#he lied through his teeth and deceived everyone

[tsams-and-co-memes]

Something that I don't think gets talked about enough:

The fact that Ruin is good with kids

Yeah, it kinda comes with the territory of being a daycare attendant, but still. Before he got his current body and was still broken, while pretending to be cured, he was in the daycare’s ballpit as the resident "ballpit shark." He was entertaining the kids and playing with them, and despite how he looked, the kids would've had to like him a decent amount, since he was never asked to leave the daycare at any point during that window of time

I read something before about how, in Ruin's dimension, there's a chance that he (as a carrier of the virus and not someone who was affected by it) may or may not have had to go against his childcare programming and kill kids to blend in with the affected glamrocks, so they wouldn't get suspicious and try to dismantle him or anything

The bit about what he did in his dimension is just a thought that someone had that really stuck with me, and I don't remember who came up with it, unfortunately, but it's still at least relatively legit that despite whatever he had to do or go through in the past, it doesn't affect him anymore, and he's still someone the kids liked being around

Which. Considering some of the things he's said and done, is pretty cool to me

[placeinthemiddleofnowhere]

How 'bout I stay here and you fight? 

Pairing: König x Reader

Summary: You’re determined to find out why everyone thinks König is so scary, afterall he’s just some guy that’s taller than most people right? He’s probably harmless! Well, he’s a little scary, but you still like him anyway.

(No use of y/n or mention of gender/race)

AN: Let me start off by saying I'm sooo sorry for the time it took me to update this, I know that it's been quite a gap since the last upload. Hopefully the wait was worth it though, because I have written about 30 pages for you here, so there's lots to sink your teeth into! As always, thanks for all your support and interaction and all the questions you have about the series, having everyone's lovely messages and art means a lot 💕 knowing I have this community to come back to while I stress out about life stuff is amazing, so thanks for being there! Enjoy the next update ☺️

Part 8 of A Rocky Start - Full Masterlist Here

-☠️-

“Ghost before you-”

“Before I what, Sneak?” Ghost spat, shaking with the effort it took to contain himself. “Before I tell Price? Before I jump to conclusions? What? You gonna try and tell me those aren’t what I think they are? Are you going to keep lying to me? Well go on then, tell me what you think I want to hear, Sneak. It’s what you’ve been doing this whole time isn’t it! You selfish little lying fuck.”

“No! I never wanted to lie to you Ghost, I just-”

“You never wanted to lie to me? Yet, you let me believe that König had screwed you over that day in the gym. Mustn't have been some cheap lay by the looks of things, that must have been you that clawed up his back like that! And to think all this time, I thought better of you,” he snorted, pounding the wall next to you with his gloved palm. “You made us look like idiots running around after you, trying to make you feel better all this time! You’ve had us all concerned about you while you’ve been fucking that cunt behind our backs!”

You whimpered and shrunk into the cold plaster at your back, distantly feeling like you were lying on a slab at a morgue. Everything in you said that it wasn’t long until you were going to be meeting your end. Ghost was wide eyed and loud as a lion as he tore into you, now slapping both his hands on the wall and sandwiching you firmly between him and it. You gulped and clenched your fists, trying to swallow the burning feeling that crept up your throat like a trail of gasoline. Everything was falling apart and you couldn't even see the pieces through the wreckage to try and save them. 

“I didn’t intend for that to happen…it just happened that way. You assumed that König had slept around - I didn’t say it - I just didn't correct you. I couldn’t correct you!”

“Do you think that helps? Do you think it’s better knowing that you took advantage of my trust - in all of the 141’s trust? Do you know how much it hurts to realise that someone that you thought you could count on could be capable of deceiving you for months? That someone that you treat like family apparently doesn’t give a shit and would throw you away for a bit of Austrian Muscle? He’s barely even a person under all that fight and armour, he’s a fucking monster, Sneak, and yet you’ve left us for him!”

You clenched your teeth and rubbed the tears from your cheeks, furiously shaking even though you tried to resist. Ghost knew he had you overwhelmed. He was taking full advantage of your upset, taking his revenge on you now and tearing you down. After all those months you spent running ahead of him, keeping on top of all your lies, you’d really thought that you might manage to get away with it all. Not anymore. Your feet were knocked from under you now.

“I- It- It wasn’t like that!” You protested, choking on your words.

“How wasn’t it?” Ghost roared.

“Because he’s not a monster! We care for each other, he- he cares for me, Ghost.”

“Oh, clearly! You’d have to, it has to be worth it, doesn’t it? You’ve made your choice haven’t you? You’ve gambled your place in the 141 all these months and now your chickens have come home to roost. You think you broke our trust by going against my order that day on the field? How do you think this elaborate fucking lie is going to look to Price? It’s going to ruin you, Sneak.You’re going to break up the team!”

“You mean- you, and Pr- Price is going to kick me out?”

“Who knows what the fuck he’ll do! All I know for fact is that this is going to shake the trust of everyone here. It sure as shit rocked my faith in you, who knows what the others will think when they hear about this. Doesn’t make sense to keep someone around that’s capable of going behind our backs like this.”

A boulder settled in your stomach then. Ghost’s voice had dropped severely low, his angry snarling dying down to a quiet threat. His eyes were narrowed and staring at you with a deadly precision, betraying the scene that surely played in his head - the one where he strangled you for making such an idiot out of him. 

“Ghost, please,” you whimpered, closing your eyes. “I didn’t want things to be this way. I had every intention of staying away, but it’s just…Well…I couldn’t give up on König, I care about the team and I love you all like brothers, but that doesn’t mean I could just abandon König and all the feelings I had for him. I just… I just thought that I could have both.”

You felt like an idiot saying it out loud. 

In that moment a haunting realisation overtook you, the minute you opened your eyes and saw Ghost’s almost hollow mask sockets staring back at you through the gloom, you knew something. You’d made your choice all those months ago. You’d chosen König. That’s how everyone would see it anyway, they’d never understand how much you wished you could be a part of both worlds. 

You knew Ghost could see exactly what you were thinking. He snorted as all the features in your face drooped, backing away from you. You sniffed and pushed yourself off the wall, barely keeping yourself from stumbling as you chased after him. 

“Ghost, wait!”

He chuckled, his throat emitting a dark and choppy sound, one you hadn’t heard before. You shivered and tried to catch up with him, boots slapping hard and fast against the floor as you attempted to match his furious pace.

“Ghost, please, you can’t tell Price yet!”

“And why’s that, Sneak? You want a little accomplice in this, hm? You want someone else to go against Price just to make you feel better? The 141 isn’t a fuckin’ joke, even if you want to treat it that way.”

“I’m not asking you to lie!” you cried out, finally skidding to a stop in front of Ghost. “I’m asking you to wait.”

“Why would I do that?” he scoffed.

“Because we have a job to do,” you said, steeling yourself as much as you could even while tears still ran hot as acid down your cheeks and over your jaw.

“Oh, so now you care about doing your job, huh?”

“I care about you all, I care about the team, I care about this job more than anyone could ever know. Even though I fucked up…even though what I’ve done says otherwise, I do care. That’s why I’m asking you just to hold onto this until the job’s finished. I know exactly how this will go down Ghost, I know everyone will say the same as you have. Do you think this is what the team needs right before going away?”

You sighed and rubbed a palm over your sweating forehead, running your fingers over the wet strands of your hair. You’d been caught dead centre in your web of lies, the least you could do is untangle it with a sense of grace. Let your ruin come at the end of your last mission, let Price handle it all with a clear head, it was the least you could do. You had to make him see that.

“You can’t afford to lose anyone before you go after, Rousseau,” you continued, “Not the night before we leave. Just let me help you with this and then I’ll go to Price myself after all this is through. Just let me try to make things right and then…and then if- if Price wants to kick me out he can. I accept that…just let me help.”

Ghost halted in his tracks and balled his fists, kinetic energy fizzling away as he seemed to consider swinging them. You winced already, scrunching your eyes as you prepared for him to send you flying, but the hit never came. He opted for rolling his shoulders back instead and he paused on your words. For a moment, you worried he might reconsider and give you that well deserved blow, you weren’t completely relaxing yet. Tension sizzled through you both like a bomb fuse. 

Deep down though, you knew he wouldn’t follow through on any of the dark thoughts swirling in his mind. Simmering in the burn of his gaze was a man that was deeply hurt. Even though you were probably one of the lowest life forms in his eyes at that moment, you were still family and he would never punish you like that. Even if he would willingly watch you go into exile.

“You’re telling me you feel fit to operate right now?” he asked, his words coming out with careful measure. 

“There’s no other choice. I have to be,” you said with a bitter laugh, feeling like if you continued anymore, you might go hysterical. “All I know is that if we bring this to Price now, it puts the whole mission at risk and becomes a distraction. I accept that I fucked up, and that you probably can barely stand the sight of me, I do. For the sake of a mission though…don’t you think that we should get through this and let the team deal with it after? The last thing anyone needs is this. Please Ghost, you know I’m right. Even if this is the mission I go down on, at least let me do it without putting the others at risk because of what I’ve done.”

Ghost grunted and looked away from you, letting his body sag as he weighed your words. You’d gotten through to him, you’d delayed the inevitable. You knew it. You just needed him to say it. 

You wished that he’d just tell you he’d let it go completely. For a hopeful second you wondered if maybe some time would stop him wanting to let Price know at all. Though that was never going to happen - if not for the fact that he was hurt from being lied to, then it would be the complete destruction of his faith in you. 

Why couldn’t you have just listened to Ghost from the start? Why had you hurt him like this? 

It was all getting too much to carry. Your heart thumped slowly and filled with lead and oil, thickening the blood in your veins like tar. Your whole body felt wrong, your lungs were gasping just to get by. Your head was spinning as it tried to process all that had happened, rattling with the drum beat of your pulse. It took every ounce of energy you had left just to stay upright, feeling like you might start swaying as you lingered in Ghost's heavy shadow. 

“Alright,” he said eventually, voice gruff and distant. “Fine.”

You swallowed thickly and risked eye contact with him. That only served to reignite his anger though, the shadows in the hallway seemingly shivering around him as he loomed over you again.

“I won’t tell Price yet, but I’m warning you - you wait a single moment to tell him when we get back from this, then I’ll find that dopey Austrian cunt, and I’ll string him up and make you watch as what little light he has in him leaves his miserable fucking corpse. Do I make myself clear?”

You froze before nodding stiffly, body jerking as he shoved past you. 

“Clear,” you whispered, talking to no one as you were left alone in the empty grey corridor. 

-☠️- 

You confined yourself to the darkness that night. You were alone in your room, curling your hands around your knees in bed with the lights off, heavily breathing like some kind of demented horror movie creature. The Only thing that haunted you though was your mind. 

There was no getting away from it, no sharing the load with anyone else, who was there to tell? It was just you and your horrible thoughts, locked up tight together with no respite from any voices of reason. It wasn’t like you could tell the others. 

König had tried to message you, but you couldn’t face him. You just messaged something quick back, reading only a couple lines of what he’d sent you first. You couldn’t talk to him either. There was no way he could know about what Ghost knew or otherwise you’d be kicking off the fight of the century.  

Even with the complete lack of light in that tiny space, you still continued to see the bright whites of Ghost’s mask in front of your face. His hard blue eyes were burning holes into you like the pits of hell. It had your heart racing. Your skin felt too hot, your lungs burned with effort, feeling like they would burst with your heart ramming into them. Nothing could calm you down.

Knock.

Knock. 

You froze in your place, back stiffening somehow even further against the corner you’d shoved yourself into. You weren’t expecting company. Part of your mind wondered if Ghost had given in and told Price. Though as you thought on it for a few more seconds you knew in your heart of hearts that the moment, if Price knew about your relationship he sure as fuck wouldn’t come quietly knocking on your door. The sound was too soft, like someone that was trying to be discreet. 

Only one person that could be - surely.

You padded over to the door and took a breath, holding the cold handle in your palm for a moment and letting it recenter you. If it was who you suspected it was, you couldn’t let him know that you’d been found out. He couldn’t get mad at Ghost and give you away. He couldn’t have the stress of your relationship reveal running through his mind while you were in an active warzone. If something were to happen to König because of your stupidity, then Price finding out about you both would be the least of your worries. 

Why had you chosen the path that had put everyone you love into such a horrible position? Why had you lied so much to them all? 

You swallowed the lump in your throat and closed your eyes for a second, only just opening the door as a tall figure had begun to retreat in the darkness. You watched as the giant stopped in his tracks and then you smiled softly when he walked back to you. The red tears of his mask were the first things to reveal themselves as he stepped into the flickering light that buzzed by your door. 

“Did I wake you?” König asked, honey thick voice coming in at a low whisper. 

“No,” you sighed, gesturing for him to come in, “couldn’t sleep. How come you’re here? You haven’t messaged.”

“I couldn’t sleep either. I wanted to see you before we left - see you alone,” he answered, stepping into your doorway. “And i did message, you messaged me back - remember? You were a little blunt with me, so I got worried.”

Oh.

You shut the door behind him and watched as he walked confidently past you and over to the lamp by your bed. He’d only been in your room a couple of times, despite your insistence he shouldn't risk showing up. Though even those stolen moments were enough for him to remember the layout as if the room were his own.

He flicked the switch on your lamp that sat on your bedside table and looked back up at you then. He was bathed in warm yellow light like an angel that had been sent to soothe your troubled head. Even his eyes seemed to melt through the edge that had settled over you. 

“You don’t look very good, darling,” he noted, frowning over at you. “What’s wrong? Have you been crying?”

He tilted his head at you and with that, seemed to remember he was still wearing his mask. His eyes had grown wide like pale blue whirlpools. With fumbling hands, König tugged the fabric over his head and got himself out of the draped material, his tired face was revealed. His hair blew around before it settled into a messy nest on top of his head and his dark eyes refocused on you once he’d been freed from the hood. They were baggy with exhaustion. 

You knew that feeling well. Not that you could tell him the real reason why.

“Hm?” he hummed, walking towards you now. “What’s got you so upset?”

You shook your head and tried to smile at him, accepting the hug that he wrapped you into with a sigh of relief. You didn’t have a good answer for him. Instead you pressed your head into his chest and inhaled his scent, taking in hints of gunfire and metal that his mask had left behind and, of course, the faint notes of your berry tea - betraying his thievery. 

“Have you been stealing my tea again, mister?” you asked, trying to distract him.

“Me? Stealing from you? Never,” he chuckled, the sound reverberating through his body and soaking through to yours. 

“More like all the time!” you grinned, finally chancing a look up at him again.

“Well really, you only have yourself to blame,” he said, stroking his thumb across your chin. “You should never have got me hooked on it if you didn’t want me to indulge myself every once in a while.”

“Mmm…Is that so?”

“Yeah, that’s so.”’

You shook your head at him and tapped him on the arm, prompting him to release you. He let you go, but followed immediately behind you when you went to sit on the bed. He took little time in swiftly drawing you back into his hold once again, nestling you both into the wrinkled sheets on your sad little bed, adjusting himself into your extra cushions. 

His presence might have been making you feel uneasy, the pressure to not tell him anything growing with each passing second. However it was undeniable that the weight around your body was helping you, scattering your worries the tighter he held you.

“Are you going to tell me?” König pressed.

“Tell you what?”

“You know what,” he said dryly. 

You huffed out a sigh. He wasn’t going to let it go though, he repositioned you then and made you face him, keeping you pinned and lying on your side. 

“I know that the reason you smell of berries is because you don’t lift your mask all the way when you drink my tea. Then it gets damp and rubs off onto your shirt,” you said softly, smiling to yourself as you thought of him guiltily sneaking cups of it.

He looked down at you pointedly and rolled his eyes. Ok, so he wasn’t going to let it go then. You stared back at him for a moment before you lay back against his chest and proceeded to close your eyes, reaching out into the beyond to try and think of something to say. Anything other than the truth behind your insomnia. 

“I’m worried about this op,” you whispered quietly. “And what comes after.”

“What? Why?” he asked, wrapping his arm around you tighter. “Why on earth would you be worried?”

“There’s a lot riding on it. It’ll be dangerous too, more than any of the other missions we’ve been on,” you shrugged. “Then there’s the unknowns that’ll come after it as well.”

“You know what will come after it,” König said, a smile weaving itself into his voice. “We will go to Austria together and I will take you on many adventures and buy you lots of good food, real food.”

You laughed a little at what he said and relaxed against him. You could feel the steady rhythm of his heart thudding away behind your head, working away, strong as ever. Maybe the world wasn’t going to completely end, you thought distantly to yourself, maybe even if you didn’t have the 141 you could still make the best of things. Hell, maybe you could move to Austria. 

In choosing König, you weren’t going to be alone after you were kicked out. You would still have him. It didn’t lift the burden that was sinking your heart any, but it sought to bring some light back into your mind. The thought of mountain trails and mornings waking up to his gentle kisses and calloused hands trailing their way down your back weren’t so bad, maybe there was something even a little enticing about those thoughts... 

Your life would be in tatters, sure, but it would still be worth living. There would still be some happiness, even if you were down the love of four family members… Even if you never got to speak to them again. 

“I am looking forward to our trip, that’s for sure,” you replied measuredly. “I just…I mean- I guess I don’t know what things will be like after all this is over. We’ve been working together through this mission through our whole relationship and now that it’s coming to an end… I dunno - I guess I’m just intimidated by all the unknowns.”

You felt ok saying that. It wasn’t completely false. In reality you were far more worried about the situations you knew you’d face rather than the ones that were unknown, but ultimately Price being told about your relationship was still a mystery in terms of punishment.

You had no idea what he might decide to do with you once he’d found out about your betrayal. For all you were aware he could’ve been planning to send you off to one of the worst deployments that you’d ever known in your life. What then?

“You always worry so much” König sighed, tracing his hand up your body so that he could stroke the side of your face. “Know that whatever we both do next…no matter what…you will have all of my heart, and I will do anything to make sure that you get to hold it in your arms whenever possible…because I love you.”

You froze in place, eyes going wide as you processed what he said. He had spoken the unspoken, he had finally put into words the feelings that you knew were there, but both of you had been too guarded to let slip. He was telling you that he loved you, giving you a gift while you lied straight to his face.

“I love you and I will do anything to make this work. I’d dig a hole through to the otherside of the world just to be with you, there’s nowhere you can be sent to that I won’t find a way to reach you,” he whispered, pressing a kiss into your cheek. 

You let a little breath of silence hang in the air for a moment and bit your lip, feeling a tear track its way down your face while you battled with your throat to stay silent. You couldn’t let him know what you were actually upset about. 

You loved him too after all. 

And for that reason you couldn't reveal the truth that Ghost had uncovered, it would send him spiralling. Would compromise him and mission. You could put him in danger, more so than you had already by involving Ghost - and soon Price’s - wrath. 

“I love you too, König…” you murmured. “I love you so much.”

He let out a breath at your admission, you felt it whistling past your neck. You shivered, and tried not to think too hard on what would happen when he found out you’d withheld the truth from him that night. 

“I love you so much, in fact, that I’m looking past the fact that you chose the night before a huge operation to tell me that,” you said with a laugh, trying to distract yourself from the demon’s in your head. 

He laughed too. You both relaxed into the vibrations of each other's bodies and then lay quietly for a moment, staring up at the old scuffed ceiling above. 

Though you couldn’t linger there for long. You pushed your way out of his almost iron grip and rolled around, propping your head up so that you could see his face. You were surprised to see the look of consternation that greeted you. It was like looking into a mirror. His eyes were half lidded as he looked down and his lips were pursed, the pink line of his scar stretching taught as he thought deeply on something.

“Well, seeing as you love me too… Would you offer me some assurance?”

You reached over to him and cupped his jaw in your hands, adjusting his face so that he’d meet your gaze. You searched his eyes for a moment and suddenly something clicked in the place as you were finally broken out of your wallowing. 

“Assurance for whatever it was that you couldn’t sleep over?” you guessed. 

He nodded, the scratch of his stubble sharply rubbing against your palm. You smoothed your thumb over his cheek and he leaned into your touch, somehow looking younger and smaller than he usually did. 

“Things will be intense tomorrow…I will be breaching rooms with countless unknown men that will be shooting at us, and I’ll be having to make quick decisions - act on instinct. Whatever you see tomorrow, know that I love you and that I wish you didn’t have to witness any of it. In another life, I’d spare you from ever having to even know about it. I just need to know, that after we come back, no matter what you see, that you won’t run from me. As much as I’ve tried to protect myself, I know that that’s all over now. I know now there’s no way to save myself from the hurt, the same way I couldn’t protect myself from anyone else I’ve ever loved in my life. I just want to know that you’ll give me a chance to explain myself if you see something that you don’t like again… that you won’t leave me.”

Oh König…

You felt the remainder of your tears threaten to spill over and flood your sheets, but you held them back and closed your eyes instead, thinking for a moment.  You hadn’t reacted well the last time you’d heard him at work. How would you react if you were to see him in action now? 

You shuddered at the thought, but let it pass quickly. At the end of the day, you were all going there to reap an unspeakable violence to a group of people that had committed atrocities in return. There were no pure intentions and there were no good players between any of you. There was only putting an end to a group that threatened to kill innocents. If König was going to be at the head of the speartip, then he had to be damn sharp. You couldn’t have him ineffective with worry over what you might think.

Couldn’t put him at risk.

“König, I promise that whatever I see…whatever I think or feel in the moment…I won’t shut you out. We can talk about it all when we get home again. But whatever you do, don’t put yourself in harm's way trying to protect my feelings. We’ll make it through this together, no matter what, ok?”

He smiled at you, a twinkle returning to his sapphire irises. He turned and kissed your hand, you still held his head, and you both closed your eyes for a moment, revelling in the private moment between yourselves. 

“Ok,” he finally replied. “I feel like I can sleep now. Why don’t you try to get some rest as well? See if you can shut off that busy mind of yours.”

You both settled into a silence after that, letting yourselves relax into the calm. At some point you turned back around and a little while later, König switched off your lamp. In the back of your mind you worried that you’d be discovered come morning time, but König assuaged your fears before you could air them and whispered to you, tickling your ear as he told you that he’d set an early alarm. 

“I love you, König,” you whispered, your half smile lost to the night.

It felt like something to giggle over, like a secret between school children. You could barely contain your smile. 

“I love you too,” König replied, pressing a kiss to your temple, “I’ll love you always.”

-☠️- 

König had stayed true to his word and had left while the sky remained dark, shutting off his near silent alarm on the second ring and scurrying out quietly before anyone would be any the wiser. Anyone that didn’t already know anything anyway.

It felt like Ghost had almost sold you out the moment that you’d stepped foot onto the transport. The sound of your boots nervously clanging against the metal ramp drew his attention, and all at once his conversation with the Captain ceased and he fixed his eyes on you with a glare.

It was enough to freeze you into place, forcing you to maintain eye contact with him until he released his mental hold over you. You Clutched furiously onto the handle of your backpack, hoping like hell that it wouldn’t shake too badly.

For a few painful seconds you were stuck still, though just as you thought that Ghost might say something after all, he turned away again and blanked you completely. Price gave him a frown and said something low under his breath, but whatever it was Ghost shook his head and carried on with what they were discussing before.

It was like some kind of twisted game of red light/green light. If that’s the way he’s going to play things this’ll be a hell of a way to go out, you thought to yourself. That is if you even made it out of the mission.

You were supposed to be on Ghost’s team, and at that point you weren’t completely convinced that he would bother too much to look out for you anymore. No, now it was just you and Horangi, and as much as König seemed to get on with him, you and he had never exchanged more than a couple of words to each other. 

Would Soap and Gaz offer swapsies?

You shook your head at the thought of Gaz ever going off plan, especially one that Price had approved. No, instead of hoping for better, you faced reality and took a seat far away from Ghost, throwing your stuff down for what felt like the last time. You sank down on your cracking knees, settling next to your bulging bag and holding it like a plush toy. The squishy material was solid under your grasp and made a great pillow for you to rest your head on. It was enough to lull you into a sense of security, enough to make you close your eyes. 

“Sneak!”

Your head shot up and you lost your breath, staring wide eyed into the direction that you’d heard the voice come from. Was it Ghost? Was he going to reveal everything just to spite you now that you were getting comfortable?

No. Soap looked down at you instead, shooting you a grin as he saw how much you’d shit yourself at his shout. Stupid bastard. You hit out at his leg and huffed when he sat down next to you, feeling like his loud obnoxious voice in your ear was just about the last thing you needed.

And just to sour your mood more, just to make matters all the better, he shoved your shoulder and almost sent you keeling over and tumbling over to Ghost and Price. As if Ghost needed another reason to want to get back at you. 

You threw your hands out and pushed yourself up, attempting to shove him almost twice as hard back. He’d dodged at the last second and had you wheeling forward this time, though at the very least you had your bag to fall onto instead of Ghost this time. 

“What the fuck are you being so childish for?” you grumbled, recovering and rubbing the sore spot where he’d shoved you. 

“Ooft, someone’s grumpy, eh?” Soap tittered, smile never leaving his face. “Did you not get much rest last night?”

You grunted and folded your arms, staring straight ahead like you might melt the plane’s walls. 

“The fuck does it matter to you?”

“I’ll take that as a yes then - as usual.”

Soap raised his brows, challenging you to defend yourself. Normally you’d probably shove him again or throw a verbal barb at him, but that day you were in no mood to play. Especially not when the truth was going to come out sooner rather than later, and you weren’t convinced you were going to be on joking terms anymore. 

No, it wouldn’t be long until he knew about you and König, and your mind was already filled with the sight of his angry frown setting itself upon you. It was better that you didn’t make it all worse by pretending everything was fine, you reasoned, so that being the case you ignored him and planted your head back down on your bag. 

“Crabbit little twat,” Soap snorted. “Better find your sense of humour before you wake up again. And if you’re gonna be in a mood with me, then you can forget sleepin’ and drooling all over me too!”

You grunted in response, and gave him nothing else. You were too sick with worry to respond properly, even despite the ache that developed as you realised that that might be one of your last ‘friendly’ interactions with him. The weight in your heart increased tenfold, feeling as if it were a sand timer growing heavier by the minute. Better not to think about it. Better to shut it all out, to shut down. 

Unsurprisingly your mood wasn’t lifted by the sleep you caught up on. It only served to keep you from agonising about your situation until the plane slammed down onto the dodgy countryside landing strip. That shocked you back to life again. From then on, until you reached the safe house, your mood remained sour and kept the others from bothering you much.

When you got there, of course, you had to buck up and try to act normal. You couldn’t have the others picking anything up, couldn’t let them think you were anything else except tired and grumpy. It wasn’t that far outside the realm of normal, you never slept very well whenever you had to travel away anyway. 

When it came time to go over the briefing, you quietly set yourself as far away from Ghost as you could muster and stood around the projector wall, listening to Price’s briefing intently while you locked your arms into a folded position. The light splashed across his face in brief interludes, his weight was shifting from foot to foot as he walked you all through the plan in his booming voice, he was restless. He was right to be. 

Price knew that the intelligence that had been gathered was of questionable accuracy - he told you all as much and Laswell confirmed it. She didn’t look that much more confident that him. The men who’d spilled their guts to the interrogators had varying degrees of incentive to reveal the true nature and layout of their base and all of you knew that they were highly fantastical to boot. It didn’t matter how many exercises you’d run through, none of you could’ve really known what was in store for when you raided the warehouse. 

You’d looked round the room as he’d talked about that, scoping out the faces of all the men that you were going to fight alongside. Your eyes slowly ran over the 141, König, Horangi, and all those of the other team that Price had assembled to lock down the perimeter. There were hard eyes all around, everyone stayed quiet, listening to the captain until his very last word. Even Laswell had limited interjections, she was just as stone faced as everyone else, letting Price take the lead.

“I want all of you to be at the top of your game. On a mission like this there is zero and I really do mean zero margin for error! You make a mistake on Rousseau’s home turf and you will get yourself or one of your teammates killed. All of you must communicate, I want clear positions and status updates on comms. You will tell me where you are in the warehouse and you will let me know who you come across, is that clear?”

You all responded, an impassioned “yes, sir!” rang throughout the room, ricocheting off of the walls and back into the crowd  like a bullet. 

“Good,” Price said curtly. “Now, enough talking,we move out in thirty minutes. And remember - Zero margin for error! Clear communication! Don’t get yourselves killed.”

“Yes, sir!”

You all sounded off for the last time and set to work scurrying around, gathering gear and preparing the trucks for departure. You’d be driving out until you reached the edge of the forest and from then on you would be trekking out to the compound, a group of old warehouses that had belonged to a logging company before it had gone out of business years before. You were in for a hard day.

Though as Ghost reminded you, when he icily stared at you from the otherside of the room, the hardship wasn’t going to end at capturing Rousseau. Your problems were only going to multiply from that day on.

You were the first to break eye contact that time, nervously shifting away and grabbing your gear, double checking your ammo and your pockets. You stroked your hands up through the curves and rough textures of your armour and bags and went through your mental checklist, trying to fill your mind with something other than all the swirling thoughts that threatened to compromise you. 

“All good, Sneak?”

You snapped your head to your left side, meeting Gaz’s tilted stare. 

“All good, Sergeant,” you answered, repacking a few of your rounds. 

“Sergeant?” he chuckled.

“Did your rank change while I was asleep?”

“No, but you seemed to,” he shrugged.

“I’m stressed, there’s a lot at stake here,” you said, swallowing down another of your silly lies. “But all that matters is that I’m here right?”

Gaz shook his head as you reminded him of the words he’d said to you months before. Ever since he’d lectured you about letting König distract you, you liked to tease him and call him mini Price, reciting his words back to him without fail. I wanna go out there knowing you’re here with us and not turning yourself into a walking target. You’d do your best Price impression whenever you recounted them. 

You didn’t bother this time - not while Price was in the room with you. Gaz rolled his eyes and patted your back, almost turning away to sort his own things before a smile lit his face. 

“Well with a good attitude like that I might just keep you around when I get promoted to Captain,” he laughed, walking away before he could see the smile dropping off your face. 

Gaz might’ve wanted to keep you around - but would Price? 

-☠️- 

It was unsurprising, to say the least, that you were going to discover John Rousseau’s last stand wasn’t going to be easy. No. He was intent on going out with a bang.  

It had been a difficult breach, you’d lost a couple of the men that Price had sent to crack the warehouse open with you. They’d fallen in the fatal funnel that had been created when the enemy worked out your entry point. Despite the high levels of bloodshed though, König remained mostly unharmed.

You’d tried not to let yourself get distracted by him, but even still, had found your eyes magnetised to him at times, had seen him shooting quickly and forcing enemies close when he needed to, basically folding people in half in an effort to break them. Some of the sounds their bones made still echoed in your ears. 

Everything had moved so fast. Your mind had very little bandwidth to process it all. One moment you were on the first floor, desperately trying to locate the stairs and get to Rousseau’s ��war room’, the next you were deep into the building, continuing to blast through doors with Soap at the head while you, Ghost and Horangi secured the rear. 

Gunshots echoed out throughout the hallways, lights flickered and sparked and rained down electrical orange confetti as they were shot from the ceiling and swung out like some kind of deadly assault course. The floor in front of you flashed white and gold and soon you were drowned in darkness. All the lights in the room crashed down into their final resting places.

Ghost was in the room across from you, Horangi was with him too. You’d decided to separate when you’d seen a lone man run into the little office, you were convinced you’d seen someone hauling a massive gun across his back. It was hard to be sure what it was, maybe some type of PKM, but whatever it could have been would do a lot of damage, you knew that much. Though now, as you were left alone in the shadows, it had felt like your mind had played tricks on you.

Your breathing was shallow, and no matter how thick your earbuds were, your ears were still ringing from all the abuse they’d had to endure. It felt like you’d been crammed under an old church bell and someone was hitting it on all sides. There was a lightning storm in your head and a heatwave through your whole body. 

Part of you was almost begging to be in the debrief with Price already. 

You flicked your night vision down and scoped the room, tracing through the green fog for any signs of enemies. There was nothing obvious. The pulse of your speeding heart thumped away steadily in your ears while the room remained deathly still. Where the fuck are you?

