the speed of his metabolism, that alcohol likely was hitting him pretty hard now on his already empty stomach.

“We should turn this guy over and get out of here.” You agreed. Though you didn’t feel so hot yourself. Still a little nauseous from whatever that weapon did to your senses. But at least you weren’t seeing triple of everything anymore.

“Hold it, girl scouts!” Deadpool piped up, chipper as ever as he grabbed something at Giovanni’s neck before any of you could think to stop him.

The man choked just a moment though, before a piece of metal snapped off into Wade’s hands. It was a necklace, with a symbol of some sort. You saw just a glimpse of it before Deadpool pocketed it. “No proof of finishing the job, no payday for DP. No payday, then no liquor, no coke, no hookers. Am I right?”

It was too difficult to tell when if ever he was serious, and you all chose to ignore his comment, starting back up the stairs. The odd sounds of bullet fragments falling back down the stairwell caught Peter’s attention though as he gave a grossed out look to Wade for a moment.

The now impact deformed bullets were starting to work themselves back out of all the bloody holes in Deadpool’s costume. You knew where you’d seen that before of course, but Peter was the only one that actually said it aloud.

“Damn, you and Logan would be a pair.”

There was a pause, and you could swear even with the mask, you thought you saw Wade’s cheekbones move in a way that signaled he was outright grinning from ear to ear. “At least someone gets it. He still won’t return my calls though. Such a diva lately.”

Once you did get to the top of the stairs, you only found a very agitated Russell standing there, Wade’s guns in his arms. “You took long enough, the cops are outside you know. I’m not going back to jail for you!”

“Cool your tater tots, kid.” Deadpool responded lazily, in no hurry, but grabbing the weapons back to holster them all regardless.

“I could have finished this faster! I would have fried their asses!” Russell argued.

“You would have been shot. Fire does not stop bullets.” Colossus only answered matter of factly.

Russell made a face, but Wade cut him off before he could say any more.

“Now now, listen to metal daddy. No sass. And actually, I think there’s something we should talk about, champ. X-Force is way more badass and all, but we don’t exactly have a training and junior member tier yet. Maybe later. You might want to think about riding home with these guys and checking their setup out. I don’t have any powers myself to relate to you like that, except me being very shootable, devastatingly charming, sexy, smart, and a competitive level Skee-Ball player...”

Deadpool sighed, continuing. “But these guys have a Danger Room. Which is totally not a sex dungeon, yeah I was bummed about that too. But they could let you unleash that school shooter level teenage angst and burn all the shit you wanted until you really figure out your powers.”

Russel bristled. “I’m not a school shooter you prick! And you always said the X-Men were neutered dweebs and-”

Wade coughed loudly, ushering Russell forward suddenly as you all continued to walk. “Hah, kids. Such darlings. Mishear everything don’t they?”

Colossus only answered without offense though. “The offer is still open, Russell. Though you have said no before. The Professor would never turn down a young mutant in need.”

It was Peter who surprised you a little, a smirk on his face as he contributed. “Freaking sweet house too, man. Xavier’s loaded. Big screen TV, a pool, basketball court, your own room, supersonic jet. Bunch of cute girls as well, or cute boys, you know whatever you’re into.”

“I’m not gay.” Russell huffed, but actually looked to be listening now as he didn’t immediately spit back with a sarcastic retort.

Though you gave Peter a weird look and he just grinned. “What? I stayed for you didn’t I, babe? Just saying. I wasn’t exactly on board with the whole team thing before that either. I know where he’s coming from is all.”

“It’s up to you, Russell.” Kitty said more diplomatically, before returning to the matter at hand. “We’re parked at that parking garage two blocks south. Everyone meet back there, Colossus and I will hand this guy over to the cops out front. The rest of you, I’m sure there’s got to be some emergency exit you can sneak out of. Probably better to split up actually. Less attention.”

—————————

Just as Kitty had suggested, Deadpool and Russell went out one way, and you and Peter another. You came out onto another street behind the restaurant. And you’d just finally started to relax again, Peter taking your hand in his own and walking away like an honest to God normal couple for once, just out on the town together before you noticed an oddly placed white van with distinct lettering on it.

Peter saw it too just as the light from a camera hit you both.

“Hell,” You breathed.

“Want to run?” He asked seriously.

“Too late, they’d just film us ditching, and say we had something to hide.”

Your headache was returning in full force you thought as you steeled yourself, seeing the reporter now in a full sprint towards you.

“It’s Quicksilver! And (your codename)! The X-Men are here!” A woman shouted.

As you walked closer to the news van, the camera flashes only increased. It looked like a small group of paparazzi had also camped out here, hoping for this exact result. How did word travel so damn fast?

“Marcia Fletcher, WAFN nightly news!” She introduced herself at once, her camera man there just as quickly, huffing a little from the run as he got you both in focus.

You could see the lights on on his camera as she shoved her microphone in front of you and Peter. “You’re on live coverage of the Ruffiano’s restaurant shootings with WAFN. Is it true that Giovani Marcello was apprehended here tonight by the X-Men? And how did you know he was here when he’s been on Interpol’s most wanted list for four years?”

You knew without looking at him that Peter was happily deferring the speaking role to you now as you tried not to look rattled. You attempted to think of what Charles would and wouldn’t want you to say, even with the pain in your head and lingering nausea. “We didn’t know who was here. We were in the area and saw people running and went to help, that’s all.” You lied.

