#he cries and flinches if you step forward too threateningly

[mushroom-through-the-stargate]

I love how you think that sam carter and teyla have scary dog privilege since they walk around with these big scary men and then they get in a fight and you go "oh. oh she's a little feral actually. she can take care of herself."

[giggly-squiggily]

AHHHHH YOU CANT KEEP KILLING ME WITH CUTENESS!!! 💗💗💗💗

That was so cute I want more 😫 but I know you’re going to take a break for a little while and also not taking sentence starters or anything like that, so I’ll respect your boundaries. But oooooo that was so good, I want a sequel where Bakugo and Eri get Midoriya, what would be so adorable! But thank you for writing this, it was so amazing and cute!

Have a nice day 😇

Ask and you shall receive, bestie! The idea of a sequel to this fic was too good not to pass up! I hope you like it! (and thank you for being so considerate, I appreciate it :3)

“Deeeekuuu~” The green haired hero straightened with a shiver, not prepared for the menace dripping from that voice. “Deeeeeekuuuu~ Come heeeeerrreee~”

No! It was too early! He was too young! He hadn’t become the number one hero yet! He willed his body to move, but his limbs felt like they were made of lead. His hands shook too much for him to grasp the doorknob.

“Found you, you damn nerd!”

Midoriya whirled around with a shriek, back hitting the door as his eyes fell upon Bakuogu. The blonde was positively threatening, eyes bright with murderous intent and pratically foaming at the mouth as he grinned. “K-Kachan! Let’s talk about this! You don’t need to-”

“Oh but I know what I need to do, Deku.” Bakugou cut him off, taking a step forward, followed by another. “You have some nerve disrespecting me like you did. Now you’re going to die!”

“But Kaachan! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to-”

“It’s too late for that!” The other roared, making Midoriya flinch. “Your fate has been sealed. Don’t make this harder than it has to be.”

Midoriya shuddered, hand flailing behind him for the doorknob as Bakugou slowly walked approached, hands coming up in claws and fingers wiggling threateningly. “K-Kachan! I’m begging you!”

The blonde paused, as if considering. “Hm…begging the King Explosion Murder for mercy, eh?” He turned to look behind him, consulting with his partner. “Princess Bob-omb. What do you think?”

Eri, who had been watching from the door this entire time, giggled in her hands, eyes alight with joy. “I don’t know Mr. Boom Boom. Deku seems really sorry…”

“He’s just- now wait a dang minute!” Bakugou whirled around, glaring at the giggling child. “I told you it’s King Explosion Murder! Get your lines right!”

“King Explo…I like Mr. Boom Boom better.” Eri nodded, laughing more when Bakugou gasped dramatically. “Princess Bob-omb! You’ve betrayed me!” He poked her belly playfully, making her giggle. “We’ll settle this later-”

A snort cut him off. When Bakugou turned around, Deku was hiding his face in his hands, shoulders shaking with suppressed mirth. “Oi, who are you laughing at?”

“M-Mr Boom Boom!” Deku wheezed, forgetting he was supposed to act scared as he sank down the door, losing it once more. “Gahahhahaha! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! She’s so cute! Pffft gahahahaha!”

Bakugou and Eri watched him. Then they looked at eachother. Then back at Midoriya. “Ready to take down the giggling green giant?” Bakugou asked, chuckling when Eri nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah! Let’s make Deku happy!”

“Wahahhait! Wahhahahhahahahahahhhait!” Midoriya’s laughter increased from his soft giggles to more frantic laughter when Bakugou pounced, fingers wasting no time squeezing his sides and dancing up his ribs. “Gah! Khahahhahhahachan! Whahahahahhahahit!” He cried, sinking further down the door until he was lying on the ground, head thrown back as he laughed and laughed.

“Waiting is pointless! Prepare to die!” Bakugou playfully growled, easily evading Deku’s flailing legs and retaliating hands. “He’s getting squirmy! Princess Bob-omb! Get in here!”

“Okay Mr. Boom Boom!” Eri cheered, diving in, her tiny hands going for Midoriya’s belly and wiggling like her life depended on it. “I told you it’s King- ah forget it!” Bakugou rolled his eyes, laughing when Midoriya all but squealed at the new addition.

“Whahahhahahahit! Ehehehehheheri! Kahahahhahahchan! Quihihiihihihit ihihihihihihit!” His cheeks were flushed bright red with mirth, eyes squeezed shut as he cackled and squirmed. “That’s right! Laugh like the goofy dork you are!” Bakugou teased, feeling a new idea come on as he winked at Eri. “Hey, Princess. Watch this!”

“Kahahhahahhahchan!! Whahhahahhatever you’re planning yohuhuuhuhou behehehehter nhoohoAAHHAHHAHAHT!” Midoriya arched with a scream when Bakugou shoved his shirt up, blowing a raspberry into the flushed skin. “Hah! Someone’s ticklish here, huh?” He laughed, doing it again and again, effectively bringing Midoriya into mirthful tears. Eri, who had momentarily paused her own tickle attack, reached out and gently patted Bakugou’s head. “Deku is crying. We should stop.”

Instantly, the blonde paused, shooting up and getting a look at Midoriya’s face. “Sh-, shoot. You okay, Deku?”

Midoriya gasped for breath, sucking down air as he giggled himself silly. “Ihihihim okay! Ihihihim okay!” He reassured them through his laughter, reaching out and patting Eri’s hand. “Juhuhust give me a seheec.”

The pair gave him space, watching as Midoriya composed himself. Once he could breath normally again, he sat up with a huff, shaking his head with a smile as he gently patted Eri’s head. “Yohou two are too much!” He halfheartedly complained, earning a giggle from the girl and a snort from Bakugou. “Yeah, like you didn’t enjoy it.” Bakugou pointed out, squeezing Midoriya’s knee and earning a yelp. “Are you okay, Deku?” Eri asked, eyes still a bit concerned at the mirthful tear stains on his cheeks. Deku nodded, gathering her up in his arms and hugging her close. “I’m okay, Eri. If anything, I feel alot better!” He cuddled her close, smiling when she relaxed in his arms with relief. “Good!”

“Heh, I guess you two are pretty cute for a couple of nerds.” Bakugou nodded to them, his voice holding a rare note of warmth he reserved mainly for Eri. Said girl looked up at him before looking at Midoriya once more. “Baku hasn’t been tickled yet.”

The blonde sputtered with shock, eyes widening when Midoriya grew bright with mischief. “That's a good point, Eri. Come on, let’s make Kachan feel better too!”

“Oh no! Stay away!” Bakugou scrambled to his feet, racing for an exit with Midoriya and Eri hot on his heels. He may or may not have let himself get caught.

Anything that makes Eri happy.

I hope this was good!

[d4rk-x-w0lf-17]

@starlightshadowsworld

Makoto inhaled sharply, the scent of rust and smoke in the air helped clear his thoughts. He clenched his fists as he stared at the large building in front of him, the words 'Future Foundation' staring back at him, almost threateningly.

'Well, I basically was threatened.' Makoto thought grimly as he took one step forward.

"What are you doing?"

Makoto froze as he turned to face Izuru. He was shocked to see him if he was being honest.

"I--"

"Kazuichi said that you were going to see Saionji. Why are you..." Izuru paused to raise a hand up to the building, "...here?"

Makoto gulped nervously as he began picking at the buttons on his jacket. He opened his mouth to explain, but was cut off before he could start when he heard people rushing out behind him and the cocking of guns.

"Don't move!" One of the soldiers yelled out, his finger on the trigger.

"Wait!" Makoto cried out, moving to stand in front of Izuru.

"Makoto."

Tears sprung to his eyes as he looked at Izuru again.

"Explain."

"I....I didn't sell y-you out, if that's what you're thinking!" He yelled out.

Izuru simply let out a sigh. "I know you didn't. I just want to know why you're here and not with one of us. Where it's safe."

Makoto's shoulders sagged as he too sighed. He bit his lip as he looked around at everything but Izuru.

"They....."

Izuru raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"They promised not to....hurt you guys. If I turned myself in..."

"...What."

Makoto flinched at Izuru's tone. "T-That's why I'm here! They promised, so--"

"And you believed them?"

Makoto only nodded, not having the courage to look Izuru in the eyes.

Izuru shook his head in disbelief and walked forward.

"I said don't move!" The soldier exclaimed as he fired, only for Izuru to dodge the bullet.

Izuru stood in front of Makoto and easily picked him up, the latter letting out a yelp of surprise.

"We're going home." Izuru stated as he watched Peko and Akane step into view, knowing full well that they would handle the situation.

Makoto deflated as he gripped onto Izuru's jacket. "I'm sorry....to make you guys worry..." He said as he pouted.

Izuru sighed, walking away as Peko and Akane began cutting down the soldiers without mercy. "As long as you're safe, that's all that matters."

[thecolordemon]

Short story: Belphegor kills MC

This is a angsty and sad short story about the MC during their dying process after Belphegor hurt them so bad...

⚠️❗Angst, Sadness, mentions of blood, wounds and death❗⚠️

Title: "I forgive you"

The nightly silence in the House of Lamentation was broken when Belphegor pushed you against a huge vase. The fragile object crashed to the ground and shattered into million pieces. The fragments on the black marble looked like spilled stars and there was a strange beauty in it. But you couln't care less about it right now because you couldn't breath. The marks which Belphegor's rough tail left on your sore throat just seconds ago were bright red and the sensitive skin was on fire.

You fell to the ground after your harsh collison with the vase and a painful gasp left your lips when the sharp shards burried themself deep inside your pink flesh. The pain was hot and jolted through your whole body like a lightning bolt. Crimson copper oozed from the many jagged wounds inside your palms and colored the floor like red rain. Your breath hitched in your throat and inhaling air was like swallowing knifes down your trachea. It felt like a hot blade sliced right through it and the pain made you feel nauseous.

Belphegors laugh ringed inside your ears from the room behind you. Sounding like a dark curse. "You humans really are foolish, idiotic, weak creatures, aren't you?" His evil snicker dripped from delight and you could hear his footsteps coming closer. "It's your own fault if you trust a demon. Don't blame me for your current situation, MC." His sing-sang voice scared you to death and you tried to crawl forward and away from the door. Away from the gates of hell... "That's all your fault."

But your hands couldn't carry your own weight and that's why you collapsed on the ground again. The adrenaline throbbed inside your ears and the sharps just pressed in further. Shakly you robbed forward and tried to get up on your knees. The fragments cut all through your clothes and left hurtful cuts all over your arms and legs. Some of them even sank into your kneecaps and made you cry out in pain.

Right at this moment Belphegor's long tail shot forward and wrapped itself around your left calf. All it needed was just one strong pull and you were on the ground again. Belphegor stood in the doorframe, all tall and drunk with power, when he dragged you over the black marble, over the the whole mess of broken glass and towards himself. He laughed like a maniac when the cutting continued and you cried because of the stinging pain. Being dragged all over the sharp shrads felt like you were being dragged over jagged gravel. Your legs already started to bruise from the impact before. The demon towered above you like a predator above it's prey and the sadistic grin on his lips bared his razor-sharp teeth.

"You smell delicious, you know that? Your blood really makes it even more fun." Now you laid right in front of his feet and his tightly wrapped tail cut of the blood supply to your leg. It already started to tingle and to feel weirdly numb. "Please-" you begged and the words stung in your throat, your voice being nothing more than a raspy whisper. "Please don't do this-"

"Oh MC, begging will get you nowhere." Belphegor kneeled down next you and grabbed your chin harshly. His dark, pointy nails burried themself inside your flushed cheeks and they drew blood. The smell of iron filled your nose and made your stomach twist with desperate protest. Tears watered in the corners of your eyes and dribbled over your flaming hot skin. Belphegor grinned and his rough tongue slid over your overheated flesh, catching all of the tears. He left sticky stripes of saliva on your right cheek and grinned even more when you crunched your nose in disgust.

"Who do you think you are to make such a face..." He licked over the red stains of blood that oozed down from your abused face. "You should be more grateful towards me, MC..." Suddenly his fist shot up and hit you violently on your right eye. You screamed in pain but he covered your mouth to shush the noise. He wanted to enjoy the show and he did not want to be interrupted too early. The hammering pain made you quiver and you were sure you heared some of your bones crack. You couldn't even see rigth with the eye anymore. Everything was a pounding, hurtful, black and red mess-you were pretty convinced that all the blood vessels in your right eye did burst because of the impact of his fist. But you were still losing tears.

Belphegor laughed louder as he examined your face closely. "Such a fragile creation! Useless! Utterly useless!" He laughed uncontrollably and his shoulders were shaking because it was so strong. His lilac eyes were those of a madman and he let go of your face with a painful twist of his wrist. His tail loosened a little bit and you were able to free your leg. You pulled yourself up but because of the lack of proper eyesight it was hard to keep a solid balance. Within mere seconds you grabbed one of the bigger shards and threw it at Belphegor. The demon flinched and dodged the thrown weapon which caused him to back away into the room from where he came.

Without looking back you stumbled away as fast as possible. The fear blinded you and all your nerves were on edge. You could hear him roaring viciously and staggered around the corner of the next floor. The pain was nearly taking over your body but you had to move further!

I can't give up- I can't- If I stop,I'll di--' Your legs gave in and you fell to the ground. The glass splinters pierced nerves and, muscles and caused your wounds to vomit even more blood. Like an hurt animal you crawled over the rough carpet beneath you. But you had to get up again-otherwise-

"YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!!"

The blank anger in Belphegor's voice triggered you so much that you got up again. Fear can be a motivation-. You could feel a strange mixture of tears and something else dripping down from your abused eye and had to struggle with the feeling of throwing up. "-help-" you breathed out as you stumbled rashly along the never ending floor. "Somebody--help-" The beast was approaching. His thumbing steps were coming closer and closer within seconds. Furniture crashed behind you and a broken picture frame missed your head with mere inches/centimeters. You limped faster and wanted to scream but just as you opened your mouth, a heavy and powerful body smashed you to the ground.

You hit your head very hard on the black marble and again you heared a sickening cracking sound. You could feel something running down your neck, how something agglutinated your hair... You blinked dizzily and had a hard time to stay conscious. Your whole head was overwhelmed by the hot and dull throbbing pain and little black spots danced across your, already bad, vison. The heavy creature on top of you was growling dangerously and the monstrous shadow fell on your demolished features. It was hard to breath-

"I'll kill you, you know?" Belphegor's voice was a dark snarl and his teeth grazed the sensitive skin on your throat so carelessly that he drew more blood. "I'll will erase you from all the three realms and your soul will perish-" His hot breath made you sick and your weak attempts to push him away from you failed miserably. The power within you faded faster and faster... You wanted to say something but the words were like lava, heavy and gooey-You couldn't even understand them yourself.

"Don't you dare to look away MC! I want to see your eyes when their light fades away-" He laughed maniacally and grabbed your jaw violently. His nails dugged deep inside your chin and you could feel them claw over the bone beneath the skin. The hammering pain got more awful as his other hand slid to your hips to hold you in place. You tried to kick him away but your legs weren't listening to you anymore. His tail twitched threateningly above his head like a agressive snake and whipped through the air. It was hard to focus on anything else but the thickening atmosphere around both of you. The danger was so present, that it seemd like you could cut it with a knife. Belphegor hold your head in place with the other hand and his eyes glistened crazily and were glassy. It seemed like he wasn't there anymore...Like something overtook his body...

That wasn't the demon you knew-

"B-Belphie---pl-please-" you breathed. "Shh...don't waste your last breath, MC!" he replied happily. This was the biggest fun he had in years...He longed for this! "We were friends-" You could taste iron in your mouth. "Oh no. We never were friends. You're just a toy that I mobilized for my purposes." His lilac eyes pierced your dizzy vision and his long tongue curled in excitement. "I trusted you-" you whimpered. "Bad thing to do...Good bye, MC." And with this words he pierced your soft body with a harsh snap of his tail.

You wanted to scream but the only thing that left your lips was a sore whimper and a deep, aching breath of air. It felt like someone knocked the wind out of you and your lungs screamed in terror. Belphegor's tail was burried deep inside the pale flesh of your body and when he pulled out, he left a deep, bloody hole. Your heart went on a rampage and pumped the blood with all it's remaining energy through your veins. Calling out for help... It was like your heart was crying. It cried red tears of broken hopes and shattered promises, tears of despair and a lost love...

You didn't knew what hurt more...The fact that your life slowly faded away into the dark or the horrible reality that you've been so wrong about Belphie? Your hearbeat got weaker...you felt kinda cold and breathing in felt like inhaling razor-blades. "B-Belphie-" The demon above you frowned at your desperate whines. "Don't call me like that!" That was a thing only his twin was allowed to do, just him and nobody else! "You know nothing, you hear me? Your death means nothing to me! You're just like every other human being in this world."

Now, with your physical form broken, he tried to hurt you otherwise. And in a way more personal way. He was aiming for your psyche. He tried to break you in every possible way. He showed no mercy. He had no mercy. He was a wild beast driven mad by hatred and bad treatment. You winced and tried to calm your breath. "If-my death means nothing-then why are you-so eager to kill me anyway?" Belphegor blinked in confusion. "What's--the difference?-" You managed to look the avatar of Sloth right into his eyes. He stared at you like you insulted him. You could see his thoughts wild'n behind his head. He tried to find a valid reason. He tried to think of a justification why it would help him to kill you.

But there wasn't a valid reason. You helped him. He knew that. Without you he would be still stuck in the attic-locked away from the world like a caged animal. "Can't you see that you became the monster that Lucifer feared you could be?--" You coughed and spit blood all over your lips. Your breath lacked of power and the words sounded pretty slurry. "Shut up-I'm not a monster-" You interrupted his denial. "You are. -but that's okay--" You closed your eyes and hot tears poured over your lashes and cheeks.

You cried harder. "I forgive you-"

Belphegor's eyes widdened in shock and his fangs grew even sharper. Anger darkened his face like a dark cloud. "NO! YOU CAN'T FORGIVE ME! DON'T YOU DARE!" He grabbed your wrist and twisted it back in a sharp motion. Your bones cracked under his strong grip and you screamed in pain when he broke every single one of them. Your hand fell limp. Belphegor growled hatefully into your face. "You.won't.do.that!" His pupils were narrowed strongly and that made him look even more crazy.

This was his perfect moment, he wouldn't let you ruin it!

"You're nothing! A mere human like you does not have so much power over me! No one has! Your dumb and naive! Your dumb and naive if you think your stupid little words affect me!"

He was going insane. How could you not hate him?! How could you not beg for him to stop this torture?! Why were you still undermining his authority even though you were dying?!

You cried more and couldn't stop yourself from feeling sorry for the him. He was so lost in anger, so lost in his own mind that he lost all references to reality. "I forgive you, Belphie--"

"NO!" he roared and trew you across the whole floor. Again you hit your head hard but that didn't make such a big difference anymore. You were feeling awful anyway...

Belphegor kneeled on the floor, several metres away from you, crouched over and quivered like hell. His whole body shook from his jagged cries and his hands fisted into his bluish-grey strands of hair. His nails clawed over his face and left red stripes. He was fighting against himself, against the effects your words caused. It was like you put a spell on him and he tried to fight it off.

You were laying on your side and watched him apathetically. The blood colored the whole upper part of your uniform and stained the floor with it's red puddles. 'That's it...' you thought to yourself. 'It's going to be over soon...I am alone...'

That's when you heared a familiar sound.

Someone was talking-no...Lucifer was talking. You could here his voice growing louder as he came closer. He seemed to discuss something with Mammon. Powerlessly you rolled over to the other side, so that you could look down to the floor beneath you. You were lying on the balustrade on the second floor from which two stairs lead downstairs. Through the little pillars (that supported the railing)you were able to see Lucifer and Mammon coming closer. As you thought, they were busy with discussing something. Both of them totally clueless about the fight of life and death. That was your chance-

"L-Lucifer-" Saying his name was so exhausting... "M-Mammon-" They stopped right underneath the big chandelier but not because they heared your little pleas of help.

"-help-"

Lucifer spoke. "Mammon one last time, I'm not participating in your omnious bets. You'll lose all the money again because you do not learn from your failures." Mammon scoffed. "I'm not dumb, of course I learn!! It was just bad luck!"

You trembled and felt a strange cold approaching you. With your last ounce of strength you grabbed the railing with your good hand and pulled yourself up. It was hard and you had to balance your weight from one abused leg to another. Your body begged you to give in, to fall asleep-to give up-but your mind told you to keep on fighting. Now you were able to look down at Lucifer's raven hair and Mammon's white head. You were so close-

"Lu--cifer-m-mammon-"

One single drop of blood dripped from your chin and fell all the way down. You saw everything in slow motion. The little red drop brushed over Lucifer cheek and landed on his black shoulder pad. Mammon flinched and looked up. Lucifer did the same. When both their eyes land on you, you felt safe for a little moment.

Mammon smiled. "MC what--" He stopped right away when he noticed your terrible state of condition. His smile disappeared and turned into a shocked expression. All the color left his face and he looked like he saw a ghost. Lucifer's eyes widdened in shock, his mouth hung a little bit ajar.

Tears streamed down your face and the salty liquid mixed with blood and cold sweat. But you smiled powerlessly. They would help you-

"--thank yo-"

Suddenly something big appeared behind you. Before you could do anything else, claws digged deep inside your back and threw you over the railing. The next thing you remembered is that the whole room was rotating wildly. It all went so fast. You couldn't even scream. With a loud crash you fell to the hard ground.

Lucifer saw everything in slow motion. Your abused face, painted with dried blood and steamy tears, how hopefully your eyes lightened up when they noticed you, your broken hand which you pressed close to your body like a hurt little lamb...and Belphegor, his youngest brother, as he appeared behind you and hurled you over the balustrade like a doll.

Your fall was endless. But he couldn't do anything. But one thing was for sure. He would never forget the sound your body made when it crashed into the black marble ground. Your hair sprawled out around your head like a fading halo, sticky with blood and nearly all of your limbs were twisted in a sickenly wrong way.

