#fought beside three guys he considers to be much stronger

[teatitty]

Yato Sakamoto and Kamui interactions are just a younger Kamui screaming at Sakamoto to take him seriously in a fight and Sakamoto going "well I'm a pacifist and have no interest in this sort of thing...also you're, like, 14 lmao??? I hope you get better soon"

[woodelf68]

Every Way Love's A Little Stronger

Very belated fill for last year's @sifkiweek prompt "Volstagg", in tribute to Ray Stevenson's passing. You will continue to live on in our hearts and in our fics. Part two of my Fair Play 'verse. (Non-magic AU in which Thor, Loki, and Sif are college-aged.) 9360 words, AO3 link

Summary: Physically, Sif had come out of the attack with nothing more than a few bruises. Emotionally, it takes the support of her friends and the comfort of Loki's arms around her before she starts to feel like herself again. Rated T.

Sif sat on the curb outside of the gym, the twilight deepening around her, but she made no move towards her nearby motorcycle, too shaken to feel like she should be riding it right now.

"Are you going to be all right?" Karl Skurge, the gym's owner, sat down beside her now that the police had gone.

"Yeah. I mean, nothing happened, right? I fought him off."

"You did, and you should be proud of yourself for that. But you were attacked. I heard what you told the cops, what he said, what he did. The fact that it didn't go very far before you were able to stop it doesn't change the fact that something did happen." Skurge's voice was gentle.

"Yeah, all right." Sif hugged her knees, resting her chin atop them. She'd known the guy, as far as recognising him from around campus. College had started back up two weeks ago, and she'd seen him harassing Jane Foster a few days ago, obviously hitting on her and refusing to take "no" for an answer. Sif hoped she would have done so anyway, but they'd spent enough time together hanging out this past summer -- she and Loki and Thor and Jane (and sometimes Darcy, when Fandral was otherwise occupied) -- that Sif now considered Jane a friend, and she'd gone over and suggested the guy -- Haldor, he was on the football team with Thor -- leave Jane alone, refusing to be intimidated or back down when Haldor had suggested right back that she mind her own business. She'd called him out on being a creep, he'd shoved her, she'd shoved back, and things had only been stopped from escalating further by the timely arrival of Thor and Loki themselves, Thor loudly announcing his presence by asking if she needed any help, Loki endearing himself to her by saying it looked like she had everything under control but he would of course be happy to step in as well if needed for support. Faced with three against one -- or maybe four, Sif didn't know how much Jane could have brought to a fight, but she had taken that self defense course last year, and if nothing else she might have had some pepper spray on her -- Haldor had left with some cutting remark in an attempt to save face, but being forced to retreat had obviously rankled, and he'd been waiting in the shadows for her when she'd left the gym, his breath smelling of cheap beer. Irritation had quickly become anger when he had grabbed her roughly, followed by shock and a brief moment of panic as his groping hands and crude words made it clear what he intended for her. Then years of martial arts classes had kicked in and by the time the gym door had swung open again and Hogun had emerged, she'd had Haldor on the ground and Hogun had helped to make sure he'd stayed there while they'd waited for the cops to arrive, because Sif had found herself saying yes, call them, when Hogun had asked.

Thinking about it, Sif realised something. "It's because he was waiting for me, that's what's bothering me so much. If he'd just been another guy at a party who'd had one beer too many and was getting handsy, I've dealt with that, it wasn't a big deal. But this...it sounded like he knew I'd be here; has he been stalking me? Does he know my schedule, or where I live?" The thought of having to be afraid someone might be lurking in the shadows around her own home was not one she liked.

Skurge squeezed her shoulder briefly. Hogun had left after giving his statement to the police, Sif having assured him that she was fine. "I'm sure you can get a restraining order taken out on him. Do you want to come back inside for a little while? Or are you going to head home?"

"Home, but I'm not sure my head is in the right space for riding right now. And -- the house is going to be empty. Mom's at a neighbour's, playing cards. And I don't want to bother her by calling her, and asking her to come pick me up or anything; she'll know something's wrong and I don't want to talk about it again, at least not this soon." She took a deep breath. She hated how she felt, but talking to the cops had been discomforting.

"How far away do you live? I can give you a lift if you want, and you can come collect your bike tomorrow."

"No, you have a business to run, let me just think a moment." Sif put her head back down into her hands, her ponytail rather frustratingly preventing her from running her hands through it. After a moment she straightened back up as an idea struck her. "Volstagg. If he can come, he can just put my bike in the back of his van; it's big enough." She took out her phone, and hit Volstagg's number. He picked it up on the third ring.

"Hey, Sif, what's up?"

"Hi, I'm at the gym right now and I could use a ride home. If you're not in the middle of anything important, do you think you could come get me?"

"What is it? Engine trouble? Flat tire?"

"No, actually the bike's fine; it's complicated and I'd rather not get into it on the phone. But if you're busy, it's fine, I can -- "

"No, no, it's all right -- hang on, let me double check with Hildegund -- "

Sif waited, hearing Volstagg call out to his wife if it was okay if he went and picked her up.

"Hildegund says it's fine, she can handle the kids until I get back; we were just getting the youngest ones ready for bed. I'll be there in ten minutes tops."

"Thanks," said Sif gratefully. "And bring the van, I do have my bike with me and need to get it home too."

"No problem, I'll see you soon."

He hung up and Sif put her phone away, feeling better already. There was something reassuringly competent about Volstagg; she supposed it came with being a father -- and not just a father, but a father of four kids who made wrangling them all look effortless, taking spills and falls and toddler meltdowns and everything else that came along with parenting in his stride.

"He'll be here shortly," Sif told Skurge.

"That's good." He stretched out his legs comfortably, and leaned back on his hands.

"You don't have to wait with me, I'll be fine, really."

"Eh, the fresh air feels good. I've got time for a break."

Sif couldn't help smiling; with his shaved head and height, Mr. Skurge could look intimidating at first to those who didn't know him -- and he could be as tough as needed when he was in trainer mode if he didn't think you were giving it your all -- but she'd long since learned he had a gentle, supportive side as well. She wouldn't say the word "softie" to his face, but it didn't stop her from thinking it now. And it wasn't like she could call him out about the fresh air, either; while the September afternoons still held the warmth of summer, with the sun setting earlier and earlier each day, the evening air bore the fresh coolness of the oncoming autumn. She tilted her head back to watch the setting sun turn the sky to pink and orange, and it wasn't long before Volstagg's family van pulled into the lot and he cut the engine next to where her bike was parked and hopped out.

Sif stood up, dusting off the back of her jeans and shouldering her duffel bag. "Thanks for waiting with me," she told Mr. Skurge as he stood up as well. "I did appreciate it."

"You're welcome. I guess I'd better get back to work now; you take care of yourself."

"I will," Sif promised. He nodded and left her to head back into the gym.

"Hullo, lass," Volstagg said, sweeping his eyes over her appraisingly after a quick glance at her bike. "You can't simply be out of gas because you'd have told me to bring a can, so do you want to tell me what's up that you can't ride your bike home?"

"Can we put my bike in the van first?" Sif hedged, glad he could not see the bruises that she could feel under her clothing. "I'll tell you once we're inside."

He looked at her a moment longer, enough for Sif to want to squirm under his gaze, but then he nodded and opened the back of the van, taking out the jack that would elevate the bike to the level of the van bed so they could roll it right in. Sif brought her bike over and a couple of minutes later she was guiding it into place on the tarp that Volstagg had already laid down and he was climbing up to help her secure it in place with a bunch of bungee cords he'd brought. Once they'd closed up the back of the van and were settled in the front seats, however, Sif had no more reason to delay. Volstagg looked at her and she took a deep breath.

"I got into a fight. I didn't start it but I ended it. I'm not hurt beyond a few bruises, but...it left me shaken up a bit; I didn't feel like I was in the right headspace for riding safely."

Volstagg's look softened, and he nodded. "I'm glad you called, then. What was the fight about? And what happened to the other guy? If it was a guy...?"

"Yeah, it was, name of Haldor, we'd met, in a manner of speaking, on campus when I told him to get lost when I saw him bothering Jane Foster and refusing to scram when she told him she wasn't interested. And then Thor and Loki showed up and let him know it'd be four against one if he tried to start anything, so he had to back off and retreat. I guess he thought he could reassert his dominance by catching me alone, but that didn't work out as well as he'd planned." Sif's voice took on a note of scornful satisfaction. "He should be at the police station right now, getting booked for assault."

Volstagg was visibly taken aback. "It was that serious? Someone called the cops? Are you sure you're all right?"

"Just some bruises, like I told you." They'd been fresh enough that they hadn't looked too bad yet, but she'd had to show them to the cops to prove there were grounds for an assault and battery charge, had had them photographed. And of course Hogun had been there to back her up, and had testified on her behalf. "Hogun came out of the gym and saw what was happening, and when I had Haldor pinned, he asked if I wanted him to call the cops. I was going to say no, but then I thought about Jane, and what might have happened if this guy had gotten her alone somewhere where no one would see."

She swallowed; this was the hard part. "From the way Haldor grabbed at me, and the things he said -- it didn't go far enough to arrest him for anything other than assault and battery, but I'm pretty sure if I hadn't known how to defend myself, that it would have turned into a sexual assault. And I thought, if I let him walk away from this, he'll think he can keep on harassing women without consequence. So I figured if I could put any kind of a black mark on his criminal record, then it was my duty to do so." She took another deep breath as she finished up.

"Oh, Sif." Volstagg's voice was full of anguish, and he reached out for her hand, unable to pull her into the hug that he wanted to. "I'm so sorry. Is there anything I can do?"

"You're already doing it, you're here, you came to get me." She was finally able to look away from the dashboard and meet his eyes. "I just want to go home, except this is Mom's night out playing cards with the neighbours, which means the house is empty, and I don't really want to be by myself in an empty house right now. But I also don't want to have to ask her to come home, because that means I would have to tell her why, and I can't go over it again so soon. I'll tell her tomorrow; I'll have to because of the police involvement, but I just want to forget about it for the rest of the night. I just want to sit down and be quiet and watch a movie or something."

"You know you're always welcome at our place, but I'm afraid I can't promise that quiet. Things are pretty chaotic in the evening getting four kids washed up and ready for bed."

"Yeah, no." Sif thought for a moment, glancing at her watch. She just needed to kill a couple of hours, her mom would be home by then and Sif would have had time to regain her composure and maybe they'd watch something on TV together and then she could take a bath and then head to bed early. But in the meantime...she thought of Thor and Loki's house, where she'd spent so much time over the summer, swimming and playing frisbee outside and darts and board games inside and watching TV or doing puzzles in the den, their parents warm and welcoming from the start. Their house had very much come to feel like a second home to her, and she knew that if she told Loki that she just wanted to watch a movie quietly together with him, he'd be fine with that.

She pulled her hand free from Volstagg's and took out her phone. "I think I'd like to go over to Loki's; I'm going to call and see if he's home."

Loki answered promptly and informed her that not only would he be delighted if she came over, but that Thor had taken Jane out on a date, so they could have the den to themselves to watch whatever she wanted. Also, that his mom had made a peach cobbler and it was a good thing she was coming over tonight because between his father and Thor, the rest of it would probably be gone by tomorrow. Sif smiled at this mental image, and promised she'd be over soon. One of the reasons Frigga was so fond of baking, she thought, was that the menfolk in her family were all very appreciative of her efforts and made sure to tell her that.

"That's good," Volstagg nodded when she told him she was welcome to come over. "Do you want to stop at your place first, drop off your bike and gym things?

"Yeah, I think so. I can walk home from there."

"It'll be dark by then."

"There's streetlights, and house lights, and I can use my phone's flashlight if needed. I do go out after dark, you know."

"Just pointing it out," said Volstagg mildly, and Sif knew that it was because of what had happened, and -- yeah, fair, if Loki offered, she wouldn't object to him walking her home. At her house, they got her motorcycle out of the van and Sif put it in the garage, then ran inside to drop off her duffel bag and leave a note where her mom would see it when she came home saying that she was at Loki's. After that it was just a short ride to Loki's house, located on the next street over in her subdivision, where the porch light was on and Loki was watching for her out the living room window and throwing open the front door for her as soon as he saw her get out of Volstagg's van. Volstagg got out too, though, and came around and enveloped her in a bear hug before she could escape him.

"If that Haldor ever comes near you again," he said in a low voice, "Just let me know and I will rip his balls off for you."

Sif choked on a laugh and hugged him back tightly. "I'll remember that."

Volstagg dropped a kiss on the top of her head and stepped back, giving her a wink. "Can't have anyone threatening my very best babysitter, now can I?"

"I'll sic you on him if he becomes a problem," promised Sif. "But perhaps just a threat would do? I doubt Hildegund would be pleased if you ended up in jail."

"Hm, true. Very well, I can do threats." Volstagg looked like he was enjoying the thought of being able to terrify the shit out of anyone who dared lay their hands on her. "Now go on, your boyfriend's waiting."

Sif grinned, the fact that she had a boyfriend who was gorgeous and intelligent and funny and incredibly sweet still novel enough that she couldn't believe how lucky she was.

"Look after her, lad," Volstagg called to Loki as Sif walked up the front path to join him.

"Always!" Loki called back. "Thanks for bringing her over."

Volstagg raised a hand in acknowledgment as he got into his van, backing out of the driveway as Sif reached Loki and turned to watch him leave.

"Come on in," Loki said, holding the door open for her.

Sif followed him into the kitchen and took her jacket off, draping it over a chair. "So, you mentioned a peach cobbler?"

Loki grinned and got it out of the refrigerator, taking off the plastic wrap that covered it and getting out a plate and utensils and a spatula, cutting off a generous slice and lifting it onto the plate to warm up in the microwave. "Help yourself to whatever's in the fridge to drink," he said.

Sif snagged the bottle of black cherry pop that always seemed to be on hand since Frigga had discovered it was her favourite flavour and sat down at the kitchen table as Frigga herself came into the room and smiled at her.

"Hello, dear, I heard you come in and thought I'd say hello. Odin and I will be in the living room if you need anything. Do you know what movie you'll be watching?"

"Haven't decided yet," said Sif. "Something light." She took her first bite of the warm cobbler. "Mm, good."

"I'm glad you like it; let me know if you'd like the recipe. You can use either fresh or canned peaches."

"Wait till Mom starts making all her apple recipes," said Loki cheerfully. "You can come over one day and help peel."

"I'd like that," Sif said honestly. She had already been drawn into a couple of cookie and pie-making days over the summer and it had been a lot of fun; having multiple pairs of hands to pitch in had made everything go a lot faster and less like work. And she had always gotten sent home with a share of the results.

"I'll teach you how to make all of Loki's favourites," said Frigga, her eyes twinkling. "You know what they say, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach."

"Mom!" Loki protested. "Sif doesn't have to cook for me for me to -- " He caught himself, and changed what he was going to say. "-- like her." And then felt like a specimen under a microscope as two pairs of interested eyes fixed on him. He flushed.

"Of course not," Frigga soothed. "But being able to make delicious food is a skill everyone should have; why do you think I brought you boys up to know your way around a kitchen?"

"Because we were always hanging around hoping for handouts anyway?" asked Loki mischievously.

"That's true; you were," their mother said fondly. "And if you were going to be underfoot, I thought you might as well learn to be useful."

Sif grinned; imagining a small Loki and Thor standing on stools measuring out ingredients and mixing cookie dough.

"All right, I'll leave you two to your movie. Enjoy yourselves." Frigga thought of adding "but not too much", but decided not to tease them any further. She certainly didn't want to discourage wherever their relationship was headed; if she was right about what she thought Loki had been about to say, she couldn't have been more pleased. Since Sif had come into their lives, Loki had simply been radiating happiness, and smiling a lot more than he had in recent years. Confident that she could trust her son to behave appropriately when alone with Sif, she went to rejoin her husband in the living room.

"So, something light, you said." Loki leaned back against the counter. "What do you want to watch? A comedy? Action adventure? Rom com?"

"Hmm," mused Sif, letting him know she was thinking. She was already feeling better, but she wanted something fun, something that didn't require too much thinking or paying attention to the plot. She mentally considered and discarded several possibilities, then hit on one that felt just right. "George of the Jungle." She pointed her fork at him. "I haven't seen that since I was a kid."

"George George George, George of the Jungle," Loki chanted, "Watch out for that tree!" He grinned. "Good choice. I'm pretty sure we kept that DVD. I remember Mom liking it as much as Thor and I did."

Sif smirked, unsurprised. "Did you and Thor used to play at being George, or any kind of Tarzan character?"

"Of course, although Thor was far more over-the-top about it, lots of chest-beating and yelling and all that. But the park near where we used to live in the city had a really cool play structure that included ropes for climbing or swinging on, so yeah, we were living our best monkey lives there for a while. And of course we had our drums, if it was round and made a good thumping noise we turned it into a drum. Coffee cans, oatmeal canisters, the tupperware bowls from the kitchen, you name it. We used to drive Dad crazy; he'd come home from work wanting peace and quiet and we'd be drumming away like there was no tomorrow. Or we'd trade off, one of us drumming and one of us dancing; I thought we were quite good actually," said Loki loftily. "Mother said we were."

"I'm sure you were," said Sif, grinning as she finished off her slice of cobbler and rose to put the plate in the sink. She made a mental note to ask Frigga if there was any video footage of one of the boys leaping about while his brother played a drum -- and she was sure there must be -- because she would pay good money to see that. "Sounds like you had some pretty good times growing up."

"Yeah, we did. Ready to go watch?" He cocked his head at her.

"Lead on." She took a last swig of pop before putting the cap back on and taking the bottle with her as she followed him out of the kitchen and into the cosy pine-paneled den. She glanced over at the table where there usually was a jigsaw puzzle in progress and managed to put in two pieces by the time that Loki had found the DVD and popped it into the player. She joined him on the worn couch in front of the TV, wasting no time in snuggling up against his side. Loki promptly wrapped an arm around her and pressed play.

It was good, just what she needed, and she got caught up in the movie and the feel of Loki beside her, forgetting what had happened earlier. When the credits were rolling, Loki picked the DVD case up and scanned the information on it.

"What are you looking for?" she asked, lazily, her boots pulled off and her feet drawn up on the sofa.

"The year this was made, compared to my mom's age. Thor wasn't even born yet, and my mom..." he thought. "I don't think she and Dad were even married yet. Engaged, maybe? Dating, at least."

"Are you realising your mother probably saw this when it first came out and might have enjoyed it for the -- ah -- charms of its leading man years before she had any little boys to watch it with?" teased Sif, amused.

"I am," replied Loki, looking mildly scandalised in the way of small children realising their teachers had lives outside of the classroom. He picked up his phone and called his mother, not wishing to yell in Sif's ear or leave their shared couch just yet.

"Hello, sweetheart, did you finish your movie?"

"We did, and I was just wondering, is the reason you never minded watching George of the Jungle with me and Thor because you had a crush on Brendan Fraser?"

Frigga's startled laugh was loud enough that Sif could hear her.

"Not Brendan, no, but George? Yes. That movie was very much designed for the female gaze. That scene with the horse -- "

"Yes, yes," said Loki testily, "Sif was grinning like an idiot during that part as well. But weren't you dating Father at the time the movie was released? Or engaged? Did you two go see it together?"

"We did. I think it was probably more my choice than his, but in that case I would have let him choose the next movie that we went out to see."

"How does that work?" exclaimed Loki, the words out of his mouth before he realised he was going to say them. "Not the taking turns choosing a movie, but being attracted to someone else when you're dating, or engaged, or married?"

"You're allowed to look, if you're in a relationship that's based on trust. There are so many attractive people in the world, as long as it stops at looking, and you make sure your partner knows that they're the only one you want in your bed at night, then it's fine."

"Mm." Loki sounded uncertain. He heard his father say something in the background.

"Your father says that you, however, should not take anyone to your bed because you're too young and he's not ready to be a grandfather."

Loki snorted. "Duly noted, but condoms exist, you know." And then his eyes widened and he clamped his mouth shut, mortified that he had just said that to his mother, while sitting next to Sif. He liked the place their relationship was in, and didn't want her to feel that he wanted more yet, or that he was expecting it. He glanced sideways at her, and was relieved to see that she looked like she was trying to not laugh.

"I do, and I'm glad you do too; shall I relay that remark to your father?"

"No, that's not necessary," said Loki hastily. "Just reassure him that I have every intention of enjoying a child-free college experience. And now I am going to hang up before I embarrass myself further in front of my date. Talk to you later." He hung up the phone.

"Just so you know," said Sif, close enough to have heard Frigga's words, "There is no one that I'd rather be with than you right now."

"Same," said Loki, and his gaze dropped to her lips as his head tilted in invitation.

Sif closed the distance between them, tangling one hand in his hair and kissing him without hesitation, feeling his one hand settle at the small of her back, the other cradling the back of her neck. Loki was an amazing kisser; apparently playing the flute taught you how to use your mouth and lips really well. Time melted away as Loki drove every thought from her head, until, as they shifted to find a more comfortable position, his grip shifted to her lower arm in a bid to urge her onto his lap, and Sif flinched back, unable to completely stifle a cry of pain.

Loki immediately let her go. "What is it? Did I hurt you?"

"Not you. Sorry. I just got some bruises today at the gym, and you pressed down on one." Sif rubbed her right arm lightly.

"Are you all right? Can I see? So I know where they are?"

Sif hesitated, then unbuttoned the cuff of her flannel shirt and rolled it up. They'd darkened in the last couple of hours, and stood out unmistakably against her tanned skin, five evenly spaced circles.

Loki very gently took her hand in his and turned her forearm so he could see them all. Fingerprints, he thought. She'd been at the gym, not her martial arts studio. There was no reason someone should have grabbed her hard enough to leave bruises on her arm. Something fierce and protective rose up inside him. "What happened?"

Sif rolled her sleeve back down, not wanting to go over it again but remembering Frigga's words about a good relationship being built on trust. "Remember that guy that was hassling Jane the other day at college?"

"Haldor. Yes."

"He was waiting for me when I left the gym this evening. He started a fight, I ended it."

"I don't suppose I can look forward to seeing him with a spectacular black eye Monday, can I?" Loki asked hopefully. Not that Haldor was in any of his classes, but he could keep a look out for him around campus, or go and watch Thor practice.

Sif smiled. "No, but I did knee him in the groin and when he started to fold, landed a good uppercut to his jaw. Although...I'm not sure if he'll be back, or for how long."

Loki was pleased by her recital but his brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

She met his eyes. "I called the cops, charged him with assault. Not sure if that might lead to a suspension or something."

Startled, Loki opened his mouth to say something -- but then closed it again, thinking first as he ran his eyes over Sif. She didn't seem to be seriously hurt anywhere, but that she'd involved the cops and pressed charges meant that something more serious than a casual fight had happened.

"I'm all right, truly," she assured him, guessing what he was thinking. "A couple more bruises and that's it. He definitely took more damage."

"Yet you called the cops? Not that I have a problem with that, but...did something else happen? Did he threaten you?"

Damn Loki for being so perceptive, she thought with annoyance. "I called the cops because he heavily implied that he wanted to rape me." Sif said bluntly, sick to death of having to talk about it. "And men like him need to learn that women aren't going to take shit like that lying down." She grimaced. "Bad choice of words."

"He didn't -- are you -- " Loki's shock was giving way to fury. "If he touched you -- "

"Nothing beyond a few gropes that made his intentions clear, if his words weren't enough. I'm fine," she said, and realised she meant it. "I was kind of shaken up earlier, but I'm feeling a lot better now. Being here with you helped a lot."

"I'm glad," He reached out to stroke her hair. "Is there anything else I can do? And did the cops say what was going to happen to Haldor?"

"Unless he's already got a record of previous offenses, he'll probably get off with a fine and probation. Maybe have to take an anger management class or something like that. The cops will get in touch with me to keep me updated or if I need to testify in court, which they think unlikely." Her phone rang, and she picked it up and answered it after a glance at the caller ID.

"Hi, Mom, did you get my note? Are you home now?" She listened and nodded. "Okay, I'll be home shortly. See you soon." She hung up.

"That was my mom, I left her a note saying to call me when she got home from the neighbour's, because I didn't really want to hang out alone after what happened. So thank you for having me over. But do you think you could walk me home?"

"Yes, of course!" Loki scrambled to his feet, taking the DVD out of the player and shutting everything else off while Sif finished off her pop. She collected her jacket from the kitchen while Loki told his parents he was going to walk Sif home, and they went outside, Loki snagging his own hoodie from the front closet as they did so. It was dark out by now, but a full moon added its light to the scene and the night air was pleasant enough that they took the long way around, walking hand in hand, instead of cutting through a couple of people's yards as they tended to do during the day. When they got to Sif's house, he turned to her on her doorstep.

"May I kiss you good night?"

"You may."

He took her face between his hands and kissed her at first gently, and then a little more thoroughly when she grabbed hold of the front of his sweatshirt and kept him from pulling away too soon.

They were interrupted by the sound of the front door opening, Sif reluctantly pulling away to glare at her mother.

"I thought I'd save you having to get your key out," Gna said cheerfully. "Hello, Loki, thank you for walking Sif home."

"It was my pleasure," Loki said, keeping his aplomb and a grip on one of Sif's hands, not so easily dismissed. "Shall I tell my parents you said hello?"

"Please do." Then, accepting that they wanted a few more moments to say goodbye, she smiled indulgently. "Don't stay out there too long, Sif, it's late."

"I'll be right in," Sif promised. Her mother nodded and retreated inside the house.

Loki swung her hand gently. "Got any plans for tomorrow?"

"I've got some homework I need to work on, but that can wait till after supper. If you've got the afternoon free, do you want to go to the cider mill? It's opening weekend, and it'll be crazy crowded, but sometimes that's part of the experience, y'know?"

