#had to continue in another tag because i almost reached the character limit

[baphofemme]

on one hand it's a relief i don't have a fuckton of class work to do this week but on the other i already know my procrastinating ass is playing a dangerous game with such circumstances 😭

[princess-self-shipping]

Hednonophobia

Fandom; Bendy and the Dark Revival

Character List; Bendy, Audrey

Genre(s): Emotional hurt/comfort

Word Count: 2778

TW/CW; None! (If needed to be tagged, plz inform)

Spoilers for BATDR! Do not ready if you do not wish for spoilers!

Hedonophobia is an excessive fear or aversion to obtaining pleasure. The purported background of some such associated feelings may be due to an egalitarian-related sentiment, whereby one feels a sense of solidarity with individuals in the lowest Human Development Index countries. For others, a recurring thought that some things are too good to be true has resulted in an ingrainedness that they are not entitled to feel too good. Sometimes, it can be triggered by a religious upbringing wherein asceticism is propounded.

Life tended to work in cycles. Routines that people got familiar with one way or another, it wasn’t anything too out of the ordinary for people living their everyday lives. Wake up, eat breakfast, go to work, go home, repeat as necessary. Sure there were times things needed to be spiced up in order for there to be some sense of variety, to keep the cycles from being too dull, but there were often things people repeated over and over because it was just familiar to them. Though, cycles like this still had these individuals merit some sort of control over their own lives.

The little imp recently taken into the world of color was not used to such a change. His cycles were more… structured. For the most part anyway, until a while ago when the cycle was tampered with. But his role had always been predetermined; the master of the world and the demon that lurked its halls. His nature and power commanded respect and fear from those who lived there, and he enjoyed it. It was a way of living that kept him safe, kept him in control. Even if the cycle continued over and over again, he still held on to this control and power. It kept him sane, kept him going throughout it all.

And then there was that interloper, Wilson. No one knew how he found out about this world, and to this day the demon still didn’t. But it didn’t matter how he found it, what mattered were the consequences of his actions. Experiments, tests, pushing the studio to its limits, and one more thing that set the entire studio into a bad spiral; stopping the cycle. Creating The Keepers to keep it from starting over again and again, the ones who played a key role in the original script were captured and imprisoned. The reel was stolen and kept away from anyone’s reach. And what they did to him… he’d rather not think about it.

He still lived with the consequences of Wilson’s actions. In the world of color, he could only retain his small form consistently, his larger one was far more of a risk and unstable now. What used to be the only form he had was now a stranger to him, and he wasn’t sure how to feel about it. On one hand, he was finally back in the world he was born in after being banished to live as a villain. On the other hand… this was NOT the ideal circumstances of his return that he had expected. He was small, weak, frail… he couldn’t defend himself if need be. He’d grown soft, almost like a child. His demonic nature was still there, but he couldn’t quite reach it in this state. It was as if he had been declawed, his weapons removed and his aggression with it. He didn’t like it. It felt horrible.

“Bendy?” A familiar voice snapped him out of his thoughts, and the black and white world he had lost himself in returned to color. He was sitting on the tiled floor of an office, a wooden train in his hands that he’d been… squeezing a bit too hard if the splintering wood was anything to go by. By the colors in the room- and how hard it was to see- it must have been night… wasn’t the sun going down just a minute ago? How much time had gone by since he lost himself in his thoughts?

“Bendy, is everything okay?” That voice called his name again, and he turned to face the person in question. Audrey; the woman who had brought him out of the ink machine with her. She’d left the world of sepia tones and ink to return to the world of color, and because of their connection he had gone with her. She was the one to blame for this, for the state that he was in after his escape. 

Still, he nodded at her question. She was the master of the studio her father created now, and he didn’t wish to test the extent of those abilities. She had already meddled with the cycle for those who couldn’t leave with the two of them, trying to make their lives that much more bearable inside. She was… a mushy soul all things considered. How could someone with as much pain as she still have so much empathy for those around her? It confused him.

Audrey didn’t seem to believe him, given the way her eyebrows furrowed together and she tapped her pen on the paper in front of her. Still, she let out a sigh as she went to stand up, setting the pen down in a familiar cup beside her. Either that meant she was going for a coffee run, or she was about to leave the studio for the evening. He watched her for a minute as she walked around the room, only to find himself grow slightly disappointed seeing her grab her purse and sling it over her shoulder. Home for the night it was. He was never supposed to leave Audrey’s office until they figured something out, he had made a few places to hide in here to make sure of it. Audrey was respected enough in the office to be left alone during the work day that it was fine, and during the night she often stayed in late to work rather than not. So, guess it was time for him to ready the hiding spot. They both knew what it would mean if he was spotted.

Though… he paused once he didn’t hear the door open, and instead the sound of Audrey’s heels coming closer. She was in front of him, and soon crouched down to take a knee in front of him. It was a familiar position to him, one she took when she wanted to speak to him on an equal level… he wasn’t used to it. He was even more shocked to see her hold out her hand to him, causing him to look between her hand and her face in a confused manner.

“How about you come home with me this time?” Record scratch. Bendy was certain he heard one somewhere throughout the building at Audrey’s words. What did she just say? She of all people had stressed the importance of him not being seen as to not risk anything happening to him now that he was in the colored world. She hadn’t wanted to repeat her father’s mistakes with him being taken and locked away. What changed?

He was still hesitant as he thought it over, bringing his toy train to his chest. It was his go to whenever he felt nervous about something, he had lost his ability to speak in this smaller form as well. This form truly was a burden, yet it kept him out of trouble. 

The cue was enough for Audrey to pick up on, and she adjusted herself to sit on both of her legs this time. She sat like this too, to make herself smaller to keep the pressure on him minimal. He didn’t need it, he didn’t fear the girl as he once had when his young mindset was stronger. But the gesture was… appreciated nonetheless. 

“It’s okay. No one’s gonna see you, it’s just you and me in the building. And I’ve got something I wanna show you on the way there.” Well, if there was one vice he shared with his cartoon counterpart, it was his curiosity. Damn it… he was gonna do this, wasn’t he? Well, it beat spending another boring night in here he supposed, and Audrey knew better than to try anything. Just because it was hard for him to shift into his bigger shape didn’t mean it was impossible. And he would cause a scene somehow if he needed to.

He accepted her hand, and let her pull him along out of the building. The elevator was a new experience; he was too big for those back in the studio, and even then he preferred to travel by portals. So being in a small moving box that was plummeting down sent… a few unpleasant feelings through his body. But, it’s fine. Audrey was there holding on to him, and he had his train in his other hand to keep him calm. Nothing to worry about, it’s all fine. 

The car was a completely new experience though. He was put in the back seat of it, Audrey reasoned he was too small for the front for whatever reason. While it felt like a tiny little moving box of death, it didn’t feel… too small. He had enough room to kick his legs out, stretch a bit, even run his train along the sides of the seats in order to help calm himself down. Audrey was really going out of her way to make things comfortable for the imp in her care, and it made him feel funny… When was the other shoe going to drop? He trusted Audrey to not be stupid enough to try anything outright, but this all felt like a bit much. Something wasn’t right, he was sure of it.

This train of thought was promptly cut off by the fact that the moving tin can of death finally came to a stop. But not in front of a building, it seemed to be in front of some… fence. A fence? Where were they? Bendy took off his seatbelt to take a better look at the environment around them, only to see nothing short of green and brown tinted with the night’s blue as far as the eye could see. She had driven them into some sort of forest while he had been lost in his thoughts, and he felt his stomach tighten. This was it… this was where it was going to drop, wasn’t it? Well, if she thought she was going to get the jump on him, she wasn’t nearly as smart as he thought!

Audrey climbed out of the car first, shutting the door behind her before making her way over to Bendy’s. By that point, he was tense as a coiled spring and was ready to lash out at Audrey if she tried anything that felt like an attack. Still, she just gave him that same gentle smile and went to help him out of his seat and outside the car.

“Alright, here we are. This is where I wanted to show you before we went back to my house. But we’ve got a bit of walking to do, think you can handle it?” They weren’t there yet? How much farther would they have to go to reach this ‘mystery’ place she had in mind. Fine. Humor her. Bendy nodded, only to be scooped up into Audrey’s arms like he was a child. He froze and was about to thrash about in protest, but Audrey was quick to shush him.

“Easy, easy. I gotta climb that fence, and I don’t want you to hurt yourself if you do it. So hold on, okay?” She adjusted her hold on him to move him to her back, sitting on her shoulders comfortably as she made her way over towards the wire fence again. She was being so careful with him, a habit she had picked up since the two had escaped together. It was such an odd thing really, it wasn’t like he was a delicate child or something who couldn’t defend himself. She of all people should know this, yet she still treated him this way. Why? Why would she continue to baby him when she knew how perfectly capable-

The sudden jump down the fence he hadn’t fully processed Audrey was climbing cut his thoughts short, and he tightened his hold on the woman in response. Nope- nope okay he’s fine. She just jumped down, and they were both fine on the other side.

“You okay?” A nod. “Alright, we’ve got a bit more to go. Hold on just a bit longer, little guy.”

She didn’t put him down, she just kept walking forward through the grass. It was untamed here, no paths or specific roads to go down. The fence must have perturbed enough to keep them away, but not Audrey… she was an odd one, just in terms of personality alone. Why would she bring him here of all places? He was so confused, she was treating him like a child but no doubt bringing him somewhere where she had something terrible planned for him. Why wouldn’t she? Just like anyone else in the studio, she was subjected to his torment. 

Anyone who didn’t follow him would jump at the opportunity to be rid of him.

Wilson was proof enough of that.

Joey was proof enough of that.

The walk wasn’t much longer, the field soon making way to the top of a hill with an individual tree sitting amongst it. With the cooler weather settling in, the leaves were more brittle and falling from the branches. It was… admittedly rather pretty, Bendy could at least admit that. 

Audrey carefully moved the demon from her shoulders, setting him down on the ground but not letting go of his hand. She led the way towards the tree, carefully sitting down and patting the spot next to her. His hand tightened on his train, but he did as he was told. He hated it immediately, the grass was damp and cold, and it was immediately one of the worst feelings in the world. Absolutely not. Audrey laughed a little at his reaction, guess he made a funny face. Great.

They sat there in silence for a while, Audrey just staring ahead of them while Bendy tried to figure out what was going on here. Okay, remote uncomfortable location, enough to make his heart start pounding in his chest. Something was going on here, she was planning something and he knew it. Just when everything starts to go right, something always goes wrong. It never fails, no matter what happens it never fails. But this time he was ready. If she tried anything, he would tear her apart. Keeper of the cycle or not, he refused to be a victim anymore.

“Bendy, it’s time. Look.” Audrey pointed in front of them, towards the horizon that she had been staring at. Time? Time for what? Bendy looked up from the spot in the grass he had burned a hole into, only for his eyes to widen. A golden ray was starting to peak up over the horizon, followed by shades of orange and purple. Sunrise… had Audrey been in the office so long that they were able to see the sunrise on the way home? But… this… this was beautiful… 

Audrey… she didn’t have an ulterior motive. She was just showing him something nice. Something bright and full of colors he never saw before inside the studio. She wasn’t being mean or cruel, she was just… being Audrey… but that couldn’t be right. It was never right. Something wrong had to happen sooner or later, nothing good ever happened without something bad to counteract it! This wasn’t right! A monster like him didn’t get to just stick with happy things!

A hand on his cheek snapped him out of his spiral that had almost started, and he felt something wet being wiped away. Huh? When had he started crying? Bendy turned to face Audrey as she pulled her hand away, his face now an expression of bewilderment.

Her eyes were still as soft and kind as ever. She was always kind to him, no matter what happened. She didn’t say anything, and instead just offered her arms out to him. There was never any plan… Audrey wasn’t Wilson. Audrey wasn’t Joey. Audrey wasn’t anyone at Gent… she was the closest thing this demon had to a family.

Maybe that’s why he felt comfortable accepting her offer, returning her hug and silently sobbing in her arms.

Maybe… maybe there was some hope for a monster, a demon, to have some genuine happiness in his life after all.

[filipinoizukuu]

hello mr simp do you have any thoughts on the leeks 👀

FIRST OF ALL. THEY CAME SO FUCKING EARLY??? BRO I WAS ASLEEP

SECOND OF ALL

holy SHIT YALL

Okay, it's no secret that I'm an All Might stan. I LOVE All Might. Very very much. Not just as a simp, but genuinely, I enjoy his character SO MUCH.

--And unlike what some people may think, I'm not totally blind to his flaws. I know he sucks as a mentor and that he's done way more harm to Deku than good. He's.... not perfect. in every sense of the word. The whole point of AM's character is that he is a DEEPLY FLAWED individual— but at the end of the day, still good.

This new chapter gave me SOOO many new feelings. I'm not gonna lie to y'all and say I was a Stain apologist beforehand because I wasn't. I disliked Stain to a certain degree, but I also knew he was morally grey enough that I was able to still quite appreciate him as a character. This chapter was about EVERYTHING to me because I honestly did NOT expect Hori to go in this direction and for things to happen the way they did. It was too good to be true! Too fanfic-y! The disbelief I felt when I read what happened was on par with when Bakugou and Deku had that apology and kinda-hug in the rain!

But this disbelief is not because it was a bad thing.

I think the writing in Chapter 326 is phenomenal. The moment that All Might was really beginning to lose hope in not just himself as a hero, but himself as a PERSON... we finally hear the opinion of someone who would abso-fucking-LUTELY make or break the last of his spirit.

Stain is, as much as his views are pretty agreeable and his label is that of a vigilante, still a pretty shitty guy. He's tried to kill literal kids who got in his way, even if said kids made pretty dumb decisions. AM hearing what he has to say is absolutely mind-boggling to him because he knows all of that. He knows Stain is a shitty person and that his worldview is perhaps terribly skewed. He knows Stain has spent a hot minute frying his brains down in Tartarus and isn't good at making judgment calls. Knows that for all intents and purposes, Stain's opinions are not to be trusted.

But the thing is... Toshinori also knows that Stain, regardless of the soundness of his mind, is telling the truth.

Regardless of how fucked-in-the-head Stain is, we as readers are able to acknowledge that he isn't blinded by hero worship. Sure, he's bitter, cynical, and quite the absolutist--but Stain is still clear-headed enough to be able to see AM's flaws for what they are and accept them, ultimately proving to Toshinori that the power of All Might was never his own but rather the legacy that he inspired.

The society MHA takes place in is flawed. We all know this. Heroes, as a concept, had been corrupted into being purely about good and evil. Purely winning fights for money or fame or the abstract concept of victory (coughs Endeavor and the no.1 spot coughs), making heroism as we know it about flashiness and power instead of mercy and the desire to help others.

All Might symbolizes the ideal version of the Hero Society. He represents doing the best you can. Being a hero until you reach your limits, and then going even past that. He symbolizes pure intention and the desire to be a hero not for material gains but because of the pure want to make society a better and safer place. Stain refers to Kamino Ward and the statue as a "holy land" because he believes that through and through, AM's only had the purest of intentions and morals. To him, Toshinori was like a deity that had no fault in making society what it was in the present because that accountability fell on the generations of heroes that failed to fulfill his legacy.

The point being, Stain understood that All Might was fundamentally not about 'being there' for everyone 24/7, but rather the message his presence had sent.

All Might's monologue at the beginning of the chapter essentially boiled down to the ideas that:

A. He regrets not being there properly for Deku

B. His image was a delusion that ultimately led to the downfall of hero society.

To break this down, his problem with Deku is his inability to be a competent mentor. It shows that he has led him down dangerous and horrible paths (Deku's stubbornness to do things by himself and his 'dark' arc post-war), and is unable to bring him back into the light even if he tries. It was only when Class 1-A had intervened that they were able to get Deku to rest and let people tag along, after all, which is why Toshinori was far too embarrassed to follow him into UA's walls even after everyone had come out with umbrellas.

Stain disproves this in two ways.

First, he says that it was never about All Might's ability to actually be there for people. The whole point of what inspired Deku to be the inherently good-hearted "true hero" he is today is because of the values that AM's brand had instilled in him as a child. AM's biggest positive impacts came from behind the screen where he was used as the proof that true heroes can and do exist. Deku does want to be exactly like All Might, yes, which is why we see Toshinori leading him down the same path that he walked--but the underlying message of this is that the very first thing All Might gave him even before OfA was the courage to help fix society.

I do believe Deku is an innately compassionate person. Most people in the series are. However, what makes All Might's smile so uniquely impactful to what it did to Hero Society is the way it gave people courage to help people. Less hesitation. Less bystander syndromes. The ability to move without thinking. Because you can feel the want to help a person, but the courage to be nosey and actually do it? That's portrayed as something AM's image teaches people.

The second way he disproves AM's insecurity of dragging Deku down is that he makes it clear that this pain is somewhat of a necessity in reforming society. He says, interestingly enough, that this is but the 'middle process' in reforming society. This spills over to how he addresses Problem B, but what Stain is essentially saying here is that this sort of brutality and isolation that Izuku faces is impermanent. A phase. It implies that even if Deku is struggling and Toshinori is unable to help him, it is something that needs to happen before they re-realize the ideal heroes All Might's image is meant to create.

The second problem in regards to how All Might feels about current society (how it's collapsing because of him, etc. etc.) is more interestingly addressed. There are many things that Stain says--like how Toshinori doesn't need to actually be the one to fix society with his bare hands. The current society is not his fault because of the fact that it is not finished developing. I'm not sure if I can go so far as to say that Stain means this in the sense of the Scorched Earth method of tearing everything down to build it back up better-- but I can say that Stain still has faith in society to rebuild after this period of chaos.

This rebuilding starts with the old generation of heroes correcting what they messed up (i.e. Endeavor v Dabi) and more importantly, paving the way for a better generation of heroes that was inspired by All Might's image. Heroes that are led by people like Deku, who is defined by his proclivity to help without thinking. The violent deconstruction of society is about exposing society to the raw truth of All Might's image that not everybody can be as strong as him-- which is why we have to take care of each other.

When the lady comes in to remove the sign and start cleaning the statue, it's symbolic. It's a clear metaphor that the past few chapters are the turning point for society as a whole, and how people are starting to remember what real heroism is. From the distrust that was seeded in society ever since LoV had surfaced, we are seeing that trust being returned TEN-FOLD now that people can see not only the mask of a hero's smile, but also the person underneath.

I think it's some really neat symbolism here too about how Deku, who's metal mouth guard was literally all about representing All Might's smile, is shed.

This is hero society dropping their masks. Letting people see them for as they are. Toshinori revisiting the statue in this form makes all the more impact because he shed his mask ages ago during the Kamino Bust, so this is him coming face to face with the image he's created and seeing the differences between them, and how his image continues to live on even after he's almost completely Quirkless. The lady cleaning the All Might statue shows off the fact that things can be repaired again--that society can be clean (hehe stain pun) again.

It's interesting to me here how Stain offers the information from Tartarus.

He doesn't care anymore about his life. It's evident. He disagrees with what the LoV is doing, but believes enough in Deku to think that it's time for him to retire the mantle of 'Stain'. Unless this is another test, it's very odd for me to hear that Stain is offering a blade and his life to someone he isn't even sure is All Might.

But the impact of this action reads loud and clear.

This is Stain taking pity on All Might. This is him realizing that All Might too is a person behind the hero. That Toshinori Yagi is incapable of doing anything past the image he had already created. By offering that knife and information on Tartarus, Stain is giving control back to Toshinori. He is giving AM the chance to do something big again to help society's reconstruction. To be a part of the revolution that he so badly deserves to see. That knife is essentially an exit ticket from the sidelines, and one last chance for All Might to be able to see what his image has done for people.

I personally think that the main reason Stain is willing to die then and there by Toshinori's hand, despite not being sure that he is All Might to begin with, is because of the final impact it creates that it isn't about Toshinori Yagi's true power as a person, but the image of All Might. It is because he looks like the symbol of peace, that Stain (the literal HERO KILLER) feels comfortable laying his life in his hands and giving away valuable information.

If that isn't a great testament to the power of AM's image, I don't know WHAT is.

I guess all I have to say is I absolutely love what Stain did in this chapter. Everything felt so incredibly symbolic and emotional and as someone who absolutely ADORES All Might and what he stands for in the story, this felt like a cool balm after seeing Deku tragically reject his bento box a good few chapters ago. I have a few more opinions about symbolism, and how I think Deku's generation of heroes is going to stray from the old gen, but I think that's a discussion for another time.

Thanks for reading 'til the end!

[writing-in-april]

A Snowy Morning After (Part 2)

Spencer Reid x Female Reader

Summary: After being stuck at Reader’s house because of a snow storm after a one night stand, Spencer wants a round two.

Part One

A/N: Hey guys ☺️ This is my fourteenth fic for my 30 fics in 30 days for April!!! This one was requested by @dreatine who asked for a second part to my short fic A Snowy Morning After which ended in a cliffhanger. This ones kinda porn without plot lol- read the first part of you want the plot 😂 I’m curious to hear from all of you- feel free to drop me an ask about anything here. Join my tag lists here! Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy!

Warnings: 18+, Smut, Non specific dominant, Oral sex (F receiving) - nothing else really ☺️

Main Masterlist Word Count: 1.4K

You glanced out your window as snow still trickled down out of the sky to add to the blanket of white covering everything in sight. At first you had been afraid of any more painfully awkward moments between you and Spencer while you waited for the roads to clear. Even though you had offered him a cup of hot chocolate you didn’t know where the conversation was headed, or if there was going to be any at all.

It hadn’t been as awkward as one might expect, you both fell back into how you had been last night before you had taken him back to your house. There was a reason that you had fallen into bed so easy with him last night, conversing with him was addicting, to say the least. The way he talked with his hands and rambled on with such passion made you want to pull him right back into bed again.

The conversation you both had been having as you had been sipping on the rich chocolate drink had been seemingly innocent. The words you had both been speaking, asking him casually about his job, then him asking about yours, had no real weight to them. Tension was still thick around you both, the air seeming hot and heavy even though you hadn’t turned your heat on blast because of the cold.

Eventually all the words fell away, trailing off as you both took another long sip. Spencer’s eyes were roaming every inch of your body, completely unashamed about it. Not that you minded, he had already seen everything last night. And, it was fun to tease him slightly by spreading your legs a little to give him a peak at the panties you had slipped on. They were the ones he had almost ripped off of you the night before.

