#he uses words like want and relief and doubt with some frequency

[nv-alexander]

"DATA has no emotions" FALSE! Data is programmed to feel longing at all times

[kawaragimysticalsenju]

Clarity | Tokyo Rev

Chapter Two

Synopsis : With old acquaintances and new, life is a tumultuous cycle of new people coming and going out of her life. How much can Hanabi really handle?

Word count : 1.8K

OC used : Hanabi Kawaguchi

Previous [Current] Next

After about two whole hours of worrying and trying to heave men twice as large as herself onto their partners' bikes, relief came in the form of a short text, no doubt the courtesy of Mikey — 'Out of danger'.

Things were quiet on the days that followed. Among her daily chores were a few added tasks like getting fresh food to a surprisingly compliant Draken for the boy was usually vehement against resting. Then again, he didn't always endure a cardiac arrest. "I swear you boys know nothing about acting cautiously. And to think someday you'll have a family to worry about...tsk."

"Too bad", the tall blonde snorted, slurping on his miso soup. Her attention shifted to her watch as she hastily picked up her satchel, peeking inside to make sure the cupcakes weren't broken to crumbs.

"Well, I need to get going", she announced as his hand came to ruffle her hair.

Draken stared with an amused look. "I still don't get the point of attending school daily but you do you."

Exchanging a few more words, Hanabi was out the door within minutes. Finding the taxi she had called was easy but the driver was just as equally problematic. In the end, the price was bargained to a thousand yen for him to get her to her destination.

The view of Shibuya Juvenile Detention Center wasn't foreign to her. In fact, the guards probably knew her by the frequency of her visits over the past two years. She was led inside by an escort and they turned familiar corners down the blandly colored hallway. Stepping inside the visitor's area, she produced the necessary documents for checking.

The policeman gave a curt nod of approval before pressing the button on the intercom. "Send in Hanemiya Kazutora. I repeat, visitor for Hanemiya Kazutora."

The building held memories for Hanabi. Some she was glad they were over and some which she loathed the existence of. Even so, the fact that Keisuke would've probably ended up in this room if circumstances were slightly different, behind the glass pane where her old friend stood, was merely terrifying. She wanted to return the smile on Kazutora's face but her guts told her it was anything but genuine.

"You came back", the boy spoke quietly, smile falling as the attendant left. "You know, you really don't have to do this. We both know you hate me."

"Hate is a strong word, Kazutora", she intervened quickly. "And while I'm not particularly fond of you, I have the human decency not to avoid a friend in need. And maybe stop with the same question every time I come here."

That just garnered a laugh out of him. "We're still friends, then?"

Hanabi gave him a pointed look. "Did you think otherwise, dipshit? That aside, I heard they're releasing you this weekend. Good for you."

Kazutora nodded, a grin spreading on his lips. "Someone did their homework. I'm glad Baji's not the only one who keeps tabs on me. Guess I did misjudge you, Hana-chan."

Her cousin's name in his mouth sent shivers down her spine. She still remembered the day they met Kazutora, a weak boy with a heart of gold.

Hanabi and Keisuke were arguing, not an unusual occurrence for them. But they were lost and the park seemed much too vast for six-year-olds to toil about in, especially with night approaching fast.

"Did you have to let go of Grandma's hand?" The little girl scolded. In response, the boy huffed, crossing his arms over his chest, "I told you to hold her hand. You were the one who complained. So how's that my fault?!"

She gritted her teeth, "Shit-face!"

"Trash-y bitch!"

Before they could continue their tirade of spouting colorful words that no child should be aware of, the sound of sniffles interrupted their banter. Exchanging looks of agreement, they set out to find the source.

Taking each other's hands, the two rounded the corner, coming face to face with a rowdy bunch of elementary students. They were cornering a smaller kid, frail looking with buzz-cut hair. He looked shaken, nose gushing with blood but he was still standing.

Before Keisuke could rush in, the girl stopped him and shook her head with as warning. "Kei, don't go in without a plan! Those are big kids. You'll get hurt!"

"Well I can't not do nothing!" Baji shifted uncomfortably at the pained grunts from the kid getting beaten. He smirked at Hanabi's next words though.