Something flashed out of the corners of your eyes and before you could even turn to see it, you were being overwhelmingly set upon. You stepped backward and leveraged your weight, getting yourself in a good position to strike your assailant and baulked when he stopped you in your tracks and smashed you against the wall. 

Ouch.

The air shot out of your lungs, your goggles had skewed over your eyes, but after a few seconds of shock you were thankfully able to dodge the figure from hitting you and shoved them off to your side. With tears in your eyes, and knees screaming out, you got yourself up. 

It was fight or die. You picked up your gun, scraping the heavy weapon against the floor, and unloaded it into your attacker, just as he tried to rush you again. 

His body collapsed to the floor in a spray of mist and you watched motionlessly as he fell forward and into a lifeless heap at your feet. The gun was like a lead brick in your arms, but still you held it aloft, waiting for anyone else that might try to get the drop on you.

Why’s it so quiet?

“Sneak, what the fuck was that?” Ghost called out. “And where the fuck did you run off to?”

You could hear him distantly through in the other room, but his voice was also straining loud and clear over the busy comms, you knew your reply would be too. All of you had been running around for a lot longer than you would’ve liked. Then again, it was a blessing that you were still up and kicking if anything. There had been so many surprise attacks launched on you, you were lucky to only sport a few bruises for your troubles. 

“In the room across from you LT. Took down an enemy, heading back to you now.”

You took one last look around the ruins of the office, and once satisfied there were no more hidden assailants, you walked toward the doorway. After plastering yourself to the wall, you took a look up and down the hall, pivoting out a little just to be sure no one was going to take a lucky shot. All clear. Well, one end of the hallway anyway, the other was completely blocked off by a stack of fallen units and desks. 

Probably not a good sign.

Were they directing you?

You crossed the threshold fully and bolted into the next room, locking eyes with Ghost as he perched his foot on a fallen desk chair, it was rattling from his weight. Horangi gave you a nod from Ghost’s side and glanced over to the head of the room, keeping watch over Soap as he set up his charges with no small amount of grumbling. That wasn’t a good sign either. 

Your body was getting tired, your back was aching from all the weight you’d been hauling round. The only thing getting lighter was your ammo. You were praying that you were close to the end, hoping that wherever this supposed room was that Rousseau had locked himself into, it was going to reveal itself soon. You didn’t know how much more you could take.

“Stay on that door Sneak, make sure no one else goes looking for hiding spots” Ghost directed. “What’s taking so long, Soap?” 

You turned and followed Ghost’s order, side eyeing König as he stood over your struggling teammates, dwarfing Gaz and Soap under his watchful stance. He was breathing heavily, you could see the dramatic rise and fall of his hood giving away his fatigue. Other than that though, you were relieved to see that he was still unhurt.

Focus!

You snapped your attention to the hallway again and ignored your boyfriend, pulling your thoughts away from him completely. It had been a long time since you’d been on a mission with König and you were unused to the amount of space he took up. He was clouding your thoughts, sending your brain churning out worry like a spitting volcano as he kept charging through doorways and getting up close and personal with men as if he were indestructible.  

You shook your head and cast your eyes through the shadows, watching out for movement. You couldn’t linger over König any longer. 

Soon you realised that there wasn’t any noise. It wasn’t right. Things never went the way you’d trained for almost one hundred percent of the time, but it was strange that there hadn’t been more men around. You’d encountered most of the men on the way in and now that you were further into the heart of the building they were sprouting up in numbers few and far between. That combined with the fact the building felt strategically blocked off in areas was all just one big red flag, waving and buffeting like a sail in the breeze. 

“LT, there’s explosives already set here,” Soap shouted. “I couldn’t be sure before…but they've hidden them in the door casing. Powerful stuff by the looks of it too. If we try to get through this we could end up blasting ourselves to the moon by the looks of it.”

You whipped your head around and back to the group at the door, watching as they all stepped back. All at once everyone's heads snapped to Ghost and he frowned deeply enough that it could be seen through his eyeblack.

“Price, did you get that?” Ghost asked, speaking clearly for the comms. 

“Copy,” Price said, his voice crackling through all of your headsets. “Can you find an alternative route ahead?”

“Not on this floor,” Ghost responded. “This is the only way up.”

“Fuck!”

You winced at Price’s outburst and bit your lip. Should you speak?

Fuck it.

“There haven’t been a lot of men compared to what we expected either,” you noted. “Anyone else get the feeling we’ve been set up?”

Everyone else seemed to have the same thought, Gaz nodded your way, König looked like he wanted to scratch his way out of the walls and take you with him, Ghost narrowed his eyes. Was he annoyed you’d stated the obvious? You frowned over at him, but he moved shortly after that, sidling up to the window and taking a cautious peak outside. His back visibly stiffened as he caught a glimpse of something. 

“Price, there’s a truck heading out the gates to the south side. Do you see it?”

“We’re tracking it now. Ghost, take both of the teams out of the warehouse, whatever’s going on, I don’t like it. Meet us back at the extraction point, copy?”

“Copy, Captain.”

Ghost motioned his head in the direction of the doorway you were still guarding and while the others filed toward you, you stayed in place. You had to ensure no one would surprise them while they stepped out of the room. Ghost passed you and patted your shoulder, his touch like a lightning shock to your system. 

As much of a professional as he was, you hadn't expected him to be at a point where he was making an effort to praise you. A warmth spread over your chest then. 

Nevertheless, you couldn’t let yourself get too carried away. You put it to the back of your mind and followed up the rear of your group, looking around as you passed through the hallways of fallen men. Bodies littered the floors and by then most of the hallways were dark and devoid of any lighting. The green haze of your night vision goggles continued to wave unsettlingly and the crunch of debris was ever present under your boots. 

“We need to move slowly and quietly,” Ghost directed, heading toward the front of your group. “If the bastards have set up bombs there’s no telling what way they were trying to direct us and what happens if another one of them catches us alive. Any one of them could have a detonator, and we know from previous encounters they’re not shy about martyring themselves for the cause.”

Your heart rate picked up, but still you kept marching ahead. The group moved forward like a little troupe of ants, following your masked leader to what you hoped was safety. Each skittering stray piece of furniture under your feet had you jumping, every breath you took was like a gust of wind. Even with your ears ringing it felt like every bit of muffled noise was coming through like the beginnings of a dance anthem.

Knowing that someone with the power to blow the whole building on you might jump out at any second wasn’t great for your weakening composure. That wouldn’t stop you though. Your group powered on down the halls until you reached the lower stairway, and each of you took every step with care, pointing your weapons in different directions just to be sure that every angle was covered. 

With your gun pointed down, you were able to see that there was activity on the bottom floor, you could see people moving down below. You tapped Soap on the shoulder and pointed them out, allowing him to pass on the message until it carried on through the line and down to Ghost. All of you stopped moving then and watched the little group, stuck in silence while they propped open a piece of wood that had been covering a doorway in the stairs.

Ghost extended his arm and gave you all a series of clear hand signals, watching down the line to make sure you all read him clearly. Stay silent. Stay on me. We’re following them.

There was more pressure than ever to make sure that your steps were soundless. Your heartbeat was in your ears and your body was buzzing with how tightly your muscles were wound. Every step took you closer to the bottom and to the hatch, every successful movement gave you hope that you wouldn’t be found out. 

When your group reached the bottom, you were able to see that the men had replaced the sheet of wood and old construction PVC to try and hide the secret exit. Clearly that hadn’t been meant for your eyes. Perhaps it was lucky that you’d come to the stairway at the right time - it was hard to say, maybe they’d meant for exactly that to happen.

Ghost looked to König and together, without having to communicate, they shifted the board and König took position at the front. As always, he was first to breach.

All of you crept into the blown out entryway and were surprised to find a tunnel at your feet, complete with a very haphazard ladder built down into it. Aside from that, the little room you were in was empty. König replaced the piece of wood over the door once everyone was inside and soon you were surrounded in complete shadow, staring around at the others through the green hues. 

“Price, we’ve found a tunnel under the stairway of the building. What do you want us to do?” Ghost enquired, keeping an eye on the tunnel to make sure no one down below indicated that they’d heard him.

The comms were quiet, nothing but the ghostly whisper of static crumbling away at your ears. All of you eyed each other, stares hard enough to the cut the air between you all. The little room was getting hot with all of your bodies filling it, each breath getting harder to take. 

“Price, come in,” Ghost demanded. “Laswell? Anyone?”

Nothing. 

“Fuckin’ hell,” Soap breathed.

You pursed your lips and kept your stare fixed on Ghost. His eyes were jumping between you all like he was deciding on his lunchtime football team. He took a moment to think, trying to bring clarity into the stuffy room, he was probably waiting for Price to come back in too, but nevertheless the line remained dead.

“Right. Here’s what we’re gonna do. More than likely this entire building is rigged to blow, we need to get out, but more than likely this tunnel is a sign that Rousseau must be here. He would never have left all his men behind, he likes to make a show of being on base and ‘protecting’ and taking control of his men. König, you’re gonna lead Horangi and Gaz through the back entrance at the loading bay and head to the extraction point, find out why command isn’t talking to us. I’m taking Sneak and Soap with me and we’re gonna see what’s down there, see if we can’t dig Rousseau out.”

“What?”

All of you turned your heads as König spoke, the sharpness of his voice coming out muffled through his hood. 

“Did you not hear me right?” Ghost asked.

“I heard you clearly, Lieutenant,” König sneered. “But I don’t agree with that course of action. You can’t just go wandering around tunnels with only two people with you, that’s suicide. Price gave his orders before the line went down, he was very clear, therefore we should all be going to the extraction point.”

“This isn’t the time to disagree with me, König.”

“It is if you’re going to get yourself and two of your subordinates killed,” König said, clearly gritting his teeth. “Not to mention you’re abandoning us with god knows how many men waiting outside to stop us from leaving.”

“Nice of you to care about what happens to us,” Ghost remarked, “Then again there’s probably only one person you’re trying to protect here, isn’t there?”

Your stomach dropped to your feet. It was like a small fire had broken out in the room and now you had the urge to go beating down the secret entrance and throwing caution to the wind. Was this really going to happen?

“What’s that supposed to mean?” König asked.

“You know what it means. Now would you like to press the issue or would you like to get back to your job and do what you’re being paid to do, you fucking goon.”

König seemed to shoot you a sideways glance, you couldn’t really tell with his visor down, but before you could think to warn him otherwise he decided that it was indeed time to press the issue. Every fibre of your being wanted to throttle him then. If your choice was crawling into a death tunnel or ending up in an argument between Ghost and König during an operation, then tunnel of death it is!

“Paid personnel or not, at least I’m trying to get us all out safely,” König retorted. 

“All? Trying to make sure we all get out, or just trying to make sure you’ve got a warm hole to crawl back to at the end of this? Which is it really?”

There was an almost tangible silence in the room. It was as if there was a thick bubble coating you all, preventing a single whisper of noise from escaping. You couldn’t even hear the others breathe, not over König anyway. He was panting like a charging bull, breaking through the bubble, he sounded like he was ready to tear Ghost down into a stump.  

“Ghost, what’re you talking about?” Soap said, not able to contain himself. “We shouldn’t be arguing, we should be moving! Let’s just go.”

“You’re not going down into that tunnel, Sergeant!” König warned, making a move to stop Soap.

“Or what?” Ghost asked, rising to his full height and jumping into König’s path.

König stood silently, he didn’t say anything - but he didn't allow Ghost to intimidate him either. He stood perfectly still, besides straightening his back, and eyed his opponent. The two of them looked like windup toys ready to strike. 

“Nothing to say?” Ghost sneered. “Then move.”

“Lieutenant, be reasonable,” König said. 

“I am being incredibly reasonable, König,” Ghost laughed, a dark chuckle rumbling from his throat. “In fact, judging by the way you’re acting, maybe Sneak can tell you just how reasonable I’m being.”

Everyone’s heads turned to you, navigating the thick silence that followed with ease. Their night vision goggles stared you down as if they were being programmed to move in sync. You swallowed a thick lump in your throat and gripped tightly at your gun, holding onto it like it was the only thing tethering you to reality. What were you supposed to say now?

“What’s going on?” Gaz sighed, clearly at the end of his tether. 

“Tell them what’s going on, Sneak,” Ghost ordered. “Tell them exactly why this little song and dance is happening right now. Go on. Let them know why Captain Rags has his face in a twist over you going down into the tunnel. Let’s get it out there for the world to know.”

Every one of his words hit you like a knife in your gut. There were blades sticking out at all angles and it was taking all your strength just to stay up. So this was it? You were truly going out in a blaze, but it was far from glorious. 

“Sneak?” König said, his voice strained with confusion. 

“König, Ghost found the pictures in your wallet when he knocked your stuff off the rack yesterday,” you said quietly. “He knows we’re together.”

“What the fuck!” Soap whispered.

“Sneak, what do you mean you’re together?” Gaz asked. “You can’t be together, Price will fucking kill you…”

Horangi remained silent. 

“Apparently they’re not ones for following orders,” Ghost sneered. “Otherwise we wouldn’t even be having this discussion would we?”

Ghost looked between you both and you growled out at yourself, sinking into disbelief that all of it was really happening. It felt surreal to be standing around arguing in a building that was full of god knows how many explosives. Why was it that König could never just follow orders? Why couldn’t you? The room was so hot it felt like you were all starting to cook, smelt like it too. 

“König, just do as Ghost says and take the others,” you commanded. “At this rate we’re all going to get blown up and this whole argument won’t even matter.”

“Sneak-”

“No, König! Just go, we can all talk about it later.”

“That’s if you even make it back later!”

“Don’t think like that. Just take Horangi and Gaz back to extraction and find out why Price hasn’t answered us. Otherwise none of us are getting out of here!”

König continued to stare for a second more, but finally he’d seen sense. He shook his head and furiously muttered something to himself in German before he walked back to the exit. He gave you one last look and with that, slid back the wooden panel and walked out with Horangi in tow, missing only Gaz as he left you all. 

With the door open and König gone you felt like you could breathe a little easier again, but as soon as you looked back at the others, the feeling went away. Gaz shook his head at you and walked out, mumbling something that was too low to hear and soon it was only you, Ghost and Soap left. 

“Steamin’ Jesus, Sneak. What the fuck were you thinking? Have you really been lying to us all this time?”

You sighed and looked at Soap, watching the way his mouth downturned in disgust. A horrible nauseous feeling permeated in your stomach and in your throat, but you couldn’t pay too much attention to it. You had to keep your head on more important things. 

“Clearly I wasn’t thinking,” you sighed. “Look, I’ll answer whatever questions you want after we’re out of this, but we need to get moving.”

“Agreed,” Ghost said, already heading for the tunnel. “We’ve had enough distraction already.”

Ghost cut Soap off from interrupting, shooting him a hard look before he took a flashbang from one of his holsters and primed it. He threw it down the tunnel and waited for a reaction. Nothing. After being met with silence, he quickly flew down into the darkness, leaving you and Soap up top. Soap surely burned a hole through his night vision and into you. 

You shivered and followed Ghost, cautiously setting your foot on the ladder, not liking the way it wobbled with Ghost’s weight and yours. There wasn’t much to be done about it though. You had to get down there quickly and make sure he had backup.

You scurried down and stuck one foot behind the other, releasing each of the metal rungs like they were on fire. It didn’t take long until you were at the bottom and eventually Soap followed you both and rather nicely decided against booting you in the head on his way down, dropping to your side instead.

“There’s no one here, but they’ll have heard that, no doubt,” Ghost warned. “Stay close and lets find out what these fuckers are hiding down here.”

You nodded your agreement and followed him down the tunnel, watching the rickety support beams with a cautious eye. König had been right to worry.

What’s he thinking right now? Is he hurt?

Not again, stop thinking about him. Focus! 

The tunnel didn’t seem like it had been in operation for very long. Something that had seen more use would surely have been built better, you reasoned, not looking like it could crumble at any second. As you took a few more twists and turns and continued to follow the path it didn’t seem to get much better. The walls looked hastily dug out and like any little disturbance might bury them. Though as you all turned another corner and followed the winding walkway, you were surprised to find yourself in a rather large cavernous room.

It was built solidly and looked far more like a permanent structure, it was supported by thick metal beams from which overhead lights were suspended and hanging down from long wires. It also contained a plethora of scaffolding like shelves, housing a few abandoned looking wooden crates, some of them looked like they’d been raided, others were dusty and dark with disuse. You flipped your goggles up and watched the two men at your sides repeat the action, finally noticing the true extent of all the grime and blood that had covered them both. 

“What is this place?” Soap wondered out loud. 

“Looks like some kind of storage facility. Well, it was one anyway,” you remarked.

You didn’t miss the way Soap narrowed his eyes at you from the side of his vision. He advanced forward through the looming racks while you stayed behind and watched the other men go. You had to give yourself a second for the bile to stop rising in your stomach. To say that being on an op with two men that had it out for you was making you feel uneasy was an understatement. 

However you didn’t have the luxury of lingering on for very long. Once you noticed Ghost heading to the set of shelves that blocked your view of the head of the room, you started to follow after him, ensuring that he’d have some cover. Part of you felt better being around someone that had had longer to digest the news. 

Once you’d flown past the racks and over to Ghost you began to realise that there was a thrumming noise emanating from the far side of the room. It rumbled and growled and grew harder on your ears the closer you got and as soon as you made your way round the racking you saw the source of it. A big set of metal doors.

Soap joined you from the otherside, clearly finding the rest of the room just as empty as you had. Ghost looked over to Soap then and back at the door, motioning for him to get close. 

“Soap, do you have the borescope?”

“Aye, hold on, I’ll sort it.”

Soap reached into his bag and pulled out the long snake of wire and fetched his drill. From there he made a small opening in the door with quick precision and sent the coiled camera through, taking a look at the monitor as he did so. The monitor quickly flashed on and you and Ghost were able to peer round and see a flurry of men running around a mixture of freight and pickup trucks, loading cargo onto them. There were some that were beginning to drive off, halting just as they made it onto the big ramp then ran up the far side of that room. 

How on earth had they managed to hide that? 

You frowned as you watched on, realising that the last trucks were beginning to get closed up and prepared for driving off, you could hear the echoes of the doors being slammed shut. The men were shouting louder now, driving each other to go, go, go. You watched Ghost out of the corner of your eye, waiting for him to make a decision. All until the final man walked into the centre of the room, he was surrounded by a group of heavily covered up muscle men toting machine guns like they were little more than big boys with pretend sticks in the playground. The man walked in the centre of them with a confident strut - he looked just like he did in the videos.

“Holy fuck, is that Rousseau?” Soap whispered.

Ghost nodded tightly.

“Brothers! We have done well today, the enemy safehouse has been destroyed and the rest of the soldiers will still be trapped in the warehouse trying to route us out. Let us leave and go to our new base, onwards and upwards my friends!”

The enemy safehouse has been destroyed? Price? Laswell? Were they ok?

You widened your eyes, but you didn’t get much time to think about Price and the others. 

Rousseau had sped over to one of the trucks and once inside, had set off a cataclysm. The doors to the ramp opened, bathing the basement in startling sunlight and from there the explosions began, a loud series of bangs that shook the room like a hurricane, each one unsettling the walls and floor as they got closer. It felt like a tiger leaping ever closer, ready to land straight onto your belly and tear you open. 

What the fuck!

“We need to get out of here!”Ghost roared. “Head for the trucks, we can try to get into the one at the back. 

He kicked at the door and luckily it burst open, allowing you all to run forward and into the next room. Because the room was so long, you were still covered by shadow and no one seemed to notice your group’s appearance. No one was shooting at you anyway. 

Your throat burned as you ran, your mind was racing, intent on following Ghost as he stuck to the walls, keeping yourselves hidden in the darkness. He was racing out ahead while you and Soap tied with each other, running neck and neck and panting like hounds as you propelled yourselves ahead of the blasts. The room was really shaking now and while the last truck began to pull away and ascend up the ramp, your eyes teared up. 

No, no, no. Not like this!

You pumped your legs a little bit harder and Soap did the same, managing to sprint ahead like you were all in a murmuration, moving fluidly and in sync with one another. With that effort made, you all managed to jump onto the last truck, detaching from the wall at the last minute before attaching yourselves to the back. You all grabbed onto what holds that you could, affixing yourselves to the bolts that kept the doors closed and held on for dear life, watching on with horror as you saw the warehouse burning up in the distance, leaving it in a trail of smoke. 

It was then you were finally able to hear the crackle of comms and a blended mixture of broken up accented shouts, German, Korean and English. The others were trying to contact you. 

Had they made it out ok? 

“Gaz, is that you?” Ghost shouted out, trying to adjust his headset while he gripped onto the bolt. “We’re on Rousseau, we’re out of the warehouse. Did your team make it out?”

If you weren’t busy being terrified for everyone’s lives  you would have rolled your eyes. 

“LT, is that you?” Gaz called out, his voice finally coming through clearly. “Are you all ok?”

Ghost didn’t get a chance to say anything to that, he was quickly cut off.

“Lieutenant, respond!” König snarled, his voice snapping out like an angry wolf. 

“We made it out,” Ghost confirmed. “Did you hear what I said? Where are you? We’re following Rousseau, we’re on one of his trucks. His men must’ve been instructed to set this up for him upon capture. They must’ve had a plan to move when they knew we were coming.”

“We made it out, we started heading for the extraction point, but we got cut off by Rousseau’s forces in the woods. He must’ve left men behind to try and stop us from getting out, we got em’ though. We still haven’t heard any word from Price. What direction are you heading in? Should we follow?”

“We got word that they destroyed the safe house,” Soap said. “Price and Laswell might not’ve made it.”

You finally turned and looked up, blinking back at the rush of air as you changed direction and looked at Soap. He looked like a terrified cat that had got itself stuck up a tree. Both of his hands must’ve been white knuckling the bolt from under his gloves - he was holding onto the same one as you, standing over you while you crouched low and hooked your feet into the groove of the bevelled doors. The extra grip was helping your shaking body. 

Why couldn't Ghost have just let you and König pair off? You’d have taken jungle warfare over hanging off the back of a speeding truck anyday. It would have avoided the whole stupid argument back at the tunnel too. In that moment, while you held on for dear life, you realised that there was a lot of things that you’d have wished that could’ve been done differently. 

“Don’t follow us,” Ghost said, taking back control of the line, “Try to find out if anyone made it to the extraction. You hear that, König? Make sure that we can make it out of this, don’t do anything stupid!”

“Hard to say what’s stupid when your definition seems so different to mine,” König snarked.

“König, don’t be a smartass! Just try and find Price so we can get Rousseau,” you growled. 

Ghost tilted his head at you, clearly surprised that you’d been the one to tell him off for that. As much as you were relieved to know he was ok, and as much as you’d like to comfort him, you knew the mission was much bigger than yourselves. Getting everyone out safely and trying to successfully capture Rousseau was the most important thing and you could only do that if you were apart.

The line remained quiet for a second.

“Ok, we’re heading to the extraction again now,” Gaz confirmed. “We’ll let you know when we reach point.”

“Copy, Sergeant.”

You looked up at Ghost and then at Soap, watching as both men struggled with staying stuck to the truck. This wasn’t going to work long term, you could feel your own arms wanting to give out, it wouldn’t be long till you’d all come tumbling off and crashing onto the dirt road. You had to figure out a way to get to a more secure location. 

“Ghost, do you think you can hold on to the truck and try to support my weight at the same time?” You asked.

“Why?” he barked.

“If you hold onto me, I can try and climb up the truck and get myself on top,” you explained. 

“And then what about us?” Soap growled. “All very well sorting out a nice place for yourself up there.”

“If I move up there, then you can crouch next to Ghost and open the door on the side we’re standing on,” you said, glaring up at him. “That way we can all hold it so it doesn’t swing out and you two can climb in and shut it.”

This wasn’t the time for accusations. You waited for them both to share their thoughts, and jumped when the truck hit a bump. It almost sent you all flying. Soap yelped and hugged into the bolt tighter and Ghost grunted. You fumbled as your feet were displaced and wobbled, your hands slipping off of the bolt and sending you sprawling backwards. 

Ghost reached out and grabbed you in the nick of time, just when you thought you were about to be grated parmesan on the side of the pebbled road. You huffed out a breath and grabbed a hold of the bar, swallowing down your pulse as it tried to climb out of your throat. 

“Right, get on with it,” Ghost said, “I can only hold you for so long.”

You shook your head and had to remind yourself of the plan. That close call rocked you.

Without any more interruption, you grabbed onto the bolt on Ghost’s side with both hands and swung your legs up, planting them against the wall while Ghost kept his hand flat against your back. As you got higher up, his support dwindled, but from there you were able to reach around the top and kick your legs against the doors. With one last grunt you were able to get yourself fully on top of the truck, but kept yourself belly down on it, ensuring that you wouldn’t be seen. 

“Ok, I’m gonna hold onto the door now. Open it when Soap’s in position.”

The other two fumbled around, getting themselves steady. After a few moments of contoroting themselves around one another they were able to open the door, it was heavy and it took everything in you not to go flying out with it even with Ghost holding it from his position too, but you were able to stop it just enough so that Ghost and Soap could climb in as they both took turns to hold the door alongside you.

Once they’d disappeared inside and snapped the door shut, you realised that there was a small fault in your plan when you were left gripping on for dear life. Not to mention how much colder it was on top with all the wind rushing past your face. Then there was also the bugs…

“Nice work, Sneak,” Ghost congratulated, voice coming in quiet over the line. “I’m gonna get soap to drill a hole in the ceiling. Have you got your knife with you?”

“Yeah, why?” you asked, frowning as you slowly worked out where he was going with this.

“That should give you something decent to hold onto.”

“Are you serious? Can’t you guys cut a hole in the ceiling for me?” you huffed.

“Who do you think I am, Qui-Gon fuckin’ Jinn?” Soap retorted, you could hear the drill going in the background. “Must’ve forgotten my lightsaber at home. Beyond blowing the thing off, how am I gonna cut a hole in the roof, sneak?”

“I’m not asking you to melt the whole roof off soap, you must be able to make a small hole with that drill, just make a few drill holes and weaken the metal!” you growled. 

“Negative. We need you up there, Sergeant,” Ghost interrupted. “We need someone who can see ahead and tell us when the trucks are stopping or if we leave the forest. If they reach base or they leave us with no cover we need to get ready to jump off and hide.”

You sighed and watched as the drill bit poked its way out behind you, grating through the metal with a sound like grinding teeth. You would need to turn and slide forward a few inches to be able to reach it, but it looked like that was your best way to keep on top of the truck.

Without anymore stalling, you flipped around and watched as it disappeared and appeared a couple times more, forming a ragged little line. That would be enough for your knife to eat through.

You shakily reached behind you and to your knife holster, gripping the handle like a vice in your hands, whatever you did you couldn’t let it fly from your hold. With that in mind you quickly extended your arm and stabbed it through the hole, gritting your teeth as your hand slammed into the metal. That was surely going to bruise,

“Could’ve done with some warning, Sneak,” Soap huffed. “You almost took my finger off.”

“Poor baby, maybe you’d like to swap places,” you retorted. “See how you like holding onto the top of a truck with nothing but your hands.”

“Watch it, or I’ll send that knife flyin’ out,” he barked back.

“Shut up, Soap,” Ghost growled. “Keep the line clear. Sneak, let us know what you see, copy?”

“Copy that, Ghost.”

You hardened your gaze onto the horizon, watching as the trees came waving by and flew into your periphery, and adjusted your position. With both hands firmly wrapped around your knife, you were deadset on keeping your fingers wrapped around it with a snake like constriction. In that moment you were picturing it as Rousseau’s neck, already seeing red as you thought about Price and König and all the shit that you’d been through since chasing after the bastard.

You were going to get him. You were going to make him pay. 

If König, Gaz and Horangi didn’t get back to you soon with good news, then you were fully prepared to unleash hell on him. It didn’t matter what Price was going to do when he found out about you and König, it didn’t matter about the rising blood and seething vitriol that would surely come with the revelation. Price was the one that helped shape you into the soldier you were, he was the one that had gotten you back alive from countless missions, he was your reason for marching on in some of your toughest fights. He cared about you and he believed in you - it was why he was so protective in the first place.

If Price was gone then it wouldn’t be long until the killer met the same fate…of course only after suffering for their actions in the meantime. 

Next part here

[russ14nmade]

THERE IS A LOT HE COULD SAY ; some things unpleasant, others born out of frustration. But Kay knew better, he was careful, and remained quiet. Cigarette is placed between lips; but he doesn't light it , not yet. Shoulders relaxed, too relaxed for a situation like this.

@wnterslder sent. in: “you must think i’m stupid. you’re lying through your teeth.”

There is no sincerity in lying. He had no cause, no reason to lie. But in their world where; everyone deceives and flatters and lies – Psalm 12:2-6. He couldn't blame the winter solider for his questioning mind. He lights the cigarette, before taking a drag – he makes no attempt to speak, the stick is stamped out between older cigarettes ❛ < I have thought a lot of things about you, most aren't worth the argument, but never for once have I thought you were stupid > ❜ he takes careful steps towards James, ❛ < but if you believe I am a liar, then perhaps I thought wrong >❜

[anastaaaaaaasia]

Tag, you're it

Modern!Aegon targaryen x reader

Warnings: NSWF, smut, abusive and toxic relationships, mention and use of drugs, mention and use of alcohol

The party didn't go as planned and neither did your relationship. Two years is a long enough time to get to know a person, fall hopelessly in love and cry disappointedly into your pillow all night long, desperately trying to drown out your sobs. Your relationship with Aegon was the fucking wheel of Samsara, it lifted you to the peak of bliss and crashed you to the ground, harder with each turn.

The golden, no, platinum boy was born with a diamond spoon in his teeth and the same attitude towards everyone around him. “A first-rate jerk,” that’s how your best friend Margaery described him. “First class fuckbody,” you retorted. Admitting to others that your relationship was falling apart at the seams like buildings on the day of the fall of Pompeii meant admitting first of all to yourself that you had seriously screwed up. Hopeless and powerful.

Looking at me through your window Boy, you had your eye out for a little

Possessing the character of your parents, you did not allow anyone to wipe their feet on you. No one… except him. Every time you found out from acquaintances, friends and ,damn, even from his brother, that his dick had been in another girl, you tearfully swore to yourself that you would break up with him, throw his things to hell, tear up his magazines and throw him out the door of yours apartment, but every time you lied and couldn’t stand it, you lied and again deceived only yourself.

You didn't believe in gods. If you believed in them, then for all the promises you would not be allowed not only into heaven, but also into hell. You chuckled every time you thought about it.

Your friend Robb, sweet Robb, he sincerely tried to help you. Screaming in your face that your relationship with Aegon is toxic. He was the first one who brought you to a psychologist. A nice woman in her forties said from session to session that it was toxic. You knew it. But knowing does not mean being aware. But you still plunged into this sticky and enveloping relationship, time after time. Because somewhere deep down in your soul you knew you were just as toxic as Aegon. A couple created in hell and married by Satan himself.

"I'll cut you up and make you dinner You've reached the end, you are the winner"

Every time you met Aegon in the early morning when he returned to your apartment. The smell of other women's perfume almost suffocated you, and the hickeys all over his neck definitely did not belong to you. You bit, and bit so that marks remained. But you only bit him, and unfortunately he bit not only you.

Someone else's woman's lip gloss stuck to his cheeks like bees were swarming for honey. It didn't wash off his expensive shirts and designer T-shirts. You will forever remember how you sat in the bathroom with his fucking shirt. You cried for hours, drying yourself with the same clothes, crying and laughing. It was all so absurd.

Little bit of poison in me I can taste your skin in my teeth

Everyone was right, it's all toxic. That day you broke the mirror that was hanging on the wall, you could have sworn that you saw his damn reflection and grin there. But you stopped, you broke the decanter, the figurines, everything that your hands could reach. You didn’t care, he wasn’t there. You were ready to bet your soul that he was now in another bathroom at the club, driving into another girl’s pussy.

