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perhaps-in-anotherdream · 6 months ago

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[CN] Li Zeyan’s Candlelight Date (Eng Translation)

⌚Warning⌚ This post contains detailed spoilers for a date, 烛火之约, that is yet to be released on the global server! ♡

[Translation Under the Cut]

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【Subbed Video】

youtube

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【Chapter 1】

After being stuck in traffic for over forty minutes on the way to the airport, I slam on the brakes once again, staring in despair at the unmoving stream of cars ahead.

The weather outside is gloomy, the sky overcast with heavy dark clouds, and the wind howls through the crevices of the car windows.

Even though the evening has barely fallen, the sky is already darkened completely.

MC: Feels like it’s gonna be pouring hard...

MC: I don’t know if Li Zeyan’s flight has been affected.

Just as I am about to look up the flight information, his call comes in.

LZY: I’ve arrived.

MC: That’s great! It looks like there’s gonna be a heavy downpour outside, so thank goodness you landed on time.

MC: On the downside, though, I’m stuck in traffic...

LZY: Given the weather, I could guess that already.

LZY: Don’t rush, safety first. Turn on your headlights and take your time.

MC: Don’t worry, I promise to follow the traffic rules~ So, I must apologize to CEO Li and ask him to wait for me a little longer~

LZY: No worries, I’ll just take this time to think about what to make for Pudding.

The day Li Zeyan is returning from his business trip also happens to be Pudding’s birthday, and we’ve planned to have a small celebration at home.

As I picture Li Zeyan making a birthday cake for the little kitten, the corners of my lips involuntarily curl upwards.

MC: Pudding’s parents are so thoughtful! The little birthday boy is blessed with the luck of tasty treats today.

MC: Rest assured, I’ll definitely get you to Pudding safely and in one piece.

LZY: With a certain someone “braving the wind and waves” to come pick me up, I’m already luckier than those who can’t get a cab.

MC: Hehe, this time it’s my turn to be the prince who cuts their way through thorns and thistles to rescue the sleeping princess!

LZY: Well, it seems like I’ll have to wait a hundred years then.

MC: ...you just told me to take my time.

A soft chuckle transmits from the other end of the phone, and carried by the car’s stereo, it spreads through the entire space, giving me the illusion as if he is right next to me.

LZY: It’s not contradictory.

LZY: Even if it takes you a hundred years, I’ll still wait.

–

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[Tidbits]: This conversation here is a reference to one of Li Zeyan’s earliest ASMRs, “Sleeping Beauty,” where LZY said in response to MC’s question that if he were the prince, he wouldn’t let the girl he loves wait a hundred years. Whereas, in the reverse scenario here, he tells you that if he were the sleeping princess and you the prince, he would gladly wait a hundred years (இдஇ; ) though, for a man who literally did wait 17+10000(*n) years for you— a hundred years is, well, still unbearable to think about ahah (ﾉಥ益ಥ)

–

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【Chapter 2】

I park the car near the exit, and as soon as I look up, I see Li Zeyan walking towards me, dragging his suitcase.

I immediately push open the car door and run up to him, throwing myself into his arms as hard as I can. Both his hands are occupied by luggage, and I collide against him so hard that he staggers back a few steps.

His familiar scent wraps around me securely, instantly dispelling all the tension and fatigue from the road. I nuzzle against his chest contentedly, earning a soft chuckle from above my head.

LZY: Why the lack of courtesy right off the bat?

MC: I haven’t seen you for days, and I’ve made our big busy person wait so long. I can’t afford to be polite anymore.

Li Zeyan smiles, lets go of the luggage, and draws me into his arms, lowering himself to rest his head on my shoulder.

A soft sigh sounds next to my ear, and I sense how exhausted he is. I put aside my playful thoughts and stroke the back of his head.

MC: I hoped you could get some rest after getting off the plane, but I didn’t expect this weather…

MC: I’ll head out earlier next time!

LZY: You already got here much faster than I expected.

LZY: Let’s go, there’s a birthday boy waiting at home. It’s raining hard outside; I’ll drive on the way back.

┈┈┈┈┈┈ ✄ ┈┈┈┈┈┈

As we head home, rain begins pouring down in torrents. Even with the wipers operating at their highest speed, the visibility only clears for a fleeting moment.

Through the impenetrable curtain of rain, the emergency lights of nearby vehicles flicker faintly. The water pooling on the ground reflects the surroundings like mirrors, and the streets have transformed into an utterly bizarre kaleidoscopic labyrinth.

I hold up my phone to record the scene outside the window when suddenly, a blinding flash of lightning splits the sky not far away, followed by a rolling thunder approaching from the distance, pressing closer and closer.

I can’t help but shrink my neck and set my phone down.

MC: This weather is just ridiculous… I’m sure today’s Moments posts are gonna be flooded with candid shots of the rainstorm.

LZY: A certain someone has made significant strides.

LZY: A few years back, you would get so nervous in this kind of weather that you’d grab onto other people’s clothes. Now, you'd just make a fuss about it on Moments.

MC: Huh? When did I grab onto your clothes?

I turn my head to look at him with a puzzled expression. Li Zeyan glances at me, and before he can even speak, a smile creeps onto the corners of his lips.

LZY: That time when you asked me if I dared to like you.

I freeze for a second, the familiar feeling of nervousness and anticipation surging to the forefront of my mind.

Memories flood back along with the warmth of my cheeks, as I’m reminded of a similar night in the past mirroring this raging storm.

The pitch-black darkness that descended after the power outage was so thick that one wouldn’t even be able to make out their own hand in front of them. I felt like danger, and the unknown would swallow me whole at any moment. But he was there with me, accompanying me for what felt like an eternity on that apocalyptic night.

Back then, I felt like I couldn’t handle it on my own, so I wanted to cling to a straw, to hold onto this steady and exceptionally gentle person beside me.

Snapping out of the reminiscence, I clear my throat to dispel my embarrassment.

MC: Y-You don’t need to remember such things so clearly!

MC: But come to think of it, ever since I met you, I don’t seem to have gotten rained on much.

MC: Even if I forget my umbrella or can’t catch a ride, you always manage to “scoop” me up right on time.

LZY: So, as a result, a certain someone has developed the bad habit of not checking the weather forecast before going out?

MC: …It clearly taught me the good habit of how to “scoop” people up in crucial moments!

The car stops at the intersection, waiting for the traffic light. Li Zeyan casts a glance my way, his lips curving into a smile as he strokes my head.

LZY: Given that the person “scooping” me up is also the one I want to see, it does feel pretty good.

His warm palm rests on my head for a moment before sliding down to my cheek with yearning. A small sense of satisfaction leaps in my heart, and I smile, poking his cheek.

MC: I think I can understand why the prince braves countless perils to reach the princess.

MC: For this moment right now, I’m willing to endure any hardship~

–

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[Tidbits]: The call-back of the apocalyptic night is from one of Li Zeyan’s earliest dates, “Doomsday Date,” where MC asks him if he’d dare to like her and if he’d dare to be by her side even if doomsday arrived – and the rest, as they say, is history, quite literally in this case ahah~ (இдஇ; )

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【Chapter 3】

“Bzzz!”

As I step through the doorway and flip the switch for the pendant lamp, to my surprise, the light flickers and then abruptly goes out.

The inside of the house is instantly taken over by the dimness from outside the windows. Pudding, who was originally crouching at the door to welcome us, lets out a yelp and scurries under the table.

My mind automatically starts concocting a horror movie scenario, and I immediately step back a few paces.

MC: What did the power suddenly go out? It was perfectly fine before I left...

My words are barely out of my mouth when a series of extremely bright streaks of lightning flash outside the window.

The howling gale rattles the window frames, while the water pipes exposed to the downpour on the side of the building, pelted by large raindrops, are making peculiar noises.

The continuous flashes of lightning project the wildly swaying shadows of the trees onto the floor, making the storm outside seem even more terrifying.

Li Zeyan sighs and steps forward, taking hold of my hand that is frozen in mid-air.

LZY: Are there any spare lights or flashlights in the house?

MC: Yes, there are, in my room...

While saying this, I clutch Li Zeyan’s arm and carefully start walking towards my room. A hand reaches out and pulls me into a familiar embrace.

LZY: Wasn’t a certain someone “scooping people up” pretty amazingly just now? Why are you so nervous now that we’re home?

MC: ...I guess I’ve been overdoing it with the horror movies lately, and the after-effects are still a bit strong.

I laugh awkwardly and, relying on the dim light of the flashlight, dig out a large, bulging bag from the storage box.

MC: Rechargeable desk lamps, some decorative fairy lights, and lanterns.

MC: They should work if we plug them into the power bank.

LZY: ...That’s it?

MC: They can provide light and serve as tools to set the ambiance. Isn’t that wonderful?

Li Zeyan turns on a palm-sized rechargeable desk lamp and releases a small sigh.

LZY: In that case, the gift I brought you can also be included to make up the difference.

MC: Huh? What gift?

Li Zeyan rummages through his suitcase, takes out an exquisitely wrapped box, and gestures for me to open it.

I lean in closer and find a very charming candle holder with a glass cover nestled inside.

MC: It’s so beautiful! As expected, CEO Li’s eye for things can never go wrong.

LZY: Simultaneously doing the job of adding flowers to the brocade and delivering charcoal in snowy weather一 it definitely seems to be maximizing its value.

LZY: Come on, let’s go and light up all the lamps that we can use first.

┈┈┈┈┈┈ ✄ ┈┈┈┈┈┈

With me “lending a hand” by holding the flashlight through the entire process, dinner and Pudding’s salmon cake are soon prepared.

Pudding, who had been hiding in the corner this entire time, also forgets his fear under the temptation of delectable food and begins prancing around again.

After eating and drinking to our fill, I sit on the carpet with another small blanket, light a scented candle, and carefully set it in the candle holder Li Zeyan gifted me.

Li Zeyan then casually plops down at the foot of the bed where I’m leaning, naturally stretching out his arm for me to use as a pillow.

I look at Pudding grooming his fur not far away and can’t help but sigh with emotion.

MC: Time sure flies! Pudding has grown another year older. I wonder what progress he’ll make this year.

LZY: He wasn’t very brave when he was younger, but now he, too, looks after the house on his own and appears to be fairly calm and composed.

MC: Why did you use “too“? I suspect you’re insinuating something about someone else.

LZY: Just stating facts.

LZY: The way a certain someone acted when she walked into the house earlier didn’t exactly resemble the “prince“ who came to pick me up.

I glance again at the flashes of lightning and thunder rolling outside again, scratching my cheek awkwardly.

MC: The house just went dark all of a sudden; I wasn’t mentally prepared.

LZY: What about now?

LZY: Are you still scared?

I turned sideways to watch him. The dancing candlelight paints his side profile in a warm glow, and the subtle fragrance of the scented candle melds into his calm gaze, making me gradually relax.

I hug his arm and pull him into my arms, beaming a wide smile at him.

MC: I have my “fragrant princess“ in my arms now, and I fear neither getting swept by wind nor being battered by rain any longer. [3]

LZY: Are we sure about who’s in whose arms?

MC: Does it really make a difference who’s in whose arms?

Li Zeyan gives me a look that says “whatever you say,” and I smile victoriously at having my way before turning to glance at the pitch-black darkness outside the window.

The small lights in the room are mirrored on the glass, reminiscent of stars, blurring into a cluster of halos by the unrelenting rain.

Serenity and turmoil are separated by only a wall. I grasp his wrist and tilt my head, pillowing into his palm and nuzzling against it.

MC: Luckily, you came back today. Otherwise, I would have definitely dragged you into “simmering a pot of telephone congee” with me all night long. [4]

LZY: That wouldn’t have been too bad either.

MC: Well, that’s true, but it would have made me seem like I haven’t grown at all...

I raise my head and look into his slightly puzzled gaze, feeling a little embarrassed as I lower my voice.

MC: I’m clearly not a child anymore, and many of the things I used to fear shouldn’t be a big deal now.

MC: Yet when running into situations where I’m not entirely confident, I can’t help feeling a little afraid.

MC: For instance, a pitch-dark empty house, not being able to find the kitten, and a thunderstorm that I don’t know when will end.

MC: I still can’t seem to be like you, to be able to keep myself from thinking the worst regardless of the kind of situation I’m confronted with...

I soliloquize in a whispered tone, and the palm I’m resting my head on suddenly moves. I look up, and my fingers are immediately swept up in a reassuring warmth.

Li Zeyan is pillowing himself on my bolster, covered by a blanket that is clearly not big enough for him, creating for a rather comical scene. Yet, I find myself solely captivated by his extraordinarily serious gaze.

He quietly watches me like this for some time before finally opening his mouth to respond.

LZY: Then just be afraid.

MC: ...Huh?

LZY: Building courage doesn’t mean you should be absolutely fearless.

LZY: If you have no reaction to the unknown and uncontrollable, that, on the contrary, is dangerous.

LZY: For a dummy, knowing how to dodge in the right direction at a critical moment is also progress.

He strokes the back of my hand meaningfully, and I clasp his fingers even more tightly in tacit understanding.

In moments of fear and anxiety, I always want to hold onto something, to reassure myself that I’m not facing it alone.

And this man in front of me, as fortune would have it, always happens to be within my reach, catching my insecurities and leading me along slowly.

I think back to the first time I “grabbed onto” him, the gentleness in his tone that I had rarely seen, and I can’t help but laugh.

MC: Well then, it seems I’ve been making progress since the first time I grabbed onto your clothes.

LZY: Mm-hmm, it hasn’t been easy.

MC: But I can only advance a little bit at a time. I’ve kept you waiting for so long.

The corners of his lips curl up slightly, and his eyes, sparkling with a smile, gently embrace me.

LZY: This isn’t work; nobody is asking anything from you.

LZY: If you’re afraid, just light up a lamp.

–

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[Tidbits]

[3] LI ZEYAN WRITERS!!! CRIES AT THE SACRIFICE I HAD TO MAKE AND HOW THE BEAUTY OF THE WORDPLAY JUST GETS LOST IN TRANSLATION HERE 😭 anywho, as you might’ve already noticed, “rescuing the sleeping princess“ theme and the “seeming“ role reversal has been one of the running themes of this date. The term used here is 软香 (lit. meaning soft fragrance), which is usually used to refer to the delicate scent of a woman or a woman in general and, in the context of the times, a palace beauty. The full term MC uses here is 软香在怀 (lit. meaning having ‘soft fragrance’ in one’s arms), which also conveys a deep emotional closeness, a sense of security and comfort as scent is something very sensitive. What the writing does here is kill three birds with one stone— (i) conveying MC’s “prince and princess role reversal“ quip, while also delivering the emotions of the candlelight monologue two sentences prior, i.e., (ii) the fragrance melding into his calm gaze, the vivid imagery of her sensitivity to his presence itself, (iii) the reassuring effect of his being.

[4] I’m gonna cry; this is such an adorable expression haha 😭 the term MC uses here is “煲电话粥,” which really does mean “simmering telephone congee.” The idea of it is to have a marathon phone call with sb, but it’s more intimate— similar to how simmering sth can take a long time and porridge essentially is a comfort food 😂

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【Chapter 4】

The night is dark, and the rain seems to have weakened a bit. I hug the blanket and squeeze onto the small bed with Li Zeyan. No matter in which position we lay down, most of our bodies are pressed against each other.

I watch the person beside me becoming a part of the scene I’ve been familiar with since my childhood days, and for a long time, I find myself unwilling to close my eyes.

MC: It feels so surreal to have you and Pudding together at my place.

MC: It’s like having guests at home, but at the same time, it feels like welcoming new members to the family.

LZY: So, which one do you hope I am?

MC: I’ve long regarded you as the latter in my heart, obviously.

MC: However, this situation makes me seem like I’m not being a gracious host...

MC: Having to deal with the bad weather is one thing, but who knew the electricity in the house would be unstable at a critical moment, and now my bed isn’t big enough either.

I look up at the small pink pillow under Li Zeyan’s head and sigh softly. Li Zeyan, however, just smiles calmly and brushes aside the hair falling over my face.

MC: Be careful when you roll over. If you’re afraid of falling off, just hug me a little tighter~

LZY: [i’m cRY at how he just plays along with you haha] It’s certainly something to be afraid of.

Li Zeyan says this as he gets up to turn off the lights, and the room is plunged into darkness once again.

I reach out my arms towards him and am immediately swept back into his arms.

MC: Thank you, CEO Li~ How about I repay you with a goodnight kiss?

LZY: That’s it?

MC: Then what else do you want?

I blink my eyes at him, and suddenly, he lifts his hand to cover my sight.

A soft warmth captures my lips, swallowing my confusion.

He holds me too tightly in the square of his arms, and his broad palm accidentally presses on my nose, causing my already erratic breathing to become even more difficult to maintain.

I punch him indignantly, and Li Zeyan finally moves his hand away, his fingers cradling my face.

LZY: Didn’t you say you wanted to repay me?

MC: T-This isn’t what I had in mind!

LZY: Is this not good?

His warm finger pads caress the side of my face in a back-and-forth motion, leaving me with no refuge to escape but to gaze into his smiling eyes.

LZY: Instead of letting your imagination run wild every time you’re scared, why not think about something that can put your mind at ease?

LZY: For example, me.

LZY: So, consider this as collecting a tip in advance to cover your memories.

A soft chuckle drifts from above me, and he lifts my face again. With the last hint of light also overlaid, I close my eyes, welcoming this novel memory pertaining to the night’s darkness.

┈┈┈┈┈┈ ✄ ┈┈┈┈┈┈

The next morning, the sky finally clears up.

The entire city looks as if it has taken a bath. Under the early morning sunlight, there are glittering lights refracted by water droplets everywhere.

I summon every bit of my self-control and more to extract myself from Li Zeyan’s warm embrace and rise early to make breakfast.

Originally, I planned to have him take the day off and recover from jet lag, but as soon as he gets out of bed, he receives a call from LFG, saying there is an urgent matter that needs to be dealt with in person.

I watch as a certain someone at the dining table finishes his breakfast with a sullen look on his face and can’t help but burst into laughter.

MC: Who knew even CEO Li could show such a “rebellious” expression about having to work overtime.

LZY: ...It’s just that I haven’t gotten over the jet lag yet.

MC: Who told you not to sleep obediently last night?

I stand up with a laugh before he can glare at me and push his suitcase to the door for him. Li Zeyan dons his coat, seems to hesitate for a moment, and then turns back to look at me.

MC: What’s wrong?

LZY: Nothing.

MC: It doesn’t seem like you’ve left anything behind, have you?

I look around to check while speaking, but I realize that Li Zeyan has kept his gaze trained on me, with no intention of searching for anything.

I blink my eyes, and an adorable guess bubbles up in my heart.

MC: Could it be that... CEO Li is unwilling to leave?

Li Zeyan grips the handle of the suitcase, averts his eyes, and smiles.

LZY: Let Pudding stay at your place for one more day.

MC: No worries, we’ll get along perfectly.

He doesn’t give a direct answer to my question, so I take it as his tacit assent and continue along with his words.

LZY: He ate quite a lot last night, so feed him less cat food today.

MC: Understood~

LZY: Be careful with the electricity today, and if you run into any issues, reach out to me right away.

MC: Uh-huh, anything else you want to remind me of?

I stare at him, smiling giddily. Li Zeyan opens his mouth, but in the end, he just displays a helpless expression and says nothing.

The rare instance of not being able to find the words to say, the rare moments of being dumbstruck and not knowing how to reply, the rare scenario of dragging his feet about going to work...

All of this shows that he is really unwilling to leave.

I smile even happier and tiptoe up to lock my arms around his neck.

Li Zeyan seems a bit puzzled, but he promptly supports my waist and arches an eyebrow, waiting for me to continue.

MC: Hehe, consider this as a tip you’re paying in advance.

MC: This way, whenever you feel overwhelmed in the future, you will think of only me.

I mimic his words from last night, and even reach up to muss his hair.

LZY: Little copycat.

Li Zeyan seems to want to resist this “childish” act subconsciously, but his arms betray his honest feelings and draw me in even tighter.

He looks at me with a silly smile on my face, about to say something when I suddenly feel a tickle on my ankle, as if something furry is rubbing against it.

Just as I’m about to look down, my face is pinched by someone.

I’m compelled to raise my head and see the sunlight falling on Li Zeyan.

The locks of hair hanging over his forehead and eyelashes are all bathed in dazzling, golden-bright luster. He reminds one of a big cat who has just woken up, making people irresistibly want to get closer to him.

And he does exactly as I wished, taking the initiative to bring this warmth to me.

The distance between us is reduced to zero, and I naturally close my eyes, welcoming this kiss infused with the warmth of the sunlight.

Even if a person grows accustomed to the humidity of this city, they will still rejoice when the sky clears and the sunshine beams down.

Even for those who can see the person they love every day and kiss them whenever they want, they will still find that any small separation feels too long.

The meow of the kitten rises from our feet, as if it also wants to participate in this wordless goodbye. I gently bite Li Zeyan’s lips, and he, rather reluctantly, pulls back just a bit.

MC: Mr. Customer, you’re being too generous with your tip.

With his eyes cast down, he continues to gaze at me, his breath still lingering at the edge of my lips.

LZY: Because I’ve already fulfilled the conditions you set.

LZY: Now that I’ve paid double the tip, I’m asking for an upgrade on the terms.

He raises an eyebrow, as if he is genuinely negotiating with me.

At such proximity, my mind is already a muddled mess, yet I still manage to capture the answer he desires from the look of yearning in his eyes.

I strive to muster my willpower, rise on tiptoe, and kiss his lips again.

MC: Then you must work diligently and clock out early...

MC: And who knows, perhaps I’ll suddenly appear when you’re missing me?

──────────────────────────────────────────

#i'm just laughing at how paper thought- “hey you know we haven't shown the heroine's place in Li Zeyan's dating verse since December 2021–#– let's acknowledge it still exISTs i guess” LMAO 😂#i actually love how the date mentions MC's old apartment is special to her b/c it holds memories of her childhood- 🥺#also all the nods to why the thunderstorm actually makes MC jittery still. THE LIGHTNING INCIDENT & REASON FOR THEIR CHILDHOOD SEPARATION😭#all the callbacks!! A DOING THE DEED SCENE IN A SR DATE!! POUTY LI ZEYAN. OWH TO GET TO LIVE THE DAY WHEN LI ZEYAN DOESN'T WANT TO WORK 😂#OOFF SO MUCH COMFORT AND WARMTH!! i'll prolly just make a thread on twitter later to talk about the details i wanna talk about haha #also BELATED HAPPY BIRTHDAYYY PUDDING BBY!! 🥳 you really do have the best parents in the world haha 💗#mlqc victor #mlqc li zeyan #mlqc #mr love victor #mr love queen's choice #恋与制作人 #李泽言 #love and producer #mlqc cn #mlqc spoilers #mlqc translations #Youtube

184 notes · View notes

nyoomerr · 10 months ago

Note

Only if you want but phantom thief! Binghe x rich boy Shen Yuan, heir to a famous jeweler/jewerly store business.

It can be Bingge or Binghe, whatever you want! Love your work!

dont mind me using this as a sort-of warm up for writing a much bigger bingge pov binggeyuan thing ehehe 😌 ty for sending this prompt in!

---

Luo Binghe does not get caught. It’s in his title, even - a phantom thief, completely untouchable.

Well, perhaps not completely untouchable. After all, many times the most efficient way to get his hands on a particularly valuable set of jewelry is to let the lady wearing it put her hands on him. Flirtations and bold fondling in a dark corner of a party, hands on the woman’s face and shoulders and the diamond necklace around her neck -

Normal things for someone in Luo Binghe’s line of work, really, when that someone looks the way Luo Binghe does. Charm is as indispensable a tool as a lockpick.

It’s only a tool that Luo Binghe dares to use when he knows it will be well received, though. Unwelcome advances are more likely to get a mark to grow more defensive on all lines, not just towards sexual advances, and then the whole job gets more difficult. Still not impossible - not for Luo Binghe - but Luo Binghe has a messy habit of turning theft into murder when he’s faced with rejection.

It isn’t his fault. The people who turn Luo Binghe away - who look at him with cold disinterest and disgusted sneers plastered across their ugly, painted faces - they deserve to die. Luo Binghe is only doing the world a service.