Before Lucifer knew what to do, Mammon already started screaming in terror. "MC--NO--HELP!!!" He ran towards your body and crouched down beneath you. His screaming alerted the rest of his brothers and fast steps were coming from every direction. They all gasped in shock when they saw you laying there. You breath came in thin little gasps and you couldn't move. Everthing hurt so bad...at the same time you felt nothing at all. The crystal chandelier twinkled like a planet made of stars and mirrored your horrible reflection. You really looked awful...

That's you? The bloody mess with a smashed eye is supposed to be you?

Satan, Asmodeus, Leviathan and Beelzebub stared at you in shock. They couldn't move. They couldn't breath. They could just stare at you. Speechless. Hopeless. Clueless.

Lucifer fell to his knees and tried to stop the bleeding. He pulled his gloves off his hands and his long, slender fingers touched every cut, every bruise and every stab wound. "MC--stay with me-please-" His eyes were glassy with tears as he tried to heal the wounds but you already lost to much blood. Mammon sobbed. "MC--"

Belphegor stood on the balustrade and watched the whole thing going down. Pushing you over the edge seemed like the last possible thing to do. He watched how Lucifer failed to stop the bleeding and how your eyes wandered aimlessly over the ceiling. Your chest rose and lowered slower and slower with every passing second. Mammon cried loudly and hold you into his arms trying to protect you. "Dont do this MC-please-YOU CAN'T DIE!!"

Mammon's scream shook everyone to the core. You hiccuped blood and tried to say something but the red liquid drowned the words ruthlessly. Beel had to come forward and pulled his older brother to his chest. The big demon trembled and Mammon fought against his grip-screaming loudly and calling for help. But Beelzebub didn't let him go. He had to protect him. He had to protect MC-

Lucifer couldn't hold his tears back and he cried without any shame. "I'm so sorry MC--I'm trying b-but it's-it's not working--" Your eyes landed on his and he let out a shaky breath. You knew.

You knew you were going to die.

Lucifer embraced you in his arms and he pressed your fragile, abused body to his chest. "Please--someone--get Diavolo-he'll know what to do-he-" His voice broke as he lost his fight against the tears again. Diavolo was Lucifer's last hope--his only hope- After all he declared his loyal devotion to the demon prince. But he wasn't there. Diavolo wasn't there. And he wouldn't make it in time. Lucifer knew that. His brothers knew that. But it was impossible for him to just sit here and watch his beloved MC die in his arms-He had to do something, he-he is the oldest! He has to fix this, he has to find a solution, he-

"l-lucifer-"

His eyes shot back to you. You had lifted your good hand and managed to softly touch his cheek. Your fingers smeared blood all over his skin and the contact made him flinch. "-I'm sorry-" you whispered in a very thin voice. "I-should have-listened-to you-"

His hand found yours and Lucifer sobbed desperately. "MC-stop-don't say that-"

"it's--all my fault-" you explained with rasping breath. It was harder for you to focus your vison and big black spots interrupted the sight. You could feel your own life slipping through your fingers.

"-I'm-so grateful--for everything--you treated me like family-you welcomed me-I'll keep you in my heart-forever-"

Everything was going strangely numb...

You heared distant cries. They were from all the brothers. From all your beloved demons. You felt bad for leaving them. You felt bad for making them cry. You whished you could see them one more time.

Lucifer kissed your fingers softly and held onto you like his own life depended on it. His hands were shaky and he tried to keep his voice calm when he answered you.

"I love you-" he hiccuped and the tears streamed down without a stop.

Everthing was starting to black out.

You smiled sadly. "I--love you too--"

Your heart stopped.

"I---forgave---him---"

Your breathing stopped.

Your thoughts stopped.

Everything stopped.

Your hand fell to the ground. Lucifer could still feel your last touch lingering on his blood-smeared cheek. Time stopped.

And he screamed.

[kpop-zone]

Twice reaction to slapping their s/o

Nervously, you leaned to the side to be able to look past the driver at the dashboard clock.

2:47

“Shit...Can you drive a little faster please?”

You asked the driver panicked who gave you a look of commiseration through the rearview mirror.

“I’m sorry, I’d love to but I’m already driving as fast as I can.”

He replied apologetically and you forced a smile to thank him for his effort. You were tempted to offer him some money to make him rethink his reply, but then you figured that you had already messed up enough for one night. You couldn’t afford to get in trouble with him or the police. The only thing that was left to do now was to pray. Pray that your girlfriend had already fallen asleep and hadn’t noticed that you were missing for nearly five hours without any sign of life. You had left your apartment around 6pm to “grab a quick drink” with a few friends, but then one thing had led to the other and now it was almost 3am although you had told your girlfriend that you would be home no later than 10pm. The time had just flown by without you noticing and when you figured that you could sent your girlfriend a sign of life at last, you had realized that your phone was dead. You were sure that she had probably tried to reach you a million times already to no avail and was close to calling the police right now. You just needed to get home as fast as possible.

As soon as the driver pulled up to the building, you threw some bills to the front before bolting out of the car, not caring that you had probably just given him a tip of ₩50,000. The only thought that was left in your brain was to free your girlfriend from the anxiety that she was probably feeling right now. By the time you reached the front door, your lungs were slightly burning and you were panting like you had just run a marathon, but you didn’t give yourself time to catch your breath before quietly unlocking the door, just in case your girlfriend was asleep already. As soon as the door swung open though you could see that the light was still on in the living room and you knew that she must have been waiting for you.

Your suspicion was proven to be right when you heard loud footsteps nearing the door, causing you to mentally prepare yourself for a good scolding. But nothing could have prepared you for what was about to come. As soon as your girlfriend stepped into your field of vision, you could see that she was more than just angry. Her eyes seemed to be spitting fire and you gulped intimidated. Automatically, your mouth opened in an attempt to calm her down with an apology but before you even had the chance to utter a single word, you could suddenly feel your head being whipped to the side due to a painful force. Dumbfounded, you touched your cheek and looked at your girlfriend. That had been unexpected...

Nayeon

Perplexed, Nayeon stared at her own hand, not having expected herself to slap you. But she had just been so angry when she saw you standing in the door, being totally fine. How could you have consciously put her through so much agony? Torn between feeling guilty and angry, Nayeon stood in front of you, opening and closing her mouth without making a sound, not knowing whether she should apologize or scold you for your reckless behavior. When she looked into your eyes that were filled with utter disbelief though, she automatically reached out to touch your arm.

“I’m sorry.”

Nayeon mumbled ashamed, feeling how a blush rose to her cheeks.

“But do you know how worried I was?? Why didn’t you just send me a text?”

She added, not being able to fully spare you the accusations.

“I know that I’ve messed up. Time just flew by and I didn’t notice that my battery had died...”

You answered sheepishly while showing her the black screen of your phone, causing Nayeon to sigh.

“I swear to god, Y/N, if you scare me like that one more time...”

She threateningly put her hands on her hips and stared you down until you lowered your head bashfully. Her own guilt, however, forbade her to make you feel bad any longer. It seemed like both of you had simply allowed your emotions to get the better of you tonight. Hesitantly, Nayeon took a step closer to you, causing you to look at her. Carefully, she cupped your cheek and stroked it apologetically.

“Does it hurt?”

She asked with her voice dripping with regret.

“A little...”

You admitted and Nayeon immediately grabbed your hand to pull you to the kitchen. After asking you to sit down on the kitchen counter, she pulled out a bag of frozen peas from the fridge and gently pressed it against your cheek while standing between your legs. Fueled by her bad conscience, her hands didn’t stop caressing your skin; not even for a second.

Tonight, both of you had probably learned a lesson that you would never forget...

Jeongyeon

“Do you know what cellphones are for?? I was about to call the police!”

Jeongyeon yelled at you, blinded by her rage that had replaced the immense worry that had tortured her the past five hours the moment she had seen you standing at the door completely unharmed. Her chest was rising and falling rapidly, and she had to suppress the urge to rip your head off. Never had she ever been so scared before. The voices in her head had told her over and over again that you had been kidnapped or hit by a car. If you had needed one more minute to come home, she had probably completely lost it.

“I-I... lost track of time.”

You stuttered dumbfounded while rubbing your cheek. Only now Jeongyeon realized what she had done, and she exhaled shakily, feeling how her anger slowly left her body.

“So, nothing bad happened?”

Jeongyeon reassured herself and you shook your head sheepishly, causing her to feel relieved, but also disappointed by your selfishness at the same time.

Awkward silence settled between the two of you while Jeongyeon tried to get a clear head again. Slowly her heartbeat reached a normal rhythm again and the uncomfortable feeling of regret formed in her stomach. Hadn’t she overreacted a bit? Shyly, she looked at you but you barely dared to meet her eyes, causing her heart to ache. Her bad conscience had finally caught up to her, leaving her with nothing but an urge to make it up to you.

“Come here...”

Jeongyeon mumbled before nodding her head towards the kitchen. Hesitantly, you followed her and sat down at the kitchen table, waiting for her to give you an ice pack. While you cooled your cheek, Jeongyeon awkwardly stood beside you, knowing that she had to apologize to you, but also feeling too proud to do so after what you had put her through tonight. Somehow she still needed to make you feel better though...

“Are you hungry?”

Jeongyeon asked, hoping that you would understand her without words.

Momo

Perplexed, you looked at Momo who simply stared at you without uttering a single word. Her face was almost blank, making you wonder what was happening in her head right now. You, for your part, were too speechless to apologize. Had she really slapped you? You were aware that you had upset her tonight, but you would have never thought that Momo would ever physically hurt you. Instead of giving you an answer to the thousand questions that were racing through your head though, your girlfriend suddenly turned around and walked away, leaving you behind with an open mouth. What a great way to resolve a conflict...

After squandering away at least half an hour in the living room in order to avoid another awkward encounter with your girlfriend, you eventually followed her to the bedroom. To your surprise, the lights were still on in the room and Momo was leaning against the headboard with her arms crossed while staring ahead vacantly. Unsure you lingered at the door for a bit before shuffling to your side of the bed. Several minutes passed in which neither of you spoke. Eventually, however, Momo’s voice cut through the heavy silence, causing you to flinch slightly.

“Why didn’t you answer my calls?”

She asked, the disappointment in her voice being unmistakable.

“My phone battery died...”

You mumbled sheepishly before painful silence surrounded the two of you again. You were about to flee the scene, unable to bear the tension any longer, when Momo finally decided to end your torture.

“I-I didn’t mean to slap you.”

She stuttered almost too silent to be heard and when you turned to look at her, you saw that she was hanging her head bashfully. Automatically, your hand reached over to grab hers, causing her to look at you.

“I know.”

You smiled slightly and Momo exhaled relieved.

“I’m sorry.”

Both of you said at the same time and you giggled sheepishly. There were still a few things unresolved, but at least you had finally managed to cut through the tension...

Sana

Frozen you stared ahead while trying to find an explanation for your stinging cheek other than that your girlfriend had just slapped you. This was Sana after all...the most loving person that you had ever met. Your frozen state, however, was suddenly disrupted by the hysterical voice of the person that had left you speechless in the first place and you shook off your trance to be able to focus on her.

“Where were you?? I was so worried, I thought someone had raided you and you wandering around the city hurt...”

Sana sobbed and only now you realized the miserable condition that she was in. Her hair was completely disheveled, and her face was puffy as if she had cried for five hours straight.

“You said you wouldn’t come home late! Why didn’t you let me know where you were?”

She continued although it was hard to make out her words between her sobs. Not being able to stand seeing her this way, you quickly took a step forward and wrapped your arms around her body. Sana buried her head in the crook of your neck without hesitation and started soaking your shirt with her tears while you tried to calm her with a thousand apologies. It needed a while till Sana’s uncontrollable sobbing turned into light sniffling, but eventually she loosened her tight grip around your waist and leaned back to look at you. Her gaze immediately zeroed in on your cheek and she reached out to stroke it gently.

“I’m sorry.”

Sana mumbled bashfully after examining your cheek and wincing when she noticed a red mark.

“I’m sorry...I’m sorry...I’m sorry.”

She kept on whispering while placing a kiss on your burning skin between every apology.

How could you stay mad at that?

Jihyo

“Do you know what time it is?”

Jihyo yelled at you, not caring about the neighbors that could probably hear her.

“I have no problem with you going out, but would it have been so hard to send me a text telling me that you’re late??”

She continued, needing to vent the immense anger that was seething inside of her. If she hated one thing, it was unreliability. You could pull an all-nighter for all that she cared, but she would want to know that beforehand. Because without a heads-up, she had worried the whole night and hadn’t been able to sleep a singly second although she had an exhausting schedule ahead of her.

“I didn’t think it was this late already...”

You mumbled sheepishly, causing Jihyo to scoff in disbelief. How delightful to hear that you seemed to have had fun... Without giving you the chance to justify yourself further, she simply turned on her heel and stormed to your shared bedroom. The anger inside of her was still seething, so she threw herself on the bed and buried herself under her blanket. It didn’t take long till she heard you laying down beside her and she huffed in annoyance. How could you have been so selfish? Usually you always informed her about everything. Which was probably the reason for her anxiety tonight. She had just assumed that something bad must have happened to you if you didn’t reach out to her.

The longer Jihyo thought about the events of the night, the more restless she felt. Even when she didn’t have to worry anymore now, countless other thoughts were still making her brain work at full stretch and sleep was a distant goal. Hadn’t she been too harsh with you? In hindsight, the memory of her hand colliding with your face caused her to wince and she tossed and turned for hours. If you would slap her every time that she didn’t pick up her phone, she would probably permanentely walk around with a swollen face. How could she have punished you for a misdeed that she committed almost every week? Oh how she hated when her temperament got the better of her...

She definitely needed to sort things out with you tomorrow.

Mina

For a second, Mina’s own action caused her to be speechless. It had been a while since she had lost control like that. If she was honest, Mina couldn’t remember a time that she had ever used violence to express her emotions. But what was done, was done. It was too late to backtrack now, so she decided to stick to the route that she had chosen.

“Do you know how worried I was?”

She asked calmly while putting her hands on her hips and staring you down.

“I didn’t mean to worry you...”

You tried to justify yourself, causing Mina to chuckle coldly.

“That’s good to know, because as I see it, I worried about you all night while you didn’t even waste a single thought on me.”

She replied, not knowing whether she was trying to make you feel guilty about your behavior or to make herself feel less guilty for slapping you.

“I...It’s not like that.”

You stuttered helplessly, proving to Mina that her strategy was working. If she wouldn’t feel so bad herself right now, she would probably enjoy seeing your bad conscience nagging on you. But under these circumstances, she just wanted the night to end as quickly as possible and to just forget about it. Therefore, she simply turned on her heel and walked towards the bedroom.

“Don’t scare me like that ever again...”

Mina said over her shoulder shortly before disappearing out of the room, not being able to leave this conflict completely unresolved.

Hopefully you could leave this night behind in the morning. She didn’t know if she could even bear to look at you if you ever brought it up again...

Dahyun

“Whoa, Y/N, I don’t know why I did that.”

Dahyun gasped before slamming her hand on her mouth in shock.

“D-did you just slap me?”

You replied dumfounded and Dahyun nodded hesitantly.

“I think I did. Oh my gosh...why did I do that?”

She still couldn’t believe that she had allowed her anger to get the better of her and she simply stared at you in disbelief. Eventually her shock died down, leaving behind nothing but a feeling of shame.

“I’m sorry, Y/N. I was just so angry and caught up in the moment. Of course that’s not an excuse, but I guess that’s why I...slapped you.”

It was still hard for Dahyun to say out loud what she had done. Although she understood the reasoning behind her actions, she could not believe that she would ever turn to such methods.

“And I’m sorry for worrying you. I didn’t mean to vanish off the face of the earth like that.”

You replied sheepishly and Dahyun hummed understandingly.

“Yeah, I know that you probably meant no harm.”

She knew that she could not expect you to give her the benefit of the doubt while not cutting you some slack for your mistake at the same time. It was clear that both of you had done some things tonight that you would gladly make undone. Unfortunately, there was no button to rewind though and you needed to find another way to sort things out between the two of you.

“Let’s talk?”

Dahyun proposed while pointing towards the couch and you nodded in agreement.

Why couldn’t she have acted like this from the start?

Chaeyoung

Dumbfounded, you looked at Chaeyoung, hoping that she would be able to make more sense out of this situation than you could, but for some reason, she looked even more taken by surprise than you.

“What was that?”

You asked confused and Chaeyoung shook her head.

“I have absolutely no idea.”

She replied absentmindedly, looking like she was doubting her whole existence right now. Eventually, she snapped out of her trance and scanned you worriedly.

“Are you ok?”

Chaeyoung asked and you instinctively touched your cheek again. It was still stinging a bit, but if you were honest, you were more shocked than hurt right now. You would have never expected that she would hurt you.

“Yeah, I’m fine...”

You answered brusquely, but your girlfriend immediately picked up on your upset.

“No you’re not and that’s ok. I don’t really know how to make you feel better though... I’m sorry and I promise that I will never do it again, but I know that this doesn’t really fix things.”

Chaeyoung said pensively, sounding like she was incredibly disappointed in herself.

“It’s ok. Let’s just go to bed and talk tomorrow about it when we both have a clear head again.”

You proposed, trying to find a solution to this awkward situation.

“Of course, whatever you want.”

Your girlfriend immediately agreed, but you could see that something was still bothering her.

“Do you want me to sleep on the couch?”

She added conscience-stricken and you thought about her offer for a second before shaking your head. Judging by the look on her face, she was probably already punishing herself more than enough. There was no need for you to resort to any drastic punishments as well.

“No, you need your sleep. You have to get up in a few hours.”

You replied with a slight smile playing on your lips while pointing at the clock on the wall.

For some reason you already knew though that your girlfriend would probably not be getting much sleep tonight anyways, no matter whether she would sleep on the couch or in your bed...

Tzuyu

If the current situation weren’t so serious, you would probably laugh at Tzuyu’s puzzled expression. She was staring at you with wide eyes and her mouth almost formed a perfect circle. Both of you seemed to be waiting for the other one to break the silence, but neither of you seemed to know what to say.

“Y/N...”

Tzuyu eventually made the first step, but her voice gave in before she could utter a complete sentence. Instead, she started to fidget with her fingers and chose to look at the floor. Therefore, you decided to try voicing your feelings.

“Why did you do that? I don’t know you like this...”

You asked and your girlfriend finally met your eyes again.

“I-I don’t know. I wasn’t really thinking clearly.”

She furrowed her brow as if your question was painfully martyring her brain. Nothing was left of the fury from before anymore and she looked like your considerate girlfriend again, making you wonder whether the slap had just been a fever dream. But the weird distance that was gaping between the two of you told a different story. The unfamiliarity of this situation was unbearable, and you hesitantly took a step forward to get closer to your usual source of comfort. But instead of closing the distance, Tzuyu walked backwards to increase the distance between the two of you again. In defeat, you sighed and decided to give your girlfriend the space that she was apparently seeking.

“Let’s go to bed?”

You asked and Tzuyu silently nodded in response.

Without wasting your time on another attempt to get close to her, you walked to your bedroom and got ready for bed. Your girlfriend, however, took her time to follow you. Only when you were already slipping under the covers, Tzuyu finally entered the room. For a moment she looked at you as if she wanted to say something but didn’t know the right words. Patiently you held her gaze, but eventually your girlfriend simply sighed and shuffled to her side of the bed. She laid down all the way at the edge and turned her back to you, making it clear to you that she wasn’t interested in talking. Therefore, you reluctantly turned off the bedside lamp and tried to curl up in a comfortable position. Yet, the unsettled conflict between the two of you didn’t let you rest peacefully. You tossed and turned for what seemed like hours until the voice of your girlfriend caused you to almost jump out of bed in surprise.

“I don’t know why I did what I did, but I will find out and make sure that it will never happen again. I promise.”

She said determined, making you realize that she had probably not been able to sleep any more than you. Somehow the determination of her words gave you the comfort that you had been seeking though and you felt how the tension of the conflict finally left your body. You knew that your girlfriend would keep her word.

[ddarker-dreams]

Can I request head-cannons for Dabi, Shigaraki and Overhaul when their Darling escapes and ends up at an old friends house? Like the friend and the Darling had feelings for each other but never new until now and the Yandere finds them kissing? Idk lol just an idea. Sorry for wasting your time.

i found this idea so interesting that i went ahead and wrote mini scenarios for it!! yall get to watch shin suffer three different times LMAOO

click here to check out my commissions ! 

TW: for death, torture, mutilation

Shigaraki: 

Comfort and security have been rare in your life for the past few hellish months. Even now, as you sit with a blanket wrapped around your shivering frame; you can’t relish in your small victory over Shigaraki. It’s only been a matter of hours since you managed to escape him, and you can only imagine how desperately he’s searching. 

“[First], are you sure we shouldn’t go to the police?” Shin eyes you with concern, his lips frowning at your shivering form. Shaking your head, you take a sip of the tea he had given you earlier. The bitter flavor brings you no comfort, but the scorching warmth steels you in reality. 

“I don’t know. I’m sorry, I really don’t know,” you murmur to your friend, who takes a seat next to you on the couch. “I just need to… I need to get a hold of myself first. I can’t think straight.” 

Shin offers a reassuring smile, his hand reaching out. You flinch slightly as he places it on top of your free hand, being mindful of your fearful form. The pad of his thumb soothingly rubs circles into your skin, temporarily taking your mind off everything.

“I was surprised when you came to me,” Shin confesses, scratching the back of his neck. “I’m sorry if I’m being out of line. I’m just glad you thought of me. That you know that you can rely on me.” 

Your breath hitches, and you look away from his face. The blush lining his cheeks says it all; but you’re unsure of what to do with it. Before Shigaraki had come into your life, Shin had been someone you adored wholeheartedly. His charisma and friendliness attracted you, he was someone that was always so well put together.

“T-thank you again for helping me.” 