This made you laugh harder, until you realised that you were choking on tears. While cleaning the battlefield you created in the apartment, you took a fragment of a mirror. You hated what you witnessed. There were traces of mascara running from the eyes to the middle of the cheeks, lips were bitten, in blood. And your eyes. They were red, but your natural eye colour had never looked so vibrant to you. You hated it and loved your reflection at the same time. You hated the one who brought you to this state. But you loved the fact that even in such a miserable state you looked like a goddess.

That same evening you bought a ticket and flew to your home country. This was a quick flight. That same evening, having thrown your suitcase into the apartment your parents bought for you, you went to a club with friends from your former school. After six tequila shots, you told your whole story. Margaery tried to comfort you, Robb hugged you and promised to beat up your boyfriend. But it didn't help. Your other former classmates, Theon and Ramsay, helped. They said they knew how to relieve the pain. That day you tried molly for the second time in your life. The little pill gave you unforgettable emotions, you danced on the bar counter, men whistled and applauded in your direction. But you didn't care. There was nothing on your mind.

You understood that this was not a solution. And when the next morning you woke up with a severe headache and vomited for half the day, you felt killed, unsteady and wretched for the first time. Help came from where you weren't expecting. From your ex. Viserys fucking Targaryen. He was like your current boyfriend's cousin or something. He held you while you cried all evening, he helped you open a bottle of martini and mixed cocktails. He reassured you and said everything you had heard before. You have to break up with Aegon, but he was the first person to whom you admitted that you couldn’t. You allowed your ex to see you weak, broken.

"I love it when I hear you breathing I hope to God you're never leaving"

That evening when you first admitted this to someone besides yourself, it worked better than psychologists. And so now, when you are sitting in Aegon's car and he is driving you with you after the party, you wait, and wait, and pray. You pray that he will lose his temper and say something that will allow you to leave him. You provoked him, screamed how you hated the fact that he fucked other whores, you hated the constant parties. And it happened.

“Get out, get the fuck out of the car,” he screamed and slammed his hands on the steering wheel of his car. You were a little taken aback.

Running through the parking lot He chased me and he wouldn't stop

“Are you fucking high?” It was a question that did not require an answer. You were one hundred percent sure that he was high. And to be honest, you were afraid of this Aegon.

"I'm tired of you!" Aegon yelled, his face contorted in rage as he grabbed your wrist and yanked you out of your seat.

“Fucking asshole,” you muttered into space. You should have felt victory, but you couldn’t forgive such an attitude towards yourself.

Grabbed my hand, pushed me down Took the words right out my mouth

Aegon yanked you and pulled you out of the car. Your legs were unsteady. High heels and short clothes made you feel vulnerable in the darkness of the deserted street. Aegon grabbed the collar of your dress and leaned it against the stone wall of the building. “Do you have any idea how annoying you are?” he screamed.

“Oh please enlighten me,” you snapped.

Aegon's face twisted with rage. “I was with you for two years and all you did was complain, give me orders and ruin my parties. You're a pain in the ass." Aegon looked down on you, “I should have kicked you out months ago.”

“I’m sorry that I didn’t want my boyfriend to kiss other sluts and find ways to get into their panties,” you replied, you remembered all the times he neglected you

“Am I that annoying because I want to have a good time at a party?” he shouted: “You are boring. I need fun." he continued, “Everyone is jealous because I have the best parties, I have the best girls, I have the best life… And I don’t want my girlfriend to interfere. You're no fun. Parties are more fun without you." "You're a bad girlfriend" he shouted

Can anybody hear me? I'm hidden under ground Can anybody hear me? Am I talking to myself?

“Our entire relationship, all I’ve done is support you, and I’m sorry if just being faithful is a really high price to pay for you,” it was true. All the times when his family was against him, you held him tightly and let him cry on your chest. It was your Aegon, but the man who looked at you with dilated pupils was unfamiliar to you. Aegon continued to argue at a primary school level, sometimes you tried not to laugh.

He looked at you with contempt: “Your only idea is to stop me from getting drunk, to stop me from kissing other girls. You want to control me. You're a control freak." He looked up and down

“Do you know what I see when I look at you?”

"Tell me"

A laugh escaped Aegon’s thin lips: “I see a nag. A boring nag who doesn’t allow me to live the way I want.” He spat on the floor next to you. “You're always complaining, always asking me why I drink, why I flirt with other girls…” He laughed again.

“Well, because you’re my damn boyfriend, you know when people in relationships don’t cheat, that’s the reason people invented relationships,” you were angry and already at your breaking point.

Aegon laughed, but his eyes were cold and hard: “I know you would want me to be faithful and look only at you. I tried this first. But your nagging made me unhappy. To experience life, I want to have fun. I won't be sorry if you don't like it. You don't matter."

“Then it’s better to break up, I won’t let someone like you gaslight me.” You finally said it. That phrase I thought about, fantasised about and feared.

Aegon raised an eyebrow, "Really?" he chuckled. “Then do it. Break up with me. But you won't do it." He said, grinning. “Why? Because deep down I know that you are crazy about me. You can't get enough of me”.

Saying, "tag, you're it, tag, tag, you're it" He's saying, "tag, you're it, tag, tag, you're it"

“You’re only wrong about one thing: I’m crazy about you. We’re breaking up,” you exclaimed with a smile. “It’s over, farewell Aegon,” you said and started to walk away. It felt like you had thrown off long-standing shackles, you were freed, you finally wanted to live.

Aegon grabbed your arm, stopping you. “You can't leave me. This is my job". He glared at you, “And how exactly are you going to walk home in that dress and those heels? And it's dark outside…"

“It’s not your problem, you’re not my boyfriend anymore.” Why did these words sound so sweet and melodious from your lips? You didn't know, but you were sure you would understand later.

He leaned towards your face, smelling of alcohol. "But I can't let you go into the dark."

"And why? I said dripping with sarcasm

He smirked, “Because I don’t want to risk anything happening to you. You are my responsibility,” he said, and deep down he thought: the longer I delay her coming home, the more she will miss me

“Not anymore,” you shouted and laughed for the first time from the lightness in your chest. This feeling inspired you. You continued on your way home, laughing periodically and raising your hands to the starry sky.

“Do you have any idea how dangerous it is there?” He said, looking at you. “What if you get lost? Or if something bad happens to you? What would I tell your father? I can't let you leave like this.” His tone became gentle as he added, “I care about you.”

“Well that sucks because I don’t care about you,” you gave him your middle finger and then licked it.

He stared at you, trying to keep his temper. His hands clenched into fists until his knuckles turned white. After a moment, he gave a sharp nod "Oh yeah? Well, do whatever you want." He said and turned away "You'll see, you little bitch, you'll come back".

You were indifferent to his words. You walked home with a smile from ear to ear, even the damn heels didn’t spoil your mood.You only heard the sharp slam of a car door and the sound of wheels that were taking your ex somewhere far away, somewhere where you wouldn’t care about him.

After 15 minutes of walking home, you were finally there. You kicked off your shoes and looked at yourself in the mirror. There stood a girl who was proud of herself. It was the only thing that mattered to you at the moment. Walking into the kitchen, you took out a bottle of whiskey. It has always been customary in your family to celebrate any victories, small or large. You uncorked the bottle and drank straight from your throat.

The idea immediately came to mind. You turned on your favourite playlist and turned the volume up to maximum. Dancing, you reached the bedroom and began to sort through things. You put all of his shirts, hoodies and other items of clothing into boxes when one box caught your attention. Lingerie from Victoria's Secrets. His gift for Valentine's Day. He always said that red suits you.

Your inner bitch woke up with new confidence and, tearing open the gift wrapping, you put on your underwear and took a selfie, which you posted on your Instagram. Compliments from friends poured in at breakneck speed, but you didn’t care. You danced drunkenly on the marble table in your living room, breaking away just to open the windows to ventilate the room.

Eenie meenie miny mo Get your lady by her toes

You didn’t even suspect that your ex’s car was parked under these very windows. Aegon gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles were as white as the first snow of winter. The notification of your new post brought him out of his trance. Your body, your lace lingerie, your smile. And all this without him. But you couldn’t really break up with him after two years, could you? Couldn't she? Right?

Something instantly switched in his head and he got out of the car. Anger, betrayal and adrenaline, all this was mixed in his head and that’s why he was now banging on your door.

You didn’t hear the knocks on the door, you didn’t hear him enter your apartment, and you definitely didn’t hear him sigh as he looked at you. You danced and moved your hips, laughed and drank even more from the already half-empty bottle.

“What the hell are you doing?” Aegon exclaimed after turning off the player.

“Shit,” you exclaimed in shock. With a careless movement of your hands, you spilled the remaining whiskey on yourself and the table. "What are you doing here?"

“Well, I came to make sure you were alright since you are my girlfriend.But I can see you are more than fine. You are better than ever” Aegon said sarcastically. He was angry and pitiful at the same time. "I guess you were just joking when you told me we broke up, weren't you?"

“No, I was extremely serious. Looks like the only one crying about the breakup is you,” you said mockingly. Alcohol gave you confidence and increased all your emotions significantly.

"I don't believe you for a second… You can't get over me, can you?" He leaned in to whisper into your ear "Be so honest for once and admit that you don't want to live without me" his hands lay on your hips, and his face was centimetres from your neck. No matter how wrong it was, you didn't pull away.

If she screams, don't let her go Eenie meenie miny mo

“I’m fucking living without you now Aegon, I can and I will,” you exclaimed. His hands squeezed you even tighter, in the mirror you could already see your reddened skin. You were sure that there would definitely be a couple of bruises.

"I don't believe you." He whispered, his breath on your neck. It had an effect on you that you didn't expect. You got goosebumps. This game can be played by two people. "You'll come crawling back. You'll beg forgiveness. That's what you always do."

“Then cry baby,” You whispered and bit his ear lightly, but with the confidence that the teeth marks would remain for a couple of days. “You fuck every girl at the university, that’s not what I wanted from a relationship,” you laughed.

That laugh triggered all his anger. "You know what? I think this breakup is permanent. You can have all your freedom. It's not like I really need you." He said, trying to sound nonchalant. But he was deeply upset, it showed in his voice and his eyes. He wanted you to run after him and confess your love for him.

“So this is the reason why you are squeezing my thighs? Because you don’t need me?” and after that you looked into his eyes. It was a mistake. Big and unforgivable. In a split second, you saw fire, hatred and desire in his eyes. There wasn't enough time for more.

His lips pressed against yours in a fiery kiss. The heat was dizzying, the moment he had been looking forward to for so long and the memory of the past two years came back at once. Your bodies were touching, and Aegon wanted more. The feelings of anger, insecurity, and jealousy were gone. His lips met yours again, and his hands were pulling your body close to him.

The next moment, your body was lying on the table where, minutes earlier, you had danced to celebrate the end of a toxic relationship. Your back felt sticky from the spilled whiskey, but that didn’t matter now. It looks like the wheel of samsara has begun another circle, but now you are at the peak of bliss. Looking at the chandelier, you thought that this couldn’t start again. It can't?

Aegon's mouth trailed down her neck, he kissed, nibbled, and sucked at your skin. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, a warm flood of sensations coursing through his body. He groaned as he took in your scent. He wanted to devour you… and you will gladly let him.

He knew all your bliss points. The neck was one of them. You flinched slightly as he bit your collarbone. And at that moment the brain lost control. You pressed your lips to his, biting his lips and gently licking the blood.

His mouth continued its journey down your body until it was close to your panties.

“Red suits you,” he said with a grin. You knew it and you hated yourself for it. He will always find his own way to you. The touch of the cold metal of his rings pulled you out of your thoughts and you realised that you were already lying naked in front of him on the table.

Your mother said to pick the very best girl And I am

As soon as Aegon saw your wet pussy glistening under the lights, he couldn't resist the urge to taste it. Drooling at the sight, he knelt down between your legs, positioning himself perfectly so that he could reach every inch of your pussy with his tongue. The sound of his eager slurping filled the room, mixed with the moans escaping your mouth as he lapped at your folds eagerly. At first you tried to bite your lip to hold back your moans, but you quickly realised that it was pointless.

"Ah… fuck…" He muttered under his breath, lost in the pleasure of tasting you. He pulled away momentarily to catch his breath before diving right back in, swirling his tongue around your entrance teasingly before pushing one finger inside of you slowly, testing your tightness.

Hearing your moan, Aegon's pace increased, his tongue working faster and harder as he savoured the taste of your juices flowing down his throat. He added another finger, pushing deeper into your wetness with each pass, feeling the tightness around his digits gradually giving way to accommodate his intrusion.

"There we go," he murmured, his voice rough and gravelly with desire. "Feel good, love?" He asked, looking up at you through half-lidded eyes as he continued to pleasure your pussy with his mouth.

With one last swift motion, he removed his fingers from your pussy and sucked your clit hard into his mouth, swirling his tongue around it vigorously while biting down lightly on the sensitive nub. But you wanted more, you needed more.

Aegon felt your hands start to work on his jeans, feeling a surge of excitement coursing through him as he watched you undoing them. He knew what this meant - you wanted him inside of you, and he couldn't wait any longer.

"I can't wait to be deep inside of you," he growled, standing up and pulling off his pants and boxers in one swift motion, revealing his fully erect cock standing proudly against his stomach.

In one swift movement, he kicked off his underwear and stepped out of them completely, leaving himself completely exposed for you to see. His cock throbbed with anticipation, ready to fill you up completely. "You want this big dick inside of you, don't you?"

Aegon grinned wickedly at your nod, knowing exactly what you wanted. He didn't waste any time, he immediately grabbed onto your hips and guided his throbbing member towards your waiting pussy. With one powerful thrust, he buried himself deep within your walls, filling you up completely. The sound of their entry echoed throughout the empty room, mixing with the sounds of their heavy breathing and the slap of flesh against flesh.

"Fuck" He groaned, his voice low and guttural as he began to fuck you roughly, driving himself into your depths over and over again. His hips moved in a relentless rhythm, pounding into you with force, his balls slapping against your thighs with each powerful stroke.

Aegon felt your pussy clinch around him tightly as you climaxed, his cock throbbing with each pulse of your orgasm. He loved seeing you come undone in front of him, knowing that he was the one who had brought you to such heights of pleasure. With a satisfied grunt, he increased the intensity of his thrusts, driving himself even deeper into you as he continued to pound away at your sensitive walls.

Feeling your release, Aegon's own climax began to build up in him, and with a final primal roar, he unloaded a hot stream of cum inside of you, filling your womb with his thick seed as he released wave after wave of pure ecstasy.

"Fuck, yes," he groaned, he gently pressed a kiss behind your ear and whispered, “Tag, you’re it.”

That night you came 4four times, he came three times. It was a small victory, but still a victory. you were right, the wheel of samsara has started spinning again and you just have to wait for a new blow. Aegon may have been the one who created this wheel, but now it is your turn to control it. you looked at his sleeping face on the pillow of your bed and carefully tucked a strand of his platinum hair behind his ear.

You whispered something that he will never know because it’s your time now, and you'll be ready to crush him with that wheel harder than he's ever done before.

“Tag, you’re it”

[djs-sideblog-for-pog-trains]

Friends (that we made up for along the way) Chapter 9

Part 1 |  Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | ?

heyyy. so i totally forgor i never posted everything i wrote of this? which is kind of wack? so. i had 2 more chapters in my pocket, ch10 feeling like an ending of sorts, but yeah. the last chapter? gordo has a breakdown. this chapter? eddie and duck gossip. and duck does smth nice.

@mean-scarlet-deceiver tagging u as thanks 4 the encouragement <3 and i cant rly remember who was super into being tagged for this fic

Characters:  this chapter: Gordon (mentioned), Edward, Duck

Relationships: platonic gordon&edward a major focus, some possible allusions to 2x3, this chapter features edward&duck

Genre: Human AU, hurt/comfort

Chapter’s Wordcount: roughly 1800 words [under the cut]

Chapter Warnings: Food/eating food.

Chapter 9/10?

The next day, Gordon was back up and at work without a single word spared to the night before, despite how Edward tried to bring it up.

The new routine Edward had been enjoying recently, now that he didn’t exactly have (or despite his arguments, need) constant care, was that almost everyone had been dropping in on their breaks to check on him. It left Edward with a steady stream of visitors throughout the day until Gordon got home for the night.

Which was good, especially today, because it was going to give him something else to think about instead of sitting there, stewing over the night before like it would make a difference.

Thankfully, his train of thought was derailed by a cheery knock at the open front door.

“Hullo, Edward!”

Ah, yes, Tuesday, 10:30am. That meant it was time for Duck’s weekly visit.

“Hello, Duck,” he called warmly from where he was in the kitchen. “I was about to make tea!”

“Oh, lovely,” Duck smiled,  pausing the doorway to take off his cap, a caketin tucked under one arm. “I’m parched.”

Edward laughed at him, and with Duck’s help set some of the nicer china out on the table for the two of them. Duck had revealed tin full of lemon cupcakes that he claimed Oliver barely had to help make (though Edward could tell their cooking apart fairly well by this point, and these had definitely had a very strong guiding hand from Oliver to not be bad).

“So,” Edward settled back in his chair as Duck poured the tea for them. “How’s working on the mainline again been treating you?”

“Well, it’s certainly been a while,” Duck rolled his eyes. “But it hasn’t changed. Same old fusspots bossing you around. Same old frantic, ever-shifting timetabling. It’s a wonder you don’t all fall over all the time.”

“I imagine it’s harder without… a couple of regulars,” Edward picked his words carefully as he accepted the cup and saucer Duck passed over. He took it from his friend just in time, as Duck seemed to flinch at the comment, before covering it up with a quick smile.

“Yeah,” he just said instead. “But we’re managing. Even if they all seem to want to run around like headless chickens instead of, y’know, working.”

Edward smiled, and sipped his tea, nodding his thanks as Duck took out one of the cupcakes and placed in on the little plate in front of him too.

“Tell me,” he finally said as Duck settled back with his own cup of tea. “How’s Gordon doing?”

“Gordon?” Duck echoed, pausing to muse over his teacup. “He… seems alright. A little quiet, I suppose. Looks tired, but he always seems to, nowadays. Why?”

“No reason,” Edward lied through his teeth.

“Eddie.”

Edward had chosen the wrong time to go for a drink. He choked on his tea, quickly setting it down as he cleared his throat, before shooting a look at Duck.

For most people, it got serious when the full names came out. For Edward, it always seemed to be the other way around. Though not many dared to pull the nicknames out on him; Duck was always that bolder sort of friend.

Duck shot him a look over the rip of his teacup in return, one that made Edward smile but also made him sigh tiredly, and his hands moved, needing to fiddle. He started to peel the paper off the cupcake on his plate as he formulated what he was going to say.

Duck watched him, sipped his tea, and waited.

“I’m afraid to say something,” Edward finally started, “because I know Gordon holds his… shall we say, image very dear, and you are most certainly prone to gossip.”

This time, it was Duck’s turn to look abashed.

Edward picked at the cupcake, watching it crumble between his fingers, before seeming to jolt back to himself.

“Sorry,” he shot Duck a hasty smile. “I… I have a lot on my mind.”

“I’ll say,” Duck set down his teacup. “You only go straight for character assassinations when it’s serious.”

And Edward snorted at that, but shook his head. “Can I trust you to keep a secret, Duck?”

Duck swallowed hard. “…I, uh… yes?”

“Oh, how you fill me with confidence,” Edward said lightly, before shaking his head and popping one of the larger chunks of the cupcake he’d incidentally torn off into his mouth, taking a moment to enjoy it before centring himself again. “I’m just… worried.”

“About Henry?”

“Of course. But also… well, about everyone, in that regard, but… in specific about Gordon.”

“Right.”

“Last night I saw the strongest emotional reaction I think I’ve ever seen out of him in years, maybe ever? And he refuses to talk about it.”

“How strong are we talking?”

Edward picked up his teacup again, rolling it carefully between his hands, debating whether he even cross this bridge at all.

One look at Duck’s earnest and serious expression was enough to sell him on it.

“He cried,” he said softly. “I think the stress of everything caught up with him, of the extra work and my accident, and Henry’s accident, and…”

Edward let out a sigh, trying to let the ever-present tension between his shoulders go with the release of breath.

“He cried,” Duck echoed. His eyes were wide.

“…And you know how Gordon is,” Edward reminded him sharply. “So, Duck, please-”

“I won’t tell,” Duck cut him off. “That’s a Great Western promise. I wouldn’t actually… Oh smokeboxes, that is a lot, isn’t it?”

“I’m afraid he might be hurting himself,” Edward said. The one thing about talking with Duck was he always felt he could speak freely, even if it might get repeated, though Duck was usually a fairly good judge of what should and should not be passed on. “…Taking on too much work, not getting enough sleep, not eating, constantly trying to take over from others. I think it must be because he doesn’t want anyone else to get hurt, but…”

Duck’s eyes went unfocussed, like he was quickly thinking back to the last few weeks.

“I’m afraid you might be right,” he agreed, his eyebrows furrowing. “That explains a lot. He’s been fairly short-tempered, too. I just assumed it was him being his usual cheery self, but… Hm.”

“Hm,” Edward echoed.

“I’ll keep a closer eye on him, then,” Duck nodded resolutely, before tapping the side of his nose. “Not a peep from me, though.”

“I appreciate that,” Edward said with a smile, and he took a moment to take another drink of tea. “I must admit it, I’m struck with particularly strong bouts of… well, I have no better word than helplessness at the moment. I can only heal as fast as my body can, but I just want to get back out there and be useful. At least you all can bury your worries in your work. All Ican do is sit here.”

“…Sounds excruciating.”

“Oh, it is,” Edward laughed, and with that sombre comment, it struck Duck just how much older Edward looked now from the first time he’d met him. “It is.”

--- --- ---

Upon returning to work later that day, Duck was crossing the platform with his head down, caketin tucked under his arm once more, mulling over the conversation he’d just had.

He was mulling over it so hard that he didn’t notice his direct collision course with the subject of his mulling. That is, in layman’s terms, he ended up bumping right into Gordon.

In Gordon’s defence, he looked pretty preoccupied as well, and now Duck had half-a-reason of knowing what with. Duck steadied himself on Gordon’s arm without thinking, shouting a little as his hat fell off his head.

“Oh!” Gordon exclaimed. “Apologies, didn’t see you down there.”

Duck would have normally taken that as a mild sort of insult. This time, he took a breath and let it slide off his feathers.

“Quite alright,” he said, as Gordon stooped to fetch his hat for him. “Can’t say I was looking where I was going either.”

Gordon handed it back to him, and Duck firmly reintroduced his cap to his head. Gordon then politely nodded at him and moved to step around him, and Duck was struck with the full-body urge to say something.

But what? He didn’t want to let the cat out of the bag, especially so soon.

“Hey,” he said instead. “Tell you what, you look like you could use a pick-me-up.”

Gordon paused, and shot him a very funny look.

“I, uh,” Duck fumbled. “I have, uh, these. Oliver helped me make ‘em, I made them for Edward for our morning tea today and he insisted I take some home.”

“Sounds like Edward,” Gordon’s lips tweaked up into the ghost of a smile. “How is he?”

“Well enough, all things considered,” Duck said, bobbing his head as he quickly cracked open the caketin again and offered its treasures to the big man before him. “Go on.”

Gordon looked down at the tin, before glancing up at him.

“Are you…?”

“I’m sure. And they do actually taste alright, I promise.”

Gordon almost smiled again, before hesitantly taking one.

“Um, thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Duck smiled, putting the lid back on and tucking the thing under his arm again. He graciously didn’t mention he could hear the rumble of Gordon’s stomach from here. “And, um, thank you.”

“…You’re welcome?” Gordon looked confused, cradling the cupcake in his hands like he was half-expecting someone to take it away from him.

“You’ve been doing some of my jobs for me, while I’ve been, uh, preoccupied,” Duck scratched the back of his head and laughed as best he could. “Thanks. But I think I’m well enough to be back on my game. I’ve got it from here. But thank you.”

“…Okay,” Gordon said. “You’re welcome, then. And… um, yes. Okay.”

Duck gave him a salute and a grin that he hoped didn’t look as forced as it felt. “Well,” he said as brightly as he could manage. “I got a train in a few minutes. I better go make sure everything’s, uh,  in order.”

“Of course,” Gordon replied, his eyes drifting to the baked good he’d been gifted. “Safe travels.”

“You too,” Duck nodded back. “Enjoy.”

And before this interaction could possibly get more awkward, Duck promptly turned on his heel and booked it as fast as social conventions allowed, only looking back from the safety of his own engine cab.

Gordon glanced around the platform, and seeing that no one was really watching him, peeled back the paper cup and taken a bite. And it was satisfying to see a ripple of poorly-hidden delight cross his face, before Gordon turned to walk back to his own train, and Duck couldn’t see him anymore.

Baby steps it was, then. He could do that.

[justalonelybitch]

Luxurious Love, Lust & Lies

Chapter Three ~ Curiousity Kills

~ Series Masterlist ~

A twisted tale of the young and rich attending an elite private academy for academic scholars, the finest athletes and aristocrats. Follow these upperclassmen on a journey to uncovering the dark secrets their academy has fought tooth and nail to conceal from the public. No one will make it out unscathed, for everyone is at risk of falling for the deceiving facades of those around them.

Multiple K-pop Love Interests x F!Reader

“Do you hear that?” Mr Kim’s mistress whispered, pulling away from his embrace with a look of panic reflecting in her eyes. He quickly shook his head, too caught up in the moment, rushing back to press his lips to her once more, addicted to the taste of her lips. But she pushed him back, sinking her teeth into her bottom lip with growing concern, glancing around the area. The faint whistled tune in the distance alarming her, eyes widening as she shooed him away, forcing him to take a look.

Upon hearing their panicked whispers, you picked up your pace, rounding the corner of an old school building. Assessing the area with a sense of panic, your eyes flickered towards an conveniently opened window glancing into one of the abandoned classrooms. Upon hearing what was undoubtedly Mr Kim’s heavy footfall as his shoes scuffed along the dirt path, leaves crunching beneath his feet, your brows furrowed contemplatively. Heaving a sigh, you reluctantly climbed through the window, rushing to pull it shut and duck out of sight just before Mr Kim could reach you. You released a breath of relief upon observing him wander past carelessly, completely unaware of your presence.

Once you were sure the coast was clear, you reached forwards to push the window back open, but much to your dismay, it wouldn’t budge. Taking a moment to glance around the room, you scrunch your nose up at the dust covered desks and cobwebs that had crept out from the corners. “Gross,” you muttered upon catching sight of magnets swarming around what looked to be rotten fruit and someone’s mouldy old sandwich. Pausing, you debated options, opting against breaking the door open, that would draw too much attention. Inhaling sharply, you traipsed towards the classroom door, prepared to further explore the building.

Your brows raised in curiosity upon catching sight of a faint change in dust patterns along the tiled floor. Head tilting in confusion, you squinted in the darkness, eyes lighting up in realisation. Someone had been here recently. Following the indistinct trail, you found yourself venturing further into the old building, ignoring the eerie silence. The faint flicker of light that inconsistently lit up under the door of a locked storage room raised the hairs on the back of your neck. Picking up the pace, you skipped up the stairs, struggling to follow the near invisible footprints in the darkness. You resisted the urge to shout in surprise as quiet music crackled to life on the speakers.

Briskly walking up the final steps, you arrived in front of a barricaded door that led to the roof. Only the wood was broken by an undeniably strong force, wind blowing the door ajar with a loud creak that left you wincing. You hesitantly stepped forward, slipping through the gap and coming face to face with a cloud of smoke. Suppressing a cough, your gaze darted to the source, brows furrowing as you were greeted by a familiar leather jacket clad back. “Jeon Soyeon?” You questioned into the darkness, approaching your classmate who sat on the ledge, legs dangling in the breeze.

“Kim Y/n,” she hummed in acknowledgement, not sparing you a glance as she stared into the distance, joint between her lips. “I thought I told you that was bad for your health,” you muttered, swinging your legs over the edge, occupying the space beside her. “You did,” Soyeon merely turned to you with an uninterested stare, lips parting as she blew the smoke into your face. Scrunching your nose up in dissatisfaction, you shook your head in amusement, holding your hand out expectantly. Huffing, she handed over the joint, her mouth tugging up in a proud smirk as you brought it to your lips. 

She chuckled in amusement, punching your shoulder with her ring clad fingers. “What about all that health crap?” She asked, shoving her hands into her pockets as the wind picked up.  “It’s bullshit,” you huffed, gently massaging your throbbing forehead. “I’m glad you’ve finally come to your senses,” Soyeon smirked, tugging the joint from your lips. “Just when I was beginning to think you were boring,” she hummed, ignoring the faux offence that graced your face. “Rude,” you grumbled, crossing your arms over your chest. You perked up at the faint sound of rustling leaves, forgetting all previous thoughts.

Glancing down to the ground, you squinted, struggling to make out a faint silhouette in the darkness. “What is it?” Soyeon asked, following your gaze curiously. “Not sure yet, hand me your phone.” She rolled her eyes at the absurd demand, but nevertheless she passed over the battered device. Tapping away at the screen, you open the text chain between you and Soyeon before clicking the camera icon. Leaning over the edge eagerly, you zoomed in, snapping a picture and sending it to yourself. A rough grip on your collar pulled you back, keeping you from toppling over the edge in your excitement.

“Idiot,” Soyeon muttered, snatching her phone from your grasp, gazing at it intently. Swinging your legs over the ledge, you planted your feet on the roof, wandering towards the opposite edge of the building. “Hey Y/n?” Soyeon called after you, hands stuffed into her pockets as she followed after you. “Yeah?” You hummed, glancing up at the tree that towered above the roof. “How did you know my password?” She questioned, brows raised inquisitively. “Lucky guess,” you excused with a shrug, carelessly climbing onto the ledge. “Until next time, Jeon Soyeon,” you saluted with a smile, stepping backwards to gracefully fall over the edge.

Soyeon’s eyes widened as she blinked in shock, rushing towards the ledge, curiously leaning over. She let out a relieved laugh upon seeing you dangle from a feeble branch by one arm, waving up at her with the other. “You’re fucking insane Kim Y/n,” she chuckled, shaking her head in disbelief. “You know there's a ladder, right?” She asked, watching you nod dumbly, wondering what possessed you to suddenly jump from a roof. Letting go of the branch, you landed on the ground with a thud, dusting off your uniform before casually strolling away, hands stuffed into your pockets. “I was wrong, you’re far from boring,” Soyeon muttered to herself as you disappeared into the darkness.

~~

Sooyoung stared perplexed as you held your phone up to her face, brows furrowing at the blurry image. “What does a photo of Kim Yerim have to do with any of this?” Your roommate huffed, plopping down on your bed with a confused grumble. “The photo of Mr Kim and his mistress, she took it the night this photograph was taken.” You explained simply, shrugging nonchalantly as you flopped down beside her. “That still doesn’t explain why you have it,” she groaned, abruptly gripping you by the shoulders, attempting to shake some sense into you. “I made a new friend,” you grinned, paying no mind to Sooyoung’s bewilderment.

“And she just handed you a photo of your teacher with his tongue down a student's throat?!” She yelled in disbelief, forehead creasing as she tried to wrap her head around the perplexing situation. “Well, I’m simply borrowing it for the time being,” you uttered, glancing down at the crumpled photograph. “For fucks sake! you stole it, didn’t you?” Sooyoung accused, eyes narrowed as she awaited your answer. Carefully contemplating, you tilted your head to the side, scratching your head thoughtfully. “I suppose so,” you muttered with a nod, wincing as Sooyoung landed a slap on the back of your head. “Idiot,” she grumbled, falling back against your mattress.