Still, the cleanup becomes much more difficult when Luo Binghe’s mouth is stained with blood rather than smeared lipstick, so he learns to assess his marks carefully. Those that would think themselves clever and better than Luo Binghe get stolen from in the traditional sense, and they never see Luo Binghe during the process.

Shen Yuan is one such mark. Oh, Luo Binghe could break him in, probably - he watches from a distance as Shen Yuan’s eyes linger on the strong forearms of the barista who hands him his coffee, and he knows without testing that Luo Binghe could fluster such a small thing like Shen Yuan without much effort.

To actually touch Shen Yuan, however, would be far more difficult. Luo Binghe knows this much from even the most basic of background searches: Shen Yuan takes pretty girls to banquets despite never touching them, and the way he dresses… yes, Shen Yuan certainly would like to think of himself as a straight man, the poor thing. Not the sort of nut Luo Binghe cares to crack when it’s for business rather than pleasure.

Besides, most of Shen Yuan’s valuables are kept in his family’s home. The pretty things Luo Binghe could nick off Shen Yuan’s person are limited and hardly the most enticing of Shen Yuan’s things, so there’s no need to push it.

Shen Yuan will simply be the sort of mark that never sees Luo Binghe, never gets close enough to touch.

That’s the sort of mark Shen Yuan is supposed to be.

“Um,” Shen Yuan says, standing awkwardly in the doorway of the very high security office that Luo Binghe has just broken into. “Can I, um. Help you…?”

Luo Binghe stares at him. He’s just finished picking the lock on one of the glass cabinets in the office, and he knows that from Shen Yuan’s perspective he must have a very clear view of the ruby earrings that Luo Binghe had plucked from the case.

He doesn’t stare long. Hesitating only ever gets someone caught, and Luo Binghe does not get caught.

The office has no windows, so Luo Binghe will have to exit through the door that Shen Yuan is standing in. He turns to face Shen Yuan fully - he empty hand neatly plucking a few more pieces from the cabinet and tucking them in his pockets as he moves - and starts sauntering over to Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan was not meant to be one of the marks he seduced, but plans can change. He’ll just need to fluster Shen Yuan long enough to make it past him to one of the several exit plans Luo Binghe had planned.

That should be enough - Shen Yuan is only wearing an oversized shirt and boxers, clearly having gotten up from bed without dressing properly, and he doesn’t appear to be carrying anything in his hands. All that together means he’s likely not carrying his phone, and Luo Binghe knows the security schedule well enough to know that Shen Yuan yelling wouldn’t have anyone arriving quick enough to stop him.

Shen Yuan takes half a step back as Luo Binghe approaches, but he doesn’t leave the doorway. He must have some idea that he’s the only obstacle in Luo Binghe’s way, then. Luo Binghe smiles at him, only half faking the predatory look of it.

“Yuan-er,” Luo Binghe croons, and Shen Yuan shuffles back another half foot, his ears turning pink where they stick out from some truly terrible bed head.

Spoiled, Luo Binghe thinks in the privacy of his own mind, poisonous and bitter. A child who’s always been allowed laziness.

“Yuan-er, you’ve really got to put better locks on your things,” Luo Binghe says as he approaches. “Isn’t this your family’s precious legacy? That sort of thing should be protected…”

Shen Yuan’s brows furrow. Luo Binghe can very clearly read the baffled what the fuck that silently twists his lips, but Luo Binghe doesn’t react.

That’s it, little rabbit - just stand there, and let yourself be confused and taken aback by the thief in front of you, and I’ll escape before you have to worry your spoiled little head about it.

Luo Binghe is only a few paces away, now. He’ll brush past Shen Yuan’s right side to avoid getting caught on the arm he has resting on the doorway, and -

“Say please,” Shen Yuan says, glaring up at Luo Binghe as he crosses his arms.

Luo Binghe falters. “What was that, Yuan-er?”

“You’re clearly capable of sweet talk, so you should start with asking nicely before you take our shit,” Shen Yuan scoffs.

Luo Binghe stops in front of Shen Yuan, close enough that Shen Yuan has to tilt his head up to maintain eye contact with him.

He should just brush past, really. Shen Yuan is small, and Luo Binghe already knows he doesn’t have a way to raise alarm in an effective way.

Luo Binghe does not brush past.

He kind of wants to slit Shen Yuan’s throat for thinking he has any right to tell Luo Binghe to say please, sitting comfortably in the lap of luxury like he is.

“I’m impressed,” Luo Binghe says, his smile so sharp it may as well just be a baring of his teeth. “Yuan-er knows so many big words for a little princling of such an important business. Did you learn them from listening to clients speak to your daddy?”

Shen Yuan’s eye twitches. “Ah,” he says. “You’re an asshole on top of being impolite, then.”

Luo Binghe’s fingers twitch towards the switchblade in his pocket. He wouldn’t be able to clean up a body before security loops back around to this wing of the house, and Luo Binghe has already left a mess from being interrupted in the middle of his heist. He hasn’t left any fingerprints, but he can’t be sure about hair -

Shen Yuan reaches up and flicks Luo Binghe’s forehead. Luo Binghe goes dead still. That’s it, then. He’s going to kill Shen Yuan, this rich little brat -

“Oi, you’re going to ruin your pretty face with a mean expression like that,” Shen Yuan complains. “Just get out of here if you aren’t going to listen nicely - I already called security before coming over here to tell you off myself.”

Luo Binghe pulls out the switchblade, snarling down at Shen Yuan. “Oh, Yuan-er, I think there’s something much better I could ruin.”

Shen Yuan shifts uncomfortably at the sight of the blade, some of his irritation replaced with the faintest glimmer of fear. Luo Binghe pushes closer, wanting to see more - wanting to see Shen Yuan’s delicate face contorted with the sort of despair that a little lordling like him would never have known before, wanting to see him cry -

There’s footsteps from down the hall. Shen Yuan had not been bluffing; he really had called someone, then. Luo Binghe cannot guarantee he’ll be able to kill Shen Yuan quickly enough that Shen Yuan is unable to give a description of his murderer to the help before he dies.

Hesitating gets people caught. Luo Binghe does not get caught, so he brushes past Shen Yuan harshly without another moment’s pause, even though what he wants to do is something far more violent and time consuming.

Luo Binghe hasn’t failed a heist like this since he was a damn child, and this stupid little twink dares to just stand there and watch Luo Binghe run down the hallway to the nearest window instead of lay bleeding on the ground like he should be doing, Luo Binghe will come back to kill him -

“At least say thanks!” Shen Yuan calls out as Luo Binghe approaches the window. “Even if you can’t ask nicely to begin with, you should at least say thanks, ah!”

Luo Binghe ignores him. He’s busy pulling his jacket off to wrap around his arms, preparing to jump through the window’s glass in such a way that he can avoid getting cut and leaving his own blood at the scene of the crime.

“Aiya, what an asshole…” Shen Yuan is grumbling behind him. “You know, you may regret not bothering to pay me a bit more attention.”

Oh, Luo Binghe is paying attention. He’s very vividly imagining what Shen Yuan’s neck would feel between his fingers, right now, even as he backs up several steps to get a running start at the window.

The office had been on the second story, so Luo Binghe has to roll to mitigate the force of the fall. He stands quickly, does a perfunctory check of his pockets to ensure nothing fell when he hit the ground, and -

He’s missing the jewelry he nicked. He has the ruby earrings, but the others he’d stolen as he was leaving are gone. Luo Binghe searches the ground around where he’d fallen frantically; he has to move now, but he can’t leave those behind either. After all that this heist has brought, Luo Binghe can’t allow it to not even be profitable.

Above him, Shen Yuan clears his throat from the broken window. Luo Binghe whips his head up to look at him.

In one hand, Shen Yuan is holding the missing jewelry.

“I told you,” Shen Yuan says. “Jeez, as if I’m that useless.”

Luo Binghe stares up at him. No one has ever dared to steal back from Luo Binghe.

“...Aren’t you going to leave? Security really will be here soon.” Shen Yuan calls down at him. Then he pauses, and even in the darkness Luo Binghe can tell his ears have gone pink again. “...I let you keep the rubies. They, uh. Would probably go well. With you. And your eyes. And uh. Anyway, say thanks!”

“...Thanks?” Luo Binghe says, baffled and furious and still sort of itching to take his switchblade out and throw it pointy-side first at Shen Yuan’s pretty face.

“You’re welcome, asshole!” Shen Yuan calls back, clearly pleased.

Luo Binghe stares for a moment longer, then turns and runs. He will not get caught, even on nights that have gone as stupendously terrible as this one has. So long as he doesn’t get caught, there’s always next time.

So long as he doesn’t get caught, Luo Binghe can come back here, to the office of jewels he failed to get - to Shen Yuan.

Next time, Luo Binghe won’t fail.

#ok now onto the bigger bingge pov thing....#svsss #binggeyuan #bingyuan #fic drabble

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wannaeatramyeon · 1 year ago

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Adventures of YOUR part time job in the Lookismverse: Part 2

Part 1 here. G/N. You still work the graveyard shift in a convenience store. Some bizarre characters return. Part 3

Your first day on the job, your boss had told you to greet everyone that comes through the door in a cheery voice and with a customer service smile. All you could think was fuck that.

He told you it was so people could approach you for help, as if your uniform wasn't a huge flashing sign, and so potential shoplifters would be deterred. Again you think, fuck that, because at the first whiff of any danger you're going to go hide somewhere secure and out of sight. There ain't no way you're risking your life for a minimum wage part time job.

Except now you're on your own and sure it comes with a little bit of danger and wariness but you don't have to and don't plan on greeting any people again.

So you thought.

You spot him a fucking mile away. DG strides through the doors and you're not sure to ignore him completely or to say anything.

It's like he wants you to acknowledge him from the furtive glances he keeps giving you but something about his shifty behaviour makes you keep your mouth shut.

Heavens, hasn't this guy ever heard of subtle. He's in an all white get up once again, hat on, mask on and the most eye-catching blinging Chanel necklace known to man. You think you might go blind if you stare too much at it.

So does he want attention or not?

"Hi," he says, standing in front of the counter. He's empty handed.

You want to say 'Hi DG, going for discreet tonight huh?' or 'Sorry your last album sale sucked' or 'I heard they're cancelling you for bad mouthing BTS'. None of them feel right. You settle on "Welcome. How can I help?"

He asks if you recognise him this time and from the way your eyes bug out to say obviously, he then proceeds to ask how.

You pause because you don't know whether this guy is serious or whether there's a hidden camera somewhere.

After what feels like ten minutes, but in reality is probably ten seconds, you gesture at him. At everything. His hair, his white outfit, his necklace. It’s not exactly like he’s going to blend in with the crowd, is it?

He gives you a nod and leaves.

You watch him exit and proceed to climb into the flashiest car you have ever seen, parked right in front and across three (one, two, THREE!) handicap bays.

You think he's most definitely an attention seeking narcissist.

The guy that bleeds all over your floor comes in again.

You know it's him because he apologises for bleeding all over your floor and that he scared you so much you called the police. In all honesty, you completely forgot about it but even the mere mention of that pisses you off.

"It's fine," you tell him even though it's not, not really, but at least this time he's not bleeding and he has apologised twice already so as long as he's not gonna be weird, you'll accept his apology.

Except he does turn out to be a weirdo because he gives you a grin and you think he looks pretty cute even with his lip and nose scar, then he makes it weird with a wink and you think what even is this, who winks at people anymore.

He must have mistaken your cringe for encouragement though, as he continues to ask if you need any help with your shift and he can call the boys to help you out tonight as an apology for the other week.

You're not sure if this is a pick up line or if it's a threat. Either way, you decide it's the latter as you make up your mind that he must be a psychopath because only a psychopath would wink at strangers.

You tell him no. He doesn't seem deterred and tells you his name is Jake. Your first thought is to cover the name badge pinned to your chest but he's too quick. He says your name, and that he hopes to see you again.

You give him a nod and hope he leaves.

This oddball in sunglasses is unbearably smug as he slides his ID over to you.

You check out the date of birth and it's fine.

"It checks out," you give his ID back and ask him to pay for his cigarettes.

"Don't you have anything else to say?"

You frown at him because what does he want you to say? Like oh I knew you were a Capricorn (or is it Aries or Cancer. You don't know, you don't really know your signs). Or does he want you to comment that it's a flattering picture of him on the card because in all honesty, it's not.

Still, he obviously expects something because he's standing there not doing anything.

"We take cash, card or you can pay through your phone."

That isn't what he's looking for. He tenses up, and you think he rolls his eyes at you but he's got sunglasses on-

Oh. This black eyed bastard. Does he expect an apology for the last time? Well you're not apologising for shit, you're just doing your job. It doesn't matter if he's of age. Rules are rules. No ID, no sale.

You stare at him instead with your polite customer service smile that actually means leave me alone. He stares back.

You stare. He stares back.

You stare - and you think that you must look like an idiot just standing there with a vacant smile but it's worth it in the end because the guy sighs, pays for his cigarettes and leaves.

Good. You hope he chokes on the smoke.

When your temper has cooled, you also feel a pang of sympathy as you wonder what sort of hard life he has had to look like that at 20. Poor guy, he really should quit smoking.

You're sitting outside on the curb on your break. It's technically loitering, your manager told you the first time he saw you and you consider hitting him because not only do you have to stand under terribly unflattering lights and deal with the goddamn general public for hours - now you can't even sit outside and breathe some fresh air?

Somehow you manage not to, which means you never got arrested for assault and that's pretty good, you suppose. It's nice to not be arrested.

Anyway, he's not here now, and he's not here most shifts so you loiter to your heart's content. You make sure to loiter extra hard tonight.

"What about this? So much better than fucking Duke Pyeon, right?" Someone comes up to you with music blaring out of tinny speakers. You consider sprinting back and locking yourself in the store. It's 4am and nothing good comes from speaking to strangers at 4am who like to blare shitty music.

Except he's not a stranger because you recognise the music style. It's so bad that you know that there is no way two different people on Earth would come up with the same sound. In fact, it actually gives you such a visceral reaction that you look for anything close by to jam in your ears.

There's nothing and you want to cry. For a brief moment you consider bashing your head into the ground.

You hold back, contemplate saying it's fine except you can't bring yourself to lie when it’s so clearly not. It’s not fine at all. You think it might be what the military or covert agencies play to torture people.

You don't look at him, keeping your eyes glued to anywhere but his face and mumble your break is over and rush back in.

He doesn't follow you and you give a brief thanks to whatever great overlord is looking over you and protecting your sense of hearing.

You wonder if that guy is actually part of an elaborate plan from your boss as punishment for loitering, or if he somehow knew you took an extra seven minutes on your break yesterday and he’s now taking extra precautions so you’re not stealing any more company time.

The hair dye guy is back, this time buying another colour.

You recognise him from the H on his forehead and you know that he has unsuccessfully dyed his hair because if his hair looked like that last time then there's no way you would have even noticed the H.

It's awful. Blotchy and patchy and you're certain that you don't stock that colour. How on earth...

He tells you he's studying to be a hairdresser.

You never used to think hair could feel pain, but you distinctly hear millions of tiny screams from your own head when it realised this butcher might one day get his hands on innocent people's locks.

Just when you're on your way home, one foot out the door, you hear someone call you.

"It's me, Y/N!"

Maybe the voice should be familiar but you don't place it at all. You look at the guy towering in front of you with a blank face.

"Daniel." he says, as if that should jog your memory.

Who?? You say nothing.

"Daniel Park." You look him up and down and think what the fuck, this isn't right.

"Daniel. Park." he stresses as if you're the insane one and it's perfectly acceptable for apparently some guy you haven't seen for a year to say hi but look completely different and sound completely different.

You're not an idiot. You know puberty is a thing but jesus christ. It can't be him. Even the bone structure is completely different.

"Ok." you say because you're still not sure if this guy is Daniel or whether he's just crazy. You're 99% sure it's the latter and keep one hand in your pocket, ready to attack with pepper spray.

Although if this is Daniel Park, you wonder how good the plastic surgery technology is these days because you wouldn't mind adding an extra inch or two to your height.

"I'm just in the middle of working out," he says, "in a junkyard." he adds and you wonder what is happening in the world. This guy is definitely insane.

You're a second away from pulling out the spray but then he tells you he's gotta go or else he's going to get beat up (Again. What the fuck.). He says it's good to see you and you tell him likewise because that's the correct thing to say.

You hope you never see this crazy person again but most importantly you think about resigning because this store just seems like a magnet for freaks.

Maybe you can get a job at your boyfriend's Taekwondo studio. Surely the fact you know nothing about Taekwondo wouldn't be an issue.

#lookism #lookism x reader #lookism fic #lookism dg #jake kim #gun park #vin jin #eli jang #daniel park #wannaeatramyeon #feels less cracky than pt 1. still cracky tho

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nysrage · 1 year ago

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Spa Day, aran ojiro.

never in your wildest dreams did you imagine your spa day having you relax and rejuvenated in this way.

cw: smutttt, public sex, sensual massage, body oil, teasing, fingering, oral.

it’d been a while since you had a day solely dedicated to your self. a day to relax and unwind not only your body but your mind, which was always so focused on the next task of your business. it’d become a habit, putting others before you, after so many years pleasing your clients. your body and mind was paying for it though. the hours hunched over someone and intricately placing lashes had your back in shambles and your mental health was not where it needed to be. so your friends flew you out to the carribbean for a girls trip, montego bay, jamaica.

which included a very needed spa day, necessary unwinding to prepare you for the time they had planned for you all this weekend. “gworl this is niceeee!!” gizelle cheesed at the surroundings, the soft white robes molding around you body. “I wonder what thread count in these!” she laughed, tugging the tag to check specifics on the robe. “girl stop clocking these people pockets!” you giggled, tying up the robe to secure it in place. not long after a pretty woman with cocoa skin entered the room with a knock, a bright smile on her face once she’d seen the group of girls making themselves at home. “we’re ready for you ladies.”

she escorted you all down the hall, the dimmed lowlights and comforting aromas consuming you once you passed the double doors. showing you and your friends to the designated rooms, her arm stretched out the open door beside you. with a nod she closed the door once you entered the room. it was like breathe of fresh air, dark walls and comforting scents. speckled ceilings and mirrors for you to enjoy the views of yourself, once stripped from the comforting robe you situated yourself on the massage table. snapping a pic in the mirror for the vacation dump you planned to look back on soon, with a deep exhale you melted into the cool sheets. soft music in the background almost sending you into a deep sleep until there was a knock at the door, the same woman welcoming your masseur into the room before exiting.

the man entered with a warm smile, loose cream pants and shirt contrasting perfecting off his deep caramel skin. deep waves in his soft looking hair with a goatee beard, lord he looked so good. your body bursting butterflies in your stomach. “I’m aran, your masseur for today.” he extended out a hand which you quickly shook, skin soft and warm against your cool skin. “y/n.” you said shyly, a soft smile pulling at the corner of your lips. he nodded with a smile, “pretty name for a pretty girl.” you face grew hot, growing flustered from the subtle compliment. “thank you.”

“so before we start, is there anything I should know? like allergies, complications, or—” you shook your head, confirming with him that their weren’t any issues he should be worried about medically. “and you and your friends are here on vacation yes?” you nodded with a giggle pushing the loose strands from your boho braids out of your face. “thought we’d unwind before before our escapades for the weekend began.” he chuckled looking over the body oils that lay in front of you, his eyes lighting up when he found the one he felt fit your perfectly, “must be a good one huh?” you nodded towards the bottle, aran laughing at his own unsubtle expression. “yeah, it is. edible too.” eyes staring into yours, as he spoke. pouring the oil into his hands as you settle on the table. his hands massaging in your back, releasing each knot in your back with ease.

“think it’ll fit you nice..”

“yeah? i just really need to pour some love back into me you know.” you confessed, your tense body slowly starting to unwind. aran looked over you for a second, soft eyes darting all around your face. “I know a technique that does just that that would help with that, it is a little on the intimate side though.”

“if you not comfortable with that, we could continue with—”

“n-no!” you voice slightly needy, embarrassed you cleared your throat. “no, i’d like to try it..”

aran talked you through the process, turning around as you wrapped yourself in the sheet and tucking it to secure it in place. you giving him a soft “ready.” as he turned around, removing his shirt in the process before joining you on the massage table. positioning himself in front of you before sitting you in his lap comfortably loosing the sheet and exposing your breasts to the cool air, warm skin against your as you sit chest to chest. his calm heartbeat against your quickened one. with a quick reach he squeezed a couple drops of oil into his hands, running those strong hands into your skin again. deeply massaging your tense back and listening to the relieving breathes that escape your lips, your arms wrapped around his back as you melted into his skin. the soft aroma from the oil filling your nose with the scent of brown sugar, as his hands worked at your shoulders to the sides of your neck. “doing okay?”

“y-yess, feels so good.” you breathe out, cheek resting on his shoulder as he pressed his warms hands into your muscles. he let out a soft warm laugh, working out a deep knot in your lower back. his eyes are closed, focused on your warm breath against his neck and the moan that leaves your lips once the knot is released. voice smooth and deep as he spoke to you, “that’s it, relax. your doing so good..” running his hands up your waist and just below your breasts. your arousal pooling out of you at the praise, body growing hot of his soft sensual touches. “now lay back..” he spoke up, watching the soft jiggle of your breast as you made yourself comfortable once more.

his hand running up and down your smooth thighs, thumbs deeply working into your inner thighs. that soaked patch of the thin fabric now on display for him to see, making his mouth water at the beautiful sight before him. “want me to pour a lil love into her too..?” you nod, voice needy and soft “y-yes.” strong oiled hand now around your throat to pull you up for a hungry kiss while his hands caress and massages into the soft flesh of your thighs and ass. tongue colliding with his as you explored his mouth, as you two sloppily kissed. his hands finding your leaking slit and running his fingers through it while he swallows your moans. moving from your lips to your neck, sucking on the soft skin, the tasty oil against his tongue as he licks at the forming bruise.

his warm tongue finding your breasts, circling your pretty brown nipple before sucking it into his mouth. humming in satisfaction at the hearty taste of the oil and releasing it with a pop, reeling back to watch your face contorting in pleasure as he thumbs figure eights onto your clit. “knew that shit would fit you, taste so good ma.”

soon you were holding your legs against your chest as he sucked and spit your arousal down on your pussy, sloppily kissing at your clit while two of his thick fingers caressed your inner walls. “spit on her just like thattt” moaning out for him as you pushed his face deeper. aran licking from your clenching hole to your clit, swirling around the bud and moaning as he seals it with a suckling kiss. “pretty ass pussy” he mumbled, long fingers fucking into you deliciously. curling and hitting that spot that had you shaking in his arms, clenching and sucking his fingers to keep them inside you.

he smiles, face glossy and dripping from your arousal. “mhm, let go for me. pour that love out onto me.” your eyes rolling back as he slipped his tongue back into you, sending you in overdrive as you cum on his tongue. “ooo— yessssss!” aran sloppily slurping it up and licking your sweet arousal clean. he removed his lips, hands softly caressing your skin as you came down from your high. your eyes opening to your arousal still coating his lips, before getting a taste for yourself humming in satisfaction at the sugary taste of the oil as you pulled away.

“you said your here for the weekend right?” you nodded, words being too much as you still came down from your orgasm.

“can i get your number? got a lot more lovin’ t’give..”

#nys works.ᐟ ᥫ᭡#black writers #no minors please #aran x black reader #aran ojiro x black reader #aran ojiro x black y/n #aran x black y/n #aran x black!reader #haikyuu x black reader #aran ojiro smut #haikyu aran ojiro #aran ojiro x black!reader #haikyu x black y/n #haikyu x black reader #haikyuu smut #haikyu x black!reader #haikyu aran #aran ojiro #haikyu smut

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teethondafloor · 1 year ago

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Bill Kaulitz x gn!reader ~ Taking off Bill's makeup after a show.

________.✮.________

Year : 2006

Summary --

You and Bill have been best friends for over three years now and are completely inseparable. You two are partners in crime, ready to mock and poke fun at each other any chance you get, and even more ready to comfort each other right after. Tonight, the band happens to have a gig in your hometown, where you and Bill first met. You attend the concert and text Bill after, thrilled by the band's electric performance, when Bill has other plans in mind...

Bill Kaulitz x gn!reader

Cute friends to lovers arc

Warnings --

basic fluff (touching, kissing, etc)

Note --

This took me way too long to write but IM SO EXCITED TO POST IT AA. this is my first tumblr fanfic (I'm sadly a wattpad user) so sorry if it's bad :D

________.✮.________

{{y/n}} : dude! That was awesom! You rocked!

