#grass is not enough i need to be hit in the face with a frying pan and then be sent flying to the sun

[dangerousduckcloud]

Flowerbeds make up for a nice eternal rest

Read it also on AO3

“It’s about the gun.” “You got it working?” Dick’s voice wasn’t clear, munching on something crunchy and loud. “I need to do several tests first, but… Yeah, I think so.”

Chapter 13 < > Chapter 15

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Taking a deep breath, you calmed your racing heart, a feeble attempt to rid of the shaking in your hands, peering at your unsuspecting prey, oblivious to the hell that would rain down upon him any second now.

Tim had helped you set up everything in place, at the moment waiting for him to be done on his side. “Ready?” He whispered. Adrenaline pumping your veins, you nodded, a brief glance at him revealed he was already in place, his body and face impassive, no emotion reflected in them.

Through the lens, you searched for your enemy once more. You felt the need to lay your elbows on the handrail for extra support despite that the stabilizer Tim had given you was enough to balance everything.

He’d move since the last time you locked him in your sight, moving slightly to the left to get your mark into focus, fiddling with the camera on his hands, looking through the photos that were undoubtedly of you.

“On the count of three. Three, two, one… Now!”

The once tidy up man, with a clean white shirt had soon been overwhelmed by splashes of (barely) red, and (mostly) yellow paint covering each centimeter of his body. As expected, Tim’s shots landed on the paparazzi 99% of the time, and while you’d some luck to hit him on the left shoulder and his back, most of your shots ended on the trees and the driveway around.

Cackling like mad, both you and Tim didn’t relent, your anger subsiding with every jump from side to side the man was doing in his attempt to avoid the paint pellets, succeeding the minute he found his car keys —a pristine, beautiful car now your new motivation, as it was an easier target.

Even though it was short-lived, this is probably the most fun you had in a long while.

The moment you couldn’t see the car anymore, you and Tim shared a high-five. “Excuse me.” A cold, gravelly voice behind you chilled every bone in your body, rooted in its place and too afraid to make a movement and bring down Alfred’s ire upon yourself. “Just what do you think you’re doing?”

“It was Tim’s idea!” You blurted out, pointing at him while he looked at you, mouth agape, surprised and rightly betrayed. 

“I don’t care whose idea it was. This is an idiotic, foolish thing you’ve both done. You will clean up the driveway—”

“Jane’s the one that made the whole mess by failing, why should I clean?”

“Oh yeah, I’m sorry, I forgot we all had to be shooting prodigies.”

“You had a stabilizer! And you still failed!”

“Children!” You’d never heard Alfred raise his voice quite like now, his left eye twitching, and the crease between his brows deepening. “I frankly don’t care who failed and who didn’t, you should know better.”

Your cheeks had gotten so red you could fry an egg on them. You’d come to respect Alfred after all your time here, the shame consuming you at seeing him so disappointed in you.

“Yes, Alfred.” Both you and Tim mumbled. Theres was no point in arguing further with him. No one could ever win against him.

The man placed a hand in front of him, wordlessly ordering to hand over the paint guns, complying without a word. “There are buckets and rags in the utility closet in the lower floor. I’d advise you to start now if you do not wish to miss lunch.”

𓆩𓆪𓆩𓆪

“Missed a spot. There.” Cass had woken up from her nap in the middle of you and Tim cleaning, seating herself atop a concrete pillar. You moved towards where she was pointing. The paint had already begun to dry, making it harder to clean, not to mention how hard it was to clean grass, plucking the paint covered parts and letting the wind take them away when you had enough.

“Can’t believe you would out me like that.” Tim grumbled. “I trusted you, Jane. Shame on you.”

“Against Alfred’s ire, it’s every woman for herself.”

Cass chuckled, her feet swinging one after the other, her heels thumping against the column. The cleaning continued in silence up until the distant sound of a car approaching made you three stop, waiting for the car to get closer and see who it was.

Could it be the reporter again? No, this car was different —and clean—, so unless the man was stupid enough to come back and risk getting another car a new paint job, it had to e someone else.

“Brother!” Cass exclaimed when the driver had gotten out of the car, jumping down from the fence straight to Dick’s arms. “I missed you!”

“Aww, I missed you too, Cass.” Dick let go of her, rounding the left opened door of his car, a frown on his face when he noticed you two. “Hey guys, what are you doing?”

“My punishment for being a good person and helping a traitor.”

“I swear, Timothy, I’m going to put salt in your coffee.”

“Oh, so now I’m being threatened. For shame.”

You threw your rag to his face, your less than good aiming not even getting it close to him. Tim broke into a wheezing fit, holding his stomach and balancing himself until his back hit the grass.

“Don’t forget, Drake, I know where you live.” Tim’s chuckles were joined by those of Dick’s.

“I’m definitely missing a lot of context here. I can only gather you’ve been spending a lot of time with Damian, Jane.”

Prepared for Dick’s arrival, Alfred had busied himself with cooking some of Dick’s favorites meals. The kitchen a combination of wonderful smells of dishes you’d never heard of before.

Having meals with so few people felt weird now, having grown accustomed to all the chatter and bickering Damian and mostly Steph would make. Today it was only Dick, Cass, Alfred, and you. Tim had to leave in a hurry after a PR disaster involving a higher up employee —Something about embezzlement or something like that.

“So, what’s space like?” You asked in between bites.

“Oh, you know, just the usual.”

“Unbelievable that not only you went to space, but also other planets and the only thing you can say is ‘Just the usual.”

Dick chuckled.

“You’re right, I’m sorry. Uh.” He took a sip of his drink, clearing his throat. “It’s usually hard to enjoy the scenery when time’s not on your side. Green Lantern was being accused of genocide, and, well, the penalty would be execution if he was guilty, so you’ll understand why we were so desperate to find out what was going on.”

“Did he do it?”

“Of course not. He thought he did it, as an accident, but someone was trying to frame him. They used holograms to make it seem like the planet was destroyed.”

“That’s horrible! Why would someone do that?”

“In simpler words? Power.”

Just how taxing is it to be a superhero or a vigilante? To have the weight of the world on your shoulders, to constantly be risking your life for people that most likely wouldn’t even give you the time of day on a normal afternoon. How can they keep their heads cool knowing that if they fail, it’s literally quite possible for their whole word to cease to exist?

“So,” Dick spoke again. “How much did you and Tim messed up to get reprimanded like that?”

You groaned, letting your head dramatically fall to the table. Cass was laughing and you could hear the awfully loud sigh of disappointment from Alfred.

“In my defense, it was an extremely disgusting article.”

𓆩𓆪𓆩𓆪

Just like Tim said, no one else, be it the newspapers, gossip shows or any random citizen in social media even mentioned the article. Your appearance in the media had practically gone unnoticed.

After your whole explanation to Dick, —and after his disgust had passed— he assured you as well Bruce’s reputation would not be tainted, a fact you confirmed with each hour that passed and nothing else came up.

However, he stressed that if you still wanted, you could sue them for slander. Or they could, since getting involved in that kind of legal issues would bring a whole new wave of unnecessary worries and attention from the public eye to the Wayne’s, mainly; you don’t exist. Not legally, at least.

You let it be. No need to bring unwanted attention to the family.

              | Why are my classmates asking about you?

Oh, you hadn’t thought about telling Damian. Nor how he would take to the article.

              | Because I’m so cool and awesome and everyone wants to hang out with me? ;)

              | And why are they calling you my mother?

              | I’ll tell you, alright? Just, trust me, it’s nothing. Tim and I took care of it. https://www.gotham.weekly/bruce-wayne’s-biological...

You were actually scared of how he would react, knowing the kid, he would probably make a surprise appearance at the newspaper’s HQ with his swords and threaten everyone inside.

He was taking a while to reply. Was he on his way to the manor or did he have some kind of retractable swords he carried anywhere? You wouldn’t be surprised.

Or maybe he simply was caught texting during class.

Honestly, both were quite possible. Still, you wouldn’t try to call him in case he was actually in class, paying attention or something. You tapped on the article’s link one more time. Even if it was revolting the things people would write for engagement, and you would unfortunately remember this incident every time you looked at them, you needed to download the photos, ignoring the motives as to why they were taken, they were still nice pictures. And you would print all the photos that you could before going back, something to remind you all of this wasn’t a dream.

Your heart sank the moment you opened the link, and it sent you to the white, ‘404 not found’ screen.

  ��           | I took care of it.

Oh. Well, that was... Quite a better reaction than you expected.

              | Thank you, Dami :)! Wish I’d saved the photos first, tho.

              | image1.jpg, image2.jpg.

𓆩𓆪𓆩𓆪

As soon as Damian had discovered Dick had come back, he wandered to him like a magnet, never leaving his side. Every time you walked near them, the only thing you could hear was Damian narrating him all the things he did while he was gone.

You were relieved Damian had all but forgotten about your ‘lessons’, you loved he wanted to teach you how to protect yourself, but your body was still extremely sore, and hurting, and you wouldn’t be able to handle another night of practice.

Walking down the corridor to your room, you were ready to call it quits for the day, even if it was early. The living room was usually empty at this hour, with everyone in the house getting ready down in the cave for patrol, that’s why, when a familiar set of voices mentioning a very particular word reached your ears, curiosity sparked in you.

“It’s about the gun.”

“You got it working?” Dick’s voice wasn’t clear, munching on something crunchy and loud.

“I need to do several tests first, but… Yeah, I think so.”

“That’s great, Timmy!”

“Yeah…” Tim’s voice was gravelly, lacking the same enthusiasms his older brother had. “But Jane…”

“I know, I’ll miss her too. But she has her own life to go back to.”

“It’s not that, Dick—I, the math, I did it—”

You stopped listening the moment Damian turned the corner, a brow raised and coming to a halt when he saw you. Alfred the cat was calmly perched on his arms, jumping down at the lack of movement, stretching for a second before walking away.

With a nervous smile, you walked to him, away from the living room. “Why were you spying on my brothers?” Well, at least he’s calling Tim his brother.

“I wasn’t—”

“You were.”

“They were talking about that alien gun thing, and my world, was I not supposed to listen?”

“There is something called privacy,” The crease on his forehead deepened. “even if you are the topic of their talk. They will let you know when they are ready to do so.”

You opened your mouth, but no words left, whatever futile retort dying on your tongue. It was a whole level of humiliating to being scolded by a ten-year-old, even if that kid was Damian. Because, yeah, even if it wasn’t your intention at first, you were listening in. But it truly was impossible not to when weeks had gone by and not a single peep had been said about your situation. Whenever you brought it up with Tim, his ever-ready response was ‘working on it.’ Each time. Nothing more, nothing less.

And he was working on it, there was no doubt about it, even if he was doing so purely to get his dad back, or to help you as well, it didn’t matter.

But you were starting to feel uneasy for a second time, just like your first days here. There was something in the way he always said it; unsure, distant, avoiding your gaze while changing the topic. So, yeah, sue you for wanting to be in the know.

“How was school?”

“Bearable.” You chuckled, walking alongside him up the stairs leading to the second floor, the sun setting in the horizon. “I researched the clubs per your request.”

“Suggestion, Damian. Suggestion.”

“There is a voluntary program in an animal shelter, Friday evenings. And… It is not for students only. Anyone can go.”

“You’re saying you want me to go with you?”

“If that is what it takes to keep you from snooping around.”

He said it so nonchalantly, an afterthought, yet you noticed through the reflection of one of the mirrors in the hall how he kept glancing at you.

“Of course I’ll be there.”

His shy, small smile almost made you want to pinch his cheeks like an old lady, but you still appreciated having an un-broken hand, settling for messing up his hair.

𓆩𓆪𓆩𓆪

You’d been here for weeks, and the beds at Wayne Manor still felt so surreal as your first night here. The satin bedsheets were still as smooth as ever, the pillows were never hot, no matter how high the temperature was, and in all, you always slept like a baby.

You wondered if they had some kind of magic in them to be so damn comfortable all the time.

Considering just who this house belongs to, you wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case.

Every night you would fall asleep as soon as your head hit the pillow, not waking up until your alarm went off. This morning was different; a soft, but repetitive thud, thud against the window woke you from your slumber. Sluggishly, you grabbed a cushion to place over your ear to muffle the sound of whatever bird thought your room was the perfect place to be annoying.

It seemed luck was not on your side, the noise getting louder and faster. You groaned, throwing the cushion and blanket to the side, tapping the cold floor with your feet to find your slippers in the dark. A quick look to your phone, eyes squinting at the bright screen, revealed it was fifteen to five. Not even five in the morning. When you slid open the curtains, you expected to see a spooked bird flying away.

There was a bird. Just not the type you expected.

Sitting on the window’s ledge, a raised hand ready to knock once again, hanging in the air at noticing the curtain moving, a soft smile replaced his calm look once he took in your disheveled hair and sleepy hair.

You, on the other hand, had an opposite reaction, an audible gasp escaping you, covering your mouth with both hands a second later, turning to face the door and see if anyone had heard you.

“What are you doing?” As much as you wanted to yell at him, you had to do it in whispers, doing so right after you unlatched the lock to open the window, sticking your head out, a shiver running down your body caused by the chilly morning breeze, your knee-length shorts and sleeveless shirt not suited to properly warm you.

“Told you I’ll take you on a date.”

“At five in the morning?”

“Yep.”

You moved to the side when he got up from the edge to get inside your room, your heart skipping a beat at seeing him crouched so unbothered, half of his feet resting on air. You knew he had incredible balance and reflexes, but you couldn’t suppress the need to step forward and grab him so he wouldn’t fall. You didn’t do anything of the sorts, instead letting the cold air keeping for face fixed from the crisis your mind was going through.

“I promise it’s going to be worth it.” His feet landed without a sound, closing the window behind him.

“It’s going to be worth it. I promise.”

“All guys say the same thing, you know.”

“I’m not like other guys.” As soon as the words left his lips, his grin turned into a grimace, and you were a spectator of how hard he was cringing internally, hiding his hands in the pockets of his sweatshirt. Which, you now noticed, he wasn’t wearing his Red Hood suit, but simply jeans and a red sweatshirt. The tips of his hair were wet, yet when you looked out the window, the cobbled paths and grass lighted up by the garden lamps were dry.

To help him avoid more embarrassment, you asked once again.

“What could be worth it at this hour?”

He sat on the edge of your bed, fiddling with the straps of his hood. Even sitting down, you still weren’t taller than him, instead now being eye level.

“Trust me. Just change into something warm and comfortable.”

You took one last look at him before walking into your closet, gathering in your arms an outfit like his, a pair of jeans and a basic gray jumper. On your way to the bathroom, you pretended to be cleaning the sweater from invisible dust. What were you supposed to do if he was also looking at you? Smile? Say something? Look intently at him like a weirdo?

Before you could completely close the door, you heard him talk to himself, “‘Not like other guys?’ Seriously?” His groan drowned the click of the door closing, a smile on your face. It seems you’re not the only one nervous tonight.

Letting go of the door knob, you exhaled. You have no clue what he’s planning to do, and your sleep laded brain couldn’t conjure up any plausible or logical idea. And the time it was taking you to get ready was making you self-conscious on top of already feeling anxious and giddy, but you simply cannot go out with Jason with practically a bird nest on your hair, and never in a million years would you kiss him with morning breath.

That last thought made you pause halfway through putting your hair up with a bat-shaped hair claw —a claw Cass had gifted you the only time you went out to the mall.

That wasn’t going to happen, would it? There was no reason for him... What if he’s just— Oh who are you kidding? Why else would he take you on a date at the crack of dawn? Why bother if he’s not going after something? So, he was going to kiss you. Maybe.

But why did that hurt more than it made you happy?

“You ready?” He asked when you left the bathroom. With a nod of affirmation, he stood up, opening the door for you.

You didn’t even want to breathe, thinking that every exhale would be loud enough to be heard throughout the manor, your steps were cautious, deliberate, and slow. Meanwhile, Jason was already waiting for you at the end of the corridor, his steps made no sound, his training so ingrained in his mind and body it was second nature to move like a shadow, even if he wasn’t doing it on purpose. It was impressive, honestly.

“Slowpoke.” He whispered when you were in his reach.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t take bat-training when I was twelve, they didn’t offer it at my school.”

Jason chuckled. “Come on, or we’ll be late.”

Late for what, you wondered? If anything, you would be too early for everything.

It got easier to walk the farther you got from all the rooms, getting out of the manor through a sliding door that led to the garden, from there walking like normal to the driveway.

“Now what?” You asked, there was no way this wouldn’t wake them up, as you knew how loud the fence mechanism was. Jason said nothing, instead walking towards you and placing a hand on your waist.

“Don’t scream.”

“Huh?”

Before you could react, he pulled a grappling gun from his pocket, pointing it to a sturdy tree branch and firing it in less than a second. Your feet left the ground, going higher and higher, feeling the strength of gravity trying to pull you down, only succeeding once you were over the fence and falling to the other side.

“I’m honestly impressed, most people scream their first time.” You didn’t tell him it was because you were too stunned to react. But you would admit it was an amazing experience. “Come.”

He gestured for you to follow him. The darkness brought in your terrible memories, walking as close as you could to Jason, not wanting the shadows to consume you. Of course, the proximity meant your hands would graze each other with every step, the feeling grounding you and not letting your fears to overwhelm you.

Besides endless rows of trees spaced out so evenly they didn’t look real, there wasn’t much else around. The moonlight shone above the grass; the light being reflected by the morning dew.

You wanted to know so badly what was going on inside his head, daring only once to cast a rapid glance at him, his face calm, eyes focused on the road ahead, as if searching for something. You wanted to know what holding his hand again would be like, without the lingering fear and anxiety of waking up from a Fear Gas induced nightmare.

After the umpteenth time your knuckles brushed against his, you finally took hold of his pinky finger with yours, waiting with bated breath to see his reaction. You felt your lips shyly curve into a smile when he intertwined his fingers with yours, his grip strong enough to make you feel safe and secure, as though nothing could ever take you away from him.

“I—Uh.” He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry ‘bout the walk, had to make sure no one would hear my bike.”

“No, it’s alright. This is nice. Peaceful.”

It didn’t take long until you could see the form of a bike partially hidden in the bushes off road. There wasn’t any kind of modifications or enhancements you could see, it was your simply, standard sport motorcycle you could buy anywhere, two helmets dangling from one of the handles.

Jason, sadly, let go of your hand, your body already missing the warmth. He grabbed one of the helmets, and you hand your hand outstretched, waiting for him to hand it to you, yet he kept getting closer until you could feel his body heat.

“Sorry, I’ll have to…” He removed the hair claw, letting your hair loosely fall. It seemed he was going to say something else when he noticed the shape of the claw, releasing a deep chuckle. “This is cute.” He closed the teeth around the base of the hood, continuing with putting the helmet on your head, fumbling with the strap to get it to latch —and his wandering touches on your chin did not go unnoticed. He pulled up the visor once he was done, opening and closing his mouth a few times. “Is it tight?”

You blinked once, not believing what he just said. Out of nowhere. So bold. “Sorry?”

“The helmet, I’m not sure if I tied it too tight.”

You should get your head out of the gutter. “Oh.” Your cheeks were red, surely because of the cold. “No, it’s perfect.”

“Great.” He turned around to grab his helmet, and while he had his back to you, you let yourself have a bit of a meltdown in silence, placing your hands over your head, feeling plastic instead of your hair which you wanted to pull.

He was just getting on the bike by the time you were done, and you gingerly did the same, your arms rounding up his torso. Even with his layers of clothes, you could still feel how sturdy it was. After he made sure your visor was down once again, he turned on the ignition, swiftly gaining speed.

Rows of trees soon gave way to the outlines of the city, its tall skyscrapers blending with the dark night. Since Bristol was situated on a hill, you were able to see most of the city’s districts, a specific area to your right with so many lights on it seemed as if it was just the afternoon and not early morning.

“That’s Old Gotham.” Jason seemed to read your mind. “It’s kinda like Gotham’s own Vegas; casinos, strip clubs, night clubs, motels… Anything you could imagine opened late at night, it’s there.”

You grimaced at the thought of having a first date in a dingy, smelly casino, highly opposed to what you would’ve preferred. However, you never got close, the lights in fact getting further away.

After several minutes, he finally pulled over in a parking lot beneath what you assumed were apartments, taking the helmet from you, holding one on his hand and the other under his arm. He began walking, yet you took that chance to use the bike’s mirrors to try and comb your hair with your fingers —frozen fingers, mind you. Angling yourself in the perfect spot for the fluorescent lights to illuminate you fully. “You coming?”

He chuckled. This time, Jason didn’t hesitate on holding your hand.

“So, where are we?” You asked while waiting for the elevator to come down. He looked at you sideways, with that damned grin you loved so much, his hair all over the place as he didn’t bother to fix it, yet he still looked great, probably even better.

“Just a special place.”

The ‘ding’ announcing the elevator’s arrival echoed through the mostly empty parking lot, pressing the highest button to go all the way to the roof. During the whole time, he never let go of your hand, his thumb caressing yours and his hold tightening for a moment as if to prove you were still there.

Feeling boldened by his actions, you let your head rest on his shoulder, your eyes focused on the led screen displaying the floor you were in, twenty two, so far, the number going higher and higher seemingly without a want to stop.

“So, this is where the mighty Hood comes to rest?”

“Kinda, yeah.” He chuckled, but you noticed it wasn’t exactly a humorous laugh, rather a nervous one. You let your eyes wander around; there was a small camera on one of the corners behind you, but it didn’t look anything sophisticated, just a regular surveillance camera that most likely still recorded in black and white, without audio, but just on the off chance that you were wrong, you would leave the vigilante life topics for another day, in a safer place. Glancing down to your joined hands, a beaming smile made its appearance yet another time tonight, balancing yourself on the soles of your shoes. “Someone’s excited.”

“Well, I need to be moving or else I’ll fall asleep. You know, because it’s five in the freaking morning.”

“We’re almost there… Ah, close your eyes.”

“Why?”

But instead of replying, he let go of your hand, getting behind you and covering your eyes with his hands. You didn’t even get the chance to see in which floor you’d ended before the ding of the elevator was heard, the doors opening and welcoming the strong, freezing wind biting at your uncovered skin. So, you’re outside once again.

Jason was calmly guiding you, and even though you knew he wouldn’t walk you to the edge of the floor, your steps were still shaky, arms and hands outstretched in front of you as to not collide with anything. “Can’t you just—”

“You can open them, now.” His hands fell from your face to your shoulders, and a breath escaped you from what’s in front of you.

On a raised platform there was a small, rectangular patch of grass with beautiful red roses and bushes around, a fluffly red and white blanket with a woven basket keeping it on the ground, fake candles illuminating the still dark sky.

When you turned around to look at Jason, to see anything in him to let you know this was indeed meat for you, he still had another surprise in his hands. “Flowers, in my opinion, are a must. But since you said no flowers, well...” He handed you a chocolate bouquet with peonies and tulips made with chocolate. “I’m sorry it took me so long, but I wanted to find the perfect rooftop and… Was it too much?”

He panicked when tears began prickling your eyes, his hands holding your shoulders to comfort you. You wanted to talk, to answer it wasn’t too much that it was perfect, to say something. But your emotions got the best of you. It brought up all your past pains and experiences, all your heartbreaks and disappointments.

It brought up that perfect remainder that you could very well go back to your earth tomorrow, and you would never be able to talk to them.

Through the tears, now free falling, you looked up, his face full of worry, and confusion, and embarrassment, and unease. You placed your hands on his jaw, face not even twitching at your cold fingers. “Thank you.” You whispered. He, in turn, smiled, kissing your forehead.

“Come, you won’t want to miss this.”

You nodded, using the back of your hands to rid you of the tears, letting Jason guide you once again and sitting down next to him on the warm blanket, just in time to see the golden rays of sunshine shine on the city.

[nicolemcrtin]

A reassuring smile took over Nicole's features, softening with Malia's laughter. Nicole was a lot of things, however, motherly instincts probably isn't what first comes to mind. But she's good at advice she can't take herself. "Gotta go easy on yourself." The image of little Leilani dancing around was enough to have her laughing. "Do you have a video? I love when they learn silly little quirks from those movies! Just not the frying pan bit from Tangled." Her gaze shifted to the blade of grass that was being toyed with between Malia's fingers, silently watching as she contemplated. "I don't believe there's an emoji that will convey all those emotions, maybe the angry face?" Her laugh this time was short lived, instead transitioning to a gentle smile. "Listen, she's a little too smart for her own good. God save us all when she hits the teenage years. That's when you'll need more than just my advice. And hey, if you need any back up, I'm here to help. Can't tell you how far I'd get but you have support in it all. Promise."

Malia giggled at Nicole’s motherhood wisdom, pushing back a stray strand of hair. “For real though, we’re both total newbies at this,” she said, stretching out on the grass. Her face brightened at the Madagascar reference. “Girl, yes! It’s on repeat at our place. Lei does this thing where she waddles around like Gloria, shaking her little butt. It’s literally the cutest.” She let out a snort-laugh about the jellyfish signs. “We’d need, like, the most basic stick figures ever. And definitely some emojis. Because who doesn’t understand a big red X?” Her expression shifted when they returned to the dad topic. Taking in Nicole’s advice, she played with the grass between her fingers. “Real talk - that’s some solid advice. Being honest is probably the way to go. The astronaut story would be super fun though. But nah, you’re right about keeping it real. Besides, this kid’s already giving me a pop quiz about birds and sky colors. She’d call me out on my space stories.” Motherhood was a hard gig, especially for someone handling it alone. “For real, Nicole, thanks for keeping it straight with me. Sometimes I need someone to tell me I’m not completely failing at this mom thing.”

[redrobbingabank]

The Kids are Not Alright

Tommy was in his house when the sirens started. He’d been visiting Shroud. It was a good day. Now, cold, indescribable terror is flooding through him as he sits on the floor, head pressed between his knees. Rocking back and forth, Tommy drags in breath after breath and never registers the oxygen. 

Dream escaped. Dream escaped. Holy fucking shit, Dream escaped.

Sam had promised. He’d promised that wouldn’t happen. Pandora’s Vault was the most secure place on the server, the only place Dream couldn’t get out of. He’d been so sure of it that he’d been willing to let Tommy rot inside to protect its integrity.

He should have known it wasn’t true. 

He needed to get up. He couldn’t get up. He needed to run. He could hardly breathe. He had to get Tubbo and Ranboo out. He didn’t know where they were. The sirens were still screaming, screaming, screaming.

There were tears on his cheeks. “No, no no no no no no no,” Tommy murmured, finally bringing himself to look up at Shroud. The spider was unaffected, watching him from the ceiling. He focused on Shroud, and slowly, slowly, his breathing evened. 

He had to get Tubbo. Dream was probably looking for him oh god Dream was probably already looking for him breathe breathe breathe, he had to get Tubbo and Ranboo and Wilbur thought Dream was good run far, far away.

He shoved himself to his feet, turned on his heel, and ran at full tilt for the tunnel to Snowchester. They had to get away this time. They had to. He couldn’t survive it again.

Las Nevadas was quiet, for a casino town. Tubbo served plenty of burgers, for sure, but today it was empty except for the inhabitants, eating lunch alone despite knowing each other for months. It looked a bit stupid to him, everyone sitting alone at a table with nothing to occupy them but their food, silence reigning.

The exception was Fundy. He sat at the bar, holding a drink Tubbo wasn’t entirely sure he was old enough to serve and ignoring his burger. 

“So you’ve been here for like… what, three weeks?” he asked Tubbo. There were massive bags under his eyes. Tubbo didn’t think he’d ever seen his old colleague look so bad. Well, he guessed they were colleagues again.