“Are you trying to tease me?” The sudden questioning and flip from an innocent conversation ended in silence to back to how he had spoken to you while you had him in your bed gave you whiplash.

You squirmed in your seat, the harsh tone of voice he had used making your panties dampen. Going off of natural instinct would have made you wither underneath his piercing gaze, but it had you wanting more. So, you spread your legs a little wider. “Yes.”

In a flash his mouth was on yours, forcing you to stand up by wrapping a hand around your waist and tugging you up. He wasted no time in deepening the kiss, grabbing your cheeks to pull you as close as possible.

You already felt hot despite everything around you having a tinge of cold, panting in his mouth while he continued to explore what your lips had to offer just like the night before. His whole body was warm against yours, like he was shielding you from the cold just outside your door as he pressed you into the table.

You pulled yourself up so you were now sitting on the table, propping yourself up with your hands. Spencer was on his own mission, separating his lips from yours to slowly make the descent down. He lingered at your neck for a while while gripping your hips hard, adding to the collection of hickies he had created last night. Tilting your neck to the side gave him full access, then you wrapped your hands around the back of his neck. You ghosted your fingers over the hickies you had left on him the night before, thinking about leaving more on him.

Spencer didn’t give you the chance as he pulled the sweater you put on over your head once he was satisfied with the work he did on your neck. Immediately he wrapped his lips around one of your nipples and began to play with the other in his fingers. His eyes glanced up at you, making you buck your hips towards him, wanting him to touch you where you needed him the most.

When he didn’t move his mouth off of your nipple to place it where you wanted him you whined in indignation. It caused him to pull off of you and chuckle out, “You’re impatient, we’ve got all the time in the world. Those snow plows won’t be around for hours.”

He then moved to your other nipple, sucking and biting until it was at a stiff peak like the other one. Finally he moved his hands to start pulling down your panties, which he tried to do slowly, but you kicked them off out of impatience. You couldn’t help but whimper and curl your toes when he knelt down in front of you. Pulling you to the edge of the table by surprise, you raked your fingers down the wood, causing another unexpected noise.

He separated your folds with his fingers, exposing your clit more to potentially give him more access. His staring at your dripping core made you wriggle a bit, feeling exposed underneath his gaze. Being exposed didn’t make your desire disappear, it only seemed to make you drip down your inner thighs more. You almost wanted to complain again, but you predicted that would just make him go even slower.

When he dove his tongue into your core it was unexpected as he had been fixating his gaze on you for a while without any signs of movement. A clanging noise filled the air along with the soft moans you had begun to produce, causing you to snap your head to the source of the noise. A pool of spilt hot chocolate was by the edge of the table; you must have knocked over your mug when Spencer had unexpectedly begun to feast on you.

Spencer was unfazed by the noise while you groaned at the mess you had just made, and because his tongue had moved down to your dripping hole, circling around it just to tease.

“Please- don’t tease!” You gasped out loud, grabbing his hair to bring him as close as possible. Your other hand dropped down so you were resting on one of your forearms when Spencer pushed his tongue inside of you. Cursing loudly at the new stimulation you then started to grind your hips into his face while keeping your hold on his hair tight.

Spencer’s ability to breathe was undoubtedly obstructed, especially when your shaky thighs began to clamp around his head. Instead of pulling away he became even more eager, if that was possible. He removed his tongue from your entrance to lick a broad stripe all the way up to your clit, then suctioning his lips around it. When he started to nibble slightly at it your orgasm started to fast approach.

Sensing it he moved one of his hands to come between your thighs, you were going to become addicted to his fingers no doubt. Last night you had gotten a taste of the skill he harbored with his fingers, but he had mostly only used his mouth on you. When he entered his fingers inside of you in tandem with his mouth still sucking and nibbling at your clit you cried out even louder than before.

“Cum for me.” He mumbled into your core. The added vibration of his voice against your clit caused your slowly built orgasm to reach its crest, and crash down around you. You pulled on his hair harder than you probably should have while you rode your high out on his face, though he was obviously enjoying it as he moaned when you had yanked on it hard.

After you had come down from your high, you had glanced over to see the pool of hot chocolate that you had made. “We’re going to need to clean that up.”

He smirked, glancing at the spilled hot chocolate, “We’ve got time.”

Your own smirk was devilish even though in the back of your mind you couldn’t stop thinking about when the time ran out. You both had time now, but that time was limited. The snow plows and salt trucks would eventually come, you’d have to make the most of it, “I’d like to use that time to do something else.”

“What do you want to do instead then?” Arousal still swirled deep in your gut, you were definitely going to pull him back into your room for another round. But, his words had made you think about how you didn’t want this morning after to end. And, you didn’t want to just push that thought down, only to have him slip through your fingers when you could have spoken up.

Ignoring the spill, pushing it off till later, you pulled him by the hand, walking him back towards your room, “I want you to fuck me- but I also want to talk about what you want to do tomorrow morning.”

Ask Me Anything

—-

Tag lists (fill out this form to join): A strike through means tumblr won’t let me tag you

All works: @shotarosleftpinky @90spumkin @kyra-morningstar @s1utformgg @boxofsparklingmuses @takeyourleap-of-faith

All MGG characters: @muffin-cup @willowrose99 @princesssmooshie @peterpanouat @anaagraceeberr @spencerreid9

Spencer Reid/CM: @calm-and-doctor @destiny-tsukino @safertokiss @slutforthegubes @onlyhereforthefanfics @jareauswifey @princesssmooshie @peterpanouat

[teyvattherapist]

Hello! Can I make a little request, please? How would Dain react to his s/o over working themselves and being exhausted, because his s/o thinks that if they don’t work hard all the time then they aren’t good enough for the things they have in life. I started my finals, haven't slept for ~2 days and I'm pretty sure I developed caffeine intolerance🤪

Btw your writing is amazing and almost always calms me down whenever I experience anxiety. And coincidentally I study to become a medic and it's easier for me to find myself in your ocs and enjoy the story! Keep up the good work and don't forget to take a break whenever you feel overwhelmed!✨

Ok so Dainsleif priority request,,

This ask actually made me tear up uhh this was sweet as hell and I really appreciate your kind words. I hope you're able to rest soon! And very good luck to you for your finals! <3

I'm really glad my writing can help, especially in such a personal way. I'm pretty much the doctor friend of my friend group so I relate to medic characters a lot, hence why I write them so often haha (,: Much love to you~! I hope you enjoy.

Tags: gn!readerxDainsleif, fluff, just general overworking of oneself, Soft Dain Content:tm:

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

-Hoo boy, him too. He’s immortal and sometimes simply unaware of mortal limits at times.. He won’t notice right away because he does the same thing. Once it gets to the eyebags or sluggish movements though, he’s become almost too aware. A worrier through and through.

Dainsleif’s been watching you for a while now, you can feel his gaze on your form as you scribbled notes on some form or another for the Adventurers’ Guild. How long had it been since he entered the small office in your home and took up residence on your couch? Twenty minutes? Thirty? Eh you lasted long enough. Setting your quill into the ink pot you lift your head to meet his starry gaze, he's not even trying to hide his stare. Typical behaviour.

"Can I help you?"

"You last slept approximately forty six hours ago. You have not stopped for a break since nine am when you got more coffee. Your hands are shaking and you had to rewrite your signature three times just now." You blinked at him, he didn't blink back. His hands clasped, chin resting on them as he stared. It took a solid moment for his words to register in your sleep-addled brain. "You're overworking yourself, again." Dainsleif points out as he leans back against the couch, hands dropping to his lap.

"I wish I had your ability to keep track of time." You huff, stretching your back and arms as you look away from him, checking the clock in the room for the time. It was well into the afternoon now. But still, so much work to be done for the Guild. "I'm fine, Dain. Don't you have an Abyss something or another to track down?" He narrows his eyes at your comment and you know better than to continue teasing him when he was this worried.

"Fine? Ah so sleep deprivation counts as fine these days among mortals, interesting." He stands from the couch, arms crossing over his chest as he approaches your desk. Before you can pick up your quill to resume your work, he's leaning against your desk, toying with some item or another. "Take a break with me then. Late lunch." He's giving you that look where he already knows what you're going to say and you lean on your elbow, looking up at him.

"Dainsleif. You know I can't do that, my love. I have all this work to do still, I owe it to the Guild to be hardworking." You gesture to the paperwork on your desk but he makes no attempt to glance at the stacks of papers. You are the most reliable guild member, that much is simply a fact. He knows it, you know it, the guild in pretty much every nation knows it. But at what cost, Dainsleif wonders. He adjusts his position, pulling himself up on your desk instead, essentially getting in your way. Unfortunately he's being too uncharacteristically cute to complain.

"I know that you feel like you don't deserve to take a break, but you do. You're more than good enough without working yourself to the brink." Dainsleif reaches out, gloved hand gently gripping your jaw. His stature makes it awkward, but he manages to lean down and plant a soft kiss to the corner of your mouth. "Come, my beloved. The paperwork will still be here at a later time." He lets go of your face, sliding off of your desk. He instead holds a hand out to you, waiting as you look between it and the paperwork. Eventually though, you concede, taking his hand and allowing him to pull you up.

"You're lucky that you're pretty, Dain." He merely smiles at your teasing lilt, bringing your hand up so he could press a kiss to the back of it. He's won today and as far as Dainsleif is aware, that's all that matters for the time being. Lucky indeed, but not for your reasons, no. Dainsleif feels lucky to have you at all, diligent and kind. His chest is warm as he holds your hand in his and he knows how far he'd go to make sure you stay safe. Even if it means keeping you safe from your habits.

[indulge-that-sin]

A Social Experience

Characters: GN!MC, Leviathan, Asmodeus, Mammon

Wordcount: 1700

Tags: Fluff, Domestic, Bonding Activities, Humor

(No spoilers for latter lessons, but takes place fairly late in the game.)

***

"--a gross, shut-in otaku like me!" Levi finished, on the all too familiar note.

Usually by this point you would already be launching into reassurances that he certainly wasn't gross, and shouldn't talk about himself like that, but this time there was nothing but a silence that bounced off the walls, damning and louder than any words.

You reached into your bag of chips, removed a single potato chip, and ate it as you tilted your head in thought. Levi took your silence like a slap in the face, and recoiled, his face already wavering. The sound of your chewing was distressingly loud in contrast.

You finished chewing and swallowed. "I mean, is that even true anymore?" you asked after a nerve-wracking length of time.

Levi's expression twisted more into confusion than hurt. "Huh?!" 

"Don't you kind of lose your hikikomori credentials if you become popular and people start coming to spend time with you all the time?"

"That's not-- I'm not-- You don't count!" Levi sputtered.

"Oh, I don't count, huh," you repeated, putting a hand to your chest and dramatically feigning heartbreak.

Levi looked abashed now. "Th-that's not what I meant," he rushed to add.

"I know what you meant," you said. "Give it an hour."

Now Levi tilted fully into confusion.

"Give what an hour?"

"My point to be made," you said, and placed your D.D.D. onto the lip of the bathtub, out of your own reach. It was also clearly visible to Levi as you both sat on beanbags in front of his TV, next to the bath tub. "An hour," you repeated in a portentous video game narrator voice.

Levi scowled and picked up his controller again, turning back to his game. But his reactions were off, now. His character moved jerkily around the screen, doubling back and taking wrong turns on the 8-bit map as Levi's mood roiled with the strangeness of the conversation.

You continued eating your chips slowly, savoring the taste of the limited edition novelty flavor that Levi had generously acquired for you. He'd tried to pass it as a coincidence, but he didn't really know anyone else who unironically enjoyed the taste of cream and devilradish chips.

Not even half an hour passed before there was a knock on the door. Levi asked for the password on reflex. Surprisingly, from the other side of the door came a sigh, and then Asmo's melodious voice reciting the string of nerd trivia that Levi had set as a password for him ever since they became unlikely allies for the Bloody Moon competition.

"Come in, I guess," Levi replied, giving you a long look. Your D.D.D. was still on the edge of the bathtub, untouched as you sat there elbow-deep in greasy chips. You couldn't have called anyone over. And yet, was this what you expected to happen?

"Give it forty more minutes now," you said low.

Asmo fluttered into the room, like a passing breeze bringing in the smell of perfume. 

"Oh, there you are, darling, I was wondering where you were," he said, face lit up as he saw you.

He sat uninvited next to you in the beanbag, and you scooted over to make space for him. Levi would have complained, except moving to make room for Asmo meant you shuffled closer to Levi instead, so he ended up biting his tongue.

"What do you want?" Levi grit out.

"Must I want something?" Asmo asked, "Is it not enough that I give my adorable brother the opportunity to entertain me?"

"He's bored," you translated.

"I'm soooo bored," Asmo whined, his shoulders rolling in a full-body sigh. But he perked up as he leaned forward to look at both you and Levi. "But what about all this? Mind if I join the fun~?"

"Let's find a game Asmo can play," you suggested. 

"If you'd like," Asmo acquiesced with a shrug, indicating he'd had some other kind of fun in mind.

Levi gave you another sidelong glance, full of suspicion, but his head was out of the game he was playing anyway, so he exited and pulled up his game library instead. Deciding which game to choose was the trickier part, because Asmo had terrible reflexes, and an attention span worse than Mammon's when it came to playing anything. This ruled out anything requiring twitch reflexes or understanding complicated rules. 

Asmo, meanwhile, scrunched his nose at your chips.

"All that grease and salt is going to be awful for your complexion, darling," he said, clearly disapproving.

"I'm not rubbing it on my face," you said, and defiantly sucked crumbs off your thumb. Levi nearly choked at the sound, which was borderline obscene. The little sound Asmo made in response did nothing to contradict this impression. Levi managed to swallow back the wave of envy before it came undammed by concentrating on the list of games on the screen. He still had to make a selection.

A farming sim seemed like a safe enough choice; something bright and frivolous. Just like Asmo.

Levi passed the controller as the title screen came up, and Asmo, to his credit, managed to choose the 'New Game' option without messing anything up. Yet. When the screen went dark as the game loaded, Asmo couldn't resist looking at his reflection and primping his hair a bit. Levi did resist snorting and rolling his eyes, but it was a close thing.

The character creation screen popped up with its myriad of options, and Asmo gasped in delight.

"Oh! This is a good start! Much better than getting shoved into some ugly gray metal suit at the beginning," Asmo remarked cheerfully. He cycled through the hair and clothing options with the speed and deftness of a veteran player. 

"Hey, beginner armor in RPGs can be colorful too," Levi protested.

"But not fashionable, apparently," Asmo sniffed.

Asmo had only just barely settled on a hairstyle and color combination he thought was adequately cute, and was scrunching his nose at the shirt options, when another knock came at the door.

"Come in," you called out, before Levi could demand a password.

Mammon's head popped through the door, and he pulled a face when he saw you there, just like he always did when you were in somebody else's company and not his.

"Eh? What're you doing here?" Mammon asked, closing the door behind him and sidling up to the three of you. 

He craned his neck and squinted at the screen, like he was verifying that whatever you were doing, it passed his requirements for propriety. Between knowing the kinds of games Levi had in his collection, and seeing Asmo there, maybe he was not completely unjustified in some suspicion, but it still made you want to roll your eyes.

"We're watching Asmo create his character," you explained.

Mammon guffawed. "Betcha been watching him do that for a while!"

"Fifteen minutes, more or less," you said. "But to be fair, Levi takes way longer to create characters."

"It's an important step!" Levi sputtered.

"Especially with the quality of the options," Asmo added. "Look at this. A purple T-shirt with a pink butt on it?"

"That's a peach!" Levi protested, his face turning red.

"I know what a butt looks like, Levi," Asmo replied tartly.

"Wait, wait, Asmo, that black one with the gold design ain't half bad! Go back an' pick that one." 

"That gaudy thing! Absolutely not!"

"Mammon, why are you even here?" Levi asked, now completely exasperated with his brothers.

"I was just seein' if we were still on for Devil Kart against those Purgatory Hall guys. We need ta win back our honor, ya know."

"Do we?" Levi asked suspiciously, "or are you running a betting pool again?"

Mammon made a good show of appearing indignant at the very suggestion, but he'd hit you up earlier today about whether you'd be willing to take a dive in the second half of Candy Mountain in exchange for a lump grimm sum, so you knew too much about the subject to defend Mammon without exposing him.

"Can't I be showin' an interest without ya gettin' all suspicious a' me? What makes me so weird, huh? Asmo here doesn't even play games, and I don't see ya hasslin' him!"

"I do too play games," Asmo protested.

"Really? 'Cause only thing I ever saw you play was that stupid matching thing with the gems, and I ain't seen much of even that lately."

You knew which game Mammon meant, because it was the only game app you'd ever seen on Asmo's phone. You'd watch him play in moments of boredom, swiping his screen with a completely blank look of concentration as he matched the colors of the gems in rows and columns, and they burst into sparkles. 

"Ugh, of course you haven't seen me play, I finished it. I have to wait until they add new levels."

"Didn't that game have like ten thousand levels already?" you asked. "You mean you passed all of them?"

"Eleven thousand and sixty five," Asmo corrected primly. "And yes, I did them all. I have to wait until they add more now. I asked."

The room fell into shocked silence at this. Even Levi looked mildly dyspeptic at the thought of completing eleven thousand levels of a match-3 game. You'd played it yourself for a while, and past the two hundredth level, the number of complicated mechanics the game introduced had completely broken you.

"Anyway," Mammon said after a few more beats of silence. He gestured to the screen, where Asmo was flicking between two shirt options. "This thing got co-op or somethin'?"

You finished your chips, and folded away the empty bag. When you picked up your D.D.D., fifty five minutes had passed.

"Still five minutes left," you muttered to Levi while Asmo and Mammon bickered over the choice of pants. "Wanna play the long odds and see if the twins show up too?"

"Okay, okay, you've made your point," Levi grumbled. "I let way too many people waltz in here. I'll have to tighten security."

But Levi's heart wasn't really in it, and when he turned to watch Mammon try to swipe Asmo's controller while the latter loudly protested, there was almost a smile threatening to spread over Levi's face.

[animedaddymilkers]

Kinkmas 2020: Day 11

Prompt: Overstimulation w/ Tsunade

Genre: Smut/18+ || Tags: Overstim, Oral, Fingering, Strap-on, Soft Dom || Characters: Tsunade Senju, Female Reader || read it on ao3 here

"Lady Hokage- Oh, where is Shizune?" You burst into the office with important papers, only questioning how easy it was to enter after you were in the room.

You were met with an indifferent voice, replying to you behind stacks of papers, "I sent her home. She was overtired. I promised I'd stay here but that doesn't mean I have to do anything."

The blonde snickered deviously at the loophole she apparently found and the papers in your hands became heavier, "Well… Maybe you should do something while you're here… with all due respect, m'lady."

"Perhaps you're right, I should do something. Come here, (Y/N). What do you have there?"

You swallowed hard and walked around to the side of her desk so she could see you, "It's unfortunately a few more reports, m'lady."

The disappointment on her face was obvious as she sighed heavily. She took the papers from you, looking over them briefly, "That's all this stupid job is- just paperwork and more paperwork."

"Have you tried making it into a game of sorts? To make it more interesting!"

"A game. Hmm, I haven't thought about it before," she rubbed her chin, mulling over the new idea before grinning, "How about we make it a game right now? Say, every time I make you cum, I'll completely finish one whole report."

As far as you could tell, she wasn't intoxicated, which was surprising and made her words even that more shocking. The proposition seemed to come from out of the blue, but the more you thought about it the more you realized Tsunade may have just been planning this for a while. From time to time you could swear you saw her gaze lingering on you, but brushed it off as you overreacting. It's not like you weren't also interested, hell Tsunade was easily the most attractive woman in the entire village. If someone said otherwise, they were probably lying. You looked at her for a moment, waiting for her to break out laughing and say it was just a joke. But that never came, instead her expression changed slightly to show she was waiting for an answer. You cleared your throat and took in a deep breath before speaking.

"That sounds like a fun game. What do you get out of it though?"

"Hmm, good point. How about-- If you tap out before 15 then I get to take you on a date... and don’t finish any reports?"

True to her reputation, Tsunade was terrible at gambling. Did she really think her taking you out on a date was a loss for you? Still, you were determined to make it to that mark, if not only for Shizune's sake.

"Deal." The single word from you has Tsunade standing up, walking past you and over to the plush couch decorating the side of her office. She sat down, fixing her outfit before looking at you and patting her thick thighs. Not about to back out now, you obeyed and approached her, swinging a leg around hers to sit yourself on her lap. Her hands slid up your hips to your waist, feeling your sides before slipping down to grip your ass. You let out a content sigh and leaned in to kiss her, her soft lips welcoming yours. She was quick to discard your shirt, tossing it onto the floor before also removing your pants. Patience wasn't exactly one of Tsunade's attributes, but you weren't about to complain. Within no time you were stripped completely bare for her, your body being laid down on the couch.

She leaned back for a moment to truly take in the sight of you, fingertips just ghosting over your skin. You shivered slightly when she brushed over your nipples and she tugged on them to further tease you. But she didn’t linger there for long, as her real mission laid lower, her hands feeling down your pelvis to spread your legs apart. The blonde laughed quietly as she saw how wet you were already, but she didn’t say anything because she knew if her pants were off as well then she’d be equally if not more wet. The first orgasm always took the longest to get to so Tsunade was eager to start your little game, two slender fingers slipping inside of you. Your content sigh was all she needed to start slowly pumping them in and out of you, coaxing more juices from your pussy.

The dull stretch in your core felt good and you began to press your hips down to meet her fingers as they pushed back in. Her pace was leisurely and calculated, pressing into you deeply, trying to find your sweet spot. After you nearly begged her, she slid in a third finger, stretching your walls more. The hand that wasn’t thrusting in and out of you slid up from your thigh to lazily rub at your clit, reveling in the soft gasp you let out. Tsunade kissed along your hip bones, leaving sweet love bruises as she went. You played with your nipples, pulling on them to heighten the pleasure that was building. It was pointless to deny yourself the inevitable and when you felt your first orgasm creep up on you, you embraced it wholly, gripping the sides of the couch as you drenched Tsunade’s face in your juices.

“One down, fourteen more to go, think you can make it?”

“Definitely.” Your optimism might have been a bit premature and maybe you would regret those words after a few more orgasms, but you had sheer willpower and determination on your side.