"Who said anything about doing nothing? You attack from that end. I'll take that boy out first."

Their plan worked. Mostly. They still got dragged into the fight. But for everything a good hairdo was worth for, saving the boy was more valuable.

"How bad does it hurt?" She had asked as she handed her waterbottle to him. He had just ceased his coughing before chugging down the whole container of liquid.

"I'm Kawaguchi Hanabi but you can call me Hana." Looking at him, she just noticed how big and golden his eyes were. "You've got pretty eyes!"

Blushing a beat red despite his battered state, the boy whispered, "I'm Kazutora. Thanks for helping."

"Hey! Don't forget my 'thanks'", Keisuke came to a halt from his sprint. "Those guys were really tough but no problem for me! Speaking of, why did you even pick a fight with them?"

"Oh, them?" Kazutora's demeanor turned even meeker. "I– They were about to snatch a girl's purse." He paused at the duo's confused faces. "She lives in my apartment complex and she was really happy about getting a few extra yen on New Years. I didn't want them to ruin her happiness. "

And that was how they ended up meeting him. Looking back, Hanabi realized how the times had changed. They were barely in elementary school then and now they were brooding high schoolers. Life had weird ways of changing people and change didn't bode well with her.

Eyes narrowed at the male, she stared him down. "Say Kazutora, do you happen to know anything about Keisuke leaving Toman." It was a bold move. She was potentially giving away Toman's inside details. Curiosity was known for killing the cat.

A mirthful sound left the boy with the tiger tattoo. "Is that so? Bastard...won't even tell me when he dropped by. Although, that only further cements the guarantee of my plan working."

"What plan?" She bit back at him. "Just what are you planning? It's done, Kazutora. Your sentence will be over in a few days. Put the past behind you and move on. I know Mikey may appear an asshole but he isn't incapable of forgiveness. If you only apolo—"

"What forgiveness, Hanabi?!" She flinched at his hostility. He had slammed his hands down on the white table, creating a reverbating noise. "Sorry but I don't owe Mikey anything. Let alone an apology. If he was the one who sent you, you and your Toman crew can fuck off. As for my motives..."

His voice trailed off as the bell chimed signaling the end of visitor's hours. Like clockwork, two guards entered the room, cuffing Kazutora's hands. He smiled again. "Well, it seems like the next time we meet, I'll be free. Good day, Hana-chan."

School wasn't her favorite place, was what every teenager would say. Unfortunately for Hanabi, she was no different. For how compact Shibuya seemed as a ward of Tokyo, the number of high schools was truly remarkable. And out of those, a pest infestation just had to happen to hers.

The students were sorted according to numbers and about ten of them were assigned to Mizo High as their transferring location. The first day of school was always a whole new experience and the female Kawaguchi was grateful this one had an Art Club.

The day went by in a pretty cliched manner. The vice-principal escorted her along with two others from her old class to room 10-B. Class halted for a while and introductions ensued.

"Hello. I'm Kawaguchi Hanabi. I will be your classmate for a short while. So, please take care of me!" She recited to the expectant gazes of her new classmates.

The teacher went on to assign seats. "Miss Kawaguchi, please take your seat beside Tachibana. Miss Tachibana raise your hand please."

It was then that she noticed a familiar face in the sea of unfamiliar ones. Short brown hair, fair face and a mole on her chin - it was unmistakable. Hanabi walked carefully between the benches, avoiding tripping over bags laying on the floor.

"Hey. We have met before, haven't we?" She chirped, finally seated as she fished out her books from her schoolbag.

Hinata smiled hesitantly, moving her lips as softly as possible to lower her voice, throwing a glance towards the teacher. "I think so. You're Mikey-kun's friend, right?"

Supressing a chuckle at the mention of their Commander, she nodded a positive. "Then you wouldn't mind if I give you a tour of the school later? I kind of owe Mikey-kun a big favor."

Hinata's abashed face only heightened Hanabi's desire to find just how Mikey was associated with her. Then again, Mikey knew some very weird people and Hinata seemed like a nice girl. "I would have to take you up on that offer."

And it proved to be a good thing that she befriended the brunette over lunch because that girl was on fire. "And don't ever let me see you bullying another girl or anyone for that matter. Is that clear?!"