“Yeah.” Tubbo shrugged and stole a fry. Quackity wasn’t there to yell at him. “You?”

“Few months.” Fundy sounded like he had to drag every word out of his mouth, slumping to prop his head up with a hand. “I don’t even know how he found me. I was living pretty far away.”

Tubbo nodded silently. He glanced over at the table in the corner, where Purpled was definitely eavesdropping. He was too tense, his head turned a little too far to be normal for someone minding their own business. 

The doors slammed open so hard the glass cracked. Tubbo whipped around, half expecting DreamXD himself to enter, but it was only Quackity. 

Maybe not only. Tubbo’s friend’s face was wild, a maniacal smile fixed on his mouth that reminded Tubbo of that day on the mountain with Dream. He took half a step back. Fundy, who’d flinched at the noise, was eyeing the counter like he had half a mind to jump over it to hide.

“Everyone’s in here, right?” Quackity looked around, doing a quick headcount. “Great.” A scarily gleeful laugh bubbled up. “Team meeting, everyone! Gather round, everyone!”

Fundy, Foolish, and Slime all complied pretty quickly, with varying degrees of bounciness. Purpled and Tubbo took a few moments longer, giving Quackity wary glances before slowly moving towards the center table. Tubbo pulled off his apron and left it on the counter. His hand itched to hold his sword.

Hair had come out of Quackity’s beanie, now resting only halfway on his head. He ran a hand through it, looking around at them all. “So, I don’t know if you’ve noticed––” His voice rang out, echoing off the diner’s walls “––But Dream’s escaped.”

He kept talking, but Tubbo didn’t hear, frozen and listening. His ears were always ringing, ever since the festival. It was an ever-present reminder of the explosions. But as he focused, letting himself hear all of it, the sounds separated. 

There was the ringing that was always there, electric and loud. Then there was the quieter, more distant, more urgent ring of the Vault’s sirens.

Ranboo. Tommy. Michael. Snowchester. 

Quackity must have been too absorbed in his rant, because he didn’t stop Tubbo as he walked, trancelike, out of the diner. The sun hit him hard. He blinked in the direction of the burger van. Empty. Ranboo usually visited Michael around this time. Snowchester it was, then.

It wasn’t hard to leave Las Nevadas behind. Tubbo had never gotten anything from it past a paycheck. It felt empty, a cooperation where L’Manberg had been a family. 

His family wasn’t here. Tubbo needed to make sure they were safe

There was dust on Ranboo’s armor. It was always like that after a mining trip. He’d have to clean it soon, but at the moment he was too tired, and it was time to visit Michael. 

The snow in the Arctic Commune reflected sunlight directly into his eyes as he stepped outside, but Ranboo was used to it. He was not used to the people who greeted him. Techno and Phil stood on the bridge between their houses. Techno and Phil. It had been months since Techno left, and the worry that had been accumulating broke away like a chunk of ice. Ranboo dropped the grass block he’d been messing with.

“Techno!” he called, running through the snow to reach them. His legs sank down to the shins in the drifts.

Techno turned around at the decidedly clumsy approach. He looked like he hadn’t seen the sun in weeks, but when he saw Ranboo, he grinned. “Hello,” he called back. 

Ranboo dashed up the steps and stopped in front of him. “Where were you, man?” he asked, slightly out of breath.

Phil and Techno exchanged a look. “I’ve been gathering intel,” Techno said finally. “I’m gonna tell everyone about it, but we need to get Niki here so everyone can hear.”

“Oh. Alright.” Ranboo started to move back in the direction of the portal. “I’ve got some stuff I need to take care of in the SMP, so, uh…” he glanced at Phil, who knew where he was really going, and finger-gunned in the portal’s direction. “I’m gonna head out.”

“Cool. Oh, wait, Ranboo!” Techno said quickly.

“Yeah.”

“Just, uh. You’ve got problems with Dream, right?” 

Instantly, Ranboo’s skin started crawling. He dragged his thoughts away from the panic room, from Mellohi, from the voice that wasn’t Dream, and the visit Sam said he made. He nodded slightly. “Yeah?”

“Right. Uh, I’m gonna need you to trust me here, dude. When you get to the SMP, someone might tell you Dream’s out of the prison.” Phil looked sharply at him. Ranboo stopped breathing, and Techno held up his hands quickly. “Woah, woah, calm down, it’s fine. He’s not actually out. They just think he is, I promise. I saw him in there myself, okay?”

Did the world feel like it was collapsing in on itself? Yes. But did Ranboo trust Techno to tell him the truth? Yes. 

Ranboo backed down the stairs and picked up a grass block from beneath the snow. He held it close to his chest. “You promise?”

“Cross my heart and hope to die, Ranboo.” Techno looked him dead in the eye. “Dream is still in the prison.”

“Then I trust you.” Ranboo turned towards Snowchester. “I really have to go now, though.” He had to find Tubbo and Tommy and make sure they were safe. He had to tell them it wasn’t real. “See you.”

Nerves battled with determination as Ranboo started the trek through the snow, then decided it would take too long and pulled out his ender pearls. Techno would explain, but until then, he’d probably stay away from the prison. He didn’t know what the sirens would do if he heard them.

[neonacity]

HYACINTHE | Chapter 2: Jaemin x Reader

Summary: 

Na Jaemin is far from being your typical 20 year old. Instead of slaving through college, he wastes away his hours cracking safes. Weekends that should be spent partying with friends consist of illegal races on good days and small scale bombings on bad ones. Na Jaemin is far from being average, unless you consider being a member of Seoul’s top organized crime family normal.

There is no such thing as a sense of normality and peace in his trainwreck of a life, so when he met a barista who was brave enough to call out his dangerous taste in coffee, he was like a moth to the flame. Everything about her is normal, which means she is forbidden to him, in all sense of the word. So why, then, does he always find himself at the front steps of her shop, breaking all his personal rules even if he wishes he could stay away?

A/N + Disclaimer: this is a side story to Black Daisies, my main mafia fic feat. 0T23. While the plot is based on the main story, this can also be read as a standalone fic. As usual, this is purely a work of fiction and in no way am I implying any member of NCT to behave the way I write them here. tw: crimes, heists, potential death, mentions of drugs and other illegal activities.

PAIRING: Jaemin x Reader

CHAPTER 1

FIC TRAILER

MASTERLIST

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

"So you want to be a doctor?" Jaemin asked as he took a bite off the crust of his pepperoni and cheese pizza. He could have easily eaten it like any other person, but of course, he refuses to be normal and chooses to do even this his way.

I shrugged and tucked my legs under me with a sigh. We were currently sitting on an expansive field of grass overlooking a cluster of abandoned factories, the first place that Jaemin actually asked me to hangout with other than his regular visits in the cafe. It was a couple of minutes of drive away from the city—and is honestly kinda sketchy looking—but at twilight, the place transforms into a peaceful sea of green with the clear night sky watching over it. 

"I'm trying to be a doctor. A surgeon, to be exact." 

He turned and gazed at me quietly for a few seconds, his slice of pizza halfway into his mouth.

"Trying?"

"Yes. Getting into the medical field… It's tough. And expensive. I can take the endless studying, but the money… that can be so hard to get by sometimes."

"Why? How much is it?" He asked innocently, a small frown etched between his eyebrows. Jaemin wasn't lying when he said he doesn't know how to do friends. In fact, there's a lot of things he doesn't seem to know. Normal ones too, almost as if he lives in a bubble of his own. It has always intrigued me, how someone can be so out of touch with things, but of course I never took it against him. 

"Hmm… really expensive. Usually students like me can get loans but that will have us strapped into long years of paying them off even after finishing our studies. I did get a partial scholarship though so that helps, but the day to day academic expenses are just expensive so you know…"

"Doesn't your job at the cafe cover that?"

"No way," I answered quickly with a short laugh. "Well, barely. But it isn't comfortable. If I want to get a side gig that can pay for everything, I might as well work at a strip club. Or find a sugar daddy," I answered off-handedly as I popped a french fry into my mouth. 

"You don't want to go to strip clubs. They're dangerous."

I choked a little at how seriously he said that. 

"Why do you sound like you know so much about them?" I grinned and teasingly wriggled my brows at him. He didn't answer, taking another bite of his pizza instead. 

"Just… don't even think of doing that, okay?"

"Jaemin, do you really think I can pass off as a stripper? Relax. I know that's one job I'm underqualified for."

"Overqualified. You're too pretty to be one."

He said that so casually I didn't even know what hit me until he had moved on to another topic. 

"You know if you need money, I can help."

I gave him an odd look, still reeling from that compliment he just gave. 

"How?"

"I can give you money." 

I blinked at him.

"In exchange for what?"

"Nothing. I can just give you money."

I stared at him like he had grown another head. 

"Why?"

He looked at me like I was asking such a common sense question. 

"Because you need it."

"Jaemin, you're not my sugar daddy. Is this how you always offer help to your friends? Because I am seriously so concerned for you right now."

"Well, if you want, I can also be your sugar—"

I slapped his arm before he could even finish what he was trying to say. 

"Ow! That is not very sugar baby-like of you."

"I'm going to wring your neck, I swear." 

He flashed me his grin and dropped himself back on the grass, his arms behind his head. It was dark, but the moon threw just enough light on the curves of his face to compliment his features. His eyes twinkled back at the stars looking down on us and I forced myself to look away after realizing how much my heart started beating harder in my chest just by staring at him. 

I don't know when I started feeling this way towards him, but it is for sure not the first time I noticed where my emotions were going. It is odd… how these things happen. One day everything was going well like normal, until all of a sudden there is a skipping of a pulse after a smile, a flushing of the cheeks when he laughs. Everything is normal, until one day, it's all just free fall. 

Of course, I'm not stupid enough to do anything about it though. Jaemin has been nothing but a good friend, but the fact that I still know nothing about him is a big factor, at least for me. Lately, I felt like he was trying to open up more of his world to me—case in point, these quick escapes to this field—but there are still barriers there, walls that seem too steep to be broken down. 

"I wanted to be a surgeon too…" 

His voice was so quiet that I barely caught it when he spoke again. I looked back at him and caught the pensive look on his face, the same one he would always have whenever he thinks nobody is looking his way—that expression of longing that seems to overwhelm him every time he retreats into his own world. 

"You can still be one though… it's not too late yet," I whispered as I leaned back so that I was laying beside him. I rolled to my side to face him better, my eyes scanning his moon-washed features.  

He chuckled and briefly looked at me. 

"I wish it could be that easy, but it's really complicated."

"Why?"

He rolled on his side as well so that we were facing each other. The stare he gave me was so intense, it felt like he was pouring his heart out to me, except he can't do it with words. I tried my hardest to meet his gaze, my own way of telling him that he can if he wanted to... That I am his safe space.

"Didn't we agree on not asking questions?" He asked in a soft whisper. 

"I never agreed to such a thing." 

"But you've been trying your best." 

That made me purse my lips. My gaze moved away from his momentarily as I tried to weigh my words. 

"Until when can I not ask questions…?"

"Until when can I ask you to do it without you leaving me…?"

Our eyes met again. In that exact moment, I knew we were both on the same page despite the unsaid words and the secrets. 

"Until I can, Jaemin."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

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

"Hi, hi! What's your specialty here?" 

It took me about three seconds to register the boy currently beaming at me by the counter. I was going through some inventory so I had my back turned to the door for a little bit but I sure was expecting to hear the small bell by the entrance ding to alert me of new customers. I was about to open my mouth to answer when another boy strolled towards us, coming from the area where we have our pastries on display. There were… two of them I didn't notice? 

"Yah, Chenle. They have cheese bread. Buy me some." 

I softly cleared my throat and tried to plaster on my well-practiced service smile.

"Um… hi. Welcome to Brick and Beans. Would you like to have a cold or hot drink? I can recommend our best-sellers for each." 

"What does Jaemin-hyung usually order?"

My smile dropped and I stared at the duo in front of me. Who are these kids? 

"I'm Jisung and this is Chenle. We're Jaemin-hyung's friends."

The taller of the two answered as he seemed to have picked up my confused expression. I nodded slowly, my eyes scanning the visitors. They look just a little bit younger than Jaemin, maybe about two to three years tops, as noticeable from their more careless, youthful air.

"Did… Jaemin recommend our place?" 

The pair exchanged glances before they both broke into giggles.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that."

"What the hell are you two doing here?”

The three of us whipped our heads towards the source of the voice by the door. Standing there was Jaemin, his face tensed as he stared at the two boys in front of me. It’s obvious from the looks of his reaction that he did not, at all, recommend this place to his friends. 

I was about to call out to him when the door pushed open behind him again to reveal two other boys.

“Yah… I told you to distract him, Jeno-hyung!” Chenle whined while Jisung pointed at his friend as if silently telling everyone that it was all his idea in the first place. The one I assume is called Jeno shrugged and dug his hands deeper into his pockets. He looked almost the same age as Jaemin but with a more muscular build that reminded me of some of the athletes at my uni. 

“I tried. Haechan slipped. Go blame him.” 

My gaze moved to the other one standing on Jaemin’s right at that moment. He is a little shorter than the other two boys crowding the door but there is something about him that seems wilder than the two. His eyes sparkled as they met mine and his lips twisted up into a slight smirk as he knocked back the lollipop he had into the other side of his mouth. He crossed the space between the entrance and the counter quickly with long quick strides and leaned his hand into Chenle’s shoulder to peer down on me. 

“Ah, so that’s why this is your favorite place, Jaem. How selfish of you to keep it all to yourself~” 

“Um…” 

Jaemin finally moved to approach us quickly, his eyes moving between me and the three boys in front of my counter. The boy called Jeno wandered into the cafe, looking at the bags of beans and tea packs we have on display at the far side. 

“I’m sorry, I had no idea they were coming,” he told me apologetically, his face strained. I couldn’t really understand why he was so worried but I gave him a smile to assure him that everything is fine. 

“Hey, it’s okay. I have no customers anyway so I’m glad your friends came over.”

I have a feeling there is more to his anxiousness than I could understand. 

“She’s right. We’re just here to have some coffee,” the boy, Haechan, said as he winked at me. “So what do you recommend, miss? I won’t have anything Jaemin loves to get, if it means having his death concoction.

That made me laugh a bit. Jaemin’s frown deepened.

“Well, we have really good Chia tea and some hot chocolate. Our cocoa is sourced from the Philippines so—”

“According to online reviews, their blueberry cheesecake is bomb,” said a new voice that followed the opening of the cafe door for the third time in the past ten minutes. All of us looked around to see a new visitor with black and blonde hair falling over his eyes. His thin frame was covered by a light jacket and he glanced up from his phone to talk to us as if he was right there with us from the beginning.

“Do you have it right now?” 

“Uh… yes.”

“Seriously, who else did you crackheads invite?” 

Jaemin turned to Haechan and the rest of the guys with an expression I couldn’t quite paint.

His answer came with the cafe door dinging open again. 

“Yo, man. Am I late?”

Jaemin gave one look at the boy with blue hair, groaned, and cursed silently to himself. 

-----------

“Go back there and hangout with your friends,” I nudged Jaemin slightly by the shoulders as he continued to fume silently beside me. I was finishing the orders of the group and he seemed to still be adamant in keeping his distance from them for as long as he can. 

“I don’t hangout with assholes.” 

I chuckled. He looked like a toddler throwing a tantrum.

“Hey, language. Why are you so pressed, anyway? They just came by to visit. I’m glad I have customers.” 

For a moment, I thought he was not going to give me any answers again. Jaemin simply stared  at me, his arms crossed over his chest for a few full heartbeats. 

“I don’t think I should get you any deeper into my life as it is,” he finally said quietly, voice just loud enough for me to hear over the humming of the espresso machine. I looked up at him, surprised by his words and the fact that he actually replied to my question. 

“I suppose I cannot ask what that means…?” 

He gave me a small tight smile. Just then, the microwave beeped to tell me that the food I was heating was ready. We both looked at it and Jaemin took the chance to push himself off the counter he was leaning on to grab a tray. 

“I’ll take care of it. We’re making your job harder today, at least let me help serve those dorks.”

I nodded and wordlessly let him put some of the drinks on his tray. I did the finishing touches on the blueberry cheesecake the guy called Renjun ordered before loading it on mine. 

When we both walked to the table that the rest of his friends chose, the boys had already busted the jenga game that we usually offer to our customers. Jisung, Chenle, and Haechan were in the middle of sabotaging each other with their pulls while Renjun and Mark—the last newcomer—were peering over Jeno’s shoulder who I assume was playing a game on his phone.

“Here are your orders. I added extra powdered sugar on your chiffon cake, Jisung,” I said with a smile as I arranged everything on their table. The youngest boy looked up at me with sparkling eyes as if I’ve given him the world. The others took their orders after giving their own variations of thank you. 

“Thank you, noona,” Jisung said before turning to Haechan to “whisper” in his ear.

“I like her.” 

“She can hear you as clear as day, Jisungie.”

“Well, if you need anything, just call out to me alright?” I said with a polite smile, already feeling a little bit more relaxed around the group. I’m sure Jaemin has his own reasons to feel anxious about his friends being here, but they all seem like your regular boys to me. I’ve always wondered what kinds of acquaintances he has and I’m glad to know these are the ones he has around. 

“Wait, can’t you hang out for a while?” Haechan asked as I took the trays with me. Jaemin was quick to answer, throwing dagger glances at the other. 

“She has work.” 

“There are no customers.” 

“You can go back if someone comes. You’re only serving us right now, anyway,” Renjun quipped as he took a bite of his cake. My eyes moved to Jaemin just in time to see his jaw tighten a little bit. He did look a little bit resigned though so I decided to compromise.

“I guess I can stay for a few minutes. I haven’t had my break yet,” I said with a slight smile. Mark patted Jeno’s thigh to give way for me to sit on the space where he had his leg up.

“So, are you and Jaemin-hyung dating? For how long now?” My ass haven’t even touched the seat yet when Chenle shot the question. I looked at him, completely taken aback. 

“Chenle, you don’t just ask people that out of the blue,” Mark said, despite the small playful smirk that he tried so hard to hide. He turned to me apologetically then, “I’m sorry, he doesn’t go out often.”

I was too taken aback that I failed to notice how Jaemin didn’t even try to deny Chenle’s assumption. I glossed over it and chose to take another route instead. 

“Do you guys all live together?” I asked with genuine interest. Jaemin did say that he doesn’t get a lot of chance to socialize but it seems like it applies to all his friends, too.

“We all live in the...same apartment, yes,” Jeno said carefully. 

“Oh… roommates.” 

“We grew up together, actually,” Renjun pointed at Jisung who had his upper lip covered with powdered sugar as he shoveled cake into his mouth. “Jaemin birthed him.” 

“That’s right,” Jaemin said so seriously with a straight face beside me. 

“So you’re also childhood friends.”

“I guess you could say that. Chenle and I both came from China but we grew up here.”

I nodded, already invested in knowing more.

“Are you studying? Or are you always here?” Haechan asked me as he deftly removed a block from the Jenga tower he had reassembled. 

“Mm, yes. I’m on pre-med right now.” 

Jeno gave a low whistle and lowered his phone a bit to look at me.

“You’re going to be a doctor?”

I smiled. “Hopefully a surgeon, yes.”

“So does that mean you’ll be stitching up wounds and getting bullets off flesh and things like that?” Chenle asked. I laughed at how specific the situations he gave were. 

“I can actually do them right now, but yes. My father used to be a doctor too and I helped him around his clinic before he died so I know the basics.” 

“I didn’t know about that…” Jaemin spoke up beside me in a quiet voice, breaking his silence.

“About what?”

“About your parents.”

I laughed. “You never asked.” 

“So are you living alone?” Mark followed through. 

“Right now, yes. I lost my parents a couple of years ago but I do have an auntie living right in the next city.” 

“Man, so you’re working and studying at the same time. You’re tough.” 

“Thank you, but it’s not really anything new to college students like me. How about you guys? Are you in college?” 

The boys exchanged quick looks with each other. 

“We’re all, uh, home schooled,” Renjun finally answered. 

“Oh… I see. That makes a lot of sense.” Just then, my eyes drifted to the clock on the wall. I started slightly after realizing that my fifteen minutes of break is up.

“I have to go though, sorry. I’m alone right now so I have to work on multiple things,” I said apologetically as I picked myself up from my seat. I gave everyone a quick smile before retreating behind the counter. 

I didn’t look back to see how Jaemin stared at me as I left and how he finally caught Mark who was staring at him in return. 

The two boys didn’t have to speak to understand each other, but the younger one easily got what his captain clearly told him with his gentle gaze. 

Be careful. 

----

Chapter 3

[anotheranimestan]

hi! I just read “all bark no bite” and omg it was so good!! looking forward to more of your writing and possible a part 2 if you get the chance!

Thank you!!!!!😃🧡 Your wish is my command!

All Bark No Bite (pt. 2)

Bakugo angst + sexual tensionnnn

Read part 1 here

wc: 3k

I hope this is as fun for you to read as it is for me to write! Also why is he 👇 this fineee for no reason.

The next morning, you woke up trying to convince yourself it was all a dream...or a nightmare. But the way you could still feel the softness of his fingers around your neck completely contradicted your wishes. You also had to keep wiping little smiles off your face throughout your entire morning routine. You tried to combat them by listing all the things you hated about Bakugo but it was helpless. Every train of thought ended with the shape of his lips and how nicely they molded with yours.

You and Mina walked to class together and you swore she’d developed a mind reading quirk. You felt her eyes on you like a blazing sun. Although this was really all in your head. She only asked “are you okay?” because you kept looking at her like you’d committed a hate crime.

You and Bakugo didn’t look at each other once during class. No leg shaking, pen stealing or insults. Not even a well timed scoff when you were called on to answer a question. You tried your best to clear your mind and forget everything that had occurred in that hall last night. After a while of this torture you even were having a little bit of success.

But of course your peace was ruined as you walked to lunch. He couldn’t let you have anything. And of course he wasn’t going to leave you alone.

“Hey Little Bite, I hear we get to pick our groups for combat training today. All Might is going to make me a team captain, obviously. So if you want to be on my team let me know. I mean I assume you don’t wanna lose. You just gotta ask me nicely.” His usual cocky tone crept under your skin.

You desperately tried to ignore him as he followed you. Each footstep he started gaining on you being more annoying than the last. But what really did it was the pencil he threw at your head.

“Please, actively do not pick me.”

He ignored your objection and continued on his line of bullshit.

“I suppose I could take you. Your quirk would be useless, I’m all the attack power we’d need to win but I could use you as a decoy or something.”

You rolled your eyes. “I don’t want to be on a team with you, moron. Your pea brain doesn’t know how to do anything but blow shit up. You’re like an explosive cave man. Besides being too close to you for too long makes me wanna vomit.”

He cackled. You knew exactly what he was thinking and immediately regretted your words.

“That’s weird—“

You picked up a rock from the ground and threw it at his head. But he just caught it and made it explode with a smug look on his face.

“Ugh. I cannot stand you.” You groaned.

“You sure about that?” He said with a suggestive eyebrow.

He was so hot....it made you want to punch him in the throat. Without thinking you shrugged off your backpack and swung it at his face. His reflexes bested you again though and he caught the bag, yanking it from you. The force was harder than you expected, it sent you flying into his chest. You both tumbled to the ground and landed shoulder to shoulder. Your skull hit a small rock with a wack. Rubbing the back of your head, shooting pain surfaced.

“Ow!! That fucking hurt dumbass!”

“Sor—“

You swung your arm, aiming to kill, and hit him in the stomach.

It must have really knocked the wind out of him because he made a loud grunting noise that hinted at his surprise. It wasn’t often people got to land a punch on Katsuki Bakugo. King Explosion Murder.

“Do that shit again Little Bite! You’ll regret it!” He grabbed your wrist, attempting to clear a way to get you back. You both started wresting trying to punch each other in the gut. Literally rolling around in the grass in a red hot death match of who could out curse the other.

“Omg, are you guys about to kiss right now?” Mina teased from out of absolutely nowhere, scaring the shit out of you.

You both froze solid as the blood drained from your face. She knew about last night? How did she find out?!

“You told her!?” Bakugo’s entire face was contorting through a whole range of emotions. Shock, horror, embarrassment, accusation, cheekiness, embarrassment again.

“What!?” You panicked. “No! I didn’t!” You swear you didn’t. You replayed your whole morning in your head just to double check.

You turned to your pink friend. Her eyes were wide and her mouth fell open. You watched the gears turn in her head as she realized she’d stumbled upon a miraculously juicy discovery.

“OH. MY. GOD!!! No freaking way!!” She squealed unable to contain herself.

She started blabbering as she attempted to cope with this information. She had absolutely no idea what to do with it.

Your stomach fell as you realized this fatal error. Wait....this wasn’t your error. You pushed him off you and you both scrambled to your feet.

“This is your fault! Why’d you say that!” You shoved a finger in Bakugo’s chest. Which actually hurt because....he’s solid.

“Don’t yell at me!” He yelled back at an even louder volume.

Mina started running around in little circles. “They kissed!!!” She then abruptly stopped in her tracks and you watched a lightbulb flicker on.

No.....

“KIRISHIMA!!!! KAMINARI!!!” She screamed as she ran toward the cafeteria.

“MINA DONT YOU FUCKING DA—“ Bakugo exploded into a full sprint to chase her down. But she was like a rocket.

You chased after them desperately trying to reconcile all this is your mind. But it was no use, your brain was melting. Everyone was about to find out. The relentless jokes...they would never end. You could die right here.

Both of them ran so fast you fell horribly behind. By the time you rounded the corner and caught up to them a whole event had already taken place.

Bakugo was screaming on the top of his lungs. You could practically see the steam coming off the top of his head.

Kaminari was standing there in his stupid form with a half torn shirt. Jesus, what did Bakugo do to him?

Mina and Kirishima were laying on the ground, their face covered in tears. They were laughing so hard no sounds were even coming out.

“Oh my god,” Mina squeaked out between gasps for air, “Bakugo has a crush.”

“It’s so adorable!” Kirishima said wiping the tears from his eyes as he attempted to stop laughing. With no success, they both bursted again after seeing Bakugo slamming his fists into the grass. The teasing was making him want to rip his eyes out. He couldn’t stand it.

“Shut up Kirishima!!!” He jumped on top of his friend and started repeatedly banging his head into the ground. Of course this did absolutely nothing to the hard head. It just made him laugh even more.

Poor Denki just stood there drooling with a little smile on his face and giggling.

You were frozen. Stunned. It was like watching a comedy movie in which you were the punchline.

But all the laughs fell a silent as a furious voice cut through the air.

“What is this.” It wasn’t a question. Mr. Aizawa looked like he hadn’t slept in three days and this used up his last bit of patience.

“Bakugo. Get off him immediately.” He growled.

You knew how this looked. Bakugo was attacking Kirishima after successfully making Kaminari fry his own brain. Your friends’ laughter wasn’t enough to hide Bakugo’s apparent violence even if it was over something as stupid as a kiss. Mr. Aizawa couldn’t possibly know that.

“I overlooked your behavior yesterday, picking a fight with Miss. y/n. But now attacking your other classmates as well? This is violent behavior is unacceptable.”

“Mr. Aizawa—“ Kirishima tried to defend his friend but it was no use.

“Not another word.” Your teacher was glaring at Bakugo with laser beams.

The hot head just stood there in silence with a scowl on his face and two tightly clenched fists. He was really just going to take the heat for everyone? No arguments?

“I’m putting you on house arrest for the rest of the day. No more classes and no combat training.” You watched the dagger go through Bakugo’s chest. Today was going to be offensive training with All Might. You knew he was looking forward to it. Guilt punched your core.