"I'd love to," Loki said happily. "Should I mention it to Thor?"

"Yeah, if we want to bring a couple of gallons of cider home, we'll want his pick-up. And they've also got donuts, and caramel apples, and fudge, and some hiking trails through the woods we can go on."

"it sounds perfect. And if I bring some fudge home for my dad, I will win so many points."

"Tell your parents if they want to go, it'll be less busy during the week when kids are in school."

"All right, I will, and I'm looking forward to it. Give me a call tomorrow when you're ready to go. Or for any other reason, at any time," he said seriously. "If you want to talk, or need help, you can always call me. You know that, right?"

A lump rose in Sif's throat, and she stepped forward and hugged him tightly. "Yeah. Yeah, I know that. And the same goes for you, too. You can call anytime."

She stepped back, and Loki reluctantly let her go. "I know." He glanced towards the living room window, where he thought her mother probably was, but the drapes had been drawn for the night. "You'd better go in now, before your mom comes back to check on us." He pressed one last kiss to her forehead. "I'll see you tomorrow. Sweet dreams, Sif."

"Sweet dreams, Loki." She went inside, and waved as he glanced back as he went down the front walk to the street. She locked up and turned to see her mother watching her from the couch in the living room, some show playing on the TV. Sif yawned suddenly, and her mother laughed.

"Tired?"

"Yeah, I think I'm going to go take a bath and make an early night of it. Did you have a good time next door?"

"I did; did you have a good time at Loki's?" The look on Gna's face made it clear that she already knew the answer to this.

"I did." Sif was glad that her mother hadn't asked about her whole day, or her time at the gym.

"I'm glad; enjoy your bath, darling."

Sif nodded and collected some clean clothes from her bedroom and went into the bathroom, locking the door. She stripped off down to her sports bra, and glared at the bruises purpling her skin, more than Loki had seen. It was different than getting bruised from hard sparring, or from a martial arts competition. Those were expected, and gained in combat with other honourable warriors. These were reminders that someone had put their hands on her that she hadn't given permission to, and she took out her tube of arnica cream to apply after the bath, wanting them gone as soon as possible. The twin sets of finger and thumb prints on her forearms would be in full view tomorrow at the cider mill unless she wore a long-sleeved shirt, and she didn't want to feel that she should have to to hide them unless the weather warranted it. She hadn't done anything wrong, but she didn't want to deal with any well-meaning questions about how she'd gotten them or if she needed any help. Her lips thinned with anger. Well, let them ask, she'd tell them exactly who'd done it. She'd love it if Haldor tried to get a date or a job and couldn't because she'd ruined his reputation. She started the bath water running as she finished undressing, but her earlier good mood had been replaced by irritation, and she got out the box of bath fizzers that her mom had given her for her birthday, feeling that she deserved something a little special today and choosing a sweet pea one from the remaining balls. She dropped it into the water and got in after it, enjoying the feel of it fizzing against her skin as she adjusted the water temperature to pleasantly hot and shut the faucet off, relaxing as she slid down until the back of her head rested against the edge of the tub, breathing in the sweet fragrance. Instead of dwelling on having to tell more people (her mother, at least, and Thor if he saw the bruises) about the attack, she thought about what she was looking forward to about tomorrow.

Introducing Thor and Loki to the cider mill on what was supposed to be another day of perfect weather for it. They could have gone on the hiking trails during the summer, but past experience had taught her that the woods were thick with mosquitos in the usual humid summer heat, and without the lure of the stream as someplace closer than the beach to cool down, it hadn't felt worth it, not when she now had friends even closer with a brand new swimming pool in their backyard. She smiled as she remembered the day one photo after another had begun arriving on her phone in rapid succession. One of the sign in front of the local pool store. Then one of Loki with the broadest smile she'd ever seen standing in front of a model pool, half filled with water and various floatie toys, along with the message Guess what? A picture of Thor with an equally big grin on his face holding a large inflatable alligator and a pool skimmer had followed.

She had texted back both of them. What's going on?, excitement filling her as she guessed the answer but wanting confirmation.

WE'RE GETTING A POOL!!!, Loki had sent back, along with a picture of their parents standing at a counter with a store employee and several bottles of pool chemicals.

A photo had arrived from Thor showing a weighted ring diving game. ?  He had asked.

Waste of money, Sif had texted back. You can use plastic clothespins.

The next photo, from Loki, had shown a basketball type hoop that could be attached to the side of the pool, along with another question mark. Maybe?  She had sent back. How much is it?

There had been a pause, then a price had appeared followed by Maybe if we find it on sale somewhere. Sif remembered texting her agreement, thinking it was something that might have been worth the investment if the boys had been ten years younger. She remembered going over to their house to watch the pool being installed, the three of them sitting on top of the picnic table on their patio as they'd watched the walls of the pool rise with interest, remembered the anticipation building as the garden hose had been fed over the side of the pool and the water had been turned on full blast. She remembered their excitement dimming as they'd watched how very very slowly the water level was rising, and having to accept the fact that it was going to be a couple of days before the pool was ready for swimming, Odin informing them that once it was full they'd have to add the chemicals to sanitise the water and then wait another 24 hours after that before they would be allowed to go in.

They'd sought solace and distraction at the lake the next day, but they'd all been more than ready when the all clear had been given on the morning of the fourth day. Sif remembered donning her bikini and a cover-up and stuffing anything else she might need in her beach bag and heading over right after breakfast, and not coming home until dinnertime, waterlogged and sunbaked and happy, her skin smelling pleasantly of chlorine. She remembered days of fun and friendship, and evenings floating lazily around the pool on a raft, full from a cook-out, the smell of the barbeque grill still lingering on the air and the sound of her mother talking with Frigga and Odin on the patio, Loki on his raft bumped up next to hers, their hands joined together and hidden between them as the sun slowly set and the mosquitos came out in full force and drove them back under the water until her mother had called for her to come out and go home with her.

She felt herself calm, and center, and turned onto her side to let the heat of the water warm up her front. It had been a good summer, and she thought about what they had to look forward to in the fall. The cider mill, and scuffling through fallen leaves as they hiked through the woods. Going to Thor's home football games to cheer him on, snug in hoodies and sweaters and flannel-lined jeans, with a thermos full of mulled cider or pumpkin spice coffee and a plaid blanket to share between her and Loki. Halloween. The college had an annual masquerade ball to celebrate which had been quite good last year; Fandral had liberated some realistic-looking prop swords from the theater department and some costuming bits and pieces and they had dragged Hogun into it and they'd all gone as the Three Musketeers. She wondered if Loki would want to do themed costumes and tried to picture what he'd look good as. She thought of his flute -- the Pied Piper, maybe? But then who was she supposed to be, a giant rat?

She frowned and sat up to grab the soap bar, washing briskly and getting out of the tub to dry off as the water drained. She'd have to call Loki, suggest he start thinking about it so they had time to get a decent costume together. She got into her pajamas and warm fuzzy socks and sat down on her bed and texted him. Do u want to do matching Halloween costumes this year?

For what? he asked cautiously, his reply soon arriving. Aren't we a bit too old to go trick-or-treating?

Masquerade ball at college. Not quite as fancy as it sounds but costume is required. And last year Jane and Darcy's dorm was giving out candy and inviting people they liked in for stuff like apple pie and pizza and board games. So u wanna dress comfy, nothing too restricting.

Hmm. Pirates?

We could, but Fandral and I did that year before last.

Pass, then. Rock stars?

Too much like regular clothing unless we do disco or glam. Not feeling it.

There was a pause. Hang on, let me go find something.

A couple of minutes later a picture arrived on her phone. It was the front of one of those clothing pattern packets they sold at the fabric store, she realised. The drawing on the envelope showed two young people, the guy wearing what she thought was called a doublet and hose and the girl in a pretty but comfortable-looking dress, the skirt wide enough to allow for free movement. Renaissance Lovers, the envelope proclaimed. Loki would look fantastic in something like this, she thought, his long legs shown off to advantage in the hose, the doublet emphasizing the breadth of his shoulders and the narrowness of his hips.

I'm listening, she typed.

U wanna do something like this?

Not usually a dress person, but if we can find something like this? Yeah. You'd look hot.

We don't have to look for it. Another picture arrived, with Loki wearing what was obviously a costume based on the pattern, the doublet forest green with accents of gold and his legs encased in close-fitting ivory tights that left little to the imagination. Sif enlarged the photo, her eyes wide. Despite seeing Loki in nothing but swim trunks for a good many days of this past summer, the tights were way more revealing. I played Romeo in my 11th grade school play, he typed. Still have the outfit.

I am looking respectfully, she sent back. V. good look on u. Is that top velvet?

Yep. My mom made it.

Holy shit. It had embroidery on it, too, Sif saw. I'll never find anything that looks as good.

Told u you don't have to. My mom can make the dress for u.

Loki, u can't ask her -- look I'm gonna call u. She closed out the text and pressed his number. When he answered, she went on. "Loki, you can't ask your mom to make me a Halloween costume like I'm five years old! A dress like that would take time, and effort, and money!"

"She'd be happy to do it," he insisted. "She always made costumes for me and Thor if we couldn't find what we wanted."

"But you're her children, not me! I'm a grown woman, I can buy my own dress to wear."

"Not something nice," Loki said stubbornly. "It'll be cheap-looking polyester crap."

Sif couldn't argue with that, but of course no one wanted to spend a lot of money on a costume that would only be worn for one day. But maybe Fandral could borrow something from the theater department again that could work.

"She made the dress for my co-star in the play, and she wasn't anything like the family friend that you are," Loki argued.

Sif felt warmed by being thought of as a friend to the whole family, and not just Loki's girlfriend. And truly she felt that way, with the way she had been welcomed into their lives and made to feel at home. She wavered.

"Is your mom still up that you could ask her? And make it clear that it's your idea, not mine, and I'm not expecting anything!"

"Yes, of course, I'll be right back!"

Loki sounded like an eager puppy that had just been promised a treat, and since he didn't hang up, she could hear his and Frigga's voices in the background a few moments later. And then Frigga came on the line, her voice warm and enthusiastic.

"I would love to make you a dress for Halloween, Sif, it's no trouble at all, really. I'm already familiar with the pattern and the only finicky part is cutting all the pieces to size. The sewing's not difficult at all and the embellishments are the fun part, I like having something to do with my hands when I'm watching TV in the evenings."

Sif could just picture Frigga beaming at her, and Loki looking just as happy to have his confidence in his mother being proved justified. How could she say no? "If you're sure -- " she began.

"I am."

"Then I accept, and thank you, but I want to pay for it. All the materials, and whatever you think is a fair price for your labour."

"That's fine," said Frigga after a moment of silence. "There's always coupons and sales, we'll find a nice piece of fabric at a good price. Light wool, I think, would be most versatile for this time of year, although a heavier brushed cotton might look nice as well, something that could work with both cooler and warmer weather depending on what you wear underneath. An autumn colour, perhaps? Russet? Or a lighter shade of green to coordinate with Loki's doublet? Well, we'll see what they have when we get to the fabric store. Loki told me you're going to the cider mill tomorrow; what about Sunday? I could come over after lunch and take your measurements, and then we can go shopping?"

"I...um, yeah, all right," Sif said, somewhat dazed at the speed with which this was moving along. She supposed Loki had been right in thinking his mother would enjoy making the dress, and she remembered the first time they'd met, and Frigga mentioning they would have liked to have had a daughter, too.

"Excellent. It's not going to take a whole month to make, of course, but better to get started early just in case anything comes up later."

"Like what?" Sif heard herself asking.

"Machine could need servicing?" Frigga suggested after a moment of thinking. "Which reminds me, I don't know where I'd get it done around here. But I expect they'd know at the fabric store, if they don't have someone there themselves that works on them; I'll have to ask."

"Oh. Okay."

"Or someone could get sick," Frigga continued on blithely. "We're generally a healthy lot around here, but cold and flu season is coming up, and I wouldn't want to be working on your dress when I'm contagious with something."

"No," said Sif. "Of course not." This was what it must feel like to be caught up in an undertow, she thought, and had the sudden image of Loki standing there grinning, listening to them. "Well then, I'll see you Sunday. Call me whenever you want to go."

"I will, darling, and I'll look forward to it. Loki's gesturing for me to hand back his phone, so I'll say good night to you now."

"Good night, sleep tight," Sif said automatically, and then felt a bit silly for adding that until Frigga added "Don't let the bedbugs bite" without missing a beat. Sif grinned and then Loki took his phone back.

"Hah!" He exclaimed triumphantly. "What did I tell you? We are going to look great together. And I asked Thor about the cider mill, and he said he'd be happy to drive us, and he's already asked Jane to come along as well, if that's okay."

"Yeah, sure. Are you going to come by and pick me up?"

Yeah; early afternoon sometime all right with you? I don't think any of us want to get up early on a Saturday morning."

"Sounds good. Call me before you come over, so I can get ready." She heard the sound of his footsteps, presumably returning to his bedroom.

"Will do. I suppose we should say good night now."

"Probably." She didn't hang up and neither did he. She gave a little huff of laughter. "What's that quote about parting is such sweet sorrow?"

"Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow, That I shall say good night till it be morrow." Loki's voice went soft, caressing, and Sif swallowed, wishing he were in this room right now with her.

"Yeah, that." She made another self-deprecating noise. "I don't know why it's so hard to hang up when I'll be seeing you tomorrow. It's just...I'm so glad you moved to town. I can't imagine my life without you in it anymore."

"I feel the same way," Loki said softly.

Sif took a deep breath, words wanting to bubble up in her throat, but they were the sort of words that were best said face-to-face for the very first time. Perhaps besides the stream in the woods tomorrow; she could ask Jane to take Thor off in a different direction so she and Loki could have some privacy. Jane would understand.

"Sif?"

"Yeah?"

"The sooner we hang up and go to bed, the sooner tomorrow will come."

Sif snorted. "Did your mother used to tell you that on Christmas Eve?"

"I seem to remember it mostly being aimed at Thor, but yes. So," he said briskly. "Since the hour waxes late and we must practice at being sensible adults, good night, Sif, and sweet dreams. I will see you tomorrow."

"Good night, Loki," said Sif, still smiling. "And sweet dreams. I'm looking forward to it. Bye." She finally hung up, putting her phone on charge before going to seek a bedtime snack and to spend a little time with her mother before going to bed. To get it over with, and not wanting anything to spoil tomorrow, she told her mother briefly of what had happened, but it was already feeling distant, the love and support of her friends surrounding her like a protective armour. She reassured her mother that she was fine, and meant it, and they watched the opening segment of the late night talk show together before Sif announced that she was turning in, rising and stretching with a yawn. Her mother stood up as well, and gave her a hug. It was perhaps a little tighter than usual, but Sif didn't mind, nor did she mind it when her mother followed her into her room and tucked her into bed with a kiss and a "Good night; I love you."

"Love you too," Sif replied, enjoying the feel of the blanket tucked snugly behind her back in the way she could never manage to do by herself. The ritual was not quite the every night thing that it had once been, but her mother always seemed to know when she needed it. "G'night."

Her mother turned out the light as she left, closing the door most of the way behind her but leaving it just ajar enough that Sif could hear the faint murmur of the television set, the sound turned down lower so as not to disturb her, the sliver of low light coming in from the hall if she looked that way comforting as well. She was asleep in minutes, and if she dreamed, she did not remember it when she woke the next morning, feeling rested but enjoying the comfort of her bed too much to rise immediately, thinking of the day ahead, thinking of Loki. Anticipation filled her, and she threw back the sheets and bounced to her feet, opening her window and letting in the fresh morning air. It felt like it was going to be a perfect day to spend outside, and she began picking out the clothes she wanted to wear and throwing them on her bed.

Dreams were all well and good, but real life was even better, and she had every intention of enjoying hers to its fullest. 

*****

A/N: Had this basically done back in July, but I didn't feel the tone of the beginning was quite right and it bothered me enough not to post it. Finally figured out what needed adjusting and hope it's no less enjoyable for the wait.

[kpop---scenarios]

Torn Apart

Pairing: Chanyeol x Reader

Warning: Smut, Angst, Heartbreak

Word Count: 3.8k

Summary: Chanyeols bestfriend Maya comes to town, and things don't go quite as planned.

Taglist: @biaswreckingfics @littlebetafefe @skittlez-area512 @ohsehunxv

When Chanyeol asked you to be his girlfriend, four years ago, you didn't think it was possible to be any happier. Your relationship with him was almost perfect. Yes you had your ups and downs with him, like any couple but you felt as though you were stronger than any obstacle that could be thrown at you. 

You thought. 

You had never really been the jealous type, you trusted Chanyeol, even if you didn't trust some of the women he was around but you never voiced it. You always kept it to yourself, unwilling to let jealousy be one of the reasons why the two of you fought. You always believed that if you and your partner had trust that it didn't matter what anyone else did. Chanyeol had women that were friends and you got along with them, you had met all of his friends, of course in the amount of time you were dating. Though, there was one friend that he spoke about often that you had yet to meet. 

M, as Chanyeol referred to him, was his best friend in the entire world who had moved to a different country after college. They kept in touch often, talking on the phone a few times a week to keep up with each other. You were happy for him, you were happy that he had such an amazing relationship with M. And you were happy for a few moments when Chanyeol burst through the door this evening, spewing out nonsense in his excited state. 

"It's happening Y/N!" He exclaims, plopping down on the couch beside you. 

"What?" You ask, your excitement building as you anticipate his answer. 

"M is coming for a visit!" He yells. Your mouth drops before turning into a smile. 

"Oh my god." You laugh. "I can't wait to meet him!" You yell. 

"Him?" Chanyeol chuckles. "Y/N, M stands for Maya. Didn't I tell you that?" He wonders. You search his eyes and he seems absolutely sure he told you that and you are absolutely sure he did not tell you that. 

"Oh." You say, sitting back. "So M is a girl.. Maya." You say. 

"Y/N.." Chanyeol trails off. 

"I can't wait to meet her." You smile. "I'm really happy for you." You finish off. 

And you were. But you couldn't help but feel weary about how much they spoke considering he didn't talk to his other female friends that much. You were open minded and were sure you'd get along with her just as you did any other woman. 

"Go get ready quick, we're going to meet Baekhyun, Jongdae and his wife." Chanye tells you, standing up to walk to your shared room. "I can't wait to tell them. They're going to be so excited." 

** 

"I'm sorry, what?" Baekhyun asks, his face clearly unamused by Chanyeol's news. 

"Maya is coming to town! Woo-hoo." He says, trying to amp everyone up and raise his glass for a cheer, but everyone falls silent. 

"Didn't she move away like 6 years ago?" Jongdae asks, taking a sip of his beer. 

"Yeah, but we've kept in contact." Chanyeol says, placing his glass on the table. 

"But why?" Baekhyun asks, taking a shot, his face displeased by the news more than the liquor. 

"You're just jealous she never fell for your pretty face and 'slick moves'." Chanyeol laughs. 

Baekhyun bursts out laughing as he waves his hand in front of his face. "Not at all." He chuckles. "I never hit on her. I had no interest in her, ever." Baekhyun shudders. 

"I don't know how to tell you this man." Jongdae sighs. "She was into you back then, and I can guarantee she's still into you now." He says. 

Chanyeol is still for a moment before he begins to laugh. "There's no way. She's not into me." He laughs, taking a drink. He looks at you and laughs again. "She's definitely not." He says to you. You weren't sure what he was trying to do, but he wasn't reassuring you in the least. 

** 

A few days later Chanyeol barely kissed you as he rushed out the door to meet Sehun, another friend who happened to also be friends with Maya. The night before Chanyeol had jokingly told you that Sehun had shipped him and Maya together but Chanyeol couldn't see it, he didn't think that he was good enough for her. That honestly hurt you a little bit. 

You stayed in the apartment and waited, and waited and you had heard nothing from Chanyeol in hours. You didn't know what was happening and honestly it made you a little anxious until the door knob to the front door turned and Chanyeol, Sehun and a beautiful black haired girl walked in. 

"That place was trash." Sehun laughed. "Our Maya deserves much better." 

"Sehun." She squeals. "You're too much." She finishes with a giggle. 

"And Channie, oh my god. You're so handsome. I've just missed you." She pouts, throwing her arms around him, hugging him tightly. Chanyeol grins as he hugs her back. Your eye ever so slightly twitches as you stand there watching. 

"Oh, hey Y/N." Sehun says, placing Maya's suitcase down. 

"You're Y/N?" She asks, looking you up and down. "You're so adorable." She giggles as he shuffles her way towards you, pulling you in for an awkward hug. You can feel the tension between the two of you, radiating from her body but you weren't sure what you had done to her to make her dislike you already.

"So Maya." You begin, pulling away from her. "What are you going to do while you're here?" You ask. 

"Oh I have everything planned out." Chanyeol interrupts. "We're going to go to that pizza place we went to in college." He laughs, making her giggle along with him. 

"Can we please go to that Cafe? You know the one where.. " She pauses as Chanyeol interjects. 

"Where I spilled my drink all over myself because I was so nervous? You and Sehun enjoyed that" Chanyeol laughs. 

"You were so cute." She laughs, before looking at you. "He told me I was so beautiful it made his hand shake." She smiles. 

"We could go now?" Sehun pipes up, making everyone excitedly agree. The three of them move towards the doorway, leaving you standing there. 

"Aren't you coming?" Chanyeol asks, turning around to look at you. 

"Oh, yeah, sure." You smile, grabbing your purse. As the four of you walk out the door, you can't help but feel unwanted by at least two of the people there. 

** 

Over the next few days, the invites you received became less and less. Chanyeol and Maya had decided to go to a pizza parlor that they frequented in college, and you were the afterthought after they had already made plans to go. Even when Chanyeol invited you, you could feel that Maya didn't want you there but you tried to ignore it and went along with them anyway. 

"Oh my god." Maya giggles. "You're right, this place hasn't changed at all." She laughs, looking around the parlor. "This is the exact table we always sat at too, oh Channie, you sure know how to make a girl so happy." She squeals, leaning her head on his shoulder. Chanyeol let out a small chuckle as he looked at her, almost admiring her leaning onto him as you sat across from the two friends, who looked alot like a couple. 

"Chanyeol? Maya?" You hear from in front of you. A little old Italian man walks up to the table with a giant smile on his face, looking at the two. "I thought that was you guys! It's been years." He smiles. "Please tell me you're finally together. I always thought the two of you would make such an amazing couple." He says, praising them and ignoring your existence. 

"This is my girlfriend actually." Chanyeol laughs, gesturing to you. 

"But who knows what the future holds." Maya chuckles, giving you a quick glare before focusing on Chanyeol once again. 

Maya made your blood boil. You were positive she was trying to take Chanyeol from you, but you knew your innocent boyfriend would never see it. He was far too invested in their friendship to think anything more could ever happen between the two of them. But that didn't stop you from absolutely hating this girl. 

That night you walked back home, behind Chanyeol and Maya who had linked arms and were deep in a discussion about something. You shivered with your arms crossed as the cool breeze hit you head on. You walked a little faster, standing next to your boyfriend and looking at him with a smile on your face. Just as he noticed you, he began shrugging off his jacket. 

"Oh babe, you're so sweet. I was just about to ask you for your jacket." You grin. 

"Oh, sorry Y/N, Maya asked for it already." He says, handing her the jacket. 

"Thanks handsome." She purrs. You stop walking and watch this girl put his jacket on and smell it, complementing the smell of his cologne, the one that you picked out for him. Instead of saying anything you just walked faster, passing the two of them and making it back to the apartment faster. That night you went to bed early, trying to avoid saying something that you probably should not say. 

That night Chanyeol crawled in beside you, wrapping his arm around your waist to pull you in closer to him. He nuzzled his head into your neck as he breathed in your scent. "I'm sorry about the jacket baby." He breathes. "I should have given it to you." 

"It's fine." You sigh. "You know I love you right?" 

"I love you, so much baby." He whispers, pushing his hard cock into your ass. "So much." 

You let out a small whimper as he reaches down, lifting up your shirt and lifting your leg to rest on his hip. He pulls down his boxers, just enough for his cock to spring free before he pushes himself inside of you, stretching out your pussy. 

"Fuck." You hiss, as your eyes roll back. It had been too long since you felt him inside of you. Chanyeol slowly thrusts his hips, pulling himself in and out of you, the sounds of your heavy breathes filling the room. "So fucking tight." He groans, his hand reaching under your shirt to cup your breast, squeezing it as he fucks you. 

You let out a loud moan making him cover your mouth with his hand, making it easier for him to hold you close, as he continues sliding his cock in and out of you. Chanyeol moves his hand down from your mouth and in between your lips, his fingertips touching your clit causing you to let out a heavy breath. His finger turns in circles as he rubs your sweet spot, his thrusts becoming a little faster as his own orgasm builds. 

"You need to cum for me, baby." He groans, now not caring about being loud. The sound of skin slapping fills the room along with your moans as you squeeze your pussy around his cock, gripping it tightly. 

"Cum baby, cum." He grunts. Your hand grips the bedsheet as your orgasm takes over, pushing through your entire body. Chanyeol holds onto you tightly as he thrusts harder, cumming even harder, shooting his load inside of you, both of you left panting as he pulls out of you and rolls on his back. You get up and head to the bathroom to clean yourself up and as you go, you can hear Chanyeol whispering "I'll always love you.." mumbling a name before drifting off to sleep. 

** 

The next morning you wake up in the late morning, Chanyeol's side of the bed is already cold, he's been gone for a while already. You check your phone and there's nothing from him, there's no note in the living room. You knock on Maya's door, peeking inside and seeing she's gone as well. You're a little upset that he didn't tell you anything but you decided to try and let it go, even though it seemed like you had been letting a lot go in the past few days that she had been around. 