“I still don’t understand any of this,” Sooyoung complained, raking a stressed hand through her long dark locks. “You don’t need to,” you muttered, leaning back against the wall. “I want to though,” she huffed, briefly letting her eyes flutter closed as she tried to piece together this unique puzzle. “You always do weird shit like this, I’m just finally curious,” Sooyoung mumbled, by weird she meant suspicious. “I’m doing someone a favour,” you revealed, watching as the gears in her head began to turn. “A favour? For who? Why?” She questioned rapidly, abruptly sitting up straight. “I received an anonymous letter on the first day of school, I thought I’d play along for a little fun.” You explained calmly, staring out the window and into the starry night.

“Just what have you gotten yourself into, Y/n?” 

~~

Students flocked around the auditorium doors, flooding inside as excited chatter bounced from the walls. You shuffled mindlessly through the crowd, arm linked with Yerim’s, who had caught you by the arm amidst the sea of students, dragging you past endless bodies. “Best seats in this fancy old building,” Yerim declared as she plopped down on the red velvet chairs. “I’m not so sure,” you muttered doubtfully, pointing a lazy finger to the private balcony above, reserved for various significant figures within the academy. “I beg to differ,” she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest defensively.

“Shouldn't you be up there with them, miss student council historian?” You teased, eyes swirling with curiosity as she gazed longingly at the balcony above. Hints of red and gold accents travelling up the pure white walls, historical patterns adorning each pillar supporting those who sat above all others. “That privilege is reserved for senior council members,” Yerim mumbled with a wistful sigh. The students all quietened down at the steadily paced clacking heels that captured the attention of the entire student body with a mere eight twelve steps. The headmistress cleared her throat before leaning forwards to speak into the microphone that sat atop a podium perfectly centred on stage.

“I know you’re all excited, but I’d appreciate it if I could have your attention.” Taeyeon requested, patiently awaiting the stall of hushed chatter. “I’m sure you’re all well aware of the upcoming annual sports festival,” she paused, quirking a smile at the excited cheers that echoed through the auditorium. “The board and I have been discussing factors for a while now, and I’m pleased to announce that there will be an additional incentive this year!” The headmistress declared proudly, prompting cheerful claps from those on the lower seats, while the privileged merely sat stoically above. “The champions of the rigorous battle between homeroom classes will earn an advantage in the next competition.”

Taeyeon’s announcement earned a rally of cheers and joyous shouts. While academics were incredibly important values to an advanced academy, they also believed in challenging their students in ways most schools couldn’t dream of. The school year consisted of several advanced trials that tested the students' individual capabilities and teamwork throughout the years. The academy’s annual sports festival was only the beginning of this year's various trials; you could only assume there would be plenty of twists and complexities to come from such a highly regarded school. You’d only heard whispers of challenges from the past years, but the serious nature in which the seniors viewed it told you there was much to anticipate.

“Thank you all for your time, you may now head back to your regular classes.” Your eyes wandered to the crowd as Taeyeon droned on, curiously flickering up to the loges in which the esteemed bunch were seated. The President sat stiffly, eyes hardened as he stared ahead. A stark contrast to the Vice President seated beside him, her shoulders relaxed, an easy-going smile adorning her lips. Your eyes then found the familiar face of your Swim Captain, who nodded along with the headmistress's words, listening attentively. Lastly your gaze landed on Kim Jennie, her arms and legs crossed, expression reading as uninterested.  

You blinked in surprise as her intimidating cat-like eyes met yours, her brows raising as she tilted her head upwards ever so slightly. Daring to hold her gaze, you stared blankly at the girl who matched your expression, inquisitively raising a perfectly sculpted brow. It was as if the devil herself had challenged you to a staring contest, one you couldn’t bring yourself to look away from. Jennie’s sharp features staring back at you with an unreadable expression, one you tried tirelessly to decode, but to no avail. Brought back to the real world by a soft tug on your blazer, you briefly glanced away, looking curiously at Yerim. 

“Everyone’s leaving,” she grumbled, pushing you out of your seat to follow after the bustling crowd. Stumbling forwards, you craned your neck to glance back at the balcony in wonder. Your brows furrowed as your eyes landed upon the now empty chair that Kim Jennie was seated in mere seconds before. Interest peaked within you at the strange encounter with the Student Council Treasurer, blindly following behind Yerim as your mind wandered back to the exchange. Something about the feline eyed girl was oddly familiar, but you couldn’t quite place your finger on it. A harsh tug on the back of your collar yanked you from Yerim’s grasp, tugging you through the crowd as you struggled in protest.

“What the fuck,” you exclaimed, shrugging off their hand before whipping around to face them. “Watch your language,” Kim Hyoyeon scolded, shaking her head in disappointment. “Watch my language?! You just dragged me by the neck and I’m not even allowed to swear?” You seethed, glaring up at your professor and swim coach in disbelief. “I had no choice, you weren’t replying to any of my messages.” She reasoned, voice lowering as she glanced around the corridor cautiously. “I was busy,” you huffed incredulously, feigning ignorance to the numerous messages you’d received days prior. “What did you say to Taeyeon?” She questioned, arms crossed over her chest authoritatively. 

“Straight to the point as always,” you rolled your eyes, leaning against the nearest wall. “Just answer the question, Y/n. I don’t have time for your games today,” she gritted her teeth, lips drawn into a scowl. “No fun,” you whined sarcastically, a faux frown plastered on your features. Hyoyeon shot you a warning glare, taking a menacing step closer. “You're worried,” you observed, brows furrowed pensively. “Something’s off, I haven’t seen her like this since..” Hyoyeon trailed off, biting her tongue as she watched your jaw clench in vexation. “Whatever the problem is, it hasn’t got anything to do with me.” You grumbled, spinning on your heel, but Hyoyeon caught you by the wrist with a firm grip.

“It has everything to do with you,” Hyoyeon pressed, releasing your wrist as you slowly turned to face her, eyes narrowed. “Let me rephrase. It’s not my problem to deal with, she can fix it herself.” You seethed, hands curled into tight fists. “But you know she won’t,” Hyoyeon tried to convince you, but to no avail. “I don’t owe her anything,” you didn’t fold under her now pleading gaze. “Now if you’d excuse me, I have to get back to class Professor Kim.” You spoke formally, releasing a sigh of relief when she didn’t stop you. But just as you were about to round the corner, Hyoyeon tried one last time to sway you in her favour. “She’s your sister, Y/n,” her voice echoed throughout the corridor, but you didn’t bother to face her this time.

“No she’s not. Not anymore.” You whispered, but Hyoyeon heard you loud and clear, her shoulders sagging in defeat.

~ Previous | Masterlist | Next ~

[bedbellyandbeyond]

No Way Home

(Story Post)

Tand and the kids were escorted at sword point by elf guards. Their hands were bound, and mouths muzzled to prevent them from biting. They huddled together, Bita in the middle, sandwiched by their older siblings. Tand gave anyone and everyone nasty looks as they passed through the elf city towards the gates. Onlookers watched in fear, curiosity, and disgust. Korsy and Dusty were waiting by the gates. The demon had reinitiated his flirting with the guards Bjarne and Marbjörn again, but he brushed them off now and a look of concern returned as he saw how uncomfortably the little group approaching looked, gagged like animals. He wanted to run up and hug the kids, but he knew they might take it as aggression so he stayed still in his place. “Is that finally it?” Dusty asked. “We can just go with them?” “One more,” Korsy said, looking past the group.

A moment later, Asger marched up, not bound or anything, but still led at sword point. He kept his head held high, unconcerned by his criminal handling, but when he saw Tand and Co., he couldn’t help breaking form a little to smile. “You’re alright!” he said, looking between the kids then looking Tand in the face. “By the gods, I thought they might… I’m so sorry.” “You lied,” Tand growled through their muzzle, their tail thrashing behind them. “I should’ve known this would happen, that is true. But I never meant to deceive you,” Asger said. “But now, I can be sure you will be safe and get the care you need. My cousin knows how to handle these things.” Tand just turned away and ignored him, choosing to fix their gaze on a rock by their feet. “You really give me too much credit…” Korsy sighed, before inquiring: “Uncle Folke’s not going to see us out?” Asger shook his head. “No, my father would rather anything else but to look upon me now…” Korsy exhaled and gave him a couple slaps on the back. “You’re doing a good thing. I’m sorry it had to go this way.” Asger shook his head. “It’s fine. If being exiled from my home is the only way to ensure the safety of these folks, then it is a small price to pay.” “At least you have your mother’s place to live, eh?” Korsy said. Asger shook his head. “No, the dark elves claim all of Scandinavia as under their watch. I cannot return to Sweden.” Korsy blinked a few times, then rubbed his neck. “Shit. I didn’t know it was that extreme… I guess you’re coming with us, then. Do you have your passport up to date?” Asger shrugged. “I assume not.” “Ah, okay… Uh, APID can handle that, no worries,” Korsy assured. “Come on, let’s get the fuck out of here.” Dusty turned to his guard friends. “Marbjörn, if you will…” “You're going now?” the guard answered looking distraught. “You'll text us, ja?” Bjarne insisted, equally distraught. Dusty gave them a smile and a pat on the cheeks. “Of course. But I have to get back to work, boys. I'll speak to you soon.” Bjarne nodded, dragging his companion back to the guard house where they could activate the gates. They opened a crack for them and Korsy waved Tand and kids through first then Dusty and Asger. As soon as they were all on the other side, the gates were closed behind them, and they were left to themselves at the docks. “Let’s get these off first, yeah?” Korsy went behind Tand and undid the muzzle. Asger quickly followed suit, removing the children’s muzzles, and then removing their wrist bindings. Unbound, Tand quickly moved to hide the children behind them and bared their teeth again. “Why release us?” “Because that was the whole plan?” Korsy crossed his arms. “You folks are free now; however, we recommend you come with us. You need food, shelter, and medical attention. We can provide that to you.” “No. Send us back to our home,” Tand demanded. “This was a mistake. A lie!” “There’s no back,” Korsy said. He pointed to the gates. “‘Back’ is through the rift in there and you’re definitely not allowed back in there.” “But as we are now, I can fulfil my promise to you,” Asger said, stepping in front of Korsy to speak to Tand. “I offered you my home and protection. You can be safe with me.” “You do not have a home,” Tand said. “You just said.” Asger sheepishly scratched the back of his head. “Ah, right… Well, in broader terms, this realm is my home. If you stay with me, I will protect you.” “You do not have a home. You did not protect us from that…that terrible place!” Tand said pointing back to the city. “I cannot trust you!” “But you can trust me, can’t you?” Korsy said. “I said we’d get you out and I followed through. That must be worth something.” Tand just looked at him, a wrinkle to their nose. Just then, Soppa stepped forward. “You said I can get soup.” Dusty lit up. “Yes! If you come with us, we can get you soup, and any other food you like.” “Crackers,” Sten piped in. “We can certainly find crackers too,” Dusty assured. “Please, I know you're all hungry. And we can get you some new clothes and somewhere to sleep. Just come with us.” Tand shook their head. “No.” Soppa pouted, pulling at Tand's arm. “Please? I like Asger.” Tand whirled around, flashing Soppa a stern look. “If you want to go, then go! I want to go home!” “Tand, hold on a minute,” Asger said. “The last thing we want is division.” Regardless, Tand said nothing as Soppa picked up Bita and carried them over by Asger, Sten following behind. The kids all kept their eyes down, feeling the anger radiating towards them from Tand. “Kids, I...” Asger faltered, looking down at the little group by him. “I'm not going to take you away from your parent. This isn't how this is meant to go.” “Hungry,” Bita said, looking up at Asger. Dusty and Korsy stood by, not really sure what to do. Technically, the whole group was released to their custody, but based on their treatment already, they didn't want to force anyone into anything. “Listen, this is a small island, all of which is owned by the dark elves,” Korsy said. “We have a boat to take you to the mainland. From there, you can do whatever you want. I'm not going to stop you.” “You would have us free in your world?” Tand said. “I mean, it would be grossly irresponsible on my part and likely put you in danger because you don't know this world, but if you absolutely refuse to come with us, I am not going to stop you,” Korsy said. Tand looked at the children, hesitated a moment, but nodded. “Your boat.” Korsy perked up and motioned to a medium sized craft tied at the docks. “This way.” Tand just started walking towards the boat. Asger tapped Soppa's shoulder and pointed, motioning the kids to follow along. They shuffled after them, mindful not to get underfoot. Korsy jogged up ahead so he could help everyone get on safely while Dusty and Asger climbed in last. The kids and Tand were startled by the swaying of the craft beneath their feet, but Asger helped them sit and get comfortable. Dusty handed out life vests which Asger also helped put on their guests. Once everyone was secure, Korsy undid the line, started up the engine and left the dock.

On the ride, Dusty remembered some snacks Karla had giving them for the trip which he'd stashed away on the boat. Retrieving them, he gave each of the kids a cookie, and offered one to Tand, but they refused it. Soppa took all the kids’ cookies first, sniffed them, and then handed them back once they were sure they were safe to eat. The kids started a round of ‘thank you’s and ‘you’re welcome’s like they had when Asger had given them crackers. Tand continued to ignore them. It was still dark out, just before dawn, so despite the summer, a cold breeze was made worse by the speed of the boat. Tand and family wore almost nothing, save for some shorts and shirts made from an unknown fibre. Dusty was worried they'd catch a cold, so he found two blankets in the boat storage and handed them out. The kids all huddled up under one, but Tand refused the other. “Come on, it's really cold,” Dusty insisted. “I'm just giving you a blanket to warm up. I don't want you to get sick.” Tand still didn't move to take it, and just shut their eyes, attempting to shut everyone out. They already looked a bit pale, and after a moment, they pursed their lips, a sound like a hiccup escaping them. Dusty blinked and then patted Korsy's shoulder while he drove the boat. “Can you slow down a bit?” “Hm? Why?” “I think they're a bit seasick,” Dusty said. At that very moment, Tand could hold it, and a little bit of sick dribbled from their mouth. Korsy saw this and slowed down. “Whoa, okay. Over the edge, over edge, please. This is a rental!” Asger rushed over to their side in aid, helping them turn around and lean their head over the edge. They didn't have much to bring up however and just retched dryly. “Were there any water bottles with those snacks?” Korsy asked. “They need something for their stomach.” While Dusty got the water, Asger had Tand close their eyes and breathe deeply. “Just relax,” he said. “Concentrate on your breathing. It'll help steady you.” “Sit them in the middle,” Korsy said. “Less motion there.” Tand let Asger sit them in the centre of the boat and even let him wrap the blanket Dusty offered around his shoulders. Their stomach seemed to have already settled, though they were still pale. Tand spoke suddenly. “Why do you call me that?” “Call you what?” Asger asked. “You call me Tand. But you also call me ‘Them’. And ‘They’.” “Oh, uh. Well, I gave you a name since you don't seem to have one. Of course, if you don't like it, we can change it,” Asger explained. Tand just shrugged at that. “And we call you them because, well, we don't know your gender and it's just polite,” Asger said. Tand looked at him. “My gender?” “Yes. I am a male elf, so my pronouns are he/him,” Asger said. “Oh, are we sharing gender identity and pronouns?” Dusty said excitedly. “Succubus. He/him. Mostly...” “Man. He/him,” Korsy added. Asger looked worriedly at Korsy for that but didn't say anything. Tand knit their brow. “You are all he/him. Then I am too, no?” “I mean, if you want to be, we can do that. You don't have to,” Asger said. “There are other pronouns like she/her, or they/them, or a combination.” “Or neo pronouns,” Dusty added. “Like ze/zir.” Tand frowned, not fully understanding. “I am like you. He and him.” “He and him it is then,” Asger said. “We'll make sure to pay attention to that.” “Do we get those too?” Soppa asked. “Of course,” Asger said. “Did you hear something you like?” Soppa thought about it. “I like he/him too. Like Asger.” “Alright.” Asger smiled. “And the others?” Sten titled their head. “What were the other choices?” “I think we've listed he/him, she/her, they/them, and ze/zir?” Asger retold. “What’s the difference?” Soppa asked. “Well, to be very general,” Dusty started to explain, “Usually, but not always, he/him is used for boys, while she/her is for girls. They/them is often used by people who aren't a boy or a girl, or are both, or sometimes one and sometimes the other... Sometimes they use a combination of the other ones. Or something else entirely, like ze/zir.” Sten just said. “Oh... I don't know.” “How about they/them, then?” Dusty asked. “For now.” Sten just nodded. “She,” Bita piped up. “Is that what you like?” Dusty asked. Bita nodded. “Alright, I think we figured it out then,” Asger said. “In that case, Tand if you want he/him, then you would be the kids' father,” Asger said. “Only if you like that term,” Dusty said. “I know a he/him who goes by mom.” “I don't care,” Tand said. “Whatever's usual is fine. Talking is too much...” “Well, if we go by the norms, then that would make Soppa a son and brother, Sten still a child and sibling, and Bita a daughter and sister,” Dusty said. “Sister!” Bita sounded excited saying it back. “That’s right, you’re Soppa and Sten’s little sister.” Dusty smiled. “Glad we’re in a better mood. A cookie can go a long way.” “An identity can go a long way too,” Korsy said. “A sense of self is very inspiring.” Tand still didn’t seem to be doing so hot and had his head down between his knees, trying to keep from getting sick again. Asger offered him a bottle of water, but he passed on it. Instead, Asger turned back to see the island he’d called home drift further and further away. It wasn’t long before a thick mist obscured his view and the island appeared to vanish. He let out a deep sigh and turned back. Soppa was watching him, so he smiled to the child and leaned back. He wanted to be brave for them. It was all he could do for now.

[yjwhatif]

so i realized the back half of s4 is the second time in the show that Bart has Done Some Shit and we haven't seen the repercussions/consequences. he lies through his teeth for over a month back in s2 about being a "tourist" and when the truth comes out that he WAS lying (and is from the apocalypse) it's never directly addressed on screen. now he's lied for over three months and disappeared for over two weeks in s4 and we don't see how that effects him or his life or the people in it AT ALL.

Yeah… For me, while i still love s4, i do think its biggest fault is in it's lack of outsiders presence - especially once we get to the bart plot - barts connection is with them - not any of the people he's grouped up with once free from lor (bar artemis maybe). we need to see the outsiders/those closest to him to experience the consequences that come from him deceiving and leaving them… it was obviously disappointing to not see them play much of a part through gars decline but i've talked about my perspective on why that is before (if i find that original post I’ll link it here) and when rewatching the series it didn't actually bother me as much… at this point, there remains only two moment where i really wish theyd have been seen or at least mentioned - the first is when Child is causing chaos around the world and we’re told every outsider, along with everyone else, has been called upon to help and yet we only see tara and cassie of the actual outsiders there… would it really have been too much to ask for a few more to be scattered in the background of the different disasters? There’s plenty of them at this point. The other is within the bart plot… it straight up bugs me that there is never any mention of the outsiders - or even just cassie, as their leader - being informed about the facts gathered during dicks investigation, especially after zatanna specifically mentions that bart and conner are both outsiders… if they are outsiders, then the outsiders should be involved in finding them - that has always been the way in which the teams think when something happens to one of their own… except in s4 apparently! Obviously, the show only has a certain amount of time and budget to tell the story it wants and they wanted the focus to be on the ogs - that's fair enough - but it really needed something… even if it was just a quick mention from artemis, or someone, that there were indeed outsiders out looking for bart - something similar to how they revealed joans funeral in s3 - a few small comments that highlight there's still more going on outside of the events being shown on screen.

It’s great getting Bart content (we always need more of it!) but with the decisions he chose to make with the legion and this show being rather good at showing there’s consequences to actions - there really should have been some repercussions at least hinted at by the end of the season. I feel like the closest we get is Dinah saying Jay’s been struggling - but because we never get to see that struggle and it’s never directly linked to Bart - it isn’t enough to count as a repercussion.* I’d have even settled for something to have been said in the comics about it, like him being benched or being on some kind of probation or him just taking some time off - but that also hasn’t happened. At this point, I guess we’ll never know, which is a shame because like I said before, this show is usually very good at including consequences… y’know, unless your name is Bart Allen that is. I am so desperate to see Bart get called out on his keeping secrets, or to see him actually struggle with things - mainly because it’s a side we really haven’t experienced yet - even after everything he’s been through. I wanna see Bart out of his depths, stuck in a situation he can’t run from, or heal his way out of, or be a goofball through. I wanna see the other sides of him. We’ve had three seasons with him - it’s time to finally delve deeper.

*Until told otherwise, my headcanon is that Jay loses some of his trust in Bart and winds up putting him on curfew and becomes a bit more restrictive of what he allows until he feels he can trust him again.

And those are my thoughts - basically, let’s start seeing the outsiders dealing with consequences the same way the OG have being since s1. Thanks for your message Anon!

LB

[maddys-nerd-blog]

Hey!! Happy almost Halloween!!

To give you guys a treat I decided to share another snippet of the sequel to my AU, this time it’s a dramatic piece!

So here’s another draft for Familia: Through Space and Time!

Click-chk! Whrrr

Click-chk! Whrrr

Click-chk-chk-chk-chk-

The gears rotating in the open panel of her phantom hand kept catching on a loose piece of wire that acted as a vein. Every time it spun, it snagged the bright red tubing and rubbed it between the teeth of the machinery keeping the arm functioning. This time it had stayed stuck, refusing to budge even as she poked as prodded at the faulty piece of gadgetry. Left to it’s devices for long enough the potential risk of blood backing up into the ports and clogging an artery presented itself.

At the moment, Katie could give less of a fuck. She’d all but run out of fucks to give.

Nothing could keep her calm. Hiding out in the hull where the Fusion Core kept the space fully alight with its orange-red glow, she couldn’t face everyone else like this. No drop of whiskey was strong enough to stamp out the kindling flames of anger that simmered deep down inside of her chest. She couldn’t afford to get plastered— not when they were finally in reach of saving Earth. But at what cost?

Honeycutt had lied. He’d lied to them all.

He’d deceived her— smiled in her face and prattled about how good of a mother she was, how brave she’d been, how her efforts weren’t going to be in vain. Yet at the center of all that love bombing was a weasely hunk of junk that had sold out to the Krang for the sake of old fashioned greed. Entropy won.

Entropy always won. Money talks, and it had sung its sickly serenade into his ear and he’d willingly given Mozar a doomsday device for cold hard cash.

The fucker preached non-violence but when faced with the truth, he ran. She wouldn’t be shocked if he bailed on them once they got to Earth. Probably fuck off back to space to play hero with another group of unfortunate civilians caught in his crossfire.

All of this was his fault. Everything was his fault.

The loss of trillions of lives… countless planets, families, children… all dead. He had the blood of innocents on his hands all because of MONEY.

Chk-chkchkchkchkchk-

The wire split. Blood trickled in thin ribbons along the curves of her wrist. It spilled out of the ports and gears, the broken tube gushing endlessly.

She couldn’t even feel it. There was no pain in this arm. The arm he’d specially put together for her.

It felt grotesque to have this. A betrayal.

Ripping the damaged tube out of her wrist, the gears spit blood back out at her shirt, staining the grey garment with dark red droplets. Her fingers twitched, fizzling for a moment, before the complicated circuitry righted itself as though nothing was amiss. It made her sick.

Was she just like him now? Unable to feel? Unable to bare pain? How could she possibly still accept this arm when the thing that created it had been responsible for genocide? Yes, he didn’t do it by his own hand, but he was still the catalyst for the destruction of Earth. He’d been the Krang’s trigger when they fired the bullet that had signaled the Triceratons. It was still his creation, his carelessness, his own two hands that had built not only the black hole generator, but the foundation of the war he’d needlessly dragged them all into.

Katie smashed her fist into the floor. A resounding crash echoed within the engine room, a small dent created beneath her knuckles. Even with the strength applied strength behind her punch the skin didn’t break. It didn’t scrape. It didn’t even tear.

It started to tremble.

Anger spiked. With lightening speed Katie grabbed the first thing she could get her hands on— a screwdriver— and with a powerful swing of her arm she chucked it far off into the darkness, watching it fall down, down, down, until a faintly audibly clink echoed.

She didn’t care.

Off on the left side of the room, Katie heard the doors swish open, alerting her to the presence of someone new. But judging by the hard clacking of metal clicking against the catwalk, she knew who had paid her a visit.

“Miss McAndrews?” Called the tinny voice of Honeycutt. Katie struggled to stop herself from outright cussing at him.

His footsteps drew nearer, coming to a halt once he was well within the six-foot distance. Minutes passed without so much as a word being uttered. Only the tremor of the core itself as it hummed aloud resonated throughout the chamber, its warmth creating needle-like prickles across her bare arms. She didn’t give him the dignity of a greeting. He didn’t deserve one.

“Miss McAndrews,” Honeycutt took a tentative step forward, before he paused. “… you may not wish to speak with me. You are fully within your rights not to. I understand that I may have cause you grief—“

That was one way to put it.

“— but you also must understand that I was a different man, then. Compassion, empathy, morality; those were the least of my concerns when I was flesh and blood. All that concerned me was my research, my work, my legacy… my ego.”

Katie grit her teeth, tightening her hands around her biceps. Well that was accurate.

“When the Krang took my generator I never would have conceived they would have wanted to use it for such a purpose. My heart wasn’t in the right place, what more can I say?! I’ve made amends! I’ve changed! All I want is to rectify my mistakes!”

Oh. Oh, FUCK NO.

“MISTAKE?!” She roared— actually roared— bellowing at the top of her lungs, loud enough to be heard even from planets away. She jumped to her feet, her chest heavy as all patience jumped off a cliff and reason took a backseat. The gloves were off. He wanted to play this game? Katie was going to dominate. “Mistake? Oh! I didn’t know that’s what we were calling it nowadays! A mistake is when you go to fucking Walmart and you forget to pick up the milk. A mistake is when you mix your colors with your whites in the laundry. NOT HANDING OVER A DEATH MACHINE TO ALIEN DICTATORS.” She advanced, slow, punctuating every word with a thick tone of poison lacing her tongue behind every syllable. “You’ve made amends? BULLSHIT. You’re trying to save face cuz you know you fucked up, and the only way you can do that now is to play make believe! Close your eyes and pray that your problems will be solved by FUCKING TEENAGERS!”

Honeycutt stumbled back as she jammed her finger into his chest accusingly. “If you were really such an altruist you wouldn’t have made that stupid thing! If you really cared about people you would have destroyed it the moment you realized what you did! YOU MADE A MISTAKE? LOOK IN THE MIRROR YOU FUCKING PRICK. How DARE you try to throw that shit in my face! You didn’t make a mistake! You’re just sorry nobody is gonna buy your excuses anymore!”

“I’m not trying to make excuses!” Honeycutt fired back, eyes narrowed angrily. “Haven’t my actions spoken louder than my words?! If I truly was as cruel as you thought, I wouldn’t have saved you or Mondo! Or the others! If I was that vile I would’ve abandoned you in the battle arenas! I know I haven’t been the most forthcoming, but I’ve tried to fix this ordeal! I’ve suffered for eons because of this!”

“Clearly not long enough if you’re willing to put children in jeopardy.” Honeycutt went dead silent under her furious glare. “Yeeeah, bet you coincidentally forgot that part! My boys have been through enough hell. You sat back and watched those babies march right into Mozar’s hands! When they took the ship and ransomed my sons, MY sons, you HID. You hid like a fucking COWARD.” Katie’s blood curdled in silent rage. “They almost died and you were more concerned about your precious space ship! The only reason you picked my sorry ass to be your hero of the month is cuz those poor turtles back on Earth died with their goddamn father, and I was stupid enough to fall for your ‘I’m a poor scientist who’s misunderstood’ spiel!”

Honeycutt, who it appeared had finally lost his patience, started barking back. “As if you’re a prize!? You foolishly ran head first into the Triceraton cruisers after I begged you not to! Interrogating an enforcer from Lord Dregg’s fleet, which led him straight to us! Flirting and flouncing with Zeno-“

“Shut up. Shut your mouth.”

“Absolutely not! You know I’m right! You’ve put all of us in countless dangers numerous times! Thinking you must prove yourself to everyone because you’ve failed in retrieving the generator pieces! I’m convinced you’re doing this just for fun! You think this is a game, don’t you?!”

“I never saw this as a game you FUCKING BASTARD. All I did was what you told me to do!”

“Then prove it! Prove it! Dancing with bounty hunters?! Sharing drinks with shady criminals, even though you tout your badge like a cowboy waving his pistol around! You claim you love your sons but you’ve—“

“DON’T.” Katie got dangerously close to his face. Teeth bared like a wolf preparing to take bite out of him, the woman hissed out a warning. “Do. Not. Go there.”

“Or what? You’ll lose your temper? Like you haven’t done that enough.” Honeycutt sniped, stepping back from the woman. “You put yourself over their needs every opportunity you got. So you can galant across the galaxy—“

“You shut your fucking mouth.” Katie’s voice got low, sounding closer to a growl that rumbled in her throat. Murder was written across her fiercely emerald eyes. “I put myself over my kids? Never in a million years. Those kids are my entire reason to stay alive. Let me ask, since you think you know me so well; where were you when Donnie had a mental breakdown and needed to be held so he wouldn’t hurt himself? Hmm? Or when Leo wakes up screaming in the middle of the night because of what he’s seen and needs me to constantly tell him he’s not dying or a failure of a son? Have you ever taken the time to sit with Mondo? Talk to him about skateboarding? Or Casey? Have you helped him fix his gear? Talked to him about hockey or sports?”

Honeycutt went silent.

“Or what about Raph? The ‘raging storm’? The problem child? The one YOU said should be barred from training because he was unhinged?! And what about when you belittled Donnie, told him he wasn’t going to be as smart as you?! As if your intellect has been anything to scoff at, Mister ‘Let me sell a bomb to the fucking Krang’! Or when you said Leo was beyond help?! Leaving Zeno to die?!”

Honeycutt looked down at the floor, robotic eyes blank. “… I haven’t always been the most observant—“

“YOU’RE A PIECE OF SHIT, FUGITOID!”

Her scream reverberated, echoes shaking the walls, rattling off the pipes to forever ingrain it’s mighty statement into its corridors for all eternity. Not even granting him the curtesy of using his real name, he’d lost that an hour ago. All she could see now was the monster who’d started this bloodshed. She towered over him, the sickly orange-red hue of the core casting a vicious shadow upon the two, shadowing the android and basking him in the blood red that haunted his past.

“Those boys are my entire universe. I died for them twice. I sacrificed all I had in me just to get them home. For a year and a half, they gave me a purpose to live. You have zero idea just how important those kids are to me.” Katie stepped away from the robot, disgusted. “How dare you try and tell me I don’t care for my boys, when you could care less about them until it benefits you. If Grace wasn’t here I’d throw you out the airlock… but I don’t want her to think I’ve sunk as low as you. There are bigger things for us to worry about.”

Honeycutt remained still as stone, his body frozen beneath her hurtful words. Was it possible for him to feel things such as shame? Guilt? Remorse?

Finally fed up, Katie shook her head with aggravation, throwing her hands into the air to let them drop at her hips once more. “I’m done.” She spat. “After we save the Earth, consider me dead and buried. I’m not your errand girl, and I refuse to let you keep dragging my boys into no man’s land.” Turning on her heel to leave the woman stormed towards the exit, her hands still shaking at her sides. But she gave pause once the doors swung open when she heard Honeycutt utter something, painfully quiet.

“For what it’s worth… I am truly sorry for what I have put you all through.” Though he still wasn’t looking at her, his tone indicated grief. “All I want is to make things right.”

Too late for that, she bitterly thought. If he had wanted to fix things, he would have done it years ago. Glaring back over her shoulder, Katie regarded him with resentment. “You say you wanna do the right thing?” She challenged. “Then get the fuck out of our lives, and stay gone.”

She left without another word, abandoning the Fugitoid with her lingering words and a plethora of regret.

*****************

When she returned to the lounge, she half expected to find a room full of anxious kids and worried warriors— or in Tiger Claw’s case, stoic neutrality— but the room was uncharacteristically quiet. No jokes, no movies, no games. Just silence that blanketed the environment. Although given the recent change of events, she doubted anybody would be up for doing anything. The lights had been dimmed, a soft glow coating the chamber with a gentler, calmer mood.