“But the reports of gunshots, witnesses also said Deadpool had drawn a gun on a restaurant employee and Colossus was seen inside. Is Deadpool now affiliated with the X-Men again? Did he shoot anyone?”

“Deadpool is not affiliated with the X-Men. Colossus was here tonight, but he only would have been defending anyone he thought in danger. Deadpool did not shoot anyone.” You tried to keep to short truths that time.

“But then why was Deadpool there? Should people really believe it would be a coincidence that the X-Men and Deadpool would be at the same incidence at one time if not working together?”

“Well you’re here aren’t you? Are you affiliated with us?” You replied before you could stop yourself, though still restraining the annoyance you really wanted to put into that statement. “Trouble attracts a crowd.”

Peter made a sound, a restrained laugh you knew. But before the reporter could blurt out another question, one of the now growing number of paparazzi called out, “(Your codename), hey look here! Is it true you and Quicksilver are still dating!?”

You knew better than to be baited, humoring any of them just made it worse. They were like piranhas. But Peter couldn’t help it, turning to look as so many cameras flashed. His arm slid around you protectively. “Why wouldn’t we be, dude?” He called back.

“Are you saying the photos of (your codename) and Gambit were before you two reconciling?”

It took every ounce of your self control to not respond, but oh God did you want to. It was the mission in Tanzania. You knew it. You, Storm, and Gambit. Peter had stayed in the U.S. for that one as it’d been the holidays and his Mom had wanted both he and Wanda over for some time together.

After the mission was over, the three of you had ended up on one of the beautiful Tanzanian beaches for a single day. Just a single day to yourselves.

You’d had the audacity to wear a revealing bathing suit though and you and Remy had been photographed together, him shirtless of course because it was a goddamn beach. And laughing and smiling because, surprise, you were friends! And they’d cropped Ororo out in all the closeups for complete loss of context.

It’d been a thing in some of the tabloids for a while, but you really thought that had finally blown over. Of course if anyone asked Remy, he liked to play coy on the whole subject to keep up his God’s gift to all men and women sex symbol status.

“Peter, let’s just go,” You whispered in his ear, sure anything else said would only make things worse.

But you could read him all too well, and when he turned his face to look back at you, you already knew what he was going to do. You didn’t try to stop him, because never would you humiliate him on live television with any type of rejection, but oh, you would never live this one down. Never.

He kissed you hard. And there was nothing fake about it, honestly the kind of kiss usually reserved for your bedroom as you felt heat rising up in you. The camera flashes clicking over and over as you could still taste the alcohol he’d drank before.

When he finally released you again, you gasped a little. He gave the photographers a ‘fuck you’ look, before speaking just to you. “Now we can go.”

“Fly or run?” You breathed.

“Fly please. I’m still about half out of it.” He admitted.

You powered up to some surprised and excited sounds from the crowd. Your whole body glowing white again in the energy you emitted.

“Wait, aren’t you going to stay and talk to the police!?” The reporter shouted.

“They know where to find us if they need us.” You answered, extending your energy field around Peter, before you took off vertically, making sure to get sideways over the rooftops as soon as you could though to breakup their camera angles and finally give you privacy again at last.

You landed gently atop the parking garage only a few moments later, letting him go again as you powered back down.

“Are you mad at me?” He asked, just taking your hand again though.

“No.” You said truthfully. “But, I have no idea what we’ve really just done. We still have to go home...home where the Professor always watches the 10:00 news with his late night tea.”

Peter sighed, only half joking. “We could always go stay with my Mom for a while?”

You just moved in closer, pulling him against you as you laid your head on his shoulder. “We’ll survive, babe. Somehow we always do.”

“I think that says more about you than me though. Pretty sure I’d be face down in a ditch somewhere already if it weren’t for you.”

You chuckled, wrapping your arms around his neck then before raising your head back up to kiss him once more. Much softer this time, and even longer than his jealous little display a few minutes ago.

He made one of his little noises of contentment, hands sliding down to squeeze your butt through the thin pants you were wearing. As he pulled your hips tighter against him, he broke the kiss enough to speak regretfully. “I really was hoping to get lucky tonight...”

“Same.” You smiled. It had been a while. Mostly from you both being so tired by the time you finally got in bed. Passing out on each other had more been the norm the past couple weeks. “We get some food in you, and see where things go?”

“Gross! Get a room!”

You startled at the sudden shouting, having wholly thought yourselves alone up here in the moonlight.

Peter rolled his eyes, yelling back at Russell, “Kid, we have one! And we’d already be back there by now if it wasn’t for your little mafia hunting shenanigans!”

You looked over to see Deadpool and Russell both standing in the doorway to the parking garage stairs.

Wade whistled, leaning back against the doorframe. “Way to take down that Marcia Fletcher a notch! I always found her too uppity to be honest. I think she’s still butt hurt that they didn’t give her the lead anchor spot when Carl Sanderson moved to the early bird morning show. Tanya Meyer on the 5:00 news though, that’s my girl.”

You blinked. “How...how do you know-” It was literally minutes ago, it would have taken them just this long to walk here.

Deadpool lifted up his cell phone. “Facebook live, bitches. Don’t you follow WAFN? The recipes they post from Saturday morning cooking with Pat are always delish.” He looked back down at the phone though, happily reading. “Hah! Peggy Fredrickson from Brewster, New York thinks Marcia’s contouring and drawn on eyebrows are getting worse. Fire your makeup person, Marcia.” He tapped something on the screen. “Like comment! Oh, and Michael Morris from Ridgefield says who wouldn’t do Remy LeBeau. Damn, Michael, all out and proud on main.”