That night, around 8pm, Chanyeol and Maya entered the apartment laughing together before even noticing your presence in the living room.

"Oh hey babe." Chanyeol says, seeing you sitting on the couch, watching a show. 

You said nothing. He didn't want to contact you all day, so why should you even respond? 

"I'm going to go take a shower." Maya announces, heading to the bathroom and leaving you and Chanyeol in the living room alone. 

"You okay?" He asks, sitting next to you, placing his large hand onto your thigh, giving it a tight squeeze. 

"Where were you?" You ask, turning to look at him, clearly unimpressed. 

"We just went out to meet some old friends babe." He says. "I'm sorry I didn't text or anything, we got caught up." He sighs. 

You let out a sigh as well. You have a hard time being mad at him. "I'm sorry I was mad. You had left before I woke up and I didn't know anything, it sucked." You explain. "Are you hungry? I can order dinner?" You suggest picking up your phone. 

"That's okay." He smiles, standing up. "Maya and I went to that new Italian restaurant for dinner. It was really good." He exclaims.

"The new one? The one that I wanted to try with you? That we made plans to go together?" You ask, feeling hurt by this. 

"Shit.. I'm sorry baby. I didn't even think about that. We can still go. It'll be good!" He says, trying to make the situation a little better. 

"Ooh, where are we going?" You hear from around the corner. Out pops Maya, draped in a towel, water droplets still running down her body. 

"Y/N and I are going to go to that Italian restaurant." Chanyeol tells her. 

"It's so good. I'd go back there. Just let me know when." She smiles, walking back to her room. You look at Chanyeol and roll your eyes and head to your room. Your appetite was completely gone. 

** 

The next day, Chanyeol had told you that he and Maya were going to meet some friends, and you were welcome to come, if you wanted to. 

"I'm good." You say. "You go." 

Chanyeol and Maya left the apartment, giggling to each other about whatever they had been talking about and you thought nothing of it. Until two hours later you got a text from Baekhyun, asking you why you weren't at Jongdae's. 

[7:58pm] You: What do you mean, why am I not there. Is something happening tonight?: 

[8:01pm] Baekhyun: Their annual potluck dinner?? Did Chanyeol not tell you?

You sit there, gripping your phone as you replay your conversation with Chanyeol in your head. Never once had he mentioned a potluck dinner, or the fact that they were going to meet friends that were also your friends. 

[8:06pm] You: No he didn't tell me. Just said they were meeting friends and I could come. And Maya added "if you wanted too." 

[8:09pm] Baekhyun: Typical. Chanyeol and Maya made your Buffalo chicken dip. I want to hate it. But I can't. Sehun keeps calling them Mayeol. I hate that. 

So he didn't tell you about the dinner, but they also cooked a dish together to bring. Seemed like she was more in a relationship with Chanyeol than you were. You didn't even know what to say to him, or how to bring it up, but this hurt you. You were torn on what to do. Did you let it go or did you confront him? Your mind was telling you to let it go but your heart most definitely wanted to talk to him about it and let him know how hurt you had been by this. 

A few hours later you hear the door being unlocked. You ignore the sounds of talking as they enter the apartment, focusing your eyes and ears on the drama you had currently been binging. 

"Hey Y/N." Chanyeol smiles, walking into the living room. Maya walks directly past the both of you and into her room, closing the door behind her. 

"Don't hey me." You spit. 

"Woah, what did I do?" Chanyeol asks, standing up. 

"It's what you didn't do." You fiercely whisper. "Baek texted me and asked me why I wasn't at the annual potluck that I have attended for the last 4 years. It's really embarrassing to say that you, my boyfriend, neglected to tell me and instead brought Maya." You spit. "Not to mention that you made my fucking recipe with her!" 

Chanyeol stands there looking dumbfounded as you quietly yell at him, fully aware that Maya was in the next room. You had had enough. You were being excluded on purpose and you were 98% sure she wanted to take Chanyeol from you, but he was to blind to see it. Your nails are digging into your palms as you try to control your breathing. 

"I've had enough of her here. She needs to find somewhere else to stay. I can't do this anymore." You say, tears brimming in your eyes. 

"Y/N, she's my best friend, I can't just kick her out." He sighs. 

"Out of everything I've said, that's what you have to comment on? So what am I to you? A replacement until who you truly want finally came back?" You ask. You don't even give him a chance to reply. "You better sleep on the couch tonight or I might actually choke you like I want to do right now." You sigh, walking into your bedroom and slamming the door. 

**

The next morning you walk into your living room, rubbing your eyes and you see Chanyeol laying on the couch, half asleep with Maya sitting on top of him smiling while eating a bowl of cereal. Before you can say anything, there's a knock at the door, taking you out of the room before you lose it. You open the door and there stands Sehun with a smile on his face, until he sees you and then it drops. "Maya here?" He asks. 

"Obviously." You sigh, letting him in and pointing to the living room. When you return, Chanyeol is sitting up with a blush spread across his face as Maya sits on the other side of the couch, looking annoyed as she finishes her cereal. 

"Me and Chanyeol will move your stuff into my place and then we'll go look at places today, okay?" He smiles, sitting across from Maya.

"Sounds wonderful." She grins. 

"You're moving here?" You ask, shocked. 

"Of course." She smirks.

Chanyeol and Sehun leave the room, grabbing Maya's things and heading out to take them to Sehun's place, leaving you alone with this woman. 

"Look." She starts off. You think she's going to offer some kind of apology, but you should have known better. "I was stupid to take off all those years ago, I loved Chanyeol then and I love him now. The two of you are still just.. dating, aren't you? Has he even brought up marriage to you yet? It's funny, because he always used to tell me he didn't see the point of being with someone unless he knew he was going to marry them, and that he would know by 2 years into dating. And you two have been together for how long? And still no ring? What a shame." She smiles. 

"You can't have him." You bark. "He's mine." 

"Is he though? I don't know about that one." She whispers as the door opens, and Sehun calls for Maya. "See you later. Thanks for having me." She smiles, grabbing her purse and walking out of your apartment. The door closes and Chanyeol didn't even come to say goodbye to you or anything.

** 

Over the next few days, things with Chanyeol had been weird. When he crawled into bed with you, his back was turned to you, and he wouldn't cuddle with you anymore. Sometimes you woke up in the morning and he was sleeping on the couch. You didn't quite understand what was going on, or you just chose not to see it. 

"Morning." You smile at him, walking into the kitchen. You go up to him for a kiss, and he looks at you before turning away. 

"Sorry Y/N,  gotta make a call." He mumbles, walking out of the kitchen and out the front door.  

Some nights he didn't come home until extremely late, or just later then his usual and it was killing you slowly. 

Today you didn't hear from him all day, until he showed up back at home, at 9pm. "Hey." He sighs, walking into the kitchen. 

"Hi." You whisper back. "What's going on with you? Why are you out so late all the time?" 

"Y/N, you know I'm just hanging out with friends.  

"Friends." You scoff. "Maya. She wants you." You blurt out. "Did you know that? Because we haven't talked about marriage, and apparently you said you'd propose to the one after two years and we've been together for four. So to her she thinks she has a chance." You whisper the last part.

"Christ Y/N, what is your obsession with her wanting me. We're just friends." He snaps. 

"I didn't know friends made out like that." You yell.  

Chanyeol says nothing, just stares at you, and you get the worst feeling in your stomach. 

"I saw you today, in front of the library." You say. "I didn't want to believe it. I wanted to think that she kissed you and you would push her off. But you pulled her in instead. So clearly she does have a chance. " You whisper. 

"Y/N.. it's.. it's complicated." He stutters. "I didn't think I had feelings for her..  until she came back and then everything came rushing back. I love you.. but I also love her. I've loved you both for so long. I don't know what to do." He mumbles. 

"I refuse to be anything but someone's first choice." You sniffle. "Go, be with her then. I'm done." 

"Y/N please, just give me some time to sort things out." He begs. 

"Why? When there's a possibility it's not me, I'm not going to wait around for you to decide if you love me enough, or love her more. My heart has been through enough by you. If you really did truly love me, you wouldn't even be questioning it right now, Chanyeol. You've made your decision already, now get out." 

Chanyeol walked out of your apartment without any more words spoken. You still loved him, and you were pretty sure you always would, even if you had been torn apart. 

[rachetmath]

JRY vs Ace-ops

Warning: Long read. This is theory on who would survive a fight. A analyses. In my opinion. So with clear, if you agree, then like or comment. Disagree, fine, go wild.  

Hello, so you must have read the title. Okay you might be thinking, "Ratchetmath, bro, you can't be serious. There is no way Jaune and Ren can ever defeat the Ace-ops. Only Yang, considering her and her teammates did in volume 7." Which I would completely side with you on. However, I've come to realize that the Hound was never a threat, and more importantly the boys could've done more if the Worf effect wasn't in place. So, let's give these guys a fighting chance and see what they along with Yang, could've done if they had to fight Winter and Ace-ops.

First, let's discuss the Hound and why the Worf effect failed. For those of you who don't know what the Worf effect is, it is when a new character is placed in the story and to prove their strength: you make them fight already deemed strong characters and let them win or stand a chance of winning the fight. The reason the Worf effect failed for the Hound is because Oscar is not a very strong character. Oscar skill level as the show presents is random at best. The Hound should have aimed for Jaune. Jaune as the show and writers made clear, has an incredible amount of aura. Seeing the Hound break his aura completely without even trying would've been more terrifying and makes sense. Or Yang, showing that it could fight.

But why? Why the Hound taking Jaune or Yang down first makes sense? Yeah, Yang is fine but Jaune is not strong or a capable fighter. Maybe not much of a fighter, but he is strong. In fact, he holds back grimm twice his size on a regular basis like an Urosa and Nuckelavee. Even Yang and the other characters, well except Elm because of her physical appearance, are guilty of this. The Hound is no different, it's basically a harder version of the Beowulf. Let's face it, Jaune couldn't do anything because the show must go as planned. Jaune could've save Oscar by getting close and blowing it away with his gravity dusted shield. The hound attacking Jaune first would prove it was watching them carefully, seeing their weapons and abilities to find who could be a threat to its mission. Proving its power and intelligence.

Now, the main event, team JRY versus The Ace-ops. The fight starts when the Ace-ops arrive after Jaune told them about the grimm river. Sadly, when they arrive, things were not so good. The Ace-Ops were more focused on finding Penny instead of the river. Now the grimm river destroyed the Atlas barrier and Atlas was under attack. However, the Ace-ops still want to arrest the group. Instead of going down peacefully, Jaune, Yang and Ren won't go down without a fight. Can they win?

Now, let's scan the environment. They were in an open plain field full of snow. There is nowhere to hide and almost no way to escape for team JRY. The motorcycle is not fast enough to outrun Harriet or a plane. But more importantly there was a crater beside them where the grimm river used to be. Now there are two ways this can go down, but I'll explain later. Let’s focus on the characters.

Let’s talk about the Ace-ops. They are elite hunters in Atlas. And from what we got from volume 8, Harriet told us that Marrow and Winter are replacements for their fallen comrades. Meaning Vine, Elm and Harriet herself are the remaining, long term members of the Ace-ops. So, they work very well together unlike with Marrow and Winter. That could give team JRY an advantage, but not much. Do to the fact that it's five against three and with only one of them being the strongest fighter, they need a plan to set the odds to their favor.

Now for team JRY. Beacon students turned hunters thanks to James. Now they’re with adults. However, there are a few problems with this team. There are three people in the team and two of them, barely fight or have barely won a fight at all. Jaune is more on the defensive while Ren... well, he spams his attacks, and relies heavily on long range. Sadly, the Ace-ops over power them with combative semblances and fire power. Their best shot would be to run. However, there still a way to win. This is a fight or flight situation, so what would happen if team JRY choose either option?

For flight, the reason being because they're not capable, it's a waste time and more importantly lives are in danger. First, remember they were on a field of snow. What does Jaune have? A shield that shoots gravity waves on contact weather it's from enemies or to the ground. Jaune was already in front of the bike and with good timing, he could activate and slam his shield to ground, sending snow flying, causing a smoke screen. Giving them little but plenty of time to hop on the one motorcycle and ride, while making sure Winter or Marrow have no time to stop them with either of their semblances. The crater also plays a key role for their escape. They can ride in it, but Harriet, due to her semblance granting her speed, will be on their tail. However, if orderly seated, Jaune can stop Harriet from getting too close. But what about the other members? Well, they'll be back on the ship, but they can't do anything. If they fire missiles, they'll get in Harriet's way and more importantly hurt her in the process. Jaune could also block her path himself with shield bomb.  

Now, for fight. Reason being is Oscar is in danger and needs saving. More importantly the plane is better for traveling around Mantle and saving people than a motorcycle. This will be a difficult battle but not one sided. This is going to involve the team trusting each other. And putting their skills to the test.

First off, they would need to get rid of Marrow. Marrow may be the rookie of the Ace-ops, but he is the most powerful. His semblance can stop time just by looking at his opponent or pointing at them, commanding them to "Stay" in place.

To take out Marrow, they need to knock him out before he uses his semblance. So, before the fight truly starts, Yang should be close to Jaune, grabbing his clothes and amplifying her aura. When she has enough, Jaune, since team JRY will get a plane, launches the bike and Ren shoots the gas tank. The explosion should cause a temporary smoke screen. Yang should immediately get on Jaune shield for him to launch her towards the Ace-ops and activate her semblance to knock Marrow out. Wait a minute, but Yang's semblance doesn't work like that, she needs to take damage to even use it. However though, Blake revealed that Yang and Adam's semblances are one of the same. Meaning, both can activate their semblances any time without the need to be attacked. Yang has done this once back at Beacon and in Atlas considering Elm couldn't even touch her. But this would wear her out. Too bad she was amplified by Jaune, so she may not experience the same negative draw backs when using her semblance recklessly before.

Wait, but what about Aura? Can't aura protect Marrow from harm? Well, sadly no. Aura, as the show so far made clear, is limited to what it could do for its users. If you have a broken arm, get poisoned and/or critically wounded, your aura my not save you. So, a heavy blow to the head is something your aura is useless in healing, especially when you need to be conscious.  

Now, it's four against three. So, what should happen next? Jaune pushes Harriet into the crater, allowing Ren to fight her. Harriet may be fast but with the crater being narrow and deep she'll have a hard time moving around and probably climbing out. This will allow Ren to adapt to her movements and fight in her in hand-to-hand combat. Hopefully, he's still good at that and not relying on his upgrade.

Jaune may have to take on two opponents. They are being Vine and Elm. Don't get me wrong, it took Blake and Yang to beat them, but Vine and Elm aren't really that good. In fact, they are just stronger versions of Ren and Nora, except Vine's semblance is better suited for combat. But let’s be clear, Jaune survived a journey of pain without his aura being broken but a few times. Never mind, only once, do to being tired after fighting a giant mech.

Now, hear me out. Elm is strong, and her weapon is an RPG. But her semblance is useless if the ground is cracked, which Jaune can do without wasting aura, or entering a burst mode. Elm also has not demonstrated any hand-to-hand combat skills. Even if she was willing to still use her weapon without her semblance, it only further proves she will suffer from the recoil from her weapon once fired. Plus, Jaune can block or deflect the missiles back at her using the gravity waves from his shield. Also, though Elm is stronger than Jaune, he's faster, has more movability and a sword. So as the saying goes, "Bigger doesn't always mean better."  

But hey, what about Vine? He beat Jaune before. But who can't beat Jaune? More importantly, didn't Vine need the high ground to fight anyone. In the snow plain field, Vine has no high ground but the ship, Jaune already fought him once so he might know how far his arms can stretch, and more importantly, Jaune is physically stronger than Vine. He might use his weapon but again, the shield can deflect it. And if Jaune grabs his stretchable arm, he basically can throw Vine around.

I will make this quick for Yang. Yang will take on Winter. She would be able to reason with her considering she's friends with her sister. But Yang might have some ways to fight Winter considering she should knows how Weiss fights and been working with Weiss for a while. However, we still must consider that Winter can make an army of grimm, but she has not used any other tactics.

But these are still highly trained hunters. They aren't so easily to be defeated especially against Jaune and Ren. Well, Jaune can assist Ren by knocking out Harriet. How? Ren could use his grappling gun to capture and slow down Harriet. Ren gives Jaune a signal, Jaune goes to him, Ren releases Harriet who was running too fast for her own good with no time to react. Finally, Jaune use his shield to knock her out. They climb out and both can fight Vine and Elm. Same for Ren if to assist Jaune first. Harriet may be fast but won't be able to climb out the crater. Once all four members are down Winter would be the only one left. And sadly, the Schnees despite their abilities, still manage to lose battles.

Well, that’s all folks. Remember this is in my opinion. If there are ways for team JRY to win or if there are flaws to my plan, then please leave a comment. However, despite what I said, team JRY would still lose. Mostly due to what I said about the Worf effect not being used properly. And the villains have way more plot armor then the heroes.

[squishneedsahero]

Instinctive

It’s Who I Am

Part 1

Description: How would The Falcon and The Winter Soldier have played out if you, the younger daughter of Howard Stark got involved? You had been kidnapped by HYDRA at a young age, your mind taken from you as they forced you to work towards creating new weapons for them and when HYDRA had fallen you had gotten free with your scattered memories for you to slowly piece together.

Word Count: 2603

You woke up for the morning, and it took you a moment to get your bearings. This had always been a problem for you, HYDRA had tampered with your mind from when you were a tween up until only a few years ago. HYDRA had taken things from your mind and put what they had wanted in. This had left you broken, able to remember somedays and not others, waking up and not knowing where you were, one moment you'd be at home and the next time you're aware of anything you're in a grocery store.

Since you had been released by HYDRA you had learned more about your past such as the fact that you were the daughter of Howard Stark, younger sister of Tony Stark, Ironman. You couldn't remember any of this though, you just had to take the word of other people saying that that was who you were. Six months ago you had come back along with half the universe, this lapse of time wasn't anything new to you so you were able to keep going better than billions of others. But the world was broken and you felt the need to help some way, some how.

You kept a journal, writing down all that you knew and remembered one day to the next. This helped you keep a better grasp of reality and your life but things were still spacey. But your urge and desire to help kept pushing at you despite that you were struggling to get your life together. You had a niece and a sister-in-law who tried to help, but you didn't know them, as much as they wanted to know you, you couldn't let them in.

One day the desire to act on that urge you had, the urge to help people readjust to their lives, to make up for the damage you had done while under HYDRA's control. The option to act on that urge presented itself. It was as you were sitting on the edge of your bed after waking up, you were scrolling through your phone when something caught your eye. It wasn't the new Captain America the government had presented, but it was the group called the Flag Smashers. They had attacked and robbed a Swiss bank, why this caught your attention you weren't sure but you knew you needed to look into them.

Despite not having a very good memory you were still smart, things engraved in your mind, knowledge you didn't have access too until you were using it. It was easy for you to find out more about the flag smashers because of this ingrained knowledge which you held. That small lead was enough for you to follow, you tell Pepper you're leaving and will be back later, later meaning eventually. From there you go out to the garage, where you had been busy building things in order to keep your mind occupied.

You had made yourself a suit, not like your brother's, not like Pepper's or Peter's or any other one which Tony had made. You put on the suit which you had built, it wasn't painted or anything, it was just the colors of the materials you had created it with. Your suit was just an experiment, basically a t-shirt and leggings that you had made it possible to fly with. The only other thing it did was record where you had been and what you did while wearing it, to help you remember.

You put on your suit, and put in the coordinates of where it is you're wanting to go then you take off. It doesn't take long for you to get where you're wanting to go in your suit, it's light and comfortable allowing you to move without restriction. It's when you enter the old warehouse that you hear voices ahead of you, you move quietly towards the voices, something you had learned during your time at HYDRA, despite not being sent out on missions.

It's as you round a corner that you see a man standing down the hallway in front of you. You quickly duck back around the corner, only to back into a wall. No scream leaves your mouth as a hand covers it to prevent any noise from being heard. Tears come to your eyes as the cold metal of the hand covers your mouth, unremembered memories causing you to panic. Fear begins to shut down your body and your knees give out from under you.

It's as your legs give out that the man behind you speaks, "who are you?"

Your heart in your throat, your mouth doesn't move to try and answer and thats when that other man who had been down the hallway in front of you comes around the corner. Your eyes meet his and there is a moment of recognition. "Hey, Bucky, let her go, she's good."

Theres a pause before the metal hand lifts from your mouth and the man in front of you catches you, helping you gain your balance before he lets go.

The moment his hands leave your shoulders your spunk comes back. Quickly recovering from the fear the feel of that metal hand over your mouth had brought upon you. The feeling of a cold metal hand over your mouth was hauntingly familiar, there was a reason it scared you even if you couldn't remember why.

The moment the man's hands leave your shoulders you turn and look at the man behind you, who had grabbed you, and you see his eyes, eyes you had seen many times before. The man in front of you recognizes you and seems to regret grabbing you, "sorry," he says softly, confirming that fact.

"It- it's fine... you're-" theres a pause as you take a good look at his face, making sure it is solidly in your mind, "Bucky." Then you turn and look at the other man, "and you're," a pause as you study his face, "Sam... Wilson?" you ask.

"Yes, thats me, Sam Wilson, you're y/n Stark right?"

You nod, "yeah, thats me..." your heart rate finally slows and you gain your composure. Your few pieces of memories concerning these two told you you could trust them and that they were most likely in that warehouse for the same reason you were, "I'm here to help." Then theres another pause, "I don't- I cannot remember a lot but I want to help."

Sam and Bucky look at each other for a moment before nodding to one another. They both know the stubbornness of the Starks, and Bucky unfortunately knows you better than you seem to know yourself, and he knows that there is no convincing you to not help. "Alright, come on," Sam says and tilts his head a bit to signal for the three of you to continue the way you all had individually been heading.

It doesn't take the three of you long to come to where it is that the flag smashers were loading the trucks with the stolen medicine and other supplies. Bucky goes to rush in and Sam stops him, you wait, taking your time to follow behind them, unsure of yourself even if you knew you wanted to be there to help. As soon as there is the possibility of a hostage and the trucks begin to move Bucky takes off running and Sam flies after him. You shake yourself out of your stupor of thought, spacey as always as you try to hold your mind together, then you take off  after them, gaining easily as your suit allows you to fly faster than Sam and Bucky can move.

The next thing you know you watch as Bucky is thrown from the back of the leading truck and into the windshield of the one following behind. A fight quickly breaks out and you are more than able to hold your own. The only time in your life you remember fighting was when you fought Thanos but you reflexively knew how to move, how to defend yourself and fight back against those much stronger than yourself.

You roll with the punches able to intercept and avoid as needed, at one point you feel a rib crack as you take a hit and make a note to make your suit more protective the next time you have a chance to work on it. The first thing that shocks you during the fight is when a shield flies over your shoulder and knocks a flag smasher back from you.

When that happens you turn to see the man who had been named Captain America now standing on the truck, fighting along side them, along with another man. The flag smashers are stronger than them though, they knock Bucky off the truck and Sam has to rescue him, sending the both of them flying off into a field. You, despite coming here alone to fight, didn't want to continue this fight alone, considering yourself alone as you don't trust this Captain America person, he just gives off bad vibes.

You jump off the truck and fly off to find the two men you had joined. They're already up and moving again when you land beside them and Sam looks at you, "you left?" He sounds a bit surprised, you don't know him, he doesn't know you and obviously the connection you share with Bucky isn't a good one yet here you are, leaving the fight to find the two men.

You shrug, "most of my memories are from the last 6 months... I don't know many people," you glance at Bucky as you walk along side him, "but the two of you are at least familiar. I don't know either of those guys so I'm trusting my instinct since thats about all I have."

They both nod a bit, "well, welcome to the team I guess," Sam says before changing the topic back to the flag smashers and what it is they could be doing and how they had definitely been fighting against super soldiers. You stay relatively quiet, only jumping in when you had. something to share from the research you had done into them to even know you'd be able to find them here. To be completely honest Sam is surprised by how different you are from your brother, he didn't expect you to be a replica of Tony because of the fact you had basically been raised by HYDRA but other than that from what he had heard you were vary similar in attitude to Tony. You still had that stubborn and sometimes arrogant air about you that Tony had, even if you were quiet and didn't offer as strong of an opinion as Tony always had.

All too soon your conversation is interrupted by a jeep pulling up and driving alongside the three of you. "That didn't go as planned, huh?" That John Walker guy attempts to start a conversation and the Jeep stops for a moment and the back door opens for the trio to get in, but then silently the trio decides to just keep walking, not getting in.

The jeep continues to drive beside you Sam and Bucky, John continues to try and talk, and only gains a response when he brings up wizards, and Bucky immediately says, "there's no such thing as wizards."

"Alright, then it's aliens or androids-"

"Or super soldiers," Sam interjects.

"Super soldiers? For real?" asks the man who seemed to be John's partner, not that kind of partner, they're just a couple of guys being dudes, what could be better than that?

"Alright, then we gotta work together," the captain says.

Only to be interrupted by Bucky once again, "that's not happening."

Eventually this conversation just leads to Bucky being passive aggressive and John insisting the three of you get a ride to the airport with him. Once all of you are in the truck you take a moment to stare at both John and Lemar as you come to learn his name is, you try to memorize their faces. You don't catch much of what is said during this time besides that they used Sam's tech to track them and John claiming to be the government.

Finally John gets uncomfortable with Bucky's staring and turns to look at you, only to be greeted once again by someone staring at him, "do they always just stare like that?" he asks Sam.

"You get used to it," Sam replies.

This is when you decide to finally say something, "I need to make sure I know your faces."

John looks at you, he hadn't been prepared to have you there with Sam and Bucky so it takes him a moment to place you. "Why do you need to do that Ms.Stark, need to get to know your new coworker's faces?" He asks, once again using that cringy friendly smile that seems glued to his face.