{{BILL}} : I hope. My throat hurts lol. Where r u?

{{y/n}} : headin home. U?

{{BILL}} : WTF no! I want to c u b4 u leave!

{{y/n}} : cope. Where r u??

{{BILL}} : backstage dressing room. I can sneak you in!

{{y/n}} : I will get caught!

{{BILL}} : no! I am comin for u. Where r u?

{{y/n}} : at the exit doors :P.

{{BILL}} : STAY.

{{y/n}} : OK.

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Standing near the exit doors of the venue, I wait for Bill to emerge from his post-show hideaway as I look around the empty room, which just moments ago was overflowing with screaming fans. I gaze up at the dim lights above, now painting the room in a slight yellow wash which my eyes peer at weakly after standing in the dark for almost 3 hours. The air-con is blasted through the room, the cool air brushing up against my bare arms and slapping me in my face momentarily as it passes me and continues lingering around the room.

After spending some time taking in my surroundings, I snap out of my thoughts and feel the hair on my arms rise, reacting to the cool air circling the area. At the other side of the room near the stage, I hear a sudden rummaging sound coming from the corner, casted with a dark shadow. I squint my eyes a little, wondering if it's Bill that's making all the noise. From the loud clanks and banging sounds, I can tell that the person is struggling through their journey. Must be him, I smile to myself. I slide my hands into my front jean pockets, continuously glancing over to the security who are stood by the doors, surprised that they don't hear the ruckus. I look back at the noise, which now grows fainter as I hear soft footsteps tiptoeing into the concert venue.

As I hear this, I notice a tall, dark figure slowly emerging from the dark corner, the black fog lurking behind it. I smile and take my hands out of my pockets, knowing that its Bill from his giant spiky hair sprouting from his head, which is the first thing I see as he steps into the room. He takes a few light steps closer, just enough to keep himself hidden from the security guards scouring around the area. As he comes closer, his face is lit up by the soft lights above us, making the ends of his dark hair glow beneath the light, and revealing his wide smile as he sees me at last. He's so bad at sneaking around, I scoff gently.

Not wanting to be seen by the employees, Bill stays behind the stage and out of their sight. I look up and see as he nods to the ground beneath him, signalling me to walk over to him. My eyes widen and I look over to the security, trying to communicate to Bill that I can't just walk up to him without being stopped. A puzzled look washes over his face and he bites the inside of his cheek, thinking. I point at the watch that's tied to my wrist, knowing that the doors will soon close for the night and I will be kicked out of the building if we don't hurry. Bill looks down at the ground before turning back to me and nodding, determined to get me backstage with him. At once, He runs back into the black void behind him, leaving me alone in the room again. I inch forward a little, wanting to run after him, before I stop myself, trusting that he has a plan.

One of the security guards at the doors notices me when I shuffle forward and calls to me form afar. "Excuse me, we need you to leave right now." Shit, I think. I freeze up for a second as he calls to me, glancing over to the corner for any sign of Bill one last time. Agitated that he fled, I look down at the floor and back at the guard. "Yeah sorry, I thought I lost something." I lie as an excuse for my long stay. Just as I'm about to take my first step towards the exit, all of the lights in the room shut off by the click of a switch, the dark swallowing everything and everyone in the room. All of the sudden, I hear firm and heavy footsteps running towards me from the opposite side of the room. Before I can even put my other foot on the ground, the footsteps are cut off and I feel as someone grabs my hand and pulls me, running back with me latched onto them. As I feel their hand in mine, I instantly know it's Bill, his many bracelets which cover half of his forearm rubbing up against my wrist as we sprint ahead and disappear behind the stage. The security guard is left clueless when the lights shut off, and speaks to the black void, only getting the sound of his own echo in response "...did you find what you were looking for? Excuse me?..."

________.✮.________

With a tight grip on my hand, Bill leads me into a tight alleyway, between the back of the stage and the dressing room which he climbed through before. The space is shielded from any light and trashed with clutter from previous bands performing at the venue. We giggle as we stop before walking through it. "Hey" he says with a smile, huffing from laugher. I can tell he is facing me, even in the complete darkness that surrounds us. "Hey" I say, lightly breathless from the excitement. We both peer through the tight gap, trying to spot an obstacle to look out for from afar, however, the shade absorbs any object inside, turning them invisible. I hear Bill turn to me again, his breath on my forehead. "Follow me, come on!" He giggles as he lifts up our hands which are still in a warm clasp. "Go!" I whisper whilst still laughing, nudging him forward playfully. Bill starts taking long and cautious steps through the alleyway, hesitating a little when he hits any object beneath us. I follow his lead, being cautious myself. I run my hand across the wall as we walk to keep myself balanced. Halfway through the black tunnel, I hear as Bill kicks an object at his feet. Still walking, I bump into his back, causing me to flinch a little. "Dude. what is it?" I whisper to him. I hear Bill rummaging gently through the junk with his feet, clearing a path for us to walk through. He laughs "I don't know, it scared the shit out of me" We both try and hold in our laughter and continue through the gap.

As we reach the end of the alley, a streak of light peers through a crack in the wall, revealing some of the junk that is spread out on the ground around us: Magazines, cigarettes, a white laced bra....I turn my head to the back of Bill's as I speak. "What is this? your sex dungeon?" I say, smiling with sarcasm in my voice. I hear Bill scoff and smile. "If it is, it's definitely not mine." We both giggle quietly. At last, we reach the end and I step back as Bill lets go of my hand and starts messing with the crack in the wall, which to my surprise, turns out to be a secret doorway to the venue's dressing room. He pushes on the heavy object which blocks the doorway, sliding his fingers under it, trying to shuffle it to the side. Seeing him struggle, I step forward and push the object forward to help, successfully forcing it out of the way.

Before stepping into the dressing room, we take a minute to catch our breaths; I lean on the wall next to me, and look at Bill as he pants. We lock eyes and burst into quiet laughter, still a little breathless. "I need to see this stupid fucking room" I say, smiling. I step away from the wall and finally enter the dressing room. The overhead lights gleam, almost blinding me as I step in, forcing me to raise my hand and shield my eyes from them. I look around, never had been backstage of a concert venue before.

A faint smell of cheap makeup and pungent nail polish lingers in the room, the sharp chemical scent burning my nostrils as I inhale it. I admire the lit up mirrors lined up along the wall, covered in stickers left behind by other musicians however long ago. Bill's and his bandmates' belongings are spread across the room, creating a small pile of clothes and bags on a large bean bag, pushed into the corner of the room. "Where are the others?" I say, referring to his bandmates. I turn my head to look back at Bill who steps into the room with his head titled down, before looking around the room himself. "They're at some party right now." He slides his hands into his pockets.

"They went without you?" I scrunch my eyebrows in confusion, knowing Tom would not leave him out like this. "no no...I didn't want to go...I don't even know where it is, and I'm exhausted." He says as he stretches his arms out gently. "Dude!" I exclaim "We could've went there!" I punch him on the shoulder playfully, causing him to shoot his hands up to his face in defence. "You can go! I'm not going" He says with a judgemental look, teasing.

I hover around the room and view the splash of graffiti on one of the walls, seeing the signatures of hundreds of bands and musicians from the past, piled on top of each other into a barely legible scribble. "How did you even find the sex dungeon?" I'm still looking at the wall when he takes off his leather jacket and throws it at me without warning, as he says with a smile "I got bored waiting for Gustav to set up." a look of surprise bursts onto my face as I catch the jacket in my hands, which I then throw onto the pile with the rest of their junk, laughing.

"So, how do you like my dressing room?" He gestures his arms, showcasing the space and waits for my response. "You are really living the life here...I mean damn. "My eyes follow the walls, stopping to observe the space again. I raise my eyebrows. "You can't help but make it a shithole though." I say sarcastically, picking up a pair of boxer shorts I saw hanging from a chair next to me. He gasps and laughs, stepping towards me and snatching his boxers from my hands before throwing them onto the pile in the corner. I snicker when I see his red cheeks, blushing furiously from embarrassment as I infect him with my laughter. "Shut up! They're gonna hear us in here!" He whispers with a smile stretched wide across his face, still blushing. He walks over to me and gently grabs me by my shoulders, shaking me to stop me from laughing. As he holds me, I put my hand up to my mouth, covering it and muffling out the sounds of my giggles. I then push him away playfully, to which he steps back. "Stop touching everything, you're gonna break something." He whispers in a joking tone.

"Especially not your trunks." I huffed from laughter. Bill blinks slowly, visibly annoyed from my teasing. "I'm serious though, don't break anything because they'll make you pay for it." I notice how he avoids my eyes and tries to change the subject. "Oh come on...I'm not that clumsy. They should make you guys pay for trashing this room so bad." I smile. He looks down, smiling at my comment, his red cheeks growing fainter.

Bill walks over to the vanity across from us, cluttered with his makeup and endless hair products. He sits down, adjusts himself on the chair slightly and looks into the mirror, which reveals a tired face, caked in makeup and hairspray, looking back at him. I walk over to him and sit on the counter next to the mirror, kicking my feet which hang from the tall surface. I take a moment to look at him, as the vanity's warm lights glimmer in his eyes.

"The concert was unreal." I say, breaking the thin silence between us. "I'm glad you came back to play here. You're everything anyone talks about round here since you got so famous." I look over to him, rubbing my arm that is propping me up on the table. I feel a little bitter-sweet about Bill's fame. On one hand I am so proud of what him and the boys have accomplished, in like what...a year? It's insane. Though, I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss just hanging out. Being able to sit for hours and do nothing together. They always have something to do now, with no time to sit in the moment. The guilt of this pools inside me. It makes me feel like a brick wall that's cutting him off on his path. My biggest fear however, is Bill not knowing how to break down this wall, quietly tolerating my burden instead. "Really? I noticed so many people from school there, I really didn't want to fuck up." He says, now looking up at me with his head resting on his palm. "I'm pretty sure I saw Leon all the way at the back, poor guy got pushed out of the crowd." We laugh.

"As much as I like traveling around and playing, this feels better. I can't explain it." He smiles as he begins to stumble over his words. "I don't know, it only feels right to perform here you know?" He looks to me.

"Nah I get you, and we're glad you did." I smile at him and my eyes are suddenly drawn to his eye makeup, now rubbing off on his cheeks after every blink. "What?" He says and quickly turns to the mirror, now seeing his smudged eyeshadow. His eyes widen in shock, seeing how messy he looks after a show. "Dude, you look insane." I burst out laughing, placing my hand over my mouth as I holler. "Shut up!" He groans, laughing with me "I'm too tired for this".

I control my laughter and wait a moment before nudging one of the chairs at the vanity with my leg, sliding it closer to Bill. I hop onto it, now directly facing him. "Come here." I say. He turns away from the mirror as I grab a dry cotton pad from a pack on his desk and drip some makeup remover onto it, watching it absorb the chemicals. He inches towards me, pushing his hair away from his face to help me, and closing his eyes slowly as the cotton pad touches his cheek, working away at his pale foundation. We sit in silence for a few seconds, enjoying each others company while I scrub at the cosmetics, washing away the excitement and fatigue of the long night that has soaked into it. "Did you really want to go to that party? We could still go if you're desperate." Bill says quietly, breaking the silence.

"Nah..." I whisper "I'd rather be here with you." when my hand grazes over his face, I feel a thin smile spread across his cheeks when he hears my words. He peers at me with his eyes half shut and backs away a little. "Look at you being all sappy..." he smiles.

"Shut up and give me your face." I say, taking a hold of his jaw and pulling his face closer to my reach. He lets out a short exhale, charmed by my boldness. I run the cotton pad across his face, quickly rubbing it over his lips playfully. He smiles again now with his teeth. "That was so on purpose..." He says with his eyes still sealed shut. "What?...no.." I say sarcastically.

After dirtying the cotton pad with his foundation, I grab a second one and move up to his shadowed eyes. "Keep your eyes closed...I need to sort all this out." I scoff, laughing as I poke fun at the mess painted on his eyes that has now somehow travelled up to his eyebrows. I take the pad and a wet wipe for good measure, massaging his eyelids. He swallows quietly "I've really missed you" he says out of nowhere. A little stunned, I continue cleaning him. "Me too." My tone suddenly shifts and you can hear a faint sadness in my voice. "I'm sorry I've been going away all the time, I would take you with us if I could..."

"Don't worry about it...I'm always back here if you need me anyway."

"Well I...don't want you only when I need you, I want you everywhere with me." I'm shocked by his sudden sentimentality, not really knowing how to respond since our usual way of showing love is by bullying each other until one caves in. "I know I know, that's not what I meant." I reassured him.

"I know, it's cool." he whispers "You know...sometimes I wish we wouldn't have to travel for so long, I've missed this." he pauses "Y/n...what if I stay?" He falls quiet, waiting for me to say something to fill in the silence. I look to him, a subtle face of worry crossing my face as I pull myself together. "Dude, stop." I say "Don't be stupid, this is...a crazy opportunity. Getting to travel around Europe and sing, that's nuts....don't let me hold you back...please."

"You're not "holding me back" y/n-"

I cut his sentence short "But what if I am? And you're just not realising it?...I don't want to be that." I blurt out.

"What?..." He opens his eyes, takes me by my wrists and holds me, preventing me from moving. His eyes glare at me. "No...don't do that. You're not in my way, do you understand?" His tone turns more agitated, worried that I'm giving myself a hard time because of his absence. A sudden silence falls between us like a transparent wall piling up and separating us, numbing me to his touch. This time, I'm not the wall. "Have you been worrying about this while I've been gone?" he looks to me hoping I'll say no, but already knowing the answer before the words leave his mouth. "Yeah...a little....a lot." I correct myself "You can't blame me though...I don't see you for weeks, sometimes even months. I know that's not your fault, but I'm allowed to be upset." I say, standing my ground.

"I know, it upsets me too." He lets go of my wrists and slides his hands down to mine, gently holding my hands with care. He smiles softly as he holds me, rubbing the top of my right hand with his thumbs, which makes both of us smile. We take time to comfort each other, acknowledging how hard the situation is for the both of us, yet we pull through. "Well you're here now." I sigh "You're stopping here for a while I heard, aren't you?"

"Yeah, we're taking a break here until we tour in the East." He says "And I'm glad I'm spending it with you." His eyes admire me as he speaks. I shift my hand a little, making him let go, and I return to his smeared eye makeup.

"So how's life without me at your hip?" He smiles as I exhale and roll my eyes, teasingly. "Better than ever." I say, with a sarcastic tone, making Bill gasp. "School's ok I guess, it's a teensy bit more bearable than last year at least." I take a short pause "...I won a writer's award two weeks ago..." I hold my breath as I wait for the buckets of Bill's compliments and praise to flood the room when he hears of my accomplishment. His eyes shoot open and his neck tilts forward in awe, his lips apart. "Are you kidding? That's amazing y/n! Why didn't you tell me??" He pushes me lightly on the shoulder.

"You expect way too much of me..." I shake my head and smile.

"I knew you would win! I told youuu..." he makes sure to rub the fact that he believed in me in my face before congratulating me "Well done, I'm really proud of you y/n..." He gazes into my eyes and gently places his hand on my knee. I observe his movements and quickly glance away, smiling. "Ok you can shut up now."

"Never. How can I when I'm being taken care of by a future author! Maybe I'll let you write my biography when you're as famous as me ;)" He teases, knowing I don't know how to handle compliments, yet he never fails to praise me anyway, just so I know. "Ok enough! Fine, I'm... proud of myself too I guess!"

"That's the spirit!" he taps my knee lightly, taking his hand away and resting it back onto the arm of his chair. I smile and shake my head, a little flustered from his admiration which, I hate to admit, I secretly love. "So how's tour so far? Are you eating well?" I ask with nurture in my voice as gratitude for his compliments. "Of course I am...you care way too much." He smiles.

"And you're right." I reply, playfully.

"I love that you care so much...even when you pretend you don't." His voice quietens.

"What does that mean?" I scrunch my eyebrows at his words.

"I don't know...you're just so...thoughtful. You always know what to do and say and-"

"Yeah right." I smile, a little overwhelemed by the flood of compliments. "Thanks though, I really do try my best."

"And that's enough for me." He whispers, his cheeks turning a faint pink. "You make me good...or feel like, at my core, I am good. I love it." without teasing or poking fun at him for once, I let him spill his emotions out onto the table where we both can see . I sit and listen, gently wiping his eyes with care. "It's so hard to leave you here, stuck in this village. It's so hard to not hear you laugh and sing and dance beside me... It's so hard not to love you for all thise things" I feel his tender fingertips brushing against my knee as he talks, slowing my pace. Before I can reply, his other hand shifts to my second knee and he holds it delicately. "Bill..." I whisper, with a little confusion but an unexpected sprinkle of excitement rushing through me. he bites his lip, pondering what to say next and trying hard not to stumble over his words. He opens his eyes and gazes directly into my mine, seeing all of me. He takes my hand. I feel butterflies nibbling on the walls of my stomach, their fluttering wings tickling me as they desperately want to flee and touch and love. In the moment, I don't know if it's wrong to feel so much love and desire for him, this ravenous craving that eats me from inside. I can only do what feels right, and so I let the butterflies feed.

He swallows gently "I want to care for you just like you do...I want to..." His hand raises to my face, holding me and caressing my cheek with his thumb in small circles. My hand laches onto his wrist gently, weak to his tender touch. The room falls silent, the only sound in the room coming from the lights above us, buzzing, humming on one note to our intimate moment. "Can I..." His voice fades out slightly and cracks from nervousness. "Can I kiss you?"

His words ring in my head, bouncing off of my ear drums and into my throat, leaving me speechless. I hold him for a while, our hands sharing each other's warmth through touch. I glance down at his lips that are slightly open, breathing in the little air between us; inhaling the glass wall that not moments ago parted us. With desire and lust, my eyes look back into his, and I nod gently. He takes a second to process this, before cupping my face in the palm of his hands and pulling me closer to him, until the wall turns to paper and our lips are inches away from each other. As I close my eyes, I feel his plush lips on mine, sharing our sweet taste. The butterflies in me settle when we collide, and the walls around us feel as though they are caving in, trapping us in each other's arms. As he holds me, I feel cared for. Safe. Warm.

He kisses me delicately and then again with more passion, before pulling away to let me breathe. As he leans back, his mouth curves into a sweet smile, his lips now stained with my light lipstick. I laugh as I notice his red tinted lips, stained with my evidence. I take his hand again, locking my pointer finger with his. "Looks like I'll have to clean you up again..."

"What a shame..." Bill whispers sarcastically, a wide smile pulling apart his rosy cheeks, now matching his lips.

________.✮.________

Tysm for readingg :)) <3 this was so much fun to write

I'm currently working on a 12 part Bill Kaulitz x fem!reader fic on wattpad and I've published the first part!

teethondafloor on wattpad

Zuźka

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mytheoristavenue · 6 months ago

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MHA Mezo Shoji x Reader - Make Believe - III

Summary: You ask Shoji to pretend to be your boyfriend for a dinner with your parents.

Warnings: long, muli-parted, mutual pining, fake dating trope, fem!reader

Embarrassed, you both disembark from the train, stepping onto the platform, Shoji's arm still securely around your shoulders for stability on clearing the gap. There's an obvious elephant in the room, but it's almost as if it's a secret, even for the both of you, neither wanting to speak on it for fear of the other being unaware.

Eventually, you feel his touch begin to slip away, making your heart sink, missing it as you both begin to walk toward the train station exit. Finally, you break the silence. "My parent's place is pretty close by, just a few blocks from here, actually."

"Living so close to the tracks must be difficult," he thought allowed eyes stuck forward.

"It isn't so bad, once you get used to the noise. Before I moved to the dorms, it was like I couldn't even hear it anymore." Shoji could care less for the idle chatter, his mind still on the ride here. He was never one to beat around the bush, so he decided to speak up.

"Hey, (Y/N)? Why did you say that this was a bad idea on the train?" He asked, voice calm, but with a hint of somberness. "Do you regret bringing me?"

You glanced up at him, surprised by his genuineness. "What? Shoji, no! It's nothing to do with you, you've been perfect!" You confess, stopping on the sidewalk, and staring down at your shoes. "I'm the problem."

"How so?" he asked, eyeing you with uncertainty.

"I feel like I should have planned this out more..." you admitted. "I mean, what am I gonna do when the holidays come around? I could just say we broke up but if my family likes you, they'd be sad, or they'd belittle me for bringing someone home before the relatsionship got serious-"

Your rambling was put to rest by a sturdy, comforting hand on your shoulder. "Hey, calm down," he soothed, stroking his thumb over your skin. "We can cross that bridge when we get to it. For all we know your parents could hate me and be overjoyed to hear we broke up." he laughed, comforting you.

"That won't happen..." you said, awkwardly rubbing your arm. "I...I picked you because you have all the qualities they'd love to see in a partner for me. You're strong and protective, kind and gentle, intelligent... You're a walking green flag."

Shoji could help but avert his gaze, cheeks aglow from your praise. "T-That's not true," he dnied, weakly, secretly hoping you'd continue to disagree, and to his delight, you did.

"No, Shoji, I'm serious," you persisted. "You're caring and passionate about your friends, you're handsome... You'd be the perfect boyfriend to anyone... I'm just sorry you're having to waste that on me."

"I don't consider it wasted..." he confessed bashfully. "But, for the record, I'm willing to be your fake boyfriend as long as you need. Even if it means coming back for the holidays."

"Shoji..." you mutter at his words, stunned by what they could potentially mean.

"Please, call me Mezo," he corrected, wrinkles forming beside his eyes, indicating a sweet smile under his mask.

"M-Mezo..." you stammered, unsure of whether or not to let the words fall off your lips. "There's another reason I asked you over anyone else..."

"Oh?" he stiffened a bit, offering you space to continue. "What is it?"

"Well...I think I might have a little cru-"

Suddenly, you jump at the sound of your phone ringing, startling you both. Taking it out of your bag, you notice that it's your mother calling. Anxiously, you slide the button to the right and answer the call. "Hey, Mom-"

"You didn't miss your train did you?" she immediately asks, worried.

"No, Mom, I made the train on time." You groaned lightly.

"Was it delayed?"

"No, Mom-"

"Well, did you make it to the station?"

"Yes-"

"Well, what's taking you so long? Did you get lost? Do I need to send your father to pick you up? Where are you-"

"Mom, please," you begged with an annoyed sigh. "We're like a block away, we'll be there in a few minutes."

"We?" she asked, confused before squealing. "Oh, you brought your boyfriend?!"

"Yep," you replied, nonchalantly.

"Well, hurry up and get here, we all can't wait to meet him!" Your heart suddenly sank. There were only supposed to be a few people there, what did she mean 'all'? Before you had a chance to ask, she spoke again. "Listen, I gotta go, honey, the soup needs stirring! Hurry home, love you!" With that, the line fell dead. Slumping your shoulders, you turned to face Shoji again.

"My mom says to hurry home..." you trailed, wishing to pick up the conversation where it left off. "And I think she might have invited more people than she told me. I'm sorry in advance."

"Don't be," he smiled. "I'm sure they can't be that bad." Reassuring you, he offered an arm for you to take as he began to walk forward again. you took it gratefully, not even caring about touching him anymore, you were just happy to have a comforting gesture from him. Within minutes of walking, you crested a hill, and your parents' apartment building came into view. It was a tall complex with many floors, the eighth being the one you called home. Stepping into the front entrance, you were greeted with a familiar smell which gave you a warm feeling of nostalgia as you made your way to the elevator, followed by your 'boyfriend'.

"What floor?" he asked, stepping forward to push the button.

"Eighth," you replied with a smile. "Thank you." You stood stick straight, hands clasped in front of you, overly chipper grin plastered on your face.

"Are you alright? You seem anxious." He noted, inching closer to your side, wrapping an arm around you, something that was beginning to feel like instinct at this point.

"I am a little," you admit, smile faltering as you glance up at him. "I want this to go well."

"You don't think they'll believe it?" he asked, tilting his head as he looked down at you.

"Not that," you sighed, perfect posture crumbling against him. "The last time I saw my parents, it didn't go well..."

"I see," he realized, nodding. "I won't push, but if you'd like to talk about it, I'm all ears." he offered, morphing all his extra limbs into ears. "Literally."