“Mr. Aizawa wait. I’m the one who picked a fight with him yesterday. I challenged him. He shouldn’t get into trouble because of me.” You shuffled toward him timidly. He was scary when he was like this.

Everyone looked at you in surprise. They all knew it was true, that you’d egged him on. And he wouldn’t be raging right now if you hadn’t kissed, so today was also partially your fault. But they were truly surprised because you normally would revel in Bakugo getting scolded. But you weren’t fucking evil. And this wasn’t Bakugo’s fault at all...although he really needed to get his fucking temper in check. Idiot.

“Is that true?” Aizawa asked Bakugo.

The hot head took a deep breath. “Does that sound like me at all? I’d never give into her weak attempts at baiting me. I fought her because I wanted to.”

Your eyes popped out at his words. He lied. Why the fuck would he do that?

Mr. Aizawa escorted Bakugo to the dorms, lecturing the entire way.

“This sucks.” Kirishima said with a frown.

“I know. I feel so bad!” Mina cried sadly.

You had no words. The four of you walked to lunch with drooping heads. You held Kaminari’s hand the whole way until his brain recharged.

Recalling you’d left your backpack in the quad you ran back to get it. Upon arrival you realized Bakugo’s backpack was also there. He wouldn’t even have his stuff with him to finish homework or study during house arrest. You groaned. This guilt was horrible. It ate at you for rest of the day. The rest of your friends didn’t feel any better. And combat training wasn’t the same for you without that familiar sound of explosions going off in the background. It actually made the class feel kind of empty.

As usual at the end of the day you sat in the common area with the rest of the girls.

“So...is it true y/n?” Ochaco poked hesitantly.

You glared at Mina. Loose lips as usual.

“Sorry y/n. I talk when I’m stressed.” Mina cried only kind of regretful.

You sighed. You didn’t have the heart to actually be upset with her. You were the villain here. Getting Bakugo into so much trouble.

“Yea.” You huffed out. Talking about it made you cringe. It was like admitting your sworn rival had defeated you somehow. Even if you sort of didn’t mind the way he did it...

“What was it like?” Mina asked excited for the details.

“Is he a good kisser?” Ochaco added.

Your mind fell into a fog as you replayed the kiss again. Your skin went electric as you remembered the feel of his hands on your waist and those noises he was making. His lips wrapped around yours....

“Oh my god...Ochaco shes in love!” Mina concluded from you zoning out for what ended being like 15 seconds of you staring into space with a little smile on your face. She was practically singing.

“I am not!” You yelled flustered.

“Why are so many people yelling today?” Kirishima chuckled as he rounded the corner to join the couch.

“So is he mad?” Mina’s voice had changed into the sad one from earlier.

“I don’t know. Every time I knock he just tells me to go away. But that’s not that different from normal honestly.” He smiled. Their friendship was so odd.

Suddenly his backpack flashed through your mind. It was sitting in your room.

You got up to leave. You tried to be sneaky about it as they discussed how to cheer the victim up. But to no avail, they’d never let you sneak off again.

“Where you going huh?” Mina’s voice was painfully suggestive.

“To my room!”

“Uh huh, we’ve heard that one before.”

You stuck your tongue at her.

Kirishima twisted to face you over the back of the couch. “So if I ask Bakugo tomorrow if he saw you tonight he’s gonna say no, right?” Who knew he could be this ruthless. No mercy.

You pinched the bridge of your nose in frustration. You’d been cornered.

“Look. He left his backpack earlier and I’m just going to give it to him! Jeez do you want to do it or something Kiri?” You were seething.

“Nahh, you should do it. He’ll just yell at me to go away again.” He winked. It made you cringe again.

You could peel your skin off from this teasing. But you know someone who hated it even more. You knew that’s why he wouldn’t let Kirishima into his room.

You ran off before they could crack any more jokes.

On your way to the elevators you heard a creepy cackle come from somewhere. You spun around, alarmed, as a “what the fuck��� escaped your lips. Your eyes landed on one eyeball peeking through the crack of a doorway.

“Can I get a kiss too?” The voice was wet with drool and lust. “Just one?”

“I will kick your face in Mineta.”

The door quickly shut. Did Mina tell the fucking whole class!?

With more haste now you stormed to your room to get the stupid backpack that was causing you so many problems and made your way to your other problem’s door.

Before you knocked you realized your hands were shaking. Nervous? Seriously, over this moron? You shook it off with resolve and knocked.

“Fuck off Denki, for the hundredth fucking time I’m busy!” A gruff voice yelled from behind the door.

“Oh please, busy with what?” You retorted reflexively. Earlier you had decided you were going to try to be nicer but that sentiment wore off as soon as you heard his annoying voice.

The door swung open.

“What do you want?” He said with a raised eyebrow.

Your mind went blank. He was leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed. Of course it made his biceps look better than normal. He was wearing a black t-shirt that made his skin look perfectly tanned and was snug in all the right places. And why did he always smell so good damn. Today it was like vanilla and woodsy aftershave.

Stop staring. Stop staring. Speak bitch.

“Here’s your backpack. You should keep better track of it. I had to carry it around all day. That’s annoying.” You tossed it at him.

Why couldn’t you say anything nice? He took the heat for everyone. It’s like your mouth was rebelling against you.

He scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Maybe you should work out more weakling.”

Panic panged in your chest as he started to shut the door in your face.

“Wait—“ you stopped it with your hand.

He paused. Mild interest dawned his brow.

“Why—why did you lie?”

“What?”

“To Mr. Aizawa. You could have told him it was my fault.”

“What do you care?” He pressed. His tone always managed to infuriate you.

You spun on your heels and started to walk away. “Nevermind.”

“Because I felt bad. You hurt your stupid head.”

You’d forgotten about that with all the guilt that had been overrunning your head. It didn’t even hurt anymore. You were surprised he’d even noticed.

“Oh.”

“But obviously you’re fine now so I guess it was all for nothing.” He added quickly trying to sound indignant.

The guilt punched you again. Especially now that you were face to face with him. He didn’t even look mad. He actually looked calm. And he looked good. You tried to deny your attraction to him. But flashes of his hand on your waist started invading your mind again. You could feel him wrapped around your neck. The way he was gentle and rough at the same time.

“Instead of just standing there you could actually make yourself useful. You owe me anyways.”

You snapped out of it trying not to look flustered. You shot him a confused and slightly offended look.

“Fill me in on what I missed in class...” he explained. He wouldn’t make direct eye contact though.

“Are you saying you need my help?” You had to do it. You couldn’t not take an opportunity.

“Tch. Obviously no—“

“Let’s do it. Move.” You said as you pushed past him into his room. Your hand made full contact with his abs and you felt that heat again.

He shut the door behind you and your heart started off like a race horse as you heard him lock it.

You suspected it was to lock the other boys out. God forbid they catch you in his room after all this.

Shit....you were in his room. Alone. With your hot head. The day after he kissed you. The evening after he took all the fury of Mr. Aizawa for you and moments after he asked you to help him study even though he gets way better grades than you.

He cleared a spot for you to sit on his bed and then leaned back into his chair with his hands locked behind his head. His flexing muscles were distracting you again.

“You better actually remember everything.”

“Shut up.” You rolled your eyes at him.

His words were supposed to rile you but the way he looked at you, like he was secretly loving that you were here was making your stomach flutter. You could feel your face red and you prayed he wouldn’t notice. At this rate you were going to throw yourself at him before he had the chance to kiss you again. As long as you two didn’t start fighting again first.....

~~

💥 YES there will be a pt 3!!! 💥

It’s going to be called “sTuDyiNg” HAHA (hint: Bakugo doesn’t actually wanna study “dumbass”)

Update: Pt.3 is up now!! Read it here

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Of something beautiful, but annihilating🚬3

Warnings: nonconsensual sex, violence and abuse, mentions of miscarriage, mentions of death'; violence, attempted rape.

This is dark!fic and explicit. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Summary: Reader’s husband brings home an unexpected houseguest.

Note: So this is for black Friday and then I’ll be working all today and tomorrow and schedule’s are super late so I dunno when Im working after that. Hope you guys enjoy and don’t hesitate to drop by my asks.

Thank you. Love you guys!

As always, if you can, please leave some feedback, like and reblog <3

Arvin let you pick the record. You found it among the box of your daddy’s music. It was one of your favourites and you were glad he wasn’t bothered by Patsy Cline’s droll tones. He seemed to enjoy it as he sat and read a magazine and you searched for a button from your large tin to match that missing from Roy’s jacket.

“You ever listen to Elvis?” He looked up from behind the pages.

“I… I heard him on the radio but you know we haven’t got new records since Daddy died,” you said as you continued your hunt. “And Roy don’t like all that new music. He says it’s no good.”

“Well, he doesn’t seem to like much, does he?” Arvin sniffed, “I always knew he was a grouch but I just thought it was the job.”

“He’s not… He’s just stressed. He works so much.” You looked down and settled on a button that was close enough. 

“You do too,” Arvin hid behind the magazine again. “You should be the one goin’ out and doin’ what you like on a Saturday. Hell, if he ain’t gonna spend his time with you, you should do something of your own.”

“I like sewing,” you shrugged as you threaded the button, “You know, it’s not so bad. I get time to myself. A lot of people can’t say that.”

“Sounds pretty lonely to me,” he flicked the page.

You were silent. You didn’t know how to respond. He was skirting around what he really wanted to say, what you didn’t want him to talk about. The tension in the air thickened as you feared he would admit that he knew or you might confess that your husband wasn’t much of one. Hell, you’d yet to accept that yourself.

Your fears were assuaged by the sudden clatter on the porch and the hinges of the door as it was swung open. You sat up and set aside Roy’s jacket. You stood as he staggered inside. He always did like to drink when he fished, or did much of anything else. You frowned as he tracked mud in on his tall rubber boots.

“Roy, you’re making a mess,” you said as you went to the doorway and watched him stumble around the entryway.

“Keep ya busy,” he slapped a hand on the wall and wiggled his leg free of a boot. “There’s a whole pail of fish out front too.”

“Mmm,” you hummed as his cheeks glowed. You doubted he’d be awake that long. “Well, I’ll just fry those up while you sit down.”

“Agh,” he tripped over his other boot as he slipped it off and Arvin brushed by you to catch him.

“Hey, Roy,” he took his arm, “How was the fishing? Why don’t you sit down? We’ll have a beer.”

“I almost forgot about you, boy,” he shook free of Arvin and ambled closer to you, “Maybe you can hide away after dinner for a while?”

He dragged his hand up your thigh and slapped your ass as he passed you. Arvin turned as Roy clumsily traipsed into the living room and fell onto the couch. He looked at you but you couldn’t stand to meet his.

“Sure,” Arvin uttered, “I’ll just go get those fish first.”

He disappeared through the front door and you crossed your arms as you turned to watch your husband. His head lolled as he chuckled.

“You think he ever fucked a girl?” He asked, “Boy tiptoes around like a virgin.”

“That’s crass, Roy,” you reproached.

“Don’t act so innocent,” he snapped, “If you didn’t, maybe I’d… well.”

His words trailed off and he closed his eyes. He yawned and sighed loudly. You grimaced and listened to the door as it hit the frame again. Arvin continued onto the kitchen as Roy began to snore. It must have been a record how quickly he’d passed out this time.

You went through to the kitchen as Arvin drained the water from the pail of fish. You went to the drawer and got a knife. You rest it on its end as you gripped it and looked out the window.

“He’s already out for the night,” you said, “You hungry?”

“I said I’d make the fish, I meant it.”

“Nah, I’ll flay them and put ‘em in the fridge,” you swallowed, “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“That you’re stuck here with us. Sorry he’s always drunk.” You looked down at the blade. You didn’t say what you really wanted to. Sorry you were stupid enough to choose Roy.

“That isn’t your fault and you know, I don’t mind it so much.” He neared, “We’re friends now, aren’t we? That’s worth it.”

You nodded but couldn’t smile. He always tried to make things seem nicer than they were. He was much better at it than you were.

“You comin’ to church tomorrow?”

“Of course,” he answered like it was obvious.

You turned away and laid out the fish across the cutting board. He stayed behind you, the record silenced and began to skip.

“I think I got somethin’ nice I can find.” He left you and the crackle of the Victrola died.

You slice the fish, careful not to cut your fingers as you deboned it and tossed away the heads and tails. You heard Arvin speak in a low voice and a grumble. Then heavy footsteps interspersed with lighter ones. The stairs groaned and you kept on, wrapping the filets in paper and tucking it away.

You cleaned up and washed the smell off your hands. The living room was empty so you climbed the stairs and found Roy face down on your bed. You turned to the open attic and Arvin descended the ladder.

“You got him to bed?” You tilted your head.

“Wasn’t so hard. Poked him a few times.” He grinned. “So what time do I needa be ready for church?”

“We leave about twenty minutes before service. It’s at eight.” You answered, “Oh, you know what--” You raised your index finger, “One sec.”

You spun and scurried into your father’s room. It was just as it had been before he died except now there were boxes stacked along one wall. You pushed open the closet and fluttered through the clothes hanging within. You pulled out the old grey suit and white shirt that had yet to yellow. You grabbed a tie from the drawer as you passed the dresser.

You smelled them as you went back to the door as Arvin peeked in.

“For church,” you held them out, “My daddy was a bit taller but he got skinny near the end. I can pin up the pants for you and you’ll look just fine.”

“Oh,” he face paled, “You-- I can’t--”

“Roy’ll never fit into these so please,” you pushed them against his chest. “And I don’t think he’ll be up in time for church so I need you to drive.”

He smiled and took the clothes. He hugged them as if they were precious. “Thank you. I’m gonna sound like you for a moment but you really didn’t have to.”

“You think I’m gonna forget that you promised to make the fish? It’ll be a nice Sunday night dinner.” You inhaled deeply, “I think that for tonight, I’m gonna lay down though.”

“Alright,” he let you past, “You have a good night.”

“You too,” you neared your bedroom door as Roy’s snores grew louder, “Might have to stuff my ears with cotton.”

🚬

As you expected, Roy was too hungover to get up for church. You didn’t really go for the sermons but your daddy made it a habit when you were young to make sure you got to see the other kids in town. Sunday school had socialised you in the circles of the small town but they had proven less than welcoming. And since you’d grown out of your education, you went to trade recipes with some of the other wives.

Arvin was awake before you. As you pulled a cardigan over your blue dress you stopped at the bottom of the stairs and he appeared from the front room.

“Oh, Arvin,” you smiled, “That suit looks real nice on you. And the pants…”

“I sewed them myself last night,” he lifted his foot, “Remembered a few stitches.” He straightened the jacket, “You look real good too.”

“Well, aren’t we a pair?” You chimed. “Gonna have to be since Roy hasn’t moved since you dragged him to bed.”

“After you,” he waved to the door, “Think we should get goin’. My daddy woulda whipped me being late for the lord’s prayer.

You led him out the door and climbed into the truck opposite him. He turned the ignition and the engine rumbled to life. You felt calm as you smelled the early morning dew and you looked out the window as he shifted into gear. The lush green grass passed you by and trees swayed as he steered along the old country road.

As always, the church was crowded. You and Arvin squeezed in at the back. He was quiet and sombre as you entered. As you sat, you looked over at him. His jaw squared as the preacher came out and began his weekly scourge. A fire burned behind Arvin’s brown irises and he scowled for a moment before his face went placid.

You looked forward and folded your hands as you listened to Father Milton. You never cared much for his talk of hellfire and brimstone, to be fair, your daddy didn’t either, but in a small town, everyone knew when one was away from service. Roy never cared what anyone thought but you had to deal with Noreen and the other ladies at the grocer or around town about their own tasks.

When mass finished, you stood but Arvin hesitated. He stared up at the altar before he finally rose. He nodded to you and followed you and the other worshippers out into the sun.

You heard your name as you headed for the truck. You stopped and Arvin did too. You turned as Noreen, a woman older than yourself who fashioned herself to be the model for all society ladies, approached you. She wore a wide-brimmed hat over her blonde hair and took short steps in her heels.

“You promised me that carrot cake recipe. The one with the raisins.” She said. “Now I’ve been hounding you for three weeks.”

“Oh, uh,” you unclasped your pocketbook and fished out the card you’d made sure to stow after last Sunday. “Right here. I’m sorry, Noreen, but I gotta get back.”

“Where is Roy? Was he off drinkin’ again? You know, the lord did warn us all against excess.”

“Well, perhaps we can get him to come next week and you can warn him,” Arvin intoned and Noreen looked over in shock.

“Excuse me. And who is this… man you have as your escort?”

“Roy is letting the attic out to him. They work together. This is Arvin.”

“Arvin Russell,” he introduced firmly. 

“That’s an unusual name,” Noreen remarked, “You’re not from here?”

“No, but from a place like this.” He countered, “I’m gonna go get the truck goin’.”

He turned without courtesy and marched away. You looked back to Noreen as she curled her lip.

“Oh, he is a rough one, isn’t he? You have that scoundrel livin’ with you?”

“He’s a good man. Helps around the house. It’s a big place and Missy Grable has a tenant of her own.”

“Missy Grable has a farmhand to tend the fields,” Noreen lifted her chin.

You weren’t certain what to say. Noreen always found issue with whatever you said and you hated to give her further reason to.

“Well, here’s the recipe. I really ought to go.” You said.

“I understand, honey,” She smirked, “Your husband needs his caretaker… oh sorry, wife.”

You flinched but said nothing else. Your shoulders dropped as you turned away and dragged your heels through the dirt. You opened the truck and climbed in without a word. You clutched your pocketbook and stared ahead as Arvin back out of the lot.

“Pardon my saying so and I don’t use this word often, but she was a bitch,” Arvin said. “Remind me why I ain’t go to church.”

You looked down and nervously unclasped and unclasped your purse. “You didn’t have to come.”

“No, it’s your house and I wanna be a good guest,” he said, “It’s nothing to do with you.”

You scoffed and shook your head. “My daddy hated goin’ too but he didn’t want me to be ostracised, you know? He told me, near the end, that he stopped believin’ durin’ the war. He said no god would let the things happen that he saw.” You leaned against the door and watched the buildings pass. “Seein’ how these Christians act, I can’t blame him.”

Arvin was quiet as you left the main street and the house began to thin out until the country sprawled out around you.

“My sister…” he said so low you barely heard him. He cleared his throat and spoke louder. “My cousin, she was tricked by a preacher man. She was young and too willing to love. And he was just a liar. He knocked her up then refused her.” His voice was brittle and you glanced over as his hand tightened on the steering wheel. “She hung herself but it was that snake-tongued charlatan who killed her.” He shook his head. “No god would take her like that. No god would let a man sworn to him trick the innocent.” He rubbed his forehead as his eyes bore into the distance, “I’m sorry. Just been a while since I sat in a pew.”

“No, I’m… sorry. Sorry about your cousin.” You said, “I didn’t-- You can stay home next week.”

He pondered it and a little smile curled his lips. “Don’t think I will. Think I’d like to see that Noreen again. Maybe say a prayer for her soul, wherever it may be.”

🚬

Roy was still in bed when you got home. You tried to rouse him and he swatted you away. You brought him a sandwich and some water and left it beside him. You went back down to clean up as Arvin sat in the front room, As you wiped your hands, the record player buzzed and a tune rose on noontime air.

You went to the living room as Arvin stood straight and you listened to the smooth tones of Sinatra. He turned to you as you entered. 

“I like this one,” you said. 

“Me too,” He had shed the jacket and unbuttoned the top button of his shirt, his tie disposed of. He turned his palm up as he stepped away from the player. “You dance?”

You giggled and shook your head. “No, not much of a dancer. Roy wouldn’t even at the wedding.”

“Come on. It’s a good song.” He got closer and began to sing out of tune, “I get no kick from champagne. Mere alcohol doesn't thrill me at all…”

You shied away and he caught your hand. You let him draw you closer and smiled as your cheeks warmed up.

“Just follow my lead,” he urged as he moved his feet, “Don’t look down, just one, two, one, two…” 

You moved your feet around his as he swayed you and turned you on the spot. His hand settled on your lower back and you grasped his shoulders. You were jittery as you moved with him in time to the music.

“Arvin…” You breathed. 

“Every pretty girl should dance,” he said, “I’d say you’re a hell of a dancer for a beginner.”

“Thanks,” you trilled and settled into his embrace.

“I mean it. You deserve more.” He leaned closer and you felt his hot breath on you. “You deserve the world.”

You smiled as he gazed across at you. Your heart leapt as there was a sudden clamour by the stairs and you pushed away from Arvin as Roy stomped into the doorframe. His hand fell away from your back and you tiptoed over to your husband.

“Roy, you’re awake? How ya feelin’?”

“All this goddamn noise you makin’ down here,” he grumbled, “Shut off that dang thing. There’s a game on.”

You flitted away and turned off the Victrola. You looked at Arvin as he watched Roy. He looked irritated and repulsed by the man.

“I gotta do some chores,” you muttered. “You boys enjoy the game.”

“I think I’m just gonna go upstairs,” Arvin tucked his hands in his pockets. “I’ll be down to cook that fish in a bit.”

You watched the younger man leave and Roy turned the dial on the radio. Your husband flopped onto the couch as the commentator’s voice filled the room.

“How about a beer?” He demanded, not asked.

🚬

The day turned to night. Dinner was quiet and tense. Roy didn’t drink as much as the day before but the alcohol made little difference. Arvin was pensive and seemed to lose himself in thought. You were nervous as you thought of the dance and your temperamental husband.

You hadn’t done anything wrong. It was just a dance. How come Roy could spend his days drunk and dozing and you couldn’t do anything you liked?

You cleaned up after supper. Arvin retreated to his room once more as Roy sat in the living room with another bottle and you tidied up. You cleared the last of the mess and looked out into the front room. Roy belched and sneered as he saw you.

“Wife,” he beckoned you forward with two fingers, “What did you do today?”

“Went to church. Cleaned.” You edged closer. “That’s all. I was real worried about you, Roy.”

“Were you?” He snorted and stood as he dropped his bottle on the table. “You didn’t seem too bothered when I came down.”

“What do you mean?” You stopped a foot away from him.

“You and that kid. You get on real well, don’t ya?” He snickered. “You down here dancing.”

“Just a dance, Roy,” you said meekly, “I didn’t wanna be rude.”

“You just wanna be a whore,” he snarled, “Huh? What you doin’ with that boy? I’m your husband.”

“I know, I know that, Roy. I never-- I didn’t do nothing.” You pleaded as he stepped closer. “I was just waitin’ for you to wake up.”

“Shut your fucking mouth,” he hissed as he grabbed the back of your head and thrust you close to him. “You been doin’ everything but what a wife is meant for.”

He tore open the front of your dress and you cried out. “I’m gonna fuck you and let that boy hear who you belong to.”

“Stop, please.”

“Stop!? This is what you promised me, dear wife.”

You struggled with him as the smell of alcohol on his breath made you cringe. He spun you and shoved you so hard you stumbled back against the couch. You got up as he ambled after you and were knocked back by his fist. You cradled your cheek as you fell onto the cushions.

He pushed you up against the back of the couch and tried to wrench your legs apart. You squeezed your knees together and slapped at him blindly as fear bubbled in your veins. He forced your legs open and knelt on the couch between them. He grabbed your throat as you tried to wriggle away and he struck you again. He never hit your face; he didn’t like people to see what he did to you.

“I’ll show you,” he muttered, “I’ll show you, you little whore.”

He reached for his fly but his face mirrored your shock as he suddenly stilled and for a moment, he froze in time before he fell back onto the floor. Arvin stepped aside to avoid the crash and turned to hit him across the face. Roy’s brow split and began to stream with blood.

Arvin struck him a third time and pointed the gun at his head as he laid prone on the floor. Roy touched the back of his skull as he stared up barrel. The whack from the butt of the gun would likely leave a worse lump than his punches.

“Get up and go.” Arvin growled. “Or I’m gonna smear this carpet with your brains.”

“Are you crazy? This is my house!” Roy barked and pushed himself up. The pistol clicked and Arvin pressed it to his head. 

“It’s her daddy’s house.”

“She’s my wife, boy.”

“You don’t act like no husband,” Arvin said gruffly, “You think I’m scared? Think I haven’t shot a man before?”

“Sure you have, boy.”

“It’s different. You go out and you hunt your bucks and they don’t know what’s comin’, they don’t even know when they shot. But a man, oh he knows to the end. He begs, even if he can’t speak, he does. It’s in his eyes, in the way he gurgles as the life drains from his lips.” Arvin kicked Roy, “And once I pull this trigger, you’ll be begging too but it’ll be too late and there ain’t no words you can say to stop the blood. So you shut up and you go before you can’t.”

You were paralysed on the couch. Your head throbbed as you couldn’t believe what you were seeing. You trembled as Roy stood slowly and winced as Arvin followed his movement with the muzzle of the gun. Arvin followed your husband to the door and you heard the sharp whine of the other before it clattered shut. 

Crickets chirped as dirt stirred beneath feet and you heard the old truck shudder to life. The door snapped shut and locked loudly. Arvin appeared and lowered the gun. You stared at it as he came close. He set it on the table and sat beside you as he touched your face and you winced.

“Are you okay?” He asked as he pulled you against him, “I’m sorry he hurt you. I shoulda-- shoulda been faster.”

“Arv…” Your voice turned to a wisp and you let him hold you.

“Shhh, it’s okay. I got you now.”

[jokertrap-ran]

(光与夜之恋 Light and Night) Evan’s 6✩ Inspiration: Umbrae Secrets [繁荫秘语] Date Translation (END 7 + 8: Heart-throb)

"It feels pretty good to have your wish granted by someone else.”

*Light and Night Master-list | Evan’s Personal Masterlist *Spoiler free: Translations will remain under cut *Join the Light & Night Discord (＾▽＾)~ ♪ *This 6✩ Inspiration has 8 Endings!! *Reblogs and likes appreciated! *Evan’s tag will be #For Night, For Revolution *Will be taking a short break for one or two days for mental health reasons, so no TLs will be uploaded while I’m gone

✥ Choice: Heart-throb [心动] ✩Light & Night★

After pondering for a while, I finally decided to…

✩ E7 LIGHT: Rest here ✩

MC: The view's pretty nice. How about we rest here for a while?

Evan: Sure. Let's sit here then.

I followed Evan and seated myself atop a rock by the river and gave a good big stretch, easing the tension out of my slightly sore hips and legs.

The vegetation around us was a little sparser now, and the golden sunlight fell upon us in mottled spots. The river had crystal clear water. The sunlight pierced through the waves, leaving shimmering gold patterns that wavered along with the current of the river.

There were occasional grey shadows that darted through the water. I excitedly patted Evan's arm to catch his attention the moment I saw it.

MC: Look! There are fish in the river!

Evan: There's quite a bit of them. Those look like striped bass.

MC: They're so big…

Staring at the plump and juicy-looking fishes, I suddenly became acutely aware of the snarling abyss that was my stomach as it slowly woke back up.

I never expected to get hungry just from that short trek.

Those fishes would be delicious steamed! Add soy sauce, a little wine to taste, and the meat will become tender and succulent, absolutely flavorful...

But it would also be equally good braised! Deep fry it first, then add soybean sauce, Sichuan pepper and star anise to spice it up. Then add water to let the sauce soak in, producing a flavourful, mouthwatering, aroma!

I couldn't help but swallow in anticipation. I guiltily cast a glance at Evan, hoping that he didn't notice my guilty inward musings of a glutton.

Evan: Don't tell me you're thinking whether this fish would be better braised or steamed?

MC: ??? ...Remove the camera you installed in my brain!

Evan: Why would I need a camera? It's written all over your face.

Evan: It'll be a little hard to steam or braise anything here, but we can try grilling the fish if we have a stove to work with.