You see no problem with honesty so you just say, "No, Josh. You see I have a few memory problems, I don't know you so I'm trusting my gut. And its as simple as me needing to be able to pick you out of a crowd seeing as my gut says not to trust you."

After that you hear a slight noise to your right and glance over to see Bucky not even trying to hide the slight laugh he had let out at John's expense.

John doesn't know what to say to that, surprised by your blatant honesty so he pauses for a moment and gains composure before saying, "it's actually John Walker, not Josh."

You simply shrug, taking not of the fact that misnaming him had struck some sort of nerve with him. Sam and Bucky take back over, looking to Lemar and asking who the hell he is.

"Lemar Hoskins."

"Look, I see a guy in tactical gear hanging out of a helicopter I need a lot more than Lemar Hoskins," Sam says.

"I'm Battlestar, John's partner."

"Battlestar?" Bucky asks in disbelief. "Stop the car," he shouts for the jeep to come to a stop before he climbs out as John tries to stop him.

You move to get out as well, not wanting to deal with them at the moment. As you do that John gives Sam a little speech about how he isn't trying to be Steve, but it would be easier to be Captain America if he had Captain America's "wing man" at his side.

"It s always that last line," Sam scoffs before following you and Bucky down a path.

You're clenching your jaw as you walk, Sam notices and takes a moment to ask, "you good, y/n?"

"I'm fine, just trying to decide why I don't like him." You pause a moment before turning to look at Sam again, "I should get going." You pause and lift your arms, showing your shirt, "I need to go fix this thing, so that next. time I don't crack another rib."

Sam looks at you for a moment, "wait you're just walking around with a cracked rib like it's nothing?"

You shrug, "yeah, it hurts but like it's not that bad."

Sam shakes his head, "told you earlier that you're a part of this team you might as well just catch a ride with us, especially if you're planning on just coming right back once you get fixed up."

Theres a moments pause as you turn once again to look at him, offering a small smile, one of the first you've shared in a while, "alright... thanks."

[scenarioslovers]

Our Sin >> Jungkook, You (Part 4)

PLEASE READ ME FIRST : PART 1| PART 2 |PART 3 

Once upon a time, three friends loved each other very much, people thought they could pass as siblings. They promised to always stay loyal and never hurt each other no matter what. They promised to stay friends and never let anything ruin what they had for each other. Jungkook, Minju, and Y/N.

Two girls and one boy.

They swore that they wouldn’t fight over love because being together the three of them was the perfect calculation to have existed. Y/N fought her demons and hide her feelings for the boy who brightened up her life and gave her hope to keep going and face life. She couldn’t betray her friend’s trust and let such unwanted feelings to ruin everything.

That was until the last year of high school. When Jungkook and Minju came while holding hands.

Y/N tried so hard to deny all the signs. They could never betray her like this. They all swore on their friendship. However, Minju was blushing and wouldn’t meet her friend’s eyes. Jungkook was braver but he was shy to admit the truth. That they were already in love, leaving her alone, and totally ignoring her feelings.

Their hands will not break free.

Jungkook stuttering trying to form words. It was Minju who broke the silence and awkward moment. “Y/N, sorry. we can’t keep that from you for so long... we are dating.”

Y/N smiled faintly, trying so hard to hide the pain and tears from her eyes. Her efforts to keep the promised gone to air but she had to work harder for the friendship to never go away.

She couldn’t lose two of her friends, just because she is foolishly in love with someone who was in love with someone else.

“I knew it.” A forced chuckle skipped her mouth. “I already knew you would do that eventually. Congratulations, my friends.”

“Aren’t you mad?” Jungkook asked. A hint of surprise rose in his voice.

“I am happy for you.” Y/N nodded at her friends. “Our friendship is stronger than this. I know it is.”

At that time, the three friends didn’t know that their trip of sins would start.

They didn’t know that breaking that promise back then when they were just young and wild would bring them all the unfortunate events and bad feelings. Lies and breaking promised were a cycle that the three friends didn’t stop doing.

_____________

Two weeks after Y/N left.

 Jungkook couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened.

Minju wouldn’t answer his calls and Y/N left for a new start even though he wondered if you would be able to get it. He couldn’t stop thinking about you ever since you Left. He wished he could turn back time and make different decisions.

Like how he shouldn’t have hide after hearing about your pregnancy. He shouldn’t have asked for time to think about it. He knew that he loved you and he was so ready to have a life with you. However, Minju always appeared in his mind like a haunting ghost. Blaming him for stopping loving her when she was ready to fully love him. He thought he loved Minju too.

God, he loved Minju but when he saw your tears his heart ached as if thousands of knives decided to stab him in the heart at the same time with no mercy.

His heart ached for you and only you.

He was just too stupid to realize how important you were in his life before. He thought Minju was the answer.  

When he first asked Minju out, Y/N popped in his mind smiling brightly at his silly jokes. He pushed that memory away, back in the days he thought he felt sorry for you, for breaking that silly promise they made for each other. He didn’t want to hurt his childhood friend because he fell in love with her best friend.

Your reaction at that time surprised him, yet put him at ease. Maybe he shouldn’t have thought about it too much. That’s what friends are for.

Nevertheless, he was wrong.

You indeed were hurt considering that now he knew how you felt about him. He hated himself more than anything.

Looking at the ceiling of his room, his eyes fell on the stars you had helped him in decorating his room with before. A small smile formed on his lips as tears blurring his vision. He couldn’t believe he let himself be a coward and lose you in the thin air like this.

A vibration coming from his phone made him threw his body in a sitting position. He caught himself hoping it was from you. However, disappointment yet fear washed over him when he saw the name in capital letters and a heart beside it. MINJU.

--Let’s talk! I don’t like to leave things unfinished.

He knew what she meant from her text. She was breaking up with him. However, the Minju he knows wouldn’t let be unless she heard it from him.

-Meet you in 20 minutes. Our regular place.

Jungkook texted back

--Tsk, I wish you didn’t reply so fast. See you there.

First thing, first, Jungkook was determined to confess all of his sins, but he wasn’t going to ask for forgiveness. As the person who should hear it could no longer receive it.

__________________

Everyone deserves a chance to start a new life that was meant to change from them. And that was your decision when you left your best friend; who now hate to hear your name and the one whom you truly love.

They say if you have a guy friend you should never ever fall in love with them. Now, you knew why. Simply you didn’t just lose your long time crush, you lost your secret keeper and the one who tried his best to be a good friend.

A part of you didn’t want to take the whole blame, however you decided to be the bad one when you decided to get rid of the baby.

You wanted to erase everything. It pained you so much to look in the mirror and think of the possibility that you could have been a mother.

You wrote the bad things you did for the past year in a white thin paper. Wanting to let them go and you wrote each one of them, thinking of the mess you cause because of it.

You looked at the list one more time:

1-  Slept with my best friend’s ex who is my close friend

2-  lied to Minju

3-  lied to jungkook

4- got pregnant

5- Took advantage of Jungkook in the loneliest moment in his life.

6- truly loved Jungkook knowing he didn’t love me and cared for Minju

7- I killed the baby

Whipping away the tears that started running down your cheeks, you crumbled the paper with your fist and threw it into the sea.

Today, after this moment, you will live only for yourself. You didn’t deserve to be a girlfriend to anyone or even a mom ever again.

You looked at the paper as it sank slowly into the deep blue water and disappeared. As you no longer could see it, you took a deep breath and promised yourself never to cry again or think about your sins ever. You were going to start a life that was only for yourself.

___________________

Three years later

“Teacher! Can you help me?”

One of your students approached you with a notebook as you were looking through the windows to the sea view beside the school. The cute little girl was more than four years old. You couldn’t help but think that your baby would have been as old as she was or a little younger. The girl was wearing a yellow dress that was filled with flowers everywhere. It made her look like an angel with her hair tied up into two ponies on each side. She was smiling at you excitedly as she pushed her notebook toward you. She was only four years old yet she cared so much about her art and classwork.

“Let me see, Hana.” You kneeled beside her as you opened her notebook. Her handwriting was huge and messy. You found them cute. Sometimes you secretly took pictures of your students' handwriting as a memory for you to keep. However, what Hana showed you, wasn’t an art or classwork. You looked at her handwriting in awe as you smiled so widely from ear to ear. She wrote you a letter.

I love you, teacher Y/N. You are the best teacher and I want to be like you when I grow up. You are cool and pretty. You are the best.

“Are you crying, Teacher?” Hana looked concerned as tears started to form in her eyes too.

You whipped the tears with the back of your hands so quickly as you shook your head, and laughed so that Hana stop making that sad face. “I am happy. Very happy, thank you, Hana.”

“You can take the paper. It is yours.” Hana said as she ripped the paper with the letter out of her notebook before running back to her class.

Working with kids, changed you a lot. After you decided to start all over again a new life, you moved to Jeju island and applied to be a kindergarten teacher. Fortunately, you got the job and you have been living a calm life ever since.

You folded the letter and put it in your bag. You had a box filled with love letters from your students. They were all so cute and loved to show love everywhere they go. These small letters like a cheer up treat to your lonely nights. Whenever thoughts and bad memories haunt your dreams, you would wake up to read all of them without getting tired.

When all the kids went home, you decided to go to the market instead of going home right away. You needed to shop for groceries as your fridge started to be empty.

Since Jeju island is so small, people knew each other. And living for three years in this small island made it easier for people to know you. Every shop vendor greeted you happily as the offered to show you their new products and goods. Everyone was kind to you and made you feel welcomed.

“Good afternoon, Y/N.” The fruit shop grandpa greeted you as you approached his shop.

“Grandpa, do you have apples?” You asked as you looked around for it. “I can’t see them.”

“They are inside, I changed their place as they keeping falling around everywhere.” He laughed as he explained how old he was for him to run after a rolling apple.

“You are still young, grandpa.” You complimented him and he cheered in confidence.

“You, young children, know what to say.” He handed you your apples and you paid him before turning around.

At that moment, the world started to tie up around you. Your lungs forgot how to breathe as you caught sight of the thing you wanted to avoid for as long as you were alive. Why are they here? Questions filled your mind and only one answered popped in your head.

RUN.

You turned so fast the other way around. It was so fast that you didn’t notice someone was behind you. You bumped into the fruit shop grandson, who had a crush on you. However, his strong arms held you in place, protecting you for accidents. “Y/N!” He exclaimed happily. He was so loud that blood went cold into your veins. When he noticed the horror in your eyes he looked at you worriedly. “Is something wrong?”

“I have to go. Talk to you later, Dojoon-shi” and started to walk as fast as you could. Dojoon called after you as you fastened your pace and started to run.

Why are they here out of all the places? What are they doing? They seemed like they are still together. Your chest tightened and your vision blurred as your legs wouldn’t stop.

Jungkook and Minju were in Jeju island. Minju was holding into Jungkook’s arm as he was looking at a necklace from the accessory lady.

The burning in your chest wouldn’t stop. When you reached home, you kicked your shoes away and walked straight to your room. Hands in hair, you pulled into it as you couldn’t stop thinking. Finally, after three years you learned how to move on. Did they come here looking for you? Is it coincident? How did they make up?

A part of you was happy that they could manage to stay together. Another part of you was broken over the fact that you had become the one who couldn’t be forgiven.

“Good for them.” You murmured to yourself. “At least now you can live without feeling guilty. You didn’t ruin their relationship at least.”

__________

“Jungkook, look at this beautiful necklace,” Minju said as she grabbed Jungkook’s arm as she stopped by a lady who was selling jewelry. The necklace charm took a heart shape with a moon and a star inside of it. Jungkook looked at it and couldn’t help but think of Y/N. A moon and a star. Two things that matched well with Y/N’s personality. She was the moon and the star that guided him during his darkest days. He felt her absence when she was gone. Technically she was around him as long as he could ever remember.

“It would look good on, Y/N,” Minju said, reading Jungkook’s expression.

Jungkook’s eyes widened in surprise. Was he thinking out loud?

“It would look good on you too.”

“Eh, stop lying. It also reminded me of her the moment I saw it.” Minju sighed as she looked away from Jungkook. “Did you use to have the same expression while thinking of me?”

Jungkook groaned and Minju laughed. “Minju!”

“You didn’t have to protest like this. I am hurt.”

“Do you think we will find her?” Jungkook’s eyes were full of worry and anxiety.

“Emma said she saw her multiple times while she was on vacation here,” Minju said, shaking her head. “That only means one thing. She moved in her and lied to you.”

“Would she be happy to see me?”

“I—”

“Y/N!!!”

Before Minju could answer, a man shouted a name too familiar and unique to ignore. Minju and Jungkook snapped their head towards the voice. Only to find a man standing in the middle of the street, looking annoyed and sad and no one was in front of him.

Jungkook looked at Minju whose eyes grew in excitement. At least this could be the confirmation they need to know that their search wasn't a waste of time.

Jungkook walked over to the man, he looked around the same age as him. A small burn feeling rose in his chest. “Excuse me, do you know Y/N?”

“Teacher Y/N?” He looked behind him then back at Jungkook. “Yes, and who are you?”

“Her best friend,” Minju answered instead as she reached out for a handshake. “We are looking for Y/N. Can you help us?”

_____________

You couldn’t sleep last night, those dark circles were more visible than ever. Your skin was pale and dehydrated. You reached for a bottle of water as you gulped it down in one sip. You no longer wanted to go out of your house. Jeju Island was so small that there was a huge chance to run into them again. However, you still had a job and a life to live. Until when were you going to keep running away?

With a determined mind, you walked into your bedroom to get ready for a new day. It didn’t matter if you run into them. If that happened you would greet them with a smile, congrats them for being together again, and go on with your life that you choose to live. Or maybe...

Keep avoiding them.

The school you worked in was a few minutes away from your house. You liked to walk there every day as a form of daily exercise. People greeted you as you walked the streets. Elders, children, and young people, everyone was smiling at you, throwing random questions in your direction.

“How is your day, Teacher Y/N?”

“Have a nice day, Y/N”

“You will visit our shop today right?”

After a few seconds, the school gate started to appear. Two figures were standing by the gate. As you walked closer, the figures started to come clearer, colors became more vibrant, and the facial feature was stronger. You stopped in your place as you looked at your old friends. Jungkook was leaning on the wall, he seemed to be in deep thoughts while Minju stood in front of him, talking nonstop. They were standing in front of your school, probably waiting for you. Or why would they be here out of all places?

“Teacher. Y/N, why are you hiding behind a tree?” You looked down at the voice, to find Hana. Her small hands holding the strips of her back bag tightly as she looked at you with curious eyes.

“SHUSH!” You put an index to your mouth as you gestured for her to leave.

“Aren’t you going inside, Teacher Y/N?” She was unnecessarily too loud.

Glancing at Jungkook and Minju’s direction, your breath caught in your chest. They were looking at your direction. You took a deep breath before sighing slowly.

“Hana, darling, go inside or you will miss school.” You said to Hana as Jungkook and Minju walked towards you. “Please, Hana. I will follow you shortly.”

Hana huffed before walking to the school gate. Minju waved to her but Hana ignored her and kept walking to her destination.

“Are all your student brats?” Minju exclaimed as she stopped in front of you, beside her was jungkook who wouldn’t meet your eyes.

“Why are you here?” You asked and it sounded like you were annoyed.

“Someone kept crying every night missing you. It started to annoy me.” Minju sighed as she glanced at Jungkook at thew corner of her eyes. "Plus, that should be our question. What about the UK?"

“Look! I do not know why you are here guys. But I am trying to move on with my life here. Can you please just---?” You sounded harsher than you meant as you gestured for them to leave.

As you started to walk away, a hand reached for your wrist stopping you. You glanced up, to find Jungkook in front of you. Electric waves ran through your arms, reviving all your sensations. That what Jungkook’s touch could always do to you.

“Can we talk?” It was Jungkook’s first words to you. “Please.” The pleading voice and eyes filled with something glittering made you sigh deeply.

“After work. Okay? Wait for me by the cafe around the corner of this street.” You said as you pulled away from his grip. The sensation of his warm hand, still there. Reminding you that this is more real than you thought. “Can you leave now?”

“Let’s go,” Minju said as she locked Jungkook’s arms with hers. You watched as they walked away, bit your lower lip. Why did they come all the way here just to show me how good your relationship became?

This was your chance for a real goodbye. A chance to forgive the sins you all did.  A real closure to a friendship that was left hanging on bad terms.

to be continued...

___________________________

IT’S BEEN A WHILE! Hope you liked this part. 

[bucky-iss-bae]

My Girl (Bucky Barnes x Reader)

A/N: I started writing this at 11.30pm and its now 12.50am, I accidently wrote it. it was supposed to be a drabble, but it turned out to be more than that. Sorryyyy. 

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader (AU) 

Fandom: MCU/Marvel

Prompts: “Love is Stupid” – “Take my Jacket, its cold outside” – “I’ll walk you home” “Don’t look at me like that” 

Warnings: Possesiveness?? The slightest bit of smut that its actually incredibly tame. Also 100 spelling and grammer mistakes bc this is a rush job. 

Word count: 2075 (Sorry, I can’t write drabbles for shit lmao)

Masterlist 

Fandom list

Growing up and turning into adults with such a big group of friends meant weekly linkups at your local bar had slowly turned into fortnight linkups, and that slowly turned into only a few people turning up, and everyone hanging out properly probably once a month.

Some were starting families like Stark, or already had a family like Barton. Others were slowly getting into relationships, and only a few of you were single.

It was weird being single and watching everyone else fall in love, grow families, considering that you guys had been friends since high school, or for some since pre-school. It was weird watching some of your friends get into relationships with one another, or with others. Seeing Peggy and Steves relationship grow was a beautiful one, she was one of the strongest women you knew, even in high school, no one ever messed with her. Along with Buck and the rest of you, no one dared to mess with Steve before he hit puberty and ended up towering over everyone, and even being the star athlete in senior year.

The same went for Tony, some thought he would never settle down, but his heart always belonged to one person. Vision and Wanda had only recently gotten together, it was weird because they flirted and had always been there for one another, they had an unspoken bond. You were just scared that soon you would have to find a new roommate. It was difficult when Natasha had left, but being just the two of you, you got buy, you had good jobs and rent was fine, but you knew it would be a difficult process.

Only a few of you were single now, both you and Bucky, although you would gladly change that any day. James Buchanan Barnes. A man you had fancied for years. He was too blind to see it of course. Not that you showed it. The two of you constantly fought, but also joked, if anything you saw him and Sam the most, probably because the three of you were the single ones. There was Peter, but he was a few years younger, and even he had a girl.

Meeting up with everyone on Friday after everyone had finished work was weird, you were sat with Sam and Buck, not everyone could make it, but of course the three of you were ready to turn up. Although you hated seeing playboy Bucky, although those years were long gone.

“You good?” Bucky asked nudging your shoulder,

You grimaced, “I’m fab Buck. But like… Love is stupid” you said looking around at the lovey dovey couples,

He chuckled and smiled across at you, “Ahhh, it’s not that bad” He said, “Look at all those rom coms you watch. You call it cute then”  

“That’s because they are cute Buck, but now I want my friends” I whined, “But ok no, I want what they have” I said dropping the dumbest hints.

“I’m sure you’ll find someone soon, we just gotta make sure they’re good for you”

Bucky had a smirk on his face, “Don’t get all protective over me now Buck”

“Naww, I’m always protective over you” he said putting his arm around you and pulling you into his arms slightly, “You’re my best girl” He stated,

All you could do was smell his aftershave, over the years his smell had almost matured more and more, but it was sexy as hell. Whenever you stayed over at his and Sam’s place after a drunken night, you always ended up in one of Buckys hoodies, or tops, and the smell was just as intoxicating to you now as much as it is then.

“That’s sweet Buck, but it makes me feel like I’ll be single until I turn 35, after that, Sam and I made a pact when we were kids that if we’re both still single, that we’d just end up marrying one another”

Sam winked at me, “You got it, your present for your 35th birthday will be an engagement ring from yours truly”

Bucky tightened his grip around you, “Shame, Steve broke our pact like that. He’s got a girl and everything”

Steve overheard this and turned our way, “Still hurting over that huh, and to think, everyone thought you would’ve settled down first playboy”

“Still hurts that you left me like that Stevie”

Everyone laughed at that, but conversations carried on, Buckys arm had dropped down to your waist now instead, lingering there, although you acted like you couldn’t feel it, the whole time it’s all you could think about as it made your heart hammer in your chest.

Both Nat and Wanda had shared a glance before the both of them looking at you, Peggy also catching on quickly.

You rolled your eyes at how dramatic they were being but a smile still on your face, this happens often enough, the two of you don’t necessarily flirt, but you do, you want to believe there is chemistry there, the way he treats you, the way he plays with your hair, always makes sure you’ve eaten, makes sure you get home safely.

Everyone soon slowly started to disperse, Wanda told you that she would be staying the night with Vision which meant you had to walk back or grab a taxi to your place alone.

“I’ll walk you home” Bucky offered once Sam had managed to pull,

“I’ll be fine Buck” You smiled at him as you walked outside, the cold breeze hitting your face, making you realise how hot and stuffy that place can get,

“Like hell am I letting my girl wander around the city by herself at this time” He said putting his elbow out,

You intertwined your hand through his elbow, as the two of you started walking, “Tonight was nice, makes me miss everyone though” You mumbled leaning your head against his arm, you could feel his bicep, and you knew you would only be lucky to be wrapped up in this mans arms,

“Same, scary how everyone is starting families, and we’re just… here”

You chuckled at that, “Only a matter of time before Wan moved in with Vis”

“Yeah? Well whenever that happens, Steves room is still free” He grinned at you, “Then I’ll have my girl a lot closer” He always said this, always called you his girl but never acted on it. The only time he got close to acting on it was when you were being hit on by a random guy in the bar. He got possessive and attractively dangerous at certain times.

“Eugh, imagine living with boys full time” You joked trying to ignore the comments.  

He let out a loud laugh, “Oh, trust me it’ll be a big difference than living with Wanda and Nat”

“I’ve stayed there and I know, and it’s mostly me here anyway, at the moment I’m enjoying my peace and quiet, but also missing the commotion”

“Don’t blame you, at least it’s not a bad set of apartments around here”

You lived in a nice neighbourhood, especially considering New York rates, but you had a very well paid job, no family responsibilities, and put in your savings just as much as you spent on rent. You were fine.

“They’re very nice” You murmured with a small shiver,

Bucky had noticed this and as soon as he did, he stopped, “Shit, sorry Y/N, I promise I was raised better than this” He said,

You stared at him confused, wondering why he stopped but he soon gave you his jacket, you were in awe at the fact that he gave you his jacket,

“Bucky” You pouted, “Thank you” You wrapped yourself in his jacket, the smell of his cologne stronger than before, but so much warmer.

“Anything for you sugar, besides you look better in it than I do, I like you wearing my stuff” He murmured kissing your forehead,

The two of you carried on walking, mostly in silence, it was nice though. Times like this with Bucky meant the world to you.

“What’s going on in that pretty little head of yours” He asked when you were only a block away from your apartment building,

You shook your head, “I just… like this” You said, “Spending time with you, it’s nice”

He smiled at that, his pearly whites on show, and his beautiful blue eyes twinkling, “I knew I was better company than Wilson”

You laughed at that, “I’m being serious Buck, you just… I don’t know. You make me feel safe and happy, even at 1am walking through the streets of New York”

“Good, because I’m always here to keep you safe” He said,

You stared up at him, so often, when he made comments like that it made you think, does he feel the way you do. Does he want to be with you as much as you want to be with him?

“You’ve got a dangerous look on your face there sugar.”

“No I don’t buck” you whispered before going into your apartment building, nodding at the doorman who also smiled at Buck,

“Yes you do” he said following you into the lift,

You couldn’t help but raise your eyebrows at him and crossing your arms across your chest, he always made fun of you for this but you couldn’t help it,

He tried to supress his smirk, “You look cute sugar, and what was that dangerous look for huh?”

It was just the two of you in the elevator, you didn’t expect him to come up with you,

“I don’t know Buck… like sometimes, sometimes you just make some comments or act a certain way and it makes me overthink. It’s stupid”

He didn’t say anything, instead he had an intense look on his face, his thinking face, although rarely was he this deep in thought, the elevator stopped on your floor and the two of you walked across the landing towards your door, he still hadn’t said anything as the two of you entered your apartment, you kicked your shoes off, and didn’t take Bucks Jacket off until you got to your room, Bucky Still following you.

He stared at your intently, “Don’t look at me like that” you grumbled taking his jacket off, missing the warmth it had and his smell and hanging it back to him, he threw the jacket on the bed before coming up to you, he seemed so much taller right now since you took your heels off, he brushed a strand of hair out of your face, still giving you the same look,

“You know, these last few years, I was hoping at some point you would realise why I’ve scared off any guy who comes near you. Why I’ve always been there to look out for you, making sure my fav girl knows she’s my only girl. But you just… you don���t see it. But I think you do. I know you do” He voice was so deep and low, turning you on slightly, he had a dark look in his eyes, but his blue eyes still piercing into you,

“Maybe youre the one whos not caught on Buck, come on, I’ve not cared about any other guy for years, especially when youre the only guy I can see” You whispered at him,

That’s all the conformation he needed before pinning you up against your bedroom door, you gasped at the strength and speed he had, a hand caressing your jaw slowly, before he pressed his lips against your own, you moaned at this he kept you pinned against the door. The kiss was rough but held all the passion your needed, he grabbed your wandering hands before holding them above your head in one place with one of his hands, the other grabbing your hip, pressing himself up against you, the kiss soon turned into kisses down your neck as he bit and sucked his way down,

“Buck” You moaned out feeling a small wetness between your thighs, shocked at the sudden pleasure, if you knew your body would react like this, you would’ve said something sooner, the pleasure this made caused you within seconds was more than any man had done before.