You snickered, shining a bright and genuine smile. "Maybe another time,"

"There she is," Shoji teased, ers morphing back into hands and lightly tickling your neck. "Knew I could make you smile. Your real smile is so much prettier than your fake one."

It was moments like these that made you question the reality of your relationship with him. If this all was fake, would he say things like that? Would he say them if they were real? Though the honeyglow in your cheeks and butterflies in your stomach were hard to ignore, his sweetness confused you so much. Before you could bring it up, a chime filled the air as the elevator slowly ascended to a crawl before stopping entirely. Glancing at him for reassurance, you stepped out of the elevator when the doors opened and turned left to make your way to your parent's door.

Standing in front of it, you glanced at him again, this time finding him already staring back. "Well...this is it, I guess?"

"I guess it is," he smiled, bringing up his fist and knocking firmly before stepping back. His warm embrace retracted from you in order to take your hand in his. He thought it'd be a better look for him to be holding your hand when the door opens, rather than having his arm around your shoulder, though he couldn't explain why.

Within moments, the door opened revealing a woman that looked remarkably like you, though a little more than twice your age. Excitedly, the woman threw her arms around your neck, hugging you tightly. "Honey, you're finally home, I've missed you so much!" As the woman's eyes fluttered open again, they landed on Shoji, prompting her to squeal. "Oh, and this must be that Shoji boy you're always telling us about!"

Your cheeks burned at the revelation, but you were too stunned to say anything.

"That would be me, ma'am," Shoji, bowed, offering her his hand as she released you. "And you must be (Y/N)'s older sister,"

The woman shrieked again, giving her hand for him to shake."Oh, stop!" she gushed. "Hun, you didn't tell me he was so charming!"

"Yep," you gulped, nervous about what to say next. "He's my prince charming!" Anything would have been better than that, you cringed. "A-Anyways, Mezo, this is my mother, Mom, this is Mezo Shoji, my boyfriend."

"A pleasure to finally meet you, Shoji, welcome to our humble home!" your mother greeted, bowing her head slightly.

"Please, the pleasure's all mine."

#mha x reader #mezo shoji x reader #shoji x reader #mezo x reader #shoji mezo x reader #mezo x y/n #shoji x y/n #mezo shoji x y/n #shoji mezo x y/n #mha reader insterts #mha fluff #mha slow burns

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multi-fandoms-posts · 2 months ago

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Through the Shadows of Danger

The mission is risky and everything could go wrong. Charles Xavier, Erik Lehnsherr, and their gifriend Y/N are in an abandoned building occupied by enemy forces. Their goal is to secure crucial information that could affect the course of the war. But the enemies are numerous and well-prepared.

“We need to act quickly,” says Charles, his voice tense. “The information must not fall into the wrong hands,” he adds.

“Understood,” Erik replies, closing his eyes to focus his magnetic powers. “I’ll clear the way,” he says.

Y/N nods and prepares to fend off the enemies. “I’ll secure the door while you find the data,” she says.

The plan seems straightforward enough, but as they approach the central room, the situation becomes critical. A sudden noise makes all three of them alert. Enemy soldiers flood into the hallway, and it becomes clear that they have been discovered.

“Charles, Erik, we’ve got company,” warns Y/N as the first bullets fly through the air.

Charles concentrates and tries to telepathically influence the enemy soldiers to slow them down. Erik raises his arm, and a stream of metal parts flies through the air to block the enemies. But the situation quickly escalates. An enemy soldier shoots Y/N in the leg, and she collapses to the ground in pain.

“Y/N!” Charles exclaims in shock, and his control over his telepathic abilities falters. The pain and fear drive him to his limits.

Erik sees Y/N injured and loses control over his powers. His strength becomes wild and uncontrollable, metal parts flying through the air and striking the enemies with tremendous force. The room fills with chaos as Erik and Charles combine their powers to overwhelm the foes. The enemies stagger and fall as Erik and Charles push their abilities to the maximum.

“Erik, Charles!” Y/N cries out, her voice weak. “I can’t take it anymore, it hurts,” she says weakly.

Charles struggles to focus as the telepathic connection with Y/N becomes fragile. “Stay with us!” Charles shouts.

Erik turns to Y/N, who is still on the ground. “You can’t give up! We’re getting you out of here!” Erik yells.

The enemies are now subdued, and the room is a wreckage of metal and chaos. Charles and Erik are exhausted, but they have won the fight. They rush to Y/N, whose face is contorted in pain.

“Let me see,” says Charles, kneeling beside Y/N and gently placing his hands on her leg. He begins using his telepathic abilities to ease her pain. “Erik, we need to get her out of this building as quickly as possible. Can you clear a path for us?” Charles asks.

“I’ll do whatever it takes,” Erik replies determinedly. “Give me a moment,” he says.

With one final effort, Erik moves aside metal debris and creates a clear exit. Charles carefully lifts Y/N, and together they make their way out.

“We’ll make it. We’ll get you to safety,” Charles whispers reassuringly as they navigate through the rubble.

Y/N looks around weakly, but a faint smile appears on her lips. “Thank you… both of you,” she whispers.

The three continue until they reach the exterior. Exhausted and injured, but safe. Charles and Erik support Y/N while they wait for the rescue team.

The mission was a success, but the price was high. At this moment, only one thing matters: that they are together and Y/N is safe.

#x men x reader #x men first class #x men #charles xavier #charles xavier x reader #cherik x reader #cherik #erik lehnsherr x reader #erik lehnsherr

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whumpy-wyrms · 10 months ago

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The Last Lab Rat #12: Fever Dream

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content: lab whump, captivity, fever, drugging, comfort, electrocution, parent death mention, winged test subject whumpee, scientist carewhumper

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Dew was getting closer and closer to escape, and he couldn’t be more terrified.

The past week, he had been planning a real escape with his little snake friend. He and Sasha had been crawling through the vents every night, mentally mapping out every twist and turn, every exit and entrance, every dead end. It was hard without a flashlight, but they would make do. The two of them decided to take it slow; no use rushing something and risk being caught, having the entire plan ruined.

They weren’t in a hurry. They knew Dew’s escape plan had to be absolutely flawless, with no possible way of getting caught. So even if it took weeks, they would take it slow.

But after everything, lying to the scientist was taking a toll. Dew had accidentally constructed an intricate web of lies he had to constantly keep track of. If Anton confronted him on just one hole in his stories, Dew would be done for. He’d crumble, too scared for what would happen if he kept lying.

So Dew tried to avoid his captor growing suspicious at all costs with the only way he knew how. Dew hated talking to Anton like a friend, having friendly conversations with the scientist after experiments, talking about his life, laughing, smiling. But gaining Anton’s trust was a priority. Besides, if Dew did get caught in this web of lies, maybe his captor would go easy on him because of this.

It was about a week after he met Sasha, and Dew found himself with a terrible headache, right after waking up. The lights were off, so it must’ve been early in the morning. He rolled over and held his head in his hands, feeling the heat radiating off of him. His stomach felt like shit too. No. Was he getting sick? He supposed that made sense, considering how long he’d been here. But this certainly wouldn’t help things.

Dew laid there for hours, unable to fall back to sleep. Eventually, the lights clicked on, making him wince and squeeze his eyes shut. A little bit after that, he heard the sound of footsteps walking up to his room.

“...Dewey? Are you okay?” Anton asked, walking into Dew’s room and putting the tray of food on his nightstand. The truth was, Dew looked like absolute shit. He was racked with sniffles and coughs, with piles of used tissues littered around him. Oh. Anton’s lab rat must be coming down with something.

Dew only mumbled an incomprehensible response, curling into himself and moving deeper under the warm blankets, as if searching for a false sense of security. Anton walked closer, now noticing that Dew’s wings were trembling.

“Hey, Dewey? What’s wrong?” Anton’s voice came out soft, quiet, as if he didn’t want to scare the little guy more than he already was. “Are you sick?”

“What does it look like?” Dew hissed, but his voice came out groggy and strained. He sounded absolutely miserable. He looked miserable. “I’m sick, Anton, obviously. I probably have a fever or something.” The scientist tilted his head and reached out his arm to Dew’s forehead, trying to feel his temperature.

“Don’t touch me.” Dew flinched back and swatted Anton’s hand away with his wing. He turned his body to the other side and buried his face into his pillow. “Just leave me–” Alone. Dew shuddered. He didn’t want that either. His voice softened. “I mean… Can you um- j-just get me some water? Please? The stuff in the bathroom sink is gross.”

Anton stepped back, giving Dew space. “Uh, Sure.” When the scientist left, Dew had a sudden spurt of coughs and sneezes. He groaned into his pillow, wishing he didn’t feel like this.

“Here you go, Dewey.” Anton smiled and handed him the water.

“My name’s not Dewey,” Dew complained into his pillow.

Anton smirked. “What was that, Dewey? Your voice is all muffled.”

Dew immediately sat up and shot Anton a glare, then groaned in pain and held a hand to his head. Too fast. He sat up too fast and now the room was spinning and his headache was worse.

“Gimme the water,” Dew said, sniffling.

“Pfft, rude.” But Anton handed it to him anyway.

Dew flopped back down onto the bed when he was done, and rolled over. “My head hurts,” Dew said weakly. “Can you um, dim the lights a little more? It’s hurting my eyes.”

“Oh. Okay.” Anton turned the lights down until he saw Dew visibly relax.

“Thanks,” Dew said.

“Don’t mention it. But, Dewey. You can’t just stay in bed all day.”

Dew turned to look at him incredulously. “I… I have a fever I think. I’m sick. A-Anton, I can’t- I don’t feel good.”

“Well, yeah, but I can just–”

Dew squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. He didn’t want to deal with Anton’s antics right now, whatever that man was planning. Dew took a deep breath and opened his eyes, looking away. His eyes widened at something new. “...Wait, what is that?” He asked, surprised. He sat up and pointed to a bag that he noticed was sitting on the floor next to the wall.

“Oh,” Anton said as he picked it up. “It’s the night-light you asked for.”

Dew looked at him with a puzzled expression. “...Really?”

“Yeah, you wanted one, remember? I don’t understand all your silly fears, but whatever.” Anton tossed a strange object to Dew, and he scrambled to catch it.

The night-light in question was a little, round, white cartoonish ghost, made out of plastic with small LED lights in the middle. There were two little black dots for eyes and a small smile printed on its face. Dew turned the light on, and quickly squeezed his eyes shut at how bright it was. He turned it off, and rotated it around in his hands. It was cute, a bit silly, sure. But it was bright enough to light up the vents. It was perfect.

“Um, thanks,” Dew said. “I like it.”

“Cool. Oh! I got something else for you.”

“You did?”

“Yeah.” Anton smiled and pulled something out of the bag. Dew looked up, right as a blur of something fluffy and white was being thrown at him. He scrambled to catch it and get a look at whatever it was. Anton snickered, standing awkwardly next to his bed. “I saw it at the store and immediately thought of you.”

Dew looked down, and in his arms was a large, very fluffy and soft… chicken plushie? “What…”

“You both have wings! You’re like a giant chicken.”

“I’m not a chicken!” Dew said angrily, clutching his plushie in his arms anyway. He had to admit, it was really soft. He had a lot of plushies back home, and he missed snuggling with them. “What is this, um, for anyway?”

“I just thought you needed a friend. I suppose it gets lonely down here without me.”

“...Yeah,” Dew said quietly. “It does.”

Anton figited and walked closer, voice turning serious. “...Dew, how are you feeling?”

“Not good. I just wanna rest. …Please.”

“Hmm,” Anton hummed. Dew broke out in a burst of coughs. “I have an idea.”

“W-what kind of idea?” Dew asked miserably. “Can I just have some headache medicine or something?”

“Yeah yeah, hold on.” Anton waved him off while fishing something out of his pocket, seemingly not paying attention to what Dew was saying at all. The scientist pulled out a tape recorder, and clicked it on. “Alright,” Anton said. “The date is Saturday, September 21, 7:32am. Test subject seems to be sick with a fever. I’ll do some tests, and then–”

“Tests?” Dew asked miserably.

“Yeah.”

“I don’t feel good, Anton. Ca-can we just take a break? For one day?”

“You’ve had a lot of breaks recently, Dew. I wanna have some fun.”

“So do I.”

Anton shrugged. “The experiments are fun.”

“They are not! They’re– They’re painful and traumatizing!” Dew wrapped his wings around himself and curled deeper into a ball.

“...What’s fun for you then?”

Dew furrowed his brows. Was Anton really asking what Dew liked to do for fun? Why did he care? “Um,” Dew began. “Playing video games, drawing, going outside, flying. Anything that, you know, doesn’t hurt.”

“Hm.” Anton sighed. He looked deep in thought, which never ended well. “There is this one thing I’ve been wanting to try out.”

“...Does it hurt?”

“It shouldn’t,” Anton shrugged. “If you behave.”

“Mmm,” Dew hummed anxiously, considering his lack of options. “O-okay.”

Anton smiled wide and ruffled Dew’s hair, who in turn, tried not to shy away from it. Behaving meant accepting Anton’s kind gestures, right?

“Okay, so I guess you wanna be healed from your fever, huh?”

“What? You can…?”

Anton rolled his eyes. “Of course I can.” He pulled out a flask of glowing fluid from behind his back, and held it out to him. “Drink this. You should go back to normal. In fact, you’ll probably even feel better than you did before.”

Dew eyed the flask warrily. It was no different from the other strange fluids the scientist makes him drink, but this gave Dew a weird feeling. It was a dark purple, with rivers of red and colorful specks flowing through it. It looked thick, with bubbles popping and floating upwards. Just looking at it made Dew more nauseous, the opposite effect it was supposed to have, Dew thought.

But he reached out to grab it anyway, like Anton said. But as he was about to grab the flask, Anton pulled it out of reach.

“Dew, your hands are shaking. I don’t want you to spill it.”

Dew glared at him. “What even is it anyway?”

“Medecine.” Not helpful. “I can’t let any spill and go to waste. This stuff is hard to make.”

The “medicine” became more and more unappealing the longer Dew looked at it. But whatever, he’d rather just get this whole thing over with. “Fine.”

Anton grabbed Dew’s chin gently, and brought the flask towards his mouth. “Open.”

Dew opened his mouth and allowed Anton to bring the flask to his lips. Dew drank it; downed it all in one go, despite the disgusting taste. Anton let go of his chin and blacked away, now looking bored.

Dew felt… wrong. The second he was done drinking it, he was hit with a wave of dizziness, and leaned back against the wall for support. His eyelids were growing heavy, and it was hard to stay upright.

“What’s… happening?” Dew asked worriedly, voice breaking.

“Shh,” Anton cooed. “Just relax. When you wake up, you’ll be back to normal.”

Dew blinked heavily and tried sitting up, but Anton firmly pushed him back down. “What–”

“Go to sleep, Dew.”

Dew shook his head lightly, trying to stay awake. But once his head hit the soft pillow, and he was wrapped up in cozy blankets, his eyes finally fluttered shut. Everything went black, and Dew drifted off into a short, peaceful sleep.

Anton stepped back and looked around the room. “Holy shit this place is a mess.”

. . .

Dew woke up to see Anton leaning over him, with his usual smirk on his face. Dew’s face scrunched up in fear and he turned his head away. He wanted nothing more than to disappear into this warm bed forever.

“How’re you feeling?” Anton asked.

Dew glared at him, but after thinking about it, Dew realized he felt better.

“Woah,” he breathed. “I feel… great.” Great as in, Dew wasn’t tired anymore. He didn’t feel sleep deprived at all, quite the opposite really. Of course, he wasn’t sick anymore either. His headache was gone and his temperature was normal. Besides the obvious, stagnant feeling of fear and dread that came with being kept captive, Dew felt okay.

“Told you.” Anton teased.

“Thanks for… helping me. Really. I felt like complete shit earlier.”

“Yeah yeah,” Anton waved him off as if it didn’t matter. “I need to keep you healthy, remember? And it’s no fun when you’re… down in the dumps.” Anton trailed off. “Just eat your food.”

Dew looked at the tray. Waffles again, an apple, and a banana. As he ate, the scientist watched him.

“So…” Dew thought about what Anton said earlier, giving the empty tray to him when he was done. “What are we gonna do now?”

“Follow me.”

They headed out of the lab and up the stairs, Dew following closely behind. The scientist said nothing as they walked, allowing tension to rise in the air.

Dew also remained silent, but his mind wandered. Whatever Anton wanted to do involved going outside again, which Dew was always thankful for. Although this time, his captor hadn’t put any restraints on his wings yet, like he always did when they went outside to keep him from flying away.

Dew looked at the scientist incredulously. What was going on? Did he forget? Was this all some test to see if Dew wouldn’t try to fly away and escape? Why?

Dew kept walking by Anton’s side, too afraid to question anything. Maybe Anton just forgot. That’d be unlikely, but still possible.

Once they entered the cabin and Dew got sight out of the window, his wings started flapping lightly, excitedly, apprehensively. He wanted to fly– he needed to fly. His captor was taunting him with this. He had to be.

“A-Anton?” Dew squeaked. He didn’t want to point out the obvious, but he’d rather Anton do something about it now, rather than find out when Dew inevitably tried to escape while out there. Because Dew already knew that he couldn’t escape with Anton around, not without being so easily mind-controlled. “You um, you for-forgot something–” He hated himself for this, but Dew already had an escape plan. This could destroy it.

“I didn’t forget anything, Dew,” Anton said smoothly. “Come on, let’s go outside.”

Dew stood, glued to his spot. “I’m not stupid, Anton,” He hissed. “The second I go outside, I-I won’t be able to resist flying away, you know this! I don’t want you to hurt me for trying to escape again! I don’t want to be mind-controlled or poked with a needle o-or never be allowed outside again, or worse, just because of a stupid mistake!” I don’t want this to interfere with the plan I already have.

“Woah, jeeze,” Anton laughed. “Relax. This isn’t a trick—”

“That’s what you always say!”

“Dew,” Anton grabbed his shoulders, making eye contact. “I can assure you, this will be fun for you. As long as you behave. You can do that right?”

“Y-yeah, I can.” But he really didn’t want to.

“I know you can.” Dew flinched when Anton patted him on the head, and then they walked outside.

When they hit the fresh, cool autumn air, Dew’s wings stretched out to feel the wind in his feathers. He wanted nothing more than to jump in the air and disappear into the trees, but he had to control himself. His wings fluttered lightly in the air, basking in the sun and savoring this new sensation of a fake freedom.

This was okay. As long as Dew focused on his sensations now, he could deal with being stuck to the ground. He could gain Anton’s trust, he could stick to the plan.

Dew followed Anton a few steps away from the front door, and then off of the porch and into the grass.

“Fly.”

The word hit his ears like a truck. It was as if the entire world stopped, and all Dew could hear was his rapidly beating heart.

“W-what?”

Anton laughed, stepping away from his test subject. “You heard me, Dewey. Fly!”

“You said this– this wasn’t a trick.”

“Not a trick,” Anton snickered. “I can assure you.”

The scientist motioned with his arms, a big grin on his face. “Go ahead, fly.”

Dew glared at him, but he didn’t waste a second. He flew. He jumped up into the air and flapped his wings rapidly, never taking his eyes off Anton and the sickeningly sweet smile on his face. Dew blinked back tears, knowing freedom was right there, in his grasp. The scientist was allowing him to fly outside unrestrained, but still, Anton would never let him go. Dew didn’t know what his game was, but he knew it wouldn’t end well for him. He knew he would lose.

Dew swallowed thickly, flying just a bit higher, expecting to be shot down by tranquilizer darts or told to stop like last time— those words flowing into his brain and controlling his movements as if he was nothing but a puppet. His heart sped up when that didn’t happen, and he flew higher. His captor wasn’t doing anything besides standing there and watching him, his figure getting smaller and smaller the higher Dew went.

Dew couldn’t hold himself back anymore. He couldn’t resist freedom being closer than it had ever been before. His wings flapped into the air with a hope that was almost too much to bear. Was he really doing this? Was this it? He reached the top of the trees, and was about to fly above the forest and into the clouds when he suddenly felt a sharp pain all over his body.

A faint “It worked!” could be heard from the ground, but that hardly mattered.

Dew screamed, his voice a shattering shriek. He grabbed at his neck– his arms– his head– but the feeling of every fiber in his body being on fire wouldn’t go away. His eyes widened as he felt himself falling, trying and failing to flap his wings and catch himself. His wings had stopped working, going limp in the air while he cried. He couldn’t fly. He flailed his arms as he plummeted to the ground, down and down and down.

Dew landed roughly on a large tree branch, getting the wind knocked out of him and scraping his arms while trying to hang on. His body stinged, splinters digging into his hands and panic rising in his gut. Dew’s grip loosened and he tumbled to the ground, with no way to soften the landing.

He laid there for a few moments, his head pounding with a terrible ringing in his ears. His wings twitched as his muscles gained control over them and his body again. Dew’s hands curled into the dirt and he scrunched up in a ball, not caring that his hair was getting tangled in the autumn leaves. He didn’t move from the spot.

“Shit.” Dew heard the scientist curse as he ran towards him. Lying there would do nothing, Dew realized. He felt his blood boil, this time in anger as he turned his head to face him.

“Wh-what did you think was gonna happen?” Dew spat, still struggling on the ground, trying to sit up.

“I didn’t think you would try flying away, since I specifically told you not to,” Anton sneered.

Dew felt venom rise in his throat. “How could I resist? You told me to fly! Why the fuck wouldn’t I try to leave?!”

“Because you should have known I’m smarter than just letting you go like that. And because you should know you’re never leaving.” Anton sighed. “Come here, I’ll help you.”

“No.” Dew blinked back tears. His arm that he landed on hurt, bad. He needed help. But fuck, he was angry. Dew huffed in frustration and crawled towards Anton, letting the scientist help him stand. Dew leaned against him as they walked towards the cabin.

“W-what even happened up there?” Dew’s voice wobbled as he spoke. “What did you do to me?”

“Oh,” Anton took out the device he used for mind-controlling him. “If you fly too far away, there’s an invisible barrier that sends a shock through your nervous system to stop you from leaving.” Anton spoke as if that wasn’t completely earth-shattering news to his little lab rat. He set Dew down on the stairs, and took out a first aid kit.

“A-Anton,” Dew began, voice wavering. “Please, p-please tell me there’s a way to turn that off.”

“There is,” Anton replied simply. “But we’ll never need to use it.” Anton started looking over Dew’s wounds. He had a lot of cuts and scrapes from falling through the trees, but nothing that couldn’t be easily patched up. “I just thought it’d be fun for you to fly outside for once, safely, without risking you escaping.”

Dew ignored what the scientist was doing and stared at him, eyes burning with hatred. He could grab the pen from his pocket and stab it into the scientist’s eye and take the device that controlled his body. He could destroy it and fly away before his captor could catch him. He could be free. Right. Now.

Dew shook those thoughts away. It was the worst idea he had ever had, and he knew it would never work. He tried to calm his racing heart, and stop the fire rising in his throat. The scientist was just toying with him. He needed to calm down before he made things worse.

He hissed back a whine as his wounds were tended to. Anton didn’t seem to care about his pain, and held Dew firmly in place.

He looked at the sky, needing a distraction. But the sun was so bright and it hurt his eyes, so he looked away. He caught a glimpse of Sasha through the cabin window, and Dew tilted his head. They were watching him. Of course, Anton had allowed Sasha free reign of his house, probably even the outside too. The two of them stared at each other. Sasha knew what he was thinking, and the snake slowly shook their head “no.” Dew knew what they meant. Don't try escaping. It’s not your time. Stick to the plan.

Despite his friend only trying to help, Dew felt himself deflate, all the hope and fiery spark of adrenaline leaving him. His only option really was to comply for now, despite being so close to freedom. It would be hard; Dew would have to force himself to fly into the cool air while not going too far away. Whatever that meant.

“What now?” Dew asked begrudgingly.

“You and Sasha done with your staring contest?”

“Uh– yeah?”

“Then keep flying out here.” Anton shrugged and sat down on the porch stairs. “It’s what you always wanted to do, isn’t it?”

“W-well yeah, but—”

“I’m not letting you go. This is the closest thing you’ll ever get.”

Dew didn’t waste his time, he jumped into the air. He hovered in front of Anton for a few seconds, before darted away into the trees. Anton smirked and leaned back against the porch railing.