All you’re able to offer is your genuine gratitude. At this, Shin shifts in his seat. 

“Of course,” Shin graciously accepts your words, moving closer to you. Your eyes widen when soft fingers delicately touch your chin, prompting you to look at him. “I would do anything for you.” 

“Shin–” 

His lips softly press against your own, muffling the squeak you let out. Apart of you feels uncertain of what to make of this, but the other part doesn’t care anymore. Why should you deny yourself any comfort you could get after the nightmares you’ve endured? 

Fluttering your eyes shut, you shyly return the affection being bestowed upon you. For a few blissful seconds, your mind is relieved of your previous woes. 

That is, until you hear a crumbling noise in the direction of Shin’s apartment entrance. 

Pulling back at the alarming noise, Shin furrows his eyebrows at a figure that makes your blood freeze. 

“Hey, who the fuck do you think you are?” Shin goes to stand from his position next to you, only for you to put your arm out in front of him. Bloodshot eyes look from your form to Shin’s, Shigaraki’s form hunched over. You hear his labored breathing, as he stalks towards the couch with a sense of urgency.

At this point, a part of you knows there’s nothing you can say to convince Shigaraki to stop what he’s doing, but it’s not enough to stop you from trying.

“Shigaraki, please, don’t do anything–!” 

It’s too late.

His hand extends out towards Shin’s, wrapping viciously around the young male’s neck. Before Shin could even let out a scream at the sensation of being chocked, his skin turns an inhumanly gray pigment. Shrieking in horror, you spring up from your position as Shin’s body turns to a pile of dust. 

“N-no…” your voice is weak, eyes blurred by tears. 

Shigaraki turns his head towards you, pupils dilated and chest heaving. He watches as you press your knees to your chest, bottom lip quivering from anxiety.

“Come,” Shigaraki beckons, voice devoid of any humanity. “I’m tired of this little side quest.” 

Dabi: 

“Got room for one more?” 

The intrusive, lighthearted words are accompanied by a grin that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. Dabi begins snickering as you instinctively pull back from Shin, eyes wide as saucers. Shin grimaces in disgust at Dabi, immediately putting two and two together.

“So you must be the fucker who’s been harasser her,” Shin growls, reaching into his pocket to reveal a switchblade. “Get the fuck out, or I’ll call the police.” 

The small blade gleams threateningly, pointed in an accusatory stance towards Dabi. Dabi’s hands remain in his pockets, not even so much as blinking at the threat presented before him. He all but ignores it, preferring to look over at your shaking form. 

“You gave me quite a shock, doll. I didn’t think you had it in you,” Dabi tilts his head, voice lowering with intent. “But enough’s enough. Come right over here princess, and I’ll give some thought to forgiving you.” 

After the time you’ve spent with Dabi, you’ve been able to pick up on the subtlest of nuances in his body language. To the untrained eye somewhat might mistake Dabi’s disposition for carefree, but you know better. He’s toying with you purposefully – there’s a concealed fury in his eyes from your string of betrayals. 

His patience with you is gone. 

“A-alright,” you pathetically concede, eyes stinging with tears. On unsteady legs you stand up, earning a look of confusion from Shin. “I’ll do what you say. But please don’t hurt him. I-I dragged him into this, he has nothing to do with it.” 

The pleading tone doesn’t garner a strong reaction, Dabi instead shrugging his shoulders at your heartfelt request. 

He waves off your feeble concern, “Sorry to say sweetheart, but you’re in no position to be making demands of me.”

“I’ve heard enough of this!” Shin abruptly stands up, firmly steeling himself next to you. Dabi’s eyes follow his every movement carefully, undoubtedly assessing if you’ll get caught up in a blast of fire from his quirk. In a protective reflex, you fling yourself in front of Shin; arms reaching out on each side. 

Dabi clicks his tongue at your interference. “What a bad girl you’ve been.” 

With that, he suddenly charges forward, your eyes barely processing the events unfolding in front of you. Dabi moves to your left abruptly, causing you to swirl on your heels. Before Shin has the chance to plunge his knife forward, Dabi’s hands grab Shin’s shoulder and wrist respectively.

A sickening snap reverberates in the air, accompanied by a hellish scream of pain. What is most likely to be Shin’s ulna erupts from the skin of his forearm, blood gushing out alongside it. Shin drops to the ground, clutching his mutilated arm while tears leave his eyes. 

A string of curses leave his lips, but Dabi responds by kicking him onto his back. Jaw agape, you lunge forward to assist your friend; only for Dabi’s hand to grip harshly onto your wrist. Hissing at the pressure, you twist your wrist around in hopes of freeing yourself. The movement only serves to bring you greater pain, so you stop momentarily. 

Shin’s cries continue on in the background as Dabi forcefully shoots you a chilling smile. The hand that isn’t holding yours flickers with blue flames, revealing Dabi’s malicious intentions. 

“I didn’t realize you’d be so eager to watch. Let’s see, what part of him should I break next? If you tell me, I’ll put ‘im out of his misery faster,” Dabi offers, making certain you had a front seat to the events that were about to unfold. “Probably, that is.”

Overhaul: 

“Please stop! This isn’t right, he has nothing to do with this!” 

Cold amber eyes glare through your soul, showing no sign of softening with compassion at your incessant begging. Kai’s lifeless gaze moves from you to your struggling companion, who currently has his arms twisted behind his back by Kurono. 

“What should we do with him, boss?” 

“If I recall correctly,” Kai begins, stepping forward to minimize the distance between himself and Shin. “One of our subjects recently passed from the stress of testing. This one will serve as a replacement.” 

“Go… to hell, you... monster,” Shin wheezes out, struggling to lift his bruised face to meet Kai’s stony stare. “[First] will always hate you.” 

The room goes silent, save for Shin’s labored breathing and your own rapidly beating heart. All the struggling in the world isn’t enough to remove you from Mimic’s tight grip, but it’s not enough to stop you from trying. The sudden emergence of the Shie Hassaikai was hell on earth, but one you were eventually expecting. 

Kai had acted faster than you thought he would, finding you after your escape in only a few hours. With his expansive number of contacts and manpower all it took was a few phone calls and orders, and here they were. 

Kai’s exchanged no words with you, ever since he and his subordinates walked in on Shin kissing you. You can’t begin to comprehend the volume of his vexation towards you, but whatever he’s feeling he’s keen on not showing it.

You wince at Shin’s words, realizing that the combination would make his fate even more painful than it would’ve been before. Kai suddenly holds one of his gloved hands up, in the direction a few other subordinates were standing.

“Knife.” 

The order is simple and to the point, and a masked individual brings him the item he requests. With the glistening weapon in hand, Kai moves it closer to Shin’s face. Before you can even let out a scream, Kai begins to steadily move the sharp end of the knife against the skin of Shin’s lower lip.

A bloodcurdling shriek leaves him, as he desperately struggles against Kurono to no avail. Kurono moves a hand to steady his face, effectively allowing for Kai to continue with the task he had started. As Kai continues his cruel task of flaying the skin off Shin’s lips, all you can think to do is close your eyes and pray it’ll all be over soon.

There’s not much more you can take of this nightmare. 

A few more excruciatingly slow seconds pass, before Kai moves back, scrunching his nose at a drop of blood that marred his white gloves. 

“Filthy,” Kai murmurs underneath his breath, a frown set on his face. “Treat him before he goes into shock. I don’t want him dying anytime soon.”

For the first time in a while, Kai’s attention returns back to you. Noting the puffiness of your eyes, it’s difficult to mask the irritation he feels at your compassion for this cesspool of trash. He begins to walk towards the door, you being prompted to follow suit alongside the other members of the Shie Hassaikai. 

“We’ll discuss your punishment in detail later.” 

All you can do is nod, feeling numb to the world as you return back to your hell. 

[descendantofthesparrow]

Shuffle Playlist - Rewrite - Part of Your World - Part 8 - Fights and Sisters

=

Mal lifted her foot into the air as she leaned to her right to get the perfect curve of Evie's hair, biting her lip in concentration as she listened to the calming sounds of a spray-paint can fill the room. she clicked her heel as she leaned back onto the box she was standing on and nodded to herself, the mural for her friends was almost done, the last thing she had to do was add detail and she would be done.

“At least I don’t see myself with horns and a pitchfork” Mal spun around with a gasp, holding up her can defensively as she looked onto the sheepish Ben who stood before her.

He waited for her to lower the can, but Mal didn’t budge, keeping her finger on the spray mechanic. “Mal-“ Ben took a step forward, stopping as Mal shook the can threateningly, her eyes staring into Bens with a warning to back off.

“How’d you get here” Mal whispered, she had thought it would take just a bit longer for her friends to get here, she wasn’t ready to face them again.

“I- Mal I’m so sorry about the fight, it was all my fault” Mal shook her head defiantly, no, it wasn’t Ben's fault, not completely, it was hers too.

“How.did.you.get.here” Mal stressed, shaking the can again as if it was a weapon.

“The limo, Jay drove us-“ us. That meant Evie was here, Carlos too, god she hoped Cruella and EQ didn’t know they were here.

“Of course,” she muttered, chucking her can to the floor, seeing Ben flinch out of the corner of her eye, but she ignored it, kicking her old makeshift stool over and growling.

They were her family, why did she think they would take a week to come get her, of course it would only be hours before they found her.  But she just needed to escape for a bit, she didn’t want to stay on the isle, not after she crossed the barrier again, but once inside there was no way out, not without the remote.

She was happy that they came to get her because that meant they cared enough to do so, but she wasn’t ready to go back to the craziness of Auradon just yet.

“Mal” Ben started again, attempting to walk up to her but stopping as she held up her hands. “please come home” he held out his class ring, the one Mal hadn't taken off since his coronation.

She stared at him for a moment, trying to figure how to word what she wanted to say ‘(y/n) did always say I had a habit of saying things the wrong way’ she scoffed at herself, shaking her head. “Ben….I-“ she shook her hands in frustration “im-not gah!” Ben blinked in surprise as she suddenly yelled and shook her head and arms “words! Ben!” he jumped as she yelled out his name, she calmed herself with a deep breath "I am home….you’ve said before that home is where you feel like you can be yourself well”

she held her arms out, gesturing to the hideout “this is it; this is where I feel most comfortable, in leather, with purple hair, with my knife in my sleeve, baring my teeth when someone looks at me funny, swearing to my heart's content because fuck it!” she let her arms go limp and felt them smack against her thighs. She sniffed, feeling her nose burn “Ben, I love Auradon, I love the skies, I love the food, I love the school but….but it's just-”

she lifted her hands up again, her frustration showing in her face and hands as they clenched “I couldn’t even blink without someone in my face asking me about my mother!!” Ben glanced to his left, seeing a large tank with the tiny black and purple dragon sitting on a mini cloth couch, small puffs of green smoke exiting through its muzzle, her toxic green eyes locked onto his form.

 “ or bugging me about me being the lady of the fucking court!! Ben, I don’t know what you expected from me but HOW did you expect me to be able to just flip a switch and turn into this perfect pink princess who always smiles and-“

“I never asked you to change!” Ben yelled, finally shutting Mal up “I didn’t want you to become a perfect Auradon girl Mal! I wanted you! I wanted the girl that told Chad fuck off, I wanted the girl that was adorably possessive of her strawberries, I wanted the girl that growled at people when they stepped to close to Evie or Carlos, I wanted the girl that fought Jay for six hours about the logics of lightsabers, I wanted the girl that jumped off the dorm building because Carlos dared her, I wanted the girl that chewed on her hair because it smelled like grape juice!” Ben panted, giving a small smile to Mal as she stared at him in shock “I wanted you Mal, I didn’t want you to change.”

Mal was silent for a few moments, eyes drifted from Bens once more outstretched hand to his eyes. She took a deep breath, trying to keep calm. “Then why didn’t you say anything” she muttered in a wavering voice. Ben's heart dropped, his body slumping as he looked into Mals watering eyes. “Not once did you ask ‘Hey what happened to my hair’ ‘hey, why that dress’ ‘hey, what happened to your leather’. Not once did you ever SAY you liked my purple hair better, or my leather clothes, or anything like that, you just stood by and smiled, because you are always in this happy glitter world where everything is good. 

Well, it's not Ben! I was stressed out of my mind about everything. I could hardly eat because I was always reading those damn etiquette books, I was up every night till four am studying because I was so tired from learning fucking which spoon to use for soup that I couldn’t keep up my grades anymore, I failed art class did you know that?! no! because you didn’t ask!” Mal panted as she tried to catch her breath, Ben shook his head and stomped his food slightly.

“I shouldn’t need to ask! You should tell me about this kinda stuff I’m your boyfriend! I’m not psychic Mal! I don’t know what's going on in your brain, that’s not my job!!” Mal shook her hands in frustration, her headache returning as her eyes glowed slightly.

“that is-GAH! I’m not saying it's your job! Do you think I know what's going in my fucked-up brain Ben?! It’s a fucking labyrinth that I only just started to navigate! I’m fucked up Ben! And I’m sorry if you can't handle it because I can't either! I’m trying to be better but if you don’t help then I’m never GOING to be better! And before you say anything, I don’t mean help me be the perfect Auradon girl I mean help to be a better me!”

She harshly patted her chest to accentuate her words “call me out on my bullshit, call me out when I say the wrong thing, call me out when I hurt your feelings! I've needed help since I turned against my mother, I don’t know what I’m doing Ben, I needed someone to guide me to be a better person yet all I've gotten is (y/n) being the only person in the universe to notice that I’m imploding!” Mal covered her face with her hands and sighed “Ben, you make me so happy, but-but….you don’t notice anything about me, not really”

Ben tilted his head in confusion, shrugging as he did so “what the hell does that mean? I always pay attention to you!”

“Not really” Mal sobbed, making Ben stop…Mal never cried “Ben I’m was so fucking confused and stressed about…everything, and not one time did you ask ‘are you okay’, and-and I know I lied to you about using my magic but-what harm did it do? I didn’t spell you to think I was perfect, or anybody else! Just items to help myself because I’m not a superhuman who can do everything at once with no-fault! So what I used a speed-reading spell, or a blonde hair spell, or a food spell?! I understand why you are mad about it, because yes! I lied to you about what I was doing and how I was doing it, but even if I never told you, would you have found out?!” Ben sighed, holding his hands up.

“let me calm down, I don’t want this to turn into a screaming match, because if it does (y/n)’s gonna come up here and hurt us” Mal let out a breath like laugh, taking a step back and hugging herself.

After a few moments of silence, Ben finally spoke again “I’m sorry Mal” she looked up at him, a single tear trailing down her cheek “you’re right, I should have noticed you weren’t okay, because….it is my job as your boyfriend to take care of you, and I didn’t do that…I had the same problem with Audrey, sometimes she would come back from her grandparents place a wreck, but put up a front to not worry me, and while everyone else noticed, I just looked away as if her problems didn’t exist. I did the same to you, I’m sorry…” Ben looked down at the floor, playing with his fingers nervously. Mal sighed, stepping closer to Ben and rubbing his arm. “I’m sorry too, if I had asked for help months ago all this would have never happened.” Ben looked back up at Mal, holding out the ring.

“Please come back with us” Mal stared at the ring, slowly reaching out to grab it, smiling as she felt the cool metal of the ring. Then she shook her head, placing it back in his hand.

“…we don’t work right now Ben” Ben gaped at her, trying to speak but she held up her hand “listen to me, we don’t work right now, I’m too mentally closed off, and most of the time can’t look past my own nose. I-I need to fix myself before I can be with you in a way that’s not…toxic. Because that’s what this is, it's toxic, we don’t communicate at all and never look past the surface of each other…I need to take myself out of the picture because its what's best for you and myself…if we kept going like we are now it's only going to hurt us in the end…I’m sorry” she closed Bens fingers around the ring and pushed it back towards him. “But I can't do this right now”

“But I love you” Ben whispered, making Mal stop as she turned to the wall “Don’t you love me?”

She was silent for a few moments before she looked back at Ben. “I know that I’m always happy when I see you or even think of you. I know I love my friends; I love Auradon, and I love the idea of us together but….I don’t know if I’m in love with you Ben, I know I love you but….I’m not sure I’m in love yet…I’m sorry”

She turned and walked back to the mural of her friends, sighing as Ben tried to follow her, she turned, shaking her head “Ben you should go…Tell them that I’ll be ready to come back to Auradon in a week okay?” she looked back to the wall, closing her eyes as once again Ben stepped closer “Ben please go, please leave” she stared into Ben’s sad eyes, feeling another tear drop down her cheek and off her jaw.

Ben slowly nodded, stumbling back towards the stairs and leaving the hideout. Mal let out a low sob, leaning against the wall and covering her mouth.

‘This was the right thing to do’ she reminded herself, breaking up with Ben was the best thing for both of them. At least until she got ahold of her own mind.

=

You looked up as Ben finally descended the stairs again, Mal, like in the movie, not behind him. Evie perked up, walking over to him and looking up towards the hideout “So…Where’s Mal?” Ben shook his head dejected.

“She's not coming back.” Ben muttered, pushing past Evie and Carlos and walking down the alley to get some alone time. You narrowed your eyes, should you follow him? There could be a chance that Uma wouldn’t send anyone to kidnap him…without Harry, you didn’t even know if Uma had a crew, let alone the lost revenge, since Harry's old wharf rats from before were Uma’s crew. You shared a look with Gil and made to start following Ben, but noticed he was already out of your sight.

“How does a scrawny boi like that move so fast?” you muttered, smiling a bit as Gil shrugged and turned back towards the other vks.

“GO AWAY” the makeshift comm system was closed off, leaving Evie staring at the speaker with sad eyes.

You turned back to the alley, seeing a tall figure beginning to walk toward you…that wasn’t Harry, you knew that…who was it then? “guys” you interrupted Jay and Evie's conversation, they turned to you with wide-eyes and raised brows “Ben’s gone”

Evie rushed to your side and called out for Ben “Ben?” no response, but the tall figure continued to move closer “Ben?!” once more no response, but Evie seemed to think the figure was Ben, which you knew it wasn’t….but it also wasn't Harry. Evie sighed in relief and placed her hands on her hips “Ben don’t scare us like that!”

“don’t scare you?!” a teen stepped out of the shadows, his fiery red hair stark against the grunge of the isle walls “but that takes all the fun outta it!”

Yeah, you immediately hated him, you glared at the teen, watching carefully as a monkey chatted away on his shoulder…Jack…that must mean…

Who knew Barbossa could have such a distasteful son?

“Davy” Gil growled, clenching his fists and taking a threatening step towards the smaller teen. Davy glanced at him, his eyes widening for a moment as he looked at Gil's now even larger form.

“What did you do with Ben?!” Jay yelled, Davy pursed his lips in thought before he “miraculously” remembered what had happened only moments before. He turned and pointed down the alley, grinning as Jay grit his teeth at him.

“Oh um, we took him, yeah, and if you want to see him again, have Mal come to the chip shop tonight” he looked at Evie, Carlos, and Jay  “Alone” he turned to you, a flirty grin spreading across his face. “Well well, hello beauti-AHHH” as he reached out with his left hand to grab your hand, you grabbed his finger and pushed it back till you heard it crack.

“touch me again and it's your neck next” you growled, smirking as Davy whimpered in pain. Gil let out a laugh, giving a little wave to Davy as he looked at him with wide eyes.

“you should know Davy” Gil snickered “if your names not Harry Hook, you don’t touch (y/n) without a few bones being broken~” Davy paled at the way Gil said it so cheerfully, looking back up at you and squeaking as you gave him a sharp grin, almost reminiscent of Harrys.

Your other hand drew to your waist and you un-did Harry’s hook from your belt and held the pointy end up to Davy's neck “and I don’t mind spilling some blood~” you released Davy's hand and he scrambled back, giving the five of you a scared look before bolting down the alley.

“he’s gonna lie and say he scared us half to death, isn’t he?” you muttered, slipping the hook back on your belt and crossing your arms.

“yep, that’s what he does” Gil sighed, watching as Jay started to climb up the side of the stairs to go tell Mal about Ben.

=

Smee cursed himself for being old and slow, he had finally made it to Harriet's ship after thirty minutes of walking, and she wasn’t here! His oldest son, Sammy, didn’t know where she was either, only that CJ had told her something and she had left as soon as she was done with work.

His younger sons, the twins, walked up to him and made him sit down, noticing his heavy breathing from overexerting himself “dad please just sit for a while, I’m sure Harriet will be back soon” Smee slowly nodded. But he didn’t want to wait, Harrys freedom and life were at stake.

“my boy, please go out and look for her, I need to speak with her as soon as possible, it's urgent” Sammy furrowed his brows but nodded, turning to the crew and putting Xiaohui, Shan Yu’s daughter, in charge. The girl nodded, turning to the crew and barking orders.

“I'll be back soon dad, Skipper-Sterling, stay with him okay” the twins nodded and turned back to their father mostly distracting him from his worries as they told him about their day.

Smee smiled but the thought of Harry rested in the back of his mind. Oh, how he hoped there was enough time to save him before one of James ‘clients’ decided to take their ‘payment’

=

“This wouldn't have happened if you didn’t bring him along, what were you thinking?!” Mal yelled, leaning on the wall next to her as she glared at her friends.

You and Gil sat on the couch, watching as the four vks as they argued. “He was going to come with or without us we were just trying to protect him!” Evie reasoned, Carlos shook his head and looked to Evie.

“yeah, and great job we did there huh?!” Evie opened her mouth to argue with Carlos when Jay held his hands up and spoke over them.

“OKAY!...okay” you all turned to Jay “what do we do now?” Mal huffed and stepped down from the archway she was under.

“We” she gestured to the other vks and you “Are not doing anything, this is between Uma and me, and Uma’s a punk, and guess what! Now I have to go fix your mistake!” she grabbed her bag and swung it over her shoulder, gritting her teeth as Carlos stopped her again. “Hey hey, you’re still gonna have to go through whatever crew Uma’s got” Jay nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, you’re gonna need us” Mal shrugged.

