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bjtch-craft · 11 months ago

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"You're into dudes?"

Darry Jenner x Male! Reader

SFW!!♡

☆ Summary: After a laundry mix-up, [Name] meets a boy named Darry, whom he quickly catches feelings for, and in return for the mixup, Darry invites the boy to a frat party.

☆ Request: Yes or No

☆ Word count: 1,835

☆ Genre: Fluff☆♡

☆ Warnings: None! (At least I don't think so.)

Read the sequel here!!!! :)

--->

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[Name] waltzed down the compacted hall of his dorm holding a basket of laundry he was supposed to pick up about two hours ago. He’d ran out of his class the minute it was over and ran into the building's basement in fear his clothes would smell like mildew and/or begin to mold. Luckily, someone had tossed all of his shit in the dryer.

A discman was clipped into his belt and a pair of headphones were draped around his head blasting some song his roommate had burned onto the disc. He bobbed his head to the beat, opened the door to his dorm, and tossed the basket on the floor taking off his Discman and headphones he tossed them onto the table that sat in the corner of the small room. He then grabbed the basket and began to sort through them.

“Huh… I don’t remember owning a yellow ringer” he thought out loud.

Several items in the basket looked extremely unfamiliar… wait no not just a couple, but every item looked unfamiliar.

“Oh, god these aren't mine!”

He dumped the contaminants of the basket onto the floor and looked through them, sorting through pink jockey shorts, jeans, and…

“Pink boxers” [Name] giggled.

He held them in his hand and flipped the waistband inside out.

“Darius… do I know Darius? They probably have my shit!”

[Name] got up and made his way over to his phone that lay on the desk. He flipped it open and punched in his roommate's number. It rang for a second or two until he answered.

“What’s up?”

“Hey um, do you know a Darius in this building? Our clothes got mixed up and I found his name on some of them!”

“I think so? I’m pretty sure there’s a boy down the hall by that name. His door has that dry-erase board.”

“Thanks, dude!”

[Name] put the clothes back into the basket and made his way out the door down the hall until he found the door his roommate had described. Balancing the basket in one hand, he knocked on the door, and the teeter tottered on his feet, waiting for the door to open.

“Who is it?”

“Hey I think our laundry got mixed up” [Name] called back.

The door opened slowly revealing the person behind the voice.

“I asked who it was, '' he said, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“I’m [Name] I live down the hall from you and I took your clothes by accident!”

The boy looked behind his shoulder before stepping into the room and pointing at the basket that sat in the middle of his dorm.

“Is this yours then?”

[Name] hesitated before stepping into the room, walking toward the basket, and kneeling before it.

“Yeah, this is my stuff!”

“Good! Um, my name's Darry, by the way,” Darry called as he dragged his basket into the room.

“Well, I’m sorry for the mixup.”

“Uh, no worries dude… oh shit I hung up a couple of your clothes in the closet.”

[Name] sat the basket down and walked towards the grey metal cabinet that the college had called a fucking closet. Darry walked into the room and stood back as [Name] stood on his tip toes and pulled the shirts off the hanger. Darry couldn’t help but peek at [Name] not in a creepy way (at least not in his eyes) but innocently he was you know just looking at him he had no ill intent behind the stare.

He watched as the hem of his shirt lifted, revealing a small bit of skin his eyes traveled lower from his back to his…

“Hey um, are you doing anything this weekend?” Darry asked, fixing his hair with his hands.

Name walked toward the basket and dumped his shirts in before looking at Darry.

“No, I don’t think so. Why?”

“Well, there’s a party this weekend and as a thank-you gift for returning my clothes I thought I could invite you!”

[Name] shifted his weight on his feet ``Yeah I think I can make it!'

He picked up his basket and began walking out the door “Cute jockey shorts by the way pink is so your color!”

Darry stood there, his face turning a light pink out of embarrassment as [Name's] giggle echoed throughout the hall as he walked away.

The days turned to night, and the nights turned to day, and eventually, the night of the dumbass frat party had appeared. Darry and [Name] had been talking to each other over the past couple of days, leading up to the party, and had slowly gotten closer.

The two boys walked up the steps that led into the frat house that surely would reek of sweat, musk, weed, and beer. As they walked up the steps, [Name] looked at one of the brothers who was slumped over in a chair next to the door and passed out drunk.

“Jesus, didn’t the party start an hour ago?” [Name] questioned?

“Pre-gaming.”

“A little too hard.”

They walked into the building, which for sure held many regrets and secrets. Darry and [Name] pushed and shoved through people as they entered the ground floor and looked around.

“Do you want a drink?” Darry asked, scratching the nape of his neck.

[Name] nodded his head, and Darry told him to wait there as he headed off to look for the drinks. [Name] looked around, staring at all the buzzed people who were either dancing to the music or screaming over it.

[Name] took this second of lonesomeness to himself and thought about Darry. He had barely known him for less than a week, and he had already developed feelings for the boy.

Darry walked through the frat and pushed himself into a crowded kitchen that had already been mostly trashed. Beer bottles littered the counter tops as well as red solo cups, and the smell of weed hung over the room like a thick fog. Darry made his way toward an ice chest, flipped it open, pulled out two bottles, and began walking back.

“Darry?”

Darry turned around and saw his sister walking towards him, her hands placed on her hips.

“Hey, sis! I um gotta go!” Darry said as he tried to move quickly through the mob of people.

Trish quickly caught up to him, grabbed him by his sleeve, and pulled him back into the kitchen.

“I thought you weren’t into the parting scene? Especially because you live off campus. And who invited you” Darry questioned.

“Connections,” Trish responded. “Who’s the other drink for Dar?”

“A friend. I met him a couple of days ago.”

“Aww, you have a little boyfriend, Darry?” Trish teased.

Darry stood there silent, his face starting to flush as his sister's jaw dropped.

“Oh. My. God! Are you guys like fu-”

“No! No! Not my boyfriend. I don't like dudes… I think?”

Trish shifted her weight on her feet, examining her younger brother.

“You’re into dudes?”

“I don’t know! He is cute, but he's got me all confused!”

“Can I meet him?”

��No. And anyways he’s waiting for me so… bye.”

Darry turned around and pushed back into the sea of people, Trish looking at him with a confused look. Darry entered where he had left [Name] and looked around for a second in fear that the boy got up and left.

But no. [Name] sat on the bottom step of the staircase that led up to the second floor, his chin, in his palm as he looked at the floor. Darry rushed toward him and plopped down next to him.

“Where’d you go? I was starting to miss you.”

“Sorry I ran into my sister, and she - never mind here. I don’t know what you like, so I grabbed the first thing I saw.”

Darry handed the glass bottle to the boy and smiled at him unknowingly giving [Name] a certain feeling in his gut.

“Oh shit do you need a bottle opener?”

[Name] shook his head, lifted his shirt, and used his belt buckle to remove the bottle cap. [Name] let out a small chuckle and smiled at Darry as he handed him his bottle, and he did the same and handed the bottle back to Darry.

“Cheers,” Darry asked, holding the bottle out.

“Cheers!”

Clink! After a few drinks (more than a few, Like way more.) Darry and [Name] were fucked. The two boys stumbled down the steps bumping into each other, their arms around each other's shoulders.

“H-heyy Dar” [Name] asked, slurring each word.

“Yeah?”

“D-do- Hic! Do you want to stay the night in my dorm? My roommate's gone, and I don’t want to be alone… and drunk!”

“Sure~!”

They stumbled through the college campus and into the building that they lived in nearly eating shit multiple times on the way there. They drunkenly walked through the hallway that led toward [Names] dorm, their arms still around each other's shoulders for support.

[Name] opened the door, and they pushed themselves into the small room. [Name] grabbed Darry’s hand, led him to his bed, and pulled him onto it. There was a moment of silence between them… a tension of some sort as they looked at each other.

Darry’s usually neat middle part had become disheveled and stuck out here and there. [Name] reached out and ran his fingers through the messy sections, combing it back to its neat form.

“Your hair is so… soft~.”

Darry looked at [Name], examining him as if he had never seen another boy in his life… or at most one that made him feel this way. Darry chewed on the inside of his lip and stared at [Name] his own face turning pink.

“[Name]?”

“Hm?”

“D-do you have a girl?”

A smile crept onto [Name’s] face, and he gently tilted his head at Darry looking up at him.

“Who said I’m into girls” [Name] said smoothly.

Darry smiled at him, his face turning even pinker as several thoughts ran through his brain. [Name] placed a hand on the right side of his face.

“Are you… into me~?” Darry asked.

“Maybe?”

[Name] placed a soft kiss on Darry’s cheek and pulled back, smiling at him.

“Lips?”

[Name] giggled“You’re cute!”

“Well, are you?”

“Maybe… later?”

Darry frowned at [Name] as he adjusted himself so he was lying next to the wall. He gently patted the spot next to him. Darry fills in the space next to him and lies on his back, drumming his hands on his chest as [Name] lies facing the wall. A million thoughts rushed through his mind once again, but the main one was about his feelings toward the boy next to him.

“Cold.”

“Hm,” Darry hummed in response.

“I’m cold…”

“Oh…”

Darry adjusted his position, his chest to [Name’s] back as he wrapped an arm around the other boy, pulling him in closer.

“Better,” Darry asked?

“Mhm.”

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Authors note!

In my active era? But I rewatched Jeeper Creepers (pirated it because fuck that director) and immediately after crawled to this app only to see ZERO stories. Also, look at this man, y'all, my knees weak... been on them too long for him. Also, I'm now just realizing how short this is. HOW TF WAS THIS 6 PAGES LONG ON DOCS???

#lgbtq #gay #darry jenner #Darry Jenner x male reader #justin long #male x male #male reader #i get so weak in the knees #this man has me in a chokehold #jeepers creepers #Darry Jenner x reader

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yuurei20 · 2 months ago

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this is a late question but I was thinking about book 2 and the novel, did the novel have Yuya get knocked out by the spell drive disk so he couldn’t see Malleus compete or did they have him miss the game for a different reason

Hello hello! ^^ Thank you for this question--and yes he did!

Novel-Prefect and Game-Prefect shared the same fate at the end of Book 2: here is a partial translation!

"Grim is called over, the ghosts are gathered, and Yuuya huddles with Ace and Deuce to set the strategy for their next move. Each of them work through ideas on how they might put even the slightest dent in the overwhelmingly powerful opponent that is Savanaclaw.

Yuuya surprises himself with the thought, ‘Ah, this is so much fun.’

Strangely, he does not find the aggressive tones and clashing opinions to be unpleasant. He can tell that both the Ramshackle team and the Savanaclaw team are cherishing this moment, and fighting with all they have.

There is an incomparable sense of achievement in this fight that is not to beat down their opponent, but merely to win. Surely this is not a confrontation. It is the refreshing joy that is unique to playing a sport fair and square.

Vargas blows his whistle. The game resumes.

This time, Yuuya is to mark Jack. It was Ace’s idea, based on the thought that Jack might hesitate to act against a magicless opponent.

As if he has seen right through Ace’s plot, Jack bends at the waist and growls.

‘Like I’d fall for that. I never hold back, no matter who I’m up against.’

‘That’s what I told him,’ Yuuya responds. When he follows with, ‘But I’ll still give it my all,' Jack looks surprised—and then releases a quick bark of laughter.

’That’s the spirit. I’ll give you everything I’ve got, too!’

Overhead, the ghosts cheer aloud. It seems that Team Ramshackle has managed to steal the disc again. Yuuya hears Grim’s voice from behind.

‘I’m gonna do it, too! The Great Grim Hurricane!’

Jack’s eyes go wide.

‘Yuu, behind you!’

Something strikes sharply against Yuuya’s head, and everything goes black.

There are voices speaking, and Yuuya gradually regains consciousness. He finally forces his heavy eyelids open, and his vision is flooded with white light.

‘Come on, man. That crazy shot was never gonna hit the mark. It came out of nowhere.’

‘Leona did it, so I figured I could do it too, is all…’

‘Don’t go thinking you and I are the same. Damn herbivore.’

Yuuya sees Ace and Grim sitting alongside him. He is lying down, apparently. While he hears Leona’s voice, Leona himself is nowhere to be found. Where is he?

Yuuya turns his head to see Jack and Deuce sitting on his other side. He meets Deuce’s eyes.

‘Ah, Yuu! You’re awake?’

‘I…what happened, again?’

As Yuuya tries to sit up, a sharp pain shoots through the back of his head. When he makes a wary attempt to touch the painful spot, his fingers are met with soft bandages. And, below them, a bump that hurts to press against. He must have a lump on his head.

Yuuya raises his eyes and sees a shelf lined with medicine. On the desk beside it is leftover gauze and a half-used roll of surgical tape. The clean smell of antiseptic lingers over everything. It seems that he is in the infirmary.

The large window behind him shows a sky that has turned from sunset to a deep navy blue, surprising Yuuya.

‘You don’t remember? Deuce asks. 'You got hit in the head by a disc that Grim threw as hard as he could, and it knocked you out. The doctor said there's nothing to worry about.’"

#twstask #twisted wonderland #twstnovel2

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traveler-at-heart · 1 year ago

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Get your cardio

Lena Luthor x Fem!R

A/N: Lena joins her girlfriend at the gym. What happens when she gets jealous? Fluff and (badly written) smut. Per @jujuu23's request :)

Early bird gets the worm.

Or a ride to the gym. You pull over, surprised that Lena is already waiting for you.

“Hello, darling” she presses her lips against yours, the taste of coffee lingering.

“I’m so happy you decided to join me today!” you say, beaming as you drive. “It’s been a while since we trained together”

“I do enjoy watching you all sweaty and out of breath” she comments, arching her eyebrow. Before you can reply to her comment, her phone pings and she reads an email thread that screams incompetence.

Another mess to clean once she gets to the office.

“Everything ok?” you ask as you open the car door for her. She takes your hand, finding comfort in your presence.

“Nothing than can’t be solved”

“Alright then. Wanna start with weights?” you leave your jacket in the locker next to your gym bag. “I was thinking that we could try with the new… Lena?”

She’s standing there, looking at you.

“Your clothes…”

You grimace, scratching the side of your neck.

“Messed up my laundry and a couple of shirts… got smaller. Do I look that stupid?”

Lena shakes her head no. The opposite in fact, but she doesn’t know how to say it without sounding… crass. The white tee raises all the way to your midriff, giving a tempting glimpse of your abs. The muscles in your arms strain as the fabric covers them, leaving little to her imagination.

She’s seen you naked a great number of times. But this… she wants you, now.

And yet, she has to behave.

“Let’s just get this over with so we can go home and I can ride your abs” she whispers as she walks next to you and your mouth drops.

“Lena!”

“What? I know how important it is for you to complete your routine. So get it done and then we can go back to mine” she says with a sultry voice.

“I thought you had an emergency at work?”

“And what good will I do if I can’t focus?” she smirks, eyeing you as you begin to adjust the weight on some of the machines for her. She steps closer and whispers in your ear. “Or if all I can think about is your hand up my skirt while I bent over my desk”

Your movements falter for a second, almost dropping the disc.

Lena steps on the machine and begins to exercise, thinking she has won. Then, she feels you approaching from behind, making sure her posture is right.

“Behave, or I’ll have to drag you to the locker rooms and have my way with you” to anyone else, it might seem like you’re giving her instructions on how to workout. Lena shivers. “And who knows if I’ll even let you come”

The final blow is a kiss behind her ear and she hesitates.

“You’re skipping cardio” she warns as you step away to start your own routine.

“Yes, Ma’am”

You’ll both get plenty of that at home.

The music at the gym will have to do today, as you prefer to not use headphones in case Lena needs you. Hopefully it isn’t an open invitation for other people to approach and chat.

You begin with the leg press, and just as you’re about to finish, a girl waves.

“Can we share”

“Yes, of course, I’m almost done”

Standing up and taking your towel, you leave room for the girl to adjust the seat.

“Would you like some help?” you offer as it becomes clear she has no idea how to do it.

“Yes, thank you”

Kneeling beside her, you move the seat forward until it’s better for her smaller frame.

“Try it now” you ask and she takes a seat.

“Better, thanks” she places a hand on your arm that lingers a little to long and you blush.

“No problem” you walk back to put some distance but then crash against another girl that’s walking behind you. “I’m sorry, are you ok?”

“My, you are all muscle, huh?” her eyes go over your figure and you cough. “I’m more than fine. Don’t worry about me, gorgeous”

All you can do is nod and try to escape to another area.

—

Lena keeps an eye on you and all your little fans. You’re trying to keep out of everyone’s way but there’s always someone coming up next.

First, the girl that leaned against you as she showed you her phone, asking about an exercise she allegedly couldn’t understand.

Then, the blonde who asked you to “spot her” and you’re too nice to say no, so you do, trying to keep distance between your bodies. But you’re trapped, behind you another girl that is “observing”.

A guy joins you and he pulls their attention enough so you can slip and continue with your routine.

As you sit on the floor, ready to start with hip thrusts, Lena loses it.

You’re about to pull the bar with the weights to your lap when she stands over you.

“You won’t be needing that”

“Huh?” at first, you fear it’s someone else interrupting you -it’s been nonstop today- but you relax when you see her. “Hey, I’m almost done”

“Yes, you are” she retrieves the bar and instead, straddles your lap, making you blush furiously.

“Lena, what are you…?”

“I’ve spent the last hour watching all these girls flirt with you. And now, I want you to do this so they know who’s on top”

You begin to lift your hips, holding her stare. There’s sweat going down your back, and it’s not the physical exertion, but the fact that some of the girls are staring, while Lena only has eyes on you as your hips go up and down.

“That’s enough” you say after two and a half sets.

“You’re halfway…”

“I said that’s enough” you stand up, carrying her over your shoulder.

Lena gasps and laughs a little, forgetting that you’re in a public place.

Except you only put her down once you reach the underground parking lot.

“You’re gonna ride me until you scream my name” you instruct as she pants, trapped between the car and your body. Lena nods and allows you to open the door. You pull her on top of you, and even if it’s a large space, it’s not enough for her to raise herself completely.

So, Lena ends up laying on top of you, her mouth sucking and kissing your neck as she moves her center against your abs, just like she teased before.

You can feel the heat and a patch of arousal even through her leggins and underwear, and that prompts you to spank her, making her moan and pick up the pace.

She pants against your ear and when she’s on the edge of release, bites down on your pulse point, effectively marking you.

Both out of breath, you stay in the car, limbs tangled together.

“I’m building you a private gym” she says when her breathing goes back to normal.

“If this is what happens after every workout, be my guest” you laugh against her temple, placing a soft kiss.

Early birds get laid, if they're lucky enough.

#Lena Luthor x Reader #Lena Luthor x Y/N

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beebopurr · 11 months ago

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here's another! Even longer! Hope you like it, from @ilk-insolence

---

“–so she just would not give up on those fucking oysters! And after I let her get the last of the lobsters too!”

“Mmm,” Leo hummed behind her.

April placed the box of old paraphernalia on the kitchen counter and began cutting it open.

“And you know what she said to me? She said, ‘only fools would relinquish shellfish to their opponent!’”

“Mmm,” Leo repeated. She heard him haul more boxes in the living room. “And yet, by the end of it, you gave up the oysters.”

“Only ‘cause her kid was cute,” April responded, “but that was weird too! Who brings their kid to a fish market in the middle of the day? Poor thing was going to get crushed!”

Leo laughed. It changed a lot from the chittering April first heard all those weeks ago.

“What?”

“It’s just, funny. You, of all people calling someone weird.”

April shoved down an old self-conscious shadow she never quite managed to outrun and focused on sorting the dusty tea set from the box. “What do you mean?”

“You literally clobber any poacher wielding guns that sneak onto the island with nothing but a bat. You laugh at actual ghosts. You try to catch fish with your bare hands. You’re the weirdest human I’ve ever met April.”