“You’re mine Y/N” He growled out, “You’re mine, and I’m going to make sure it takes more than just my cologne all over you for you to know that” He said before picking you up and throwing you on your bed before joining you.

The two of you making love in ways you didnt expect with him, not realising he felt the way you did, and him giving you want you wanted, no needed. 

A/N: Lol I’m so sorryyyy I’m trying to write more and moreeee. Hope you enjoy though, any requests send them my wayyyyyy 

[wickedmilo]

THE SCENE OF THE CRIME | MILO SOLO

PLACE: An alleyway neighbouring a vampire club TIMING: March, 2021 SUMMARY: Milo, in the emotional aftermath of becoming a vampire, returns to the location of his first attack. CONTENT WARNINGS: Addiction, alcohol, murder, violence 

Milo had never been the type to crush on the bad guys. People like Loki, and Moriarty, and Sylar. They were attractive, but they were murderers. Callous killers with motivations he would never be able understand. Why then, did he feel as though he was becoming them? How many times had he returned to the alleyway this week? Once alone would be too many, and he had far succeeded that number. It was ridiculous for so many reasons, he thought, as he crouched where he had been sitting before the attack. You were never supposed to return to the scene of a crime. Anybody with any sense knew that. And he had been so careless. Even a month later he half expected somebody to pull up alongside him and place him under arrest. It was a miracle it hadn’t already happened. But there had to be something wrong with him, something beyond what he was now, the things that he had done.

Actually killing the stranger had been a mistake. He was horrified, and disgusted, and hurt. But he had never intended to hurt anyone. Spending his time in the alleyway, however, sitting on the ground between the two dirty buildings and staring at the spot where he had witnessed somebody die, where he had killed somebody… that wasn’t a mistake. That was intentional, calculated, deliberate. There was no longer any hint of a struggle, any bloodstains, or marks on the ground. He could still see them, though. He knew where they had been. Maybe that was why he kept coming back. The overwhelming emotion, the darkness that threatened to consume him… it drowned out everything else. The bloodlust, the confusion, the rage and bitterness. For a moment, a very brief moment, everything stopped. Grief wasn’t an easy thing to feel, and he was mourning so many losses. But it became everything. It was everything.

He couldn’t remember ever feeling more lost, and alone. It was strange, when he was alive he had never stopped to think about whether he could feel his heart beating inside his chest. Now that it was still, the absence of a heartbeat was obvious. Painfully so. His chest was empty, void of anything that had ever mattered, ever made him human. And so he came here, and he sat, and he relived that night. Over and over and over again. Because the world was too much, because he was too much.

“Hey!” Milo looked up suddenly, the voice echoing in his ears as he stumbled to his feet. He threw out his arms in a panic, encouraging the stranger to stay back before he even laid eyes on them. Already he could feel the need to lunge, a desperation to feed, but history was not about to repeat itself. He wouldn’t let it.

“Stay away!” He shouted. “Stay the fuck away!” Maybe if he sounded unstable enough, maybe if he injected enough venom into his voice, the man wouldn’t come any closer. He certainly looked alarmed by his tone, and subsequently did exactly what wanted him to do. With an uneasy expression, the stranger took a few steps backwards, maintaining eye contact the entire time.

“Hey, man. I’m not going to hurt you. I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

Milo shook his head, his arms still raised, creating space between them that comforted him, that allowed him to concentrate on more than just his cravings.

“I- I am.” He insisted, unsure of what else to say. “I’m, uh- I’m coming down. Rough night, you know?” Was that too casual after such an outburst? Maybe that was too casual. Unable to speak without breathing, he made sure to take small, sharp breaths. Breaths that didn’t exacerbate the incredible scent rolling off of the man, who was still watching him with open concern. But it was taking all of his concentration, he couldn’t rationalise, couldn’t filter his words before they escaped him. The man didn’t look entirely convinced by his explanation, but he could see the sudden question of whether he should leave. He was debating it, he was considering it. “I just want to be alone.” Milo added, wondering if it might be overkill.

“Are you… are you sure?” Milo let out a huff of breath. The last person to offer him help died by his hands about three feet from where he was standing. Why were people so intent on doing the right thing? If he wasn’t so terrified, if anxiety wasn’t clawing at his lungs, he would be frustrated. Annoyed by the apparent need to be a decent person. 

“Do I look like I’m not?” He snapped, closing his eyes as the wind changed direction, and he was hit by a familiar feeling. The one that had overtaken him on the night of the attack. Animal blood just wasn’t going to cut it, he needed to find another way. But tired, and disoriented, with nowhere to go, and nobody to talk to, he wasn’t sure how that was ever going to be possible. Maybe all of this was hopeless. Maybe all he could do was delay his next attack, protect potential victims until he could no longer hold himself back. “Go!” He snapped suddenly, opening his eyes again when the man made no effort to leave. “I mean it- fuck off!” His hands clenched into fists, his knuckles were white as he turned away. Resting his forehead against the brick wall beside him. It smelled faintly of beer, and urine, and the animals that roamed the city at night. It wasn’t pleasant, but if he focused on it, he could just about keep himself grounded. Cling to his sanity.

He knew he must look insane, shit, he felt insane, but apparently that seemed to have solidified his helplessness. He listened to the man take one step, and then another, and then another. Finally walking away from him. He was being smart, saving himself. Removing himself from the situation. “Shit…” He breathed, refusing to relax. He couldn’t relax. It wasn’t an option. His voice voice was strained as he fought against the urge, the instinct to call the stranger back. If he did that, the man would never leave the alley, it didn’t take a genius to do the math. SO he focused on the brick, on the grit pressing into the skin of his forehead. He focused on the smell beer, a drink he was all too familiar with. And then he thought about the animals, and then endless stream of drunk men lining up to piss away from the main street. This was his life now, apparently. He wasn’t sure how long he would be able to cope with it.

I am stronger than this. I am stronger than this. I am stronger than this.

It was a mantra, something he pathetically told himself on repeat. How many times did he need to say the words before they became true?

[sweetest-honeybee]

“Wow, Logic really threw you out the window, Roman!”

Fic inspired by @5am-the-foxing-hour ‘s post about Roman attempting to fight with each of the other Sides :)

TW: Fighting obvs and a bit of blood mention (Logan bouta kick Roman’s ass) and Remus and Deceit are in this so read at your own risk if you’re not one for kinda violent themes and brief mentions of bugs. This is kinda angsty but it ends with a logicality hug :)

Characters: All the sides are at least mentioned in some way (But Logan and Roman are mains)

Summary: After fighting with Patton, Roman decides to try to fight Logan. Logan takes up his offer and despite early failures and probably some broken ribs, the teacher gives the cocky prince what he deserves.....one hell of a violent tantrum and a broken nose.

Enjoy!

————————————

“Patton you can’t just hug people mid battle! It’s distracting!”

“Oh...but isn’t that kinda of the point? Don’t I win?”

With the fourth round ending, Roman simply sighed through his nose. Patton looked up at him with an oddly curious gaze but it was the puppy eyes nonetheless. Roman couldn’t tell him he had basically lost for the past four rounds by hugging Roman while his fists were visible.

He could admit that Patton’s little tactic would be a bit useful in some kind of hand-to-hand combat. He had a hug strong enough to pin your arms to your chest and keep you form moving despite his small size. Roman wondered for a second of the father figure kept a layer of muscle under the chubbiness of his cookie-filled body.

“Yes, Patton, you win,” Roman decided. Patton’s eyes lit up and a grin spread across his face. He clapped happily and cheered for himself.

“Yay!”

Roman ruffled his hair and brough them both back to the living room where Logan resided.

“Logan, I won!”

“You did? Oh- I mean of course you did. Roman isn’t one for tactics anyway, I’m not very surprised.” Roman eyed Logan with a glare.

“Well actually, Logan-“

“Yeesh, why were you fighting Patton?”

Everyone’s attention was brought to the grumbly voice on the stairs. Turning to it, Virgil sat slouched on last step. “I mean, it’s no surprise to me either that he won. Roman’s an idiot.”

“Hey!”

Virgil shrugged, Patton took off for a celebratory cookie, Logan simply continued drafting the schedule he was working on.

“Well if you’re so high and mighty, I propose that we fight as well. What could you possibly be good at?”

Virgil chuckled. “I’m fight or flight. Besides, don’t forget that I lived with your brother for years.”

Roman’s eyes widened. Either Virgil would be smart since Deceit also had his own ways with combat or Virgil could murder him in a heartbeat because of Remus. The Duke had no sign of any kind of thought process in a fight since he’d usually ran at Roman screaming at the top of his lungs and swinging his morning star frantically at the Prince’s face.

And besides, Roman already fought Deceit both for practice and other personal reasons. Virgil was practically Deceit’s spitting image from time to time. A fight with Virgil would only end in inevitable predictability much to what he couldn’t decide if it was his advantage or dismay.

Roman huffed. “Right, I’ll....pass thank you. Besides, you have your creepy magical spider legs, so you’d probably use it to your unfair advantage anyways.”

Virgil scoffed and smirked. “Sure.” The trait pulled out his phone and began scrolling.

Roman pouted at the new lack of attention and looked around the room briefly. His eyes landed on a Logan who sat, still scribbling in notes on each date. He didn’t need to even look up to know that Roman was staring right at him with a sudden grin on his face. An obvious idea came to the Teacher’s mind.

“I’m not going to fight you, Roman.”

Roman gasped in mock offense, groaned, and flailed his arms like a toddler. “Why not?! It’d not like it would be a slow fight, I’d kick your ass within the first ten seconds!”

Logan raised a single brow and glanced at the Prince. “Right,” he replied sarcastically. He continued to write in more and more dates onto the calendar.

The Prince then had another idea. “What, you don’t believe me?”

“No.”

“You wanna bet?”

“No.”

“Bet you can’t even hold a sword correctly.”

Virgil and Patton both chuckled at Roman’s attempts. But even they knew where this was going to go. And they knew that Logan couldn’t stand to be incorrect. He always had to go and prove himself.

Logan sighed through his nose. “I can hold one correctly, actually.”

“Right right, suuurree, but you’d still lose anyways. You’re a teacher! What kind of teacher knows how to fight! You’d be too weak for me to feel a punch.”

“Roman, I’m not fighting. Also there’s plenty of teachers who know how to fight.”

“I dunno Logan. If you don’t do it, Roman will ultimately be correct and you will not. Besides, how cool would it be to see you kick his ass,” added Virgil.

“Yeah what Virgil said minus the profanity!” also added Patton

Logan thought for a second and groaned loudly. “Fine,” he decided. “We will fight under one condition.”

Roman grinned and became giddy. “Anything.”

“I win and I get your entire sector of control for a week.”

“Psh, alright its a deal. Okay so, we’re gonna do hand to hand like I did with Patton. All fighting styles are permitted but I will go with my own tactics.”

“Hand to hand won’t include pulling a dagger out of your pocket.”

“I....will use my other tactics but considering your height, weight, and general lack of a drive to do more than read books, I might just go easy on you.”

“Sure.”

“But uh...you might want to change into something more comfortable.” Logan rolled his eyes and the two, along with Patton and Virgil as their audience, sunk down and reappeared in the Imagination. Around them was a large open warehouse with several mats covering the floor. Weapons of all kinds lined the walls.

“Watch out, DeeDee!”

......Conveniently, both Remus and Janus were there, too.

“Yeesh, when were you into being here, Jan? Thought sweat and blood wasn’t classy enough for your taste,” asked Virgil.

“Hardy har har,” Janus replied in a monotone voice. He ducked from another ninja star just a rely missing his hair. “Remus didn’t want some practice.”

“Mhm, sure. Logan is gonna kick Roman’s ass in a fight.” Remus and Janus stopped their activities to listen with a sudden curiosity.

“Oh?” Janus glanced at Roman and Logan with a raised brow. “Is that so.” He practically scanned the teacher up and down. “I totally couldn’t see that happening.”

Roman scoffed. “Wow, okay, and how would you know that?”

“I have my ways. But at least he reads up on it. Being ‘Light’ Creativity doesn’t take away the fact that you’re all brawn and no brain, sweetie.”

“Uh hellooooo, I don’t need a brain to fight. As long as I’m stronger than him, I’ll beat him.”

“Tell that to the girls taking defense classes to beat up rapists...” Remus muttered. “Anyways! I wanna see this. I always beat Roman in a fight too and I’m shorter than he is. My money is on Teach.”

Roman rolled his eyes. “Sure, anyone else wanna place their bets while we’re all here shitting on my fighting skills?”

“Logan.”

“Logan~”

“Logan!”

“Certainly Roman.”

“I’m certain I will probably win.”

Roman just stared at the teacher. “You can’t place a bet on yourself, also HEY! I want some support too!”

“Room for one more?” The group turned and stared at the familiar voice. There stood Thomas.

“What? Why are you here?” asked Roman. “I mean, feel free to stay but don’t you have things to do?”

“I just told them I wasn’t feeling good so I went and took a nap.”

Janus chuckled. “Wow, a lie? I’m surprised.”

Thomas glared at the liar but continued. “All I keep thinking about all day is fighting people so I wanted to see what was up with all of you.”

“Roman fought Patton and decided he was gonna try to deck Logan. But Logan is gonna kick his ass!” Remus explained enthusiastically.

“Awe, hush now, Remus, Roman is clearly confident in himself,” replied Janus sarcastically.

“And I will! You guys will see!”

Thomas snorted and shook his head. “Don’t worry, Roman, I’m rooting for you. No offense to Logan.”

“None taken.”

“Alright, is anyone else joining us before we start?” The group shook their heads in unison. “Good.”

With the snap of his fingers, the pair were clothed in T-shirts and basketball shorts along with Logan’s glasses now replaced with contacts. Behind them along the wall appear a small set of bleachers for their audience to watch from. Roman and Logan walked towards the center of the taped down circle in the mat’s center and the rest of them waited patiently.

After a bit, the fighting pair crouched slightly and prepared to fight with Thomas’s cue being their start. With the sound of the Host’s voice, Roman and Logan ran towards each other.

.....And within three seconds, Roman had the teacher pinned to the floor with the wind knocked out of him and a bunch of faces full of concern from their crowd. A classic tackle on the first round, but Roman proved his size advantage.

“Ow....”

“Point for me! Prepare for round two, Lo.”

Slowly, Logan pulled himself from the floor. The two crouched once more and waited for Thomas’s signal.

“I think I already taste blood.”

“All part of fighting!”

“Go!”

The fight was a bit longer this time. It took at least twenty seconds for Roman to, once more, get Logan to the floor. And once again, using his size. At first Logan tried to punch him in the throat, a common tactic. But inevitably, Roman blocked the hit, grabbed his arms, and in one spin threw the teacher with brute force out of the taped circle and off of the mat onto the concrete.

“Oh...that really looked like it hurt...” hissed Patton.

Logan only groaned in response and writhed on the floor. “Ngh....I need a break, Roman...”

“No breaks in a fight, Lo-“

“Oh please, let the kid get some water,“ Virgil interrupted. “You threw him onto concrete, and at this rate, he won’t be breathing by round four.”

Logan sat up. “There will be a round four....?”

Roman smirked devilishly, and nodded almost too happily at Logan’s question that Remus found himself a little surprised at Roman’s minimal sadism. Patton moved to get the teacher water and the rest of them started contemplating whether or not they really believed that Logan would win in a fight against Roman. The Prince strutted over to the group with the grin still on his face.

“Told you I’d win!”

“Can’t believe I of all people am saying this but go easy on him, Ro,” Remus said. “You’re going to kill him and that’s kinda my job, dude. You kill monsters, not teachers.”

“Yeah, I’m with Remus on this one I’ll admit. I didn’t think you’d go so hard on him...” added Thomas.

Roman huffed. “He should’ve expected it.”

“Yeah, but he’s not a paper plane, hun, we don’t throw people,” replied Janus. “We’re trying to avoid concussions and paperwork.”

“But you’re not....nevermind. What Janus said. At least let him live,” muttered Virgil.

“Sure sure, but I’m not giving him my sector for a week so he’ll have to try harder.” The three grimaced at Roman’s naivety and sudden arrogance but let it go on nonetheless; Logan was resilient after all. While Roman could certainly even stab him in the throat, the object impermanence would only land Logan with nothing more than the faintest scar.

“I’m ready.” The boys perked up at Logan’s admittedly spotless body. Where once bruises were forming on his cheeks and elbows were just minor red marks. “Shall we start?”

“Cocky, are we?”

“Hehe....cock-y...”

Roman rolled his eyes at his brother and lead Logan to the mat once more. This time, Logan seemed more concentrated, yet a bit irritated, for lack of a better word. For good reason, Roman was sure. They crouched and Thomas cued their fight again.

Round three ended with a strong kick to Logan’s ribs.

Round four ended with three of Logan’s lost teeth.

Round five called another break for Logan’s now broken finger. The prince only grinned at his violent accomplishment and this time, Janus smacked him over the head to tell him that he’s an idiot.

“Keep this up and I’ll fight you myself, you hear me? Break another bone on his body and so help me, I will strangle you to death and that is not an exaggeration.”

“Sure, Jan.” Janus glared intensely at Roman after his basic comeback. A reference, of course.

”Oh he’s not exaggerating, he did it to me once because I put a sacks worth of centipedes and maggots in his bed once.” Roman snorted at Remus’s addition but gulped thickly.

“Logan- Logan, wait, I haven’t wrapped your finger yet-!”

The three turned their attention to a very angry looking, quite possibly furious, Logan stalking towards them. Patton and Virgil trailed behind quickly with worried expressions. Thomas simply watched and made direct eye contact with Roman. He mouthed a few words and sunk out to the real world.

You’re done for.

Romans eyes widened as the teacher took his shirt by the collar and dragged him to the circle.

“Logan- Logan, wait, let’s talk about this-“

“Fight. Now.”

Ready for a cue, Logan crouched and this time...he may kill Roman. Even Remus recognized that murderous glare emitting from Logan’s eyes and he smiled. Grinned, even. He knew what was coming for Roman and he was going to enjoy every second of it.

“Logan, go easy on him, bud. I know you’re probably mad-“

“Just make the call, Patton. I know what I’m doing, now.” Patton gulped.

“Alright, if you say so,” the father figure flinched at the word that left his mouth. “Go!”

A few steps forward from Logan and Patton couldn’t bare to watch. He covered his eyes and turned away, hiding from the sudden screech escaping Roman’s lips and ducking into Janus’s back, startling the other.

It happened for about a minute, but everyone would swear that the sixteen punches and three kicks delivered to various areas of Roman’s body happened in a single second. By the end of it when Patton came out from behind the snake faced side, he could only gasp at the sight.

Admittedly, Remus chuckled both because of the pair’s current position but also that Roman was cupping his nose with scrunched eyes.

Logan straddled the prince’s waist and he held himself up with his arms on Roman’s chest. Blood seeped out of his lips and he hung his head low, panting with shallow breaths. Not a hit seemed to have been laid on him, besides his mouth. He lifted his head slightly and took a glance at Roman, still on the floor holding his nose. Quiet cries escaped the prince and Logan’s eyes widened.

“Oh dear god, I’m sorry Roman, I don’t- I don’t know what happened-“ the logical facet moved quickly off of Roman and the prince sucked in a well needed breath. He pulled Roman from the floor into a sitting position. “Are you alright?”

Roman took his hands away from his face. Logan, and the others who slowly walked closer to the pair, gasped. Blood practically poured in buckets from his nose and mouth. His eyes were puffy and red, his nose a bit crooked, and his face wet with painful tears.

“I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry?!” Doman winced at the shouting. “Roman, I broke your nose! I can heal from these things in seconds and you can’t, what on earth are you apologizing for?!”

“For being a dick, Logan! I don’t care how much you can heal from that kinda stuff, it’s kind of an asshole thing to to do beat the shit out of your friends for fun!” Roman huffed and pouted. “I was being rude to you and I hurt you.”

“Wow, and it took you a broken nose to realize that?” Remus scoffed. “Dumbass. Get up, I know a witch that can help.”

“No, I deserve it. I have to live with the injuries.” Remus rolled his eyes.

“Oh don’t be so fucking dramatic. That’s Janus’s job-“ Janus squinted at Remus “-Besides, not everyone is very comforted with you enduring weeks of nose repair and I’m not gonna listen to you whine every day so come on.” Remus took Roman by the sleeve and sunk out with him. Roman only spared a sympathetic frown at Logan before doing so.

“What even was that, Logan?” Logan winced at Virgil’s question.

“I don’t know, but I have to make up for it. Italian is romans favorite meals, I’m sure he’d like that.”

“Don’t avoid the question-“

“Look, Virgil, I don’t know what happened. I don’t hardly even recall half of it at the moment.”

“You were angry, weren’t you. Because he kept winning?” Logan looked up at a teary eyed Patton. “I know he was mean but he didn’t deserve that.”

“I know he didn’t. I don’t believe he did, not...ever, really. Just adrenaline I guess. And it wasn’t because he was winning. I couldn’t care less if he won, to be honest. But like I said, I need to make it up to him.” Logan stood from his crouched position. “It’ll be alright, I’m sure he’ll be fine, Patton.”

Patton sniffled and looked down to the floor. “Right...”

Logan cleared his throat. “Um, if it’s any consolation, his healing only takes two or three weeks.”

Patton still stared downwards. Virgil and Janus shared worried expressions.

Logan sighed. “I um- I may be the last person right now for you to want this from to feel free to say no but, while I’m not one for empathy and affection would....would you like a hug? I’ve read that hugs can increase dopamine levels.”

Patton snorted. Wordlessly, he wrapped his arms around the logical side’s waist. Logan quite firmly hugged him back but at least it was some form of comfort.

Virgil and Janus both chuckled at the two but it was cute nonetheless. They both sunk out, leaving Logan and Patton alone.

“I promise, Patton, Roman will be perfectly fine. I’m not great with sympathy or empathy but I can ‘up his spirits’ by.....a Disney movie marathon I suppose.”

“And spaghetti.”

Logan chuckled. “And spaghetti, I’ll make a note of it.”

[todoshotoki]

➽───────❥ INTUITION ; CHAPTER THREE

katsuki bakugo x reader

important side note for the story: so um, i didn't know what to do with the whole twenty students thing so i did y'all a favor and fed mineta to the birds. he doesn't exist in this universe, horray!

word count: 1346

taglist: @aria-bnha @00ashpop00 @internetrashh @videogameboiwhowins @doggy-48

as a result of the quirk apprehension test being an absolute flop for you, no one besides kirishima knew what your quirk was. you planned to keep it that way until the support items you had adjusted onto your hero costume arrived.

you had thought long and hard with isayama about your final designs for your costume. it would consist of a sleek bodysuit that complimented the colors of your skin and eyes. a simple mask would hide your identity with equally complimentary colors and your hair was bound by two clips in space buns. the clips weren't just regular clips though, a built in tracking device was in the right and a hidden switch blade was in the left. these would only be used in cases of emergencies. after all, thinking ahead was your specialty.

you were stronger in your legs rather than your arms so you worked with the support course to create a support item that aided your arms. a weapon; this was an electric staff. it had the ability to become a whip which could constrict around opponents and shock them up to the power of 50,000 volts (as much as a taser, for those who didn’t know).

the staff could also break off into halves and uncoil itself to becoming nunchucks. as a bonus feature, there was a magnet in each glove that could recall it from up to ten meters away. you had fought with the admin to permit the item despite it’s very fatal capabilities so when you heard about it being added to your costume you were more than ecstatic. 

you would finally have a level playing ground with everyone else. it wouldn't be available for the next training exercise you would join with your class but as long as some improvement was being made.

"(l/n), come and sit with us!" kirishima called to you during lunch period. he wave you over to sit with the ones you recognized to be ashido, sero, kaminari, and... bakugo???

“the fuck are you calling her over here for shitty hair?!” bakugo objects the idea of you joining the table. “oh shut it,” you say sitting on the other side of the red head, “i’m going to get a migraine at this point. let me eat my god damn food.” you groan while rubbing your temples.

“where were you during the rest of morning training? we had the test and then you were gone. you didn’t skip, did you?” kirishima asks, looking slightly dejected that you weren’t there. what’s up with him and acting like you two were best friends or some shit.

so much for keeping your quirk a secret, the element of surprise was thrown out the window as soon as kirishima gave you that look.

“i have special training because my quirk is mental,” you explained. “woah! i knew you were advanced but i didn’t know you were this far ahead, (l/n)!” kaminari says, getting a little to excited for your liking. “yeah, i can’t wait to see what you can do at ground beta later today!” mina chimes in.

...

“it’s time for a trial of battle!” all might exclaims in his attempt to hype up the students who except for a confident few looked scared out of their minds. you all were in your hero costumes and the bodysuit you had on was surprisingly comfortable considering the fact that literally every curve in your body was on display.

lacking your main weapon was probably one of the main downfalls of the situation but as long as you got someone with a quirk worth working with then, you were fine. “this will be an indoor battle! for this test, you’ll separate into “villan” and “hero” groups for a two-on-two team battle!”

you pretty much tuned out the amount of questions that everyone brought up afterward and looked around in who could possibly be your favored partner. you shift your gaze over to the boy with heterochromia who happened to stare right back at you. the awkward exchange of eyes made you sharpen your gaze to send a message of “what are you looking at?”

“he’ll be your partner,”

you’re joking.