After briefly checking in with you, Tsunade continued her actions, fingers resuming fucking you and not giving you much time to recover. This was most likely going to take all night as it was, so why drag it out? This time though she decided to up the ante and leaned down, allowing her tongue to kitten lick teasingly at your clit. You were already sensitive from the first orgasm and now with her added tongue, your legs shook slightly. Her fingers curled inside of you, drawing a gasp from your lips that made her smirk. In a moment of boldness, you reached down and tangled your fingers into the Hokage's hair, tugging gently. Tsunade would have laughed and teased you if her mouth wasn't full of your pussy at the moment. She flattened her tongue against your clit before sucking on it as her fingers continued to pump in and out of you.

It didn't take long for Tsunade to find your g-spot and once she did you were at her beck and whim. Your second orgasm crashed on you hard and because Tsunade didn't let up it sent you straight into a third orgasm. Sure, the older blonde did want to take you on a date, but she also wanted to see just how far she could push you. That, and she was convinced there was no way you could possibly last to the fifteenth orgasm. She removed her fingers from you and cleaned her hand off, moaning quietly as she licked your juices up. Then she ducked her head back down, tongue sliding in to replace her fingers. It slowly pushed in and out of you as one of her soft fingers rubbed at your sensitive clit. You spasmed at the touch and winced to yourself, really wondering if you could last. Your body was in a constant tight knot now and thanks to Tsunade's relentless tongue. A whine left your lips as you felt yet another orgasm coming on and your legs once again shook around Tsunade's head.

The Fifth Hokage didn't give you a break until after your eighth orgasm and you couldn't thank her enough. Your legs were in a constant state of shaking and your pussy was so sensitive it was just constantly dripping juices. Now, she was sucking and playing with your tits, mildly curious to see if she could coax an orgasm from you with just your tits. Personally, you didn't think it was possible, you always had needed other stimulation in order to fully go over the edge. But, tonight wasn't exactly an ordinary 'cum and we're finished' type of night. No, Tsunade was purposely testing your limits and just what your body could do. Her mouth sucks on your left nipple while her fingers toy with your right, occasionally leaving to massage your entire boob. Your mounds of fat felt heavenly being massaged, to the point you were almost disappointed when her nimble fingers went back to your nipple. She switched sides, the cool air hitting your saliva covered tit and making you shiver. You laid your head back again, closing your eyes as the waves of pleasure kept shocking through you. With every suck you felt it in your core and much to your surprise, after Tsunade sucked particularly hard and twisted the other nipple, you found your toes curling and gasping as you climaxed.

Her mouth parted from your chest and she wiped her mouth with a smirk before leaving the couch. You lifted your head as much as you could to watch her figure saunter over to her desk. Curious as to what she was doing you lifted yourself up before blushing at the sight of the hot pink glitter strap on. In her hand she twirled a bottle of lube around as she came back to the couch. A cocky look on her face, she secured the fake cock around her waist and lubed it up.

"Ready to go for six more, princess?"

You licked your lips out of instinct and nodded before quickly adding a verbal, "Yes please, m'lady."

Tsunade laughed at your response, you looked so fucked out already yet were so desperate for more. Just her touching the insides of your thighs had them shaking again. In all honesty, she probably could have gone in without lube considering how soaking wet you were. Still, she lubed up her fake cock and slowly slid it inside of you. The pressure of being spread apart nearly had you cumming again but you somehow held on. Well, you held on for two more thrusts at least and then you were babbling incoherent pleas and cuss words. Five more. Kami, you only had five more orgasms to go before you could say you won. Granted, you could potentially go past fifteen if you really wanted to drown Tsunade in reports, but at this point that wasn't looking like a feasible prospect.

Tears were running down your face and your chest was heaving, the wet squelch of your abused pussy filling the Hokage's office. Thankfully most of the workers went home, but part of you knew that some poor ANBU member was being forced to watch you get rawed by the Hokage. Maybe that idea just made it all the more fun, after all it sure wasn't bothering Tsunade. Her hips fucked into you at a teasing pace, enough to keep you on the brink of pleasure but not enough to send you over. She kept it up for far too long before she quickened her pace and snapped her hips, reveling in the scream you gave her as you came yet again. Her fake cock didn't stop, quickly hitting your g-spot over and over and immediately sent you into another orgasm. Your pathetic legs couldn't even keep themselves upright, having to be slung over the blonde's shoulders as she fucked you.

Her nimble fingers came down to flick your tortured clit, laughing as it sent your hips spasming. She rubbed it skillfully, content on staring at the absolute fucked out expression on your face.

"Come on, princess, just three more and you win, you can give me three more can't you? Or are you going to tap out on me?"

Tsunade truly was terrible with gambles, if she had been questioning your will instead of praising you and coaxing more orgasm from you, you probably would have tapped out. But instead, she used that ridiculous pet name in that stupidly hypnotic voice of hers. Your mind was blank and your mouth kept making noises but you're not exactly what noises they were. Your mind and body were so far apart from each other at the moment, but you weren't about to complain. Her cock was still fucking in and amount of you, rubbing against your g-spot roughly as her fingers still played with your clit. Tsunade grinned as you shook harder and came on her cock, pressing her fingers into your clit harder. Her pace didn't let up and even though you clawed at the cover on the couch she kept going. She kept going and fucked you right into another orgasm and wasn't about to stop there.

Your whole body was shaking and tensing up as you gasped and whined loudly. The pleasure didn't die down and you let out a wail as you came for the fifthteenth time, your juices squirting out and covering Tsunade's lower stomach and dripping down her thighs. Your vision was blurry and you vaguely remember Tsunade finally pulling out and cleaning you up. Still you whined and wriggled around, body so used to getting fucked that the absence of it was almost painful. Seeing as now you were just left with a throbbing abused body and no pleasure coming with it. For a moment, you thought Tsunade was going to continue and you were going to have to force yourself to form the words to tap out, but she knew you were done in. Instead, she was pressing soft kisses along your still shaking thighs, trailing them up until she met your mouth.

"Look at you, you did so well, princess. You take a nap and I'll get started on my reports. Okay? And when you wake up I'll get us some food." Although she technically lost, Tsunade could barely count this as a loss. And even though this now meant she had reports to finish, she was content in hoping that this wouldn't be just a one time thing. Perhaps she should turn her work into a game more often.

hope you enjoyed! remember likes & reblogs help me reach more people! :D

[crystaljins]

River lead me home | 07

Characters: Kim Seokjin x reader

Word count: 7.3k

Synopsis:  Ever since coming to the human realm when you were child, nothing seems to fit, and this was just supposed to be a simple roadtrip to help you find yourself.

Is that too much to ask for?

Spin-off to A long journey home

Rating: Teens

Genre: Adventure, fluff, angst

Notes: Hey all! Long time no see! I’m not really sure why I took so long to post... I just felt like I put so much work into this fic that I didn’t want it to be over so easily, and I was like “after this there’s only one more chapter!!” AND THEN! I went into my WIPs folder and made a discovery! THere’s 9 parts to this fic!! So now I feel a little better.

ANyway, PLEASE let me know if you like this chapter because I definitely feel like it’s the emotional climax of the whole story. ALl the stuff that happens from this point on is just... like a really long epilogue. 

Tags: @blue1928​ @veeparkersstuff @nello-rie (soz it won’t tag you!) ​

Masterlist

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 FINAL

You may be a guardian, but even you have your limits. Despite your best attempts to move quickly, the pain in your shoulder rapidly becomes overwhelming. 

Jin, frustratingly, picks up on it far sooner than you would prefer. 

“I think we need to stop for a break.” He comments. The three of you have barely been walking for an hour and at any moment the Saishta’s could be upon you, ready to take you to their queen. 

Jungkook looks like he wants to protest. 

“We’re so close though! It’s only a little while longer!” He points out, glancing nervously across the expansive plains. The benefit of them is that you’d spot any Saishtas from miles away, given the hulking, monstrous beasts they tend to use as their mounts.

Jungkook folds his arms. “I think it’s a bad idea to stop now. We need to get to the river and we’re sitting ducks out on the plains like this.”

Jin shoots Jungkook a withering look- this is nothing new, but the venom in Jin’s eyes surprises you. As much as he pretends to hate the tiny pixie, he doesn’t actually mean it. 

Jungkook shrivels a bit but doesn’t back down. Luckily (or rather, unluckily), their stand-off is halted by your legs deciding they are no longer strong enough to hold your body up. Blood loss and extreme pain will do that, apparently. 

Jin catches you as you crumble, smoothly scooping an arm around your waist and gently tugging you towards him until your weight is supported by his frame. The entire time, he does not tear his gaze from his stare-off with Jungkook. And apparently your weakness is the convincing Jungkook needs to show it’s time for a break. He glares at Jin for another couple of moments before releasing an annoyed huff. 

“I’ll cast a disguising spell on you two and scout out the area for any of those annoying reptiles. Don’t move from this spot or the spell will become ineffective.” He announces through grit teeth before zooming off like an angry mosquito. 

When he’s out of earshot, Jin turns his gaze to you and gently lowers you to the ground until you are seated amongst the stiff golden stems. He doesn’t release you from his carefully hold, however. Instead, he shifts until he is sitting almost nose-to-nose with you. 

“That was strange of Jungkook.” You observe, in an attempt to cover your discomfort at his proximity. You wonder if Jin knows how powerful his good looks are up close. He probably does- he’s never pretended to be anything other than devastatingly handsome. 

“He’s scared.” Jin answers with pursed lips. His gaze isn’t on your face, however. It’s fixed on your injured shoulder. Slowly, he raises a hand and gently rests his palm against the front of your shoulder. “You would be too if you could see how terrible you look right now.”

If you are surprised by the single tear that rolls down your face in response, it is nothing compared to Jin’s horrified reaction as he realises what he has done. Apparently, this whole being in love thing sucks. 

“W-wait!” Jin protests, absolutely horrified. “I-I didn’t mean it like that-“

You quickly scrub at your face with your uninjured arm. You know, in theory, that Jin didn’t mean that you looked terrible as in that he thought you were ugly. And you know in theory that it is therefore stupid to cry over it. But for some reason, that’s where your mind had gone- reminding you like an ever present shadow just how misplaced you look next to him, how there’s nothing you can give him that he can’t find in a million other girls, and just how little he thinks of you. 

You’re surprised when his hand replaces yours, far gentler than you had been as he wipes the tears from your face with a careful swipe of his thumb. 

“Hey,” he calls, grabbing your chin in his hand and angling your face until you’re forced to meet his gaze. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I just mean that you... that you...” he voice cracks and he hangs his head, dropping his hands so he can clench his fists in his lap. “It’s not fun being reminded of how close we came to losing you.” Jin finally says. He drops his hand and his shoulders slump like he carries the weight of the world on his shoulders.

You don’t know this Jin. This terrified, uncertain man. He’s never once, in the entire time you’ve known him, shown this vulnerable, fragile side of himself. But you know you’re in trouble because you love this side of him too. The part of him that gets scared, that shows weakness, that can break. As much as you hate the fact that it is you who has made him like this, you are grateful that he trusts you enough to show himself, warts and all, and you feel something molten in your chest as you silently promise yourself that you’ll protect him. No matter what, you’ll keep him safe. Even if you’re not particularly smart or pretty or charming. You’re not the model-like, glamourous, genius girls he normally dates, and you never will be. You’re unemployed and clumsy and socially awkward and you’re selfish and childish on top of all that. But this is what you can offer him: your heart, as pathetic as she is, and the promise to protect him, no matter where he goes or ends up in life. 

“I know you didn’t mean it like that. I... just... It’s stupid.” You sigh at yourself before lifting your gaze to watch him. “Are you scared?” You finally question, changing the subject as the last of your tears dry. Jin frowns, nodding slightly. 

“A little.” He admits, his tone a bit dry like he’s severely understating his feelings on the matter. And you don’t know why, but something prompts you to reach forward and wrap your hand around his. Perhaps it is the slight shake he tried to hide by gripping the material of his pants so hard his knuckles go white. His hand is surprisingly much bigger than yours- you don’t know why that surprises you, but it does. 

“Don’t worry.” You reassure him. “I’ll protect you.”

The corner of his lip quirks and he shoots you an oddly fond look. It’s one you’ve seen before, although not directed at you. You’ve seen him look that way when he speaks about a particularly endearing coworker, or he recalls something silly that Namjoon has done. This is the first time you’ve been on the receiving end.

“In that state?” He questions with a raised brow. You feel yourself bristle a little defensively at the slightly patronising way he is coming across.

“Are you laughing?” You press, slightly offended. “You don’t think I can?”

“No.” Jin answers, turning to you with an odd sort of expression to his face. “I know you will. That’s the problem.” And then, in spite of himself, he offers you a full-blown smile, cheerful and happy like you’ve never really seen before. You are momentarily struck speechless, mesmerised by the sight before you. “But thank you. I’m glad, that I can count on you.” 

Something warm and eager blooms in your chest at his words. You cup your hands around his face and you admire the openness of his smile. How great would it be, if you could capture that smile in a picture and keep it forever? If you could preserve the way he’s looking at you right now, so that you always remember with clarity that even if he doesn’t love you, Jin can look at you like this. Like you are something precious and adored. This is the man you get to love. Even if he doesn’t feel the same way, you’re still happy. You feel like this love is a happy thing. 

“I’m starting to think you only wanted to rest to pull the moves on her.” Jungkook announces his presence, seeming thoroughly unimpressed. He folds his arms as the air shimmers around him, signalling the dispersion of his illusory magic. “‘Let’s go see the river, Jungkook. It’ll be fun. I’ll get over my trauma.’ If you’d told me being a third wheel was in the job description, I never would have come.” Jungkook grumbles as Jin quickly pulls away. You don’t quite catch the way his ears go red and his face seems to burn where your hands had gently cradled him, but Jungkook does, and he merely rolls his eyes at the sight. “It’s time to go.” He urges. 

Jin clears his throat awkwardly, scrabbling to his feet and dusting off his trousers before extending his hand out to you. 

“C’mon.” He urges, though his tone seems gruffer than before. “Jungkook’s right. The Saishtas will find us at this rate.”

You hesitate, just a moment, before gratefully accepting his hand as he tugs you to your feet. 

Oddly, though you expect him to release your hand once you are standing, he does no such thing. Instead, he wraps his hand around yours and uses it to tug you along as the three of you once again set off. 

“It’ll be easier for you to keep up.” Is all Jin offers as explanation for why he continues to grip onto your hand as though you’re planning to flee from him the second that he releases you. You stare in confusion for a moment, trying to puzzle out Jin’s behaviour, but he provides no further insight. 

The three of you set a much more rapid pace this time, and after your brief rest, you cope much better. Jin eventually releases your hand when it becomes clear you’re gradually regaining your strength as your enhanced healing kicks in. The sun begins to draw close to the horizon and the brilliant blue above begins to deepen into a soft pink. But you realise something, as you continue your advance. 

There’s no sound of a river. Over the expansive plains, the river song should carry easily on the warm, sweet breeze. And it should be in view by now, but it’s not. Instead, what you see is a dark, jagged line slicing through the plains like a gaping wound. It’s the edge of a ravine- there’s no river in sight. 

“Something’s not right- “ you breathe, only for the breath to be knocked clean from your lungs as Jin throws his full body weight at you, unprompted. You roll a few times from the force of his tackle, before finally landing with his body crouched over you protectively. Your eyes widen in shock, glancing over to where you had stood moment before, only to see the end of an arrow lodged in the ground.

“See!” Jin croaks, hovering over you. “How hard was that? Tackle, don’t push, (Y/N)! If you’re gonna be saving people at least take that on board.” He scolds, in what is clearly the beginning of a Jant. (Jin rant)

“Now’s not the time, Jin!” Jungkook screeches. 

“I’m just saying,” Jin cries, as he scrambles off you and yanks you to your feet by your good arm. “How hard would it have been to tackle me instead of taking an arrow to the shoulder?” 

His Jant is interrupted by the dreadful sound of the Saishta hunting horn erupting from behind you. Only, this time, there is nowhere to run. Yes, you could easily outrun them, but to where? You have long left the safety of the forest where there are endless places to safely conceal yourself once you’ve outrun them. But here is only open plains, followed by a sheer cliff face. There is a bridge across the river, in the maps you’ve seen, but those maps have also told you there’s a river where there’s nothing but a deathly ravine. Still, the bridge is supposedly about a kilometre south of where you now stand, and it’s your only hope. But will you be able to run that far in this state?

The ravine hovers on the edge of your vision, out towards the west, and you can now make out the hulking forms of the Saishta mounts, as their hunting party makes its slow, arrogant prowl towards you. The mounts of Saishtas do not run- they believe that persistence will allow them to eventually capture any prey. Eventually, all targets must tire, or reach the end, and that is when the Saishta can make the kill. They seem confident that that’s the situation the three of you are in now. You could flee, but if you give away that your destination is the river (or ravine?), you’ll never be able to safely see it, for they will guard it until the end of time.

“Sssurrender!” They call, now barely a hundred metres away.

“We’ll have to fight.” You announce to your companions, who both whip their heads around to glare at you with incredulity. 

“Are you crazy?” Jungkook cries. 

You clench your teeth as you slip into a familiar stance, holding up your arms as you prepare to fight. 

“It’s our only option.” You point out, wincing as your shoulder protests at the stance you are currently in.

Jin takes one look at you and the advancing Saishtas and then he does possibly the most unexpected thing he could have done. 

He throws you over his shoulder like you are a sack of potatoes and legs it. 

“This way!” Jungkook encourages, zooming southwards towards where you know the bridge is.

“Jin!” You cry in protest, but he doesn’t respond. “Jin, stop! I was going to fight them!”

“No!” Jin snaps. “You were going to die. Or at least, you were going to try to and this time I’m not letting you.”

You stop struggling, slumping against his back. 

“Not again.” Jin promises. “You won’t get hurt again. ‘I won’t stop and think while you’re in danger.’” He tells you, echoing your earlier words to him. For some reason, it leaves you unable to retort. “Now if I set you down, will you run with me, or will you do something stupid?” 

You purse your lips in annoyance, trying to hold yourself stable as you flop around on Jin’s shoulder. You can see the Saishta making their slow, confident prowl behind you. They won’t shoot any more arrows at this proximity- after all, their aim is to capture you, not kill. 

“I’ll run.” You silently agree. Jin gives you absolutely no warning as he practically flings you back onto the ground, grabbing your hand as he tugs you on in a full-on sprint. 

“We’re almost there!” Jungkook cries, zooming slightly ahead of the two of you. Ahead, the great stone structure that comprises the great bridge that can carry you to safety on the other side of the ravine. You swallow your desperate, heaving breaths, ignoring the way your weakened body protests at the exertion. If you can just get to the bridge, there’s a forest on the other side of the river. The three of you can easily conceal yourselves there, and then come back under the cover of night and investigate why there’s a ravine here instead of a river. 

The ground firms beneath you as it transitions from soft, loamy soil to a firm, well cut stone path. An arrow whizzes just past your ear and bounces off the stone path- a warning shot from the pursuing hunting party. 

You squeeze your eyes shut as the three of you reach the edge of the bridge. The ravine is huge, and the bridge stretches ahead of you. 

And then it sounds. Another hunting horn, a sound that will probably haunt you for the remainder of your days. But this one is from the opposite side of the bridge, where you are fleeing to. 

Jin’s footsteps slow alongside yours, and Jungkook’s frantic buzzing becomes a slow, confused flutter as the three of you gradually draw the same conclusion. 

You’re trapped. There are Saishtas awaiting you on either side of the bridge. No matter which way you try to break through, you will have to fight through them. No wonder they were so confident they could catch you.

“We’ll have to fight.” You breathe, trying to slow your exhausted, rapid breathing. Jin is soaked with sweat and even Jungkook seems flushed with the exertion of your desperate sprint. 

“We can’t.” Jin reminds you, out of breath and still gripping onto your hand so hard it hurts. “You’ll die.”

“We’ll die if they capture us too!” You point out. You can now see the Saishtas on both ends of the bridge, closing in on the three of you like a pack of hunting dogs. “I’m so sorry Jin- this is all my fault! It’s not even a river- it’s some kind of ravine! I dragged us all the way here for nothing.”

“Jin!” Jungkook calls, but you ignore him, too caught up in the realisation of what you’ve done. 

“He told me nature doesn’t change but that was stupid! Of course it changes- it’s been 1000 years and I just believed like an idiot that the river would still be here.” You cry, tears flowing down your face. 

“Jin!” Jungkook calls, and this time, Jin claps free his hand over your mouth to stop your desperate monologuing. 

“What now?” Jin demands of the small pixie. The pixie in question bites his lip and looks from side to side at the Saishtas who watch you almost lazily across the length of the bridge. They have all the time in the world, after all- where can the three of you go except over the edge of the bridge, where you will surely meet your demise?

“‘The river loves those who take the plunge.’” Jungkook recites, gesturing out to the endless, gaping ravine behind you. 

You stare in confusion, but understanding dawns in Jin’s eyes as he leans over the low stone wall and stares down at the bottomless pit. He goes white and his hand tightens on your own to the point you are wincing with pain. 

“(Y/N),” Jin calls, not lifting his gaze from the ravine. “Do you trust me?” 

You blink, glancing over at the Saishtas who draw closer and closer with each moment. You’re not sure why he’s asking this now of all times, but your answer still comes easily. 

“With my life.” You answers solemnly. He glances at you, surprised by your words, before his gaze softens and he smiles weakly at you. Then, he releases your hand and slowly he lifts himself up onto the stone wall. 

“Then take the plunge.” He tells you, holding his hand out to you. 

Your eyes widen as you realise what he’s trying to do. You glance at Jungkook, who merely nods at you, and then at the Saishtas who chatter in confusion at Jin’s actions. 

And finally, you look up at Jin, into the eyes of the man you love, and you know that even if it’s crazy, you really do trust him with your life. 

He tugs you up onto the wall and pulls you close, cradling your head in the palm of one hand and wrapping his other arm around your waist to hold you close. It reminds you of when you had arrived in this realm. He’s always held you like this, you realise. Like you are something precious to him, something he could never bear to lose. 

You lift your gaze to him and meet his eyes, filled with fear, and he smiles. The Saishtas realise what is happening right as Jin takes a step backwards, off the edge of the bridge. 

You squeeze your eyes shut as the two of you plummet down into the ravine below, Jungkook in close pursuit. 

The last thing you hear before the darkness swallows you up is the desperate, furious roars of the Saishtas, thwarted once more.

