#gonna hide on my multi for the rest of night after i run a few errands

[mountswhore]

Hey girl, me again 🥺I’ve had this idea in my head for ages 🤔 based off the song ‘Polaroid’ by Liam Payne Mason Mount on holiday with the boys in Mykonos, him and the boys befriend a small group (reader and friends) bassically a holiday fling between reader and Mason but he never actually gets her name or anything just a few ‘Polaroid’ pictures of them both, few months later he’s been trying to find her but can’t and the lads convince him to post it on Instagram with the caption “Instagram do your thing” after a while he notices numerous different people (her friends) tagging the reader in it and turns out it’s her and sends her a message. Thankyou sweet cheeks ���💙

aaahh bestie this is such a good idea

𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 — mason mount

summary: mason can’t find the girl he had a fling with last summer, so he takes to the internet to find you.

notes: my requests are open, ask away!

for @yourmypurpose

Winning the Champions League was supposed to be a feeling like no other, a feeling that you’d remember for the rest of your life. But Mason felt deflated, he felt like the world was closing in on him and he could do nothing but watch it happen. Even his friends noticed his awful mood, they’d gone from watching him run around the pitch with the trophy, with a smile nobody could take away from him, to this; a man not wanting to leave his bedroom, let alone his house. His career was the only thing he was doing well in, his girlfriend left him, he would just train, come home to an empty house, sleep, and repeat. It wasn’t a life worth living.

“It’ll be fun,” Declan pleaded, following his best friend into his living room, “it’ll be the perfect chance to get away from everything, from work, from the UK, from your ex.” He spoke the last part quietly, yet Mason still heard and shot his friend a glare as he sat on the couch.

“I’ll think about it.” Mason mumbled, reaching for his PlayStation controller and turning his console on. Declan was trying to get Mason to come to Mykonos with a few of the Chelsea boys, as a celebratory vacation after winning the Champions League. But he wasn’t budging.

“You say that, but you never do. Come on, if it doesn’t lift your mood, you can take the next flight home.” Declan was trying to reason with his friend, to do anything in order to get this man out of his sweatpants and into some swim shorts. This holiday was all Mason needed to get back into his rhythm, to realise you don’t need a girlfriend to be the best version of yourself, to realise he was Mason fucking Mount.

The look on Mason’s face was completely readable, a smile appearing on Declan’s face. Declan jumped onto his friend, cheering and shaking him vigorously. “You won’t regret this, we’re gonna have so much fun.”

Mason found himself in his plane seat, earphones on, and on the way to Mykonos. Greece had always been one of his dream destinations, it was one of the places he’d planned on going to with his ex. Shaking his thoughts from his head, he’d drowned himself in the music. Waiting for the next three hours to be over.

The villa was lovely, the view from his room was even better. He felt himself smile just a little, hopeful for this holiday. He’d spent the first day enjoying the food of Greece, visiting the beach, taking in the place he was staying. Every time the negative thoughts would try to push in, memories of his previous vacations with his ex, he shut it down. He forced a smile and laughed with his friends, hoping they didn’t see through this façade.

It was tiring. Getting back from a busy day and then being told there was a club in town. Having to force that smile back onto his face once more. He still dressed appropriately for the night ahead, pre-gaming with his friends before heading out to this club. It was only 8pm and it was packed, the place had an outside terrace, which didn’t seem so crowded.

Drink after drink, rounds of shots, drinking games with his friends and a few randomers. It was wild. Mason was finally beginning to let go of it all; his negative thoughts weren’t affecting him right now. It was pure bliss.

“Mase,” Declan called out, gesturing to him on the other side of the bar, “wanna play beer pong? These guys need another group.” Mason just nodded along, looking over to the group he was referring to. It was a group of four, just like them, but he’d locked eyes with you for the first time.

Throughout the game, you constantly had a smile stuck to your face, brighter than anything he’d seen before. It was the infectious type of smile, one that spread to his face too. The drinks had done a number on his movement, almost stumbling to the terrace, where only a few people sat. He took in the cool air, resting his head back onto the wall behind him.

“You good?” You questioned, sitting beside him and placing a hand on his shoulder. He quickly opened his eyes, turning his head to face you. There you were again.

“I’ve had a lot to drink,” Mason mumbled, breathing heavier than usual, “your twin looks so much like you.” You just laughed, understanding how much he’d had to drink. You had also had a lot to drink, but clearly Mason didn’t handle alcohol well.

“Here,” you instructed, holding his hand out for him and placing a cup into his hand, “it’s water, drink it.” You watched as he did so, downing it rather quickly and slamming it onto the table beside him. “Do you remember your name?”

“Yes, it’s Mount. Mason Mount.”

“Well, Mount, Mason Mount, do you remember where you’re staying? I think it might be an idea to get you home.” You spoke, the cool air sobering you up almost entirely. Mason’s head was getting droopy, you’d seen this all before, he was inches away from snoozing on your shoulder. You just giggled at him and stood up, grabbing both of his hands and pulling him up.

“We walked here from our villa, it’s a silly looking one. One with the pool shaped like a love heart.” You hummed, not knowing which one exactly, so his information rendered useless. He was leaning against you as you both walked back into the club, spotting his friends again.

“Hey, he’s had a lot to drink. I was going to walk him home but the only thing he said about the villa was that the pool was heart-shaped.” You laughed to his friend, who you’d learnt was called Ben. Mason was looking around the club, the multi-colored lights making his eyes squint in pain. This was the beginning of his hangover, he knew it was only going to get worse from here.

Ben had been kind enough to give you the villa address, and a key, so you made your way to the location. It was weird how trusting they were, for all they knew, you could be a psycho thief. You’d gotten to the villa, after an awful walk up the hill, and placed him on the couch. You didn’t even want to look at their stairs, let alone take Mason up them.

“I’ll stay here until your friends get back,” you spoke quietly, grabbing the blanket from the back of the couch and laying it over the half-asleep Mason, “night, Mason.”

“You never said your name.” He stated, craning his head to look at you as you sat on the opposite couch.

“Y/N.”

Declan had gotten back, wanting to arrange another outing together, a bit less boozy than a club. And here you were, on your way to spend the day on a boat. You’d brought your polaroid camera with you, hoping to get some nice pictures with your friends before you go home in a few days.

“You’re back.” You spoke, sitting beside Mason as the boat started to move. He smiled at you, handing you a flute of a sparkly liquid, which you’d taken without complaining. “Having fun so far?”

“Yeah, I’m glad I’m seeing you again. I don’t really remember much from last night apart from your face.” He admitted, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. You blushed, hiding it with your hands and reaching for your camera.

“What do you say to a picture? To remember this moment.” You suggested, holding the camera up at the two of you. Mason’s arm slid around your shoulders, pulling you in closer with a smirk on his face. You just smiled your usual, bright smile, and let the photo develop.

The day was spent enjoying the view, jumping off the boat multiple times, finally making your way back to the docks when the sun began to set. Everyone was sitting on the front of the boat, taking in the last few hours of the sun on their skin, whilst you and Mason were at the back together. Away from the sun, completely alone. You laid beside him, your eyes shifting to look at him every few seconds.

“Take a picture, it’ll last longer.” He retorted, poking his tongue out at you as you laughed, shoving his leg slightly.

“Oh, I already have.” You replied wittily, holding the polaroid up to show him. It was quite a creative picture, actually. His skin was tanned, muscles perky, the sun hitting him in all the right places. He was very handsome, you could only imagine the job he had back home.

“Hey, give that,” Mason chuckled, reaching for the polaroid but you’d held it away from him. He leant over to you, hand out to grab it, but you’d both been focused on something else. How close your lips were. You could feel the other’s breathe, it was straight out of a movie the way Mason grabbed your waist and closed the gap between the two of you. He was pulling you down with him, your legs instinctively wrapping around his waist. This was an Oscar-worthy kiss.

You knew you wouldn’t see these boys again, as you didn’t have long before you returned back to the UK. So, as you were grabbing your things, you’d flicked through the polaroid's from today, finding the one of you and Mason.

“Here,” you spoke, holding the polaroid out for him to take, “I thought you’d like it. And it’s a way of remembering your time here, and the most gorgeous girl you’ve ever laid eyes on.” You joked, but Mason really felt that way. You were the most gorgeous girl he’d laid eyes on. He came on this holiday thinking it would depress him even more, but he found fun in you.

“Trust me, I won’t forget a face like that.” He replied, placing the polaroid into his wallet and smiling. “See you,” he whispered against your neck as you hugged, one last time, “someday.”

It had been two months since he’d returned from holiday, back to work, but more importantly, back to his old self. He enjoyed going to work, coming home, and spending time with his friends. He saw beauty in his mundane life again. But he missed you. He never thought he’d miss a two day fling with a random girl on holiday, it wasn’t even a fling, The pair of you hadn’t hooked up, only shared a kiss. But it was a good kiss, an unforgettable kiss.

“Have you searched her name up?” Declan asked, relaxing into the corner of Mason’s couch, rolling his eyes as Mason opened his wallet up for the fifteenth time that day. The boys were round for their frequent game day, a day Mason looked forward to.

Mason shook his head, slightly embarrassed to have forgotten your name, in his defense, he was out-of-this-world drunk. “I don’t remember it, I was hammered. Plus, I’m sure there’s at least a thousand people in this country who share her name.”

“Post the picture on Instagram, people always find people on there, it’s creepy.” Ben added, laughing at the end of his statement. It was a good idea, but was he ready to put it out there that he’d moved on, only for his ex to be mentioned in his comments again? Were you worth all of those nasty comments?

He’d posted the polaroid that evening, with the caption:

‘Instagram, do your thing.’

You had received a call from your brother, just as you were heading up to bed. Strange, you thought, your brother only called if he had some ridiculous news. You’d answered it, sitting on your stairs as he spoke.

“Did you meet anyone on holiday?” He questioned, your mind instantly flicking back to your memories with that man. The kiss on the boat, the horrible walk up the hill, the fighting over a polaroid.

“Why’s that your business?” You questioned, running up your stairs and grabbing the polaroid's from your bedside table and flicking through them.

“It’s my business when I’m scrolling through Instagram, only to find a Chelsea player has posted a picture of you and him.” He mentioned, voice raising in disbelief as he finished his sentence. You furrowed your brows, Chelsea player?

“Chelsea player? Chelsea, as in the football team you follow?” You wondered, opening Instagram to find this man’s account. You’d forgotten his name, curse your horrible memory. “What’s his name again?”

“Mason Mount,” he recalled, and you were kicking yourself for not remembering his silly James Bond introduction. Finding his account, you’d seen his recent post. It was your polaroid. The one you’d given him the last time you’d seen each other, he was looking for you. Your heart was beating rapidly in your chest, scrolling the comments and seeing everyone compliment you. How did you manage to run into this man and not remember his face? Or his name? The amount of times your family had mentioned how A1 he was on the pitch, how happy they were when Chelsea had won the Champions League.

“That’s not me,” you lied to your brother, knowing there was no way of escaping this now, everyone you knew would be able to tell it was you.

“Don’t bullshit me, Y/N,” he laughed on the other end of the phone, as you were frantically shoving the polaroid's back into your drawer, “I don’t know anyone else who uses a polaroid camera.”

“Should I text him?”

“You’d be an idiot not to.”

After ending the call with your brother, you sat in Mason Mount’s inbox for over an hour, unable to send him a message. Was there a right thing to say? Was ‘hi’ not enough for the man you’d left a mark on? Throwing away all of your conflicting thoughts, you sighed and just sent the word, ‘hey’. It didn’t take long for him to get back to you, so over the moon that he’d found you.

Mason: I can’t believe it worked, I actually found you.

Turns out my brother follows you and saw the picture, small world?

Mason: Chelsea fan, huh?

Guess so.

Your conversation lasted until the early hours of the morning, you promising Mason a proper date when you were both free. He had training the next day, but how could he sleep when he now knew you. He now had your Instagram, so he could talk to you, instead of staring at the polaroid in his wallet a million times a day.

[blazingparker]

What’s Up, Danger? (Chapter 2)

The response to this fic has been absolutely incredible, and I am so pleased to give you chapter 2 of What’s Up, Danger? Chapter 3 is on its way, and I can’t wait to share it with you all! :)

read it on ao3!

---

“What’s up, Peter?”

Peter’s name on Tony’s lips was one of the sweetest sounds he’d ever heard, and he couldn’t help but smile even wider. He shifted his weight to one hand, slumping even farther against the strong arms helping him stay upright as he waved his now-free hand dismissively.

“Not much. Followed by the Avengers. Swinging. Got stabbed.” Peter counted off the events of the night on his fingers and looked up at the man practically holding him up at this point. Tony just scoffed and shook his head.

“You wanna save the one-liners for when you’re not bleeding out on a rooftop in Queens?” Peter’s brow furrowed and he looked up at Tony.

“Where’s the fun in that?” He asked, eliciting a sharp laugh from the man. “Besides, I’m not bleeding out anymore.”

“Well, you’re not fixed either. C’mon, we gotta get you to the medbay.” A flash of panic went through Peter and he tried to push Tony’s hands away and get up, feeling his heart rate increase.

“I think the fuck not!” He yelled, ignoring Tony’s quiet pleas with him to stop moving, stop aggravating his stab wound.

“Okay, okay. No medbay. Peter. No medbay.” Peter stopped struggling at the assurance, looking back up at Tony. He was met with an open, honest expression and almost felt bad for trying to shove Tony away.

“I’m not going anywhere near the Avengers.” His voice was steely, leaving no room for questioning. He didn’t really think it was an unfair demand, given that they’d been hunting him down for weeks, trying to unmask him and eventually taking a shot at him.

“I’m an Avenger,” Tony retorted, a smirk making its way onto that beautiful face. God, Parker, shut the fuck up.

“But you’re Tony,” Peter reasoned before flushing brightly and looking away. What did I literally say about shutting the fuck up oh my god this is why we can’t have nice things-

“I’m flattered, Peter.” A shy glance to the billionaire’s face told Peter he really did mean it. “But I’m also dead serious about getting you fixed up properly. I’m not letting you swing home like this, you could tear it open and then we’re right back to square one.” There were a few moments of silence, each man trying to think of the best way to move forward. Peter bit his lip, looking down at the ground.

“I have a first-aid kit at home,” Peter mumbled softly, and Tony just stared at him incredulously. Peter could understand why - he’d spent weeks avoiding the Avengers and now in the span of five minutes he’d given Tony his name and invited him to his apartment.

“You mean to tell me every time you get hurt, you bandage yourself up?” Tony asked, sounding almost...sad? Maybe he wasn’t staring at Peter that way for the reasons he’d thought.

“Yeah? I don’t exactly have a multi-million dollar tower with a functioning medbay,” Peter said, raising an eyebrow as he looked at Tony. “I have a shitty apartment with a broken radiator and a first-aid kit that runs out faster than I can afford to replenish it.” Tony swore rather creatively under his breath, and Peter found himself smiling again. Was it possible that Tony actually cared?

“Not anymore, you don’t.” Before Peter could question what Tony meant, he was being bundled into those strong arms and leaning against the chest of the Iron Man armor. “Point me in the direction of your place.” As the armor carried them into the air, Peter gave Tony directions until they landed on the fire escape of a run-down apartment building in Queens. He hurriedly threw his mask back on before opening the window and crawling in. Tony stepped out of the armor and through the window, leaving the suit on sentry mode.

“Jeez, you weren’t kidding about the radiator,” Tony remarked as he straightened up. The apartment was just as chilly as the December air outside. “That suit can’t be very good at keeping you warm, either.” Peter scoffed as he took the mask off again, rolling his eyes.

“Do you make a habit of insulting the people who call you for help, or is that special treatment reserved for me?” He quipped. He tried to take a step towards the bathroom, but his knees buckled and Tony rushed to support his weight.

“All for you, Pete,” Tony said with a wink, and Peter very pointedly ignored the blush that it brought to his cheeks. They slowly made their way to the bathroom, where the young man pointed out where the first aid kit sat under the sink.

“If you could just bend down and grab it, I’ll stitch myself up,” Peter said with a soft groan as he leaned against the wall. His eyes closed for just a second, but when they opened he found he’d earned another incredulous stare from Tony. “What?”

“You are not stitching yourself up. I got this, I’m going to help. Just-you can trust me. Okay, Peter?” The vigilante just looked at Tony for a moment before nodding.

“I know that,” he murmured, surprising even himself at the admission. Tony blinked in shock before smiling - all soft and sweet in a way Peter hadn’t seen before. Usually that expression was more snark and arrogance, and he felt privileged to see what seemed to be the real Tony Stark.

“Good.” Tony swiped the first aid kit from under the sink and guided Peter to the couch in the small living space that was barely separated from the kitchen. “Just-take off that costume so I can get a good look at this, yeah?” Peter blushed but stripped off the hoodie of his makeshift suit, revealing pale skin and smooth muscles. If he hadn’t known better, he would’ve sworn he saw something flicker in Tony’s gaze. Something like hunger.

“I’m gonna lay down before I pass out,” Peter grumbled as he settled on the couch, laying back so Tony could see the wound. He hissed softly as fingers gently poked and prodded, each of his sounds of pain met with a hushed apology from the surprisingly sweet billionaire.

“I’m gonna stitch this up, you got any painkillers?” Tony asked, rummaging through the first aid kit. Peter just laughed, shaking his head.

“Yeah, I picked up the meds that work with enhanced metabolisms on my way home from class. I get them over at Superheroes-R-Us. Just go ahead and stitch it - that’s what I always do.” Tony looked a little ill at the suggestion but got to work anyway. With each stitch, Peter grimaced and Tony ran a hand through his curls - another act that surprised and confused him but he wasn’t complaining. He loved when people played with his hair, and it helped distract him from the pain in his side. After a few moments of silence, he decided to finally ask about what Tony had said back on the rooftop.

“Hey, what did you mean? When you said ‘not anymore’?” He asked, and Tony briefly glanced at him before going back to the stitches.

“I’m gonna take care of it. The broken radiator, the bare first-aid kit. The shitty pajamas you call a suit.” Before Peter could protest, he held up a hand. “I know you don’t want to be an Avenger. I get that. Just-it’ll ease my conscience if I know you aren’t struggling so much when all you’re trying to do is look out for the little guy, okay?”

A beat of silence. Tony looked up to find Peter just staring at him, with something like adoration in his eyes. A hand wrapped in fingerless gloves found its way to the one holding gauze to Peter’s side.

“Thank you, Tony,” Peter whispered, still looking at him like he’d promised to rearrange the stars outside his window. Tony coughed, glancing away.

“It’s just a suit and some medical supplies. It’s not a big deal,” he insisted, trying to pass it off as he finished stitching Peter’s wound and sat back.

“It is. It’s a big deal to me,” Peter said, sitting up and tentatively placing a hand on Tony’s knee. “No one-no one knows about me. About this.” He gestured to the mask now lying discarded on the table with his hoodie. “No one knows enough to check in on me. To make sure I’m okay. So just-” Peter swallowed when his voice threatened to break. “Don’t say you caring about how I’m doing isn’t a big deal, because to me...it’s the biggest deal.”

Tony looked over at the injured man on the couch, and Peter felt something like fear worm its way into his chest. Tony was about to reject the notion that he cared and leave, he was sure of it. This is why you need to shut the fuck up-

“I care about you way more than a first aid kit or a radiator could ever express,” Tony blurted out. “I don’t-I don’t know where it came from. But every night, I wait and wait for your phone call and all I want is to hear your voice and know you’re okay. If something happened to you..” he trailed off, just looking at Peter like he was really taking him in.

“Tony?” Peter asked softly when it had been a few moments and nothing else had come from the man sitting next to him. He rubbed his knee and shifted a little closer, trying to convey without words he wanted to hear everything Tony wanted to say.

What he didn’t expect was the descent of gentle, chapped lips. A hand working its way into his hair and another resting on his cheek. The press of another warm chest against his own. Peter made a soft sound and leaned into the kiss, one hand reaching up to clutch Tony’s shirt. He never wanted this to end, but the need for air grew imperative and he was forced to pull away. Their foreheads pressed together, noses nudging each other as the two men caught their breath with matching smiles on their faces. Tony is the first one to speak.

“Well, I can say with confidence that this was not what I expected to get out of that phone call.” At Peter’s fearful expression, he ran a soothing hand down his side. “I’m not complaining,” he murmurs. Peter relaxes into him, sighing in relief. For once, his inability to shut up had done him a favor rather than hurt him.

“Yeah, me neither.” Peter huffed out a laugh and winced when it tugged at his stitches in a painful way. He tried to hide it, but Tony was too observant for that.

“You need rest. Let me take you to bed, okay?” Tony suggested, and Peter nodded.

“Just-help me up?” He asked, embarrassed at needing the help but also unwilling to potentially tear open the stitches Tony had just done.

“Of course,” Tony said with that signature smirk, and Peter opened his mouth to ask what that look was for when he was whisked off the couch and into Tony’s arms. A rather undignified squeak left his mouth, and he rested his head against Tony’s shoulder with a blush.

“What? I helped you up,” Tony teased as he carried Peter to the bedroom. There was a mound of blankets on the bed, and he moved them aside so he could lay them both down. “What’s with the blanket fort?”

“I told you the radiator is broken, and I can’t thermoregulate. I get really cold at night. Hence, blankets,” Peter explained as he tugged the blankets over them. Seeing the look of shock on Tony’s face, he hesitated. “Did you-not want to stay?” He asked with a blush.

“Of course I do,” Tony said immediately. “I just didn’t think I’d be welcome.” Peter didn’t dignify that with a response, just wrapping them both up in the blankets so they would be warm during the night. His movements grew slow as sleep crept up on him and a yawn left his lips.

“‘M sleepy,” he mumbled, feeling Tony chuckle as he was cuddled against that strong chest again.

“Go to sleep, Danger. I got you.” With those words, Peter gave into the exhaustion and drifted off, hand still clutching Tony’s shirt.

When Peter woke in the morning, he was absolutely roasting. Throwing the blankets off, he realized Tony was gone and he quickly walked out to the living area to see if he was there. The billionaire was gone, but what was left in its place made Peter’s heart flutter and brought a smile to his face.

A fixed radiator and a stocked first-aid kit.

---

After that, Tony and Peter found whatever excuses they could to meet up at Peter’s apartment. First, it was a new suit to replace the “slashed-up onesie” that Spider-Man was infamous for. It was clearly well-made, but subtle enough that it didn’t scream Stark Tech to everyone who looked at it.

Then, it was a bottle of painkillers Tony had engineered specifically for Peter. They actually took the pain away and allowed him to rest comfortably after a bad night. For the first time, he got loopy after taking one too many. Tony had teased him about the resulting phone call for a few days until Peter threatened to never take the pills again.

A few more weeks had gone by since that first evening at Peter’s apartment, and things were good. The Avengers still caught up with him regularly, but hearing Tony’s voice or cuddling in his arms after each encounter made Peter feel so much better. His life wasn’t a constant mess anymore, now that he had someone who understood what he was going through and could provide support. Peter had repeatedly insisted Tony shouldn’t worry about him so much, that he didn’t want to be a burden, but was consistently met with the same assurances that Tony adored him, adored their relationship and wouldn’t change it for the world.

Tonight was shaping up to be the same, with a phone call to Tony and maybe a chance for them to meet up, eat some pizza, and relax. Peter had just finished up stopping an ATM robbery, and had paused to catch his breath before swinging home.

Of course, things couldn’t be that easy, though. As he stood on the rooftop, chest heaving, his spider sense flared briefly. Before he could discern why, he felt a prick in the side of his neck. Confused, he reached a hand up and plucked a dart from his skin. He just stared at it, not understanding as his vision started to swim and staying upright became increasingly difficult.

The last thing he saw before he slipped into unconsciousness was a flash of red, white, and blue.

[ninnodesu]

“Can I See You?” || Modern!Thomas

Modern-day AU:

It's still Thomas B. Hewitt we know, the only thing that's different is the fact that it's set in modern days! Making it easy for our Big Man to actually communicate with the help of text messages. He gots one of those nasty vocabularies.

I'm still learning how to write smut, okay :( Also, try changing my mind that Modern!Thomas wouldn't have both tattoos and a frenum piercing.

Oh, and sorry that this is AFAB, but it's easier for me to practice writing smut since I'm cis myself, but one day I might evolve!

You sigh as you lean your head on your steering wheel and bonk it a few times. “Please. Move. Please. Move. Please. Move.”, you chant in rhythm to your head hitting it, and glare out at the cars in front of you.

Of course, you got stuck in traffic. And of course, you still had about maybe two hours left to drive to get home, meaning, you would get home much later than you had hoped. Turning your head, you decide to unbuckle your seatbelt and just lean in more comfortably on your wheel instead and look out at the horizon to your left.

“I jus’anna’go’ome.”, you mumble into your arms and groan slightly before fishing your phone out of your pocket to lazily browse your social media in a rotation, hoping something will happen, knowing nothing will. The line of cars is ever un-moving in front of you, and you can even see some people going out to check on the miles of cars. Checking the news section, you see the cause of the traffic jam. A big accident, apparently. With several cars.

“Well, I’m not gonna get home any time soon…”. A thought crosses your mind as you scroll through your contacts, looking for a specific little icon you know so well at this point.

A chainsaw one.

You press it and bring up the message window to your earlier conversations and start typing.

“I’m stuck.”

It takes maybe five minutes before you hear the familiar chime.

“In a baby swing?”

“Ha-ha. No.” “In traffic.” “And I’m bored.”

You knew he had a particular small pet-peeve to other people multi texting but had a habit of doing it himself.

“And you think I care?”

“I know you do.”

“I don’t.”

“You seem in a happy mood…” “What made you so grumpy?”

“Can’t get the shower to work.” “And I really want to take one” “but my uncle is an ass and refuse to fix the plumbing” “so I have to.”

All you do is sit there and watch as the pet-peeve he so vehemently screams about when you do come through.

“Uh-huh. All I could focus on were you, naked, alone.”

“No.”

“What do you mean by “no”?

“I won’t do it.”

He saw right through you. You’d been talking with this somewhat mysterious man for a few months now, you’d never seen him, all he’d done was to describe himself to you, but you had never seen his face directly before. He refused to send any kind of clear picture of himself, but you loved teasing him about it in a friendly way, making sure to never sound like you were making fun of him. And even if he seems like he didn’t want to, he also seemed to loosen around this subject, one time going as far as to send half of a mirror selfie to you. Showing a strong arm with a tattoo covering most of it that pictured a chainsaw - the sole reason why you’d saved his phone number as a chainsaw icon, not thinking about asking him for his name - shoulder long brown hair flowing in locks and the half of what seemed to be a broad chest. He had his face turned away, sadly, but what you saw made you more curious. It seemed like he was wearing a mask in the photo that covered the parts of his face that were visible in the mirror.

“Aaw, come on. I know you’re hiding something really handsome. I won’t tell anyone~” “What if I send you something naughty? ;)”

This time he seemed to disappear on you for a longer time and during the thirty minutes he was gone you thought you had almost offended him or finally made him tired of your ramblings. But then the chime came back.

“Finally!”

“Finally I’m getting a nude?”

“...”

“I’m just messing with you, big man.”

“Look, you won’t like what you see, okay?” “I’m nothing more than a freak” “I’m ugly and disfigured” “that’s all there is to this.” “People don’t like looking at me” “so I don’t bother showing my face to anyone”

A part of you broke when you saw his confession. He had never told you why he didn’t send you pictures, and you didn’t want to pressure him by asking. All you did was type one reply.

“Try me.”

Silence. Pding! This time, however, you froze when the notification said that “ Has sent an attachment ”. Your thumb hovered over the small icon with its glowing and angry red one. You opened the chat, and the attached photo showed you a man, who looked to be in his mid-thirties, he had one arm laid over his broad chest, the one heavily tattooed arm taking the mirror selfie resting on the one crossed over the chest. He did have a mask on, it looked homemade, but what you could see showed a strong jawline and a masculine face. The most striking part of him was his eyes, they were amazingly blue, and he looked directly into the camera. And you melted. Your eyes traveled over his tank topped clad shoulders, down his biceps, and up to his arms. He looked like he was made by an artist. His dark locks sweaty after seemingly working the plumbing, a sheen of sweat lingering on his collarbone.

“Jesus fucking… christ…”, was all you could mumble behind your mouth. Seemingly in a trance, as you just ogled the stranger you’ve barely gotten to know, the two of you mostly using the other for some sexual relief during the nights. You glanced up to the traffic in front of you, making sure it was still stuck and yes, just as stuck as when you first messaged him. Your phone chimed into a melody as a series of short sentences came through, and you woke up from your trance.

“I’m sorry…” “I’m not what you expected, am I?” “I figured.” “This is why I never sent you anything back.”

“No, I… You’re just really… really handsome. I couldn’t stop looking at the picture.” “I really can’t. I had no idea this is who I was having such naughty thoughts about at night.”

“Heh… No need to be polite.”

“I’m not being polite! I’m being honest!”

“You really like it?”

“Yeah… I do.” “Can I ask why you wear the mask, though?”  

Silence. You tapped the side of your phone as you saw the three dots.

“My face isn’t like everyone else's” “I don’t want to scare you off” “like I do with everyone else”

You bite the side of your thumb. His responses made your heart sting. How would anyone be scared of him? You want to see more of him, want to see him without the mask. And suddenly, you felt nervous. You’ve never been nervous about having sessions of dirty talk with him before, but now? When you’ve seen him? You were. And you decided to take the plunge and ask for more.

“Can I see more of you…?”

For some reason, you were shaking as you pressed send.

Why do I suddenly feel like a fucking schoolgirl?!, you thought as you waited for a reply, feeling a small tingle starting to emerge in your body.

A new picture came your way, this one accompanied by a text on top of it.

“Time to give the new plumbing a test drive…”

He had no shirt on this time, your breath hitched slightly as you saw his bare torso. His mask was off, but he had one hand hovering over his face, parts of it seen through sprawled fingers. Like he did want to show you, but not all at once. What you saw was shocking, yes, and you couldn’t deny that fact. His nose was missing, large parts of his face were scarred and dried, but you didn’t care. All you could really focus on was his blue eyes. Your own traveled over what you could see. He was gifted with the absolute perfect ratio of muscles and fat all over his body. A towel wrapped around his waist, the angle of the camera showing a beautifully delicious happy trail leading down from his navel down below the towel.