When April was younger, a comment like that came with a sense of failure. Whenever other kids avoided her at school or playgrounds it was because she was too passionate, too rambunctious, too much. Too weird. Admittedly some of those kids were wack, haughty with hindsight; but Leo wasn’t one of them. He was unabashed, self-assured, so if he said April was weird then it was simply true.

Yet, she didn’t find herself minding this time.

Maybe something about a giant mutant turtle who’s ostracized by society being the one to call her weird had something to do with it; made it into a compliment. April felt an easy warmth fill her.

She and Leo continued sorting through the old boxes with possessions the prior lighthouse keepers left behind. April was determined to use some of that stuff for decor or functionality and save herself the money. It wasn’t like the past keepers were coming back for it anyway.

“Oooh, what’s that?” Leo asked.

“Hm?” April peeled away from her box on the couch to peer into the wooden case Leo put on the carpet. “That’s a record player. You put a black disc thingy inside it to make it spin, and then you put the needle on it to play music. Man, I haven’t seen one of those things in ages.”

April looked to Leo. He was staring at the device with a fragile expression. Slowly, he lifted a hesitant hand towards it, then pulled back. Leo still hadn’t told April who taught him English.

Without taking his eyes off the record player, Leo asked, “Can we try it? Play something on it, I mean.”

April winced, “Sorry no, I didn’t find any records here”––Leo’s face fell––”but! But, we can play music from my phone!”

She quickly whipped it out from her jacket, “You want anything specific?”

Leo leaned over her shoulder like he usually did whenever the device was around. “Could it do any song?”

“Uh, nearly any, I think. You got something in mind?”

“Yeah. M–I used to listen to it pretty often. I uh, don’t know the name of it though.”

“Well, you could look up the lyrics.” April passed him her phone.

Leo paused for a moment, a pursed look on his face, then he slowly typed onto the screen. A youtube video popped up as the first hit. He looked to April, confused. She gestured, “Play it.”

The song took a second to load. Then a drawl:

Put your loving hand out, baby

Like a flower, a bright delighted smile grew on Leo’s face. He looked at April, sheer amazement. She was too, she didn’t think she would recognize the song.

Cause I’m beggin’

When the beat hit, April bobbed her head to it, Leo echoing a second after. His delighted smile didn’t take long to turn playful. He stood up, the bobbing shifting down to his whole body. April followed. Together, they extended their hand out to one another.

So put your loving hand out baby

It was stupid; their uncoordinated jigging around the boxes splayed across the living room. April laughed as Leo kept dramatically outstretching his hand whenever the penultimate lyric popped up. After the first chorus helped knock her memory into place, April began belting the parts she knew. They weren’t quite dancing together, swaying a movement that didn’t match the other, but they were having fun together so they were dancing together.

When April looked up, gasping for breath and laughter, Leo was smiling at her like she was the unicorn from the movie they watched together. She felt her chest flutter, a warmth ballooning from within that pushed out everything else.

So put your loving hand out darlin’

When it was over, the autoplay simply moved onto the next song. The boxes around them laid forgotten for some time.

---

Leo’s feet crunched on the gravel that made the entrance of his home. He never really realized how nice the sound was, crisp, firm. He chirped into the cave to announce his arrival. The walls swallowed the echoes with their lovely texture. Outside their cove, the ocean rumbled her endless beautiful song. Leo chirped again, just to hear it in the air.

A following panicked chirp responded. Leo! Leo! It was Donnie. Raph’s hurt!

His blood froze. Leo ran into the cave and nearly slammed into Donnie. What happened?!

Donnie simply ran deeper into the cave. When it widened into their largest cavity, Leo saw Raph lying under the blankets next to their campfire. He could hear him breath heavily. Leo rushed forward, instinctively chirping comfortingly. Raph rumbled back.

Leo pushed back the blankets to see his wounded leg, blood already seeping heavily against the makeshift bandages. It was on his left thigh, the red signaling to Leo that the wound was two-way; something pierced clean through the flesh.

Hunters.

No, no, no, no, not again.

Leo touched Raph’s forehead. Fever. Shit.

I’m okay. I’m okay. Raph rumbled, though the pain lacing his every breath made it extremely ignorable.

Leo trilled, Mikey?

Still outside. Donnie then turned and left for the exit. Leo went to their supplies for more bandages. When he sat back down Raph was still rumbling. I’ll be okay. I’ll be okay.

When did this happen?

Somewhere around the coastal town. They were new.

Shit.

Raph’s hand came up to his shoulder with the old scar. Went through this before. Raph’ll be fine.

It was terrifying the last time too. Leo rewrapped Raph’s leg, making sure to pressure it hard. He also put wet cloths on his forehead. The fever scared him. For a second, Leo thought about bringing up April. She could help, she probably even had better medicine.

But the others didn’t trust her. Raph didn’t trust her. Wounded like this, he’d be even more reluctant to open up.

Donnie came back with Mikey before complete sundown. Together, they hunkered in for the night.

Deadass you should put this on ao3 or sm I'll share the link

#lighthouse au

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d1ana-m0nd · 1 year ago

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╭─► ❝The Servant: Umbrella Academy's Servant❞

Five Hargreeves × Female! Reader || Written by Diana (d1ana-m0nd)

➢ Description : It's a well known fact that Sir. Reginald Hargreeves adopted 7 children to save the world from it's impending doom. Though, the number of children will change from 7 to 8 once a close friend of his, Rita Rossweisse was on her death bed and requested him to take in her child, who fortunately was born on October 1st 1989.

➢ Word Count : 8,098

➢ Links : Masterlist && Character Profile

Chapter 2: Run Boy Run

Today was a day like any other, you were double checking the number of plates, meals, and utensils on the table, in case Miss Grace missed something. Though that rarely happens since she is a robot and all. Although she never said it out loud, you knew that she gave you this task to give you a sense of purpose and fulfillment. After all, you couldn’t really help around the house because you were too small - you could easily be mistaken as an eight year old thanks to your height - so you could not help around the house as much as you would like to, the only way you could help around the house was through little things.

As you were busy prepping the table and double checking, Grace carefully placed a vinyl CD on a record player. It whirred and spun the disc for a few seconds till the narrator began voicing a detailed guide on how one must carefully trek a mountain.

"Have you double checked everything Y/N?" The robot asked with a smile, which you reciprocated with both a nod and a smile.

"Yes, Ms. Grace, everything is in order."

"Alright, I'll be calling the others over for breakfast, don't hesitate to join them if you are hungry." She offered whilst she gestured to the vacant seats on the front row seats, enough seats for you and Pogo.

"It's alright Ms. Grace, I already had my fill earlier." You politely declined, as you silently shivered at the idea of sitting besides Mr. Hargreeves; you would most likely lose your appetite before you could open your mouth.

Grace acknowledged your words with a nod and proceeded to ring the bell. In a hurry, you rush to the right side of Mr. Hargreeves’ chair to set it in place before he sits down. On cue, the numbers came flooding into the dining room, they all stood behind their assigned chairs awaiting for the head of the household's orders.

As the Monocle showed up followed suit by his unnerving presence, though everyone was used to it at this point. He then stood before the table, barely glancing at his children nor uttering a greeting instead his lips uttered a command, "Sit."

In synchrony, they sat down then chowed down on their breakfast. However, the others were busy with other things besides eating like: how Allison and Luther were making googly eyes at each other, Diego carving something on his chair's armrest, Klaus secretly making a blunt, Ben reading a book as he ate, and then there was Five who looking at his father, voicelessly requesting his attention - this mere action alone caused you to raise a brow, it was odd - though you knew one thing, you and Vanya knew that something was about to go down.

In your attempt to intercept, you were about to go to Five’s side to ask what was wrong but before you could take another step, he stabbed the table followed by the sound of ceramics and utensils jumping in surprise, catching the attention of the other numbers and the head of the household himself.

"Number Five?"

"I have a question." He stated with a smile, that smile always brought trouble and everyone knew that. In spite of everyone knowing that look, the others continued on with whatever they were doing, as though Five's concern was merely a leaf among the piles of leaves bound to be blown away by the wind.

“If you have a question… wouldn’t it be better you ask the Monocle after breakfast? He will only increase the punishment and training you have to endure if you don’t obey the rules.” You mused to yourself.

"Knowledge is an admirable goal, but you know the rules," Reginald gestures for you to reiterate the rules for the numbers - especially for Five - but, as you were about to open your mouth, Five talked over you. Albeit, it is annoying that he acts as though you didn’t exist but you already knew that was bound to happen… You just didn’t understand why he didn’t like you.

"I want to time travel."

“Ah, that makes more sense.” You internally groaned as the puzzles began to fall into place, he’s always been the impatient type. Of course he would ask for guidance in the most inconvenient times…

"No." The eccentric billionaire firmly declined as he went on with his meal.

"But, I'm ready. I've been practicing my spatial jumps, just like you said," Five abruptly stands up then teleports to his father's side. "See?"

"A spatial jump is trivial when compared with the unknowns of time travel. One is like sliding along the ice, the other is akin to descending blindly into the depths of the freezing water and reappearing as an acorn." The head of the household spoke in riddles but anyone who liked metaphors or riddles knew what he meant, you can never know the other side of the unknown.

“I’d be damned if he didn’t understand this.” You rolled your eyes at the thought of the brown-haired boy with how openly arrogant he is in everything he does.

Five looks away momentarily trying to process his words but his shoulders dropped indicating he gave up. "Well, I don't get it."

"Hence the reason you're not ready." This remark made the younger male’s face scrunched up in fury. Why was the old man so against time traveling? Was it because no one knew what would happen? Is it because no one was brave enough to face the future we set ourselves up with?

You notice from the corner of your eye that Vanya is shaking her head. Although you did not have telepathy, you can base from her facial expressions and body language that she was begging Five to not do anything reckless. The angry boy in school shorts saw his sister’s attempt but disregarded it.

"I'm not afraid." The boy stood his ground, his way of showing that he was not going to falter to his father’s wishes.

"Fear isn't the issue." The Monocle stated as he paused himself from eating, "The effects it might have on your body, even on your mind, are far too unpredictable."

Five scoffs silently in response to his father’s words. The boy hated how he was right but he’s not going to listen to him anymore, he’s not going to be a puppet like everyone else here in this family.

"Now, I forbid you to talk about this anymore." The old man said as he resumed eating his meal.

From Vanya’s seat, she looks at Five desperately, as if silently begging him to follow through with his father’s orders but he walks away instead. Everyone stopped whatever they were doing because they were shocked, unsure of how to react, they had never thought or acted upon the idea of opposing their father’s wishes.

"Number Five!"

"You haven't been excused!"

"Number Zero I order you to go after him, make sure to remind him that the punishments he will be facing for his misdemeanor will be severe." You nodded and bowed to the head of the household, then ran after Five.

You ran for the door before it could fully close and hastily opened the gate. The person you were after was a few steps away from you, ready to experiment with his powers. Before the boy could activate his powers, you grabbed onto the sleeve of his blazer, which stopped him from whatever he was doing.

"Master Five, your father is requesting for you to finish your breakfast. Now isn't the time for you to experiment with your abilities. You will have more time to explore them after the meal." You repeated the head of Hargreeves household's words, though they weren't the exact wording since you paraphrased it, because you believed his original phrasing was harsh.

The boy in school shorts slowly turned to you with a familiar scowl on his face, almost mirroring his father's signature look. "You infuriate me."

He took slow steps towards your direction, his eyes not leaving your figure. It felt like you were a deer in headlights willingly awaiting for your death to come. Oddly enough, you kept your composure, externally unbothered but internally dreading what will happen next.

"All you ever do is follow that old man like a puppet, you can't even think for yourself and you speak as though you are following a script." He spat, his words seething with anger but for what?

"I have no use for you, so go back to your box." Five ended with a glare and walked away as though he was satisfied with the damage he had done to you.

Tears lurked the corner of your eyes, every time he opens his mouth you always find yourself crying. Were you the problem? You didn't understand why he was so mean to you and why Vanya cared for him so much. However, you knew you couldn't cry, you didn’t deserve to cry. Plus, you'd give him the satisfaction of hurting you, so it was best to keep it all in. Bottling it up is the only way...

Reluctantly, you came back to the house empty handed.

Unbeknownst to you as you walked away, the satisfaction Five would have in hurting you would be short-lived. Five took huge steps to time travel, with each time he used his powers, the atmosphere and environment of the street he walked upon changed with every step of the way.

"Not ready my ass." Five sneered as he walked away from the mess of a household he used to live in.

For once, he felt like he was free from the shackles his father placed onto him, just because he had finally proven the old man wrong and he could live life how he wanted it to be. The old man was only preventing him from reaching his full potential. He can only hope that from this point on that he continues to prove him wrong.

However, the third time he traveled to the future, he was presented with a different future he had in mind. Everything he once knew lay in ruins, a wasteland of rubble and debris. Remnants of what was once a home or a business are what was left of the city. A once-great civilization now reduced to nothingness.

Five stood amongst the rubble devastated by what the future had become. It was now a world of despair, a place where hope had been lost and the future was uncertain. Out of desperation, Five ran to where he once came but all he saw was rubble, no sign of salvation within sight.

"Y/N!" No one responded.

"VANYA!" Silence.

"BEN!" Not a word was uttered.

"DAD!" Quiet, except for the sounds of fire crackling.

"ANYONE!" The deafening silence was making the child mentally mad, the sound of his own heart beating in his ears and erratic breathing made it difficult to focus.

Frenzied by the future he encountered, he tried to use his powers to undo his mistake, "Come on!"

The boy's powers fizzled as blue energy spilled out of his hands but it didn't work, he was still stuck, "Shit."

He didn't understand why, but the brown-haired boy immediately lost hope. The realization of him being stuck in this future caused his knees to buckle. Five watched the house as he grew up in flames, as the voice of his father saying "I told you so," echoed in his head.

ㅤㅤㅤ❲ T H E ☕ S E R V A N T ❳

"I survived on scraps, canned food, cockroaches, and anything I could find." Five chuckles at the thought of his hardships while you on the other hand couldn't imagine living life like that. You don't even think the others would have what it takes to survive that kind of environment.

"You know that rumor that Twinkies have an endless shelf life? Well, it's total bullshit." He added.

Vanya frowned, "I can't even imagine."

"You do whatever it takes to survive, or you die." The boy said, you could even hear a smidge of sadness in his tone, "So, we adapted. Whatever the world is, we found a way to overcome it."

"We?" You and Vanya questioned at the same time.

Every time Five brought up the apocalypse, he always made it a point that no one survived. So who was this other person? If he says that no one survived then why would there be another survivor? Was he experiencing the effects of time travel or was he that desperate to be sane that he had to project a human onto something?

The brown-haired boy brought the mug up to his lips, but he looked displeased by the lack of taste. "You got anything stronger?"

"Why is Five avoiding mentioning the other person? " You hummed to yourself as you downed the drink. It didn't make sense why he'd hide the other person's identity unless they are detrimental to him in some way, but how?

Obediently, Vanya refills the drink with Vodka and Five effortlessly downs it in one go. From one glance, he already knew what was going on inside your heads.

"You both think I'm crazy." He accused you guys, which caught you off guard and stopped your line of thinking.

"No," Vanya stammered as more words came out of her mouth. "It's just… it's a lot to take in."

"Quantum physics is difficult to understand especially if it hasn't been put into study so it would be understandable we would still be digesting this information…" You tried to reason with Five, which he somehow deemed as reasonable.

Frustrated, Five's nostrils flared as he inhaled plenty of air. "Exactly what don't you understand?"

"Why didn't you just time travel back?" The violinist repeated the question others used earlier.

Five scoffs then sighs, "Gee, wish I'd thought of that. Time travel is a crapshoot. I went into the ice and never acorn-ed."

"You think I didn't try everything to get back to my family?" Everyone in the room went silent, especially you.

You felt guilty for assuming he didn't want to go back home. After all, everyone in the household had no problem saying they would leave the house and it would be a dream come true if they did. You presumed that Five felt the same way, like he had attained freedom the moment he shook you off his trail but, apparently he didn't… Maybe if you had been persistent in pursuing him, then he wouldn't be suffering right now. By any chance, did he secretly wish you had stopped him from time traveling to the apocalypse?

"If you grew old there, you know, in the apocalypse, how come you still look like a kid?" The petite girl reiterated one of the questions that was asked earlier.

The boy in school shorts scoffs, "I told you already…" He sighs then begins to refill the mug with more alcohol. "I must have got the equations wrong."

"I mean, Dad always used to say that time travel could mess up your mind. Well, maybe that's what's happening?"

Your eyes widened at Vanya's words; the fact she was ballsy enough to say that Five had gone mad right to his face was something you didn't hear everyday nor even witness. From the looks of it as well, the boy himself was offended by his sister's statement but tried to hide it from her.

"This was a mistake, you're too young." He walks away from both you and Vanya, "Too naive."

Before he could walk out the door, the violinist grabbed his wrist, coincidentally recreating a past memory you had with Five, "No, Five… Five, wait!"

The boy in school shorts stopped by the door as he slowly turned his attention to his sister. On the other hand, you felt like a leftover, something that's meant to be given attention later, what the hell were you supposed to do?

"I haven't seen you in a long time, and I don't want to lose you again." The petite girl pleaded, her grip on his small wrist tightened, "That's all."

"And you know what, it's getting late, and I have lessons early and I need sleep, and I'm sure you do, too." She excused but you all knew no one was buying it.

Vanya then began to prep the couch for you guys, whilst helping her gather pillows and blankets for you and Five. Though you doubt that you would be able to stand sharing a couch to sleep on with Five.

"Here."

"We'll talk in the morning again. Okay? I promise." Vanya pleaded before she began heading to her room. "Night."

"Night." Five reciprocated her greeting, his eyes following Vanya as she headed to her room.

You did not know what to do… After you had just digested the information he gave, you had the sudden urge to hug Five but; you knew that you couldn't because he would probably find it awkward and you were not his sibling; you were not obligated to comfort him if he practically deems you as a stranger. Though at the back of your mind, something was nagging you to comfort him somehow.

As your thoughts of comforting the boy were internally eating you away, in the midst of your panic you incidentally saw that one of his hands rested beside his thigh as he restlessly drummed his fingers against the couch. Out of instinct, you placed a hand on top of his, his muscles became tensed at the gesture.

"What are you doing?" Five looked you in the eye, trying to figure out what you were up to.

You gulped then avoided his gaze, "I'm sorry…"

"For what?"

"For not stopping you."

His once tensed muscles relaxed at your words followed by his signature scoff, "That's one way of driving yourself crazy."

"I should have been there to stop you like your father told me but the moment you told me I was just a puppet… I- I stopped thinking and let you go instead. If I had continued acting like one, none of this would have ever happened… you wouldn't be suffering right now."

"I used to do that." Five said with a sad smile as he looked out the window, "I used to blame myself for not listening to the old man or for not letting you drag me back into the house but, then I reminded myself that I made that choice. It's a learning experience now, it's not something I can undo. The only thing I can do now is prevent the apocalypse."

Your clammy hands found themselves playing with the frills of your dress, unsure what to do with them. You didn't expect - actually, never expected - him to comfort you nor for him to accept the past. It felt so weird hearing something mature come out of Five's mouth, especially knowing how arrogant he is.

Out of nowhere, the boy took out an object wrapped in cloth from his pocket, he carefully unraveled the cloth and revealed a glass eye. He rotated it to the back to show the serial code, the batch number and the company it came from.

"I'm guessing that this eye belongs to the person responsible for the apocalypse?" You quipped more at ease after you opened up your feelings.

"Possibly, it's the only lead to the mastermind." He said, stood up then quickly shoved the eye back into his pocket.

"You're leaving? What about Vanya?" You asked, not wanting to leave her hanging by a thread, unaware of you and Five's departure.