++

When you come to, it is on a slightly damp, sandy surface. Jin is still unconscious next to you, with an arm thrown protectively over your waist. As you sit up, his arm slides off you, and you move away, taking in your surroundings.

You’re on a sandy riverbank- dark, inky waves lap at the surface in what is largely a calm, but dark river. 

Overhead, you can see the clear, starry sky peeking at you through the jagged crack exposed by the top of the ravine. The river before you catches small flashes of starlight, but otherwise the area is largely dark. 

That is, until a torch beam lands on you and you are nearly blinded by the sudden, intense light. 

“Ow!” You cry out, unable to see who is on the other side of the beam. 

“Sorry!” Jungkook hastily apologises, struggling to hold up the weight of your pompompurin torch. “I was looking for something.”

You rub at your eyes, which are now streaming with tears. 

“Looking for what?” You ask, when your vision is finally cleared enough to make out Jungkook’s outline in the meagre lighting. Jungkook is silent for a moment, before hoisting the torch up even though it’s larger than him and directing it at the wall. 

“This.” He says, and then he turns the light on.

You don’t know what you were expecting with Jungkook’s actions, but what you find is dozens of inscriptions along the cliff wall. Some are deeply engraved, and some are mere scratches, but they all seem to have different messages. 

“What... what is all this?” You question in wonder. 

“Messages.” Jungkook answers. He turns to look at you, dropping the torch into your hand so that you can freely exam the numerous inscriptions. “That’s what people come to the river of stars to do. To leave a message that will last through all of time.”

You blink and turn to look at the river behind you. It just looks like a normal river, albeit at the bottom of a ravine. But there’s no glowing plants, and if you hadn’t just plummeted off the edge of a bridge, you wouldn’t even know there was a river. 

“This... isn’t what I expected, when I pictured this place.” You finally say. “How did we survive that fall, Jungkook?” 

When you turn to look at Jungkook, he is gazing out across the river with an almost forlorn look upon his face. 

“Well, you’ve probably guessed this isn’t a normal river.” Jungkook says. “It’s actually got special magical properties- that’s how those glowing plants are able to grow here. And how you were able to survive the fall- this place is so filled with magic that amazing things can happen, like people plummeting hundreds of feet and surviving the fall, or beautiful, rare plants growing. Or rare mythical creatures being born.”

Jungkook turns to you and fans his arms out on either side of him, gesturing at the space around him. 

“I’ve wanted to tell you this for a long time. This river has another name, (Y/N).” He tells you. “It’s known as Gebulfen, the birthplace of the pixie. This is where I was born.” 

“Where you were born?” Jin groans, sitting up and rubbing at his forehead. Jungkook’s eyes flicker over to the guardian in question. 

“Is there an echo here? Why are you repeating what I just said?” He pouts. But he zooms over to Jin and lands on his outstretched knee. “Good work though. I wasn’t sure you’d work out what I meant when I told you that old saying, but you did!”

“You could have just said it outright.” Jin grumbles, hoisting himself to his feet. His gaze briefly flickers over you, assessing for injuries. 

“Then the Saishtas would have worked out we were planning to jump.” Jungkook shrugged. “The only reason we had as much time as we did was because they thought we had nowhere to go.”

“I guess I can’t argue with that.” Jin grumbles, lifting his gaze to where you can just make out the outline of the great stone bridge you had plummeted from. “I guess they probably think we are dead now. Maybe it’ll be easier to get home.”

Home... that’s the next step of the journey for you. Jin’s words trigger the revelation for you- you’ve reached the end of your journey. You’ve finally made it to the River of Stars, like you’ve dreamed about for so many years. You stare in bewilderment across the smooth, dark surface of the river, taking in the soft sounds of the rushing water. 

Gebulfen... the pixie birthplace. You had never heard that name before, nor had Jungkook ever chosen to share any information with you about his life in this realm. 

“Are you disappointed?” The pixie in question asks, hovering close to your ear so that the rush of air from his wings tickles your ear. He flutters around to face you, before leaning in close and smiling. He hovers in the space between your eyes so that you have to go cross-eyed to focus on him. “That there’s no lights?”

“Ayla said there wouldn’t be.” Jin says, coming up to stand level with you. “I didn’t want to believe her, but it looks like-“

“Not so fast,” Jungkook hastily corrects Jin, fluttering forward to hold his tiny hands over Jin’s mouth so that he can’t talk anymore. “Ayla was incorrect. I can’t blame her, because it’s been over a thousand years since anyone has remembered the truth of this river. The lights do exist. But the plants only light up in response to a special kind of magic.” 

“What magic?” You ask, unable to hold back your curiosity. You had come all this way to see the river lights, after all. Jungkook smiles, releasing Jin so that he can flutter up to you. 

“I’ve always known you didn’t listen in your tutoring classes as a child because you didn’t know how I was born.” He tells you, instead of telling you what magic needs to be performed to see the lights. “Pixies are born of wishes, and they come to life at this very river. And our purpose... is to see the wish that birthed us come through.” 

“What does that have to do with the river ligh-“ you protest but Jungkook cuts you off. 

“Hush. I’m getting there. That’s what the plants respond to. Pixie magic.” He finishes his explanation. “Not my silly illusory spells, but real, ancient, powerful pixie magic.”

“So, to see the lights, and for (Y/N) to be able to go home, we... we have to grant whatever wish you were born to fulfill?” Jin asks, having always been a bit quicker than you to put things together. Jungkook nods, shooting two finger guns at the two of you playfully. 

“Bingo!” Jungkook cries cheerfully. “You’re smarter than you look! Perhaps there’s use for you yet.”

An odd feeling fills you at Jungkook’s words, however. You’ve known the pixie for a long time. Despite his best efforts to appear constantly unbothered and joking, there’s a lot that Jungkook hides behind a smile. Like his longing to be human... his loneliness... the fact that there are hopes and dreams he’s always longed to fulfil but knows he never can. Jungkook has always hidden behind a smile and right now he’s hiding again. 

“What... what are you hiding?” You ask. Jungkook looks taken aback, his eyes widening momentarily before he quickly conceals the expression. 

“Shouldn’t you ask me what wish I need to grant? So that you can see the lights?” He points out. You shake your head, stepping in close, but Jungkook moves backwards, out of reach. His posture is now defensive, and you know, more certainly than ever, that Jungkook is hiding something. Why else would he not have mentioned the wish he was born to fulfil, in thirteen years of knowing you? Why is he only telling you the truth of Gebulfen now, after an entire journey travelling to see it? 

“Jungkook...” you say softly, your voice barely audible above the rush of the river. He deflates at the soft, concerned tone of your voice. You hold your hands out to them, and he lands in them. 

“I’ve always been really happy being with you, (Y/N).” Jungkook says, as you raise him so that he is eye level with you. He stretches out a hand and rests it against the tip of your nose. “With you, Taehyung... with your mother... even with that big oaf and his family over there. It’s been really fun. Even if I had to live in the human realm, I’ve always had friends. And I know you guys care a lot about me. So... I was never brave enough to bring up my wish. I wanted to stay with you guys, and to keep having fun. To keep learning to dance off YouTube, and to keep bringing your houseplants to life when they died... I liked stealing the cookies from your upstairs neighbour when she left the room and I liked swapping Jin’s shoes around before he left for work in the morning-“

“I knew that was you, you little twerp-“ Jin cries in outrage, but you silence him with a glare before turning your attention back to Jungkook. For some reason, he suddenly seems small and fragile in your hands in a way he never really has before. 

“I knew... a part of me was always afraid that when I granted my wish, it would be goodbye.” He confesses, and for the first time in his entire life, a tear trickles down Jungkook’s face. You can only stare in bewilderment, barely processing his words. 

“Goodbye?” You echo. Jungkook nods, with a teary smile. 

“I don’t know what happens, to a pixie who has granted a wish. I’ve tried to research it- I’ve had Taehyung bring me back books from this realm, and I’ve studied the history. But in the entire history of this realm, of my race... there’s no mention of what happens to us after. There’s no pixie settlements or communities. There’s no monuments to our names... there’s nothing. It’s like we... it’s like we vanish.” He confesses, and the tears are coming full force. “I’m so sorry, (Y/N). I should have granted this wish years ago but I was scared that I-“

“You might die?” You fill in for him. Jungkook hesitates for a moment before nodding. 

“I don’t know.” He says. “There’s no pixie manual. I just know that I have to grant the wish and then-“

“Screw the wish!” You cry, cutting him off. Jungkook’s eyes widen. 

“What?” He asks. You release him, stepping back and gazing around the ravine. 

“Screw the wish.” You repeat, now searching for an echo. “Why risk your life? Why would I want you to risk your life? If you don’t know what happens if you grant the wish, then we’ll just never grant the wish and you’ll be fine-“

“(Y/N),” Jungkook calls sternly, zooming so that he’s in front of you. “I have to grant the wish.” 

“Why?” You cry, and you realise there are tears sliding down your face. Jin watches the whole exchange in silence. “Why do you have to grant the risk? Why do we have to risk you vanishing? Why would you go that far over a stupid river?” 

Jungkook smiles gently, reaching up one arm to wipe away the fat tears that spill down your face- it soaks the entire arm of his jacket. 

“It was your father’s wish.” He tells you gently, still smiling the whole time. 

You feel like the world around you freezes. Like for a moment, you heart stops beating and the world stops turning. You stare, frozen in shock, as Jungkook continues. 

“He came here when you were first born. It’s a tradition for the Qu’var to journey to this river when they want to leave a message that will withstand the test of time. The river, and the unique magic that flows here, will protect it. But anyone who comes here has the river magic in them. And when those people make an earnest wish, from the bottom of their heart, then a pixie is born in this river. And your father, in his dying moments, many, many years after coming here, wished with all his heart that he could have shown you this place. That he could have shown you the message he wrote to his baby daughter. And that’s how I was born.” 

“It’s not fair.” You sob, crying in full now. Jin is silent- he chooses not to step in. This isn’t about him, after all. “Why did he have to do that? Why could he have just lived and shown me himself? Why do I have to lose you too? Why can’t we just never see the message and then you can stay?”

“Because of the spell.” Jungkook reminds you. “You can’t go home until you see the dancing lights because of the charm I put on you. Do you remember?”

More tears spill down your face as you remember the spell in question. You had thought at the time, that it was Jungkook just trying to force you to get over yourself. You had believed him when he said he’d cast it so that you couldn’t chicken out of something you wanted to do. But you realise now why he cast that spell- it was so that he couldn’t chicken out. So that, no matter what, he’d grant his wish and get you to see that message. 

“We’ll stay here. Jin can tell my mum what happened, and we can live out the rest of our days here!” You plead, desperate. “Then you don’t have to-“ 

“(Y/N).” Jungkook comes in close and presses on your cheek, until you are facing the cliff wall with all the inscriptions on it. Then he flutters over to the discarded torch, heaving it up in his arms with a huff, and holding it out to you. “It’s ok. It’s really ok. I want this. I’ve had my fun with you guys, but it’s not like I’ve really been living a proper life like this. The only people I can talk to are guardians, and they’re so scattered across the human realm. I spend my days watching YouTube videos and talking to moths and waiting for you guys to come home from work. I’ve lived this life as much as I can, but now it’s your turn. I want you to live a full and happy life, and for you to have a family and grow old in the human realm. I don’t want you to be trapped here with me so that I can live half a life for the rest of your days.”

“But,” you protest tearily. “You’re my best friend.” 

“And you’re mine.” Jungkook says with a beam. “But now it’s time.” 

And then he pushes your arm until the torch lands on an inscription with handwriting you thought you’d never see again. 

Your father, even back then, even on stone, has always had beautiful writing, like he could have been a calligrapher if he had the time or resources. Perhaps that’s why he wanted to leave you a written message. You step forward in disbelief until you can read the inscription, the words of the man you’ve missed so much. 

(Y/N), 

My precious, beautiful daughter. 

Your mother didn’t want me to make this journey, but she eventually gave in because she knew how important it was to me. 

I wonder what kind of situation we’ll read these words together in? What kind of woman will you grow up to be? Will you be married with children when I finally take you here? That little Seokjin is only a toddler but he’s already charming all the ladies in the village- maybe you’ll marry him! Or I hear Jihye is pregnant. Perhaps her child? 

But the reason I wrote this is because I want you to know that no matter what happens, or what roads we walk down in the future, that I will love you and protect you with all of my heart. You are the most beautiful and precious thing I have ever laid my eyes on, and I hope you will always know that. 

I love you. I hope that one day, even if it’s without me, that you get to see these words and know, that from before you were born, I have loved you. 

Please, please, whatever situation you read these words in, please be happy.

From your father. 

The inscription is rough beneath your fingers as you smooth your fingers over it. It hurts to see those words, to know the moments you can never have with your father because he’s gone. And you’ll never get him back. There’s no magic spells or special river or pixie magic that can bring him back to you. 

But, for the first time, you find yourself smiling. Those memories don’t have to be painful. Because you fulfilled his wish- you’re happy. As you read these words, despite everything, you are happy. You have friends and family who love you and who you treasure beyond belief. And it took you a long time to realise it, but you’re so grateful. You’ll never get your father back, and you’ll never fill the hole that he left, but you can be happy. You can move forward with a smile on your face because that’s what he wanted.

Strong fingers wrap around your outstretched hand, and you turn to find Jin reading the words alongside you. 

“He was a good man.” Jin tells you softly, and you smile at him. Jin looks like he has more to say, but he is interrupted by the brilliant glow coming from behind you. 

You turn around and find Jungkook hovering before you. He glows brightly amidst the darkness of the ravine, almost as brightly as the stars overhead. And slowly, the river reacts too. One by one, bursts of light in different, brilliant colours appear and race down the length of the river, like bright, shooting stars. “The dancing river”, one of its many names, suddenly makes sense, as the lights zip and glide along the surface of the water. 

“You did it!” Jungkook cries, and his smile is brighter than anything you’ve ever seen. You scramble forward, but the glow intensifies, and a brilliant light wall springs up between you and Jungkook. 

“No!” You cry. “Please! Don’t go, Jungkook. We still have so much to do together! Please!”

“Be happy, (Y/N).” He calls and then the light brightens until you can see nothing but pure white. 

And then it goes dark. In the absence of light, you can’t see anything before you. Jungkook is gone- he’s gone. Your best friend, your constant, pesky companion, is gone. 

You fall to your knees, sinking into the soft, damp sand, sobbing hysterically. 

“Jungkook.” You cry, your eyes squeezed shut. “Jungkook!”

Your friendship with Jungkook has always been a funny one. You first met him in the dingy room of a motel your mother had managed to book into, those first few nights in the human realm. You hadn’t been able to sleep- the air was uncomfortable and dry and felt leeched of the warm, buzzing magic that had been your constant companion.

You’d snuck out of the room that night and wondered onto the rooftop. Even the stars are dull, in the human realm, and for some reason it had hurt to see that. You’d gazed up into the sky, tear streaming down your face when a voice had sounded beside you.

“What are you looking at?” The little voice had asked.

The rest is history. You’d attempt to swat Jungkook, thinking him to be a mosquito hybrid, one of the weird creatures of this new realm. But he hadn’t been. He was a pixie. And from there, Jungkook had never really left your side. At night, he would sleep on your pillow beside you. When you’d gotten your own room, you’d made a little doll house for him to sleep in, but he’d always slept by your side. He would come with you to school, nestled in your pocket. Some days he’d take some space, but it had reached the point where you can barely remember spending time without him.

And now… could he really be gone? How can he? What does life even look like without him? You can’t fathom it.

You don’t know how long you sit there crying hysterically for, but eventually you feel warm, strong arms wrap around you. It must be Jin, comforting you through the pain of losing your best friend. You bring your fingers up to grip at the material of his shirt.

“(Y/N)!” Jin cries in alarm. But it’s not coming from the proximity you’d expect, considering that he’s currently holding you. No, his voice is coming from somewhere behind you. 

Slowly, you blink your eyes open, and the sleeves of the jacket are not the sleeves of Jin’s jacket. Nor do the arms holding you belong to him. Slowly, you trace the arms up to the shoulders, and then you meet the face of the person holding you. 

It’s Jungkook. But at the same time... it’s not Jungkook. Jungkook was a tiny pixie, with iridescent wings like a dragonfly. With a tiny, round face. He was the size of your hand. 

But the person who holds you is human. There are no pixie wings in sight, and he’s the same size as you- no, he’s even bigger. He rivals Jin’s size. 

But the face is unmistakeably Jungkook. You’d know those round, doe eyes anywhere. 

“J-Jungkook?” You question softly. He pulls away and nods, staring at his palms in confusion like he’s never seen them before. “W-what happened?” 

“I... I don’t know.” He answers, running his hands over himself. He’s wearing the same clothes as before, and he looks exactly the same as he always has, just... human sized. 

“I... I’m human?” 

“It must be the effect of granting the spell.” Jin calls, edging closer so that he can examine Jungkook with wonder. “Maybe... maybe the reason there’s no record of any pixies after they grant the wishes... is because they stop being pixies?”

Jungkook can only stare in confusion. 

“Isn’t your dearest wish to be human? To be able to talk to people and make friends and form human bonds?” Jin continues to reflect. “Maybe... maybe the outcome of a pixie granting a wish... is that they get their deepest wish granted?”

Jungkook just stares with a bewildered expression, glancing over his shoulders for wings that aren’t there. He then scrambles over to the edge of the river, staring in wonder at the human reflection that stares back, from the normal, rounded ear tips to the lack of wings. 

“I’m human?” He questions. Tears fill your eyes as you realise that what Jin is saying is true. 

“You’re human!” You agree. “Jungkook! You’re human!” 

His whole face lights up in excitement. 

“I’m human! Oh my goodness! I’m human! I can go to dance classes! I can study in college! I can get a job! I can... I can...” his expression darkens with mischief and that’s the only warning you get before he hooks an arm around your neck and gives you the most painful noogie of your life. “I can get my revenge.”

Needless to say, the aftermath of such a transformation is absolutely chaotic, but somehow, you can’t bring yourself to be mad. Jungkook goes after Jin next, and as Jin flees for his life, you find yourself smiling, despite everything. 

Please be happy, is what your father had pleaded, in the magic of this mystical river. 

I am, dad. Is what you answer from the bottom of your heart in the magic of the river. 

Because you are. 

[idreamofplaid]

Just Enough Tease

Square Filled: Panty Kink

Characters: Jensen x Reader

Rating: Explicit

Tags: Oral (female receiving); squirting; dirty talk

Summary: It’s a big night for Jensen in more ways than one.

Word Count: 1515

A/N: Thanks for the idea @dean-winchesters-bacon​! I hope you like what I did with it.

Created for @spnkinkbingo

Everything had been delayed for months because of the virus. Putting life on hold for so long had been frustrating, disappointing, discouraging, and downright depressing at times. When normal activities at long last resumed, the palpable cloud of heaviness that had settled over the world was lifted. Life felt positively festive.

Many things that had been postponed could finally happen. That included the series wrap party. It’d been a long time since you’d seen Jensen this happy, and a happy Jensen was a horny Jensen.

He’d been unable to keep his hands off you all night. The dress you were wearing showed off all your best assets, but you knew it was what was underneath that was driving Jensen crazy. When you’d gotten in the car to leave for the party, you had leaned across the seat and whispered in his ear, “I wore something special for you tonight.” With a satisfied smile, you moved back into your seat and raised your skirt so he could see what was underneath.

When he saw, Jensen’s lips parted ever so slightly. He raised his eyes to meet yours. “You’d do that to me?”

You dropped your skirt back into place. “Absolutely, I would.” You put your hand on his thigh and gave a little squeeze to emphasize your point. 

The thing you were wearing that already had his breath catching in his chest was plain white cotton panties. Over the course of your relationship, you had pushed at every button and pulled at every string to find all of his kinks. This one you had discovered purely by accident. Jensen had walked in on you one afternoon when you were getting ready to go out to lunch with a friend one afternoon. You were thirty minutes late for that lunch.

You gave your fiance a smile as you slowly slid your hand from his leg. “Enjoy yourself tonight, babe. I’m so proud of you. And remember what’s waiting for you later.”

Jensen watched you all night. You knew what he was thinking when he was posing for pictures, when he was cutting the cake, and when he was singing on stage. He couldn’t take his eyes off you the entire time he was singing “Wrecking Ball”. As soon as he sang the last notes, he was off the stage immediately and came to you. He took your hand and started leading you away from the crowd. “Where are we going, Jensen?”

The second he got you out of the main ballroom and into a mostly empty hallway, he pushed you against the wall and started kissing your neck, the scruff of his beard pleasantly scratching your skin. “I need you now, baby. I can’t wait until we get home. I started to get a hard on while I was singing just looking at you.” 

You arched your neck back, enjoying the feel of his lips on your skin. “Do you want to get a room?”

Jensen pulled his earlobe into your ear and nibbled on it. “That’ll take too long.” He took your hand again and led you farther down the hall. When you reached something called The Fern Room, Jensen tried the door. Finding it open, he pulled you into the small conference room behind him.

The door was barely closed before his hand was under your dress. He stroked his fingers over your cotton covered core. “I’m gonna make you so wet for me, baby.”

Jensen pushed your panties aside and swiped his fingers through your folds. He brushed back and forth, teasing at your opening and your clit until you were moaning his name and holding onto his shoulders for support. He finally pushed a finger deep into you, pumped it a few times, then took it out and rubbed it over his lips before sliding it into his own mouth. He closed his eyes and sucked it. “You are delicious, baby girl.”

Things moved quickly then. Jensen put his hands on your waist, moved you toward the conference table, and lifted you up onto it. “Jensen, wait. Does the door lock?”

He looked a little dazed for a second then went to check the door. “Needs a key to lock it.” Jensen grabbed a chair and wedged it beneath the door handle. “That okay?” He took off his jacket and threw it on a chair on his way back across the room.

You put your arms around his neck, brought his mouth back to yours, and wrapped your legs around his waist. That start of an erection he’d mentioned earlier was now raging full on and pressing against you. You reached for his zipper, anxious to release him, to see that part of him you ached to have filling you. His cock sprang free from his dress pants, standing thick next to his stomach and his crisp white shirt. It was your plan to ruin that shirt. 

You reached for his cock, and Jensen put his hand around your wrist to stop you. “No. Not yet, baby girl. I’ve got plans for you first.” He kept you at the edge of the table, and spread your legs open. He pushed your skirt up around your waist then dipped his head down and began to lap at the cotton. The wetter your panties got the easier it was to feel his tongue swiping at your clit.