Hearing the words "grilled" and "fish", I instantly felt rejuvenated. Gone were my sore hips and aching legs.

I jumped up from the rock I'd been sitting on with a start.

MC: Grilled fish sounds good! I've got the stove! And grills! And seasonings!

Evan: Brilliant.

MC: Then there's only one thing missing… How are we going to catch the fish?

Evan surveyed the area and pondered for a while before speaking.

Evan: There are traces of grilling being done on the ground. Someone must have grilled fish here before.

Evan: We can look around and see if there is any equipment left behind that we can make use of.

MC: Okay!

Evan and I each took one side of the river as we scoured the bank for any items that may be of use.

Soon after, I moved a patch of tall grass aside and lifted something in triumphant joy.

MC: Evan! Look at what I found! A harpoon!

Hearing me call out to him, Evan headed over. He took the rusty harpoon from me and gave it a once over.

Evan: Sharpen it on the rocks and it should be good to go.

MC: Great!

Evan took the harpoon to the rocks and gave it a thorough sanding to get all the rust off. Soon, the once-rusty harpoon regained its sharp, deadly, metallic glint. It looked as primed as ever.

After he was done polishing it up, I excitedly picked it up. Evan looked at me in slight surprise.

Evan: You want to try?

MC: Yeah! Plus, I'm wearing a dress, so I don't have to worry about getting my pant leg wet or anything like that!

Evan took one glance at the way I was brandishing the harpoon, looking ever so eager to try my hand at it, and softened. A helpless yet tender look dyed his orbs.

Evan: Alright, but be careful not to slip.

MC: Right!

I took the harpoon to the river bank and quietly searched for my quarry.

Soon enough, a shadow slid smoothly across the water. But, it had already gotten long out of reach before I had the time to react.

I observed the waters for a while more, familiarizing myself with how the fishes moved.

When another fish appeared, I timed myself, raising the harpoon high and bringing it down hard!

The harpoon jostled the river and disturbed the dirt at the bottom of the riverbed. However, there was no fish in sight when the waters came to a standstill once more. There was only a harpoon, firmly embedded into the riverbed.

MC: Feels like I'm swerving my hits a bit…

A small laugh came from behind as a warm hand enclosed mine, wielding the harpoon together with me. He dislodged it and returned it to my grasp with surprising ease and finesse.

Evan: It's alright. Try again.

Evan: Throw the spearhead further to prevent hurting yourself.

I nodded and took the harpoon. Soon, I took my aim at another incoming fish.

I inwardly encouraged myself: I'll get it this time!

I swung the harpoon and sent it stabbing downward. This time, I felt like I'd hit the target quite accurately!

However, the fish wiggled for a bit beneath my harpoon before speedily making its slippery escape…

MC: *Sigh*...Is it because I'm too weak?

Evan: It's because you hesitated.

MC: Hmm, maybe a little. I suddenly feel a little hesitant to deal the finishing blow when I think of how this harpoon inevitably pierces the fish’s body.

Evan: Reluctance to deal the finishing blow is only normal. How about I do it instead?

A strong wave of reluctance surged up within my heart. I swiftly hid the harpoon behind my back.

MC: Nah. I’ve only tried it twice! Give me a couple more chances and I’ll definitely be able to do it!

Evan: If you say so.

Evan: Then you'll have to be faster, and you'll have to land harder hits than that.

Evan: Or you can think of it as your enemy, or maybe someone you dislike?

MC: Hahaha… Well, about that…

I thought about it seriously for a while, but I couldn’t think of anyone I particularly disliked.

Hence, I looked back at Evan and casually dropped him a question.

MC: I can't really think of any off the top of my head. Do you have anyone you dislike?

Evan was taken aback. His eyes were slightly lowered as if he was hiding some sort of emotion that dwelled within.

I suddenly recalled that we’d come on this trip precisely because something had happened beforehand to make him unhappy. Now, his expression only made me understand it more with stark clarity: yes, he did have someone he disliked...

MC: You don’t have to think about unhappy things! I’m sure that person’s not a good person if they’ve made even you dislike them! I’ll teach them a lesson!

Evan: Why, thank you.

With the harpoon in tow, I returned to the river bank. Reflected in my mind was none other than how Evan had reacted to my earlier question.

Just what sort of issue would trouble someone as strong as him? On that same note, just what sort of person would cause someone as powerful as him to become this restless and uneasy?

Then, a fish slowly swam into my line of sight. And it was precisely with this sort of mood that I raised the harpoon high in the air, sending it plummeting downward without a moment’s hesitation!

However, the sudden force I’d flung it down with made me lose balance as I went down with it. I felt my waist move backwards from the force as my feet slipped from beneath me...

MC: Uwah!

Splash!

Water splashed in all directions as I slipped right into the river...

Evan: !!

Fortunately, this river wasn’t deep and only reached my waist. Evan swiftly support me as I stood up.

Evan: Are you alright?

MC: I'm fine… my butt's just a little sore… Ow…

Evan: Slowly.

He supported me back to sit on the rock. I looked down to inspect myself. My dress was soaked and dripping water everywhere.

I gathered my dress and wrung out a load of water from it. Ah, how I’ve screwed up...

Evan: Does it hurt anywhere else?

I gathered my hair together in slight embarrassment as I shook my head.

After ensuring that I was not injured in any way or manner, Evan moved to light the stove by my feet. He then removed his jacket and placed it over my lap.

Evan: Be careful not to catch a cold.

My stomach gave a loud rumble in protest the moment he finished. I quickly covered it in embarrassment.

Evan: Alright. Let me procure our lunch.

MC: I'll have to trouble you with it then…

Evan: It's no trouble at all.

Evan removed his glasses, rolled up his sleeves, and picked up my abandoned harpoon on the river bank.

Wrapping his jacket around myself, I looked up at him curiously.

I wonder what the CEO of Warson, ever dignified and well put-together, would look like brandishing a harpoon of steel?

❖☆———————————★❖

Just as I was thinking about that, Evan suddenly went rigid; and I, in turn, watched him with bated breath.

His gaze seemed to be transfixed on a particular fish. His dark red eyes narrowed with intent as the light in his orbs instantly turned to a cold glint; one as sharp as a deadly blade.

He raised the harpoon, the muscles on his arms and chest rippling as they made themselves known in their usage and exuded a raw, primal, sense of power.

The sun's rays glinted off the sharp blade of the harpoon, reflecting the cold light of the forest.

I watched him in a daze. It was almost as if I was watching a formidable and ruthless beast at work after having set eyes on its prey.

I'd rarely seen Evan with such an expression on his face. A thought suddenly popped into my head out of nowhere.

Maybe this was how Evan had always dealt with his enemies; swift and ruthless.

Then, the harpoon flashed through the waters as quick as lightning.

Water splashed everywhere as a muffled thud sounded. Evan had made his quarry, no doubt.

❖☆———————————★❖

With another slosh, the harpoon was withdrawn from the waters. A huge fish followed the length out of the water, trashing incessantly, its tail flicking to and fro.

When Evan turned to look at me, the usual warmth found in his eyes had returned.

Evan: Can you help me fetch a bucket?

I snapped out of the trance, hurriedly moving to fetch a bucket and brought it before him.

MC: You got it in a single strike! You're really awesome, Evan!

Evan: A young lady is waiting for me, hungry and cold, after all.

Embarrassed, I stuck my tongue out at him.

He removed the fish from the harpoon and dumped it into the bucket before returning to the river bank.

Following his return, the harpoon made continuous sounds as it pierced through the waters again and again. His actions grew increasingly precise, and I could tell that he was trying to let out some steam with how much strength he packed into each stab.

Soon, he managed to spear another two fish out of the river. They were both huge and plump, and he seemed to be much more relaxed when he turned back around again.

He knelt down and weighed his spoils with satisfaction.

Evan: The biggest catch weighs nearly 2kg. It should be enough for us.

Afterwards, he neatly killed the fish by the bank before putting them all on the grilling rack. I brushed the fish meat with the barbecue sauce that I'd brought.

The stove burned ever so strongly, and the place was instantly doused with the delicious aroma that rose into the air alongside the smoke. I rubbed my hands in anticipation, so excited about it that I couldn't quite sit still.

The fishes were finally cooked. I quickly took a bite out of it, leaning back in satisfaction as I did.

MC: How fresh! This is too delicious! You should try some too, Evan!

Evan: Sure. Careful not to burn yourself on it.

Saying so, he too, took a piece of the fish and brought it to his mouth. Under my watchful gaze, he gave it a serious chew or two as he contemplated the taste. Eventually, he gave a nod of approval.

Evan: Mmhm. Your sauce does a mean job too.

MC: Not bad, right? This is my personal recipe!

MC: With the fish you caught and my speciality sauce, these fish taste way better than any I've ever had in high-end restaurants!

Evan: We can always eat this again whenever you want to, so long as you're willing.

I nodded, unwittingly flashing him a smile, almost as if making a silent promise to him that we most definitely would.

MC: Have you ever gone fishing, Evan? You technically score full marks in wilderness survival!

Evan: I once lived out in the wild for a while at a time in the past, after all. But, I never had a harpoon back then, so today's my first time using one.

MC: Then you must be a naturally born hunter!

MC: I felt like you were exuding a predatory area when I saw you fishing earlier!

MC: How should I put this… It's as if you'll definitely catch the prey you set your eyes on.

MC: Unlike me… *Sighs*...

Evan: Why the sudden sigh?

MC: Well… I just thought that I'd put up a rather disappointing performance today.

MC: I was the one who got all enticed by the tasty-looking fish, but in the end, not only was I unable to spear a single one, but I've also rendered myself into a right state.

MC: The cat depicted in the cat emote pack online's definitely me. "Small, pitiful, and weak, but eats a whole lot like Tubbs"!

Evan smiled and shook his head. He rested his big hand on my head.

Evan: I don't think this is a fair comparison.

Evan: A kitten won't help me deal with the people I dislike, but that throw of yours earlier was one done with all your might behind the harpoon.

Evan: It makes me feel like I've met someone whom I can entirely trust.

His tone suddenly turned tender and very soft. So soft, that it was almost as if he had all his guards down; but so heavy, that it was as if he'd placed all his trust into it.

It was akin to a small drop of honey, the vicious liquid slowly spreading through my heart.

MC: Of course… I'll always be your most reliable buddy, ever!

MC: But, I'll be happier if I can really be of help to you!

Evan: You've already helped me plenty.

Evan: Next time I have to deal with them, all I have to do is to remember how brave you were and draw strength from that.

I froze. The only thing that my helpful brain provided was the image of me slipping right into the river, butt first. I panicked, instantly setting my chopsticks down.

MC: No! Forget that terrible throw I made earlier! Vanquish the thought!

I laughed as I ate, making a fuss of it all. Before we knew it, all the fish on the grilling rack had been swiped clean.

I embarrassedly put the chopsticks away, awkwardly coming to the realization that I was, in fact, not full yet.

70% filled is still considered full… I inwardly hesitated, mentally debating with myself. I was so absorbed in it that I failed to notice how Evan had a clear view of the expression that flickered across my face yet again.

Evan: I'll go catch some more fish to grill.

MC: Uh… About that… I'm sure the fish meat gets digested quickly! I'm sure that's just what it is!

Evan: No worries.

Evan: The charcoal fire's still going strong and it's still early before sundown. Plus, your dress isn't completely dry either.

Evan: We have more than enough time to slowly eat here, and we can do it until you're full and satisfied.

Evan: And as for just how many fishes you ate… I'll make sure to keep it a secret for you.

MC: Wha?

MC: Evan! I never pegged you for one before, but are you actually up to no-good!?

Evan: I'm being serious here.

Evan: It lifts my spirits whenever I see you eat.

Evan: It makes me feel like there's no simpler pleasure than that.

⊹ ˚✩ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ∘◦ ✥ ◦∘ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ✩˚ ⊹

After pondering for a while, I finally decided to…

★ E8 NIGHT: Walk a while more before resting ★

MC: I'm good. Besides, it'll be hard to get going again once we sit, so how about we carry on a little while more and see how it goes?

Evan: You're here for fun, so you don't have to be so hard on yourself.

But he'd probably seen the determination colouring my eyes, for he immediately added on to his previous sentence.

Evan: But I'll listen to the leader.

MC:  Hehe. Now that's more like it.

❖☆———————————★❖

We continued our trek deeper until the forest. Enamoured by the various sights and sceneries, the sky had turned dark long before I knew it.

Evan: Let's find a place to put up the tent. I think this place is pretty suitable.

MC: Okay!

We chose a location with a wide expanse of flat ground. Then, we set about executing the next step of the plan: set up the tent.

I took the tent from my bag, spreading it out on the ground.

First, we had to insert the two rods into the tarpaulin sheet. Then, we had to insert each end of the pole into the small hole on each corner of the tent.

However, this tarpaulin sheet was just way too big. One corner came loose right after I secured the other.

I tried my hardest to spread my arms as far as they could go, but it was still a struggle to secure both ends of the pole at the same time. I fought valiantly, only to end up covered in sweat from my moot attempts.

MC: This is the only time I hate having short limbs…

Evan: Let me help you.

I looked back in surprise. Evan had already returned from fetching water by the river.

He put the bucket down and came up behind me, spreading his arms and holding the curved poles in place with ease.

However, doing so made our positions very close to one another.

His arms were warm, firm, and much longer than my own; long enough to entrap me within when he spread it out horizontally like that. Adding on to that, our clothes were both slightly damp and sticking to our skin. I could acutely feel the faint rise and fall of his chest from behind.

The surroundings seem to be growing warmer, and I felt an inexplicable sense of panic.

Evan: You just have to pin the four corners down.

MC: Okay...

I fumbled as I ducked out of the cage of his arms, putting the rods into the small holes.

❖☆———————————★❖

With Evan's help, the tent was soon set up in no time at all.

Afterwards, we ignited the kerosene lamp again and set up a simple table and chairs. And thus, our little fort out in the wild was finally complete.

Everyone has an innate love of small secluded private spaces at least once in their lives. Looking at our small lodging, I felt a sense of joy well up from the confines of my heart.

MC: Evan, let's go in and have a look inside!

I couldn't wait to delve right inside. It was only after I'd spun a full round in fascination that I realized Evan was still standing outside.

That's not right. How could I have fun all by myself? The goal of coming here today was to make Evan happy!

I thought of a way to nudge Evan into action. A light bulb lit in my head.

MC: Evan, I'm the leader today, so you'll do everything I say, right?

Evan: Yes. What do you want to do?

MC: I want to play a game.

MC: I'll be your personal Doraemon for the day. I'll help you fulfil any wishes you want!

A flicker of surprise passed his face.

Evan: Why do you want to play a game like that?

I pulled him along with me, sitting him down on a chair before sitting right across him.

MC: You've always been my Doraemon, so today, let me enjoy the joy of giving just this once.

Evan: I mean, it's not like you can't; but, what are you sure you want to be doing that here?

MC: Challenges only make it that much more interesting! Feel free to shoot any request you may have!

Unable to ignore my insistence on this matter, he folded his arms and lapsed into thought.

Evan: Then I'll just make a random wish… I want this tent to look prettier.

MC: Gotcha! Leave it to me!

This was probably the first time Evan had ever wished anything of anyone…

And now, the one to listen to his wishes was no one but me… Thinking this, the yearning to fulfil his wishes for him only burned ever stronger.

I suddenly remembered how I'd brought a string of small, colourful, fairy lights with me; if only because I'd seen someone decorate their tent with it online some time before!

I held my excitement in check as I rummaged through my bag for the fairy lights, connected the battery to the string of light and turned it on. Then, I flashed it before Evan.

MC: Ta-daaaa! Look!

❖☆———————————★❖

It was well into the night. Dishing out the fairy lights in peak darkness lit up our surroundings in a dazzling array of colours.

Evan widened his eyes in surprise, gently taking the fairy lights from me and scrutinizing them.

Evan: You actually bought fairy lights? You're a competent Doraemon, all right.

The bedazzling lights shone on our faces, adding a couple more watts to his smile.

Evan lowered his eyes, seemingly lost in his memories.

Evan: You know, these fairy lights remind me of the New Year holidays.

Evan: I walked on the streets and saw the doors of many families decorated with fairy lights like these.

Evan: Celebratory and homey… I really adore it.

Watching Evan's wary manner of carefully selecting his words, I couldn't help but feel my heart clench slightly.

Maybe… this was what he imagined home to be like…

However, he quickly snapped back to reality, his gaze falling to the fairy light before us once more.

Evan: The workmanship of these fairy lights are very intricate, and each bulb is shaped differently.

MC: Yeah. Look, this one’s a small pepper and this one’s a little eggplant...

Evan: Yes. And this one here. This one looks like you; the little rabbit.

MC: It really is a rabbit! You've got some keen observation skills.

MC: But, why am I the only animal? That sounds a little lonely…

Evan: You won't be lonely; because the one right beside the little rabbit's me.

Evan spread his arms, displaying the light bulb beside the little rabbit on the string of lights. But, all I saw was a red ball of light there.

MC: And what does this one look like? I can't really tell

Evan: It doesn't matter what it looks like; because I'm the only one who will stay by the little rabbit's side, regardless.

Although his smile was much warmer in the light, his tone still held an undeniable wistfulness.

I felt an odd sense of panic, but I didn't feel like fleeing from it.

❖☆———————————★❖

Eventually, we put the fairy lights up on the tent.

The constantly flickering and changing lights made the tent look cuter, and much more lovely. It felt like home.

I watched as Evan entered the tent, settling himself comfortably within, his eyes narrowing into happy little slits in a closed-eyed smile. Seeing him this relaxed made my heart fill with joy.

MC: Time for your next wish, Evan!

Evan: Are we continuing? I'm already pretty satisfied.

MC: The game's only just started! You can be a little more willful; just like a little kid!

I gently tugged at his arm, softly coaxing him into giving in.

Getting him to relax was no easy feat; and now, I was finally seeing a glimmer of hope! I can't let it go to waste!

Evan: Alright, one more then.

MC: I'll say this first, but you're forbidden from wishing for something overly simple! I'm Doraemon; you've gotta put your trust in me!

Evan: Okay. Then I want to drink hand-brewed coffee.

He levelled a calm gaze at me, seemingly waiting for me to admit defeat; but I only smiled triumphantly.

MC: Just you wait and see!

I knew that Evan loved coffee, so I’d brought some ground coffee powder along with a set of simple brewing tools.

I lit the stove, boiled a pot of hot water, and slowly poured it into the filter where I’d placed the powder, balanced atop an empty cup, going in circular motions. Soon, a cup of fragrant hand-brewed coffee was made.

I handed the cup of coffee to Evan. He lowered his head to give the aroma a whiff, a pleased smile appearing on his face.

Evan: A fragrance that I love.

Evan: But it's missing a little something.

He then moved to personally make a similar cup for me. We both sat down across each other, nursing our cups of coffee and taking small sips from it.

Even while sitting on a foldable chair, the way he drank his coffee was still as elegant as ever.

The forest was silent. The only thing that could be heard was the sound of intermittent chirping of the insects hidden within the foliage, adding to the relaxed and leisurely atmosphere.

MC: Evan, don’t you think that it’s been a long time since we’ve stepped away from the bustling city life to simply spend time together like this, thinking about nothing?

MC: You seem busy lately. I'm honestly a little concerned if you actually have time to wind down…

Evan: Thank you for your concern. I do have the time to do so once in a while.

He raised the cup of coffee in his hand.

Evan: This is the aroma I settle down with every lunch break, to watch a movie, or to read a book.

MC: Right, I often do the same as well.

A flicker of thought entered my mind, and I immediately latched on.

MC: I know! I've helped you think of your next wish!

Evan: Oh? And what is it?

I smiled mysteriously at him, turning around to rummage through my bag.

I happened to bring a book along with me today, so I searched the contents of my bag for it, pulling it out and handing it to him.

He ran his fingers across the gold-gilded text that had been printed onto the book cover. After a while, he suddenly returned the book to me. I raised my head in slight surprise, only to see the slight smile hidden in the corner of his eyes.

Evan: If that's how it is, then could I trouble you to read a paragraph for me?

MC: Sure.

Opening the book, I picked out a story that was about the forest and slowly started reading aloud.

It was seemingly enough to please him. He held onto his coffee, slowly leaning into the soft pillow, closing his eyes in satisfaction.

After finishing a paragraph, I closed the book, only to find him staring at me seriously. There was a fire flickering within his crimson orbs.

Evan: You know, I actually like this story a lot.

Evan: The first time I read this book, I imagined myself in the protagonist’s shoes.

Evan: Riding a small boat in a remote and secluded river, letting the current take me wherever it goes.

Evan: Expecting nothing, with no destination in mind. It doesn’t matter if I get stuck in a rapid, or if I’m just turning around in place.

MC: Sounds romantic enough. What happened after? Did you ever try doing so?

Evan: Not yet. Later, I ended up coming to the forest many times, but unfortunately, none of it was to seek recreation.

Evan: Which means, this is my first time.

Evan: So, thank you; for making this a memorable night for me.

He seemed a little tuckered out, and his voice was as soft as a mere whisper. His eyes were slowly fluttering shut as he spoke.

His eyelashes slid down as his eyes closed, casting a faint shadow on his features. I quietly observed how picturesque he looked like that as I thought back to everything he’d just said. A new plan was born within my heart.

Perhaps this wish was something that I could truly fulfil for him.

❖☆———————————★❖

The next morning, at exactly 5 AM. I was roused from my slumber as my alarm clock rang.

I gave a big wide stretch, casting a glance at Evan. Thankfully enough, he hadn’t been awoken by the alarm and was still curled up in the sleeping bag next to be, fast and soundly asleep.

After doing a simple wash up, I quietly exited the tent.

We passed by a commercial campground yesterday while searching for a suitable campsite. It provided rental services of a wide variety of camping equipment.

That’s why my first thought had been this place when I heard Evan mention boating last night. Hence, I contacted them and reserved an inflatable kayak.

With the help of my mobile GPS navigator, I walked the forest for about half an hour before I finally arrived at the campsite.

After waiting outside for a good long while, the owner whom I’d previously made an appointment with came up to me in a right state of panic.

Campsite Owner: Sorry! Some trouble cropped up, so I’m late…

MC: Don’t worry about it. What happened though? Do you need any help?

Campsite Owner: Can I bother you? If so, then yes please! I’ll tell you what happened…

After a while, I handed a trembling kitten to the owner.

It began rolling about as soon as it returned to its owner’s arms, acting like a baby as it rubbed itself against the owner’s palm, as if expressing regretfulness for its actions.

MC: The little guy must have been scared out of its mind.

Campsite Owner: Yeah. Thank you so much, Miss! I have no idea what I'd have done without you.

MC: Don't worry about it. It's no big deal.

When I came to the campsite earlier, the owner had been in the middle of a cat problem. It had climbed to the top of the tree without anyone's notice and didn't dare come down.

It had been meowing helplessly at the very top. Hence, I immediately joined the rescue effort without a second thought.

I hear that it had already been stuck up the tree for about 10 hours or more. We didn't have a tall enough ladder, so it took a great amount of improvisation to finally save the poor kitten.

Campsite Owner: Oh, right. J nearly forgot your kayak. This isn't light, though! Can you carry it alone?

MC: Huh?

I stepped forward to test its weight. The folded inflatable kayak was indeed heavier than I expected. But thinking about how Evan would react upon seeing this kayak, I suddenly felt that this extra weight meant absolutely nothing in comparison.

Campsite Owner: *Sigh* Since you've helped me, I ought to repay you the favour by lugging this back for you. But I've still got appointments later so I really can't afford to leave...

Campsite Owner: Rental's free of charge then! Have fun with it!

MC: It's alright, I can just take my time carrying it back. Thank you!

After bidding my farewells to the owner, I took the kayak with me and left the campsite.

I hadn't made it fat when my arms started feeling sore. All I could do was to put the kayak on the ground and take a short breather.

As I spaced out, I suddenly heard a muffled sound coming from within the depths of the forest.

My ears tuned in to the sound in full alert. Whatever that was, it was by no means small. 

Was it an animal? Or was it someone?

The crunching sound of leaves approached closer and closer. Now, I could tell without a doubt that those footsteps were most definitely human. And it sounded a little rushed; panicked, even.

Feeling a little uneasy, I couldn’t help but stand back up.

Then, a familiar figure emerged from the dense forest.

MC: …Evan!?

He seemingly breathes out a long sigh of relief upon spotting me. He quickly strode up to me.

Evan: I finally found you, at least.

Evan: I woke up in the morning to find you missing, and you never picked up even when I called. I was worried sick.

He looked as calm and unruffled as ever at first glance. The only difference was that he seemed a little out of breath.

This place isn’t close to our campsite at all. How long has he been searching for me out in the woods?

Thinking about it made me feel a little guilty.

I ended up telling him briefly about the unexpected situation I’d encountered in the commercial camp and everything before that.

MC: I left really early. I initially thought that I’d be back before you woke up, but I never thought that I’d take that long to get back...

MC: I’ve been busy this entire time so I didn’t have the time to check my phone. Sorry for worrying you.

Evan: It's okay. Just… Don't leave my side without saying anything next time, alright?

I nodded and lowered my eyes in embarrassment. Unexpectedly, I then noticed that he’d buttoned a button near the hem of his dress shirt wrong.

Having never seen Evan disregard his appearance in this manner before, I very nearly failed to suppress my snort of laughter.

Evan: Hm? What's the matter?

I shook my head, undoing that button and rebuttoning it right. It was only then that he noticed his slight gaffe. He laughed at his own mistake.

Evan: …Thank you.

Looking into his eyes, I couldn't hold back the urge to ask him the one thing that had been nagging at my mind.

MC: This place is not anywhere close to our campsite. How did you know I was here?

Evan: I couldn't contact you in the morning, so I searched around the tent to see if you left anything resembling a note behind.

Evan: I remembered that you seemed interested in this place when we passed by it yesterday, so I thought that maybe this was where you'd gone.

I hadn’t expected him to see completely through me as he cast a glance at the kayak on the ground.

MC: *Sigh* Why did you figure everything out like that? I wanted to surprise you!

Evan: Don't worry about it. This is also a surprise in and of itself, don't you think? Thank you for all the effort you've put in.

Evan: It feels pretty good to have your wish granted by someone else.

He gently took my hand in his, enveloping my palm in his bigger one, transmitting his unusual body warmth.

Evan: But I also want you to know that just you being by my side's more than enough for me.

My train of thought was disrupted by his tender gaze, making it hard for me to gather my thoughts together.

MC: But I don't think that's enough.

MC: You’re always taking care of others and listening to their wishes, but you can’t forget yourself and your wishes.

MC: I want to hear more of your wishes. You can always be a little greedier when you’re with me, Evan...

He looked at me for a fleeting second before suddenly closing in on me. He only stopped when my figure was completely enshrouded within his shadow.

Evan: Then, can I be greedy one last time?

MC: Huh…?

Not waiting for me to give him an answer, he advanced a step forwards, pulling me into a hug.

His arms were solidly wound around me, and the fragrance of wormwood that came with his embrace was lasting and stronger than ever.

The strength behind his action made it hard for me to reject him, hard for me to escape. 

Oddly enough, I felt a little intoxicated by it, slowly closing my eyes.

❖☆———————————★❖

The next day, early morning. I woke up to the melodious singing of birds.

Evan was already awake, neatly dressed and sitting on the folded chair at the entrance, sipping on a cup of coffee.

Evan: Good morning. Sleep well last night?

MC: Brilliantly! I was so tired from walking so long yesterday that I fell asleep the moment my head met the pillow.