The boy in school shorts merely rolled his eyes at your words; Vanya was the only thing that you could think of even after he told you the apocalypse was nearing. Back then, he would have found this habit of yours annoying, considering how you always doted on the violinist but, after what he went through, it felt like your doting felt refreshing and nostalgic for him.

"We'd only be wasting our time here. Unless you want to stay behind?"

In the end, you guys end up leaving Vanya's apartment through the front door this time. After asking around, purchasing a map, splitting up numerous times and almost getting lost, you guys finally managed to find the company where the glass eyeball came from. From the outside, it looked like a sleek corporation office. Whilst from the inside, the building follows the same vibe as the exterior. It was mostly white, and the walls were made of glass, nothing out of the ordinary, it's what most people considered “modern'' in this day and age.

You stood by the boy in school shorts who was holding onto the glass eye like it is his lifeline; To be fair, it is humanity’s lifeline. If you guys do not identify what caused the apocalypse nor end it then it is the end for everyone. So you could not blame him for carrying it with utmost care. While at it, Five is taking paces back and forth as his eyes wander around the lobby until a doctor that was passing by finally took notice of you guys’ presence.

"Uh, can I help you?"

Five smiled then showed the eyeball to the older man, "I need to know who this belongs to."

"Where did you get that?" The doctor’s eyebrows furrowed as his tone changed. Which took you by surprise, “Why’d he lose his composure all of a sudden? ”

"Why do you care?" The boy shot back, which made you internally slap yourself because you knew his response just arose suspicion from the doctor. You had to make an excuse quickly!

"He… I mean, we found it at a playground, actually." You said with a sheepish smile, but the doctor didn’t seem to buy it.

"Uh, it must have just…" Five clicks his tongue, "Popped out." He ended with a smile. To everyone, that smile seemed harmless but you knew that smile was anything but harmless.

"We want to return it to its rightful owner." You added with a smile, but it became more sheepish instead. You can only pray that the doctor and the receptionist just thought you were the awkward one.

"Aw… You kids are so thoughtful." The receptionist wore a small smile.

"Yeah, look up the name for me, will ya?" The boy dismissed the compliment, wanting to get to the point immediately.

"Uh, I'm sorry, but patient records are strictly confidential. That means I can't tell you-"

"Yeah, I know what it means." Five butted in as his eyes narrowed at the doctor.

"But, I'll tell you what I can do. I will take the eye off your hands and return it to the owner. I'm sure the owner of the eye will be very grateful, so if I can just -" The doctor's hand is out in the open, ready for Five to place the eye on but, the boy beside you merely glared at the hand.

"Yeah, you're not touching this eye." He threatened, his eyes hinting the peak of his anger was on the verge of pouring out.

"No, you listen here, young man-" Before the doctor could finish speaking, Five grabbed him by the collar which made him grunt, his eyes widening at the “young” man’s actions, "No! You listen to me, asshole. I've come a long way for this. Through some shit your pea brain couldn't even comprehend, so just give me the information I need, and I'll be on my merry way."

Before the older man could speak, Five interrupted him, "And if you call me 'young man' one more time, I'm gonna put your head through that damn' wall."

"Oh, dear." Both you and the receptionist mutter, though you more or less expected this from Five.

Despite the fear coursing through the doctor’s veins, he softly requests for the receptionist to call security to which she complies to.

Not wanting to cause anymore trouble, you approached Five and patted his shoulder and whispered, "We should get going…"

Five reluctantly let the man go then leave the building with you in tow. You both head back to the Umbrella Academy to try and find another way to get information on the lead. Leaving behind a confused receptionist and a doctor terrified of the 'younger' generation.

As you guys headed back home, Vanya woke up to find her apartment lacking you and Five’s presence, panic filled her then she began looking for you guys everywhere in her apartment building but found no one. Despite her uneasiness to return to the academy, it was the only place she could think of as to where you guys would return.

In the end, she sucked it up and went back, the violinist arrived at the academy, only to find it empty. She found it rather ironic because of how loud the decorations were compared to what she was hearing. The petite girl couldn't even hear Grace nor Pogo, where the hell was everyone?

"Five?"

"Y/N?"

Out of desperation, she heads upstairs whilst screaming. "Are you upstairs?"

"Five? Y/N?" The petite girl takes a turn to go to where their old bedrooms were located.

As she arrives at Five's room, she met a familiar face, relief washes over her. "Oh, thank God."

"I was worried sick about you guys." She admitted a hand ready to be placed on Five's shoulder but she noticed something odd. "Where's Y/N?"

"Sorry, we left without saying goodbye."

Vanya raised a brow at this, it was rare for Five to acknowledge Y/N's presence. Even when he talks, the boy usually goes out of his way to exempt her, it's usually the servant who bothers to use pronouns like 'we' or corrects him but this time, he acknowledged her presence. It was rather odd… perhaps they were getting closer?

"No, look, I'm the one that should be sorry." Vanya sighs a hand on her chest. "Yeah, I was dismissive, and…"

The boy in school shorts walks closer showing to his sister that he is willing to listen.

"I- I guess I didn't know how to process what you were saying like Y/N said. And I still can't, to be honest." She added, her gaze elsewhere most likely ashamed to show the regret in her eyes.

"Maybe you were right to be dismissive." Five exhales through his nose, "Maybe it wasn't real after all."

He turns and approaches his dresser to examine the decoration he had left behind years ago. "It felt real. Well… like you said, the old man did say time travel could contaminate the mind."

"Then maybe I'm not the right person for you to be talking to. Look, I used to see someone. A therapist. I could give you her information." Vanya suggested, as she rummaged through her sling bag ready to write down the number but she stopped midway through when Five gestured for her to not continue further.

"Thanks, but… I think I'm just gonna get some rest. It's been a long time since I got a good sleep." Five declined her offer.

"Okay." The violinist sighs as she retreats her hand from her sling bag then walks away.

The boy was about to follow her to check if she was going to leave the academy. Unfortunately, he was interrupted by items clattering, followed by you falling on your knees while Klaus comes out of the closet, take that as you will.

"Remind me again why I had to be shoved into a closet?" You muttered, wiping away the sweat that accumulated on your forehead. "Especially with Klaus."

"That's so… touching, all that stuff about family and Dad and time. Wow!" Klaus rejoiced with his hands up, though it was hard to tell if he was being sarcastic.

"Master Klaus, we just got Vanya off of our trail. I'd suggest lowering your voice if you don't want her coming back." You suggested but your suggestion only fell into deaf ears.

"I'm moist." The Seance declared, you guys were unsure if he was declaring that he was moist from sweat.

The arrogant boy took one look at Klaus' outfit, only for a displeased look to settle on his face. "I thought I told you to put on something professional."

"Unfortunately, that's the closest we can get to something professional with Master Klaus' closet." You sadly admitted, as you silently helped yourself up, since everyone seemed to be busy with themselves.

Five sighs then checks to the hallway to see if Vanya was still there. "We'll raid the old man's closet."

The curly haired male rolled his eyes, "Whatever, as long as I get paid."

"When the job is done, you'll get paid." You reassured him.

"Okay, but just so we're clear with the finer details, I just gotta go into this place and pretend to be your dear old dad, correct?"

"Yeah, something like that." Five confirmed about to make his way to Master Hargreeves room but Klaus' next question made everyone stop in their tracks.

"What's our cover story?"

"Master Klaus, I don't think a cover story is necessary for this scenario…" You muttered knowing full well your words would fall into deaf ears again.

"I mean, was I really young when I had you and Rosey? Like, 16? Like, young and… terribly misguided."

"Master Klaus, whatever roleplaying ideas you have is best to be kept behind closed doors for now because this is not the time for your shenanigans." You said firmly this time, but your words were not heeded.

"Your mother! That slut... Whoever she was, We met at the disco." Klaus chuckles, then he proudly looks at you both. "Okay? Remember that."

Five played along with Klaus' antics with a simple nod, though it was clear he wasn’t taking Klaus’ shit seriously. On the other hand, you felt like this was only the beginning of hell for you. Albeit you were more used to being surrounded by tamed people like Luther, Allison, Ben, Vanya and Five. Klaus was a different case… the walking contradiction of a man, who flew higher than the icarus yet he never reached the sun.

Suddenly, an idea popped into the seance’s head followed by him snapping his fingers. "Oh, my god, the sex was amazing."

"What a disturbing glimpse into that thing you call a brain." The boy remarked with a revolted look on his face.

Klaus placed a hand on his chest, his face laced with an offended look. "Don't make me put you in time-out."

Once Klaus was finished with his shenanigans, you three headed to Reginald Hargreeves’ room and raided Reginald's closet - though it was mostly you and Five doing the work. You were the one responsible for looking for a decent outfit whilst Five was in charge of looking for the dress shoes. Klaus was mostly responsible for filling in the silence with his usual “outrageousness”, as Five would kindly put into words.

Out of nowhere, Five's heart raced as his mind began playing tricks on him, blending the boundaries between reality and illusion. In his perception, he observed the chaotic scene before him, the world had transformed into a desolate wasteland, reminiscent of the apocalypse. Amidst the devastation, he witnessed a familiar (H/C) young girl in a Victorian maid outfit, your body convulsing as you reached out desperately, attempting to grasp the sky itself.

Fear and urgency surged through the boy's veins as he rushed to your side. Ignoring the dangers that surrounded them, he knelt down beside your trembling form, his hands trembling as well. Out of desperation, he shook you gently, attempting to snap you out of whatever trance you seemed to be trapped within.

As you slowly turned your gaze towards him, your eyes filled with worry, the Five's heart sank. He could see the pain and confusion reflected in your eyes, mirroring his own inner turmoil. The sight of the steel piercing your abdomen only made his stomach twist.

Worried etched onto your facial features as your voice awakened Five from his hallucination. "Are you alright Five?"

The whole room went silent at your words. That was the first time you called him by his name without an honorific, even the usually head-in-the-clouds Klaus caught onto your slip up and started giggling like a little girl. On the other hand, the boy was shell shocked.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but we have better things to do! Which is me getting my 20 bucks." Klaus interjected but a wide smile engraved itself into his features, it's a common sight to see a smile on his face but, this time it felt like it was alluding to something you didn't like.

"There was no 'moment' I was going to ask Y/N about the villains the academy used to face while I was gone." Five excused but Klaus knew otherwise, the way his 'little' brother reacted just now was similar to how he reacted when he wasn't high: Scared, desperate, and depressed.

"Are you sure? You looked pretty startled." You placed both of your hands onto Five's shoulders, asking for his reassurance.

"You called me by my name without an honorific. Of course I would be startled." He lied whilst he redirected your attention to your slip up.

"I… I did?"

Klaus sat up straight then placed a hand on his chest, "I'm wounded and betrayed by you, Rosey! To think we've been together since childhood, I didn't even leave your side for the last 17 years yet, you called him -" The Seance points to Five. "- without an honorific first! Instead of me! Oh, the world is truly coming to an end."

"I don't think you should be joking about that after what Five told you…" You muttered but the boy beside you pats your shoulder as though to tell you it was alright.

"As I was saying," Five adjusted his clothes then sat on an armchair, acting as though he didn't experience an episode. "While I was gone, did a villain named White V show up? Or something along the lines of that?"

You tilted your head, this name didn't feel familiar whatsoever. "I don't recall a villain named White V… maybe they will show up soon?"

"Same here but I do remember most of the villains being different colors besides white." Klaus mused.

"You know I didn't mean it literally Klaus."

"Just thought it would help!"

Trying to change the subject, Five turned his head to you and then asked, "Did you find something decent for this lunatic brother of mine?"

Once you raised a thumbs up, it was everyone's go signal to get ready then head back to the doctor's office to pester him once again.

ㅤㅤㅤ❲ T H E ☕ S E R V A N T ❳

At the moment, you three were back in the office. Klaus sitting down with a bored look on his face while you sat beside him patiently. Five, on the other hand, is standing impatiently pacing back and forth, whilst the doctor kept up a professional facade right in front of you three despite what occurred earlier.

"Like I said to your son, earlier. Any information about the prosthetics we build is strictly confidential. Without the client's consent, I simply can't help you." The doctor reiterated.

"Well, we can't get the consent if you don't give us a name." Five tries to keep his cool by gritting his teeth to prevent any unsavory words from flowing out.

"Well, that's not my problem." The man in lab coat merely shrugged which irked Five even more to go through with his promise earlier.

"Sorry, Now, there's really nothing more I can do, so-"

From this point on, your attention is taken away because you heard your phone ring. You look down and read who the notification was from and immediately open your phone.

Just as you finished chatting to Vanya, you heard the impact of a fist coming into contact with skin and Five grunting in pain. Without warning, Klaus tried kicking you in the stomach as well, but you narrowly dodged it but, in the process of trying to dodge it, you were sent rolling backwards. Whilst you two were busy groaning in pain, Klaus decided it would be a good idea to hit himself with a snow globe.

The curly haired male groaned then yelled, "God, that hurt!"

Doctor hastily grabs the telephone. "I'm calling security-" But the seance wrestled it out of his hand.

"What are you doing?"

Klaus gasps dramatically. "There's been an assault in Mr. Big's office, and we need security, now. Schnell!" The phone clatters as Klaus slams it carelessly back into place, his gaze now focused onto the doctor.

"Now, here's what's gonna happen, Grant."

"It's… Lance."

"In about 60 seconds, two security guards are gonna burst through that door, and they're gonna see a whole lot of blood, and they're gonna wonder, 'What the hell happened?' and we're gonna tell them that you… beat the shit out of us." Klaus explains as he manipulates his voice and face to look as though he was appalled and scared of what Lance had 'done'.

You were oddly impressed and scared of Klaus acting skills, while Five seemed proud he chose the right person. Either way, it felt like things were going to turn out how Five wanted it to be but, it seemed like this was too easy for your opinion…

"You're gonna do great in prison, Grant. Trust me, I've been there. Little piece of chicken like you. Oh my God, you're gonna be passed around like a…" Klaus rotates his hips. "You're just- You're gonna do great. That's all I'm saying."

"Jesus, you are a real sick bastard." Lance grimaced at the curly haired man who claimed to be you and Five's Father.

"Thank you." He accepts the compliment as he spat out the glass that was in his mouth.

Once the whole mess was somehow covered up, the Doctor began skimming through the files to look for the glass eyeball. In the end, he couldn't find the glass eye including the information of the owner. He concluded the search by stating the glass eye isn't even manufactured yet, then asked how you guys managed to get the eye.

"I knew it was too good to be true…" You thought to yourself, as you all went back to square one… "Where to now? " Is what you'd ask Five but you doubt he knows what his next lead is since the glass eye was all he had.

"Well, this is not good." Five muttered, his disappointment becoming more prominent on his face.

"I was pretty good, though, right? Yeah. What about my consent, bitch?" Klaus chuckled proudly, you would have cheered on Klaus if it weren't for the fact that you knew now was not the time for that. Five would probably wring you and Klaus' necks just because he's in a bad mood.

"Klaus, it doesn't matter." The boy snapped, his hands stuffed into his school boy shorts.

"What? What? What's the big deal with this eye, anyway?"

"Master Klaus, we already told you, there is someone out there who's going to lose an eye in the next seven days." You reiterated as Five added. "They're gonna bring about the end of life on this Earth as we know it."

The boy in school shorts was about to walk away with you in tow to try and find another lead but, your strides to the different direction were put to a stop by Klaus' words.

"Yeah, can I get that 20 bucks, like, now or what?"

"Your 20 bucks? " Five repeated as he slowly turned to Klaus, his rage on the verge of exploding as more words came out of Klaus' mouth.

"KLAUS READ THE ROOM FOR ONE SECOND! " You internally screamed as you hastily went to Klaus' side ready to shield him from getting punched.

"Yeah, my 20 bucks."

"The apocalypse is coming, and all you can think about is getting high?" Five was seething while you were on the verge of slamming your face onto the pavement.

"Well, I'm also quite hungry. Tummy's a-rumblin'." Klaus imitates a stomach growling then smiles at Five but, the boy isn't too pleased about it.

"You're useless."

"You're all useless!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. You knew that he said it in the heat of the moment but, you were all trying your best to help him…

Klaus noticed your change of demeanor then tried to shift the subject. "Oh, come on. You need to lighten up, old man."

Five sits on the stairway in front of the prosthetics building. Trying to silently think of a plan B but, the seance just had to open his mouth. Five swore if he brought a stapler he would staple Klaus' lips closed.

"Hey, you know, I've just now realized why you're so uptight. You must be horny as hell!" He laughed then added, "All those years by yourself. It's gonna screw with your head being alone."

"If you want to let the stress out, why not ask Y/N for help?"

"Y/N seems like she'd be good in bed, if you're the type to have a corruption kink and all. I wouldn't be surprised if you have one because you seem the type-" Klaus snapped his finger, "And, andd~! She wouldn't get arrested for dating you."

You wanted to die on the spot as more words came out of Klaus' mouth. Even though talking about sex should be normalized, you weren't used to the exposure of it. Neither were you taught on how it works besides the basics.

"Well… I wasn't alone." Five admitted, a rare smile on his face becoming more visible as he reminisced about his significant other.

"Oh?" Klaus looks surprised as you, both numbers - you and Klaus - looked at Five in disbelief.

"Pray tell."

"Her name was Delores." Five looked longing into the distance, as he fidgeted with his ring finger. "We were together for over 30 years."

"Thirty years? Oh, wow!" The curly haired man chuckled. "God, the longest I've been with someone was… I don't know, three weeks. And that's only because I was so tired of looking for a place to sleep."

"We need to find Delores… She could be of help in figuring out what caused the apocalypse. But, is she even in this time period? How do we get in contact with her? " You pondered, your head was clouded with questions.

You didn't notice Five spontaneously grabbed your wrist then you guys are suddenly teleported inside a taxi. Surprised by the turn of events, you and the taxi driver gasp in unison.

"Don't stop, just keep going." Five commanded as he rolled down the taxi window and mockingly saluted Klaus.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! What about my money?!" Klaus screamed running after the taxi you guys were in.

Against Five's will, you threw a 10 dollar bill outside the window. "That should be enough for food! Don't waste it on drugs!"

ㅤㅤㅤ❲ T H E ☕ S E R V A N T ❳

You and Five stood right in front of Gimbel brothers whilst it rained. The droplets stain your clothes and make the clothing cling onto your skin. As you were about to pick the lock, Five stopped you midway through, to which you raised a brow at his actions.

"Are we going to use your powers? Shouldn't you be resting with how much you've used them?" You expressed your concern, only for your concern to be thrown out the window by the person who you expressed your concern for.

Five's brows were stitched together. "What do you mean we? I'm the only one going in."

"I… but why?"

"For starters, I already told you yesterday that I'd be the one dealing with the mess but you didn't listen to my orders. You could've been killed!"

You flinched at his words but tried to defend yourself. "You were about to be killed as well, that's why I intervened."

"Stay here. If anything else happens, call the police then go home by yourself, I don't need to lug around your weight." The boy stated as he teleported into the building before you could even interject.

Reluctantly, you wait for him from a nearby building whilst waiting, you witness two people enter the store. You were about to follow them as Five's back up when you heard gunshots but, you recalled Five's orders, and instead chose to rush to the nearest telephone booth to call the police. Once the police arrived, you wait for Five to exit the store and met up with him in the next corner then escorted him back home.

Unbeknownst to you guys, Allison and Luther were busy talking about Grace and Y/N until you guys show up and pass by them. They stop to see that Five looked beaten up whilst you carried the top half of a mannequin. Hopefully, they don't ask where you got it and what you intended to do with it.

"What the hell happened to you guys?" Allison voiced her concern as she went to your side to check if you had any bruises as well.

"Thank god, they aren't asking about the mannequin." You sighed in relief, grateful that they didn't question if you guys committed theft. To be fair, if you would have known Delores was a mannequin you would have just bought her or bought a look alike and dressed it up as her, rather than being chased by the police.