Peter let go of you, taking an annoyed breath. But then looking back to you. “Please let me at least prank Remy, something, anything.”

“But he didn’t do anything.” You replied, though only more stressed now that this was already blowing up on social media.

“Exactly! He should have at least denied it! But no, Mr. cool Cajun can’t admit that you’d actually choose me over him.”

“Hey now, I think you’re looking at this the wrong way, Quickie.” Deadpool interjected. “There’s always the ménage à trois option. I mean he’s French right? And Michael from Ridgefield is just spitting truth. Who wouldn’t want to do Remy LeBeau? He could shuffle my cards anytime.”

“You guys are so fucking weird.” Russell groaned. “Can we go find your damn car now?”

But you didn’t move yet, still looking fully at Peter. “Wade’s just trying to get under your skin. We all know how Remy is. He’d flirt with a piece of cardboard if it suited him. It doesn’t mean anything to him.” You recognized that Gambit was physically attractive of course, you had eyes too after all. But that was the only extent of it. You loved Peter. Not to mention you wouldn’t at all want to get on Rogue’s bad side. She and Gambit were tumultuous enough without someone else being added to the mix.

“This is adorable, really. But I did bring ‘good job team for sending a little girl selling, gentrification funding, pencil dick mob boss to butt fucking federal prison’ cannolis. Want some?” Deadpool offered, lifting up a large takeout box you somehow hadn’t noticed before.

Peter’s shoulders dropped a little, still heavily annoyed though eyeing the box. “So does this mean you’re coming back with us too?”

Wade shrugged, “The kid doesn’t know you guys. What kind of daddy would I be if I didn’t at least go and make sure he actually wanted to stay in your little mutant commune before I ditch him there?”

“You aren’t my damned dad.” Russell said, though almost sounding too tired to argue further at this point. He reached up, taking a cannoli from the box and biting into it as he started to walk back down the stairwell. “What floor is the car on?”

“Just one down from here, you already passed it. Black SUV,” you answered. Colossus and Kitty must not have been here yet if Wade and Russell had made it all the way to the top deck without finding them.

Peter grabbed your hand again, walking with you to the doorway as he grabbed three cannolis out the box begrudgingly with his other hand. He passed one off to you, before biting into the other two in quick succession.

And you only had a moment to see all the thick scarring under Wade’s mask as he lifted it just enough to start eating one himself, before turning to follow you both out and down the stairwell.

———————————

(Concluded in Part 2 here)

[nugnthopkns]

dance me to the end of love (v)

word count: 4.6k

warnings: fem!oc, cursing, alcohol consumption, mentions of poor parenting and damaged familial relationships

series masterpost: here

a/n: and just like that we're halfway through!!! it's crazy to think about it. however, lots happens in this chapter so buckle up peeps

Soon Magdalene’s feelings are going to get the better of her.

She knows she’s heading down a dangerous path but she can’t help it. Ryan is like a drug she can’t get enough of even though she knows it will hurt her in the long run. Living with him has opened her up to the laid back, intelligent, incredibly funny man he is and Magdalene doesn’t know how she’s ever going to function in her own space ever again. They complement each other like two peas in a pod, and everyone else is starting to catch on to the shift in their relationship.

“When are you going to fess up to Ryan about your feelings?” Bette asks as the two of them sit on the lawn across from the university library. It’s mid October, but the weather is still warm enough that Magdalene eats her lunch outside. Her best friend decided to join her today, no doubt knowing that she’s feeling a little lonely. The Avalanche are in the middle of their season opening road trip and have been gone for nearly five days. Ryan’s condo feels empty without him in it, and Magdalene misses him an unfathomable amount.

“Never, if I can help it,” she replies casually, taking a bite of the turkey wrap that Bette brought her from Barn Owl.

The blonde scoffs. “Fuck off. You have to. What are you going to do when he gets back from Florida and you tackle him as soon as he steps through the door.”

“Caligula will get there first,” Magdalene shrugs. “Those two are thick as thieves.”

Truthfully, Magdalene wasn’t sure what she was going to do. This is the longest they’ve been separated since she moved in and it’s proving to be a harder adjustment than she thought. Magdalene feels a little silly missing him so much – she went nearly twenty-six years without knowing Ryan but now he’s imprinted on her soul for the rest of eternity. Living without him seems impossible.

Bette drops the conversation then, almost as if she knows Magdalene is in her own world thinking about what to do. She mentions the upcoming home opener and her plans to attend with a couple of the other wives and girlfriends. “We’re going out beforehand and you should join us! I really think you’d like most of them.”

The bell in the clock tower rings, signalling the start of another hour, and Magdalene promises she’ll consider the offer as they pack up the picnic and say goodbye. It’s a short walk back to the building she works in, seeing as they were only across the street, but it takes a while for the elevator to come around. Magdalene could have taken the stairs down to the basement but they scare her a lot more than she’d like to admit. Hopefully June won’t mind her being a few minutes late.

Her boss doesn’t look too pleased when Magdalene strolls through the door almost seven minutes later then she should have, but as soon as she tosses the cookie Bette brought her in June’s direction all is forgiven. They work in near silence all afternoon, background noise provided by the small stereo in the corner and their respective grunts of frustration when an image doesn’t digitize properly. The university has finally decided to undertake the massive project of making all their school records available to the public online, and Magdalene and June are in charge of getting all the files ready before sending them to IT for installation into the website. It’s a huge task and is going to take them the better part of a month and a half to finish. Magdalene spends the rest of her work day finishing up a box of graduation records from the 1870s and leaves smelling of very old paper.