The three guilt-ridden females chortled a 'Crystal' before scurrying off. Hanabi didn't mean to end up getting picked on the first day but shutting up when she should've spoken up was one of the many bad choices she made through her life. "Wow...that was something..."

Facing the frowning girl, she gave a sheepish smile. That further agitated Hinata. "Hanabi-chan! You can't just let them walk all over you. The more lenient you are, the bigger their egos grow!"

Feeling rather affronted, the bicolor haired girl heaved a sigh. "Me? Lenient? Well excuse me for not noticing earlier. Maybe...it's because I'm new and I can't really snap at someone I don't know or did not know because I actually have a desire not be labeled a jerk. But nay! Let's all gang up on Hanabi and tear her fucking self-esteem to bloody shreds. I—" She pressed her lips into a thin line, hearing the other chuckle. "And I started rambling, didn't I? Good job on portraying yourself as an idiot, Hanabi. Real smart."

"N-no!" Hinata continued to giggle. "No, that's not it. It's just...you're adorable when you rant!"

Feeling her face getting hot, Hanabi turned away promptly. Unfortunately for her, Hinata caught on and started following her face, however much she turned. "Hana-chan, your face resembles a tomato."

"S- shut up! I'm not a tomato. You're just too cute, woman!" And then it was the Tachibana's turn to be embarrassed.

"That's completely different!"

"As if!"

*Notes :

- The characters are aged up. Here is the age chart of the characters which hold meaning for now :

Mikey, Draken - 17

Mitsuya, Chifuyu, Baji, Emma, Yuzuha - 16

Takemichi, Hanabi, Hinata, Hakkai - 15

Naoto - 11

- All of them are in high school

- For those of you curious about Baji and Hanabi's relationship, they are cousins. Hanabi's father is Mrs. Baji's brother.

- I am starting taking requests. So if you have a prompt for characters of Tokyo Revengers, Naruto, Boruto, Tokyo Ghoul, The Promised Neverland, Who Made Me a Princess, Attack on Titan you'd like me to write about, leave a message on any of my posts or my DMs are always open!

[whumpinggrounds]

Hide n Seek

sooo this doesn’t have a title but Liam came into my head and would not leave so? here we go? 

lmk if you like it or you hate it or want to see more. or if you have a title or anything to say or for any reason at all :) talk to me!!

CW: failed escape, escape attempt, environmental whump, big whumpee, tiny whumper, female whumper, nonconsensual drug use, drugged whumpee, scrapes and bruises, gaslighting, uhhh i forget what else. nonconsensual touching but it’s also nonsexual

Dark branches tear at Liam’s skin hard enough to draw blood, but he won’t stop running. On either side of him, trees loom up, huge and bristling with needles. The ground tilts sickeningly under his pounding feet, and as he slips and skids over icy ground Liam throws his body from side to side, trying to dodge the obstacles that pop up, seemingly out of nowhere. He’s pulling it off – barely – and then a towering red spruce appears out of nowhere. One of its lower branches, thick around as a lead pipe, catches Liam in the side of the head and sends him reeling.

Liam lands on his knees, breath whooshing from his lungs. The blow to his temple makes his head spin worse than it already was, and his whirling vision isn’t doing any favors for his roiling stomach. An unbearable heaviness in his limbs makes him long to stop, rest, maybe lie back on the frozen, muddy ground and let the blessed chill ease the fever heat in his brow.

As the desperate, exhausted thought crosses his mind, a faraway sound reaches his ears.

“Lavender’s blue…dilly-dilly…lavender’s green…when you are king…dilly-dilly…I’ll be your queen…”

The words are sung in a voice that’s high and light and almost fey. The sound stops Liam’s heart, makes ice water run through his veins. Dashing frightened tears from his eyes, Liam scrambles to his feet, ignoring the bleeding scratches, the ache in his bruised and frozen knees. Behind him, the voice drifts piercing and eerie through the trees, and, driven before it like a sacrificial lamb, Liam picks himself up and crashes onward.