Jensen continued to suck at it through the thin, wet fabric; and he pushed the thin strip of cotton aside to have better access to your opening. Without warning or hesitation, he pushed two fingers in, and you were ready for him. You moaned and moved your hips to accept what he was giving you. “God, baby, you are so fucking hot.”

He added another finger and started to move them faster. Jensen knew when he talked dirty it made you come shaking, and he was determined you were going to come all over this table. “You thought you could tease me by wearing these innocent white panties. Well, they don’t look innocent on you, sweetheart. They make my dick so hard it feels like it could cut fucking glass.”

He curled his fingers to stroke your g-spot. “You thought you could tease me with them by showing me and not letting me touch, by making me think about them all night. I’m gonna make you pay for that, baby girl. I’m going to make you come until you’re weak.”

Jensen was as good as his word. He made you squirt all over that conference room table before he made you come again with his tongue. The pleased look on his face made you feel like he was more proud of what he could do to you, the way he could make you fall apart, than he was of the part he’d had in making television history. Right now, Jensen Ackles didn’t care he was missing the party that was for him.

He’d almost torn the panties from your body. They were being pushed to their limits, but they were still there, still pushed to the side so Jensen could do whatever he wanted. And he made very clear exactly what it was he wanted to do. “I’m gonna fuck you now, sweetheart, and you’re gonna feel it for days.” 

He thrust into you hard, deep, and fast. It was perfect. When you got close to your orgasm, Jensen covered your mouth with his hand to stifle your scream. When your body clenched around him in wave after wave of pleasure, he shot rope after rope of hot come inside you, filling your womb. 

Jensen collapsed on top of you, and you wrapped your arms around him. You both lay there panting and trying to catch your breath. After a couple of minutes, you said, “We’d better get back; they’re going to miss you.”

Jensen stood and adjusted himself back in his pants. You gave him an appraising look. After all these years, he was still incredibly handsome, even more so than he’d been when you met him. “You’d better put your jacket back on to hide the...um…” 

He grinned as he picked up his discarded jacket and put it back on. You ran your hands over his lapels. You lowered your mouth until it was almost touching his. “There’s one more thing.” You stepped out of your panties and tucked them into his inside jacket pocket. “You should keep these. They’re way too much of a mess for me to wear.” 

Jensen’s eyes followed your hand as you placed your underwear in his jacket and patted his chest over the spot where you’d put them. He cut his eyes to yours. “You want me to carry these around all night?”

You smiled sweetly at him and kissed his cheek. “Oh, I certainly do. I want to know you have them when the president of the network is congratulating you on your rare and outstanding accomplishment.” You kissed him and pulled his bottom lip into your mouth. “That man has no idea just how talented you are.”

Everything: @gambitwinchester @princessmisery666 @onethirstyunicorn @peridottea91 @logical-princey @emilyshurley @beenlovingromansincedayoneish @fangirlxwritesx67 @waywardbaby @atc74 @ledzeppelinsbonzo @shaniquacynthia @mariekoukie6661 @tumbler-tidbits @fandom-princess-forevermore @terrarium-jpeg @emoryhemsworth @crashdevlin @heycasbutt @jules-1999 @mrsdeannafuckingwinchester @cosicas-cuquis @sammyimpala-67 @queenoftheunderdark @dean-winchesters-bacon @mrs-meghan-winchester @timelordy-fangirl2 @sweetness47 @hobby27 @awesomesusiebstuff @kickingitwithkirk @gh0stgurl @becs-bunker @sandlee44 @supernaturalgrandma @lonewolf471 @dawnie1988 @maddiepants @volleyballer519 @outcastedangel @kdfrqqg @lizette50 @daisymoder72 @sorenmarie87 @oldfreakything @winchesterxfamilybusiness @deansotherotherblog

Dean/Jensen: @deansyahtzee @flamencodiva @deanwinchesterswitch @feelmyroarrrr @theychosefamily @focusonspn @akshi8278 @ladywinchester1967 @sgarrett49 @wingedcatninja @coffee-obsessed-writer @adoptdontshoppets @ellewritesfix05​ 

[heresathreebee]

Brackish and Briny Waters (five)

[Ralph Lamont x Female Reader]

Summary: Ralph apologizes and you've got baby brains, but sometimes life does nothing but kick you down. Previous Masterlist Next

Tag(s): 16+ | 1.7k words | more angst, baby fever, alcoholism, ghostly vibes

AN: GODDAMN Part 5 took me a lifetime to finish. As always no beta readers just poorly side eyeing this by myself and hoping it makes sense

THE NEXT MORNING

You barely stir when you hear the door open. You've all but forgotten last night, and yet you flinch when Ralphie tries to cuddle with you. He sighs somewhere near your ear and hugs you from behind anyways, lips brushing the nape of your neck and breath fanning over your back as he simply lies there, quiet as the grave. 

There's no bruise but you can still feel his hand gripping your arm from last night. "You're being a huge dick…" 

"... I know." 

That is not good enough. You roll over to face him and watch his face twist when he notices the tract marks of dry tears on your face. He swallows and almost unconsciously takes your hand, smoothing his thumb over the back of your palm in a way that was meant to comfort him rather than you. 

"I'm sorry." He opens his mouth again but he flounders for words. After a deep breath he continues. "We can't call Reagan. Because he won't do anything for us…" 

You wait impatiently for him to explain. 

"Sweetheart, if we called Reagan last night, he would have fucking laughed at us. It is step one down that slippery slope to the couple who cried wolf." He put a hand on your shoulder and looked you in the eye, "do you really think he would have done something?" 

You think about it. If Ralph hadn't stopped you from calling him, what would you have said to Reagan? 

I smelled exhaust fumes. Not an emergency, he would say. 

I think he found us. What do you want me to do about it, too late now, he would ask.  

We're in danger. I'll send a squad upstate, they should be there in 4 hours, he would joke. 

"It was real," you insist. "I smelled fumes." 

"I know. I believe you." 

You squint at him threateningly and he doesn't give an inch. He doesn't seem like he's mocking you. 

Ralph could be an asshole, but Reagan was infinitely worse. At least one of them gave a shit about your safety. The realization Ralph was right scared you more than anything. You were alone in this… 

Well, alone together. 

You sigh and bury your face in his neck. Your hair is tangled as shit and probably tickling his face, but your husband simply wraps you up in a tight embrace and holds you against him. It's all the apology you need. 

END OF THE FIRST MONTH

Adjusting to your new life hit you like a sack of bricks early on a Monday morning. You woke up from a dream where you still lived in your tiny little apartment two minutes walk from everything. In a reality which felt more like a fever dream, Ralph was late for work, donning a tie and tweed jacket and kissing you goodbye for the day. 

You never realized how much space there was in the new master bedroom. In the apartment, a queen sized bed nearly touched the walls and barely left room to creep around two night stands and a dresser, but in the new house you had room to lay on the floor and stretch, maybe put another piece of furniture in here like a bookshelf or something. 

And the whole damn house was like that. You had an entire second floor to claim as your own! There is almost too much space… too much space for just the two of you. 

God there's that thought again drifting into your mind unbidden, unfurling like a fern at the first droplet of sunshine. How many people does it take to turn a house into a home? Three should be plenty, your mind offers. 

You busy yourself with measurements, regrouting the loose tiles in the kitchen floor, and scrubbing the blackened hell out of that downstairs bathroom. It seems to come to life beneath your hands and you can feel yourself getting excited to show guests the improvement. 

The thoughts of turning your little twosome family into three persist over and over until you can't stand it any longer. Maybe it's finally time… 

Ralph's late getting home by 5 minutes instead of 5 hours but he still looks tired. No mud tracks on his pants or hard set eyes. He's halfway up the stairs before you realize he's probably going to bed early. 

"Hey!" 

Ralph stops like it pains him. His head sags and his hold on the railing is tight like he'll fall if he lets go. The way he's wobbling he might. He is barely able to meet your eyes as he glances over his shoulder and when he does he simply grunts. 

"I made dinner," you squeeze your hands together behind your back, "angel hair pasta and that sauce you love." 

Ralph's eyes flicker in thought. "Be down in a second." 

You wait nervously to see if he does come down. What if this is a bad idea? What if he doesn't take you seriously? Oh god what if he hates it, what if he calls you an idiot for even considering it? 

Ralph does come back downstairs, hair wild from running his fingers through it. He seems to gain a small amount of energy while eating, not wanting to talk himself but asking how your day has been going. 

You're definitely rambling right now. Ralph listens and listens, chuckling along but at some point he grows concerned and envelopes your hand with a worried expression on his face. "Jesus, I've never heard so many words come out of your mouth at once, it's like you're writing a dissertation over there. Are you OK, baby?" 

You snap your mouth shut. God, you hadn't even come close to talk about kids for all your rambling. And then there was that weird smell… 

Your blood runs cold as you recognize it. You lean a little closer to Ralph and he almost instinctively flinches away. If there's one thing you are sure of, one thing you could swear on god– Ralph Lamont has never flinched away from a kiss before. So he has something to hide. And that something has a sharp scent and explains his slow reactions and tired eyes better than anything else could. 

"Have you… have you been drinking?" 

It's the way he can't meet your eyes when you ask him. You know. It's beyond out of character, so much so that it's confusing and a little frightening for you. 

A little drink here and there is, to you, to be expected especially considering the wealth of your new company. So why hide it? Is there something else he's not telling you?

You suddenly feel sick and too hot, ripping your hand away from his and getting up to leave the table. 

He knows you get in your head sometimes and practically yells your name to stop you. "I'm… I don't know why I…" 

Ralph sighs and buries his face into his hands, ashamed. All this suspense is twisting knots in your stomach. You sit back down gingerly, taking deep breaths to calm yourself down. 

"Ralph," you warn, "you had better start explaining yourself right now before I lose it." 

Ralph stares a hole into the table and worries his lip. The truth is he doesn't know what to say because he doesn't know why he did it. The students are easy, you are easy. Even in the toughest of times, at his lowest, he didn't drink so… what the fuck was coming over him?, he asked himself. 

Something clicked. It rolled like fire in his belly given dry wood, smoking curling to the top of his throat and out of his ears. "They hate me." 

"Who? Who hates you?" 

"Everyone." 

You looked him in the eye for the first time tonight and saw something dark looking in there. It makes you uneasy. "What makes you think they hate you, baby?" 

Ralph's grip on his fork tightens until his knuckles are white before he gingerly sets the dishware down and deflates. He clicks his tongue and shakes his head with a sardonic grin. 

"You wouldn't understand… and how could you? You never leave the house." He looks at you and there's a growing instability rising in his movements. "You… you don't see it. It started out as little nothings that I could ignore because it didn't matter that they didn't like me: I was new.  

"Then it became lots of these little nothings. Staring and whispering and hushed silences. Tip toeing language and poking and prodding and testing me and my limits and it just… it just… it never got better…" 

Rumors. It dawned on you that his frustration seemed intimately familiar to you as you had had to change schools once or twice due to a few terrible rumors that snowballed and got way out of hand. And you can imagine the sort of rumors that accompany a man with little interest in making friends who has a wife nobody knows anything about. 

If you wanted to stay here long, you would need to change a few minds. You set aside your fear for a moment and make him look at you. You can see the unshed tears in his eyes and feel pity for him. 

"I want to do that dinner party," you announce. "With all that's gone on, you probably didn't have the grand introduction you deserve. Let me show them how much you mean to me." 

Ralph's shaking his head but he already knows you'll win this fight. For him it feels like begging for something he doesn't even want. He agrees because he already promised you could when you were ready and you needed to find new friends asap. 

His sleep that night is fitful and the room's shadows seem to reach out like claws seeking his immortal soul. When the haze of whiskey finally dies down in his system he sleeps dreamless and wakes to feel somehow more hollow with despair than before. 

Ralph Lamont has the distinct feeling things are going to get a hell of a lot worse before anything gets better…

@werwulfy @fundamentally-lazy @escape-your-grape @mimiscappinisideblog @go-commander-kim

[danny-chase]

Big Brother instinct, Dick and either Cass, Gar, Danny Chase, Steph, Kara, Rose, or anyone else u want

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Batman (Comics), Nightwing (Comics), Batgirl (Comics) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Dick Grayson & Cassandra Cain, Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne Characters: Dick Grayson, Cassandra Cain, Bruce Wayne Additional Tags: Dick grayson centric, Fire, Burns, hair styling, Ice Cream, Hurt/Comfort, Late Nights, Fluff and Angst, Batfamily (DCU), Batfamily (DCU) Feels, Batfamily Dynamics (DCU), Missions Gone Wrong, Good Sibling Dick Grayson, Cassandra Cain is bad at feelings, Bruce Wayne is Bad at Feelings Series: Part 11 of Bad Things Happen Bingo Summary:

Dick talks with Cass after a mission doesn't go as planned.

Fic under cut

“Argh!” Dick snaps back to attention as Bruce’s angry grunt rattles through the cave. The few bats still in for the night stir, their wings rustling in the distance. An avalanche of papers fly off of Bruce’s desk, and his grizzled form slumps forward, hands firmly planted on the table. His shoulders sag under some unknown strain; as if he’s carrying the weight of the sky.

“Hmm.” Dick blinks back another wave of exhaustion, he’s not working on a case – but Bruce is – and company always makes working more fun. Besides, Bruce is on a time limit and Alfred can’t stop him from escaping his room. So. Here he is. He took an oath - it’s his job to help.

Dick’s eleven and Bruce’s a pillar of reassurance – a precariously stacked pile of rocks constantly on the verge of crumbling. He has no idea how to pick up the pieces. No idea how to seal the cracks. “Bruce?” He mumbles, swinging his legs off his spinny chair. Bruce doesn’t look up, his mouth drawn in a tight line. The ghost of tears well in his eyes. Not good.

Dick scoots off the chair, lightheaded for a moment. He shakes the stars out of his eyes, nodding back and forth, up and down, like Bruce does when he’s sleepy. It’s late. He has school tomorrow. Not that it matters. Bruce will let him skip if he asks the right way. He jogs in place for a few seconds, readying himself, warming up his muscles.

There’s not much he can do to help, but he can at least put on a little show. He runs forward launching into a cartwheel, picking up the papers as he goes – Bruce likes his tricks, sometimes they even make him laugh, sometimes –

Bruce snags his ankle out of the air, his quick reflexes saving Dick from crashing into the edge of a counter. He finds himself hanging, the world stuck upside down as his hands dangle inches from the floor. “Thanks.” He looks up at Bruce’s weary face.

A yawn escapes his lips, and the corners of Bruce’s mouth twitch. “I’m going to have to child-proof the cave at this rate.” He tries for humor but it falls flat, his hearts not in it all.

He stares up, sticking his tongue out. Bruce’s frown doesn’t fade. “Are you okay?” He asks. Bruce’s hands fumble, and Dick swings dangerously low to the floor before he’s recovered. Not willing to take the chance again, he curls up, grabbing Bruce’s forearms and pulls himself up through his arms, settling himself on sturdy shoulders.

Bruce drops his feet. “I’m fine. Why would ask that?” He sounds almost hurt and Dick’s too tired to figure out why.

He slides down easily, Bruce gently deposits him on the floor. “You looked sad.” A yawn leaves his mouth without permission, he stumbles slightly, and a hand clamps down on his shoulder. He reaches back up, and Bruce throws him up against his shoulder, wrapping him in a hug.

Dick yawns contently, his eyelids fluttering without his permission, as Bruce starts walking towards the stairs. “I’m sorry…” The arm around his back pulls him a bit tighter. “I’m just not enough.” A shaking hand combs through his hair and Dick squeezes back because he doesn’t know what to say.

Bruce grunts as he takes a step up the stairs. “Sleep on it?” Dick suggests, resting his eyes for just a moment.

“Mmhmm. It’s bedtime.” Dick’s half asleep by the time they reach the top. He’s not sure he hears Bruce whisper, “You’re a great kid, chum.”

It took Dick years before he really understood the feeling. And even more years before he made the connection that that was how Bruce had felt on late nights spent scouring for clues that just didn’t seem to exist, having worked for days straight on three hours of sleep, and watching Gotham send all of it up in flames setting you back months on an investigation.

He’s learned there’s nights it’s impossible to save everyone – hell, he’s seen Clark get his ass kicked, and Clark’s damn near close to god. Dick would know – the Titans have fought their namesake. But the Titans have fought humans and lost despite half their members being godlike, and besides that most days now he’s alone. It doesn’t matter how hard he tries, how much he plans, how prepared he is; sometimes things just go to hell and a handbasket and there’s nothing he can physically do to prevent it.

Most of the time, he’s fine with that. It’s fine he has limits. Logically, he knows he can’t be expected to everything. Logically, he knows it’s a waste of time to worry about it. Logically, he knows it’s okay to take a night off, watch a nature documentary, invite a friend over, stay in and spend the night simply existing.

But it feels like he could be doing more – should be doing more. He feels that restlessness overtake him, and springs to his feet “Bruce I-”

Bruce gives him his patented bat-glare from where he’s sitting, looking up from a familiar pile of papers. Once it would have intimidated him into sitting back down. Now he just returns it with a patented one of his own. “-I think I’ll suit up and head out for the night, Tim could probably use some back up with-”

“Dick.” There’s this exasperated tone that Bruce can only ever seem to muster when saying his name. He pauses for a just a second, his eyes flickering down to Bruce’s clenched fists and tight shoulders. “Let me handle it.” It comes out as an order, but reading between the lines, it’s a plea.

Bruce would never admit it out loud, worry practically bleeds out of the man. Guilt gnaws on the inside of his chest, though, he’s not sure what it’s even from; the guilt of making Bruce worry or the guilt of being a useless sack of broken and bruised ribs while people need Nightwing’s help. Being benched sucks, but he knows enough to compromise. “Let me run the comms? Babs could use a night off.” She sleeps less than him and Bruce knows it.

The gray streaks in Bruce’s hair stand out all the more as he lets out a bone deep sigh. Dick rolls his eyes – he doesn’t get to do this right now. “You literally let me go out last night I don’t understand why-”

“Last night was an emergency. I didn’t have a choice.” His frown widens, his face etched in an eternal look of pain, mixed with disproval. “Two nights ago… you almost…” His mouth seals itself shut, unspoken words hanging in the air between them. It’s Bruce that breaks the gaze first. “Run the comms, don’t overexert yourself. It should be a quiet night…” He stands, hesitates before walking off “And get to bed early.”

Dick bites back a laugh, Bruce hasn’t talked to him like that since he was thirteen. “Alright.” He resists the urge to poke fun, and follows Bruce through the passage behind the grandfather clock.

“So Ives was talking about the Pirates of the Caribbean movie with me the other day, and we might go see it this weekend if I have the time. Gee- I can’t remember the last time I saw movie in theaters or even really hung out with him.” Tim’s endless chatter helps him stay awake in the dimly lit cave. His throbbing ribs help too, maybe he shouldn’t have tried doing push-ups. “Dad and Dana want to drop me off, but Ives has a car now, though dad’s still worried cuz of the time some wacko tried to stop us at a traffic light.”

Dick hums, a smile creeping its way up his face. “I can drop you off if it’s an issue.”

“Really?! That’d be awesome, you could stay for the movie if you wanted to, but I don’t know if you’d like it, I mean are pirates really your thing? I always figured you’d be more into Vikings or probably aliens actually, or something like-” A red light flashes on the screen, and Dick snaps to attention.

“Hold that thought.” Tim’s chatter ceases immediately as Dick furiously types on the terminal. He punches into the main line. “Batgirl how fast can you get to the corner of 16th and Murphy’s Ave, there’s a building on fire and you’re the only one anywhere near the Upper East Side.” A 911 operator calms down a hysterical woman in his left ear, Cass asking direction in the right.

He pulls up a map. “I-I can’t find a way out!” The woman shrieks. “I don’t know what happened, I was sleeping and-” she breaks off into raspy hacks.

“Go straight, turn right after three blocks down.” Dick winces, as the lady continues chocking on smoke. “C’mon Cass. Get there.” He mutters off the line. He eyes his cycle sitting idly in the bay – he’s twenty minutes out; Cass needs backup. He opens up another line. “Batman I need you to follow Batgirl, what’s your eta?”

Bruce grunts back, he hears thudding over the line. “Fifteen minutes.” The woman screams in his other ear, he yanks the earbud out as a massive bang nearly blows out his eardrum. Picking it back up, he can’t hear the woman anymore, only the roar of flames and falling debris.

“Shit.” He pulls up video from a street camera. “Shit.” The building’s collapsing in on itself. “Permission to call the league?” He clicks through to their line of communications, his finger hovering over the button.

“Here.” Cass scrambles into view, bursting through a window. Shit.

Bruce learned his limits long ago. Dick’s finally settling into his. Cass? They simply don’t register on her radar. The buildings coming down in mere minutes; she’s going to get killed.

“What’s the situation?” Bruce yells in his ear.

“Batgirl get out of there!” He screams at Cass. She’s going to die – the building’s not stable, and he’s the one that sent her there. “Make it five minutes – the building’s coming down.” He yells to Bruce. “Batgirl!” He watches a few windows blow out. A firetruck careens down the street.

“Permission granted.” Bruce huffs and Dick can’t click the button fast enough.

A couple more windows blow out, and the building seems to lean to the side. Finally he sees Cass climb back out a window, holding a couple kids in her arms as she leaps to the ground. “BATGIRL GET THEM CLEAR!” His heart pounds in his throat as she runs forwards, the building groaning behind her, crumbling to the side. Chaos erupts, chunks of flaming debris cascading from the top of the building, as the second floor merges with the first.

Dick blinks, his mouth dry. “There’s more people-” he can’t hear Cass over the ensuing cacophony as he watches the building topple to the ground. “NO!” He faintly hears her scream as the screen erupts in static.

Dick slams his fists on the desk. His chest constricts painfully. “Nightwing. Report.” Bruce’s steady voice reminds him to breathe. His chest spasms. Shit. “Nightwing!” Bruce demands as he tries to catch his breath.

“Building collapsed.” He manages to get out. “One sec.” He takes a few deep breaths, leaning back in the chair for support. “Batgirl report.” He’s greeted with silence. “Batgirl, please, if you’re there I need you to respond.”

“I…” Cass trials off. Dick sighs in relief. “I’m sorry.” The line cuts off. Well. Shit.

“Nightwing! I’m headed to the location.” Bruce squawks. Dick sighs.