On the drive home she considers the invitation Bette extended to her. Magdalene knows she’ll be attending the game, having promised Ryan before he left that she’d be there, but she doesn’t know how to feel about going out for dinner and drink beforehand – especially with people so involved with the team. She isn’t like them, in nearly every sense of the phrase, and doesn’t want people to get the wrong idea. It wouldn’t be fair to Ryan for people to assume they’re together in case he ever does want to bring someone around, but Magdalene can’t help thinking that the speculation wouldn’t hurt. Perhaps it would be the clue that shows him how she feels.

The invite stays in the back of her brain while she heats up leftovers and eats quickly, knowing that Ryan will call soon. He’s like clockwork with his precise game day routine, and he always calls shortly after four o’clock when out east. Magdalene’s phone buzzes from the spot beside her on the couch and she quickly scoops it up and accepts the call.

“Hey,” she says, a little breathless because she’s so excited to talk to him.

“Hey yourself. How was work?” Magdalene can tell Ryan’s got a smile on his face even though she can’t see him. She indulges the question, telling him all about the stuff she digitized and what’s next. Though she always tries to get out of talking about work, fearing it will bore the daylights out of him, Ryan insists on hearing every detail Magdalene wants to share. He finds it all fascinating and tells her so every chance he gets. During her monologue Caligula wanders over and becomes extremely invested after he hears Ryan laugh at something Magdalene said. The small white cat jumps onto Magdalene’s lap and tries to paw the phone away from her ear.

“Hold on, I’m putting you on speaker. Little boots would like to talk.”

At the sound of Ryan’s greeting, Caligula starts meowing up a storm. It’s as though he’s actually holding a conversation with the man, waiting for Ryan to say something before he continues to make noise. Magdalene laughs through what could barely classify as a conversation until the cat gives her space to talk again.

“So,” she says, drawing out the word in an attempt to make Ryan laugh. “Bette asked me to join her and some of the other girls for drinks before Friday’s game.”

Ryan’s responding before Magdalene has finished uttering the last words. “That’s great! I think you should go.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” he says sheepishly, “It would be nice for you to know someone other than Bette.”

Magdalene is surprised at the response, but tries her hardest to keep her tone light and teasing. “Why, you plan on keeping me around Mr. Graves?” She can tell Ryan is struggling to come up with an answer because there’s a fair amount of sputtering on the other end of the line.

“I’d be stupid to let you go.”

All the breath in Magdalene’s lungs escapes her. She didn’t expect him to say something like that, and it sends her mind reeling. What does he mean? Unable to process the comment, Magdalene makes up an excuse and hangs up as quickly as possible. She spends the rest of the night wondering if Ryan was trying to make a move and deciding how she should handle his homecoming in a few days.

☼☼☼☼

When Ryan gets home Thursday morning Magdalene is at work. Caligula is happy to see him, practically pouncing on him and purring so loud Ryan’s sure the neighbours heard the cat. For an animal so small, Caligula can make a lot of noise if he wants.

“Hi boy,” Ryan coos, adjusting his grip on the cat so he doesn’t get dropped while the two of them move around the house. “Did your mom talk about me while I was gone? Been thinking about her a lot lately.”

The cat doesn’t respond, of course, but Ryan finds comfort in vocalizing his emotions. Multiple times on the road trip Tyson made fun of him for the silent pining he’s found himself participating in since Magdalene moved in, and hinted that she might have said something to Bette. Neither of them are great at keeping secrets, but Ryan also knows they want him and Magdalene to get together and aren’t above manipulation to achieve their goals. He doesn’t know how Magdalene actually feels, but Ryan isn’t willing to risk losing their friendship. Just a couple of months ago she sat on the deck of the lake house and told him she wasn’t looking for a relationship – he has to assume that’s still her position because if he doesn’t Ryan isn’t quite sure what he’ll unleash. Though the two of them are close, closer than most friends, Magdalene stills keeps a lot of things to herself and Ryan doesn’t want to pry. When, and if, she’s ready he knows she’ll come to him.

Exhausted from the countless hours of travel he’s endured over the past few days and the pains that come along with being a professional athlete, Ryan falls back onto the couch cushions. He hurts in places he didn’t know existed and wants to do nothing but sleep. Caligula settles into his stomach, purring contently, and though he knows he should unpack his gear, Ryan can’t find the energy to move himself or the cat. Everything will still be there when he wakes up, and hopefully Magdalene will be on her way home. She texted Ryan earlier in the morning, no doubt just before she headed out the door, to say that she was taking some holidays to have a long weekend and would be home around noon. Sleep comes easy with Caligula nestled against his body, and Ryan dreams of Magdalene as he frequently does.

☼☼☼☼

Despite Bette telling her countless times she shouldn’t be, Magdalene is nervous. The significant others of the Colorado Avalanche are a tight knit group and are very particular with who they let in. Magdalene is a nothing, has no true connections to the team besides being Tyson’s girlfriend’s best friend, and she’s worried she won’t make the cut. If it wasn’t for Bette picking her up in the morning Magdalene would have found a way to get out of drinks, but the blonde made sure she couldn’t make a run for it.