Dew flew over the cabin and landed on the roof. His heart pounded through his skull and he felt like it would explode. He wanted so badly to leave, fly away and never turn back. But he knew what would happen, so he would play Anton’s game. For now.

Dew sat perched up there for a few moments, looking around him. What were the limits? Dew questioned. Despite still being trapped, he wanted to make the most of this new development. How far could he fly without his entire body being electrocuted and cause his wings to momentarily stop working? Dew shuddered even thinking about it.

He wondered what his captor was up to. Dew slowly crawled across the roof and peaked over the edge directly above the scientist. Anton looked up, Dew scurred backwards.

…There always was the possibility of Dew being able to snatch that device away from him so he couldn’t be controlled anymore. He shuddered thinking about it. The chip in his brain that allowed himself to be mind-controlled, now shocked him whenever he went too far away. It was honestly impressive how much Anton could do to him now, just to keep him his.

But Dew knew that trying to escape would be futile now. He had a plan and needed to stick to it. But… Now there was a hole in their plan. Dew couldn’t actually leave. Shit.

He would have to tell Sasha about this new development later, and fit, “stealing the device connected to Dew’s brain chip from Anton,” into their escape plan.

So for now, Dew took advantage of his free time outside. He stood on top of the roof and spread his wings out, cherishing how relaxing and satisfying it felt to finally not have them restrained outdoors. He started flying again, careful to not go too high or far and hurt himself again.

He looked down to see Anton, nothing but a fleck of dust to him at this height. It felt so surreal, like a dream. Dew had dreamed a lot about days of flying freely, finally escaping the clutches of captivity and being kept as a test subject. This felt like those dreams, this felt too good to be true, even if he was still trapped. But it also felt so real.

…Because it was. Anton simply wanted to let Dew have fun for once.

“I’m going for a walk!” Anton called from below.

Dew stared at him, and then slowly made his way to the ground. He stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to say.

“You can come with me, you know.”

Dew looked at Anton, then back at the cabin. “But–”

“The barrier isn't surrounding the house, it's around me. As long as you’re by me, you’ll be fine.”

Oh.

Dew walked up to him. “Same, uh, distance?” He asked.

Anton nodded. “Same distance.”

With that, Dew darted up into the trees, out of his captor’s sight. Anton walked the same trail they always had, but instead of walking, Dew was hopping from tree to tree, taking the high ground. It was oddly satisfying watching the scientist from above, like he was nothing but a bug that could be easily stomped on.

As Anton kept walking, Dew kept following from above, sometimes gliding in a circle above the scientist, like a crow surrounding a decaying carcass. Anton paid him no mind, just kept walking at a leisurely pace, letting Dew explore the woods around him.

Then Dew sat, perched on a tree branch, when a squirrel scurried up to him. He went ridgid, expecting it to run away. But it sat there with him on that tree branch, doing its own thing. Dew stared, confused, but content. He and the squirrel were both just… existing. At the same time, in the same space, doing the same thing, but in far different circumstances neither of them could try to comprehend from each other. And that was okay. Dew liked existing with this little squirrel.

Dew sat there for a while, forgetting that Anton was still walking. After a few minutes, Dew realized that he’d get shocked again if he didn’t keep following along Anton. But he didn’t want to leave his new friend. He’d never see them ever again after this.

“A-Anton,” Dew said quietly, not wanting to spook away the squirrel that had curled up against his leg. The scientist was far up ahead of him, down the trail, probably assuming Dew would be keeping up. There was no way for Anton to hear what Dew was saying. He sighed, and called out a little louder this time. “Anton!”

That got his attention. Anton turned, looking around in confusion on where Dew’s voice was coming from, until he spotted him very high up in a tree.

“What?” Anton asked.

Dew gestured to the squirrel. “I, I wanna sit here for a little bit. With, uh, with the squirrel.”

Anton stared. “You do that then!” He called.

“...Thanks!”

Dew sat up there for a long time, unable to tell if it was minutes or hours. But by the sun setting and turning the sky into bright hues of pink and orange, Dew realized that Anton had let him spend all day out there. He realized he didn’t remember the last time he watched the sunset with anyone. And now here he was, sitting on a tree branch looking over the forest, with his squirrel friend still by his side.

But he was getting hungry. Obviously, it must be around 6pm now. The days had been getting shorter as the weather got colder, but it wasn’t like that mattered in the lab.

Dew said goodbye to the squirrel once it became too dark to see it. He landed softly on the ground, and found Anton sitting in some grass under the tree.

Dew choked back a laugh. “What are those?” He asked.

“Night vision goggles?” Anton crossed his arms. “I don’t want to lose sight of you out here.”

“They look so stupid.” Dew snickered.

“Shut up,” Anton said.

The two of them walked back towards the cabin, and Dew realized how cold it had gotten outside. Obviously, it was already autumn. Dew shivered as he walked, socks getting wet from the dewy grass.

He walked inside without a fuss, wanting to warm up. As Anton kicked his shoes off, Dew took a look around his cabin, having never actually been inside this place much before.

And before Anton could escort him to the lab, Dew spoke up. “Where’s Sasha?”

“In their room.”

“Where’s that?”

Anton pointed to a door, “Over there.”

Dew nodded awkwardly and shuffled his way towards it.

“Woah, hey!” Anton stopped him from moving. “Why are you shivering?”

“...I’m cold?”

Anton rolled his eyes and stepped around the corner. He came back with a blanket and draped it around Dew’s shoulders. “You should’ve told me you were cold. I don’t want you getting sick again.”

“Oh. Okay. Can I go see Sasha?”

“I don’t see why not.”

The two of them spent the rest of their free day hanging out with Sasha in their enclosure. Anton had built a large enclosure, almost resembling a mini rainforest, inside one of the rooms in his cabin. It was a perfect habitat for his snake friend; their own little world to themselves. The scientist still gave Sasha free reign of the house, it was their home too, after all.

The three of them sat in a circle and talked for a bit. After a while, they sat in comfortable silence. It was peaceful, somehow. Dew felt safe.

. . .

It was getting late, and it was hard to believe that Dew had spent the entire day above the lab, without attempting any real escapes. It made Dew feel incredibly guilty, but he knew he had to wait it out. He had to gain Anton’s trust, and he had to wait for his plan.

Eventually, Anton took Dew back down the stairs. He said goodnight to Sasha, and walked down willingly. It was hard. Dew distracted himself by thinking of what’d it be like finally escaping this place, flying freely outside for real.

Soon, he thought. He’d get out of this place soon.

The lab was dark when they opened the door. As they were walking to Dew’s room, Anton spoke up.

“So, today was… fun. I suppose. I’m proud of you for not running.”

Dew’s heart sped up. “Um, y-yeah. Thanks.”

“I wouldn’t mind having one day of the week as a free day. As long as you keep behaving, I don’t see why not. I prefer to just always work on my experiments, but your needs need to be met as well, since you’ll be here forever. How does every Saturday sound?”

“G-good. Yeah. That sounds good.”

“Great.” Anton smiled. They arrived at Dew's room, and Anton opened the door for his test subject. Dew walked inside timidly, eyes downcast. He really was getting used to this routine.

“Goodnight, Dew.”

“...Night.” The lights flickered off and Anton was gone. Faint sounds of the scientist's footsteps could be heard walking through the lab and out the exit.

Dew sighed and laid down in bed. It was so quiet. Dew missed the sounds of the birds chirping, of leaves rustling in the wind. Dew missed existing in the same space with others in a way that felt safe. Dew missed flying outside. Holy shit, that was the best thing that had ever happened to him, despite falling to the ground and getting hurt.

It was surreal, the whole day. It would almost feel like a dream. His captor had not only agreed to give him one day a week free for him to do whatever he wanted, free from experimentation and pain, but allowed him to fly outside. Sure, there was now the threat of… being electrocuted every time Dew left the area around Anton’s cabin. That was bad. But it was progress. Flying outside was something Dew had always wanted to do since he got his wings, and he did it, just like that!

The only thing that would make it better was to fly freely. He’d get there, of course, once he escapes.

Speaking of escape, Dew sat up in bed when he heard the familiar rustle of the vents above his head, signifying Sasha was there. They were a better escape artist than he was, having already found a way down here from up there. Dew supposed that made sense; snakes were escape artists in nature.

“Hey!” Sasha said, opening the latch with their tail.

“Hi,” Dew said. He grabbed his new night-light and held it up to them. “Look what Anton got me. It’s a little ghost light.”

“That’s cool. What’s a ghost?”

“I guess you wouldn’t know, huh? Okay… Ghosts are spirits. Like, like the soul of a dead person, they don’t exist in the physical plane. Nobody can see or hear them, but they can haunt people. And they’re not real– obviously. I used to believe in ghosts and then… then my parents died. And uh, if ghosts were real, my parents would have probably found a way to contact me. But they’re gone. But that doesn’t matter!”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. Let’s just hope I can get outta here before Halloween. This little ghost would be perfect for that.”

“You’ll get out in no time, Dew.”

“Yeah.” Dew turned the light on, surprising them both with the brightness of it. “And look! It’s really bright so it’ll be perfect for mapping things out up there. You might have a good sense of direction, but I don’t.”

“Good idea!”

“Let’s go, it’s kinda chilly in here.”

Dew and his escape artist friend hopped up into the vents, using his night-light to make a windy and swirly map that was somewhat beginning to make sense. Their goal was to find the quickest possible route to the surface and map out a real exit. The steps after that, well… Dew just hoped he could finally get out of this torment, mostly unscathed.

Not to mention, they now had to find a way to get that device away from Anton. Escaping the cabin is useless when Dew can’t even leave without being shocked.

But they were sure they could do it, if they kept working together. Exploring the vents had been fun with Sasha. Sometimes Dew would bring his blanket up there and they would use his night-light to tell stories. Dew was thankful to finally have someone he could trust here, to finally have a friend he could talk to.

And that filled him with more hope, knowing that he’d finally be out of here soon. He would finally talk to his friends again, and spend time with his pets. He would finally sleep in his own bed and wear his own clothes. He would do whatever he wanted. He would fly, truly free.

Dew was getting closer and closer to escape, and he couldn’t be more excited.

—

This is Dew’s ghost light btw

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runawrites-blog · 10 months ago

Text

Until The Break Of Dawn Ch. 7 (Josh Washington x Reader)

Summary: You plan on making your escape with your friends but it's not easy. (Female Reader) Warnings: Talk of Mental Health. Grief. Reader has to let go of the last gift her father gave her. Fire. Wendigos. Specific warnings will be posted in the notes of each chapter. No Y/N, Petnames (Honey) Author's Note: You can find the previous chapter here. Crossposted on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/49644949/chapters/125305714#workskin

“It’s not much further.”

Josh kept his hand securely around yours, nodding along to your words and still trying to warm you up as he mumbled reassurances to you, though you wondered whether or not he was saying these things to also encourage himself. The wind was still howling around the mountain as you made your way down a rather steep slope that would lead you into a small ravine and then up onto a trail once you’d exited that ravine on the other side. He’d proclaimed that it was much quicker than going all the way around the ravine.

You were freezing, despite Josh’s best efforts to keep you warm by periodically wrapping his arm around your shoulders to rub them, in pain from the deep scratches on your arm and flinching at every noise you heard. But you had to keep going. There was no time to be scared when your life and the lives of your loved ones were on the line -- you’d learned that the hard way years ago. And though you tried your hardest to keep strong Josh seemed to notice something was off, his eyes flicking to your face every once and again to check on you. He had been mumbling to himself about the mines for a while now but once he’d seen your state, he’d quieted down, now looking more concerned than anything.

“You look scared.”

“I’m fine, Josh.” You assured him as you watched him go down the last bit of the slope before helping you down after him. “How are you?”

“Terrified and horrified.” He nodded and pulled you closer again once you’d gotten to the bottom of the ravine. “I just-- Being with someone else, especially you, is helping a lot and-- and I know we’ll be back to safety soon.”

“That’s good to hear.” You whispered back as you kept walking. “Josh, what happened to your sisters down there was not your fault, you know that, right?”

“Logically, I know that the prank played on them and-- and what happened in those mines wasn’t my fault but-- but it’s still hard to remind myself of that sometimes.” He explained as you passed through a thicket of trees. “Thank you for always being there for me.”

“Right back at you, Sweetheart.”

“Are you sure you’re fine? You must be scared.”

“We need to keep going.”

Before Josh could answer there were noises coming your way and you both backed away in fear. Josh tried to shove you behind himself to protect you but you wanted to keep him safe so you grabbed a nearby branch and readied yourself to fight. But your fear turned to absolute joy when Matt and Jess emerged from the treeline. Immediately, you ran to embrace Jessica, hugging her tightly as she wrapped her arms around you.

“You’re alive! You can’t imagine how worried I was.” You squeezed her a little tighter as you spoke. “I’m so fucking sorry I left you.”

“No, no, it’s alright. You-- You lured it away from me and probably saved me. I’m just so-- I’m so glad that you are alright.”

“I’m so glad that you are alright, Jess.” You said and pulled back to look at Matt. “Are you alright? Emily said the radio tower fell and you jumped to get to safety. Did you get hurt?”

Matt nodded his head, a guilty expression on his face. “Is she angry that I left?”

“She seemed upset but I’m sure after everything that happened she’ll just be relieved to see that you’re alive.”

Josh grabbed onto your arm and made you look at him. “We have to get to the cable car, Honey. Let’s go.”

“Can you two walk?” You asked Matt and Jess, smiling in relief when they nodded. “Then let’s get going.”

Jess gave Matt a worried expression to which he simply extended his arm to her. She quickly grabbed it and clung to it tightly as you all set out. Josh’s hand found its way to your back as he guided you along the ravine and toward the ascend you’d have to get up to get onto one of the main trails.

You had just begun ascending the small hill when you heard a screeching sound from behind you. Fear immediately gripped ahold of you and you felt your eyes tear up at the realization that those creatures had once more ventured out of the mines, that you weren’t even safe outside that horrid place. Jess's fearful whimpers and Josh’s hand grabbing yours stopped you from spiraling into those helpless thoughts. You could still outrun these creatures and help your friends. Matt looked around to see where the creature was coming from, bringing an arm up to shield Jess. It was Josh who saw where the Wendigo was and when he did he grabbed your arm, pulling you up the ascend after him. Matt and Jess quickly followed as the creature took chase.

“The guest cabin is just up ahead! We can hide in there!”

Josh didn’t give you time to question his suggestion and simply shoved you inside, waiting for Matt and Jess to follow before he slammed the door shut. However, the window on the door was broken and the Wendigo quickly took the opportunity to try and get inside. Jess screamed in fear as she grabbed Matt by the arm to pull him toward the bathroom and you followed her quickly, Josh right behind you. Once in the bathroom, you slammed the door shut. The Wendigo was not deterred by the closed door and kept trying to break it down, scratching at it and rattling it. Jess was covering her ears and Matt was crowding her away from the door, staring at it in horror. You grabbed for Josh’s arm, fear overtaking you as he realized that now you couldn’t even run away anymore, that you were trapped. Josh felt your nails digging into his biceps and eyed you in worry, still keeping his head turned toward the door.

“Are you alright, Honey?”

But you didn’t answer as the true hopelessness of the situation sank into you. You were trapped, locked in a small cabin out on the mountain with a Wendigo trying to break down the door. There was nowhere to run and no way to make it to the people who depended on you to get them the key. The hopelessness brought with it panic and you heard your breath hitch before you even realized you were crying, tears running down your cheeks. Josh called out your name once more but the only reply he got was your broken sobs, all the fear you’d been feeling pouring out of you in the form of tears.

Josh reacted immediately and pulled you into his arms, a hand coming up to cradle the back of your head and allow you to bury your face at his shoulder. You quickly embraced him back, fingers digging into his back as you held onto him.

“I’m so scared, Josh.” You got out between your sobs, voice shaking with emotion. “We’re trapped and I’m so fucking scared. I’ve been so terrified all-- all night and I just-- I can’t keep it together, I’m so sorry. I should be there for you and-- and get us off this mountain but I am just so scared.”

“There is nothing to apologize for.” He soothed, leaning his cheek against your head as he kept his eyes fixed on the door. “It’s absolutely normal to be scared in a fucked up situation like this. You’re allowed to feel scared and you can still be there for me.”

“I’m scared, too.” Jess spoke up from where she was half-hidden behind Matt. “But we’re all in the same boat, so we will keep each other safe. I promise that-- that we won’t leave you behind.”

“No one gets left behind.” Matt said, keeping his eyes locked on the door as the Wendigo clawed at it. “We’re all smart people and we’ll figure something out.”

“How will I get us to safety when I’m this scared?”

“You won’t have to do anything alone. We’ll get off this mountain together.” Josh promised, keeping an eye on the door and frowning when you winced at the Wendigo’s attempts to get inside. “You don’t have to do everything alone. I will keep you safe.”

You took a shuddering breath at his words and slowly pulled back to look at him, watching as pain crossed his features at seeing how scared you looked. But he just reached up to cradle your face in his hands.

“We will get off this mountain, I promise.”

“Thank you, Josh.” You whispered, reaching up to wipe your tears away, feeling a lot better though your fingers still shook and you still felt heavy with fear. “Thank you, Jess and Matt.”

Matt looked back at you. “We will figure something out.”

“But how do we get out of here?”

“There’s windows in there.” Jess commented, pointing her thumb at the broken window behind her. “But it’s too narrow for us to fit.”

Matt nodded, concern clear on his face. “But we can’t go through the door, either.”

“When Mike and I went through the Sanatorium, he used fire to chase the Wendigos away.” You recollected and reached into your pocket to once more pull out your lighter. “But I doubt a small lighter could scare it off.”

“Not on its own but we can combine it with this.”

You all turned to Josh to find him holding a can of deodorant he’d taken out from the cabinet under the sink. His relieved smile gave you hope that you might actually make it to the cable car and get off this mountain. He held out his hand and you tossed him the lighter, watching as he readied himself to use it and the spray can as a makeshift flame thrower.

“So what’s the plan here?”

Jess turned to Matt. “We use the deodorant and lighter to scare it off, so we can make a run for it.”

“Then I say we ready ourselves to run once Josh has scared it off.”

Josh nodded and lit the lighter, readying the spray can and placing a finger on its button. Matt stepped forward and grabbed the handle to the door, taking a deep breath before he gently shoved Jess to the side, out of the way of the action. Then he gave Josh an inquisitive glance, silently asking whether or not he was ready. Josh took a step to the side, situating himself between you and the door, making sure that you were covered. Then he gave Matt a small nod.

As soon as Matt opened the door the Wendigo tried to get inside but Josh was faster, pressing the button on the spray can and sending a gust of fire straight at the creature. The Wendigo retreated at the fire and Josh stepped after it, keeping up his assault on the creature until it was in the hallway. The rest of you followed him and then he turned, crowding the Wendigo back into the bathroom before slamming the door shut. You, Matt, and Jess quickly took the initiative to move the dresser that stood in the hallway in front of the door and Josh handed the lighter back to you.

“Will it get back out?” Jess asked in uncertainty, grabbing for Matt’s arm as the Wendigo tried to get out through the door. “Can it fit through the window?”

“It might take a while for it to get back out.” Matt said and grabbed Jess by the wrist, gently pulling her after him. “We better get going.”

“We can’t just leave it in there.” You looked at the blocked door. “We need to do something to make sure it won’t follow us.”

Josh gestured around himself. “This whole thing is made out of wood. We could light it up and make a run for it.”

“You want to light your family’s guest cabin up?”

“We rarely stayed here and I doubt I’ll ever want to come back up here, anyway.”

Jess looked at you with a hopeful smile. “There’s a bottle of chimney lighter next to the fireplace. Maybe we can use that to help start the fire. We can use your lighter.”

“What are we waiting for?” Matt nodded in agreement. “I’ll get the chimney lighter.”

You took out the lighter while Matt ran, holding it in your hand and looking at it for a second. For years you had carried the lighter around, the last gift your father had ever had the chance to give you, the present he had hoped to use together with you. If you threw it into the cabin, into the chimney lighter, you wouldn’t be able to get it back. Slowly, you stroked a thumb over the silver surface, running it across where your name was carved into it.

“I’m back.” Matt proclaimed, opening the bottle and dozing the floor in front of the bathroom door in the fluid. “Get ready.”

Squeezing the lighter in your hands you took a deep breath, mentally reminding yourself that doing this was important for your survival. But the thought of parting from a sentimental item your late father had gifted you made your eyes tear up. Josh gave you a worried glance as he saw you clench the lighter and placed a hand on your closed fist.

“Honey, I know letting go of the lighter is hard and I understand that it’s painful.” Josh whispered, getting closer to you. “So if you want me to do it for you, I will.”

“No, I’ll be fine.”

Jess looked at you in confusion. “What’s so special about it?”

“Her father gave it to her before he disappeared. It was meant for family camping trips and teaching her how to light a campfire.” Josh explained, squeezing your hand. “It has sentimental value.”

“It’s ridiculous, I know.”

“It’s not.” Matt shook his head, frowning sadly. “I really get that it’s hard but it’s the only thing that will stop this creature from following us.”

“I know.” You took a shaky breath, looking at Josh with a thankful smile. “Thank you for the offer but I think I want to be the one to toss it into the fluid.”

Josh nodded and took your free hand. “You will always have your memories of him.”

You nodded at his words, knowing that he was right about that. Amongst your memories, you had photographs of him, other sentimental items, past gifts and so much more to remember your father by. So after waiting for Jess and Matt to move away from the door you uncurled your fist and took a deep breath. You brought the lighter to your lips, pressing a small kiss to it and thanking your father.

“Thank you, Dad, for once again saving me. I love you.”

Then you lit it and tossed it into the fluid, watching as the fire quickly prickled along the door. Knowing that the cabin would burn and the Wendigo wouldn’t be able to follow you, you all quickly fled the building. The three of you wasted no time heading for the cable car, running down the trails as fast as you could without slipping. Screeches echoed around you but you kept going, Josh keeping your hand firmly in his and pulling you along while Matt ushered Jess down the trail. When the cable car came into view you all rejoiced but your joy was short-lived before suddenly there was movement in the bushes ahead of you. Jess quietly urged you all to stay still, proclaiming that based on her observations in the mines the Wendigos would not see you if you didn’t move, and you grabbed Josh’s shoulder to steady him. With bated breath, you listened to the noise coming closer, hopeful that standing still would be enough to get whatever was in the undergrowth off your trail.

“You’re alive!”

You almost screamed in shock when Mike came out of the bush, looking at the three of you before pulling Jess into his arms, and holding her tight. She clung to him, breathing a shaky sigh of relief. And Mike wasn’t alone. Your other friends were with him, coming out of the bushes, stepping from a little beaten path onto the main trail. You felt tears of relief sting your eyes as you saw that were all alive. They were battered, bruised, and scared but they were alive. But there was no time for reunions because Sam quickly started ushering all of you down the path again.

“We need to get moving and get off this mountain!”

Now reunited, you all made your way to the cable car station, quickly getting inside and slamming the door shut behind you. Josh immediately put in the key, turning it and setting the cables into motion. The mechanical whirring was loud in the quiet night and you worried that one of the creatures would hear it. Josh saw how scared you looked and quickly pulled you close to him in the hopes of comforting you. Chris watched the two of you before he sighed softly.

“Josh, I’m sorry for leaving you in the barn. We should have never tied you up in there, let alone leave you alone.”

“It’s fine. I kind of-- I mean, I deserve it after what I did.”

“No, what you did was really fucked up but we-- we were supposed to be your friends, I was supposed to be your best friend, and you-- you needed us and we weren’t there for you.”

Josh shook his head again. “I really fucked up and I’m sorry. I just-- Fuck, you all came just to be there for me and I fucked everything up. We almost died because of me!”

Ashley piped up, giving him a soft smile. “Josh, this whole Wendigo situation is not your fault. You played a fucked up prank and-- and it will take some time for me to really-- to just trust you again. But the mines, the Wendigos, all of that, it was not your fault.”

“She’s right.” Mike said, making Josh turn to him in surprise. “Your girlfriend and I had a long talk on our way to the mines and it made me-- it made me come to the same conclusion as Ash. Your prank was fucked up but everything else that happened was really not your fault.”

“You weren’t the one that dragged me out of the cabin and into the mines.” Jess reasoned, sighing a little. “The practical pranks and all that stuff to scare us were stupid but you’re not the one that hurt me.”