“Uma said to come alone” Evie sighed and stepped forward.

“Mal come on” she just gave Evie a look and Carlos sighed.

“Uma said to come alone…I don’t know about you guys but I’m not going anywhere” he flopped down on the couch between you and Gil. Mal sighed, looking at her friends. “I know you didn’t mean to get Ben kidnapped” she muttered, finally calming down from her earlier frustration “but that was the stupidest thing any of you have ever done…” Mal glanced at you, sighing “ (y/n), Harry said he’d be at his apartment and Jay could take you there, see you guys later” Mal left the hideout with that. you jumped up and beamed at Jay, who sighed and nodded, gesturing towards the stairs.

“I’m coming with you” Gil muttered, standing up from the couch and following after you and Jay “never bad to have extra muscle” Jay nodded at that and followed you down the stairs, laughing a bit as you skipped some three at a time.

“come on!” you yelled up at them, passing Mal and jumping off the last flight bouncing on your heels as you waited for them

“We’re coming!” Jay yelled, he and Mal making it to the bottom at the same time. “come on” Gil caught up a moment later and you followed Jay down the alley as Mal headed towards the wharf.

“don’t do anything stupid Mal” you called back, smirking as she lifted her arm up and gave you the middle finger.

“Okay, so” Jay stared, keeping a brisk pace as he leads you to Harry's apartment “Harry's place is about ten minutes to and from here, so let's get a move on” you and Gil nodded, easily keeping up with Jay as he took several turns and backways towards Harry's apartment.

=

Mal took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment to hype herself up. She couldn't afford any mistakes; Bens life was on the line. She pushed open the doors, smirking as the whole restaurant went silent. She dropped it as she made eye contact with Uma “Looser party of one” Uma droned, gesturing to a free table with two seats around it “Right this way please”

Mal rolled her eyes, walking over to her, stopping and catching the chair that Uma slid towards her. Uma chuckled and rose her brow in challenge. Mal twisted the chair around and sat backward on it, setting her arms on the backrest and sighing. She glanced around, eyeing the rest of the pirates that were resting her then finally looking at Uma, whose dark-now almost black- eyes were glaring into hers.

Mal was silent for a moment, contemplating her words as Uma stared into her soul. Mal smirked, leaning on her palm as she attempting to look as if she wasn’t there on business “How's life~?”

Uma chuckled, tilting her head “Oh pretty good, ya know, considering the food shortage and contaminated water” Mal felt her eye twitch at that. How could she have forgotten all the bad stuff on the isle?

Why did she ever ask her friends if they ever wanted to be back on the isle? Of course Evie and Carlos wouldn’t want to come back this place sucked. Mal forced herself to roll her eyes and lean back on her chair a bit “Where is he” Uma ripped off her apron and let it flop on the floor, giving Mal another smirk.

“you know I’ve dreamed of this?” she laughed again, walking over to another table and leaning on it “You wanting something from me, and me watching you squirm like a worm on a hook~” Mal rolled her eyes again.

“I’m flattered, but I’m done trash-talking, where’s Ben” Uma furrowed her brows, Mal was usually the one to keep talking until the sun went down, it was odd for her to get straight to the point. But she shrugged it off and took a seat across from Mal.

“here's the deal” Mal raised her brow.

“there's always a deal with sea witches” Mal muttered, smirking as Uma gave her a look. Uma lifted her arm on the table, her elbow resting on the surface as her hand arched into the air.

“If you win, Bens free to go!” Mal stared at her for a moment, really? An arm-wrestling match?...she should have brought (y/n), Uma had always been a bit physically stronger than her. “Hmm?” Uma taunted, smiling as Mal finally hiked her arm on the table and started to line up their hands. Uma pulled back for a moment, pouting at Mal “Don’t you want to know what I get if I win?”

Mal stopped…then nodded, letting her hand lay flat on the table. Uma blinked in surprise, Mal never waited to hear the other end, always assuming she would win so she never bothered to learn what the other person wanted. She brushed it off, her teasing smirk slipping into a sharp grin. “If I win…you get me the wand” Mal took a sharp breath, cursing herself as Uma chuckled at it.

Mal closed her eyes and nodded, lifting her hand again to start the match “Fine, If I win; you give me Ben, If you win; I get the wand and bring it to you” Uma smiled, clasping her hand with Mal’s and nodding.

“On three” Uma ordered, Mal sighed and rolled her eyes, starting the countdown.

“One”

“Two~”

“three!” Mal pushed her hand to the left, gritting her teeth slightly as she felt heavy resistance from Uma’s side. Uma let out a small chuckle, smiling at Mal as she started to taunt her.

“You know, that whole princess act. Ugh.” She rolled her eyes, a sharp grin growing on her face “Never bought it for a second. You can stick a tiara on your head but you’re still a villain” Mal smirked, wow she actually thought that was an insult~ how cute.

“Thank you~” Mal purred, enjoying the look of confusion in Uma’s eyes. She jerked her arm heavily to the left, turning the match more to her side, Uma grunted in exertion. Mal hummed to herself, maybe she was stronger than the last time she had “fought” Uma. “and you can slap a pirate hat on and call yourself captain; but you can’t even hold out for your ��boys’?”

Uma’s eyes flashed and a weight settled in her chest. “I mean come on” Mal cackled, feeling her headache return as her eyes glowed “it's only been five months~ you really gave up on them so quickly?” Uma’s hand was inches away from the table, her teeth gritting in exertion as her mind ran a thousand miles a minute. “How would Harry feel if he knew you already replaced him with Davy?”

Uma looked back up at Mal, glaring at the purple-haired fae “when you see them” she growled, her eyes flashing turquoise “tell them they're dead to me” Mal gasped, what?! No! that wasn’t how Uma was supposed to react!! In her moment of confusion, Uma took the chance of Mal’s now loose grip and slammed her hand down on the other side.

Uma stood from her seat and yelled in victory, pumping her hands in the air as the pirates around them cheered. Uma slammed her hands on the table, smirking as she stared at Mal's shocked and defeated form “Now, if you want beasty boy back” Mal raised her brow at the nickname she thought only (y/n) and Harry called Ben “Bring me fairy godmothers wand. To my ship tomorrow at the wharf docks next to the old garage near the pair at twelve noon.” She stood straight and flipped her hair back “Sharp, got it?”  Mal finally looked away from her hand to Uma, glaring at the sea witch.

Uma cackled turning and walking back towards the kitchens when she stopped, turning back to Mal and smiling at her “Oh and if you blab? You can kiss your baby goodbye~” she blew a kiss to Mal and walked off.

Mal sat at the table for a moment, before rushing to stand and get back to the hideout. If Uma told her to go tell Harry he was dead to her, that meant Harry had never talked to Uma.

And they had gotten to the isle at six pm, it was now almost nine pm. Something was wrong.

=

You huffed a bit as you climbed the rickety metal stairs up towards Harry's apartment. Jay stopped In front of a black door with silver and red spray paint all over it. Harry's name scratched into the door. “Here it is” Jay muttered, opening the unlocked door and stepping inside. “ Harry?!” Jay yelled, furrowing his brows as no response followed.

“Harry!?” you yelled, pushing past Jay and stepping into the apartment, your chest tightening as you heard nothing back. Mal said he would be here, why wasn’t he here! “Harry!?” you ran towards the back end of the apartment, going through the red curtain door and looking around.

All you saw was an old queen-sized bed with red and black sheets, a painted red dresser in the corner, a cracked wall mirror, and some clothes thrown about the floor. “He’s not in his room!” you called, stepping further into the room and glancing about, you saw a connected room showing rusty bathroom, pretty nicely kept but unused for a while.

“It looks like he hasn't even touched the kitchen” Gil yelled back, you heard some doors slam closed and Gil walking around the main area.

“…” you pressed your lips together, walking back out of his room and into the living room/entrance area “do you think he went to talk to his sisters? Or Uma” Gil shook his head.

“No, if he talked to Uma, she wouldn’t have sent someone after Ben…or Harry would have been the one to take Ben” Gil sighed, holding his hands on his hips and shaking his head “It hardly looks like he even stepped foot in here” he muttered, glancing at the dark brown couch to his left and the old TV to his right.

“But someone has obviously been in here” Jay pointed out, gesturing to booted footprints on the floorboards “Not Harry but someone else” Gil crouched down, trailing his fingers on the print.

“…CJ’s” Gil confirmed, standing and whipping his hands on his pants “those are CJ’s footprints” you and Jay looked at him with wide eyes.

“How do you know?” Jay asked, rubbing the back of his head as he stared at the footprints. Gil shrugged.

“Dad taught me how to tell people apart just from their boot size and stride length, this is CJ’s, see how they don’t show the full boot and they aren’t far apart? She skips as she walks so she wouldn’t touch the ground completely or take full strides” you let out a low whistle.

“Impressive….and those are?” you pointed at another set of much bigger prints that were opposite of CJs. Gil took one look and beamed.

“Harry’s! so Harry was here! But probably not for long if nothing else here is touched” you sighed in relief, so Harry was at his apartment like he said he would be…but if he wasn’t here, and he wasn't at the chip shop…where was he?

“Okay, so…how do we find out where he is?” Gil shrugged, crossing his arms.

“Best bet? Harriet or CJ’s place, he probably hasn’t talked to Uma yet considering she sent Davy to do her dirty work” Gil shivered at the mention of the red-haired “pirate”

“Then we go to Harriet or CJ’s place” you decided, turning to exit the apartment,  only to be stopped by a cutlass blade at your throat "oh... it's you" the girl in front of you growled. Your shoulders dropped in realization as you looked upon the girl's face. Dark curly hair, bright ocean blue eyes lined with black eyeshadow, red coat, hook earrings, and a hook patch on her sleeve

"Harriet?" you whispered "Harriet Hook?" The girl, Harriet, raised her sculpted brow and tilted her head "that would be me, and you are the Auradon brat that stole my brother" you shook your head "we can talk about that later, Harry’s not here and he hasn't talked to Uma" Harriet's eyes widened and the sword drew away from your neck "what? But CJ said he went to talk to Uma two hours ago” you and Harriet stared at each other, horror blooming on your faces as Jay and Gil looked at each other with wide eyes as they came to the same realization you and Harriet did.

"Harry’s missing”

-end of part 8-

and there we go~ Ben and Mal have officially broken up! hopefully that fight made sense and didn't sound like a therapist was talking through either of them lol. also ive decided to fix the timeline of D2 a bit since its just all over the place (it starts on Thursday, when Ben and Mal go on their picnic date, and cotillion is said to be three days from that point (for me that means Thursday (1) Friday (2), Saturday (3rd day/cotillion day)) Mal goes to the isle on Thursday, Uma and Mal arm wrestle on Thursday night/early Friday morning, and the wand for ben fight happens noon the day after the arm wrestle( which is friday i think?) and then suddenly cotillion is the same night as the wand fight? even though its really only been a day and a half) so now im my timeline, the first quarter of d1 happens ALLL on Thursday, up until Carlos n Jay head back to Auradon for the phoney wand, then the big fight happens on Friday, then cotillion on Saturday to give Evie time to fix up Mals cotillion dress

also dont blame Uma for saying Harry n Gil are dead to her, she don't know they love her with all their heart and are still her boys 

anyway permtaglist

@queer-cosette​ @sephiralorange​

@lunanight2012​ @daughter-of-the-stars11​

@musicarose​ @random-thoughts-003​

@remembered-license​ @rintheemolion​

@verboetoperee​ @imtryingthisout​ @thecaptainsgingersnap​

taglist

@thesailbells​ @beccad10x​

[nothing-but-dreamy]

DREAMING

Pairing: FFXV NYX ULRIC x GENDER NEUTRAL!READER

Words: 2.219

Warnings: angst - fluff;

A/N: Yeah... Nyx... again... I know... this man gives me all the feelings...

Synopsis: YN has a crush on someone and romanticizes about the unknown man. But not everyone is fond of hearing about the infatuation.

"YN? Hey, YN!"

"Y-yeah? What is it?", you asked, feeling confused as if you got woken suddenly from a deep dream.

"Are you daydreaming again? The guy again?", Crowe asked teasingly, nudging your shoulder with her own.

"Wh-what? N-no?", you stammered, looking around if someone had heard her.

"Was that a question?", Crowe asked amused and watched how your cheeks were reddening.

"Oh, come on. Stop this! I... I can't change it, okay? I mean, he's so.. ugh... He's so damn sexy and beautiful. Alone his eyes...", you breathed with a dreaming expression, resting your head in your hands as you thought about the man that occupied your mind for a few weeks.

Crowe chuckled and shook her head about your fling, not really getting your points because she never saw him in such a way, "You should really talk to him.", she suggested for the thousandths time.

You stared at her with big eyes like always, "Are you crazy? I can't! I- I could never...", you whispered in shock. You were too scared about the reaction of the outcome if you would confess your feelings to your crush.

"You have nothing to fear. Trust me. I have known him for so long. I'm sure he will-"

"Psht!", you hushed her as Nyx, Libertus and Pelna entered the Glaive's common room. You smiled at the boys, you even waved to greet them and Libertus and Pelna waved back - just Nyx seemed to hadn't noticed you at all. For some time, he seemed to be occupied with his own thoughts, sometimes even with a grumpy mood.

The boys were barely out of sight as you sighed dreamingly again with a fondly smile on your lips.

Crowe shook her head about you with a smile, "You're unbelievable."

***

No matter how much Nyx tried to ignore you and your infatuation about this mysterious other guy, about his almost 'divine appearance' as you had called it once, it wasn't that easy for him. Every time when you noticed him around, you stopped with your speech but not fast enough and so, Nyx heard more than he wanted about the way you thought about a man who wasn't him.

In fact, Nyx wanted to be this guy. He had no idea who this man was who was lucky enough to gain your attention in such a strong way but it was obvious that you didn't mean Nyx because nothing you ever said was suitable for him. He wasn't divine or perfect, rather quite the opposite.

So, as Niflheim started one of their random attacks on Insomnia, Nyx was kinda thankful for some distraction. To fight on the battlefield would give him time to sort his thoughts so he could focus back on the more important things.

The last thing Nyx had expected was that some things went more wrong than usual. Maybe he even became a bit too cocky for his own good as he tried to fight against several huge demons at the same time to burn off some steam. Yes, it had been reckless. Yes, Nyx knew it. And no, Nyx didn't regret it because it suited his mood just perfectly.

And for the first time since a very long time, Nyx got injured in a way that knocked him out from fighting and training for quite some time, which wasn't helpful for his mind and mood either. He was just glad that he didn't have to listen to your childish daydreaming anymore.

The injuries also allowed him to act in a bad mood, to be grumpy and to have an excuse why he didn't want to see anyone.

Therefore, as it knocked several times at his door, he was more than just annoyed that his friends were too stubborn to listen to him to leave him alone for a while.

"Nyx! I know you're there! Open the door!", you called out demandingly, banging against his door several times with your fist.

"What do you want?", Nyx hissed angrily as he opened the door finally. He just stepped aside as you stormed in before he closed his door to face you with a sullen expression.

Your eyes went big as you saw his appearance. Nyx had some scratches on his forehead, a cut on his lower lip, a long cut on his bare chest that got stitched, his rib cages were bandages thickly and many bruises were building around his hips and stomach. Slowly and shock filled, you moved your eyes back to meet his angry glance. With an open mouth, you gaped at him, simply speechless.

"Once again: WHAT do you want, YN?", Nyx asked more aggressively what caused him to wince in pain.

To see him like this awoke you from your state, "I... I wanted to... to...", you stammered, swallowed thickly.

"You wanted- what?", Nyx asked low, regretting his outburst seconds before because of the pain that was still shaking his body.

"Actually, I wanted to scream and yell at you for... For acting so reckless. Crowe told me what happened...", you whispered insecurely, still shocked about Nyx' wounds.

"Why?", Nyx asked annoyed.

"Why? You ask me why I would like to scream at you? You did stupid things on the battlefield!", you argued back, drawing your eyebrows together.

"Why do you even care about me, huh?", Nyx called out, stepping forward while ignoring the pain in his body, "Since when I am this important to you?"

"Wh-what? What do you mean?", you asked surprised, stepping back by the sight of his raging glance.

Nyx chuckled unamused, "Oh, don't act so innocently. I know about your little, silly crush on this guy!", he said and stepped forward, completely ignoring the fact how scared you looked as he came closer while you found no way to escape, "All these past weeks where you were swooning over the guy's 'incredible' eyes! And his 'perfect' lips! His 'oh so soft' hair! Oh, and don't forget his sexual masculinity!", he pointed out while stepping forward, mimicking your behavior in a mocking way.

Your eyes grew bigger with surprise and shock, "Y-you.. you have heard that?", you whispered.

Nyx grinned, enjoying your scared expression, "If I have heard you? Of course, I did! All your little base flatteries couldn't get overheard when you were talking with Crowe. I know, I'm nothing special. Obviously, not like him. I get reminded that a lot, trust me. So, I ask once again", he hissed angrily, stepping forward, caging you in a corner where you searched for a way out. Nyx was mad. About himself and the aggression he hadn't under control but he had caged his emotions far too long and now, they were bubbling to the surface. He was mad about you and your wonderful eyes, lips and face. And mostly, he was mad about the other guy who had stolen your heart. The one heart Nyx wanted to have for himself. And now, he had lost it before he even had a chance with you, "Why are you even caring for me when your interest is with someone else who isn't me?", he asked threateningly.

"N-Nyx, I- I-"

Nyx punched with his fist against a spot on the wall next to your head that let you flinch. Pain was punishing him immediately. But as he saw your scared expression, he knew he would deserve even more than just plain pain, "Spit it out, YN! Why do you care for me?"

"Because you are the guy!", you cried out scared, "You're the man I have a crush on!", you screamed helplessly before you slid down along the wall, crying out of shock because of the outburst of this usually so calm and composed man.

Utterly shocked, Nyx stepped back. He was panting for air but not because of the pain in his ribs. No physical pain would hurt him as much as the sight of your crouching frame on his floor was hurting him to see. His mind still tried to process what you just had said, what the meaning of the words were you had just used.

Slowly, you calmed down, wiping away the tears from your eyes with the sleeves of your sweatshirt while you took a few calming breaths. You leant against the wall with closed eyes, resting the back of your head against the cool concrete.

Minutes passed where none of you said anything and as you were calmer again, you chuckled dryly, still with closed eyes, "You know, Crowe always tried to convince me to talk with you. She said that you would be happy to hear my confession about the feelings I have for you. Because she knew you for so long, somehow, she was sure my feelings might be mutual.", you said, slowly opening your eyes to see his still shocked expression, "But I... I couldn't talk with you. I was too scared. Too scared you could reject me. Too scared that you could make fun of me. Too scared that you would laugh at me. Making jokes about me with the others. That I would get humiliated or that I could even lose one of my best friends.", you said followed by a soft chuckle, "But, god damn, I never expected you to scream at me like this. I- I never saw you this aggressive. I never thought you could ever hate me this much.", you breathed before you closed your eyes again.

Nyx awoke from his stasis by your words and closed slowly up on you, kneeling down with still some space left between you two to give you a way out from him if needed, "I- I don't hate you, YN. I could never hate you-"

"Tell that to the dent in your wall.", you said, pointing at a spot over your head where Nyx had hit the wall and where now a small hole was left.

Nyx didn't have to follow your hint to remember what he had done. His head hung low between his shoulders, "I'm sorry. Please, I... Fuck... I'm so sorry. I was so angry about the fact that you would like someone else instead of me that I couldn't think straight. All I ever wanted was a chance with you.", Nyx whispered.

As you opened your eyes by his words, you saw Nyx' slumped down figure right in front of you. He was so close, you just had to stretch out your hand to touch him and because it was what you still wanted, you did exactly that. You got on your knees, leaning forward to cup his face with both hands like something precious, "Shall we start this conversation again?"

Nyx raised his head to meet your eyes which were filled with more warmth than before. He swallowed and nodded insecurely, "W-why are you here?", he asked carefully.

You smiled softly, tilting your head, "Crowe told me what happened on the battlefield. She said you acted reckless and got injured. I... I had to see you."

Nyx crawled closer to you, ignoring his paining body once again, "You had to see me? Why?", hope was vibrating in his low voice.

"Because I care for you, Nyx. Maybe I care even more for you than you might think.", you said softly, leaning even closer.

"How much more?"

"Well, this much.", you whispered, leaning in to kiss him softly.

Nyx closed his eyes slowly, just enjoying your lips against his as you moved them. He moved along, deepening the kiss, pulling you closer with his hands on your back.

You broke the kiss very slowly for some air, resting your forehead against Nyx' with a content smile, "Why have you never said something?", you whispered.

Nyx shook his head, "I couldn't. You were always so glowing and happy when you were talking about this guy. The last thing I wanted was to... In fact, I just wanted to be the reason behind this breathtaking smile instead of someone else... But I also didn't want to take your glowing away."

"You never considered that you might be the reason behind my happiness, huh?", you asked softly.

"No… I had no idea that all the things you said were about me...", Nyx chuckled and winced in the next moment because of the pain that finally took back control of his body.

It was then that you got reminded of what Nyx had endured. Quickly, you stood up, helping him back on his feet and into the bed, "You should rest now.", you said softly and a bit guilt-ridden. Somehow, you were one reason behind his pain.

"Can you stay? I'm sure it will help me to recover.", Nyx asked with a smirk, grabbing your wrist as you were about to leave.

It was the smirk that always let your heartbeat quicken. You gnawed on your lower lip, "Okay, but just until you fell asleep.", you answered, crawling next to Nyx' side.

Nyx flung his arm around you, burying his nose into your hair, "Cute that you think I will let you go. At all.", he whispered, pressing a soft kiss on your ear before he pulled you closer to keep you secure in his arms before he fell into a soft sleep with you by his side like he always had dreamed of.

[kermitbread]

I am curious about how will episode 12 be in 2p hanako. Will be more angst???