“alright, let’s get this started! team a will be izuku midoriya and ochako uraraka, team b will shoto todoroki and (y/n) (l/n), team c will be...”

and of course your intuiton happened to be right.

you couldn’t stand looking at that egotistical prick. you could just see it in his eyes that he felt like he was better than you. you shifted next to him but enough distance to clearly show you didn’t want to be associated with him which he definitely took note of shared the same energy.

team a and d were up and all you could say was that you felt bad for broccoli boy. the only big impression he made on you was that throw during the quirk apprehension test and the beginning of class when he had indirectly made bakugo you hit you in the head.

he was no doubt at the bottom of the class.

usually you wouldn’t pay attention to these and build your own strategy using intuition and the knowledge you already had but bakugo for some reason wasn’t triggering anything but useless information.

you had to watch this fight closely and try to train your quirk to focus on him.

the way your quirk worked is by tracking your thoughts and focuses which was movement that would directly affect you or the people in a five meter radius of you and the relationships between you and others so maybe if you shifted your focus hard enough then it would be able to read bakugo like a book.

it was more than clear that he was driven by pure and utter anger and ego. the way he handled his opponent in his match was more than exasperating. they certainly had some type of history together and he was overconfident that he would be the one who came out on top.

he was smart, yes, but he was irrational.

“i can’t believe we did it!” the two from the winning team celebrated, bakugo lookng completely dazed as they finished. you were about to make a snarky remark when your team was up for the hero end and the invisible girl and the guy with the tail were on the villan team.

you looked at todoroki and nodded. once you entered the building, he had taken the initiative to lead. you called out to todoroki, “instead of going out blindly how about we make some type of plan.”

he stops from walking down a hallway and says, “like what?”

“give me a second,” you close your eyes, focusing on the matter around you. forcing a prediction was hard on your body but you finally had a chance to do something and you weren’t going to let the opportunity go.

“the one with tail is on the north side of the fourth floor, he plans to go head on the opponent using martial arts techniques. he doesn’t seem to have a plan.”

you groan a bit from the energy you used and in frustration as the girl has yet to be found by your quirk. you then open your eyes and relay the message to him. he opened his mouth to say something but closed it, shaking off whatever he had in thought. he began to walk down the first hallway, “this’ll get hairy so go outside,”

“what?! we’re supposed to be a team!” you holler at him.

“do what he says, the whole place will be frozen over in a matter of seconds,”

you falter before gritting your teeth and run outside just as the whole place is covered head to toe in ice. you practically felt your soul leave your body. the power that he exuded was unironically chilling. 

soon enough, the whole building was frozen over just as predicted and then was melted back to normal just as quickly as it froze over. 

“endeavor’s son, huh?”

CHAPTER INDEX

[awyeahitssam]

I wrote a “Stiles is transformed into a girl” AU earlier, but it turned out to be just smut.  So here’s this - the same universe in snippets. 

“Goddamn!” Stiles shouted, kicking the examine table hard enough to leave his miniaturized foot aching. 

“Wow, looks like she’s already PMSing.” 

While any comment like Isaac’s not-so-quiet mutter was in poor taste, it was especially so considering the news that had caused Stiles’ outburst.

“You and your misplaced judgement can fuck off, because I was just told that I will never be my parents son again.”

“Wow, hate women much, Stilinski?” Jackson sneered.

“Oh, fuck off!” Stiles snapped. “I like and respect women plenty. That doesn’t mean I’m cool with suddenly turning into one.”

“‘Like’ and ‘respect,’” Erica mimicked. “That sounded a little sexist, Batman.”

Stiles stared at her, openly disbelieving. He glanced around, but nobody seemed like they were about to step in and rebut that particular sentiment. So he took a deep, settling breath and did what he did best, because, as always, nobody else was going to.

“How would you feel if you traded in your breasts and vagina for a dick?”

Erica blinked, taken aback. After a beat she opened her mouth, but Stiles continued before she could respond.

“Sure, maybe it’d be cool at first, but after a few hours or days that novelty would wear off, and you’d want your own body back. Y’know, the body you’ve lived in for eighteen years, and grown a little fond of.” 

Erica was flushed, but that could’ve been caused by anything from remorse to indignation at being chided in front of the entire pack. It wasn’t like he could smell her emotions; if she wanted him to stop, she would have to use her words. Anyway, it had been a long couple of days and he needed to vent a little. 

“Calling me sexist, of all things, because I want to have the body I was born in back is ignorant and just plain stupid. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go find somebody with an explanation beyond ‘it’s irreversible’.”

Stiles snatched the taser from his purse and waved it threateningly. “Back the fuck off, dude. You’ve never been interested in me before, so I’m going to go ahead and assume this is more of a ‘I’d like to get my dick wet’ scenario than a ‘wow, Stiles, you have such a great personality, let’s date!’ sorta thing. Not that I’d be interested in the latter, but still.”

If anything, Isaac looked more amused. He stepped forward, and Stiles fought the instinct to pull back. He was smaller than he should’ve been; he’d never been shorter than Isaac before. Still, Stiles had stood up to bullies that were bigger and stronger than him all his life. This wasn’t the same, but it wasn’t so different, either.

Though the fact that Stiles now had to worry about his so-called packmate ignoring what he said and trying to get into his pants regardless pissed him off immeasurably.

“It’s just sex, Stilinski. What, are you still a virgin or something?”

Like Isaac hadn’t been a virgin himself before Derek bit him.

What a douche.

“Seriously dude, fuck off.”

Isaac’s face twisted into something bemused, like he couldn’t understand the word no. Which, seriously? Stiles had always thought Isaac was an asshole who believed he could get away with anything if he pulled out his traumatic childhood membership card, but this was a little extreme. 

“Are you seriously turning down a chance to test out your new parts? What kind of guy are you?”

“I’m starting to wonder what kind of guy you are, Lahey. No means no. I’m not having sex with you, so drop it and move out of my goddamn way.” 

For a moment Isaac went unnaturally still. Predator still. Stiles tensed, preparing to use both the taser and aerosolized wolfsbane Allison had given him. If he took even one step closer, Stiles wouldn’t hesitate.

Perhaps he smelled the violence rising in the air, or maybe Isaac had just decided to take no for an answer. Either way the werewolf gave Stiles a lingering glance, turned on his heel, and slunk back into the preserve, presumably off to practice his wolfy abilities with the others.

“My, my, you really do enjoy facing down predators, Stiles.”

Stiles turned, unsurprised to find Peter leaning against one of the house support beams. He frowned.

“Yeah, apparently a bunny predator and a sexual predator. Thanks for stepping in, there, zombiewolf.” 

Peter shrugged. “You had it handled.”

Stiles sighed, rolling his shoulders and stuffing the taser back in his bag. “I can deal with Lahey if I have to. And apparently having boobs means I’ll have to.” 

Peter met his eyes when Stiles looked up from scowling at his breasts. The man seemed faintly amused, but there was something beyond that.

It seemed the hungry gleam in Peter’s eyes remained whether Stiles was male or female. At least one person didn’t change the way they looked at him, but in his current state the gaze made him feel vaguely vulnerable. And god damn, did he hate that.

Stiles had long since been aware of his comparative weakness to the wolves he ran with, but knowing and seeing were different things. He was several inches shorter and about twenty pounds lighter than he had been, his coordination thrown even more out of wack by his newly proportioned limbs. His reach was less than it had been, his gait wasn’t right, and when he tested swinging his baseball bat his breasts did some uncomfortable swinging as well. Apparently, he needed a bra.

Lydia takes him shopping first thing Friday, because of course she does. Stiles only allows it because it seems he’s going to be in this body a while, until he can prove Deaton wrong, so he might as well buy some pants he doesn’t have to hold up by a belt without enough notches.

“That skirt is just, like, deliberately short!” 

He ends up with three pairs of jeans, a pair of sweats, some cargo shorts (because apparently those are the only kind that don’t stop mid-thigh), a couple of hoodies, and four tank tops. 

He considers throwing his favorite red lacrosse sweatshirt over it like he normally does, but it’s been getting hotter and he’s seen plenty of women jog in sports bras. At this point, it’s whatever. Stiles just needs to get some of this energy out before he shakes to death or something. 

So naturally when he’s taking a break to catch his breath on mile three, Peter materializes at his side, nursing a cup of coffee with a book tucked under his arm.

And he raises a brow, as if to comment on Stiles’ poor endurance, because of course he does. Dick.

“Are you really coming to the woods to read?” he asks, slowly straightening out. His side is still cramping, but he doesn’t want to be in the perfect position for Peter to peer into his bra, even if the man had yet to look away from his face.

“Yes, I enjoy my coffee exclusively with woodland creatures,” Peter sasses back. Stiles smiles, just a bit, because for the first time in days somebody is treating him normally. Even if it is Peter, and his brand of normal is often a bit creepy. “What are you doing in the woods, Stiles? The big bad wolf might find you.” 

It wasn’t a new joke, but--”I’m not Little Red.” 

“No,” Peter sighs dramatically, “You’ve done away with your hoodie. I suppose I’ll have to find another young man to coax away from grandmother’s house.” 

Man. Young man.

Stiles lets out a breath he wasn’t aware of holding and walks forward, shoving at Peter’s arm. It doesn’t budge, holding the coffee stead, and Peter looks surprised at the casual touch. “Replacing me so easily? Thank god.”

Clever lips curl. “I could never,” the werewolf replies, before waving him on. “Enjoy your run, Stiles.”

Stiles grins back, quick but genuine. “Enjoy your book, dude. Later!” 

And he’s off.

Stiles looks down at the sundress laid across his bed and feels the air stutter from his lungs. This dress had been reserved for the long summer days of his childhood, before sickness had taken his mother. He remembers balancing on her feet as she spun them around the living room, both singing at the top of their lungs. He remembers her kissing the shirt over his heart and telling him that he was her favorite person in the world. He remembers trying to swing higher than her and failing in the nearby park, and how she had always laughed at his pout and said, “It isn’t a competition if I don’t try, Mischief!” 

Stiles had forgotten he had stashed it in the back of his closet when his father had been gathering all Claudia’s things to donate or store in the attic. 

“Stiles?” Scott called, knocking on the door. “Dude, you alright in there?” 

“I—” Stiles took a deep breath, tearing his eyes from the dress and going to his closet. “Yeah, I’m… I’m good. Just give me a few minutes to change.”

“There’s sex reassignment surgery,” Lydia mentions one day, five weeks in. Stiles is in the middle of reading over the translated Latin she’d just handed him, and only makes a vague sound of comprehension.

“Stiles!” 

“What?” Stiles snaps, glaring up at her. He blinks a few times, processing what she’d said, and shakes his head. “No, Lydia, I - I want my body. Besides, that's not something I could ever afford, not with the debt we’re in.” 

“I have money, Stiles,” she says nonchalantly, and it’s probably unreasonable, how that makes him want to break things.

He takes a deep breath and looks her in the eyes. “I’m getting my body back, Lydia, and I’m not taking your money.”

“Stiles, you need to stop. I hate to say this, but you need to hear it, okay? You’re never going to be a guy again. Deaton said as much, and it was okay at first, you trying to prove him wrong, but this is getting out of control. You’re skipping classes, talking to Peter, and playing around with some seriously dangerous stuff. Stuff Allison’s dad would probably put a bullet through you for! Stiles, you’re going to be in a girl’s body for the rest of your life. I just don’t want you making all these shitty choices to go along with this shitty thing that happened to you. I care about you, man… you’re like my - my sister. So please stop. I don’t want to see you get hurt.” 

“Your sister?” Stiles snarled. “I’m not a fucking girl, Scott, female body or not. My mind is still male--”

Sorry to leave off there, but it’s all I’ve got. Stiles definitely shuts Scott down with his rant, though.

[sourcherrybomb]

SoKai Week 2020 - Day 2 - For ____ Eyes Only

Synopsis: During the time period Kairi was within Sora’s heart, she kept a handy mental diary of all the places and people she encountered. Let’s take a peek at it, shall we?

Sneak Peek: I’ve been in Sora’s heart for a little bit as of now. It’s a nice kind of… warm, if that makes sense. Like a perfect sunny day on the Islands. Knowing what kind of person Sora is, it’s unsurprising.

Tags: Light Romance, Adventure, Comedy, All Ages, F/M

Prompt for the Day: First Meeting / Unseen Adventures

Words: 3.5k

Fanart By: @softpinkbee​

Entry 1: Welcome to Sora’s Heart. Population: 1 (I think)

Sooo… This is a thing that’s happening. All because of a stupid, literal world ending storm.

Oh wait, aren’t I supposed to start with “Dear Diary”? Not like I’m physically writing in a journal since I don’t have a body anymore… Ugh, Sora and Riku would probably poke fun at me if they found out that I kept one. Well sorry that I like to be sentimental and have a way of remembering and planning our future adventures, lazy bums.

I’m getting ahead of myself, aren’t I? I’ll do this once to get it over with.

Hello there (mental) diary, my name is Kairi! I’m 14 years old and I lived on the Destiny Islands before I somehow ended up in Sora’s (my BFF and lazy bum #1) heart. That little mishap took place right after I met this weird old guy in brown robes in our Secret Place. I don’t know where Riku (my other BFF and lazy bum #2) ended up, but somehow Sora got sucked into a black hole that sent him… Or is it us? To another world called Traverse Town.

I mean the boys and I always planned to travel to other worlds, just not like this. We were supposed to travel by raft, I was supposed to have a body, and it was going to be all three of us… Okay maybe I asked Sora if he wanted to go alone with me, only to end up chickening out at the last moment, but this current situation is not what I had in mind!

Apparently these monsters called the Heartless destroyed our world, sending us to Traverse Town. I feel bad. 

Sora was lost and alone. I knew because I felt it in his heart.

Luckily, Sora has met a lot of new people since arriving. There were these two girls, Aerith and Yuffie, that I would have loved to talk and meet with. Selphie definitely would have loved to meet Aerith, she was so pretty! Besides them, Sora also met this edgy guy named Leon (who kicked his butt) and a cranky old mechanic named Cid. More importantly, Sora met this talking duck and dog named Donald and Goofy. They’re pretty entertaining, so I hope they can keep Sora company since I can’t speak to him and we lost Riku.

I’ve been in Sora’s heart for a little bit as of now. It’s a nice kind of… warm, if that makes sense. Like a perfect sunny day on the Islands. Knowing what kind of person Sora is, it's unsurprising.

I just can’t shake off the feeling that there’s something… no, someone else in here.

Entry 2: Topsy? Turvy? Definitely Crazy.

Is it possible to have an out-of-body experience and a fever dream at the same time? Because that’s what Wonderland feels like.

Geez, where do I even start with this one? I guess with the talking rabbit entering the talking doorknob? Granted that rabbit was kind of cute, if not panicky. I could get used to that. Sora shrinking and entering a place full of playing card soldiers and a cat with a decapitated head (I think? He reattached it) are things that are going to take a bit to get used to.

Gosh, that feels like the understatement of the century.

I knew other worlds would be different than the islands. It’s just that going from a quiet city to a place where gravity is bonkers and playing cards can kill a person makes a girl really question what’s out there.

I wish I could take pictures so people would believe my words. Luckily this cricket named Jiminy has a journal where he keeps track of Sora’s journey. He stays safe inside Sora’s hood, so it’s sort of like we’re neighbors and journal buddies! I’d love to give him my point of view on things once I get my body back.

Oh one other thing before I forget, there was this one girl named Alice. I don’t know why, but she was giving off this really familiar aura. I couldn’t help but feel oddly drawn to her.

I feel like this won’t be the first time we come into contact with her.

Entry 3: Anyone else hear horns?

Like seriously, Sora and I both hear horns coming from this world, but neither of us have any idea as to where they’re coming from. This (extremely small) world is the Olympus Coliseum.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy got thrown into some challenges and ended up fighting waves of Heartless. Really makes me think about how I should have tried sword fighting with Sora and Riku. Sure, I’ve picked up some things by just watching them, but I think actually practicing with them would have helped me in the long run. I mean, I totally could have fought off that weird guy in the brown robes.

Ugh, just thinking about him gives me bad vibes. 

Going back to the challenges, Sora totally got his butt handed to him by this guy, Cloud. It was way worse than the loss Sora took against Leon, I don’t think Cloud was holding back. 

I’m thankful he didn’t finish Sora off. Partly because he’s my best friend, but also because if Sora bites the dust, then I’m also gone. It was rough seeing Sora lose again, but watching him take out a giant three-headed dog right after certainly was a sight. Although I swear I heard Hercules whisper to his little red friend, Phil, next to him that he weakened the monster. 

Maybe. But since it felt like I was fighting alongside him, I’m not ready to count Sora out just yet. He’s grown so much stronger day after day.

Entry 4: Note to Self, Never Let Sora Drive

You know, if the three of us did leave on that raft as planned, I always had a feeling that Sora might fight with Riku over where to take us. Sora’s never been one for his directional skills, that was always more Riku’s forte. Because of this, I always mentally prepared myself for the event where Sora would get us super lost.

WHAT I DIDN’T MENTALLY PREPARE MYSELF WAS FOR SORA TO CAUSE A GIANT SPACESHIP TO CRASH BECAUSE HE ARGUED WITH A TALKING DUCK!!!

That’s not even where it ends! This Deep Jungle is nuts! There’s a leopard that’ll attack you like every five steps, there was a giant Heartless that turned invisible, and Sora even got a gun fired at it! Granted that last one was because of some hunter jerk with a stupid mustache, but if he’s from this world, he’s part of the problem.

The only saving grace was the fact that there are giant tree trunks that act like slides and as many vines to swing on as I wanted to. Tarzan has got to give me some tips when I have the chance to meet him, it was like he was flying through the trees! I’d honestly enjoy the chance to talk to Jane myself as well. She seems so smart and would have so much to talk about. I think she’d make pleasant conversation. That being said, when she showed Sora a picture of a castle in the slideshow, I couldn’t shake this sense of… familiarity. Like I had seen it or something like it before. But where…?

Even though this world and I got off on the wrong foot, once I get my body back, I’m definitely making Sora bring me here so I can do all that!

Although I still have no idea how that’s gonna happen.

Entry 5: I don’t know why, but this place feels oddly familiar

Today may have just been one of the best days I’ve had since I’ve been living in Hotel Sora’s Heart, over here!

For starters, dogs. Sooooo many dogs! Leon told Sora about all of these Dalmatian puppies that got scattered across the various worlds. They’ve been taking the time to rescue all 101 of them, and they’re absolutely adorable! Ahhhhhh, I can only imagine playing with everyone one of them.

Secondly, I’m finding Traverse Town a lot more comforting than I originally did. Something about the tall building walls makes me feel nostalgic. I never was from the Islands to begin with, but where I originally came from is a mystery to me. I don’t think it was Traverse Town, but maybe it was another city. I’m sure that in travelling to other worlds, I might be able to remember more!

Today I even got to talk to Sora a little bit, albeit by accident, when he and his friends wandered into this old tower. I looked around and said to myself that it reminds me of the Secret Place, all dark and surrounded by stone. I never expected Sora to hear or see me! I had so much more to say, but when this wizard guy showed up, Sora couldn’t hear me anymore.

But that’s not even the best news: Right after, Sora ended up running into Riku! He’s safe! It was brief, Riku ended up disappearing moments after, but now we know he’s out there and can protect himself. Sora was even able to protect Riku from one of the Heartless!

Never thought I’d see that day where the roles were switched. It suits Sora.

Entry 6: I hate sand.

I may find not having a body to be a major inconvenience, but for once I’m quite pleased at the fact considering Agrabah, the world Sora and his friends just left, was full of sand.

At its worst, sand was rough, coarse, and irritating. It already got into my clothes back on the Islands, but around here I’d imagine it gets everywhere.

That being said, this world has got to be one of the most adventurous we’ve been to so far! Desert temples filled with treasure, magical genies, all in a faraway kingdom? It’s like all the games Sora, Riku, and I used to play when we were younger. If only Riku joined with Sora back in Traverse Town, he would have loved this!

One odd thing though, we ran into another woman, Princess Jasmine, who gave me the same vibes as Alice! Turns out she’s more than just a regular old princess, but one with special powers. I wonder what it could all mean...

Entry 7: Did you know that the stomach would eat itself without the mucus lining its walls? 

Back on the Islands when Sora, Riku, and I made plans to leave on the raft, we always wondered what kind of animals we’d see. The one that would always pop into our minds was a whale since they might be big enough to swallow us whole.

We always laughed it off and went back to working or playing, so actually getting swallowed whole by one feels very ironic. It’s a lot grosser than I thought it would be. Smells like fish everywhere you go, so I really hope Sora, Donald, and Goofy take some showers once they leave.

This whale named Monstro even swallowed this old man and his son, Gepetto and Pinnochio. The latter is somehow a walking, talking puppet!

But what’s even crazier is that out of all the worlds, Riku shows up here, only to kidnap Pinnochio! And not just that, I think he knows where my body is. Geez, Riku was being a real jerk about it, though. Said that Sora was fooling around and not helping, when I know for a fact that he’s doing more that Riku has! I mean, I’m in the guy’s heart, that’s gotta count for something!

I wish I could tell Riku that all this time, Sora has been protecting me. I know I give him a hard time every now and then, but out of all the people in the world, I’m really glad I ended up in his heart.

Entry 8: Rival Redhead Acquired

I know that my last entries make me seem like a jealous person, but mental diary, trust me when I say that I’m not usually one to be envious of others.

Until now.

Being in Sora’s heart, I sort of get a feel for his emotions. By all means, even without being inside him, Sora is pretty much an open book to begin with. It’s just that in being directly connected to his heart, I can feel almost every emotion he has. That includes the mess of emotions he felt when he came into contact with this mermaid named Ariel.

Yup, a mermaid. Atlantica is full of them.

It’s a pretty cool world! There are sunken pirate ships, an underwater kingdom, even a giant sea witch that Sora defeated! But nope, the thing that makes Sora’s heart flutter is another red head when he already has one right here! Ughhh, I’m really glad this diary isn’t physical, I might die if Sora or Riku ever found out I think stuff like this.

Still, Ariel isn’t a bad person so it’s not that I dislike her. She also loves adventure and wants to see other worlds. Moving past my jealousy, I think I’d love to be friends with her some day. Ariel and I are similar, but I think I at least have something over her.

Sometimes when Sora talks about me, he gets this squeezing feeling in his heart. Now I’m not gonna let Sora or Riku tease me over my feelings, I’m sure gonna tease Sora about his once I get my body back.

Entry 9: A lot more tricks than treats!

Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays. I enjoy going around to houses and getting candy, but I enjoy scaring Sora even more so. I mean, I definitely did that outside of Halloween, it’s just that the holiday made it feel special.

Needless to say, Sora finding a world exclusively dedicated to it is probably one of the best things I’ve ever found out! When Sora, Donald, and Goofy arrived, they even got special outfits to blend in! With Sora being a vampire, I could see Riku being a werewolf, but when it comes to me, I can’t choose between being a witch or a scarecrow.

There are even monsters! There was a talking skeleton who was surprisingly nice, a mad doctor, and a giant living sack of bugs! (It was super gross when he was defeated.) Sora got a bit squirmy when he died, so I really wish I was there to double down and make Sora sora yell out loud!

I definitely want to go to Halloween Town when all of this is said and done.

Entry 10: I miss candy…

So Halloween Town was fun for the thrills and chills, but felt severely lacking in candy. I may be a disembodied heart without a body, but my heart aches for something sweet! Which is why the 100 Acre Wood was torture for me.

Pooh Bear and I would get along. He loves honey, I love candy, it’s like we’re two peas in a pod. I too would probably get myself stuck inside a tree if I was desperate enough for a sweet snack. 

Pooh’s other animal friends are all so cuddly and adorable! Out of the cutest, I’d have trouble choosing between Piglet or Roo. Tigger reminds me of the stuffed animals I keep in my room. Part of me really wants to hold onto him and see if he can bounce around with me on it, like a pogo stick! When it comes to Eeyore, in all honesty I kind of just want to give him a hug...

Honestly this place is a nice change of pace. No Heartless to be found, it’s always a clear and sunny day out. When it’s night time there aren’t any clouds so you can see all the stars in the sky. I remember all the stories that Sora used to tell me about the constellations instead of learning how to find his way with them. That was more Riku’s job.

I’m glad to know that what I’m feeling when I look up at the sky, Sora is feeling the same. Take your time and relax, you’ve earned it.

Entry 11: It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s Sora, Donald, and Goofy!

Forget swinging through trees, forget playing with countless puppies, and forget scaring Sora, when I get my body back, I’m making Sora take me to Neverland so I can fly up high in the skies!

Wait no Kairi, focus, there are more pressing things at matter. Mainly, Riku has become a full on jerk, has sided with the Heartless, and is dragging my lifeless body around with him! I mean, my eyes were open, but my body was basically a ragdoll without me in it. I mean on the brightside, Sora was absolutely brimming with joy when he realized my body was safe.

That may or may not have made me feel an indescribable amount of joy and embarrassment, mind you.

I mentioned having an out of body experience in Wonderland, but having a literal one felt even weirder. When Sora got close enough it was possible for me to twitch my hand a little, sort of like I was reconnecting with my body. Sucks that it ended up being dragged away, I was this close to getting it back. What sucks even more is that Riku ended up fleeing to this Hollow Bastion place with it.

Still it wasn’t all bad. Body or not, I was still able to fly around with Sora. He doubted that I’d believe him if he told me.

I don’t think he’d believe me if I told him what I’ve been up to in his heart.

Entry 12: Riku…

I’m back in my body. I wish it was as simple as Sora making contact with it, but things took a turn for the worse this time around.

I need to start from the beginning.

Right before we reached Hollow Bastion, Sora was able to connect with me. He awoke a memory of mine that I’d long forgotten since I came to the island: my favorite story that my grandmother would always tell me. Remembering it gave me this warm feeling, one that intensified when we arrived at Hollow Bastion. 

Only to have that feeling crushed when Riku took the Keyblade from Sora.