MC: Oh, right. It’ll take quite a long time to go back where we came, so let’s eat something, pack up, and leave as soon as possible!

Evan set his cup of coffee down,

Evan: Aren’t you forgetting something?

MC: Huh?

Evan: I recall you wanting to see bamboo piths, but we have yet to see any.

I froze, awkwardly laughing it off

That had originally been an excuse to get him outside and I’d totally forgotten about it.

MC: Hehe. I’m not that adamant about seeing bamboo piths.

MC: I only said that back then as an excuse to get you out so that you can relax.

MC: I heard that you had things rather rough before that so I was a little worried about you.

He looked slightly surprised. Then, he lowered his eyes, a warm smile catching onto the sides of his mouth.

Evan: So it was because of me.

Evan: Thank you for accompanying me here. I’m certainly much more relaxed now.

MC: But considering how you were previously… Are you really okay?

Evan: Yes. It’s probably not as bad as you’re thinking. I was just thinking about some old people and old things and felt a little glum about it.

Evan: I never thought that I’d end up alarming others.

MC: Why am I “others” now?

MC: Don’t bottle your troubles up to solve them yourself. You need to remember to share them with people close to you as well!

Evan: Okay. I will keep that in mind.

I still didn’t know what he was troubled by, but I suppose this was still within my expectations.

From my impression of him, he has always been strong. It was almost as if he was shouldering a mission that no one knew about, walking down a similarly obscured path.

After finishing breakfast, we packed and prepared to leave the forest.

We idly chatted with each other along the way until suddenly, Evan stopped short while we were passing through an area.

Following his gaze, I saw a unique-looking umbrella-shaped thing growing within the shrubbery’s shade.

Evan: See? We still managed to chance upon it.

MC: Wow, are all of these bamboo piths?

We walked over together, squatting beside the small white fungi.

It had a small black cap and had grown out a long white mesh skirt.

This was the first time I ever saw a bamboo pith growing in the soil. I widened my eyes in surprise, unwilling to blink as I drank in the sight. After observing it for a while, I finally raised a finger, reaching out to touch its “skirt”.

MC: It’s so wet and soft-looking! It’s adorable! Have you seen it before, Evan?

MC: I can’t believe you managed to recognize it at a glance!

Evan: Yes. It was back during the first time I’d been driven into the forest as a child.

Evan: I witnessed the law of the jungle and escaped from the jaws of death of a snake. I felt like the forest was a place filled with danger and wanted nothing but to leave the place the faster, the better.

Evan: Then, just as I was hungry and exhausted, I saw a bamboo pith.

Evan: At that time, I didn’t know what it was and if it was actually poisonous.

Evan: Deep in the throes of despair, I thought “why not just take it, eat it, and see what my fate turns out to be”?

MC: Evan…

Evan: But guess what I saw while I was hesitating?

Evan: I saw it growing its fungus skirt. All it took was a little effort on its part, and its little skirt grew longer and longer.

Evan: I stared at it blankly, in a daze. I didn’t even notice that my legs had gone numb from how long I’d stared at it.

He retracted himself from his memory palace, turning around to face me with a smile.

Evan: It was as simple as a little young lady, capable of encouraging me with its adorability and enchantments.

Evan: It made me understand that forest, in all its gloom and doom, still has its own little interesting spots.

Evan: And that one is only capable of seeing it by living on, don’t you think?

His expression was quiet, but within those calm eyes of his, I could see that little boy who’d struggled his hardest to remain strong. I felt my heart constrict slightly at that and moved to hold his hand tightly in my own.

MC: Evan, that’s all in the past. You’re no longer that helpless little boy.

Evan: No, I’m fine.

Evan: I might have forgotten even this if we hadn’t seen the bamboo piths today.

Evan: It feels a little unbelievable when I think back on it now. It was a memory plagued by darkness, yet it still held its own beautiful moments.

I felt a pang of sorrow creep into my heart. Words of comfort were right at the tip of my tongue, yet I felt like they’d be completely helpless.

This man before me, strong as a warrior; someone who’d been forced to face life-or-death decisions from a very young age… Maybe he wasn’t as complicated as I initially thought he was.

There are many reasons why one would choose death, but to choose life? The reason was simple; just a little spark was required, and Evan was no exception.

MC: I forgot who said it, but someone once said that the meaning of existence that people spend their entire lives seeking out is actually hidden in the simple things.

MC: Evan, won’t you say that you might end up thinking similarly as well one day?

MC: You might not be able to find it immediately, but that’s fine. I will accompany you in your search for it, no matter how long it takes.

Evan fixed me with a profound look before stretching out his hand and reverently crossing it over my own.

Evan: Alright. Together we shall be.

⊹ ˚✩ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ∘◦ ✥ ◦∘ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ✩˚ ⊹

✥ Choose your Ending:

END 1 | Choice: Do Nothing [都不做]

END 2 +3 + 4 | Choice: Call Out [呼唤] ⊹Speak⊹

END 4 + 6 | Choice: Approach [亲近] ⊹Touch⊹

END 7 + 8 | Choice: Heart-throb [心动] ☆Light & Night★

❖☆————— ⊹ For Night, For Revolution⊹ ���————★❖

Previous Part: (Prologue)

[goldafterglow]

Head canon: MAKING JACK BLUSH. I NEED TO SEE IT. 🥺

Summary: Jack Daniels is a pretty cowboy.

Paring: Jack “Whiskey” Daniels x reader

Word Count: 1.3k+

Warnings: soft!Jack, no sins but they are for sure basking in the post-sin afterglow, a lil bit of blushing for our baby boy, this is not beta read bc i’m impatient

Author’s Note: YESDJHGJFD I LOVED EVERY SECOND OF THIS. This is also my first little like drabble, except it’s too long but ig 1.3k is a drabble for me kids this is the standard.

It’s early in the morning. 1:43 am to be exact. But you can’t bring yourself to end the night; he always make it so hard to sleep. In a good way of course; a really good way.

It’s in the afterglow that his feelings begin to melt, glaciers in his mind turning to liquid as the golden amber spills gently from his lips and over your chest so that it will encapsulate you, dry around you and encase you, keeping his words wrapped around your body forever. Embroidered into the soft chenille of your neck and whispered into the lobes of your ears. He speaks to you in a way that you can feel; it’s a pleasure of its own to feel his lips kiss the dips of your clavicles through his words, his voice low and sending wide vibrations through your sternum. It feels sinful, heavenly, like something too good to be right.

It feels nice.

You’re laid by him on your side, face buried into his bare chest as his thick fingers run along the curve of your spine, re-exploring you with a sense of focused clarity that he doesn’t often get when he’s overwhelmed with lust and passion. His fingers are careful, sensitive, picking up on every bump and blemish until he can paint the perfect picture of you under his closed eyelids, even as the meek moonlight bathes your waist and glimmers against the sheets. Perfect.

He’s resolved to a comfortable state of wordlessness, eyes trained on the top of your head as you bask. There truly is something golden about the afterglow he casts onto you; you always seem to feel like you’re floating, like not even gravity could keep you from ascending to the clouds with him. He makes you feel precious.

With an inhale of his musk, you slowly nudge your chin so that you can look up at him, fingers tracing his jaw. You love to let him shower you in his affection like a delicate hummingbird is kissed by tiny drops of rain, but you rarely take the time to take him in. The bump of his nose is highlighted by the window’s rays, his lips still a little blushed and swollen from the night. The side of your palm runs up along the side of his face before finding his hair; it’s been mussed, disheveled by your greedy fingers. Gorgeous.

“What’s going on in that big beautiful mind of yours, angel?” Jack ponders, prodding you tenderly with his words. He can tell when you’re lost in thought, lost in him. Perhaps he can’t tell when you have no desire to be found, when you want to be left to traverse the tall grass of his forest and hug the applewood in his eyes. What a way to go.

“Nothing, Jack,” you assure. It’s a weak excuse, an almost embarrassing attempt at deflecting his question, but maybe it’s because you want him to ask you again, dig a little deeper into you so he can make a home inside you. Never leave.

“Now, darlin’,” he starts, feigning a little sternness in his tone, “I think you know good and well that ol’ Jack can tell when you’re fibbin’. Ain’t no use lyin’ to me, honey. I’ll catch ya every time.” Your heart swells swells a little at his words, because he’s so honest with you. You know he knows you, sometimes better than you know yourself. He’s made you his hobby, learning you like a subject and studying you like a book. He can always read you.

And yeah; he always catches you.

You take a few diamond-adorned seconds to look at him; his mustache rests right on top of his soft smile, there to accent his words and tickle your neck when he’s feeling playful. His eyes are wide like when a two-month old baby can finally look at its mother in awe, utterly mystified and doe-y. His face is sculpted by the gods, chiseled to magnificence in his charcoal features, and yet he uses it to show you he loves you. He loves you.

“You’re so pretty, Jack,” you whisper. The words barely leave your lips as a noise, traveling to his ears as wisps of the breeze you blow onto him.

Jack Daniels is floored.

It’s not a word he’d ever use to describe himself. Cocky, sure. Sexy, absolutely. Brash, confident, competent; he wasn’t too shy to toot his own horn every once in a while. But pretty? Flowers are pretty; butterflies are pretty. When the sleepy sun yawns and breathes a peach glow onto the front-porch flower bed, that’s pretty. When you step outside to dip yourself in the golden afterglow and he walks out into the backyard to find you sitting on the quaint bench he built just for you. When he drags himself into the kitchen in the morning to find you already there, frying up bacon on his stove in nothing but his unbuttoned flannel and last night’s bra; that is fucking pretty.

But Jack Daniels -- is he pretty? He looks down at you carefully. He can tell when you’re fibbin’, after all. 

You don’t look like a dishonest woman to him.

“You’ve already got me in bed with you,” he teases, trying to deflect. He can’t handle the weight of your words, isn’t strong enough to hide what they do to him, and he needs you to take them back before he bursts into a supernova of rouge love. “You don’t need to-”

“I mean it, baby,” you interrupt, tone serious. You can tell he doesn’t want to believe you, doesn’t want to grapple with the intensity of your thoughts. But he needs to know, he has to trust you’re not deceiving him. “You’re beautiful.”

His smirk is gone, his smug, self-assured grin nowhere to be seen. The room is dark; he knows that. But the moonlight hits him just right, at just the right angle that you can see that sweet strawberry syrup tint his cheeks, giving him up. You can’t help but smile a little, like you’ve done something good. He’s good.

Jack’s breathing is a little jagged, his heartbeats a little stuttered. What was it he’d done to deserve you again? Oh right; nothing.

Your hand leaves his hand to cup his red cheek, thumb running right under his big eyes. He leans into it, face turning a little to nuzzle your palm, and the notion makes you giggle. A fierce lion reduced to a whimsical lamb, so gentle under your touch. He is vulnerable when he is with you, especially in these shared moments of solitude, and you wonder if you could look at him like this forever.

Blushing.

“C’mere, pretty boy,” you tease, but you mean it. You mean every word.

You nudge him towards you, his face finding solace in your chest. He shifts down a little, his soft body wrapping around your middle. He can hide in you, feel pretty in your arms. He’s safe in you.

“You think I’m pretty, sugar?” he asks softly. Almost a little timid. He’s embarrassed to need validation like this, ashamed that he’s practically begging you to say those words again, but you make him feel so warm, so secure, and he knows that the last person to leave him for a lapse in strength is you.

You press a kiss to the top of his scalp, his wild hair tickling your nose but you don’t care; you want him close. Closer.

“I know it,” you whisper, throat closing on itself a little because you’re so grateful that you finally get to tell him. That Jack can finally begin to grasp just how much he means to you. There’s so much more you want to say, but you don’t want to overwhelm him with it because you know he loves you with a fury and passion that drowns him without you piling on your love too.

And as Jack closes his eyes, finally ready to let the night end, he thinks he might know it too.

Tags (ik this is a drabble but idk lmao):  @gustavos @catfishingmorales @keeper0fthestars @1zashreena1 @blancatobarxoxo @honeyedspace @chaotic-noceur @opheliaelysia @adikaofmandalore @din-damn-djarin @mrsparknuts @girlwithanewplan @mrschiltoncat @buckstaposition @the-feckless-wonder @ergotautology (girl you know what to do) 

also im gonna never tag anyone in my headcanons again bc that was embarrassing yikes gjfhdjgd

[notmanagingmymischief]

𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲.

Wind whips at your face as you run. Blood rushing in your ears and tears streaming down your face, you run and run until it hurts. But you can’t stop, not knowing where she’s going. Or more, where she’s being forced to go. Your shirt tears on branches that cut your skin and lash at your eyes but you don’t care. It’s so dark you can barely see, which only adds to the confusion and panic of the situation, but you know well enough to get where you need to be. You gasp for breath as you finally crest the bottom of the hill and see her, see them. Your eyes catch on him first, hand out towards your lover and back turned to you. And then her, face blank of all emotions. Still you run, and scream her name, but it’s lost in the wind.

Closer and closer you get, but you’re hot fast enough and he continues forcing her to walk back, step by step, every one a bit closer to her doom. Again you call her name, just as her foot hits the edge, and they hear you. His face snaps to look at you, so does hers. But it’s too late; his trance has been broken but the fates still have their way, for as she calls your name, a strong gust catches her off balance, and with a gasp, she falls. Your eyes blow wide and you lunge, screaming her name and landing on your stomach with your arm dangling over the peak of the cliff. And you watch in slow motion as your lover falls to the sharp rocks. But still she smiles, and just before she hits the bottom, she whispers “I love you,” and you can almost hear it in your ear.

And then she’s gone. Her body connects with the jagged edges below, going limp immediately as her neck snaps and bones break, killing her almost instantaneously. You stare down at her broken form, hundreds of feet beneath, arm still extended and fingers splayed in a failed effort to prevent her fall. More tears form in your eyes and your face twists in agony as you wail, an anguished, tormented thing that echoes off the water and rings in your ears. You son loudly, body wracking tremors that nearly send you toppling as well. Not that down below isn’t where you’ll be by the end of the night, anyway. But he has to pay. He has to feel the pain that she felt, that you felt because she felt it. Your tears don’t stop, yet you retract your arm, pushing yourself up with slow motions.

Just as slowly, you turn to face him, already pale face somehow more ashen, and he whispers your name in a broken plea. For mercy, for his life, it doesn’t matter. What does is making him suffer, and you, blinded by rage and unadulterated grief, attack. By the time you’re done with him he’s hardly recognizable, practically beheaded and disemboweled on the dry grass. You pant, covered head to toe in his filthy blood that you wipe off your cheek with the back of your hand and drop the dagger to the ground. You stare down at his body with a sick satisfaction that soon fades back into sorrow, and once again turn to face the cliffside.

Maybe she wouldn’t have wanted you to do this, perhaps she’d have wanted you to keep going. But a life without her is not one worth living, and so you stand overlooking the drop. Just on the precipice of life and death, you stare down at the outline of your lover, and with a sad smile, breathe “Always and forever, my love.” Before pitching yourself off the edge.

[darkpoisonouslove]

Prey on the Heart

Summary: Valtor is on the hunt when his hound makes an unexpected discovery - Griffin is on the premises and defenseless against his rage over her betrayal. Valtor has to decide what catch he’s after - her head or their love. AU.

CW: Blood, dog bites, injury neglect, non-graphic violence and sex

This has been an outlined idea for almost 11 months. It was supposed to be an entry for Whumptober last year but I managed to turn it back into romance instead of torture somehow. I never got around to writing it unti today the universe conspired to bring it into existence and I am so happy to have finally finished it!

Love Again by Dua Lipa is giving me feels for this AU so give it a listen if you want.

The tufts of yellowed grass barely rustled under his feet as he followed the hound south. A little further and they'd leave the borders of the Coven's estate for the uninhabitable wasteland his mothers hadn't bothered to purchase even at the low cost of Obsidian land.

The rainless summer had left the otherwise infertile ground dry and cracked, no prints marring it's hardened surface. The hound was relying purely on her animal instincts and despite the boost from his magic, his senses couldn't catch up. He was barely keeping up with Violet herself glancing around for a trace on the foliage of what she'd sniffed.

He caught a strangled scream without the need to strain his ears. It was loud and clear despite the attempt to muffle it. He'd thought it was an animal the hound had shot after but that scream... It was a human voice. A familiar voice.

He followed the sound, steps hurried and heavy on the ground to chase away any game in the vicinity but he'd have his prize regardless. Unless he was dreaming or under one of mother Lysslis' illusion spells.

He called the dog back to lead him to where she'd left her victim. He'd seen Violet do her thing under Lysslis' training. Whenever she got her teeth into something, it wasn't getting away before she let go. And it wasn't getting away after that either.

Violet's teeth had a wet red tint to them, muzzle damp with blood and saliva as her nostrils expanded voraciously with every breath from the heavy copper smell. She circled him frantically and dashed forward only to run back to him in an attempt to prompt him to catch up with her speed. At least she was happy with her find.

An unusual circle of trees formed a perfectly lined up clearing in the forest. Stepping inside it left him face to face with a lone tree in the middle that was keeled over and charred. It must have been stricken by a lightning but its sturdy, forked roots had grounded it deep in the soil to make it the only thing standing in the clearing.

Leaning on the other side of it, partially concealed by its thick trunk, was none other than Griffin. Her hands trembled as she tightened the knot on the bandage she'd wrapped around her bleeding calf. She hissed when the dirty rag she'd torn from the hemline of her tattered and muddied dress constricted the tender wound Violet had left in her wake. And to think Griffin had been the one who'd gifted him the hound when she'd still been a pup that had fit in the palm of his hand. Valtor had even named her after Griffin, the striking shade of her hair coloring everything from his sketches to the very dreams his subconscious concocted. If she hadn't left so soon after presenting him with the puppy, Violet may have remembered her scent. Not that that would have given her a chance against Lysslis' conditioning of all hunting dogs, including Valtor's personal hound.

Griffin's eyes pinned the hound where it was pacing from one side to another behind Valtor's legs with her tail wagging and her labored breaths filling the silence of his own lungs. The sight of him had Griffin's whole body tensing as her hands hit the tree bark behind her back and she scrambled to her feet.

Her movements were lagging from the pain and panic dripping from her hunched form. Her hair fell down her back matted with red where she'd brushed it back with bloodied hands. Large chunks of unrefined obsidian crystals were strapped to her wrists with clumsy threads of silver into bracelets that ran up her arms under her sleeves.

She'd made those herself–in a hurry–her magic pulling the crystals and metal straight from the core of the planet. They would have impeded any other witch considering his own mothers' magic was notably subdued by the large deposits of obsidian under the planet's surface but not her. Crystals were one of her areas of expertise–and the reason why she'd walked into his life–yet even her knowledge had failed her along with her luck. She'd made it to the very edge of the territory controlled and owned by the Coven under the protection of the black crystals she'd adorned herself with to ward off dark magic but still not far enough.

It had been fear cutting off her magic to prevent her from fashioning herself a bandage the way she'd crafted her protection charms. Her golden eyes were wide like pits of inextinguishable fire and her chest wasn't moving to push the ample cleavage her dress left exposed into the forefront of his mind. She'd had an easier time drawing breath with the weight of his head nestled over her ribcage, over her heart beating steadily with the promise of her presence.

Valtor's step forward echoed like a gunshot in her body. Her back pressed into the tree, muscles pulled taut with compressed energy readying her to pounce.

"Run." His first word to her. He could have lost a bet that it would be a vile curse in a lost language only she could understand. "I dare you." She'd turned her back and left unprompted. If she still abode by that logic, then she'd have to stay.

Griffin swallowed. "You're going to hunt me down like an animal?" Her teeth gritted as she strained against her eyes slipping from his form.

His fingers clenched to white around the cold metal of his shotgun. Her jaw would have been dust in his grip where he wanted it to tip her head back and pin her gaze with his. She'd forced him to endure far greater pain being the one left behind. She hadn't earned the right to writhe and scream in agony.

"Violet here is an animal," he extended his hand and the hound pressed her head into his open palm. She always obeyed his calls, never running off where she wouldn't hear him and come back. "She is loyal and dependable which is more than I can say about you." He may have named the dog after Griffin but he'd raised Violet to never follow in her footsteps.

"So I am less than an animal to you, too?" Her gaze darted to the dog and back – to the piece of herself she hadn't stolen from him.

Valtor frowned, hand stilling between Violet's ears to make her rub it in his fingers insistently. He ignored her.

"What do you mean to me too?" Once again Griffin took precedence. Over his hunt, over his dog, over his own heart. Only his stomach sank from the prediction of what he'd hear from her mouth.

"You think I came here on a picnic with only the dress on my back?" Griffin stood steady on her feet, her tenacious nature breathing life into a smirk he had to bite back.

He hadn't given thought to the circumstances of their meeting. Her aching form in front of his eyes was everything. One blink and she'd melt away, swept up into another one of the portals the locations of which she was best at estimating. Indeed her presence on top of her disheveled state posed multiple questions he hadn't paid mind to. He was making it too easy for her to deceive him again.

"Your mothers chased me down and electrocuted me to the point of nearly frying my organs," her arms crossed over her belly to raise alarms in his head. If anything gave him the strength to best mother Tharma, it would be the rage over touching what was his. Griffin was a central part of that even if revenge was all that was left between them. That and the truth she spoke. "They kept me locked up for weeks in a tiny shoe box where I couldn't even stand up straight and only let me out last night. Right as darkness fell for me to read on the star-filled sky that it was the first day of hunting season."

There was disdain in her voice instead of the fear everyone else held for the way his mothers took beauty and strength and twisted it into despair. They had taken her love of astronomy and turned it into the herald of her death sentence. Just like they'd repopulated the area around their estate with hunting game only to have their fill of murdering unsuspecting animals.

Griffin's eyes burned so fiercely he half expected the tree behind her to catch fire. "They let me out to be your prey." And she'd dashed for the quickest route out of there. She hadn't come back for him.

"You betrayed me."

Violet sat down on her hind legs, body taut like a string and tail beating harshly into the dust. She would leap at the smallest shift in him.

Griffin was like a rock in front of him. His fire wouldn't touch her and his bullets would bounce back at him. "They are enslaving people and I didn't know I was helping them."

He hadn't told her. All he could have given her had been the illusion of a choice. She never would've picked him if he'd let his mothers force her to lay the world at their feet. It had been the only chance the two of them had had to be together.

"I had to put an end to it."

"You betrayed me!" Valtor raised the shotgun, his hands shaking too violently to aim it more precisely than just in Griffin's general direction as he stalked closer. Violet was growling on his left to keep his flank safe. "I gave you my everything. You were all I had and you left!"

All the riches flowing into Obsidian under his mothers' direction and Griffin's accurate calculations of opening portals to other planets were resources for the Coven's needs, not for his personal use. He wasn't even allowed in certain rooms of the mansion. The magic in his very veins had been embedded there by his mothers' efforts and lessons. Griffin had been the one building a little home with him in the room they'd come to share, she'd been the one putting a heartbeat in his palms only to leave him clutching empty sheets with a cold blade sticking out of his chest.

"Bursting your heart into atoms is exactly what you deserve." He stalked closer, the cool barrel of his shotgun and Violet's razor-sharp teeth were his only defense. The obsidian on Griffin's wrists weakened his magic and the shine of her eyes had obliterated his resolve to chase her down even from his memories.

Griffin's eyes hardened, hands balling into fists. "If you're going to shoot me, do it!" she grabbed the shotgun and pressed it into her bare skin.

The force threw him off balance and he stumbled forward, pushing the stiff metal into her sternum while her breath invaded his mouth with their faces inches apart. "Do not. Tempt me," he growled, his fingers twitching from her audacity to wrap around her throat and force more breath from her.

"Do it!" Griffin was still gripping the shotgun close to her heaving chest unafraid of the fire that could burst from the contact. "I knew this–seeing you again–would be the end of me. But if taking the shot is what will take your pain away, then I'm ready to go. As long as it will let you live." Her eyes lost focus and her head lulled, a small smile tugging at her lips and his heartstrings as her gaze dropped to Violet.

The dog was pacing behind him to no reason or direction. Her nose was lowered into the dirt in defeat.

Valtor forced Griffin's head back with the barrel of his shotgun until their eyes were locked together. "Do you think I'm that dumb? That I'll believe you after all your lies?" He had to watch out for the hands. One wrong move and they'd be in his chest again. Or his would be in her hair under the clink of his forgotten shotgun to draw a moan out of her that would melt him in a puddle at her feet.

"It doesn't matter what you believe, what either one of us believes." Vulnerability was sealed in her eyes like they were amber preserving history. Bullets wouldn't work on them. Shattering them would only spill the truth of his own wrongdoings. "It will not change the fact that I love you." A gasp came – from him or from her. "You can cut me open and reach inside me to feel it if you need to. It will still be there once my heart has stopped. Not even the planet can absorb it."

His hands shook as the shotgun trailed back between her breasts. The dry ground would soak up her blood instead of water and the forest would claim her body but the energy pouring from her wouldn't disappear in the well in the planet's core. Obsidian absorbed negativity from all over the universe to cleanse it and Griffin had thought it fair to trade protection for resources borrowed from other planets when it had little to no of its own. But she was offering her life to him for nothing in return. She was offering the purity of her love and that wasn't something the planet could protect from or swallow.

Valtor licked his lips. His mouth watered in her proximity for her to plant her deception into it. Yet his tongue hardly moved with his words in the breeze her breath was on his taste buds. "You're playing mind games. This is nothing more than manipulation." She could be an inch from his face and hop into a portal to the other end of the universe in the blink of an eye. And he hadn't been able to follow despite the pull in his heart.

"Nothing's stopping you from pulling the trigger. Or taking your hunting knife and carving out my heart." The blade weighed on his chest from its secret pocket as her voice reverberated through him. "Go ahead! Eat it like I always knew you would. And once its in your system, so will be my love." Her hand slid down the barrel of the shotgun, her fingers bathing his in their heat. "It will be a part of you, flowing through your veins and making you mine forever. Death by your hand does not scare me. I'll never die inside you."

The metal burned in his hand. Or that was the love for her that had never gone out. Not even at the look of the vast blackness of the sky where she could have disappeared forever. "You know I won't-"

"I know you want to." Griffin's hand slipped on top of his, colder than the blade of his knife over his heart. "But you won't. You pull that trigger and you lose me forever. You're not going to cause yourself that pain. Not even after I ran away." Her skin was like stone grinding against his to chip away his resistance. She knew him to his selfish core. Having her love forever inside him where he wouldn't be able to touch it wouldn't be enough even if she wouldn't be able to leave again.

"How could you bring my heart back after you fled with it?" It was right there clasped between her teeth. A kiss would free it and tugging at it with all his might would rip it to shreds. It was a miracle Griffin hadn't chewed it to bits when Violet's teeth had sunk into her flesh.

"Because we belong to each other. With each other." Her heart trembled in her pulse point for him to see. "No portal between worlds can change that. Not the one that took me away and not the one that brought me back."

How could he kill her when simply hating her would pull her out of his arms? Taking a step back would make him crumble under his self-loathing. He couldn't be the one to take her away from himself. Not when she was right there like a vision. One only she could make come true.

"Would you have ever come back if my mothers hadn't dragged you here?"

"Does it matter?" her voice was like a gunshot in his ears, like the weapon in his hand had gone off pressed into his own chest rather than hers.

The metal clanked as it hit the ground where he threw it and a shot echoed through the forest on accident that had Violet barking frantically. It could have been Griffin's magic wringing the bullet from his shotgun to drop him dead – he didn't care. His fingers had the freedom to tangle in her purple tresses again and a moan greeted him on her lips when he pulled her to his mouth.