EEHHHH

basically not a lot changes here ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

getting dragged by supernatural fish down into the deep waters weren't exactly ideal for our poor nene.

now in her fish form, she struggled against the surprisingly tight grip of the big fish on her, trying to escape. but the sea creatures continued to pull her lower into their underwater domain, some fish blocking any sort of exit for her should she manage to leave.

"you should seriously reconsider, princess." the yellow pufferfish spoke. "you should understand your current situation. a thoughtless lady with no taste in males... not to mention your legs are fat! you truly are a failure in the matters of love!"

nene felt those words sting through her entire self-confidence, as she tried to defend herself, albeit weakly. "i-i'm not...!"

the pufferfish tugged her forward to where the rest of the fish were gathered. "oh, you poor thing... surely, you must have been aware, no? you don't belong in the dried-up lands of the near shore... if you throw that and your two ghastly legs away for good, you can do so much better in our world!"

you don't belong there.

it made sense, didn't it? what kind of person would like her, anyway? the strange girl who had weird legs and talked to herself in the girl's bathroom. maybe... maybe she'd do them some good if she weren't around.

maybe this other world would need her more the most.

"so princess, are you ready to finally become one of us?" opening the red fish-shaped bottle, the pufferfish pointed it close to her mouth. "a world of popularity and importance awaits you!"

without a second thought, she opened her mouth, ready to drink the mermaid blood. although, she would have actually did it if not for the fact a large net suddenly scooped her from the water, bringing along a few unfortunate fish with her.

w-what's going on?!!

nene descended down after getting flung off into the air by the net, feeling herself turning back into her human form the moment she fell into someone's arms.

"idiot. don't tell me you're forgetting your own promise now?" she heard hanako say as he held her securely to his chest, not even caring if he had wet his clothes in the process. (he's a ghost, why would he even care)

"h... hanako-kun...?"

"s-school mystery! give us our lady back at once!" the yellow pufferfish demanded, the rest of it's fish companions agreeing. putting nene back to the ground, hanako walked up to the fish, knife already in his hand.

"you pests don't know any proper manners, huh? it's not very polite to take things that don't belong to you. unless..." he took out a sashimi recipe from his pocket and threateningly waved it at their faces with a sadistic smile.

the other fish, having been freaked out, began to swim back down, screaming in fear and leaving the pufferfish and it's bowtied sidekick behind. so much for their plan.

the pufferfish clenched it's fin in anger. "grr! we'll remember this, school mystery! my lady! until we meet again!" and with that, the last of the fish creatures splashed back into their domain, and everything was quiet once more.

awkward silence, indeed.

"u-uh... hanako-kun... i wasn't really going to go with them or anything..." she half-heartedly spoke, not having the heart to meet him in the eye. well, she wasn't lying either, anyway. it wasn't like she was entirely sure on becoming like the fish at first.

the glare on his face darkened, though, which made her flinch. "i recall you saying you wanted a harem, didn't you?"

"i-i'm sorry..." you dug yourself a hole, nene. time to owe up for your mistakes.

hanako pulled the brim of his hat down, looking uncharacteristically shy for some reason. "i'm the one who should be saying sorry."

eh?

"about the donuts, and other things. i'm sorry for causing such a scene. i don't expect you to forgive me, but i just thought i'd let you know."

ah. that. the whole disaster of an encounter with who appeared to be his younger brother. so she wasn't the only one bothered by the aftermath of the incident.

guess the two of them had to apologize to each other some way or another soon, and this was it.

through the scales littered on her cheek, through the messy, wet hair, she smiled brightly at him.

"i forgive you."

she could have sworn she saw him smile, although it was so faint she couldn't tell if it had actually been there.

he wiped her cheek with his long sleeve, muttering a "whatever am i going to do with you, yashiro..." with a hidden fondness in his tone.

"that reminds me, i forgot to say thank you from back then." nene blinked in confusion. he rolled his eyes at her cluelessness, pinching her cheek.

"eek—hey! what was that for?!" she cried out.

"stupid! you know what i'm talking about!" he was now flaring up, face flushed with a crimson color. then he turned away to look over her shoulder, feeling too embarrassed to look at her directly.

"you said... that you liked me. to be honest, no girl's ever told me that kind of thing before. so... thanks, i guess."

although his attempt to sound nonchalant about it sucked, nene was glad he wasn't facing her, or he would have seen how red her face was being right now.

"y-yeah." she lamely replied, silently cringing at herself. oh, great answer!

he sighed, walking off from behind her in a few steps, back turned to her. "you know... that kid back at the rooftop... he was my younger brother. but i killed him."

nene didn't expect him to spill that out, much less to her. was he... finally telling her about his past?

he put both arms behind his back, squeezing his hands together, as if trying to hold back some sort of heavy weight on his chest.

just how long was he carrying the burden to himself?

far too long. she thought.

"so... yashiro... you said you wanted to get to know me, right?" he finally turned around to face her, with an unreadable expression. sadness? bitterness? she could never really tell sometimes, but...

slowly, he raised his hand, pinky finger extended out to her. "then... until that day comes, be my assistant just for a while longer. alright?" he had a hopeful twinge in his voice, and a slight smile across his lips.

if she were ever to tell anyone about that wondrous sight, no one would believe her at all.

nene intertwined her pinky finger to his, nodding with a smile of her own, sealing that promise they have made that day.

a promise that would be very important to the both of them someday.

"...okay!"

[durmstrange]

Twisted - Draco Malfoy

Welcome to a new Draco fic.  Hope you enjoy!

Word count: 2,334

It wasn’t often that you found yourself to be tied up in a situation you did not want to be in.  You were quite talented at avoiding problematic people and situations by simply avoiding the eyes of many.  One could say that you were a wallflower, someone who blended in with the background and wasn’t very noticed, and you were proud to agree with this.

You were quite the scholar, so a lot of your time was spent with your head in a book in the library or with your nose in an essay in your dormitory, working as diligently as anyone.  It had become normal for you to enjoy these sort of things, and you didn’t realize how unsociable you had become until your sixth year, when you were invited to Professor Slughorn’s Christmas Party, and you had no date and no candidates to even consider.

You wandered through the corridors of Hogwarts, thinking hard about what you could do and who you could take, but none came to mind. Who was there that even knew who you were?  Even the people in your own house didn’t know you well enough to be your date.  With a small sigh, you leaned your back against the wall and slid down it slowly.  To your great surprise, a door conjured directly across the corridor from you.  Your mouth fell open, and you stared at the door for a long, hard moment.  What was this?  Was it some type of prank?  A secret room hidden to the naked eye?

Curiosity got the best of you as you pulled yourself to your feet and pulled your wand from your sweater, holding it tightly as you walked to the door and pushed it open.  The room was cluttered, to say the absolute least.  You had never seen such furniture and junk piled as high as the tall ceilings of Hogwarts before, and to see it in such a state shocked you.  There were strange noises and chirps here and there, and you were about to turn and leave when you heard it.

“Why won’t it work?”  A voice hissed through its teeth.  You froze in your spot, glancing around and making sure there was no one who could see you in sight, before you opened the door to slip out of.  “Who is there?”  The voice roared once more as your hand reached for the doorknob.  

You squeaked out of fear and held your wand up.  “I mean no harm! I got to school here!” you cried in a desperate attempt to ease the angry person in the room, whoever it was.

Slowly, and surprisingly, the beautifully blonde and threateningly mean Draco Malfoy came around the corner of one of the tall piles.  “What are you doing here?”  His voice was still a shout, and he stared at you furiously.

Words were unable to form in your mouth as you dropped your wand to your side, holding your hand to your heart to calm the erratic beating.  “I was in the corridor and a door appeared. It lead me here,” you explained lamely and pointed to the door behind you.

Pain and anger overcame his normally icy features, and your human instinct overcame the threatening and scared feeling taking you over.  “Are you okay?” Your voice was curious and worried.

Draco Malfoy’s face twisted into confusion.  “Am I okay?  Why would I not be?”  He questioned but he, too, dropped his wand to his side.  He approached you quickly, making you feel smaller than ever as he towered over you.  He was far too close for comfort, and you backed away as he only approached further.  “The door just appeared itself to you?”  He questioned you further as if you were some criminal.  You nodded, because words were unable to tumble from your mouth.  “That is ludicrous. It has shown itself to no one but myself since I put a spell on it.”  He insisted and looked at the door behind you.  Draco’s eyes drifted to yours and he leaned forward, closing the door that was behind you.  “Who are you?”

You swallowed and glanced behind you once more at the door. “(Y/N) (Y/L/N),” you answered in the shakiest of voices and folded your hands in front of you after putting your wand back into the back pocket of your jeans.

Draco loomed over you.  “What year are you in?”  It felt like you were getting asked a million questions, and you wanted nothing more than to leave at that moment.

“Sixth.”

He nodded and narrowed his eyes at you.  “Then why have I not seen you before?”  His voice was accusatory and you could see him gripping his wand tighter in his hand as he stood a mere few inches from you.

Anxiety was building and you felt the contents of your stomach climbing up your throat.  You felt as if you were going to be sick all over the floor, but you shook the feeling as best you could.  “I keep to myself,” you explained and your face reddened in embarrassment, watching him curiously. “I am also in Ravenclaw, so my focus is on my studies, as the stereotype reads,” you added with a sad attempt of a playful smile forming on your lips.

Draco tilted his head to the side once more. “You’re an odd person, (Y/L/N).  You should go,” he told you and nodded to the door.  “I’m sorry,” he added as you turned.  You swallowed hard, but nodded, and left out of the door as quick as you had entered.

Once you exited and closed the door, it slowly became a part of the wall again.  You gasped for air, and found that you were holding your breath the majority of the time you were in there, and had so many questions flooding your mind.  What just happened? Why was he in there? Why did Draco Malfoy, of all people, just apologize to you? It was unfathomable, and you were simply awestruck.

~.~

Perhaps you’d just skip the event all together and use the deep green dress you had purchased for another occasion.  It wouldn’t be so bad to spend the night reading, would it?  But, as you began to settle into your bed that night, your closest friend, Luna Lovegood, convinced you otherwise.

It was the night of the Christmas Party, and Luna was the date of none other than Harry Potter himself, and you told Luna that you’d make up the lame excuse to anyone that asked that your date stepped out for a moment. You wore your deep green dress that you loved so much, and your hair was pinned up out of your beautifully. You looked entirely different now than you did usually, and it was an uncomfortable feeling.

You walked with Harry and Luna to the party, chatting lightly about Nargles and books and classes all together, with Harry being the better one to talk to.  You didn’t mind Luna’s tangents, but sometimes it was nice to speak to someone who was able to keep a conversation with you without getting distracted.

Once you entered the party, you wanted nothing more than to bail.  You glanced around at everyone and their dates, and you felt alone and insecure.  But you fathered your courage and walked into the party, chatting lightly with whoever spoke to you.  Harry and Luna introduced you to Hermione Granger, who oddly knew your name already.

The party was going relatively smoothly, until the question came up.  “(Y/N), who did you bring tonight?”  Hermione asked curiously as she glanced around, seemingly for her own date.

You swallowed hard but remained indifferent.  “Oh, he stepped out for a moment.  Needed a bit of fresh air.”  You dismissed and sipped your drink quickly without even dropping a name.

She nodded and the conversation continued to flow, leaving you to be slightly relieved.  You knew you’d have to leave soon, as Harry and Hermione would soon notice that your “date” never returned.  Just as you were about to excuse yourself from your friends, a ruckus across the room startled you.  

“Get your hands off of me, you filthy squib,” Draco hissed angrily, interrupting the party and making everyone fall silent.  

Mr. Filch didn’t even so much as flinch at Draco’s words as he yanked him towards Professor Slughorn.  “Professor Slughorn, sir, I just discovered this boy lurking in an upstairs corridor.  He claims to be invited to your party,”  Mr. Filch declared mighty and proud.  

Your mouth fell open as Professor Slughorn looked at Draco curiously.  You pushed to the front of the crowd and saw the annoyed, but moderately panicked look on Draco’s face.  Your words came before you could think about them or their consequences.  “He is,” you told the silent room.  “He is my date,” you added and walked forward, looping your arm through Draco’s and pulling him from Mr. Filch’s grip.  “He just needed a breath of fresh air, is all, right Draco?”  You asked him in a foreign, sweet voice and glanced up at him.  

He looked at you curiously, but nodded.  “That is correct,” he snapped and shot awful glares at Mr. Filch.

“Very well.  Let the party commence,”  Professor Slughorn announced and the crowd dispersed quickly.  You glanced at Draco and pulled him by the arm you had looped out of the door quickly, into the corridor.  Once outside, you let go of his arm and looked at him.  

“I do not need your help.  I had the situation entirely under control,” Draco practically seethed and towered over you once more.  

You hummed and looked at your cleanly manicured hands.  “Is that so?  A simple ‘thank you’ would have been sufficient.”  Your voice was nonchalant and turned, beginning to walk towards the stairwells without another word.  

“Where are you going?”  Draco’s voice was demanding and angry, catching up with you and grabbing your arm, holding you in place.  

You looked at him with a small, amused smile.  “My common room.  It seems my night is over,” you explained to him and checked the dainty watch on your wrist.  

Draco looked perplexed.  “It does not have to be.”  Draco’s proposition made you hesitate and you stared at him, waiting for him to continue.  “We could go to the Astronomy Tower.  The stars are visible tonight,” he offered quietly.    

You hummed once more.  “We could.  Or we could to go the library.  I know a secret entrance,” you told him and a small, cheeky smile.  The library was much closer, and you enjoyed the solitude it provided.  After all, what student would want to sneak into the library of all places? 

A small smirk formed on Draco’s lips as he nodded, leading the way.  

The walk was stealthy and quiet, and once you approached the library, you led Draco to one of the tall, evil-looking suits of armor against the wall.  You greeted it with a nod and pushed it to the side lightly, squeezing into the small space behind it.  Draco followed quickly and returned the suit of armor to its original position.  Once you crouched through the small opening and entered the library, Draco straightened out and glanced around the dark library.  “Do you do this often?”  He asked as you lead him towards a large window seat at the end of one of the long aisles of books.

“More than I should.”  Your answer was purposely ambiguous and you couldn’t help but to smile mischievously at him.

Draco chuckled as you sat on the window seat on the cold stone and leaned on the to your right, watching your every move.  “Why did you put your reputation on the line to help me?”  Draco asked as his face fell and he knew his eyebrows together.

You shrugged lightly.  “I’d like to think someone would do the same for me and so, I thought it was only fit to help you.  I am not sure what you mean by ruining my reputation, though,”  you murmured to him honestly and bit your lip lightly.

With a frown growing steadily on his face, Draco glowered out the window of the silent library.  “I am not one that people like to be associated with.  Only those closest to me don’t mind.  There seems to be a dark connotation to my name.”  He answered slowly, as if he were choosing his words wisely.

You hummed and tilted your head to the side.  All of this was true, there was no denying it, but you didn’t mind.  “Although that may be true, I do not see why that would matter much to myself.  If you are kind to me and show no signs of wanting to maliciously hurt me, why should a silly reputation get into the way of an otherwise astonishing human being?” you asked him with a gentle smile on your face.

Draco remained quiet for quite some time after you spoke, and you began to not pay attention to what he was doing.  He remained stony still, staring out of the window behind you, and soon, you did the same thing and turned, facing out of the window.  What took you by surprise was that as soon as your head was turned, you felt large, warm hands on your face and Draco turned you back to face him, and he kissed you roughly but passionately.

You were surprised, to say the least, but you soon melted against his lips as if you had kissed him thousands of times prior.  Your hands rested on the front of his suit jacket, and as the kiss became more intense, you gripped the lapels in your hands and pulled him closer to you.  After what felt like a decade to you, Draco pulled away with his face just inches from yours.  “You, my friend, are the astonishing human being.  I am nothing compared to you,” Draco mumbled as a small, gentle smile formed on your lips.

[himik0toga]