“Are you sure you’ve never taken photos like this…?”

You couldn’t help but tease a little bit.

“Positive…” “Am I doing good?”

You breathe a laugh out.

“You’re doing great.” “I hope you think of me when you shower~”

The cars finally started moving again after that message and you happily went on your way home. Having a hard time ignoring the chiming that went on in the passenger seat next to you, having to chew the inside of your cheek as to focus on the road the best you could. Absolutely not thinking about this mysterious man you’ve never met before having a shower… naked.

When you finally arrived home you basically threw everything on the couch and almost ran to your bedroom. Sinking down on your bed, covered by big pillows, you take a shaky breath while opening your phone to check your messages. There weren't many, but the few you had from the giant man was enough to send chills running down your spine to end up exploding in tingling fireworks between your legs. You chewed your lip slightly as you opened his chat.

“Would be nicer if you could join me, though.”

Another picture had joined the chat while you were driving.

The bathroom is foggy, the mirror covered by condensation, but he’d wiped straight across it so he could take another picture in it.

This was the one where he had - apparently - gathered enough strength to show his entire face. His hair was dripping, laying over the upper half of his face, eyes peeking through it, and he had a towel laid over his shoulders, the one hand not holding the phone in the midst of wiping excess water from his thick and wide neck. Although now, a smirk was splayed across his lips, lips that seemed to be missing a few pieces, but god did they look kissable. His smirk letting you know he knew something you didn’t. This angle also showed a bit of skin like the earlier one had done, but this time you couldn’t see a towel in the fogged-up mirror. This bastard had consciously wiped the mirror off just enough for you to see his face and down just above his navel where the fog took over, covering the rest of him up. This one also had a message over it, strategically placed on the lower end of the picture.

“I hope you make it home fast, I want to practice this thing. ;)”

You trace the shape of his body, thoughts running wild at how his hands would feel, what sounds he would make if you bit down on his throat, his strong hands gripping and groping every part of your own body. You two had exchanged dirty texts for a long time now. It had mostly only been dirty words, with you sending him the occasional picture, but he’d never sent anything back. Until now. You couldn’t help but smile at that fact.

“This is a new side of you.” “I’m home now, by the way” “I like these welcome home messages ;)”

All you do as you wait for a reply is look at the pictures again. You had no idea this was the man you’d been talking to. He did describe himself, but it was obvious he was oblivious to just how attractive he actually was. You did guess it was because of his facial deformities, and while you could agree that it was bad, all the words you’d exchanged between each other made so it didn’t matter. This man was hot.  

“Heh… Welcome home.” “Mmh. I’m not sure what happened” “but I wanted to make you happy” “and if showing my ugly mug makes you happy” “so be it.”

You frowned when you read how he called himself ugly.

“You’re not ugly. I can’t stop looking at you. I couldn’t stop thinking about you on my drive home, either. My thoughts have been nothing but impure because of your pictures~”

“What did you think about?”

“You really want to know such dirty things?”

“Mmh. Tell me.” “‘specially if it’s dirty. ;)”

You sank down lower on the bed, biting your lower lip as you pondered how to word your response. Deciding it’s time to bring the teasing out and see if you can lure more pictures from him.

“Mmh~ I don’t know… What do I get if I do?”

“Are you starting to bargain?”

“Maybe~ ;)” “Maybe I just need some convincing before I actually tell you such naughty things”

“You’ve never had any problems in telling me naughty things before, little lady.” “Why now, all of a sudden?”

“Tell you what, big guy. If you do me two favors, I’ll tell you what I was thinking about…” “Deal?”

Your phone got quiet for a minute, you figured he was thinking about your proposal.

“Deal.”

“First, tell me your name. I want a name to moan while cumming to that handsome face of yours” “Secondly, I want another picture~” “It doesn’t have to be spicy, I just want to see more of you.”

It was weird, but you’d never thought about asking his name before. You guessed it was because you didn’t have a face to him until now. Apparently, he had decided to play along, seeing as he’d sent you a new photo.

It showed you a lap, thighs that looked just as muscular as his upper body, he was sitting down, relaxing it seems. This man was either a huge tease by nature, or he knew how attractive a guy in gray sweatpants was because he had chosen to put a pair on. His left hand lazily resting on his left thigh, big fingers adorned by clunky rings and a worn-out watch on his wrist. Nothing sexual, if it wasn’t for the generous outline of what seemed like a properly proportional dick resting in between his meaty thighs. And a name sprawled in simple text.

“Thomas.”

You hummed to yourself.

“Well, Thomas, I guess it’s up to me to uphold my part of the deal then...“

“I’m waiting, darlin"

A tingle runs down your back again, he’s never called you that before.

“I was thinking about you in the shower. How the water ran down you back, how much I would love to be in it with you, pressing my tits against your back as my hands run down your strong arms” “then back up to massage your shoulders. You don’t know how much I wanted to do that, to join you in your shower. I want to run my tongue on your throat, I want to know what you taste like”

“You can’t.”

“I know, and it’s killing me. And now when I’ve seen you, I want you more. Want to hear you breathe in my ear as you fuck me” “to hear you moan” “you have no idea how hard you make me cum when we talk”

“This is definitely a new side to you” “I didn’t know you could talk like this” “what’s made you this bold? ;)”

“You, Thomas. You awoke something in me when you showed me your face.”

You can’t help but be honest with him at this point. You agree that you’ve never talked to him like this before, even if you’ve been texting dirty, it’s never been to this point. Arousal starts to build up between your legs and you press your thighs together, not wanting to give in just yet.

“That makes me happy, baby.” “Nice knowing I have this effect on you” “so, you’re telling me I make you horny?”

“Don’t act like you don’t know you do.”

“I do, but I want to you say it” “I want to see you admit I make you horny” “tell me I’m the one who makes your pussy wet”

A shaky breath escapes you seeing him talk like this, but you give in and give him what he wants.

“Thomas, you make me so horny. You’ve always had.”

“That’s my girl” “You like how I talk about how I would fuck you?” " Is that what you like hearing?”

“Yes…”

“Mhm.” " I bet you would look lovely stretched around my cock”

That was the point where you couldn’t ignore the growing arousal spiking through your body, and you could feel yourself starting to get wet by the thought of him ravishing you. Him moaning as he pushed inside your wet cunt. Your thighs rubbed harder, your hand shaking as you could only watch the three dots come up as he was typing.

“Show me.” “Show me how your body reacts to me” “I want to see how wet I make you”

“Persuade me…”

You grinned, thinking you had the upper hand this time.

“Nuh-uh” “you don’t get to set the rules this time” “this time; I’m in charge” “and if I want you to show me your pussy before I give you more” “that’s what you’ll do”

You shivered hard at this series of texts from him. You loved that he showed his dominant side. Pulling off your jeans along with your moist panties, you sit back on the bed, half laying, snapping a cheeky photo of your lower half, fingers only crazing your mound, being more in a teasing mood than in a give-him-what-he-wants-straight-away kind of mood.

A satisfied smirk dances on your lips as you send it away. Not long after a reply comes.

“Don’t play games with me, now.”

“Or what? You’ll spank me?” “You know you can’t do that~” “So what’s gonna stop me?”

A few minutes of silence followed before you got another picture, one that made you moan slightly at the sight of it.

His left hand was grabbing over his crotch, fondling what looked like a half-hard cock through his pants, nothing fancier. But it did look like he was definitely… proportional to the rest of him that you’ve seen.

“if you don’t stop playing games, the pictures stop here” “and I think you want to see more than this.”

You cursed him silently because he was right. God did you want to see more than that. You huffed at his reply and decided to be good and give him what he wanted.

Spreading your legs as wide as you could, you snapped the photo he wanted. Showing him how wet you already were.

Over it, you slapped a text.

“See how wet you’ve made me by only showing me what you look like. This is what only your words did earlier, now this is because you showed me ~”

You scrolled up to watch the latest picture he showed you and massaged slow circles around your clit while waiting for a reply. You wanted to see what he was hiding inside his pants. Finally, his reply came.

“That’s what I wanted to see” “to think I did that to you” “you make me hard, baby”

His multi texting habits were really going strong today, and you giggled a bit at it before replying.

“Oh yeah?” “I’ve shown you mine, now show me yours ;)”

“Mmmmhhh…. No”

“Why not? You can’t tease me with a picture like that and then not follow up with more”

"Because you haven’t earned it yet” “and I just don’t feel like showing you my fat cock just yet is all”

“What do I have to do to deserve it, mister?”

He’d admit it early on that calling him mister or sir sent chills down his spine, something you’ve used sparingly, as to not overuse it on him. The thought of him caving in and finally showing his cock made you rub your clit a little harder, earning a low moan as you tried picturing it behind closed eyes.

Pding!

“Hmm…” “surprise me with a movie” “but don’t tell me what it is.”

Oh, you liked that idea. You thought for a bit before you figured something out.

Pulling your top off, laying naked on your bed, you started the recording.

Angling the camera to focus on you sucking on two fingers, making them nice and wet, and making sure a string of saliva was attached between your lips and your fingers as you removed them from your mouth. You slowly moved your hand down together with your phone, until you reached one of your breasts where you circled a hardening nipple with your saliva drenched fingers, making sure to amplify your breathing.

As your hand traveled downwards, the one holding your phone stopped right at your navel and returned up to your face to focus on your expression as your fingers reached your wet cunt and pressed down on your clit, something that was accompanied by a breathy moan of his name. “Thomass…”, right before you turned the recording off you made sure to look straight into the camera with lustful eyes.

On the receiving end of that video, Thomas quickly opened the message. Eyes wide as he followed the way your fingers moved down your body, around your breast, gingerly moving around a nipple. He cursed silently to himself as you stopped filming downward right above your navel, but when the camera returned up to show your face and the way he heard his name escape your lips as you reached that sweet, sweet spot between your legs, some part of him snapped.

He shot up from the chair he was slumped in and silently sneaked over to his door to listen if anyone needed him in the house, it was silent, which was a good sign. He closed the door and locked it. Making sure no one would disturb him.

Sitting back down he smirked as he grabbed the base of his now rock hard cock, still tucked away in his sweatpants to snap a new picture, a small dark stain resting where the head was located.

“That was dirty, see what you’ve done to me?”

Right after sending the picture, he sighed as he slid his hand down into his sweats to lazily stroke himself, closing his eyes, he fantasized about how your lips would feel gliding over his cock and stroked it a way he thought your tongue would move, a trembling low groan left him at the thought. All regrets he had earlier have about starting to send pictures blown out the window as your voice replayed from his phone.

It dinged with a reply and he quickly looked at it.

“I can get even dirtier~” “You remember how I told you I went shopping a few days back?”

He gulped, his hand was shaking slightly as he tapped away with this thumb. He did remember you had briefly told him you went “shopping” a few days ago.

“Mhm. I remember that.” “What did you get, baby?”

His breathing went up a notch as he sent the question. His hand stopped moving, having to already calm himself down a notch. Your video and photo had worked him up something awful.

“Do you want to see~?”

“Oh hell yeah"

It took a while to receive a response from you, but when he finally did, it was a photo. One that made his dick jolt in excitement.

It showed you, holding a dildo against your tongue. He shivered hard at the sight, a tingle reaching his cock.

“You got that just for me? ;)”

He smirked slightly.

“I did… I thought of you when I bought it.” " Wanna see me use it~?”

“Fuck yourself for me” “I promise to give you material” “you won’t regret it, believe me”

He finally let his erection spring free, the hefty weight of it making it bounce back on his stomach and he sighed again in relief. He pondered if he should send another photo already, but decided to tease a little longer before giving in. It took a while to get a new reply, during this time he entertained himself with lazily stroking his leaking dick. Smearing precum over his sensitive head, a finger caressing over the silvery barbell placed right under it, his breath hitching as his sensitivity had gone up tenfold since got the small jewelry. The other arm is flung over his eyes as he tilted his head back and smiled as he always did when he was stroking himself, and deleted every single regret about getting the erotic piercing.

The ping of his phone jolted him back to reality. A video. He hesitated at first but decided to press play.

It was you, at first sucking the dildo, swirling your tongue around the head of it, a string of saliva snapping as you smiled into the camera before moving both the phone and dildo slowly downward. A small gasp escaped you off-camera as you slowly pushed the fake dick into your already soaking cunt. You started slow, just teasing yourself with how it filled you, but after slowly pulling it out you suddenly shoved it in, and he vaguely heard his name escape you again.

One part of him couldn’t believe you were actually sending him videos, while the other part of him kicked itself for not asking for it earlier. This was pure bliss for him.

This video was what made lust take over, though, and he decided it was time for him to give you what you’ve asked for for a long time

Checking the lightning around him, he grabbed his cock at the base, angling it just right, he snapped a picture, doing his best to really show the sheer size of him. He was fully aware of the fact that he was way above average. His butchering job making sure he’d seen a good amount of men, making him realize how big he actually was. His small light made the silvery part of him glint.

“I hope this is what you’re thinking of when you fuck yourself like that” “because I sure as hell am thinking about fucking your tight pussy right now”

Sent.

The smile on your lips transformed into a needy grin as you bit down on your lower lip when you opened his convo, a quiet moan leaving you as you saw it. All you could do was stare. You dropped the toy to hide your blushing cheeks and needy grin behind your hand, for whom you hid, you had no idea. What you saw must’ve been the biggest dick you’ve ever seen outside of porn.

He must’ve been around 7 - 7,8 inches long, the girth almost scary, your toy suddenly felt way too small for you and you spasmed around nothing. You couldn’t help but drool slightly as you followed every inch of him, brows furrowing in want when you saw the barbell snugly fastened under his swollen and leaking head.

After ogling the huge cock, you gave him what he wanted; you to admit that he was right.

“You’re right, big boy.” “I did want to see this” “I wanna taste you”

"Yeah?” "You wanna suck my dick?”

A shiver runs down your back as your fingers play through your folds at the way he’s talking to you.

“Yeah, I do” “I want to hear you moan as I swallow your big fat cock down my throat”

The phone went quiet for a minute or two before you got an attachment sent your way, this time, he had sent a video, and you thought you were going to lose your mind at what you saw.

Pressing play, you saw his cock twitching in his hand before he slowly started stroking himself. He was slow at first, teasing himself - or you, you weren’t sure and didn’t care at this point - before he decided to up his tempo. Off-camera, you could hear his heavy raspy breathing, a deep moan, and something that sounded like a breathy “ fuck ”, it was low like he didn’t mean for it to escape his throat.

"Where have you been all my life?" "Your cock is amazing"

This time, you grab your dildo and sit down in front of the full-body mirror you've placed in your bedroom. Spreading your legs, you tease your slit with the toy smiling straight into the camera and furrowing your brows with want and need before pushing the toy in your wet cunt. You fuck yourself slowly as you decide to start talking instead, asking one simple question. “Want to watch me cum?”

When Thomas' phone dinged he almost dropped it out of excitement.

His head rolled back against his chair as he watched you fuck yourself, a growl low in his throat as he started dreaming of how it would feel when your muscles clench around him, making sure to squeeze his own hand in a desperate way to mimic that feeling. He started thinking how in the hell he’d been happy just reading your words earlier and seeing the occasional nude photo coming from you.

The videos were so. much. better. He almost couldn’t type anymore. He’d lost his words in fogginess that was lust, if he talked he’d be speechless at the amazing view coming from his phone. He was close, but he refused to cum without seeing you do the same, letting his aching cock go, he pulled up the keyboard.

"Please… " "I do want to see you cum" "need to" "need to see that beautiful pussy cum because of me"

You huff slightly as you see his desperate plea for you to show him. But at this point, you can't keep edging yourself. Your pussy clenched hard as you watched yourself in the mirror.

Alright, you thought. I'll give you what you want

"Do you think of me when you cum, Thomas? Ever think of how I would look covered in your cum?"

Hurrying, you prop your phone up in a standing position, making sure you are well visible in the camera you hit record; Your toy pumps in and out in a hectic tempo, hitting a really sweet spot inside your cunt, the other hand rubbing your clit.

Your orgasm was approaching fast and just moments before it hit, you look straight into the camera and with a breathy voice you say; "Because I think of you when I do." And just as your orgasm hits, you throw your head back, your voice loud as you scream his name in ecstasy.

Before stopping the recording, you lean in close to your phone and whisper; "I hope you do."

He was in the middle of replying to your questions when he saw you’d sent him a video, completely ignoring to reply to you, he pressed play. Thomas’ mouth just hung open as he watched the - for him - most beautiful and erotic scene he’s ever seen play out on his phone. His hand pumped in time with the way you fucked yourself and he almost had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep himself from moaning out loud in fear of his family heard him.

The sounds your toy made as it went in and out of your wet cunt sent shivers down his spine and exploded in a myriad of tingles in his dick, making it twitch, his own orgasm building at a rapid speed.

But when he heard and saw you cum, and the way you screamed his name as you did, he couldn’t hold it at bay any longer. His orgasm washed over him, a low choked groan left his lips as his thick and almost cream-like seed shot over and covered his hand, landing a good way up to his chest. He forced himself to let his phone go because if he didn’t, he would surely have crushed it the way his fist clenched until his knuckles turned white. He grit his teeth, heavy, huffing and wheezing breaths coming from his lungs.

You’d made an absolute mess out of him, and you hadn’t even touched him. Sweat was running down his temple, his hair stuck on his neck, he was absolutely spent .

If only you knew, he tilted his head back, trying to catch his breath, how much I think of you when I do.

It's been two weeks since you've heard from this man who now has a name resting before his little chainsaw icon. It wasn't that weird not hearing from him for a few days, but never two weeks. You'd gotten a special assignment from work, meaning you'd had to travel to Texas. Before you left you sent him a short message.

"I just wanted to tell you I'm going to drive for a while, so can't text much."

No response. You guessed he'd had his fun with you, gotten what he wanted, and now he was tired of you.

You were stranded at a small dip in the road, your car had broken down in the middle of it, but you had managed to push it into a safer spot away from the traffic - if there actually were any. It was hot and humid. And you hated yourself for actively choosing to drive instead of taking a flight as you kicked your car out of anger.

"I. Fucking. HATE YOU! You absolute…" Kick "piece" Kick "of" Kick "trash!"

You were hot and you suspected your skin was starting to turn red due to the angry sun screaming down at you.

Footsteps coming your way distracted you momentarily from abusing your poor car and you got happy for only a moment as you went to turn to the person. Before you had the chance to fully turn towards them the butt of a gun slammed against your temple and everything went black.

You wake up with your head throbbing, you move to sit up from an apparently horizontal position but notice you can't.

You're bolted down.

"What…", you try looking around, but your position makes sure you can only flip your head from side to side, the room is cool and dim. From a distance, you hear voices shouting in what sounds like a heated argument. "Hello…?", you try to yell out. Your heart begins to beat in a rapid rhythm as the voices quiet down. They heard you. Not long after they go quiet, you notice the floor above you start cracking and creaking with footsteps, and soon after a door slides open. "Hello?", you try again.

An angry voice rings out again; "You heard me, boy! I don't give a rats fuckin' ass about what you say. You take care of 'er now, or I will!", the door slides shut again.

Heavy footsteps are coming your way, and your breathing starts picking up. "Who's there?", you hear heavy breathing in the room, the person is moving closer. "Please… I beg of you.", you try pleading to the stranger. You're so, so scared, you don't know if you're about to get killed, or used for other things, to be locked up on the surface you’re pinned down to only be viewed as an object. You don't know anything.

The person stops close to you, you see them in the corner of your eyes. But they're not saying anything, only watch you in silence.

You turn your head towards them, and they back off into a shadowy corner. They seem… afraid. "What do you want from me? Who are you?", they seem to flinch slightly at your words. You can see their whole body moving with each breath. "I don't know what you want!", tears start prickling in the corner of your eyes as panic sets in. "Please, let me go! I… I don't… I was just passing through!", you thrash against your restraints as your tears start streaming freely. Pain shooting through your restraints digs into your skin. "I don't want to die…", you sob.

Thomas can't move. He's frozen. He wants to move, he really does, but his body refuses to cooperate.

You're here. In the basement. Where everything grim happens. Where no one gets out alive. Where he is supposed to kill and butcher you. The person who’s been so nice to him over text messages, keeping him company during lonely nights. The one who willingly showed herself reaching her climax thanks to him, even after he had shown you his face.

Charlie has already told him he can't keep you. He didn't care that Thomas knows you, he didn't give a fuck about how nice you've been, how you didn't stop talking to him after you've seen his face. Thomas had a job to do, but he couldn't. He's breathing heavily as your voice pierces the otherwise quiet basement, his mind flashes back to the video saved on his phone. All those late nights where he’d read your words with his hand down his own pants.

You're here. What are you doing here?

Three words from you wake him up from his trance-like state.

You sigh. "Just do it..", you've given up. You realize you won't get out of here alive, a part of you already accepting that fate. You won't see your family anymore.

You'll never hear from Thomas again. The last thought makes another stream of tears run down the side of your face and you turn to your captor. "Please, do it fast… I… I don't want to feel pain.", a weak defeated smile reaches your lips, "Just kill me." Your last words seem to trigger movement in the figure as it moves towards a wall close to it, a small click and a light flicker on. You're bathed in a harsh white light, your newly cried eyes burn slightly as you adapt to it.

And you guess this is it.

The figure moves close to you again, and suddenly; he's right next to you. Your eyes widen in nothing but pure shock as you see dark, shoulder lengths locks. "What…", your heart beating a panicked drumming melody against your ribs. "You can't be…". The man reaches up to his head, and that's when you realize he's wearing a mask that looks way too familiar to you. He unbuckles it, and that’s when it clicks in your head. You see a face you recognize. A face you've dreamed off. A face you've masturbated to almost every night for two weeks.

But seeing this face makes tears well in your eyes for the third time and a cry that almost makes you scream bubbles up from your stomach. He just looks at you with sad eyes, eyes you wish you hadn’t seen, eyes you wish you didn’t recognize.

Thomas’ eyes.

[capstoverogers]

A Soul for a Soul

Tryna break into the wlw Marvel tumblr fic world; consider this grief-ridden multi-chapter fic my resume ;)

Pairings: Natasha Romanoff/Black!Reader, Eventual Carol Danvers/Black!Reader

Genre: Grief, Angst, Romance

Summary: You thought you were used to the struggle. Between growing up as an orphan in Oakland before elbowing your way through the ranks of S.H.I.E.L.D., you were sure nothing could faze you.

But then you lose the love of your life and for the first time ever, you’re not sure how to move forward.

Notes: In this world, Peter Parker survived the Snap and S.H.I.E.L.D. still exists, just underground. Also features an OC with pyrokinetic abilities who’s the Reader’s best friend.

Chapter One - Hope

Word Count: 3,666

Warnings: Cursing, Allusions to Sex, Very Slight Ant-Man Slander, but Out of Love

In a lot of ways, the past five years had been quiet.

You’d grown up in Oakland, gone to college in Washington D.C., then lived and worked in New York ever since. You didn’t like quiet.

The biggest cities had lost their bustle, and it was one of the many reasons why you resented Thanos.

That and for taking the little bit of family you’d ever had. And the two men who were the closest things you had had to living brothers. And your absolute best friend in the world.

You coped in the way you always had - through work and through perspective. With Agents Fury and Hill gone in the snap, along with half of S.H.I.E.L.D. that had been underground after its public fall, you had moved through the ranks overnight (and you had been pretty high up there to begin with), taking over a great bulk of the remaining operations of the covert agency. Those first couple of years, you were in D.C. during the week days, watching as a fractured government slowly tried to repair itself while dispatching any leftover agents to take care of the chaos that had arisen in the aftermath. You’d go home to a pathetic one-bedroom apartment in the city most nights, it often being too late to commute to where you really wanted to be, get a few hours of sleep, then do it all over again.

It was all right. Kept you distracted. Made you feel purposeful.

It was the weekends, though, you found your truest solace. You’d put off all your responsibilities except in case of an emergency, take a quinjet up north to the Avengers compound, spend Saturday and Sunday with the woman you loved. Most of the time, you’d have the entire compound to yourselves. Maybe you didn’t like the quiet, but you loved it when it was quiet when you were with her.

After a few years, though, there was less for everyone to do as slowly, society started to move on. It was a blessing, you supposed, though sometimes it felt like a curse. You had never done well with idle hands.

It was slow enough that you could work remotely, at least, leaving your little D.C. apartment behind to take up permanent residence in upstate New York, except for emergencies. Natasha’s bedroom became y’all’s bedroom. You started to see just how broken she was, felt like a terrible partner for not realizing it sooner. She’d been able to mask it well when she’d only see you on weekends and through holograms. Now that you were together all the time, her walls couldn’t stay up for long.

Like the Avengers always had, she kept the weight of the entire world on her shoulders. Far be it from you to convince her that she didn’t need to do that, but you at least wanted her to know that she could share that burden with you. To get her to realize that became your greatest mission.

And you never failed missions.

By the time you reached the five year mark, the two of you had fallen into the sort of routine you could see yourselves doing for the rest of your lives, if this really had to be the rest of your lives (you think both of you, deep down, had hope that it wasn’t, that something more could be done, which is why you two had tried your hardest to not stop working ever since half of the world disappeared before your eyes). Together you both kept watch over a broken world - Natasha by keeping in touch with the remaining Avengers and your new friends from space as you continued to run S.H.I.E.L.D. from the compound. Occasionally you’d go out for an actual mission, finding that you got cabin fever if you stayed put too long.

Natasha would never come with you, though. She was waiting for the right one, she told you. But you think she was just scared of what would happened if she took her eyes away from the world for even just one second. She’d let you carry a little bit of that weight with her, finally, but far from it all.

She was completely open with you, though, for the first time in the seven years you’d been together (dating a former assassin came with a huge set of emotional intimacy issues, but there was no one else you’d rather work through that with). And when you two realized that wow, you’d been together for seven years, you decided that you all could use a bright spot in this darker world.

So you had a bittersweet wedding. Peter Parker was your “man of honor”, Steve Rogers was hers. Tony presided at his beautiful cabin home with his daughter Morgan as the flower girl and Rocket - much to his outward chagrin though you suspected he secretly loved it - was your ring bearer with the vibranium wedding bands that Okoye had brought for you from Wakanda. You’d even gotten Thor out of his desolate mancave on New Asgard for the night, with the promise of all the beer he could drink.

It was hard not to think of all the people who should’ve been celebrating with you, but you’d at least found the burst of happiness that you could. Moments like that reminded you two that you still had to keep fighting, even if you didn’t quite know what for all the time.

About a month later, you left for a quick mission. You were gone for three days and came back to a bustle unlike any you’d seen at the Compound in years. There was a space ship parked out front, but more surprising was the sight of Tony’s Audi convertible.

Nat’s eyes looked the brightest you’d seen them in awhile, all pretenses shattered as she greeted you with an excited smile that was surprisingly adorable.

“So this is what you do when I’m gone?” You teased, wrapping your arms around her distractedly as you took in the energy around you. God, you had missed this sort of noise. “Throw parties?”

“You caught me,” she gave back, eyes twinkling before she wrapped her arms around you tightly, but in a way that didn’t feel desperate. It reminded you of how she’d hugged you throughout your wedding day. You let yourself fall completely into her embrace, burying your face into her neck and inhaling deeply. It had only been a few days, but you’d missed her so much. How you used to spend all week without her, you had no idea. “I think we found a way to reverse the snap.”

You yanked your head up so quickly that you almost gave yourself whiplash, playfully glaring when Natasha laughed. Her eyes were so warm with hope, though, that that was soon all you could focus on.

“What?!”

She nodded excitedly, squeezing your hips. Your mind immediately started reeling, unable to keep from imagining what this meant, who you’d be able to see again.

“How?!”

Natasha’s lips curled up into a little smirk, eyes still twinkling.

“Time travel.”

Wait.

“What?!”

-----

The compound was chaotic in the wonderful way that you cherished. Thor’s booming voice and Tony’s wisecracks and Steve’s voice of reason and Rhodey’s deadpan and Bruce’s reverberating Hulk-heavy footsteps and Rocket’s quips and Clint’s snark and Natasha’s sarcasm and laugh and sass and just everything about her that had been buried beneath the rubble of the last five years, coming out now more than in just moments. None of you slept as you all plotted, planned, built; a certain energizing spark taking over all of you in this renewed sense of purpose.

There was only enough of these “Pym particles” for ten people to do this time heist, though, which meant you were the odd one out.

“Maybe when you get powers, we’ll reconsider it,” Tony quipped when you complained, chuckling when you rolled your eyes.

“I could beat you up if you didn’t have that suit,” you gave back, smirking.

“She could,” Natasha echoed before he could get a word in, shooting you a grin as she came up behind you, wrapping her arms around your waist.

Tony dramatically clutched at his chest.

“I’m offended you don’t think I’m more than my suit, Romanoff.” He paused. “Or is it (Y/L/N) now? Romanoff-(Y/L/N)?”

“Natasha and (Y/N) Widow, actually,” you joked, grinning as a laugh rippled through the Avengers. “Though I’m surprised you didn’t take Pepper’s last name, Tony. We all know she’s really the one running the show.”

You gave him your most dastardly grin as Rocket gave you a fist bump, Thor - perpetually buzzed - howled and Scott and Steve exchanged amused looks.

“See, this is why you’re not coming with us,” Tony said, pointing at you though he couldn’t quite hide his hint of a grin. “Today’s youth, so disrespectful!”

You let that go. You were in your 30s, but Tony always had a hard time not seeing you as that 22 year old first-year S.H.I.E.L.D. recruit he’d met over a decade ago.

So you chuckled, turning in Natasha’s arms in time to catch her fondly rolling her eyes.

“I will say, I’m gonna miss this banter on our mission.”

You wrapped your arms around her waist, as hers moved to your shoulder pulling her closer to you.

“Let me come with you and we won’t have to miss nothin’,” you said lowly, smirking at the way she eyed you.

“You know there’s no one I’d rather by my side,” she admitted softly, letting her fingers massage the back of your neck. You hummed pleasantly, letting your eyes flutter shut as your forehead fell against hers, “But I also like the idea of you here, safe.”