It wasn’t hard to locate the others. Grace had fallen asleep nearby, settled in the corner of the room with Usagi. It was no surprise that the two would forsake their comfort to prioritize the wellbeing of the children. Tiger Claw had secluded himself to the other side of the room, arms crossed over his chest, ears twitching slightly as if still picking up signs of movement whilst he slept. There was no sign of Zeno— maybe the closeness of new people was beginning to wear him down after decades of being a hardened gladiator for bloody sport.

Finding her kids was far easier than she thought. All of them were sleeping soundly, huddled together for warmth underneath the lightweight blankets. Despite his arm being slung in a cast, Raph looked comfortable in the presence of his fellow teammates, snoring quietly under his breath. Curled up at his side Mondo’s head rested upon the top of his leg, swollen fingers still holding tight to her police badge. It would have warmed the aching pain of her heart had it not been for the stress. Leo and Donnie, sandwiched together like sardines, looked at peace resting at each other’s sides; it was evident that Donnie had grown close to the slider in their time being surrogate brothers, and Leo was just as protective of the younger box turtle. Donnie’s glasses were sitting on top of his forehead, askew, while Leo’s mask hung around his neck like a loose scarf. Casey, while taking up the bottom right side of the couch, had rested his head atop Raph’s uninjured shoulder, missing the ragged bandana and his sneakers, but was finally able to rest.

What did the universe have against these kids? She couldn’t help but think. Why did they have to go through all of this unnecessary stress? Why were these poor boys forced to save the world? It wasn’t as if they asked to be vigilantes, to be mistreated by society, to be born as mutants. Why was it that, when they found a fraction of peace, it was ripped away from them no matter how hard they fought, how much they bled, how much they sacrificed to keep their worlds and families from destruction?

Why was it that it was these kids that had to deal with this eternal bullshit?!

Why couldn’t any external force step in?! Intervene on their behalf?! Why couldn’t any able-bodied group of soldiers deal with the Shredder?! Why not the FBI?! It wasn’t fair to these kids! They were TEENAGERS! Teenagers should be going out, causing mischief, loitering in arcades for hours, staying out past curfew and doing stupid stuff that being a teen allowed! Not getting kidnapped, beaten, manhandled, or abused by the hands of sick individuals who only sought to tear them to pieces.

Having to watch them go through this week after week… this was a special kind of torment reserved only for sadists.

She lowered herself to sit in front of the couch where her kids rested, staying silent. Taking in all the permanent markers that would remain a part of their beings forever, scars that would bring nothing but terror and grief every time they looked upon them. Raph’s healing arm. Donnie’s lacerated ankles. Leo’s shell, spiderwebbed with thin cracks. Casey’s fractured ribs. Mondo baring a grizzly cut near his neck…

Without thinking her hand reached towards Mondo’s head. Fingers came to rest between his eyes, scratching the skin, brushing her thumb across the small bumps of the spots that speckled his brow. Familiar gestures of comfort to help stave off bad dreams or migraines, or to simply go to sleep faster. Unconsciously the gecko’s tail started to wag ever so slightly, tapping against the cushioning.

Had these injuries gone further… had she not been able to get to them in time…

If Raph had still been crushed under Zanramon’s foot…

If Casey had been rammed into the dirt any harder…

If Donnie had still been locked in the electromagnetic shackles…

If Leo was still floating aimlessly with a ravenous murdering alien…

If Mozar had cut Mondo’s neck deeper…

She didn’t know when she started crying, but soon her world began to blur into a hazy fuzz, eyesight burning like hell. Sobs choked behind her gritted teeth, the gut-wrenching pain striking hard and fast deep in the depths of her gut. Finally, months of pent of frustration drove her to a breaking point, crumbling down to bits, the turmoil shattering her. Burying her face in her arms she wept, trying to keep the noise to a minimum as to not upset or stir her slumbering mutant sons. How many more close calls would there be? How many more times could they go through this? How much longer would they still be able to stand and fight before one of them was killed? Fighting an endless battle nobody else wanted to deal with.

These were children. These were her babies. How could anyone let them do this?

“Mom…?”

A voice— hoarse, groggy from sleep— caught her attention, bringing her out of her depressed stupor. Half expecting to find Mondo’s bright yellow orbs staring into her soul like a puppy. But when she blinked her eyes open, she found him still asleep. Instead, when she lifted her gaze, Katie found the half-lidded eyes of Leo looking back. He was sitting slightly up, Donnie’s head falling to rest on his shoulder, but the expression was clear as day; concern.

But that wasn’t what had caught Katie off guard.

Leo— the red slider, the comedian, the kid who fought harder than anyone to help, the kid who desperately wanted to prove himself, the kid who, against everything, was scared of being alone— had just called her ‘mom’ for the first time.

“Mom?” Leo chirped quietly again, clearing his throat. “Was’ up?”

Taken aback slightly, Katie had to gather her thoughts. Wiping her face of tears to see straight, she shook her head. No. No, do NOT breakdown. Not like this. “Nothin’, mijo. Just… having a shitty day.”

Leo hummed. Sniffling, he nodded in understanding. “I feel that,” he jested softly. Tilting his head towards the still sleeping Mondo, he continued, “Jay’s been talking about Earth for hours. Tellin’ us about kinds of skateboarding tricks he wants me to try out.” He cracked the tiniest of smirks. “Can we grab pizza when we get there?”

Such an innocent question coming from the teen who had endured enough torture to last the rest of his life almost made her fall to pieces. It took every fiber of her being to resist the urge to grab the red slider, pull him into a crushing embrace and cry until they reached their destination. It was even harder to maintain the facade of cool headedness before her kid. It would be selfish if she woke everyone up over some petty anger she felt for Fugitoid.

Instead she forced a smile. Reaching a hand up she cupped the turtle’s face within her palm— scarred beyond belief, weathered, calloused, trained in firearms but never maternal care. “Of course, hon,” she swore. “We can get as many as you want.”

Leo, whether it be from delirium or exhaustion, giggled. “Far out.” He leaned his face into her hold, completely at ease in the presence of the woman who’d taken him under her wing, like a child being comforted by their parent. “Thanks, Mom.”

Some tender part of her subconscious ached. Hearing Leo call her ‘mom’ for the first time reminded her of why she was doing this. What this was really about. What she was doing all this for. “No need to thank me Lee. I’ll always be around.”

Leo sleepily blinked at her, as if fighting to remain awake. “Promise…?”

“On my life, mijo. Mientras respire, siempre estaré aquí,” she stroked his cheek, full of love and care, offering affection to this poor child that had been through enough. “Try getting some sleep. I’ll wake you guys in the morning.”

Leo mumbled something incoherent under his breath, nuzzling his cheek in her palm. “M’kay,” he yawned, snuggling under the blanket he shared with Donnie to get warm. Slipping droopy eyelids closed the slider added, “Love you Mom…” before he fell back to sleep, breathing evening out to a gentle whistle.

“Yo también te amo, cariño,” she whispered. Brushing her hand atop the base of his head she repeated in the silence. “Love you too…”

If one listened closely, they could hear the sound of her heart thudding painfully with gratitude.

Fugitoid was woefully wrong about her. She would never trade the experiences with the boys for anything, not even a way back home. Not at their expense. There were thousands of things she’d gotten wrong in her life, but taking care of these kids wasn’t one of them. They made her proud every single day with all their achievements. They were the one good thing that kept her going when all seemed hopeless.

They were her familia… her home.

And she couldn’t fail them here, not when they were so close to the finish line. Just one more push, then it’s over. One more hurdle and we’re home.

She gently brushed her hand across Leo’s forehead one more time before leaning up to press a kiss upon his brow. She repeated the same gesture to Donnie, to Raph, to Casey, then Mondo. “I promise I’m not going anywhere,” murmuring under her breath, Katie spoke into the silence in hopes that her boys could somehow hear her. “Nothing is ever gonna separate us.”

Hope you liked this one!! 😁

@queen-with-the-quill @tending-the-hearth @lameboobah @figuringitoutasigoalong

[libraryofplotbunnies]

🤥 LYING - are they good liars? do they have tells to show they’re lying?

Royce: He's the epitome of a terrible liar. His attempts are often a jumble of words, his mind racing to make the most nonsensical lie sound believable. However, a few drinks in, and he's a different person, the lies flowing effortlessly from his lips. He doesn't believe it's necessary, regardless of what his father thinks.

Douglas: He's not a fan of lying, to say the least. As a man of science, he values truth above all else. When he's forced to lie, his displeasure is evident in his grumbles and the way he averts his gaze, his principles shining through. Which is one of the few things he shares with his twin brother, Royce.

Amanda: Lying comes naturally to her, thanks to her background in theater. She approaches it like a role, making it easier to deceive without feeling guilty as she dissociates from the situation. This skill serves her well as a bartender, where she can easily dispense false advice.

Marianna: Unsurpisedly, she is the best liar in the cast. She knows the value of a good lie to pacify the populace so everything will keep running smoothly in the town. But she falters when she has to lie to the people close to her, but barely. Her honey words slip up for a millisecond before she steadies herself.

J: They're in the same boat as Douglas regarding lying, believing that the whole truth will provide true justice. However, due to Lanshire's influence, they know that only some people want honesty. When lying, they're smoother than Douglas but subtly gritting their teeth through it.

E: They were also horrible at lying, their ears turning red when they felt embarrassed or ashamed for deceiving somebody. But they did learn a few tricks from their sister, mainly in putting their emotions down when they felt guilt rising or focusing on the positives behind telling a lie to somebody.

Luz: Surprisedly, they're very good at lying, quickly coming up with convincing falsehoods at the drop of a hat. It might not be ideal for somebody who is very religious, but they view it as an occupational hazard for their job—knowing that many doors that could help them would close if they told people their true motives.

Ji-Min: They're abysmal at lying. Their bluff skills are useless when getting information out of somebody because of how pushy and awkward they can get in pursuing the truth. They tend to get manic when they lie, their words coming faster than they could think of, and their bodies almost vibrating in place.

D: They are entirely at ease lying to other people. They used to hide portions of their identity so people wouldn't be hostile towards them. Frankly, they've been hiding their true selves for their entire lives, so telling a lie or two is simply child's play for them. They conceal their natural eye color, for god's sake.

Pasha: They couldn't lie to save their life, which is natural for someone who essentially grew up isolated from everyone but their parents. Even if they do lie, it's similar to a guilty child as they look away so nobody can see the truth inside their eyes. Besides, no one would believe them if it was a truth or a lie, so why would it matter.

[fushic0re]

━ 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝

lee bodecker x asian!reader

𝑆𝑌𝑁𝑂𝑃𝑆𝐼𝑆 ━ You’re just another face in the small town of Knockemstiff working two jobs in order to pay for your education. Sensing your desperation, Sheriff Bodecker offers you a deal you cannot refuse.

𝑊𝐴𝑅𝑁𝐼𝑁𝐺𝑆 ━ 18+ ONLY; MINORS DNI. THIS FIC IS CENTERED AROUND DARK THEMES, if it bothers you do not read it. Mentions of prostitution and murder. Police Corruption. Extremely imbalanced power dynamics. Misogyny. Religious themes. Sacrilege content. Blasphemy. Soul selling. Smut; loss of virginity, corruption and innocence kink, size kink, degradation + praise, blood play if you squint.

The people of Knockemstiff were convinced that their small town was an omen in itself.

Nothing but tragedy seemed to strike there. Behind the small town charm —Southern hospitality, classic diners, and church on Sundays — lied something more sinister that no one could quite put their tongue on. The stench of decay shrouded upon all that resided there. Perhaps the bullet hole ridden welcome sign was enough to convince the stray passersby and those lucky enough to leave to keep driving and never look back. But only those lucky enough.

After all, it’s hard to escape the devil’s jaws when he himself is the beating heart of Knockemstiff.

Lee Bodecker always thought of himself as a big fish in a tiny pond.

He wasn’t made to follow in the footsteps of every Tom, Dick, and Harry in this town. Instead, he was made for greatness. The police academy called his name. It was there that he could exercise his lust for control, order, and pure subordination. Lee instantly became a fiend upon tasting the tiniest amount of superiority. He knew then and there that he would do anything — would step on anyone and everyone’s throat — if it meant feeding his desires.

The young deputy lied, maimed, framed, and killed his way up the ranks, deceiving with the utmost ease and finesse like it was second nature. No one questioned it, for Lee Bodecker and his striking cobalt eyes could never do anything wrong in the townsfolk’s eyes. All pawns in his game, he played them all with no remorse. By the time Lee was at the last stretch of his campaign for Sheriff, the soon to be sheriff had a mountain of dead bodies on his name. None of which anyone would know about.

That is, aside from the devil himself.

He had been watching Lee closely, impressed at the way he took, and took, and took without hesitation. That night, he offered him the ultimate prize; all the power his heart desired in exchange for a place in his ranks.

The next morning, Knockemstiff was celebrating the victory of their new sheriff — Sheriff Bodecker.

He rejoiced brazenly, basking in the newfound vitality that coursed through his veins. Later that night, parents tucked their children into bed and read them their usual bedtime stories about ferocious flesh eating monsters with sharp talons, rows of razor sharp teeth, and red eyes. Little did they know they were leaving out the most terrifying monster of all. The handsome bachelor with crystal azure eyes that could flash you a dazzling smile moments after devouring someone’s soul. The kind that was tasked with protecting their town but was also the reason for all of its tragedies.

Lee wasn’t just a big fish in a little pond.

He was a great white, and he was going to wreck every little measly guppy that got in his way.

Your lids felt heavy as you blinked the tiredness out of your eyes. Checking the clock behind you, you bit back a sigh as you realized you still had one whole hour to go until you could call it a night. From behind you, you heard the screeching sound of a barstool being dragged across the floor. Closing your eyes tightly, you took a deep breath before turning around to tend to your customer. Your breath got caught in your throat as you laid eyes on who was sitting in front of you. Sheriff Bodecker himself was slumped against the counter; his brows etched together in a permanent scowl. He was a regular frequenter of the bar where he made shoddy “business” arrangements with Leroy and Bobo before disappearing behind the red velvet curtains for a rump in the sheets with one of Leroy’s girls. You knew his presence. You knew he liked his whiskey a little too much. But you had never served him. Not until tonight.

“How are you, Sheriff Bodecker?” You greeted nervously. “What can I get you?”

The man’s eyes snapped forward to meet yours, his chin titled downward, making him look menacing.

“Whiskey.” He answered shortly.

You got to it promptly, swiftly swiping a clean glass off the table before plopping a large ice cube in and pouring the amber liquid. Sheriff Bodecker eyed you with an unreadable expression as you placed his drink in front of him politely, your hands locked behind your back as a shy smile graced your features. Your aura nearly blinded him as he studied you.

“How long you been workin’ here?” He questioned, his stare unwavering as he brought the glass to his lips.

“A couple of months, sir.”

Picking up a washcloth, you nervously wiped the counter down in an attempt to calm yourself. The way the sheriff was staring at you made you want to squirm. You had never done anything wrong, had a perfectly clean record, and yet in that very moment, it had felt like you committed a thousand crimes.

“Aren’t you a little too young for a place like this?” Sheriff Bodecker prodded once more.

Your face went hot with embarrassment.

“Gotta pay for school somehow.” You admit sheepishly.

His visage lightened up the tiniest bit.

“College.” He huffs nostalgically.

In one large gulp, Lee downs the remains of his drink before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a large bill. You break it up and place the amount for his drink into the register before walking back to him and handing him the change.

He shakes his head. “Keep it, honey.”

You shook your head frantically, eyes as wide as saucers.

“Oh no, I couldn’t—”

“You arguin’ with me, girl?” He retorted, mischief glimmering in his eyes.

“No sir,” You whispered. “Thank you.”

He stared at you once more for a brief moment before exiting.

“You have a good night.”

As the worn out Sheriff did one last patrol around town, not once did you escape his mind. His heightened senses left nothing to his imagination. He could smell your anticipation. Every time your breath hitched, or you swallowed the lump in your throat before speaking to him, he heard it. The quickness of your heart as it practically palpitated from his stare alone stirred up a storm of emotions in his full belly.

Pure subordination. What he loved the most in life aside from one other thing: corrupting the innocent. Watching the life and purity drain from their eyes and feed into his vitality. You, so sweet and so vulnerable, were exactly what Lee needed.

Lee had heard of you. Nothing but what he had expected to hear about a girl like you. The old ladies he helped with grocery runs gushed about how you were at church every Sunday with a batch of baked goods for everyone. You helped your neighbors whenever you could, watching their children for extra cash or sometimes for free even. Apparently, you volunteered at the local library every week reading stories to children. You were a good girl, the human epitome of honey. The town thought you were a bit of an oddball for choosing to pursue higher education rather than get married straight out of high school, pop out a couple of kids, and become a housewife like every other woman in Knockemstiff did. To them, you were wasting away your beauty the longer you were unmarried.

But to Lee, you were perfect. The only pure thing in this entire goddamn town.

Slowly but surely, Lee had found himself utterly obsessed with you. You were just a toy in his web of lies — at least that’s what he told himself in the beginning. The more time Lee thought about you, the more he realized that you were destined for more. You were meant to be by his side as he conquered the world one soul at a time. In fact, he wanted that life with you.

And what Lee wanted, he got.

That Sunday, you sat in the church pews with perfectly curled hair and your best dress on with a delicate string of pearls around your neck. Pearls that had been passed down from generation to generation. You listened intently as Preacher Teagardin lead the sermon. He talked about fears. How they were ingrained in your mind by the devil as a means to challenge you. When you gave into fear, you gave in to the devil. He finalized his sentiments by stating with burning conviction, hands placed on his hips, that we faced our fears through Christ. You like every normal human being feared evil itself. You were afraid of what would happen if it got to you, who you would become once it was running through your veins or if you would even make it out alive.

Unbeknownst to you, evil had already set its eye on you, and it didn’t look like a half-goat half-human creature with horns. Evil was dashing with piercing steel blue eyes and a pearly white smile.

Lee’s visits to the bar became more frequent. Almost every night after his shift he would arrive, talk business with Leroy, then plop down in front of you for a glass of whiskey. His rocky, distant exterior dissipated slowly until you were eventually able to earn a genuine smile out of him. No matter how many times you tried, you couldn’t quite figure out what made the sheriff stick around you. Not when there were plenty of other women a curtain away that were more interesting than little old you. That had more to offer him than stuttered responses.

But he never tried to get anything out of you or belittled you. Sometimes you would catch him looking at you with a certain fondness in his eyes. You pretended not to notice, serving him another drink while doing your best to ignore the heat in your cheeks. His visits made your late night shifts, bearable. It was nice having someone to talk to that wasn’t drunk off their ass, stinking of tobacco, or trying to talk their way into your pants.

Unfortunately, Lee couldn’t stick around forever. He was a busy man with a town to protect from danger. And when he wasn’t around, all signs of life from the bar left with him. You were left to your solitude, blocking out the sounds of lewd forced moans, angry shouting, and the occasional gunshot from the back of the building. As if the anxieties that this job brought to you weren’t enough, Leroy had been watching you since the second night the sheriff came back. It was no secret that your boss was far from good. Leroy brought nothing but death and decay wherever he walked. You kept your interactions with him to the bare minimum; greeting him once you arrived, alerting him of guests, serving him his usual beer, and bidding him goodbye before leaving. The man wasn’t one for pleasantries, you never found the need to make small talk with him. But the way he was staring at you, watching your every move with eyes that no doubt brewed nothing but trouble, made you want to run as far as you could and never look back.

“Hey,” The man of the hour gruffed, beckoning you to him from where he stood in the doorway of the back room. “C’mere. Let me talk to ya.”

You gulped nervously, wiping your sweaty palms across your clothed thighs before making your way towards him.

“Did you need something, sir?” You inquired, twiddling with the frayed seams of your word sweater.

He didn’t answer you, only scanning your appearance with narrowed eyes before reaching out to tuck a stray strand of hair away from your face. You flinched at the unwanted physical contact, earning a gruff snicker from your boss.

“Jumpy, are you?” Leroy taunted.

“Sorry.” You muttered meekly, casting your eyes downward.

“Sheriff Bodecker’s been around a lot,”

Your muscles tensed. Every hair on your body stood upright at the dark tone Leroy’s voice took on.

“He never uses any of the girls anymore, you know that?” Leroy lamented, his nose wrinkling with distaste. “Somethin’ about keeping his image clean for the next election or some horse shit.”

Not knowing why he was confiding in you or what do to with the newfound information, your mind ventured off elsewhere. Images of Lee’s hulking form disappearing behind the curtains flashed through your mind. You imagined the things he would do to them, the sounds he would make, what his face would look like ruddied up and twisted with pleasure. What he would do to you if you managed to pique his interest. As if a bus had hit you, you snapped out of your lewd visions. Mortification filled you. You had never thought of anyone like that. Your inexperience limited curbed any lustful fantasies and yet, all you could think about now was him in the throes of ecstasy.

“But he pays a lot of attention to you.”

Leroy’s statement and leering tone were like a bucket of ice cold water being dumped on you.

“Shows up every damn day and buys a drink just to see you.”

Lost for words, you smiled half-heartedly and shrugged his comments off.

“He’s just being nice, you know how he is,”

“You think I don’t notice the huge tips he leaves you with?” Leroy demands, his anger now apparent.

You pressed your lips together tightly, once again at a loss for words. Leroy took one large step towards you. Instinctively, you stepped back. Your heart began to race as your back hit a wall, your fight or flight senses activating. Right now, you wanted to run. Run for the hills, out of Knockemstiff, and never look back ever again.

His large hand gripped your upper arm tightly, violently manhandling you for answers.

“What are you doin’, huh? You fuckin’ him?” He hissed.

“No!” You cried, unable to believe that you were being accused of committing such actions.

“A man doesn’t give no broad that kind of money for no reason!”

You were shaking at this point, having never been faced with a situation like this. The way Leroy leered over you didn’t make you feel any more at ease.

“Tell you what, sugar.” He spoke lowly. “You be one of my girls and I’ll keep it off the record that you were fuckin’ the sheriff for extra pay.”

“I’m n-not—” You hiccupped, tears escaping the confinements of your eyes and sliding down your cheeks. “Sleeping with him,”

Leroy looking at you with disbelief before scoffing. Your reaction and words were genuine, he could tell that much.

“Well, I’ll be damned. Even more of a reason to be a working girl. Men would pay a lot of money for an untouched whore.”

The elder man’s words settled deeply in your soul, weighing you down like someone had strapped a thousand bricks to your limbs. Those girls made money. Lots of it. You saw the clothes they came in wearing, the lingerie they paraded in, the purses they toted around. You smelt the expensiveness of their perfume that without uncertainty retailed at more than a month’s paycheck per bottle. Indignity was the only emotion you felt as you caught yourself considering Leroy’s offer. That could be you covered in luxury items. You wouldn’t have to dwell on your bills or whether or not you would be able to eat the next day. Money would become an issue of your past. The gates of freedom roared out your name. The treasures that lay behind them could all be yours. All you had to do was say yes. But alas, you snapped out of your irrational state and regained your footing. Bile briefly rose in your throat as you came to your senses, the gravity of your previous thoughts hitting you like a bus.

“Please,” You whispered frantically. “I’ll give you all of my tips. Just don’t make me— don’t fire me please, I need this job—”

“Leroy!” A familiar voice boomed from behind you.

Sheriff Bodecker.

You almost sighed in relief, holding back the urge to run into his arms. Leroy diverted his attention, sighing in annoyance. Lee stared at him with a picture perfect smile on his face. A smile that didn’t reach his eyes. His baby blues softened for a brief moment once they landed on your tear streaked face. Lee felt his anger begin to brew slowly. Unbeknownst to you, the man had heard your entire confrontation with Leroy. Lee hated every bit of it. From how pungent your trepidation was to the demeaning way he spoke to you. He let the situation play out before him, wanting to test your boundaries, filling your head with lust driven fantasies. He liked that reaction. You were giving in, falling right into his palm.

But when you started crying, it was over for him. Leroy Brown was a dead man.

The second Leroy released you from his vice grip, you stormed away from him, pushing past Sheriff Bodecker frantically with a barely audible whimper. Lee’s brows furrowed as he glowered at his business partner.

“What was that about?”

Leroy chuckled smugly. “Thought I would try and make some money off the bitch.”

Lee kissed his teeth, his jaw clenching tightly.

“Is that how you get all your girls?” Lee snapped. “By force?”

If looks could kill, and if Lee Bodecker weren’t immortal, the man would be dead tenfold from the severity of the pimp’s glare.

“Don’t act like you don’t do nothin’ wrong.” He spat.

Lee’s lips rosy lips turned upwards into a wicked smirk, pools of obsidian swallowing his sclera as the color drained from Leroy’s face.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

You carried on with the rest of your shift the best that you could. Leroy was gone as far as you knew, you hadn’t run into the man the whole night since your altercation. Lee was gone too, returning back to work after shooting you an apologetic smile. The air felt like it had settled without Leroy’s reign of terror. The staff was now interacting with each other, laughing freely and chit chatting about their personal lives. The same couldn’t be said for you. Although yes, you did feel a bit better now that Leroy was out for the rest of the day, something in you felt completely and utterly off. You couldn’t help but feel like something was going to happen.

By the time your shift was over, you were more than eager to go home. You hastily closed down the bar, wiping down the counter and putting bottles away hastily. When the front door opened, you nearly shouted with anger. All anger dissipated when you laid your eyes on none other than Lee Bodecker. Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“Hi, Sheriff. Leroy went home.” You informed.

He didn’t answer you, seating himself down in his usual spot in front of you.

“I heard all that,” Lee announced.

You bowed your head as shame and embarrassment came over you. You felt small. Like the tiniest, most insignificant thing in the entire world.

“Hey.” He said sternly. “Look at me.”

Hesitantly, you lifted your head and locked your weary gaze with his domineering one.

“Get your stuff. I’m driving you home.”

Your eyes widened. You were going to be alone with him. You opened your mouth to protest, but he silenced your words with a steely look. You knew then and there that there was no point in arguing. Nodding, you briskly made your way to the backroom and hastily gathered your belongings. A sigh of relief escaped your lips when you saw that everyone else was gone. No one would be there to see you leaving with the sheriff late at night in his car. Knockemstiff was small and everyone knew everyone’s business. The last thing you need is a wildfire rumor starting about an affair between you and Lee and Leroy getting a hold of that rumor and using it as leverage. You shook those thoughts away, not having the capacity to burden anything else after the day you had.

Circling back to the bar, Lee stood there waiting for you, stoic and patient.

“All ready, honey?” He grunted, a hint of a smirk on his face.

You nodded shyly, still nervous and apprehensive about getting into the car with the sheriff himself. Like a true gentleman, he opened and closed the door of the front entrance for you. The man let out a low whistle as a gust of cold air blew past you.

“What a mean ol’ winter we’re gonna have ourselves,” Lee sighed, shrugging off his leather jacket before draping it over your shoulders.

Your eyes enlarged.

“Sheriff, you’re going to get cold!” You protested, moving to give the garment back to him only for your actions to be ceased.

“Oh, I’ll be fine, darlin’” He joked, patting his full tummy earnestly.

A wild giggle tumbled from your lips, your hands flying to your mouth in shock. Expecting a strict look from the sheriff, you were pleasantly surprised when he simpered at you with nothing but fondness. The corners of his mouth quirked up amicably, round cheeks dimpling. Raising his hand, Lee gently brushed his knuckles against your cheekbone.

“Hop in, honey.”

With a giddy grin and a type of confidence foreign to your body, you pressed a quick chaste kiss to his cleanly shaven jaw. Once the door was closed, a grin that rivaled yours stretched across his face as he power jogged to the opposite side.

Sheriff Bodecker was a different person off duty. He still carried his usual air of sternness, but there was also a sense of light heartedness alongside. The first thing he did to start off your trip home was allow you full control over the stereo. This resulted in the two of you flicking through radio stations and listening in on the different genres of music. You took note of the way he grimaced at bluegrass, and how it transformed back into a more pleased expression when The Zombies started playing. The compact ball of nerves began to slacken and soon you were bopping your head apace with his. When you turned the corner of your street and your little house got closer and closer in your eyeline, your stomach began to fill with disappointment. It hit you like a truck when Lee pulled up to your driveway and put the car in park.

“You have a good night now, ma’am.” He bid politely.

Apparently, tenacity was the theme for you tonight, because the next thing you did was something you had never done in your entire life.

“Would you like to come in, sheriff? For a nightcap?” You blurted out, your boldness fleeting as quickly as it came. “It’s just—you’ve been so nice to me and I want to repay the favor.”

For a moment, he said nothing. Your nerves continued to rage until he finally answered.

“You’re too sweet, darlin’. I could go for a cup of tea if you’d be so kind.”

Cutting the engine, he gestured for you to stay in the car. You were confused at first until he opened the car door for you once more. The twelve steps from the cruiser to your doorstep felt agonizingly too long and too short at the same time. You fumbled with your keys anxiously, the sheriff’s hulking figure looming over you overwhelming you in ways you couldn’t describe. When you finally got the door open, you shuttered out an uneven breath.

Sheriff Lee Bodecker was in your home.

Locking the door behind you, you placed your purse and keys down before turning around to face him.

“Make yourself at home, sheriff. I’ll get the kettle going.”

“Lee.” He assured, grinning boyishly.

“Lee.” You repeated wistfully, your cheeks heating up at the taste of his name.

Fidgeting with your fingers, you forced yourself to tear your eyes away from him and make your way to the kitchen where you got right down to business.

“What kind of tea would you like, Lee?” You called out.

“Whatever you’re havin’, darlin’,” He answered.

Lee took the time to familiarize himself with the surroundings of your home. He noted the simple and cozy décor. Your living room consisted of a plush looking sofa, a matching coffee table, and a television that no doubt was the result of your vigilant saving. Your entertainment center and coffee table were the home of numerous books and other little knick knacks from bundles of dried flowers, crystals, and antique trinkets. A vase full of lilies was the focal point of them all, arranged elegantly and sat upon the center. His eyes drifted to you in the kitchen, body filling with warmth at the domesticity of it all. Your subconscious humming and eucalyptus candle you lit created the perfect ambiance.

You picked a tea that matched the aura of your home; chamomile with honey and a few sprigs of fresh mint. Fetching the nectar filled ceramic mugs, you placed them down on the coffee table before gesturing to the couch where the both of you situated yourself comfortably. Lee’s focus was solely on you. It was as if the outside world didn’t exist. Like his entire existence on this earth was contingent on yours. He sat right next to you, body angled towards you, his rosy lips wrapped around the mug sipping as he sipped his beverage. Simply basking in your company. This was a new light you were seeing him in. And he, you. The two of you were seemingly completely different people outside the confinements of Tecumseh. It confirmed your theory that Leroy Brown really did siphon the life out of everything.

Lee stretched his arm out towards you, cupping your cheek in his warm palm fondly. His calloused thumb rubbed soothing circles on your skin. Your lids grew heavy instinctively, your body responding on its own and leaning into his affection. It was safe to say that no one else had this kind of effect on you. There had been boys. Boys that had used their dashing smiles and juvenile charms on you in attempt to take you out on a date, offer them a kiss, or even more; give in to their sexual temptations. You always brushed them off without a second thought. Boys were never in your purview, not when you had an education to pursue.

But that’s all they were. Boys. Here before you, broad shouldered and clad in uniform, sat Sheriff Lee Bodecker. A man. And were you a goner.

“You’ve been such a good girl. Workin’ hard, going to school, attending church every Sunday.”

His praise had you in a stupor, firmly laying hold of your resolve and obliterating it into micro bits of nothingness. Suddenly, there was no other purpose out there for you to fulfill aside from being the object of his admiration.

“Saying no to Leroy.”

The sheriff drew himself closer to you until your noses grazed. Your eyes fluttered shut, lashes kissing your cheekbones as a sense of euphoria began to gradually unfold within you. Never in your life had you done drugs, let alone consume a single drop of alcohol, but you were convinced this is what it felt like to be high. To be completely drunk off of the sheer essence of someone.