Todoroki x Reader

~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, okay, just hear me out. What if, in the fantasy AU- we switch shit up? Like instead of Dabi "dying" or, being cast out or cursed, Todoroki is the one to... disappear, or be cast out instead? This story was originally for my friend, but then I thought, "why not post it on tumblr?" So here we are! I'm not sure what the title should be yet, If anyone has any suggestions feel free to tell me :D But until then it's just going to be that title. This is a X reader story, with Shoto Todoroki and a mix of Dabi in there too- mainly todoroki though.

~~~~~~~~~~

The starry night sky glimmers like fairy dust. Harsh winds blow past the walls outside, angel tears pounding down onto the windows. The clap of thunder and a flash of lightning shocks the youngest occupant of the castle with a startle. His shaking, shivering form huddled in the corner as he slaps his hand over his mouth to muffle his small cry for help. Not like anyone would be able to hear him, it’s well past the dead of night.

“Shoto.. I know you’re here somewhere…”

the deep, scratchy chuckle echoes throughout the empty corridors. Frantically looking around, breath hitching with the streams falling down the small boy’s face. His unoccupied hand grips his shirt over his chest, willing desperately for his heart to calm down. Heavy footsteps get closer, the thumping in his ears get louder with the rain pouring harder outside.

Wide eyes look over to the sight next to him, letting out a louder cry. Everything, from the walls, floors, curtains, and flowers. The very world he grew up in slowly starts to decay right in front of him. Gasping when two hands wrap around his throat, squeezing threateningly. Quickly looking up he notices the white hair and bright eyes.

“Found you~...”

Before it goes dark. Hiccuping as he hits a floor harshly, water splashing around him. Shaky eyes look around the new room, mind racing over taking any form of coherent thoughts to form. It’s pitch black, nothing in sight. The water below him feels warm, warily bringing his hand up to his nose. His shaky hands cup his face, screaming out bloody murder in fear.

A smell of a sickening familiar smell fills his senses. From many days and nights since his young age of training, he knows this scent just like his older sister’s touch and soft words. Blood, everywhere. Iron permeated his mind with horrors from his father’s abuse. Standing up on quivering legs like a newborn fawn, his cries echo in this endless room. Bringing both hands to his chest in search of a form of comfort.

His bottom lip trembles when a scarred hand reaches out to grab his neck as before, electric blue eyes coming in view. The manic grin of the male stretches, causing blood to seep through the ruined and healthy skin. 

“Why’re you running from me shoto! Am I that scary to you? Maybe I need to teach you how to respect your elders!” 

The echoes of the male’s laughter surrounds him, not allowing any escape. With a wink the virile man slowly retreats, his gravelly chuckle everywhere. 

“Please! Why are you doing this to me?”

He yells, his feet moving before he could stop himself to run away. A sudden intense heat pulls another yell from him, moving away from the bright red flames. Tripping over what seems to be a root, tumbling down like jack and jill.

The light burns his eyes while laying on his back, whimpering at the stinging and pain from branches and thorny bushes. Helpless, he lays there while watching the blinding sun above of him shine into his eyes. The only bit of comfort being flush green leaves, the soft grass under him, and the birds singing into the atmosphere.

“Hello?”

Silence. Then ringing. the only sound his ears could pick up, loud enough to drown out everything other than that voice. He freezes for a second, breath stopping at the sound of an unfamiliar voice. Yet his body relaxes at the tone of it, so soft and sweet. Surely this… voice, is from an angel sent to him from the heavens to save him from this hell.

Shade covers his vision, looking weakly up at the goddess above him. He can't see her face, though, the sun behind her shading her face. Her hair and surely soft skin glowing, yet unable to see the features of her face.

“Do you need help?”

The worry in her voice is evident with the way she bends down, holding her hand out for him to take. Cautiously he grabs her hand, shivering at the sudden warmth after being left out on his meadow’s floor for seemingly hours. Unable to look her in the eyes, too scared what she’d say about his bandages and mixed eyes, his focus stays on his lap.

“Here, take this”

He can almost hear the sweet smile in her voice, unable to see it. She gently places a small basket on his lap, the weaving of it simple yet enough for it to work. He first picks up the bread, freshly baked and chows down on it, the growling on his stomach loud enough for the little girl to laugh a little.

“You must be really hungry…”

She crouches down, pulling the satchel off her shoulders and grabbing some wraps and medicine.

“This should help with those cuts.”

Stating matter of factly, she gently grabs his arm which was injured during the fall, and places some of the gooey medicine on. The young boy flinches at the sudden touch of cold, yet calms down quickly after. It feels nice against his skin, he decides, and lets her continue. She soon deems it on enough, grabbing the wraps and wrapping them around his arm to make sure the medicine doesn’t wipe off.

“There you go!”

Her sweet voice fills his ears, making a small, soft smile to show on his face. He realizes it’s the first smile he’s had in months, and it warms his heart.

“My name is…”

The sound of her name in his ears creates a ringing sound, he asks her again what it was, or tries to as his voice seems to not be working. He tries again, touching his throat but nothing comes out. His eyes close shit as panic starts to set in, the ringing getting louder and he has to cover his ears to block it out.

Snapping his eyes open he frantically looks around, to notice it’s black out. The sun has settled past the trees, sleeping for the night. The moon has risen high in the sky, casting a blue and beautiful tone to everything. The stars are out again, twinkling in the sky. A fog has spread through the place, causing a chill to run down his spine.

Shivering he stands up, calling out to the seemingly empty place. Silence. The trees look young and beautiful, almost mysterious yet frightening with how the dark envelopes the ones further away. Glancing down he’s taller, has gained more muscle, and wears leather clothing. A teenager. He distantly wonders where he is, bringing his hand up to mess with his lock of hair, smooth and soft to the touch.

Just as he’s about to take a step further, he hears footsteps not from him. His eyes snap towards the direction of the footsteps, bracing himself in case he needs to fight. Yet instead of an enemy or animal, a younger boy around his age walks forward with firewood. He looks up, and smiles brightly at the bi-color haired male. His green hair bouncing as he rushes over.

“Sorry I took so long, todoroki-kun! It took a little longer to find firewood than expected” 

he chuckles nervously, finding a firepit and throwing the wood in it. A brown haired girl follows after, their water pouches once again full of water. Once the wood is lit, it gives the boy, Todoroki, a chance to look around better. The memories of what happened before he got here comes rushing back, now able to think after his nightmarish dream.

“Todoroki-kun! Hurry up!” A cheerful voice ahead of him calls, causing him to glance up at the two in front of him. Izuku Midoriya, is a bit shorter than him yet all the more cheerful. He always has a bright smile on his face, eyes big and filled with wonder at every new plant and animal the three of them come across.

The second friend of his, Uraraka Ochaco, is always just as bright. How brown hair bounces with each step she takes, looking forward to the next part of their adventure. Her eyes are always on Midoriya-kun though, Todoroki has realized. He hasn’t brought it up to her yet but he wonders why she’s always glancing at him.

“Sorry, Uraraka” he says in a monotone voice, walking a bit faster to catch up to his two only friends.

“Don’t be sorry, Todoroki-kun! I just want to make it to the next village soon!” she giggles, looking ahead again once Todoroki is walking besides them.

The three make an excellent team, Midoriya always ready to fight others if they do his friends wrong. Uraraka has her own fighting spirit, knowing some sort of fighting technique from many years of being poor and having to fend off the disgusting people in the world. Then of course the tallest of the three, knowing how to use a sword and ride a horse from his days at the castle.

The three traveled days on end, this time ending in a peaceful place, surrounded with trees before setting up camp. Uraraka set up their places to sleep, Todoroki looking to find some food while Midoriya went to gather camp wood.

After finishing up they enjoy their time telling stories, sometimes scary sometimes of legends. Of course Midoriya spoke about legends the most, always fascinated with both the dark and light of the stories. After having their stomachs full and get tired, they settle down for the night. Todorki is the first to fall asleep, unaware of the other two giggling and going off into the night to have more time together.

Todoroki blinks and nods after noticing Uraraka waving her hand in front of his face, sitting down on the rock he sat on earlier during their story times. Leaning towards the fire he warms up quickly, looking around again. Midoriya and Uraraka are chatting quietly, trying not to disturb Todoroki’s peace too much.

The fire’s light doing little to hide the red on both of their faces, apparently one of them said something embarrassing, both of them being affected by it. He looks to the ground, kicking up some dirt while standing.

“I’m going to head back to sleep”

He says quietly, the two of them looking over and nodding at him before continuing on with their conversation, this time more calmly. Laying down on the make-shit bed of leaves and blankets, he stares up at the sky again.

This time the fire’s smoke and embers swirling into the sky above him. It almost reminds him of the older days where he would sneak out with all three of his siblings, before something happened with the oldest making him turn cold towards everyone. They would dance and laugh around a fire, pretending to be part of that one legend of the fire demon, once creating the magical flame, giving warmth to the humans and the ability to cook meat.

Their father would always get mad at them the next morning after finding out from the tracks of dirt they let in, though the eldest would always protect the other three. Closing his eyes to try and rid of that memory, he falls into yet another slumber, this time staying asleep until the morning and bright blue sky shows again.

[meowdymista]

Van der Driscoll Pt5

Warnings: Micah, violence

Part 4 & Masterlist

Part 6

Truth be told, after a week of being shunned by everybody except Arthur, you were starting to miss life as an O’Driscoll. Sure, they were slimy and smelly and brash and cruel, but they would at least excrete some sense of comradery alongside the shit they gave you.

You were used to being an oddball. Mocked for your smooth face, you insisted on a past life as a talented barber. If anyone cracked a shot at your wide hips, you placed a precise amount of lead in a non vital limb as warning to copycats. The terror of being discovered earned you a streak of being ruthless, which is how you climbed the ranks and managed to squeeze out regular breaks every few weeks.

The Van der Linde crap was something else though. The women pressing their lips together, the men spitting threats when Arthur’s out of earshot… Everybody was giving the two of you a wide berth and Arthur’s heavy sigh whenever he noticed someone acting colder than they had before didn’t do much to comfort you. This hurt on a personal level. You were the talk of this small town, but there was no house to take refuge in and no brick walls to keep the whispers out. Instead, you were sat on display with a billowing cotton sheet for privacy at best.

“They’ll get over it,” Arthur assures you daily. “They did with Kieran.”

Kieran Duffy - his whole corpse shook like the last leaf in autumn during a tornado. If your pulse was personified it would shake less, even when someone throws out a casual threat. Your feelings towards the man vary from disgust of his betrayal to rabid jealousy of him being able to live a life here without a bodyguard. As much as you appreciate your lover’s constant presence dissuading others from picking a fight, his protective streak was growing old.

Eventually, Hosea intervenes Arthur on his return coffee trip. Judging from Arthur’s glare, and the way he keeps looking back to you, it’s about a job that needs to be done. You know for a fact that money is thin on the ground - you’ve heard Miss Grimshaw berating the other men in camp about it, hissing with venum whenever they dare complain about picking up the slack.

After returning from another vain bathroom break (despite having little to no weight to push on your bladder, somehow your ability to retain liquids has diminished to that of a newborn yourself), you find Arthur gathering supplies.

“Won’t be long,” he assures you, a gentle kiss on your lips, squeezing your hand as he picks up his satchel. “Some feller other side of Valentine owes us money. I gotta go deal with him, but when I get back I was thinkin’ we could get outta here, do some huntin’ or somethin’, what you reckon?”

“Sounds great!” You force yourself to grin despite your stomach sinking faster than a wounded elk. Something in his eyes betrays his own attempt at make believe, jovially mounting his mare and galloping away with a small wave.

“New to camp?”

You look up as threateningly as you can. A man with sharp cheekbones and a thick dark beard is grinning at you jovially.

“Don’t get ya knickers in a twist - I ain’t gonna stab you or nuttin.” He holds out a grubby hand. “Name’s Peader.”

“Peter?” you repeat.

His eyes crumple with his chuckle. “Aye, if that’s easier for youse.”

You swear as you stick your thumb with the needle. You were better at gutting fish than needlework, and no one ate the fish you gutted. Seemingly tired of washing out more bloodstains, Miss Grimshaw calls you over to a wash basin to begin laundry.

“No heavy liftin’!” she snaps as you kneel on the ground beside the tub. “If you need somethin’ heavy movin’, you shout someone, y’hear?”

“Yes, ma’am,” you reply. You’ve overheard the other women in camp complaining about how bossy she is, but you find comfort in it - no matter how stern she can be, she never treats you differently for your time with Colm. For that, no matter how small, you can’t help but be grateful.

“It’s nice not to be the youngest for once.”

You stiffen. “What are you talking about?”

“I know I’m a hairy one for fifteen but-” Peter rubs the hair of his jaw pointedly and it knocks you sick. Two hours into this crazy life and you’re already found. What will they do to you now?

“Fifteen?” you repeat incredulously.

A belly laugh bubbles from his mouth. “Aye. Me balls dropped before I was walkin’, unlike youse. How old are you anyways, Thomas?”

“Fourteen,” you blurt out, your stomach dropping with every lie. At least you have a comrade to hide behind now. After all, this works better than the truth, and should hopefully buy you time until Heidi gets here.

You get to work, hating how the detergent creates a thick layer of slime over your skin. Even as your knuckles protest, you scrub until your arms ache, working out your frustrations against the ridges of the washer board. You keep your eyes down, your ears perked for any hint of ambush - but it still takes you by surprise when a pair of spurs stop too close for comfort.

“Ahh, Guinevere! We meet again!”

If anyone is hurt because of your actions, I’ll put a bullet in you.

You bite your tongue, wringing out a pair of Dutch’s trousers. You can feel the dead grey stare boring it’s way into your head before slowly sweeping over your body.

“Heard Ol’ Morgan’s knocked you up.” Micah chuckles, stepping forward to tuck a tendril of hair behind your ear, but you flinch at the contact. “But I ain't above tryin' again.”

Blood is roaring in your ears as your body tries to decide between fight and flight. Somewhere you can hear someone shouting, but it’s lost to the ripple of goosebumps up your back as he closes in on you.

“Whaddaya say, hmm?”

“I said leave her alone, dammit!”

“Oh, Miss Roberts,” he purrs, finally stepping back. “Of course you may join us. We were thinking about making it a party. Mom’s club, right? I mean, John and Arthur ain’t here, and since Jenny coulda been carrying Micah Bell IV, I guess it’s only fair I play the part of Daddy.”

You try to continue with the washing, but Abigail is tugging you to your feet by the back of your dress.

“In your dreams, Micah,” she snarls, pushing you to her tent where young Jack is drawing in the dirt with a stick. “Arthur’s gonna kick your ass from here to California if you keep hasslin’ her.”

“No need to get jealous, Abigail. I know it’s been a while since John’s taken to you. Where is he anyhow? Has he found himself a new whore to impregnate?”

“Piss off!”

He tuts, moustache twitching. “Now, that ain’t nice. I mean, can’t be worse than an O’Driscoll, can it? Poor Morgan. Just when you think he’s hit rock bottom, he just keeps rollin’, doesn’t he?”

“Bell!”

He turns into Arthur’s fist with a crunch. His horse is trotting away from the ruckus, the other men in camp hurrying over as Arthur straddles his swollen stomach and begins pummelling him with his fists.

“MR MORGAN!” cries Dutch, moustache twitching with fury. “What is going on?”

Bill tries to pull him off, but Charles pushes him aside, wrapping his arms around his middle and hoisting him to his feet.

“He’s not worth it,” Charles murmurs softly as he sets him down facing the other way.

“If you have somethin’ to say to her, you can say it to my face!” Arthur spits over his shoulder, fists still clenched, his breathing heavy although calming energy is flooding him from Charles’ touch.

“What has gotten into you?” demands Dutch, striding up with Hosea at his side.

“I come back in, after leaving her for an hour and Micah’s already slimed over!”

“A pretty bird like that - you can’t know she’ll come back to you until you set her free,” says Micah thickly, holding his sleeve against his nose.

“You’re a damn cockroach!”

“Alright, alright, everyone calm down!” Dutch surveys the crowd. “Micah. A word? And Arthur - why are you back so soon?”

“Feller’s croaked.” He glares at Strauss who’s working nearby. “He needs to be more careful who he loans to. Got the impression I weren’t the first to demand payment. Bastard owes more than he could’ve ever paid up.”

Dutch breathes out hard through his nose. "Well you better find the money from somewhere, son."

Shrugging Charles off with mumbled excuses, he all but flies to your side. “Y’alright? He didn’t hurt either o’ you, did he?”

“You think he’d still be here if he had?” Miss Roberts rolls her eyes.

“Thank you, Abigail,” he mutters when he’s assured himself you are completely unscathed. “I appreciate it.”

“Thank you. He’s had it comin’ for god knows how many weeks - here’s hopin’ he don’t go forgetting his lesson too soon.”

"I mean… well you know what I mean." He gives you a squeeze before heading after Strauss. “Gimme five minutes, Y/N, and we’ll head out.”

“Alright,” you reply, brushing off your skirts with a hesitant look up to your saviour. “Thank you for… that.”

"You dont talk much do you?" Her blue eyes are sharp, squinting at you suspiciously when you shrug.

"Reckon it's better I keep my mouth shut," you admit.

She thinks about this before nodding in agreement. "For future reference, nobody is gonna think bad of you if you call Micah out on his crap. He ain't too popular round here."

"Ok."

"And another thing?" She checks Arthur is still busy with Strauss before leaning in closer. "If you hurt him, you'll be lucky if Micah gets to you first,” she hisses. “We clear?"

You nod as fervently as you can until she waves a hand to dismiss you.

"Enjoy your evening, Y/N."

****

Riding out with Arthur, the tension you hadn't realised was being contained in your shoulder muscles rolls off of your body. Your arms are wrapped around his waist, your cheek resting in the middle of his shoulders. He tilts his head back to touch more of you as you descend down the side of the hill towards West Elizabeth.

He insists on setting up camp whilst you start fishing in Dakota's River. Eventually he plonks himself on the bank beside you, a foot of space between your bodies as he also pulls out his rod and sets to baiting.

You sit in the quiet, enjoying each other's presence without complications.

"You, sir, are a fish!" he grins as he pulls in a fat bass.

"Do you always compliment your prey?"

"I pay compliments where they're due, beautiful."

You laugh, casting out again.

"How was it today? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"Who? Micah?" You twitch the rod. "No. You came back before it got out of hand."

"Everyone treat you ok?"

You shrug. What is there to say? No one trusts you. Half would be happy if you were still bound to the trunk. In all honesty you can't blame them; you yourself are struggling to trust them and there are times when you would rather be tied to a tree so you don't have to watch your back.

"Listen. We got word that one of the fellers from the ferry is being moved outta state." He reels in another fish much to your dismay. "Javier and Charles have already headed down there to scope it out, but Dutch is wantin' me to go after them, check it's ok."

You say nothing, knowing he isn't finished yet.

"I'd be gone a couple days. Maybe more, but I doubt it. The boys should have done the leg work by now, so it should be a matter of grabbing him and getting gone."

"Do what you have to do." You give him a small smile. "Won't do us no good if they think I'm turning you against them."

"True, but that won’t stop me." He stares you out with his handsome gaze. "Say the word and I'll stay. They won’t miss me much, I'm just an extra gun."

"Take your guns and go stretch your legs. I can look after myself."

"And the baby?"

"I can care for the wee O'Driscoll wain, aye," you tease.

He chuckles. “You been listenin’ to Miss Molly?”

“More like I’ve been surrounded by all manner of irish men til you lifted me out of there.” You twitch your rod again, gasping joyfully as you feel a tug.

“You think they’re missin’ you? Them O’Driscoll boys?” he asks as you land an underwhelming pickeral.

“There were too many of us,” you admit with a shrug, offering him a small reassuring smile. “It’s not the first time I’ve ceased to exist to them. All those times you and I were together, none of ‘em recognised me for who I really was. They might comment, sure, but to be fair it’s real easy to lose track of who you have and haven’t seen. No one’s blown a whistle about Kieran going missing and he’s been with you how many weeks?”

He chuckles softly, eyes sad. “I didn’t mean missin’ you as a gun. You not make any friends?”

“It- It isn’t the same as what you’ve got.” You force yourself to swallow the lump in your throat as you cast out again with what you hope to be a more tempting chunk of cheese. “Most of them, the way they talk about women… it’s enough to know you’ve got a spare gun in a fight. No more.”

***

Arthur leaves early the following morning. He leaves a heavy kiss on your lips, his eyes burning into you, swearing an unspoken oath that if anything happens whilst he's away, the devil himself will not stomach the consequences.

As much as Hosea has accepted himself as your guardian, he is often guarding the rest of camp like some over tired dad. To avoid another Micah situation, if not separated in Arthur's tent, you hover near him or the other women despite their dirty looks. Abigail appears to tolerate you, but Mary Beth is the only other woman in camp actively throwing you a smile. The blonde - Mrs Adler - seems to hate you the most. If you get too close, her arms shake from clenching her fists so hard.

"Are you a real life O'Driscoll?"

Pulled from your thoughts, you find yourself eye to eye with the little boy who’s still sniffling after being sick a few weeks ago.

“How’d you mean?”

“Mama said Uncle Arthur brought another O’Driscoll back.”

You huff, uncomfortable of the gossip going around. “I was. I’m not now, though. I’m one of you now.”

“Why?”

“Because…” You look around for his mother but come up empty. “Because if I was, I’d still be tied to the tree.”

“But why?”

“Because the O’Driscolls and the Van der Lindes aren’t friends.”

“Why?”

You resist rolling your eyes and instead send a prayer up to the heavens, marking it as urgent before you throw this boy off the cliff. “Because Dutch wasn’t very nice to Colm, and when Colm wasn’t nice to Dutch, he didn’t like it, and they decided you had to be on one side or the other.”

“Which one are you?”

“I’m a Van der Linde now, like you.”

“But Mama said-”

“I mean, I live with you now. With Dutch. Not Colm.”

He thinks on that, and the moment’s reprise is heavenly. You begin to hum to yourself, but are quickly interrupted.

“Ma said you tricked Uncle Arthur.”

“Did she?” you ask, too tired to be disappointed.

“Yeah. She and him talked a long time when you came back.” He’s picking the bark of his branch, dropping splinters into your shoes. “Mama said you was bein’ sneaky, but Uncle Arthur told her to get lost.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Is it true you’re gonna have a baby?” he asks brightly,

“Hopefully…” He frowns, confusion dimpling between his eyebrows. You realise that he is still in a place of innocence that the world is black and white. You swallow a lungful of air, trying to think how best to explain. “Something could happen yet- things go wrong sometimes and-”

“What sorta things?”

You tuck your hair behind your ears, poking at your stitching, wondering where the hell his mother has got to. “Well, it might not grow properly yet. Usually ladies don’t tell anyone until a bit further along… if I get sick, or if the baby gets hurt it might not… you know. It might not make it to being outside my tummy.”

“When will you know?”

“When it gets here I suppose.” You look up at the boy’s thoughtful expression. “Why so many questions? You excited?”

“Yeah! Ima be an uncle!”

“You’re a little young to be an uncle, kid.” You can feel your mouth pulling into a smile despite yourself. “You’ll be cousins though, I guess. Your pa and Arthur are brothers, right?”

“Right! So this is gonna be my brother?”

You stifle a laugh of disbelief. “Well we don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl yet-”

“Do you got any brothers?”

“Jack! You playin’ hide and go seek again?”

“I’m here, Mama!”

Abigail rounds the tent, her expression darkening at the sight of you. You gulp, dropping your gaze back to your stitching, but the boy is already gushing about the new information you’ve taught him.

“Mama! She said she isn’t an O’Driscoll, so that means she can stay right?” He’s pulling on his mother’s skirts, pointing at you like you’re a bear behind bars. “I’m gonna be a big brother!”

“Maybe,” you remind him with a little more force than intended.

Her blue eyes flash with suspicion before the tug attracts her attention again. “Jack, honey, the baby’ll be a cousin to you. For you to be a big brother, me and your pa would have to have another one of you.”

“You can do that?”

She gapes, a fish out of water. It’s painful to watch.

“This baby can be your brother or sister,” you splutter, more to the mother than her son. “I mean, Arthur’s your pa’s big brother right? But they don’t have the same mom and dad so if you love them enough, I don’t see the harm.”

He’s looking up with his big eyes until Abigail offers you a half smile. “Right,” she confirms, crouching down and straightening his little coat. “You’re gonna be a big brother. Uncle Arthur’ll be mighty proud of you.”

“Can I go play?”

“Sure, Jack.” She watches as he runs off, dragging his stick behind him. Slowly she turns to you, arms folded across her chest. “He weren’t botherin’ you, was he?”

“No, no, of course not!” At least, he isn’t now.

“I- I’m sorry if he was bein’ nosy. It’s alright to tell him to butt outta your business if he gets a bit much. He heard me talkin’ with Arthur ‘bout it all-”

“Yeah he said,” you say as offhandedly as you can manage. You notice her teeth pulling on her lip out the corner of your eye, but you don’t react. Keep your hands clean, you tell yourself, tying a knot and cutting the thread. Keep your nose out. Wait for Arthur.

“How are you feelin’? About it all?”