"Are you okay? Can we help?" Luther tries to put a hand on Five's shoulder but the boy caught Spaceboy's wrist midway.

"There's nothing you can do."

"There's nothing any of you can do."

ㅤㅤㅤ❲ T H E ☕ S E R V A N T ❳

As the boy in school shorts began investigating the remnants of the Umbrella Academy, he saw a gloved hand holding onto something round. He ran over to where the hand was poking out and grabbed it. It was a glass eyeball, freshly taken out of someone's eye socket. Five tried to remove some of the rubble to see if the person underneath it was someone he knew, and he was right. It was Luther.

Whilst trying to look for any more clues, Five stumbles upon other familiar faces, one by one he sees his dead siblings: Allison, Diego, and Klaus. Everyone he grew up with was dead, he had lost all hope for mankind. However, amidst the devastation, he witnessed a familiar (H/C) young girl in a Victorian maid outfit, your body convulsing as you reached out desperately, attempting to grasp the sky itself.

As you slowly turned your gaze towards him, your eyes filled with worry, the boy's heart sank. He could see the pain and confusion reflected in your eyes, mirroring his own inner turmoil. The sight of the steel piercing your abdomen only made his stomach twist.

He hurriedly and carefully removes you from the steel that pierced you. When your eyes landed on him, you wore a small smile.

"Five… Huh, I must be dreaming." You said chuckling though, it turned into a coughing fit instead.

"No, this is the real me, I'm not dead." The boy reassured you by touching your cheek, which led you to cry. The warmth of seeing someone in your last moments made you want to be greedy and hold onto life just a little longer but, you knew you didn't have the strength to do so.

"What happened? Who did this to you?" Five wanted answers quickly, he wanted to save his family somehow, knowing who did this might relinquish the pain he feels right now.

"White V…" Those were the last words that trailed off your lips. In the end, the pain he felt was going to last for 46 years in isolation.

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photogirl894 · 1 year ago

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@clonexreaderbingo

Square: Hunter

My first Clone x reader bingo one shot was a big hit and readers begged for more of the story of Hunter and the Princess reader...well, my loves, your wishes have been granted! This one shot is a sequel to "An Order from a Princess", which I'd obviously recommend reading first, if you haven't already 😜 Enjoy!!

As Clone Force 99 came wandering into Cid’s bar, the female Trandoshan approached them and said, “I got another job for you, boys.”

“When do you not have a job for us?” Wrecker asked back, annoyed.

“Hey, can it, Muscles!” she cried. “Me having jobs for you keeps you paid and under the Empire’s radar, so don’t sass me.”

“What is it this time?” asked Hunter, exasperated.

Cid held up a data disc, like usual. “Call just came in,” she said. “It’s an extraction job. The Empire laid siege to some planets in the Inner Rim and there’s a few planetary leaders who need to get out. They were in the middle of a conference when the attack happened, so now they’re all hostages. All the information is on this disc.”

Tech then spoke up, “We managed to free the Senator from Raxus from his hostage situation, so we should have no issue with this mission.”

“Good. Better get to it,” stated Cid as she tossed the disc to Tech.

With that, the Clones all turned back around and made their way back to the Marauder. After Tech got the ship into the air and into hyperspace, they all gathered around at their navicomputer to see the mission information that was on the disc.

“It looks like there’s a holomap of the facility where they’re keeping the hostages,” Tech explained. “They’re being kept on the uppermost floor.”

“We could either take the lifts inside or scale the building on the outside,” Echo suggested.

There was a grunt of dissent from Wrecker. “Nuh-uh, I am not climbing the outside of the building!” he exclaimed.

“That’s fine. You can be with the inside team,” said Tech.

“Good,” said Wrecker.

“Can I climb the building?” Omega inquired eagerly.

Hunter answered firmly, “Absolutely not. If I didn’t like you hanging outside the ship on one of our last missions, what makes you think I’ll let you scale the outside of an Imperial facility?”

She groaned with disappointment.

“Oh dear. Hunter…you’re going to want to see this,” Tech then stated, his voice bordering on hesitant. When Hunter turned back to look at the screen, Tech pointed out what he’d just pulled up: “This is a list of names of the hostages.”

Hunter’s eyes carefully scanned the list, trying to figure out what it was Tech said he’d need to see. It didn’t take him long to find it and his heart nearly stopped.

Halfway down the list…was the name of his beloved Princess he’d left behind a long time ago.

Your name.

You found yourself alone in an isolated cell. The Imperial officer who was handling the hostages had realized who you were and instructed that you be taken to your own cell, deeming you too much of a threat to be kept with everyone else. He wanted to deal with you personally, which you weren’t looking forward to. You could only hope that the distress signal your comrades had managed to send before you were captured would reach someone in time.

In recent years, you had made quite a name and reputation for yourself. You had gone from an entitled, diplomatic Princess to a courageous warrior Princess. You had chosen to put aside the politics and took up arms instead, fighting for your people. There were still people from time to time who tried to either assassinate you or attack your planet, but you would no longer stand aside and watch other people fight for you. You would be the leader your people really deserved and you would battle alongside them, even if everyone on your council was highly against you putting yourself in danger. It was what you felt was right and, no matter how much your councilors tried to argue, you had the final say in everything. This was your choice and you were standing by it. You had trained in a couple different forms of combat, which had served you well. Over time, you had become a force to be reckoned with.

Your eyes drifted down to your wrist as you untied the red band that you had wrapped around it. You held it in your hand and ran your thumb tenderly over the skull etched on one side of it. Then you turned it over and read for the millionth time the four Aurebesh words that were on the other side, left for you by your former bodyguard that had stolen your heart completely.

My Princess, my love.

In truth, Hunter was the reason you had become the Princess you were now. His bravery and dedication when he had served you had inspired you to do better and to become more. You wanted to be a fighter like he was and protect others the way he so dutifully protected you when he had saved you from an assassination attempt a long time ago. Along with one of his bandanas, he had also left you one of his vibroblades, which was also part of what had inspired you. In the note he’d left with the blade, he told you to keep practicing with it and you took that to heart. Now, it was the main weapon you used in every fight and you were beyond proficient with it. If Hunter could see you fight one day, you believed he’d be so proud. Along with your blaster, the Imperials had taken your vibroblade away and you were furious. You were determined to get your knife back when you escaped. Not if you escaped; when. You had to have hope in this unfortunate time. It's what would get you through it.

It's what you knew Hunter would do.

The plan ended up being that Wrecker, Echo and Omega would attack outside the building the hostages were being kept in and cause a distraction while Tech and Hunter would climb the outside and infiltrate the top floor, freeing the hostages while the Imperials were occupied. The diversion went off without a hitch. Wrecker started it off with a few thermal detonators, which grabbed the Imperials’ attention right away and they sent squads of Droids to deal with the intruders. Once Echo gave Hunter and Tech the all-clear, the other two, who had gone around to the other side, used the grapples on their blasters to get themselves up the side of the building. They were careful to pick a spot that had less viewports where they could be spotted. Finally, they reached an outdoor terrace and climbed over the banister where Tech overrode the code for the door that led inside. Luckily, there were only a couple of Imperial guards that were inside the room.

As the enemy began firing at them and they evaded the blasterfire, Tech said to Hunter, “You go find your Princess, Hunter. I’ll handle getting the rest of the hostages.”

“Are you sure?” asked Hunter, dodging another shot.

“Of course, I am,” Tech replied, pulling both blasters out. “Now go. I’ll cover you.”

They both ducked out from behind the doorframe and Tech fired his blasters at the Imperial guards. Hunter slammed his shoulder into the stomach of another, body-checking him and shoving him out of the way as he ran to the other side, opened the door and made his way out into the hallway. He knew that going left would lead down to where the rest of the hostages were, but going right would lead him to you. Knowing this, he turned right and booked it. As he ran, all he could wonder was if you were all right. He hoped you hadn’t been badly hurt. If you had been, then this whole base of Imperials was going to pay.

He got to the singular hallway that had one door at the end and two guards standing in front of it. This was where he knew you would be. Hunter was quick with his blaster and took down the guards immediately. Once they were down, he put in the code to the door, the door swished open and there, standing against the back wall, he saw you.

You were different now than when he last saw you. He expected to find you in a nice dress, done up with makeup and jewels like before…but not this time. You were dressed in regal leather armor, a jacket and a large scarf. Your hair was up and still held up by jeweled clips and there were simple, dangly earrings in your ears. You definitely looked somewhat like a Princess, but not as much as you had when Hunter had last left you, which surprised him.

You had heard the commotion outside the door followed by the thud of bodies dropping and beeping of the console outside. The door opened and you saw an armored figure walk in. The armor was a variety of colors, but it was mostly tan, light blue and orange and there was a red scarf around their neck. As the figure drew nearer, you caught sight of their helmet and something about it seemed familiar, though you couldn’t place why at first.

“Are you all right?” he asked, approaching you.

His voice…you recognized it, too.

“Do I know you?” you asked for clarification.

The figure lifted his helmet from his head, revealing a head of long, dark hair, a red bandana across his forehead and a familiar, handsome tattooed face you hadn’t seen in so long; one you saw frequently in your dreams. You gasped in shocked disbelief.

“Hunter?”

“Do you really not recognize me, my love?” he asked back with a grin.

You leapt onto him, throwing your arms around his neck, and embraced him fondly as he held you close. “Of course, I do,” you replied. “How could I ever forget the man I love?”

It warmed his heart to know that after all this time, you still loved him as much as he still loved you. He pulled back just a little and kissed you hard with passionate longing that almost made your knees give out. Even though you were a tougher, hardened fighter now, Hunter still made you just as weak as he had long before.

“What are you doing here?” you then inquired after breaking the kiss.

“We're your extraction team,” he told you.

“So the rest of the boys are here, too?” you asked.

He nodded. “Tech is getting the other hostages and the rest are causing a distraction. I came for you personally.”

“How did you know I was here?”

“I didn't initially. We were given the job and then Tech spotted your name on the list of hostages. But we'll have time to catch up later. We need to get out of here.”

“Not yet. There's something I need first,” you told him as you followed him out of the room.

You spotted a panel in the wall in the hallway. That must be where your weapons were. You searched the guards and found the access card you were looking for, scanned it outside the panel and it slid open. Sure enough, your blaster and your blade were inside and you pulled them out.

After putting your blaster back in your holster, you gave your vibroblade a good twirl in your hand and grinned at Hunter as you did so. “Recognize this?” you questioned.

“I assume that’s the one I gave you?” he asked back.

“Indeed, it is,” you said, smiling, as you gave it a final flourish and then sheathed it.

“You seem much better with it now,” he observed.

“I’ve trained a lot with the blade since you left. Thought I might as well get good use out of your gift,” you explained. “Now, let’s go!”

With an affirming nod, Hunter slipped his helmet back on and stated, “Follow me, Princess.”

The two of you ran as fast as you could down the hall and in the direction where you could hear more blasterfire coming from. You had to keep looking beside you at Hunter as you ran to make sure this wasn’t your imagination playing tricks on you. You still couldn’t believe that he was really here; that you two were together again in the least likely of places. It just seemed too good to be true...and yet it was true all the same.

After a minute, you both rounded a corner and found the other hostages hiding behind an adjacent wall from the blasterfire and Tech was ducking out from behind the wall to fire shots at the Droids that had the exit blocked off. The other Bad Batchers were taking care of the rest of them, as well. You only recognized Wrecker. There was another Clone with pale skin and a young blonde girl with an energy bow that was with them that you didn’t know. They must’ve been new members.

“We need to help them,” you stated and, without waiting, ran forwards into the fray.

“(Y/N), wait!” Hunter cried out, but it was already too late and you were in the middle of the battle.

What Hunter then witnessed was beyond anything he could’ve ever dreamed of.

The finesse, the agility, the prowess, the fluidity…the way you fought through the Droids with practically just your vibroblade could’ve rivaled even his own skills. You leapt onto one battle Droid, stabbed at the base of its neck and, as it fell forward, rolled forward off of it, came up to a knee and swiftly swung into nearby Droids’ legs. When one came at you and started shooting, you suddenly front-flipped over it and thrust your blade into its back upon landing before pulling it out and slicing through another nearby Droid. He had never expected to see you fighting so expertly and it was amazing to behold…and incredibly attractive, too.

Then Tech appeared beside you and remarked as you both continued fighting, “A pleasure to see you alive and well, your Highness.”

“Likewise, Tech,” you responded to him. “I see you guys have picked up some new members since last we met.”

“Indeed and proper introductions will have to be done later,” said Tech as he shot down a couple more Droids. “Right now, our primary directive is to get you and the other delegates to safety.”

“Understood,” you said back.

You and the Bad Batch continued to fight for the next few minutes until all the battle Droids were destroyed. Tech informed the rest of the politicians that there were still ships in the hangar; their ships, he assumed, that they could take to get away.

As everyone made their way out from behind the wall, Wrecker and the other two you didn't know came over to you. “Good to see you again, Princess. You're quite the feisty fighter now!” he remarked to you.

“Thank you. I'm glad you think so,” you replied. Then you looked between the new people and stated, “These are new faces to me.”

Hunter came up by your side and told you, gesturing to the Clone man and then the girl, “This is Echo and Omega.”

They both said their “hello's” to you and Omega gave you a wave, as well.

“Hunter told us about you. You're much prettier than even he described,” said Omega.

Flattered, your cheeks went hot, your hand moved up over your heart and you said back, “Oh, you're far too kind, Omega. Thank you.”

She smiled brightly in return.

“Where's Crosshair?” you then asked.

All their faces shifted to discomfort as Hunter answered, “He’s…no longer in our squad. He defected to the Empire.”

“He what?” you cried. “How could he do something like that?”

“It doesn't matter. He made his choice and we made ours,” he answered. Then to quickly change the subject, he told you, “You've changed, Princess. I never thought I'd see you fight like that.”

You grinned at him. “I'm a warrior Princess now. I've had a lot of combat training since last you saw me.”

“I can tell,” he said. “I'm quite impressed.”

“We should get moving and make sure everyone gets to their ships,” Echo suggested.

Everyone agreed and you and the Clones took off after the others. You ran back to the hangars where sure enough, everyone's ships were still there, to your surprise. All of the other delegates made their way to their respective ships, but you, however, stopped in your tracks. You knew you should make your way to your ship…but you were with Hunter again and you so badly wanted to go with him.

Maybe this was your chance for you two to be together again. You didn't have to go back home; you could go with him and his squad and you'd never be apart again. All those months of longing and loneliness would finally be worth it. In the moment, you wanted nothing more than to follow him to his ship and never look back on your royal life again.

Hunter's voice saying your name broke you out of your thoughts and you saw he was standing in front of you, an inquisitive look on his face.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

You gave a shake of your head, coming back to reality and answered, “Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just…thinking.” You stole a quick look at your ship where the other delegates you'd come with were already boarding. An uneasy feeling ate away inside you at the thought of abandoning your royal duties for your own desires.

Then you turned to Hunter and said to him, “My love…I want to go with you….”

He took your hands and replied, “Yes, come with me. We can finally be together and I'll still keep you safe.”

You shook your head. “You didn't let me finish.” You took a deep breath and then said, “I want to go with you…but I can't. At least, not right now.”

Right away, you could see the clear disappointment in Hunter's eyes at your words.

Then you explained to him, “The Empire is spreading and occupying planets across the galaxy. They already came for this one and it won't be long before they attempt to lay siege to my planet.” You laid a hand on Hunter's cheek. “I would love nothing more than to stay with you, but I can't leave my people now. I must return home and warn them and prepare them for what's to come. I'm their Princess and I'm going to have to lead them in our fight against the Empire when they inevitably come for us. I have to do what's right for my people; for my home...just like I know you would.”

Those last words were what struck the Sergeant to the core and his head lowered into your hand, a light sigh escaping him.

You kept going, “You're the reason I am what I am now, Hunter. The bravery and courage you showed me when you were my bodyguard inspired me. I wanted to protect others the way you protected me. I no longer wanted to serve my people by hiding behind the wall of politics and I chose to fight alongside them. I can't abandon them.” You guided his head forward until your foreheads gently met. “I love you more than anything in this galaxy and I do hope one day, we can stay together…but sadly, that day can't be today. I hope you understand.”

“I do understand,” he replied before leaning back to look at you. “You have a duty to your people just as I have a duty to mine. We both have responsibilities that have to come before our own wants.”

You nodded, but you couldn't hold back the tears that began welling up in your eyes. Hunter didn't fail to notice and he caressed your cheek, which only made you let out a small cry and a couple tears escaped, which he brushed away. Even though you knew you were doing what was right, it still hurt knowing you had to let him go a second time.

“This won't be the last time we'll be together,” he assured you.

“I know,” you said. You reached into a pouch and pulled out a comm device. As you held it out to him, you said to him, “Take this. This way, we can keep in contact and when the time is right, we can find each other again.”

He gingerly took it from your hand and slipped it into his own belt. “I eagerly await that day,” he said. Then, motioning to your ship with his head, he stated, “You should go. They'll be waiting for you.”

You gave him a nod.

“One last thing,” he said before you could walk away. When you gave him a curious look, he smiled and said, “Kiss me.”

You couldn't help but smile, too, knowing he was calling back to your first days together when you'd tried ordering him to kiss you and then did so again the night before he left, but in a more loving way. You closed the distance between you and pressed your lips firmly yet lovingly against his, savoring the moment as much as you could to hold onto in your memories until your next meeting.

When you pulled apart, he whispered to you, “I love you, my warrior Princess.”

“I love you, too, my faithful Sergeant,” you said back.

With that, you turned away and jogged back to your ship just as you heard the engines firing up. As you got to the ramp, you stole one last glance over your shoulder at Hunter, taking in the face of the one you loved one last time before disappearing into the ship.

Hunter stood in place and watched as your ship lifted off from the hangar and soared into the sky, followed by the rest of the delegates’ ships. He kept his eyes on your ship until it disappeared into the clouds. His heart hurt within him, but he knew the pain would soon pass. He had left you before and now you had left him, but both times were for more important reasons. You both were needed elsewhere, despite how much you needed each other. He'd had faith before that you would be reunited and it had happened just as he'd hoped. That meant that he would inevitably see you yet again in the future and he believed that wholeheartedly.

Tech came up next to him and asked, “Are you all right?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I'll be fine.”

“You had to let her go again. That could not have been an easy choice,” said Tech.

“It was more her choice this time,” Hunter clarified, “but I was all right with that. She needs to protect her people, as she should.” His eyes looked up to the sky again where he'd last seen your ship. “She's grown so much and I'm proud of her.”

“Indeed,” Tech agreed. “Do you think you'll see her again?”

“I know I will,” Hunter answered with confidence. “Our time apart won't last forever…because our story is only just beginning.”

Clone x Reader Bingo 2023

#star wars the bad batch #the bad batch #bad batch hunter #hunter x reader #cfb2023

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w3ndytheraccoon · 11 months ago

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C!Tommy is my favourite character, however, that doesn’t mean he gets a pass.

In simple word, C!Tommy is a narcissist, or atleast show alot of narcissistic traits. Self importance ? Check. Entitled to some degree ? Check. Arrogant ? Check. Jealous easily ? Check. Rarely believe something is his fault ? Check.

( Obviously, just because someone has some of these traits, that doesn’t mean that they’re a narcissist or a bad person, it depends on the context )

Now, I guess you can say that since Tommy is canonically 16, being a narcissist is expected, because most 16 years old is a self - centred asshole. But like I said many times, just because it’s justified, that doesn’t mean it’s okay.

Tommy has show signs of a narcissist ( Arrogant, entitled ) ever since he joined, and as the lore progresses, he starts to show more. It even gets worse when he got mad because he can’t fathom the fact Tubbo has a life out of him. He threatened to kill Michael for fuck’s sake ( I still love reading about them bonding tho ) !