You sighed, not meaning for your breath to hit her lips, but enjoying the feel of her tensing against you nonetheless.

“I might not be a super solider or some guy with …ant powers…” you grinned when Natasha chuckled, “but I can hold my own, Nat.”

“I know you can,” she murmured. “But I’d rather know I’m coming back to you than be worried about you out there.”

You opened your eyes, found them staring into earnest and soft green irises. You could see how important this was for her, doing something that felt tangible after spending so much time and energy over the years to keep the world going, never losing hope even when no one else believed.

This mission would always mean more to her than it ever would for you.

So you nodded, craning your head to place a kiss on her forehead.

“I’ll be here waiting for you when you get back.”

She smiled, “I know.”

“Get a room, why don’t ya!”

“Shut up, Rocket.”

Hours before they were set to leave back in time, you got a call from Peter Parker saying he desperately needed you to pick him up as soon as possible from Central America, which was strange because the last time you’d checked, you’d sent him on an undercover mission to check out some disturbances in Europe (as the only Avenger whose true identity was still secret, he was most ideal to send on these sorts of things).

It did sound urgent, though, so you quickly headed to your room to change into something more extraction appropriate, unsurprised to hear the door open a few minutes later.

“Oh good,” Natasha’s voice purred playfully behind you as you pulled off the shirt you’d been lounging in. “I was hoping I’d catch you before you got all your mission clothes on.”

You chuckled as you turned to face her, then faltered. Though there was a coy smirk playing at her plump lips, her eyes told an entirely different story. You motioned for her to come closer, trying to keep the spirit high.

“Quickie before I leave?” You joked, sitting back on the bed as she came to stand in between your legs. She laughed, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes as they flickered over you before she gently placed her palm on your cheek.

“Will you be back before we go?” She asked softly.

You shook my head, your frowns matching.

“Even if it is just a pick-up and go, the round trip will take four hours.”

“I’ll see if we can wait on you.”

As much as you wanted that, you found yourself shaking your head again.

“I don’t want anything to throw y’all off,” you told her, covering the hand on your face with your own. “This is too important.”

She nodded; if there was anything you both understood, it was that some things were more important than the two of you. The fate of the world was definitely one of those things, and all the lives that hung in balance. It’s what made you heroes, before anything else.

It’s also what made you and Natasha fit together so well. You understood each other in ways that no one else could.

“I’ll see you when you get back, though,” you assured with a soft smile, grasping at her waist to pull her into your lap. She straddled you like it was second nature, though it didn’t necessary feel immediately sexual. You just liked that she was close. “After you’ve gotten that stone and you’re about to bring everybody back.”

She grinned, “You really think we can do it, huh?”

“You can do anything, Nat. You’re my fucking hero. There’s no one I trust more to save all of us.” You let my fingertips trace gently down her cheek as her eyes softened lovingly. “Don’t tell Rocket or Tony I said that. They’ll never let me hear the end of it.”

“Nope. Been recording this conversation the entire time. Gonna share it with everyone.”

You laughed as she grinned slyly.

“I hate you,” you mumbled, your thumb grazing against her bottom lip.

“I love you,” she gently pressed a kiss against the pad of your thumb. “Don’t tell anyone how soft you make me, though.”

“Oh, they already know,” you teased quietly, relishing in the way she made your heart feel. You were so close to telling Peter to find his own ride, not wanting this moment to end, but you knew you and Natasha would have to pull away eventually.

Still, you could make it stretch as long as possible.

“Yeah,” Nat agreed softly, pressing her forehead against yours. “But I like to pretend that they don’t.”

You chuckled as she grinned cheekily.

“I love you too, by the way,” you murmured, as if she didn’t already know. “So fucking much.”

Your thumb drifted from her lip, down to her chin, and forever in tune, she quickly erased the distance between you before you could pull her closer. Seven years, and you had yet to find anything as incredible as kissing her.

Except maybe when after just a few seconds, she pushed you back onto the bed, hovering over you with a twinkling smirk.

“Change your mind about that quickie?” You said playfully, biting your lip at her husky, soft laugh.

“Don’t you have to give a certain spider a ride?” She teased, as if she wasn’t the one who’d pressed her chest delicately against yours.

“There’s another spider that I’d rather give a different kind of ride right now…” Your fingers drifted down to the hem of her pants, but she was off of you before you could start to shimmy them down. You pouted ridiculously as she stood up, earning a laugh.

“We’ll have our own celebration in here when we’re both back,” she said coyly with a wink.

“Good, because we’ve only fucked once since I’ve gotten back from my mission, and it’s making me irritable.”

She chuckled as she grabbed ahold of your hands, effortlessly pulling you up off the bed and back into her arms.

“I love you,” she said again, pressing her lips against yours for a long moment. The words felt more weighted than they usually did, in the way they seemed to seep into your skin, take ahold of your chest and clench your heart. You could feel that this moment was important.

“I love you, too, Nat.”

On your way out, you were intercepted by Clint, who gave you a wry grin as he glanced down to your left hand.

“So I heard you and Nat got hitched,” he said, his eyes a soft contrast to his casual tone. “Wish I could’ve been there.”

“Me too,” you said honestly. Clint and you had never been particularly close, but he was still family, and he meant so much to Natasha. “Steve had to be Nat’s best man, and it was disaster.”

Steve had actually been great, but you knew Clint would get a kick out of the idea of Captain America stiff by the altar, uncomfortable in the face of any kind of public display of affection, as far from the truth it actually was. There was something appreciative in his eyes as he laughed.

“Well, I got dibs when you guys renew your vows.”

You nodded fervently, “Definitely. Maybe once y’all bring everyone back, we’ll do a bigger wedding. I mean, Nat would hate that - “

You paused, then burst out laughing because Clint had said the same thing at the exact same time as you had, and it made you kind of regretful that you hadn’t thought to bond with him more before Thanos had snapped his fingers. But you supposed there was time for that.

Your and Clint’s laughter faded, and both of you hovered there for a moment. Before it could get too awkward, you gave him a soft smile.

“Take care of my girl, Barton.” He and Nat were paired up for the time heist, after all.

He nodded, corner of his lips curling up into a smile that you knew was sincere for him.

“She’s probably gonna be the one having to take care of me,” he joked, but then his eyes softened. “You know I’ll do everything I can to have her back.”

“I know.”

Still, you felt a little uneasy as you headed towards the hangar where the quinjets were kept. You didn’t like being away from home base while they were out on missions. It had always been like that, even before you were with Nat. The fact that she was your wife now intensified it. You really wanted to be there when she got back.

But alas, duty called.

-----

You were thrust into battle without a moment’s notice, when Doctor Strange’s portal appeared in the back of the quinjet just seconds after you had yanked Peter out of the Mexican rainforest as he ran from a bunch of cartel guys, wielding assault rifles and screaming “gringo!” at him.

He was in the middle of an adorable, earnest, apologetic ramble (one that would always be so Peter, even if he was less boy and more man these days) after you’d playfully accused him of being racist because he made you rescue his “white ass.” He’d be trying to tell you that he’d deviated from the mission you’d given him because he’d heard rumors of something akin to the power of an Infinity Stone buried deep in Central America. He knew you’d never authorize him to go after a rumor, so he took matters into his own hands (also very Peter, and it would be hypocritical for you to fault him for that), hoping to find a power source that could maybe reverse the damage that Thanos had done.

Not that it was necessary now. The Avengers had done it. Nat had done. Everyone was back, but apparently somehow that meant a resurgence of Thanos had come with them.

There were no time for questions, though, even though you had so many as you found myself in the rubbled remains of your home with an alien army before you and a homegrown one behind you. There was no time for proper reunions, even though you managed the quickest one when you came across your best friend Zoey on the battlefield - body engulfed in the trademark flames that defined her alter ego "The Flame" - and you two clicked right into place as you set her up perfectly to sizzle one of Thanos’s goons to ash, like no time had ever passed.

You guessed for her, though, no time really had passed.

There was a quick grin and nod before chaos descended again, and you were separated into different parts of the battle. There was a glimpse of T’Challa, carrying an Iron Man glove full of jewels - the Infinity Stones, you realized - across the leveled field - and Sam soaring above you, and Bucky firing shots into the enemy relentlessly, but there was no time to focus on any of this.

There was no time for you to find Natasha in the cacophony, as you forced yourself to focus fully on the battle in front of you. When you all had finished off Thanos once and for all, then you could hold her in your arms until the end of time if you wanted. But first you all had to make sure there was still a world for everyone to still live in.

There wasn’t even time to properly celebrate, as Thanos and his entire army dissipated into dust in the perfect full circle, when Tony slumped over, eyes glazed, his light gone. There was Peter’s full weight against you suddenly, his wet eyes drenching your neck, then Steve’s strong arms around both of you. like an anchor.  You couldn’t help but think that Steve’s gesture was more than just a comfort gesture because everyone had just lost the man who had brought you all together, who meant so much to each of you in different ways.

You didn’t want to confront what else it could mean, though.

[birdsandspades]

Ice Pack (A Todoroki Shoto Oneshot)

-The dorm is fresh out of ice packs. Lucky for you someone happens to know where to find one. 

Word Count- 3,122

*This is my first BNHA fanfiction so i’m sorry if its crumby. I just think Todoroki is really neat. 

----

You pressed a finger into the skin of your arm, hissing as the red gave way to white. Turning around, you looked over the rest of your body in the gym bathroom mirror.

“I think this is my worst sunburn yet. I really should have put on more sunscreen…” You frowned, wrapping a towel around your body. 

Your quirk had been a wonderful gift, the first in a long line of quirkless family members. The day you manifested it you could have sworn your father cried. 

“A hero, we're gonna have a hero in the family!” 

You remembered the fond words as you looked down at the pile of clothes on the locker room bench. It sure didn’t feel like a gift right now. You picked up your shirt, inching it over your burning skin. Each scape of the fabric drawing out a new string of curses. 

“Hey, are you dressed yet, Mina is wait...oww,” Jiro looked over your reddened back, wincing as you pulled the shirt over it.

 “Yeah, oww”, you sulked. You glared down at your pants, not ready to endure the pain they would cause your legs. 

“Tell me again how your quirk does all of that again.” She motioned to the entirety of your burned body. 

“Well, I'm like a solar flare. My body stores a large amount of heat, and if I save up enough of it I can make flames. If I have a big enough amount of it I can even produce light.” 

She nodded along, shuttering as you shimmied into your jeans. 

“But the more I use it, the more I'm exposed to the UV radiation I'm putting off. Eventually, if I use it too much. Well, I get this stupid sunburn.” 

“I still don’t get why you get so burnt, didn’t the department of support make you that sunscreen a few months ago for it?” She gave off a chuckle, recoiling at the faces you were making while you slid on your shoes. 

 “Yeah, but I don’t think it’s working…” , you trailed off, looking at the bottle of sun protectant stuffed in your gym bag. You picked up the rest of your belongings, motioning towards the door. “I’ll talk to them tomorrow, let's just go back to the dorms so I can take these things off again.” 

Jiro held open the door, laughing as you waddled past her. 

----

You stepped into the common room, smiling at your classmates sitting on the couch. 

“Who ordered the L/N F/N, extra burnt?”,Sero teased from his seat, elbowing a giggling Denki.

You gave him a sarcastic laugh, throwing your gym bag at him.

Kirishima turned his attention away from the t.v, his eyes slowly roaming over your red arms. “Hey L/N-chan, how was training…?” 

You gave him a sad smile, “Exhausting, but I think I finally got my flashbang technique down!” 

“Jesus Glowstick…”, Bakugou walked past you from the laundry room, an amused smile tugging at his lips as he pressed a rough hand onto your forearm. 

You smacked him away, cursing at the now burning skin. You looked up, meeting his glare as he walked off down the hallway. You hated that nickname and he knew it. He had picked it out after the licensing exam, going as far as to even suggest it for your permanent hero name. Most people thought he chose it after your quirk, you did after all have a nifty move called glow. You had made yourself useful during the search and rescue part of the exam, using your quirk to illuminate your body as you searched for survivors among the rubble. Many of the students had commented on it after the exam, envious of the power giving you such a high boost on your score. But Bakugou had chosen the nickname for a different reason.

He had had the pleasure of running into you after the exam later that night in the kitchen. Your body red and raw from over exerting yourself during the test. “You're so red you're practically glowing. You should get a support item if your weaknesses are that obvious Glowstick ” , he mocked, poking your sunburn and he walked past you to the common room. 

“I’m going to grab some ice packs from the freezer and call it a night.” You patted Jiro on the back before walking to the kitchen. 

----

You had been looking for the ice packs for about twenty minutes when Midoriya walked into the kitchen.

“Hey Midoriya-kun, have you seen the ice packs? I’ve looked everywhere and I can’t seem to find them.” You pulled your head out of the freezer, turning to him. 

He gave you a sheepish smile, holding up the warm gel packs. “I’m sorry L/N-chan, I took them out last night and forgot to put them back when I woke up.” 

You shut the freezer door, taking the packs from his hand. You squished a few of the warm beads around the plastic, sighing in defeat. “It’s ok, i’ll use a water bottle or something.”

You trudged past him out of the kitchen and towards the dorm rooms. Usually your sunburns only lasted a few days tops, but this one felt different. The heat radiating off of it alone was enough to tell you that it was deep. You really should have put on more sunscreen. 

You bumped into a stationary mass, the points of contact stinging as you looked up.

Todoroki’s hold on his phone slipped as it fell to the ground. “I’m sorry L/N-chan, I was reading something on the news.” His gaze fell on you, taking in the fluorescent flush of your skin. “Your sunburnt.” 

You took a step back, looking away in an attempt to hide the rising heat in your cheeks. “No, I'm sorry Todoroki-kun, I wasn’t watching where I was going. Are you ok?” You reached down, picking up his phone. 

“You should use the ice packs in the freezer.” He slipped the phone out of your hand, careful not to graze your sensitive skin. “ It might help with the discomfort.” 

“Oh, Midoriya was using them so they are warm now. I’m gonna use this water bottle for a bit.” You shook the bottle, giving him a soft smile. “I’m sorry I made you drop your phone, I hope it's ok!” You shimmied around him, giving him an awkward wave as you made for your dorm room. 

Todoroki raised his hand slightly, watching as you rushed down the hallway.

----

You had been working on your homework for a few hours in an attempt to keep your mind off the multi toned boy down the hall. You groaned, letting your head fall on the table. The second hand embarrassment burning the skin on your neck further. Functioning had not been at the forefront of your mind when your eyes met his in the hallway. That was painfully obvious as you replayed your awkward retreat over in your head. 

“You could have just talked to him, it's not that hard to talk to people F/N. He was being nice and you ran away.”

You continued to grumble to yourself, angry that once again your lack of social skills had robbed you of an opportunity to talk to your crush. 

This hadn’t been the first time you had made a fool of yourself in front of Todoroki, nore the second or third. The boy seemed to be a magnet for your most awkward encounters. 

----

You could remember the first time he talked to you. You were standing in the tunnel waiting for the first of the sports festival games to begin, the echo of the audience ringing through your ears. You peaked your head out from the entrance, scanning over the sea of people in the stands. You could feel your heartbeat quicken, the thumping in your ears deafening as you cowered back into the tunnel.

A warm hand on your shoulder pulled you out of your eclipsing panic attack, the sound finally coming back to your ears as you looked up. 

“I heard that if you picture everyone in underwear, it makes it less scary. I don’t understand why, but maybe it will help?” 

Your eyes met a familiar mismatched set, the hardness you were used to was replaced with concern as he looked over you. 

You had grown attached to them in the time you had spent in class together, the small glimpses you caught stirring the butterflies in your stomach everytime they looked your way. 

The fluttering in your stomach started to stir per usual, the lump in your throat expanding as you searched the crevices of your brain for something to say. 

“Hi.”

He gave you a confused look, “Hi.” Shifting on his feet, he stood in silence. As if waiting for you to say something else. After a moment he gave you a small nod, disappearing into the crowd of waiting students.

----

A soft knock on your door startled you, your knee bumping into the underside of your desk. 

Standing up , you rubbed the stinging skin as you walked over to the door. Turning the knob, you pulled it open. 

“Hi Todoroki-kun.”, you stared at the boy in front of you. Unsure what warranted a visit so late at night, or really at all. 

“Hi L/N-chan.” His look was blank as he stared back at you. He shifted on his feet slightly, pushing his hands into his pocket.

“Um, is there something you need…?”, you broke the silence finally. Your eyes met his once again before looking away, focusing on the door behind him. 

“I wanted to bring you the ice packs from the freezer…”, he trailed off, looking down the hallway. “But they were gone again. So I figured, I could offer you a hand instead.” He extended his right hand a bit, offering it to you. 

You looked between him and his hand a few times, trying to connect just what exactly he ment. “Um, it’s ok Todoroki-kun. It’s late and you're probably really sleepy! Plus it doesn’t hurt that much anymore, so you don’t need to worry about it! I have my water bottle and I can…” 

He reached up, pressing his cold palm to your forehead. Your mind calmed as the soothing feeling sunk into your skin. You closed your eyes, leaning into his hand. Letting out a soft sigh, your hands reached up, circling around his wrist as you pulled him closer.

“I used to do this whenever my siblings were sick. They said it made their fevers feel better, is it helping you too?” He craned his neck, peeking under his arm to see your face. 

You gave him a small nod, sinking into his touch. The first bit of relief washing over your body.

He looked behind you at the desk, opened books and worksheets scattered across it. “I can help you with your homework as well if you like?” 

You opened your eyes, blushing as you met his own. You couldn’t help it. The way he tilted his head, the childlike curiosity that tinted his eyes as he watched you cling to his hand. 

“I don’t want to be a burden…”

“You're not.” He stated bluntly, gently pulling his hand away. 

You took a step back, opening the door wider for him to come in. 

He took a step inside, closing the door behind him. “You didn’t show your room when we did the room contest.” He was scanning over your bedroom, taking in all the things that made it yours. 

“Oh, um. I was kinda late getting moved in so mine wasn’t unpacked yet.” You played with your finger, watching as he walked over to your bookshelves. “It’s mostly manga, I don’t know if…”

“I like manga too.”, Todoroki looked back at you, a soft smile tugging at his lips. “Your room is nice, I think you would have won.” 

“Ah, probably not. Everyone has such fun rooms, mine is pretty bland in comparison.” You waved your hands at the thought, giggling awkwardly. Your eyes went wide as Todoroki unzipped his jacket, sliding it off his shoulders. He draped it over the back of the desk chair before pulling it out to sit down. 

“My jacket is insulated, you wouldn’t really feel my quirk through it.” He stated plainly, unaware of why you were staring at him. 

You gave him a simple “Oh” , before sitting down at the seat across from him. At least he was wearing a tanktop, but that wasn’t helping much either. You turned your attention to the math book in front of you, forcing your gaze off of him. 

He gave you a weird look, watching as you got out your worksheets. Pushing out his seat he walked around the table. Grabbing the chair next to you he pulled it closer before sitting down again. “I can’t reach you from over there.”

Your body tensed up as his shoulder rubber yours, the coolness of his exposed skin slowly permeating your shirt. 

He reached his arm around you, pulling you into his right side. His hand gingerly snaking up the sleeve of your shirt, as he caressed your heated arm. 

“How much have you done so far?” He used his left hand to flip through your papers, looking over the work you had completed. 

“Only a few problems.” You mumbled, looking down at your hands under the table. 

“Hm?” He leaned in closer, his eyebrow raised as he tried to understand whatever you had just muttered out. 

“J-just a few.” You spoke a little louder, earning a nod from him as he turned to the next page of your book. 

He slid the paper over to you, motioning for you to start so he could watch your work. 

You sat there for a moment, looking at your book. “Um Todoroki-kun, i’m right handed.”

His eyes shot open, letting go of your arm. “I’m sorry, go ahead.” Crimson creeped up his cheeks as he rested his hand back in his lap, unsure where to put it at that point.

----

He watched you work over a few problems, correcting you as mistakes popped up. He had a way of explaining this that just made everything make sense, if he had been teaching the class maybe you would have had a better grade by now. 

After a while you were out of homework to work on, the silence settling between you both as you packed up your books for class the next day.

“Thank you for helping me Todoroki-kun, I don’t think I could have finished it without you.” You turned towards him, offering him a small smile. 

“I enjoyed helping you, thank you for letting me.” He returned the smile, chuckling lightly. 

Your lips parted slightly, blinking slightly at the sight before you. You were in awe, not only had you seen him smile twice in one night, but that was the first time hearing him laugh as well. Heat blossomed up your cheeks as you gawked at the now very confused boy in front of you . 

Todoroki reached out, palming your face as if it was a ball. “I think your sunburn is getting worse. You look even redder.” 

“That isn’t the sunburn…” Your words were muddled by the hand over your face, the concerned look in his eyes visible through his spread finger.

He pulled back, clearly flustered by the mistake. “ O-Oh, i’m sorry.” He stuttered out, avoiding the amused look on your face. 

You reached for his right hand, bringing it back up to your cheek. “It’s ok, I didn’t mind.” 

He chewed on the inside of his lip, lost in thought as he searched your eyes. He had never been good with social cues, he could blame that on his father. But right now, it felt a lot like what he thought reciprocated feelings would be like. He ran his thumb over the skin of your cheek, wishing his other hand was just as cold. If it had been then he could have cradled your face, touched you just a bit more. 

You looked down at his left hand, his fist clenched around the fabric of his sweatpants. You reached down, pulling it away from it's grip and up to the other side of your face.

He was hesitant to touch you with it, the heat from it was sure to cause you irritation. That's what it had always done for him, an uncomfortable reminder of why his mother was no longer home. What had hurt those closest to him. What he didn’t want to be. 

He ghosted the tips over your cheek, testing the waters. He watched for a reaction, searching your face for uncertainty. When he saw none he closed the gap, letting the reservations pass as the anxiety melted out of him. 

You were naturally warm, just like him. He had felt it on multiple occasions. The arm brushes in the hallway, the finger grazes when he handed you something, the radiating heat he could feel just from being near you. He liked it, you were like the sun to him. That little bit of warmth kept him going most days, but he was getting addicted. But what would more feel like? Would you want more, would you want him?

You could see from the look in his eyes that he was debating something. Weighing the options in front of him. You reached out cupping his cheeks with your own hands. You ran your thumb over the bottom of his scar, his skin soft as it gave way to the soft pressure of your fingers.

He relaxed into your touch, whatever had been plaguing his thoughts was no more.

“Todoroki?” 

He hummed in reply, eyes still closed. 

“Can I kiss you?”

He opened his eyes, giving you a skeptical look. He opened his mouth to speak before shutting it again. Shaking his head he let out a soft chuckle. 

He leaned in, brushing his lips over your own. “I should have asked you that.” His lips met your own, molding to the shape of the smile that tugged at the corners.

His were warm, the perfect temperature between hot and cold. He lingered for a moment, extending the duration of the contact. No one wanted to pull away, but the need to breathe was bubbling up. 

You stared at him breathless, speechless as you processed the lasting heat on your lips. 

“Todoroki I…” 

He cut you off, “I can stay a bit longer if you want. You're still pretty warm.” He gave you a shy smile, taking your hand in his own. 

You smiled brightly, squeezing his hand in yours. “I would like that.”

[honestsycrets]

The Milkmaid VII: Bright Lights

❛ pairing | ivar x reader, harald & ivar (friend?ship)

❛ type | multi

❛ summary | reader finds her way while ivar argues with a dog. 

❛  tags | pregnancy themes, supernatural intervention, ivar being a bad dog owner, he’s a pet boy okay, just not today, angst, but not dark?, i’m not @lisinfleur 😂 

❛ sy’s notes | no really he argues with a dog. i was gonna post a gif of ivar on this but my 5B gifs are real s h i t t y. redo.

He should throw your stupid dog down a well. Maybe, if he were lucky, Mimir would shake the knowledge out of the damn thing. But no, instead, he has no more leads to go on than he originally had. The kings stand considering from which direction the dog came from.

“He came from behind the barn,” says Harald.

“He came from the barn,” Ivar scoffs, jerking his finger in the direction. “You think my slave was hiding away in some barn in the cold of night?”

“Maybe if she were hiding from you.”

“That is so helpful,” Ivar snaps at the other king. His men, deep in the woods, shout: there is nothing here! Ivar then turns to Harald with that knowing, all too cocky scowl. He hates it, when he is right. “Do you know what is back there? Brush. Woods and wolves.”

“I’m sure you know what is back there.”

Ivar leers back to the other king confident of his astringent purpose for saying that. Ivar grips his crutch, hobbling a bit closer. “What are you saying, hm?”

“I am saying these things have a way of recurring.”

These things, Harald suggested, is the death of royal children. His child, Freydis’s child, and now… Ivar holds Harald’s gaze for a stubborn few moments before he hisses, not bearing to waste his time with the old king.

“I don’t know why I brought you Harald,” Ivar walks away from the other kind. Harald, now dressed, follows Ivar toward the line of trees. “You have no faith in the gods, no faith in anything.”

“Here I am,” Harald’s expression smooths over from bunched up wrinkles to a state of relaxation, despite his companion’s jabs. After this many years, he became used to the constant jeer of kinds underestimating him. “Are we checking in the brush?”

“If we have to.”

The woods hold their own secrets. Deep in their hearth, past the arching trees and branches that nipped the sky, there had to be something. At the very least, all it could hold, is a vast amount of nothing. He has nothing to gain from continuing to deny Harald. They find themselves following Vala’s tiny steps that carry them deeper and deeper before they stop. Vala turns in a circle. Then sits.

Stupid dog.

“The dog doesn’t know,” Harald grumbles. “Look at him, he is confused.”

Ivar glares at the dog, wondering why, why hadn’t he picked a grown and well-trained dog. He had to pick this thing. Because you wanted him so much. He shouldn’t have let you pick the dog-- you knew good, domestic things. Things of war, protection, and-- this, not so much.

The pup scratches the grown, sniffing and turning, whining and whimpering. And Ivar wants nothing more than to boot him with the butt of his crutch. The dog yips and Ivar’s about had it. He whirls around-- and finds the dog sitting there looking right back at him.

Pest.

If he had been smart, he would have chosen a well-trained hound. But no-- because his heart is weak when it comes to the complaints of his woman, he chose a creature that was as useless as it was cute.

The sun disappeared behind the fjord. You were left with the chill of night as Kattegat’s temperature plummeted below comfortable levels. Too cold to move but too afraid to let the fire run out, you chucked remnants of wood you gathered into the dismal fire until there was nothing but scraps that the fire would snap apart, cracking into its dying breaths. With nothing else to give to the greedy flames, you fold your hands into your woolen dress and pray tight lipped prayers to Frigg.

A small light, barely a flicker, caught your attention out of your peripheral vision. At first you thought it was nothing, perhaps the flicker of an animal’s eyes. If you stayed very still, the wild beast would leave you be, or you so you hoped. It would be tragic, you thought, for the wolves to have two of Ivar’s children. You your legs in a little tighter and curl into the Asvaldr’s plump belly, even as he whines impatiently for your attention.

“Shh, what if it is a beast?” you smooth your hand over his muscular body. “We shouldn’t worry about it, morning will come soon enough.”

Despite your pleads, Asvaldr’s limbs flailed with his attempt to get up. When he does, he effectively thrusts you to the dirt floor. Your hand snaps to your stomach with precaution, resting on your hip. “Asvaldr what is it?”

It was then you saw it for what it was.

A whimsical bouncy flourish of light between the wall of thick trees over a prominent rock. You swing your legs around, using the ground to shove yourself up. Asvaldr clopped closer so that you might hold his reins to support your stance.

“A wisp?”

Asvaldr clops a closer, dragging you along with. It had been some time since you had seen one of these things. The bouncy lights that dragged you, so you heard, to your fate. You chase the wisps into the untraveled path of the forest that way, hanging onto your master’s horse, and praying to the gods the wisps path is a good one.

Well, chase is being kind, when you walk like that.

Ivar’s eyes chase the edges of old trees. They are tall, well grown, wild. All the good plants are wild and free to hold spirits that are just as wild and free. He moistens his cracked lips for the fifth time, debating--

Perhaps Harald had been right. Perhaps you wanted to run to get away from him. Everyone else shared that sentiment. Margrethe, ran from him. Freydis then-- she tried to run from him.

At least he took care of that one. He made sure she didn’t run.

“Ivar!” Harald paces until he finds something, lackadaisically whistling at Ivar. Ivar takes his crutch and jabs it into the hard dirt, carefully scaling the mountain side to where the other king was. He stood about the crispy remains that weren’t yet cool. “Ashes. She was here.”

The stupid little shit yips at his feet. They scan the surrounding area for clues that you had been there. Moist poignantly, he finds, is an overlooked trail leading away from the campsite. He realizes that there is something there-- better than a burnt out campsite or sweep of luck.

A bouncy red flame.

It held his attention for longer than it should have. “Thank the gods,” he finds himself raising the hammer of Thor to his lips, placing a kiss to it, before setting it back upon his sturdy chest.

In looking at Harald, he realized that the old man did not see what he saw. But it was there, jovial and light. “And where are you going?” Harald called out to him. Harald growls a half hearted response and disappears into the trees behind his so called friend. It had better been a lead.

“Come on, old man. You’re falling behind!”

Ivar believes in the ways of the gods and the norns. There is not a fate that lay before man that was not woven from their fingertips. From the strong standing trees to the ones that have collapsed and bore their craggly roots, the trees have an understanding with the nine worlds that humans did not. Humans unlike Ivar, whose faith was uncrackable.

He pressed down from the rolling hill down toward the fjord, scaling with a curse behind every step, because his crutch was complaining as he moved down the hillside. How he could walk the battlefield freely, like a titan, and now plummet to the ground with sand was beyond him. He breaks his fall on his elbows, and to his surprise, his bones don’t crack. He knows Harald is watching him agape as he hurries on his forearms.

“What are those?” Harald at last sees it with that dumb, lost expression splattered across his face. “Is there a Valkyrie here?”

“Do you see a Valkyrie?” he looks to the sky, then across the streaming waters that washed by, searching for the sight of a swan. There was none. He can’t help tease. “Perhaps its all that ale you’ve been drinking.”

Harald’s face is flat and free from a response, just the small, scoffing laugh as he looks about.