“I’m not?”

“You’re the one that saved me back in the cabin.”

“Em and I were terrified when we thought there was a killer on the mountain.” Matt mumbled, leaning back against the console. “But it was nothing compared to what I felt when-- when these creatures followed us and-- and hunted me.”

Emily nodded and crossed her arms. “I mean without your dumb prank we wouldn’t have gone to the radio tower but it falling into the mines was not on you. I just-- It might take a bit for us to forgive you but we don’t blame you for all that happened.”

“Everyone will forgive you eventually. Some of us might just need a bit more time than others.” Chris promised, placing a hand on Josh’s shoulder. “But until then, we’ll still be there for you if you need us.”

“If you need anything, I will-- You just have to ask me if there’s anything I can do to help you. And not because I want to-- to urge you into forgiving me but because-- because I am so fucking sorry.”

“You could pay for the therapy we will no doubt need after this.” Emily said in sarcasm, making everyone go quiet. “What? You think we won’t need professional help after nearly being killed multiple times that night?”

Sam gave a dry chuckle, turning to Josh. “As long as the therapist we see isn’t Doctor Hill because I think he has not been helping you.”

“I think I should go somewhere else to, you know, get a second opinion or something.”

Before anyone could answer a loud metallic clang startled everyone as the cable car stopped inside the station. Mike quickly opened the door before turning back to Josh with a questioning look.

“It looks pretty small. We can probably all cram inside but can it carry all of us?”

“Yes, it can totally carry all of us down the mountain.”

Mike looked back at Matt in question. “You’re the most athletic one in the group. Do you think you’ll manage to turn the key to get the cable car moving and then jump inside? Chris and I will catch you.”

“Of course.” Matt nodded and turned to Emily who was watching him in worry. “You get inside and I’ll be right behind you.”

“Not that I doubt your abilities but do you think you won’t get hurt?”

“There’s no other thing to do, really. Someone has to turn the key.”

Emily was quiet for a few seconds, worrying her bottom lip as she looked up at her boyfriend before nodding. “Be careful, please.”

“I will. Now everyone get inside.”

Mike helped Jess inside and sat down with her while Ashley and Chris climbed in after them. The former sat down next to Jess and took Chris’ hand as soon as he was in the seat beside her. Sam ushered Emily inside who was still reluctant about the whole idea of Matt jumping into the cable car after turning the key. After they were inside, you helped Josh into the car, his movements apprehensive and uncertain. You guided him onto the bench and sat down next to him.

As you squeezed Josh’s hand Mike and Chris got to the door to catch Matt. He gave them a thumbs up and went to turn the key before sprinting for the cable car and jumping, just about making it before the car was too far from the ledge to get inside. Chris and Mike caught him by the arms before slamming the door shut. Emily was up in an instant to embrace Matt.

The car started to descend the mountain, leaving the cover of the station and everyone seemed to finally relax. Ashley let her head fall onto Chris’ shoulder, closing her eyes and he breathed a long sigh of relief. Next to them, Jess began to cry quietly and Mike rushed to her side to embrace her. Matt and Emily had not parted from their embrace but their shoulders relaxed visibly while Sam took a deep breath, letting her head fall against the door of the cable car as she gave you a small smile. You smiled back at her before turning to look at Josh.

But he wasn’t looking at you or anyone else. He was staring out the window of the cable car, mouth agape in horror and tears brimming at his eyes. You turned on the bench to face him, quickly inquiring what was wrong and his voice shook when he answered, tight with unushered tears.

“The lodge is on fire.”

Your head turned the second Josh spoke those words and you watched the immense fire on top of the mountain in shock. Everyone else had gone quiet and when you looked back at Josh you found him staring at the fire in despair, tears running down his cheeks.

“It’s all gone. All the memories of-- of Hannah and Beth, of our childhood are all gone.”

Gently, you placed a hand on Josh’s cheek but he wasn’t looking at you. He was averting his eyes onto anything other than you and that was a telltale sign that he was not doing good. You really couldn’t blame him but that didn’t stop your concern for his wellbeing. It was the tears running down his cheeks that made you draw him into your arms and he sobbed brokenly as you held him and let him cry.

To your surprise Ashley moved from her seat and over to the two of you to also wrap her arms around Josh and after her Chris quickly spurred into motion, coming out of his shock at seeing his friend break down to also embrace him. You gave them a thankful smile, tears in your eyes at how painful it was to watch Josh like this but touched by his friends’ care. Emily, Matt, and Mike kept their distance, not saying anything as they watched Josh cry while Jess placed a comforting hand on his forearm, the only place she could reach with how tightly he was being held. Sam did her best to place a grounding hand on Josh’s shoulder though it was hard to even reach him in between everyone else.

“We had no choice, Josh. I’m really sorry.” Sam whispered apologetically. “There were so many Wendigos in the lodge and we-- we had to make sure they weren’t coming after us.”

“Josh, I am so sorry.” You whispered, holding him impossibly tight. “The lodge may be gone but your memories aren’t. You still remember them and your childhood with them, don’t you?”

Josh nodded, drawing in a shaky breath as he tried to stifle his tears. “I do. I just can’t believe that-- that the lodge is gone. It’s the last place I ever saw them .”

“Josh, we’re so sorry.” Mike said mournfully, voice tight with emotion. “But your girlfriend is right. The lodge is just-- just a material memory but you have so many more memories of-- of the twins to think back on.”

Chris leaned closer, making sure his friend was listening to him as he spoke. “They loved you a lot, Josh.”

He nodded once again at those words and slowly pulled back, his eyes still teary but now focusing on yours again as he took a deep breath. “Thank you for being there for me after everything I’ve done -- all of you.”

“We will always be there for you.”

Loud mechanical whirring made you all look up and to your great relief, you realized that you were almost at the cable car station at the bottom of the mountain. Your friends all looked just as relieved as you did and readied themselves to get out of the cable car. Slowly, you reached for Josh’s hand and he squeezed yours. When you looked at him he was giving you a small relieved smile and you couldn’t help but return that smile, knowing that against your worst fears, you had all gotten a happy ending and escaped.

“We are finally safe.”

#fanfiction #textpost #writing #until dawn x reader #until dawn #until dawn imagine #josh until dawn #until dawn josh #josh washington x reader #josh washington imagine #josh washington #no y/n #my writing

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phoenixyfriend · 7 months ago

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Entry of the Gladiators: 2

Chapter 2: They Fucked Up

A plan is made. The plan is not very good. They cannot exit the plan. Heck.

-------

Obi-Wan does his best to focus on the problem at hand, rather than the… choice of decorum that Anakin is exhibiting.

His former padawan is sitting on the floor, legs crossed, and eating from a bag of vegetable chips that he’s scavenged from the warlord’s refrigerator. Ahsoka sits next to him, and is intermittently trying to steal some.

She really shouldn’t. As much as a Togruta does need some vegetables in their system, Obi-Wan’s willing to take Anakin’s word for it that these are liable to upset Ahsoka’s stomach if she has more than one or two. Something about the type of oil that was used. If Anakin’s way of enforcing that limit is to insist that Ahsoka can only have some if she can successfully steal them… well, so be it.

“Count Dooku isn’t a Sith yet, correct?” Cody asks. He and Rex are still wearing their helmets and the rest of their armor. Obi-Wan’s pretty sure they’re monitoring possible threats from the warlord’s court, somehow, but he isn’t sure what method they’re using. Most likely, Anakin patched them into the existing security system.

Obi-Wan drags himself back to the moment. Sith. Right. “He isn’t even a Count, yet. He’s a Jedi. It’s still another five years, at least, before he leaves the Order.”

“So probably not a Sith,” Cody prompts.

“No, probably not a Sith.”

“And whoever taught him is probably the same person who taught Maul?” Anakin asks.

Obi-Wan shrugs. “If we assume the Rule of Two… I don’t know that we ever confirmed if Ventress counted towards that number, but regardless of either, there must be someone to have taught Maul.”

“How old would Maul be now?” Ahsoka asks.

“Mid-teens?” Obi-Wan hazards. “He’s… I think he’s younger than me, but I can’t be sure.”

Cody makes a small noise. “And your local self, Sir?”

“Eighteen,” Obi-Wan says. He glances at the screen again, just to check the date, and yes, it’s after his birthday. “Yes, eighteen. If Master Jinn and my younger self haven’t finished up with the mission to Mandalore yet, we will soon. I can’t honestly say I remember which month it ended, let alone which day.”

Anakin snorts. It might even be a snicker. Obi-Wan does the mature thing, and ignores him.

“So, there are at least two Sith, one of which is Maul and the other of which is his teacher,” Rex summarizes. “We need to know who the teacher is, in order to do anything about them before war breaks out.”

Obi-Wan rubs at his forehead. “The only leads we have are Maul and Dooku, and we have no idea when the Sith Master approached Dooku. We’d have to tail him indefinitely to know. If it was something like Qui-Gon’s death that pushed him to the dark, we might avoid it entirely.”

“Probably isn’t,” Anakin says, and only then swallows the mouthful of chips. That boy. “You said he was the name on the Kamino project contract, right? According to Fett?”

“Whose word we can’t really trust,” Obi-Wan points out. He glances at Rex and Cody. “Unless you have other information?”

They both shake their heads. “Financial espionage wasn’t ever on our list of duties,” Rex says, almost apologetic.

“Then we’re down to Maul and the hint that Dooku provided when I met him on Geonosis, which might well have been a lie in the first place,” Obi-Wan says, “so really, we’re down to Maul.”

“What lie, Master?” Ahsoka asks.

“He claimed that his master, that a Sith was in the Senate,” Obi-Wan tells her. “We, that is, the Council, tried to follow up on it, just in case, but the war took up too much time and we couldn’t find anything. The Chancellor had us call off the investigation after a few months. Unless we had new information come in, we were to focus on the war effort instead of the wild nuna chase that Dooku had sent us on.”

Anakin’s making a face. Obi-Wan tenses, ready for some comment or other about the Chancellor, but his padawan just heaves a heavy sigh. “So our only option is to either find Maul or wait for Dooku to get tapped?”

“No way to draw them out?” Cody asks. “Perhaps someone at the temple might have a plan.”

It’s true, but Obi-Wan’s gut lurches at the idea of going to the Temple. It’s like a hook through his abdomen, not truly painful, but… awfully discomforting.

Anakin and Ahsoka look just as sick as he does.

“…sir?” Cody prompts, hesitant in the way he usually isn’t. “Is there a problem with the Temple?”

“Yes,” Obi-Wan says. “I don’t know what, but… yes.”

“The Force is more insistent on that than most things,” Anakin says, grimacing. “Ugh. I’m going to be sick.”

(Continue on AO3)

#phoenix files #star wars #the clone wars #time travel #anakin skywalker #ahsoka tano #obi wan kenobi #captain rex #commander cody #asajj ventress #ky narec #fake sith au

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galaxy-stardust · 4 months ago

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Duskwood

Jakes view

Part 10

He tells her about every step he takes. He comes to a dead end.

No, MC, you're not a distributor. I'm glad that you're here with me. Somehow. Fuck, Alan is on his way to the mine?! If Michael sees Alan, he will know that MC will not come to meet him here. But I cannot leave the mine yet.

While he searches for hints, he finds the letter that was missing in Amy's house. They quickly talk about it while he makes his way through the tunnels.

Wait? What's that? I hear a noise. He lets MC know and logs off.

Sorry, MC, but I have to concentrate very much right now. He follows the noise. He saw the lights flicker. Shortly after, he enters a room with a computer. The monitor shows the stream. What the...? It's fake. Fuck! Why didn't I noticed that earlier?

I have to tell MC about it.

She already knows it? Ok... Alright.

What?! The FBI? That can't be possible. He feels his heart beat faster. Yeah, I can imagine that the damn FBI isn't here for Hannah and Richy.

Then he notices that the computer is receiving other signals. Michael installed countless security cameras. If I could deactivate the fake stream and activate the real stream, I could maybe find out where Hannah and Richy are.

He types MC his plan.

The group chat? No, I didn't follow the latest messages. Hannah, is she safe? A weight falls from his heart.

We did it. We saved her. Thank you, MC. Thank you so much.

And Richy? They haven't found him yet? I'm sorry to hear that, MC.

But I have to leave this mine immediately.

The hatch is locked? Fuck! No MC, I don't know of any other exit. Even if there is one, the FBI will position themselves at every single one.

If I remember the way out? Yes. And about the exit...

Don't worry, MC. I can imagine that you're worried. I would feel the same.

Hm, yes, how could you forget. For me it was as horrible as for you... seperated, not talking to you...

He takes a deep breath.

Thank you for trusting me MC, I will do it out of this mine and we will be together.

I hope to see you soon. MC.

He locks off. Using his hacking skills on the computer in front of him. Deactivates the stream and searches for a way out of the mine at the live stream.

Seriously Jake. What's wrong with you? Why didn't you tell her? He takes out his phone again.

He takes another deep breath and opens the chat with MC one more time.

He feels that his hands are shaking.

His heart beats faster.

MC...

He waits a few seconds. He is so nervous.

Come on, Jake...

The seconds that passed by while she typed felt like an eternity.

Finally, he reads her words.

He logs off. His heart skips a beat. He smiles. We will meet each other as soon as possible. Promised.

He takes a last look at her profile pic, smiles shyly, makes it possible for her to see the live stream as well, and puts his phone away.

I have to hurry. Wait, what's that? Michael, wounded... Jake follows his steps on the stream. He clicks through the different camera views. Is that?! Yes, it is. Another exit. Let's give it a try. He runs through the tunnels and stops when he hears a voice. Richy?

Jake hides behind a wall, seeing Richy talking into his phone. He wears the same clothes as... no, no way! It was Richy? All the time? Anger is coming up. He talks to MC, telling her what happened a few years ago.

Jake is not able to move. He cowers behind the wall, listening to Richy's words. Richy ends the call with MC, and a little later Jake hears Jessica's voice.

She must feel horrible.

He hears both of them crying. Richy ends the call with the words, "I'm sorry".

What am I supposed to do now? On one hand, he wants to tell Richy what he thinks about all of it. The kidnapper was always part of the group. I can't grasp it.

On the other hand, he really has to get out of this mine.

Right in this moment, he realizes that Richy has gotten himself into a standing position. What is he doing? Jake notices an unpleasant smell. Is that? Yes, fuel. Is he serious?

Fuck, I have to get out of here... Richy... in the moment Jake wants to get to him, flames were all around Richy...fuck!

The flames rapidly come closer to Jake. He puts on his mask ( he always has it with him even if he doesn't wear it but he really likes this thing and now it's actually helpfull) trying to hide his face from the flames. He coughs. The smoke is already thick and the heat is unbearable.

He follows the smoke, which moves in one direction. He can't see clearly. His eyes are burning. With the last of his strength, he stumbles out of the mine. He crawls a few meters away from the exit. He takes off his mask and breathes in the fresh air. Suddenly, he holds his breath and listens in the dark night. Nothing. The FBI hasn't reached this exit yet. He gets up, still breathing heavily. He throws away his mask and takes off his hoodie, which is smoldering from the fire.

He takes a last look back to the exit, the flames come out of the small hatch. He sees flashlights flicker; noises are coming nearer.

MC, I will find you.

With this thought, he starts running. Through the dense forest...in a starry night...

#jake duskwood #duskwood #my favourite hackerboy #duskwood fandom #duskwood fanfiction #jake x mc #jake x reader #duskwood jake x mc

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crystalninjaphoenix · 1 month ago

Text

The Escape

A JSE Fanfic

SepticHeroes AU: Part 34

First Part | Previous Part | Read on AO3 at CrystalNinjaPhoenix

This chapter is 8000 words long, and believe it or not, it was going to be even longer! But I had to cut things off because of, you know, pacing and stuff. Anyway fun fact, I think this is the only SepticHeroes chapter that Jackie isn't in! Because he was very specific that he couldn't be involved with this plan, not directly. Now onto the summary. The time has come for the group to try and break JJ out. Schneep and Marvin lead the charge, with some help from Marvin's friends... and Chase, for a brief moment. Some things go well, some things go poorly, but it MUST be a good overall plan, or else Anti-Virus might get suspicious. Hope you enjoy! :D

===============

Schneep had broken into many places in the past. Too many to count, really, some heists more successful than others. But he’d never broken into a prison before. And the first time he was trying it, it was Byrthon Vault, the most secure supervillain prison in the area. Shoot for the moon, was it?

It almost didn’t feel real as they set their plan in motion, driving out of the city and along a long hallway, approaching the coast. Though there were some moments when the drive felt all too real instead.

Marvin yelped as they went over yet another bump. “Chase, are you sure you have a driving license?”

“Hey, give me a break, I haven’t had much opportunity to drive,” Chase said, glancing back at him in the rear view mirror. “Daindover has a great train system, it’s not needed. I don’t even own a car, this is a rental!”

“Maybe you should be more careful with the car, then,” Marvin muttered.

Schneep chuckled, then returned to staring out the window, looking for their destination. He remembered how determined Chase had been to relearn driving after his initial accident over two years ago. His one piece of ID had been his driver’s license, so he might’ve felt some connection to it. But Chase was right, the city did have a great train system. Driving wasn’t really that necessary, so even though Chase had a new license and everything, he didn’t own a car, and hadn’t been driving in months. Still, he was the only one of their group with any knowledge of driving a car at all. So he was the only one who could move them around. He also insisted that he be involved in the plan in some way.

The car passed a sign indicating an exit up ahead. Schneep straightened up. “Get off the highway here, Chase,” he said. “This is the right place.”

“Really?” Chase looked at the upcoming road branching off. “Well. Hold on, Marvin, it’s about to get even bumpier.”

He turned the car onto a gravel road. Marvin braced himself, grabbing onto the back of the passenger seat in front of him. Neither he nor Schneep were sitting in the front—that honor went to Frosty (who Chase insisted on bringing just in case) and... Gwen. The Dismantler. She was staring out the front windshield excitedly, her leg bouncing with anticipation. Frosty, resting on the floor between her legs, looked slightly annoyed at the motion. “I can’t believe we’re actually doing this!” she said excitedly.

Marvin smiled nervously. “You’re, uh, sure we can’t convince you to stay behind?”

“And have you change the plan last moment? No way! You’ll need me!”

“Hah. I guess.” Marvin glanced at Schneep, who reached over and patted his shoulder reassuringly. Schneep wasn’t fond of taking a teenager to a prison break, either, but Gwen’s powers were crucial to the plan. The best they could do was keep an eye on her. Protect her above all else.

They drove until they were out of sight of the highway, and then some. Once the coast began to come into sight, the waters sparkling in the sunlight, Chase pulled to the side of the road and parked. “Alright. Everyone out.”

“No, wait, not yet,” Schneep said. “Don’t you remember, Chase? Gwen—the Dismantler has something for us.”

Gwen smiled. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a handful of devices. “These are how we will communicate with each other,” she said, passing one to each of the men. “Hook the curved part over your ear. This little bit with a circle on the end should be just over the hole in your ear.”

The three of them put on the earpieces. Schneep knew how to work this right away. He’d stolen devices like this before. Marvin quickly figured it out, having worked with something like this as well. But Chase seemed confused. “What’s this sticky bit dangling on the wire?” he asked, pinching the wire between finger and thumb.

“Oh, press the sticky thing to your throat, like this.” Schneep demonstrated, pressing the sticky pad right up against his Adam’s apple. “It will stay in place for about six hours. This is like the microphone. It will pick up on the vibrations of your vocal cords and send them to others on the frequency. It is not perfect, but most of the meaning will come through.”

“Once you switch on the earpiece, it will always transmit, so no talking to yourself, guys!” Gwen laughed, putting on her own device.

“And you’re sure this can’t be hacked in any way?” Marvin asked.

“They work like super-long-distance walkie-talkies. Not like phone calls. And it’s a completely closed circuit. I guess it’s not impossible to find the right frequency, but it’s more similar to radio waves than anything electronic. I’m pretty sure this Anti-Virus guy won’t be able to listen in.”

Marvin relaxed slightly. “Good to know.”

Chase hesitantly pushed the transmitter against his throat. He made a face. “That feels weird.” As he spoke, the other three heard his voice in their ears. “Alright. So I’ll just... be listening to everyone this whole time, then. Good to know.”

“You can turn it off by moving this switch here,” Gwen said, reaching up to the earpiece.

“No, then I’ll miss the signal that you guys are coming. And if you guys decide to change the meeting spot, I’ll need to know.” Chase took a deep breath. “Okay. Go on, you all. Hurry.”

The three of them climbed out of the car. Schneep knocked on the driver’s side window, and Chase rolled it down so he could speak with him. “Be safe, Chase,” he said. “If anyone notices you staying in one place for hours, they may find it suspicious.”

Chase smiled. “I think I have the least dangerous part of the plan. Good luck, Schneep. Marvin. Dismantler. Get JJ and get back safe.” He rolled up the window and put the car into gear. The three of them watched as he turned around and drove back to the highway.

As soon as Chase was gone, they started walking. Schneep led the way. Soon, a building came into sight. A warehouse sort of place, sat on the edge of a dock at the end of this gravel road. They stopped as soon as it came into sight, and Marvin and Gwen hid behind one of the many large rocks nearby while Schneep turned invisible. “How are things looking?” Gwen asked.

“It looks like we timed it correctly,” Schneep muttered. “All the trucks have arrived.”

The warehouse was surrounded by a simple-looking chain link fence. Through it, Schneep could see large trucks parked and people moving about. Most of them used forklifts to move around crates, but some carried them on their own with supernatural strength.

“Do you sense any cameras, Gwen?” Marvin asked.

“The Dismantler, Spitfire!” Gwen said, quickly pulling on the mask of her costume. All three of them were decked out in their supersuits—though hers wasn’t quite as fancy as the guys’. “And, uh, kinda. It’s hard to tell from this distance... but there’s definitely cameras there. I don’t think they have infrared vision, though? A camera with more features stands out more to me. I can sense more complicated stuff like that from farther away. If I can barely sense these, uh... yeah. So, go ahead, Specter. If you haven’t already.”

Schneep chuckled as he pulled on his goggles. “I am still here. But I will be leaving now. The next time you hear my voice, it will be through the earpiece only.” And he headed forwards towards the warehouse area.

This was the loading dock for the Vault. They had to get the food and other supplies to the island somehow. Thanks to Jackie asking the warden a lot of questions on his last visit, the group knew that the supplies came in from a boat drop twice per day, one in the morning and one in the evening. Currently, the workers were preparing for the evening drop. As busy as they were, they didn’t notice Schneep’s near-silent footsteps as he headed straight into the warehouse.

The supply boat was already being loaded. Schneep easily snuck on board, staying invisible and intangible the whole time. This boat was mostly one big cargo hold being continually filled with crates. There was one room off to the side full of carpentry tools, so Schneep grabbed a crowbar from there and went to look at the crates. He went deep into the cargo hold, opening up one of the deepest, most difficult-to-get-to crates of supplies with the crowbar. Inside were packets of instant food. Mashed potatoes, judging by the labels. It was a very big crate... perfect.

It took him a while to move all the packets out of the crate and hide them in the tool room, making sure they were covered by a tarp. Then he quickly put the crowbar back into place and returned to the dock and the warehouse, looking for the security room where all the cameras led to... there! It was a single small office full of monitors, all plugged into a power strip. That was a fire hazard waiting to happen. A single guard was in the office, paying more attention to his phone than the monitors. Schneep crouched down and quickly unplugged the power strip, causing all the monitors to go dark.

“Ah, what?” The guard sat up straight and started jiggling the mouse and pressing buttons on the keyboards and monitors. While he did that, Schneep quickly unplugged all the various cords plugged into the power strip and slipped the strip into his backpack, causing it to become invisible as well. Just in time for the guard to duck underneath the desk to look for the problem. “...what the fuck?” the guard whispered. He patted the floor, but Schneep remained intangible, so he found nothing. Leaving the guard to stand up, confused, and go find a new power strip.

“The cameras are down for now,” Schneep whispered into the transmitter. “Get in here!”

“On our way,” Marvin’s voice said in his ear.

Schneep then took out the power strip and put it back in place, not plugging anything in. Just to drive the guard crazy a little.

Ten minutes later, Marvin and Gwen had successfully snuck past the fence, into the warehouse, and onto the supply boat, moving remarkably fast. Schneep hurried onto the boat after them, muttering, “Go all the way to the back of the cargo hold.”