No. It didn't matter. It didn't matter what could have happened when she was in his arms, chest pressing into his with her ragged breaths. She returned his kisses, teeth sliding over his lips to mark her territory like her life depended on it although she could pick up his shotgun and leave a hole in his chest. All she had to do to get away with murder was part with several hairs and blink back the tears from having them torn away in his death grip. Yet, all she was grasping at were the lapels of his coat to hold him in the reach of her kisses. She was still giving him everything she had with the threat to her life gone. It was all the proof he could want.

Her legs wrapped around his waist as he hoisted her against the tree. The bandage on her calf was wet with blood under his fingers but she was pulling him closer like she'd lost her mind to love and couldn't understand it was impossible to push herself into him more. Her magic would be no use for healing in her state and his would be no use at all.

Her skin was still soft despite the odd chilliness that had fallen over it and broke under his teeth on her collar bone to let him have her blood. Her wet flesh welcomed him as he entered her once he'd pulled all the fabric of her dress and underwear out of his way. His fingers dipped under her neckline to find her breast but brushed over dried mud instead. The rough surface of confusion threw him back into a questioning stare aimed at her.

"My chest was pierced by the Obsidian belladonna your mothers pushed me on." Obsidian threads from the land ran through the plant to claim each part of it and give it a crown of crystal-edged petals. The black crust was like a blade that cut through the flesh to release the poison of the belladonna directly into the bloodstream. Only Griffin's magic had saved her life from the toxins rushing from the roots to the petals of the plant. "The blood from the wound would draw the dog to me for sure in case my deep frozen state interfered with my scent." She didn't have to tell him it had been mother Belladonna's idea and magic to do all of that to her.

Valtor ran his hands over every inch of her in his reach. Her skin had remained cold after a full night of running. He had refrained form startling her with his magic but the heat of it passed from him into her to leave her body all his to claim with Belladonna's frost retreating from it. Griffin was burning now, hot moans dropping from her mouth with every thrust as she reached a hand under her dress to stroke them both further into the heights of pleasure. His open-mouthed kisses to her neck let him feel every breath and his tongue leaving a warm, wet trail over the column of her throat had her gasping. He'd cover her all in himself to erase the horror they'd been subjected to.

"We have to get you out of here." His mothers would finish the hunt themselves if he came back to the mansion without a trophy for their walls.

"Get the dog out of here." Griffin's voice wavered as she moved her palm under his shirt to brace herself on his abs. She let out a shuddering sigh, eyelids falling over the suns of his world. "We don't need public. She already saw enough." Griffin licked her lips, head falling back to thud against the tree trunk lightly with every push of his hips into her. Her back would be bruised with reminders of the movements they'd shared like they were one.

Valtor's whistle had Violet's attention and he sent her to keep the perimeter clear. His mothers wouldn't dirty their hands right away and she could hold her own against any other Coven member to buy him and Griffin time to talk.

He'd spend eternity watching Griffin's face scrunched up in concentration as she grabbed at her pleasure, hips matching his motions, but they had no more than a couple hours. "We need a plan."

Griffin knit her eyebrows at his interruption. "I had one right before they dragged me out of my life. I found a small island of pure amethyst orbiting an uninhabited planet." Energy currents turned all kinds of crystal structures into mini heavenly bodies. Someone with her talents had no trouble finding all the curiosities of space. "I was going to go there. Live on the planet and meditate on the island to clear my thoughts and overcome my grief." Amethyst was good for that. Just the shade of her hair cleansed his mind from agony to leave him clutching harder at the purple strands to keep them from slipping through his fingers.

"I wasn't dead." Abandoned but not dead. Not yet. He'd retreated into the dreams of a sky set ablaze in violet by a rising sun. They'd become his poison and his cure until she'd come back to put his heart back together.

Griffin's eyes snapped open, tears gleaming all over their gold. "I was dead to you."

"Not dead. Never dead." His fingers slid over the top of her breast to the wound she'd closed with mud to make her the one shivering. Her cold, lifeless body stuffed in his mind would force him apart at the seams.

"I was hoping there I would come up with a strategy for future action," Griffin continued to distract him. She rolled her hips into him and gave him a moan to ensure her success.

"Good." He leaned in to pant against her ear. "You continue according to plan then." His mothers would never look for her there. The only resource they'd ever pursued was human lives. His job had been to keep her distracted so she'd do the groundwork unknowingly.

"What about you?" He could hear her frowning over the pain of her nails digging into his abs.

He grabbed her wrist and pressed it harder into him so she'd be branded over his body. "I can't come. They'd put everything into finding us. It'd be more dangerous."

Griffin pushed her body flush against him, all of her weight falling on his muscles with her back barely brushing the tree. Her teeth were gliding over his neck but she pierced him with her voice instead. "You can't go back without my corpse."

He kissed her forcefully, tongue stuffing her mouth to trap the words there. They'd suffocate with no oxygen and Griffin yielded to him for a moment, pulling him closer until they were out of breath.

They fell back on the tree and a whimper was forced from her lips. Their mouths were just an inch away, breath mingling between them in perfect harmony. He had to be the one to speak first and keep the magic alive.

"You left once because there were people who needed help." Because he'd lied to her that that wasn't the case to keep her to himself. Her heart was bigger than his and he'd tried to cut it down in fear of the difference between them.

"Valtor-"

"I'm not losing you again." Because her heart was so big, he had a home. And she could give the same to others, too. "Once you have a plan, we end this once and for all and you'll never leave my side again." He had to let go of her hand to slip his fingers between her legs and drive her wild with his love for her.

Griffin was the one grabbing his wrist now. "I don't want to leave you with them again." Her fingers clasped his in a firm grip despite the trembling of her body. "They'll pay you back for not bringing their plan for us to fruition."

"They can't. Without you they need someone else to open portals for them." He'd picked up enough from the time they'd spent together to do that job without giving her perfect results. No one else could fill that role for his mothers' plan and the punishment for letting Griffin escape hadn't been nearly severe enough thanks to his usefulness. "You already gave me a weapon against them." He stroked his fingers over her arousal. It was only his place to be the source of her shaking. She deserved all the pleasure she could stand.

"I've made you a weapon for them," Griffin arched into his touch to escape the guilt she was trying to pile on herself.

Valtor thrust into her with all the vigor she'd given him to make her eyes roll in the back of her head and her thighs quiver around him. "They won't get to use me long but you're the only one who can find out how to stop them. You have to be protected." If his mothers wanted her dead instead of brainwashed and turning Obsidian into their empire of slavery, then she was dangerous enough to bring them down. "I'll come for you. Now come for me."

"Valtor."

It was not a scream of passion. It was an uttered love confession that made him weak in the knees. Supporting her was the only thing keeping him upright through his weakness. She was still bleeding – not just from her calf, but from her chest, too. If having his heart hadn't mended the wound he'd left on hers with his lies, he had to give her more. He had to send her away to heal so that the world could become a home for them again.

[mirasolis]

My Star, Your Light

Punz x Reader

Tangled AU

Part Two

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This is just you and Punz thrown into the world of Tangled, as requested by @thequeenofuwu . We are both Punz simps, I know it.

This is going to be in several parts, and I will link each part when I finish them under here.

Part 1 Part 2

Enjoy!

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3rd POV…

Punz was slowly coming into consciousness when a sudden force shoved his head to the side. His eyes shot open and turned to see a rainbow—coloured sheep on his shoulder.

“What the?!” The sheep hopped off, walking to the shadows. Punz noticed that he was sitting in a chair, his movements restricted by…

“…Is this…hair?”

(Y/N) held the pan close to her, shuffling in the corner. “You…you can’t escape! I know what you want!”

“W-what?”

(Y/N) slowly emerged into the light, pan ready to knock out the man in front of her. “Who are you, and how did you find me?”

Punz just looked at the woman in wonder. Her hair was exceptionally long, being the length of her body several times over.

(Y/N) impatiently demanded an answer. “Who are you, and how did you find me?!”

Punz cleared his throat and declared, “I know not of who you are, nor how I came upon your home and you. But may I just say…Hi.” He smirked cockily. “How you doing? The name’s Punz.”

“Does anyone else know of my location, Punz?”

“Alright girlie-“

“(Y/N).”

“Right. Here’s the thing. I was in a predicament. Galavanting through the woods on an…adventure. I came across this tower and-hold on a damn minute?! Where is my satchel?!”

“Oh, that bag of yours? I’ve hidden it! And no matter where you look, you won’t find it!”

Punz looked around for a while, before settling his sights on a little decorative pot. “It’s in that pot, isn’t it?”

CLANG!

(Y/N) just knocked him out again, and hid the satchel elsewhere, and instructed Puffy to wake the mercenary again. Once again the sheep rammed into Punz’ head and woke him up. He shot up, startled, and glared at Puffy.

“Stop doing that,” he stated plainly.

“Now you can’t find it. So tell me what you want. Do you want my hair, to cut it? Sell it?” (Y/N) interrogated Punz.

“Why would I sell it?! Listen, the only thing I need to do with your hair, is get out of it!” Punz claimed.

(Y/N) looked at him, puzzled. “You, don’t want…my hair?”

“Why would I want your hair?! Look, all I did was find your tower, and climb it, that’s all!”

“For real?”

“YES!”

(Y/N) looked at him hesitantly, before picking up Puffy to discuss with her. “Well, this could be the perfect opportunity. Puffy, I know he’s a stranger, but this is my chance! I think he’s telling the truth, what choice do I have if I want to see the lights?”

She turned back to Punz. “Okay, Punz. I am prepared to negotiate with you.”

“Negotiate?”

“Something brought you here. Call it as you see it Punz. Fate, destiny…”

“A horse?” Punz deadpanned.

“But listen to me when I tell you this; You can tear this tower apart as much as you want. You are not finding that satchel without my help. So you are going to take me to see the special stars tomorrow night. After that, you return me. Then, and only then, will you get your little purse back at all.”

“Those stars are actually lanterns, and I can’t exactly do that. I am a mercenary that stole something from the kingdom, so arrest on site for me it is.”

“Lanterns! I knew it! And my deal still stands. Bring me to see the lanterns or you get nothing.”

Punz shook his head around. “Okay, you’ve forced my hand. I have been left with no choice.”

Punz hangs his head before lifting it dramatically, showing that he bit his lip slightly while looking at (Y/N) with hooded eyes, trying to give off a sexy smoulder. She wasn’t impressed.

Punz held his face while speaking. “This is…kind of an off day for me, I usually don’t have to do this to anyone…FINE, I’ll take you to see the lanterns.”

As soon as he said that, (Y/N) squealed excitedly and accidentally let Punz fall on his face. She apologized profusely, let him free, and he began descending the tower.

(Y/N) tied Puffy to her body securely, as she prepared her hair to jump down to the world below. She heard Punz call to her, but all she could focus on was the green ground below. Taking a deep breath, she leapt from the heights and dropped. She shut her eyes tightly, feeling the wind rush against her body, curling up, and then she stopped.

She opened one eye, and saw the ground so close beneath her bare feet. Cautiously, she pointed out one foot to touch the grass, feeling its ticklish caress on her feet. Giggling, she planted her feet firmly on the ground, setting Puffy down as well. She wriggled her feet between the grass, and began dancing around. She was free! She could finally go and see the lights!

(Y/N) then proceeded to give herself emotional whiplash, switching between being happy and being depressed over the fact that she would upset Dream. Fun times.

Punz, seeing this as a perfect chance to get the crown back, leapt in for the final strike. “You don’t want to ruin your brother-sister bond with your older sibling, don’t you? That’s way too precious! So, I return you to your tower, I get my satchel, you get a healthy family relationship, and everyone is happy again, yeah?”

“No! You are taking me to see those lanterns Punz! And I will use this,” (Y/N) said while raising her frying pan.

There was a rustling in the bushes, and she jumped on Punz’ back, frightened. “What is it? Ruffians? Thugs?!”

A rabbit hopped out of the bush. “Ahhh,” Punz exclaimed in a dead voice. “You seem to be frightened easily. So it is probably best to avoid the ruffians and thugs, ya know? Oh, it just occurred to me, I know a great place for lunch. You hungry?”

Somewhere else in the forest…

Dream was walking through the forest with George. “So George, you’re clear with the plan?” Dream asked.

“Of course I am! We must accomplish this fast if we are to take over the kingdom,” George responded.

As they continued walking, the duo heard leaves moving, and were instantly on guard. They pulled out their weapons, only to find that it was a horse that stumbled upon them.

“Oh, a horse.” Dream overlooked the horse, seeing that it had reigns on it. Even worse, he recognized the horse as that belonging to the crown prince Technoblade.

“George we need to go back now!”

Dream wasted no time in sprinting back to the tower, with George following him close behind. They scaled the tower, but once they entered it, it was devoid of life. It was dark and quiet and Dream began to grow angry.

“Woah Dream, calm down!”

“Don’t tell me to calm down George! My 18-year plan is about to go to shit! Where the hell is she?!” In his rage, he noticed the light seeping from the cracks in the wooden planks of the stairs. Lifting it, he found a satchel with a crown inside it, and a poster with Punz’ face on it. He was determined to put his plan into action. He would have power over the kingdom, no matter what.

Somewhere in the forest...

Punz and (Y/N) were walking along the forest path, when they came across a run-down pub in the woods. It was called the ‘Chuckle Sandwich’.

“Hmm. Seems friendly enough,” (Y/N) pointed out.

“Yep, this deep into the forest I highly doubt that you’ll find any ruffians...or thugs, to scare you,” Punz goaded. He laughed in his mind. This’ll get her to return the crown to me, he thought.

“Well, I hope they make good sandwiches,” (Y/N) chimed.

“Great! Well let’s go inside!” Punz declared. He opened the door and escorted her inside. “Your finest table, please!”

(Y/N) reeled back at the sight before her. All there was, were just ruffians and thugs. As Punz gently pushed her through the pub, (Y/N) held out her pan in front of them, hoping to ward anyone off.

“You smell that? Ya really gotta inhale through the nose! Let it seep in! What kinda scents are ya getting? I’m getting an overall man smell but also just brown!” Punz ranted.

A random patron grabbed onto (Y/N)’s long hair and she grabbed as much as she could and ran off to find a safe place, Puffy following close behind.

“That’s a lot of hair,” the man holding her hair said. Punz nodded in agreement, walking towards (Y/N) as she backed up against a wall.

“You don’t look so good. Maybe we should bring you home,” Punz said as he began guiding (Y/N) to the door. “Maybe you can’t handle this place, and by that logic, the outside world! You should probably be back in your tower!”

Punz was cut off from leaving the pub. A man with ram horns and sideburns held the door closed, with his hand covering the face on Punz’ wanted poster.

“Is this you?” The ram asked sinisterly. Punz squinted at the hidden parts of the poster, lifting the ramhead’s fingers to see that his face was just even more messed up.

“Now that’s just rude,” Punz stated.

A man with a hat covering the majority of his hair agreed. “It is him, man! Connor, find some guards!” The man named Connor ran out the door. “That money’s gonna get me some new beanies! Capitalism!”

A man with glasses and green attire spoke up. “Nope! I’m gonna use it for something much better!”

The patrons of the pub began fighting to keep hold of Punz, pulling him back and forth. A man in a multicoloured tunic said, “What about me? I’m broke!”

Several more people joined in, including a man with a shaved head and red and blue glasses, a man with fox ears and a tail, a whole cat man, and a man in a maid outfit. Just...why?

(Y/N) tried to reach her guide, to no avail. “Hey! Leave him alone!”

Over the ruckus (Y/N) could not be heard clearly, so she got the crowd’s attention by pulling back a branch in the rafters and letting it hit the ram headed man. “PUT HIM DOWN!!”

They all quickly turned their heads to her, anger fixed onto their faces. “Okay, I don’t know where the hell I am, and I need this guy to take me to see the lanterns because I’ve been dreaming of them my whole life!! Can’t you understand? Haven’t you guys ever had a dream?!”

The horned man walked towards (Y/N), grabbing an axe. She shied away from his approaching figure, then he threw the axe at a scrawny accordion player. “I had a dream, once.”

A slow upbeat tune filled the tavern as the man narrated his story. “My name is Schlatt. I’m malicious, mean; I can be scary. In terms of violence, I don’t have clean hands at all. But even, despite my unsightly horns, I’ve always wanted to perform for the masses as a comedian! I mean, who wouldn’t laugh at my (sometimes) out of taste jokes?!”

The beanie man stood up next. “Well, the name’s Quackity! I’ve always wanted to be a pianist! I’ve been practicing here for years! I know so many songs like that iCarly theme song!!”

“ICarly theme song?” (Y/N) asked.

Green man went next. “Well the name is Charlie Slimecicle!! I know that many find me unsightly, due to my terrible appearance!” He was saying that way too positively. “I dream of one day finding love!”

Everyone was taking their turn, talking about their dreams. Multicoloured tunic man, named Karl, wanted to create the best future for his friends. The man with red and blue glasses called Jack Manifold, wanted to become a well-renowned demolitions expert. The fox man, named Fundy, wanted to launch a bakery with his friend, a woman named Niki Nihachu. The maid outfit man, HBomb, wanted to become Fundy’s maid. Why? IDK maybe he’s kinky.

As everyone took their turn, they let Punz talk about his dream. “Oh no, fellas. I don’t have a dream.”

Several swords pointed at his throat later, he ranted about a dream where he had boundless amounts of money.

Lame.

(Y/N) sprung up onto a table, speaking starry-eyed about the lanterns. “I am so glad I left my tower! I can finally see the lanterns!”

Everyone cheered, celebrating the endless freedom that their dreams explored. Suddenly, Connor burst through the door. “I found the guards!”

Everyone stared in shock, and (Y/N) and Punz were tossed over the bar, just as Technoblade came in with the castle guard. “Where is that mercenary Punz?! I know he’s in here! I won’t stop until I have the thief that stole my sister’s crown!”

Punz peeked over the edge of the bar, seeing his former colleagues in chains, ducking down right after. Punz and (Y/N) shrunk into the bar to hide, when Schlatt pushed aside a crate to reveal a secret passage. “Go, live your dream.”

Punz responded, “I will.”

“Not you, I was talking to her,” Schlatt said pointing his head to (Y/N).

“Thank you Schlatt,” (Y/N) thanked, and gave him a kiss on the forehead. She followed Punz through the passage as Schlatt returned to help distract the guards.

The patrons tried their best to distract the guards, but Technoblade was not buying it. He turned his ear to the door, and Carl burst through, sniffing the air. He easily found the secret passage, and Techno gathered his men, leaving one to guard Purpled and Ponk.

After Techno left with Carl, Ponk knocked out their captor, and freed Purpled, letting him do the same for himself. “Let’s go get the crown.”

Fundy, currently drunk off his ass, stumbled outside, seeing a man in a green cloak with a mask. “Woah, god you are so damn hot!”

Dream giggled. “You’re making me blush.” He pulled out his sword. “Where does that tunnel lead?”

[unholyhelbig]

We Sold Our Souls | Chloe

Read Beca's Chapter Here | Read on AO3 here

Summer 1985

The Diner on 10th and Jefferson was not an inhabitable establishment. The floor was once a glimmering white that had faded to a musty brown. You could see where the tables had been situated because underneath was still the original color- not the dingy, ketchup-stained mess. A window unit sputtered as it pulled in hot air and the sound of sheets of meat sizzled and popped on day-old grease.

There was flypaper tacked to the ceiling and they spun as the warm air shifted it. It wasn’t brown, not like the floor, it was black with squirming legs and tired wings. Chloe watched, sweat dripping from her nose, as one particularly large one tested his luck and failed.

The boombox in the corner crackled and competed with the sound of two number sevens being placed on the counter. The antenna was stretching to the sky and they only got a slight signal for KWBT, the best Rock music in the county.

Chloe perked up, her spine straightening as Brock Argent’s rumbling voice filled the small area behind the counter. She ignored the way the cook stared at her, sweat beading against his greasy forehead, as she shushed him and turned the dial. She knew what he was going to say, and he didn’t push any more than he already had.

She hadn’t stopped talking about ‘The Ramones’ New Album. It was advertised with neon yellow and orange posters all around town. No one could tell if it was from the record label or some die-hard fans that had too much time on their hands. Either way, everyone knew about it, and that everyone included Brock Argent and the KWBT team. They had made a big deal about getting their hands on a copy.

“Alright you crazy people, I know we’ve been teasing this one for a long while, but we’ve got a good one for you today!” Brock’s tone was so deep that it shook the upturned milk glasses on the counter.  “Here’s Pet Cemetery by the Ramones. Some seriously creepy stuff!”

Chloe felt the greasy diner and the sharp scent of fry oil leave her all at once. The second the first guitar chord struck the airwaves she had fallen so contently into the melody. Joey Ramone’s deep growl hissed and churned and made her stomach feel like soup. Johnny pressed down hard on the guitar strings and Tommy backed him up with a solid beat on the drum kit.

She ignored the way the cook eyed her cautiously as the steaming food on the counter attracted one of the flies that the paper hadn’t attracted. He was growing impatient as the lead belted out words about pets with their ribs crushed and their hearts gnawed pulling from the dirt. It mirrored that horrible book by Stephen King, the one that the schools banned, and the PTA moms fussed about until their veins splattered.

Finally, the song faded out and Chloe gave a grateful smile to the man in front of her before palming the cold plates and taking them to the couple that sat in the back booth. The woman slathered her pile of fries with a generous helping of ketchup and the man seemed to hate the idea of eating altogether.

Chloe didn’t’ notice when the cook turned down the radio for the rest of her shift. She was sore from mopping and wiping down all of the tables that were still sticky despite how much elbow she put into it. He watched her mount her bike and flick on the light that dawned its front despite the sun not fully being down, before he backed out of the parking lot himself and left their second lives behind, at least for a few hours.

She was mostly tipped change today and it rattled in the pockets of her apron as she took the side streets back to their run-down home. It had been nice once- at least that’s what the pictures tacked to the stained green refrigerator portrayed.

She shoved cake into her face with her vibrant mother holding her close. They all looked so clean despite the mess of pastry. There was light in their eyes and sugar in their systems and the old polaroid was a constant reminder to Chloe of the way things had been. The way she wishes they were.

The thought pulled at the back of her throat as she slowed her bike when the front tire met the Mitchell’s driveway. It gave her just enough speed to get over the dip on her own and pull the old blue contraption next to the garage. She could sandwich it between the trashcan and the side of the house. No one would take it, not in their small, rundown town. She flicked off the front light, reveling in the darkness for a few moments.

It was never silent, not here, not this close to the front door where the screen kept the lightning bugs out but no sound in. Her three younger brothers were blasting the television, all of them with their noses pressed to the static screen as MacGyver got himself out of whatever situation he was thrown into.

But over that, she heard her parents.

Her mother and her stepfather screamed loud enough for the whole block to hear them. It made Chloe’s jaw ache- how much they hated each other. They lived together out of spite, and because the boys needed a good role model.

But Rick, Rick hated Chloe just as much as he hated her mother. She wasn’t his and that had ebbed some deep resentment in him that she didn’t understand, nor did she care to. Not as she snuck in through the front door and trudged to her room. She was careful to toe her shoes off by the door, despite the pungent smell the house admitted.

It was considered rude to track mud, though no one had vacuumed in months at this point. No one had changed the lights or addressed the water stains that browned the ceiling above them. There was food on the table, most of the time, and hot water in the lead pipes. So Rick was doing his job and from the sound of the screaming match, Lauren was not.

Chloe tuned it all out.

She focused on the rifts she had heard this afternoon at the diner, and the satisfaction she got when she pulled the jar from the back of her closet, behind her 45’s and an old rolled poster of the Bay City Rollers that she had scored at an old thrift store and hung because the colors were vibrant.

As soon as Chloe could, as soon as she blew out the candle on her cupcake for her 18th birthday in front of that stupid polaroid and that puke green appliance, she would leave this tiny town. She would leave her brothers, and the dirty carpet, and stupid Rick, and even Lauren.

She would meet Joey Ramone, they would get married and she would never have to hear muffled screams and broken glass again- not unless it was at a concert that she was playing.

There was a glass of water on the table in front of Chloe Beale, but she hadn’t reached for it. There was some sinister part of her that considered it a test; there wasn’t a pitcher to refill it or anything else on the stark white surface. Just one singular cup that was free of any blemishes and water pushed to the near brim.

She was on a sofa that matched the rest of the room, stark and unfeeling. There wasn’t personality here; other than her and that stupid taunting glass, there was nothing. It could have been the waiting area in a place that detailed cars, but it wasn’t. She didn’t’ know what it was and she didn’t’ know if the water was a test- so she left it.

Her boots were the blackest thing, sharp like the night, against the white carpet. She got the sinking feeling that she should have taken them off by the door, though the secretary that lead her in here hadn’t told her to do so. Chloe wasn’t a child, not anymore, and Chloe could make her own choices. Like taking a gulp of water to quench the dry heat in her throat or taking her shoes off.

Rick would have made her take her shoes off.

Rick had killed her mother when she was at a concert in Orlando. She had saved up to get the tickets and she had had a fun, normal, road trip with the girls. They ate terribly and broke down in Georgia where they baked in the heat and splurged on ice cream cones that turned into a soupy mess in a matter of seconds. Chloe was happy then, and she had the polaroid tacked up on the corner of her apartment.

Thought the lights had been shut off a few times, and she and Beca had to eat all the ice cream and leftover pizza, and milk each time they did fade away, she kept it there. Her stomach would ache and her brow would sweat but they would fall asleep on the floor and the picture of her last happy moment would gape down at her- not mocking, but reminding.

They saw the yellow tape when Beca pulled the Monza to the edge of her driveway. Chloe let the rubber tire hit the corner of the driveway first, just like she used to do with her second-hand bike. Beca protested as she pushed the door open and flung herself towards her own home. A cop that shadowed his eyes with a large cap grabbed her by the middle and stopped her.

“That’s my house!” She had shouted, letting herself be lowered to the wet grass. “What happened? That’s my house! That’s my house!”

It had stopped being her house a long time ago when her father died of cancer and her mother met Rick, the anesthesiologist with the calm temper and the two boys from a previous marriage, and the one son that they shared together.

Chloe had spent most of her free time in Beca’s room now, staring up at the posters that weren’t of the Bay City Rollers on the ceiling. They both laid close to one another and she had memorized the features of Metallica and Stix and Beca’s breathing patterns, and the way the Charvel rested in the corner, with its off-white color.

Beca’s mother always had dinner on the table and always had enough for all three of them. Beca’s mom was interesting and kind. She was still alive when the summer of 88’ came to an end. She hadn’t heard the gunshots but she had smelt the blood- she said she was a nurse and she knew the scent of decay anywhere.

Rick shot Chloe’s mom in the head while her back was to him, and Chloe had always said he was a coward. He killed the boys too, straight shots with a gun Lauren had purchased him for Christmas because his new hobby would be hunting. As far as Chloe knew, the only shots he fired were that day, and the last when he ever did tore up his throat and painted the wall behind him.

She should take her shoes off and drink some water while she waits and wishes for wine. The secretary told her that he was running late and that she was welcomed to anything. But she didn’t’ feel welcome to the water, and really, she should have taken her shoes off, because the carpet was pristine, and the bottom of her boots were anything but.

Winter 1994

Snow fell in thick, wet drops against the pavement. It had barely started but picked up by the time Chloe ascended the stairs of the venue and tracked down Beca. The girl looked ragged, worn down, and thick with sorrow. She was moving her tongue against the edge of a cigar she had sliced with the pocket knife clipped to her jeans.

The sickly-sweet scent of weed followed the sparking of a lighter and the cold breeze that edged the nearly empty street. She leaned against the side of the van, next to a sizeable dent that had been there when they purchased it. When we’re famous she had said this won’t matter and we’ll be able to afford a van that isn’t half-totaled.