At least, Ivar knows, it isn’t in his head this time. Last time-- as it were -- was Freydis’s lies. At least now, here, he knows that Harald sees exactly what he sees. The wisps, fireballs of the norn’s might, leads down from Norway’s rise and drop to the lapsing waves of the water to the grainy shore.

“Hold this,” he hands the crutch he’s been crawling with to Harald.

The scouts he’s gathered fall in a defensive position around the kings. Harald stuffs the crutch under his arm, following Ivar, who now snakes over the ground toward the rocky bend of the beach like he’s fifteen again and innocent to the world despite the men around him. He can see his brother’s long bodies splashing in the cool water against the warm orange that reflected on the sun. Then Hvitserk and Ubbe would come with their spears and Ubbe would show him a feast of fish while Hvitserk had none. Sigurd would have one.

Nostalgia isn’t a good taste on his tongue. That boy-- the one who dreamed of being able to hunt with his big brothers? He’s not a boy he wants to know. He doesn’t want to know the boy that would have rathered slit his throat if only it wouldn’t destroy his mother. So he turns his head across from the still waters and looks toward the forest. At the banks of the waters, he recognizes a decrepit sight-- not from anything he’s ever seen, but something he’s always felt.

“As much as I hate to break up a good moment,” Harald kneels down, holding the crutch over his trousers, “We were hunting your very pregnant slave.”

“Shht,” Ivar snaps back to Harald. “Look there.”

“Look where?” He lurches then, grasping Harald’s wrinkled face and jerks it into the right direction across the waters. A long, grated sigh breaks free from his lips. The waters do not look deep, no. It strikes Harald as strange, as he knows he’s passed by here with his warships, and they’ve been deeper still than the crystal clear waters before. He turns toward his men to shrill something-- when he finds the only company they have is the cold chill of the sea.

Ivar looks back at him, reclining on the palms of his hands, before his head tilts-- and a shit eating smile makes its way up his face. He clicks his tongue like a man would after a lost animal.

“...I’m the donkey then.”

There is a cabin.

It is a thin looking thing that would make anyone question why it was still standing. It’s heavy brown wood stands, but it has clearly been burned by the crispness of its black edges. Someone did not want it to stand. But there it was, proudly displaying a shield that spun above the top of the double doors. Pure blood red with one lone symbol: a raven soars the expanse of the shield.

“This must be your father’s cabin,” Harald says, verging on a dry laughter. Ten years, and here he was, static in the same position he’s always been-- behind Ragnar’s legacy. He sets his hand over a twig like fence that reflects Ragnar and Lagertha’s condition prior to taking up raiding once again. Ivar cradles the crutch, using it like a horse’s bit, over Harald’s throat.

The farm’s gate is shaky at best. When he looks out to the fencing, he recognizes a wispy figure dashing into the gate. That handsome, cut jawline with curls. Inquisitive eyes free of any exhaustion. If he were asked, he knew it could never be.

But it looks like him. It’s his father’s whimsical young figure that dashes in, kissing the soft cheeks of a girl he’s never known, and a brother he wish he never had. Another figure stands at the gate; his energy wispy and white. Athelstan, he recognizes the name, not the body.

“So it seems. Have you been here before?”

The girl stops from watching her father and her brother. Harald pauses, helping Ivar off his sodden wet back, and onto the ground. Ivar upright, the crutch fit under his arm. He’s taller than he’s ever been. More handsome than he’s ever felt.

She offers her hand, and Ivar can’t help look up to it in question. The girl-- he’s never known her name. Only that she was at the midpoint between girlhood and crossing into womanhood.

“You’re my brother, Ivar. I am Gyda,” her voice, it’s softer than the waves that lapse the shoreline. “Have you come here to look for someone?”

“My w--” Ivar stops himself. “My slave. She’s with child.”

“I see.” She hovers there, transparent, but defined in features that paint her energy a rich gold. She was radiant. “I sent Baldur after you to help you find her.”

His heart catches in his throat. A quick glance around reveals nothing. There is no boy next to Harald and he. Harald, sensing the discomfort, glances around the farm to the cooing animals. To the handsome visage of Ragnar and Bjorn, ducking and weaving. Ivar recognizes a pang of longing across his friend’s face. Harald steps over the wooden gate.

“I don’t understand.”

She smiles. “My nephew.”

Somewhere, through the mist, he spots the fireball of light. Something in the deep of his mind reminds him of that cursed little soul: Baldur.

@tephi101 @alicedopey @supernaturalvikingwhore @tootie-fruity @titty-teetee @queen-see-ya-in-valhalla @ethereallysimple @deathbyarabbit @deathbyarabbit @readsalot73 @natalie-rdr @lol-haha-joke @lisinfleur @hissouthernprincess @marvelousse @dangerous-like-a-loaded-pistol @vikingsmania @wish-i-was-a-mermaid @lif3snotouttogetyou @gruffle1 @cris101071 @gold-dragon-slayer @babypink224221 @wonderwoman292 @naaladareia @beyond-the-ashes @generic-fangirl @chinduda @laketaj24, @peaceisadirtyword, @ly–canthrope @cris101071 @daughterofthenight117 @unassumingviking @ladyofsoa, @inforapound @winchesterwife27 @feyrearcheron44@readsalot73 @squirrelacorngliterfarts @gold-dragon-slayer @medievalfangirl @sallydelys  @bluearchersstuff @affectionrabbitt @whatamood13 @notyouraveragegirl17 @igetcarriedawaywithyou @unacceptabletatertots @ivarandersen @stra-vage @tgrrose @cookies186 @learninglemni-blog @theleeshanotlouise @soiproclaim @msmorganforever

[lilbit-of-kizzy]

I found all the Pokémon in snap!! Finally!! (I had help lol)

My tips?

Just play the game, no seriously most of them are going to show up eventually on their own! Most on lvl 3 maps.

If you level up a map DON'T HIT REPLAY you will replay at your old level! Exit to the camp and go back into the map for new stuff to start appearing!

Complete quests! Try them first on your own, some of them are very straightforward and simple, some of them are gonna require a walkthrough 😅 that's ok! Just understand that most of the walkthroughs online were created quickly with "wait how did we do that???" players behind them! You may have to tweak what you do to get them to work (or find a different guide)

Don't get so caught up in completion that you forget to have fun! I did this, realized I was frustrated and not enjoying the things I was achieving and took a step back! It's a buggy game, just have fun with it!

Realize you can change the lvl of any map! I did not!! Lolol in small letters it says "x to change level" There are some quests and pokémon unavailable in the higher levels!

Those are the basic ones I can think of rn 😅 if you're ok with spoilers see below the cut for how to find some of the harder ones!

Ok! So some of the names of the places are just gonna be what I call them because I'm tired and don't have my switch on me 😅 you'll know what I mean I promise, also I'm not including different star walkthroughs! Only how to find the Pokémon!

Lugia: I'm putting this one first because I loath it in it's entirety. I swear the rest are nowhere near this complicated

Location: Undersea Cave (underwater map) must be a least lvl 3

Instructions: Scan to take the alternate path into the deep cave (once you're at level 3 this will be open automatically but you can open it before by throwing an orb at the Clawitzer as it shoots into the cave on the left early in the map! If you hit the kelp forest you've gone too far/haven't unlocked Clawitzer yet!)

You should see Starmie swimming around, this is how you know you're on the right level and path! As you pass Tentacruel you'll start your decent to the sea floor.

Look around spastically (I'm not kidding every walkthrough video I've seen has just turned in fast, crazy circles) until you see a Lanturn against the wall and immediately hit it with an orb, you'll know you've done it in time if it dives down instead of joining the throng of pokémon swimming up.

Wailmer/lord will block your view for a second but you should see a couple of Frilish now harassing said Lanturn. Hit it with and orb again to help it fight off the Frilish. It'll be grateful to you and show you a new path! (You'll still need to scan it!) You'll find Lugia around the corner on your right (it's hard to miss!)

There's a Crystal Bloom above it near a sleeping Magikarp, if you hit the bloom it should wake Lugia up! Have fun and memorize this because you have to do all of this EVERY TIME 😄

.

Celebi: It's just there!

Location: Evermore Forest (is that right??? The mystery forest)

Instructions: get to level 3 on the forest (you may have to "beat" the game I'm not sure) and make your way to the end! Don't take the Sun Field route, go where the Beware are, then look immediately to your right! Celebi is flying around and will continue to zip around you!

.

Jirachi and Absol: again they just show up after beating the game!

Location: The Ruins

Jirachi is sleeping on top of the 2nd flower pool and Absol will be hanging out near the end! Once you find/interact with them they'll be around in other places as well!

.

Mew: mew!!

Location: Jungle Forest (night) you must "beat" the game first!

Immediately upon start turn all the way around, hit the two Murell with an orb and play the melody, they'll dance and a familiar pink orb with spring out of the trees!

After a few seconds of flying around it'll pause in front of you, throw a fluff fruit at it and start snapping pics!

I haven't managed to achieve this myself yet but apparently if you manage to hit and get a picture of Mew every time it shows up, it'll then appear right in front of you at the end of the course! Get pictures and they should be flying around day and night without prompting!

.

Suicune: tiny bit complicated

Location: Snow World (names man I'm sorry) Night

So actually activating Suicune isn't hard, getting to them isn't either but it's a lot of steps!

So if you haven't unlocked the 2 alt paths for this level you'll need to do that first so let's go over that!

Start in the day at lvl 2 and look to your left to see an Alolan Sandslash, take its picture! Keep looking to your left and, just beyond Beartic, up high on a snow drift you'll spot the rascal again, again snap a photo! And he'll lead you to a new path! Hurray! (Scan for it of course)

Now that path is open at night as well so, once you're finished, head back in at night lvl 2. Take the new path and you should find a Crabominable punching trees (as you do). He'll eventually go to punch a tree on your left that an Abomasnow is sleeping beside. Chuck an orb before he punches, this'll drop snow on Mr Aboma who will wake up pissy and will scare out a Froslass, take her picture! She'll be shy and show you yet ANOTHER path! (Scan ofc) Now you may want to just explore this area first as there's quite a few new Pokémon here! Both routes are now available day and night!

Anyways once you're out of a cave you'll pass through, you'll emerge to a Jynx riding an Avalugg through the water. Throw an orb at her and she'll raise her hands. At this point look to your right and Suicune should eventually run out from behind the glacier!

(btw Glaceon is up on top of the cliff at the natural end of this level! Where all the Spheal are!)

.

Ho-oh: just chillin

Location: Volcano

Immediately look to your right between the two cliffs to catch them in flight! You have to take pictures every time they show up to get them to spawn at the end and I have yet to achieve this 😅 but hey we're just here to fill out the photodex right?

.

Dianice and Jolteon: Oh THAT'S where Jolteon is hiding!!

Location: Ice Cave

I'm pretty sure you have to be at lvl 3 but not 100%

Take the Crystal Cave route near all the Croagunk (on the other side of the river) once you pass through the smaller cave, look down to find a Malwile and two Carbinks, orb all 3 of them and look to your right, Dianice will come out towards the happy sounds! If you orb her she'll give you some multi star reactions!

Her presence will have made the 2nd Malwile, the one standing on the crystal who refuses to face you, move revealing a secret path, scan for it, take a picture of the Malwile cause it's finally facing you and you'll descend behind the wall! Jolteon will be hiding in some leaves to your left! (The pictures will register! I'm sure it comes out eventually)

.

Gardevoir and Ninetales: and the winter route!

Location: Evermore Forest (again!)

Be sure to be at lvl 3 as it's the only lvl this works on (not max!)

Scan and melody until you can make a right turn, this will ensure Trevenant is out of the way of the path! Espeon will run in front of you and sit, orb her! She'll lead you to the winter forest path!

Gardevoir is hard to miss and Ninetales shows up to your right far away, and towards the end of the winter path will still be to the right but closer!

Have you managed to do the Lost Little Deerling quest/path yet? If not:

Once you pass to the next part of the forest (where Sawsbuck jumps in front of you...3 star pic btw) look immediately to your right and orb the flower. You'll hear and then see a Deerling pop up! Orb the next flower, then you'll see 2 flowers, you wanna hit the one furthest back but NOT the closer one. Then hit the Espeon flower, which will still draw out Espeon but this time she has a friend :3 papa (mama?) Sawsbuck will be thrilled (pics of Deerling to complete the quest!) and all 3 will lead you to the Sun fields! Scan to take the path, it's near those two adorable Espurrs!

If you took the winter path Gardevoir and Ninetales will be here as well! Gardevoir will eat a Fluffruit now and Ninetales will be happy with an orb!

(a loooot of the quests for this map are also in this part of the forest!)

Welp...that was long!! But I hope it helps!! Let me know if there's any Pokémon you're missing that I didn't mention!!

[glitxhwayventeen]

Lonely Hearts Club

Seokmin: Chapter 3 (I Wanna Know)

Characters: Seokmin x female reader

Genre/Warnings: multi-member au (different scenarios), werewolf au, fantasy, angst, fluff, genocide mentions, runaways, mental illness (depression implied), sexual mentions, crying, mentions of death, mentions of violence. Any others will be put as warnings when future chapters are thought up/written.

Author’s Note: Your girl is in some serious fucking pain but she managed to get another chapter out because she couldn’t sleep! So low and behold, I give you a decent chapter for DK

Please remember that all of these chapters and the content within them are a work of fiction! They’re just for fun/entertainment!

Bold= Dialogue Italics= Thoughts

🥀 & ☁️

Lonely Hearts Club Master List

Chapter 3: I Wanna Know

You were in heat for a few more days. Seokmin stayed with you the whole time and took care of… your every need. Though he looked worn out, he didn’t complain once. He liked that you let him help you. And he was hoping now that your heat was over, you’d let him in a bit more.

Your legs felt like jello, your hair looked like a birds nest, your skin was covered in variously healed bruises. You were a mess. But it was still time to go back to the pack. You made a promise and you always followed through with your promises, even if you were in a horny induced daze when you made it. You were just hoping they wouldn’t know, or at least, wouldn’t make a big deal out of what had happened.

Seokmin helped get you back to your feet and get dressed, putting your arms through your tank top and putting you in your shorts one leg at a time. He had already managed to get himself together as he had woken up earlier than you had. He figured you’d be in worse shape than him after everything… everything you’d been through and he wanted to be sure you were as okay as possible before you started your journey back home.

“There we go, all done!” He chirped after finally buttoning the last button on your jean shorts.

He took a step back to look at you. Aside from the bruises, you physically looked pretty normal now that he had helped you tame your ridiculously tangled hair. But he knew the pack was gonna smell you. You smelled like him from the week of animalistic sex sessions you two had been having due to your heat. It was unavoidable. He knew they’d all know you two slept together the second you walked through the door. He just wasn’t sure how you’d react to their inevitable and unavoidable teasing.

You quickly looked down after you had seen your reflection in one of your buckets of water, “I look like a walking disaster.” You muttered.

“It’s not THAT bad…,” He failed miserably at reassuring you, “But it doesn’t matter anyways, we’re mates. It doesn’t matter if we slept together or not. We would have eventually anyways” Seokmin tried to reason, bringing himself to walk up to you and hold your small hands in his large ones hesitantly.

“They’re all gonna make fun of me.” You pouted at him, looking down at your feet and smiling a bit in embarrassment.

You had never really taken the time to look at him before your whole mating fiasco happened. You had done literally everything in your power to avoid him at all costs so you wouldn’t catch feelings for him. But now that you had spent a good portion of time alone with him, you realized just how much bigger than you Seokmin was. He always seemed so… subservient around the pack that you never really gave his physical appearance much thought when it came to size. He must’ve been almost a foot taller than you, and now that you had seen him shirtless and naked, you also knew just how much muscle he actually had. He was MUCH larger than you had thought. Even his feet looked like they could crush yours with one fast stomp.

He held back a giggle at your cuteness before he spoke up, “They won’t make fun of yoooou. Especially because you could EASILY beat most of them to a bloody pulp with your special wolfie powers and all.”

“Aya! They’re not special ‘wolfie powers.’ They’re just my normal powers. And it’s not my fault you guys are more diluted forms than me.” You chuckled, playfully smacking his toned chest with your hand.

He cocked his head to the side at your statement, “Is that how it works? The longer the line the less of a wolf you are?” He asked curiously while bringing the back of your hand up to his lips and giving it a chaste kiss.

You almost laughed out loud at his question before you remembered that he didn’t grow up with other werewolves. He was a bitten wolf, not genetically a wolf. You remembered that Seungcheol had told you that no one in his family had ever been a wolf before him. He probably had no clue how it all worked, especially since his pack wasn’t always the best help when it came to educating each other on important matters. You felt a little guilty for thinking he was just being sort of dumb. It wasn’t his fault he didn’t know anything about it. So you held back your little outburst and nodded instead.

“Yeah basically. I mean, most genetic lines now can still obviously transform, but they’re still not…” You tapped your chin with your index finger for a moment while thinking of the correct words to explain what you meant, “As much of a wolf as me.” You decided.

Your mate was watching you intensely, listening to every word you said closely, as if he was learning the most important information he’d ever need to know,“I’m honestly probably more wolf than I am human. But most modern day wolves are more human than wolf, that’s why it’s relatively easy for them to assimilate into human societies and blend in.” You informed him, the both of you gathering the rest of your things and making your way out the cave to the path leading back to the forest.

“But hiding our eyes isn’t always easy!” He interjected with enthusiasm you found oddly cute, “If we get too emotional, the potions disintegrate and our real eye color shows. So it’s not really SUPER simple with us.” Seokmin responded, grabbing your hand closest to him and interlocking your fingers.

For a moment, you wanted to pull away from him and push him for initiating the sudden contact. But you also promised him that you’d give him a chance and that you’d try to be the best mate to him that you could be. Plus, the warmth of his hand felt… kind of nice on yours. So you kept your hands together, giving his fingers an involuntary squeeze that made Seokmin’s face light up.

“I suppose you’re right. But really, as long as a wolf can keep their shit together, they can seem very human. When my people were still around, we were very obviously NOT human. We couldn’t be even if we had tried.” You casually let out, skipping over a large rock in your way.

“What were your people like?” He questioned, genuinely wanting to know what your life was like before you lost everything. His pack had tried to ask you before, but you’d always clam up and make up some excuse to leave the conversations. He was hoping with it just being the two of you, you might actually be okay with sharing some more personal information with him.

You waited a moment before you spoke up. What WERE your people like? It had been so long that you hardly even remembered anythings about them. You usually tried to push away all the thoughts of them because remembering all you lost hurt too much. But when he asked you the question, it was like everything came rushing back to you all at once.

Your family, your tribe, your traditions. You remembered how the tribal elders used to let you sit in on council meetings because your father insisted you needed to know everything there was to know about running the tribe. It made you feel so important when he did that, like you were his pride and joy. You thought about all the times you had sat next to your mom as she cooked up potions and remedies in her old stone cauldron for the healer to use on the sick and injured. She always cared so much about everything and everyone around her, you always loved to help her help people. And you could all but see your 11 big goofball brothers running up to you holding their latest hunting prizes with the most giant toothy grins they could muster. Those dumbasses, they always made the most of life. You missed them so fucking much.

Everything started swirling around your head and it made a huge smile appear on your face with watery eyes at the thought of your early life. Seokmin took notice and felt a bit proud of himself that he had made you that happy, you had never beamed a smile that big before in front of him or his pack.

“My people… they were… they were just-” You paused, “They were just the most amazing family a person could ever ask for.” You started, wiping away a sudden tear that had fallen down the side of your face from the memory of them, hopefully before your mate could notice. Of course, he still saw, but he said nothing because he knew it would upset you.

“They were always just sooooo happy. I remember every night was basically like a huge party. We’d all dance and sing around the campfire, there’d be elders telling stories and offering the young words of wisdom while the parents would scold us for interrupting anytime anything got cool or surprising.” You sadly laughed, “We were all just… one big happy family. Even if I wasn’t actually related to all of them. I can’t really explain the connection I felt to them… it was just as strong as the one I had to my biological family.” You sighed, finally reaching the edge of the forest and finding the proper trail for the both of you to set towards home.

He could hear the pain in your voice as you spoke of your past life. You must’ve really missed them. But there were so many questions he still had. What about your actual family? Did you have brothers or sisters? What kind of life did you have? How did you sleep or eat? Where did you come from? But he knew he shouldn’t ask so many at once, he didn’t want to overwhelm you or hound you with his thoughts all at once. So instead, he asked just one question he knew he should probably know the answer to: “What- What happened to them?”

His words made you halt your movements for a second. Remembering that day wasn’t something you liked to do. In fact, you went to great lengths to avoid the memory. It haunted everything you did. Every minute of everyday was plagued with the thought of their demise. You had nightmares every night. You saw their hallowed faces in every person you met. You smelt ash and burnt flesh more than you smelt anything else. Their screams were still stuck to your mind like gum on the bottom of a shoe. It tore you apart to think of it. But still, you knew he deserved to know. You’d want to know if you were him.

“They were… they were massacred.” You sadly shrugged, biting your lip to keep yourself from letting sobs out. He stroked your hand in his in an effort to soothe your sad soul. You took comfort in his small affectionate touch, it grounded you and pulled your tortured mind back down to the conversation you were having.

You took in a deep breath, “It was just any other day, at least, to me it was,” you gulped before you continued, “I was helping my mom with some new herbal remedies for some of our sick warriors when suddenly we heard this loud BANG. My mom wasn’t a wolf, in fact, back then no female was. Well, no female but me that is, but that’s beside the point,” you shook your head and tried to get yourself back on the topic at hand.

“I could feel the vibration under my feet. It was a cannon, but we didn’t know that then. They weren’t really used in our part of the world, they’d freeze in the cold weather and couldn’t always light at the altitude that my village was set on. But somehow, the Cossacks found a way to make them work… they always found a way…” you stated flatly, looking up to the sky out of respect for your fallen family.

“They were upset that my pack had killed some of their soldiers that had hurt a group of women in a neighboring tribe. So they punished us the only way they knew how: by brutally murdering everyone and setting everything they could on fire. Fire’s one of the few ways Icyan wolves can actually be killed. They killed almost everybody. As far as I know, Cyrus and me were the only ones who got out.” You swallowed back the lump stuck in your throat as you and Seokmin continued onward to your destination.

Now this question really worried him, he wasn’t sure if he even wanted answers to it. But he, again, wanted to know more about you and how you got to him. He’d figure it out eventually, might as well try to get it out of you today while he had you going already.

“Can you- can you tell me a bit about him…?” He almost whispered, afraid to say it any louder as he didn’t want to upset you.

“W-What?” You asked for clarification.

“I- I Wanna Know more about… him… Can you tell me about him?” Seokmin stuttered out. He was still unsure if he should’ve said it to begin with, but he couldn’t help it. He had to know more about the man who had you crying constantly over him.

You turned your head to look at him, “About who? Cyrus?” A bit of fear crossed your face as you attempted to confirm what he asked.

“Y-Yeah. He was your mate. And Jun kind of explained what you told him had happened to him the other day, but I don’t know much about him. Like how you two got out. Or why he died…” He looked you in the eyes and say that tears and immense sadness had began to pool in them, “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to! I just figured… that it would be better to get it out in the open now…” Seokmin bit his lip as he waited for your reaction/response.

“Cyrus was… Cyrus. He is- was… my best friend.” You sighed defeatedly out loud before you continued, “He always took care of me. He imprinted on me right after I was born, so he was always there for me.” You started, still trying to find the right words to emphasize what he meant to you. But it was hard, you weren’t very touchy feely like Seokmin was. Feelings were all new to you, so you weren’t sure how to share them aloud.

You didn’t want to upset Seokmin by speaking too fondly about your past mate, but you also couldn’t help the pang in your heart you felt Everytime you heard Cyrus’s name. Part of you wanted to never speak of him again, another part of you wanted to never shut up about him. Your mind was full of conflict but your heart was full of sorrow. How could you possibly ever forget Cyrus enough to have a new mate? How could you ever emphasize how important he was to you when Seokmin, your current lover, was holding your hand? How were you supposed to pick and choose such things when your heart was pleading for a break?

“Wait- he imprinted on you right when you were born? I didn’t know that was possible…” he lost steam towards the end of his sentence and started to mumble while rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand.

“Oh no! It wasn’t like that!” You stopped him before he could get any further, “See, Icyan wolves start to shift really soon after birth, like only a month or two after. So it basically means that we’re able to phase our entire life. Cyrus was only five years older than me. He acted like an older brother to me until I hit 16 ish. But that’s when it all went wrong…” You held back a whimper that was threatening to spill past your lips.

“But the day everyone was killed, my dad and the other wolves came to defend out den. I was hiding in the hut while my mom was trying to do a protection spell. But they had killed most of our warriors already when they tried to save their families. We’re very protective of the ones we love” you sniffled slightly, still trying to hold your emotions back but obviously failing miserably.

“Cyrus came to find me after his family was killed. It was his instinct to protect me first, even though he loved his parents, they had each other still. And I was his mate, that’s how we work, mates and children before anyone else. He came into our home and tried to comfort me. We all thought we were gonna die. They had already killed my brothers by the river bank, it broke my parents. They saw red. But they knew I was still alive. So, before the Russians stormed our hut, my dad told Cyrus to take me and run as far as possible for as long as possible, so he did. After that, we were alone, but we had each other. It was like that for a few years. But then… I turned 16 and everything went to hell.” Your lip trembled and quivered with guilt.

Your current mate whined at your sadness, he wanted to help you, but he knew there was nothing he could say or do to make you feel better. So he just kept rubbing the back of your petite hand and giving you his full undivided attention. You had heard his whine, but you knew it was just because you were upset, so you gave him a small depressed smile before you kept speaking.

“Well you know that he- well that he’s obviously dead. Otherwise we couldn’t have imprinted on each other. But I’m sure you want to know… why he died” you mustered up all the courage you could before finally explaining it all to him, “He saved me. I fucked up. I was spotted by some towns people and he took the fall so they wouldn’t take me instead. Our wolf forms were similar. All Icyan wolves are white, we can just have different patterns to us. The villager that spotted me didn’t see the black spot on my head, he just saw a huge white wolf. They followed me back to our den and they were met with him. He refused to let me go. He was a telepath and he was an alpha. He ordered me to hide and he told me he loved me before he gave himself up to the angry mob.” You stopped walking and let the tears brimming your eyes freely fall.

Seokmin stood in front of you playing with your hair sweetly, trying to give you something to ground yourself and distract you from your heartache. It killed him to see you that way.

“I couldn’t- I couldn’t refuse his order. He was- he was my alpha. So I had to stay and watch them take him back to their town. I left after that to try and find him, he never told me that I couldn’t. But by the time I got there- they- they-” you sobbed out while bringing your shakey hands to your face, “They had already started torturing him. There had been reports of two huge wolves in the area and they thought he would lead them to me if they hurt him enough. But he never did.” Seokmin pulled you into his chest as you cried, barely able to breathe as you convulsed into loud whimpers and wails.

“I- I felt everything. Every cut they made, every punch, every hit. Because I’m of my shaman bloodline, I felt everything he felt, I- I’m an empath. He figured out I was in the crowd and just kept telling me that he loved me telepathically. That it wasn’t my fault. But- But how could it not be- be my fault?” You stuttered as you gripped onto Seokmin’s shirt for dear life, “I got him killed!” You all but screamed, crying into your mate’s chest so hard he was worried you’d pass out.

Seokmin just let you cry. He couldn’t imagine the guilt and pain you must have been feeling. He just held you and shushed you and told you that everything would be okay. But how could you be okay? You lost everyone in the most awful ways possible. No wonder you didn’t want him around before. If he were you, he wouldn’t either. He wouldn’t have wanted to risk losing MORE people.

He knew you thought it was your fault, but it wasn’t. If the roles were reversed, he knew you would’ve done the same thing as Cyrus. Just like he always knew that if push came to shove, he’d do the same exact thing your past mate had done to save you. You were his whole world, he’d never let anything or anybody hurt you if he could help it. He’d defend you with his very last breath if it meant you got even a second longer to live.

-

After a while, your breathing evened out and your sobs became just tears. Seokmin pulled you back up from his torso to look you in the glistening eyes. He quickly wiped away any water that had streamed down your face in the process. He really wanted to just kiss all your tears away, but now wasn’t the time for that.

“I’m so sorry (Y/N). I wish I could take away your pain. But I can’t. The best I can do is promise you that I’ll always be here for you.” He assured you, tucking a strand of your hair behind your ears.

“Even if I start crying over my dead mate?” You tried to sound sarcastic, but you honestly felt too weak to. It probably came out as more of a whine to him.

“Even if you start crying over him. Or if you miss him. Or even if you just want to talk about him. Or any of them. It’s okay. I understand and I’m here for you, no matter what.” He pecked your nose softly and gave you the most loving eyes you had ever seen.

You couldn’t help but pull him into a sweet, thankful kiss, attempting to show him how grateful you were for him with your actions rather than your words that always seemed to fail you. Once you pulled back, you realized just how tired you were. Seokmin seemed to pick up on it to because, suddenly, you were in his arms being carried through the woods bridal style. You gave him a look of uncertainty, he just nodded at you and gave you a loving smile, signaling that he would be okay to walk back the rest of the way to the house with you in his arms.

You wanted to protest it all for his sake, but your eyelids felt too heavy. So instead, you just snuggled your now swollen face into his chest and let the darkness take over, feeling safe in his arms and knowing he would never let anything bad happen to you. For the first time in a long time, you felt like maybe everything would be okay.

(Updated 9/17)

[speechlessxx]

Guilty as Charged (Bucky Barnes x Reader)

Summary: In which Bucky and the reader’s happy life is interrupted by a Civil War. 

Warnings: LONG (for no reason, this could’ve been a multi-part fic but I don’t have the commitment for that), this is really bad tbh..., language? 

Word Count: 2.4k+

Feedback is appreciated! I hope you enjoy!

When Bucky settled down with you in Bucharest, he hoped that he’d be able to provide you a happy life – the life you deserved. The both of you were two peas in a pod, both running from the ghosts of their pasts. He was running from HYDRA and the government while you were fleeing from your abusive ex-boyfriend. You first met when he managed to save you from being mugged. After that, he traveled with you. Soon, you both became close and confessed your pasts to one another.