Head reeling, body aching, so sick to his stomach he spends every step fighting not to vomit, Liam runs. He runs until he slips and falls, hitting the ground hard enough to knock the wind out of himself, mark bruises on his skin. Then he gets up and runs some more, staggering, faltering, missing steps, head empty of any instinct besides move forward, get away. The headlong sprint through the woods feels like it lasts forever. Snatches of song reach Liam’s ears, distorted and giggly. The forest rears up on every side like so many dark green walls – towering large, endless in every direction. Liam’s ears are ringing, his throat is dry, he can hear his own breath heaving unevenly in his chest. The terror in him is so raw and real that he can almost taste it, salt and iron, blood on his tongue. He’s choking on tears as he staggers onward, but scared as he is, all he can think is what if his sobs are too loud?

When Liam sees light through the trees, he thinks he’s dreaming. Stumbling forward, hardly daring to believe, he feels new hot tears spill down his face. Like a drowning man, he stretches his arms toward salvation, straining as if it’s something he can hold in his hands. Then he’s stumbling again, toppling forward, knees and then hands and then body kissing pavement.

Unable to stop himself, Liam sobs in simple, blessed relief. Pavement. The ground beneath him hard and unforgiving, solid and uniform. Above him, big plate glass windows spill yellowy light into the gathering darkness. The miracle of sidewalk, of concrete, of buzzing phosphorescent light!

Liam is weeping like a baby into his scratched up, icy hands. Now that he’s horizontal and staying there, now that the adrenaline has done just about all it can for his body – now, Liam starts to let go. His body feels both distant and incredibly close. He can feel every individual bit of concrete against his skin, and he can feel himself buzzing against the inside of his skin, and there’s a cloudiness in his head, a big and growing white threatening to envelope him, leave him blissfully out and unaware.

“What in the - ? Son? What the hell is wrong with you, son?”

The voice is gruff, incredulous, more than a little suspicious. Peering up through hazy eyes, Liam sees an older man coalesce into a hazy double-focus, bearded and grizzly as his tone suggests. The flannel-clad bear of a human recoils at the sight of the tears on Liam’s face, lip curling as he takes in Liam’s disheveled appearance.

“H-he-e-elp,” Liam manages, one hand reaching up, wavering and buzzing static in his vision. Even to his own ears, his voice wavers, rises and falls, distorted by hoarseness and God knows what else. “I n…need hel-l-l-p.”

Narrowing his eyes, the man continues to regard Liam with blatant doubt. Liam tries to morph his face into something acceptable, an expression that’s beseeching without being desperate or deranged. His muscles respond slowly, sluggishly. He can’t remember how to manipulate his face. Giving up, Liam leaves his mouth slack and just looks up, inches a little closer, pushing his body over the pavement, ignoring the way the cement rasps against his skin. He doesn’t want to try standing, yet.

Strange things are happening to the man’s face – his cheeks bloat, blow up grotesquely as he talks. His eyebrows, thick dark beetles, worm and writhe over his deep-set eyes, which are more like holes than real eyes. He’s towering over Liam, so tall the man on the ground can’t help but shrink a little bit against the pavement. His mouth is moving and Liam watches it with a dull kind of fascination, forgetting to pay attention to the words that emerge as shapeless sounds from that dark cave of a mouth.

“Help,” Liam tries again, seeing the way the word feels on his tongue. It sounds like it’s coming from very far away. “Huh…help?”

“Boy? What is wrong with you, boy?”

The man is waving his hand around in front of Liam’s face, looking for some kind of a reaction. When Liam just keeps staring hazily up, the man shakes his head. He starts talking, but the words dip and circle around Liam’s head, refusing to find his ears, refusing to find his brain. Every so often a word or two comes through – a revelation.

“…fucking cops…”

“Hellllp,” Liam whispers, turning his head to rest one hot cheek against the concrete. His head is pounding so bad it makes him feel sick. Or maybe he just feels sick. Either way, he’s wrung out, exhausted, ready to be done. Liam is tired. He gives up. He’s ready to be done.

Shutting his eyes to try to block out the loud and angry spinning world, Liam forces words out as best as he can make them. “Pl-l-l-e-e-eease. Please.” In his chest, he feels a little hitch come with the word, a shaky breath that prefaces a whimper. The sound is so small, so utterly pathetic. Liam didn’t know he could make a sound like that. “Ple-ease help me.”