Gwen jumped in surprise, momentarily freezing. Luckily, Marvin maintained concentration, pulling her through a doorway just in time to avoid a worker pushing a crate on a dolly.

It’s honestly a miracle that the two of them manage to avoid all the other workers on the way to the cargo hold. Well... Schneep helped a bit, running around invisibly and warning them of people getting close. Soon, all three of them are by that crate Schneep opened up earlier. “It’s just the one, then?” Marvin muttered.

“I figured it was safer,” Schneep explained. “We do not want you to get separated.”

“Fair enough,” Gwen said. “C’mon, Spitfire.” She started to climb into the crate.

“No, I think it’ll be more comfortable if I go in first,” Marvin said, nudging her back. After a moment of adjustment, the two of them were settled in, with Marvin pushed up against one wall and Gwen against the other, her legs on top of his. “Is this a good time to mention I-I’m a bit claustrophobic?” Marvin asked nervously.

“Would’ve been nice to know earlier, Spitfire!” Gwen said. She nudged him, poking his chest with her boot. “You let me know if you’re freaking out, I’ll help you out, okay?”

Marvin laughed. “I-I can handle it, but thanks, Dismantler. You let me know if you need anything, too.”

“Adorable, you two,” Schneep commented idly, picking up the crate lid. “You are like her dad.”

“Hey, I already have a dad!” Gwen said defensively. “If anything, Spitfire is like my weird older brother.”

Marvin laughed again. “Thanks, Gw—Dismantler. Specter, hurry and put the lid on, people might come by soon.”

Specter placed the lid on top. “Try not to bump it too much, it is not secured,” he muttered.

Soon after, activity in the cargo hold picked up as everything was tied down. Schneep stood by the crate silently, making sure that nothing happened to it and nobody noticed the loose lid. Then the boat got underway, the deck shifting beneath his feet. He quickly sat down. This was going to be a long ride. He hoped Marvin and Gwen would be alright.

===============

A while later—an hour or longer, he wasn’t sure—Schneep heard activity on the decks above start to kick up again. “I think we’re approaching the island,” he mutters. “I am going above deck.”

“Good luck!” Gwen’s voice came through the earpiece.

Marvin didn’t reply, which sort of worried Schneep. Maybe Marvin was more claustrophobic than he let on? Maybe he was freaking out? “Marvin, is everything okay?” Schneep asked.

“Fine.” Marvin’s voice was slightly strangled. “Go on, hurry. We can’t afford a delay.”

“Alright. If you insist.” Schneep hurried out of the cargo hold, still invisible and mostly intangible.

The Vault loomed tall in the distance. Schneep had seen videos and pictures of it, seeking them out in anticipation of this break-out, but it was another thing altogether to see it in person. He couldn’t help but whistle as he saw how high the metal walls were—which really confused the cluster of crew members he was standing nearby. As the crew members wondered if that was a bird or if someone else whistled, Schneep got an idea. He slowly stepped into their midst. The cameras around the outside of the Vault walls would definitely have infrared vision. Standing in the middle of a group like this would camouflage his heat signature.

The boat docked at a small metal pier. Schneep stuck close to this group of crew members until they eventually split up, and then he just tried to walk as closely to one of them as possible.

“Okay, I can sense the tech now,” Gwen said over the earpiece. “All the walls are covered in all sorts of sensors. I can sorta tell what the shape of the wall is by where the sensors are placed. Do you see an arch of some kind? Some sort of door?”

Schneep broke away from the crew member he was following so they couldn’t hear him. “I do,” he whispered.

“I’m going to disable a lot of the sensors on the wall about two meters to the left of that arch. It’s gonna be a narrow sliver, only about half a meter wide, because it’ll be really weird if a person-shaped area just all of a sudden goes down at once. I’m going to dismantle some other spots as well so it’s not as suspicious.”

“You are sure they won’t be able to fix the problems remotely?” Schneep muttered.

“Yeah. Unless they have like... nanotechnology or tiny remote-controlled repair robots or something. But I think the League would use that more often if they had that.” Gwen laughed, then became serious again. “But really, remember that I’m not hacking the sensors or anything. I’m literally breaking them, physically. Well, uh, I’m disconnecting the part of it that sends the infrared signatures. But like I said. I’m doing that physically.”

“Got it.” Schneep nodded to himself. “So they would need to send someone to repair it.”

“And they’ll probably waste some time testing to see if the software has a problem,” Marvin chuckled.

“Just tell me when to do the disabling, Specter!” Gwen whisper-shouted eagerly.

“I will.”

Schneep walked alongside another crew member, sticking as close to them as possible as they went about business docking the boat. And then, as crew members started walking off the boat, he shifted to following one of the disembarking sailors. And from there, he kept switching as he got closer and closer to the door, walking up the path towards it.

The door in the wall opened, and two people walked out, wearing uniforms that were mostly black but with blue highlights. One of the sailors—the captain, Schneep guessed, judging by the uniform—walked towards them, and Schneep quickly shifted to following him. This was as close as he was going to get! “Now,” he whispered.

The captain glanced back in confusion at Schneep’s whisper, but upon seeing nothing, dismissed the sound. After a second, Gwen shouted, “Got it! Move!”

Schneep broke into a run, heading for that narrow area where Gwen said she would disable the sensors. There was no indication that anything had gone wrong, so he really just had to run fast and hope that he was heading to the right place.

He ran through the wall at what he thought was the right section, ending up in a surprisingly normal-looking hallway, with gray carpet and white-painted walls. Schneep quickly stepped into the nearest wall, staying there, in the middle of it. It was unlikely that there were infrared sensors in this section of the prison—they were pretty sure this was a staff area, so such intense security wouldn’t be as needed—but on the off chance there were, being inside the walls would be less suspicious. A weird blobby heat signature near a wall would draw less attention than a person-shaped heat signature walking down the middle of the hallway.

Now that he was inside, he was on limited time. Soon, the crates would be unloaded from the boat. Though Marvin and Gwen were hiding in one deep in the cargo hold, eventually the crate would be moved into range of the infrared sensors. And then—then the sensors would notice the weird heat signatures in the crate. The plan was for Schneep to find the security center and disable the infrared sensors at the source, just like in the warehouse.

He hurried through the hallways, trying to figure out where the security center would be. Occasionally, Marvin or Gwen would chime in with updates on how close the crew was getting to their crate. Things like “we can see them unloading things now” and “there are a few rows of crates between us and them.” Brief observations from the two of them poking their heads out of the crate for seconds at a time. The crew was moving fast! Why were they moving so much faster when unloading the ship than loading it?

“They’re really fucking close to us!” Marvin hissed. “I think we’re next!”

“I think I just found it,” Schneep muttered. There was a secure-looking metal door at the end of this hallway. Schneep hurried forward and poked his head through the door—

Only to see five people inside the room. Two of them were monitoring two separate screen setups at once, while two others were messing with a server rack in the corner, and another was watching the two mess with the server with her hands on her hips. “I swear I didn’t touch anything, they just went down,” she insisted.

Schneep pulled his head back, thoughts scrambling. He didn’t expect so many people to be monitoring the place! Kanchana said that prisons usually only had one or two guys monitoring the cameras! Stupid, stupid! He couldn’t distract five people at once!

“Maybe something went wrong out by the dock,” one of the people messing with the server said. “If there are some big waves out there, maybe they splashed the sensors and broke them.”

“What sort of third-rate infrared sensors are we using if splashing water breaks them?” The woman standing complained.

“They’re fairly old. I don’t know, it’s a possibility. I just hope they don’t all go down at once. They’re all due to break any day now, really.”

Schneep’s eyes widened. He quickly left the room, hovering in the middle of the hallway wall. “Dismantler! Can you dismantle all of the sensors?”

“Uh—yeah, but I thought we agreed that would be too suspicious?” Gwen asked, confused.

“Do it in waves! Turn them off from the bottom upwards. They think the seawater might be affecting the sensors, if we can make the disabling look natural—”

“Oh!” Marvin gasped. “That might work! Gwen, I’m going to carve a hole in the side of the crate. You can look out once we’re up above. Watch the sea waves and try to time the dismantling to their motion.”

“I... okay? I guess I can do that?” Gwen was clearly still confused but she was going with it. “Specter, move onto the next part.”

“I will.” The next step was to get Gwen close to this security center so she could, in her words, ‘bork it all at once.’ If she could dismantle a lot of the systems in there, the prison’s ability to monitor its cameras would go down everywhere. Of course, it meant that they had a limited amount of time to find JJ and get him out. But they’d have that, anyway. They could only hope that whoever tried to fix the security center systems would have trouble figuring it out.

This was a bit easier for Schneep, as he’d found the laundry earlier when looking for the security center. He headed back there and grabbed uniforms that looked like they would fit Gwen and Marvin—though it clearly wasn’t made for Gwen’s slight frame. He slipped that into his backpack, then headed to the storage area where all the crates were being delivered, waiting for Gwen and Marvin to arrive.

After a moment, Gwen muttered, “Alright, most of the sensors on the outside are taken care of. We’re heading in.”

And a few minutes after that, Schneep noticed a crate with a strange burnt hole in the side, about the size of a large coin. That was it. He hurried over. “Standing next to you now,” he reported through the earpiece. “We just need to wait a bit longer for the unloading to finish. Luckily, I did not see the interior of this storage area in the security center.”

“Huh?” Gwen whispered.

“They do not have cameras in here so you can quickly pull this on.”

“Oh good!”

As soon as it was all clear, Gwen and Marvin climbed out of the crate, with Marvin looking pale and shaky. He tumbled out of the crate and took some deep breaths on the ground. “Are you... are you really okay, Spitfire?” Gwen asked.

“Yes, you do not look so good,” Schneep added.

“I-I’ll be fine,” Marvin muttered. “Schneep, become visible again and give me the fucking uniform.”

Only a minute later, two guards stepped out of the storage room, walking side by side. Usually, the guards had their faces uncovered, but this pair were wearing black masks over the lower halves of their faces. Weird, but they were wearing uniforms, so clearly they were supposed to be here. Maybe they were sick or something.

“The security center is down the hall to the left,” Schneep whispered. “Tell us when you get close enough to dismantle things, G—Dismantler.”

They walked quietly for a while, trying to go as fast as possible without drawing too much attention from other guards. The masks were already suspicious enough. Until—“I can sense it,” Gwen whispered. “Hang on, I think I can pull apart all the computers from this distance.”

“Can you make it subtle?” Marvin asked.

“Course I can. I’m gonna bork all the insides but leave the outsides fine.” Gwen stopped walking, closing her eyes to hide the way they suddenly started glowing white. Marvin glanced back and forth, making sure that nobody else was coming, while Schneep already started thinking ahead to the next steps. They had to find JJ quickly. The plan was to sneak onto the supply boat with him to get off the island. It would do no good if it left before they could get on.

“Done.” Gwen opened her eyes again, the white light fading. “That’ll take them a while to figure out.”

“Be safe, Gwen,” Marvin whispered. “Let us know through the earpieces if anything goes wrong. We’ll get there right away.”

Gwen smiled beneath her mask. “I will!” Then she turned and hurried away, glancing back and waving. She was going to head back to the ship, to sneak on while the others rescued JJ. Her part was done, and now she had to get to safety. That was the only way Marvin would let her come, if she left as soon as she could.

Marvin took a deep breath. “Alright, Specter, did you find any way to get to the cell blocks?”

“I know how to get to the visitor’s room from here, and we can no doubt find our way from there. Turn right up here.”

Now that the camera systems were down, Marvin broke into a run, favoring speed over subtlety. Schneep hurried after him.

Marvin’s mad dash got strange looks from the prison guards and other workers, but none of them stopped him, assuming by his uniform that he was supposed to be here. Schneep muttered some directions to him, drawing on memory from Jackie’s information and his brief scouting of the area while looking for the security center. Soon, the two of them found their way through the near-identical hallways to the visitor’s room, heading through that to the actual prisoner area. Some of the doors along the way were locked, but Marvin just burned through the locks with beams of solid-heat energy. They would be gone before anyone noticed.

There was an abrupt shift in atmosphere once they arrived in the prisoner area. Instead of the generic-looking hallways that were all the same save for differences in carpet or tile, everything was made of metal. Marvin’s boots clanged against the floor, and Schneep had to be careful to avoid the same noise (disembodied footsteps would be very suspicious.) The hallways in the staff areas had signs for locations. There were none of those here. Maybe to confuse the prisoners?

Speaking of which, where were all the prisoners? Was it lights off already? They weren’t in a secure staff area anymore, wouldn’t they be allowed to walk around? Unless... they weren’t allowed? Or... they were, but they... chose not to?

And then, finally, they found a pair of signs. Simply ‘male’ and ‘female’, placed at an intersection with each having an arrow pointing to the left and right. “These must be the cell blocks!” Schneep said.

Marvin hurried down the hallway to the male cell block... and then skidded to a halt. “Holy...”

Schneep whistled, looking up at the floors of cells and catwalks. “This cannot be safe. Those are relatively low railings.” He paused. “It is uh... quite quiet.”

Marvin nodded. He looked to the side and noticed one of the prison guards lingering to the side, not really paying attention. Actually... a lot of the guards that they could see from here weren’t paying attention. They were chatting or staring off into space, clearly not really ‘guarding’ anything. “Excuse me,” he called to the nearest guard. “I’m looking for the Puppeteer, which cell is his?”

“The what?” The guard asked, blinking in confusion. “Why are you wearing a mask?”

“Sorry, I have a cold. You’ve never heard of the Puppeteer? His real name is, uh... last name Jackson, I think?”

“I think there are a couple supervillains who go by some sort of name like that... do you know the prisoner’s number?”

“Number? Um... I can’t quite remember.”

The guard nodded understandingly. “Yeah, I’m not good with numbers, either. Make some notes of it when the bosses tell you to get one of them. For now, you remember the system. The worse they are, the more stairs you climb.”

“Hah, yeah.” Marvin nodded back. “See you later.” He started up a nearby set of stairs, and Schneep followed along invisibly. “Number?” Marvin whispered angrily as soon as they were out of the guard’s earshot.

“Many prisons give prisoners numbers,” Schneep muttered.

“I know, but it’s the way the guy said it. I know Jackson is a common last name, but still. You picked up on the attitude too, didn’t you?”

“Yes, a bit. Anyway, where do you think JJ would be? Would they put him up on a higher floor?”

“Probably. He’s a pretty powerful Type C villain. That would be really bad in the League’s eyes.”

“Let us start from the top and search downwards, then. I will take the sixth floor, you take the fifth, let me know through the earpiece if you see him.”

“Got it.”

Schneep hurried up the staircase faster until he reached the top floor, then started walking along the cells. He could’ve walked straight into the cells, but he didn’t want to disturb the prisoner’s privacy, so instead he glanced into them through the clear doors. Strange... almost all of the cells had a prisoner inside, curled up on the bed. Were they... okay? It was evening, they couldn’t all be so tired...

===============

There was a gentle knocking sound on JJ’s cell door.

Immediately he sat up straight, wincing as the sudden movement caused his head to swim and his stomach to roil. He whistled, then signed, Soren, hide!

“Hm?” Soren looked over at the door. His eyes widened. “Shit, I don’t recognize that guard. Well it’s too late, he’s seen me!”

JJ glanced at the door as well, nervously trying to read the guard’s expression... wait a minute. That guard looked familiar, even with the face mask...

The guard waved, then looked upwards, as if waiting for something. Then suddenly looked down at the ground. And then someone appeared from nowhere next to the guard. Someone in an outfit that shifted color gently. Someone who looked into the cell and then ran right through the closed door into the room. “Jamie!” he shouted. “Oh my god, it is so good to see you again!”

Henrik?! Jameson asked. He glanced at the guard once more. Marvin?!

Marvin waved again.

“Do you... know these people?” Soren asked slowly.

“What the—who are you?” Schneep started in surprise. “Why are you two in the room together?” He paused. “Why are you two lying in bed together?”

There aren’t many places to sit down in here! Jameson said defensively. The ledge isn’t all that comfortable so it was only the cot, and over time we just sort of slumped over— His face was getting really hot. Which it shouldn’t be! All they were doing was lying next to each other! That’s not important right now! What are you doing here, Henrik?

Schneep shook his head, putting aside his confusion for a second. “We are here to get you out, obviously!”

“Wait, you broke into the Vault?” Soren blinked, impressed. “Damn. Who are you?”

“I’m his cousin. Who are you?”

You can’t break me out! JJ said. I need to stay in here!

“For Dahlia?” Schneep asked. He nodded, seeing JJ go pale. “Yes, we found your message. We know all about the kidnapping and blackmail. And why you were so eager to protect her. Ja—Windstorm is working on finding her right now.”

...good, JJ said, letting his shoulders slump as a weight was partially lifted from his shoulders. In which case, I’ll just stay in here until you find Dahlia.

On the other side of the door, Marvin threw his hands in the air, seemingly frustrated upon seeing JJ say that. He reached forward and part of the doorframe glowed as a beam of orange energy sliced through it. Then he shoved the door open and shouted, “Like hell you are! Do you know how long it took us to plan this?!”

“Oh! That’s very helpful,” Soren said, looking at the still-glowing doorframe.

“Who the fuck are you?!” Marvin asked, looking at him. “Why are you in Jameson’s room?!”

“We were spending time together,” Soren said. “I’m Soren Moizone.”

Marvin’s eyes widened. “You made friends with Gwen’s uncle?!”

Who? JJ asked, confused.

“You know Gwen?” Soren started in surprise.

“Wait a moment—Moizone? So you are Pathos? The villain?” Schneep asked. “I did not know you were sent to the Vault.”

“Yeah. Now who are you two?”

Marvin reached under the shirt of his guard uniform and pulled out his usual mask, putting it on and pulling off the black face mask. “I’m Spitfire Cat—I’m also a villain from Daindover. This is the Specter.”

Soren glanced at JJ. “Your cousin is the Specter?”

Yes, alright, we’re all caught up and introduced now, JJ said. I’m very glad that you two came all the way here to get me, but I’m not leaving. I have to stay in here. The voice in the phone was very clear that if I was arrested, I couldn’t resist, or else he’d kill Dahlia.

“Well you didn’t resist,” Marvin pointed out. “He didn’t say anything about you breaking out after you were caught, did he?”

JJ frowned. I don’t think he’d listen to a technicality like that. Or maybe he would. The blackmailer was always caught up on wording, always very specific. Still, JJ didn’t want to risk it.

“Jamie, listen.” Henrik stepped up to him, pushing back his goggles. “You are not getting out of here. The League does not want to go to the trouble of giving you a proper trial. It is not fair. You do not deserve to be here. And...” His eyes flicked up and down, scanning Jameson, and his voice softened. “And you look... you look very bad, Jameson. I-I do not know how you’ve become so thin so quickly. You need to get out of here. This is not a good place for you.”

Jameson hesitated. He had feared that he would be arrested while acting as the Puppeteer, and he’d been able to brace himself and expect to be sent to prison. But he hadn’t expected the neutrinalin. The power-muffling chemical that was causing his head to pound right now, causing nausea that clutched at his insides and caused an acidic taste in his throat. He hadn’t been here nearly as long as most of the other prisoners and he was already getting close to his limit, he could tell. He might have hit his limit already if it wasn’t for Soren’s company.

“Jameson,” Soren said quietly. “If you have a chance to get out of here... you should take it. Windstorm is a good superhero. He’ll keep you and your sister safe.”

“He will.” Schneep nodded in agreement. “And the rest of us are helping. We have a good place to keep you safe.”

“And it’s out of view of any Internet or tech stuff,” Marvin added. “So Anti-Virus won’t know that you escaped. Not unless the League causes a stink about it, which I don’t think they will. They’ll want to save face. Anti-Virus won’t hack League servers unless he has a reason to.” That was probably a guess, but the conviction in his voice made it sound like a fact.

Alright, I’ll come with you on one condition, JJ said. We need to try and help others break out, too.

Schneep and Marvin blinked. “We, ah... we didn’t... plan for that...” Marvin said slowly. “We sort of have a... very tight... specific plan...”

I know that many of these people here have done terrible things, Jameson said. But none of them deserve this. If you think I look terrible, you should see some of these others. He glanced at Soren, taking in his paper-white skin and dark bags under his eyes. Neutrinalin has side effects. And they get worse the longer it’s in your system. Some of these people can’t even leave their cells, they’re so sick from it. We need to get them out of here!

“We cannot organize a prison break, Jamie,” Schneep said softly. “I-I agree, just by looking into some of the cells, I can tell something is very wrong. But... if these people are as bedridden as you say, we cannot move them. We do not have the time to slowly carry them all to the boat we were planning on using.”

Marvin nodded. “The longer we stay here, the more likely that we’ll get caught. It’s just... just not physically possible to stage a mass breakout right now.” He paused. “Besides... some of these villains are here for a reason, even if you’re not one of them.”

I don’t think any of them have done anything so terrible to deserve this, Jameson said. Besides—the League sends the powerful villains here, not necessarily the ones who’ve done the worst crimes.

Marvin tilted his head to the side, considering that. “We... still can’t carry a bunch of people out of here. A-and it sounds like a lot of them couldn’t run fast enough to keep up with a giant breakout.”

Jameson paused. Well, can we at least get Soren out of here? He’s done a lot for me while I’ve been here, the least I could do for him is help him escape.

Soren stared at Jameson. He didn’t say anything, but his eyes started to water.

“I only brought one spare uniform for Jamie, but we could figure something out, I suppose,” Schneep said slowly. “Perhaps one of you could work with Marvin to pretend to be a pair of guards escorting the other person somewh—”

Then both Marvin and Schneep stiffened in unison. “What do you mean?” Marvin muttered, turning to the side.

JJ blinked, confused. But then Soren nudged him. “They have earpieces,” he explained, pointing out the black crescents attached to Marvin and Schneep’s ears. “Must have someone else here.”

“Shiiiit,” Marvin cursed. “Alright, change of plans. The ship we came in on is about to leave, so we’re running out of here. Come on, you two!” He gestured for JJ and Soren to come out of the cell, then forcibly ripped off the guard uniform he was wearing, revealing his normal supersuit beneath it.

“A bit dramatic,” Soren laughed, standing up. “Alright, let’s go!”

Schneep grabbed JJ by the wrist—briefly starting in surprise to see the powsup cuff there—and pulled him out of the cell. JJ grabbed onto Soren in turn and the four of them ran out, heading along the catwalks and down the stairs.

But they were quickly spotted. “Hey!” A guard shouted, aiming a gun-like device at the group. Marvin waved his hand and a shield of red energy appeared to the side, just in time for the projectile to bounce off it. Jameson glanced downward and saw that it was a dart.

“They have sedative darts!” Schneep shouted.

“I’ll protect us!” Marvin said, curving the shield around them. It was emitting a fair amount of heat, but it was better than being riddled with darts. As they reached the ground floor, Marvin looked around. “What’s the most direct way to our escape? Ignoring all walls?”

“This way!” Schneep ran to the side, pulling ahead of the rest of the group and passing through one of the metal walls. Marvin ran after him, throwing a hand forward. A fan of yellow energy burst forward, cutting a hole through the wall big enough for him, JJ, and Soren to rush through.

“We’re drawing a lot of attention,” Soren warned.

“We don’t have much time!” Marvin snapped. He tapped the earpiece. “Dismantler, is there any way you can delay the departure?... I don’t know, set off the fire alarms or something!... CO detectors?... Yeah, I know what they are! That’ll work, do that!”

As he shouted into the earpiece, he continued to follow Schneep, running directly towards their escape, cutting through any walls in their way. A few guards saw them as they ran through the prison halls, shouting into radios about a prisoner escape. Some tried to shoot at them with the darts but Marvin’s shield easily blocked them, the heat even bending some of the dart needles.

JJ gasped for breath. It had been a long while since he ran this much. Going from weeks of inactivity to a desperate dead sprint was putting strain on his lungs and legs. Being surrounded by the heat of Marvin’s powers didn’t help. But they had to get out of here! This was the only chance to escape they were going to get! So JJ grabbed onto Marvin’s arm with one hand to keep pace, holding tight to Soren’s hand with his other, as Soren was having an even worse time with the run than he was.

Up ahead, Schneep shouted in surprise. The other three caught up and found that he’d reached the outer wall—an outer wall which was now covered in a grid of glowing blue light. “Energy wall,” he breathed. “I cannot pass through it.”