Beca pulled in a hot breath of marijuana, the tip burning hot and fast. She pushed the smoke through her those and passed it to Chloe who took it wordlessly and revealed in the sour film that coated her tongue and her teeth and her throat. A few more of those and she would be able to forget the disaster of tonight.

“Maybe I should have gone into accounting,” Beca said.

“You hate math.”

“That wasn’t my point,”

“I know. I just think that If you want to go back in time and choose MIT over your garage in the winter you should pick something you like. Not math. You’re not even good at math.”

Beca frowned and snatched the joint back. She wedged it between her teeth and gave Chloe the finger, the tattoos against her knuckles catching the red glowing light of the sign that hung above them. It buzzed like the flies Chloe had always hated- for some reason, more than spiders and moths, but she couldn’t’ recall now.

“Aubrey would have had a million things decided by now, you know? I don’t’ even need to prompt the woman before she brings up Julliard. Next thing; she’s going to be bitching about her back hurting from carrying the band.”

Chloe laughed sadly at that because she knew it was something Aubrey would say with that docile fire in her eyes. But through all of this, Aubrey was the best bass player that she had ever met and Beca had the right voice for them- but none of them ever said it. None of them ever dared that she would be better suited to part her ax down and grip the microphone instead.

“Are you?”

“What?”

She hadn’t noticed Beca was staring at her expectantly. Not only holding out the blunt, which she took and sandwiched between her lips, but with a question. Beca’s stare was dark, shaded in crimson, and glazed over because something was hitting; be the alcohol that she had consumed during the show or the slow crossfade that was humming happily through her now.

“Are you ready to give up?”

“Beca, this is all I’ve ever wanted.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

She swallowed hard and tried to dull the pain of the flames at her throat. Red and hot and a lot like the stories plastered on the news not too long ago. Her stomach felt fuzzy and her brain did too and she suddenly felt like following Beca out here was a bad idea. A terrible idea, really.

Chloe let the end of the roll hit the ground. There was no need to stomp it out. The color faded away in the puddle of dingy water that had collected as they talked. She didn’t’ mind the cool embrace of the large drops that felt more like snow and stung like an insect bite. It kept her steady and grounded.

“I heard what you asked, and I told you this is all I’ve ever wanted.” Chloe sniffed, “I don’t’ care how long it takes to get there. It’s me and you, kid.”

Beca’s clouded stare softened, and she laughed loudly because at this point- standing in the rain, the two of them, she didn’t’ know if they had much longer at all. Not as a band, not as friends, not as that odd drunken mess they escalated to when they weren’t.

The scent of weed mixed with the wet odor of Portland and beer. Chloe curled her fingers around Beca’s, both cold and clammy, and the gesture hurt. It stung the bandages wrapped around Beca’s fingers and hummed at the pain in the back of Chloe’s head, where she figured a scar would be one day.

[magnoliabloomfield]

The Reason Part 10- Another Banishment

Alby woke up Thomas before everyone else the next day and had a talk with him. He recognized that Thomas was different than most boys who showed up there, he was curious, but he needed to respect the importance of order. After that he spent the day in the gardens with Zart and Newt, the latter assuring the curious boy that all his ideas had been tried already. Twice. He convinced him that the only way to be useful was to pull his weight around the glade.

Nikola was still locked in her room. She wasn't surprised or even that upset about it at first, but then she had to pee.

"Hello!" She called loudly, banging on her own door to no avail. She turned around and looked at the window. "Oh, Nikola, you idiot," she mumbled before making her way over to it. It stuck at first, the wood old and warped as the house settled in the warm climate of the glade, but with tremendous effort she got it open far enough to shimmy out of it, falling ungracefully to the ground below.

She didn't want anyone to catch her until she'd at least gone to the bathroom, so instead of going around the house and back in to the one inside, she snuck off behind the house and into the woods to use one of the outhouses instead. They were absolutely vile and she hated them, but she had to go. She reached them without anyone noticing her, maybe they had no idea she'd been imprisoned and therefore didn't care even if they did see her about.

Finally relieved, she decided to sneak to the kitchen for some food, and maybe talk to Frypan. He was the only one she could talk to about what happened. She couldn't talk to Gally, that was for sure, and she got the feeling Newt wouldn't appreciate hearing what she'd done. That left Fry and Chuck, and Chuck would be out of his depth in matters of the heart. As she made her way toward the kitchen, something unexpected happened.

Shouts came from the woods behind her and she stopped, turning to see Thomas running full speed toward her. He was screaming for help as Ben pursued him. When he spotted her it was too late to lead Ben away so he grabbed her arm and dragged her along with him as he ran. Ben tackled Thomas from behind and rolled on the grass.

"Ben!" Nikola yelled as she grabbed the straps of his runners pack and pulled with all her might. "Stop!" She wasn't able to budge him an inch but she finally noticed the black veins under his skin as he attacked Thomas with a feral rage. She kept trying to talk to him and pull his arms away from strangling the new boy, earning a harsh back hand from him that knocked her on her butt in the grass.

"I'll kill you!" Ben yelled as he choked Thomas, other boys running from every direction.

Newt came with a shovel and hit Ben across the face with it, knocking him off of Thomas, and then Gally was there, holding him down and telling him to calm down. He gave Nikola a brief but sharp look.

"What happened?!" Frypan cried as he helped Nikola up and pulled her away from the commotion.

Chuck was by Thomas's side as he coughed and fought to catch his breath. "I don't know!" he gasped. "He just attacked me!"

Alby walked up and Ben's demeanor changed. "No, please, no," he begged pitifully, a far cry from the death threats he'd spat at Thomas just seconds ago.

"Lift his shirt," Alby demanded.

His pale skin was exposed along with a circular wound that had black tendrils branching off from it. Nikola covered her mouth in shock and Gally shared a bewildered look with Newt.

"He's been stung?" He said to Newt before turning to Alby who crouched by his side. "In the middle of the day?"

Alby was silent for a second before he stood up. "Put him in the pit."

"No!" Ben yelled as Newt and Gally fought to hold him down still.

"Calm down, Ben!" Gally said as he fought to grip his arm. It took four others to help him and Newt pick up the thrashing runner and carry him off to the pit. He caught one fleeting glance of Nikola as Frypan checked the mark Ben had left on her frightened face. He wondered how she had got out and how she had the worst timing in the world.

She followed after Alby, Chuck and Thomas, desperate for answers as to what just happened. She sat by Chuck as Alby explained the changing that happens after someone gets stung. An infection spreads in their body making them dangerous. No one had explained this to her before, they figured it would never affect her so why scare her unnecessarily.

"What did he say to you?" Alby asked him.

Thomas was hesitant and nervous, but he told him the truth. "He said he...saw me. That this was my fault...How could this be my fault?"

Alby didn't answer him, just patted his shoulder and told him to get some rest before he got up and walked away.

"Alby!" Thomas called. "What's going to happen to him?"

Nikola was there for another banishment. At least this one wasn't her fault. Ben was pleading with Minho as he hauled him toward the maze doors, the Keeper's eyes were not the happy crescents she was used to seeing. Gally saw her standing a ways away and caught her eye. He nodded toward the house, silently telling her to leave, not wanting her to see this. She stayed rooted to her spot.

She watched as her friends, Newt, Gally and even Frypan as well as the others ushered Ben through the closing maze doors, his screams echoing across the glade before the doors sealed him on the other side. Such was the price of order. Gally stared at her as he walked past, the keepers going to mark Ben's name off the wall. He had been worried about her safety before, and now it was only getting worse. Especially since she was acting out against everything he did to protect her.

For her part, she tried her best to console Minho who'd just lost his running buddy, and then willingly locked herself back in her room till the next day.

Masterlist

@frequentlychangingfandoms @quackquackbi @poulterjonas @crazysheeplyca @pre-google @gladerscake @neilox @thesuitkovian @carp3d1em @cottoncandy-dreamxd @emilyhadenbaker

[thegryffindorprincess]

Sex with a ghost//Draco Malfoy x reader

A/N: Hi Lovelies! This fic is based off of “sex with a ghost” by Teddy Hyde and the first time I heard this song I knew I needed to write something with it as it’s so haunting. Anyways, enjoy and try not to cry over our depressed baby Dray.

Set: Post War

Word Count: 1,273

Warnings: Death, drugs, mentions of sex and violence, depression, suicide

He’d lost her in the war. The girl he’d promised he’d marry and it had all been his fault. He’d cast the spell into the empty hall and it had hit her. Y/N. The only person he ever let get to know him. He’d held her limp body in his arms as she’d died, eyes rolled back in her head. He hadn’t been the same since, he never would be. 

I'm getting hickeys from my bed bugs 

I'm getting busy with a bad perfume

 I'm sticking kisses to a pen drug 

I'm making friction with a sad vaccuum

Draco lay back on his bed in the dark, using his long, pale hands to pleasure himself. He moaned out her name as he lay there, the lack of sleep he’d had making it even more realistic that it was her. He did this everyday multiple times to feel her there again, on his body. The next day he aimlessly thrust into a girl who lay below him. In the dark of the room he could squint and force his eyes to see Y/N instead. He’d gotten quite creative with it really, doing it so often his brain was almost starting to automatically see her face rather than whatever girl he’d persuaded to come home with him. The times he did come home alone, he’d stumble drunk into his room and Y/N’d be there waiting for him, laying on the bed, naked. After he’d finished, he’d smoke. He always lost count of many he had as he laid on his bed using his pillow as an ash tray, not that he cared.  

I'm getting jiggy with a rifle

 I'll pull the trigger with my eyes closed

 Hoping to hit you somewhere vital 

And when I miss, you come and kiss me with a smile 

During the day, he’d sneak out of the house past his parents and take his dads car out onto the road. Draco was always drunk by eleven in the morning, so he’d speed down country roads, swerving off dangerously, nearly hitting other cars as he did so. He’d stolen one of his dads shooting rifles at some point, and he’d pull into a field often to just shoot. He couldn’t explain why, but he’d like the control. He would stand in the grass, a hand running through his platinum hair and would just shoot repetitively until his shoulder begun to sting from the pressure. Draco prayed that one day one of the bullets would just bounce back, hitting him somewhere vital. It never happened, but he went everyday just in hope. On some days, when he felt particularly exhausted, he’d see her running towards him, smile beaming, hands brushing the grass as she came closer. He’d close his eyes then, feeling her kissing him but when he opened them, she was gone. 

I'm having sex with a ghost,

 'cause she knows I'm alone 

She's a freak in the sheets, 

play it cool I'm sleeping with a... 

Sex with a ghost, 

'cause she knows I'm alone 

She's a freak in the sheets,

 play it cool I'm sleeping with a ghoul

He knew he was going insane, having sex with her ghost. But he needed her, he needed her with him. Draco sat opposite his mother in the hospital, her eyes sympathetically glancing over at him. He’d never liked Saint Mungos. He pulled the thin cotton blanket tighter around his body, his frame so tiny he looked like he could be snapped in two. His under eye’s were effectively purple, he couldn’t remember when he’d last slept. 

“Tell Doctor Fry what’s going on Dray,” Narcissa pressed, “please.” Draco smirked and looked between his mother and the doctor.

“I’m having sex with a ghost,” he laughed, looking towards where she stood in the door way, “’cause she knows i’m alone.’ Y/N smiled at him as she leant up against the frame of the door. Draco couldn’t remember what had happened after that, but within a few weeks he was home. He was strictly allowed in his bedroom and ensuite only, so for most of the day he sat on the bed staring at the empty space. He’d been seeing her less he noticed, since he started taking those pills the doctor prescribed. Draco tried to stop taking them so he could see her more often, but his father had forced his mouth open.

The only time I ever see her

 Is when she's behind me in the mirror 

Even from a distance I can hear her

 Try to listen, but her whispers make my ears hurt 

Draco hadn’t seen her in weeks now. He stood emotionless in front of the mirror, touching the glass, trying to reach her. He jumped with shock when her face appeared behind him. Y/N stood there, hands resting on his shoulders. He began to cry, because he couldn’t actually feel her small hands, it was all in his head. The blonde boy part collapsed, pushing himself up with the edge of the sink.

“Dray, baby i’ve got you.” Y/N held him closer in her arms. He longed to feel them, not just in his imagination. Her touch had brung Draco comfort in his worst moments and sometimes he didn’t know how he was going to survive without them. He began to grip his ears at the sound of her whispers and he watched numbly as her silver figure began to fade away, once again. 

And on our dates, it's never daytime

 When she gets playful with a steak knife 

I need a break, maybe I'll take five 

Shake it up and medicate, maybe I'll take five 

The next time he saw her she’d appeared at the end of his bed, mouth up turned in a wry smile.

“Date?” Y/N asked gleefully, the same way she had done when they’d first met. Draco simply nodded and allowed her to lead him out into the garden. They ran around the maze together, she kept beaming back at him, her smile as dazzling as it had always been. She suddenly stopped and closed the gap between them, and for a few seconds Draco felt her lips on his, though the sensation quickly faded. He’d been so engrossed with her, he hadn’t seen his mother watch from the window. Narcissa sat crying, watching her son interact with someone that just wasn’t there. She sobbed, watching her frail son dance in the moonlight with an invisible figure. She couldn’t move quick enough when he finally collapsed, his tiny legs folding beneath him. Draco’s mother ran down the stairs and out into the night as quick as she could. She apparated them straight to the hospital. Narcissa couldn’t make out everything the doctors where saying as they rushed around his still body, but she heard the words ‘overdose’ and ‘five instead of one.’

Draco woke up to his body feeling like a tonne of bricks. He wiggled his arm just to see if he could. When he awoke the hospital room was empty, he could just make out the sleeping figure of his mother behind the curtain. 

“I’m not coming back Draco,” he jumped as he heard her voice again, and when he saw Y/N he wanted to scream, “it’s time to let go.” He watched wide eyed as she approached, her hands gently moving his platinum hair out of his eyes. Draco suddenly understood, and fighting back the tears, nodded. 

“Goodbye Draco.” She whispered into the silent room as she flew towards the window. 

“Goodbye Y/N.” He said, watching as the girl disappeared, for the very last time. 

[atomic-taco-muffin]

KH x Danganronpa Part 6

Warnings: IDEK

Rating: SFW

(Look at him!)

Sora, Donald, and Goofy walked through a picturesque forest. Goofy put his hand up to block the sun.

"It sure is a pretty day," he said.

"Yeah, the weather is great. It'd be perfect for a picnic," Sora stretched.

"Why do you think we came HERE?" Donald asked.

"Got me, Donald."

"We'll figure it out as we go," Goofy said.

"Okay," Donald sighed.

"I'm sure we were brought to this world for SOME good reason, but can't we sweat it later?" Sora said.

"Fine with me, as long as there's no Heartless. Or Monokumas." They heard a scream and stopped in their tracks, looking around for the source of it. Then with grunting and a final slide, a man fell down the hill behind them. He groaned, massaging his back, then looked back where he came from, where a troop of Heartless and Monokumas flew down after him. The man got up and scampered away, the satchel on his hip flapping with every step. He ran toward the trio with the Heartless on his tail, flailing his arms wildly.

"Make way! Make way! Make way!" he said. Sora, Donald, and Goofy parted so he could pass them, then summoned their weapons.

"Heartless!" Sora said.

"And Monokumas!" Donald said. The man found a rock to hide behind, catching his breath and peering out at the group.

"You see? Soon as you mention 'em, they show up!" Sora said.

"There goes our picnic," Goofy said.

"I didn't do it!" Donald said.

"S'okay. Let's send these guys packing," Sora said.

"Say, since you three seem to know what you're doing, mind if I leave this one to you?" the man asked.

"Yup. We'll take care of them. Go on, skedaddle!"

"You have my thanks." The man gave out a sigh. "The horse was enough. Don't need any monsters or weird looking bears on my trail."

"The WHAT was enough?" Donald asked.

"Oh, nothing, nothing. Name's Flynn. Flynn Rider. Flynn pointed to one of the Heartless. "Ohh! Watch out, they look mad!" Donald turned around again and Flynn started creeping away.

"Slowly... Slowly... Outta here!" he said. He dashed away as fast as he can while Sora, Donald, and Goofy took out the multitude of Heartless and Monokumas. After the fight, they saw no sign of Flynn Rider.

"Huh? Where'd Flynn go?" Sora asked.

"He skedaddled," Donald said.

"I think I saw him go thataway," Goofy said. He pointed toward a spot between the trees that veered into a small clearing with rocky hills on each side.

"Huh? But 'thataway' is...just a dead end," Sora said.

"Yeah. That's puzzling," Goofy said.

"Well, did he?" Donald said. Goofy crossed his arms, thinking.

"I say we investigate," Sora said. They searched the area for Flynn and approach the rocky hillside ahead.

"He couldn't have come this way," Donald said. Sora saw no exit nearby and turned to face Donald & Goofy, his back to a patch of leafy vines.

"Well, at least he got away safe. Right?" he said. He tried to lean against the vines but stumbled right through them. Goofy turned at the rustling sound, but Sora had disappeared.

"Hey! Now Sora's gone, too!" he said. Goofy walked over to the vines and heard Sora's voice through them.

"This way, guys! It's a secret passage!" he said. Sora stood up as Goofy and Donald pulled the vines apart to find a small hollow in the mountain. They ran through the cave until emerging into a small valley with a lone tower standing in its center. Made mostly of brick, the tower had vines running along its side indicating it must have been there for years. Behind the tower, a waterfall ran over the mountainside into a small pond that glistened in the sunlight.

"Look at that. A tower! Let's check it out!" Sora said. As they neared the base of the tower, they saw Flynn climbing down the stones on the outside with a pair of arrows. He paused, resting for a moment, when Rapunzel flung her hair down out the window, rappelling herself down the tower. She stopped before she hit the ground and slowly extended a barefoot to the warm grass beneath. She took in the feeling of her first taste of earth and knelt down, feeling the ground under her hands.

"It's so soft!" she said. Several dandelion seeds flew into the wind before her and she stood. "I'm free... I'm really free!"

She started running, not even noticing the trio as she passed them. Sora, Donald, and Goofy ran over to Flynn as he reached the bottom of the tower.

"Flynn, good to see you in one piece!" Sora said.

"Guys! You're here, and just in time," Flynn said. Rapunzel stepped into the pond, laughing as she stepped over the small stones lining the bottom.

"Oh... Who's she?" Sora asked.

"Uh, that would be Rapunzel," Flynn said. She took a handful of water and splashed it upwards with a shout of glee and loud laughter. "Something tells me this could be her first time outdoors. Give her a few minutes to get used to it."

"First time EVER?" Sora asked, wide-eyed. The sun beat down on her golden hair as she took in her decision and she grabbed her face.

"I can't believe I did this!" she said, happily. She grabbed her head.

"I can't believe I did this," She said, shocked as she spun around. "I can't believe I DID this!"

She gasped.

"Mother would be so furious if she knew I disobeyed her and left the tower..." she said, worriedly.

She sat on a rock holding a flower.

"But that's okay--I mean, what she doesn't know won't kill her... Right?" she said, carefree.

She cried in the hollow cave.

"Oh my gosh. This would kill her," she said, sadly.

She ran through the grass, kicking up leaves. Donald laughed while Flynn rolled his eyes.

"This is so fuuuuuun!" she shouted.

She leaned her head against a tree.

"I am a horrible daughter. I'm going back," she said, devastated.

She did cartwheels through the flowers, wrapping herself in her hair.

"I am never going back!" she said, exuberantly.

She lied facedown on the ground.

"I am a despicable human being," she said, in grief.

She swung around a large tree by her hair where Flynn and Sora waited for her to even out.

"Best. Day. Ever!" she said, exhilarated.

She sobbed into her hands at the base of the tree. Flynn walked over to her, with the trio following.

"I notice you seem a little at war with yourself here," Flynn said.

"A little MORE than a little," Goofy said.

"More like a lot," Donald said.

"Yeah..." Sora said. She stopped crying and turned to see them. She gasped and held out the frying pan toward Sora, Donald, and Goofy.

"Stop right there! Who are you?" she said. Flynn stepped in between them.

"I told you before: my sidekicks," he said.

"Sidekicks?" Sora asked.

"May I introduce, ehh..."

"Oh, uh... My name's Sora."

"Donald!"

"And I'm Goofy. Pleasure, ma'am." The chameleon appeared from under her hair, skeptical of them.

"Sora, Donald, and...Goofy," she said as she lowered her frying pan. "It's...nice to meet you, too. I'm Rapunzel."

"Yep. My sidekicks," Flynn said. Sora grabbed Flynn's arm and spun him around.

"Since when is THAT?" he whispered.

"Look, she really wants to see the lantern show tomorrow night. Now, I'm a nice guy, so I've decided to help her. Only problem is those monsters might show up again. I can get her to the Kingdom--but you guys are clearly more cut out for combat," Flynn whispered back.

"That's cause we're heroes!" Donald said.

"Uh-huh!"

"And we're Heartless experts. And we know a little bit about those Monokumas," Goofy said.

"Yeah, yeah!" They posed together and Sora gave a small laugh.

"Just leave it to us!" he said.

"Done," Flynn said. He motioned to Rapunzel and led her forward.

"Rapunzel is interesting..." Donald said. The trio walked behind them as Rapunzel admired her surroundings.

"Yeah, her heart's pulling her all kinda ways," Goofy said.

"The outside world must seem so big and scary. I know how she feels. Lucky for me you two came along at just the right time--and the rest has been unforgettable," Sora said.

"Awww..." Donald said. Sora realized he was getting sentimental.

"Yep, unforgettable...just like your face!" he smiled, pointing to Donald.

"Oh yeah?!" Donald asked. Sora laughed as Donald burst out in anger. Sora ran to catch up to Rapunzel and Flynn, putting his hands behind his head. Goofy chuckled as Donald seethed.

"C'mon, now," Goofy said. He ran after Sora, and Donald followed.

"All for one, and one for all," Sora said.

~~~~

Back at the tower, Mother Gothel had returned to find Rapunzel missing. She scrambled through the house in desperation.

"Rapunzel?" she asked as she ran to her room.

"Rapunzel?!" she shrieked. She frantically tore down the curtain covering the window but found no one there. She clutched her face in terror before a glint of light caught her eye from beneath the stairs. She opened the bottom step and pulled out a satchel. Reaching into the satchel, she removed a sparkling tiara and at the sight of it, dropped it in fear. Terrified, she looked further in the bag, taking out a Wanted poster for one Flynn Rider.

"Missing someone?" someone asked. She whirled around.

"Who's there?" she asked. Stepping out from a portal was a man in a black coat with long rose-colored hair and a woman in a beautiful white gown with blonde hair styled up to make her crown fit. The abrupt entrance caused the frightened woman to drop the poster as Marluxia and Remnant Sonia stepped closer.

"She's such a precious gift. Allow us to assist you in getting her back," Sonia said as Mother Gothel's eyes slowly turned pink.

~~~~

Sora and the others left the lake and continued through the forest, Rapunzel's long hair trailing behind her as they came upon a strange plant stuck in the ground in a clearing alone.

"Okay, that's suspicious," Flynn said.

"Rapunzel..." Sora said.

"Don't worry. I know to be careful around flowers now," Rapunzel winked.

"Whatever it is, it's not normal. I'll take a look." Sora walked closer to the weird-looking plant.

"Watch it," Donald said. Sora approached the odd vegetation and examined it while everyone waited with bated breath. After seeing no imminent threat from the flower, he turned to the group.

"We're all clear," he said. They sighed with relief, but too late, as the flower's petals opened, folding downward as its form changed to that of a creature holding a scythe with a familiar symbol on its face, along with a few Monokumas as well.

"Sora!" Donald said, alarmed. He pointed behind Sora, who turned just in time as the pink and white creature swung its immense scythe at him while the Monokumas attacked him with their claws. Sora dodged away and summoned his Keyblade with gritted teeth, joined by Donald and Goofy.

"These guys?" Sora asked as more appeared.

"They're Nobodies! And there's more Monokumas!" Goofy said.

"Mother said the outside world would be full of ruffians and thugs," Rapunzel said.

"Those aren't ruffians. Those are...uhh, I dunno..." Donald said.

"Rapunzel, Flynn, stay back!" Sora said.

"No. I want to help you fight," Rapunzel said.

"I know. But I'm afraid you can't hurt these guys with a frying pan, plus these bears are really dangerous. Trust me on this. Flynn, could you explain?"

"No problem. Knowing when to flee is one of my specialties," Flynn said as he rushed over to Rapunzel. "C'mon, Rapunzel. Gotta go."

"But--"

"Look, I wanna stay and slug it out too, but my sidekicks have it covered." Sora nodded with a smile.

"All right. Please be careful, Sora," Rapunzel said. They nodded and left them to it. Sora, Donald, and Goofy took out all the Reaper Nobodies and Monokumas and regrouped.

"You know who uses Nobodies..." Goofy said.

"The Organization!" Donald said.

"Yeah. And Mukuro warned us about Junko and the Remnants of Despair. They must be working for them. I'm surprised we haven't seen 'em," Sora said. He cupped and started calling out. "I know you're there! Come out, you has-beens! And you despair loving freaks!"

They looked around and a corridor of darkness appeared behind them.

"'Has-beens'? Now why would you say that?" someone asked.

"And how dare you call a queen a freak!" a woman said. A tall man with long pink hair emerged from the portal, peering at them through yellow eyes while a woman with blonde hair glared at them with glowing red eyes.

"Because bossing around Nobodies? That's the old Organization," Sora chuckled. "Why? Are you in the 'real' one too? Good for you. And you must be one of the so-called 'Remnants of Despair'."

"My name is Marluxia and this is my beloved queen, Sonia." Marluxia kissed her knuckles making her blush.

"Oh, stop! You're making me blush!" Sonia swooned.

"And yes, that is correct. How interesting it is to see you again, Sora," Marluxia said.

"'Again'?" Sora asked. He turned to Donald and Goofy, confused. "YOU know 'im?"

Donald and Goofy shook their heads.

"A shame you've no memory of me, because I remember you exceedingly well. Although...it's THOSE memories I'd soon erase. And you obviously wouldn't know Sonia. She's new but she is very powerful," Marluxia said. Sonia giggled insanely and looked at the trio.

"I don't know what you're saying," Sora said.

"Nor should you. Nor will you ever, for that matter," Sonia said. The trio glanced at them with confused faces.

"Now, if you'll permit me, I've come to ask a favor," Marluxia said.

"Favor? You have got to be kidding me," Sora said. Donald & Goofy nodded in agreement.

"Please hear what we have to say. I'm sure you've noticed..." Sonia said. She mused on this for a moment and Sora raised his eyebrows for her or Marluxia to continue.

"Well, perhaps not. But you should know that maiden with you, Rapunzel, is the very light of this world. I would see you guard her from its dark horrors," Marluxia said.

"Huh?" the trio asked as they took defensive stances.

"Starting with you two, right?" Sora asked.

"All the Organization seeks is balance. You must understand, our ultimate objective is not to clash with the light. We seek to complement it. Use that Keyblade...to keep Rapunzel safe," Sonia said as she and Marluxia vanished into a dark corridor.

"Rapunzel's light..." Sora said. Goofy scratched his face and Sora looked around. "Hey. Where did they go?"

"I guess they musta run on ahead," Goofy said.

"Then we'd better go find them." They continued through the forest in search of Flynn and Rapunzel. Soon the forest turned into marshland and the fog obscured their view ahead. Still no sign of them, Sora sighed.

"I wonder where they went," he said.

"Don't worry. They couldn't have gotten too far," Goofy said. A hooded figure quickly hid behind a tree.