The man squats down now to peer a little closer at Liam, at the young man laid out flat on the ground, not even trying to get up. “…what is…come from…”

The words aren’t landing with any greater frequency, nor are they making much sense, but Liam imagines he hears a grudging warmth in the tone that wasn’t there before. Maybe concern, instead of suspicion. Maybe aid, instead of exasperation. He lets himself slit his eyes open, see the hazy outline of the figure above him, leaning in. He lets himself hope.

Then he hears the gasp from behind him, long and loud, high and flighty and dramatic. Suddenly, Liam can’t breathe. He shuts his eyes again, trying to block the nightmare out, but it’s too late. She’s already here.

She throws herself down beside him, drapes herself on top of him, small hands roaming from his broad shoulders down to his waist, as if checking that he’s still whole. She’s so small. She’s always been so small. Doesn’t make sense that she can be all over him, everywhere at once when she’s so…damn…small.

“Philip!”

She trills it, sweet as any songbird. There are tears in her voice, real tears, and a burbling wet kind of laugh of relief that would tug at the heartstrings of anyone who had a heart. “Oh God, Philip, oh, don’t scare me like that.” She presses a warm kiss to his temple and Liam groans out loud. “Oh, sweetie. Oh Philip. Oh.”

One finger traces down the side of his face. The feeling comes through hideously clear and sharp. If it were a picture, it’d be Technicolor, while the rest of the world scrapes by in staticky black and white. Liam presses his face harder into the concrete, wanting to escape, to sink through, to disappear. She picks up his head and cradles it with one little hand.

“…know this…?”

Liam wishes, more than he’s ever wished for anything before, to understand the words of the man standing over them. Instead, the man remains indistinct, distant, unreachable, while every word she says rings loud and perfect in his ears.

“Philip is my brother,” she explains, voice so sweet it conjures honey on the tongue. “He’s…he’s…well, he’s not right.”

“…see that…”

“Well.” A firm but gentle hand smoothing over his wild hair. “We don’t know what exactly it is that’s…wrong.” Locked inside his head, Liam is screaming. All that emerges from his mouth is a low, indistinct moan. Above him, Delilah chatters on, her voice taking on a tragic tone. “We suppose it could be genetic. Or it could be…well, he was in a bad way with drugs, my brother.” She strokes his back, a long, possessive touch. “It’s not his fault.”

The man above them grunts. His voice is still so distant, coming in and out like radio waves. “…damn fool thing…cold.”

“I try. I really do try. He’s just…he gets away from me sometimes, I guess.”

“…huge motherf…little thing like…”

A laugh, carefully calibrated to sound just a little forced. “Philip is my brother.” Another long, tender caress down his back. Liam pants into the pavement, head spinning. “I love him. Of course I’m going to look after him. I have to.”

“…need help?”

Sprawled out on the ground, Liam heaves a dry sob. Those words, words he wanted to hear so badly just minutes before, now offered to the exact wrong person. The conversation goes on above him, but Liam can’t waste his focus listening to it anymore.

Squeezing his eyes shut, Liam takes stock of his aching body. His knees are bruised and sore, his body scratched all over. He’s exhausted and cold and his muscles feel distant, tingly and out of touch. Even lying on the ground, his head pounds and spins. If there was anything left in his stomach, he’d definitely have thrown it up by now. All he wants is to stay where he is and rest. He wants to feel right again, in control of his body and his mind. He wants to give up, give in, be allowed to sleep and heal and rest. Liam just wants this to be over.

But he can’t just yell surrender and expect Delilah to leave him alone. She’s hopping to her feet now, standing to shake the stranger’s hand. If he has a last chance, this is it, so Liam grits his teeth. Dredging up every last bit of meager strength, he places his palms on the ground beneath him and pushes up. His arms are shaky, and nearly give out, but he manages to slump into a sitting position before his strength fails.

From his place sitting on the pavement, Liam can peer up pitifully at the two people above him. The flannel-wearing man is facing Liam, which means Delilah is facing away from him. He has a window, a precious small amount of time, in which he can just maybe make his escape. Swinging his head to the side, Liam examines the storefront he’s ended up outside of. The vinyl booths, the matching countertops – it’s a diner, all the lights inside aglow. If Liam can just make it inside. If he can just get his story out.