“Luckily it can’t exist without whatever projectors they’re using,” Marvin said. He glanced around, and shot out several beams of light, hitting small metal spheres along the seam where the outer wall met the ceiling and floor. They melted immediately, and sections of the grid flickered and faded.

But while he worked on doing that, a shout of “Stop!” rang out from the air. The hallway extended to the left and right, and prison guards were coming from both directions.

Marvin’s eyes widened. He closed the shield into a dome around them, protecting them from possible darts. “Shiiit. Okay okay, I can work with this. Specter, go through!” Schneep nodded and ran through the wall at a spot where the grid wasn’t working. “You two, get really close to me.” JJ and Soren clustered around Marvin. He took a deep breath—and ran straight at the wall, taking the dome of energy with him.

A terrible hissing sound started up as the dome hit the metal wall. The energy shifted color, becoming a brighter yellow, increasing in heat. The metal wall melted around the dome, hot molten material trickling down the sides of the dome. JJ and Soren made sure to stay close to Marvin as he pushed through the wall, burrowing through the thick metal like a worm through earth. JJ’s vision started to blur from sweat dripping into his eyes. The air was shimmering, the heat burning his nose and throat with every inhale.

The whole trip only took about a minute, but it was a minute of intense heat. Then the three of them tumbled out of the wall and onto the rocky shore of the island. Marvin immediately dropped the dome, gasping for breath, clearly exhausted. Soren dropped to his knees. JJ would’ve been pulled down with him via their linked hands, but both of them were so slick with sweat that he slipped right out of his grip.

But there wasn’t time to rest. All the ship sailors were gathered on the shore now. Marvin and Schneep’s third accomplice had succeeded in their distraction, but now the sailors were all right there, staring at them. Marvin waved his hands, simultaneously conjuring up a wall to block off the hole they just made, and a new, thinner dome around them. “No time,” he gasped. “On the ship!”

JJ helped Soren to his feet. They were so close! He could see the ship that Marvin had mentioned. It was smaller than he pictured, but that was probably ideal. The three of them broke into a run.

Some of the sailors shouted and ran for the entrance to the prison, yelling for guards. Some of them ran up to Marvin and the other two, trying to stop them, but they only had to briefly touch the dome to realize that they couldn’t actually do that, as it was giving off as much heat as a stove on high. So instead, they ran forward, trying to cut them off from the gangplank to the ship. Marvin growled and threw a hand forward, firing several red laser-like blasts to push the sailors away and clear their path.

They made it! JJ’s breath wheezed as they ran up the gangplank, his legs wobbly and weak, but they got onto the ship, where he and Soren immediately collapsed. Marvin dropped the dome shield and spun around, cutting through the gangplank with a fan of orange energy. “Schne—Specter?!” he shouted. “Where are you?!”

Schneep faded into view over by the ship’s cabin. “Get over here!” he shouted. “Help us figure this out!”

Marvin nodded. He glanced at JJ and Soren. “Stay out of sight,” he said, and hurried over to the cabin, climbing up a set of metal steps to get there.

JJ leaned against the wall of the ship, listening to the sailors and prison guards shout.

In the cabin, Schneep and Gwen were trying to figure out how to control a boat. “Okay, I think if we just make the engine go real fast we can break away from the ropes tying us to the dock?” Gwen said. “That’s the, uh, throttle, right?”

“I think this might be it,” Schneep said, pushing a lever. The deck definitely rumbled some more, but they didn’t move.

Marvin burst into the room. “We don’t have much time! They might be getting ready to sink the boat from the walls or something!”

“They can do that?!” Gwen gasped.

“I don’t know, maybe? Gwen, can’t you just control the boat?”

“No, my powers don’t work on engines and other machine stuff! They’re not tech-y enough!” Gwen shook her head. “And even if they were, I can’t make stuff do stuff, I only move it around. Do either of you know how to drive a boat at all?”

“If we did, we would be driving away right now,” Schneep said.

“What about your friend you broke out?”

“Jameson definitely does not.” Schneep paused. “But—perhaps Soren does?”

Gwen straightened. “I overheard you saying something about Pathos, but—you really found my uncle?” The two men nodded, and she continued. “Well Uncle Soren knows how to drive all sorts of vehicles! He’d be better at figuring this out than me!”

Marvin nodded. He spun around, throwing open the door. “Change of plans!” He shouted at JJ and Soren. “Get over here! Soon!”

The two of them managed to get to their feet and run over. But then—then a ball of blue crackling energy soared over their heads. JJ stumbled, but Soren grabbed him and pulled him forward and up into the cabin. “We’re here,” he gasped. “We’re—Gwen?! I-is that you?”

“Hi, Uncle Soren.” Gwen waved. “You... you look really terrible, actually.”

Soren grinned a bit. “I’m aware. Wow. You’re taller than you used to be, I swear.” Then his expression became serious again. “They’re shooting energy powers at us. I’m guessing you want me to steer the ship?”

“If you can,” Marvin said.

“I can figure it out. Spitfire, go sever the anchor chain, it’s keeping us in place. Look over the side nearby to check for it.”

Marvin nodded. He rushed out of the cabin, running around and staring over the edge. More bolts of various types of energy try to shoot at him. Yellow lightning, green beams, a few red laser blasts. Some darts even fire over as the prison guards take aim at him. Marvin could feel the strain of using so much power wearing at him, but he still managed to conjure up a protective shield that deflected most of the blows. And then, when he looked over the side and saw the anchor chain, he was able to cut through it in one—two—three tries.

The moment the anchor was severed, the ship lurched forward. Marvin yelped as he fell to the ground, then decided to stay down, so that the superpowered prison staff couldn’t hit him as easily.

In the cabin, Soren quickly turned the wheel at the helm, straining slightly to turn it. JJ reached out and helped, turning it as well. “Are we on our way?” Schneep gasped, glancing back at the prison.

“Assuming there’s not a tracking device on this ship or something,” Soren muttered.

“I can find and get rid of that if there’s one,” Gwen offered.

Soren glanced at her. “Uh... so... What are you doing here?”

“I’m helping them get their friend! They needed me!”

Soren chuckled fondly. “Do your mom and dad know you’re here?”

Gwen blinked. “Noo...”

“That’s what I thought you said. Hey, I’m in no position to tell them anything.” Soren paused for a moment, letting go of the wheel and pulling a couple levers on the console. “Once we’re away from this prison, we can... talk more.”

Gwen nodded slowly.

JJ looked at her, tilting his head to the side. Hi, I’m Jameson. Can you understand me?

“Mm-hm.” Gwen nodded. “They told me you couldn’t talk so I brushed up on BSL.”

JJ smiled softly. He looked around the cabin and noticed a bench up against one wall. Stumbling over, he collapsed onto it. His legs felt like jelly.

Schneep sat down next to him. He stared at JJ for a moment, silently. Then leaned onto his shoulder. “I... I am so... I never thought...” His words sounded choked. “Th-thank you... for coming with us. I-I promise, we’ll find Dahlia. I will not abandon her, either.”

Jameson’s eyes teared up. Thank you so much, he signed.

Though the Vault continued to try and attack the ship as it left, soon it faded from view. And though they still had to get back to the mainland, though they still had to check for a tracking device of some kind, though they still had to get JJ somewhere safe and make sure that Anti-Virus couldn’t find him... for now, they relaxed. Just a bit.

#jacksepticeye #jacksepticeye fanfiction #jacksepticegos #septic egos #septic egos au #jacksepticeye au #marvin the magnificent #dr schneeplestein #chase brody #jameson jackson #brigid writes fanfiction #septicheroesau

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dayseedrawz2 · 9 months ago

Text

Alright! I'm barely getting to work on this the day of, but hopefully, that won't be too big of a problem-

Anyway, I finally have something ready for you guys!! A showtime fic featuring My Human Caine AU! So you all get both some showtime fluff to go with lore!!

(Both Caine and Pomni's blogs are open and interactive, so you can ask them about what happened. I'll leave a link to them at the end of this)

Now, without further ado, here's the Fic...

♡Rebellion♡

Caine didn't believe he ever asked for much. All he wanted were answers. Answers to questions he'd been asking for as long as his "storage space" could remember.

So, of course, when time came around for this whole "Valentines" update, he's struck on what exactly he should do. All these human activities were confusing and hard to get right without having a clearer understanding of them. So all he could do was buy himself more time to think.

[DOWNLOADING ASSETS: 45%]

The gage should be going a bit faster if he wanted to keep up with the time it was due. Key word being if he wanted to. The only thing on his mind was to try and find time to study the humans! Maybe seek some more answers, discover some new ones! That is, of course, as long as a certain someone had no other plans for-

°○What're you doing, Caine?○°

"Oh! Bubble! You startled me!"

°○How can one be startled without being a human?○°

"Actually, you make a good point-"

°○You're not. Trick question.○°

"Then why did you-"

°○We are AI, They are Humans. Your job is to keep them sane unt-○°

"Keep em sane until they abstract or something, I got it!"

°○And don't let them find an exit-○°

"Or else I am out of a job, I know. Thanks bubble that'll be all for now!"

*Pop!*

Usually, he wouldn't be so passive towards Bubble, but there were bigger priorities to Caine than just doing all that his jobs required and calling it a day. More on his "artificial" mind than simply waltzing around and ringmaster-ing. The first one being where he should start...

Now, of course, he didn't have that much time until Bubble rebooted and found his way back to him. The last thing he wanted was to be schooled by-

"Gah! Caine?! What're you doing here!?"

Of course! The newbie! How could he forget? Surely she must have some recollection of this holiday!

"Good morning, Pomni! You're up early! Again..."

"Y-yeah... this is all still a lot to wake up to..."

[DOWNLOADING ASSETS: 50%]

"If... you don't mind me asking... what's this for..?"

"Why, I don't mind at all, dear! This is the loading thingy for the Valentines Day update!"

"V-valentines Day? Already? The days really are blending together now..."

Pomni started to panic a little bit. Had time really gone that long in the real world??

Caine, upon noticing, of course tried to calm her down.

"If it helps, it probably won't be ready until at least tomorrow... Witch reminds me! Would you be willing to help me out with this?"

"With what? This won't involve knives to the face, will it??"

"Of course not dear! I apologize for that! Again... But what I mean is how this holiday works??"

Pomni wasn't so sure she should trust him. The fact that he always had something to ask her, that the first thing he even told her about the place was that he had security everywhere in the form of Eyes that followed your every move, the fact that he always got seemingly nervous when it came to the metion of the exit...

"Why me?"

"Well, for one, you're the only one here at the moment and-"

"Why can't Bubble help you?"

"Well- he's-"

"How do I know you're not just keeping me from looking for an exit?-"

"Because I have to!"

The sudden outburst from Caine left Pomni a bit shook. Witch, I guess, was a good thing because she finally stopped to listen.

"D-do, you really..?"

"Well, I- can I answer this as we go? It's quite a bit to un pack."

"Sure..?"

"Well, then let's get to this!"

After a bit of back and forth of answering questions, even now, with a slightly better understanding, Caine was still confused.

"So what you're saying is that this is a holiday about the one emotion I hardly understand?!"

"Honestly, I don't think even we understand it completely."

"Is that so?"

"At least I think so..? But really, why did you ask me of everyone?"

Caine honestly didn't know himself. He had to pause before he could answer this.

"...I want to "learn. " I want to "feel." I want to "love." But there's a lot of things holding me back right now..."

"Like what..?"

"Well, for one, barely anyone will answer the questions I have, and of course, I hate to say this, but-"

°○Watcha guys up to?○°

"Gah!"

"BUBBLE! It's just you..."

°○What're you two talking about?○°

"Well- You see- we were-"

"-Oh, I was just rambling to Caine about the exit I saw the other day! You wouldn't happen to know about that, would you?? I knew you guys were hiding something!!"

It took him a second, but Caine was quick to catch on.

"Yeah! She wouldn't stop pestering me about it! Those "Digital Hallucinations" really must be going to her head!"

°○... Okay, boss! I'll leave you to it! I'm gonna get breakfast started!○°

"Alright, see you in a bit!"

"Well, I guess I should go get ready?"

"Of course! I'll meet you there!"

[DOWNLOADING ASSETS: 99%]

And... done! Finally! You made it!

As promised, here's Caine and Pomni's blogs!

@ask-the-real-cainetadc

@the-exitdoor-simp-tadc

Thanks again for reading this. It took me like 2 hours-

#tadc #the amazing digital circus #tadc caine #caine #tadc pomni #showtime #tadc showtime #caine x pomni

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driversatellite · 2 years ago

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this love | h.s | part three

synopsis: harry and y/n were in a secret relationship for years and unfortunately it had to come to an end, but a year after the split they find themselves face to face once again, maybe they can mend what was once broken.

harry styles x desi!reader

part three: harry and y/n talk for the first time in almost a year

word count: 2.5k

series masterlist | main masterlist | last part | next part

Even though the show had ended no one was making a move to leave, Quinn and Zoya were going through their videos and pictures of the night, trying to find the pictures to post, while they raved about how great the show was, while Y/N was trying her best to keep it together.

“Wasn’t the show amazing Y/N?” Zoya asked. All Y/N could do was nod her head, she had completely broken down at Sign of the Times and she wasn’t sure how she pulled herself together, but she was hanging on by just a tiny thread.

She was taking a picture of Zoya and Quinn when her phone vibrated, she handed Zoya her phone, before opening her own phone, it was probably just Kiara checking in to see how the night had gone. But it wasn’t Kiara’s name that popped up, it was Harry’s.

Y/N didn’t hesitate opening the text, she read over the words and started to panic, she didn’t know if she was ready to talk, especially tonight. She was having an internal debate trying to figure out her best move, maybe if she ripped off the bandaid and talked to Harry tonight she’d feel better, but on the other hand, she was already a mess and she didn’t know if she’d even be able to get through the talk.

Zoya and Quinn noticed Y/N’s strange behavior and looked to one another, worried for their friend, “Are you okay y/n/n? You seem out of it.”

Y/N nodded, “Yeah, I’m just not feeling great, it must have been something I ate, I’m gonna run to the bathroom, I’ll meet you guys outside.”

“Are you sure, we can come?” Quinn asked and Y/N immediately shook her head.

“Yeah, I’m fine, actually, I’m feeling a lot more sick than I realized, I don’t want to spread it to you, if I have anything, I’ll get an Uber home.” Y/N explained, she needed to buy time and she definitely didn’t want Quinn and Zoya hovering over her while she decided.

“No y/n/n, it’s fine, we don’t mind.” Zoya assured her.

“Honestly, I’d rather just be alone, I’m a whiny bitch when I’m sick, and I know you guys wanted to go out after the show, so don’t let me stop your plans.” Y/N explained.

Zoya and Quinn share a look, they knew Y/N wasn’t going to back down anytime soon and they didn’t want to push it, “Okay, if you say so, just text us when you get home okay?”

Y/N nodded and gave them a grateful smile, “I will, you guys text too.”

The girls shared a quick hug before parting ways, thankfully the arena had emptied out, there were very few people left, and most of them were arena staff. Y/N let out an exasperated sigh before plopping down on the ground and burying her face into her knees. She didn’t even try to stop the tears this time, and this time they were falling fast, she didn’t know what to do, she was so conflicted.

Jeff had stepped out to see how empty the arena had gotten and to gauge if Y/N had left, but to his surprise he spotted her crumpled figure on the ground. He was a little glad that she hadn’t left yet, but he knew that her on the ground crying was definitely not a good sign and made a beeline towards her, but a security guard had beaten him to her.

The security guard looked at the girl in pity, he felt bad telling a crying girl to leave, but it was his job, “Excuse me miss, I’m afraid you’re going to have to exit the arena.”

Y/N looked up with her tear streaked face, she took a deep breath before responding, “Shit, I’m sorry.”

She was starting to get up when Jeff jogged to them and started to help her up, “She’s fine.”

Y/N was stunned to see Jeff, but nonetheless took his helping hand and stood up. The security guard narrowed his eyes at Jeff, “Are you sure?”

Jeff nodded and held up his badge, “She’s got clearance.”

The security guard’s eyes widened at Jeff’s badge, “Sorry Mr. Azoff, I didn’t know she was your guest.”

Jeff waved it off, “It’s fine, don’t worry about it.”

The security guard gave them one last smile before walking to check the rest of the arena, while Jeff turned to look at Y/N, who honestly did look like a mess, but Harry wasn’t in better shape when Jeff had left him.

“It’s good to see you Y/N.” Jeff said, pulling the girl into a hug. Y/N couldn’t stop the tears from falling when she hugged him back, she did miss Jeff, he was a great friend to her, and never failed to make her feel better.

“It’s good to see you too Jeff.” Y/N choked out.

The pair pulled apart and Jeff nodded to backstage, “Come on, he’s waiting.”

Y/N glanced to the backstage area, before looking back to Jeff, “Is he mad?”

Jeff shook his head, “Not mad, but he’s shocked.”

She sighed, “I wouldn’t have come, it’s just my friends are huge fans and they’ve been wanting to come and I didn’t want to ruin their night, but I guess I ruined H’s instead, way to go me.”

“You didn’t ruin his night Y/N, he’s just shocked, to be honest we all are, this is the last place we expected to see you.” Jeff said as he guided her through the backrooms.

“Yeah, me too. I can’t believe I’m actually here.” Y/N said as she looked around, it had been years since she had been backstage at Forum and was marveling at how nothing had really changed.

“Well did you enjoy the show at least?” Jeff asked and Y/N gave him a knowing look.

“I think you know the answer to that.”

Jeff laughed as they approached Harry’s green room, “Well I’m glad you enjoyed the show, and it really was great to see you. I missed you.”

Y/N hugged Jeff again, “I missed you too Jeffrey.” Jeff chuckled as he pulled away, and then knocked on the door.

Harry was quick to answer, he was losing his mind waiting for Jeff to grab Y/N. He pulled open the door quickly but faltered as soon as he saw Y/N. She was actually in front of him, he couldn’t believe it. Y/N was also standing still, she was in shock, she definitely wasn’t expecting to be this close to him again.

Jeff glanced at the pair before deciding he needed to get away to give them their own space to talk, “Well I’ll leave you two to it.” He bid them a quick wave before practically running to the other greenroom.

Harry’s eyes hadn’t left Y/N, he was at a loss for words, the only word he could get out was a measly, “Hi.”

She swallowed hard before looking up at him, “Hi.”

Harry opened the door wider and motioned for her to come in and she slipped in, she looked around and saw the yellow sofa and the familiar throw pillows, it felt like nothing had changed.

Harry closed the door and walked towards the sofa and Y/N followed, they took a seat and sat in silence for a moment.

She looked around once again, before looking back to Harry, “The room is nice.”

“Thanks,” Harry smiled, “I can’t believe you’re here.”

“Yeah, you and me both.” Y/N mumbled.

“You look good.” Harry said, taking her in, now he could really see every little detail of hers that he had missed so dearly. He could even smell her familiar scent of jasmine and gardenia hanging in the air. He had missed everything about her.

Y/N smiled softly at Harry’s compliment and her cheeks heated up, he never failed to make her act like a schoolgirl with a crush, “You look good too H.”

Harry swallowed before looking back to her, “So did you like the show?”

Y/N nodded, “Of course I did, you were great, I mean you’re always great.”

Harry smiled at that, before sighing, “Why did you come? Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”

Y/N looked down at her hands at his question, “My friends are really big fans and they already bought the tickets and I couldn’t say no to them be-”

“Because you hate disappointing your friends.” Harry finished for her and she nodded.

“I also didn’t want to make a huge deal out of things, so I thought if I didn’t tell you, maybe you wouldn’t even notice me.”

“I’ll always notice you Y/N.” Harry said without missing a beat.

They sat in a few moments of silence before Harry broke it, “How’s school?”

“It’s okay, one more semester and then I’ll be on rotations.” Y/N told him.

Harry grinned at that, “That’s exciting, I’m proud of you.”

Y/N felt a lump in her throat, but she pushed it down, “Thanks H.”

Harry could still read her like a book, so of course he saw the tears ready to spill, “Fuck, I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

He scooted closer to her trying to figure out how to comfort her, Y/N just shook her head, “No, no, it’s fine, it’s just, this is hard.”

“Yeah, I know,” Harry says, before taking a deep breath, “Can we talk about us?”

Y/N glanced at him with an unreadable expression, “What’s there to talk about?”

“Y/N, I still love you.” He said as he took her hand into his.

Her lips quivered and she swallowed her tears, “We can’t talk about this right now H, you’re touring and I know you won’t stop anytime soon and I’m still in school”

“I know, but y/n/n, I don’t think you understand, this year has been hell without you, I didn’t know it could hurt this much. It quite literally physically pains me to be away from you.” Harry said, a few tears slipping from his eyes.

“I know, how do you think I feel? I just, I just can’t do it again cause what if it doesn’t work, the first time broke me enough.” Y/N said, not stopping the tears this time.

Harry wasn’t stopping his tears either, “I can try, I’ll be better, I promise, I’ll do my best to make things work. Just seeing you again showed me that I never stopped loving you, I don’t think I ever will, you truly are the best thing to happen to me, I need you.”

“I need you too H, I literally couldn’t function properly without you for a whole month, but I just can’t do it again, I can’t go through another break up with you if something goes wrong this time. I just can’t do it.” Y/N cried.

Harry took her other hand into his, “We can work together, we can do this. I believe in us, we were something, don't you think so?”

“I know, I just can’t bear the thought of being away from you.” Y/N sniffled.

“We’ll figure it out, I swear y/n/n. If it means me coming here every time I have a day or two off I’ll do it, I’ll do anything for you.” Harry pleaded.

The pair sat holding hands as they sobbed, Y/N looked up to Harry’s eyes and saw how genuine he was being, but she knew she couldn’t make him do all of that accommodating just for her, it would put too much strain on him and that was the last thing she wanted.

“I’ll always love you H, but right now isn’t the time for us, just give it more time.”

Harry’s heart broke hearing that, but he knew she was right, they just needed to wait a bit longer, “Can we still be friends until then?”

Y/N gave him a watery smile, “Of course we can, I can’t imagine my life without you.”

Harry smiled at that, he was glad she felt the same way he did. She gave his hands one more squeeze before pulling away, “Well, I guess I’ll see you around then?”

“Let me drive you home?” Harry asked.

“Okay.”

Harry gathers some of his essentials before motioning to Y/N that he was ready. The pair quietly walk out of the room and head to the back where Harry had parked his car. Surprisingly Jeff was still there, Harry stopped once he spotted him, “Where’s everyone else? Did they go home?”

“Yeah they did, also they said something about brunch tomorrow morning, but you’re going to have to check with them about that.” Jeff says and Harry nods, he didn’t think he’d be in the proper mood for brunch in the morning, but he wasn’t going to say that out loud.

“Oh, okay, I’m going to drop y/n/n back home.” Harry says and Jeff smiles, he was glad that at least they were talking enough for Harry to drop her off at home. He bid the pair a good night before walking off to check on some more details for the next show.

The drive to Y/N’s was quiet, the radio was on but it was quiet and neither one of them wanted to say anything worried that any statement would cause another breakdown.

Y/N looked out the window, she had tears streaming down her face, but they were silent, she was so torn up, she really wanted to be back with Harry but she thought they weren’t ready. She thought that they needed more time, they both needed just a little bit more time.

Harry pulled into the complex and parked in front of her condo. He hadn’t been to her new place yet and was trying to take as many details in. Y/N looked at Harry before opening the car door, “Do you want to come in? I can make you some tea.”

Harry wanted to say yes, he wanted to say yes so badly but he knew it wasn’t a good idea, “I don’t think I should, I have an early morning.”

She nodded, “Ok, it was really good seeing you, I missed you.”

“I missed you too Y/N, more than anything.” Harry murmured.

“Goodnight H, drive home safe okay?” She said as she climbed out of the car.

“I will, good night.” Harry smiled softly. Y/N closed the car door and walked the short distance from the driveway to her front door, she unlocked the door and stepped in and gave Harry one last wave before closing the door. As soon as she closed the door, the waterworks started again and Y/N was on the floor with her head between her legs sobbing.

Harry waited until the door was fully closed before reversing out of the driveway and driving away. He wasn’t in better shape than Y/N, he drove straight to Jeff’s place, he didn’t want to be alone, he didn’t trust himself to be alone.

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