“It’s going to be a long night. Search and rescue, I’ll call in backup.” Shit. So much for an early bedtime.

“Hey.” Someone shakes his shoulder. He makes a grab for their wrist and misses, his mind processing where the hell he is. He blinks a few times.

“Cass?” Her hair’s plastered to the side of her head and she’s covered in soot. Nicks, rips, and tears decorate her costume. Dick wipes his eyes as the ashy smell of smoke overwhelms his senses. Cass takes a few steps back, heading towards the locker room. “Wait.” He had something to say to her, his mind racing to catch up.

She hops up onto a counter. His mind shuffles through the events earlier in the night. “Bruce sent you back?” Cass nods glumly. The rescue efforts weren’t going well when he dozed off. The JLA sent in everyone they could spare; there’s nothing they can do anymore. Not that Bruce won’t try.

Cass’s lips are sealed. There’s a haunting expression in her eyes, her shoulders slump forward, her hands firmly plant themselves on the counter for support.

And his friends think he’s too much like Bruce.

“Hey.” He starts. She gives him a weary look, tears welling in her eyes. Well, maybe not exactly like Bruce. “Look, I’m sorry I put you in that position.” Cass shakes her head. “Sometimes things like this happen. I should have-”

“Stop.” Cass pulls her feet up on the counter, getting dust everywhere. “I should have been faster.” She swallows, refusing to let the tears spill over. “My fault.”

Dick watches as she glides off the counter, yanking off her gloves and dropping them on the floor. Burn marks dot her hands and the edges of her hair are singed. “You did everything you could.” She hesitates, before taking a step towards the showers.

“Not enough.” She mutters before storming off, leaving a trail of soot in her wake.

He stands up. “Cass.” The lock snaps shut with a click as she slips into the bathroom. Leaving Dick in an empty cave once more.

By the time he returns downstairs, Cass is already out of the shower, looking displeased. “You took my clothes.” She notes unhappily, a pale pink towel tucked tightly around her shoulders.

Dick watches water drip down from her hair, pattering on the floor. The trail leading back to the bathroom is now mixed with water and soot. Alfred’s going to be pissed. “I took your costume.” He clarifies. “And I brought you clothes.” He gestures towards the open door.

Cass scowls, planting her feet defiantly. “I’m going out.” She reaches out a hand. Dick shrugs – there’s no way she can find where he hid her filthy suit before they get a chance to wash it.

It’s all too familiar, reading the lines across her brow, watching her shoulders slump when she stills, and scanning red rimmed eyes. “What are you going to do like that?” He points out, Cass angrily storming towards him. “You’re tired, you’ll just end up being in the way.” He dodges left as a fist flies past his face. “You would have hit if I wasn’t right.” She’s faster than him on his best days.

She glares at him with pursed lips, staring before turning on her heel and storming off towards the bathroom. The door slams behind her, triggering the rustling of far away wings.

Dick sighs – he hopes he wasn’t this temperamental when he lived with Bruce. “Come up to the kitchen when you’re done, I need your help with something.” The lie rolls easily off his tongue, though he feels a twinge of guilt as Cass groans behind closed doors.

Cass’s eyes widen as she enters the room. Dick offers a smile as she edges closer to the table. He tosses a spoon, she snags it out of the air. “Dig in.” There’s a carton of chocolate ice cream – double chocolate chunk brownie sundae with hot fudge and chocolate sprinkles to be precise – and tons of candy. It’s not stuff Bruce keeps around, but Dick’s has a stash at Tim’s house reserved for movie nights. He’ll restock later.

Cass vigorously stabs the ice cream with her spoon, a smile dancing across her face as she takes a few bites. She pauses, sticking the spoon back in the cartoon, looking up with a confused expression. “Why?” She’s wearing fluffy pajama bottoms, fuzzy socks, and an old worn college sweatshirt that’s frayed at the hems. Dick can almost pretend he’s back, talking to Donna after she broke up with Roy their sophomore year of high school.

She’s watching Dick carefully. He hums casually. “You had a rough night.” This is what the Titans always did. She shrugs.

“Things happen.” She shovels a few more bites into her mouth. “I want to go out.” It’s hard for Dick to find her tough and grizzled when she’s guzzling gummi worms, kicking her feet back and forth on the stool.

“Consider this a reason to stay in.” She gives him a sideways glance. “You did as much as you can, that’s enough.” Cass looks pointedly at her ice cream, not hesitating before diving back into it.

“Spar with me?” She licks a skittle before sticking it in her mouth.

Dick snorts. “If I don’t have a heart attack, I think Bruce would.” She snaps up to attention, grabbing his wrist and quickly finding his pulse point. “I’m fine, Cass.” Her hands are freezing. He places one of his on top of hers. “If you weren’t there I wouldn’t have been.” He says quietly, catching her eye. “Thank you.” She pulls back as if burned, quickly busying herself with the candy. He waits a moment before adding, “I think those kids you saved are grateful too.”

Cass throws a bag of M&M’s at him, he’s a second too slow and it pelts him in the face. “Noted.” He grins. “Uh, also, I’m going to have to do something with your hair.”

“What.”

“Cass, hold still.” She immediately stops squirming under his hands. “Thanks.” She hums back, tucked under an old blanket that never seems to leave the back of the couch. Bruce still isn’t here, but Tim checked in after his stakeout, and headed home a half an hour ago. He snips away another lock of burnt hair, tossing it into a trash can next to him.

He rests his forearms on the back of the sofa, contemplating which section of her hair to start with next. “You find one you like yet?” He asks, peeking over her shoulder at the images of hairstyles.

“Uhh.” She scrolls a bit more. “I don’t care.” She tosses the phone up to the top of the couch.

“Mmm.” He didn’t expect much else. Donna texted him a picture earlier to copy – something easy to pull back but still stylish. He attacks the next section, carefully brushing out the tangles, starting bottom to the top. He’s oddly grateful for all those times he did Donna and Kory’s hair.

‘Practice for when Bruce finally adopts a girl.’ They used to tease. ‘You’ll have a real sister, and if his track record holds she’ll have black hair and blue eyes.’ He’s never lived the irony down. Though, Cass’s eyes are a beautiful warm brown, so Donna and Kory can take that.

“You know.” He keeps his tone light. “Most hairdressers and their clients talk.” Cass remains set in stony silence. “Though I guess most people go to a salon to get their hair cut.” He just visits Joey. “Some people say it’s like free therapy.”

“You talk a lot.” Cass notes. He pulls up doodle jump on his phone and passes it back to her. She plays a couple rounds before the phone’s placed back beside him.

“Do you want to talk about it?” He already knows the answer, but still asks all the same.

“No.” Bruce never wanted to either. Barbara used to talk to him… before he left for the Titans and took years to look back. Though he likes to dream otherwise, he knows there’ll come a day when Tim won’t want to talk to him anymore either.

It doesn’t get any easier being shut out. “That’s alright. If you change your mind I’m here.” He grabs the shears, snipping away another dead end.

“Thanks.”

“Dick.” A hiss awakes him, light following soon after. He squints, turning away to bury his face in a cushion. “Where’s Cassandra?”

He turns, eyes snapping open as he quickly scans the sofa. The blanket hangs off the edge, Cass nowhere to be seen. One of her custom batarangs sticks out of his armchair’s armrest, a few inches from his hand. “She must have found her costume.” He notes, glancing towards the pajamas crumpled in the doorway. His eyes meet Bruce’s as he lets out a tired sigh.

His hair’s dripping, fresh from a shower, and it’s singed at the edges. Dick nods towards the sheers on the coffee table. “Tomorrow.” Bruce decides, crossing the room, picking up the blanket as he goes. Dick pushes down the footrest, slowly rising to his feet. His ribs twinge at every move, in hindsight, falling asleep hanging off the side of an armchair wasn’t his best idea. Bruce hovers closer than normal, watching carefully, worry lines set in concern. “Bed.”

Dick’s too tired to argue. “Bed.” He agrees. And though Bruce doesn’t carry him, he accompanies him up the stairs.

[dramaqueeenamby]

Waves: The Read

A/N: I am a shady bitch, and I regret nothing.  Also, if ya’ll remember, Mercedes is Summer’s publicist/manager. I mentioned that in a few waves, so don’t get confused, friends!

Warnings: None. 

Word Count: 2K

Masterlist

TAGS: @notacamelthatsmywife​ @babe-im-bi​ @liquorlaughslove​ @letsshamelessqueen-m​ @missyperle​ @valkryienymph​ @tashawar​ @mani-lifes​ @missdforever​ @hello-therree​ @toni9​ @queenshikongo3​

"How many solos has my sister had?"

The room grew quiet, all eyes on the speaker. They’d just finished a number, or rather, Finn and Rachel had just finished a number. The rest of the students served more as props than singers. Ad-libs only constituted so much.

Mr. Schue’s smile dimmed. Slightly. "W—what?"

Alexus shrugged, motioning around the room. "Or any of the kids whose names aren’t Flipper or Rachel?"

"It’s Finn."

"I don’t care," she dismissed, eyes still on the instructor. "I’ve been here a whole week, and not once have I seen someone other than Cher and Sonny score solos."

Mr. Schue scoffed, crossing his arms. "Now, hold on a second, I treat all my students fairly. Any student is allowed to audition for a solo—"

"And how many who have auditioned actually received one, other than your prized pupils?"

Mercedes stood up. "Alexus—"

"No." Alexus lifted her hand and looked over at her sister. "This isn’t right, and you’re too kind and understanding to say anything, so I will."

"You’re out of line, Alexus."

She laughed, looking back at him. "Out of line? I’m not one of your little students, and you’re not going to shut me down like you do them. I’m going to say what I want and need to say, and then I’ll leave, but you’re going to catch this read, first."

"And, cut!"

Summer broke from character and offered Matthew a fake smile before turning away and catching Amber’s gaze. They shared an unspoken exchange, one that caused Amber to laugh after Summer rolled her eyes.

Summer didn’t know why she was so weary about accepting this role. Only 10% of it was acting, the rest was her actually reading the problematic cast members, which was all but a handful. But, to fulfill her petty side and get paid?

It was a double win.

Summer noticed Ryan was speaking with Lea, which ignited another eye roll. She was the guest star, not that Barbara Streisand wannabe. Still, Summer counted her blessings, because she could only take Ryan in small doses. He wasn’t as bad as his prized actress, but it was the fact that he allowed her to treat everyone like shit that made her think less of him.

Perhaps she was spoiled in the sense that every other director she’d had the privilege of working for would never tolerate such behavior. She had to accept that Hollywood was a game, and the rules changed constantly.

"Someone was having fun," Mercedes, Summer’s assistant chimed, coming to walk beside her.

Summer feigned innocence. "I have no idea what you’re talking about."

Mercedes smirked. "Yeah, right. You weren’t acting. You were giving them all a piece of your mind."

Summer retained her smile as they reached her trailer, Summer opening the door so Mercedes could enter first. "Are you trying to insinuate that I was using my job to tell these people how I really feel?"

"I surely was."

As soon as the door closed, Summer confessed. "You know me so well."

The two laughed. "Girl, you know Lea is probably complaining to Ryan right now."

Summer sucked her teeth. "You know she is." Walking over to the kitchenette area, she turned on the Keruig and opened the drawer to select a pod. Her hand ghosted between the caramel and the dark magic, before she settled for caramel. "That black bitch—"

Mercedes snickered. "You sound just like her."

Summer frowned as she insert the pod and selected 8oz. "God, you’re right. I have to have to get out of here."

Smiling, Mercedes swiped down to refresh her emails. "Hey, look at it this way, you keep up this level of performance, and you’re a shoe-in for that Primetime Emmy.

The idea of adding another award to her resume was more than enough to keep Summer focused and dedicated. As a dark skinned black woman, she had to work ten times harder just to remain 20 steps behind. Anything she could do to push herself, she cherished.

Summer added creamer and sugar to her coffee, blowing before taking a sip. "After this, I need a quick break."

Mercedes hummed. "Umm, about that—"

"No."

"Summer—"

"No, Cedes, I’ve been working back to back since I scored 4AM, I think I’ve earned a little vacation time."

"I don’t disagree." Mercedes raised her hands in surrender.

"Thank you," Summer nodded, taking another sip of her coffee.

"But—"

"Here you go."

"I’m just saying, I’m hearing rumors about a potential role that’s gonna start casting in a couple of months."

Summer rolled her eyes and brought the mug to her mouth. "And?"

"And." Mercedes also rolled her eyes. "It’d be perfect for you."

"Mmmhmm."

"Summer," Mercedes lowered her voice. "It’s Storm."

Summer narrowed her eyes. "Storm?" Mercedes nodded. "You don’t mean—"

"X-Men Storm? I surely do."

Summer gasped and covered her mouth. "Bitch!"

"I know!" Mercedes giggled, shushing her client. "So do you see why I want you to keep your options open?"

Summer downed the remainder of her coffee and washed her mug in the sink all the while still stuck on the information she’d been told. "Do you really think I could be Storm?"

"Summer, please, you won an Oscar for your first Hollywood role. You’re a shoe-in."

"What about Shipp?"

"Shipp can skip her ass off somewhere."

The two women laughed when a knock on the trailer door prompted Summer to walk over, opening and smiling when she saw Amber. "Hey girl, come on in."

"I wish." Amber rolled her eyes. "Lea’s ready to start filming again. I mean, Ryan is ready to start filming again."

"You’ve got to be kidding me." Summer checked the watch on her wrist. "It hasn’t even been twenty minutes."

Amber sighed. "You know the saying. She says jump. We say—"

"Trip, bitch."

Amber laughed, as Summer looked back at Mercedes, pointing a finger. "This conversation isn’t over."

Mercedes winked at Summer, the two actresses sauntering back onto set.

Summer wondered if Lea had been listening outside her trailer, because it seemed as if Ms. Michele was purposely antagonizing Summer. Any scenes they had together, Lea would abruptly call cut and give Summer "pointers," all the while Ryan sat in his chair and said nothing.

Summer, forever the professional, managed to keep her composure, but there was only so much she could take.

Finally, when it came time for Summer to film her final scene, she saw an opportunity.

"Alright, and action!"

"I just want you to know that despite your distasteful behavior toward me, I hold no animosity and hope that one day you can release your unwarranted rage, and we can be cordial once I’m on Broadway."

Alexus turned to Rachel and tilted her head, crossing her arms. "I don’t like you. Never have, never will."

Rachel’s smile faltered. "Well, I-I’m sorry you feel that way, but--."

"Let me explain something to you, Berry. This is Lima, Ohio. The biggest thing we have going for us here is Breadstix, a restaurant chain that’s been on it’s last leg since that lawsuit filed by the kid who got two breadsticks stuck up her nostrils."

"I’m much better now."

Alexus ignored Britany and continued. "So, I’ll give you this, this small town notoriety and fame, because I know and you know, that once you actually make it out into the real world, reality is going to slap you so hard, you won’t need to have a nose job."

"Alexus—"

"Your stardom is limited to this pathetic town and its almost entirely pathetic population. And don’t get me wrong, you’re very good at manipulating and controlling individuals, because you can. For now. But, let’s be real, your voice isn’t anything I haven’t heard coming from street singers in NYC. Face it, you don’t have the talent nor the looks to make it into this big star you think you’re going to be. NYADA?" Alexus laughed. "Maybe you’ll make it, I doubt it, and even if you do, once you realize how utterly mediocre your narcissistic ass truly is compared to real talent, you’ll come crying back to Lima and spend the rest of your life working nights at Breadstix while watching reruns of Funny Girl on a goodwill VHS player." A beat. "Now, how’s that for raining on your parade?"

"And, cut!"

——

PRESENT TIME

"Christopher, stop!" Summer laughed as Chris came from behind and lifted her up against his solid frame. "I’m trying to do my makeup."

"You don’t need it," he murmured into her neck. "It’s going to end up all over the pillows anyw—"

"Sir!"

"Autumn."

"Would you please leave me alone?" Summer managed to wiggle herself free from her husband, flipping him off when he slapped her ass. "I am a human being."

"Allegedly."

"Alleged—lemme stop before I end up going to jail." She leaned over and examined her skin, feeling for the tackiness to see if her primer had settled. "This is why I can never do my makeup right. If it’s not him, it’s the twins."

We wanna see the babies!

I don’t get it. Why is she always so mean to him???

^^^^You must be new around here…

What makeup do you use?

Summer caught the last comment and grabbed her foundation and concealer, flashing them on the camera. "You know I have to support my girl, Ri. It’s Fenty Beauty all day everyday over here, ya’ll."

More comments came rolling in, Summer partially paying attention while she tried to do her makeup. Chris was taking her out on a date, the first they’d been on since the birth of the twins.

Summer was actually excited. She was in much need of alone time with her husband.

She grabbed the Snap shadow and blending brush when she noticed majority of the comments kept mentioning Lea Michele.

She didn’t even attempt to hide her distaste. "Why are ya’ll asking me about that girl? Did something happen?" Different stories were coming in prompting Summer to do her own research. "Baby, can I see your phone?"

Without hesitation, Christopher jogged into the bathroom, grabbing onto Summer’s hips while she typed Lea’s name into google.

Five minutes into reading, Summer slammed his phone onto the counter.

"Finally!"

"You’re paying for that," Chris muttered, grabbing his phone, thankful that it wasn’t cracked.

"Sorry, baby." She leaned up and kissed his cheek before looking into her phone. "Ya’ll, okay, most of you should remember I played Mercedes sister, Alexus, on Glee, right?" A wave of "yes" rolled in. "So, I’ve worked with the bitch, and I am not exaggerating when I say bitch. That heifer is literally the worst person I have ever had the displeasure of working with."

Summer pushed Christopher out the bathroom, in case her adding onto the Lea Michele drag train somehow ended up bad. "Now, I’d heard she was a nightmare, but I like to give everyone the benefit of the doubt."

"But, literally the first time I walked onto set and introduced myself to her, she looked me up and down, turned up her nose, and walked away." Summer clapped and covered her mouth. "It took everything in me not to call her ass out, but it was my first day, and I didn’t want to cause a scene."

"Obviously, I was a recurring star on the show so I would make appearances throughout the series, and each time I was there, she treated me, and everyone around her, like trash."

"Okay, but here’s the real tea, you know that read Alexus gave Rachel in season 3? That wasn’t in the script." Summer laughed at the comments. Her fans were freaking out. "My line ended when I told her I didn’t like her or something, but it was my last day of filming, and I’d literally had enough of her."

Even more comments came rolling in of laughing, frog, and tea emojis. Summer sucked her teeth and placed her hand on her hip. "Ya’ll, her white ass thought she was gone’ be a thirty something Maria from West Side Story on broadway." A beat. "Somebody had to let her know!"

[lovlydovlyjaycie]

Ævi - Frontlines

Hey again! This will be a continued series. The first Ævi series is in my masterlist and is only four parts. This is going to be a ongoing series, so there is going to be a lot more of Ævi to come. :)

Summary: Y/n or also known as Ævi has lived through varies of world events. Now it is 1941, she has excepted that some things cannot be changed so Loki has convinced Y/n to go to New York and live a normal life, a life Y/n always wanted. Or as normal it can be, because new introductions lead to events that didn’t go down in the history books.

Characters: Bucky Barnes x reader, Steve Rogers, Peggy, Loki, OC Vera

Warnings: Fluff, Violence, we’re officially in Captain America the First Avenger now... So I guess spoilers?

Note: When I am writing and particularly writing about Bucky and y/n meeting again or them just being in love I always listen to Pirates of the Caribbean to the theme or Will and Elizabeth and I thought it would be good to share that with you guys. To get in the feels. Right now it jumps from POTC One day and the last minute or so from Drink up me hearties yo ho. I know it is so random, but I cannot get it out of my head.

Part 10

I woke up next to Bucky the next day with the blankets sprawled all over me and Bucky laying his arm lazily over me, still asleep. I looked at the dog tags that I was wearing. It felt nice having something with Bucky's name on it, to have something of his with me. I carefully turned around towards Bucky. He looked so peaceful in his sleep. Even in his sleep he had his well known smirk plastered on his face, probably dreaming about some good things. I reached with my hand towards his face. Slightly tracing his lips with my fingers and then up to his cheek. I was rubbing slow circles on his cheek with thumb.

"Good morning." He said quietly, his smirk becoming bigger. "Sorry for waking you up." I told him apologetic sliding my hand back to my place, but he quickly grabbed it. "Waking up next to you is the best thing, so never apologize for that doll." He told me as he guided my hand back to his cheek and he opened his eyes to look at me.

"What are you up to today?" I asked starting to rub circles on his cheek again. "If it were up to me.. I'd stay here the whole day." Bucky moved closer, our heads touching. My hand slid down to his neck. "But sadly it is not up to you. So what are you gonna do?" I said smiling. "Training. I wanted to ask.. Do you want to train with us or did they teach you enough in Sweden and Norway? You still got me curious about that, doll, but if you don't want to tell me I'll respect that." He continued on. I understood the curiosity and I wanted to tell him, but I didn't know what his reaction would be. "I have learned a lot from Sweden and Norway. And I will tell you everything you want to know, but I need time to find the right words.. And I want the world not to be going to shit." I slightly laughed. There was so much going on.. And how do you even tell a person that I am from the future, but have lived so far in the past as well. I honestly never told anyone before, besides Bjorn and his family, but they were there when I was figuring out what was happening to me. And then Loki, Thor, Odin, Heimdall and Frigga know, more like everyone in Asgard knew, but those five actually know the whole story. But besides that I never even tried to tell someone. And this time I really wanted to tell Bucky, but I have no clue how.

"I understand. Don't worry." He smiled then sighed. "I need to get ready." He turned over on his back. "At least we work at the same place." And he gave me a kiss on my mouth. But as soon as it started, it was over. "Lets get ready for work." I told him as I started to get up. "But lets end our day like this." He pulled my arm, making me fall on him. He kissed me again, this time it was deeper. He flipped us over, so now he was hovering over me. "I need to get these replaced." He said as he held his dog tags in his hand. He gave me a smirk. "They do look a lot better on you." He leaned in again for another kiss. "Bucky.. We.. Need.. To.. Get.. To.. Work.." After every word I got another kiss. I couldn't stop giggling between the kisses. "Bucky." I tried, but not really trying to stop him. "Alright. Lets get to work." And he stood up. As he started to walk away he turned around quickly once more and gave me another kiss. "Last one." He said as he almost skipped to the bathroom. All I could do was laugh.