I’m glad Sora was able to get it back and knock some sense into Riku, but for a moment Sora really felt at his lowest. Sora was able to become his old self again, but deep in his heart was so much hurt at the fact that he lost Riku to the darkness. Not just any darkness, but from this man named Ansem. He was the one who revealed I was inside Sora’s  heart. Sora was able to beat the possessed Riku, but in the end he made a sacrifice I don’t think I could ever pay him back for.

Losing Sora in my arms made me feel even more useless than I did while I was inside his heart. Interestingly enough, when my heart left Sora’s body, I felt another leave as well. It wasn’t like Sora’s heart, but certainly had similar vibes to it.

Regardless, somehow I was able to bring him back from being a Heartless, but the feeling of losing him in my arms like that is something I don’t want to experience again.

We ended up leaving Hollow Bastion shortly after that. When Sora and I were alone, I was finally able to tell Sora that I was with him the entire time. I had so much I wanted to tell him, but there wasn’t enough time in the world. Not to mention all the unfinished business we had back at Hollow Bastion. I wanted to come with Sora, but he was right. It is dangerous, and as much as I didn’t want to admit it, I didn’t really have any ways to protect myself...

I gave Sora my lucky charm. Wherever he goes, I’ll be there with him.

At least, that’s what I keep telling myself.

Entry 13: For Our Eyes Only

Hi there diary, this might be the last time I update this formerly mental journal. 

Sora’s gone off on another adventure to save Riku. He saved all of the worlds, but wasn’t able to save his best friend. If I was in Sora’s shoes, which I might as well have been, I would have done the same thing for either of them. As for me, I’m back on the islands safe and sound. Part of me wanted to jump across the darkness and into Sora’s arms once more. But after fighting for so long to keep me safe, I think the best I can do for Sora is to let this one wish come true.

I know he’ll come back for me. After all, he still needs to give me back my lucky charm. And when he does, I’ll make sure to give him this handwritten diary to help him understand just exactly what I went through on this adventure. No…

Our adventure.

---

When I started this fic, I was honestly thinking about dropping it and starting from scratch with a new idea. Quite frankly, I’m glad I decided to keep at it. I’m pretty proud of the result and feel that I’ve made a somewhat creative little oneshot!

Once again, thank you to the Sokai: Destined Oath Discord server for introducing me to SoKai Week 2020! Special thanks to the server member Gee for acting as my Beta Reader.

Thanks for Reading!

[ambielulu]

The secret of the woods

PAIRING: jeon jeongguk x reader

GENRE: werewolf! Au, fluff, angst

WARNINGS: swearing, arguing & insults, hurt feelings, fighting, death, mentions of death

SUMMARY: For Hailey James things just weren’t in her favor. Her aunt up and suddenly decided to move themselves clear across the world. Her whole world is turned upside down as she finds herself moving through this new town. Hailey thinks her life is going to be boring, but it all changes when she meets a boy by the name of Jeon JungKook. For Hailey meeting the boy brings forth a mess of feelings in her that confuses her. However, Hailey can’t ignore the hostility in her aunt in godmothers response about the boy and his family. Also it doesn’t take a scientist to know what Hailey’s aunt and godmother doesn’t like Jungkook or his family either. With all these confusing things going on Hailey soon learns the secrets of the woods, and she starts to wish she didn’t.

NOTE : hello everyone, I decided to go ahead and post chapter one of my story tonight. I hope everyone likes it. Also I use a little similarities (names and the Jeep) from my favorite show teen wolf. Because I love that show.

Chapt er 3/ chapter 5

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Chapter 4

JungKook’s paws pounded against the ground. His heart was accelerating at speeds that he shouldn’t be going at. JungKook soon heard two more sets of paws running coordinated with his own. JungKook could smell it, he could smell the scent of bananas and strawberries. It was faint, but he could pick Hailey scent out of a million. JungKook felt presences moving up beside him, so he watched as a black wolf came in his right Peripheral vision. An ashy color wolf joined him in his left Peripheral vision. JungKook felt himself calm down a little, now that he had Jimin on his right and Taehyung on his left.

‘JungKook do you even remember where the house was?” Taehyung asked jumping over a fallen tree

‘Even if I didn’t I can smell Hailey’s scent. Even though it’s been a while since I saw her….’ JungKook replied

Jimin ran up a log then jumped back down with JungKook and Taehyung.

‘You got the scent then we better hurry. I’m smelling an unusual scent here….and it smells like someone else was here to. Tae what do you think?” Jimin asked

JungKook and Jimin glanced at Taehyung while they were running, they watched as the ashy wolf smelled the air then turned back to the other two wolves.

‘Yeah, someone definitely was chasing someone through here. The way the scent is all around the area it’s almost as if the game that NamJoon Hyung played with us when we were learning scenting.’ Taehyung replied

‘That’s what I was afraid of.’ Jimin replied

Before the conversation could continue a bigger red wolf appear. The three younger boys felt relieved once they saw that it was just Hoseok. Hoseok, the red wolf, fell right into sync with the others. The three wolves were now heading towards Hailey’s scent.

‘Thanks for coming with us Hoseok Hyung.’ Jimin chimed

‘Hey, don’t worry about it, but right now let’s pick up the pace and get to Hailey!’ Hoseok replied

JungKook grunted and increased his speed. Jimin, Taehyung, and Hoseok followed him.  The boys weren’t wasting anymore time. JungKook’s anxiety was now slipping into the three other wolves. The boys didn’t know what they were charging into, but they knew that were going. The pack would do anything to protect another member’s mate. The boys were a family and they considered the mates to be part of the family. Jimin, Hoseok, and Taehyung hadn’t met Hailey yet, but she was JungKook’s mate so that made her important to them.  Jimin fell back to watch the boys’ back while Taehyung staid by JungKook’s side, and Hoseok fell in-between JungKook and Jimin. As they were running JungKook caught a stronger whiff of Hailey’s scent.

‘Where getting closer! Get ready for anything Hyungs!’ Jungkook barked

‘We got your back.’ Jimin replied

‘Stay on your toes and watch each other’s back. Don’t give this person an opening, keep your guard up. Also, JungKook keep your cool. Don’t let him get to you if he starts talking about Hailey.’ Hoseok commanded

‘Yes Hyung.’ Jimin, JungKook, and Taehyung replied

The boy’s speed increased even more. Their heavy beats matched in step with the thumping of their paws against the ground. Finally, the boys were able to see the house in the distance, but that wasn’t the only thing the boys saw…they saw a huge black wolf. The size of the wolf made Jimin seem like a pup. The black wolf seemed to be tracing under a window. JungKook glanced up and saw Hailey sitting at the window. JungKook felt anger rise in him. Jimin, Taehyung, and Hoseok looked up at the window and finally got a look at the mate of their maknee. The black wolf turned and noticed the boys. Hoseok realized that this wolf didn’t seem shocked that they were there nor did it seem like he was claiming anything. JungKook, on the other hand, had his teeth locked together as he showed them off to this huge black wolf. Deep growls resonated deep within JungKook’s chest that scared his pack mates. JungKook’s body was tense and his ears were perked up and body ready to move for an attack.  The hairs on JungKook’s body were bristled almost like a porcupine ready to shoot quills. Jimin had placed himself closer to the house incase Hailey appeared, or the bigger black wolf made the advancement to the house. Taehyung and Hoseok moved around the bigger black wolf. Taehyung and Hoseok copied JungKook’s posture. The outsider wolf seemed to be mocking the boys. JungKook attacked first pouncing on the wolf, the wolf moved and grabbed JungKook. The wolf easily threw JungKook off, Jimin moved quickly and threw his body between JungKook’s and the ground. JungKook grunted thanks at Jimin.  Taehyung and Hoseok moved in quickly. Taehyung jumped on the back of the wolf and dug his teeth deep into the other wolfs neck. The wolf quickly ran and threw his back into a tree slamming Taehyung right into it. Taehyung grunted in pain as he slid to the ground. Hoseok was now angry. He quickly ran and attacked the other werewolf. JungKook watched waiting for his moment to attack. JungKook barely had time to register the omega wolf slam Hoseok painfully to the ground. When JungKook saw his packmates down and injured he felt as something slowly start to snap inside of him. He then heard Hailey’s voice, and with that he finally snapped. JungKook quickly ran and attacked the omega werewolf. JungKook clawed at the omega’s face then bit at the underside of his neck. JungKook jumped back and grabbed his tail swinging him backwards towards a group of rocks. The huge black wolf slammed into the rocks. JungKook growled deeply at the wolf warning him again. Jimin ran over and helped Taehyung up. Hoseok limped over to them as they watched JungKook go toe to toe with this omega. The group had a distance between them and Hailey’s home now.  The three wolves watched as JungKook went at his face again. The three boys watched in amazement as JungKook clawed the huge black wolfs right eye. The boys heard the wolf cry in pain.‘Kookie landed a hit.’ Taehyung said grunting in pain as he tried to move

‘Something is different about him…’Hoseok said

Jimin and Taehyung looked at the older wolf in confusion.

‘What do you mean Hyung?’ Taehyung asked

‘I think JungKook shifted…’ Hoseok replied

‘No way…’ Jimin replied

JungKook saw the omega wolf in pain, so he quickly rushed it. JungKook threw his body against it, making the wolf fall down a hill…. However, once JungKook calmed down he realized it wasn’t a hill at all, but a small cliff. JungKook was worried so he ran to the edge of the cliff and looked down, but soon he heard a splash. JungKook quickly looked behind him. Jimin, Taehyung, and Hoseok limped up. The two younger wolves now saw what Hoseok was talking about. JungKook’s eyes that use to shine light gold was now shining a light red.

‘where are we?’ JungKook asked

‘You don’t know?’ Taehyung asked lying down to catch his breath

‘No, not really…. I was so caught up in the fight I wasn’t paying attention.’ JungKook replied sitting down

‘You fought with that wolf 3 meters from Hailey’s house….’ Hoseok replied ‘You also injured it…. there is no way he’s going to be able to see out of that right eye.’

‘Dude you took him on! But JungKookie how do you feel?’ Jimin asked

‘I feel tired, how are you guys?’ JungKook asked

‘Nothing a good snuggle with Min-Cha wont cure.’ Taehyung said with his tail swishing back and forth

‘We should head back. We need to tell the others what happened, also it won’t hurt to let SeokJin Hyung look us over.’ Hoseok replied

The other three wolfs agreed and they took off towards the pack house.

——————————————————

Hailey awoke the next morning to her body aching in places she didn’t even know it could ache in. Hailey wanted to just rest in bed; however, that wasn’t an option. So without a second thought Hailey trudge herself to the shower. After a nice warm shower Hailey grabbed some clothes and slipped them on. Hailey hated the cold. She couldn’t find warmth in her blue jeans and red sweatshirt at all. Hailey walked down the stairs ignoring the pain in her body. Hailey barley made it down the stairs when she freaked out. Hailey quickly looked over to the couch in the living room to see Mimi sitting there.

“How did you get in my house?” Hailey asked

“I got a spare key from your aunt.” Mimi replied as she threw her black hair over her shoulder

Hailey was confused. Mimi got a key from Sook-Joo? Hailey didn’t have much longer to thanks to Mimi walking into the kitchen. Hailey quickly followed after her.

“Okay so what’s our plans for today kid?” Mimi asked

Mimi walked to the sink and pulled up her white long sleeve shirt and washed her hands.

“Well for one we must buy groceries, get my stuff for school, register me in school, buy me a new phone supposedly, and finally I wanna check around town.” Hailey replied

Mimi looked up and down Hailey. Then started to eat a banana

“We’re also buying you some new clothes. You’re almost an adult, and you are dressing like a twelve-year-old.” Mimi chimed

Hailey rolled her eyes,

“Can we just skip the torture trip? I’m not for it right now.” Hailey replied

Mimi looked at Hailey angrily,

“Sorry that you are having such a crappy day, but don’t take it out on me. Do you understand?” Mimi replied

Hailey looked back at Mimi, but for some reason Hailey felt the need to back down. Mimi smiled once she saw Hailey take a small step back. Throwing away her banana Mimi turned to Hailey.

“You ready to go? I’ll grab you something to eat on the way to the mall.” Mimi replied

“Uh…. Let me go grab my phone from my room and then I will.” Hailey said

“Okay hurry, if you’re not down in two seconds I’m coming up there.” Mimi replied

“Okay?” Hailey asked confused

Hailey walked up to her room and froze when she saw that her bed room window was opened. She quickly walked over and closed the window. She was about to grab her phone when something outside caught her eye. She quickly looked in the outline of the forest that sat right by her back yard. Sitting in the outline under a tree was a caramel brown colored wolf. Hailey knew she should be scared, but for some reason she wasn’t. Hailey watched as the wolfs eyes flashed red, which made Hailey gasp in shock. To her the wolf was so familiar.

“It’s like I know you.” Hailey whispered

“HALIEY LET’S GO!” Mimi yelled

Hailey quickly turned to the door.

“COMING!” Hailey shouted

When she turned back the wolf was gone. Hailey didn’t know why, but she was saddened by the wolfs disappearance. Hailey grabbed her phone then headed down the stairs. She threw her phone into her backpack and then went with Mimi to her car.

“YOU GOT A JAGUAR?” Hailey asked

“Yeah, my mustang was to boring for me.” Mimi chimed

Hailey looked at Mimi in shock, but in soon wore off when she heard Mimi beeping her horn at her.  Hailey rushed and got into the jaguar and rode off. As the two drove to get some breakfast Hailey found her mind falling back into her jumble of thoughts. She found herself wondering if there was a reason, other than her aunt’s new job, for them to move. She found herself thinking about the boy from Pizza Heaven, and then her mind fell on the wolf. She had never seen a cameral color wolf before. To Hailey he was the beautiful. Hailey soon felt something hit her shoulder, she looked and saw that it was Mimi.

“You know thinking hard can bust blood vessels in your brain.” Mimi said getting out

Hailey quickly grabbed her backpack and ran to catch up with Mimi.

“Really, are you telling me the truth? Or are you pulling one of your lying streaks.” Hailey chimed

Mimi rolled her eyes at Hailey as the two entered the small restaurant. They walked to a table where a girl came a few minutes later with some menus.

“Your waitress will be with you shortly.” The girl said then left

Mimi and Hailey looked at the menus.

“What are you getting?” Mimi asked

“I don’t know…everything sounds so good…” Hailey replied as she scanned the menu. They ignored the bell ringing, introducing someone new to the restaurant, but neither knew the steps in motion the bell would bring.

————————-/——/—/—/———

A/N:

Sorry it’s been a while I’ve had a lot of stuff going on, so writhing’s been on the last thing on my mind. I’m going to try and post every week, but it might be every other week. Hope y’all like the Story.

[itsuki-minamy]

“SWORD WITHOUT A SWORD”

Translation: Naru-kun Raws: Ridia

It was due to the little conversation with his subordinates that Shiotsu thought that it would not be suitable for him on his birthday.

It is the birthday of Minato's twin children, Hayato and Akito.

++++++++++

Minato's children, who will be in high school this spring, said, "I want a sword for my birthday."

"Sword?"

"Yes, "because we are already adults", we want a real sword like the one you are holding."

"Is it a skill control saber?"

Shiotsu's hand touched the handle of his waist.

"This is the equipment loaned to the members of "Scepter 4" under the authority of "Blue King". Just because you have the aptitude, you can't do it alone. Even more, for children…”

Minato nodded with a soft smile.

“Instead of being a hero, he just wanted to imitate an adult. It is not an appropriate treatment.”

"Oh, I see."

Shiotsu's shoulders lost their strength

"Then, as I recall, I can give him a small sword. Boys love those things.”

Minato shook his head slowly.

"Akito said the same thing, but I stopped him. I think those things are still early for our children.”

Minato's wife, Aki Minato, who is also the mother of the twins, is a woman who is part of the "Scepter 4" task force despite being a woman, and is what people in the field say she is "the great woman of Kintama". She often disagrees with her cautious husband.

"I see. If that happens, then it is a home schooling policy.”

Shiotsu bowed.

"Sorry. I told you."

"No... "Holding a knife gives you the responsibility and awareness of an adult". I think there is a reason for such an opinion. Akio also said, "Let's go buy a big one." However, I..."

With a gentle but determined will, Minato said...

"I want them to be ready to harm others a little later."

"I see."

Shiotsu nodded his head. As a single person, he has no idea when a boy is a young minor, an adult, or a child. He is not eligible to make a decision on this matter.

In addition, he regularly trusts the moderate and common sense of the man in front of him.

"So... I'm going to give him something else, not a sword."

"A matching fountain pen."

Minato stopped working on the paperwork and turned the pen around.

"The pen is stronger than the sword." I want you to do that.”

A few days after talking about it, he realized that Habari's birthday was near.

Daily, among "Scepter 4" members, including Shiotsu, there is little awareness of "birthday". Birthdays, birthday parties, birthday celebrations... He remembered after a long time in a conversation with Minato that there were such things in the world.

We look forward to our annual birthday and celebrate with our family members. Such acts belong to a peaceful daily life far from themselves. He behaves differently with sabers and always swaps lives. And a few times a month, he retires after one of his lives suffers. There will be no "happy birthday" on those days. Everyone thinks so out of the box.

But in reality, such "daily life" may be the most important.

The reason "Scepter 4" exists is to protect the everyday life of the general public. If you fight without knowing what to protect, the beast is no better. "Scepter 4", who controls Strains' crimes with his skill, is a law dog, and even a bloodhound is not a wild dog.

Everyday life as a general citizen, life as a person. We should not separate ourselves from such things.

In particular, he wants Habari, the Blue King, to be aware of this. Therefore, it is a "birthday" and a "gift". He wishes his actions could have some influence on what "Scepter 4" is like.

So what to give? It is not wrong to imitate Minato and give him a fountain pen, but he wonders if that is more suitable for Habari.

After hesitating for a few days, she decided on a paper knife.

"Sword" and "Judgment". Knife-shaped stationery. Although Shiotsu wants Habari to keep his society in harmony by exchanging letters and documents with other "kings" without depending on it as a base, he thought it was a tool that symbolized the ideal form of a "king".

Of course, the blade must have beauty and dignity as a sword, even if it is not sharp. In addition, I engrave the "Scepter 4" badge on the handle.

Also, as a result of ordering the materials and so on, the craftsman finished the job to the limit and received it directly on the birthday in the store. It was a bad setup that Shiotsu didn't have.

To make matters worse, there were several emergency dispatches on the crucial day, and not just Shiotsu himself but every member within range who might be called. The only one who was vacant was Zenjo Gouki, who was in the middle of the shift adjustment.

Kikuyodo is a cutlery store in Minokasabashi. They mainly sell kitchen knives and scissors, but he also handles art swords and half orders to artisans.

From Tsubakimon, it takes about 40 minutes by subway and on foot. He goes home, half a day of work.

"Well, don't take a detour. When you receive it, save it, and come directly here.”

Zenjo laughed at Shiotsu, who meticulously said that.

"Haha. It is like a child's messenger.”

"Younger than you."

Shiozu replied half angry.

"If I had another messenger, I wouldn't ask you."

"It is a configuration flaw."

"Yes…"

Zenjo laughed even more at Shiotsu, who was silent when he pointed at him.

"Don't worry like that. It is easy."

"Zenjo."

Shiotsu called out to him when he was walking away.

"This is for personal use. Change your clothes."

"I get it."

"I don't know, but don't take out a saber."

"Is it that bad?"

Zenjo looked back. Hit the saber handle with his hand,

"I will carry it in secret."

"Is there a good reason? Leave it here."

At this point, Shiotsu had made some mistakes. It was not the ultimate mistake, but it was causing an unexpected situation by creating a gap between internal and external routine actions.

An hour later, Zenjo met three members of the enemy clan, the "Purgatory", on the Minogasabashi shopping street.

++++++++++

Minogasabashi is far from the territory of "Purgatory" and is not considered a vigilante area. It was a coincidence that the members of "Purgatory" were there, and that one of them met with Zenjo.

Zenjo was attacked the moment he left the "Kikuyodo" store. One of the three was a strong enemy.

The man is now lying on his back after a fight where the shelves fell and the knives scattered.

A paper knife is stuck between the eyebrows to the base of the handle. Instant death.

"What did you do, Zenjo?"

Shiotsu screams when he arrives on the scene.

"I was attacked, so I decided to defend myself."

Zenjo replied. There are some burn marks on his body, but it is a minor injury.

"We both fought bare-handed, but this one was strong."

Zenjo pointed to the fallen man.

"If I didn't kill him, I was exhausted by this man's flame."

"Ah..."

"Calm down, Shiotsu."

A long-haired man emerged from behind Shiotsu, who was cluttering up his words. The "Blue King", Habari Jin.

Habari kneels beside the body and examines his head.

Sakeku Ryusei. You are an executive in "Purgatory". What do you have on your forehead?”

Zenjo answered Habari's question.

“It is an article commissioned by Shiotsu. It was an emergency, so I used it arbitrarily.”

He uses the fingers of both hands to indicate the length of the blade,

"This is a thin knife. There is no blade.”

"Paper knife? The handle has a small "Scepter 4" emblem engraved on it.”

"That's..."

The moment Shiotsu bets on explaining the situation,

"Oh, today is my birthday."

Habari said.

"But why a paper knife? The twins' birthdays are drawing near. They are high school students and want to stretch, but Minato does not accept it. When I heard it I said, why don't you give him a knife without a blade? It appears to be Shiotsu.”

Habari looked at Shiotsu and smiled coldly.

"The pen is stronger than the sword." I didn't think it was wrong.”

"Everything is my fault."

Shiotsu said.

"It is a boring idea that jeopardizes good articles and creates the cause of a collision with "Purgatory". If they demand a price, give me.”

"No, it's funny, Shiotsu."

Zenjo said.

"I killed this boy. If you gave it to him, it would be my neck.”

"By the way, you're out of proportion to the sake phrase."

"Then instead of changing, cut out a few more people and combine the ends of the book."

"Hahaha."

"That's enough!"

Shiotsu yelled at Habari and Zenjo, who were laughing at each other with unscrupulous jokes.

"I was told that this situation could trigger a large-scale conflict between clans... No, it could trigger the escape of "Red King" Genji Kagutsu.”

"Do you believe that?"

Habari said to control the sword curtain to Shiotsu.

"Purgatory" is the city of the relic, but for the city of the relic, what meaning does this man have?"

"He's an executive! Is it possible for an antisocial group to avoid retaliation if they killed one of its members?”

"No, Kagutsu Genji is not a man who works with both types. Nor is he a man who faces the demands of his subordinates. He is a lonely and uninhabited "King". To be honest, I can't read their behavior."

"That's interesting."

Habari hit Shiotsu's shoulder and asked him to take over.

"Don't worry so much, Shiotsu. Your gift was a last-minute rescue from Zenjo's life, and it also came with the neck of the enemy executive and interesting confirmation.”

Habari put a cross in place and applied a fist to the guy.

"It's a great birthday celebration."

Rather than answer the light talk, Shiotsu instructed his subordinates and began to compile the scene. Things are already beyond individual responsibility.

With a fearless smile and looking at the gap, Habari's brain begins to spin at full speed in an attempt to understand and respond to the situation.

The bomb called Kagutsu Genji may or may not explode right now, with tens of thousands of lives.

If the balance of fate begins to tip toward the worst, the one who can stop it is the power of the "Blue King."

It is impossible that the sword that holds the hand has no blade.

"I will return to base. If there is no profit.”

Shiotsu told Zenjo, that he was trying to start running.

"Use transport vehicles. Hurry up."

[clairecrive]

“Let’s stay home|Quarantine AU”

Here it is guys! I know it’s a little later than usual but I’m actually happy with the outcome, I only hope you do too! i decided to take @ashesbelle suggestion and do a game night chapter. I knew it had a lot of potential and I did my best to make it fun. Feel free to always leave suggestions and ideas about this story! Anyway, next chapter it’s going to be Bane! ugh, can’t wait!

Tag list: @deaflikehawkeye, @mollybegger-blog, @evelynshelby, @br0ck-eddie, @of-love-and-of-the-sea, @sopxhiea, @fandom--0verdose, @shadow-of-wonder, @innerpaperexpertcloud (let me know if you wanna be added!)

If you lost a chapter: Masterpost

Chapter 3 - “Game night”

Adjusting to their new daily life hadn’t been so difficult as Emma would have thought. To be honest, the idea of living with three men had terrorized her a little, not because she was afraid or something, she knew she was safe with them, but because of what it implied. Emma had never been the perfect housewife kind of girl. She learned how to take care of herself and her house but that was that. Primal survival skills. Now she was stuck at home with three grown-up men and she suddenly wondered how it was going to go when it came to chores. She really hoped that they didn’t believe she was going to do all the work because if they did, well they better think twice. After the guys had settled in and rested after the long journey, well only Tommy actually since Eddie already lived in the city, Emma gathered them all in the kitchen.

“Since no one has left, I presume that you’ve all decided to spend this upcoming quarantine here,” she broke the ice, “although, you can still change your mind and catch a plane or a train before it’s too late.” she continued looking at each of them.

“Why does this feel like a kind of initiation?” Eddie mused suspiciously making Emma throw an ugly look at him.

“It’s not but I hope you understand that every one of you is involved and so has to lend a hand,” she continued. However, she could see that they weren’t really following her so she decided to be more direct. “I’m talking about house chores guys.”

Emma watched as realization washed over their faces and to her surprise, there was no trace of reluctance.

“Of course pet, don’t even have to say it,” Alfie mumbled crossing his arms on his chest making Emma send a sweet smile his way. She had always known that when it came to lending a hand Alfie had never refused nor complained. 