Sitting in the elevated booth, she not-so-casually sips her glass of wine while Bette tries to calm her down. “They’re going to hate me,” she groans, lowering her head to rest it on the table.

“Shut the fuck up,” Bette counters. “You literally know most of them, and Livy will be here if you get too uncomfortable, but most of them were at EJ’s back in May.”

Magdalene can’t argue with the truth, so she rolls her eyes and finishes her drink. By the time she flags down the waiter for a refill the other girls have arrived. They take turns hugging Bette and shuffling into their seats. Magdalene feels awkward with no one acknowledging her, but she does her best to buck up and deal with it. It means a lot to Bette, and Ryan, that she’s here trying to make friends so she’ll at least make an effort.

A blonde who looks a little older than the rest addresses her first. “I’m not sure if you remember me, but I’m Mel. I think we met last season at a game.”

It takes Magdalene a second to recall the face, but then she recognizes Mel as the person who alerted her to the fight Ryan got into to defend Tyson. “Oh yeah,” she chuckles, though it’s still got a nervous quality, “You’re the one who was yelling about Ryan’s fight.”

Everyone looks at her like Magdalene had confessed to seeing a ghost. “What’s the matter?”

“No one ever calls him that,” a petite girl with tight curls explains. “We all just call him Gravy.”

“Oh.”

Magdalene isn’t sure what the comment is supposed to mean, or if it even meant anything at all, but she does her best to push it aside because Livy is trying to catch up with her. The rest of the outing goes well – Magdalene keeps quiet until someone gives an inaccurate analogy about Rome and she has to correct them. It may make her seem stuck up, but she really hates when people spread misinformation. Everyone laughs, and after that it’s hard for Magdalene to stay silent. She talks about work and college, but when someone asks about home she shuts down. Bette notices the shift in her behaviour before Magdalene’s face has even dropped, and shifts the conversation in another direction. Soon it’s a respectable time to head to the arena and they all pay their tabs, Magdalene going first and then ducking out of the bar that became crowded while they were sitting down.

The fresh air feels good against her skin, and she takes the time alone to regulate her thoughts. There’s still several hours until she can return home and cry in the shower over the mention of her family so it’s important to present a calm facade. Bette comes out slightly ahead of the other girls and checks in with her friend, but Magdalene assures her she’s okay. It was a bit of a spook, but the other girls have no idea about how fucked up her familial situation is so Magdalene can’t hold it against them. The arena is a few blocks over, so the group walks towards it at a brisk pace. Magdalene’s mind is still churning from the bar when they step inside, so she peels off from the rest of the group. Warm ups are about to start and she knows that seeing Ryan will help to calm her down, at least until they can go home and she can sequester herself away from the rest of the world.

She finds a space against the glass and strains her eyes for her new favourite number. Ryan hasn’t made it out on the ice yet, but Tyson gives her a big wave when he skates past. It takes a few seconds, though it feels like years, but Ryan eventually steps out, all long limbs and hair and dazzling smile as his teammates give him big hi-fives. Magdalene doesn’t want to intrude but she needs to spend a few moments with him to feel completely present. When he skates by she waves shyly, and Ryan doubles back once he realizes who it is.

“There’s my favourite girl!” he shouts over the crowd, making sure Magdalene can hear.

The phrase brings a smile to her face, which in turn makes Ryan light up more. “Hi Ry,” she yells back. “I just wanted to come and say hi.”

Ryan’s heart warms at her words, but he knows that’s not the only reason. He’s lived with her long enough to know that something is bothering her but he isn’t going to push. There isn’t much time to have a conversation, so Ryan takes the time to make plans for after the game. “You riding home with me?”

Magdalene nods. “Yeah. Bette picked me up this morning so I didn’t drive.”

The loud sound of sticks clapping against the ice startles them both, and it’s Ryan’s teammate’s way of getting him to refocus. Magdalene says goodbye and before Ryan heads back to the bench he flips a puck over the glass for her. She smiles brightly, and watches him skate away. On her way up the stairs she hands it to a little girl wearing a much too big Graves jersey. It makes her night, and Magdalene returns to the private box she’s watching the game from feeling much lighter than when she entered the arena.

☼☼☼☼

Later, much later, after all of Ryan’s post game media and sitting through the traffic of downtown, Magdalene opens up about what was bothering her at the arena. The two of them are curled up in Ryan’s bed buried under a mass of blankets with several pillows strewn about. It’s become a frequent place for them to spend time, and every time they lay down Magdalene rests her head on Ryan’s chest and he keeps her in place with his arms wrapped tightly around her. Magdalene’s clutching his hoodie tighter than usual, her voice small as she speaks into the darkness of the room.

“I didn’t just want to say hi earlier.”

Ryan isn’t surprised by her confession, but wants to know what caused the surprise visit. “No? What was it?”

Magdalene lift head and shifts to face him, propping herself up with an open palm. “It’s kind of stupid,” she mumbles, feeling dumb for even bringing it up. Ryan doesn’t want to know the sob story that is her past life. “But it’s mostly okay now.”

“You don’t have to tell me, and I don’t want to push, but I think getting it off your chest will help,” he whispers, feeling like talking in a normal voice could startle the girl in front of him.