-I walked in the facility to meet up with someone named Howard. Before I greeted everyone I decided to put the dog tags under my shirt. "Ah! You must be Y/n Ironside!" A man called and kind of startled me. "Yes I am." I said with big eyes turning around to see where the voice was coming from. It was a man with dark hair and a mustache. He walked up to me and put out his hand. "Nobody told me how beautiful you are. I am Howard Stark." He happily said as he was shaking my hand. "Howard Stark, I swear I have heard that name before. What's your full name?" He smirked. "Howard Anthony Walter Stark. You may have heard of me through my inventions. I have been trying to make cars fly and I see it happening in the near future." The last part I barely heard what he said. I could only think of the name Anthony. Anthony Stark. Tony Stark. Right before I got zapped away to the past he told everyone he is Iron Man. Is Howard or I Howard going to be his father, I mean they are on the same path of inventing things.

"I think I have heard Bucky mention your name before." I responded. "Bucky? Your husband?" He asked, trying to figure out whatever he was trying to figure out. "No.. But I am taken, if that's what you're getting at.." I said as I narrowed my eyes at him. He put his hands up. "Just curious. Anyway, I'll give you the tour of what we got." He said as he started walking, indicating I needed to follow. "So we have been dismantling the guns you had found in Switzerland. And there are some really interesting parts." He walked towards a machine that was holding up something that was shining blue. "This was something that was found in the guns." He explained. I stepped closer. There was no way. It looked like it was part of the Tesserect. That's how they made the guns. With the machine he was holding up the little piece, carefully. "Seems harmless enough." Howard stated. "Hard to see what all the fuss is about." He moved another machine arm closer, this one had a sort of laser. "NO!" I yelled as we got hit back by the blast of the little stone. "Write that down." Howard said. "Are you ok?" I asked as I came over to help him up. "I'm fine darling." He said as I helped him up. "Whatever that small thing is.. it is powerful." He stated.

This was actually good to know. To have the power of the stone, you don't need the whole stone. Even small bits and pieces could be powerful enough if you used it. I know the power I have is strong, but having the spell on me that Frigga helped me with so the stone can not be traced was not letting my powers come out to my full extend. I also have never really been able to use my full powers, for my own protection and others. Sometimes I do wonder what my limit is, but what if it is too much? What if I hurt people that I swore to protect? What if I cant control it? These are questions I don't want answers to right now or maybe ever.

As I turned around I saw Steve walking up. "Hi Steve." I said happy to see him and giving him a quick hug. "I have a question. What does fondueing mean?" He asked quietly. I snorted. "What? Fondue is just cheese and bread, dork." He narrowed his eyes seeing if I was joking. "Really?" He asked. "Really." I laughed.

"Alright ladies come on." Howard said ready to get back to work. "Right now we're working on everything to make sure you and your men, and woman, do not get killed." He told us showing Steve around the lab. I had no idea what they were making. "Carbon polymer. Should withstand your average German bayonet. Although Hydra's not going to attack you with a pocket knife." Howard told us as he showed us some material. It was most likely for his suit. "I hear you're kind of attached." Howard said as he patted the shield Steve had with him at the Hydra facility. It had a few bullet holes in them. Would be useless now. "It's handier than you might think." He told him. "You know you should think about a weapon or something to protect yourself with as well. Not just a shield." I told Steve. "I don't know. I don't think I want a offensive weapon. I want to protect people and defend them. How am I supposed to do the with a weapon." The last part wasn't a question. And he was right. To have a sort of shield as a symbol for protection would be such a good message. Steve has always been such a good man, fighting for what is right. I almost feel like a proud mother. "You're right. I completely agree with you." I told him. But what does that say about me? I swore to protect Life. And always when I fight I have my sword with me or knifes. Was I wrong for doing that?

"I took the liberty of coming up with some new options for your shield." Howard broke my train of thought. On the table there were many other shields. And they were the complete opposite of what Steve wanted. Howard was explaining somethings about the shields as I saw out of the corner of my eye another shield. Much smaller than the ones on the table. "What about this one?" I asked as I took the shield from next to the table and handed it over to Steve. It was very light. "No, no, that's just a proto type." Howard said dismissively. "What's it made of?" Steve asked him. "Vibranium. It's stronger than steel and a third the weight. It's completely vibration absorbent." Steve was spinning the shield around in his hands checking it out. He put the shield on his arm and gave it another look. "It looks good, Steve." He smiled and nodded at me. He also seemed to like it a lot too. "That is the rarest metal on Earth." Howard told him.

"You quite finished Mr. Stark?" Peggy asked as she came walking in the lad. "What do you think?" Steve asked Peggy. I could see in his eyes that he really like her. Slightly trying to show off his stance with the shield. In a quick motion Peggy grabbed a gun and fired at Steve. I quickly stepped away looking on in shock. Four shots and not even a dent in the shield. Howard's mouth was gaping open from shock. "Yes I think it works." Peggy said as she brushed by Steve. When Peggy was out of sight I spoke up. "What the hell did you do?!" I yelled at him punching him in the shoulder. "I-.. I don't know.." Steve said stammering. I narrowed my eyes at him. "Steve?" I said in a warning tone. "She might have seen me kiss another dame." That deserved another punch to his shoulder. "You what?! I thought you like Peggy? What are you doing kissing other girls for?" He shook his head. "I don't know. I didn't mean to." I pushed him. "Well you better get your priorities straight, cause we are leaving soon." I said as I walked away from him.

-

We had done a few missions already. It felt strange working with multiple people at once. I was so used to working alone. But there was still no luck on the Tesserect. There were many people with the same guns we had found earlier, but that was it. It was becoming so frustrating to still not be able to find anything. Even more so when people around me were getting hurt.

"Alright, here is the plan. Sergeant Barnes, you are gonna go up on the hills and you will be the look out for us. I will go down first to the facility and take out any threats that are outside. Dugan, Morita, Falsworth you take the Eastside. Jones and Dernier take West. Sawyer, Pinkerton and Juniper take North. Y/n, you stay close to me." Everybody nodded in agreement. We all got ready and checked our things. I put my knifes behind my back and Bucky had added a hand gun to my belt as well. He had told me it would make him feel less worried if I didn't just have knifes with me.

"You got everything?" Bucky asked coming closer and strapping his riffle to his back. "I do." I told him showing off the gun he gave me. "You have enough bullets?" I smiled. "I do. Don't worry. I am probably not even gonna use the gun anyway. So don't worry." I said smiling coming closer. "Besides.. I have this to protect me." I showed him the dog tags that were hidden under my shirt. "I would feel better if I was actually with you." He told me as he took the dog tags in his hand and gave them another look. "You know I need to check the facility. Who else is gonna make sure it is safe from a distance?" I told him smiling. "You really need to teach me how to fight with knifes." He told me as he pulled me closer to his chest.

It was always scary separating like this. Bucky was always somewhere behind up in the hills or between the trees. When I was somewhere at the front with Steve or Gabe Jones. I knew Bucky could defend himself, but I never have really seen him fight hand to hand.

"Alright. After this mission I will teach you a few things with me knife. Just don't do anything stupid." He laughed and nodded and hugged me a little tighter. I put my head down on his chest. Hearing his heart steadily pump. His warm embrace always calmed me down or just made me feel at peace. I breathed in his scent, he smelled like gunpowder and warm wood. "Be safe out there." I told him quietly. He put his hand up to my hair and started rubbing circles. "I will."

-

The mission had gone fairly well. We took out every Hydra member at this facility. But still no Tesserect. I mean how many hiding places do they even have? I feel like I have looked everywhere, but every single time there was nothing.

"Did you find what you where looking for?" Steve asked coming up behind me. "No, still nothing." I shook my head. It was getting so frustrating leaving empty handed every single time. "Did anybody know about what you were looking for?" Steve continued on. I wish someone did know as to where to find the Tesserect. "No, I need to find someone who is in some of the higher ranks they-.. Ahh!" My leg felt hot. I looked down and there was blood gushing out of my upper leg. I fell to the ground from the pain. In just a moment it would be gone, so I couldn't make a tooo big of a scene about it, but right now it hurt a lot and it was hard not to scream. Steve quickly jumped in action to the offender. He threw his shield towards the Hydra agent and he fell down.

"Y/n!" I heard coming from my right. Bucky was running down a hill towards me. "No! Stop!" I yelled. He didn't look if it was clear. Because behind the tree I saw another agent come out from hiding pointing his gun to Bucky's back. I quickly grabbed my knife I had behind my back and threw it at the Hydra agent. Bucky was trying to turn around and put his gun up at him at the same time, but the knife already hit the Hydra agent in his chest. In that moment the Hydra agent had pulled the trigger and hit Bucky in his right shoulder. "Bucky!"

My leg was not fully healed yet, but I bit down the pain and ran towards Bucky as fast as my legs could take me. Everything seemed to go in slow-motion from that moment on. I slowly saw Bucky fall to the ground and I felt like I couldn't breathe anymore. Every step I took made my heart beat faster for the worry I had for Bucky. As I came close to him I dropped to my knees.

"Bucky keep your eyes open!" I said. I checked his shoulder and saw all the blood gushing out. "Are you ok?" Bucky asked me out of breath. "Worry about yourself, Buck. You need to stay awake." I had to heal him even though there were people around me. I looked at Bucky's face and saw it drain of color. His eyes were slowly dropping. "Stay with me." I told him as I put my hand on his bullet wound. I quickly looked around and saw that Steve was already running towards us. It was now or never I thought. I put all my energy I had towards my hand and it started to light up. White and gold swirling around my hand and going through Bucky's skin. I looked at Bucky's face again and saw his eyes snap open. It worked. I slowly lifted my hand up and saw that the wound was already as good as healed. There was still a cut left, but it was nowhere near as bad as it was before. This would be naturally healed in a little more than a week. My hand had stopped glowing.

"Are you ok?" I asked Bucky with hopeful eyes. "I-... I uh.. I'm ok. What happened?" He asked me as he sat up. Steve had caught up and dropped down next to us. "Are you ok! I saw you get shot!" Steve said. Bucky looked down at his shoulder. It was still covered in blood, but he could definitely tell something was off. He saw the wound, but it was small, but there was a lot of blood. He pulled down his shirt from his shoulder trying to see if there were more wounds, but that was it. He looked really confused. He slowly looked up at me. He tried to search my eyes for an answer. "I thought I got shot too."

...

..

.

Let me know what you think :)

If you wanna be tagged let me know :)

@darkdragonphoenix

@toribentleyva

@witchinpractice

@cat-astrophe4

[random-mha-thoughts]

No Idea (Bakugou x Reader)

Pairing: Bakugou x Reader

Anon asked:  "yooo sketch was so cute and he was so in character! if you're taking requests could you write a fic where basically all of 1a is at the dorms besides the reader who's patrolling and she gets attacked by dabi and has to fight him off alone meanwhile 1a and dadzawa watch from the dorms via news channel? bonus points for a water quirk reader! you can match the reader up with either deku or bakugou!"

Genre: Action, angst/comfort

Word count: 2,005

Tags:  @yuki-osaki​ @liviitehe​ @iamsoftsodonttoucheume-blog​ 

a/n: Basically this entire ask is describing just a portion of what I’m preparing for my multi-chapter Todoroki fic that I’ve already teased about for my 500 followers special, you can call it maybe an alternate pathway, or a separate continuity that helps to characterize my OC.  And I guess this one is well-timed because I just hit 1K yesterday?? I don’t know how it happened either tbh There will be a special event and a separate mushy post to come, but thank you all so so so much from the bottom of my heart.

This ended up longer than I expected, but that’s okay because I haven’t posted in a few days and I had time today to bang it out in one sitting.  I know this request came from a fluff like Sketch, so I hope you also like angst because that’s my specialty ;) (not to mention I was waiting for someone to request something angsty because I’ve had that photo saved and ready to use it for the LONGEST time).  Thank you for requesting it anon!

"Kinda sucks being out on patrol on the weekend," I sigh to myself, biting into my taiyaki.  "But it isn't all bad I guess."

Mirko had called me out to do a quick patrol this weekend.  This part of the city has been pretty quiet lately, and I don't mind showing my face.  A few passerby's wave at me and I respond in kind.  I like this part of the job, being the hero that everyone knows, respects, and trusts to protect them.  It gives me more drive to save them in time of crises.

"Blue!" a middle school girl walks by and waves.

"Hi, Mina," I smile and wave back.  "Going home from cram school?"

"Yup!" she flashes me a toothy grin.  "Dad's making dinner tonight for once!  It's Mom's birthday!"

"That's wonderful," my smile softens.  "Wish her happy birthday for me, okay?  And get home quick before she worries!"

"I will!" the girl runs off down the sidewalk, waving behind her.

So cute, I think, watching her small figure weave through the crowd of people.  I swallow the last bite of my fish treat and continue on my patrol.  Thankfully, it's another laid back day: I direct a few lost pedestrians to their destinations, make small talk with more familiar faces, help a few elderly carry groceries to their houses, and the like.  I'm content with the mundane flow of a lazy Sunday afternoon.

While talking to a grocery store employee, a sudden explosion in the alley across the street breaks routine.

"Everyone get inside the nearest building or run as far as you can!" I scream out instructions to the citizens nearest to me as I keep an eye on the alley for the next explosion and help anyone within reach to look for cover.  That explosion wasn't normal, I know those blue flames like the back of my hand.

Looks like my Sunday stroll is over.  I dial on my phone as I thread through the frightened crowd toward the alley.  "Mirko san, I might need backup.  There's a very high possibility that the League is involved here, but I'll confirm-"

Right when I'm within a few yards of the alley's opening, another bright blue light flashes, triggering the surrounding crowd to scream and run away faster.  I assist a few others, waiting for the smoke to clear.  A silhouette appears amidst the dark fog, and I know exactly who it is.

"I'm confirming, it's-"

Before I can finish, the shadow stretches out its hand towards me and blasts flames straight at me.  Immediately, I put up a water shield in front of me, then start building it wider so the people near and behind me can get away without damage.  I already know what happens when something - or someone - touches those dangerous blue flames.

"It's-It's Dabi of the League," I force myself to say, the name burning as it rolls off my tongue.  "He appears to be alone."

"Roger.  Try to apprehend him by yourself before I get there!  I'll hurry over as soon as possible!" my mentor responds and cuts the call.

I make sure everyone within the immediate area is evacuated from the streets, scanning every inch wildly for stragglers.  Heat increases around the me suddenly, and darting my head back around shows the fire eating through my water defense without faltering.  Before it completely penetrates my defense, I jump over to the side behind a car, right before a giant hole is ripped in my shield.

I catch my breath calling the water back towards me into my water nodes and compartments in my hero suit.

"Looks like you've improved a lot since the last time I saw you, (Y/n) (L/n)."

His menacing yet familiar voice as he drags out my full name sends shivers up my spine.  Damn it, of all the villains, I had to face him!

"Aw, don't be shy now, I know you're happy to see me too."  His voice moves towards my left.  "We don't even get to see each other anymore."

"I'd prefer it that way," I snap, readying myself for another inevitable attack.

"You better give me a good fight, little one."

His voice-!

At the last second before hearing the crash, I jump out from in front of my cover, the intense heat from the blue flames just millimeters from burning my fingertips.  Dabi had jumped onto the top of the car, his voice being evenly split in both of ears signalling that he had moved from my left to right behind me in the nick of time or else I'd be ashes.

I finally got a good look at his face.  The stitches and staples etched into his face down to his chest and arms are all-too-familiar, along with his raven black hair and turquoise eyes.

"Reminiscing?" his head tilts, gravely voice taunting.  "I don't think you have time to do that."

I sprint off and around for more cover as he throws more fire pillars from his hands, trying to find a fire hydrant of water fountain to give me more material to work with.  Otherwise, I'm only limited to manipulating what's in the air and the stores in my costume.  To my dismay, there's nothing around.

All I have to do is slowly manipulate the water particles around him and condense them over his hands to stop his quirk temporarily.  That's the plan in my head that I'm going for.  But he's way ahead of me, predicting all my moves and constantly jumping to move away from where I've gathered the water particles and forcing me to start over, leaving me to dodge him and put some distance between us.

"I already know all your plans, you can't defeat me that easily by yourself," Dabi mocks me.

I'm at the end of my rope.  It's difficult to keep running and there just isn't enough water in the air to work for a fast attack.  I dodge another one of his attacks and wrack my brain to think of a different strategy.  My mind can only come up with one all or nothing plan, but if it doesn't work, I'll be done for quickly.

It's a risk I have to take.  I slowly start collecting as much water as I can into my suit and immediately around me.  Knock him out as quickly as possible, face him head on.  I take a deep breath.  My body shakes from exhaustion, anticipation, and fear.  I'll have to use my body's own water storage to help me, making this plan dangerous.

Right when Dabi's about to burn me at my new hiding spot I jump out and summon all the water I've stored to mobilize.  Drown him!  A sphere of water forms just around his head.  In his moment of shocked hesitation before he strikes, I force the water to go down his airway to suffocate him.  He catches wind of exactly what I'm doing somehow, raising his hands to send another blast at me.  I summon another set of water from my costume stores to surround his hands to keep the explosion tamed.  Come on, fall unconscious already!

But it's curtains for me.  He's summoning a larger blast to his hands, neutralizing my watery protection around them and I don't have enough stored up to replenish it.  Desperately, I start using up the water inside my body.  Damn it hurry up!  I can't-!

I feel myself reach my limit just as he completely disintegrates my water seal with an explosion, sending me flying backwards down the street until I roll to a stop.  I'm exhausted, I can feel my blood pressure and heart rate dropping, and I'm too weak to try anything else.

Through my dizzied vision, Dabi staggers towards me, coughing and sputtering.  "Damn kid, you really almost had me."

It didn't work, I'm a failure.  I don't have the energy to say anything back.

"Get your hands off her!" a female voice resounds, and stomps reverberate through the ground.

"That's my cue."  I crack open an eye to see him smirk down at me before using his quirk to lift himself off the ground.  "Until we meet again, (Y/n) (L/n)."  He rocket away without a hitch.

Damn it...

After waking up in the emergency ward attached to an IV for my severe dehydration, Mirko tells me Dabi got away and she rushed me right over to the hospital to treat me since I was unconscious.  They won't let me leave until I've replenished all my stores and my urine's clear.

"Also, your teacher's coming to get you," my mentor adds.

Aizawa is going to kill me.

"OI!  WHICH ROOM IS IT?!"

Oh for fuck's sake, I know who else is gonna kill me.

Bakugou stomps in, his head trying to be held back by Aizawa's capture weapon to no avail.

"YOU DUMBASS-!" my boyfriend starts off before the scarf comes over his mouth to muffle his screams.

"This is a hospital, control yourself," Aizawa grits at him deathly and walks next to my hospital bed.  "I guess you did the best you could, but I won't praise you for almost getting yourself killed.  It was a good strategy, it would've worked if you had backup."  He pats my head before smirking.  "Bakugou was about to cry when you collapsed."

"SENSEI!"

"I'll leave you two alone to talk."

Him and Mirko step outside the room, leaving my high-strung boyfriend to rush me.  "Do you have any idea how fucking worried I was, you dumbass?!  You almost got yourself kill, look where you ended up...!"

I drown out his screaming, noticing how bloodshot his crimson eyes are from crying.  He was so worried about me.  I reach my hand up weakly and touch his cheek, cutting his reprimanding screams off short suddenly.  If I had the tears to cry, I would.  Instead, I offer him a tired, melancholy stare of affection.  "I'm sorry," I manage out.  "I know I said I wouldn't use up my own body's water, but I didn't want to die, Katsuki."

The aggression melts away from him face and his hand reaches up to hold mine.  "I guess it was instinctive," he admits, closing his eyes and I feel him start to tremble.  "Why would you face a villain like that alone?"

"I called for backup-"

"You should've stalled for as long as you could!" he sobs out, gripping my hand tighter.

My own body starts to well up, feeling the tickle in my eyes but no tears can escape.  "I tried," is my soft reply.  "I'm sorry."

Bakugou envelopes my body in his, trembling warmth blanketing me with his high emotions.  "What would I have done without you?  When I saw you get hit by that explosion, I almost lost it.  Did you think about how I would feel if you pulled something like that and didn't survive it?"

I feebly return his embrace, tangling my fingers in his puffy hair to comfort the sobs wracking his body.  "I'm here, Katsuki.  I could have been in a worse condition, but I'm still here now."

His trembling and cries slow down to a calming end, and he remains wrapping me with his affection.  "You did well, except the almost dying thing, I guess.  I'm proud of you for holding your own as long as you did against a villain like him."

"Wow, a compliment?  You must have really been shaken up," I poke fun at him to lighten the mood.

"I can be nice..." he mumbles into my neck.  "You better drink a whole ton of water so we can go back together.  Everyone else is worried about you too."

My mind wanders back to Dabi.  I'll have to face him again eventually, and he knows what I'll try to do in the future.  I'll need to be ready.  But until then, I have a hotheaded Pomeranian boyfriend to comfort me from my past and build towards my - hopefully, our - future.

~

Sequel

[cordonian-literature]

Forever Mine

chapter two

❦ summary — The time for Princess Riley to step into her role as queen fast approaches and finding the future king is Cordonia’s top priority. Commander Liam is aware of that, and has plans to make sure the princess ends up with someone suitable.

➺ chapter warnings: none

❦ catch up here!

➺ word count: (+/-) 1640

*all characters belong to Pixelberry, except those unique to my story*

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

Liam constantly glances at the pink box throughout the night, and it is the first thing he looks at the next morning — his neck stiff from the odd angle he had slept in. 

Once he’s rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, the Commander sighs at the pile of unfinished reports. After getting up and taking a look at the time, he knows that he’ll have to skip the Derby. The tight grip he has on his pen makes his knuckles white. 

On the other side of his door, a servant stands ready to give him coffee. The young man hesitates to knock, and his hands shake while he pours the Commander his drink. Noticing the intense look in Liam’s eyes as he stares down at his papers, the servant rushes to finish pouring the coffee and walk out of the room, convinced that the worst thing that could happen to him was that man’s gaze falling upon him. 

No kind comment from the princess would change the palace staff’s opinion of the Commander; everyone knew that he was a man one must only have limited contact with. 

…

As the limo begins to slow, anticipation and dread creep into Riley’s stomach. She moves her hand over her skirt to straighten any wrinkles and prayed the paparazzi won’t have anything negative to say about what she’s wearing or how she looks.