“I understand if you don’t want to go with me anymore,” he told you on the rooftop of some building you two broke into for the night. He adverted his eyes from yours as shame quickly flooded through him. “I’m a killer.”

You shook your head with your brows furrowed as you pulled him into you. Your first kiss was under the stars. He pulled away from you, a bit surprised at your response. You wrapped your arms around his neck, interlocking your fingers together, while his hands found their way to your hips.

“That’s not who you are anymore, though,” you said. “And honestly, I’m falling in love with the person you are today. I don’t care about your past. I just want to be in your future, Bucky.”

Two peas, indeed.

But it all changed the day you both went to the market.

He offered to buy you some plums. (“Get six,” you told him. He responded with a yes ma’am and a mocking salute which earned him a small chuckle). After the man handed him the six fruits in a bag, Bucky felt tense. He felt like he was being watched. He looked over his shoulder and found a man in the newspaper stand staring at him. The man glanced down at the paper in his hand and looked back at Bucky, who started to walk towards him. But as soon as Bucky got close, the man fled. He snatched the paper from its perch as he read The Winter Soldier wanted for Vienna Bombing printed boldly in Romanian.

His breathing hitched as he frowned. He was nowhere near Vienna. The last time he was there was when you stepped on a broken bottle and he had to stitch your foot up. He remembered your yelps of pain as he tried to soothe you while he patched up your wound. It was over a year ago.

Bucky quickly found you and pulled you away from the woman you were trying to buy some meat from. “We need to leave,” he told you as he dragged you.

“What?” you asked. “Hey, hey, Buck, talk to me.” You pulled your arm from his grasp as you stared into his eyes.

He analyzed every detail of your face. From your eyes to your hair to the worried pout on your lips. He realized this might be the last time he’ll be able to see you. Bucky pulled you into him, crashing your lips against his. The last time he might be able to kiss you.

“You need to leave me,” he said breathlessly after he pulled away. You frowned. “Don’t argue, please… It’s not safe,” he eyed the woman who walked a little too close to you. “They found me. And you’re in danger by even being with me.”

You shook your head, tears threatened to fall. “Buck, no,”

“Please, my love,” Bucky pleaded and dug into his pockets. He shoved what cash he had into your hands. “Buy a ticket. Get far away from me.”

“I can’t leave you.” You shook your head. “I won’t.”

“If something happens to you, I won’t be able to forgive myself,” he said, tears in his eyes, too. “I’ll find you. I’ll find you eventually.” You shook your head, defiantly. “Stop it… Please…”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too… so, so much.” He muttered, pulling you back for one final kiss. “Go.”

-=+=-

You were so defiant. Bucky called you stubborn on so many occasions. “That stubbornness is gonna get you in so much trouble one day,” he warned after you refused to back down when you picked a fight with a man twice your size who was manhandling a woman on the train.

He warned you time after time. Stop being so stubborn. Do what I tell you to do so we don’t get killed. But every time, you refused to listen.

Much like now.

Instead of buying a train ticket and getting the hell out of Bucharest, you made it your mission to find out what had him on edge. You found the newspaper with the same headline about the bombing and frowned. Neither of you were in Vienna. You’d been staying in Romania for almost 3 months. So, you managed to find the tip hotline and got in touch with an agent. You claimed his innocence and when asked how you knew the truth, you simply responded, “I was with him.”

So, now you were staring at a man across the table who introduced himself as Everett Ross. You were flown out from Bucharest to Berlin in a matter of hours after your initial phone call.

“I don’t think I quite believe your story, Miss (Y/L),” he finally told you as he rubbed his chin. “It all just seems…”

“It’s contradicting to the narrative you’re so keen on believing,” you nodded. “But it’s the truth. I’ve been traveling with James Buchanan Barnes for the past 2 years after he saved me from being mugged in London.”

“You realize you’ve been traveling with a known criminal, right?” He asked.

You shook your head. “He’s not a criminal. He’s a victim. Don’t paint him into a villain if you don’t know or want to acknowledge his story.”

“You’ve got some bite on you,” he chuckled. “But if he’s such a victim, then why did he attack and escape?”

“What?”

“He’s injured many of our agents, killed dozens in the bombing.” Ross explained. “And yet, you come here, parading around the story that he’s a victim.” He shook his head. “Perhaps, the true victim is you Miss (Y/L)? Maybe the truth is, is that James Buchanan Barnes didn’t save you from being mugged. He kidnapped you and forced to live with him for 2 years, uprooting you from your life, making you depend on him.”

“Are you suggesting I have Stockholm syndrome?” You cocked an eyebrow up. “Because I am of sound mind and he is innocent.”

“I was giving you an out, kid,” he sighed and threw his hands into the air. “I was giving you an excuse, so we don’t tag you as an accessory to a crime. Aiding and abetting a criminal. Hate to see a nice girl like you locked up in prison.”

“I stand by my statement that I was with Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes in Bucharest, Romania at the time of the bombing in Vienna,” you stated and stared him down. Oh, how that stubbornness and undying loyalty shined through.

They didn’t formally arrest you. Instead, they kept you locked in the interview room for hours. You had even fallen asleep a few times. They checked into your story. At every city you and Bucky stayed at, they were able to find video evidence of you too. It was tricky at first. Bucky was skilled at hiding from CCTV, but he had his slip ups. And in some videos, if you were caught on tape, sure enough, Bucky was lingering somewhere near you.

But they didn’t tell you their plan for you, either. If they can’t arrest Barnes themselves, they’ll throw you in the Raft (despite you being a non-enhanced civilian). And if Tony Stark failed at apprehending Steve Rogers and the Winter Soldier, then they’ll use you to draw him out.

-=+=-

You hummed softly to yourself as you laid in the prison bed. You knew from your first conversation with Everett Ross this is where you would end up – a prison cell. However, you didn’t realize that the prison would be hidden in the ocean. The Raft, they called it. Supposedly, it was for the most dangerous criminals. And for some reason, you – a human girl whose only crimes were telling the truth and falling in love – made the cut. And if those were the crimes that Everett Ross claimed you committed, then fine. Guilty as charged.

Later, the cells around you became occupied. Three men and one woman.

“What got you locked up in here?” the African American man asked you.

“Tell the truth,” you answered. He frowned at your response. “I tried doing the right thing. Tell Everett Ross that James Buchanan Barnes is innocent!” You screamed, knowing that the conversation was being overseen by security.

“Wait, Bucky?” The man asked you. You nodded. “You’re the girl.”

“Am I supposed to say, you’re the man?” You scoffed. “Who the hell are you?”

“Sam Wilson,” he introduced. “I know your fella.”

Your features softened. “Is he… is he okay?”

“I sure hope so,” Sam sighed.

-=+=-

You didn’t know how long you were all locked up. You quickly got to know your cellmates – Sam, Clint, Scott, and Wanda. Sam had filled you in on what happened with Bucky, some details he glazed over, knowing the conversation was being monitored. His story lined up with yours. Bucky had been framed so that he would be flushed out of hiding. He was later arrested after trying to flee from a man wearing a cat suit – that part confused you – and the UN.

Bucky didn’t want you involved in the catastrophe that would’ve erupted. He knew he can’t protect the both of you, so he asked you to go as far as you can. You, of course, deterred from his plan and got yourself locked up in a high-security prison. At least you’re safe, you joked to yourself. You did that part right.

Then there was a thud that erupted through the prison as a guard’s body fell from the railing. You quickly got up from your seat against the wall and stared into the darkness. A man emerged and freed you all.

-=+=-

“You’re the girl Bucky’s been talking about?” The man, who introduced himself as Steve, asked as the two of wandered around a hidden Wakanda facility.

“Guilty, I guess,” you smiled. “You’re the best friend he told me about?”

“Guilty,” Steve chuckled. “Thank you… Thank you for being there for him…”

“Honestly, I think he saved me more times than I’ve ever saved him,” you laughed. Steve led you to a lab.

You stared at the technology in awe. It was so advanced compared to the rest of the world. You heard Steve ask someone, “are you sure about this?”

“I can’t trust my own mind,” you heard a familiar voice respond. It broke your heart how broken he sounded. “So, until they figure out how to get this stuff out of my head. I think going back under is the best thing… for everybody.”

“Nothing will make you change your mind?” Steve asked. You didn’t see, but Bucky gave him a sad smile and shook his head. “Not even…” Steve gestured for you to walk over. Bucky’s brows shot up in surprise as you made your presence known. You gave him a small smile as you wrapped your arms around him, careful not to hit the wrapped stub where his titanium arm used to be.

“How?” Bucky asked as you pulled away.

“Tried to clear your name, got arrested,” Bucky frowned at you, “got sent to the Raft, got broken out by Captain American, and… now I’m here.”

“You never got on that train, did ya?” You shook your head and gave him a guilty look. “Of course,” he chuckled as he used his good arm to pull you into a kiss.

“What are you doing?” you asked him.

“I gotta let them fix me,” Bucky explained. “Take the Winter Soldier out of my head.” You looked over to the cryo-freeze chamber and frowned. It looked terrifying – like the things you’d see in a sci-fi horror flick.

“I can’t convince you otherwise?” You asked.

“No, love,” Bucky shook his head, taking your hand into his. “I can’t give you a good life… not with all the bad stuff in my head.”

“Are you ready, Sergeant Barnes?” A teenage girl walked up to him.

Your hand gripped his as he got up from the table. “Stevie, watch over her?” Bucky asked, looking over at Steve.

“You got it pal,” Steve nodded.

Bucky looked down at you. “Don’t do anything stupid until I’m back.”

“How can I?” You muttered. “You’re taking it with you.” Steve smiled to himself, recognizing the phrase and remembering how he would’ve responded similarly.

“I love you, (Y/N).”

“I love you more, Bucky,” you teared up.

“Impossible.”

“Asshole.” He smirked at your response, but instead of providing a rebuttal, he let you have the last word. He gave you one last kiss before he let the girl escort him to the chamber. He closed his eyes as the glass frosted over.

-=+=-

He will be waking today, Shuri’s message read to you. You arrived at the rural villages of Wakanda. The natives all greeted you with smiles as if knowing today was the big day.

“How are you feeling?” Shuri asked the newly awakened Bucky. He stared off into the distance.

“Good. Thank you.” Bucky gave her a small smile and she returned it. He takes in the view of the lake. The sunlight reflected on the waters. It was a beautiful sight.

“Come. So much for you to learn,” Shuri beckoned as she walked off.

Bucky tore his eyes from the beautiful Wakandian scenery and followed Shuri’s voice and was met with another sight that was far more gorgeous.

You wore a white flowy dress (though the bottom of the skirt had been dirtied from the mud you ran across earlier that day). Your hair had been pulled back in a half up/half down hairdo, a small bun at the crown of your head. Your smile reached your teary eyes as your eyes met.

You raced over to him and held him tightly in your arms. You missed him so much. This reunion was months in the making.

“You stayed?” Bucky asked, breathless as you pulled away and wrapped your arms around his neck. You nodded.

“Why would I leave?” You asked. “I’ve waited a long time for this.” You said and pulled him down for a long-awaited kiss.

This was word vomit in fan fiction form. I’m so sorry.

Please tell me what y’all think <3 

[softsillytwsted]

Among Us with the First Years

Yall guess who’s late to the party! I played a long session with my friends and it jump-started my writing.

Warnings: mentions of blood and violence.

General

First of all, the number one rule of this game is to keep quiet and stay anonymous until the next meeting, but no one follows this. For one thing, y’all are sitting in a circle while playing this so it’s hard not to talk

Ace also finds it extremely funny to mess with Deuce and Sebek

Then there’s Grim who can’t play and is instead back-seat playing on your lap. He is also honest to a fault so it’s obvious when you two are the imposter

Ace, Deuce and Epel are always down to play, but it takes Jack and Sebek some goading for them to join. Luckily Jack never backs down from a competition and Lilia encourages Sebek to ‘enjoy his youth’

You all usually play a quick game during lunch time or do sleepovers at Ramshackle and play all night long

ANGRY RANTS IN THE GHOST CHATS

The emergency button was pushed. “Speed run on Ace let’s go!”

Ace

Ace uses the red character with the cherry hat

He’s the best at this game hands down

This smooth talker is good at persuading people, especially Deuce, to his side

He can also start a harmless conversation while murdering someone in cold blood like a psychopath

Maybe because he loves playing tricks on people that he’s able to use sabotages to his full advantage

Although Ace is the best at the game, because he’s a little shit he’s on everyone’s hit list and will die if he’s not careful

Surprisingly enough, Deuce isn’t Ace’s favorite person to kill. It’s Sebek. Sebek’s reactions just make everything funnier.

Ace looked at the task bar. “It’s been silent for awhile now. Who’s not done with their tasks yet?”

“I’ve finished,” replied Epel, the pouting ghost.

“Same,” you chirped while Grim huffed in your lap.

“I finished too,” Jack, the ghost, responded as he hovered disapprovingly at the imposter in-game.

“I-I still got a few left...” Deuce muttered.

“I have a few left as well,” Sebek declared. You/Grim, Deuce, Sebek and Ace are the only ones alive. 

“Well, I’m done,” Ace sighed. “Can you two hurry up? It’s getting kinda boring waiting around like this.”

Oxygen tanks have been sabotaged.

“Funny how this happens right after you said that!” Grim accused Ace. “Y/n! Get the top one, the top one! We’re not gonna lose this game!”

“Alright already! Deuce stop panicking and finish up your tasks. Ace or Sebek should do-”

The moment you reached your destination, you watched helplessly as Ace’s cherry red character slashed your character in pieces. Grim hissed in annoyance as you silently stared up at Ace. He winked at you.

“-the bottom one...”

Deuce

Deuce uses the dark blue character with the egg

Ace is the first person he goes after when he’s the imposter

Unironically likes to do the tasks and is the fastest at doing them

He also can’t multi-task. Focusing on his tasks while watching out for corpses and the imposter is impossible for him

Will literally run past a corpse 5 times before finally noticing it

This boy isn’t good under pressure especially when everyone is yelling at him. If the oxygen tanks or reactor is sabotaged, Deuce will bang on every wall before reaching it 

Also can’t come up with a good alibi when accused

Epel pushed the emergency button.

“I believe Deuce is the imposter... when I was passing by I saw him standing still in the hallway and when I came back he was still there.”

“W-what? No no no I wasn’t! I was moving around! I’m not the imposter!” 

“That sounds exactly like what an imposter would say!” Sebek barked.

“Yep, I definitely think Deuce is the imposter,” Ace chuckled. Ace doesn’t really care if Deuce was the imposter or not. The frustrated look on Deuce’s face as he tries to think of a way to clear his name fueled the ginger’s amusement. 

“I don’t know, maybe he was just taking his time looking at his map like the last few games?” You tried to defend Deuce, but only Jack agreed with you.

“Nah let’s kill him.” Ace

“Ya.” Epel

“Ditto.” Grim

“Agreed.” Sebek

“...” Jack

And so Deuce was ejected into space where it was revealed that he in fact was not the imposter. He pouted at his phone, still trying to figure out where to go next. “I told you I’m innocent.”

“Cheer up Deuce! Next time should be better,” you giggled at him. Deuce perked up at your laughter and beamed at you.

“Thanks for believing in me back there. I can count on you next time right?”

“...Deuce did you forget the imposter is chosen at random?”

The imposter was later revealed to be Epel.

Jack

Chose the white character with the ski goggles

The second worst player in the game

Is the person who always enforces others not to group together, but when he sees two people in a room he will hover over the door to make sure one of them won’t kill the other

The boy has a hard time lying and faking doing tasks and everyone exploits this

The quickest games are when he’s the imposter and sometimes it’s over before he can even kill someone

When Jack is innocent: “Jack are you the imposter?” “No”

When Jack isn’t: “Jack are you the imposter?” Ears flat, tail lifeless “...”

This game gives him the worst existential crisis because a part of him wants to play with all his might but the other JUST. CAN’T. LIE.

You found Sebek’s cold body lying in the admin room. All hell breaks loose once you report the body.

“FINALLY SOMEONE FOUND MY BODY! I was getting frustrated when SOMEBODY keeps passing me,” Sebek shouts while looking pointedly at Deuce.

Deuce shamefully looks away.

“Alright let’s start with the usual questions,” you began and turned to Jack. “Jack are you the imposter?”

“...No.”

“Okay Jack’s out-”

“Hold it! We shouldn’t rule out Jack just because he said so!” Ace interrupted you with a scowl on his lips. Jack snarled at the accusation. 

“Are you calling me a liar?” he growled out. Unperturbed at the 192cm wall of muscle who was bristling at him, Ace’s face twisted into a mocking smirk.

Well I ain’t calling you a truther. “That’s the whole point of the game! For all we know, you could’ve finally wizened up and are lying to us now!”

“...Ace has a point,” Deuce held his chin in thoughtful agreement. On the other hand, you and Epel were conflicted. 

“I’d say we vote Ace out,” Grim said with a sly grin on his face. “I saw his character look at us funny.” The little monster still held a grudge against Ace for saying Grim sucked at the game. (”But it’s true! You’re paws can’t even hit the buttons!” “Shut up Ace!”)

“That is suspicious,” simple, easily swayed Deuce agreed. 

“Wait wait wait! How the fuck does that make sense?” Ace retorted. At the same time, Grim began smashing his paws at the screen and managed to vote for Ace. (“Hah! Take that Ace!”)

Deuce cast his vote immediately after, and Jack followed up while sending an amused smirk towards Ace. Epel was red in the face from trying to hold in his laughter from the silliness of it all. Eventually, he managed to vote for Ace.

Ace was ejected into space. Crew mates win.

“Lucky guess,” Ace grumbled under his breath.

Epel

Epel chooses the purple character and uses the straw hat

Has the most wins under his belt and is that one player that never gets killed 

Epel usually plays it safe until someone riles him up and now he’s killing like he’s got something to prove

The master of vent assassinations.

Seriously. Usually when the first body gets reported, it’s been discovered that two other people have been killed already.

Tends to go on cams more than do the tasks

You, Ace and Jack were doing tasks in the electrical room. The lights go off and Epel’s purple character jumps out of a vent to stab you with its tongue. When the lights come back on, Epel is gone. Jack discovers your dead body and reports it immediately.

“It was Ace. I was in the same room with him and Y/n when the lights were off. Then he killed Y/n.”

“Hah? No way why would I do something that obvious?”

“So you admit you’re the imposter?”

Everyone votes Ace out. You discreetly squint at Epel for being so devious, but the lavender-haired boy only smiles sweetly at you in return. You were Epel’s first kill in this round, so after you finished your tasks you spent the rest of the game following him around. 

You quickly realized that nothing was more frightening than Epel, a 156cm ball of fury.

You watched him hide in the medical room’s vent while Jack was being scanned. The minute Deuce, who stuck around to see Jack start the scan, left the room Epel jumped out and murdered Jack in cold blood. You saw Jack flinch as his character died, but he resumed his tasks without a grumble.

With only two people left alive, Epel stalked the halls to look for his last kill. He found both Sebek and Deuce in the cafeteria. One is at the vending machine, and the other is at the garbage disposal. Deuce finished first and spied Epel heading towards Sebek. “Oh Epel, did you finish your ta-” he watched as Epel’s character slashed into Sebek. The game ends soon after.

Thanks to Epel, the kill cool down was extended... again.

Sebek

Chose the lime green character with the horns (”THEY’LL NEVER BE AS MAJESTIC AS WAKA-SAMA’S”)

Living in the Valley of Thorns has him unfamiliar with technology in general so he’s extremely clumsy with the controls.

He also has a hard time navigating the area and is always hitting the walls and missing the doors

Also the slowest at doing tasks 

Speaking of tasks, there was one game where he thought he finished all of them and he ended up giving the imposter enough time to kill everyone (”If the tasks are not all green that means you didn’t finish them!” “WHAT!?”)

Sebek is very mission-oriented and although he considers it beneath him to lie, he will to fulfill his objective

Will go the long way around to try and avoid his shifty friends

Absolutely fun to tease but not the worst at the game to be fair

“Wait so who did you see kill Jack, Deuce? Sebek or Hot Sebek?” you asked the teal-eyed teen. 

“For the last time STOP USING MY NAME!”

“Quiet normal Sebek,” you shushed him. “Let Deuce talk.”

“It was the hot one... H-hot Sebek.” Poor Deuce tried so hard to contain his laughter as he spoke. Ace was already rolling on the floor and Epel was stifling a chuckle with his hand.

Sebek was fuming but stayed quiet while everyone else voted. Soon Hot Sebek AKA Ace gets ejected into space and the crew members win.

“We’re starting a new session and this time no one else will use my name. GOT IT?”

“Sounds good,” Jack said as he glowered at Ace. “I don’t understand why you would want to hide your identity. We should all face each other with everything bared - fair and square!”

“That is exactly right, Jack! Cowardly tactics should be frowned upon!”

Ace deadpanned, “Did you guys forget that’s the whole point of the game?”

[eryiss]

Chapter Two - The Handyman

Summary: Freed and Laxus live incredibly different lives. Freed is a corporate lawyer in the capital city, and Laxus works as a handyman in a countryside hotel. Despite their differences, their lives collide when Freed inherits a house in Laxus’ village, and hires him to make the derelict building liveable. But the closer they get, the more they seem to offer each other. [Fraxus Multi-Chapter]

This was written as my admission for Fraxus Day 2020, hosted by @fuckyeahfraxus​. This is the second chapter, and from now on it’ll be updated weekly. Hope you enjoy it.

You can read this under the cut, on Fanfiction, or on Archive of Our Own. You can find the chapter masterpost here.

Chapter Two – The Handyman

"Fucks sake. Fucking bitch."

"That's not the way to talk to a lady, Laxus. Damn."

"I ain't talkin' to a lady, I'm talking to this piece of shit."

With an angered huff, Laxus slammed down the screwdriver and allowed it to clatter against the small tray of tools. On the table was the industrial toaster that Laxus had been attempting to fix for the better half of the morning, with an only slightly warm piece of bread resting pitifully on the wire rack, practically mocking Laxus with its lack of any toast-like qualities. It was the sixth time that year that the machine had decided to work, and Laxus had grown to have a vendetta against the fucking thing.

But he wasn't going to let it win. He had singlehandedly fixed practically every electric device in Fairy Tail since becoming the handyman, and he would be damned if the fucking toaster was his downfall. He'd conquered faulty boilers, crappy wiring and, on one condition, a disgusting issue with sewage backup over the past year alone. A toaster was nothing.

"Just make your grandad buy a new one," Cana laughed as she walked further into the hotel's breakroom. "It's like twenty years old, probably only makes the bread darker because of an oil leak."

"I ain't getting it replaced," Laxus snapped, glaring at the open circuitry of the machine with probably too much hatred for what the situation deserved. "If it gets it replaced, then the fucking things knows that it's won."

"It's a toaster dude," Cana deadpanned.

"Don't give a shit," Laxus groaned, leaning back in the chair so the forelegs left the floor, resting his arms behind his head. "You meant to be working today?"

"Yeah. Apparently there's some big group coming for lunch and they need extra wait staff, so Gramps called me. And I'm working the bar later," Cana shrugged, taking out a chair and straddling it; because of course she did. "You?"

"Room seven had a flickering light, needed fixing," Laxus sighed. "Thought I might as well work on this thing while I'm here."

The blonde looked around the small room, eyes flittering towards the clock and sighing. He'd been drinking the night before and had it not been for his grandfather's seven AM phone call worrying about the supposed 'lawsuit waiting to happen' he would probably only just be getting out of bed after nursing a light hangover. He'd been able to wrangle a free breakfast from Mirajane, at least, but he would trade that in for his covers at that moment. At least when he was planning to feel sorry for himself about his hangover, he had something to do. Now he just had a day of nothing.

His work was fine, but inconsistent. He did any repairs that was needed at his grandfather's hotel, be that plumbing, electric work, or just helping out when it was understaffed. But Makarov kept a tight ship, and had good relationships with his staff so absences only happened when needed. So, Laxus was often left with little to do.

It was a nice problem to have, but Laxus didn't intend to be impartial.

This was the issue in living in a small town for all of your life, being forced to either thrive there or break free from it. He liked Magnolia, the area was beautiful and his childhood there had been good, but he was limited by living there. A degree in electrical engineering wasn't worth much when the only relevant job available was at a mechanics shop where he'd once bashed in the teeth of the owner's son. The miserable old bastard should have forgiven him by now; it'd been six years.

Which was why he was grateful for his grandfather giving him the job. He got to put his degree to use, even if on crappy toasters, and made a living. But it was a boring existence, and the reason why Laxus found himself on job searchers websites at least twice a week.

"You gonna eat that?" Cana asked, going towards the warmed but not toasted bread.

"No," Laxus furrowed his brows. "Are you?"

"I'm poor, man," Cana laughed, picking up the bread and eating it.

"I've seen the cupboard where you keep your booze, you ain't 'stealing warm. crappy bread poor' yet," Laxus deadpanned, and Cana laughed as she ate her bread; she didn't even put fucking butter on it. "And you get twice the number of tips than me when we work the bar together. Where's it going?"

"Booze cupboard," Cana grinned.

"You'll fuck up your kidneys, you know."

"I'll get an operation and replace 'em," Cana laughed, swallowing a bite of bread. "Speaking of being split open and things going inside, you fucked anyone lately?"

"Fuckin hell!" Laxus exclaimed, wide eyes darting towards the woman who was now openly laughing.

This was something that his friend brought up often, and as such she had lost all tact about it. The two of them were some of the only openly gay people in Magnolia – at least to their knowledge – and therefore had some annoying kinship when it came to their relationships. It had started as them both feeling sorry for themselves, as they had nobody to date. Somehow, it had devolved into a friendship where Cana felt perfectly comfortable talking about what Laxus was planning on doing, or had done, in his bed.

Worse still, Laxus didn't have the same opportunity to make fun of her. Cana was openly besotted with Mirajane, and had long since lost any shame about it. Cana could joke about Laxus falling in love with any man he saw, but Laxus couldn't do the same because they both knew Mirajane was the only woman for her.

Selfish asshole.

"You're gonna fuck all of hell? You must have more time on your hands," Cana laughed, and Laxus stood up with a groan. "Aw, come on man, don't leave."

"I'm gonna go see if one of the toilets needs to be unblocked," Laxus grunted, walking towards the door of the breakroom. "Seems more pleasant than talking t' you."

"Oh how you wound me, I think I might cry," Cana spoke in possibly the most sarcastic voice possible.

"Go suck on yer crushes clit," Laxus muttered.

"Had a good few dreams about that, my man," Cana grinned, before adding in a less teasing tone. "And Lisanna said she wants to talk to you later, so find her once you're done scrubbing the shitter," A smirk formed on her features again. "Maybe she wants to set you up with her brother. You'd be a hot ass couple."

"Fuck yourself."

"Imagine the carnage though. The two of ya could break beds faster than an over eager lumberjack."