He’s right – Magdalene knows it. Telling someone the truth, as much of the truth as she can share, other than Bette would do her some good. Her therapist once said Magdalene needed to work on letting people in, and she figures there’s no one better than Ryan. “One of the girls asked me about home when we were getting drinks, and it’s just a really sore subject for me. I shut down and just needed to see you to ground myself.” Ryan goes to talk, but Magdalene continues. “No one really knows, but I left for Denver as soon as I graduated high school. My parents weren’t the greatest, and I suffered a lot emotionally at home. When I told them I was leaving, they told me never to come back and we haven’t spoken since. So yeah, that’s pretty much it. And I just needed to see you to remind myself that I’m okay without my family. You’re part of my family now, the one that really matters.”

Ryan is speechless. “Oh bug,” he sighs, heart hurting for all the pain Magdalene has experienced in her life. “I’m so sorry.” He wants to scream for her, maybe even break something, but all his anger dissipates when he looks down and sees her crying. Silently, Ryan wipes away the tears with the pad of his thumb and holds Magdalene until she stops trembling. They lay in silence for a while, sitting with the weight of the confession she just made. At some point Caligula shuffles in and finds a spot at Ryan’s side that isn’t occupied by Magdalene. The three of them feel like a little family, and it’s too good for Magdalene not to do something about.

“Can I kiss you?”

She’s never been so confident while asking a question. Magdalene knows he wants to kiss Ryan, has known for a while, and after baring her soul to him it seems like an appropriate time to take the plunge. They’ve never truly been just friends and everyone around them, including themselves, knows it.

“Mags,” Ryan says in a gentle yet stern voice, “I’m not gonna kiss you. You’ve just been very vulnerable with me, which I appreciate, and though I really really want to fucking kiss you I’m going to take advantage of you like that.”

If it were possible, Magdalene’s heart would expand so much it would be close to bursting. “I promise this is what I want and that I’ve been thinking about it for a long time. So please shut the fuck up and let me kiss you.”

She leans forward to connect their lips, and it feels like a fire has been ignited in her veins. Ryan is soft and gentle with the right amount of grit to make Magdalene weak in the knees. They move in tandem, giving and taking where necessary, and by the time they pull apart for air Magdalene thinks she’ll never be able to kiss anyone other than Ryan. When he looks at her, eyes kind and glimmering with light, Magdalene is certain kissing other people is off the table.

Neither of them make an effort to talk about what just happened or what it means. Instead, Magdalene kisses him again, and again, and keeps going until she’s completely out of breath. There’s no protest from Ryan, and he looks as blissful as Magdalene feels. She rests her head on his chest again and he cards his fingers through her hair as they sit in the comfortable silence that surrounds them.

☼☼☼☼

Magdalene keeps kissing Ryan, and he keeps kissing her. It’s always in the safety of his apartment, oftentimes with Caligula in the way, but wholesome and loving and warm. They haven’t defined their relationship, and truthfully Magdalene is glad. She likes being friends with Ryan and doesn’t know how the added pressures of dating would affect them – though she might like kissing him more than just being friends.

It becomes routine for either of them to reach for a kiss before heading to the door. Magdalene gets one every time she leaves for work, and if she’s there before Ryan has to leave for games he’s pulled into her lips by his tie. It’s fun and it’s new and Magdalene never wants it to end. She keeps the secret for a couple weeks, but eventually it becomes too much to hold in and she tells Bette one Saturday when they meet for brunch at Barn Owl because the boys are away.

“I kissed Ryan.” It’s out of her mouth like a bullet, cutting through the air and ringing out. Bette is shocked, jaw dropping, only to open further when Magdalene corrects herself. “Been kissing Ryan, actually.”

“You’re fucking joking,” Bette laughs, still not one hundred percent sure Magdalene is being serious. When the brunette nods her head, she squeals in what can only be presumed as delight. “Shut up! Tell me everything!”

Magdalene indulges her friend, and spills every detail she’s willing to share. Part of her wants to keep a bit of her life with Ryan a secret so she does, but Bette is more than willing to work with the information given. She listens carefully while Magdalene talks and waits until there’s nothing more to say before diving into a long list of reasons why kissing Ryan is the best thing that’s ever happened to her friend. Magdalene isn’t sure that it’s great because Bette will always have someone to go to games with, but she is in agreement that it is one of the best choices she’s ever made. They spend the rest of the morning giggling like school girls over potential love and Magdalene heads back to Ryan’s place feeling light and airy.

☼☼☼☼

The first thing Ryan does when he comes home is kisses Magdalene. She’s sitting on the couch with Caligula on her lap reading a book, and he doesn’t even bother to drop his bags on the floor before leaning over the worn leather and connecting their lips. It feels heavenly after the days-long absence and Magdalene chases his lips when Ryan pulls away.

“I missed you.”

They’re three words that shouldn’t mean much, but coming from him they send Magdalene spiralling. He missed her? The girl who spends her days geeking out over old documents and talks to her cat? Regardless of how true the statement is she appreciates it, because Magdalene missed Ryan more than she could ever explain.

“How was the flight home?” she asks, twirling a lock of his hair around her index finger and pulling him down for another kiss. Ryan happily obliges, and kisses her until Caligula begins to meow for attention. The cat practically launches himself into Ryan’s arms as he rounds the corner to sit down next to Magdalene, and purrs loudly at being reunited with the tall man.

Ryan laughs at the animal’s antics before wrapping his spare arm around Magdalene and pulling her close. “It was fine. We hit a bit of turbulence that made it hard to sleep but I managed,” he replies, and reaches for the television remote. Magdalene hums in response, resting her head on Ryan’s shoulder and returning her attention to the book in her hands. It’s silent except for the low buzz of the television as Ryan reviews tape, but neither of them mind. Co-existing is enough for both of them, and it’s peaceful and easy. The occasional conversation occurs but they mostly do their own thing, enjoying the feeling of being together again. More than a few kisses are shared, and Magdalene eventually pries herself away from Ryan long enough to make dinner.