And the whole “ Me and Tubbo vs Dream “ always gets on my nerves. Yes, Tommy has been hurt by Dream but he’s not the only one. What about Sapnap and Geogre who have to watch their close friend spiral ? What about Puffy who lost her fucking son and felt responsible for how he turn out ? What about Ranboo ? What about Niki and Jack and Fundy who lost their home when he blew up L’ manberg ? What about Vikkstar & Lazarbeam ? Dream has hurt almost everyone, not just Tommy, yet he believes he’s the only one.

Not to mentioned, he claims Tubbo is his bestfriend, yet hesitate when he’s asked to choose between him and the discs. Tommy has been an asshole to Tubbo and Tubbo has also been an asshole to Tommy times to times ( I will cover this more for when Tubbo’s post comes ). C!ClingyDuo is a shitshow (and when you include Ranboo and make it C!BenchTrio, it gets even worse ), they’re both bad for eachother. Sure, there are times where they act like actual, healthy friends, but half the times, their “ friendship “ is held together by shared trauma.

While Tubbo is treated like something comparable to the fucking discs, Ranboo is seen as an obstacle half the times. Yeah, Tommy covered for him when they burnt Geogre’s house, but that’s it. After that, whenever Tommy is with Ranboo, he’s just a tad bit more hostile and he always show jealousy when Ranboo and Tubbo are together. Like C!ClingyDuo, C!AlliumDuo is also toxic as hell and is barely being held together by the fact they have a mutual friend ( Tubbo ).

Don’t even get me start on Jack. I joined the fandom relatively late ( Post Prison Arc ), when the fandom’s opinions start shifting, and Tommy became a baby who can’t do anything wrong, so Jack’s death was pretty much brush over. It doesn’t help that I learn the lore solely through fan content, and as I said, opinions start shifting and Jack’s death got no acknowledgement. I didn’t even know why he was so mad at Tommy until a few weeks ago when I read a fanfic ( On Temporizing by LuckyMagicBelle ). No one in the fandom and the lore acknowledge it except Jack and maybe Niki, not even Tommy himself.

And that’s not even talking about all the casual crimes he commit, which I will not be getting into, because I’m pretty sure everyone have commit atleast 3 casually crimes at this point.

( Putting this just incase. Like in the one I made about Dream, just because Tommy is an asshole sometimes, that doesn’t mean the shit that happened to him is okay. And how he turns out is realistic imo, because I know that if I went through what he did, I’ll come out worse. But still, a flaw is flaw, and this is a call out post. He is child and someone should’ve show him how to be better, not let him continue to be like this )

Conclusion : C!Tommy is an actual war criminal that is in no way, shape or form innocent, yet most the fandom ignore that because they woobified him. He’s an asshole sometimes and it’s fine to be paranoid after the shit he went through but he needs to understand that Dream isn’t always out to get him. Also, C!BenchTrio needs to split up, have some therapy and spent some times for themselves before they’re ready to be friends again.

I still love him and will defend him with my dying breath though.

Edit : Y’all, I just saw a post that said C!tommy is a accurate portrayal of an abused victim, and now I can’t tell which of my points are actually him being an ass and which one is me being insensitive / overreacting and not realising that he’s intended to be written that way to be accurate. Please tell me because I do not want to offend anyone-

#dsmp tommy #dsmp #dream smp #tommyinnit #ctommy #c!tommy #C!tommy critical #c!tommy slander #he’s my little guy #but fucking hell #he’s an asshole #dsmp call-out with raccoon #call-out with Raccoon #All this being said #I will continue reading fanfic bout them being adorable and wholesome #Next is C!Wilbur #my stuff

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cliverosfieldslefttiddy · 1 year ago

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Hey you!

Are you like me and have a completely normal* relationship with video game OSTs and composers’ use of leitmotifs within them?

*not normal at all

GREAT NEWS!

I’ve gone through and catalogued almost the entire Final Fantasy XVI soundtrack by character/region/general interlude based on motif use alone!

(Basically in general if a motif shows up only once it’s not gonna be on this list. Also, some recurring motifs didn’t have a designated name or common title scheme so I classified them myself, such as Early Overworld, Disaster Strikes, Impending Doom, Interludes, and Mythos. If anyone is curious as to which songs those categories include, let me know!)

Without further ado, here’s the breakdown. Any numbers after a + indicate tracks from disc 8 of the Ultimate Edition, which are unused tracks or single-cutscene tracks. Spoilers abound under the cut as well.

Final Fantasy: 7

Crystal: 17-20, approximately

Joshua/Phoenix: 15 + 1

Clive/Ifrit: 13 + 3 (bro the unused Ifrit vs Ifrit is so funny to me, it’s basically Lo-Fi Beats To Face Your Inner Demons To)

Jill/Shiva: 9 + 2 (update: I still cry when My Star plays)

Cid/Ramuh: 7 + 1

Benedikta/Garuda: 7

Hugo/Titan: 6

Dion/Bahamut: 7

Barnabas/Odin: 5 + 2

Ultima: 19 + 1 (truly incredible how many times he shows up and how EARLY in the game, too. He was always watching!!)

Anabella: 2

Rosaria: 12 + 1

Sanbreque: 5

Republic of Dhalmekia: 8 + 1 (the unused theme and the actual theme are almost identical, the main motif is just ever so slightly different, which I find fascinating!)

Crystalline Dominion: 2

Ironholm: 5

Waloed: 5 + 2

Early Overworld: 4

Battle Theme: 5 + 1

Disaster Strikes: 3

Impending Doom: 1 (think I made this a category before I realized it only showed up once)

Eikonic: 3

Interludes: 2

Mythos: 5

This was honestly so much fun to do! If anyone’s curious about anything don’t hesitate to ask! Happy to elaborate for anyone curious or wondering about anything

#noelle posts #final fantasy xvi #final fantasy 16 #final fantasy 16 spoilers #ff16 #music #lists #leitmotifs #I’ve seriously always been fascinated by stuff like this and would love to share my thoughts if anyone’s interested!!#also one of the unused boss themes is so freakin funny to me #comparing it to the version that ended up getting used is a trip

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a-reader-and-a-writer-for-all · 2 years ago

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Bake Me a Cake (Stephen Holder Drabble)

Fandom: The Killing, Stephen Holder, f!reader

Summary: An offhanded joke leads to unexpected places.

Word Count: 562

“Bake me a cake, and we’ll talk.”

It had been a joke. An off-the-cuff response to Holder’s incessant flirting. After all, you had never seen him eat anything other than take-out or junk food. There was no way this man knew how to bake anything, even something as easy as a cake.

And yet, when you came into work the next morning, there was a fresh cake sitting on your side of your shared desk. Holder was nowhere to be seen, but it was obviously from him. Besides the obvious fact that the two of you had been discussing it yesterday, on top of the pink frosting he had spelled out “Let’s talk” with chocolate chips.

There was a fork and a CD next to the cake that had “Just ta prove it” scrawled on it in Holder’s messy writing. Popping the disc into your computer, you were greeted by slides of pictures and videos of Holder in his kitchen. He had exchanged his hoodie for an apron, and he was smiling goofily at the camera. As the slides progressed, it showed Holder making the cake through every step of the progress. There was no doubt about it. The pastry on your desk was made from scratch by your partner.

You eyed it cautiously. Even though it had seemed as if Holder had followed all the correct steps in the video, you were still hesitant to try it. But then again, how bad could he really screw up cake?

Picking up the fork, you broke off a small bite and brought it to your lips. As soon as the flavor hit your tongue, you couldn’t help the moan of pleasure that escaped your mouth.

“Ah snap! I knew I could get you to make that sound one way or another.” You whipped around to see Holder leaning against the doorframe, the same goofy smile as from the video spread across his face.

“What the hell, Holder!”

His face dropped immediately. “No, I…it was just a joke…I didn’t-”

You waved him off. “Not that. You’ve said worse in front of suspects or the boss. No, how the hell did you never tell me you knew how to bake like this!”

“Oh!” He seemed momentarily surprised but then he shrugged. “You never asked. When my moms left and Liz started takin’ care of me, I taught myself to cook so I could help out some.”

“Wait….so it’s not just cake? You can cook real meal food too?”

“Sure. Whatever you want, mama.”

You crossed your arms. “You realize if you would have told me that a long time ago, I would have agreed to this date a lot sooner.”

“Really?” he asked.

“Sure. Haven’t you ever heard the expression, ‘a way to a woman’s heart is through her stomach’?”

“Yeah but-” he paused as he finally realized what you had said. “Wait…so does that mean you’ll go out with me?”

You shrugged. “Why not. Turns out, there’s still a lot I don’t know about you. Maybe it’ll be nice to learn more once we’re away from the job.”

Holder practically leaped for joy. “Ah yeah, that’s what I’m talkin’ ‘bout! And if you think I’m good in the kitchen, just wait ‘til you see what I can do in the bedroom.”

You rolled your eyes, but you had to admit….you were pretty excited to find out.

#sfw repost #drabble #stephen holder drabble #stephen holder #stephen holder x reader #stephen holder x you #stephen holder x y/n #detective stephen holder #the killing #joel kinnaman #fluff

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merryfortune · 4 months ago

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drop me in the water, washing me down

August 13th: Hurt/Comfort | Bathing Together | Mafia/Detective AU

Title: drop me in the water, washing me down

Ship: Raindropshipping | Aqua/Miyu

Series: Yu-Gi-Oh! Vrains

Rating: T

Word Count: 1,497

Tags: Post-Canon, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Scars, Non-Sexual Nudity, Kissing

Steam wafted upwards in delicate curls and the water below was warm. Miyu smiled a small smile as she sank her foot into the bathtub, hesitant at first but immediately charmed by the perfect temperature of her bath and so went the rest of her. Water welled up around her, a wave splashed over the edge of the bathtub as she got comfortable in the depths of it.

“Aah, perfect.” Miyu said, smacking her lips together.

She turned her head slightly, she felt weighed down by the towel twisted into her hair to protect it from getting wet and felt it wobble. She looked over towards Aqua who sat perfectly prim in her Duel Disc which was nestled in her discarded clothing.

Despite being the Water Ignis, Aqua was still an electronic creature and so was hesitant around the real thing.

“Are you sure you don’t want to join me?” Miyu asked. “The water’s great.” She kicked her foot and purposefully splashed the floor, not caring if the bathmat got too soggy.

“I’m sure.” Aqua murmured.

“Oh, okay then…” Miyu replied, visibly dejected.

Things were… awkward between them. Or maybe just new. After all, here they were, kind of chatting in the bathroom and Aqua had no problem with Miyu being naked around her but other than that, it was awkward. And new.

Aqua had only recently resurrected after all. Her reappearance had been a hard won by the efforts spearheaded by Playmaker but Aoi assisted also. She felt it was her sacred duty to allow Miyu and Aqua to meet again so she put in the most effort out of everyone in Playmaker’s faction to facilitate Aqua’s return.

Aqua, getting no say in the matter, felt conflicted. She had died. Now she lived again and that was bittersweet, she was still getting used to it but was, from the bottom of her soul, overjoyed to have been brought face to face with Miyu liked she had dreamed for as long as the Incident. She loved and cherished Aoi, of course, and thanked her tremendously but at her Origin’s side was her rightful place.

As fraught as it was due to the Sugisaki family politics in the background. Her parents had divorced, her Mother refused to believe a thing like artificial intelligence could exist and let alone be the reason Miyu had been kidnapped as a child. Thus, she was smuggled around like contraband between the two households and even within the sphere of the Zaizen affairs.

Even so, Aqua wouldn’t have it any other way if it meant she could be close to Miyu but since life was so precious and so fragile, she was worried - waiting - for that bubble to pop. Miyu was too carefree, perhaps. This brought them to friction which pervaded what might have otherwise been a smooth transition if… if many things hadn’t happened.

Like the arc of Ignis warfare, for example, but what was done was done and they should both be thankful for a fresh start as it was nothing less than a miracle for them to have one.

Still, there was a distance between them. Ice which had yet to break. They both sensed it even if they wanted to pretend it wasn’t there.

Miyu played with the meniscus of the bathwater, humming to herself. She glanced at Aqua again, vying for attention.

“I… I kind of want my back scrubbed.” Miyu said. “Can you help with that?”

“It would be my pleasure, Miyu.” Aqua replied.

Miyu smiled again. Thank goodness. Things weren’t fully ice cold between them but even so, Miyu could feel how Aqua looked her over. She knew she didn’t have a typical body. Most girls - no, most people - didn’t have quite so many scars.

Miyu didn’t mind. She got stared at. A lot. But it came with the territory. She was a competitive swimmer and people didn’t really expect for someone like that to have a body laced with criss-crossing electrical scarring. She got questions from time to time but she point blankly refused to answer them. How could she? Even so, she just let the weird stares and invasive questions roll off her like, well, water off a duck’s back.

But Aqua’s gaze on her.

It was different.

Sadder.

More understanding.

Aqua drew in closer to Miyu, transforming from her tiny self akin to a fairy and into more of a monster. She situated herself on the edge of the tub and Miyu made more room for her, offered her back to her and tried to be helpful by getting a loofah but Aqua was quicker. She had six arms though, in this form, so she clearly had an unfair advantage in that department.

“Tell me if I’m being too rough.” Aqua said.

“Don’t worry. I hate it when people are too gentle anyway.” Miyu assured her.

“I see.” Aqua replied.

She proceeded to oblige Miyu’s request. She dabbed the loofah in the water first and then soaked it in soap. The smell of it - cherry blossoms and vanilla - was heady in the tiny bathroom, it rose above the steam and clouded their senses.

Aqua then put all her strength into scrubbing Miyu’s back, every inch of her would be spick and span by the time that Aqua was done with her but that gave Aqua plenty of time to think. To ruminate. To acquaint herself with just how scarred Miyu truly was.

She tried to focus on other things, like the task at hand. Or even how Miyu’s skin was soft where it was unmarred or how the vertebra of her spine jutted out. That she even had a couple moles or freckles here and there but it was her scars that Aqua could not help but fixate on.

All of the Incident victims had these scars but still. Aqua was harrowed deeply by seeing them, especially upon her Miyu.

The electrical scarring criss-crossed all over her, the shapes of the scars were thin and flowing, long since healed but what remained was an expansive pattern. Aqua rubbed hard over them with the loofah, it scrunched and fluttered held tightly in the spool of her paddle-cupped tentacles.

“Aah, yeah, that’s the good stuff.” Miyu complimented Aqua’s technique.

“I’m glad.” Aqua quietly replied.

Her tone of voice chilled the bathroom. It was so small but the heaters in the ceiling were whirling, the water was the perfect temperature and yet. Aqua spoiled it. Miyu shivered as Aqua continued to bore into her with the loofah.

Aqua’s tentacles had quite a bit of force behind them. Aqua was always so earnest in demeanour and it showed, especially when she winced as she went over the ridges of Miyu’s scars and slowed.

“Y-You can stop now, if you like.” Miyu said, awkwardly.

“If that’s alright with you.” Aqua bowed her head.

She wrung out the loofah behind Miyu. Miyu tilted her head forward and felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise as she was misted with water turned cold and the soapy seconds of her body wash. Aqua, of course, did her best not to douse Miyu like this but accidents happened.

As did thoughtless gestures.

Aqua placed the loofah on the ceramic inlay on the far side of the bathtub. Her other tentacles, not in intended use, drifted and curled, even ghosted along Miyu’s shoulders. They touched her. Softly, gently, demurely, and left an impression of melancholy upon her skin, like a dew, or so Miyu felt.

It was all she could feel emanate off Aqua through the whole of her pampering. Aqua did her best to conceal it but she was honest to a fault: she was worried about Miyu’s scars.

The moment lingered. Aqua’s tentacle continued to rest on her shoulder and Aqua did not move it even though Aqua had finished her tasks, thus confirming Miyu’s intuition.

“You don’t have to feel sorry about it, you know…” Miyu whispered, assuringly. She reached over and placed her hand atop Aqua’s tentacle that rested upon her shoulder. “It’s not like you did this to me personally.”

“Yes, but I- my existence, it was facilitated by your pain.” Aqua pointed out, breaking her own heart as she did so.

Miyu hummed as she shook her head, she coaxed Aqua closer. Aqua obliged once more. She twisted and curled around, slunk past Miyu’s body and the rubbery sensation of Aqua’s skin against her tickled her. It took some graceful manoeuvring but in the end, Aqua placed herself atop Miyu’s body but Aqua’s synthetic one floated in the water. Miyu had to hold her so she wouldn’t bob up and down on the water.

“I love me just the way I am and you should too.” Miyu told her.

She nuzzled Aqua’s face, kissing her gently with her ever present, trademark smile.

“Trust me, Miyu,” Aqua replied, her voice cracked, “I love you just the way you are, I always have and always will.”

#femslash #ygorarepairweek2024 #yugioh vrains #vrains #yugioh #raindropshipping #aqua (vrains)#miyu sugisaki #sugisaki miyu #writing tag #drop me in the water #drop me in the water washing me down

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nights-with-stars · 4 months ago

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The part in Bardic Needle

Billy X Belle

A continuation of sorts of my last fic. Wasn't sure I would actually write this or not but the more I thought about it the more I wanted to.

Billy and Belle meet up at Bardic Needle. Billy struggles with comprehending his feelings. Belle struggles to dismiss her own feelings.

~~~

Belle rushed over to greet Billy. Dodging pedestrian on her way. As she approached, she waved with a smile.

“Hey Manager!” Billy greeted her with enthusiasm.

“You’re a bit late.” She crosses her arms in mock offense, trying and failing to keep a serious demeanor. Billy looked away, fidgeting sheepishly.

“Yeah, sorry about that.” Belle completely discarded her serious facade, chuckling at his awkward behavior.

“It’s ok. I wasn’t that stressed.” She lied. But he didn’t need to know that. “Maybe just shoot me a quick message next time.” She lightly tapped his shoulder as she moved towards the door to Bardic Needle. “Come on, Let’s get in before it closes.”

Billy blushed at the light touch, but as to why? He wasn’t fully certain. That sort of casualness is normal for her. She does it all the time. But only now did he find himself dwelling on it more than he probably should. Billy snapped himself out of his thought as he stumbled to catch up with her and enter the store himself.

~~~

The store was as sleek and organized as ever. Walls covered in records and discs. Shelves of different genres separated the place. Almost like a library. It was sleek yet, the colors of the store left it still feeling cozy. Belle immediately made her way towards the first nearest shelf. She wasn’t looking for anything in particular and was content to just browse. Billy followed her as she browsed the selection.

“You here for anything specific?” Belle asked Billy, not separating her attention from the albums. Billy having just nervously followed her around since they entered, fumbled towards his nearest shelf and picked up the first thing he saw. only to snap his attention to Belle when he hears her laugh. “Expanding your genres?”.

Billy properly looked at what he grabbed now. ‘Country top hits’ was written in large on the front of a record. He hesitated before pulling together his confidence. “I’ll have you know I’m perfectly capable of expanding my horizons. Including the enjoyment of ‘Country Top Hits’.” He stood confidently, watching as Belle shook her head in amusement, turning back towards the shelf she was looking at. Billy took this chance to quickly put the record back on the shelf. “What are you here for then?” He quickly deflected attention away from himself.

“Wise told me to pick something for him.” She browses the shelves as she continues. “But that’s not the only reason I’m here.” She smiles.

“What else are you here for?” Billy responds casually. He continues to closely examine the country section despite having no interest in it.

“To spend time with you, silly.” She chuckles as she almost bounces her way to the next shelf. He counts himself lucky she is looking the other way. Why was he worried she’d look at him? He felt his cooling systems speed up a little and he glanced away, catching his reflection on a glass display, noticing the Blush displayed on visor. He quickly looked back at the shelf. there’s no way the thought that she enjoyed hanging out with him made him do that. He is snapped out of his thoughts when he hears his name.