“My good girl.” Lee continued to eulogize softly, his cool breath fanning your face.

“Really?” You squeaked quietly.

He chuckled, pinching your chin between his thumb and forefinger. You were nothing like any other woman he ever had before. There was something incredibly endearing about your candidness. You were honest and open, every emotion you were feeling easily identifiable in your eyes. Purity was a breath of fresh air for the sheriff.

Finally, his lips brushed against yours before meshing together. While it wasn’t your first kiss, it certainly was the most memorable. The sheriff acted with unwavering confidence, knowing exactly how he wanted to move and then executing his actions with the utmost finesse. Your hand reached up to cup the back of his neck, the other one placed delicately on his expansive chest. As his kisses became increasingly feverish, you found yourself never wanting them to stop. You could kiss him until you were breathless and on the verge of passing out and wouldn’t care. You never wanted the feeling to end.

Big hands grabbed at your hips, pulling you onto his lap. You whimpered with surprise, earning a deep chuckle in response. Lee’s touches intrepid, wandering from your hips to your bottom, kneading your globes of flesh firmly. His lips unlatched from yours. Before your pout could even leave your lips, they reattached themselves to the column of your neck. The hand on his neck flew straight to his hair, fisting his chocolate locks.

He clutched your face durably, tilting it downwards towards his.

The sight in front of you made your blood run cold. You blinked your eyes multiple times, squeezing them shut and manifesting the vision away.

But it wasn’t enough, and you were too late.

You had let the devil into your own home willingly.

Eyes heated pools of onyx, he gripped your face tighter, persistently forcing you to look at him as you fought against his restraints. Terror coursed through your veins, eyes filling with tears as your screamed in horror. You wildly thrashed against him, full blown sobbing at this point.

“Hey. Hey!” Lee growled, jerking your form vigorously. “Where’d you go, huh? You were being so good, honey.”

“G-Get away from me!” You blubbered, another screech ripping through your vocal cords when his hold wouldn’t let up. “Let me go!”

The hand that wasn’t on your face went around your throat, upper lip curling into an abominable sneer.

“Shut the fuck up.” He snarled. “You listen to me, and you listen well.”

Your body shook uncontrollably as you anticipated what could possibly happen next. With the way Lee had a hold on you, there was no other option than to look him in the eyes. They were back to their normal state thankfully, the familiar azure that once comforted you back in its place. However, it did nothing for your qualms. As if you flipped a switch, he resorted back to his usual calm, stoic nature. The hand wrapped around your throat remained, serving as a warning, but the one gripping your cheeks loosened. Lee once again resumed caressing your cheekbones. The gentleness of his touch mocked you directly to your face. You were absolutely appalled that he could think a small gesture could alleviate you from what you had just experienced.

“Thatta girl.” He cooed, swiping your tears with his thumb. He brought this digit closer to his face, studying the droplet in a trance like state before darting his tongue out and lapping it up. His lips turned up deviously. His tastebuds went into a frenzy at the tang of your fear.

“I know what you want. Every single thing you have ever longed for, I’ve seen it. I also know how many times you’ve turned them down. Shamed yourself for simply wanting things when this world has given you absolutely nothing.”

You listened intently, taking note of the pity in his voice. Five seconds ago, you would have thought it was genuine. Now, it was more than clear to you that he was just good at playing the game. To say you felt like a fool was the understatement of the year. You trusted him. Allowed a pretty smile and charm to compromise you. You had let your guard down, let sin overtake you, and it had landed you right in the lap of a demon.

“I can give you everything you deserve. Just like that.” Lee promised, snapping his fingers. “You just have to give me one little thing.”

I guess this is what the saying “curiosity killed the cat” meant you thought to yourself. The demon’s small promise piqued your interest.

Sensing this, he concluded stating his case.

“Give me your innocence. Willingly hand over your soul to me, and the entire world is yours.”

You felt like you could faint, posture swaying. Your breaths became shallow as he caught you by your shoulders. He rubbed them sympathetically.

“I know, sweet one. I know.” He whispered. “But you deserve it all, don’t you think? You’ve done everything with everyone in mind, and what do you get in return? A bartending position at a shitty bar with shitty pay where no one respects you.”

His lips began to trail vehement kisses on your neck once more, working up to your ear and nibbling your lobe.

“I can make people respect you. Bow down at your fucking feet like they would a god.”

One last shutter breath escaped your lips before a series of wanton mewls became the only noises you could make. You nulled over his words. There was some truth to them. How many times had you overexerted yourself for other people only them to never pay you any mind ever again? Though you did good deeds out of the goodness of your heart, goodness had gotten you nowhere but buried six feet in debt. Without even realizing it, you had held back on acting on your desires just to please strangers who would sell you out for a measly dime.

“Except your god isn’t here. He never was. Now, you answer to me and me alone.”

You gripped his arms, nails digging tiny half moons into his muscles.

“Say yes.”

And just like that, your world as you knew it was never the same.

“Yes.” You breathed.

Your answer unleashed a whirlwind of chaos. Lee grabbed you unceremoniously, flipping you over and straddling you. His mouth was back on yours, kissing you with all teeth and tongue. Hastily, he fumbled with your clothing, starting with your top and working his way down. With shaky hands, you reached for his chest and unfastened the buttons of his dress shirt, jerking the ends from where he had tucked it in into his pants. His belt was next, your touch still timid despite the adrenaline and fire burning within you. The pads of his digits pressed against your bare core, the first ever touch from a man you had received. Your eyes went wide as a bolt of electricity jolted you. Lee continued to let his fingers explore, dipping into your slit and swirling in your fountain. His thumb worked your clit into slow and sensual figure eights. You tossed your head back; noises you didn’t even know you could make leaving your body. You frantically yanked his belt off, undoing his pants and palming his member.

“This is what you’ve been hiding from everyone, huh?” Lee taunted. “Little church girl is nothing but a little whore.”

Once you were slick enough, a thick finger was eased into you. You gasped at the intrusion; the sensation unfamiliar to you. Wiggling your hips around uncomfortably, Lee firmly placed this freehand on your abdomen and pushed you down.

“Stay.” Lee commanded lowly, his intense gaze locked with yours.

His digit began to thrust in and out of you, gradually increasing in speed as your walls began to loosen up. When a second finger entered you, all uncomfortableness dissipated. Now drowning in pure unfiltered pleasure, you were bucking your hips to chase your high rather than moving away from it. Lee’s eyes were pitch black once again as he beamed salaciously above you. This time, however, they didn’t scare you. No, the bottomless abyss of cataclysmic orbs represented the unyielding number of desires waiting for you; infinite. Your moans gained in volume as your climax rounded the corner.

“That’s it. Take what you’ve been depriving yourself of. Take it.”

The demon’s words were just what you needed to send you over the edge, your first orgasm taking control of your mind, body, and soul. Lee tenderly rubbed your core as you came down from ecstasy, chuckling as you twitched from the overstimulation. While you recovered, he finished undressing. The sight of the immortal being before you wholly bare made your mouth salivate. You had never seen anyone or anything quite as beautiful as him. You recalled Preacher Teagardin’s words.

“The devil will appear to you in the most beautiful form.”

Lee returned to his position on top of you; forehead pressed against yours, eyes locked, and member firmly resting against your core. Your heart was beating so fast that you were convinced you were about to go into cardiac arrest. There was no going back now. He shifted his pelvis, the head of his cock now prodding at your entrance.

“Say it.” He growled.

You exhaled deeply, savoring the last moments of your dull quiet life.

“My soul is yours.”

The demon’s member pushed into you, breaking your inner barrier and sealing the deal. You cried out in pain, eyes watering. Lee cooed to you soothingly, brushing your hair away from your face as he fed his cock to your virgin cunt little by little until he was seated deeply within you. The stretch was painful but inviting. You felt like you were being split in half in the best way possible. Something akin to vitality coursed through your bloodstream. Simultaneously, you felt like a part of you was being severed away from your soul. The push and pull of it all. Yin and yang. Good and evil. Life and earth.

Sacrifice and gain.

Slowly, he pulled out of you until just his head remained. He swiped his forefinger against his shaft, collecting the mix of juices and your blood that coated him. He brought his digit to his mouth, obscenely licking and slurping the contents on them. The sheriff moaned deeply at the last remnants of your innocence. Now, you and he were one. He plunged his cock back inside you, this time more earnestly, coaxing a pornographic whine from you. Taking this as a sign, Lee built up a steady rhythm, leaning back on his haunches and gripping your waist tightly. He pulled you toward him to meet each of his thrusts, effectively reducing you into nothing but his little fuck doll.

“Oh god!” You cried.

“Cry out for your god all you want.” Lee cackled, punctuating his madness with a groan. “He’s not coming to save you.”

As if you weighed no more than a bag of feathers, Lee flipped you over and positioned you onto your hands and knees. He persisted with his brutal pounding without a falter. You gripped the couch cushions beneath you, forlornly needing something to ground to this earth. Sheriff Bodecker ravished you, fucking you like an animal in heat. All you could do was lay there and take it.

And there was nothing in the world that you would rather be doing.

The vision you had of how your first time would go was completely different than the reality of it. You planned on waiting till marriage, finding a nice partner to go steady with before deciding to give yourself to them. But as always, life had something else in store for you. You weren’t meant to live a mediocre life like the rest of the residents of Knockemstiff. Lee had shown you that much. Now, you were tied to him for all of eternity. You needed him to breathe. You’d never leave him.

“We’re going to be so powerful together.” Lee hissed through gritted teeth, pulling your back to his chest. “If you want the entire world, I’ll give it to you. We’ll take it together. One. Miserable. Fucking. Soul. At a time.”

His savage blows would have sent you failing if it hadn’t been for his arms caging you to him.

“See what being good gets you?” Lee teased. “Answer me.”

“Yes!” You yelped.

“Is this better than anything that stupid fucking god you speak of could ever give you?”

You affirmed his question once more, nodding your head furiously as tears began to free fall down your face, the pleasure becoming too much.

“You’re going to come again aren’t you, baby?” Lee derided patronizingly. “I’ve only had you once and you’re already fiending for that dick. Do it. Come for me. Show me that you’re worth it.”

You shattered around him, walls clenching around his member greedily as your lust flowed from your core and dribbled down your quivering thighs. This triggered his release, causing him to bellow loudly from behind you. Ribbons of cum spurted within you until you were filled to the brim. The very moment Lee let go, you collapsed onto the couch. The muscle in your limbs felt like they had been vaporized from the rough fucking you had just received. Panting heavily, Lee laid himself down on top of you, his lips placed right to your ear.

“I’m going to have so much fun with you, darlin’.”

Arm linked with your husband’s; the crowd roared as the two of you walked through the parade thrown in his honor. You wavered cordially, looking every bit like the perfect docile housewife. Lee shook the hands held out towards him, flashing the people of Knockemstiff his signature smile. Sheriff Lee Bodecker had yet another election in his bag. It was no surprise to either of you. Everyone loved Lee and the second he married you, his image had only improved in their eyes. They thought it was absolutely adorable that his choice of bride was the shy residential good girl. You being the sheriff’s wife now held an important position in the community. Though it was no secret between the two of you why things were really going your way. But you both deserved it.

In the sea of faces, you caught the eyes of nonother than Leroy Brown. His usually strong frame was frail and weak looking, his skin pallid and damp with sweat as he met your gaze. A devious grin that never reached your eyes fetched its way onto your soft features, widening as Leroy’s panic grew.

In life, there is only give or take. You had given everything you ever had until you were run dry.

Now, it was time to take.

© 𝑨𝑳𝑳 𝑹𝑰𝑮𝑯𝑻𝑺 𝑹𝑬𝑺𝑬𝑹𝑽𝑬𝑫 𝑻𝑶 𝑯𝑶𝑵𝑬𝒀𝑺𝑻𝑬𝑽𝑰𝑬

[tsumtsumland]

HI Shan Baby!!! 😊😊😊😊😊 Your Christmas event sounds incredibly nice! Hope you don't mind me joining in!

Could I please request sticked under the mistletoe with kuroo (nsfw)? Thank you in advance for all of your time and effort! Sending you a huge Kith! 😘

Hi Mer! Thank you for requesting! I hope you like this! <3

Warning: NSFW

Kuroo Tetsurou + situation #18 “Getting Stuck Under the Mistletoe” + NSFW

“Tetsu!” you gasped, breathing heavily as his teeth grazed your clit.

Kuroo smirked and you could feel it. It was unfair the way he had you like putty in his hands, literally.

Both his hands gripped onto your thighs in a bruising grip as his tongue continued its assault between your legs.

Despite the undeniable pleasure coursing through you, a tiny part of your brain clung to reality, and that reality was that you were in a very open place. A conference room to be exact, while your office Christmas party was in full swing right outside the door.

“Kuroo,” you moaned again, knowing it would get his attention.

Your friend with benefits of the past couple of months stopped abruptly. He looked up at you, and you almost moaned out loud again at his disheveled hair that somehow looked even sexier, and your juices glistening on his chin.

He licked his lips and rose an eyebrow at you, “What did I tell you about using my last name outside of the office?”

“But we are in the office, Kuroo-san,” you smirked, a glint of mischief in your eyes.

He gave you a lazy grin but you could see the danger behind those hazel eyes, and it made your legs quiver with excitement.

“Smart mouth as usual,” he quipped, pinching your left thigh and rising to his feet.

You gaped at him, “What are you doing?”

“This,” before you could think, his lips were on yours, tongues mingling, letting you taste yourself, you couldn’t deny the eroticism of it turned you on even more.

Your legs clamped around his waist and pulled him closer, letting your soaked folds grind against his hard bulge from your perch on top of the giant conference table. Good thing he wore black slacks tonight.

Your hot and heavy makeout session continued for a few more minutes, both your hands roaming and groping at each other like horny teenagers. If you were thinking straight you might be embarrassed but alas, Kuroo’s tongue down your throat, and his hand reaching into your dress and pinching your nipple distracted you enough.

You vaguely hear your name being called from outside the room and you muster some sort of self-control to break away from the raven-haired man.

He looks at you confused for a moment before he hears the voices nearing the room as well.

Earlier you’d told your co-workers you had too much to drink and you were going to the conference room for a bit to sober up with some water. They were probably coming to check on you.

There was some fumbling with the doorknob which had you and Kuroo quickly snapping back to reality and attempting to look as presentable as possible.

You looked frantically around the room for your missing panties, panicking slightly when they were nowhere in sight. You re-adjusted your dress and quickly sat down, while Kuroo stood and pretended he was rubbing your back, just as two of your co-workers barged into the room.

“Y/n! Kuroo? Everyone is looking for you two, we’re about to pick names for the mistletoe game,” they both giggled.

“Are you okay enough to play, y/n?” one girl asked, and you almost felt bad for deceiving them.

You forced a smile and nodded, “Sure, I’ll join you.”

“Why are you here, Kuroo-san?” the other, bolder one questioned.

“Uhh, I was passing by and noticed y/n in here, she didn’t look too good so I came in to check on her,” he lied smoothly.

They both nodded in understanding and waited for you both to get up and follow them out.

You stood uncomfortably amongst your co-workers while Kuroo did the same, busying himself on the other side of the room like he didn’t just leave you high and dry without even making you cum.

You rubbed your thighs together and suppressed a groan of annoyance, you really didn’t enjoy being panty-less in a room full of your co-workers and boss.

Kuroo caught your eye and smirked at you across the room, gesturing for you to look down.

You gasped just as they called your name as the next pick for the mistletoe, but that wasn’t the reason. In his hands was the lacy, red fabric of your missing underwear.

You barely had time to register your co-workers cheering you on and pushing you under the mistletoe, just as they pushed Kuroo as well. Just your luck.

“I’m going to kill you Tetsu,” you hissed quietly at him.

He laughed softly, “Oh? You’re gonna have to kiss me first, especially if you want these back.”

You almost punched him in frustration right there till the cheers of “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!” echoed through the room.

Kuroo grinned again, “That’s our cue,” he leaned down and pulled you flush against him before kissing you under the mistletoe.

[cinnamonest]

Razor (Genshin Impact) - Yandere Profile

@bleachlemon

I'm glad you are ok with it because oh boy do I have some very very n a s t y noncon-y thoughts about our wolfboi. We love a dense boy, not a single thought in his empty, horny lil brain. Head empty, just horny for y/n. 

I also have the big horny™ for any cross between boys and canines... Does smth for me. As if my favoritism wasn't obvious by how much I've written below lmao

tw: general yandere content, violence, mentions of n/sfw

tw below cut: breeding, heavy  noncon, like jfc this is nasty, misogynistic

----

What are they generally like? Lucid, aware? Obsessive? How do they behave?

The biggest issue with Razor is his complete and total lack of restraint. He sees no need for it, he has no real concept of social norms. Wolves don't really practice restraint on... anything. When they see something they want to kill, they kill it, when they see something they want to have, they have it, when they're mad, they attack, when they're hungry, they eat.

So in a way, he's perfectly lucid, but doesn't act as a normal lucid person who understands social norms would do. He knows that you give him some burning, fluttery feeling, and that he enjoys having you around, and that he gets sad when you have to leave. He's perceptive enough to know it's the same urge that drives humans to form their long-term mate partnerships. If that's what they refer to as "love," he'll readily adopt that term as a way to describe what he feels. What he doesn't get is everything between point A and point Z. No point in all the "courtship" and "marriage" and other human customs -- he doesn't need to "date" to know you're the one, and he doesn't need some signed paper to signify he loves you. In his mind, it's perfectly logical to expect you to immediately come live out in Wolvendom with him. You did accept all his courtship signs, after all.

Wolves are very straightforward with it, you see. Their courtship includes going for walks side-by-side, close to each other, which you did when you let him guide you through the woods. Wolves will rest their head or legs on the other, and you let him rest his head on your shoulder (even if you flinched with surprise when he did, uncomfortable but too nice to say anything). He even when to the extent of engaging in human mating rituals -- you accepted all those gifts he hunted down, and you smiled when he said nice things about how pretty you are, how nice you smell.

So in other words, you've basically already accepted him as a mate. That's what he's perceived, and changing his initial perceptions is not easily accomplished.

How likely are they to kidnap their darling? How quickly will they do so?

One of the most likely, and definitely the fastest. Possibly after meeting you a single time. He can't take the risk of you not coming back.

He won't be very subtle or sneaky about it either, not tricking you into walking right into captivity, nor drugging you or taking you in your sleep. It's very straightforward - it's not like there's anyone in Wolvendom to hear you, so he has no problem just slinging you over his shoulder and carrying you off. He kinda gets why you'd panic, so he reassures you that no, he's not gonna eat you or anything, you're just going home.

Don't worry about the pack - they won't eat you either, or even hurt you. He's already told them not to. He gets why you might be frightened by the massive, snarling creatures and their massive teeth and eyes that shine in moonlight, but he'll make sure you get used to them and accept them as your family, just like he has.

How difficult is it to escape from them? How do they keep you restrained? How do they deal with attempted escape? 

That depends. Can you fight off two 180-pound masses of claws, teeth, and muscle? If so, sure, it'll be easy. If not... you'll have some issues.

He's lucky to have such a loyal pack that will help him with these things - they don't exactly understand why you'd want to leave, but they know you're not supposed to. Even when he has to leave you, which isn't often, he'll leave a few of them around to watch you. To make sure no one comes and steals you or anything - and of course, the implication that it's to make sure you don't run away, either. He doesn't really get why you would, but he's come to the realization, based on what you've tried to tell him, that you miss your family and friends. And he gets that, he really does, but in the end, he's selfish at his core, and his empathy for you isn't enough for him to just let you go.

He sleeps latched onto you, arms wrapped around you, so it's not a good idea to try. Your best bet is to wait for a time he's gone and distract the wolves with something, which isn't too hard, and run for it. But even if you do manage to escape, you won't be for long. They can smell you from a mile away and will use your scent to pinpoint you down within a few minutes. They don't exactly have any gentle ways of taking you down and bringing you back, either. They're basically going to have to use their teeth, so it's better if you don't struggle - you'll just hurt yourself.

If he catches you, though, he'll just get huffy and angry, and much like when initially taking you, he'll just pick you right up and bring you back. He's not opposed to stealing ropes and the like from the passing knights, and tying knots isn't too difficult to figure out.

How easy are they to trick, deceive, or manipulate?

Poor boy is very easy to lie to and manipulate. Head empty, not many thoughts up there. However, you'll have to be clever about it, because most of the time, even if he believes you, he doesn't care. Sure, you can easily convince him that it's normal for human couples to sleep separately... But that's not going to stop him from curling up with you, because that's what he does. That's what wolves do.

He will, however, be somewhat easily manipulated into getting you things you want, if he thinks it'll make you happy. However, obtaining things you want will almost definitely come in the form of theft, or worst case scenario, the body of a passer-by that just so happened to have something you wanted visibly on their person.

If he finds out you lied to him on something, he'll get pouty and grumpy. It's not pleasant, but it's better than the rage reaction of some yanderes.

How lenient are they? What privileges can you have, and what will you be denied?

His life revolves around you, and yours should revolve around him. That's how mates are. You can go for walks in the woods! You can take naps in the sun together! You can spend literal hours mating! Why would you need anything else?

That being said, he's always had a uniqueness from the wolves in that he's awake more - wolves sleep about 14 hours a day, him only about 8 or 9. You'll definitely be getting a lot more sleep than you would back home, but you'll have a few precious hours to yourselves. It makes him happy - it used to be time he spent all alone, a reminder of how he didn't truly fit in with humans nor wolves. But now, you have that time together! He's willing to do most anything you want, so long as you're together. He's always had some adaptative differences he practices by himself - making fires, cooking food on them, wearing clothes. If you want to go exploring, you can do that, if you want to make food, you can do that too. He'll even accommodate you if you want to do useless things, like your insistence on teaching him to read, or practicing his speech.

What kind of rules do they have? What kind of punishment would they use?

It's fairly simple. Don't leave. That's really the one big one.

He's actually not one to make a rule against fighting him - he'll see it as you wanting to play fight, wrestling, which wolves do all the time. It's fun, even if it's easy for him to win. And it's exciting when you fight back, in a weird way.

Don't make contact with other humans, if you see them. Oh, and he'll want you to report to him everything you did or saw while he was gone hunting.

Generally, if he gives you a command, which isn't too much, he expects you to follow it. In his mind, he's the male, he's supposed to tell you what to do. Isn't that how it usually works with humans too?

If you're too disobedient, he'll get grumpy. Honestly, his most likely form of dealing with it is to wrestle you to the ground, and essentially hold you down until you comply or agree to whatever he wants.

How do they deal with rivals, or perceived rivals? Will they get rid of them? Will they kill them themselves, or find another way?

Rip.

But seriously. No, they're not going to last. He's one of the more paranoid ones, because deep down he's aware of how little he understands. For all he knows, every human male that talks to you could be doing what you call "flirting." Hell, didn't some girls like other girls too? How does he know which ones do and which ones don't? That means everyone is a threat, and he can't let threats get in the way.

He's not one of the ones to be subtle or try to hide it from you. He will probably try a little bit if he knows it's one of your family or friends whose blood is soaking his clothes when he comes back to you, but if it's random, he might even be proud. Look at that, he took down a whole search party that came looking for you all by himself! It's proof of his strength and dominance, and you should be happy that you have a strong mate to protect you! And he doesn't really empathize well - if you're upset, he will explain exactly that to you, and insist you change how you see things. Humans are so strange, being upset that your mate is able to protect you. You'll see why it's a good thing eventually, he's sure.

How easy is it to make them mad? What does their anger look like?

He gets frustrated pretty easily. It's usually just a lack of understanding, in his mind, you're being unnecessarily difficult almost all the time. He has told you a million times he doesn't care about whatever is normal for humans, yet you continuously bring it up, and that's a bit irritating. He'll huff and sigh and clamp a hand over your mouth if you're going on about it, and if you really refuse to shut up about it, there are a variety of ways of making you quiet - or distracting you from complaints.

He's got an immature streak, as he never really had anyone around to teach him otherwise. So he gets very pouty, a little bit aggressive and forceful when it comes to being upset over something or getting his way. If he wants attention and you're not giving it to him, he won't hesitate to just take whatever you're holding and focused on of your hands and toss it to the side.

On the positive side, he's never going to be passive aggressive. He's always straightforward and has no hesitation to tell you exactly how he's feeling.

If he's genuinely, truly furious, he can get violent. He'll probably apologize and definitely feel bad, licking all the little wounds. He wouldn't try to do anything so bad as bone breaking or severely hurting you, but might accidentally lose control of his own strength.

Do they see you as above them, beneath them, or equal to them?

More or less an equal. Not much to say here, as, to be honest, that sort of thing hasn't really crossed his mind. He doesn't waste time with thoughts of relative value, he just knows he loves you and wants you.

Subconsciously, it would be slightly below. Due to a very natural upbringing, he automatically associates males as being the leaders and alphas, while females are... Well, puppy-making machines. Don't try to accuse him of any sort of sexism or anything - he can't even really wrap his head around the concept, much less understand why it's wrong to acknowledge how much weaker you are than him. If you need proof of that, he can easily wrestle with you and prove it.

How determined are they for you to love them? How hard will they try to make it happen? Or are they content just having you?

Pretty highly determined. He mistakes a lot of things as signs of love, though. You might be only complying out of fear or exhaustion, but he won't be able to tell, he's not good with facial expressions, so he thinks it's a sign you're accepting him.

Honestly, he's one of the ones that, albeit unintentionally, will kind of guilt you into acceptance. You inevitably feel bad for him, you can tell how lonely he really is, and how desperately he loves you, wants you to love him. His intentions aren't malicious, and it's actually difficult to truly resent him, unlike some yanderes. Ironically, it reaches a point where rejecting him sometimes really does feel like kicking a sad little stray puppy in the rain - it makes you feel awful when he gets sad and quiet.

While there are a lot of yanderes who would be a lot more earnest and striving to serve and please you, which he doesn't really do, he's probably one of the most patient yanderes when it comes to this. He doesn't care if it takes the rest of your lives. He'll never give up or just settle for having you with him, he'll be loving you and trying to be reassured of your love till the day he dies, if that's what it takes.

Bonus: Is there anything that makes them unique, in comparison to other yanderes?

Primarily, it's hard to emphasize how significantly his lack of human socialization impacts his yandere behaviors.

Most yanderes are forced to acknowledge the inherent wrongness of their actions - some will accept it and not care that it's wrong, some sadists enjoy knowing it's wrong, some will delude themselves into justifying it, some will try their best to act within moral boundaries or make up for their wrongness somehow. But all in all, they all have to face the reality of the situation and understand that what they're doing is considered wrong.

Razor's not like that. He doesn't really take the moral aspect into consideration. To him, the whole idea is simply a human thing entirely. It doesn't matter what humans do. He views the world in a very black and white sense. Morality is a more abstract concept, what's more important is how things are relative to himself - what he wants.

Tends to communicate in strange ways. Excess emotions, too much happiness or anger or whatever can make him forget his words, so there's a lot of subtle communication through grunts, whimpers, growls. Over time, you learn how to distinguish between the various noises and body language and what they mean.

Will lick you. It's weird. It's kinda gross. But it's just how he shows affection. He tends to get carried away with kisses, ending up lapping at your lips, licking your neck and collarbones, nuzzling his head into you.

General perverseness: how sexual of a person are they? What’s their drive like? How touchy do they get? Do they have any reservations about sexuality?

Scientifically speaking, male sex drive is heavily boosted by testosterone. Testosterone can be greatly increased by heavy physical activity, eating high amounts of meat, sun exposure, and is even directly correlated to spending large amounts of time outdoors. 

You see where this is going.

Very high drive, very touchy, and no reservations, no shame. Thank whatever deity you care to recognize in Tevyat that you're isolated from other people out in the woods, because he has no concept of norms or appropriateness, and trying to get him to understand is a fruitless effort. You're wasting your time trying to explain the idea that groping and touching out of the blue is considered rude, or that most human men take issue with being very visibly, very noticeably hard and would likely try to conceal it, not just sit there with the blatant bulge poking forward... His response will only be that you're far away from humans, so it shouldn't matter. He's just trying to show you he loves you, that's why he insists on grinding into you all the time, staring at your body, humping you when you're curled up together quite ironically like a horny dog.

Unfortunately, he basically just does not know how to be gentle or slow about it. He can start off trying to be slow and soft if you beg for it, but once you're actually laying there and he's in you, he gets caught up in instinct and the heat of the moment, and just kinda... forgets about that whole "slow and gentle" thing, opting to just rut you as hard and fast as possible.

He doesn't talk much during sex. He already has some trouble forming sentences in normal times, you can't expect him to when he's fucking. You won't get a lot of words besides the occasional, "good, feels good," or little commands, but you will get a lot of animalistic noises - possessive growls, little whines of pleasure. He doesn't have any sense to hold back on his noises.

He's also the least likely to care about things like shaving, periods, or imperfections. Which is good, but you also can't use those things as an excuse to not fuck, it'll go in one ear and out the other.

How forceful are they? Do they care about your willingness?

It's not so much an intentional disregard for your willingness, so much as a combo of not really considering it, and thinking it's just something you'll change on. If he's human, and he has the urge, that means surely you do too. Sometimes humans need emotional connections before they want to mate, right? So he just needs to express his love to you. The looping problem there is that fucking you is pretty much his primary way of expressing love. It'll work out in the end, he guesses.

His limited knowledge of humanity also will lead him to certain conclusions. From what he understands, human society often shames females for having sex and wanting sex, right? That's dumb. But their mentality is probably ingrained in your brain, isn't it? That's why you act like this. But don't worry, he's not like the human men. Wolves don't feel that way. You'll understand that with time.

What sort of kinks or fetishes do they have, or would they fill?

Biting/Scratching/Marking

It's a natural reaction to him. If he's balls deep in you, mounted on and pounding into your body, thrusting so hard that your body is lurching forward with every movement, he wants a way to hold you still, keep your body in place so that each pounding goes deeper and harder. It's second nature for him to just sink his teeth into your jugular, your neck, your shoulders. As an added bonus, he likes seeing the marks it leaves behind, in addition to how his fingernails that dig into your hips leave little indents in your skin.

Breeding

He doesn't know how to not cum in you. You can't honestly expect him to pull out of you, you're so warm and wet and soft, it would be torture not to reach a climax buried inside that tight heat. You can go on a rant about not wanting to get pregnant, but it'll go in one ear and out the other. He doesn't get it - you're supposed to want to have his pups. Do you not think he's a suitable mate for reproducing? You'll be halfway through explaining why kids aren't in your current agenda before being flipped over and pounded into yet again with his newfound determination to prove his strength and dominance to you. Once you understand that, surely, you'll want all the puppies you can possibly make.

Predator/Prey

This applies mostly to escape attempts. He'll be mad, but it triggers something in him, something instilled by years of hunting down poor little prey animals. The desire to hunt you down, find you, and ruin you. Instead of ripping you apart like he would boars, he can't think of anything but just fucking you up against the nearest tree, the ground, anything. The faster you run, the more afraid you are, the more exciting it is. It's a very primal urge, one that commands all sorts of predators, both in feeding and breeding.

Forced Orgasms

As with many human things, he makes certain discoveries with time about sex. The first time you fuck, it'll probably be too rough for you to really cum, but it'll only be a few days in before your body adjusts to the girth that's frequently inside of you, and you end up spasming all over him - and he's just got this shocked expression, watching with amazement when you clench down and quiver under him. Wait, you mean human females can orgasm too? Not just the men?

From that point forward, he's determined to fuck, lick, grind, and force every orgasm out of you as physically possible. It makes him feel a weird sort of pride and contentment. It's one of the few things that makes him a big smug. Even if you feel like you can't possibly cum any more, he'll try anyway.

How do they feel about pregnancy or babies? Do they want them?