They stayed glued to each other until Magdalene falls asleep. Ryan doesn’t even notice when it happens, but eventually he tries to leave the couch to get a glass of water and finds dead weight on top of him in the shape of the girl he just might love. Magdalene’s snoring softly, and he’s positive there is nothing more adorable in the entire world. A glance at the clock on the wall alerts Ryan to the fact that he should go to bed too, and he begins to brainstorm how to get Magdalene into bed without waking her. She’s been exhausted lately, working extended hours, and he knows she needs all the rest she can get.

It takes a few moments to coordinate, but Ryan gets himself upright without Magdalene realizing she’s no longer using him as a pillow. Gently he scoops her into his arms and pads down the hallway, careful not to hit her ankles on the walls or door frames. Once inside her room, Ryan tucks Magdalene into bed and makes sure her phone is on the nightstand just where she likes it. She looks so content in sleep that he can’t help but lean down and press a shirt kiss to her forehead.

“Night Mags,” he whispers into the dark, wondering if she’ll wake and hear all the adoration his voice holds.

Magdalene stirs at the noise, and opens her eyes to see Ryan’s retreating figure. “Night Ry.”

It’s late, approaching two in the morning, when Magdalene’s phone starts ringing off the hook. Though Ryan has told her multiple times that she doesn’t need to turn her sound on before she goes to bed, she can never find it in her to heed his words. What if there’s an emergency somewhere and some hospital has to get a hold of her? Magdalene would never be able to forgive herself if she was too late because she slept through the incoming calls.

Despite her underlying fears of missing something important, Magdalene considers letting it go to voicemail. She’s exhausted, between the high maintenance projects at work and trying her hardest to go to every Avalanche home game she can, and if it’s urgent she’s sure the person will call again if they need her. It rings three more times before Magdalene decides to pick it up – if only to stop the incessant noise.

Not bothering to even see who’s calling at such an ungodly hour, Magdalene speaks in a sleep-laden voice that betrays what she was doing not even a minute prior. “Hello?”

Bette answers her, offering a quick but sincere apology for the time but explaining that it couldn’t wait. Magdalene groans in contempt, thinking that it most certainly could have waited a few more hours. She doesn’t voice her opinion however, instead waiting for her friend to spill whatever news was making her bounce up and down on the other side of the line.

She’s about to hang up when Bette utters a sentence Magdalene’s been waiting for but never thought she’d hear at one fifty-seven am. “I’m getting married!”

☼☼☼☼

taglist: @scrunchmakar @marcoscandellas @toplinetommy @samsteel @lovethepreds @cutiesara23 @hockeyallthetime @stlouisbluesbrat21 @denis-scorianov @danglesnipecelly @c-tangerine @stormingroses @spine-buster @rapidfever @bb-nhlqueen7 (add yourself to the taglist!)

[abellalu]

Just a Job: Part 1

Summary: The Avengers have been trying to recruit a former SHIELD Agent who has been working freelance. The Agent finally agrees to work with them, but immediately dislikes the idea of having to work with Bucky Barnes (for now).

Warnings: cursing, annoyed Bucky

Word Count: 1.6k

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

A/N: This is just something fun I start planning/writing. I’m not sure how long this series will be, but I have quite a few chapters planned (the next chapters will also be longer) I’m not usually a writer, but hopefully you still enjoy this. Any feedback is totally welcome!

[ Masterlist | AO3 ]

“Steve, you should just tell me the mission and so I can just complete it on my own.” You said as you paced back and forth across Steve’s office. 

This wasn’t the first time you’ve had this conversation with Steve, and you don’t expect it to be the last time. Every few weeks, Steve and the Avengers are planning a mission, Steve asks for your help, and you say no. Though, most of these conversations happen over email. 

“While I do admire your confidence, you know these types of missions are dangerous to do on your own and my job is to keep everyone here safe.” Steve looked directly at you showing that he was not willing to negotiate. 

“Your job is to keep the Avengers safe, not me. I still haven’t agreed to work for all of you and I don’t plan on it.” 

Steve looks directly at you as he starts to speak, “I know what you are capable of. You are incredibly resourceful and intelligent. That’s why I invited you to work with us in the first place, but you can’t always be independent. You can work with a team again, and be surrounded by people who care about you.” 

You laugh to yourself. Steve always loved bringing up the idea of you working with a team again. He valued working with others so much, and yet you could never see the point. You used to work with others, then felt betrayed when you realized it was all a lie. Steve was always someone you could trust though. It's sort of part of his brand, good old Captain America. He always considered you a friend despite the fact that you avoided him most of the time. Maybe you owe him a small favor. 

“How long is the mission?” You ask as you avoid eye contact,

Steve smiles to himself, usually, by now you would have told him you were not interested and to leave you alone unless he has baked goods. 

“The first mission I have for you is only a week long. We will be working mostly remotely for the first few days as we plan, so you can stay here at the compound and work.” 

“Slow down there Cap, I’m only agreeing to help you out with one mission and there is no need for me to stay at the compound. I can easily go back and forth between my apartment and here.” 

"Of course, I promise it will be just this one mission then I won't ask you again." Steve says as his smile grows larger. 