You look up, surprised by her gentleness after the cold front that’s been hitting you on repeat from every member of camp. Exhaling thoughtfully, you shrug, not objecting as she pulls over a chair to sit down at the edge of the tent. “Alright, I guess. Gotta just… see what happens, I suppose.”

“That’s what Arthur said.” She offers you a small sympathetic smile. “He ain’t usually one for whistlin’, but he ain’t stopped since we got off them mountains. Thought it was the change of weather, but I suppose, looking back, it was meetin’ you.”

Colour blossoms in your cheeks as you look away. “I wouldn’t know. He hasn’t exactly been in the best of moods the past couple of weeks.”

“He’s pleased,” she assures you quietly, her eyes bright and earnest with honesty. “I think he’s just nervous like you are, that it might not work out, but I known him long enough to tell you I ain’t seen this side to him since Jack was first born.”

Your ears prick. “He isn’t-?”

“No! No, Jack is a Marston, I got no doubt at all about that. I just remember him bein’ real pleased when Jack was a baby. He- Being a father is something he- he’ll enjoy I’m sure.”

“I know about Isaac,” you breathe quietly and she lets out a big sigh of relief.

“Oh good! I was worried I’d said too much.”

“Don’t worry. He told me in the doctor’s when-” You shake your head of the memory. “Anyway. I know he’s not sure about it all.”

“He will be.” She gives you a sincere smile. “He’s a worrier, even if he tries not to show it. He’ll be better when it’s here, safe and sound. Anyways - I best leave you rest.”

“Sure.” You hesitate before calling out to her, making her turn back. “Thank you,” you call, not really sure how better to express yourself. She smiles and gives you a wave of understanding.

“I’ll see you around.”

[breakingsomething]

the fall

the second this idea came to me, i had to write it. also, this is NOT CANON IN MY LORE. at all. please heed the warnings, as this fic is. very heavy. lotta bad shit. enjoy.

trigger warnings: torture, blood, gore

the only sound to be heard was a silent click, click, click. perfectly continuous, never faltering. heavy boots tapping the floor as they marched down an empty corridor with gently flickering lights until they reached a door. a gloved hand tapped buttons whose piercing beeps shattered the silence, and the door was opened to reveal a much shorter hallway. at the end was a thick steel door, which required several codes and fingerprint scans to open. this place was clearly very deliberately made. eventually the door made a hissing noise and the man that the pair of boots belonged to stepped inside, swinging it shut behind him and slowly walking into the middle of the room.

it was very small, and very dark. there was only one light, just above the doorway, but it was bright enough to show what was inside, which was - nothing. nothing apart from one man, handcuffed to a pipe against a wall with a cloth gag in his mouth, and a wooden bat next to the door where the man in gloves and boots stood. he paused as he sauntered in, casually picking up the bat and swinging it from hand to hand. the mask over his face creased with an unseen smile as he came forward, looking down on the man beneath him.

for a moment they were both silent. then the standing man yanked his hood from his head and removed his mask, revealing wavy brown hair and pale, scarred skin. he grinned, showing off gap teeth and sparkling dark blue eyes. he tilted his head, tapping the bat against the floor.

"hello, hello, hello," he said slowly, dragging out his words as he clicked his boots against the floor. "sorry it's been a while. i've been… busy. you understand, i'm sure. i know you were a very busy man too, once."

the man on the floor said nothing, of course. his expression was blank, but his eyes were burning with rage and hatred and defiance. the standing man felt a twinge of pride at that, revelling in how weak he looked, how sick, how human.

he raised his eyebrows dramatically, putting on a babying tone. "oh, oh! pardon my forgetfulness, bro." he crouches down to be at the other man's level, not breaking eye contact. "it's hard to remember things that are so unimportant. i'm sure you understand that as well. see, we get each other, you and i. do we not?"

he suddenly yanked the gag from the other man's mouth in one ferocious motion, causing him to cough and splutter from pain. the gloved man tossed the gag behind him, biting back a giggle at how the other quickly regained his composure and growled softly, his eyes going from soft brown to green to blue to white to fully black. even without his pupils visible and his greasy curls falling into his eyes, his gaze seemed to bore into the man, pure anger bubbling in it. the gloved man laughed out loud at that, sitting back and smiling.

"nothing more to say, anti?" he said cheerfully. anti only made a rumbling sound deep in his throat, staring. he was very still, the only sign of life being his chest rising and falling and the twitching of his right eye.

the man chuckled and shook his head. "this is - wow. seeing you reduced to this… it brings me an immeasurable amount of joy, seeing you looking so pathetic, so helpless." he gripped anti's face in his hand, squishing his cheeks tightly. anti should have learned not to try and bite him. he did it anyway, earning another laugh from the other man as he slapped him, three times in quick succession. anti reeled, blinking rapidly before returning to his previous position of simply staring, still growling lowly, static humming weakly.

"ah, you ought to learn!" the man exclaimed, tutting and wagging a finger in anti's face. "this is just sad, come on. do you not have any dignity left, aiden mcloughlin?"

it was that that caused anti to snap. "speak that name one more fucking time and i'll dig your eyes out with my bare hands and shove them so far down your throat i'll make you choke on them." he spat, voice incredibly hoarse from disuse. and to his credit, he kept up the glare as and after he spoke, his gaze never once wavering. the man wondered how he managed to keep it together so well when he could smell the fear radiating off him.

the man's face split with a wide smile. "oh, do keep threatening me. it's the highlight of my day." he ran his fingers through anti's hair, noticing how despite his uncaring demeanor, his breath hitched at the contact. "really, all my time spent here is just wonderful. just sitting here, admiring my work. it's wonderful. just wonderful. you, i have to say, are the greatest thing i've ever made."

his fingers gently traced anti's scalp, and anti's eyes fluttered shut for just a moment before they snapped open again, his rage returning. "you like this?" the man said with a mocking smile. "poor little anti. been without human contact so long, how sad. when was the last time someone played with your hair, or touched you at all this gently? surely the last time you were with your brother, before he left you? was that then? or even before that, when you were just jack's little pet and a single kind act from him made your day?" without warning, he gripped anti's hair tightly, yanking his neck back hard. "i can't believe i used to be afraid of you."

he leaned in close to anti's ear, despite how he uselessly struggled to pull away. "now i see you're no scarier than the rest of us. just a sad, angry, lonely little human with a desperate need for affection and validation. can you agree with that, anti? nod for a yes, shake your head for a no."

"what happened to you?" anti rasped, wincing as the man pulled his head further back, his hair brushing his shoulders. "you were one of jack's boys. i will admit, out of all of you, i had you pinned for least likely to go fucking insane."

the man let go of anti's hair, and anti wheezed as he tried to get a breath. the man just watched, smirking, until anti had calmed, steadying himself. he already appeared to be at the breaking point, poor bastard. most likely wouldn't stay conscious much longer. a trail of red blood dripped from a reopened wound on his head under his hair.

"i am many things," the gloved man said to anti calmly, hands resting on his thighs. "but i am not insane. i can just see things so much clearer now. i can see how weak you are. i can see how powerful i am. i can see how my brothers perhaps always needed me to be more like this in order to protect them."

despite it all, anti grinned crookedly, his lip busting open again with the movement. "but your brothers don't know you have me held here, do they?" he said, and the man felt his expression slip for only a moment before his cool rage returned to his face. "your brothers don't know where you are at nighttimes. they think you're - ha, they think you're out protecting the city, don't they, hero? don't they, red? you mock me for my weakness, but you can't even face telling your little brothers that you're a sadistic -"

he struck anti again, noting in grim delight the cracking sound of his nose breaking once more. this time, he didn't stop until one of anti's eyes was swollen shut, his nose dribbling a waterfall of blood. even with that, he couldn't seem to wipe the smug grin off anti's face.

"that one strike a nerve?" he giggled, voice slurred with the amount of blood in his mouth. "are you imagining the look on little jinx's face when he finds out what big brother red has been doing? when he looks at you and sees the blood on your hands? or when the doctor sees your face but only sees his old captor, not a brother in sight? or when dear kitten -"

the man stood, breathing heavily. he held his bat up threateningly, cursing how his hands shook. "one more word and i hit you with this and i will not hold back."

anti threw back his head and roared with laughter, only stopping to cough wildly, red spraying from his mouth. "what's wrong, jackieboy man? can't handle a -"

jackie stayed true to his word. after three violent strikes, anti's head fell to his chest, unconscious. jackie didn't stop there, however. he bent down and grabbed anti's throat, lifting him up as high as the thick handcuffs and chains would let him. anti groaned, still almost completely out of it.

"you think you can just fucking talk to me like that?" jackie screamed, shaking anti and slamming him against the wall. anti was just aware enough to whine in pain, his eyes flickering. "i keep you alive, i give you the privilege to keep breathing when you should be long fucking dead and this is what you do?"

"not asking you to keep me alive," anti mumbled, limp against jackie's hold. "kill me if y'must."

"no!" and with that, jackie let him go, leaving anti to slump to the ground again. "no, no, you don't fucking deserve to die! not after everything! not - not after - you don't deserve anything as good as death!"

anti made a noise, sitting up and spitting blood to the floor. the wound on his bare neck had reopened, the crusted dark blood being replaced with new, brighter red, a wave dripping down his chest. still, anti laughed, and jackie howled with rage, his vision blurred with pure hatred towards the man in front of him. "shut up!" he screamed, voice breaking. "shut up, shut up, i'll tear your fucking tongue out!"

"do that then," anti giggled. so much blood. jackie almost gagged. through the redness, anti's brown eyes glittered with amusement. "i'd love to see you do that, i would. i really would."

jackie pulled his knife from his back pocket, holding it to anti's mouth. "don't fucking make me!" he cried, voice audibly trembling. "one more goddamn word and you'll never fucking speak again, i swear to christ!"

anti smirked, and jackie's heart sank.

"do it," anti challenged. he didn't flinch as jackie brought the knife even closer, scraping into his skin. "fucking do it."

and jackie did.

later that evening, he sat in the shower for close to an hour. just staring at the wall, letting the red rinse off down the drain. just letting all the gross wrongness go away, letting all the evidence disappear. letting himself disappear. this is what i have to do to keep my family safe, he told himself. this is necessary to make sure no one ever hurts them again.

that wasn't true. and he knew that.

when had he lost himself so badly? when had he become so cruel, so angry? when had he become what he hated the most in the world?

anti never spoke again. but that defiant look never left his eye. and that was what scared him.

[vannahfanfics]

Can’t Go Back

Category: Angst, Tragedy

Fandom: My Hero Academia

Characters: Izuku Midoriya, Katsuki Bakugo

Additional Tags: Vigilante! Izuku

The silver moon hung low in the cloudy night sky, just a sliver of white curved down into a thin Cheshire cat smile. Its weak beams failed to penetrate the dark shadows draped over the city. Puddles of deep black coated the quiet buildings and sleeping homesteads like fleece blankets, providing plenty of cover for the unsavoury and haunted souls that wandered the backstreets on lonely nights such as these. It was in these orbs of blackness that Izuku lurked, stalking his prey with all the grace and menace of an attuned predator. 

His emerald eyes focused on the crouched form perched at the back door of the jewelry shop. Metal glinted in the sparse lowlight, reflecting off the thin wire the masked man was using to pick the pair of sturdy locks while Izuku hunched in the darkness, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. The thief spared every few moments to glance around and critically inspect his surroundings; it was obviously not his first heist. Of course, it didn’t matter much to Izuku whether he was experienced or not; all criminals could kill, whether it was their first steal or their hundredth. 

The villain exclaimed a small triumphed “Yes!” as the lock clicked and the back door creaked open. The thief pocketed his thievery tools as he stood up. When he placed the flat of his hand against the door to push it open, that was when Izuku zoomed out of the darkness, green lightning crackling across his body as the energy of his Quirk blasted through his being. 

The villain exclaimed in both in shock and anger as Izuku slammed his cheek against the rough brick wall of the exterior building. Izuku’s elbow jammed down against his cervical vertebrae, placing significant pressure on his trachea from the backside. The villain spluttered and wheezed as his shaking fingers fumbled for the knife in his back jean pocket. He then released an agonized scream as Izuku’s steel-plated boots slammed into it, crushing every bone in his hand against the jewelry store wall. His cries faded into pathetic whimpers and snivels, rising in pitch only when the green-haired young man pressed his bruised and bleeding hand further into the gritty brick. 

“It’s a bit late to be out shopping, don’tcha think?” Izuku purred in the villain’s ear. The steel edge of malice poisoned his almost childishly innocent tone of voice. The burglar whined loudly as Izuku pressed his full body weight into his back, imprinting the groove lines of the brick into his skin. “I’ve got three questions for you,” Izuku growled, his voice dropping an octave. Terrified, the thief nodded emphatically to show he was listening. “Have you ever committed a home invasion?” 

The villain hesitated to answer, worrying his bloodied bottom lip between his teeth. He then bit through the sensitive, plush skin as Izuku slammed the metal-reinforced toe of his boot into the back of his knee, forcing his left leg to crumple when his patella shattered between the force of Izuku’s kick smashing it against the hard brick. A series of loud howls and yowls began to spill from his lips, morphing into gurgles as the red blood streamed down his throat, and Izuku hurriedly smothered his mouth into the palm of his white leather glove. 

“Shh, shh, shh, shh,” Izuku cajoled in mock sweetness. “You just answer my questions honestly, and we’ll come to an agreement, yeah? Now, let’s try this again,” he tutted as the burglar stared up at him through wide, watery eyes. “Have you ever committed a home invasion?” When Izuku removed his hand from his mouth, the villain spat out clots of thick red blood. 

“Yes! Yes! I have,” he admitted with a low, mournful groan. Izuku clicked his tongue against his front teeth, making the villain flinch. 

“All right. Next question- have you ever killed anyone?” 

“Nah, nah, man! I ain’t like that, I ain’t like that!” The thief began to blabber desperately. “Look, I stole some TVs and some stereos, and pilfered some jewelry every now ‘n then, but I ain’t never killed nobody!” It was evident that his promises fell on deaf, disbelieving ears, so he switched tactics. “Look man, I ain’t a saint, I know that. I got kids, man! I gotta provide, and I know it ain’t right, but I love my kids, man! I ain’t never killed nobody, man, I don’t my kids’ daddy to be a murderer- a thief, but not a killer, man!” 

Through lidded eyes, Izuku studied the man’s own tearful ones. His irises swam with clear desperation and fright, but so far, the green-haired boy could detect no lie. Izuku clicked his tongue again, but this time in dissatisfaction that it seemed he had yet again failed to find the man he’d been hunting for six months. The man mistook it as an inadequate answer to his question, for he began to sob loudly and plead more profusely. 

“Shut up!” Izuku barked, the villain’s warbling moans irritating him. The villain immediately clamped his mouth shut, bottom lip wobbling. “I have one more question for you. December 23rd, last year, the Red Pine Apartment complex- know anything about it?” Confusion glazed the villain’s eyes as he struggled to search his memory for any useful information for Izuku. Izuku raised an eyebrow when lucidity suddenly flooded his dark irises, and the vigilante wondered if perhaps he’d finally stumbled on a helpful lead. 

“O-oh, man, you talkin’ about that lady that got murdered in the home invasion, right? By that serial burglar? Look, man, that was real tragic, she seemed like a real nice lady; I-I-I read about it in the paper, y’see,” he clarified quickly as Izuku began to take an express interest in his ramblings. “I’m sorry, man, I don’t know nothin’ about it, I swear on my kids’ lives-” 

“Don’t do that,” Izuku scolded harshly. The burglar gulped and nodded in understanding before continuing, his voice soft with what seemed to be genuine sympathy. 

“Look, guy, I get it. That lady was clearly someone to ya. I wish I knew anything that would help you find who did that to her, honest, man. But I’m just a petty thief scrappin’ a livin’ the best I know how. I don’t know nothin’ about no murder. Honest, man.” With a heavy sigh, Izuku’s crushing grip on the man relaxed ever-so-slightly, enough for the thief to breath properly and release a shaky sigh. Izuku was loathed to admit it, but he really did just seem to be a petty thief, not the cold-blooded murderer that he was searching for. Izuku sucked his bottom lip between his lip as he began to mumble nonsensically to himself about his next course of action in his search for his killer. After a few minutes of listening to his whispered rambling, the thief piped up hopefully, “S-so can I go, man?” 

“Absolutely not. You’re still a criminal,” Izuku huffed and promptly slammed the man’s forehead against the wall. The air sang with a sickening crack as blood burst against the brick and hairline fractures spiderwebbed across the front of the man’s skull. The villain immediately fell limp, bending back against Izuku, who just stepped aside and allowed him to slam onto his back against the alley floor. Izuku pulled his newest prepaid cell phone, preparing to dial 9-1-1 to call for the police to pick up the unconscious man. Just as his thumb hovered over the “9” button, his instincts began buzzing with a fervor as they sensed an incoming wave of fury, bloodlust, and betrayal. 

Izuku ignited his Quirk and zoomed down to the end of the alley without even turning to see who was approaching, because he knew. In the space his emerald-haired head had just occupied, explosions bloomed as a hulky, yowling figure leapt down from the nearby rooftop, hands sparking with multiple blasts. Izuku rolled to land and flipped around, crouching down low as he glared daggers at the muscled ash-blond young man hunching over the burglar currently puddling blood against the dirty cobblestone. With the angle of the sparse moonlight, Izuku could see the white puffs of steamy breath as the boy exhaled a savage growl. 

“Deku.” 

The clouds parted, spilling the gleaming white light down to earth. The beams coalesced against the newcomer’s form. They glinted off the vermillion eyes burning within the jagged black mask framing his angular face, highlighted the bright orange bands of his hero suit, and reflected off the smooth metal framing the gigantic gauntlets enclosing his clenched fists. Izuku slowly stood up, flexing his fingers as bright green lightning skittered over his gloves.

“Kacchan,” Izuku replied coolly, deigning to shoot a disdainful sneer at his former friend and classmate. Katsuki snarled and lunged forward threateningly, clearly angered by the fact that Izuku still referred to him by the childhood nickname. Katsuki’s muscles tensed from head-to-toe as he refrained from blasting across the alleyway to pummel Izuku with everything he had. Izuku tilted his head to the side with a click of his tongue. “Where’s the entourage? It’s unusual to see you without Eijirou or Mina,” he questioned casually, tone laced with scathing scorn. 

“Shut up! Stop with the small talk! I left those dumbasses behind because they’ll just get in the way!” Katsuki yelled, hand cutting through the humid night air as his hand flung to the side in a furious gesture. His other fist clenched so tightly that it trembled. “Six months… We’ve been doing this for six months,” he whispered, voice cracking with emotions as his eyes flooded with misery and desperation. Izuku’s eyes widened slightly as a completely shattered expression overtook Katsuki’s usually hard, unforgiving features. “It’s not too late. You don’t have to do this. Come back with me, Deku, All Might can protect you-” 

“I don’t need anyone’s protection!” Izuku shouted. As he slammed his metal-plated boot into the ground, fissures spiderwebbed underneath him, making his body shift as the ground under his feet heaved and distorted. Katsuki scowled viciously at Izuku’s open display of hostility, that scowl so deep that the pink of his gums shone against the whites of his teeth. Izuku’s body quaked as he balled up his fists tight, red streams coursing over his scarred skin as the green sparks jumped all over his body. “I can’t go back. I can’t stop until I know-” 

“You’re mom’s dead, okay?!” As Katsuki’s voice cracked like a whip in the otherwise quiet night air, a cold flush seeped into Izuku’s being, freezing him down to his bones. Katsuki stared imploringly at him, stepping over the still-bleeding petty thief to hold out both his arms placatingly. Though Izuku’s instincts yowled at him to surge forward and clock him in the jaw, he reigned himself in, but only just. “She’s dead,” Katsuki whispered in a ghost of a breath.

 Izuku wasn’t sure if it was just a trick of the fading moonlight or not, but he swore he saw sympathetic tears glinting in the corners of Katsuki’s eyes. “I know you wanna know who did that to her. I know you’re angry. God, Deku, I understand anger better than anyone!” he said, splaying his hand out over his heart as his voice rose with mounting emotion. “But fuck, dude, do you think she’d want this? For you to turn against everything you’ve ever known, everything you’ve ever wanted, and just go on a vengeance spree? Don’t be fucking hypocrite, dude! You remember what happened to Four-Eyes!” 

The memory flooded Izuku’s mouth with bitter acid. He’s right. You had to stop Iida that time. Now here’s Kacchan, trying to keep you from making the same mistakes- Izuku quickly squashed the notion, hardening his heart once more before he slipped away from his path. I can’t stop until I know. I can’t stop until the person that did that- His breath hitched in his throat with the coming of horrid visions, flashes of arcs of blood splashed over the walls and floors, of overturned furniture and broken glass, of ingredients for a home-cooked meal still laid out on the kitchen counter, of his mother’s body lying prone staring at the ceiling with glassy eyes-

“Shut up! Shut up, Kacchan!” Izuku screamed and grabbed the side of his head to wrench his eyes shut. “You don’t know! You don’t know what it’s like! You didn’t see what that monster did to her!” His eyes shot open, silent tears streaming down his cheeks as he glared thunderously at the recently graduated hero. A sob choked him, making him struggle to release his words. “I should’ve been there. If I’d only gotten there ten minutes sooner, she’d still be here and that bastard would be rotting in a prison cell where he belongs!” The sparks increased in intensity as he flexed his arms hard, leather groaning as they were strained under his increasingly tight grip. “I can’t stop now, Kacchan. Not now.” 

“Fucking listen to yourself!” Katsuki pressed, taking another step forward. Izuku reacted this time by jerking forward, priming himself should the blond dare to push closer. Katsuki seemed oblivious to the looming threat, red eyes as wide as blood moons as he tried desperately to beseech the vigilante. “It’s not your fault, Izuku.” Izuku relaxed just the slightest as his friend addressed him by name, his real name. Katsuki’s voice was soft, pleading, honeyed with promise and brotherhood. “I know what it’s like to blame yourself for somethin’ bad. You know that I know. Don’t do this. Don’t go down this road.” Katsuki removed one of his gauntlets; it clanged to the ground, rolling a foot or so away to bump against the side of the building walling the alley. Katsuki’s expression was nothing sort of begging as he extended his hand to Izuku. “Please. Izuku. Come home.” 

Izuku was tempted. So, so tempted. His fingers twitched as the inane desire gripped him, and his hand even rose a few centimeters. Home. Home. Home. The word pulsed in his mind, a repetitive drum hammering away at the wall of resolve he’s built up for months. Chips and cracks appeared in the fortification, dust raining down as Katsuki’s plea assaulted his will. Home. 

“Welcome home, Izuku! I missed you so much. Tell me all about school- oh, but don’t make me cry, okay?” 

Izuku sucked in a strangled breath as the voice of the person he’d never see again rang in his head. Hissing, he grabbed his hand and held it, physically restraining himself to squash the last dregs of the desire tainting his nerves. His emerald eyes hardened into shining gems rough and unpolished with malice. 

“Sorry, Kacchan. I told you already. I can’t go back now.” Without warning, Izuku sprang at him, giving Katsuki no time to react as he aimed a savage kick to the side of his body. Katsuki’s reflexes were sharper than ever, so he managed to wedge his remaining gauntlet between himself and Izuku’s oncoming metal-coated boot. Boosted by the insane strength of Izuku’s Quirk, the blow crippled the metal of the gauntlet, making it crumple like aluminum wrap under the fierce assault of the strike. The force propagated across the surface to ripple into Katsuki’s body, and the boy yelped as he was abruptly flung sideways, right into the brick wall. The hard surface exploded upon his impact, clouding white, chalky dust into the air. Katsuki’s limp body slumped over the edge of the giant hole he’d created, twitched beneath a few cracked bricks. He was barely conscious, groaning Izuku’s name. Izuku straddled his legs where they stuck out into the alley, eyes lidded. 

He wasn’t sure how he felt about it- how easily he’d subdued Katsuki Bakugo, his greatest rival and fiercest competitor. It was so unlike Katsuki to be just immediately flattened, especially by one blow. But here he was, moaning as he cradled his broken ribs with blood streaming from the large gash in the side of his head. His red eyes peeked through the slits of his eyes, hazily focusing on the green-haired vigilante as he stepped away from the scene. 

“Get back here… Motherfucker…” Katsuki’s voice warbled with exhaustion from the concussion he was probably sporting. The bricks shifted and clattered off his form as he half-climbed, half-stumbled out of the hole. Izuku glanced over his shoulder from the entrance of the alley to see Katsuki barely standing, knees wobbling as he staggered after him. Scratches littered his skin and blood spattered his black-and-orange costume. “Get back here, Deku! I ain’t done yet!” he demanded, louder. In the next second, his legs gave out and he slammed face-first into the cobblestone. Izuku watched him slowly wiggle with a mixture of pity and satisfaction. “Fuck,” Katsuki wheezed, clearly struggling not to cry. “I just… I just want… I wanted things to be like they used to,” he sniffed pathetically. The tears blotted his face because he hadn’t the strength to lift a hand to wipe his face. 

Izuku stared down at him mournfully. 

“They can’t, Kacchan. They just can’t.” 