It's your purpose! He has learned that human girls only have one baby at a time, sometimes two, which is nothing compared to how many pups wolves usually have in one litter. That means that you'll have to make up for the lack of quantity of pups with quantity of pregnancies, which means constantly breeding and breeding and making sure every last drop stays inside of you. He doesn't understand why humans would even want to prevent pregnancy, it's the best thing that can happen, it's the whole reason you're alive, and it's a sign that you're his. Like with most things, he knows eventually you'll come around. Once you actually have the pups there in front of you, you'll love it. He knows you will.

What kind of (nsfw) punishments would they use?

He's a little lacking on the thought process behind punishing. If he's mad, it tends to cloud his thoughts, reverting to a more animalistic state, and he's not gonna have the complex thoughts required to really think through punishment, so it's not gonna be anything complex.

Doesn't really matter, if he's mad, just fucking you is going to feel like a punishment, with him slamming you into the ground, a tree, any rough surface nearby and just rutting you, claw-like fingernails digging into your skin and teeth sinking into your shoulder to hold you in place, a hand clasped around your throat. Fucking is basically the primary outlet he chooses for his emotions, happiness, love, stress, and anger alike, a simple, primal form of expression. If he's mad, he just needs to take it out on something, release all of that force and energy into rough, brutal motions. Normally when he's angry, he'll go hunt down some animal, taking all that anger out on the kill. But, recently he's learned he actually quite prefers to release his anger this way. It's more satisfying and enjoyable, and it deters you from stepping out of line, too. It's not just your average slightly rough fucking, no, it's the kind of fucking that will genuinely hurt you, rutting you over and over until your insides are burning from friction, your walls and cervix so completely bruised and abused you'll feel the  throbbing soreness with every movement for days, hands leaving massive bruises all across your hips and shoulders. Not that that's any excuse to not fuck more, no, no soreness will get you out of normal daily routine.

What body parts of their darling do they like the most?

He has a thing for breasts. They're very unique to humans, it's something he hasn't had the opportunity to see or understand, and he'll spend a lot of time just burying his face in them, licking and sucking. Big or small, doesn't matter. He just likes them.

One more nasty HC i can't not talk about

wait, you mean humans have sex... Facing each other? There are positions other than doggy? It's all he's ever seen. Porn and the internet don't exactly exist in this world. The whole concept blows his mind. He can fuck you AND see your face while he does? He'll nearly faint right then and there, and you'll regret bringing it up once you've gone numb from the repetitive pounding. He'll start asking you what else exists out there, his brain will start thinking of all the different ways to fuck he's never thought about. Once he learns you can ride him, he's in heaven, even if it's not so much riding so much as you sitting on his cock and him bouncing you up and down with such ferocity you can't even move your legs.

Speaking of things he doesn't know about, if you're smart, you make sure he doesn't find out about blowjobs. He'll love it, and it won't be a blowjob so much as him literally fucking your throat, grabbing your head and hair and just wrecking your mouth.

None of it is him trying to hurt you, really. He just doesn't understand how to be gentle. He might get better with time, but he's got a predator-born ferocity, a primal roughness that will always be a part of his nature.

(yes i did research on wolf courtship/mating rituals for this bc i suffer for my art)

[lucycola]

Spock being kind of betrayed by his love interest but after a bit of angst, everything falls into place and fluff is baaaack :>

Spock x Fem!Reader

WARNINGS: Language, sexual situations, daddy kink if you squint

Spock is a bit of a stubborn asshole in this one. He doesn’t like being lied to and will not stop at getting the truth, especially when he knows it’s about him. Spock may be a little too personal in front of Bones, but it’s an emotional situation. 

The buzz from your monitor diffused through the air, ringing in Spock’s ears. As low as it was it still brought him to groggily open his eyes. The whole room was wrapped in a soft blue glow. He sat up, hand immediately feeling the empty spot next to him.

“I’m sorry, but I’m not exactly sure how long,” you whispered, hunched over the screen.

“T’hy’la,” he said into the glow, tone sharper than he intended.

You hurriedly flipped off the monitor.

“Spock,” you said, “I’m sorry I woke you.” You tip-toed carefully across the room and crawled back under the thermal blankets. Your boyfriend have better been thankful that you were extremely cold natured otherwise the mere temperature of his cabin would drive you out of the room.

“What were you-”

“I was finishing up some work for the lab. I dreamed of it and woke and immediately I had to do it before it slipped my mind.”

He could sense your deceit in the way your voice wavered, but it also did that when you were grieving. He moved to find your hand in the dark, but failed as you began to massage his scalp.

Were you avoiding his touch? he wondered.

“Sleep, Sa-mekh,” you gently teased him with the only word that could make his scowl at you, other than ‘papa’ itself. He did like it in bed, however, as much as he denied it.

You paused, thinking of the word critically, a surge of panic leaving your hands. He could feel it, “Tell me what ails you. Who were you talking to a moment ago?”

“Myself,” you quickly yanked your hands away. “I really am sorry for waking you.”

He didn’t bother turning to face you or to further question you. It would come out eventually at the test of his impatience or yours. Something was upsetting you-he felt the raw emotion even through the follicles of his scalp. He would take more time to ponder-more time to investigate.

“I shall return to  sleep - as should you. You should participate in your work on the alpha shift singularly as your sleep cycles will continue to be disrupted therefore lowering you work efficiency-”

“And yours?” you finished for him, half joking. “Whatever you say, Commander.”

x

“I wish everyone would stop treating us like we’re married, honestly,” you said, crossing your arms in front of Doctor McCoy.

“All I know is that I’ve got an irritated Vulcan asking me to scan you. He thinks you're hiding something from me and he’s doing whatever he can to figure it out before actually asking you. Something about not letting him touch you. I tried to tell him it was normal once a month-”

You gave him a playful swat.

“Forgive me, I jest.”

“How ridiculous,” you replied and then sighed.

“That’s a man’s pride for you. It escapes no species,” Nurse Chapel said handing you back the report.

“And as you are hiding something, I’m guessing, I suggest you go on out with it. He’ll tear the ship apart finding an answer.”

“And how I think he used to indulge in smothering me in rapid fire questions. That was before our first meld,” you said, fingering the edge of the padd not having fully looked at it yet.

“I’m surprised he hasn’t tried that yet,” McCoy said, “He’s already hunted me down once. I’m not allowed to say anything, but as a favor to me-”

“Bones-”

“Keep him out of my hair and tell him whatever it is you’re lying about-”

You turned the padd to face him and his eyes enlarged, first with shock and then with mirth. He let out a hearty laugh.

“Good luck with that one. I’d say he’s gonna turn green, but that’s normal for him.”

“Have you  talked to your mother yet, honey?” Nurse Chapel asked.

x

Why would you have spoken with your mother so late an hour? Was it purposeful because he had been sleeping? Was it an emergency? Surely you would have told Spock.

He had already extracted the call log from his comm, even though the data had been private and locked under your information. You would fuss at him later he already knew, but this little inkling in the back of his mind reminded him. That raw feeling he felt through your hands. It terrified you. You were scared of something.

You were lying to him. You had lied to him. You had not been speaking to yourself. You had been speaking to your mother. He supposed he could contact your mother, but you two had never formally been introduced and some parties might find that offensive.

You were eating less and less and sleeping with him less and less. You weren’t being as intimate as you usually were either and that was most alarming. Not because it was a requirement to Spock, but because it was a deviation of your behavior. Spock didn’t usually adopt Terran colloquialisms, but once after sucking him off in the lab in the middle of a gamma shift he called you a ‘dirty bird’. He always made you blush when using Terran phrases and slang.

Was it something he did? It seemed he was always doing something, but Spock could honestly not place something accidentally offensive or insulting he might have said. You were pretty good at pointing out when he was too candid or too critical. He was good at pointing out when you were too emotional and too...well too human.

Yet he relished in every bit of that-and so did you, or so he thought you had.

So what was it?

Spock didn’t chew on his nails, but found himself letting the edge of his thumb rest in his teeth.

A familiar warm hand clapped him on the shoulder.

“Look alive, Spock,” the captain playfully chided.

“I assure you captain I am in no way deceased.”

x

You were pregnant. It was that simple. Yet, it didn’t feel simple at all. You wouldn’t hardly let Spock even touch you for fear of finding out. You were terrified of his response.

You were puking in the bathroom and had called your mother immediately. It was the second week in a row and Christine’s labs proved it.

You had a bun in your oven. You could see Spock giving you the quizzical brow at the use of the expression. You could see yourself fussing a little, telling him you knew that he knew exactly what that phrase meant and to stop acting like he didn’t.

It was true what you had said to Bones.

You two weren’t married. It was perfectly normal to have a child out of wedlock- that was, on Earth. You hadn’t even met his parents. What would they say? It would only be a fourth Vulcan. He didn’t speak fondly of his father and whenever prompted you could practically read how sour their relationship was. His father had to be fond of humans to some extent-his wife was human after all.

Would other Vulcans shame Spock? Would they shame your baby?

You heard a buzz from the comm. You got up out of bed and walked over.

“McCoy to Yeoman L/N.”

“Yes, doctor?”

“I’ve got a green-blooded devil down here demanding your presence.”

You groaned into your fist.

“You can’t make me.”

“Please.”

It was the first time you ever heard Spock say that. The tone was nearly pitiful as it was on edge.

x

“You can’t make anyone get a scan, Spock. She doesn’t even work in your division,” Bones said once you arrived.

“She has not been eating, sleeping, nor participating in the normal intimate recreations. Her behavior is off and her pallor has changed considerably,” Spock argued.

“That’s not of anyone’s business, Spock,” you said, appalled. He was being...so unlike himself. It was even weirder that it was in front of Bones. Spock would rather eat his hat than be any kind of vulnerable in front of...well anyone. 

“He’s...he’s just worried about you,” Nurse Chapel offered politely from afar.

You groaned, “I wish everyone would just stay out of it. I’m not ready for this.”

“Well you should’ve thought about that before you...uh” Bones started but immediately stopped when you shot him daggers, “Spock, why don’t you just ask her?’

“She has deceived me once before. I do not trust her again to be candid. She is either emotionally upset with a matter and does not want to tell me because it concerns me or she is ill and is emotional about such and does not want to tell me. Either way I am...most concerned.”

It seemed Spock would be eating his own hat later. You could feel the heat rise in your cheeks. Was he really this worried? 

“Spock...”

He turned to you, “I apologize for involving the doctor but I do not like it when you lie. Especially when I can be of assistance.”

You could feel water brimming at your lashes. “You’re so smart, Spock. Just so damn smart I hate it.”

You sat on the edge of one of the stretchers, tears dribbling down your face.

“Now, look what you’ve done, you ass!” Bones said angrily, “Out of my bay this instant.”

Spock ignored him and knelt down in front of you.

“I can help. And if I can’t we will find a way, ashayam.”

You looked up at him. “I am upset with something...and I am sick and it does have to do with you. Both of your guesses were right.”

You held out a hand. He assumed it was to meld, but it wasn’t so as you only placed his hand palm down on your still flat abdomen.

His eyes widened. “Y/N...”

“I know I lied about talking to my mother. I was just afraid you would find out and I wasn’t... I just don’t think we’re ready. I want to be ready, but I don’t know if you’re ready. We’re not married and I don’t want to cause trouble for you on Vulcan.”

He stared at your stomach for a long time, hand unmoving.

“I do not care what others think of me on Vulcan. I do not care what they think of my t’hy’la or my child,” he said with a tone of finality, “I only care what you think. If you are not ready I will not force you to beget my children.”

“Are you ready?” you asked.

“I do not think a parent ever truly is. My mother once spoke those words to me,” he admitted, “But it is not my say in the matter whether you choose to carry out the pregnancy. Do you wish to terminate the pregnancy?”

“No, Spock.”

He rubbed your stomach gingerly, “I am sorry for my behavior, ashayam. It was most ill-mannered of me. The mother of my child deserves better treatment.”

You placed your hand over his while it was still on your stomach, “I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t lie to you.”

“Well, well,” the doctor spoke up from the awkward silence beside his nurse, “I guess we ought to pass around cigars now?”

It seemed you both had forgot that Bones and Christine were still even there, witnessing the sappy moment between you two. 

Spock repaired that easily. 

“I will not allow my t’hy’la to engage in such a habit or for those surrounding her to do so. Certainly, doctor, you do not permit such unhealthy behaviors to pregnant persons.”

You laughed and Bones rolled his eyes.

Another day on the Enterprise, you thought. Another day.

tagged: @groovyfluxie @dontgivedeath @lumar014 @pringtella @moonchildlonan @superninjapervert420 @love-wanderlust15 @ischysiaclark​@imyourspacegirlfriend @hiddlestonme @fandoms4ever97 @mywellspringoflife​ @rebelchild93 @nilalunis16​

[frauleinfreeshooter]

♫:  three of my muse’s favorite songs

1. Es war ein Edelweiss

Ganz einsam und verlassen an einer Felsenwand… Stolz unter blauem Himmel ein kleines Blümlein stand…

She was too busy checking her boots, so she didn’t sing along. “There is no way you are 24, little Fraulein”, the voice came from above and she raised her face but saw only a dark silhouette against the sun. He was right. The general rule was that only a person of 24 years old and older experienced in combat above the snow line, could join the 1st Mountain Division. Of course, there were exceptions. And, of course, there were lies. “Albert is 18”, she replied, her muscles tensing. “And he isn’t half as good at shooting as I am” “Albert is a man”, the silhouette stroke a match, and the fresh air was soon filled with the bitter smell of tobacco. “Aren’t you supposed to stay at home, wait for a nice fellow returning home a hero from war and give birth to at least two children for the glory of Germany?” The girl finished examining her boots and grimly started putting them on. “Aren’t you supposed to have better things to do than lecturing me?”, she stood up, the silhouette became a person with a real face and a smirk. The superior officer! She was talking back to a superior officer and not just any officer but... “I beg your pardon, sir! I...” “That’s fine, little Fraulein Edelweiss”, he grinned showing his excellent teeth, and let the smoke through nostrils. That made her think of a dragon. “So, good at shooting. What about dancing? Care to promise me a dance?“ Ich konnt' nicht wiederstehen, ich brach das Blümelein… Und schenkte es dem schönsten, herzliebsten Mägdelein. Sometimes first impressions are not so deceiving after all. This person was a dragon.

2. Life on Mars – David Bowie (1971)

Rip loved the atmosphere of the cinema halls. The smell and the comfort of chairs, and the wide-wide-wide screen... Rip loved that and often asked either Zorin, or Captain to join her. And again, and again. They had to take turns going to the cinema with her, because Rip loved watching the movies again and again, and no one was patient enough to do that. Zorin would put her feet in boots on the back of the front seat and sometimes smoke waving everyone away with her right hand, “the lucky hand” as Zorin called it. Once Rip asked Zorin to watch a romantic movie with her and regretted that. Zorin laughed out loud at everything happening on the screen and wouldn’t stop making offensive and very cynical comments with the most polite being “I bet that guy’s stuffing his Unterhosen! Just look at that bulge!”. With Captain Rip did go to romantic movies. Hans was always silent during the films and sometimes Rip liked to pretend that they together were just like other couples. She would place her head on his shoulder during the kiss scenes. He didn’t seem to mind. But sometimes Rip wondered whether Hans was really watching those movies with her as his gaze never shifted and he rarely blinked. Maybe for him, it was more of an excuse to look at something for a long period of time without listening to anyone talking to him. Her love for the movies was a reason she fell in love with this song. Rip felt like that girl from the song who was “hooked to the silver screen”. Because movies were nothing but fantasies. Movies were fake, and the blood there was fake. And the death. So was the love on the screens... fake but somehow better.

“Is there life on Ma-a-ars?”, Rip’s voice was dreamy and sweet, she really loved that song.

3. You give love a bad name - Bon Jovi (1986)

“Shot through the heart! And you're to blame! Darlin', you give love a bad name!”, Rip put down the lipstick and looked at the mirror. Her lips were scarlet and sensual, her eyelashes were long thanks to mascara and she had to take her glasses off not to mark lenses with black dots. Tonight she felt beautiful. Tonight she put on high-heeled shoes and perfume. And a garter belt. And silk dress as scarlet as her lipstick. “Oh, you're a loaded gun, yeah...”, she was singing aloud now, and this song was about her. She was a loaded gun. The night was warm, the breeze was mild and she ended up carrying her high-heeled shoes when they decided to have a walk on the beach. At first, waves were licking her bare feet... then – not anymore. She was carrying her high-heeled shoes while she herself was being carried.

A real date. The tide was high. Shells were quietly singing their song, and Rip closed her eyes enjoying every second of those salty kisses. Her scarlet lipstick left some marks. Others were left on her pale skin. The trail of those wet, hungry kisses going down, down, all the way down... Her silk scarlet dress got really rumpled but... She was to blame.

[anubislover]

Welcome to the Heart Pirates, Nami-ya chapter 19: Lying Hearts

“How can anyone stand to live in a city like this?” Nami grumbled as the light glinted off of yet another painfully white building. True, the setting sun had lessened the glare slightly, but after an entire afternoon of it, she was developing quite the headache, even with the sunglasses.

Law shrugged and continued walking at a leisurely pace, still unaffected. “I’m sure if you’re born somewhere like this it’s easier, but people can learn to tolerate almost anything given enough time, I suppose.”

“Do you think you’d be able to learn to tolerate bread?”

“I said almost. I’d sooner die of starvation.”

She shook her head with a chuckle but kept pace, following his lead. Instead of heading straight back to the submarine, Law had insisted on a few detours through Atifakuto—partially in case anyone had grown suspicious and decided to follow them, but also to scope out potential escape routes under the guise of sightseeing. Nami, for her part, had been exceedingly helpful in this, mapping out in her head which stairways lead where and pointing out various places to hide. If Law found her compliance suspicious, he didn’t say anything; it was in their best interest to work together, especially with some potentially valuable goods on the line, so her behavior was easily rationalized.

For her, however, there was more than artifacts or even belli at stake. This heist had to go well. She needed Law to trust her enough to open up about why he was so obsessed with Amber Lead. Perhaps if he could do that, she wouldn’t even have to sneak into his quarters to take a look at the ledgers. She could just ask and he’d let her in like a rational human being.

Of course, in order for either of their plans to succeed they needed to know where the vase was. Luckily, the rest of the Hearts hadn’t been sitting idle on the submarine. They’d been investigating every possible gallery, art collector, museum, and auction house their prize could possibly be at. The second they had a lead, they’d call on the mini Den Den Mushi.

Until then, though, Law and Nami were forced to meander about the city, planning and killing time.

“So, while we wait for some intel, what else are you going to buy me?” she asked as they wandered the fourth level. They’d passed quite a few shops, and while most had stocked dull business suits similar to the last store, Nami felt her bags were tragically light. They were in a beautiful-if-blinding city, and she was walking away with only one outfit? What a travesty.

Snorting dismissively, Law glanced down at her with a clear look of are you kidding me? on his face. “Nothing. I told you I was only getting you one outfit. I’m your captain, not your sugar daddy.”

“You know, for a man who wants this little job to go well, you’re not putting in nearly the effort you should,” she quipped, a sly smile on her lips, eyelashes fluttering prettily. “I’m supposed to look professional and put together if I’m gonna pull off being your lovely assistant. That means I need matching shoes and accessories. Maybe a cute leather purse or briefcase to really sell it.”

“If you want those so badly then buy them yourself. Or,” he smirked, halting his pace to turn around and catch her chin between his fingers, tilting her head up towards him as he stepped in close enough so she could feel his body heat, “you earn them by doing certain favors for daddy.”

Her cheeks only pinkened a little at his innuendos while she stuck out her tongue and shoved him away. Last night’s dream wasn’t quite as close to the forefront of her mind anymore, but that didn’t mean his smirk didn’t do things to her she’d rather ignore. “Pass. You should know by now that it takes more than clothes for me to play nice.”

“Mmm, I do. That’s what makes it so much fun,” he purred, gold eyes glinting in wicked amusement. One gloved hand was shoved into his pocket while his free arm slung itself casually over her shoulder as he continued stalking along the fastidiously clean road. “But since you’re currently insisting on being a strong, independent woman who doesn’t need a man to provide for her, you can instead borrow some shoes from Ikkaku, and she might still have a pair of glasses or something from the time she pretended to be a receptionist at a Naval base.”

Brown eyes widened at his statement. Not because he was suggesting that she borrow clothes or anything, but the bombshell he’d just casually dropped in light of her recent discovery.

“Was this for one of your plans?” she asked, shoulders stiffening.

He shrugged like it was no big deal, though he did give her a curious glance at the way she tensed beneath him. “Yeah. We needed someone on the inside, and they’d put out an advertisement for an attractive female in her early twenties. It’s not like Uni or Penguin could do it.”

“But…holy shit, Law, are you serious?” she hissed, dragging him over to an unoccupied part of the street behind a solitary gated tree so she could scold him in private. There weren’t too many people about, but the last thing they need was to get unwanted attention because they’d caused a scene, even if Law totally deserved to get chewed out at the top of her lungs for being such an asshole. “Ikkaku has Marine brothers who want her dead and you sent her into the lion’s den? What the fuck?!”

Caught off-guard by her anger, Law’s eyebrows shot up briefly before furrowing. “She told you about them?”

Damn. In her shock and anger on her friend’s behalf, she’d forgotten that this was a subject she wasn’t technically supposed to know. But instead of admitting guilt, she doubled down and threw on her best poker face.

“Yeah. She told me,” she lied easily. Too easily. It came as naturally as it had back in the days she’d been working under Arlong, getting close to pirates by lying through her teeth and then robbing them blind. How many crews and captains had she deceived before Luffy? Nami had honestly lost count, but once she’d joined up with the Straw Hats, lying to a supposed ally hadn’t been quite as instinctual.

But this isn’t Luffy, and Law’s keeping way more secrets than I am, she rationalized. It’s just a little white lie anyway. He’d be way more pissed at Shachi and Penguin for telling me. I’m looking after those guys.

Law’s expression hardened, and for a moment she wondered if he’d seen through her bluff. She didn’t think she’d gotten too rusty in the lying department, but Law was smart and distrusting in general, so she couldn’t quite tell. Trepidation hung heavy in the air as she waited for him to speak, mind going a mile a minute coming up with new lies and explanations to appease him. Worse came to worst, she could throw the guys under the bus, even if she didn’t really want to, but they were his best friends, so Law would doubtlessly be more forgiving towards them, right?

Thankfully, it seemed his anger came from a completely different place, as he snarled quietly through clenched teeth, “Nami-ya, I am, as you have pointed out rather frequently in the past, a control freak. Do you really think I would devise a plan that required sending my top mechanic into a Marine base if there was even a chance she could be recognized? Especially by her utter shit of a brother?”

She flinched at the vitriol in his voice. It seemed she’d touched a nerve, and unless she wanted to lose all the progress she’d worked for, she knew it was best to back down. “Sorry. You’re right.”

“I’ll accept your apology if you tell me what prompted her to tell you,” he stated, crossing his arms. “It’s not information she makes widely known, even to those who are permanent members of my crew.”

Well. At least this was easy enough to justify, and she’d be doing both Law and Ikkaku a favor, right? Sure, the guys would obviously tell him later, but being the first to warn him might earn her a few more crumbs of trust. “There was an article in the paper about Marine reinforcements coming to the Grand Line. Ushi was interviewed. He seemed pretty intent on taking down the Heart Pirates.”

Law froze, his frown deepening into a dark sneer. The tic in his jaw and the way his fists clenched reminded her of his reaction to Ikkaku having been attacked on Grimm. “That fucker will stay away from Ikkaku if he’s got any brains in him.”

“You’re pretty protective of her,” she said. Sure, he’d perhaps phrased his defense in a way that implied his priority was the plan, it was clear from the hiss in his voice that Ikkaku’s safety had been genuinely considered.

The brim of his hat hid his eyes as he stated, “I’m protective of all my crew. She’s just…it’s hard to find submarine engineers, let alone ones as skilled as her. Ikkaku’s hard to replace.”

Well that stinks to high heaven of bullshit, she thought. Sure, the Surgeon of Death had a rightly-earned cruel reputation, but he’d shown time and again his crew meant a lot to him. Stepping in close, she used her finger to lift his hat enough to see his expression unobstructed. “Is that why you let her sass you? Because if she walked you’d be dead in the water?”

The gold orbs glared down at her, though the held no heat. “Everyone on the crew is a vital component. Like gears in a well-oiled machine. You’ve gotta take care of them to make sure they don’t break.”

When Nami merely raised a disbelieving eyebrow, he sighed, body deflating slightly. “Look, Nami-ya, everyone on my crew, we’ve all got shit in our pasts. Some have overcome it. Some still carry the scars. Ikkaku…hers is one of the few that’s actively still trying to get her. So yeah, maybe I’m a bit more protective, but it’s for a damn good reason.”

Ok, now that was a fair point. “I’m surprised you haven’t just killed him.”

“Oh, I want to,” he snarled. “No brother should try to hurt their siblings. They’re supposed to look after them. The only reason Ushi-ya still draws breath is because Ikkaku begged me to spare his pathetic life.”

It suddenly dawned on Nami that, despite his criticizing Luffy for not being more bloodthirsty, Law was…surprisingly merciful in his own ways, too. He didn’t murder Ikkaku’s brother, despite having clear reason to, just because she asked. He rescued Jean Bart from a life of slavery despite not knowing him. And while she didn’t fully understand the Ope Ope no Mi’s powers, she wondered if his cuts didn’t draw blood because he didn’t want them to?

She wasn’t sure if he had a complexity addiction or if he genuinely wanted to minimize bloodshed, but once again another side of the incredibly fascinating man had been revealed.

Taking a deep breath to calm his anger, he gave Nami a sadistic smile. “Doesn’t mean I let him off the hook with a sternly-worded warning, though. Wanna know what I did to him the last time we met?”

Nami turned a bit green as she remembered Jinzo’s still-beating heart in his hands. Complex and caring towards his crew or not, he was still a twisted bastard. “Fuck no!”

Briefly he pouted at not getting to regale her with the gory details before shrugging. “Pity. It was quite the eventful evening. In fact, it was also the night of mine and Drake-ya’s first kiss.”

“How the hell are those two things connected?!”

“Well, I had to distract him somehow. He was guarding my poor mechanic like a dragon would a virtuous princess.”

Before she could demand more details, or even snort at the idea of Ikkaku being virtuous, the sound of the mini Den Den Mushi reached their ears, interrupting the conversation.

Looking around to make sure there weren’t any eavesdroppers, Law pulled out the little snail phone and clicked down on the top. “Guessing you’ve got something for me?”

“I do,” the snail answered, and Nami recognized the faint accent that indicated they were speaking to Cousteau. “Only one place that specializes in North Blue history. Jubilee & Atlas Antiques. It’s an auction house and gallery on the fifth level, a block away from the Elevate Deliverer Restoration Church.”

“Well that’s a needlessly long name,” he quipped, rolling his eyes. Mentally, Nami had to agree, though it also sounded vaguely familiar. “At least that makes it easier to find. Anything else I should know? Other landmarks, nearby guard stations, that sort of thing?”

There was a moment of hesitation before Cousteau replied, “No station, though there would probably be at least a few guards wandering around at night. It’s, uh, right by a fountain. Blessings from the White City.”

Nami’s eyes widened a little. Oh. Now she remembered. That had been the church with the huge stained-glass windows. The one in her book, by the tribute to Flevance.

“…I see.”

The little snail chewed its lip, clearly concerned. “Captain, if you want, I can do all the surveillance—”

“It’s fine,” he cut in, tone sharp before smoothing out, “I saw it earlier. In fact, I’m glad it’s so close. Nami-ya and I will check out the gallery. We’re nearby and I’d rather see it with my own eyes to get the lay of the land. Unless anyone else has a better lead, you and the others can head back to the ship.”

“Understood, sir. Anything else you need?” he asked, sounding relieved.

“Just tell Clione I might have a job for him later on, so don’t make any evening plans.”

“Aye-aye, Captain.”

The call ended, and Nami peered up at Law, expecting signs of the same darkness that had crossed his face when they’d visited the fountain earlier. Instead, his face was totally blank, staring down at the tiny snail, expressionless.

Somehow, that was far, far more unnerving.

“Law?” she asked, touching his arm hesitantly.

As if awoken from a trance he shook his head before smirking down at her. “Well, hope you don’t mind one last detour before heading back to the ship? I know it’s more stairs but look on the bright side; at this rate, the definition of your calf muscles will be a thing of beauty.”

He didn’t wait for her to respond, turning on his heels and heading towards the direction of the stairs to the next level. Frowning, she began to doubt whether or not this was all a good idea. She didn’t know exactly what his deal was, but she really felt like he was too close to this. But she had the feeling trying to talk him out of it would be an exercise in futility, and would set her back far more than any lie she might spin.

Oh well, she sighed internally, jogging to catch up, so long as he doesn’t do anything stupid. He’s sensible enough to keep a cool head, no matter what his problem is. It’ll be fine.

While it wasn’t far, it took longer than either of them would have expected to actually find Jubilee & Atlas Antiques. Mainly because it was a surprisingly nondescript building compared to the opulent churches and museums nearby. Honestly, based on the exterior, one could easily have passed it by. Like everything else the building was pristinely white, the windows boasting small arches over them and flower boxes containing white impatiens. Really, the most impressive thing about it was the marble plaque out front boasting the company’s name in gold leaf.

But the two pirates didn’t really care about the appearance; it was what was inside that counted. That, and the information board out front, which stated in bold, black letters that there would be a showing and auction of North Blue artworks at 8pm that evening.

“Why don’t you just Scan the place, grab the vase, and walk away? Seems like that would be easy compared to putting on this charade?” Nami asked, eyeing the building. It was hardly Harpin’s mansion; it would take almost no effort for Law to use his powers to steal every item of value inside it, replacing artifacts, paintings, and money with pebbles and potted plants with a mere flick of his fingers, then teleporting them away to safety.

Really, if he weren’t such an ass, Trafalgar Law would be a thief’s dream partner.

Of course, he was an ass, so he gave her a look that implied he considered her question to be phenomenally stupid. “Because there’s no guarantee that the vase is even in there—for all I know it’s being kept in a secondary location until the actual event for security or health reasons. It is a relic from a city that suffered a notorious death toll both before and after the World Government had quarantined it,” he explained lowly. “On top of that, my Room would draw too much attention, so if it’s not in there, we’ll have blown our whole cover and probably the operation.”

Though disappointed that they couldn’t just whisk it away with his powers, she conceded that he had a point. Versatile and useful as they were, the Ope Ope no Mi’s abilities did have their drawbacks. Actually infiltrating the auction house was a safer move.

Yet for a moment, she saw Law glare at the building, as if he were equally frustrated that they couldn’t just grab their prize and go. Perhaps even a great mastermind like him sometimes wished to take the direct path. “At least we can be sure it’ll be presented at this auction,” he reassured, almost as much to himself as her as his hand rested on Nami’s lower back while he escorted her away. “Makes it easier to come up with a plan and contingencies when I actually know the target. My crew did good.”

She twirled a strand of hair around her finger in thought. She supposed he was right, and the pride in his voice when he mentioned the Hearts’ contribution…well, she knew better than to argue with that. Seemed the lesson he learned on the last island was sticking. “Still too bad we don’t have blueprints like Harpin’s house, though.”

“It can’t be helped. That was a job I’d been planning for months. This is more…spontaneous. Why? Scared and looking to back out?” he asked, glancing down at her with a challenging grin.

Nami scoffed. She was a thief that specialized in robbing pirates. Sure, she was a scaredy-cat, but when treasure of some kind was at stake, there were few risks she wouldn’t take. “Not a chance. Just pointing out that we’re going in more blind than last time.”

“Maybe, but at least our prize will be out in the open and not in the home of a former Marine with tentacles. Hell, we might even get it legally.”

“Law,” she started, brow furrowing. She wasn’t scared, but she did have a reasonable concern, especially with how intent he seemed on this one item. “What are we going to do if we don’t win the vase?”

The pair stopped by the Flevance fountain, Law taking a long moment to stare solemnly at the beautiful white angels. Without a word he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small coin, pressing it to his lips before flipping it into the water.