“Whatever you want my lady.” Eddie, of course, complied sarcastically while Tommy only nodded. Emma knew that he had been taking care of himself for a while now, her heart would always clench in apprehension for him at the fact and this current situation was no different. She was happy that he was here though, she would make sure that he was doing okay.

“Wonderful. Now, let’s get to business, what do we want to eat tonight?” 

                                                             ***

After everyone agreed that it was definitely the right night to order some pizza, Emma had called her trusted pizza place down the road. They were still enjoying the food when Alfie came up with a tremendous idea: playing board games.

“Absolutely not.” Emma posed her veto already imagining hundreds of ways in which it could be wrong.

“Why, are you afraid of losing?” Alfie, never the missing the chance to take the piss on her, mocked her.

“Board games are the recipe for the perfect disaster. You all transform into children when you play. And maybe you have forgotten Alfred but we’re going to live together for a while.” She glared at him, explaining her point of view as a matter of factly.

“She just knows that she’s going to lose.” Again, Alfie taunted her looking at Tommy for his support but he didn’t go along with him. Emma did her best to fought the sudden voice in her head that pushed her to prove him wrong. However, she knew that she needed to be the one to keep the balance and if she played, there was a slight chance that she’d got carried away and then she wasn’t sure what could happen. Alfie loved provoking her and putting her on edge, and she was competitive and prone to angry outbursts when she played. That wasn’t a good match. Knowing this, she took a deep breath forcing herself to calm down and ignored him.

“You can play if you want, I think there’s Risiko and a few other board games in my room. I think I’ll pass.” She informed them, looking at Tommy while she spoke. 

She left the kitchen with their dirty plates while the guys discussed to choose which game they were going to play. While she threw away the remnants of food, she heard Eddie explain that he couldn’t play because he had a deadline to meet. So Tommy and Alfie were left to pick up a game and they settled for Risiko. Emma smirked at their choice knowing it was Alfie’s way of winning easy.

They went looking for the game and then started arranging the board and their armies on it. A while into the game though, Alfie was rather disappointed to realize that he was in fact losing. Every time they would come to battle, Tommy would manage to get bigger numbers than him. A little suspicious, if you asked him. But decided to stay quiet for the time being and study his opponent instead.

Meanwhile, Emma had settled on the couch beside the table they were playing on so that she could keep an eye on them and get a little work done at the same time. She wasn’t really paying them attention but every once in a while she would glance at the board and notice in amusement how Alfie was definitely losing. An angry puff would leave his lips from time to time whenever Tommy would beat him but he hadn’t said anything yet. She wondered how long was he going to last. She knew Tommy was pretty stoic but Alfie definitely wasn’t. It was only a matter of time before he would snap. She could almost see him filling up and ready to spill.

“Oi mate, that’s enough cheatin’ from ya.” And as Emma predicted, here it was. He didn’t last long after all. Alfie bellowed outraged, his cockney accent thick, and Tommy was getting really fed up with him. Even if he was a master of keeping his cool, Emma could see by the way he was nervously drumming his fingers on the table.

“Listen, pal, I’m not cheating. If you don’t know how to lose then you shouldn’t play.”

Between Tommy’s stone-cold stare and Alfie’s temper, it was a really good match, one Emma was amused to witness but wary at the same time. Watching them cat fighting over their lost army, she decided to leave to it a little longer before intervening. And when Alfie threatened that maybe it was better to show who was stronger outside, she finally spoke up.

“Okay guys, that’s enough.” Putting her laptop away from her lap, she lifted to sit on the couch rather than laying down.

“Yes Thomas, that’s fucking enough. Start playin fair, will ya?” Alfie complained totally misreading Emma’s words and was starting to go on a rant regarding how it was always the Thomas that would start trouble and fucking cheating. However, Emma had already heard this speech one time too much and stopped him.

“Alfie,” trying to keep a smile away from her face she made him look at her, “Risiko is a game of luck. Everything is decided with a roll of the dice, Tommy’s not cheating,” she explained calmly not wanting him to feel like he was being scolded.

“The fuck it is, it’s a game of tactic and plannin. It’s fucking war, innit?” Alfie stood his ground, getting only worked up since he felt that Emma was taking Tommy’s side. The latter though, jumped at the occasion to get away from him as soon as Emma spoke up. Tommy didn’t do arguments nor drama. That was one of the reasons him and Emma got along so well.

“Do you decide how many of your tanks go down in a fight with dice too in war?” Getting the tutting tone out of her voice was getting harder and harder for Emma. She knew Alfie though, and she was very aware of his stubbornness. However, Emma couldn’t help but consider him adorable in that moment. With his face scrunched up for the building anger, and the scowl on his lips because he wasn’t getting his way, he much resembled a child. A petulant one but an adorable one nonetheless.

“Fucking hell,” were the only words that Emma could hear given that the others mashed up in one incomprehensible mumble.

“C’mon Alfie, stop trying to prove that your gun is bigger than Tommy’s,” Emma dismissed him getting back to the article she needed to write while Tommy, who had sat on the love seat next to the couch she was on, tried to cover his snort with a cough. However, without wanting to, Emma had only managed to anger him more.

“Why would I pet, right, fucking wast me time in proving something you already know?” He hissed this time, anger filling every fibre of his body. Arching one of eyebrows, Tommy mocked him without actually speaking up but Alfie paid him no mind. His eyes were fixed on Emma.

Letting out a sigh, Emma moved her laptop on her side, again. She knew that she had been dragged in now and that Alfie wouldn’t let her be before settling this.

“I already know, you say.” She just pointed out. She didn’t want to argue but couldn’t walk away either.

“You ‘aven’t seen his, right? So you can’t really fucking say can ya? You know my gun’s big tho’.”

“And how do you know I haven’t?” She taunted and this time Alfie froze, taking in her implication, his eyes moving from her to Tommy multiple times as if he was deciding if she was serious or not.

“Yer fucking takin the piss now.” He decided that there couldn’t have been something of that nature between them.

“She ain’t. We’re lovers fo’ a while.” Tommy jumped in and confirmed Emma’s words. Neither of them spoke for a while and Emma thought that the conversation had been ended that way. However, she was surprised to find out that they’re both looking expectantly at her.

“Forget it. I’m not going this.” God, what did she put herself into…

“You fucking are,” Alfie stated, “C’mon Em. He’s a big lad, he can take it.” Oh Alfie, ever so cocky. Emma looked at Tommy for support but was had had enough. This man was way too cocky for his liking. It was time to put him in his place.

“C’mon Emma, tell us.” To her amazement, Tommy actually agreed with Alfie. If the situation wasn’t so bloody embarrassing, she would have been proud of them for cooperating.

“Okay then, pull your pants down.” She said hoping to deter them in this way.

“Fucking what?” Alfie protested while Tommy just stared at her. She was basing her tactic to the innate discomfort that all straight men seemed to have in being naked around another naked guy. She hoped it would work and in the meantime, she would enjoy the unease on their face. That’ll teach them to put her in this position.

“C’mon big guy, are you bucking down?” Surprising them both, Tommy taunted Alfie turning to him. It seemed he had taken it personal.

“Are you homo or somefing mate? Don’t want ya staring at me.” 

“She’s the only one who has to look, man. I’m not interested. At all.” Tommy pointed out with a roll of his eyes and turned back to face Emma that watched their exchange in fascination. But it was getting late and she was getting tired of all of this. 

“You know what?” coming up with a way to put an end to this, she got up from the couch and approached them. Without missing a beat, her hands gripped both of their packs making them gasp in surprise. “See? Everything is where it’s supposed to be and I reckon you both know how to use it. That’s all that matters right?” She patronizingly tutted at them, finishing all by patting gently their face. 

Emma then turned to gather her stuff and left the room like nothing happened, leaving behind her two very stunned and slightly aroused men. This had only been the first night of living together and it already had proven interesting. Seems like they were in for a wild ride. 

[weeklyfangirl]

Frat Boy Pt. 17

https://weeklyfangirl.tumblr.com/post/188826127780/frat-boy-pt-18https://weeklyfangirl.tumblr.com/post/188826127780/frat-boy-pt-18part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7 (1), part 7 (2), part 8, part 9, part 10, part 11, part 12, part 13 , part 14, part 15, part 16

hi loves, s’been a while :) I’ve been working harder on the frat boy world than you know! 

I had the nightmare again. 

I woke up washed in relief that bodiless entities weren’t hanging over my head- but before the perturbed feeling completely vanished, it snapped back like a rubber band, stinging me harder. 

 The nightmare had gone further this time. 

 The gray crusting wallpaper was, at least, the same. There was a paper house, falling apart as it peeled, and me, trying to outrun the collapse and the ominous beings down its empty corridors. The Watchers, I’d decided to call them, came closer this time as if emboldened by my subconscious inability to dispel them. They’d survived my past dreams, growing stronger with it. And the all-encompassing dread that filled my body sprung each weighted step forward. 

 But before, I hadn’t known what I was running towards. 

 This time, my dream-self knew. There was someone beyond the wall whose animalistic cries weren’t just for anyone. They were for me. I needed to reach them. 

 I ran to the door, just barely ahead of the Watchers. It was barely open, a slight crack to a dark room - but still, it was open. I could kick it further and with a satisfying swoosh, I’d see what - or who - lay beyond it. I could reach them then. 

 It should’ve opened. 

 But it didn’t budge. 

 With impossible dream-logic, it was locked a stubborn two inches ajar. Hopelessly, I tried wedging my body through the opening. A dark shadow appeared at the end of the hall, drawing closer, closer. Slowly, though. It knew I had nowhere left to run. 

 My motions grew frantic, scraping myself against the door as I tried to jam my body further inside. The darkness expanded, trembled, delighted its prey was so easily trapped. 

 There was a flash of the knife from the shadows, the cries grew louder. But I couldn’t reach it, I couldn’t reach him. 

 Darkness stabbed me.

 I woke up drenched in my own sweat. 

 The ghost of the sliding metal lodging between my skin felt hot. My fingers trailed along the dry skin, just below my ribcage, almost certain I’d find a bleeding gouge. Typically, didn’t people wake up before feeling pain?

 --------------

 Dull thuds filled the room. I blurred my vision, imagining the swinging mass to be the thing of my twisted imagination. I socked the punching bag until I felt my fingers were going to fall off. Which was about two minutes. 

 “YOU’RE ALL DOING GREAT! ALMOST DONE GUYS, YOU’RE GETTING STRONGER... besides Y/N!” 

 It was true. My arms were weak noodles. It didn’t stop me from scowling when Renny jogged over in tip-top cheer captain shape. “Come on! Let’s go!! You were doing great!!!” 

 She’d harassed me into coming to the gym tonight screaming “if you don’t show up, I swear I’m going to drag you with me.” Nobody can say she wasn’t true to her word. She’d subbed in for the usual kickboxing teacher, and honestly, she was a natural. A true prodigy. Give a girl a pair of Lulu Lemons and a kickboxing class and she’d… kick its ass? 

 “It’s a free form of therapy eh?” she reasoned, squatting while she spoke. 

 I scowled deeper, hitting the bag weaker than before. 

 “I’m tired,” I managed to moan. So. Incredibly Tired. 

 “Okay I hate to do this, but…” She paused, making sure I’d hear whatever she’d say next. “Think of you-know-whose face.” 

 By sheer Dwayne-The-Rock-Johnson-level will power, I threw my weight against the bag. 

 “There you go!!!” she encouraged, jogging back to the front. 

 I did it once more, in good faith. But my efforts were short-lived and I stopped, breathless, as soon as she was distracted. A droplet of sweat ran down my cupid’s bow. I tasted salt. Anger. Frustration at how weak I was. How helpless I seemed to be. 

 Where was the legendary endorphin high I’ve been promised all these years???! I turned out to be a sweaty sasquatch of a human being, collapsing on the floor as Renny picked up the abandoned towels around me. 

 “You are so dead,” she chuckled. 

 I half-huffed, half-laughed, wholly aware that her statement wasn’t a complete stretch.  

 “So it worked, huh?” Renny asked, driving us out to the free parking lot across the street. Three cop cars whizzed by. No sirens. Non-emergency. 

 “What worked?” 

 “Picturing Harry’s face.” 

 “It wasn’t Harry’s face I was picturing.” 

 “Oh?” 

 She waved her hand to the car waiting to turn in front of us. “Hello? Let’s go fucker!!! Ugh, stupid bitch.” The car moved, begrudgingly, and Renny bee-lined it for the lot. Her tone turned from deadly to friendly in a flip of a switch. “Also, you know there’s a parking garage next to the gym, right?” 

 “Oh, really?” I feigned ignorance. I knew there was a parking garage next to the gym. I just couldn’t afford to pay.

 “Yeah.” We idled at the entrance, and I realized I hadn’t told her where my car is. “Wait, so who were you picturing if it wasn’t Harry?”

 “You know in my nightmares there’s this… dark figure?”

 Her face fell. “Oh my God, you’re still having those?” 

 No matter how much I considered Renny the sister I never had nor asked for, I couldn’t help but feel an odd distance. It was a distance that’d been building over the past weeks, and one that I’d been ignoring, but now, the task seemed impossible. I shrugged, not sure how to explain the unexplainable. I’d dizzied myself all morning trying to figure out what my dreams meant. But in the end, I was too tired. Too tired, too tired, too tired.

 “I’m telling you dude, you should seriously try therapy. I did it after my parents split. Best thing I ever did. It’s something that’s... ugh, it’s stigmatized you know? Therapy is healthy.” 

 “Just like hating yourself in the gym for two hours?” 

 “IT’S HEALTHY!” she shouted at me for the tenth time that evening. I cracked a smile so she knew I didn’t hate it completely. 

 A notification blipped on her phone. She smiled, typing a reply. “Want to hang out with me and Niall tonight?” 

 I half-smiled even though she wasn’t looking at me. 

 “I can’t, I have dinner.” 

 “Oh shit that’s tonight?” She looked up, brows raising. The clock on her dash said 6:48pm - I was definitely late. “Fuck dude, good luck. Tell me how it goes.”

 “I will,” I said. The bluetooth in her car suddenly screeched Timberlake’s “Sexy Back.” We jolted, hands covering our ears as she rushed to turn it down. Her phone glowed - incoming call from Niall - and she looked at me in question. I nodded.

 “Heyyyy boy,” she drawled. 

 His laughter on the other line made me smile. It was crackly through the speakers, somehow making it even more likeable. “Hey beautiful. Where you at?” 

 I got out absentmindedly, closing the door behind me. Her car idled, waiting as I pointed to my car just a stone’s throw away. Nodding, she suddenly laughed at something funny I couldn’t hear. 

 I dug for my keys and slid in the driver’s seat- but my hand paused on the ignition. What in the hell?? My dash was black. Completely black. 

 Did somebody throw a blanket?? Was there a homeless person who’d decided to rest their stuff atop my car? 

 I got out, completely confused, looking at my dashboard covered in a thick liquid. Paint?

 I smeared a finger through it, trembling, a familiar scent, a sick consistency running between my fingers. Knowledge fought against logic just as I caught the tail-end of Renny’s VW disappearing around the corner. 

 There were maybe four other cars in the otherwise deserted lot, dark houses lining the perimeter across the street. The world spun. Saliva bubbled up. Yellow fluorescent street lamps lit my surroundings, but the hue it cast was sinister. I was alone, they told me. Nobody else could see me. 

 Breathe.

 Breathe. 

 The nausea that ran through me at the sudden knowledge of what I’d touched made me convulse. 

 “STOP IT!” I cried, to whoever could hear. “JUST STOP IT RIGHT NOW, YOU FUCKS.” 

 I hurried into the car, locking the doors. My fingers were still wet as I ran the windshield wipers. They weren’t going fast enough. It spread, making it worse. Air vents blew metal. 

 I didn’t care. The tires squealed as I tore out, sticking my head out the window to see. My car swerved on the road as I involuntarily twitched. The blood was drying on my hands. I just needed to leave. We needed to leave. 

 My nightmares no longer lived in the confines of imagination.

 -----

 I called Renny first. It went to voicemail.

 A man exited the convenience store, eyeing me curiously as he went back in his truck. Renny texted -

 With Niall bb. Call you later 

 Fuck. 

 Fuck fuck fuck fuck.

 Fuck fuck FUCK.  

 I didn’t think when I dialled. I didn’t notice my hands were shaking until my phone knocked into my cheek. 

 The dial tone blared in the air. Voicemail. If I was going to die at least one person should know about it.

 I forgot to speak for a moment. “Oh, hi. Harry, uh… they found me. There’s b” - I covered my mouth. Bile rose in my throat. - “...there’s blood all over my car. I’m at the gas station off PCH and Harbor. But you didn’t answer so… never mind. I’ll be fine. I’m fine- fuck.”

 I hung up. The free windshield squeegee they had stationed at each gas pump was the only option. And their murky water were about to get a lot thicker. My dad used to do it all the time for my mom, just like my grandpa always got my grandma gas. Old school chivalry. Father would do it for me now. He’d take care of this. A part of me wanted to call him, but another part didn’t know how in the hell I would explain this. He was busy. Probably already eating with the rest of them or waiting for me. Oh, that’d be awkward. There wasn’t time. 

 I scrubbed with all my weight, pretending the blood wasn’t blood at all. It was thick paint. I just wouldn’t breathe. I wasn’t breathing.

 The squeegee smeared it to a dull red now, the stains lessened but still very much there. 

 My phone rang before I could try scrubbing the other side. 

 “Are you hurt?” the familiar gruff voice asked. Just hearing his voice slightly calmed the mania. 

 “Hi,” I whispered. Why was I whispering? How did I even begin to explain- “Fuck.” 

 Wow, I was eloquent.

 “Y/N, answer the question,” he rushed. 

 “I’m fine. I’m not hurt,” I stammered. “I’m fine.” 

 “Stay where you are.” 

 “I’m sorry, I tried calling Renny but she didn’t answer and now I’m late-”  

 “Just stay where you are. Keep to the lighted area. I’ll be there in ten.” 

 It was less than ten before the grumbling of a motorcycle grew louder, peeling around the corner. It slowed at the entrance, but its rider saw me and the engine roared, only stopping ‘til the sleek machine was propped next to my car. 

 He hopped off with ease, muttering something incomprehensible.

 “I can’t hear you,” I said. 

 He pulled off his helmet, irritated that it didn’t come off easier. Curls in disarray made the worry etched across his face all the more soft. Each time, I forgot how beautiful he was, and the sight of his tall body rushing towards me hit me straight in my unsettled gut. 

 “I’m sorry.” He pulled me in for a hug. “I’m so sorry.” 

 His body held me tight, an influx of Harry and warmth and protection embodied in the steadfastness of his grip covered every inch of me. If I wasn’t so shocked, I would’ve hugged him back.

 I breathed. For a second, the slow electric buzz spreading down my spine was all I could sense. “Y/N,” he breathed. For a second, I didn’t think about why he was holding me. Nothing else processed. 

 He held on a moment longer than I thought he would. His gaze passed me to the car. He was so tall in comparison to it, he didn’t even need to walk around to see the mess.  

 “Fuck.” His words echoed mine from earlier, and he ran a hand down his face. He shook his head, for once, speechless.

 “I’m okay,” I offered.

 He shook his head, backing up only a step. He took my buzz with it. “This isn’t okay, Y/N. I didn’t think they’d do this again.” But the last bit was spoken to himself. His eyes filled with something treacherous, a darkness I’d only caught fractions of before suddenly bore itself to me tenfold. The muscles beneath his black sweater tensed as everything about him tightened. 

 “Again?” I squeaked.

 “It’s pigs blood. An outdated scare tactic.” The obvious came out sharp between gritted teeth. 

 “Well it worked.” 

 His glare locked on me, and I tried not to flinch. He bat his eyes, lessening the sting, and I watched as he tried to return to the present. “You said you were going to be late.” He was trying his best to sound casual, but I heard the strain in his voice. He caught a glimpse of my car and I saw the darkness begin to return before he turned his back to me. 

 “I’m beyond late.”

 He walked to the motorcycle, and I watched as he swung his leg and kicked the stand up in one fluid motion. 

 “Hop on then,” he said, urging me forward with a toss of his head. I walked forward cautiously. 

 “But-”

 “I’ll move your car later tonight.”

 “-I don’t have a helmet.” 

 A ghost of a smile traced his lips. He handed me his helmet. “Don’t fall.” 

 We rolled down PCH, the harbor on one side, the hills on the other. Our coastal city looked different at night. More peaceful. The glitz and the glam more subdued, the orange hues of street lamps shining in a mirrored reflection of the deep blue waters surrounding us. Everything was more approachable and tranquil with everyone tucked away into their homes by 9 PM. 

 Which made it all the more unbelievable that I’d just abandoned my blood-stained car at a gas station.

 He stalled as we crossed the bridge over our beach town’s harbor, and I tugged his jacket to the right - the system we’d established of how I’d give directions. 

 Harry turned his head, the sharp planes of his face stunningly close with how tightly my arms were wrapped around him. Every so often, he’d let an arm fall to rest against mine, letting it warm my own and fastening it tighter around him before we took off again.

 I nodded. He turned. Cruising down Bay View Drive, we passed megamansions of all varieties - tropical Tommy Bahama gated villas with imported plants, Grecian marble fortresses with columns and underground garages. The steep hill to our left held the flower street homes atop them. I rested my head on Harry’s back, wondering what he must be thinking. The girl who always shuns me about money lives here? A nice neighborhood? She clearly doesn’t have the right- 

 He paused at a fork in the road. I tugged his jacket left and we reached the top of Petunia Park’s hill, the entrance to the flower streets. Just above Bay View Drive and the megamansions that were on the water, we were now surrounded by quaint $2 million two-story homes. He paused, the engine rumbling, gently quaking our bodies. 

 I lifted my helmet just enough. “I’m on Carnation.” 

 He remained still, looking out. From the hill, we could see the harbor and the peninsula creating its barrier from the ocean. The houses were twinkling safehouses against the abyss of black horizon. Our little seaside community. In another life, there weren’t as many lights. Traders and fishermen lived in simple homes with simple lives and returned from the sea to sit down at their modest table to have a simple meal and to be simply… happy. If I squinted, I could almost pretend this were something different. That we were in a different time. Time.

 “Harry, I’m late,” I said, as gently as I could. 

 His gaze tore, ripped from reverie. Without saying a word, he adjusted my hands tighter around his waist. Further up the street until there was no view of the ocean, smaller cottages were sprinkled in between the contemporary beach homes. I pulled his jacket hard and he stopped before an earthy gold Provence-inspired home - quaint blue shutters and balconies overlooked an impressive rose garden. 

 I hopped off, handing him his helmet. 

 “S’this it?” 

 “No.” Next door, I walked to the dark-shingled home half its size. I took a deep breath, salty air and dried grass hit my nose. The scent of my childhood. I smiled. “You don’t have to come in. Thank you so much for picking me up-” But when I turned around he was already walking past me, hand reaching back to tug me forward. 

 “Woah, Harry-” I dug in my heels.

 “I’m not inviting myself. Just let me walk you to the door.” 

 Voices drifted to us from the kitchen, the windows probably open. His black BMW was there in the driveway. It blended with the other cars on the street, but to me it looked strange. I’d never get used to it here. I looked to the boy whose black ensemble blended with the night, but whose tall stature made him rise above it.  

 “Okay,” I huffed, because the way Harry’s body was cemented to the ground, I knew that even if I’d said no, he'd walk with me anyway.

 Three knocks was all it took for chairs to scrape along the floor. 

 An excited “She’s here!!” came from beyond the door. 

 “Well thank God, I would’ve eaten the last steaks.” 

 My mom’s eyes brightened as soon as she opened the door - then confusion, then recognition to the boy stood beside me. 

 “You brought your friend.” Her smile grew warmer, opening up her arms. “It’s so nice to meet you.” 

 If the BMW in the driveway was a bizarre sight. This, this right here, topped it all. Harry dwarfed my mom, but he effortlessly leant down, letting her scoop him up. 

 Over his back she mouthed - Nice, then winked.

 “Where have you been? Dad tried calling a thousand times.

 “We were…”

 “At school,” Harry finished. “Her car wasn’t starting.” 

 I shot Harry a look, casually tucking a hair behind my ear. The less they knew the better. 

 “We can have dad look at the car- oh my Gosh, what’s all over your hands?” 

 I looked down - blood. Blood was literally on my hands. 

 “Paint,” I said, ignoring the nauseating fact that pig DNA was stuck beneath my nails.

 “I thought you dropped the art class-?”

 “-It’s a friend’s project.”

 “She’s alive?” a voice called. For once, he was saving instead of berating. As if suddenly realizing we hadn’t even made it through the door before her interview, she turned to Harry with a smile only a mother could give. “Would you like to come in, get some dinner too?” 

 “Oh…” Harry looked at me, almost bashful. “I don’t know,” he settled on. 

 He leant a bit to the side, crossing his arms, then stuffed them in his pockets. It was the only time I could say I’d seen Harry look… awkward. A selfish curiosity wanted to see what he’d look like in my kitchen, in my room, in other parts of my life I’d never thought I’d be sharing with him. He looked like a lost little boy. 

 He must be nervous. 

 “You should stay.” I placed a hand on his arm and he almost flinched at the contact. He looked confused. I couldn’t blame him. Originally I was telling him not to walk me to the door, now I’m saying meet the family! “Stay,” I repeated, softer this time. 

 His eyes searched mine, looking for any hesitance, any joke. He didn’t find any. “Okay,” he said, as if he couldn’t believe it himself.  

 My mom flipped around, hands in the air. “Yay, perfect! There’s two steaks, one’s a little smaller. Y/N, you can have that one...” She continued walking away, heading for the kitchen. 

 I waited for Harry to walk through the door, but he stuck out his hand. Me first. 

 If only he knew what he was walking into. 

part 18