“Alright, I’ll do it.” You immediately reject your decision.

Shortly after you leave the compound, Steve leaves his office to go to the kitchen and finds Bucky and Natasha searching through the cabinets.

Natasha looks up at Steves and smiles, “You seem cheery today, did you find another old man film to watch?” Natasha and Steve both chuckle.

“No, better actually. She finally agreed to join us for a mission.” Steve responds. Natasha seems both surprised and excited, while Bucky continues to search through the cabinets.

“The former SHIELD agent? I still don’t understand why you put so much effort into trying to recruit her in the first place. She clearly isn’t interested.” Bucky gruffs 

“First off Buck, she clearly is at least slightly interested now since she agreed to help us. Second, she is a very skilled agent and tech-savvy. She has found multiple Hydra agents and operations all on her own using technology she developed.” Steve says, looking at his friend while Bucky tries to ignore him. 

Bucky Barnes didn’t know this agent. Back when Steve and Natasha had worked with her, he was still stuck under Hydra’s control and was a puppet for them. He didn’t understand why his friend was so adamant about her skills and getting her to join the Avengers when she clearly likes working alone. Bucky could understand that though. He was still adjusting to being an “Avenger” after decades of being an assassin on his own. 

Natasha laughs to herself,  “She is a good person. We used to joke around a lot together during meetings, always making them less dull. I think you’ll get along with her, Barnes.” 

“I highly doubt it.” Bucky responds unamused.

A few days later, you got up much earlier than you usually did. Before, you were your own boss and created your own schedule. Now you have to get ready for an early morning Avengers meeting. It also didn't help that you would have to walk to the compound since you didn't have a car. While you could have taken Steve’s offer to stay at the compound for a week, you wanted to spend as much time away from the Avengers as possible, and getting up early to walk seemed like a necessary evil.

Eventually, you arrive at the compound early for the mission briefing. All you know about the mission so far is that you will be working mostly with Tony on tech for the mission. You are directed to a conference room that has a large table with only one person sitting there. 

Bucky is sitting at the table with a book in his hands. There is a little crease between his eyebrows and a slump to his shoulders as he stares intently at the book. 

As you enter the room he doesn’t look up his book. Part of you understands that he probably just wants to be left alone with his book, but the other part of you is arguing that now is the best time to introduce yourself. You didn't want your introduction to be too late and Bucky was one of the few Avengers you didn’t personally know.

You walk up to the seat next to him and grab the chair. “Can I sit here?” you ask him, trying to force a smile on your face.

“No.” He responds without looking at you.

“Who sits here usually?” you ask “If it's just Natasha or Clint, I’ll probably just sit here anyway.”

“I don’t like people sitting next to me, Agent.” He says as the tone of his voice gets slightly more annoyed. You haven’t been referred to as Agent for years, but at least now you realize that he knows who you are. 

You look at chairs on either side of him “Oh, so both of these chairs are available, so do you have a good side or-”

“Just leave me the fuck alone” He interrupts you before you can finish your thought.

You stare at Bucky and he never once looks back. You expected Bucky to be more reserved than the others, but you didn't expect him to be so insolent. 

"Fine" eventually, you walk away to the other side of the table and take a seat.

You grab your phone from your bag, trying to stare down at it instead of focusing on the man on the other side of the table. Bucky didn’t even try to fake a nice introduction as you did, he was just irritating. If you knew that you would be working with someone like him, you wouldn’t have agreed to the mission.

Eventually, after what feels like an eternity, but is really only a couple minutes, the rest of the team starts entering the conference room.

Natasha enters the room with Sam Wilson. She gives you a small smile and they both start walking towards you. 

“It’s good to see you again Agent, we are all excited to work with you.” Natasha says. You chuckle at that. Not everyone is excited to work with you apparently. You quickly glance towards Bucky. His lips are pressed together in a straight line, ignoring everyone who walks by him.

“So, how did he finally break you?” You look away from Bucky to see Sam smiling and laughing. You had only met Sam a few times before. Steve occasionally brought him to try to convince you to join them for a mission. 

Sam continues to say, “I mean, if my charming personality wasn’t enough to convince you to help us, I thought there was no hope.” You laugh at him. At least he will be enjoyable to work with. 

“I’m just helping with this one mission, then you guys are leaving me alone. Don’t worry though, your charming personality definitely helped convince me.” You respond sarcastically.

Natasha and Sam laugh as they sit down in the chairs on either side of you. 

Eventually Steve and Tony Stark enter the room together. Steve walks towards Bucky and for the first time Bucky looks up from his book. Steve holds out his hand and Bucky gives him the book. You notice the title of the book, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Steve puts the book down on a table in the corner of the room and begins his presentation. 

“Thank you everyone for being here." Steve looks directly at you as he speaks. "We have reason to believe there is a Hydra operation here in New York. It seems small, but they are developing technologies for other operations. The mission will take around a week and will include-" 

"Basically we just need to develop a tech system to disarm all of their tech and hack into their security system for all intel we can find." Tony interrupts. 

"Thank you, Tony." Steve responds while rolling his eyes.

"Oh, you are so very welcome Capsicle. I'm always here to help." Tony laughs. "Anyways, the tech team will include myself, Banner, and the world's most stubborn agent." 

Everyone looks at you, including Bucky. Steve starts telling everyone about all of your achievements and skills. Bucky just stares at you and you glare right back. 

You realize that you never want to be back here again.

NEXT PART

Thanks for reading! :)