Olivia had told her that she looked modest and respectable, and Riley could only hope that everyone else will think so, too.

Keeping her knees together, Riley swings out of the vehicle, plastering a practiced smile on her face. She tries to continue towards the tents, but reporters block her path. This was the part Riley hated most. She struggled not to squint at the camera flashes aimed directly at her eyes. She didn’t know the answer to any of the questions the reporters were asking her. 

The anxiety suffocates her. A whimper escapes her lips, but is drowned out by the noise around her. Olivia notices and gives Riley’s hand a gentle squeeze as security makes them back off. 

While passing through the crowd, Riley keeps her eyes peeled for her father. If Constantine wasn’t here, then that means that Liam most likely wasn’t either. Disappointment floods through her; Riley had wanted to continue her conversation with the Commander from last night. Not only that, he knows how to easily douse her anxiety: something she desperately needs now.

But she doesn’t have a chance to think much about him: Leo and Drake step in front of Princess Riley, asking why she’s late. 

“The race is about to start any second,” Leo states, gently grabbing Riley’s arm. 

“Then what are you two doing out here?” she asks playfully. Pulling her brother and Drake into the tent. 

“Actually,” Drake slides out of her grasp. “I’ll find you guys when it’s time for the picnic.” 

The three of them stop in their tracks. Olivia scoffs. “Where are you going?” 

“Gonna go wait in the stands,” Drake lies. 

“For who?” Leo questions. “You always watch the races with us.” 

“Yeah, but—”

“No but’s!” the princess cries. Riley practically pushes Drake into the tent, ignoring his protests. 

A shot rings out, signaling the start of the races. The distant thunder of horses running vibrates throughout the air. Leaving her friends near the entrance of their tent, Riley makes her way towards the railing to catch a glimpse of the animals as they pass by. 

Drake watches her childish excitement, slightly amused at the way she frowns when her favorite horse slows down and Olivia’s speeds up. Riley yells supportive phrases to the horse, which it can’t hear or comprehend. Leo keeps an eye on his friend, about to ask Drake why he didn’t want to watch the races with them, and notices the way Drake’s features soften while looking at the princess. 

Leo doesn’t break Drake out of his trance, and instead watches as the man walks up to Riley and laughs when Olivia complains about her horse slowing down again. The more Riley laughed, the wider Drake’s smile became.

Noticing this sends an itch onto the back of Leo’s neck, but it’s not as bothersome as the one from the night before. Seeing Drake lean close to Riley as she laughs at her friends wasn’t as irritating as watching Liam do the same thing. 

A feeling of pity rushes through Leo: he understood his friend’s feelings. He supported them, too. Drake’s side was one of the few places where Leo trusted his sister to be safe. 

But in a few months, Riley would have to choose the man she was going to marry, and none of the options were Drake. As much as Leo wants to help his friend, he internally curses at the idiot for keeping his feelings hidden for so long. 

"Because anyone could see that she’s been losing the last few races,” Drake says to Olivia, breaking Leo away from his thoughts. 

“So the years Estella spent with a flawless record mean nothing?” Olivia throws back, talking about the horse. “Of course you would be the one to think you know everything about horses.” 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Drake questions as Riley links her arms with his and Olivia’s and leads them out of the tent while they argue. “All I’m saying is that the horse lost. They need to stop letting her race.” 

“As long as she keeps fighting, she hasn’t lost.” 

“How does that—” Drake tries to start, but Riley ushers them into the limo and stops her friends from continuing their banter. 

... 

The gentle wind of the afternoon and the light song of birds on the path towards the picnic almost made Liam forget about the two soldiers following close behind. They were asking for an increased number of troops to be sent out. Liam was too distracted thinking about his darling to come up with the right number, so he told the two that he would give them answers when he returns to the palace. 

They salute and walk away. Once Liam nears the main party, he takes a moment to survey the guests and analyze what they were doing. When something bumps into his left side, he doesn’t even notice until a delicate voice rings out, “My apologies!” 

Before Liam even turns his head, he notices that the apologetic person has grabbed some guests’ attention, who turn away and snicker when they see the fallen person. Liam moves to aid the woman. 

He reaches his hand out to her and assists her in standing up. The woman’s long dark hair and small figure vibrate through Liam’s memory, and he realizes that he stands in front of the infamous Hana Lee. He hadn’t heard much about her reputation, but he knew just enough from the guests’ giggles as they stared at her. 

“No worries, Lady Lee,” Liam says to her, bringing her soft hand up to brush against his lips. He feels her hand twitch slightly, perhaps in nervousness, but when Liam lifts his head to meet her eyes, Hana’s expression yields nothing.

Liam tries to continue the conversation. “I hope you enjoyed the Derby.” 

“It was lovely,” Hana manages in a shaky voice, eyes darting towards a group of laughing ladies. 

Liam leans closer to her. “Try your best to ignore it. Letting them get under your skin is letting them win. Show them that you’re unfazed by it.” 

When Liam leans back, Hana’s eyes are wide, but her shoulders are a bit straighter. Unfortunately they tense up once more when another woman’s voice calls her name. 

“There you are, dear!” she says, putting her hand on Hana’s shoulder. Lorelai Lee, Liam realizes. In a low voice, one that Liam knows he’s not meant to hear, Lorelai continues, “I told you not to walk off alone, there was a gentleman waiting to be introduced to you... Did you introduce yourself to the Commander?” She turns back to Liam and exchanges a respectful greeting, allowing him to kiss her hand. 

In the middle of the conversation, Duke Landon approaches Liam. 

“Ladies.” He nods his head. 

“Duke Landon.” Lorelai repeats the action, then turns to Liam, a wide but stiff smile on her face. “We won’t keep you occupied any longer, Commander. I hope you enjoy the rest of your evening.” 

“Likewise,” Liam returns, giving Hana Lee a smirk as she turns away with her mother, allowing him to catch a slight blush that appears on her face. 

How... easy, Liam thinks to himself, toning out Landon’s ideas for the upcoming meeting with the king. Respectfully he allows the Duke to finish talking before walking on, keeping his eyes peeled for the princess. 

Exchanging nods with members of the nobility were tiring. He held everyone’s respect, but not many people held his. 

Finally, Leo’s blond head and deep laugh come into Liam’s view. The prince watches his sister play croquet with Lord Maxwell. Liam makes his way to the side of the picnic sight, where tables filled with pastries wait to be eaten. 

He pretends to examine the sweets, but as he brings some bread to his mouth, he watches as one of the balls Maxwell hits goes flying into a bush. Liam watches as the princess and Maxwell lean close to each other and laugh. 

After containing her laughter as best she can, Riley lifts her head to look around if anyone saw Maxwell’s mistake. Thankfully, she only comes into contact with Liam’s soft gaze. She waves at him, and he walks over. 

And while they talk, neither of them notice as Leo’s expression turns sour. When Liam says he must leave early, neither of them notice how Leo’s face relaxes — but Leo watches both their eyes express an intimate sadness, one that Maxwell jokingly shares.

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

please let me know if you would like to be added/removed from the tags :) 

@twinkleallnight @gkittylove99 @sweatyrysconnoisseur @kingliam2019 @marshmallowsaremyfavorite @queenrileyrose @royalromancer @princess-geek @mom2000aggie @hopefulmoonobject @zoehanji​ 

[the-odd-job]

Close Your Eyes to This Disaster Chapter 6: And You Say… 

Rating: Explicit Warnings: Chose Not to Use, Rape/Non-Con Category: Other Fandom: Transformers G1 Relationships: Megatron/Sunstreaker, Megatron/Sideswipe, Sideswipe & Sunstreaker Characters: Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, Megatron Additional Tags: Dubcon, Sticky, Abusive Relationships, Mind Games, Manipulation, Gaslighting, Canon-Typical Violence Words: 3163

( Previous )

The Prime—or Prowl, rather, he was the one to set up the schedules—kept his word: they were never put to any patrol longer than frustratingly short. On top of that, they no longer had patrols together, always paired with someone else rather than each other. That one had given them a fit that slagging Ironhide had needed to talk them out of. Since when was Ironhide the voice of reason?

That was discrediting the weapons specialist a little, admittedly. Age had granted him at least some sense, to the effect that he was perfectly reasonable with his arguments. Unfortunately he was also fairly hot-headed, as were the twins. There had been quite a bit of yelling from everyone involved. They had even gained an audience before the time that the twins accepted the fact that in this instance they were safer apart than together.

It still didn’t sit well with them, but they put up with it, in large part because the patrols were short enough that they were never away from each other’s vicinity for long. Despite the other mitigating factors on top of that, such as never being paired with anyone they didn’t get along with—mostly applying to Sunstreaker, that one—it was still enough to have the both of them turn irritable. Even Sideswipe, so known for his high spirits, was just as highly affected by what became the state of their spark. Was he not supposed to be, somehow? No, that was an impossibility.

And of course, there was the fact it wasn’t wise for them to leave the proximity of the Autobot base. It ceased to be an actual order, likely because Prowl realized they would’ve been that much more eager to go against it if it was one, but it was a piece of healthy advice that they actually did follow, for once. They weren’t free of their own concerns in regards to the situation, after all. With all of the memories… They knew more about Megatron now than they had ever thought possible, and a very large part of what they knew wasn’t flattering.

The physical disparity between them was bad enough, but pile on top of that Megatron’s personality and his pattern of always getting what he wanted… Could anyone blame them for harboring some worry, no matter how rare that was for them? They didn’t want to give in to Megatron, but slag, in practice that might be hellishly difficult.

Avoidance wasn’t going to work forever, they knew that much, but it was all they had for now.

End result was that they were a stressed mess on the inside, and it bled to the outside more than just a little. Everyone got in the habit of keeping as much distance from Sunstreaker as possible after the fourth time he got his aft locked in the brig for attacking someone without any real provocation—first Cliffjumper, then Tracks, the usual suspects they were, but after that it was Ironhide, then Hound of all mecha.

He didn’t get off any lighter than usual despite the command making it clear they understood why he was acting out so badly. They were assigned more combat practice as a response, though, just to give them more chances to burn off some of their unnerved energy. Ironhide took to being the one to mostly spar with Sunstreaker, after he, again, failed to go easy enough for it to really count as sparring anymore. The old mech could handle it even when Sunstreaker lost his cool and hit too hard—and Sideswipe wasn’t that much more careful.

Eventually it was the repeated rants they got from Ratchet when he was performing post-“spar” repairs that convinced them to hold back just a bit more.

And then there were the battles. First one, then two, and those were further help when they could just fragging let loose and beat someone to scrap. Prowl had to tell them to tone it down several times, and even so they got looks from their comrades after the Decepticons retreated. Look at the twins, turning even more unhinged than what they usually were! But at least the real fighting calmed them down for a week or two afterwards.

Neither time did it last, though, and then they were back to being holy terrors. Sideswipe held back on the violence, but his temper ran short and his words harsh. He still only managed to make Bluestreak cry one time. Of course he apologized after, was forgiven, and in further practice watched his vocalizer more at least around the gunner.

Sideswipe still became considerably less pleasant company than what he usually was, and aside of the command, no one knew for certain what was causing the change. There was confusion, theories, guesses, and most of them did revolve around Megatron after his more public interest in the beginning.

But they didn’t have the answers for the twins’ changed duties or their worsened behavior when the command respected their privacy and didn’t go tattling—and the twins themselves certainly weren’t about to share that much of their past life.

It was still annoying as all pit to be so affected by the warlord. They didn’t know if he was still trying to reach them. Did they imagine the lingering looks during the battles? Could be, after how hyperaware they became of him. Maybe it was nothing. And when they were away from the Ark… Was Megatron looking for opportunities to approach them, but simply didn’t get them, hence his absence?

Or had he stopped?

They couldn’t believe that. Megatron had made his desire clear, and he wasn’t the type to just stop when facing some resistance on the way to his goal.

And they were right in not believing.

It was a joyride. They were sticking relatively close to the Ark, and definitely close to a city, while still searching for some privacy to drive as fast as their spark was calling for. Just… Take what they could in their severely altered and limited life. Enjoy as much as they were able to and maybe have even a few moments of internal peace afterwards before all the tension came back and set them on edge.

Yet, it was clearly too far from other living beings, because after two curves they took–

He was standing in the shadow cast by the rise of rock on the side of the road—no signature this time either, or they would have noticed him before it was too late.

By the time Megatron stepped onto the road to block their way… It was already far too late. Too late to even slow the fuck down, in fact. They had just the time to curse, then initiate their transformations–

Only to barrel right into Megatron, the both of them. In a show of his size and strength, though, the tyrant had merely taken a steady stance and took the weight, velocity, and impact of both of them with no notable effort.

Sunstreaker stayed upright, staggering away as soon as he had enough wits about him to do so, but Sideswipe wound up sprawled on his back on the ground, groaning weakly from the ache of suddenly decelerated parts. Something had hit this, another had hit that… It was a good thing they were built sturdy; Megatron wasn’t much better than a solid steel wall. Even without any severe damage it still ended with some dented plating.

Their steel wall crouched in front of his scuffed brother—who quickly propped himself up on his arms—and Sunstreaker immediately checked his comms. They were–

…They weren’t blocked.

There was also no sight of Soundwave or anyone else.

Was it just Megatron? Alone? Could they have called the Ark right now and let them know they’d run into the unmaker again?

Instead of doing anything useful, though… Sunstreaker stood out of the way, dumbfounded as he watched Megatron reach for Sideswipe—Sideswipe was staring at the warlord with wide, wide optics, frozen in place–

And Megatron cupped the side of his helm.

They could have– They should–

They needed to call the Ark.

They didn’t.

“You have made it rather difficult to get a hold of you,” Megatron commented, glancing up at Sunstreaker briefly before his attention fell back to Sideswipe. A thumb brushed across his brother’s lips, and when surprise parted them, the thumb dipped in.

What the fuck rang between them, shock too deep for Sideswipe to even remember to do a damn thing as Megatron’s digit gently explored the inside of his mouth: stroking along his glossa, scraping against his denta–

“Didn’t want to see you,” Sunstreaker said after too much of a delay, hating the utter lack of aggression in his voice. Instead he was just breathless; almost a whisper.

But this wasn’t really going as they would have expected. He wasn’t sure what they were actually expecting, but this? This wasn’t it.

“Oh?” Megatron questioned. He didn’t sound offended.

The thumb retreated from Sideswipe’s mouth, but only for the tyrant’s claws to trace the curves of his helmet thoughtfully—with a frown. It was as if he was comparing the present to the past, noting all of the differences in their frame designs… And disliking what he saw.

Sideswipe shivered as the touch just continued. “What do you want?” the red twin asked in a murmur, staring up into the red optics bearing down on him with weight that pinned him in place.

“You,” came the answer, spoken softly.

They’d heard that before.

Sideswipe caught his lower lip between his denta and tried to forget, not think. Not think about that.

Not think of the past. Where was their resolve?

“Can’t have it,” the red twin managed with just the smallest hint of a growl in his voice.

“And why not?”

“You’re the enemy.”

“But I wasn’t always.”

“You were.” The bad they could remember.

Resolve.

Megatron changed the topic smoothly. “Why did you disappear?”

Silence. Sideswipe glared; Sunstreaker frowned, as much as Megatron wasn’t looking at him.

When they gave nothing in the way of an answer, the tyrant made a guess. “Was it because of your owner?”

Ugh… “Yes.”

“Not by choice?”

Was this the right spot to admit to anything? They hazarded an answer anyway. “…No?”

“There you have it,” Megatron rumbled, and they got the feeling they had already shared too much—given Megatron ammunition to use against them, if he wouldn’t have been able to guess correctly anyway. “You didn’t leave by choice. If you had gotten to choose, I wonder… Would you have left at all?”

Sideswipe bared his denta, only for the corner of Megatron’s mouth to pull into a smile. It was a genuinely amused little thing, as if he found their resistance charming. Not worth taking seriously, because what could they truly have done against him, even together?

The red twin went back to mere glowering, and they didn’t answer.

Megatron gave them a moment before he phrased the question differently. “Did you have any reason to leave?”

“Oh, you slagger,” Sunstreaker growled. Megatron didn’t avert his gaze from Sideswipe, but he didn’t need to. The golden twin continued, “Are you willingly forgetting all the shit you put me through, again? I had every reason to leave and my only fragging regret is that I didn’t so earlier.”

“You lie,” their old lover stated simply.

And that was all. He said nothing else. When it was confirmed that he would just let the silence reign and pet Sideswipe’s face with his thumb, Sideswipe was the one to speak their confused, “What?”

“Had you reason to leave, you would have simply left. Am I wrong?” He didn’t give them a chance to answer before he continued, “But you had no reason, and you didn’t leave before someone forced you.”

“It’s not that simple!” Sunstreaker tried to argue, gesturing angrily at nothing in particular–

But Megatron didn’t let him finish his argument. “Is it not? Didn’t you make it clear you would find a way to go, were you given a reason?”

Sideswipe opened his mouth to speak; Megatron cut him off before he could make a peep, “But I never gave you a reason. You stayed until someone else said you couldn’t anymore. Can you blame me for thinking you would have remained by my side otherwise?”

Sunstreaker ground his denta together but held onto his argument. “You kept me from leaving even if I had wanted to,” he accused as quickly as he could, before Megatron said anything more.

“If you had wanted to? Which is it? Did you want to, or did you not?” the tyrant asked, still holding Sideswipe captive as effectively as if his brother was paralyzed. His thumb brushed across his cheek, his nasal ridge, to his lips… It was hard to not focus on that too much. “Answer honestly. What do you have to lose by speaking the truth?”

Everything. Sunstreaker balled his servos into fists, turning his gaze to the side before the urge to beat the fragging bastard’s helm in got the better of him. Where would that have gotten him? Fragged into the ground again, if he knew anything about their lover.

But he wanted honesty? Slagging… What was the honest answer, anyway?

They could remember. Even that very last evening, they could remember. “No,” Sideswipe said, wanting so badly to turn his helm away from Megatron’s all-seeing scrutiny and too gentle touch, yet having not the freedom of motion to do so– “I didn’t want to leave.”

Their fields blushed with the old emotion—the thrill only Megatron could cause, heady and suffocating–

He’d never gotten enough of it. Everything had only added to the… Danger. The threat of what Megatron could have done to him, and yet… What he never did. No matter how he pushed, there were things Megatron never did, things he never said.

But what he did to so many others. Sunstreaker had been special. The exception. He had owned a piece of Megatron no one else did, that others scarcely even saw.

What was the tradeoff?

All the things they’d had… The things Megatron had done for them, never asking anything in return but their loyalty.

Megatron’s mouth pulled into a smile as true as any of his were, but this time Sideswipe was the one to speak before giving him a chance, “But that doesn’t mean I want to come back.”

“It does not?” Megatron questioned. “Do you hold loyalty to a faction you were forced into?”

“That’s past,” Sunstreaker growled. “Things have–“

“And not only that,” the warlord continued with no heed for his turn to speak, “but they knowingly took your memories. Why? Did they think it best you didn’t remember your past in fear of where your loyalty would be if you did? That it was better to have a soldier that was never given a choice, that knew of nothing else? Incapable of making an educated decision for himself?”

“Fuck you,” Sideswipe snarled, trying to yank his helm away, “You wouldn’t have given me a choice either.”

Megatron wouldn’t let him go anywhere, tightening his hold until Sideswipe was still again. “Oh, but I did,” he said, near growling now. “Hadn’t I already begun to gather my followers, formed the Decepticons? Didn’t I have more mecha join under my banner each and every day? Yet I never once told you you needed to do the same.”

That… Wasn’t untrue. They’d barely ever even discussed the rebellion despite how hard Megatronus—and later Megatron—had worked on it, had they? Megatron hadn’t brought work into their relationship.

He had to have read their uncertainty, because the growl turned into a purring rumble rising directly from the warlord’s engine—soothing, almost. “You see. But you can still choose. It’s not too late.”

“No,” Sunstreaker said immediately. “Let the past be past. Optimus, Prowl, Ratchet, ‘Hide—they never did anything to me and have nothing to do with the mistakes of others.”

“Haven’t they?” Megatron asked, lifting one of his optical ridges as if he didn’t believe him. “How do they treat you, really? With true understanding?”

They held to their silence, not that it would have necessarily mattered anyway. If Megatron wanted to speak, he spoke.

But their silence was an answer of sorts anyway, and the tyrant had more to say. ”What of the rank and file? Do they treat you as one of their own?”

“Yes,” Sideswipe spoke up at that, snarling. “I have friends, mecha that care about me–“

“If they truly cared about you, wouldn’t they learn to understand you, as I did?” He couldn’t have known if any of them did or didn’t, he was just making guesses–

Sideswipe bared his denta again. “It’s not that simple.”

“It isn’t? Do tell, what is so complex about it?”

“I work different than they do. They don’t understand something so disparate. They see two frames and think I’m two, they don’t see—and that’s normal–“

“You’re making excuses for them,” Megatron interrupted him. “I see you; what is preventing them from doing the same?”

Sideswipe’s jaw snapped shut and Sunstreaker frowned. What was preventing them? Their own biases and limited view of the world? Didn’t that apply to everyone?

Then why was Megatron different?

The warlord offered the one explanation he seemed to believe, “They don’t care about you enough to bother to understand something so special—so beautiful and unique,” he rumbled at them. Sideswipe blinked up at the gaze that had never once left him. ”Primus forbid they go through the trouble of doing so. How many have even tried? How many of them yet failed when it turned out to be too much effort?”

They’d spoken of these things, back in the Pits. They’d shared their frustrations with Megatronus, yet their acceptance of it all—they were alien on their own world and that was all most would see, it was something they just had to live with–

But also their pleasure over him being unlike most.

He wasn’t the only one. There had been others, even during the war–

But they were a rare breed and dead by now.

Megatron wasn’t, though. Megatron was living proof it could be done… Maybe not to perfection, but to an impressive point nonetheless, if one…

…Cared enough to do so.

“No,” Sideswipe said all the same, finding his growl for the next words, “you won’t have me.”

“Leave,” Sunstreaker continued with a snarl of his own, taking one step closer to Megatron and Sideswipe. Sideswipe tried to yank himself free again, but he only succeeded because Megatron let him.

Megatron let him pull away, get up, and step out of reach, rising from his own crouch at a leisurely pace. “Think on what I said,” he said, stepped two paces back and–

Transformed and took to the skies.

( Next )