Laxus didn't respond, and lifted his middle finger to the woman as he left the room.

~~~

There had been no toilets in need of being cleaned, thankfully, but Laxus had been able to keep himself busy for the morning. It had been mainly small and inconsequential jobs, such as removing leaves from the guttering before a build-up formed and checking that supply of complimentary soap wasn't running low, before he ended up back in the break room and working on the toaster.

It wasn't going well, and the patrons would have to deal with the break rooms single slice toaster for at least another day, but at least Cana was working the restaurant for the lunch shift rather than being there to annoy him. He hoped that the table was full of obnoxious people who didn't know what they wanted and refused to tip.

He gulped down half a can of Red Bull, and groaned as he fought the urge to check toaster prices online.

After cracking his back, he stood up and ran a hand through his hair. He quickly checked himself out in the mirror to make sure he looked presentable before leaving the break room; he may not be part of the service-staff, but he still needed to look good to represent the hotel. Normally he wouldn't have to worry about this – his contact with guests was limited – but if he was going to speak to Lisanna, as Cana had claimed he should, then it was almost definite that he'd be in the public eye for a few minutes at least. He didn't look too bad for someone who'd nearly vomited over a plate of cheese fries the night before.

Lisanna was working at the office attached to the front desk, doing some kind of admin that Laxus didn't care enough about to understand. He walked in and, once she looked up from the monitor, she grinned at him. Laxus didn't frown, but the urge was there. The two of them weren't particularly close.

"Hi," She greeted, annoyingly cheerfully. "I didn't know if Cana had passed on the message."

"Well, here I am," Laxus shrugged.

"There you are," She said with a smile, then waved towards one of the other desk chairs populating the cramped room. Laxus took a seat. "So, I've got something I thought you could help with. A proposition I guess."

Laxus paused for a moment. She wasn't actually going to try and set him up with Elfman, was she? That would be weird, Elfman wasn't Laxus' type.

"There's this guest, you see, who checked in yesterday," She began, before stopping herself. "No, that's not important. Well it is, but not right now," Laxus stayed quiet. Lisanna was a talkative person, and could probably have an entire conversation with herself. "You know Albion house, the old cottage on the outskirts of town that's' all run down."

"Yeah," Laxus nodded, confused. "Think I made up some crap about it being haunted when I was a kid."

"That's the place- that was you! Mirajane told me when I was eight and I had nightmare for weeks, you asshole," Lisanna chastised, and Laxus didn't hide the smirk at the admission. "Whatever, we can talk about that later. Anyway, it recently got a new owner, you see. And I was talking to him last night and a bit during breakfast. So he doesn't know what to do because he can't knock it down and sell the land, and the house is kind of crappy so nobody's actually gonna wanna pay any real money for it, right. So he's kinda stuck; I think he needs the money for something, I didn't wanna ask."

Did she talk to the guests this much?

This was why Laxus always booked into big corporate hotels whenever he stayed away.

"Getting off topic, sorry," She shook her head. "So, I was talking to the new owner, and he thought maybe he could get it sold for more money if it was more functional. Not a total refurbishment or anything, just making sure the lights work and the floorboards won't crumble underfoot. And he's not from the area, so he doesn't know any builders or plumbers or anyone he'll need."

She then stopped talking, and began grinning at Laxus expectantly. "And?"

"Really conforming to the stereotype of strong men being dumb," She muttered, and Laxus found himself happy that his ghost story had apparently given her nightmares. "And I said that we've got a kickass handyman working here part time who could probably help you out. I told him about all the stuff you do around here, and he said he'd be interested in meeting with you!"

"You got me a job interview?" Laxus said, taken aback slightly.

"Well, I don't think it's that formal, but kinda," She grinned. "I heard you're looking for a project to work on, and he said he's willing to pay you for your time if you're any good."

Laxus leant back in the chair, closing his eyes slightly. He didn't have a reputation for reacting particularly well to surprises, and this was rather a big one. Because a woman he barely actually knew had done something pretty damn big for him.

Working on property was something Laxus had been curious about, and it had seemed to be plausible for him. It was essentially what he was doing in the hotel, just on a larger scale and possibly with more of a challenge, which Laxus liked the sound of. There had been a few months where he'd watched house renovation shows when he could, to see if he could get a better understanding on how the field worked. He very quickly learned that, to do what he wanted, he needed the money to buy some run down property to renovate. Money which he didn't have, given he was a handyman working part time in a hotel.

So to have an opportunity given to him out of nowhere was a little overwhelming.

Because it could really help him out. He was more than qualified to modernise a house's inner workings, and was willing to put the work in. And if it went well, he would at worst end up with more experience, some extra money and perhaps a good reference he could give to some other housing developers. It could actually be really good.

Of course, that meant Laxus was immediately distrustful of the offer. Because things didn't just happen.

"So this guy is just gonna trust some random stranger?"

"I think he's kind of desperate, really," Lisanna laughed, a pitying expression on her face. "I think he wants to get out of here as quickly as he can, he's a city boy. But that doesn't matter. He seems like a nice man, and it's not like you can't do the work he wants. You might as well talk to him, see if it works out," She shrugged. "He's in the restaurant I think. I said I'd bring him over if you were interested."

"Erm," Laxus mumbled. "Fuck it, why not?"

The majority of the walk towards the restaurant was spent with Laxus trying to rationalise exactly what had just happened. He glanced at his reflection whenever he could, because if this was as much an opportunity as Lisanna seemed to think that it was, Laxus needed to make a good first impression.

When they walked into the restaurant, Lisanna seemed to scan the room before spotting the person she was looking for. She started to walk again and Laxus followed, eyes eventually settling on the man sitting at the window table.

He wasn't what Laxus expected.

Having expected a stuffy old man, in his fifties and balding, Laxus felt wrongfooted. The man was almost certainly a few years younger than Laxus. He had long and green hair, tied high in a ponytail. He was wearing a sharp looking suit that Laxus didn't recognise the brand of. His facial features were sharp and well structured, no doubt the rest of his body just as maintained under his clothing. As Laxus got closer he could smell a mix of some sharp and cool cologne, and the floral scent left by the clothes' steamers put in every room. When he looked up to Laxus he had sharp and inviting blue eyes, and a somewhat enigmatic expression.

Laxus might be inclined to call him a pretty boy, had his expression been a little less intense.

Just his type. Aesthetically, anyway.

"Mr Justine," Lisanna said in greeting. "How'd your lunch?"

"Very pleasant," The man said, glancing for a second to the chicken salad he was eating and then back to Laxus.

"This is the man I told you about, our handyman," Lisanna explained, nudging Laxus. The blonde stepped forward and offered his hand to shake. The man did so, with a firm grasp.

"Laxus," The blonde said. "It's nice to meet you, sir."

"You too," The man replied, and Laxus couldn't help but notice how smooth his voice was. But it wasn't the time, so he retracted his hand as the other man spoke. "I'm Freed, as you've perhaps been told. I expect your colleague has explained why I wish to speak with you?"

"The Albion House, right?" Laxus asked. "You got lumbered with the place and need help with the electrics."

"Essentially, yes," Freed nodded. "The only thing that's actually remained intact is the building's structure. The wiring, the plumbing, the heating system, and I'm sure there's a lot more that I'm not aware of that has also been destroyed. I wish to get the building to a point where it's functioning so I can sell it. It doesn't need to be nice to look at, just work. Is that something you think you can do?"

"Well, I'm good with all that shit- stuff," Laxus winced, glancing at the table, and missing the amused expression on Freed's face. "I've done a lot of work here, and in some other houses when they need it. Unless there's some really unusual crap, I should be fine."

"Take a seat, Mr Dreyar."

At the sudden request, Laxus found himself doing what he was told. He sat opposite Freed, and waited a little awkwardly while Freed ordered another tea for himself. He thought about telling him that Lisanna wasn't actually part of the wait-staff, but she smiled and said it'll be right out before retreating to the kitchen. He frowned as she walked away, only to quickly turn back and give him two thumbs up and a large smile. He almost rolled his eyes at the stupid action, but looked back to the man who might soon employ him.

"I think it's best we be honest with one another," Freed continued, and Laxus nodded slightly. "I have no interest nor practical skill when it comes to homeownership and renovations. I can learn, and I'm not an impractical man in general, but a lot of the work will be done by you."

"I can do that," Laxus said with a nod. "How would that work with the, erm… payment, if that ain't too forward?"

"No, that's fair," Freed said, pulling out his phone from his breast pocket. "I haven't had long to look into it, but I plan to pay you by the hour; I don't know how long it will take, so I thought that made more sense than a single payment. I'll clarify how much you get each hour when I find out the average pay a skilled workman gets. Of course we can debate this if you don't think it's fair, but I expect it'll be a good wage"

Laxus probably looked a bit stupid for a moment. He was expecting either a vague answer or a simple 'I'll pay you a grand and expect it to be done by the end of the month.' Not a lot of… legal sounding crap.

"That sounds good," Laxus said after a moment, nodding. "How bad's the house, if y' know? The outside ain't great but I'd like to know what I'm getting into."

"The outside is the best part, I'm afraid," Freed chuckled a little bitterly, and Laxus glanced up at his face again. On his handsome features – and damn, up close they were pretty handsome – there were slight lines of worry beside his eyes. "I didn't take many pictures as I wasn't in the best of moods, but this is fairly reflective of the entire place."

Freed flicked on his phone a few times, and then showed his screen to Laxus. It took a few seconds for Laxus to actually understand what that was, and when he did he let out an almost impressed sigh and leant back in his chair.

"That's the circuit box?" He laughed, and Freed nodded. "It looks like…"

"It had a violent orgy with a jackhammer, baseball bat and a box of explosives?" Freed completed, and Laxus let out a short bark of laughter, shocking himself.

"Fuck, sorry. I shouldn't laugh," Laxus winced, though he was grinning. When he glanced towards Freed again, he openly saw him smirking at him. If nothing else, at least this proved his boss had a sense of humour. "I didn't expect it, sorry. It does look pretty bad though, if the rest of the house is like that then it's probably gonna take a while to get the place in a liveable state."

"I assumed as much," Freed said with a sigh. "I only intend to stay here for a week, I should clarify. My office may allow me to extend that for another week. I'm hoping that, by then, you'll have begun work and can do so without me. I'll keep in regular contact of course, but I won't be here in person often."

"That's okay. I can deal with that," Laxus nodded as he spoke. He liked working alone. "What do you do, if you don't mind me askin'?"

"I'm a lawyer," Freed waved his hand as he returned his phone to his jacket pocket.

"Fuck. That's pretty-" Hot. "Impressive."

"Thank you," Freed nodded a little. "I don't mean to be abrupt, but I've got to clear some details up with my office, so I'll have to leave you," He pulled a small piece of paper from his pocket. "Here's my card, call me in the evening. We'll discuss things further then. Good day, Laxus."

"Yeah," Laxus nodded. "Speak later."

Freed nodded, and left the restaurant. Laxus allowed his eyes to trail over his retreating figure, roaming over his broad shoulders to his taut waist, then, for a split-second, to his ass. He glanced away, only to see Cana watching him with a judgmental, shit-eating grin.

"I'm gonna fix the fucking toaster," Laxus muttered with a slight blush, standing abruptly. Cana kept smirking. "Fuck off."

[f1uffy-turtle]

Soul Bound Chapter 5 : What Happened?

Ao3 Link Here

Edric brought Luz closer to his face. His tears were on the verge of breaking the surface and his breath was growing heavy. The human can feel the tight grip on the collar of her hoodie. She peered over to his hand to see that his knuckles were a pure stark white. The heat from his anger pooled over and made the air thick. Her tears started to pool faster as the recent events flashed in her head. She didn’t get up to save her. She didn’t know what was happening. This was all her fault. Her tears grew thicker as they threatened to choke her.

“Luz, answer me right now! What did you do?” Edric’s voice cracked as his tears finally raced down his cheeks. His grip became weak from the sudden shift in emotions. He closed his eyes and wiped the tears away from his face in an attempt to bring his anger back to the forefront.

She opened her mouth to speak. “I-I didn’t-.”

“Bullshit! Someone did this and we’re the only ones here! It had to be you”

Luz hiccupped between her breaths. “S-s-someone f-f-found us. I-I couldn’t-.” She couldn’t finish the sentence before bursting into tears again.

“Just tell me what happened, Luz!”

Emira placed a hand on her brother’s shoulder. “She didn’t do it, Ed; not on purpose at least.”

Edric stopped for a moment to look at Luz’s face. Her nose was running, her lip trembled from holding back the torrent of tears that she held behind her eyes and her cheeks were red and raw. Her face read of a kind of guilt that he knew wasn’t because of what she did, but rather what she might have seen. Edric closed his eyes to rid of the tears that were trailing down his face before setting her down. Luz’s knees buckled and she slumped over as she crawled over to Amity’s body.

She lifted Amity’s head onto her lap as she ran her fingers through her multi-colored hair. The teal ends and the brown roots. She had always seen this hair being tied into that half-ponytail that she always wore, but when she took it down earlier, the human couldn’t exactly figure out why she did it. Maybe it was to untie herself from her mother’s grasp? Or maybe it was just something as simple as she wanted to let her hair down for at least once in her life. Either way, Luz noted how beautiful it looked on her. Had she always thought of Amity as pretty or was she only thinking of it now? Either way it caught her attention. Her hair contrasted beautifully against her already pale skin, although the color that was already draining from Amity proved to remind her of what happened. She burst into tears again before hugging Amity’s body. The hiccups in her breath returned as the tears choked her again.

Emira placed a hand on her shoulder. “She might not be – well, she might be better than we think, Luz.”

The human sniffed and wiped her eyes of her tears before she looked at the twin with curiosity. “Wait what?”

“Look, I’m just saying that we don’t know for sure. My girlfriend is in the healing track, so we might be able to help her.”

“Wait,” Edric interjected, “You never told me you have a girlfriend.”

“Yes, because I don’t have to be around your face 24/7, Ed. That and I don’t have to tell you everything.”

Edric opened his mouth for a second, but he couldn’t come up with any rebuttal.

Emira continued. “Anyway, we could probably get Amity to her and hopefully she can help.”

“And if she can’t?”

She put on a solemn expression almost as a preemptive apology. “Then, I don’t know what else I can do.”

Luz looked back at Amity for a second and ran her fingers through her hair before she looked at Emira again and gave her a nod. She went to pick Amity from the ground before she heard a loud crash from the front of the library.

Eda smashed through the stained glass window of the library. The shards flew from every direction and cut her in a few places. Her eyes were focused on something, but they didn’t know what. Emira waved her arms in the air to call her towards them. The Owl Lady spotted them before swooping down in an arc. She got off her staff before she rushed over to Luz. But she wasn’t prepared for the scene that lay before her.

Amity’s skin was pale and cold. There was no rise or fall in her chest. And there was Luz, carrying Amity with tears streaming down her cheeks. Concern spread through the older witch’s face as she put a hand on her shoulder. She took a deep breath before looking at the others.

“Coven goons are coming. We have to get out of here fast or else we’re gonna be surrounded.”

“Wait what happened?” Edric asked.

“I’ll explain that part later, now get on the staff.” Eda gave it a flourish before it floated level with the ground.

“There’s too many people, are you sure we’re all gonna fit?”

Shit. Eda looked at the staff as it floated in the air. It really wasn’t big or sturdy enough to hold the weight of five witches, especially if one of them was unconscious or – no, she wouldn’t want Luz to think about that, so she won’t think about it either. She would have to think of something quickly.

“No, it’s okay.” Emira said, “Just go on ahead of us. We’ll get them off of your trail.”

Eda nodded and scooped Luz and Amity onto the staff before flying off. As she looked below at the streets, she saw a whole lot more coven guards lining the streets than she expected. She was sure that she might have seen a familiar face in that crowd, she was sure that she noticed a patch of dark green hair tied into a bun. She shook her head; there was no way that she would be involved in this. She flew off into the depths of the forest towards the Owl House. Luz wrapped her arms around Amity’s body and wept softly.

~~~ Odalia had the coven guards break down the double doors with a loud wham. She threw down the witch that remained in her grasp.

“That will be all, Gary.”

“Why did you have to break down the doors?” He cried, “I already unlocked them for you.”

“Well,” She snapped and a coven guard came forward. “I just needed to get something out of my system. You see, I’ve been having a really bad day myself.”

She snapped at the guard again and he went to pick Gary up off the ground before pinning him against the now bare door frame.

“My own family is threatening to break away from me. They are defying my every word. They hate me, Gary. Do you ever fear that your family hates you?”

She did have a point. He was always afraid that his dear little girl, Boscha had grown a bit too detached from them recently. She was always a little bit firm, but of course that came from her mother, as well as her own exposure from Odalia when they still brought her over there as a child. And while the woman did scare him, he never thought that she would ever stoop to this level.

Gary stared into the purple haze that glossed over the goggled eyes of the guard’s mask. He trembled against the door frame, clenching his teeth as he could be choked out by the guard at any second. A moment passed.

“I thought so. Now, Steve, keep him there for a moment. I need to reunite with my family.”

Edric and Emira closed the doorway to the hideout. If there was anything that they didn’t want happening, it was for the Emperor’s Coven to find out about it. They breathed a sigh of relief once it had been closed all the way. Emira searched throughout the area to find if there was anybody watching them before she waved Edric on.

They slipped through the corridors of book shelves and rolling ladders, checking every so often around each corner to see if there was anybody searching for them. Edric almost backed up into a few rolling ladders while he checked only to have Emira stop him, putting a finger to her lips as she did so. After a few close calls, she told him that she would be the one on lookout from now on rather than switching off like they were doing before. He nodded at his sister and let her move on.

Emira was getting pretty tired of Edric almost getting them caught. This happens almost all too often, especially when they are making a prank that they don’t want anybody to know about, including Mittens. Thankfully, Luz and her mentor took her away from all this. Even if she were dead, it would be much easier that she were away from the situation. It would be much less to explain to her mother. She would probably be looking for Amity and she could just point her in the wrong direction and they could sneak off somewhere. Maybe at Viney’s? She wasn’t so sure about that. Even if her mother didn’t know that she was dating her, then a classmate’s house would be one of the first places that she would suspect. Maybe she could hide them in the caves near Lake Lacuna? It was close enough to The Owl House and that one tree that Amity and Luz made during Grom.

Emira couldn’t help but smirk at the thought. They were definitely crazy for each other, whether they both knew it or not. She wasn’t able to see the rest of the fight go down, but she saw the aftermath of the fight. They were being carried down by a crowd with the tiaras on both of their heads and she caught a loving glance that Amity was giving to Luz. She asked her if she was dating the human when they were walking home through the forest that night while Edric was trying to walk his date home and Amity got extremely flustered. This was before she started dating Viney. Her mother was suggesting that she should date this guy that she barely even liked- not that she liked guys all that much anyway- only for her to be stood up. At least the feeling was mutual, but still what a jerk! Edric’s had stood him up too, but he wasn’t so keen to taking rejection as she was. Emira laughed at her sister for how absolutely adorable she was. Amity then told her that even if she did, she wasn’t able to ask her up front, but that the dance they had was nice. Emira noticed her thumbing over a torn up pink note thoughtfully as she said that. As her mind wandered, she didn’t notice that she bumped into a rolling ladder, releasing it from its track.

Edric slid over to catch the ladder before it could hit the ground, but he wasn’t prepared for its weight and he fell over. The ladder came down on him with a loud crash that echoed throughout the whole library. They stood there for a second just to process what even happened. Edric winced through the burning pain that coursed through him as he wriggled out from under the ladder. Emira took his hand and pulled him up before running towards the next safest hiding place. However, it was too late now that Odalia stood right before them.

“Heyyyyyy Moooommmm.” Emira flashed a nervous smile.

“Save it, Emira. Where is your sister?”

“I-.”

“That’s why we’re here, Mom.” Edric piped up, despite the fact that he was struggling to breathe. “We saw her as she was getting out and we followed her here. We couldn’t find her.”

Odalia shot him a glare and took a deep breath. “Well, my dear children. I would believe that if that weren’t such an obvious lie.”

The two of them winced as they heard that. They have been caught in the act of their shenanigans before, even when they did lie, but they never got in trouble for it. They were always given a warning, but every now and then when Odalia was particularly pissed, she would call it out right then and there and go on and on about it. Their jaws clenched and their chests tightened.

“However,” She added. “I’m not in the mood to scold my own children. I’ve already done that so much recently. No, I have something different planned for you two.”

She drew two circles in the air and her hands were engulfed in purple flames. The twins’ eyes widened as they tried to back away. As they turned to run, they knew that they had nowhere to run. The coven guards, all with a glistening purple haze behind their goggles, surrounded them at every turn.

What the hell is this?

Their mother grabbed at both of their heads and after quite a bit of time had passed; she released them as they slumped over, unconscious. She cast a quick sleep spell on the twins and took in a deep breath. A smile grazed her lips and her eye started twitching.

“Almade, you have some explaining to do.”

~~~ Luz couldn’t sleep. She couldn’t count the amount of times she flipped over the pillow that she took from Eda’s leftover human collectibles pile just to keep the tears that soaked through the fabric from touching her face. She tried many times to think about anything else. How was her mother doing? She dreaded if she ever found out that she ever lied to her. She dreaded if she ever ended up telling her at all. Luz didn’t feel like her heart could take it. Just like her heart couldn’t- no- next subject.

She wondered what Almade’s stake in this was. What does he have to lose? What does he have to gain? Why is he doing this to her? Why did he have to- no! Stop thinking about it, pendeja! It probably wasn’t a good idea to think about him either way.

She tried again and again, but no matter what she came up with, Luz always landed on Amity and how she looked. How she opened the door and the surprise on her face when she noticed it wasn’t the twins. How Luz froze up when it all happened. She wanted to jump right in front of her and take the blow instead of her. How she wanted Amity to be safe more than anything. About how she hoped that she wasn’t dead and that this was all a dream, this has to be a dream.

No, she has to think of something else. Her teeth clenched as she pounded on the pillow and put it over her head. She put it back in front of her face and screamed into it, as if yelling into it was going to solve anything. All she could think about was Amity and how far they have come together. Memories came pouring in; from the first time they met all the way to Grom. She thought about the Boiling Isles and how beautiful it was behind all the horrifying monster-of-the-week shenanigans that happened on this desiccated corpse of an archipelago. She thought of Willow and her times mending her memories. With Amity. She thought of the time she spent on the Knee when she learned her second spell. With Amity. She thought about their time at Covention and their duel. She thought of the Grudgby match that they had against Boscha. She thought of Grom.

Every time she ever thought of the Boiling Isles, she couldn’t see anybody else; just Amity. She saw the cocky smirk that she always gave and the way that she would blush whenever she got just a bit too close. A matter of personal space, she guessed. It wasn’t like anybody would fall for her. After all, she tried to get her dissected when they first met, she did everything she could just to prove that Luz wasn’t a witch during the duel. She called Luz a bully when the twins forced her to pull a horrible prank that she didn’t want any part in. But she still came through. They were friends. Best friends even. Luz did everything she could to look after her. But why couldn’t she do it now? Why is it now of all the other times that she went to help her friends that she froze up?

Why did her best friend have to suffer like that! For all she knew, she was dead. She couldn’t spend more time with her. She couldn’t let her know how much she meant for her. How she couldn’t see the Boiling Isles without her in it. She couldn’t at least look into those golden eyes of hers again. She couldn’t see her face flush and her normally stoic demeanor fall completely apart whenever they were around each other. She couldn’t study with her again and huddle up against each other. She thought of the warmth that she always felt with Amity. She couldn’t help but feel comfort in her presence. She stopped for a second and thought back to the assignment that Skara brought up.

Was- was she in love with Amity?

No, she couldn’t be. But it was possible. I mean, why else would she push to try to get to know her better or to be better friends with her. Ever since the covention, she wanted to reach out to her. She just wanted her to be happy. She just wanted her to be safe. And now she couldn’t do that anymore.

Luz got up and wiped the tears from her face again. Maybe working on the song will help. She went down the stairs and into the living room where the guitar that she fished out of Eda’s collectibles recently sat. It was in relatively good condition, aside from the aged strings. However, it was a classical, similar to her mami’s. The strings were tied pretty well and wound just enough to where they just settled. Right next to it was Eda, sitting up on the couch. They locked eyes for a moment and Eda patted the open seat next to her. Luz took in a deep breath and smiled weakly at her mentor before sitting down next to her and burying her head into her shoulder.

The two of them shared a moment of silence together before Luz spoke up.

“Do you think she’s going to be okay?”

Eda’s shoulders grew stiff and she held her breath for a moment.

“It’s okay,” Luz told her mentor. “You can tell me. You don’t need to soften the blow.”

Eda sighed. “I honestly don’t know, kid. I’m just about as scared as you are. Thankfully your sleep-cocoon-thingy was good enough to at least make her comfortable in my nest. I wouldn’t ask Lily to give up the room I gave her as much as I know making her mad would be funny.” She snorted at the sentiment.

“I want her to be okay.”

“I know, kiddo.” Eda pulled her in closer and Luz tears finally managed to break the surface again.

“What if this is all my fault, Eda? I didn’t get in there to help her in time. It should be me up there, not her.”

“Luz!” Eda barked at her with her own tears in her eyes. She never yelled at her like that before. “Don’t you ever say that about yourself. Did you know how I felt when I thought I lost you?”

She looked at her for another moment before she wiped the tears from her own eyes. “I thought you were gone. We were out of potions and we had no healing glyphs. I didn’t know how I could help you aside from bringing you to a healer, but I didn’t think that I could even get you there in time. You were beat up really badly and if it wasn’t for him then you would be dead.”

Luz looked at her curiously. “Almade?”

Eda nodded. Luz pulled away from her and gave her a confused glare.

“But he was the one who almost got me killed in the first place.”

Eda scoffed. “Yeah, I knew that. Why do you think I was out around where you were? I was tracking him down.”

Luz’s head started racing with all this new information and what to make of it. She was the one that caused all of the noise around the library. She was fighting Almade. She let him get away. She let him get to the hideout. Eda let Almade hurt Amity.

“And you didn’t stop him?” Luz cried out to her mentor louder than she intended, but she didn’t care. What happened out there? Why couldn’t she do anything? Even with the limited magic that she does have, she can do pretty much anything. She was better than her at everything. Why couldn’t she just stop Almade in his tracks right then and there? Why didn’t she end him like she did Adegast or any of the other monsters that they faced together?

“Luz, I was trying to. I never wanted him to do anything like that to you again.”

“Oh, sure! Protect me from him, but let Amity take the brunt of it and possibly die? What if she is dead, Eda? What if I can’t see her again?”

“Luz, I did everything I could!”

“Well, it wasn’t enough!” She huffed before she took the guitar and stormed back upstairs.

Eda looked back up at her as she walked up the stairs. Once she was out of sight, she buried her face in her hands and cursed under her breath, a few tears escaping her eyes.

Luz put the guitar down and gripped at her head, cursing over and over again under her breath. She screamed into the pillow and threw it on the hardwood floor. She punched at it repeatedly so much that the stuffing started to deform around her fist before it was deformed enough to punch the solid floor with only the two layers of fabric in between the two. She pulled back and looked at the slightly bruised knuckles of hers. Tears pooled down her cheeks as the thought of Amity raced through her head again. What Almade did to her and what she did to Amity. If Eda didn’t just lose him, then this wouldn’t happen.

No- wait- what was she thinking? Why would Eda have control of the situation when she lost control of her magic? I mean, she got a pretty good grasp on glyphs pretty quickly, so she could have at least some control of the situation. A weight set in her stomach as guilt settled in. Why did she have to be such an idiot! She shifted her weight as she picked up the guitar again and leaned her back against the door.

It’s been quite a bit since she played last, but at least she knew how to tune by ear. It was never perfect by any means, but the simple feel of the strings vibrating against her fingers calmed her down slightly. It wasn’t long before she started improvising one of the songs that she used to write when she was thinking of songfic ideas for The Good Witch Azura series. Funnily enough, the fact that she shipped Hecate and Azura together was kind of coincidental in a funny sense.

She plucked at the strings and got a feel of the chords that she was familiar with. She let the music sink into her and she thought of Amity again. How the calm of the music felt as soft as the calm of her presence. She let the soft sound settle in as she hummed along. She wondered about the song for a moment and improvised the lyrics that floated around in her head.

Amity

You mean so much to me

I can’t believe

That when we met

You didn’t care to see me

But the air’s grown stiff

Threatening your loss

I don’t know if I can ever

Move that across my head

You’re always on my mind

And in my heart you’ll always be

Just that pretty, stuck up girl

Who never took a chance on me

I’m just a foolish girl

And my love just isn’t fair

Though I wonder if it was always there

I wonder if you’d like us as a pair

She felt herself getting lighter as her tears felt less like a raging inferno of emotions that broiled and bubbled inside, but more concentrated. She felt the pain of loss and the sensation of guilt lift from her body. She felt the love she had for her float up above her. However, all these feelings still lingered there like the balls of light that she would conjure from her glyphs. She imagined this as she played and felt the warmth on her skin.

She thought about what happened again and her heart sank. Her head shifted over in the direction of Eda’s room where she was staying. She took in a deep breath.

Amity

It really should be me

If I didn’t freeze up then

You’d still be here with me

But I don’t know

If you see me the same way

I guess I might not know

When you drift away

You’re always on my mind

And in my heart you’ll always be

That pretty, stuck up girl

Who never took a chance on me

I’m just a foolish girl

And my love just isn’t fair

Though I wonder if it was always there

I wonder if you’d like us as a pair

Luz lifted her fingers from the strings and set the guitar down beside her. She took a deep breath as she buried her face into her hands and quietly sobbed.

~~~ Eda fell from the couch as she awoke from a loud crash outside her house. She grumbled under her breath. This better not be Hooty just hunting for more bugs.

Lilith ran down the stairs from her room with her staff in hand and her round glasses on crooked.

“Edalyn, are you doing okay?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” She grumbled as she got up. She went to look outside the window to see Hooty juggling coven guards again. But something was off about these guards. They didn’t move in any normal fashion. It looked almost as if they were moving like puppets. They were fairly close to organic, but there was this slight uncanny feeling to it that she couldn’t put her finger on.

“We’ve got company, get everybody ready.”

Lilith gave her a subtle nod and ran upstairs to get Luz and King. Why is Edalyn even considering staying here when the Emperor’s Coven is closing its grip tighter and tighter around them? She knew they didn’t want anything to do with her sister now because the Emperor already has the portal- or at least its remains. Lilith’s eyes widened as the realization dawned on her.

Belos is building a new portal. But why are they even attacking the house again? And why are they going after Edalyn’s apprentice?

She rushed down the hallway to Luz’s room and knocked as hard as she could on the door.

No answer.

“Luz, get up. We’re in trouble.”

No answer.

“Luz, are you even hearing me?” She said as she opened her door. Luz was nowhere to be found. Lilith started to panic as she searched all around the room to find a note. Something; anything that could be a clue as to where she went. There were a few custom light glyphs lying around the floor. She did recall that Luz did use light glyphs sometimes to customize messages. Lilith tapped on each one of them.

To anybody who can find this message,

I need some time to myself for a while, so I’ve wandered the forest. I might be gone for a few days, but I just need to clear my head from this whole situation. I hope you understand.

I love you guys,

Luz

Lilith cursed under her breath. What was Luz doing out there? She could get hurt, or even worse. She raced over to Eda’s room to grab Amity’s body from the nest, but as she opened the door, she noticed that it was gone too.

What is even going on right now?

The house jolted upwards and Lilith lost her footing and fell over. The wind in her lungs escaped her and she took a moment to catch her breath before she looked at the pair of broken glasses before her. She let out an irritated sigh, it might be an inconvenience now, but she does have contacts and she needed a new prescription on her glasses anyway. Though, it was going to be harder to go to a trusted healer now that she defected from the Emperor’s Coven. That didn’t matter now, she could still see what was directly in front of her – okay maybe like a foot in front of her – but she can still make out shapes.

She got up from the floor and raced down the corridor again, trying to find King and opening literally every door that she can. He could be anywhere in the house. Lilith looked out the balcony and in the cupboards, in the closets and in every room again just to make sure. Until she heard a loud “Weh?” come from downstairs followed by Eda cursing up a storm.

Oh no.

She raced down the stairs and out the door to find Eda and Hooty fighting off a dozen coven guards that had King pinned down. Lilith raced over to grab her staff from the other side of the room before she felt a massive force weighing down on her body. Her eyes widened and her body grew stiff. Her heart raced and her chest tightened. She tried moving her arms, but she couldn’t do anything. Suddenly, she was pulled outside with the rest of the crew. In front of her, she saw a poised, green haired figure and Almade standing right next to her.

This can’t be good.