~~~~~~~~~~

Izuku left Katsuki and the petty thief in the alleyway. With all the noise, someone would’ve heard and called the authorities. Izuku activated his Quirk to place some distance between himself and the crime scene. His mind was a blank slate, thoughtless as he erased all urges to turn around and hug Katsuki while bawling his eyes out. 

After a few minutes of leaping across the rooftops, Izuku crouched down onto the flat roof of a department store. He smiled wanly as he looked up at the night sky, where a few stars were stubbornly blinking behind the thick sheet of gray clouds. 

“Sorry, Mom. You’re probably crying right now, huh? Sorry… But I can’t go back- not until someone pays.”

Enjoy this oneshot? Feel free to peruse my Table of Contents!

Tag List: @deliathedork @simplybakugou @lovelusional @wesparklebitch

[vizkopa]

Celestial (FallenAngel!Doflamingo x Reader) CHAPTER 10

Chapter 10: Cain ~

”This is your fault!”

Before you could even throw up your hands to defend yourself, you felt the searing white pain as your head cracked against the wall behind you, Doffy’s hand around your throat. You gasped for breath, hands grasping weakly at his wrist. His fingers tightened.

You could barely see through the pain and fading vision, but you forced yourself to look him in the face.

“This… isn’t… you…” you choked out, and for just a split second, you thought you saw a flash of conflict in his eyes and felt his grip loosen for a moment.

Then Doffy was ripped away from you and you slid to the floor, gasping and holding your throat. You could feel something warm trickling down the back of your neck and soaking your blouse, but you felt no pain.

Oxygen flooded into your lungs and when your vision had returned, you saw a bright light standing before you like a great, blazing shield. It stung your eyes to look at it but you could just barely make out the outline of an enormous figure amongst the blinding rays, pure white wings unfurled and blocking you from Doffy’s view. At the same time, you heard a voice echo in your head.

Are you all right?

Raziel. You nodded and though the angel had his eyes fixed on Doffy, you knew he understood.

What is the meaning of this, Doffy?

Doffy was shielding his eyes against the light before him. “This does not concern you, brother”, he hissed.

Anything that concerns you, also concerns me. You are jeopardising any hope of returning home with me if you do this.

“I have no home!” Doffy roared, and you could have sworn you felt the ground shudder beneath you. “Father made sure of that the moment I was cast from Heaven. He does not want me. He has forsaken and condemned me to die with the rest of the filth on this sin-ridden planet!”

Doffy, please—

“Enough! You stand there with your wings and your Grace and call me ‘brother’, but you, too, have betrayed me. What did you say to that judge? I would rather have died than live as a mortal, you know that!”

Rosi was silent for a long moment. I am sorry you feel that way. I only did what I believed was best—

“What was best for me?” Doffy laughed and there was a hint of madness in his electric blue eyes. “You were only acting on orders, like a good little soldier. Don’t pretend you had any choice in the matter, or you’d have been cast out alongside me.”

Rosi did not reply. He stood his ground as Doffy took a step towards him, that maniacal look still in his eyes.

“Do you have any idea how painful it is to have your wings ripped from your body, to have a part of you torn away?”

He took another step forward and still, Rosi stood firm.

“Do you know what it’s like to feel hunger as you’ve never felt it before, or anger so hot it’s like the fires of Hell itself are consuming you from the inside?”

Another step.

“When Father took my Grace, he did not realise he gave me something in return. Something neither you nor the rest of our brothers and sisters have. Do you know what that was, Rosi?”

Rosi swallowed and shook his head.

“Free will.”

Doffy lunged at Rosi. You felt an invisible force throw you sideways out of the way as, with a deafening crack, Doffy had his brother pinned to the wall where you had just been. There was a cry of pain and it took you a few, long seconds to realise the cry was inside your head.

Rosi’s light had faded now and, with an uttered gasp, you realised the crack had been his wings breaking. They hung limply at his sides, feathers trailing in the blood on the kitchen tile.

“Now, brother, you know something of the pain I feel,” Doffy snarled, his face merely centimetres from Rosi’s pained expression.

“Doffy, don’t!” Your cry fell on deaf ears.

The voice in your head was fainter now as it spoke. He gave you something else as well, Rosi said. He gave you the power to feel. Anger, jealousy, hate—I see it all. You have let it consume you, Dophiel. But it doesn’t have to.

Doffy’s grip on Rosi tightened. “You know nothing of what I feel.”

I see all, brother. I am not Heaven’s keeper of secrets for nothing. I know every emotion that flows through that mortal body of yours no matter how much you try to suppress it. You know the emotion of which I speak.

You felt Doffy’s eyes flicker to you for a moment, but in your daze you were sure you had imagined it.

“You are mistaken,” said Doffy. He stepped back and pulled a pistol from the inside pocket of his blazer.

You gasped. How had he gotten it? You had been less vigilant about keeping the gun on you lately, but you could have sworn it was locked safely in the desk drawer of your study.

“Say hi to Dad for me,” he growled and he pulled the trigger.

What followed seemed to happen in slow motion. You cried out and tried to get to your feet, but a shockwave seemed to throw you to the floor again. Rosi looked as if he were frozen, his hands hovering over a small hole in his chest. A bright light was flooding out. He looked up at Doffy, a look of pure bewilderment on his face, and then he opened his mouth in a silent scream. Beams of light poured from his eyes and mouth, so bright and hot you had to shield your face. Cracks opened in his skin, wider and wider until the light seemed to burn it all away. There was one final flash of white light and a wave of heat, and then there was nothing, only scorch marks left on the tiles and wall.

Doffy seemed stunned, still holding the gun out in front of him. For the first time ever, you thought you saw fear in his expression.

“Doffy,” you choked, “what did you do?”

“What… is this weapon?”

You stared up at him. “It’s just a gun. It’s just my Dad’s old gun…”

“No,” he said. “It should have only forced him out off his physical from and back to Heaven. I didn't mean to—”

He was cut off by a cry of pain and he fell to his knees, the gun clattering to the floor and sliding across the tiles to rest at your feet. His hands flew to his face as if he had been burned, his back arching with the agony of whatever had struck him. You crawled on shaking limbs to his side.

“What is it? What’s happening?”

But Doffy couldn’t speak. He was writhing on the floor, his hands pressed over his left eye as a plume of black smoke curled upward from between his fingers. You reached out and forced his hands away from his face, and gasped at what you saw.

His left eye, once brilliant blue eye, was now dull and a rune-like mark had been burned into the iris. It sizzled unpleasantly, glowing with red embers before it settled to black. You felt Doffy’s body stop its writhing but he was still tense, his shoulders shuddering with the weight of his panting breaths.

“What just—?”

“The Mark of Cain,” he spat out between gritted teeth.

“Wait, as in biblical Cain? Cain and Abel?”

He nodded, sombre. “’He who bears the Mark of Cain is one who has spilled the blood of his brother,’” he quoted. “I have been marked as a fugitive and a wanderer. We need to go.”

You felt a pang of fear at the urgency in his tone. “Go? Where?”

“Anywhere. Do you have somewhere we can hide?”

“We?”

“Do you, or do you not?”

You flinched and managed to stammer out, “m-my Dad had an old hunting cabin… up in the mountains.”

A peal of thunder crashed overhead. Doffy shot a glance at the ceiling. “Take only the essentials. We need to leave. Now.”

He lurched to his feet and scooped up his fallen coat, throwing about his shoulders once more. You sat stunned, still struggling to process what had just happened. Doffy’s voice snapped you out of your daze.

“Now, [Name]!”

With a jolt, you scrambled to your feet and dashed to your room, pulling a duffel bag from under your bed and stuffing it haphazardly with as much as you could grab on your way back through the house. As an afterthought, you scooped up a pair of white-rimmed sunglasses from your dresser and handed them to Doffy as you passed him on the way to the door.

“Put these on. Just in case we run into anyone.”

As an afterthought, while Doffy was casting furtive glances outside at the rapidly darkening sky, you picked up the forgotten pistol, holding it gingerly as you flicked the safety back on and shoved it deep into your bag. As you hurried to the car, thunder rumbled threateningly above and far off in the distance, a fork of lightning split the sky in two.

You drove as fast as you dared on the quiet country road for the first half of the trip, then the sky opened and let forth a heavy torrent, forcing you to slow to almost a crawl. You squinted through the downpour, windshield wipers working double time. In the passenger seat, Doffy kept glancing at the rear view mirrors, his knee bouncing impatiently.

“Can you stop that? You’re making me anxious.”

“You should be. If they find us, do you really think they will believe you are innocent in all this? Do you think they won’t ask about the gun?”

You gripped the steering wheel tighter. “Okay, first all, who’s ‘they’? And second of all, why haven’t they found us already?”

“They’re called Powers. Heaven’s mercenaries. They will not stop until they have hunted us to the ends of the Earth. As for why they have not found us… When I lost my Grace, I lost my connection to Heaven, and so they lost their connection with me. I am just like any mortal on this Earth now, and so I do not stand out.”

“So we have a head start. But what about when they catch up? We can’t run forever. I have work.” It sounded laughable. Worrying about work when you were currently running for your life.

“I have a plan.”

There was silence as you waited for him to elaborate. He didn’t. “Are you going to loop me in?”

“No.”

“Bloody angels,” you cursed under your breath.

The rain was still falling when you pulled up to the dark cabin. The two of you rushed inside through the downpour and you immediately busied yourself with getting the generator running so you could have some light. When the dim bulbs flickered to life you turned to Doffy, both of you dripping onto the hardwood floor.

“What now?”

“I need the blood of an innocent.”

“Excuse me?!”

He looked down at you with contempt. “You’ll have to do.”

You gaped at him. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

But Doffy didn’t answer. He brushed past you and began searching through the drawers in the kitchen. You felt a shudder run down your spine at the sound of steel sliding against steel as he pulled out a hunting knife and tested its edge. Seemingly satisfied, he turned to you.

“Give me your hand.”

You clutched your hand tight to your chest. “Why?”

He rolled his eyes. He was getting awfully sassy for someone who two weeks ago couldn’t even recognise sarcasm. “I need your blood for a protection spell.” When the suspicion in your glare didn’t abate, he growled in frustration. “I don’t need much. It’ll only hurt for a moment.” He extended his hand to you.

You hesitated, but finally you stretched out your non-dominant hands and laid it in his. You were both shaking, though whether it was with cold or nerves you couldn’t tell. His fingers closed on your wrist and he was surprisingly gentle as he turned it so your palm faced upwards. The tip of the knife pressed into your skin, dimpling it for just a moment before it broke and red beads of blood blossomed outward. You flinched, tears welling in your eyes, but you didn’t pull away as Doffy dragged the knife across your palm. Still holding your hand, he placed the knife aside and grabbed a small ceramic bowl from the counter—you recognised it as one you had made for your Dad in a grade school pottery class—and let a trickle of blood dribble down into it.

The moment he was satisfied, he let go of you and turned away, the bowl clutched in his shaking hands as he carried it to the window, where he began drawing some kind of rune in your blood. You shuddered, clutching you injured hand, and looked away from the gruesome symbol.

While Doffy paced the perimeter of the cabin, muttering words under his breath and continuing his bloody artistry, you had rummaged one-handed in the bathroom vanity for a first aid kit and had begun to clean the cut on your hand. You bandaged it up as best you could and used your teeth to tighten the knot. Then you got to work on the wound at the back of your head. The blood had dried and matted in your hair, and the back of your shirt was a dark rust colour where the rain has washed some of it away. You turned this way and that in the mirror, trying to find the source of the bleeding.

Doffy appeared behind you in the mirror, watching you over your shoulder. Your eyes met his dark glasses in the mirror.

“It is done,” he said. “No one will find us here.”

You nodded.

He stretched out a hand, gesturing to the washcloth clutched tightly in your uninjured hand. “Let me,” he said.

You handed the cloth over to him and turned back to watch him in the mirror as he dabbed away the blood in our hair. He was a little heavy-handed and you tried not to wince because honestly, this was more than you could have every expected of him. You couldn’t see his eyes but you could tell from the way his brows furrowed and his head hung forward that he was tired. So were you.

“Thanks,” you said softly when he was done, taking the washcloth from him and rinsing it in the sink. Then you turned to face him. He was closer than he appeared in the mirror and you found yourself backing into the counter a little. You looked up into his face. “Let me take a look at that eye.”

You reached up to remove his glasses but he caught your wrist. The two of you stood like that for a long moment, staring at each other, then he surprised you by relaxing his grip. He let you continue but turned his head to the side as soon as his eyes were revealed, hiding the left one from view. You swallowed and rested a hand on his cheek, gently forcing him to look at you.

His once beautiful blue eye was now dull and lifeless, the Mark of Cain stark black against the cloudy iris. It no longer looked like a fresh burn, but one that had been there for weeks.

“Oh, it’s almost healed,” you remarked in surprise, leaning forward to inspect it more closely. You ignored the small sound of discomfort Doffy made at your proximity. “How is that possible?”

“My Grace may be gone but there are still some… residual powers,” he said.

“Huh,” you uttered, still examining him closely. You thought back to when you had first brought him home and tended to the wounds from his fall. They had healed surprisingly fast back then too. “Must be nice.”

He just stared at you. There was still the familiar contempt in his gaze every time he looked at you, but it seemed less apparent than usual. Perhaps it was just his exhaustion.

“Well, if you’re quite done…” he said, indicating your hand still pressed to his cheek.

“Oh,” you flushed and took you hand away quickly. “Yes. Let’s get a fire going before we both freeze to death. And,” you added, pushing off the bathroom counter, “I think I need a drink.”

[i-found-you-in-a-fanfic]

[ Never an enemy, always a rival ]

Summary: “I hope you realize that I never saw you as an enemy. Only a rival.” Kunimi whispered, his cheeks pinking as he ducked his head, ashamed of the way his heart pounded in his chest, like a drum ringing through an empty stadium. Kageyama took a step back, his eyes narrowing as his scowl only deepened.

Contains: Kagekuni, pining

A/N: Here’s the first kagekuni fic anon asked for! Just a heads up, we don’t ship this, but since this was our first request, we decided to go with it! Enjoy! - Mod Oikawa

“I hope you realize that I never saw you as an enemy. Only a rival.” Kunimi whispered, his cheeks pinking as he ducked his head, ashamed of the way his heart pounded in his chest, like a drum ringing through an empty stadium. Kageyama took a step back, his eyes narrowing as his scowl only deepened.

Kunimi rubbed the back of his neck, already flustered. It had been so long since he’d seen Kageyama, since he turned his back on him and they enrolled in different schools. He had so long to think about everything he felt for the setter. He had so long to feel guilty, ashamed of forcing him away from Aoba Johsai and toward Karasuno. The feelings all bubbled up in his chest, impossible to force back down.

Kageyama wore a surprised expression on his face for a moment before trying to mold it into a stiff frown. He placed his hands on his hips threateningly, his face sharp but his eyes soft. Kunimi flinched, unsure of how he was going to react. He wasn’t awake enough to get into a full blown argument, and a conflict was the last thing he wanted. He just wanted Kageyama in his arms, Kageyama on his lips. He wanted Kageyama’s forgiveness.

“I have a game to play.” His voice was rough, conflicted, and Kunimi bowed his head slightly, his heart dropping and his face flushing. His palms started to sweat, and he curled his hands into tight fists by his side. Kageyama shouldered past him.

He should have been watching the match closely, scanning for any weak points in Karasuno’s performance, hunting for methods of beating them to Nationals.

All he saw was the way Kagayama’s skin glittered underneath the bright lights above the court, like it was made of the moon’s soft glow and the stars’ shining gaze.

Kunimi knew he was hopeless. He was well aware of how he was drawn to Kageyama, as if gravity was egging him on. As if his world was in orbit around this beautiful boy. He was afraid to look directly at him, like acknowledging his grace and power full-on would only hurt him. He didn’t want to stray too far from him,  but he was afraid that if he took one step too close, he would burn.

Kunimi didn’t call Kageyama ‘The King of the Court’ to mock him. He was stating the truth. Kageyama was the ruler of everything he touched, everything he lay his sharp eyes on. Volleyball. The skies. Kunimi’s pounding heart that cried on and on and on, mournful, dismal.

Kageyama was destined for great things, to be the center of not just Kunimi’s world, but the universe. The galaxies should be at his fingertips. The stars should dance around his hair. The moon should be entrapped in his eyes.

Kunimi didn’t think he could give Kageyama the universe.

He did know that he could give him his heart. But would that be enough?

Was he supposed to be darting around the edges of the sun for all his life, careful not to stare directly at it, careful not to get too near, careful not to stray too far? Or was he supposed to embrace it, knowing that it’s rays could never hurt him?

“Kunimi-chan, we need to play now.” Oikawa’s voice cut through his thoughts, and he snapped his head up, face red. He nodded, slowly making his way to the court with a long, insufferable sigh. He didn’t have the right mindset to play. His brain had already flipped the switch into give-up mode. That’s not how you win a match.

Well, it didn’t matter much anyway. They didn’t win.

He had moved too close to the glowing stars in the inky skies, and he had been slapped back down to earth. The galaxies were only for ethereal beings like Kageyama. He wasn’t allowed up in the sky with him.

Sometimes, tears were too thick to see the moon that shone right before your eyes.

Kunimi lowered his head as he dragged his feet back to his house, tears staining his eyes, their message brighter and bolder than any paint. He had lost many things that day.

A shot at Nationals. Teammates who would be moving on to college the next year. A chance for forgiveness. Hope for a bright future with the moon and stars.

His mixing emotions built up in his chest, swirling together into a mess of anxiety and heartache, pressing so tightly against his lungs that it was hard to breathe. Everything that had built up exploded like a vibrant firework, the colors dancing behind his eyes as he bumped into someone standing in front of him.

What a sick, twisted joke this was.

He had run right into Kageyama.

His eyes widened, and his breath caught dangerously in his chest. Kageyama looked down at him, eyebrows pressing together, eyes glinting. Kunimi could almost see the crown on top of his head.

“Watch where you’re going.” Kunimi scowled at the words, something boiling in his stomach. He exhaled through his nose and took another step forward. He was almost past the setter when a calloused hand grasped his wrist.

Kunimi whirled to face Kageyama, feeling confused. Why did he hold him back? His wide eyes searched the other boys’, his heart stuttering. Kageyama looked down at the ground, pressing his lips together tightly. Was that blush dusting his cheeks or a trick of the light?

“I just wanted you to know that you played well. And that I never saw you as an enemy either. Not even as a rival. As something else.” Kunimi tipped his head, his heart racing, his face dazed, his eyes unwillingly vulnerable. Kageyama hadn’t taken his fingers from Kunimi’s wrist, and he relished in the soft touch.

“What do you see me as?” His voice came out strong, only one slight waver near the end that betrayed his nerves. Kageyama studied his face for a moment, his eyes deep and placid, serene stars dancing together in his dark pupils.

He pulled away, his fingertips trailing Kunimi’s palm for only a moment, but the touch was enough to set them aflame. He took a step back, a slight smile sketched delicately on his lips.

“A mystery.” Kunimi could only watch as Kageyama turned away and left, still carrying Kunimi’s heartbeat in his palms.

That night, Kunimi couldn’t fall asleep. The moment with Kageyama kept replaying in his mind, his ears ringing. When did he get so hot? He was certain that Kageyama wasn’t usually that smooth. He had seen Kageyama trip over a discarded milk carton earlier that day, so he didn’t know why he decided to act sexy all of a sudden.

The ideas that swarmed in his head to explain made his heart race. But he needed to push down his hope in fear of being disappointed. There was no way Kageyama reciprocated his feelings after everything he’s been through.

Still, the soft skin on his palm and wrist tingled in sweet memory of the last fleeting touch.

He grinned softly to himself, pulling his hand closer to his chest, for it seemed that the waxing moon had smiled down at him.

He dreamt of skies that glistened with stardust and galaxies that stretched on for ages, the moon’s dim light that caressed the Earth with it’s warm gaze.

His brain was still foggy with slumber when he pulled himself out of bed and forced himself to walk to school, but he woke right up when he saw a familiar figure standing outside of his school.

What was Kageyama doing there?

He looked around, his eyes flicking from the setter to the entrance of the school, unsure. What was he supposed to do? He was just standing there, glancing around as if looking for someone.

When their eyes met, when blue locked onto brown, Kunimi knew exactly who Kageyama was searching for. He stepped forward, eyes narrowed.

“Are you stalking me?” His voice came out low, flat, masking his frantic pulse. Kageyama’s eyes widened, as if he had just realized that that was exactly what this looked like. After stuttering for a moment, he finally spoke.

“No.”

“Then what are you doing here?” Kageyama met his eyes evenly, arms crossed in front of his chest. Kunimi fought to keep his composure.

“I wanted to ask you something.”

“Ask me, then.” Kunimi’s breath caught in his throat as the boy dug in his backpack, searching intensely as his face reddened. Kunimi bit back a smile and clenched his trembling fingers.

Kageyama lifted a half-squished box of chocolates from his bag and held it out towards Kunimi, bowing deeply. An audible gasp echoed from Kunimi’s lips, his mind whirling.

Was this actually happening?

And as the sky smiled down at him, six words floated into the air, warm and perfect, music to Kunimi’s ears.

The stars still hung in the sky during the day, even when you couldn’t see them. Shooting stars still ripped across the atmosphere, galaxies still glittered majestically above him. Even though he couldn’t see it, the moon still peered down on him, smiling warmly as his wishes came true.

The ruler of the universe still shone just as bright during the day.

“Will you go out with me?”

And the only word Kunimi could say was yes.

[ Check out my ao3 for other works! ]