When he turned back to her, his gold eyes were as hard as the statues’ and twice as cold.

“Simple; we take it from whoever did.”

XXX

Hidden in a small cove on an unpopulated section of Atifakuto’s coast, the sight of the Polar Tang’s sunny yellow hull was a welcome relief after a whole day of the city’s stark white walls. Law seemed to agree as his tense posture relaxed into a comfortable slouch, even giving a few of the guys a small grin when they called out to them. To Nami, of course, the submarine was still far from the Sunny and thus would never be home, but she couldn’t help but smile at Law’s reaction. The Dark Doctor really did have some softness deep down.

Of course, that didn’t last long, as the moment they were within the safety of the cargo bay he was once more all business. “Dinner is in an hour. Rest up, brush up on your notes, do whatever you need to prepare for the auction tonight; I’ve got a few more dominoes to put in place,” Law stated. He’d been silent for most of the walk back, though Nami attributed that to him mentally filing through all the information they now had and formulating his plan. Much as she missed and loved Luffy, having a captain who didn’t just go rushing in like an idiot was a nice change of pace.

That didn’t mean she appreciated his tone, though. “Say please,” she quipped, hip jutting out. She might have decided to be more compliant for the sake of gaining his trust, but that didn’t mean she was going to let him boss her around.

Besides, if she were too accommodating, he’d probably grow suspicious and then she’d be right back at square one.

He scowled but apparently decided it would be a waste of time to argue. They were on a tight schedule, after all, so her attitude would have to be tolerated. For now. “Please,” he grumbled before marching off, beckoning Clione to follow him. The biologist glanced between the two, bewildered, but smartly said nothing before chasing after his captain.

Flashing a self-satisfied grin at Law’s retreating back, Nami practically skipped to her quarters. Even though they weren’t as prepared as she’d like, so far, things were going well. Perhaps they couldn’t just use Law’s powers to swipe the vase, but by obtaining it through legal means, they wouldn’t have the authorities after them, which would be nice. Besides, it wasn’t her money that would be spent at the auction.

Her research of the North Blue had taught her a few things, including just how valuable things from Flevance were. After all, things made from the white ore had been in high-demand during the city’s heyday; now that it was in ruins, any remaining artifacts would surely triple in price. And, admittedly, if that fountain had been anything to go by, the vase could very well be extremely beautiful. Something any art collector or historian might want for themselves.

Once more, she wondered why the hell Law wanted it. He collected coins, not art, so she doubted it would be something he wanted just for the heck of it. What was his obsession with Flevance—

That train of thought was derailed when Nami walked into her room. She blinked then rubbed her eyes, certain her vision was still messed up from the sun, because Ikkaku was still sitting at her desk, working on some little device, practically in the same position as that morning. Really, the only difference was the lack of towel around her head, though her curly hair was a tangled bird’s nest.

“Have you even moved today?” Nami exclaimed loudly, flabbergasted.

The mechanic jumped a few inches out of her chair, a pen cartwheeling through the air before falling back onto the surface of the desk with a clatter. Apparently since she’d had the room to herself, she hadn’t felt the need to put the earplugs back in, leaving her vulnerable to Nami’s loud voice. “Damn, girl, you scared me,” Ikkaku said with a breathy laugh. She glanced around, noticing the time on the clock and the fact that her hair had dried completely. “Guess I was in the zone.”

“You haven’t been working all day, have you?” Nami asked, plopping her shopping bag on her bed. “At least tell me you had lunch.”

“Sounding an awful lot like Law there,” she teased, pushing away from her desk to stretch. There was an audible pop from her back, and her dark eyes closed in relief. “Like me, too. The boys and I are always bugging a certain workaholic captain to eat something and not subsist solely on coffee and aspirin. But to answer your question, yes, I did have lunch.” She pointed at an empty plate that had been shoved into the far corner of the desk, a few grains of rice stuck to the surface. “Bepo brought me some onigiri.”

“Good. If you didn’t, I’d be dragging you into the galley and force-feeding you a sandwich, then charging you a cooking and inconvenience fee.”

Snorting, Ikkaku cracked her knuckles and rolled her shoulders, further releasing the tension sitting hunched over in one spot for hours had built up. “Dinner’s soon enough; even if I hadn’t eaten, I could have waited. And good luck making a sandwich with no bread on board.” Despite her dismissal tone, though, she gave a wry grin. “But thanks for caring, I guess, even if it does come with a price tag.”

“What are friends for?” Nami shrugged with a smile that was a little forced. It was such an alien feeling, this sudden awkwardness. Since first arriving on the Tang, she and Ikkaku had gotten on like a house on fire. It was almost inevitable, being the two women on the ship surrounded by men dealing with that insanity together. Hell, even if that hadn’t been the case, Ikkaku had practically sacrificed herself for her back at the club on Grimm. A companion like that was more than she’d even dared to dream of before she’d met Luffy.

Was it really right for Nami to act like she didn’t know about her brother? Should she just tell her that the guys told her about Ushi? Really, what was the point of keeping it a secret? It wasn’t that Nami thought she’d slip up and spill the beans—lying was her specialty, after all—but Ikkaku wasn’t some mark or stranger. She was her friend.

Hell, even if they were on opposite crews, she’d even dare to call her nakama.

The issue resolved itself, however, when the other woman’s expression turned a little melancholy. Ikkaku sighed as she rested her cheek on her fist, her other hand idly playing with the pen. “Heh. Funny, I used to ask myself that question a lot when I was younger. I didn’t really have friends back on my home island. I lived with my Gramps in a lighthouse, so besides the occasional trip to town, it was a pretty isolated life.”

“What about your brothers?” Nami asked, masking her interest by taking her purchases out of the bag so they wouldn’t wrinkle before the auction. A swell of relief surged through her. If Ikkaku talked about Ushi herself, the whole charade of pretending not to know about him wouldn’t even be necessary! She just had to carefully press for the right crumbs of information, maybe even offer up a couple tidbits about her own life in exchange. No big deal. Tit for tat, right? “Nojiko was my best friend growing up. Hell, probably my only friend until Luffy came along.”

A dark look crossed Ikkaku’s face. “Yeah, well, Nojiko on her worst day was probably a way better sibling than all of them combined.”

“I don’t think you’ve talked about them much. I basically just know that they exist and said you wouldn’t really make it as an engineer because you’re a girl.”

A long sigh escaped her lips. “That’s…the nice version. Didn’t want to unload my shitty childhood on you, especially since yours sounded worse. I mean, my island was never taken over by pirates, and I didn’t work for the guy who murdered my mom.”

Well, that was certainly true, but then again, people with healthy, normal childhoods seldom became pirates. Or at least, those that did rarely lasted long on such cutthroat seas. Nami should have realized there was more to the mechanic’s past than some run-of-the-mill misogyny. “Maybe, but I don’t mind. We’ve all gone through some rough shit, right? We wouldn’t be in this line of work otherwise.”

“True. I just…I guess I just like to pretend he doesn’t exist most of the time.”

“He?” she asked as if she didn’t already know.

Ikkaku’s calloused hand dropped the pen to instead clench into a tight fist, and there was a haunted look in her dark eyes as she stared off into space. “Ushi. He’s the oldest. I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t afraid of him. Spent our childhood making our other brothers use me as a punching bag. When he wasn’t doing that, he gave me almost hourly reminders that I was a burden on the family, that no one really loved me, that I’d never amount to anything.” There was a hitch in her breath and a pause, and Nami noticed her close her eyes tightly for a moment. As if she were fighting back tears. It was a look she’d never expected to see on the tough, vibrant woman’s face. “Then, when I was seven, he tried to kill me.”

“What?!” Nami exclaimed, dropping her blazer to the floor in shock.

“Yeah. Joras had a huge fucking forest, and he led me into it to look for mushrooms or some shit. Can’t remember. Next thing I know, he’s shoved me into a pit, and by the time I’d climbed out, he was long gone and it was night. I think…I think it was supposed to be my grave, ‘cause it was really fucking deep. Or at least it seemed that way. Maybe I’m misremembering.”

Somehow, Nami doubted that. Sure, memories could get warped with age and fear, but some details remained solid for the rest of a person’s life. “But, you got out, right? And I’m sure your parents must have been worried sick!” She could almost picture it. A young Ikkaku, sticks and leaves caught in her messy curls, knees and elbows scraped, face covered in dirt and tears, frightened but once more able to smile when she was finally found, her mother and father scooping her into their arms, scolding her for worrying them but just so relieved she was safe…

At least, that’s what Bellemere or Mister Genzo would have done if Nami had gone missing.

From the bitter laugh that escaped her throat, Ikkaku hadn’t been so fortunate. “I spent three days wandering around those fucking woods, scared and cold and wondering if I was gonna die out there. My parents didn’t even notice I was gone.” After a long moment of silence, her fist unclenched and some of the tension eased out of her shoulders. “Gramps found me, though. When I didn’t come home after two days and a storm rolled in, my brothers Nausagi and Fukuro ran two miles to the lighthouse to tell him what Ushi had done. Maybe they realized he’d gone too far. Or they were scared I’d come back as a vengeful zombie. Either way, Gramps rescued me and demanded custody. Mama and Pops were glad to hand me over. One less mouth to feed, and I wouldn’t be causing their Future Marine Hero any more trouble.”

“That’s…that’s horrible.” And yet Nami could tell she was getting the abridged version of the story. “Tell me your grandfather was a better guardian.”

Despite the childhood trauma she’d just confessed to, Ikkaku merely shrugged, a small grin tugging at the corner of her lips. “Yeah. He was. Gramps was crazy, but he loved me and taught me how to fight. Told me to never lose my smile, ‘cause that’s my best protection against a world that’ll try to break me.”

“Bellemere said something similar to me and Nojiko. ‘Whatever happens, never lose your ability to laugh. If you can survive, happy times, lots of ‘em, will come your way’.”

“Smart lady.” She tried to casually run her fingers through her hair, only to find them caught in the tangled knots. She let out a light chuckle at her predicament and added, “I think she and Gramps would have gotten along pretty well. Well, assuming she liked salty former smugglers who had the gumption to threaten Law with a shot gun. Not that he didn’t deserve it a little.”

Nami had to smile at that, and she could only imagine what he’d said that had nearly gotten him shot. It was definitely something snarky, a shit-eating grin on his face while he provoked a protective grandfather just because he could.

Noticing Ikkaku’s hair situation, she abandoned her suit to instead pick up a wide-toothed comb. “Well, I’m not sure about Bellmere, but I’d certainly love to meet him.”

“Of course you would.” Leaning back in the chair, she allowed Nami to carefully put her thick curls to rights. “How was shopping? Boss show you the blinding sights of the city?”

“It was…enlightening,” she said cautiously. There was still so much to sort out, and every time she thought she had an answer to one of her questions, four more popped up in its place.

Grabbing the pen she’d been playing with earlier, Ikkaku handed it to her over her shoulder. “Here; I made you something, since I doubt you’ll be able to bring your Clima-Tact with you. Kinda why I was so focused—I wanted it to be ready by tonight.”

Curious, Nami inspected the item. It was a plain black ballpoint pen maybe a bit longer than her hand. There was an almost unnoticeable jolly roger engraved into the middle, and she ran her thumb over it idly. “You spent the whole afternoon making me a pen? I could have just as easily brought my stylus.”

“Oh, but a stylus is only good for writing. This is so much more useful. ‘The pen is mightier than the sword’, right? Click the top.”

She did so, and instead of an ink-filled nub, a small syringe, similar to an epi-pen, popped out. Her eyes widened in realization as Ikkaku explained, “Inside’s a powerful tranquilizer. Should knock any fool out in minutes if injected into the bloodstream. Takes longer if it’s ingested. It’s non-lethal to humans, so it should be safe to use on anyone you’re looking to knock out. Assuming they aren’t really Fishmen in disguise.”

“Why? Does it react differently for them?”

She grimaced. “Yeah. Severe allergic reaction. Anaphylactic shock typically. So, unless you want that on your conscience, humans only.”

Tucking the pen away for later, Nami nodded in understanding and went back to combing her hair. “Gotcha. Doubt it’ll be a problem, though. Jean Bart said this place is pretty humans-only.”

“Doesn’t mean it’s impossible for someone to have that kind of bloodline. If it’s diluted through a few generations, a lot of the time you can hide it and pass for human.”

“Hmmm, hadn’t thought of that.”

There was a moment where Nami could tell she was mulling something over. Even faced away from her, Ikkaku wasn’t hard to read, and it was only a matter of time before she voiced whatever question was on her mind.

While she waited, the ginger took the time to appreciate the texture of Ikkaku’s hair, combing out each curl individually so it wouldn’t frizz. The thick, black locks were coarser than her own, yet surprisingly soft despite her hard life at sea. Hair maintenance was extremely difficult living on the ocean, the salt and fluctuating weather of the Grand Line wreaking havoc on Nami’s much finer strands. And while Ikkaku was far more feminine than one would expect upon first meeting her, in the time they’d roomed together, she didn’t seem to put much more extensive care into her shiny locks than some leave-in conditioner.

Guess she’s just got some good genetics, Nami thought appreciatively. Either that or she’s hiding some amazing shampoo formula, and damn if she is I’ll never forgive her!

When Ikkaku at last broke her silence, the hesitation in her voice was palpable. “Hey, it was a Fishman who held you prisoner all those years, right? You ever…blame all Fishmen for what he did?”

It was an unexpected question, but a fair one, Nami supposed. Arlong had committed a crime so heinous she knew she’d never forgive him, and she knew there were plenty of people, especially ones who spent years abused by such a monster, who would project that hatred onto an entire race. But why even ask?

“I…not really. I mean, I can’t say I never lumped them all together in my head, since Arlong and his crew were my only baseline for Fishmen for a long time.” She bit her lip, thinking. “But that was when I was a kid. My view of things was a lot more black-and-white, mostly because I was bitter at my situation. As I got older, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it was stupid to think all Fishmen were like him. He was the one who hurt me, so he’s the only one who should get my hate.”

“So, you don’t hate them all?”

She shook her head. “Nah. Hell, I was even able to forgive a member of his crew. I’m sure you heard about how Luffy punched a Celestial Dragon?”

Ikkaku craned her neck up to look at her, dark eyes widening in shocked understanding. “Yeah? You saying the Fishman he defended—”

“One of Arlong’s crew. Hatchi. Like all of them, he hurt me too, but it was on his captain’s orders, and he clearly regretted it.” Well, it had been a bit more complex than that. Hell, when they’d first encountered him again, she’d nearly gone back on her promise to Camie to rescue him. Even if he hadn’t abused her like the others, he’d still been complacent in it. Still destroyed villagers homes, held her hostage, attacked the Navy ships that tried to come to the rescue. He hadn’t been blameless in the least. She would have had every right to demand that he be left to be killed or enslaved. That it was karma come to bite him in the ass.

Yet what had swayed her, apart from Camie’s determination to save him, was her own friends’ reactions to seeing him again. Those who knew her past had immediately been ready to turn the ship around and leave Hatchi to his fate. Of course she’d expected Sanji to be her knight in shining armor and want nothing to do with someone who had abused a lady, even by proxy. Zoro and Usopp had been a bit more surprising, though perhaps it shouldn’t have been. They knew what she’d been put through. Had fought and bled for her. Despite their sometimes heated disagreements, Nami knew she could count on them to always have her back.

The one who shocked her the most was Luffy. He might have flip-flopped between reason and his stomach, but the fact was, her loving, forgiving captain had actually held a grudge on her behalf. Hatchi and Arlong hadn’t done anything to him personally, but his nakama had suffered, and that wasn’t something he’d easily set aside. That genuine show of solidarity and loyalty to her had melted what ice had still been around her heart, which allowed her to truly forgive the octopus Fishman.

Yes, Hatchi had hurt her, but her hatred was solely reserved for Arlong, not his underlings who genuinely felt remorse.

“I’m not a saint or anything but hating Hatchi…it seemed pointless. He wasn’t the one who killed my mother. And blaming all Fishmen for the actions of one seemed pretty shitty. Doesn’t mean I wouldn’t kill Arlong if I had the chance, though.”

Nami could practically feel the tension drain from Ikkaku’s shoulders, and she couldn’t hide her smile before she looked away. “That’s good to know. That asshole deserves it, from what you’ve told me. He and my brother should meet, then get sacrificed to some kind of horrible sea monster. Plenty of hungry Sea Kings out there to feed.”

“Couldn’t happen to a nicer pair of guys,” Nami giggled as she ran the comb through the last strand of hair. “Though, that might be cruel to the Sea King. Poor thing deserves a better meal than shit like them.”

“True. We’ll just have to think of something else then. We can ask Law; he’s always got great suggestions.”

A shudder ran down her spine, though she had to admit, it wasn’t as horrified as she’d like. She justified it with the fact that Arlong was scum who deserved whatever painful death the likes of Law might propose. So did Ushi, from the sounds of things. Though, Law had said Ikkaku had begged him not to kill her brother. Why? Did she still care about Ushi due to their familial ties? Or was there something else?

Maybe she just doesn’t want her brother’s death on her conscience, Nami thought, putting the comb away and proceeding to raid the closet for shoes. I just hope that doesn’t come back to bite her someday.

XXX

Dinner on the Tang was certainly livelier and noisier than breakfast. Mainly because the crew didn’t have to walk on eggshells while waiting for Law to get his caffeine hit. Most of the time about a dozen different conversations could be heard, utensils clattered against plates, insults were tossed about, and laughter filled the air. But at the moment, the whole galley was silent save for Nami, who was telling the Heart Pirates—save for a few who’d been sent out on last-minute errands—all about her crew’s wild adventure on Skypiea.

“…so, after Luffy beat the crap out of him, Enel flew off to the moon in his gold airship, and we escaped the island with the help of an octopus balloon, our ship loaded with treasure!”

There was a pregnant pause as the Hearts stared at her in a mix of awe and disbelief. She’d had their undivided attention ever since Law announced that the Straw Hats had found Noland’s lost city of gold, all but demanding she tell the tale and not skimp on the details.

Naturally, those details made the story even more bizarre, practically unbelievable, but she gave them what they asked for, so they couldn’t complain. Even Law’s jaw had dropped once or twice in incredulity. Mostly at the part where Luffy’d been eaten by a giant snake and thus been hidden from Enel’s senses.

Finally, a few of the crew managed to find their voices.

“An orangutan nearly wrecked your ship with singing?” Shachi asked, face utterly baffled.

Penguin grabbed his hat and smacked him over the head with it. “That’s what you’re stuck on? That’s from way back in the beginning of the story!”

The ginger punched him in the shoulder in retaliation, which quickly devolved into a childish slap fight. “Well it’s weird, ok?”

“Weirder than Straw Hat punching Kami or the knock-up stream business or the ship that flew to the moon?”

“Yeah! You ever met an orangutan that could sing?!”

“No, but that’s not the point!”

“You met Monte Blac Cricket?” Ermine interrupted, eyes so wide the whites could be seen even under the rim of their hat, though their mouth quickly split into a smile. “Holy shit, I’d wondered what had happened to him!”

“Wasn’t he your friend or something?” Seiuchi asked through a mouth full of rice.

They shook their head, looking a little wistful, a faint blush rising to their cheeks. “Just a neighbor. The people of Lvneel were dicks to his family and anyone who associated with them didn’t get treated much better. But I always thought there had to be some truth to Noland’s story.”

“Because a city of gold is so fantastical it’s gotta be real?” Nami asked, amused. She’d half-expected everyone to laugh at her like the people on Jaya when she’d asked about Sky Island—she’d even glossed over that part, finding no reason to recap such a blow to her pride. Yet instead, they’d been respectful, even entranced by her tale. It seemed to help that she’d been able to fill in a few blanks with what she remembered from Noland’s ledger, thus adding credibility to the man himself instead of just imagining the lying fool the king’s slander had reduced him to.

Usopp would probably love these guys, she thought fondly. Not that they’d likely believe his fantastical lies, but they’d probably at least let him spin his yarns to his heart’s content.

“Because you don’t tell a king about a city of gold unless you’ve got something to show for it,” Uni interjected wisely, ladling some more curry onto her plate. He paused to smile at her with his eyes, the bottom half of his face still distinctly covered by his bandana despite it being dinnertime. This close, Nami couldn’t help but try to subtly look for signs of scarring, and in fact could spot a line of slightly-paler skin peeking out just over the edge. “That, and history’s rarely all that accurate. Full of lies and twisted to suit a certain narrative.”

“That’s the World Government way. I’m sure we’ll see plenty of it tonight,” Law stated, leaning back in his chair as he munched on some onigiri. The bulge in his cheek might have been comical, but the glint in his eye was humorless. “Can’t wait to hear the dumbass assumptions people make about us Northerners.”

Murmurs of agreement echoed throughout the room, though an angry tic formed on Nami’s forehead.

“Are you saying the stuff you had me study is going to be a load of crap?” she demanded, pointing her finger accusingly. Of course she knew history was skewed at best, but she’d spent days cramming! Had weird sexual dreams about him because of it!

Yes she was blaming the book for that and no one could stop her.

He shrugged and took another bite of rice, unbothered by her irritation. “It’s the information you’ll need to be able to regurgitate if anyone asks you about the North.”

“Yeah,” Penguin chimed in, nodding sagely. He and Shachi had finally been pulled apart by Jean Bart and had resumed eating like nothing had happened. “These people aren’t interested in the truth. They just want to feel superior to the ‘uneducated masses’.”

“Buncha pretentious pricks,” Shachi sniggered, balancing a spoon on his upper lip. “Bet they’d have a fucking fit if they found out El Dorodo’s not only real, but in the fucking sky!”

“I mean, can’t say I’d blame them,” Jude grumbled, playing a bit with his food like a grumpy child. “I figured we’d be the ones to find it, but this whole time we’ve been sailing around in a submarine for nothing!”

“You got something to say about my ship?” Ikkaku snapped, glaring at her crewmate. Behind her, Crozier, Cousteau, and Ermine made slashing motions across their throats, silently reminding him that disparaging the Polar Tang in any way in front of its chief engineer was a sure death sentence.

Before he could say anything, Uni thwapped him on the forehead with the spoon, apparently taking just as much offense. “How can you say it’s been for nothing—we’ve found tons of cool shit down here! May not have been El Dorado, but there have been some amazing sunken cities. And fish! We’ve discovered more aquatic animals than any other ocean explorer,” he pointed out excitedly, Cousteau nodding in agreement. “I mean, we’ve seen deep-sea fish not recorded in any book! Extracted hallucinogenic venom from puffer fish! Taken samples of bioluminescent plankton! We’ve seen octopi punch fish!”

“You ever figure out why they do that?” Shachi asked, cocking his head.

“Best I can figure? Spite.”

As weird as this little tangent was, Nami found herself giggling a bit at how excited Uni was. She didn’t know him too well, given how he was one of the quieter, more reserved members of the crew, but it was endearing to see him so animated and giddy as he discussed marine life.

“Plus, it’s cool to study navigational currents and everything, and underwater topography. The maps I can make from that kind of intel are really good,” Bepo added, twiddling his claws a bit beside her.

“Right! And if that’s still not enough to convince you, who needs a city of gold when you can get your hands on more sunken treasure than most pirates see in their lifetimes?” Uni asked, puffing out his chest.

She couldn’t help it—Nami’s eyes lit up with belli signs at the thought of how many sunken ships the submarine probably came across, all that gold theirs for the taking. Most treasure was basically lost once it hit the bottom of the ocean, but the Hearts’ ship and diving equipment turned the ocean floor into their personal piggy bank.

It seemed Jude had the same thought. “You’re right, you’re right,” he conceded, rubbing the back of his neck. “Sorry, it’s a great ship, and we’ve definitely found more than a city’s worth of loot—and yes the fish are cool Uni put the spoon away—but it’s still annoying to find out that we’ve been searching the wrong place this whole time.”

“Eh, happens to every pirate crew,” Jean Bart said, sipping his drink. “You find a treasure map only to discover the gold’s already dug up. Same with legends of lost cities. The fact that the Straw Hats actually found El Dorado and came away with a profit just means they’ve got the Devil’s luck on their side.”

“Or the favor of some god. Probably not that Enel guy, though,” Shachi said with a smirk. “And hopefully nothing from Joras, either.”

There was a murmur of agreement among the crew at that, though Ikkaku looked more uncomfortable than amused. Nami wasn’t the only one to catch that, though, as Uni reproachfully smacked the side of his head with the spoon.

“Dude. Don’t joke about the eldritch horror gods, yeah?”

“Sorry,” the ginger said, blushing slightly as he wiped away the curry splattered across his face.

“Eldritch horror gods?” Nami asked, recoiling at the thought. What the fuck?! Joras sounded vaguely familiar and given the context she guessed it had to be someplace in the North Blue, but she sure as hell didn’t recall reading anything about that! Was this something related to Northern culture, or were the guys just fucking with her?

“Nothing to worry your pretty little head over, Nami-ya,” Law stated with a smirk, though she didn’t miss the glare he sent Shachi’s way. “We’ve been sailing under the ocean for over five years and I’ve yet to see a sleeping god who can turn you mad with terror.”

“No, just an underwater ruin or two that talks about him,” Ikkaku muttered, picking at her food.

Underwater ruins with tales of sleeping gods? Sounds like something Robin would be interested in, Nami thought, nervous sweat running down her neck. Not that she’d be able to blame her. Sure, the archeologist was macabre as hell, but Nami could appreciate her thirst for knowledge, creepy or not. Who knew what history and cultures had been lost to the seas? Maybe there were even Poneglyphs down at the bottom of the ocean!

Damn. Robin and Law would probably get along great. She wasn’t sure if she was frightened or comforted by this thought.

Uni seemed to notice her unease and patted her shoulder. “We’ve seen some strange stuff down there, but nothing more dangerous than Sea Kings. Which, I mean, aren’t exactly friendly guppies, but they’ll leave us be. The Tang’s Seastone coating and electrical defenses ensure that.”

Though she still found the whole concept horrifying, she was appreciated how hard Uni was trying to keep the peace and not make things needlessly frightening for her. The whole crew had a morbid sense of humor, but while she’d mostly adapted, she still found this whole conversation creepy. It made her feel a little guilty for wanting to pry into his business. Yeah, it was annoying to know the crew was hiding stuff from her, but Uni deserved a little privacy, right?

“Yeah, and if there were anything more, Uni’s fish buddies would warn us ahead of time!” Malamute added.

“Fish buddies?” Nami asked, eyebrows lifting to her hairline in surprise. So much for respecting his privacy. “Wait, can you talk to fish?”

The man in question stiffened beside her. “I, uh, I can understand fish a little,” he said, looking nervous. His large hands twisted the napkin in his lap, and he refused to look at her. “It’s a Haki thing.”

“Haki can do that?” she asked, surprised.

“Observation Haki can do a lot of things, and Uni’s the best at it on the ship,” Law cut in harshly, glare brokering no argument. “It’s a skill that’s saved our asses plenty of times.”

Nami blanched at his defensive tone. “Hey, I’ll take your word for it, but you don’t have to act like I insulted his mother or something.”

“It’s ok, Law,” Uni said, shrugging a bit, though his face seemed to sink a little further into his bandana. “I know she didn’t mean anything by it. It’s a fair question, and it is a weird talent.”

“It’s not weird. It’s fucking useful as hell and I won’t hear anyone belittling my crew.”

“I’d never belittle him—” Nami snapped, starting to stand up to give Law a piece of her mind before Bepo’s heavy paws fell on her shoulders, gently but firmly keeping her seated.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized softly. “Law doesn’t mean you. It’s just…the last person outside the crew that found out, he was extremely cruel about it. Beat Uni to a pulp and even threatened to sell him as a freak show attraction before Captain found them.”

“Oh my god,” she replied, anger cooling quickly as she covered her mouth in horror, imagining Uni bruised and bloody on the ground at the hands of some bastard. Well, that would sure as hell explain why Law had taken such offense. If such a thing had happened to Chopper because he could speak to animals, she’d likely be just as pissed. From the scowls on the rest of the Hearts’ faces, the whole crew felt similar. Her gaze flicked to the fuming captain. “I’m guessing he ended up on your operating table?”

“I wish,” he growled, gold eyes glinting in fury as he crossed his arms. “Marines showed up before I could cut out his heart. Must have been his lucky day, but luck won’t be enough to save him if I ever run into Hyena-ya again.”

“Hyena?” she asked, the name not ringing any bells.

“Bellamy the Hyena,” Bepo explained, snout wrinkling in distaste. “He’s also from the North.”

Oh. My. God, Nami thought, wondering if the world was really so small. “You said Bellamy, right? Blonde hair? Spring powers? Asshole with a stupid grin?”

Law cocked an eyebrow in mild surprise. “Seems you’ve encountered him before.”

She ground her teeth as she remembered the way he’d mocked Luffy’s dreams in the bar. “Yeah. On Jaya. His crew laughed at me for asking about Sky Island and his first mate tried to buy me. Later he stole Cricket’s gold, so Luffy went after him. I didn’t see the fight but given what an ass that guy was…yeah, Luffy wiped that stupid smile off his face.”

Once more the room fell silent, but quickly broke out into thunderous applause.

“Hah! I would have paid good money to see that!” Ikkaku laughed, spirits lifted.

“If he hurt Cricket, I’m glad he got the beating he deserved,” Ermine said with a grin.

Uni smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling happily. “When you see Straw Hat again, shake his hand for me! That guy’s a dick.”

Even Law was put in a better mood, though there was still a malicious edge to his smirk. “Good on Mugiwara-ya. Still wouldn’t mind doing some permanent damage to the fucker myself, though. Bad enough he insulted my crew, but that bastard should pick his idols more carefully.”

Nami’s brow furrowed at that. His idols? The hell did that mean?

She didn’t have time to vocalizing that question, though. Sweat ran down her neck when said smirk then took a more lecherous edge as he rested his chin on his fist, eyes glinting with mischief. “But Sarquiss-ya tried to buy you? I might have prioritize kicking his ass, then. I’m the only one who gets to be your sugar daddy.”

“Oh shut up! You didn’t even buy me new shoes!”

“You got her a suit but no shoes? For shame, Boss,” Ikkaku giggled, getting up to help Seiuchi and Jude clear the tables. “I thought you were supposed to be a ladies’ man.”

“I’m a cruel bastard who doesn’t do something for nothing. She can borrow yours.”

Sauntering over, she playfully poked him in the forehead. “Says who?”

Law snorted and childishly poked her right back. “Me. Your captain. The guy who pays your salary.”

“You pay me to keep the submarine running and sass you when you’re being an idiot.”

“I don’t pay you for that.”

“Mmmm, you’re right; that’s a service I provide for free.”

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say those two were siblings,” Nami chuckled under her breath.

“Right? When I was first recruited I was convinced they were secretly related,” Uni agreed.

Bepo gave them both a smile and said quietly, “I think it’s good for them. Especially Law. I think he secretly likes having a little sister again.”

Brown eyes widened at that little tidbit. Law had a sister? What happened to her? Bepo had stated the past tense, so there was either some kind of falling out or…

…oh no, she thought, turning to watch Law continue to bicker good-naturedly with Ikkaku, his expression annoyed but the glimmer in his eyes belying that he was enjoying himself. Another piece of the puzzle that was the Surgeon of Death had fallen into her lap, but it wasn’t a particularly happy one. Sure, people died or were killed all the time, but Nami couldn’t imagine what she’d be like if she’d lost Nojiko. And depending on how young they’d been or how she’d died, that could really fuck with a guy.

“Nami-ya.”

Her attention was yanked from her musing as Law called her name. He was on his feet, plate clean and smirk dangerous as he regarded her. Nami wondered whether this would be the last time she’d see him in a genuinely good mood for the rest of the evening. “It’s seven o’clock. Time to get ready to watch history be defiled by pretentious morons. And for your obnoxious thunder god’s sake, make sure you’re wearing shoes you can actually run in.”

( @ninhaoma-ya, @awesomi, @vannahfanfics)