“Billy! Come here.” Before she can even finish her sentence, he is at Belle’s side, uncharacteristically quiet, but paying full attention. “What would you recommend?” She gestures towards the shelf.

Billy looks at the selection of music in front of them both, all classical. He puts on a serious act now. “So, your seeking help from a pro?” He holds his chin lightly in thought. “I don’t offer my recommendations to just anyone you know?”

“Oh really?” Belle smiles as she crosses her arms.

“People usually pay top dollar for this sort of information.” He loudly proclaims, but then leans down. “But I might be able to make an exception for my favorite proxy.” He looks right at her and his voice is much quieter as he says that. Belle immediately felt warmth creep up her face as he did so. Before the moment can linger for much longer however, Billy gets into an animated discussion over what classical music he would recommend. Belle listens eagerly, in part due to her genuine interest but also in part to wanting to focus on anything else other than the thoughts that just ran through her head.

“-This one is my favorite!” He pulled a disc out from the shelf as he excitedly showed it off to her. “It holds the record for fastest to put me to sleep.” Belle laughs at how earnestly he said that. She grabs the album from him, giving it a quick look over.

“I’ll have to give it a listen then.” She smiles at him brightly now. Billy swears he can hear his cooling kick up again and he just hopes she can’t. If this keeps happening, he’s going to turn himself in for maintenance. Why does this keep happening? Sometimes it’s just the mere thought of her that gets him like this. He hardly stumbles around like he has been, or gets so flustered easily. Earlier conversations with Nicole float back to the front of his mind. But that couldn’t be the case. He couldn’t like Belle like that right?

Belle moved towards a new shelf. This time intent on finding music her brother would like. It always seemed like an impossible task but today she would surely find something. She went through genres that she herself didn’t listen to. Even if she didn’t know anything about them, she would have a better chance this time. She found herself glancing towards Billy every now and again. She would look away quickly anytime he would move but an inch. Only to get curious when she looked back to not find him. She began to look around a little more.

“When were you into sappy romance songs?” Billy took his turn to tease her. Belle startled, not having heard his approach.

“The fact I’m not into them is why I’m here.” She huffed as she grabbed a random disc. “I’m looking for something for Wise.” She tilted her head as if all the album covers would make more sense that way.

“Your brother likes this?” Billy’s said a little too loudly, before he quickly held back a small laugh.

“Beats me, I don’t know what Wise likes apparently.” She threw her arms up in exasperation. “I’m running out of options, but I haven’t tried this yet.”

Billy begins scanning the shelf with her. Belle felt tension ease as she browsed the selection with him. She found comfort in browsing with Billy and the task of choosing music for Wise seemed less daunting. She shouldn't get so worked up about this anyway. What would Wise even do if he didn’t like it? Probably just add it to the stack of music he doesn’t listen to. As she read through the different albums she shuffled over to get a better look at some of the other albums further across the shelf.

Her Movement was halted when she bumped into the side of the very guy she was browsing with. She temporarily forgot he was there because of how thoroughly she was searching. Belle felt how the tension in her shoulder immediately returned, and how Billy seemed to stiffen up in response. And yet she didn’t feel compelled to move away. She would have heard his cooling systems speeding up if she wasn’t so distracted with examining why she felt so safe in that moment. The faintest blush tinted her cheeks, and at that realization she instantly separated from him.

Billy couldn’t meet her gaze as he adamantly studied the shelf. Then he quickly grabbed a random album and handed it to her. “Were you uh… grabbing this?”

“Yep. That’s the one.” Belle responded quickly, grabbing the album and moving towards the counter. Not daring to look at him. As she approached the counter, her mind was clouded with thoughts that she usually did well to put away. But now she couldn’t help but dwell on how he charmed her with his bright demeanor and enthusiastic excitement. How much she enjoyed his company and how nervous she was at the thought something could have happened to him. Or even the small bouts of nervousness just from being around him. She could hide it well but that didn’t stop her heart skipping a beat at small things he said or did.

Billy struggled with his own thoughts as well as he approached the counter with her. He blamed Nicole. If she hadn’t said anything he wouldn’t be in this mental turmoil. Sure, he always noticed how he loved her laugh, Enjoyed talking with her and would find himself thinking about her more often than not, but he never thought about what that meant. But now he couldn’t help but notice not only all that but how it made his circuits run wild every time she smiled or how he nearly put his arm around her when she bumped into him. Maybe it had always been this way, but he didn’t have the words to describe it.

Elfy noticed their approach and moved towards the counter, as she was busy attending other things within the store. Belle smiled as she arrived, putting the two albums on the counter.

“Buying for Wise again?” Elfy calmly greeted.

“Partially.” Belle answered distracted, as she checked her pockets for money. She felt around for her dennies but couldn’t find them. The search for her money became a bit more frantic now as she looked down to fish around her other pockets. After a little hassle and only minor panic she found her dennies and began to hand them over. Elfy however, had finished bagging the purchased items and was already handing them over.

“How much did you say-” Before Belle could insist on handing over her money, Elfy interrupted.

“Your friend here covered it for you.” She smiled and handed the bag to Billy as Belle still hadn’t moved to grab them. “I’ll see you next time.” She left the counter and returned to her prior activities. Belle then snapped out of her state and turned to Billy.

“Here. I can’t remember how much they were but this should cover it.” She tried to hand Billy the dennies.

“I can’t take that offer manager.” Billy stood almost smug as he began to exit the store, Belle following him. She kept trying to give him the dennies, but he stubbornly refused every time. Eventually she gave up.

“You didn’t have to do that.” She opened the door for him as he exited the store.

“We already owe you so much, so consider it a part of paying you off.” He spoke confidently.

“Don’t think you can get Nicole out of her debts that easily.” She playfully nudged him in the side,.

Billy walked her to the front door of Random Play. Sure, it wasn’t much of a walk but he felt it to be the right thing to do. They now stood out the front of the store.

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” Belle stated more than asked.

“You know I’ll never pass the chance to hang out with you.” He replied without missing a beat, holding out the bag for her to take. Belle accepted the bag but didn’t break eye contact with him. The moment felt much longer than it actually was as they both seemed to be lost in their own thoughts, or each others eyes. It was hard to say which it was. Belle felt how her heart rate increased and how heat rushed to her face. Once she had the bag, Billy snapped out of his own trance and the realization hit him. Not only did he just say that, but the feelings behind it finally seemed to surface. He finally realized what he felt and panicked.

“Right well. I had a great time. I’ll see you again. I should let you go. It’s already so late.” He was backing away, waving enthusiastically. He didn’t want to go but he needed to. “Thank you. See you next time.” He let it out all so quick, Belle didn’t even have time to respond as he turned and walked away.

“Yeah, See you next time!” She called out to him. She watched as he walked away, quicker than he normally would.

Once he was out of sight Belle entered Random Play. The events still fresh on her mind. She delivered the music she had got Wise to him and then entered her own room. Belle got the classical album out that Billy had bought for her. Playing it on her speakers, she went to her bed, flopping onto it face first. Belle sighed as the classical music filled the room. The flustered feeling from earlier returning. She buried her head in her pillow trying to escape the feeling, which in a way did work as she fell asleep quickly after that.

#billy x belle #billy kid x belle #zenless zone zero #billy kid #zzz belle

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yunieluna · 7 months ago

Text

These are the Days of our Lives

a Biggs x Jessie fanfic

Chapter 3: Corneo's land / Don't stop me now

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Biggs has been reading the letter Jessie sent over and over again. It hasn’t even been addressed to him, and was basically only containing basic information:

>> Ms. Folia,

This is my first payment. I hope it’ll suffice for the moment.

You know, that I had planned to stay here for only a few weeks, but I got an offer to extend my stay - the payment had been so good, that I accepted that offer. So I’ll be staying longer, in fact, until they change the play in 2 months.

I’ll be sending money again soon. If there’s anything else I can do in the meantime, don’t hesitate to ask.

I hope everybody is fine and holding up. I can’t wait to be back.

Many hugs,

Jessie <<

The concerning part was the envelope it came in. There is a the stamp of the Gold Saucer Post Office on it. Many hope to receive written greetings from friends and loved ones featuring this stamp. Stamp . Wonder why that’s the name of Shinra’s mascot? A thought that had crossed Biggs’ mind several times in the past. Especially when they used Stamp the dog as a sign to lead the way in some of their Avalanche operations. Maybe he would’ve been happy about the letter from that particular post office as well, if one detail hadn't been different. The letters underneath the logo of the stamp on the envelope didn’t read ‘Gold Saucer’ anymore, but ‘Corneoland’.

Some news travels slower than others… and they were controlled by Shinra anyway. So to hear that ‘Gold Saucer’ had officially been rebranded and would be called ‘Corneoland’ from now on, was never on the top list of prioritized subjects to report on. Since most people in the slums couldn’t afford to go there anyway, they didn’t even care. Biggs did though. He did some digging, and found out that it was actually not just a rebranding, but a whole change of who’s in charge. Apparently, Dio and Corneo agreed to fight over ownership rights to Gold Saucer in Musclehead Colosseum - the battle arena - and Dio suffered a roaring defeat. Some connections said that it wasn’t fair and square, and Dio had been injured before the battle. But whatever may be true, it doesn’t change the fact that Jessie is there, working for Don Corneo. If that creep is involved, there’s no way this could ever turn out well.

So there’s really only one thing to do. Go, and get her back to Leaf House as fast as possible. Sure, everybody Biggs knows always teases him with being too worried and overprotective, but the last time he had a bad gut feeling, he had dismissed it…and then the slums were buried underneath the one piece of pizza that had been the disc of Sector 7. He won’t be too late this time.

Ms. Folia is understanding and wishing him good luck. The kids are mainly bothered by the fact that he’s leaving again, but since he promised to bring some souvenirs, and Jessie, they gave him a pass. He grabs some money he had hid close to Leaf House, a spot he always uses since he’s been a kid growing up in the orphanage himself, and leaves.

--------

The lights are impressive. In fact, everything about this place is. They use Mako like starving men devouring a meal... Barrett would’ve come up with a much fiercer comparison , Biggs snickers to himself. Focus! I need to find Jessie.

The visitors’ information guide, which oddly looks like the weirdest Moogle one could ever imagine, advises him to go to Event Square - the theater. After reaching it and asking for her specifically, he gets dismissed. Jessie will be performing on stage soon, he can’t see her now.

Wait! He can, actually. So he buys a ticket and waits for the show to begin.

The seats are sold out. Every single guest is eager to see the play. Biggs recognized Jessie’s poster on his way to the theater. She looks like an angel. There wouldn’t be any other description that could ever fit any better. The white flowing dress she’s wearing, the lighting, the white wings, her sincere expression. Definitely not the Jessie I know , he remembers shaking his head slightly in amusement.

Suddenly, the lights go out, the curtain rises, music starts to play…let the show begin. A group of people perform a ballet dance while a narrator sums up the premise of the story they are about to tell…

And then there she is. Slowly descending from the ceiling, bathed in sparkling light. All eyes are on her.

Wow . Biggs knows that this word doesn't even come close to giving justice to what he's seeing. He secretly thanks the circumstances that brought him here. That he got the opportunity to see her like this, performing on stage, being somebody else completely.

She's beautiful, no debate about that. Even when she's sweaty and her face is covered in dirt after missions. But the way it is presented here, the astonishing atmosphere that highlights every aspect of her, amazes him beyond comprehension.

He never really cared about what ‘Loveless' is about. Something romantic , it's in the name, after all. But seeing the story play out for the first time, is invoking a sudden feeling of sadness in him. He can't really pinpoint why it does, though.

The ending is bittersweet. The hero parts from his lover Rosa, the part Jessie plays, promising to come back after he completed his journey. They embrace one last time, then the play is over.

A roaring applause around him is what follows. Biggs somehow still can't really process why the play has affected him so much. Is it, because he had seen Jessie for the first time again? Or because, even though they went through so much, in the end, the lovers still couldn't be together? He's not into romance per se, so why would something like this bother him at all?

He finally manages to get up from his seat and join the crowd in their standing ovations. The lights get turned on again. All actors return to the stage to thank the audience and bathe in the joyous clapping they earned from their stellar performances.

Jessie is beaming in the center of her acting colleagues and scans the crowd from time to time. She loves seeing all the happy, content and moved faces of the audience. It validates her art even more, and gives her the strength to keep going.

There's still so much joy in this world and we definitely need to fight to protect it. She concludes. After her third bow to the audience she looks up again… This can't be! But there's no doubt about it, it IS him. Within the many faces that had just been watching her performance, is Biggs’, who’s smiling right at her. She can't help but tear up a little with the realization. He woke up, he's recovered…and he's here.

As soon as all the actors had returned backstage for good, she ran back to the theater hall. She didn't even change out of her costume.

Please let him still be there. That was her only thought, more of a plea than anything else.

The doors had already been closed for cleaning and the hall was empty, except for a lonely figure still sitting in their seat, waiting.

“Biggs!” she exclaims.

He raises his head when he hears his name. It was the right choice to wait here , he thinks for a second, then gets up from his seat and moves to the aisle…just in time for Jessie to reach him.

He's caught off guard when she flings herself at him. Her arms slung around his neck, her head buried in his chest, an embrace so intimate that he failed to react right away. After a moment and without even realizing it, his hands automatically move around her body, both coming to a stop, resting on her back lightly at first…but when he closes his eyes to bathe in her presence, in this unknown closeness between them, he can't help, but tighten the grip on her body.

It's almost desperate. As if they both feared the other would vanish, if they let go even a little. Jessie doesn't know how much time passed, seconds? Minutes? Years? She finally moves her head to look at him though, is she making sure that he's not a Fata Morgana? Or did she only miss looking him in the eyes?

“I can't believe that you're really here.” She breaks the tightness of the embrace a little when she starts to directly speak to him.

“Wouldn't wanna have missed seeing you perform.” He warmly states.

She knows he means it. But she's also sure that it's not all that there's to it.

“Common, be honest. I know you well enough to know that this isn't the only reason you're here.”

Biggs snickers a little, smiling shyly. They still haven't let go of each other. Biggs’ hands had wandered to get a better look at her, comfortably resting on both sides of her waist. Jessie's fingers were intertwined behind his neck. Neither of them recognized this, though. There was only joy… written over both their faces, so they had no time to realize the gravity of this new kind of intimacy that started to blossom between them.

“And here I am thinkin’ ya would be glad to see me.” He answers teasingly.

A statement like this would usually result in a snarky comment from Jessie, and then they'd banter until one gave up - well, until Biggs gave up. This time, though, Jessie looks him straight in the eyes and sincerely says:

“You have NO idea how happy I am to see you, Biggs.”

His expression freezes a little in shock. Her being like this is rare, she usually hides behind jokes and teasing. He decides to pay her back with sincerity as well.

“Me, too, Jessie…Ms. Folia told me about you…that you were by my side most of the time while I was unconscious…Really, I don’t know what to say…besides, thank you.”

“No,” she shakes her head a little, “I wish I could’ve done more.”

He sees sadness overcoming her expression. Well done, Biggs, you completely ruined the mood. So he tries to change the subject. He lets go of her waist and starts to rummage through one of his pockets. Jessie removes her hands from the place they’d been behind his neck to give him better access to whatever he was looking for.

“Thought ya might want those back?” he says, presenting two items.

One is the glove she left on the desk in his room. The other Wedge’s red bandana. He had really brought them with him. A token for every member of their trio. That’s what they were, at least, before they met Tifa and Barrett.

“Hey, where’s your headband?” It took her until this moment to realize that he wasn’t wearing it. And his clothes had been different too.

“Ah yeah, well, they had cut it open when patching me up…it’s too short to wear now. Same goes for my old clothes.” He scratches the back of his head with his free hand.

Jessie feels a little embarrassed that she hadn’t thought of the obvious. If she had inspected his headband at least once, she would’ve known. Well, too late now. She absolutely doesn’t want any of the two items she gave to him, though. So she puts her hands on Biggs’ one that contained them and closes it gently.

“These are presents, keep them as memorabilia of better days.”

He knows that she’s thinking of Wedge specifically…Jessie and Biggs are still alive, after all. So are Cloud, Tifa and Barrett, although they have gone on a mission to save the planet. At least that’s what they heard from Marlene and Elmyra, Aerith’s mother who took Marlene in after Seventh Heaven, her home, got destroyed. Biggs was relieved that Marlene had been safe and sound. He loves all kids, but to be completely honest, Marlene holds a special place in his heart. Whenever they were tired from their missions, or just hungover from drinking too much, she managed to make them smile. Sometimes, he wondered how it would feel to have a daughter like her of his own. Sure, he already had plenty of kids he took care of, but he always feels more like a big brother or mentor to them than a father. The current world is not exactly a great place to raise a child, though, so he quickly dismisses this thought every single time. Maybe I’ll go with cats then…Just like Wedge .

“Let’s divide Wedge’s bandana between us. You should have something from him, too.” Biggs protests, presenting the red piece of cloth again.

Jessie looks at the bandana, considering, then takes it from Biggs. She enfolds it with her hands and steps in front of him - as close as they were a few moments before. They are looking at each other, studying their behavior. Jessie moves her hands behind his neck again…her gaze never leaves Biggs’... What’s with the weird tension? He finally admits that something about them feels completely different now compared to their interactions before the pillar incident…She’s fidgeting in the meantime.

“Here…let me take a look.” She takes a few steps back from him. “Perfect.”

When he looked down in the direction of his chest, he finally understood what she had been doing.

“You’re not the head bandana type. But it suits you around the neck.” She winks, smiling.

“But…” He’s cut off immediately.

“No protests! You keep it." She insists. “And I get to look at it whenever I see you.” She is radiant, grinning from ear to ear, her eyes sparkling with content.

“It’s a deal.” He happily nods in agreement. Then, after a pause, he adds, “Speaking of which, what’s up with your agreement with Corneo?”

Finally, the cat’s out of the bag, she thinks. He’s worrying again.

“So that’s really why you came here all the way.” She can’t help but feel a little disappointed.

Noticing the change in her demeanor, Biggs tries to appear appeasing, “Look, I know that you’re tough, Jessie. And I’m very glad I saw you perform. You were…” he huffs at the loss of words, “out of everybody else's league.” Radiant, stellar, gorgeous, mesmerizing, beautiful… here he stops mentally adding words and continues his speech.

“Corneo is dangerous, though. You know that he’s powerful, and…on top of that, unpredictable. Come back home with me.” He’s pleading now.

Before Jessie gets to answer, though, they’re suddenly interrupted by two people she would rather not know. Kotch and Scotch, Don Corneo’s right hand men, waltz into the theater hall, right in her and Biggs’ direction.

“My my my, our starlet’s havin’ a nice little chit-chat with one of her fans?” Kotch teases amused.

“Look at how close they are. Bet it’s her boyfriend, nah?” Scotch chimes in.

“The Don ‘ll not be pleased about that, ya know.”

Shit. I need to do something, or we’ll both be in trouble. Jessie takes a small breath and starts her charade.

“No need to be jealous, you two and Corneo know I’m all his.” She then points at Biggs, “This guy right here? He’s just somebody from Midgar I used to know. He happened to recognize me and we just had a little talk about home. He’s about to go now anyway, right?” She looks Biggs in the eyes intently.

Biggs listened to Jessie’s rambling, and hated every single word she uttered. He got the hint at the end, but every fiber in his body fights to follow her lead. He trusts her completely, that’s not the issue. The issue is that he wants to kick the asses of these despicable people, and then move on to Corneo. It’s unfortunate that he couldn't bring his pistol, but firearms are forbidden around here. So he balls his hands into fists instead. At least that releases the tension a little.

Jessie grows impatient, though and addresses him again, “Alright. Was nice chatting with you. Safe travels home.”

Biggs can’t take it anymore. The urge to say something became too strong. The urge to grab her wrists and take her with him is even stronger, though. So he does exactly that...

“No! I’m not letting you stay here with these creeps, Jessie!”