"You just had to stop and talk," Donald said. Mother Gothel peered at them from beneath her cloak.

"Hey! Blame the has-been and the freak, not me," Sora said.

"I think you mean Marluxia and Sonia. I bet that's the name the has-been and the freak would prefer," Goofy said. Mother Gothel averted her gaze and began to leave.

"Hellooo? Rapunzel? Flynn?" Sora called out. She stopped at Rapunzel's name and turned back, lowering her hood.

"Excuse me, good travelers. Do you know Rapunzel?" she said. They turned to her as she walked toward them and exchanged glances.

"Uh, yeah... Sort of," Sora said.

"Why?" Donald asked.

"My apologies. I'm Rapunzel's mother. The poor child left home without a word, and I've just been worried sick. Please tell me: where is my dear, sweet girl?"

"We'd tell ya, but we lost her," Goofy said.

"By accident," Donald said.

"We could look together," Sora said.

"Lost her?" Mother Gothel scoffed. "You're of no use to me."

She waved them off and continued walking.

"I'll find her myself," she said.

"She ran away from home?" Donald asked.

"What if Marluxia and Sonia were onto something back there?" Sora asked.

"You trust Organization XIII?"

"What? No! Of course not. But...what if?"

"I agree. Why is Rapunzel in danger, and what darkness is after her?" Goofy said.

"Well, guys, the first step is to find her." They searched for Rapunzel and Flynn, eventually exiting the marshland into a more bright forest. Soon, they heard a voice.

"Wh-wh-whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Easy, boy, easy! Settle down. Whoa, whoa!" Rapunzel said.

"That voice!" Sora said.

"It's Rapunzel!" Goofy said. Ahead, a terrified Flynn had his back pressed against a rock while Rapunzel attempted to calm down a large white horse. The angry-looking horse peered at the chameleon atop Rapunzel's head. Pascal motioned with his three-toed front feet to settle down. The horse, wide-eyed, raised an ear and set his rump down on the ground with a dispirited whinny.

"You are such a good boy! Yes you are," Rapunzel said as she pet the bridge of his nose and his tail started to wag. "Are you all tired from chasing this bad man all over the place?"

The horse nodded sadly.

"Excuse me?"Flynn asked.

"Nobody appreciates you, do they?" Rapunzel asked. Rapunzel moved closer to give him a hug. "Do they?"

The horse shook his head.

"Oh, come on. He's a bad horse!" Flynn said.

"Ohhh. He's nothing but a big sweetheart," Rapunzel said as the horse nuzzled against her. "Isn't that right...Maximus?"

Maximus stamped his foot and whinnied at the attentive petting as Flynn griped on the forest floor.

"Wha... You've got to be kidding me," he said. Maximus glared at him.

"Look, today is kind of the biggest day of my life, and the thing is, I need you NOT to get him arrested," Rapunzel said. She helped Flynn up and Maximus narrowed his eyes at her. "Just for twenty-four hours, and then you can chase each other to your hearts' content. Okay?"

Flynn begrudgingly offered a hand, but Maximus refused, looking away.

"And it's also my birthday. Just so you know," Rapunzel said. Maximus grumbled softly and offered his hoof. They shook, their scowls unbroken. Rapunzel looked ahead, seeing the trio running toward them.

"Rapunzel!" Sora said.

"You're here. And you're okay!" Rapunzel said. From behind her back, Maximus punched Flynn in the side and smirked.

"Yeah! You too," Sora said.

"And look! I made a friend," Rapunzel said as Maximus walked over. "Meet Maximus. You could say Flynn introduced us. And where one goes, the other follows."

Maximus inspected them dubiously.

"This is Sora, Goofy, and Donald. They've been helping me," Rapunzel said. Maximus nodded and Flynn got up, clutching his side and pointing onward.

"Come on, the Kingdom's not far," he said.

~~~~

They crossed the bridge and entered the castle town, Rapunzel giggling to herself all the way.

"Rapunzel sure looks happy," Sora said.

"She does," Donald said.

"Well, her dream's gonna come true. They're sendin' the lanterns up after dark," Goofy said.

"Cool! We don't wanna miss that!" Sora said. After dancing at the town center, a man shouted for everyone to head to the boats for the lanterns. The sunset and the trio watched from one of the docks, Maximus from another, as Rapunzel and Flynn took a boat to the middle of the lake. They gazed up at the castle against the darkly lit sky.

"I've been looking out a window for eighteen years, dreaming about what it might feel like when those lights rise in the sky. What if it's not everything I dreamed it would be?" Rapunzel said.

"It will be," Flynn said, calmly.

"And what if it is? What do I do then?"

"Well, that's the good part, I guess. You get to go find a new dream." They look up as a solitary lantern peeked out from behind the castle, floating slowly up into the sky. Rapunzel hastily stood up, rocking the boat and grasping at the stern, as multitudes of floating lanterns pooled out of the castle gates. Soon the entire kingdom was enveloped in a flock of lights floating softly into the air. Rapunzel leaned her head on the wood as she gazed longingly at the magical sight. She turned back to Flynn holding two of his own in his hands. She happily sat back down.

"I have something for you, too," she said. She pulled out his satchel and he stared at it. "I should have given it to you before, but I was just scared. And the thing is, I'm not scared anymore. You know what I mean?"

He placed a hand on the satchel and moved for her to put it down.

"I'm starting to," he said. They set free their lanterns and they joined the swirling bunch in the sky. Flynn gazed at Rapunzel, seeing the happiness on her face, then looked toward the satchel, thinking to himself. When the festival died down, they docked the boat on the edge of the lake and Flynn got out.

"I'm sorry. Everything is fine. There's...just something I have to take care of," he said. He grabbed the satchel and she looked back and forth between it and him.

"Okay," she said.

"I'll be right back." He turned to leave and Pascal climbed onto her shoulder.

"It's all right, Pascal," she said. They both sadly watched him go. From Sora's place at the dock, they watched the lights in the sky.

"Wow!" he gasped. They sensed a disturbance from behind as Reaper Nobodies and Monokumas appeared on the wharf. They got up and turned around, irked.

"Could you guys have possibly picked a worse time?" Sora asked.

"I don't think they appreciate the moment, Sora," Goofy said.

"Not one bit!" Donald said.

"It's time for these wet blankets to go!" Sora said as the three of them summoned their weapons.

"Yeah!" Donald and Goofy said. They took care of the Nobodies and Monokumas plaguing the wharf as Rapunzel waited by the shore with Pascal. Out of the fog over the water emerged a small sailboat.

"Eugene?" she asked. From shore, she saw what looked like Flynn steering the sailboat with the stolen tiara in his hand. "Eugene!"

Unknown to Rapunzel, he was out cold and tied to the mast and helm.

"Oh dear... He's run off with the crown and forgotten you," Marluxia said as he and Sonia appeared behind her.

"No. He wouldn't. Who are you?" Rapunzel said. They didn't answer and she looked back at the boat, still drifting away.

"Forget Flynn Rider. You know where you belong, and it's not with him. And I wish I had your pretty tiara. Now..." Sonia said. She and Marluxia motioned with their hands and two Reaper Nobodies and two Monokumas appeared in front of Rapunzel. She ran away in fear and Marluxia and Sonia smiled. She ran toward an opening between two large rocks, trying not to stumble when her braided hair caught on a fallen log. She pulled on it, trying to free it from the branch when she heard a voice.

"Rapunzel!" Mother Gothel said.

"Mother?" Rapunzel asked. She walked back to the shoreline, where the Nobodies and Monokumas had disintegrated and torn into pieces and Mother Gothel stood with a tree branch in her arms, out of breath. She perked up at the sight of Rapunzel.

"Oh, my precious girl!" she said.

"Mother..." Rapunzel said as she ran into her arms.

"Are you all right? Are you hurt?" Mother Gothel asked as she touched Rapunzel's face.

"M-Mother, how did you--"

"I was so worried about you, dear. So I followed you. And I saw them attack you, and--" Mother Gothel hugged her tightly. "Oh my. Let's go. Let's go, before they come to."

Rapunzel stopped and looked back at the boat on the lake. She slowly turned back to Mother Gothel, holding a green lantern in her hand. Rapunzel paused as Mother Gothel set the lantern down and opened her arms, beckoning her. Rapunzel's lip quivered and she started to cry, running into her mother's embrace. Mother Gothel stroked her hair as she sobbed. Sora, Donald, and Goofy entered and saw the two leaving.

"Hey, isn't that Rapunzel?" Sora asked. He cupped his hands to his face. "Wait! Rapunz--"

A dark corridor opened and Marluxia and Sonia appeared.

"Show some decorum," Marluxia said.

"You again!" Donald said.

"Marluxia! Sonia!" Sora said.

"The girl has found her dear mother. You should let them be," Sonia said.

"And why is that?"

"Because Rapunzel is far too important. Atop her tower, she must remain out of sight, and live out her days with Mother Gothel," Marluxia said.

"And never see anyone else?" Goofy said.

"But that's like...locking her in some prison!" Sora said.

"That is EXACTLY what it's like. Rapunzel's hair holds the powerful magic of healing. And yes, Mother Gothel wants it for herself. As do others. And, if Mother Gothel's actions will protect Rapunzel, preserve her...then she is doing the Organization a favor," Sonia said.

"What favor?"

"Let's say she's keeping Rapunzel on the shelf for us. An extra pawn in case you fail to find the remaining guardians of light, and we have occasion to call on other hearts of light instead. A New Seven Hearts to fill out the ranks," Marluxia said.

"'New Seven Hearts'?"

"Yes. Seven who inherited the princesses' light after their role was fulfilled," Sonia said.

"So, you don't care about her. You guys just want Rapunzel for your own purposes! Well, you're done here!" Sora said as he summoned his Keyblade.

"Hmph. I just knew you would go and make a scene. Very well, then it's lights out for you," Marluxia said. He extended a hand, blowing a pink wind toward Sora. He dropped the Keyblade, his eyes drooping.

"Sora!" Donald and Goofy exclaimed. They ran towards him as his vision got hazy, his ears muffled.

"You always were such a sound sleeper," Marluxia said. Sonia giggled and wrapped her arms around Marluxia's arm as Sora fell to the ground. Meanwhile, a recently escaped Flynn dashed on Maximus over the bridge away from the city. The morning sun brightened the sky as he rode toward the forest, encountering Donald and Goofy hovering over a still-sleeping Sora.

"Whoa, Max! Whoa, boy," Flynn said. They slid just short of them.

"Flynn!" Goofy said.

"Is Sora okay?" Flynn asked.

"We don't know," Donald said.

"We keep callin' his name and shakin' him, but he won't open his eyes," Goofy said.

"Sora!"

"Wake up!"

"Hmm... Unresponsive sidekick... Wait a minute. I know how to fix this! Max, give him a wash!" Flynn said. Maximus licked Sora's face with his long tongue, rousing him from his sleep. Sora opened his eyes seeing Flynn and Maximus looking down at him. Donald and Goofy peeked into view.

"Sora!" Donald and Goofy said as he sat up.

"Well, that did the trick. Nice work, Max!" Flynn said. Maximus smiled haughtily. Sora stood and held his head.

"Huh? How did I end up..." he asked as the events came back to him. "Oh no! Flynn, Rapunzel's being held prisoner!"

Donald and Goofy nodded.

"That's right. In her mother's tower," Flynn said. They trotted forward.

"This calls for a rescue," Flynn said. He smiled down at Sora and extended a hand. "Are you with me?"

Sora gave a small laugh.

"Yeah," he said. Flynn pulled Sora up onto the horse with a proud cackle. Donald jumped up onto Sora's shoulders and Goofy tagged along on Maximus. Suddenly, they lost height.

"Uh-oh!" Goofy said. Maximus's legs buckled, struggling to hold them up, but his face changed to one of determination. He let out a whinny and stood straight up.

"Let's go, Max," Flynn said. Maximus reared back and charged forward. They raced through the forest in the direction of the tower when they were intercepted by a group of Nobodies and Monokumas.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, Max!" Flynn said. Sora, Donald, and Goofy nodded to each other and jumped off Maximus, summoning their weapons.

"We'll take it from here, Flynn. Go help Rapunzel," Sora said.

"Thanks!" Flynn said. He took off with Maximus, leaving the Nobodies and Monokumas to them. As they followed along through the forest, their path was filled with Heartless and more Monokumas. They defeated each wave in turn. By the time they arrived, Flynn had climbed up and entered the tower.

"Rapunzel! I thought I'd never see you again," Flynn said. He looked up, seeing Rapunzel chained and gagged. Her eyes widen as Mother Gothel sneaked behind him, striking a hidden dagger into his side. Rapunzel struggled to get free, crying out as Flynn fell over onto the floor. Mother Gothel looked down at him, squirming in pain on the stone floor. She tugged on Rapunzel's chains trying to lead her deeper into the tower, the girl desperate to get free.

"Rapunzel, really! Enough already! Stop fighting me!" she said. Rapunzel, pulling back, lost her balance and fell over, the gag slipping from her mouth.

"No! I won't stop! For every minute of the rest of my life, I will fight! I will never stop trying to get away from you! But...if you let me save him, I will go with you," she said. Mother Gothel raised an eyebrow.

"No! No, Rapunzel..." Flynn grunted. He attempted to crawl on the floor but the pain was too great. Pascal looked on helplessly.

"I'll never run... I'll never try to escape. Just let me heal him...and you and I will be together--forever, just like you want. Every- thing will be the way it was. I promise. Just like you want. Just...let me heal him," Rapunzel said. Mother Gothel released Rapunzel and shackled Flynn.

"In case you get any ideas about following us," she said to him. Rapunzel rushed to his side.

"Eu...Eugene!" she said. She brushed the hair out of his eyes and he clutched his side, struggling to sit up against the wall. She checked at his wound, obviously bleeding.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. Everything is gonna be okay, though," she said as she gathered her hair into her arms.

"No...Rapunzel..." Flynn groaned.

"I promise. You have to trust me." She placed her hair over his wound.

"No! I can't let you do this," he said. They stared into each other's eyes.

"And I can't let you die," she said.

"But if you do this...but if you do this, then you will die."

"Hey. It's gonna be all right," she whispered. He gave the very smallest of smiles.

"Rapunzel... Wait," he said. He began to stroke her hair, his face moving closer to hers, and with a swift motion cut off her hair with a shard of the broken mirror. His hand fell to the floor, dropping the glass, as her hair turned brown, its healing ability lost. She looked down at him in shock.

"Eugene, what--" she gasped. Absolute terror erupted from Mother Gothel's face.

"No!" she screamed. From the strand in Rapunzel's hands, the once golden locks of hair turned a deep brown. Mother Gothel tried to gather them up in her arms before the magic was lost.

"Oh no. No..." she said. Unable to stop the transformation, she grabbed her hand, watching it become wrinkled and withered.

"What have you done? What have you DONE?!" she yelled. The aging spread across her body like a weed, her skin turning pale and her hair a pallid gray. She screamed out in sudden shrieks, her body moving feebly, as she covered her decrepit face with her hood. She writhed about the room, crossing closer to the window, where Pascal pulled on the long bunch of hair, causing her to spill out of the tower. She screamed as she fell, aging out of existence, the shroud flying down through the air as Sora, Donald and Goofy reached the base of the tower. Marluxia and Sonia watched from the hill.

"Fallen to darkness... We can't allow her near our pure light now. Her presence would only cast a pall over it," Sonia said. Marluxia motioned with his arm, suspending the cloak in midair surrounded by petals of pink. An orb of darkness burst forth and branch-like limbs erupted from within, followed by a tail. Another set of limbs and the creature crashed to the ground, the darkness pulling back, revealing a large tree-like Heartless, the Grim Guardianess. It growled down at Sora, Donald, and Goofy, who summoned their weapons.

"What happened up there?" Sora asked.

"I don't know, but we have to stop that Heartless," Donald said. The Grim Guardianess flew toward them, its tail moving like a serpent, as its large mane of leaves crashed to the ground, sending pollen everywhere. Donald and Goofy were sent into a sneezing fit as thorns surrounded Sora. He struggled to get free of the thorns' grip before the Heartless slithered around the tower, spiraling to the top. Sora broke free from the thorny tether as cherries fell from the sky. Sora, Donald, and Goofy raced across the hill avoiding the cages of vines that blocked their way, as the cherry bombs exploded on impact with the ground. Dodging the torrent of bombs, Sora reached the tower and ran up its stone exterior. The Heartless was soon no match for Sora and his Keyblade and was knocked from the tower. Inside, Rapunzel clutched Flynn.

"Don't go. Stay with me, Eugene," she said. Sora, Donald, and Goofy ascended the tower, seeing Rapunzel over Flynn's body. She grabbed his arm and placed it against her hair.

"🎵Flower, gleam and glow. Let your power shine. Make the clock reverse🎵," she sang through her tears.

"Rapunzel," Flynn said as he opened his eyes.

"🎵Bring back what once was mine.🎵"

"Hey. Rapunzel."

"What?"

"Rapunzel... You were my new dream." Tears welled up in her eyes.

"And you were mine," she said. Flynn blinked once more and his eyes closed, his body falling limp. The trio looked on sadly as she moved her hand toward his face.

"🎵Heal what has been hurt. Change the Fates' design. Save what has been lost. Bring back what once was mine🎵," she sang. She moved her hand over his heart and leaned in closer, her face nearly touching his, her song nearly a whisper. "What once was mine."

She sobbed, a tear falling onto the rogue's skin. It settled there, glowing into the shape of a flower. A light burst forth from Flynn's wound, wresting Rapunzel from her sorrow. Sora, Donald, and Goofy stared open-mouthed at this sight. The healing magic swirled into the air like strands of hair, wisping around Rapunzel, her eyes wide. A six-pointed flower magically bloomed from the wound, before the light disappeared inside of him. She moved closer to his face, brushing the hair out of her eyes as Flynn slowly took a breath and opened his eyes.

"Rapunzel..." he said.

"Eugene." she gasped.

"Did I ever tell you...I've got a thing for brunettes?" He smiled and Rapunzel was overcome by joy.

"Eugene!" she said. She threw her arms around him and he leaned on his side to embrace her. Sora, Donald, and Goofy smiled with glee, and Sora threw his arms around the other two, grinning from ear to ear and Flynn tightened his hold on Rapunzel. Later, they all stood at the base of the tower, the warm sunlight bathing over them.

"Wow, Rapunzel! You're finally gonna get to see your real home," Sora said.

"I know! I mean...I can't believe it. I can finally be with my real family! I couldn't have done it without your help," Rapunzel said.

"You're welcome," Donald said. She giggled.

"Well, from where I'm standing, the Kingdom couldn't ask for a better princess. And I couldn't have asked for better sidekicks!" Flynn said. Sora brushed a knuckle across his nose. "Thanks."

"Yes, thank you so much," Rapunzel said.

"Happily ever after," Donald said. Sora crossed his arms.

"Mh-hm," he said.

"Now, Flynn, you and Maximus play nice," Goofy said. Maximus and Flynn exchanged glances.

"Huh?" Flynn asked. Maximus whinnied with laughter. "Fine."

Rapunzel took Flynn's hand and they stared into each other's eyes.

"You're gonna be great," Sora said.

"Huh?" Rapunzel and Flynn asked.

"We haven't seen the guy controlling the monsters in a while, so that's one less worry."

"But there's still a chance that he might be around here somewhere," Goofy said.

"Well, if he comes back and tries to bother Rapunzel again, then Flynn will keep her safe. And we three won't be far behind."

"Come on. Rapunzel's the tough one, if you ask me," Donald said.

"True. But nevertheless, I won't let her out of my sight," Flynn said.

"Oh... Eugene," Rapunzel smiled.

"'Eugene'?" Sora asked.

"Oh! That's my real name. Eugene Fitzherbert. That's right. I never told you guys," Flynn chuckled.

"That's different," Donald said.

"I think it's a great name!" Goofy said.

"Me too. Nice to re-meet you, Eugene," Sora said.

"Hey! I thought I was the only one you were going to tell," Rapunzel said to Eugene.

"Don't worry. I've saved plenty of Fitzherbert-y secrets just for you," Eugene replied.

"Really?"

"Hey! What are you two lovebirds talking about?" Sora asked, pointing at them.

"Nothing!" Eugene said.

"Nothing," Rapunzel giggled.

"Hey, you can tell us!" Donald said.

"Yeah, it's not nice to keep secrets," Goofy said.

"This one is none of your business," Eugene said.

"Maximus, get him!" Sora chuckled.

"Huh?" Maximus glared at Eugene, an inch from his face, and Eugene stopped, unsure of what to anticipate. Pascal crawled onto Rapunzel's shoulder with a determined look and jumped over to Eugene's, sending his long sticky tongue into his ear. Eugene reeled back and clutched his ear, Pascal jumping off with a squeal of glee.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Eugene said. Rapunzel and the rest burst out laughing. Maximus smiled at Eugene, waggling his eyebrows as Pascal chilled on Eugene's head. Soon after, the trio left the Kingdom of Corona.

[misssophiachase]

For @klarolinefallbingo “Broomstick” 

What a month it has been! Thank you @eliliyah for organising this (and all your stunning graphics) and all of your hard work! I don’t think I have any more left in me but thank you everyone for being so supportive and kind. 

I also got 3 BINGOS (almost 4 if I do one more) which isn’t too bad I thought lol. I’ll do a master past soon : )

Thank you also to @helpfulfairy for her awesome quidditch knowledge, whatever would I do without you, luv?

Everything She Does is Magic

Witch and wizard Caroline and Klaus can’t stand each other according to school gossip. Although, news of her addition to the quidditch team is going to make things much more interesting and complicated.

Wednesday

“I think I misheard you,” he offered, a slight smile playing on his crimson lips from across the wooden, dining table. “You’re starting in this weekend’s quidditch match?”

“Did I stutter,” Caroline shot back, rolling her blue eyes in his direction.

As someone who made over-achieving an art form, Caroline was determined to master everything the school had to offer, including quidditch. She figured that all the pain and bruises from an extra circular activity would be worth it to secure good, future job prospects.

She was always thinking ahead. 

Obviously, Klaus Mikaelson didn’t share her view. Not that she was surprised given he’d made it his main aim in life to terrorise her since she started attending Hogwarts School of Magic two years earlier.

Just because he came from a rich and powerful family didn’t give him the right to make her life difficult.  

“I just wouldn’t want you to falter and fall off your broomstick, Forbes, that’s all,” he chuckled, a stray dimple appearing without notice.

Why did he have to look so good insulting her?

Ass.

“Funny, I thought that would be you, Mikaelson, given last week’s pathetic loss,” she muttered, trying to avoid the urge to throw a french fry in his direction. “Gryffindor is going to wipe the floor with Slytherin this weekend and clearly you’re worried.”

“Me? Worried? Highly, bloody unlikely.”

“We’ll see about that,” she argued. “I’ve got moves you haven’t seen before.”

Caroline wasn’t sure she was talking about quidditch anymore and given the way his dark, blue eyes clouded over briefly she wasn’t sure he was thinking that either.

“Bring it on, love.” His husky tone only confirming her suspicion. He was gone before she could reply, no doubt on purpose. 

Maybe it was a ploy to distract her before the match but Caroline was struggling to decipher whether they were enemies or something else completely. 

“He wants to nail you and I’m not talking in a competitive sporting type way.” 

“Why thank you, Lorenzo,” she drawled, swatting her best friend away from her personal space. “I’m just glad he didn’t hear you.”

“Why would you care if you didn’t think it was true?”

“I’m not going to dignify that with a response.”

“Which translates to you wanting to jump his bones,” he teased. “If he swung my way I’d have joined the quidditch team myself.”

“I did not join the team for him,” she huffed, gathering her books and attempting to make her getaway. 

“Whatever you say, darling.” His unconvincing tone wasn’t lost on Caroline. Either way she was going to wipe the floor with him and enjoy doing it. 

Saturday

“Niklaus? Hello?” The repetitive sound of his inquisitive, and annoying, younger brother’s questions were wearing on his last nerve. 

He was trying to get into the zone before the quidditch match. Seated in the Slytherin locker room, it wasn’t something he struggled with usually but today was very different and he knew why. 

Caroline Forbes.

He teased her, sure, and pretended he hated her but that wasn’t the case. Not by a long shot. He was head-over-heels and pathetically in love with the blonde witch who’d stolen his heart when she turned him into a toad during charms class. 

Not the love at first sight scenario most would imagine.

Sure, he should have been furious, and he’d acted that way, but it only made him want her more. 

Then she decided to join the Gryffindor quidditch team. 

Klaus wasn’t averse to anyone playing the game but he’d been surprised when she’d admitted it during study hall. He’d been arrogant, because that was his defence mechanism, but only really to mask his real feelings. 

It didn’t help that she was a chaser just like him. 

“Niklaus!”

“I heard you the first time,” he barked, looking at Kol in frustration. 

“Wow, I was only letting you know the game was about to start,” he joked. “If I’d known you were going to be so uptight, I’d have stayed away.”

“I’m not uptight,” he uttered through pursed lips. 

“Oh, that’s right,” he offered. “You’re scared your girlfriend is going to whip your ass.”

“I am not.” Klaus didn’t mean for it to come across so abrupt and childish but decided to blame it on his brother’s bad sense of humour. “Enough talking, I’m ready.”

Klaus wasn’t sure if he was but decided that bluffing was his best way of deterring his annoying brother. 

45 minutes later 

Slytherin had the lead, although Gryffindor was attempting to even the score. Caroline felt the wind whip through her hair as she competed, her attention solely focused, well except for the annoyingly handsome idiot on the opposing team. 

If she knew playing was going to feel this good she would have taken it up two years ago. She’d always been competitive but this was next level. 

Her persistent opponent was certainly not going to let her forget it though. He was so close she could smell his spicy scent So much so, that after a particularly rough tackle, Caroline felt herself spinning out of control. 

The blue sky above and green grass below were playing on uncontrollable  repeat, Caroline not quite sure what was happening until she felt someone catch her before she hit the ground.   

In fact, she dropped onto something which helped cushion her fall and she was madly trying to get her bearings. Feeling her surroundings, Caroline could make out a set of toned arms, not to mention the hard abdomen she was straddling. 

The sound of a muffled groan was enough to wake her from her daze. Caroline’s eyes opened, not expecting Klaus Mikaelson, of all wizards, to be lying beneath her. 

“If you wanted me, all you needed to do was ask, love.”

“You wish,” she growled, attempting to stand but failing miserably given their hard fall. “Hang on, why are you here?”

“Because I’m stupid obviously,” he groaned, his pain evident. Then she remembered the strong grip that caught her fall. 

“Did you, of all people, really break my fall?” She waited for his response, not realising she was holding her breath. 

“If I wasn’t in so much pain, I’d argue you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, sweetheart.” 

Clearly that was a yes. 

Caroline wanted to argue because that was her immediate instinct when it came to him but he looked so vulnerable. It also didn’t help that she was straddling him in a not so innocent way. 

But the way he was staring up at her, dark blue eyes trained on hers, was causing her to falter. 

She hated him.

Or so she thought. 

“Caroline?Klaus?” She was broken from her trance by their teacher, clearly concerned about their wellbeing splayed out on the field. “Are you both okay?”

Their gaze hadn’t deviated at all, both clearly okay with their current and extremely close predicament. It took another question for them to finally separate. 

“Can I help you?”

Caroline immediately felt lost when they did eventually separate. Given the look on his face, she knew Klaus felt the same way. 

Slytherin won that match but Caroline promised to avenge the result the following week, secretly hoping she’d find herself wrapped around her opponent again. 

Not because she liked him at all but so she could tell him what an ass he was. 

Or that’s what she told herself.