This really can’t be good.

~~~ Luz sauntered through the forest and took in a deep breath as she took in her surroundings. The sun crept through the leaves and shone on her dark skin as she walked. Even if it was relatively warm out, she couldn’t help but feel a chill around her. There was no wind blowing, but she still felt it. She wrapped the witch’s wool cape around her to help keep her warm, but it had no effect. She couldn’t help but feel dehydrated too, but she didn’t know if it was because she didn’t even bother to hydrate due to her own depressive state or if it was whatever this was. It was probably the former. She started looking out for any nearby stream.

As she walked, she looked inside her satchel again. She had emptied the contents of what was there before and replaced them with a new pen, some cardstock paper, and a few glyphs at the ready. However, they were still just the few that she already knew, Plants, Fire, Ice, and Light. Wait a minute.

She found an indented rock in the middle of a clearing and placed an ice glyph in the middle of its opening and quickly followed that up by activating a fire glyph, effectively melting the ice and leaving some perfectly viable drinking water.

She splashed her face and breathed a sigh of relief before plunging into the water and taking in massive gulps of water. She resurfaced and took in a large gasp of air. She splashed her face again before walking further into the dense tree line.

She wasn’t exactly familiar with this section of the forest, although she couldn’t help but feel familiar about it. The trees and foliage were dense and thick, almost feeling suffocating when Luz weaved through them. However, it was still thick enough for her to at least walk through. Then she saw it. She saw the tear-out of trees being uprooted and pushed aside. This couldn’t be Almade’s forest abomination; she would be close to The Owl House by then. No, this was a different monster. She couldn’t put her finger on it.

Luz followed the trail of torn trees and bushes. Most of them still remained connected only by a few roots and somehow thrived under the conditions that they were put under. The bushes and flowers weren’t so lucky. They were flung up so far, that most of their roots pointed skyward and the bushes wilted due to a lack of nutrition. She parted a curtain of foliage and tears burst from her eyes again as she laid her eyes on the scene before her. She made her way to the Grom tree.

Over the course of that fun, yet frightening night, she saw this tree as one of the best things about that night. The whole fact that she got to dance with Amity was really nice.

Luz sighed and picked a few of the flowers from the surrounding area before she had a whole bouquet of flowers that didn’t try to snap or bite at her. She wasn’t too familiar with flower language, or any that the Boiling Isles might have, but she was sure that the gesture would be appreciated. Once she placed the bouquet down, she looked up at the tree before sobbing uncontrollably again. A cold chill brushed past her again and she wrapped herself up in the cape. It might have not helped, but at least it was something. This was really starting to annoy her.

“Why can’t I just see you again? Can you tell me that this is all just a really sick and twisted nightmare? Please, Amity. I can’t bear the thought of not seeing you again. This whole thing has me so scared that you might be dead. I wish you could tell me. But, that’s impossible, right? How can someone unconscious just tell me if they’re okay, you know?” She started getting hysterical. “I mean, that’s stupid, right? I’m so stupid that I just want to know how you are doing, but I know I can’t rush this. I just want you to be safe.”

“But I am safe, Luz.” An unsettling voice hissed. “Just come and see for yourself.”

The human snapped in the direction of the voice. Amity stood before her. Her green hair was up in its half-ponytail again and she stood in a very gangly fashion. Luz tensed up and backed into the tree as she saw the purple haze in her eyes. Except it wasn’t even a haze anymore. It was more like an abomination’s goop covered the entirety of her sclera. She almost thought that she saw her fingers emanate the same slimy ichor. Luz’s brows furrowed and she planted her feet firmly on the ground as she stared at the creature that stood before her.

“Is this some kind of sick fucking joke, Almade, tu amemao hijo de la gran perra!”

The husk was taken aback by the remark. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Doesn’t fucking matter.” She slapped down a glyph and vines wound around Amity’s body, raising the husk high in the air. As she readied another glyph to use against her, she looked into her eyes.

Amity… it was still her. But she’s now a husk controlled by Almade. Memories of the previous night flashed in her head as she remembered the story. She recalled reading about how he killed his father by turning him into a husk. That means Amity was- she was-.

Dead.

Luz dropped the glyph and the plants lowered the husk down to the ground. She started sobbing again and aggressively wiped the tears away from her face. But no matter how many times she cleared it away from her face, new tears would come and cloud her vision.

The husk lifted her chin up and gave her a smirk.

“What’s wrong, Luz? Aren’t you glad to see me?”

“Why would you do this to her?”

“Now, if I were to tell you that, it’d spoil the surprise.” The husk traced a circle in the air, readying a sleep spell. “Now, you seem tired. You should take a nice, long-.”

Before Almade could finish the spell, the husk was knocked backwards and sprawled into the clearing. Luz turned back to see a figure that remained transparent in the light of the rising sun. She could see a hint of teal in the curtain of hair that draped over her face as well as the dark brown roots. As she brought her finger down, she looked at the human and gave her a soft smile.

“Hi, Luz.” Said Amity’s ghost.

[boogiewrites]

No.9: The Body

Chapter Five

Characters: Diego Hargreeves & OFC Eve Corpuz

Summary: Diego breaks down Eve unexpectedly, and Luther attempts to break down Diego.

Warnings/Tags: Light descriptions of fighting. Little bit of Luther. Talk of past trauma/abuse/death. 

Click on my icon then go to my Mobile Masterlist in my bio for my other works and chapters. Please like, comment and reblog if you enjoyed it! It helps out us writers A LOT! If you’d like added to the tags, just let me know. This is a multi-chapter fic.

Eve walked into the gym after work as she did most nights now. It greeted her half-lit but still bright enough to see the training area. She’d continually thanked Luther for being so accommodating, and he didn’t seem to mind in the least. She felt almost bad keeping him in the dark about her powers. She was dying to tell them all, to have people understand, to be around people like her as she tried to newly navigate this alternate reality she’d found herself having to accept. But Diego said to trust him, it was best to keep it as low key as possible until she felt a bit more certain. She did trust him, so she did as he suggested even if she felt like a kid being denied a gift.

She had acetaminophen in her system, her usual jug of water, and another large container of Gatorade in tow. She was as ready as she’d ever been. She was actually glad she decided to go late instead of early for her sessions. She was at least awake and warmed up and accustomed to the hungover feeling at this point.

“You showed up.” Diego smirks as he wraps his hands to ready for training.

“Of course I did.” she sasses back and throws her bag against the wall. She also liked not having anyone looking at her or bothering her while she worked out. No one around to steal her things, she could toss them instead of throwing them into a locker and be able to totally focus.

“You were getting a little faded when I left last night, didn't know if you’d be up to this.”

“I’ve already put in a shift today, dude. Don’t come at me with that shit.” she laughs and begins taking off her outer layers. Still staying in an oversized t-shirt and leggings as was her usual, she shook and jumped to warm up everything after it’s exposed to the still cold late winter air of the city that drafted through the old brick walls of the industrial-looking building.

“How was work?” he asked, always down to hear the gross-out stories she had to tell.

“Not great.”

“You good?” he asks, brows high and making an effort to meet her eyes.

“I’ll be fine. Just y’know, dealing with kids is hard.”

“They call you a butt head and it hurt your feelings?”

“No, they died from a drunk driver.” she stares into his eyes and she sees his instant regret.

“Oh shit. I-I'm sorry.” his posture slinks.

“It's what I signed up for, Diego. I’ll be fine.” she motions her hand to halt his sympathetic approach to her. “Just wear me out so I have to go home and collapse into a dreamless sleep.”

“Oh I’ve never let a girl down that’s asked me that.” he falls back into his playful self, trying to deflect the embarrassment he felt.

“Let’s not start now. C’mon.” she begins stretching and heads over to the heavy bags.

------

“Eve. You aren’t hitting like you MEAN it!” he says for the fifth time, trying her patience.

“I’m TRYING! I don’t know what you mean? I’m putting my whole body into it.”

“No, this isn’t about your body, you’ve got to FEEL it.” he shakes the bag as he holds it so she can hit it. She’d been shown how to wrap her hands, and get used to the feeling of hitting something and it jarring her back. But she kept hitting the bag, focused and form correct and he kept asking for more. She was starting to get frustrated.

“Is my form wrong?” she asks with dropped shoulders, panting.

“No, it’s perfect. That’s the problem. I want to see you get messy. In a real fight, you won’t have your head on perfectly straight. I want to see you give everything you’ve got and HIT. Like you HATE this bag.”

“I’ll hit it like it’s you if you don’t stop with this hippy sounding nonsense.”

“THAT is what you need!” he says exasperated too, trying to get her to give in and break, put her heart, not just her mind into it. He knew a fighter was inside her but her years of polish to appear as perfect as possible was a hard varnish to breakthrough. “Imagine it’s someone you hate.”

“I don’t HATE anyone…” she lies.

He cocks a brow at her. “Bullshit. Think of something that made you cry, made you lash out, made you want to beat someone's head in. HEY imagine it’s whoever stabbed you? What would you have done now that you KNOW how to fight huh? Imagine it’s them and that you’re going to give them what's coming to them.”

She takes a deep breath and presses her lips together. He didn’t really know what he was asking of her. Her therapist would be slapping him for requesting her to do such a thing. But she trusted his philosophy. And she imagined the bag was her mother. “I’ll… try okay. Just...stop talking and let me... focus.” she rasps out and stretches her neck.

He motions zipping his mouth and throwing away the key, and braces himself for her hit.

A one-two. A flash of her mother screaming at her. A few more hits. The feeling of true fear as she saw the wild in her mother's eyes. She begins a pattern, a few hits, and a deep breath. Eventually, it becomes a continuous downpour of hits, making sounds as she hits each time. It sounded like pain and Diego knew she’d found what she needed to fuel herself.

“There it is. You got it. Keep goin’.” he says softly, watching her eyes.

Her naturally dark hair is falling out of its tight ponytail, now flopping with every hit. She could hear her mother's voice, feel that fear for her life, and the deluge of insults that would be her inner monologue for so many years after. The hits came harder, with more grunts and whimpers after each one, each a time she’d been afraid. Her breathing buckles, the hits harder and harder, her knuckles aching until she throws in knees and kicks. It doesn’t stop, the feelings were broken open and he’d gotten what he wanted, but at what cost to her.

Diego was proud for a few shining moments until he saw the tears start to fall. Her lips went from tight to gasping, sobs breaking through her angry sounds of impact until her hits lost strength and her head hit against the bag. Her shoulders shook and his eyes went wide, quickly reaching around to her support her as the sobs hit and her knees gave out.

With an unsure hand on her back, her on all fours and trying to gasp through the sobs, the day and her past became too heavy at that moment and it all hit her, breaking her down into a tired, sweaty mess on the gym floor.

He sits next to her, silently, a now supportive rub to her back. “I”m sorry Eve I didn’t-”

She reaches her arms back and hits him lightly. “It’s-you didn’t-” stuttering inhale that she couldn't control.

“Sh… just breathe. Sit up here.” he pulls her up, sitting on her knees, pressing between her shoulder blades to give her lungs room to breathe. “Count in five, out seven.” He counts out loud for her, as her hands begin to still against her thighs and the sounds of pain cease. “I didn’t know you had panic attacks.”

“I dont,” she says wiping her eyes. “I just... it’s been a hard day.” she begins more weakly crying and lets a small laugh out to hide her pain.

“Uh…’ he takes his hands off of her as she begins to let herself stretch and retie her hair. “I think this is where I ask if you wanna talk about it?” he offers and his delivery makes her laugh.

“Better question.” she moves to wipe her face with the hem of her shirt. “Do you wanna hear it?”

With a pause he answers, “Of course I do.” and she turns to face him with still watery eyes.

“Really?” the disbelief almost hurt his feelings.

“Yeah. If we’re gonna be in this together, I wanna know what’s gonna set you off like this. I don’t wanna...make things worse than I already do.” he shrugs.

She nods, turning and plopping down to sit on her butt and cross her legs. “That’s... that’s really nice…” she wells up again and then laughs and rubs her face. “Must be time for me to start my period or somethin’,” she mumbles and it makes him chuckle.

“Or you’ve had a shitty upbringing that still follows you around no matter where you run. Not that I would know anything about that though, right?”

She considered hugging him. For the goofiness he showed, he also had a depth that you had to access through empathy. They both had finally let that facade of having their shit together break down and now they sat like two children in a play circle, sharing secrets.

“Did your dad ever stab you?” she asks with a weak smile as she let herself slump over with a deep sigh.

“He did actually. Tried to kill me.” he nods with an annoyed look on his face.

“Well fuck.” she snorts and rubs her face. “Maybe you do get it.”

“I do.” he leans in and puts his hand on her shoulder. “So tell me.” he asks softly.

“It was the night I ran away for good.” she begins, eyes wandering and looking at nothing as she recalled it. “There was this kid, this guy at school that used to bully me. He’d had me cornered and was... “ she sighs, “he was trying to hurt me. And he ended up having a seizure and dying.” her eyes stare out blankly. “Whispers started fast. Saying I killed him. Although how would I?” she says defensively still. “My mom...knowing about my...abilities she did blame me. She became convinced I’d kill her too. So she tried to beat me to it.” her face wrinkles, pulling her knees to her chest.

“Shit.” he quietly exhales. “That's fucked up, Eve.”

She lets out a genuine louder laugh that confuses him. “Yeah, it is.” She shakes her head and rests her chin on her knees. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed but we’re both pretty fucked up, Diego.” she offers with a smile and tears still wet on her lashes. It makes him give the smile back, a soft laugh shared between them. Sometimes you had to laugh not to cry.

After pulling her to her feet, he tells her there’s no way he’s making her train more tonight and sends her home. A comforting hug between them before she parts, it felt right to do so. She’d entered the gym with a secret that no one else knew, and left with the weight of it shared. It was no small step, and even though it hurt like hell, in the aftermath it felt worth it.

Diego has a contemplative look on his face as he begins to tidy and shut everything down. Luther appears from the men’s locker room, an apologetic look on his face.

“Didn’t know you were still here big guy.” Diego looks him up and down, trying to read him.

“Yeah…” he drags on, eyes not meeting his brothers.

“What?” Diego demands with a jutted out chin.

“I...uh...kind of heard….all of that…” he pushes back his chin and presses his lips. “Were you gonna tell us you found another person like us or… just keep that to yourself?”

“I didn’t want her to get freaked out by you all and leave.”

“Well she’s already met me and I’m the freakiest there is.” he chuckles softly.

He shrugs in non-insulting agreement. “I just… she’s the first person since..”

“Yeah.” Luther interrupts.

“Y’know who's GOT me. Like, she gets how messed up everything is, man. I don’t want her to…” he sighs and drops the tension in his shoulders. “I don’t want her to leave.”

Luther put a large hand to Deigo’s shoulder. “Ever think she might want to be a part of this?”

“No, Jesus why would she?”

“She’s been alone since she was what? Sixteen she said? She didn’t have support like we did growing up.”

“You’re gonna call what dad did to us support?”

“Look, the point is.. She doesn’t have a family. And even if you hate your family, like you claim to, you still keep coming back right?”

“I can stop.” he sarcastically suggests.

“Well, maybe that’s what she needs. A family. Or at least y’know...friends that understand her. She didn’t know what was going on when she was younger. Can you imagine that? I can’t.” he muses with raised brows, feeling bad for the kind doctor lady.

“I hate to admit this...but you’ve got a point.”

“I know. I do that sometimes. If anyone would listen.” he mumbles defensively. “And I mean.. she’s very nice. She seems...cool. I wouldn’t mind being able to help her out too.” He offers, and Diego knows he only means it in the nicest way possible.

“She is cool.” he nods and looks down, voice soft. “Just let me… I’ll do...somethin’. Just give me some time okay?”

“Secrets safe with me.” Luther says proudly.

“Oh shit, Luther you can’t keep a secret.” Diego groans.

“Yes I can!”

“This is going to end so badly…” Diego complains childishly and loudly. “She’s gonna get introduced to Five and he’s gonna be a DICK and she’s gonna leave and hate me and-!”

“Ah. I get it.” Luther grins.

“What? What’s there to get? We’re a bunch of crazy people, and she’s a nice girl and you’re all gonna freak her out!”

“You like her.” Luther keeps the same cheesy grin on his face.

“PSH!” Diego says dramatically. “I don’t- pfft. I don’t like her. She’s cool and all but-”

“Diego…” Luther comes in and gives his brother a forced hug. “Can’t believe I didn’t realize it sooner.”

“I don't.” he murmurs into his brother chest, being held against his will.

“It’s been like what? A year? Over a year now? Since… Voldemort happened

“Voldemort?” he pushes away.

“She who must not be named.”

“You can say her name.” he grumbles.

“Since Lila. You were a wreck. It’s about time you started to move on.”

Diego pouts and holds a low brow, looking up with disdain for his brother. Who was right. “Doesn’t mean you have to say it.” he mumbles back but Luther hears and laughs.

“I can’t wait to meet your girlfriend, Diego!” he cheers out as his brother sulks away.

“SHE’S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!” he protests but the flush on his cheeks from embarrassment says otherwise.

@s-h-e-w-r-i-t-e-s​ @jaegeeeeer​ @diegos-butt​ @anglovesthis

[be-dazzled]

#SIYC

Gray Fullbuster, Juvia Lockser Genre: Multi-chapter, Romance, Comedy Rating: M for sensitive language and content 

You got that thing that I been looking for Been running around for so long Now I caught you, I won't let you go Just say you feel the way that I feel I'm feeling…

–       Sexual, Neiked

The sun was already so up high when Gray woke from his deep slumber. He stretched his arms out and cracked his neck side to side. A yawn stretched his mouth and his eyes still needed some opening. Gray felt like he went for swimming lapses last night. And then more. Who knew pouring your heart out could be that exhausting? Emotions are too overwhelming but Gray had no regrets. A satisfied smile played on his lips, forcing him to get out of bed and seek that beautiful blue-haired he suddenly missed.

Gray dragged his feet to his closet, found himself a dark grey tee and shoved his arms into the sleeve holes. Hoopster knocked on Juvia’s door first, careful not to wake the woman up in case she was still sleeping in. When no one answered, he tried the doorknob, twisting the polished nob to open. It seemed like Juvia wasn’t one to lock her door, which was okay, since she was staying at the safety of the Mine Mansion. Gray slowly pushed the door open, calling her name in case she wasn’t decent, which he also wouldn’t mind to be honest. Unfortunately, the bed was already made and there was no ‘still dressing’ Juvia inside. Gray hurried to the dining where he heard the utensils clattering. It turned out to be a disappointment, and he didn’t even try to hide it, only seeing his mother and a few of the helps arranging the table.

“Hey mom,” Gray walked into the dining room, reduced into hugging the back of the tall chair when all he wanted was his bluenette within his arms. “Has Juvia come down yet?” He looked around, a pout audible from his voice, but still no blue-haired beauty.

“Wow, not even a good morning, huh?” Mika remarked, not taking her eyes off the spoons and forks she was arranging, to address her son.

“Sorry.”

Mika Mine waited for a few louder impatient breaths from her ill-mannered son, just to test his patience and to teach him a lesson. Mika placed the toasted garlic bread she bought from the market on the table. Only raised her gaze to finally look at her son after thanking one of the helpers.

“I heard she’s at your fath–at the basketball court.”

Gray, realizing his first mistake, threw his arms around his mother and planted a quick peck on her cheek. “Thank you.” Then, he disappeared from his mother’s sight.

Gray hurriedly made his way to the old basketball court, not even stopping to just see and smell the roses. He skidded to a stop at the end of the pathway and quickly spot Juvia’s figure a few feet away from the ring tower. Looking closer, Gray was surprised, but definitely not disappointed, at the ballerina who was dribbling a ball between two hands before attempting a shot.

“Morning exercise?”

Juvia was just coming to pick up the ball that bounced off the ground. She whipped her head at his direction, her long ponytail flying out behind.

“Oh, Gray!” She acknowledged. “Good morning.”

Her bright smile was so contagious that Gray found himself smiling back at her. As soon as he was inside the rectangle, seeing his girlfriend closer, that responsive smile quickly dropped. His thick brows met in a frown, nose crinkling in slight dismay.

“What are you wearing?”

“Oh, this? Your mother got it for me.” Juvia answered, resting the ball at the side of her hip and returning to the free-throw line. “She invited me to go to the central market.”

“That’s good. You guys are bonding.” Gray walked up to her, hands planted on his waist, dark eyes narrowing at that long wicking polyester fabric hanging on his girlfriend’s shoulders. “But what are you wearing?”

“A jersey.” Juvia answered, tone implying that it should have been obvious. “Fiore Knights Jersey, to be exact.” She attempted a second shot and the ball went in perfectly. Juvia was about to run after the bouncing ball but Gray beat her to it.

“I can see that...” Gray sounded like he was about to say something more, purposely leaving his statement hanging. He dribbled the ball thrice before executing a right lay-up.

“I look good in it, don’t I? The girl from the stall said it’s an ‘Isvan Must-Have’.”

Juvia spun around to present herself to Gray. The boyfriend had to admit, there was something about his girlfriend wearing that basketball uniform, which he loved and greatly respected, that made those butterflies in his stomach flutter. Even if the jersey was too big for Juvia’s slender figure. Gray rested the ball against his hip and walked up to Juvia, who was enjoying her Fiore Knights uniform and that long ponytail at the back of her head.

“It’s cute.”

Gray stopped in front of Juvia, staring her up and down. Juvia could feel his dark eyes undressing her of that jersey.

“But you got the wrong number, sweetie.”

Juvia bit her lip in no surprise. It seemed like she knew exactly whose jersey number it was. Yet, she still wore the same. With a stubborn smile she told him, “It’s all they have.” Juvia snatched the ball from him and pushed past Gray, who still had one brow cocked up. “Apparently, yours sell like hotcakes.” Her ball hit the rim and ricocheted.

“Well, missy. I don’t like it when my girlfriend is wearing someone else’s number.” Gray followed the ballerina to the left side of the ring, catching her by surprise as she tried her luck shooting the ball on the side. “Take it off.”

“What?!”

Gray played with the hem where the sleeve was supposed to be, tugging on it. “I said take it off.”

Juvia just stared at him like he was crazy, which she sure Gray was apparently, demanding from her to take the jersey off. “Here?”

“Yes.” Gray answered in a tone that said it should have been obvious.

“I’m not gonna take my shirt in the middle of this court, Gray.” She rolled her eyes at him. Really? They may have been in the comfort of the Mine’s private compound but that didn’t mean Juvia would just freely flaunt herself in that open space. Who knew if someone was watching them through a telescope? Or drone? Or something?

“Wanna play for it?” Gray wasn’t going to drop the subject that easily.

Juvia faced her absolutely shameless boyfriend, her jaw dropping at his audacity. He wasn’t being serious, was he? Because that would be totally absurd. But she asked again, just in case.

“What?”

“If you beat me, you get to keep that stupid jersey. But if I win, you need to take it off.” Juvia would have cracked up, ROFLed, you know, rolled on the floor laughing, if not for that seriousness in Gray’s expression. And to prove he meant business, one corner of his mouth lifted in a challenging grin. “Here.”

Totally. Absurd. She wasn’t really considering it, was she?

“That would be really unfair for me. You’re a professional player–”

“–Basketball god, some would say.” Gray cocked a brow, as he snatched the ball in Juvia’s hands, to prove a point. “No rules. First to reach ten points win.” He tried to sell it but Juvia still looked skeptical. She was at the losing end going up against a three-time MVP. “I’ll even let you have a head-start.” Gray returned the ball to Juvia. While the ballerina accepted it, her guarded eyes remained skeptical about Gray’s terms, eyeing the man as if anytime he’d attack her. She considered the slight possibility that Gray might let her win, if his ego would allow. When she walked a little distance away from him and near the net, Gray just crossed his arms against his chest and watched her score two points. He didn’t move even after that and just waited for Juvia’s other shot.

“That’s four points all in all. I guess that’s enough head-start.”

Like a predator stalking his prey, Gray slowly approached Juvia while the noticeably nervous ballerina still held the ball in her hands. The Team Captain of one of Fiore’s best basketball teams and three-time MVP feigned offense, pretending to suddenly approach her and steal the ball. Juvia jerked back with the ball in hand.

“Quick reflexes, Lockser.”

Gray quickly cornered Juvia, raising his arms on the side guarding the ballerina, who dribbled the ball in front of her but had her back on Gray. She’d hit her back against Gray’s front when he tried to dig.

“Not today, Fullbuster.”

Juvia faked a right turn and eventually shook him away. Gray didn’t take offense from that little trick. He was too amused and proud of that unexpected bluff that won Juvia another two points.

Juvia threw her hands in the air and did a little dance before shoving the ball to Gray. “Keep up, Captain.” It sounded more like a snide name-calling rather than the respectable title it was supposed to be.

“Don’t be so cocky.”

And before Juvia could even react, Gray was already near the ring with his first two points under his belt. Of course, he didn’t let the victory slide. Juvia was again in possession of the ball but she lost it in her hands before she could even blink. Gray shot the stolen ball from outside the three-point line, reminding Juvia why he was the best pointer of last season.

“You are taking this too seriously.”

“Well, I seriously hate that shirt.”

When Gray was rearing towards the net and had Juvia shuffling along with him as she had her hands in defense, the sly ballerina had the greatest idea of kissing him on the cheek, startling Gray and rooting him on the spot.

“That’s eight points in total.”

“So that’s how you want to play the game, huh?”

“Hey,” Juvia threw him the ball and resumed her position as his guard, “you’re the one who said there are no rules.”

“Alright.” He said. Gray wasn’t mad about it or anything. He bounced the ball twice and taunted the ballerina by holding the ball at arm’s length. When Juvia tried to snatch it, Gray jerked his arm away quickly. The couple stayed on the three-point line as Juvia grabbed for the ball that Gray kept above his head, out of her reach. His height played a good part while Juvia was the one who had to tiptoe, sometimes leaning on Gray for support. Hoopster seized the opportunity and stole a kiss from Juvia before throwing in his second three-point shot.

“I guess that’s a tie.”

The game ended with a rare dunk shot from Gray and a score of 8 vs 10, in favor of the boyfriend.

“Not bad, Lockser.” Gray leaned on the ring tower, planting his palm flatly against the side of the pole, taking a shade from the morning sun. He wiped the sweat that wet his forehead with the back of his arm. “Now, time for your punishment.”

“No. It’s not.” Juvia rested one hand on her hips in a defiant manner. She didn’t sound as firm as she was when Gray first suggested the punishment.

“Be a sport, Juvia. Now, take off that jersey.”

Juvia gave him a look, contemplating her options. “Fine.” She dropped her hand on the side and tugged at the hem of her large jersey. “Like this?”

Gray couldn’t believe that Juvia was actually going through with it. Yes, he said he’d be firm with her when he was to demand his reward/her punishment but now that it came to this… he wasn’t complaining but as the bottom of the cloth lifted upwards, his heart was racing – and not because of that brief one-on-one basketball they just had – but because of that teasing twinkle in her eyes that got Gray a little nervous and honestly, turned on.

“Higher.” Gray heard himself order, which was a miracle considering it was a struggle to breathe.

Juvia suddenly became very obedient. She lifted the edge of the shirt higher, revealing white, smooth skin beneath as her knuckles brushed past the band of her shorts and against her stomach.

And Gray… well, his hand mysteriously slipped off the shaft he was leaning on for support and almost fell on the ground, face first. The triumphant smile slowly dropped and he could feel his blood rushing to that one part of his body as he continued to watch the fabric slide past her belly button and further up her slim ribs.

“Higher?”

The only response he could muster was a breathy ‘yeah’ or a low groan. Juvia wasn’t sure, neither was Gray. But the ballerina got the point, just staring at his expression: eyes wide open and lips slightly apart.

The band of her pink lace bra made a peek.

He held his breath as the shirt pulled up a few inches above the band, teasing the lace that cupped the bottoms of her breasts. Just a little more, he thought. Just a little more…

“There you are!”

Juvia pulled her shirt down swiftly.

NOOOOO!

His mother’s voice sounded like nails against a chalkboard – freakishly annoying and hellishly frustrating.

Mika didn’t bother to come down the court and stayed at the pathway. “C’mon! Breakfast is ready.” She started back to the house and turned around again to remind them, “You two change first. Gray, put on a fresh shirt.”

“I know!” Gray was obviously irritated.

“Come here. I’ll wipe your face with this towel–”

“–Mom!” Hoopster whined, throwing his mother a deadly look. If she didn’t get the hint then he just had to shoo her away, “We’ll be right behind you.” And he was glad she didn’t insist on that face-wipe because: one, he wasn’t a child; and two, he would have died right there and then if Mika Mine found out what his girlfriend’s strip tease did to her son’s body.

And Juvia… she just gave him that guilty look. They laughed it off like a bad joke but Gray almost died in suspense.

---

Gray knew that the stay at the mansion wasn’t going to last long. Later this afternoon, they had to drive back to the city and deal with the daily grind on Monday. Back to regular programming. That didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy breakfast with his family, his team and his girlfriend. Gray glanced at Juvia who was seated beside him. He didn’t notice he was already glaring at her cute tight t-shirt until Loke flagrantly pointed it out. He was then forced to spend the rest of the morning trying not to think about that strip tease his girlfriend did for him, which proved to be a real struggle because he spent the rest of breakfast thinking when she could get to finish the show.

Man, Gray didn’t even know she had it in her.

After breakfast, Mika pulled him by the corner asking about his plans for his birthday. Gray could sense she wanted to ask for another day to stay and celebrate it together. He reasoned he had commitments in the city. She didn’t push it but Gray sure did feel guilty. Mothers – always playing the guilt card. And he was sure it was that which prompted him to agree to come back next weekend. After that talk and a few reminders, he wandered around the mansion to look for his girl in that pink statement shirt – Girl Power – and found her leaning against the railing at the veranda. He was about to join her when Gray realized she wasn’t alone. It didn’t sit with him right, having a certain pink-haired Natsu standing in his place. They looked deep in conversation. Of course, there was no reason to be jealous about it. Fiore Knight Members didn’t steal a brother’s girl. That rule was set in stone. But he couldn’t help that bitter taste stirring in the pit of his stomach. The mental image of Juvia in that jersey with Natsu’s number on didn’t help too.

“What are you two whispering about?”

“Nothing important.” Natsu quickly answered before he peeled himself off the railing, excused himself from Juvia and walked back into the house.

Gray could tell he was trying to act like it was nothing. But it was too casual to be nothing. He threw him a side glance when his Vice Captain passed him by with that forced, toothy smile. The sound of heels tapping on the marble floor pulled his attention back to the woman coming to meet him. Gray abandoned the thought for a moment. He’ll get to the bottom of that later. For now, having Juvia alone in the veranda kicked that mystery off of the priority list.

Gray met Juvia halfway. His hands automatically wrapped themselves around her waist while the ballerina snaked one arm around his neck. The other poked a finger where his furrowed brows met.