Biggs, what are you doing? Why can’t you just play along? But it’s too late now. Kotch and Scotch had already accepted the challenge.

“Woah, woah, woah, not so fast.” Kotch steps in front of Biggs, “That white knight shit ya pullin’ ain’t impressin’ anybody. She’s the Don’s property, as per contract. So if ya don’t wanna end up as Abzu’s dinner, ya should be gone…and pronto.”

That’s as open as a threat can be. Abzu is Corneo’s pet monster, it’s huge and extremely dangerous.

Dammit! Biggs had just recovered. No way I'll drag him into this mess. This is Jessie’s last chance to keep Biggs safe. To protect him from any harm. It’s on her now and she won’t risk losing him again. Not until he knows…

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It was already late at night at Seventh Heaven, only a few lamps above the counter were granting some light to the remaining members of Avalanche. Barrett and Wedge had already retired for the evening, but Biggs and Jessie had volunteered to stay a while longer and help Tifa clean up the bar.

"So, it's just us three again then, huh?" Jessie nearly stumbles over this sentence. After starting the evening test drinking Tifa's new cocktail creations with Biggs, the few beers with the whole Avalanche group later, had really taken a toll on her sobriety.

"I should've really stayed true to my word and cut you off the drinks for good...you can't even form a proper sentence anymore," remarked Biggs.

"Ugh, you're always cutting the fun short, though, so you definitely did at least stay true to that.", Jessie said in a playfully teasing voice.

"Yeah, yeah...got it." He waves his right hand in front of his face in defeat. "Got an early morning tomorrow, so I'm out anyway. Good night, ya’ two!"

Tifa smiles and says, "Good night to you as well. And thanks for helping clean up."

A snicker and small head shake later, Biggs adds, "No worries. 's my hobby. Really helps to clear up your mind."

"Here we go again..."Jessie grins, rolling her eyes a little.

Turning around to leave and trying to ignore Jessie's comment, Biggs can't help but add, "Oh, and Tifa, no more drinks for her. I ain't gonna be around anymore to catch her from falling like earlier...yet alone carry her home."

"Only nice and cool people get to carry me anyway!" is the last he hears before he's out of the bar, chuckling to himself. He might have really gotten on Jessie's bad side with that remark, and he's wondering if it might come back biting him in the ass later. Jessie's a force to be reckoned with after all and she never fails to show that part of her personality to anyone who's dumb enough to underestimate her. But that's a problem for another day, he thinks.

"Psych! So annoying that he treats me like a child...", Jessie mumbles, still in rage mode.

"He only worries about you." Tifa smiles knowingly. "Yeah, way too much though...Anyway, please tell me you're not gonna listen to him, and we can at least enjoy one more drink together before going to bed? You know, us Avalanche girls must stick together." Jessie winks at Tifa while forming this request in a begging tone.

Sticking her tongue out, Tifa says, "Alright, but it's going to be virgin."

Tifa fixes two mocktails in an instant, and Jessie needs to admit that she has never seen a faster and better bartender than her in her entire life. Not even the professionals at the Gold Saucer are able to show this kind of expertise when it comes to drinks... and punches , Jessie internally adds and chuckles about her joke.

"To Avalanche girl power!" Jessie raises the glass of the bright orange drink she received. "Okay then!" and with that, the two women clung their glasses together gracefully, each taking a sip of their drink afterwards.

There's a small moment of silence between them, so Jessie decides to take another gulp of her tasty drink, when suddenly Tifa breaks the silence: "You like him, right? ... Biggs, I mean."

Still wondering if she really heard right, what Tifa just said, the fluid Jessie was just about to swallow, nearly got stuck in her throat. Three small coughs and wiping away a tear that escaped her left eye later, she managed to compose herself.

“Did…Did you just say that you think I’m into Biggs?” Jessie desperately needs to set this straight.

“Sorry for the sudden question…didn’t mean to catch you off guard. I just thought that it’s quite obvious, you know.” Tifa says sincerely.

"Obvious? What makes you think that?" Jessie is shocked that, in fact, this is truly what Tifa believes.

Now it’s Tifa’s turn to take another sip of her drink. She then moves to the other side of the counter to sit next to Jessie, cradling her glass in both hands. Tifa contemplates how to put what she observed into words, when suddenly that weird, knowing smile from earlier appears again.

“Well, you’re a really nice person, Jessie. To everyone, even strangers. Except for Wedge and Biggs, you really give them a hard time sometimes.” Tifa is chuckling for a second and then continues, “I know you have known them both for a long time, but there’s still a difference in how you treat each of them that I recognized…For example, earlier, when we were having pizza and beer and Wedge was kinda having a downer, you instantly built him up because he’s your friend, far and foremost…But you can’t take Biggs’ cheeky remarks for even a second without paying him back - that happened twice today, actually. And one of these instances was very touchy as well.” Jessie became unusually silent by this point. “So that’s why I think you like Biggs more than a mere friend. You’re so different around him, not in a bad way, more like you feel you can be your true self around him, not the perfect actress from the Gold Saucer stage that everyone else expects, just Jessie from Avalanche.”

Tifa had finished her explanation and was waiting for an answer. Or any reaction at all. Jessie, on the other hand, was just staring at her half-emptied glass.

“Wow, and here I was thinking nobody could look through my acting skills,” she suddenly states, still focusing on nothing but her glass.

“Sorry, I didn’t want to embarrass you. Let’s talk about something else.” had been Tifa’s response. But it was too late to deny the truth to Jessie. Screw alcohol for making your tongue loose. ‘In vinum veritas est’ - ‘the truth lies within wine’, the saying goes. Only in this case, it’s more like ‘in Cosmo Canyonum veritas est’.

“No, you’re right, Tifa.” A pause. “I think I’ve been liking him for a while now, actually.”

There’s silence stretching between them again, until Tifa gets up from her stool next to Jessie, gets behind the counter, and prepares another drink for them both. It’s definitely not virgin this time, though.

“Here.” Tifa moves back towards Jessie’s side and sets a second glass in front of her. “This one is perfect for this kind of talk.”

Jessie takes the new drink in her right hand, raises it in the air to salute Tifa, and devours half of it in one go. Tifa tilts her head, watching Jessie, and then moves on to say, “I mean, I get why you’re into him. He’s very kind, protective, funny, smart, and likes kids - seriously, who spends nearly all of his income on donating it to an orphanage?” They both snicker in amazement. “Aaaand, on top, he’s really handsome and well trained too.”

“So, you’re my rival then?” Jessie inquires blushingly, half joking, half completely sincere.

“Oh no, don’t worry. He’s all yours. There’s actually someone I like already.”

“Do I know them?”

“No, he’s someone from my past, my hometown.”

Jessie nods in agreement.

“So, are you going to confess to Biggs?”, is the second time this evening that Jessie nearly chokes on her drink. What’s with Tifa and her bad timing

“No! Never.” Jessie is shaking her head furiously.

“Why’s that?” Tifa asks curiously.

“Isn’t THAT obvious? You already said it yourself. We have known each other for so long, and he’s one of my best friends. I wouldn’t want to risk that. Besides, there’s Avalanche as well. We’ve come really far and are about to really make a difference. No way would I let something like that come in between our goals.”

“But isn’t one of our goals fighting for a better future?” Tifa looks at Jessie intently. “A future we all want to live in? A future that makes us happy? Don’t you think you wouldn't regret not telling him? …Cause, honestly, I did regret that I'd never told the person I liked what I felt. But now, it’s too late. I don’t even know where he is right now.”

Jessie sees the sadness in Tifa’s eyes. It has been a while since she’s been affected by a conversation that much, but it also makes her feel so much closer to her friend.

“Maybe, if our missions go well, I’ll consider telling him…” Jessie winks and then suddenly turns serious, raising her right index finger in front of Tifa’s face “But don’t you dare say a word to anyone!”

Tifa gets the playful hint, “Hehe! I won’t, promise!”

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“Go home!" Jessie practically yells at Biggs. “It’s none of your business.” She yanks her hand out of his grip and continues, “I’ll be back after I fulfill my contract." Her voice gets softer again, “Promise, okay?”

He always secretly admired Jessie’s fierce side, even though ending up on her bad side from time to time was scary as hell. Not as scary as what he just witnessed, though. There’s no need to argue any further when she’s like this, that much he knows. So he sadly nods in defeat and turns to leave the hall.

"Alright. If that’s what you want…See ya around then."

As if she really wanted to stay rather than go with him…To be in his presence…To be with him - literally…He has no clue that this is what she wants the most. Biggs, I’m sorry, but I can’t violate the contract. It’s simply too dangerous, you said so yourself…Corneo is unpredictable. Knowing that she did the right thing, doesn’t keep her from feeling her heart torn into two, when she sees the entrance door of the theater hall closing after Biggs.

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He stayed at the Haunted Hotel for a night. Not in the hopes of trying again to persuade Jessie to come with him, it was simply too late to leave the previous evening. Since he couldn’t find any rest, he basically spent the whole night drinking at the bar on the first floor. The drinks had been fancy, ghost-themed cocktails that could never reach Tifa’s in quality. He would’ve given one hand for a ‘Cosmo Canyon’. And the other to be able to have drinks again with everyone at Seventh Heaven. People sometimes argue he’s drinking too much, but this, and cleaning, are the only things that keep his mind from overthinking everything.

Much to his own surprise, the alcohol wasn’t able to distract him from worrying this time. Worse, it actually made him wallow in self-pity. He had failed to get Jessie out of Corneo’s reach. You’re useless. You failed to save Wedge. And now you’re losing her, too.

The speakers above his head sprung to life, an announcement followed, the gondola back to the ground would leave soon. He made his way to the station.

The gondola was already in sight when he overheard bits of a conversation. He recognized the voices from the previous day. The most unpleasant encounter he ever had, and they were talking about Jessie at this very moment.

He follows them, but stays as far away as possible, so he wouldn’t raise any suspicion. He definitely needs to know what they are up to, and Jessie’s role in it…he can’t believe what they were talking about.

They suddenly look in his direction, but Biggs is already gone, sprinting to Event Square.

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Pic for this chapter:

Some shots from the games for visual reference:

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Notes:

Loved writing this chapter, especially the tension between them.

Gold Saucer never becomes Corneoland in the game, thanks to Cloud and friends. I think the bet was also just about naming rights and not ownership. I enjoyed raising the stakes, though.

Biggs is wearing the Rebirth outfit in this story, even though I like the other one better. I really wondered about the bandana he wears around his neck when playing Rebirth, so I came up with a little explanation. Would love if it really is Wedge's.

I mean look at the resemblance of the color and shape - it must be his, right?

#biggs ff7 #biggs #jessie rasberry #jessie ff7 #bessie #i miss the avalanche crew so much 😭#avalanche ff7 #ff7 au #ff7 rebirth #ff7 fanfic #biggs x jessie #jessie x biggs #jessie lives #biggs lives #ff7 tifa #tifa knows what's going on

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darsynia · 2 years ago

Text

Trust Fall | Ch 11b

ARC image by Eury Escodero | image from neverfeltbetter at Wordpress

Story Masterlist | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Summary: Tony/OC, ‘terrorists made us fall in love;’ IM1 timeline. In this chapter, Emory and Tony fight over the concept of selfishness, which leads Emory to confess something-- right as the terrorists come in to demand their Jericho.

Length: 3,011

Tags (please don’t hesitate to ask!): @starryeyes2000 @raith-way @arrthurpendragon @starksbf @themaradaniels @chickensarentcheap @tiny-anne

Excerpt:

The man rests his thumb on her chin and turns her head towards Tony with an inexorable grip. Tony’s eyes are fierce and angry, but the rest of his expression is neutral. In a way, she’s proud of him; Tony’s not mindlessly angry in response to this man’s touch on her, he’s focused on the end goal.

He is possessive though, and everyone in the room knows it.

That knowledge triples the power she’s manifesting, and now Emory has a dilemma. She’s going to start shedding power, soon, and there won’t be a discernible reason for it. Is there a way she can send some of it to circle at her feet, splitting it off into the depths of the cave? She has no idea how long she has before she’ll be forced to find out.

The terrorist leader releases her chin and dips his hand down toward her chest, pulling the unbuttoned collar down just as he’d done with Tony’s, as if to check to see if she too has a glowing disc to observe.

Tony’s hands both tighten into fists. His jaw bulges as he clenches his teeth, but he stays silent, his face impassive, eyes full of fury. Emory twitches her hand, meaning it to look like a motion borne of fear, but in reality, she sends a tiny burst of power over to Tony. It lightly moves the fabric of his pants before fluttering the hem of his shirt as it flies up along his back.

For a split second, Tony’s eyes shut, and one corner of his lip turns up. It means the world to her.

Chapter Eleven: د لمر وړانګې

“All that’s left is the helmet,” Tony announces to her the following day, as they eat. “Well, and then I’ll need to put the arms and legs onto the body, and hook up the wiring.”

“I’ve built a winch to help get it onto you, but I think we’ll need some lead time, because that will be difficult to conceal,” Yinsen reminds him. “Screws cannot be hurried.”

“One of my favorite sayings,” Tony says, grinning.

Emory doesn’t know whether to laugh or blush, and does both. To cover her reaction, she says, “Will you show me the schematic so I know where the screws are? In case you need me?”

“The two of you are just lobbing over the net here. I’d love to need you, sure,” Tony says, leaning back and stretching his arms up. He seems relaxed and confident, as if the dirtier and more disconnected from his flashy former life, the more he discovers he doesn’t need those trappings to be himself. Emory snorts inwardly at her rosy view, recognizing it for what it is: the distorted lens of infatuation. It doesn’t help that his phrasing is basically her ideal situation. She’s pretty sure she’s well on her way to needing him.

“Got some cuts to practice this afternoon, but maybe I can start the helmet at sundown. I’ll get the last of the welding out of the way first,” Tony says. “I still think you should let me at least make you a faceplate,” he says, directing his words toward Yinsen.

Yinsen shoots her a look as he shakes his head. “Don’t waste your time. The two of you will protect me in your various ways.”

Tony leans his head over to Emory’s as if relaying a secret. “Did you see him being Peak Dad with the implied responsibilities? On top of subtly implying that it’s you I should be building armor for, if there’s time?”

“Yep,” she says, turning his head her way so she can drop a quick kiss on his lips. “Don’t you dare.”

She stands up before he can stop her, but Tony doesn’t give up easily. He never does.

“First of all, don’t tell me what to do,” Tony says. It sounds good natured, but she can hear the testy undercurrent. “Second of all, I can’t stop bullets with that thing, and you’re going to need to see who you’re trying to airbend into pretzels, Auntie Anne. It only makes sense to protect you.”

Tony gets up and follows her as she walks over to rinse the dishes before setting them up to soak as usual. They don’t get hot water unless they boil it themselves. She doesn’t know what to say to him that doesn’t sound lovesick, but he keeps trying to persuade her to let him make her something until finally Emory can’t take it anymore.

“Tony!” she says, spinning around and grabbing handfuls of his shirt to get his attention. “I am asking you to finish your own armor first! You’re too important not to, too important to our escape not to,” she amends, feeling her cheeks heat up with the slip.

Tony looks down at her and scoffs. “So, what, you’ve traded allegiances now? Swapped Rory out for a newer model? Same doormat act, same lack of care for your own needs?” She’s so shocked she lets go and staggers back.

“No!”

“It’s either that or naivete.” Tony points at the door. “As soon as they can see what I’ve made, we’re done. We’ll be hit by overwhelming force, unless we have the element of surprise. I can’t finish the suit without putting it together, and once I put it together, they’re going to see it. I either make you something now, or I don’t get the chance,” he says, his voice harsh and angry. “And, not for nothing? But I thought we were both making progress on the ‘spectrum of selfishness’ thing. Looks like I was wrong. You’re right back where you were, you just switched who you’re doing all that self-sacrificing for!” He shakes his head in derision and pushes off from the table they’re standing beside to go over to his fake Jericho, slamming around the pieces.

Emory’s hand had flown to her throat when he’d referred to her behavior as naivete, but by the time he’s done speaking, she’s clawing at her chest to try to stop her heart’s aching pain from obstructing her lungs any further.

“It’s not the same,” she chokes out. It’s a pathetic refutation of his diatribe.

“Looks the same to me.”

“Yeah, well, trust me, it’s different. For one thing, I wasn’t in love with Rory!” she snaps back without thinking.

The thing that Tony had in his hand falls to the ground. Before she can take it back, before he can turn around and let her see what his reaction is, the door slams open, and a large group of armed men storm inside, followed by a clean-shaven man with a commanding demeanor. They order all three of them to step back.

Emory puts her hands up, sees that Tony and Yinsen have done the same, but she feels exposed, the tears from her argument with Tony still streaked across her face. She’s usually able to drape a blanket around herself when they have visitors, but there’s no chance for that, now. Her shirt is one of the ones that had shrunk in the wash. It’s small and tight, a concession to the hot temperature in the cave on days like today where Tony’s got the fire stoked to be hotter than normal.

The man who walks in has a sardonic look on his face as he takes in the state of disarray in the room. He looks first at Yinsen, then at her, then at Tony. “Relax,” he says. There’s an upward lilt to his tone, as if it’s a bit extreme of them to react with such fear to his sudden arrival.

Emory can see Tony and Yinsen from where she’s standing (so close she could grab one of the men’s guns, though she would have no idea what to do with it besides just die, if she reached out for one). She sees that Tony’s trying to take his cues from Yinsen, who looks like he’s going to be sick. The terrorist walks over and reaches out with a finger to pull Tony’s open shirt collar down, to better see the ARC reactor.

“The bow and arrow once was the pinnacle of weapons technology,” he says in a gruff, lightly accented voice, releasing Tony’s shirt and walking toward her. “It allowed the great Genghis Khan to collect territory from the Pacific to the Ukraine. His strength and strategy placed many people under his absolute authority.” He’s speaking about weapons, and as she listens, Emory’s own weapon starts to manifest itself in a light coating of power she can feel on her exposed skin.

The terrorist reaches out toward her, and for a frightening second, she wonders if he’ll be able to feel the power that’s gathering there. He seems not to, though, lifting her chin so she is forced to look up at him. In her peripheral vision, Emory sees Yinsen make a ‘settle’ gesture, and knows it’s to Tony.

He is possessive though, and everyone in the room knows it.

For a split second, Tony’s eyes shut, and one corner of his lip turns up. It means the world to her.

The truth is that she had wanted to reassure him, but she also had wanted to know if she could send small, directed bursts like that to bleed off some of the energy she’s suffused with. Emory can feel her hair start to lift at the back of her neck.

Having made his point, the terrorist moves over to Tony’s worktable, speaking about the size of Khan’s army as he reaches out and lifts some schematics. “These days, whoever holds the latest Stark weapons rules these lands. Soon, it will be my turn,” he says, moving back over to stand tall and expectant in front of Tony. Emory’s sent about six bursts off to the back of the cave. She wishes she could send another to Tony, but knows that would be a very bad idea.

Their tormentor’s next words are in a foreign tongue. Yinsen responds, anxious and placating. At the beginning of the exchange, the terrorist glares at Tony, while Yinsen begs him with his eyes to remain calm. Halfway through, the man turns toward Yinsen, and the men trade roles, with Tony widening his eyes, looking around at the men whose guns are trained on them. Her heart in her throat, Emory starts to slowly sidestep toward Tony, hoping the movement will distract him from any foolish moves he might be considering making.

Suddenly, the terrorist barks a command, and two groups of men step forward. Tony reaches his arm out and pulls Emory over in front of him, clasping his hands at her chest. She realizes too late that her movement has achieved the opposite of her intention.

Three men have grabbed Yinsen to thrust him down to his knees. The other three hover near where Tony has her crushed against his chest, looking to their leader for guidance.