“What’s with that frown?”

Gray didn’t answer. He obviously wasn’t going to admit to anything.

“Oh, I get it.” Juvia pulled him closer, if that was even possible, and brushed the tip of her nose against his. “Is my boyfriend jealous?”

Gray snorted. “No.” He tightened his arms around her body and stole a peck on the lips. “Just a little disappointed I didn’t get to see the rest of your strip show.”

“Oh, that.”

A small flame caused by the memory powdered Juvia’s cheeks rosy.

“When will you get to finish it?”

“Not anytime soon. That’s for sure.” answered Juvia before pressing an innocent kiss on Gray’s lips.

Gray mumbled something. Then, getting tired of all that ‘child kiss’, he didn’t let Juvia speak another word, saddled up and kissed his girlfriend like a real man – with tongue.

---

Gray placed their bags at the backseat of his Lamborghini. He still cocked a brow at that sequined leopard duffle. But that was just a distraction. In all honesty, Hoopster was still very much bothered by Natsu and Juvia’s sudden closeness. He wasn’t a jealous type. Not to anyone and especially not with any of his teammates, let alone his best friend. Although, he would never admit that out loud – Natsu being his best friend. They were brothers and they all subscribe to the unwritten Bro Code. Besides, he was happy that the guys liked Juvia – really, really liked her. He didn’t mind them interacting with his girlfriend, encouraged it even. So, why all the mysterious whispers and acting like nothing?

Gray heard his mother’s voice. She was saying something to Juvia, which earned small laughs and giggles from the ballerina. He opted to watch in a safe distance as his parents embraced Juvia and bade goodbye. He, the son, got a wave from afar. He preferred that. Gray wasn’t in the mood to get another hug and pat at the back from the President. Too much unnecessary skinship.

Juvia walked down to Gray’s car, an ear-to-ear smile still plastered on her face.

“Looks like they really like you, huh?”

“Well, I live to please.” She quipped, stopping at the passenger seat’s door.

“Speaking of pleasing, I–”

“–except for that.”

Juvia already knew what he was driving at and no, Juvia would not engage him. His parents were still at the door waving them goodbye for goodness’ sake. And even if the whole thing really did look ridiculous now that she thought back to when Gray’s mother walked in on Juvia stripping… They laughed it off. Still, what would the woman think of her if she actually finished pulling off that jersey? Que horror.

Gray pouted. “No more strip shows?”

Juvia just glared at him. The ballerina swore she wasn’t going to ever do that again – well, at least not in public.

When Gray was about to climb into his car, Juvia raised her open palm at him, asking for the keys to the car instead.

“You want to drive?”

“I know you’re tired so I’m offering.”

Gray shut his door close and leaned over it, mulling over how he was going to play this situation without him receiving the cold-shoulder treatment thereafter. He had been a part of this conversation far too many times not to know it rarely ended well. He never really let anyone drive the Ghini. It’s his baby!

“This is a really expensive car, Juvia.” He said slowly, careful not to strike a chord or else… Female logic was the hardest to read.

“You don’t trust your girlfriend?”

See? In what universe did ‘not letting her drive your car’ read as ‘not trusting her’? The complicated universe of the female brain.

“Juvia…” Gray talked with caution, not wanting to be misinterpreted and to start a fight that early in the relationship.

“Gray…” She kept her hand held out to him, insisting on the keys and taking the same tone he had with her.

Gray steered around his car to walk up next to Juvia, only to whisper his answer so no nosy mother come snooping. Juvia saw his purposeful smile before he leaned in to whisper into her ears, “Only if you finish that strip show, girlfriend.”

But like Gray, Juvia had some trick up her sleeves too. Sensing an upcoming victory, the ballerina played the same naughtiness on her lips. “Really? While your parents are watching?” She challenged. She didn’t even have to wait to get that ugly reaction wrinkling his smug face. Juvia watched him threw a glance behind her; one she was sure was directed at the older man. Because Juvia didn’t spend the week without learning a thing or two.

“Keys?”

Gray withdrew his attention from the old geezer and looked down at the woman who dared… oh, dating smart-asses was such a pain. But he still had one last card to play. He leaned in, pressed a soft kiss on her lips and put up a wide, playing an innocent grin, which earned a serious look from the woman.

“What? I thought you said kiss.” But the glare wasn’t budging. “Although, I have a dictionary in my phone that disagrees with that definition.” Gray seemed to have failed to notice, or rather, chose to ignore the serious look.

But he knew he couldn’t keep up with that show anymore, he got himself a stubborn one. Gray dangled the keys in front of Juvia, which the woman quickly snatched from his hand. He realized then, he just lost and he would keep on losing where this woman was concerned. If he got to steal a few kisses – and a few more real ones too, those which abide by the definition – then he didn’t mind caving in.

And that’s a big commitment coming from the very competitive ‘basketball god’.

---

Gray kept telling her where to go or how to drive, even how slow or slow-er she should go and honestly, he was starting to get on Juvia’s nerves.

“Babe, if you could just sit tight while I drive,” She told him off without taking her eyes away from the road. “that would be really awesome.” Her voice had finality and she didn’t have to throw a glare at him for Gray to know she was serious.

In the end, Gray gave up. If he was in Juvia’s shoes, he’d lash out at that person bossing him around. He settled comfortably in his seat, leaving Ghini’s fate into his girlfriend’s hands. What’s the worst that could happen?

He fell asleep.

Gray was violently woken up by the fact that: one, someone else was driving his Ghini, although that someone was Juvia and he trusted her whole-heartedly, or maybe three-fourth of his heart trusted her, the other one-fourth feeling guilty about betraying the Ghini for letting someone else – who wasn’t him – drive his baby; and two, he shouldn’t be sleeping so peacefully why someone else was driving it! He should have at least kept an eye on that.

“Where are we?!” Gray asked over the loud noise of impatient cars in Magnolia’s heavy traffic.

“Relax. We’re near your place.” She smiled at him, a smile Gray was sure was all about gloating and not the friendly kind.

The Ghini crawled into a neutral and the ballerina on the wheel finally looked at him, “Did you have a good sleep?”

“No.” He answered, inwardly scolding himself for letting Ghini down. Gray sure knew how Julian Lockser felt when his daughter took the Ferrari out for a spin. He’d apologize to his baby later. For now, he’d laid back and get more sleep. “Where are we going anyway?” He absently asked, tired eyes already shut close.

“Home.” Juvia flatly answered.

It forced one shut lid to open, “Yours or mine?” Gray insinuated, the possibility of maybe getting some alone time with Juvia painted a knowing smile on his pulled lips.

“Yours, silly.”

Dark eyes grew wide in shock. Juvia? In his bachelor pad? That could only mean one thing, right? Was he finally getting lai–lucky? From then on, Gray couldn’t seem to keep his eyes closed and his heartbeat steady.

---

Writer’s Corner: Of course I’m not gonna leave you hanging on that drama, right? I gotchu boo! Also, Juvia stripping? Hell yeah! 

tags:  @ship-ambrosia @juviaafullbuster @sasskiiia @anaken101 @mika-milano @icelyn20 @gruviafanficsyo @nay-ssi @shampooneko @hiccstridhumour @shounenmangaotphell @ftmains @sobatsu​ @freeezingrain​ @gruvia-galaxy​ @tinyvoidtrash​ @juvialockseroff​ @jetblackrevival​ @cobblepottantrum @pinkbtr @freedom--seeker @cosmonira @janeto13lover 

[therainroguefanfiction]

☁ Drifting Away (Giotto) #08

📑 Table of Contents | ◂Previous

Author’s Note: Okay! I want to clear up a few things c: First off, this is the last chapter that my younger self wrote (I think I was like 16?). Now, in these past eight chapters, I’m sure you’ve come across things that seemed impossible for the time period, and I will do my best to stick to the year 1870 as best as I can from here on out! I hope you will go easy on me~

Rather than using google translate, I now have a wonderful friend willing to help me with the Italian translations (@kiralushia​) who also has this wonderful comic that you should definitely go check out! She has also been so supportive and is the main reason I want to finish this story!

I have decided to keep the flip cell phones for plot purposes and Salmon’s laptop (the story behind this is that they brought the technology from the future along with the necessary components in order to use them in the past). I hope you can overlook this plot hole for the sake of the story!

Finally, I want to state that I have NOT read the manga (yet). I wanted to get this final chapter posted first and now I am going to go and read the proper arc within the manga in order to learn more about the first generation so I can do them proper justice within this story. Thank you so much for reading!

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☁ Cafe ✗ Guardian ✗ Confrontation ☁

You and Zakun had been walking for a good hour or so and, to be completely honest, you weren’t too sure he had a destination in mind. You were starting to think that he was just walking for the sake of it. After ten more minutes passed, you began to get annoyed.

“Oi! How the hell are we supposed to find this guy, anyway?”

“We search.” Another stoic response. Did this guy even have any emotion? Maybe he should have been the cloud guardian.

“Obviously, but we can’t just walk around blindly, ya know. You have to have some sort of plan or idea or something.”

“No.”

You facepalmed, sighing deeply as you begrudgingly followed after him. It seemed kind of hopeless, just walking around aimlessly. How would you even know if you had the right person? You were pretty sure that you didn’t have time to waste but, whenever you looked at Zakun, he looked totally relaxed. Then again, he’d probably be that way even if the world were about to end.

“Okay, how do we know we got the right guy? Just go around slipping the ring onto people’s fingers until we find one it doesn’t reject?”

He sent you a ‘get real’ look over his shoulder and you scowled. “When you first got the ring, it started resonating in sync with your own, giusto?”

You nodded.

“I knew you had gotten a hold of the ring because mine did the same. When you got close to me, they started resonating again, this time glowing brighter. The same thing will happen, only brighter than the first two times, when we get close to the bearer of the ring,” he paused, glancing over at you as you fell in step beside him. “It will act as a compass. The closer we get, the brighter it will become. The further we get, the less it will glow, until it eventually goes out, like now.” He motioned towards the ring on his finger.

You hummed thoughtfully, grabbing his hand and sliding the ring from his finger. You had seen the Gardiano rings before, but never actually paid attention to its detail. The shank of the ring was the body of a dragon, cloud gray in color and the same width as the Vongola rings. On top was the head of the dragon, the same color as the body. It’s mouth was open wide and inside was the Gardiano family’s crest. Its color was the respective multi-colored hue of the fire guardian and the eyes were the same color.

It truly was a badass looking ring.

Zakun slid the ring back on his finger without a word.

“What if they aren’t in Italy?”

“Then we have a problem.”

You stared at him blankly.

He returned the look. “Salmon says the probability of the barer being in Italy is seventy-five percent.”

“That still leaves a twenty-five percent chance that our guy is somewhere else in the world.”

“Are you always so negative?” He questioned, glancing at you.

“No,” you scowled. “I was just being honest.”

He opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly closed it and stopped walking. Digging into his jacket pocket, he produced a cell phone which he then flipped open and pressed to his ear. “Hello?… Not yet… Are you sure?… Fine.”

You raised an eyebrow as he snapped it shut. Honestly, you had never witnessed such a short phone call before.

“Rorian says we should split up,” he paused, holding out his hand. “Give me your phone.”

“Uh, sure,” you pulled the cell phone from your pocket and sat it in his open palm. His fingers pressed into the keys, entering his contact information into the device, along with a couple of the other members, just in case.

“We can cover more ground this way. If you find him, or get lost again, call me. Salmon will call you if I find him.” He turned in the opposite direction and started to walk away.

With a shrug, you continued on your way, your mind running wild with various thoughts. “If I were a missing fire guardian, where the hell would I be? Hmm.”

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When the sun finally began to rise, you decided it was time to take a break. Fortunately, you came to that decision in front of a bookstore. Opening the door, the aroma of freshly brewed coffee and pristine, new books filled your nostrils and it was such a wonderful combination. The bookstore was small, but offered quite a selection of books.

On the right side of the store, in the corner, was a small cafe where you could read and drink coffee or even have something sweet to snack on. The whole atmosphere was calm and quiet, the perfect place to relax. You knew that Zakun would probably be mad, but you were exhausted and needed a few minutes to rest and regain some of your energy. After all the searching you had done, surely a five minute break wouldn’t hurt.

You sighed as you fell into the wooden chair near the corner, arms folded on the small round table with your head on top. The cold wood felt nice against your skin and that, mixed with the sound of pages being turned and coffee being poured, lulled you to sleep. You hadn’t even realized how tired you felt, but it was no surprise since you had been walking since nearly four in the morning and it was now just after eight at night.

You slept soundly with no strange dreams or interruptions which was rare for you since finding yourself thrown into the past and your body was soaking it up.

At least until a burning against your lower chest and stomach jolted you from your peaceful nap. A small groan passed your lips as your eyes slid open. It took a few minutes to realize that your shirt was glowing – or rather, what was underneath it.

You blinked in surprise, pulling at the collar of your shirt so you could see the ring, which was glowing pretty brightly. Looking around, there were only four people around you.

The woman wiping off the counters. A dark-skinned male reading his newspaper. A pale-skinned man reading a Josh Grisham novel. And another male that had just walked in, briefcase in one hand and a newspaper tucked under his arm.

As he walked closer, the warmth and glow of the ring increased, almost to a painful degree and, by the time he took a seat at the table beside your own, it was almost unbearable. His hair was sandy brown and slightly spiky, but slicked back away from his forehead, and his eyes were a moonlight silver. On his forehead was a crescent moon shaped scar and he was dressed in a navy blue suit.

‘What should I do? I know Zakun said to call him… but what if he doesn’t make it in time?’ You stood up, hiding the glowing rings as best as you could, before approaching his table. He was scribbling away onto a thick pad of paper, which had been removed from his briefcase. “Excuse me?”

He glanced up at you, his expression nothing short of serious. “Do you mind if I sit here?”

The man’s slim brow rose and he glanced around the cafe, which was practically empty, before looking back at the paper and shrugging. Without a sound, you took a seat across from him, fiddling with your fingers that were flat on top of the black table. Now, what in the hell were you supposed to say?

‘Hey! Just thought I’d let you know that I’m part of the mafia and I need your help to save the first generation of my family! Oh yeah, I’m from the future, too! That should go over well,’ you glanced up at him.

His eyes were scanning the page, his hand flying across the page at a nearly inhuman pace. You wondered what he was writing, but you couldn’t understand the language.

“Mind if I ask you something?”

He glanced up at you, paused for a moment and nodded before returning to his work.

“Do you… believe that the mafia exists?”

His hand paused, the tip of the pen hovering above the page, but he didn’t look up at you this time. When he spoke, his voice was deep. “A foolish question.”

You scowled, clenching your fist against the table. ‘Be nice, Y/N. Remember that you need this guy, so just be nice.’ “You believe, then?”

“Italy is known for their mafioso.” His voice was monotone, not a single speck of emotion within. Damn, he might just be colder than Zakun.

“Right. So I guess it’s safe to tell you that I’m part of the mafia, then.”

The man’s hand froze and his eyes narrowed into a glare at you before he gathered up the papers and placed them back into his briefcase, standing up. “I don’t know what game you’re playing at, but I refuse to believe that a mere child is in the mafia. Do take your games elsewhere.”

You sat frozen in your chair, blinking a few times as the words sunk in. You then shot up from your chair and growled out, “I’m not a child!” but it didn’t matter, because the man was already gone. With a groan, you fell back into the chair. ‘Now what am I supposed to do? Rory-chan is so gonna kill me.’

“Mi scusi?”

You looked up to see the female worker from before. She smiled softly, placing an espresso in front of you. “Oh, uhh… thank you.”

Realizing that you spoke English, she switched to using it, a thick accent present but her words easily understandable. “No problem. You looked like you needed it,” she smiled brightly, tilting her head to the side and causing her blonde bangs to fall across her closed eyes. “So tell me, did you know that guy?”

“No,” you sighed, leaning back in the chair with your hand clasped loosely over the base of the drink. “I need to, though.”

“You’re not like a spia, how you say, a stalker are you?”

“No. I have better things to do than stalk some guy.” You rolled your eyes. “Especially not someone as rude as him!”

She giggled. “Alright then! I can give you some information on him. Though I don’t know much, I know a little.”

“And you’d tell me, just like that?” You quirked a brow at her. “What’s the catch?”

“No catch!” She smiled, nodding her head. “It seems kinda important that you get through to him, but I’m warning you, he’s a tough costumer!” She giggled again. “His name is Holland and he’s a twenty-three year old owner of some shop on the other side of town. He’s all business – never smiles, never laughs, never even shows any emotion unless it’s annoyance! He’s so stuffy!” She pouted, folding her arms over her chest as she took the seat he had previously occupied.

“What kind of shop is it?”

“Hmm, I believe it’s a book shop, but I am not certain.”

“Do you know the name? Or an address.”

“Un attimo,” she held up her finger before standing up and heading over to the counter, where she grabbed a thin strip of paper. She pulled the fountain pen from the ink bottle, gliding it across the page before returning it and heading back to you, setting the paper onto the paper. “Careful not to smear the ink.”

You glanced at the address written there and had no clue where the hell it was, but you could just ask someone on the street and hope they knew English. Shouldn’t be too hard, right?

“I’ve tried so many times to be nice to him,” she continued. “But he’s just so mean! He comes in here every morning around nine o’clock, reads a few pages from his paper, and then spends close to two hours scribbling away. I thought, maybe, since he comes in everyday, I’d try and be nice, but half the time, he does not even respond! Che maleducato, you know?”

“Y-Yeah…” No, you really didn’t know, but you cleared your throat, shifting in your seat. “So, everyday, then?”

She nodded again. “It was actually pretty surprising, though! Usually he just ignores everyone that talks to him or whatever, but he didn’t ignore you! He actually let you sit with him and he actually talked to you in that deep sexy voice of his, I can not believe it! Maybe it’s because you’re so young,” she put her finger to her bottom lip, which slightly jutted forward as she pouted. “But I’m young, too, you know?”

Again, no, you did not know, but you pretended you did. “Uhh, right… weird…” You dug into your pocket to pull out some money for the drink only to freeze as you came to a realization – you only had yen on you, and you were pretty sure that they didn’t accept that in Italy.

Sensing your rising distress, the girl crossed her legs and waved you off with a friendly smile. “Non preoccuparti, it is on the house. I’m Sandra, by the way, Sandra Moretti. I’m half-American and I struggled learning the language when I came here as a child, but do not worry, you will pick it up soon!”

Normally people didn’t give that much information to someone they just met, which worried you a bit, but you let it go. “Cool, thank you.”

“Sure thing! See you around~”

You chuckled nervously as you stood up, keeping your eyes on her as you headed for the door. As soon as your back hit the glass, you bolted from the store and down the street. Sure, she seemed nice enough, but you knew from experience that coming across people that friendly and willing to give away information to a complete stranger were usually pretty dangerous. Still, you got some useful information from her.

Just then, the phone started to buzz within your pocket and you fished it out, flipping it open without so much as second thought. You instantly came to regret this decision, having to pull the phone back in order to keep your hearing in tact.

“Why didn’t you call?!” came Rorian’s angered voice. You could hear three voices in the background, probably trying to calm him down. “Zakun called thirty minutes ago and said you found the first generation fire guardian!“

“Er, yeah… about that…” you cleared your throat, leaning back against the brick wall. Night had fallen, the streets barely lit up by the pale street lamps scattered too far apart from each other. It was silent in the city, something you weren’t used to. “I did find him… kind of.”

“‘Kind of’? What in the hell does that mean?“

“Calm down, Rorian!” cried a voice that I did not recognize.

“Give me the phone, will you?” Rorian’s cries faded into the background as Sylvian took over, his voice soft and warm. “Hello, Y/N sweetheart. Don’t mind Rory. He’s a bit moody tonight.“

“I told you not to call me that!” was Rorian’s muffled reply.

“I hear you found the first-generation guardian of fire. Is this correct?” Sylvian inquired. It sounded like he had left the room, because the background of the call suddenly became silent.

“Yeah, I’m sorry Syl. I should have called Zakun, but I didn’t want to risk him not getting there in time. I had ’em, too.” You sighed, closing your eyes and leaning your head back against the wall. If you weren’t mentally kicking yourself before, you certainly were now.

“Don’t worry about it, you simply followed your instincts and did what you believed was best.” He paused. “Did you get any information on him? What did he look like?“

“I talked to a girl that worked there. She said his name is Holland, twenty-three years old, and he owns a bookstore on the other side of town. I got the address. He also visits the same cafe every morning around nine.”

“Then we still have a chance. Good work, sweetheart.” His warm smile could be heard within his tone. “Do you remember how to get back to the hideout?“

“I think I can manage.” You responded, but the truth was that you probably couldn’t and would end up just wandering around aimlessly for a while. That was fine, though, because you figured the others would be pretty angry for letting Holland get away, even Sylvian, despite how calm he sounded on the phone.

“Alright. I’ll call Zakun and tell him to return, as well.“

The line went dead and you heaved a tired sigh, flipping the phone shut before sliding it back into your pocket. Back in your own era, you had often made mistakes because you were, in Reborn’s words, brash and reckless, acting before thinking – a lot like Gokudera, but much worse. You often screwed things up and got yourself hurt because of it, but Tsuna was never mad at you.

No matter how badly you screwed up, Tsuna always forgave you, even for your most stupid of moments. The others… not so much. Gokudera would always get pissed off at you for causing trouble for the Juudaime, despite the fact that he causes just as much trouble. Yamamoto usually just shrugged it off, and Reborn and Bianchi would often give you the silent treatment for a week.

You know how when parents get angry at their kids and the kids feel like shit because of it? Well, when someone you care about is disappointed in you, it makes you feel even lower than that, like the scum of the earth.

Now, you may not have known these guys long enough to be considered close with them, but they did feel kind of like family and you were also already feeling pretty low because you had betrayed one of the two people you swore you would never betray – Giotto.

‘And after he stuck up for me. And Asari and Knuckle… I wonder what’s going through their minds. Wait… I take that back. I don’t wanna know…’

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Three hours later, you found yourself standing in the kitchen of the old abandoned house, staring at the knife. You had never actually tried this, but it should still work. Igniting the flame on your ring, you gripped the handle, letting it engulf the knife. Seconds later, a click was heard and the hole appeared on the fridge. You inserted the ring and the circle of flames appeared, the door swinging open.

You walked down the same dimly lit hallway, taking small, slow steps because you still weren’t looking forward to facing the others, but it had to be done. Better sooner than later, right?

You finally came to a stop in front of the door bearing the Gardiano Family’s crest. Taking a deep breath, you pushed the door open and slipped into the brightly lit room, a fairly large change from the almost pitch black hallways that led up to it. The hushed whispers of the group stopped as they all turned to look at you, a thick silence falling over the room.

You shifted from one foot to the other, refusing to meet anyone’s gaze as you attempted to swallow down your increasing nerves. ‘Man, this sucks. I feel like a kid about to be scolded.’

“So you have finally returned,” Rorian didn’t sound angry like he had earlier on the phone, but the annoyance was still quite present. Guess that’s better than seething rage, though.

“Did you get lost?” Salmon questioned, glancing up from his laptop.

“Uh, yeah. Yeah, I did.” You rubbed the back of your leg with your foot, forcing a smile. Your hesitation to return was not a fact that they needed to know – or maybe that was just your damned pride getting in the way.

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▸Next

[yousawnothinglycanthropic]

Two Kinds of Soft

Thumb pads run over round, chubby cheeks, as tears soak long, white fur. Pale skinned, pudgy hands reach up to grab at the white furred, paw-like hands. “Shhh... Shhh... It’s alright. Everything will be alright.“ She softly says as she reaches up to wipe as many tears off of long cheek fur as possible. “Don’t be afraid to let it all out. I’m here for you.“ “But... but...“ My voice shakes as tears continue to stream down my chubby face, soaking my fur and the sides of my white muzzle. “I could... could h-hurt you... W-with these...“ My grey-blue eyes swiftly dart from black claw to black claw on my pudgy fingers, my paw-like hands shaking as I slowly pull them away from her chubby cheeks. “Wh-who knows what I... c-could do... to you...?! I... I could-“ “Shhh...“ Her almond shaped eyes, their gorgeous shade of copper, shine with a gentle kindness. “Shhh... You would never hurt me on purpose. You don’t have the heart to, anyhow.“ She runs her hands gently through my short, ash blonde hair as she presses her nose against my black skinned, canine looking one. A few wordless whimpers escape my lips as I look deep into her eyes. My handpaws shake as she brings them up to her short, cropped, rust colored, spiky hair. “Run your fingers through my hair. Let me feel your many rings against my scalp. I want to feel your bracelets and watch bump against me. I want you to scratch my scalp with your claws and pawpads as if I have a bad itch.“ I whimper as she guides my handpaws through her hair.

“But... B-but... What if... What if I hurt you accidentally...? Or because I lost control...?“ New tears, hot and fresh, stream down my chubby cheeks and drip off my long cheek fur and onto my black shirt. She softly chuckles as she looks down at my plump, round belly, her own, hidden under a white shirt, that was a failed tie dye experiment, is gently pressing against mine. Her eyes are half lidded as she hikes up my black shirt, exposing my soft mound of a belly to the air, and runs her pudgy fingers, covered in her own many rings, gently lace through my thick, snow white, silky soft, fluffy belly fur. “Have you, though? Have you lost control before? You’ve kept... this... a secret for so long...“ She keeps her half lidded gaze on my belly as she tenderly rubs it, occasionally stopping to encourage my handpaws to continue scratching her head. “You’d always take me to practice in the mornings, then come back at noon with lunch, handed to me in the net of one of my lacrosse sticks; sometimes it would be handmade, sometimes you’d buy it, but you’d always have lunch with me. Then you’d stick around until I had to go home, your bandana, collar’s tags, and/or scarf swishing as you collect my equipment, not even letting me grab a single lacrosse stick.“ I whimper once more as her hands roam all over my belly’s soft and round expanse. “You were always working on that game of yours while I was away, mind you. Somehow, you’d always figure out how to shove every piece into that old Jeep Cherokee Pioneer, not once letting me help you, saying I should rest.“ She kisses me on the nose, causing my eighteen inch tall, royal blue and white, pointed ears to go flat against the back of my head in embarrassment. “E... El... Eluned...“ She silences me with a kiss, one loving and sweet. My ears perk up as she runs a hand lightly over my right saber fang. “We’d then stop to pick up dinner, opting to eat in the car if traffic was late, driving home as the sun starts to set. Once we got home, after you put my lacrosse equipment in the hall closet, I’d help by voice acting for that game of yours, a game you always say will be a big hit for those who like murder mystery visual novels...“ Her voice begins to trail off as she huffs in a forlorn way. “I’ve been sleeping alone for a year now... You always kept saying you were gonna go get some fresh air then get back to work, and that I should just go to bed withoutcha, indicating you were working on that game all night... But that was a lie, huh?“ I look away from her, clearly embarrassed, as her tone goes forlorn. “SpeedRunner... Sweetheart... I haven’t cuddled with you before bed in almost four months... I would never have guessed the reason why I haven’t felt your plump...“ she runs her fingers through the white, fluffy arm fur as she speaks, “round... and doughy soft arms around me as I sleep... Would be because you’re hiding this from me...“ She grabs my love handles as she pulls me into another kiss. “When you had no reason to hide this from me.“ My ears go back against my head again, seeing as I can’t blush, while I wrap my plump, round, soft arms around her as she wraps her equally plump and soft arms around me. “I... I didn’t want to hurt you.“ I timidly reply between kisses. “I didn’t want to scare you... I also didn’t want to...“ I gulped nervously as she kissed along my canine-like jaw and my double chin, mindful of my saber fangs. “Drive you away...“ My tears, which had stopped while she was reflecting back on our usual day’s events, came back with full force as my voice quivered while I spoke. “You can’t get rid of me.“ She purrs as she kisses me on my chubby neck, parting the navy and white mane that was there in order to get better access. “In fact, my favorite movie is Werewolf in London, and, while I’ve never told you this before, you know that picture of a lesbian lycanthrope couple we have in the front hall?“ I nod as I lean back to get a better look at her, her chubby face full of warmth and affection as she smiles that crocked smile of hers I’ve come to know and love. “I had it commissioned as a piece of... us.“ I watch as her chubby cheeks flush crimson. “I’m the rust colored lycan, with darker rust stripes along the spine, neck, and tail, that lycan based off of a coyote...“ She pauses briefly, clearly embarrassed. Gently, she raises my right wing, gently feeling the navy blue feathers that cover the plump limb as she speaks. “I can now see that I was correct about how I thought you’d look as a gorgeous lycan.“ I sniffle, smiling softly as my tears dry up again. My many multicolored and multi sized tails swish softly as I pull her closer, which causes our bellies to noticeably press against each other. “That plump, round, cuddly soft physique that I fell for at first sight, that gentle, loving, and affectionate personality that taught me how to love my own fluffy figure when even my on bro said no one would... Fluffy fur, silky feathers, digitigrade paws, saber fangs, elliptical pupils... All with those same grey-blue eyes, familiar voice, same ash blonde hair, and same soul...“ Eluned pauses, steeling herself. “I will always love you.“ I carefully nuzzle into her neck, mindful of my sharp saber fangs, purring softly at her words. “I love you, too. So much.“ I reply, affection coloring my words. “I’m so sorry I hid this from you... I just wanted to keep you safe.“ She sighs as she pushes me away so she can see my face in all of its chubby, round, lycan glory. “Dude, you’re the lucky one here.“ She swiftly, but gently, taps me on the nose as she says “here“. “What I’d kill to be a lycan. You get to be a lycan version of your fursona, while I only get my dreams...“ I arc an eyebrow at her as her face changes to a more sly and mischievous one. “No!“ I say. “Give it some thought first! Especially since I have no idea how to share the curse without possibly maiming you!“ “Aww!“ She teases. “You sure? It would be a great way to bond as a couple.“ Her sly smirk remains as her tone becomes a more serious one. “But, you’re right. You don’t know what you’re capable in your night form.“ “Yeah, I’d rather not accidentally paralize you because you wanted me to bite you on the back on your neck.“ “Oooh!“ She says, smirking wider, clearly paying more attention to where I said she’d want me to bite her, not what might go wrong. “Kinky.“ “Oh, shut up.“ I purr as I silence her with a kiss of my own. “You and I both know we’re anything but.“ I giggle and smile slightly as she nips at my lower lip. “You and your beloved ace would be slim if we didn’t have kinked souls.“