The terrorist actually smiles. It’s chilling. He gestures to the others to fall back, and strolls casually to the fire, speaking that foreign language to Yinsen as he does so. Emory wishes she could turn and bury her chest against Tony’s, but his grasp of her is tight and desperate. She doesn’t dare draw attention back to them, even as tears form in her eyes again at the pleading note in Yinsen’s voice. Tony’s arms start to shake, and she can do nothing to comfort him, not with so many eyes on the two of them.

As the man comes back from the fire, Emory gasps. He’s got a burning hot coal trapped in a pair of tongs.

“Don’t,” Tony whispers to her, the words barely more than a breath.

She understands why, even before she watches the terrorist blow on the coal in between his threatening words. The coal pulses hotter with every burst of air blown against it.

“What does he want?” Tony asks Yinsen. Emory lets out a small noise of protest, and Tony kisses the top of her head. She hadn’t been prepared for that, and in her surprise, Emory releases her grip on her powers for just a second. When she realizes what’s going to happen, she leans into it, directs the energy into as natural an occurrence as she can muster.

A gust of wind blows around the room, hitting the men and their automatic weapons over by the cave entrance first, fluttering everyone’s clothing and hair, and sending Tony’s schematics sailing off of the table and onto the floor, skidding out of sight into the back of the cave.

Tony coughs, a sharp stutter of utter shock and awe.

Unfortunately, this new, frightening leader who has just made himself known to them is completely unphased by the unexpected display. He nods to the men who have their hands all over Yinsen, and they press the older man’s head down onto the anvil that Tony had requested all those weeks ago. With the tongs mere inches away from Yinsen, the terrorist asks him something. Yinsen’s answer has the word ‘Jericho’ in it. They repeat the question and answer, each becoming more heated.

Tony’s grip on her has become very uncomfortable, and Emory can tell a split second before he acts that he’s about to. He moves so swiftly and smoothly that she isn’t quite sure how she has ended up behind him, her wrist held in his tight grip. Tony holds up his other hand just barely where she can see it, using a tone that’s part desperate, part arrogant.

“What do you want, a delivery date? I can--”

Every single weapon lifts, and all of them are pointed at Tony.

If she wanted to, Emory is certain that she could sweep all the terrorists into a vortex that might even suck their breath away. That plan isn’t as certain as Tony’s ironmonger suit, though, so she maintains her tenuous grip on her powers, sending two more desperate skips of energy behind her into the back of the cave.

She hears her cot hop and realizes that she needs to adjust her percentages. Ten percent of two layers of power on her skin is small. Ten percent of ten layers of power on her skin is not.

“I need him,” Tony says. It’s not placating. It shouldn’t work. But Tony Stark has a worldwide reputation, not just for genius, but for arrogance and conceit. Tony shrugs and mutters, “Good assistant.”

It seems like this just enough of a nod to his own lack of agency. The terrorist drops the glowing coal onto the anvil two inches from where Yinsen’s head is being pressed to the metal.

“Very well. You have until tomorrow to assemble my missle.” With the tongs held aloft, he rests a heavy hand on Tony’s shoulder, and steps around him.

“If you fail…” the terrorist dangles, looking at Tony before turning to face Emory. The man smiles, a creepy, threatening gesture, then nods to her as if to say ‘hold still.’

“I have every confiden--” Tony starts to say, but as if to interrupt him, the terrorist reaches out and snags her shirt collar with the tongs.

The sizzle of singed fabric is very loud.

Tony groans, a low, agonized sound that hurts her to hear. Even though all eyes are on her and Tony, even though the terrorist himself is standing within a foot and a half of her, Emory sends another burst of energy to Tony, as small as she can slice off. She can see it ruffle his hair as it glides up; he must be sweating so much the shirt is clinging to his back, now.

“Please,” Tony says quietly. Gone is the arrogance that had colored his voice earlier when intervening to save Yinsen.

“We gave her to you, and you haven’t even fucked her,” the terrorist says conversationally, turning his head to look at Tony. His hand does not stay steady without his gaze on the tongs, and Emory can hear her own heartbeat as fear being burned, being branded races through her veins. Her powers can’t really help, even if they would cool the metal, as there would be no explanation for them except to give this ruthless, terrifying man another way to exploit them.

“Blame your spokesman,” Tony says, with too much insolence in his voice. The terrorist turns his wrist without looking at her, and more of the shirt fabric comes into contact with the hot tongs. There’s a hissing sound. Tony stops talking, his whole body going rigid.

“Go on.”

“He-- He suggested she might become pregnant, give you another hostage,” Tony says.

Emory’s hair starts to lift at the back of her head thanks to the sheer power she’s clinging to with no possible outlet. If she were standing by herself, she could send it in chunks swirling around herself, but they’d collide with her captor and risk him discovering her abilities. Desperately, Emory sends some of it behind her, and seconds later the fire starts to crackle and spit.

Tony’s still talking, his voice growing in strength, but not arrogance. “I didn’t inherit my father’s hard-earned money to father a child with a complete stranger, only for the kid to end up your pawn.”

“So close to being a genius,” the terrorist says, opening the tongs. He closes them with a click, then trails them down her shirt, across her breasts. The metal is still warm but nowhere near the level it had been just minutes before. Her collar is warmer, now that it’s in contact with her skin. “You’ve lost your chance. Stay away from her until you deliver my missile tomorrow.”

The man lifts his hand from Tony’s shoulder and reaches into his clothing to pull out a pair of handcuffs. Before Emory can do anything, he’s clasped one to her left arm, and is dragging her back to her cot. The amused nobleman demeanor he’d spoken to them with is gone, replaced with cold indifference as he shoves her down onto her side and fastens the handcuff to the right front leg of the cot.

“Twenty-four hours,” he reiterates, before leading his retinue of armed henchmen out of the double metal doors, closing them with a clang.

Next chapter, Emory's forced to cheer from the 'sidelines' of her cot as Tony and Yinsen get the last parts of the suit finished.

#tony stark x oc #tony stark fanfiction #tony stark x original character #tony stark imagine #iron man fanfiction #iron man #iron man x oc #iron man x original character #mcu #mcu fanfiction #mcu fanfic #marvel #marvel fanfic #tony stark #series: autonomy #ocfairygodmother #fyeahsuperverseocs

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authoramalgam · 1 year ago

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I finally wrote the part two to something I wrote like... a few months ago or something, And I wanna post some of my bullshit. *vibrates like a jar full of angry hornets*

This was bullshit. All of it was bullshit. Ant knew it and Michael knew it. Scenery Saloon and Steakhouse. Emilia had set the entire place up as a trap for Dan. He would be arriving there tomorrow for this job that Emilia, using an illusion disc to appear as Ant, had offered him.

Even now the defunct circus animatronic, not bothering to use its human disguise, wandered through the building, making sure her trap was set.

And they couldn’t do anything about it. Ant knew why. If they interfered too early, and got Emilia's attention, their plan to permanently destroy their remnant and end Ronaldo’s Torment would be ruined. That didn’t stop Ant from hating this vehemently. To know his best friend would be going through this hell Again. Just as he was actually starting to get better again. “And you’re sure that that jail cell thing will hold up?” Ant asked dubiously. It felt too easy.

Michael frowned. Or at least he probably did. Him being some sort of an amorphous grey entity sometimes made it hard to read him. Occasionally he was able to take a different form. A yellow bunny looking thing, but he really despised the way it resembled Spring Bonnie, so he didn’t use it often.

Ant had asked once why he was grey like that. Ronaldo was to blame, of course. Apparently Michael was the first he’d tried to bring back. It hadn’t worked properly, leaving his soul permanently changed, and when Michael started going against Ronaldo, he stopped trying to bring him back. Father of the century right there.

“It’ll work for a while.” Michael finally clarified.”If Emilia doesn’t try and sabotage it right off the bat. It should last until I figure out how to get that door in place.”

Ant’s ear twitched in irritation. “...Fine I guess.”

“Oh, c’mon, don’t be like that. Dan’s gonna be fine.” Michael tried to reassure him. “He’s gotten this far-” “Yeah and?! Everyone’s undefeated till they’re not Michael!” Ant snapped. “What if things go wrong? I can’t- I won’t let Dan end up like this.” Some wandering soul, another victim of Torment.

“Ant it’s-” Michael was cut off by what felt like a shock wave. Every single object in the room, from the chairs, the tables, the speakers onstage, and even the bottles in Bonnie’s bar all jolted. Half the glasses fell to the ground and shattered.

Emilia stopped in her tracks, green eyes glowing as she scanned the room.

In normal circumstances, Ant would wonder if that had been some weird earthquake, or if something had exploded, but this wasn’t normal. Ant was a ghost, if that had been an earthquake, he shouldn’t have felt it. And glancing at Michael, it was obvious he’d felt it too.

“What was that?” Ant asked, hoping the grey entity would be able to give some kind of answer, but he didn’t.

“I have no idea.” He sounded nervous. Nervous was never good.

Instinctively, Ant’s mind went to one place. “You don’t think Ronaldo-” Michael cut him off. “No. He isn’t even in town.” Yet. Supposedly he was headed towards the steakhouse. But if Ronaldo wasn’t behind the shock wave, what was? “I…” Michael was quiet, almost hesitant. “I think we need to check the salvage shed. Just in case.”

The salvage shed. It had apparently been near impossible to even build without being found by Emilia. Supposedly if they were ever able to trick her inside they may be able to drain away the remnant inside Circus Baby, putting an end to her, but that was a big if.

As Ant was about to leave and follow Michael outside, he glanced over his shoulder. Emilia had gone back to her wandering. A janitor was already sweeping up the broken glass. The animatronics were all stationary.

There wasn’t supposed to be a janitor here.

“Hey- Wait- Michael wait, there’s-” Ant chased after Michael, passing through walls until he reached the back of the building. “Oh my god how are you this fast?!” He hissed as he passed through the chain link fence and ducked between trees on his way to the salvage shed. “Hey!” He finally managed to grab Michael by the shoulder, yanking him back a bit. That was one of the neat things about being a shadow animatronic thing, he was way stronger than he had been before. Not strong enough to fully fight off Ronaldo’s stupid Nightmare thing, but at least strong enough to handle most other ghosts. “There’s a guy.” “A guy?” Michael deadpanned as he pulled out of Ants grip. “What do you mean there’s a guy?” He glanced around, checking the woods for movement.

“No. Not here.” Ant explained. “In the saloon. There was a janitor, and I know there’s no way anyone would be in the building right now.” Especially if Emilia was walking around without her illusion disk active, she’d kill anyone who saw her like that. “He was over sweeping up the mess at the soda bar but,” Ant paused. “He showed up right after that… whatever the heck earthquake thing. There has to be some connection.”

Burying his face in his hands, Michael groaned. “Great.” Him being frustrated was pretty understandable. If this was another ghost suddenly popping up, it probably was, then they’d probably have to be the ones to deal with it. Before it decided to start trying to possess animatronics or actively try and interact with Dan. “Let’s just check this,” He waved a hand at the salvage shed. “Then we’ll go find out what this janitor guy is doing.”

Rolling his eyes a bit, Ant went along with Michael. Poking his head through the wall he was able to see the cramped room was unchanged. “Yeah. Everything looks-” “Shh!” Michael shushed him, pointing at the table in the center of the room. How Ant had missed it, who knows, but there was something there.

At first, he thought it was a dead body. A human figure slumped over, face in their arms. Almost like they’d fallen asleep or something. But they weren’t breathing and their skin was a sickly greyish colour. Then, its hand twitched. Blackened claws scraped against the wooden tabletop as the ghost raised its head slightly. A single bloodshot eye could be seen peeking out of the long tangled mess of greasy purple hair.

The room was dead silent. That is until the ghost stood up, its joints all popping and twisting as its body distorted. It towered over them, looking at the pair with an elongated smile seemingly frozen on its face. Not wanting to stare into its maddened eyes, Ant’s gaze flickered down towards the ghost's chest. It looked like it had been torn open. A jagged, ripped open wound that dripped with blood. There were what looked like glowing magenta wires wrapped around its broken ribs, pulling them even further apart. The wires wrapped around the entirety of the ghost’s torso and even parts of its arms and neck, digging into the skin. That had to be painful.

Letting out a quiet laugh, the ghost leaned in towards Ant’s face, barely a few inches from him. “My eyes are up here, rabbit.” A sickeningly familiar voice rasped.

A deep panic filled Ant. Like when you’re a little kid, terrified of the monster in the closet. Except the monster was real and right in front of him. “Ronaldo?!” He should be miles away, and his soul was trapped in the Spring Bonnie suit. So who, or what, was this thing?

The entity's eyes widened, its smile stretching just a bit as it tilted its head. “Oh.” It glitched. “Ant. It’s you.”

Ant stared almost helplessly into the eyes of the entity he could only liken to the devil itself. In turn, Ronaldo, or whatever this thing was that sounded like him lifted a clawed hand as if to grab him.

Then, there was a blur of grey from Ant’s left as Michael lashed out, his fist connecting with Ronaldo’s jaw with a satisfying crack. “Get away from him!”

The entity reeled back, clutching at its face. The eerie smile it wore never faded but it looked strained, and the look of surprise and anger on its face belied its true feelings. “Rude.” It spoke like it was scolding a disobedient child. “Didn’t your parents ever teach you that hitting people is against the rules?”

Michael bristled with rage at Ronaldo’s mockery. His spectral form flickered and burned like an out of control fire. “Oh, yeah, sure Dad.” He spat the word like venom. “Hitting is wrong, but murder, that’s just fine by your rules, isn’t it?”

Ant grabbed Michael’s shoulder, just in case he tried anything stupid. Whatever this thing was, it was pretty safe to assume it was some sort of threat. Even now, the twisted figure glared at Michael, an unreadable expression on its face.

“Who are you?” Ant challenged it first, then rethought his question. “What are you?” It sounded like Ronaldo, and seemed to act pretty similar, but it looked nothing like him.

The entity flickered for a moment, glancing at Ant, then back at Michael. “...Hah…Hahahaha!” It burst out in deranged sounding laughter, its form flickering and distorting before it settled back into a more human-like form. The wires and jagged chest wound were gone, and its body was no longer twisted. He could almost be mistaken for a person. “Fun…” It drawled, completely ignoring what Ant had asked him.

“What. Are. You?” Michael repeated, louder, still infuriated.

Ant already had his own theory. This was possibly one of Ronaldo’s creations. Some sick experiment with Torment. Like the Nightmare. That didn’t explain why it sounded like him though.

“What?” It finally responded to the questioning. “What am I? What are you?” It countered, taking a step towards Michael. “I don’t recognise your face.”

Ant took a step back away from the approaching entity, pulling Michael with him. “I could say the same to you.” Michael just kept getting more irritated. “You’re avoiding the question.” He growled, crossing his arms defensively.

“Hahah…” The entity at least stopped walking towards them, but it still examined them closely. “Interesting. This is interesting.” It tilted its head as it again went back to staring at Ant. He could almost swear he saw a look of pity on its face. “Shadow Bonnie… Hmm.” Then, without another word, it turned on its heel and walked out of the salvage shed, passing through the door, heading towards the steakhouse.

Ant and Michael stood there for a moment, before their minds kicked back in and they tore after the rogue spirit. “What is that thing?!” Ant asked, hoping Michael may have some kind of answer. Of course he didn’t.

“I don’t know.” The grey figure responded as he wove back through the dense trees. “Maybe someone's ghost, but…” He momentarily flickered, a visual indicator of his doubt. “My dad has to have done something to him. I don’t know what, but we need to stop him.” Before he got inside, before he did something drastic.

Yet as they passed through the back wall and into the steakhouse, they found no trace of the purple entity. Maybe it had faded, maybe it was simply hiding, maybe it was somewhere else in the building.

“Wh- Where did he go?!” Ant leaned into adjacent rooms, just to check, but found no traces of the thing nearby. “God- AAAGHH-” He yelled into his hands, doing his best to stay composed. “G r e a t .” That was just another problem to add onto the stack. Ronaldo, Emilia, weird Not Ronaldo, and whatever that tremor had been earlier. Though, Ant was fairly confident in his assumption that that ghost had something to do with it. “Now what?”

Michael seemed just as infuriated as Ant, and he flickered every couple seconds. “I don’t know.” He said after a long pause. “Whatever or whoever that was, it's hiding from us. We’ll just have to keep an eye out for it while we’re dealing with Emilia.” That was, in theory, all they could do. Trying to find a ghost that didn’t want to be found was a losing game, but it still was frustrating. Knowing something, especially something connected to Ronaldo, was roaming around freely, was stressful. There was no telling what it wanted, or what it was planning to do. It seemed safe to assume it wasn’t friendly though.

Ant groaned again, feeling almost defeated. “...Fine. Whatever.” This wasn’t ideal, but they could deal with it. Probably. Dan had certainly made it out of far worse situations. Like back at the foundry. One extra renegade spirit was not the breaking point. “Wait. That janitor.” The memory suddenly came flooding back to Ant. With all the panic about Ronaldo earlier, he’d completely forgotten.

“Oh. That.” Michael sighed, sounding worn. “We should go see what that was about, huh?”

“Yeah, we should.” Hopefully it wasn’t anything too terrible. Sometimes, just because of the supernatural influence over Fazbear entertainment as a whole, ghosts would just wander into establishments on their own. Like some kind of draw. Most were content to wander, many left once they’d satisfied their curiosity. The biggest concern was when they wouldn’t leave. Some, for whatever reason, would possess the animatronics. Even then, sometimes it turned out well. They would hang out for a few days, just wandering around causing minor problems. The violent ones though, they were an issue. Usually outside spirits weren’t too hostile, since their deaths weren’t caused by Fazbear entertainment, but occasionally, there were ones that just seemed to like raising hell.

Michael usually had to deal with these types of things alone, considering he’d been the only ghost strong enough to do anything, so there was at least one plus.

They made their way back towards Bonnie’s bar. Sure enough, even as they entered the showroom, Ant spotted the guy. He was just standing by the stage, looking up at Chica.

“Hey. Hey!” Michael cautiously drew closer, yelling a bit to try and get the ghosts attention. Ant followed behind him, but kept back a bit. He knew he wasn’t exactly a very friendly looking entity.

The janitor jumped a bit, then turned and looked over his shoulder. Now that Ant was closer, he could see just how bad a condition the guy was really in. His once blue jumpsuit was torn, dirty, and splattered with blood. There was what looked like a blanket wrapped around his arm and shoulder as a makeshift sling. Most noticeably, there was a screwdriver sticking out of his neck, and as he fully turned, Ant could see stab wounds in both his throat and just above his stomach.

“Oh… This… This isn’t good.” He muttered as he looked between Ant and Michael. He looked nervous.

Michael was the one to start talking. “Hey, we’re not here to hurt you. We just want to know what you’re doing here.” He raised his hands a bit in a placating gesture.

The janitor was still giving them doubtful looks, but seemed to calm down a bit. “Uhm… I…” He seemed hesitant about talking. “Who are you?” He was definitely avoiding answering questions. Not a great sign, but this guy seemed more confused or scared than outright hostile.

Ant took this as an excuse to interject, hoping that maybe it would make him seem less intimidating. “Well, I’m Ant, and this is Michael. We-” The janitors eyes grew wide as Ant spoke, and he clutched at his wrapped up arm. “Oh no. No no no no no-!” He turned, and Michael tried to grab him, but he’d already vanished within a second. “...That was weird.” Michael muttered, staring at the spot the spirit had just been a moment before. “Did you know that guy?”

Ant shrugged. “I don’t think so?” He couldn’t remember it off the top of his head. “Maybe he was freaking out about you?”

“I don’t know, but this is getting weirder and weirder.” He seemed tense. “Something is going on here. I don’t know if my dad or Emilia are behind it or what, but we need to be careful.”

#rambling #author living up to their name #mnaf #fnaf #writing #where does part one stop and part two begin?#nobody knowssss #i smashed canon mnaf together with my au and got this #everyone is having an awful time #except ronaldo

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