He has to move quickly. Sucking in a quick puff of cold air, Liam leans back and pushes off the ground, flinging himself to his feet. Almost before he’s all the way up, he’s throwing himself into his next step, staggering forward with all the grace and control of a drunken grizzly. Speed is his only chance, and also his greatest enemy. As Liam lunges forward, his body gives out under him. He stumbles, wailing in frustration, stretching his hand out for the door even as he goes down.

Before he can hit the pavement for the second time in ten minutes, the stranger catches Liam. It sounds like it takes a good amount of his strength, because the man grunts as Liam’s chest smacks his shoulder, but he stays where he is, all but holding Liam up.

Even though the guy seems to have decided to take Delilah’s side, gratitude leaves Liam breathless.

“Your brother is heavy,” the man complains, his gruff voice booming through the air right next to Liam’s ear.

“He was a football player,” Delilah explains, and surely anyone could hear that smug, faintly covetous tone in her voice? Surely, this man can see the way she squeezes his bicep as she runs her hand down his arm?

The man throws one of Liam’s arms over his shoulder and drags his unresisting body toward a parking lot. Stumbling along, Liam tries to stay on his feet, though now his hectic vision is starting to fade entirely. On his other side, Deliliah hovers along, her hand so light on his back that he should hardly be able to feel it. Somehow, though, while his entire body is distant, prickling, offline, that handprint burns in his awareness, heavy and hot and stinging like nettles. Liam whines under his breath, trying to make his thick tongue form words.

“Shh,” Delilah soothes, drawing so close he can feel her breath on his arm. “Shh, Philip, honey, it’s gonna be all right.”

Still whining like a kicked dog, Liam is dumped unceremoniously in a foreign backseat. Crawling up next to him, Delilah waits until the man is seated in front of them to perch herself basically in his lap. With greedy, grasping fingers, she tugs his leaden body over so Liam’s head is resting on her shoulder. At first, Liam fights it, but when the car starts up the winding mountain road, he subsides. The curving motion of the road sets his stomach roiling, so he’s too nauseous to do anything but let his head flop back as he tries to open his airway and breathe.

Cooing, Delilah cards her hot little hands through his hair. “Poor Philip,” she murmurs, voice sweet and conciliatory. “Poor honey. Didn’t I tell you no one would believe you?”

[wingedwizardcat]

For @gingerpilotweek Day 2: Stranded Together

Warning for discussion of reconditioning.

-

“This is a bloody awful attempt at a kidnapping.” Hux stated with barely concealed amusement, watching the Resistance pilot attempt to gain control of the escape pod he’d forced them both into, “Couldn’t you have chosen a pod that wasn’t undergoing maintenance? Or is this another element of your simply incredible plan?”

“Shut up, Hux.” Poe muttered, fiddling with the wires he’d managed to free from beneath the control dashboard and attempting to repair the navigation of the pod. Taking Hux had been a spur of the moment decision after he’d stolen the data he was looking for from the First Order ship and already he regretted dragging the ginger along, “The circuit board is missing completely, I can’t even tell how much power this thing has left.”

“Move aside.” The General took hold of his shoulder and forcibly moved him to get closer to the electronics, examining what they were left with, “We need to use as little power as possible, I doubt there’s enough to get us to the nearest planet with life support intact.”

“Wait, you were cuffed...” Poe realised, glancing back at the seat where Hux had been sitting but the cuffs were now resting instead.

“I was taught to escape cuffs at the age of five.” the ginger scoffed, slipping off his coat and taking the time to carefully fold it before he pushed his sleeves up and got to work on the wiring.

“Five? Isn’t that a little young to start teaching someone about escaping cuffs?”

“It’s a necessary skill in war.”

“So all you’ve ever known is war?”

“Isn’t that the same for you?” Hux glanced back at him, “A war does not only have one side. Surely you were also raised to fight?”

“Actually no.” Poe admitted, “My parents were against me joining the Resistance. They wanted me to be away from any fighting.”

The ginger said nothing in response, merely considering the other’s words as he got back to work on the task at hand.

“You don’t have to keep fighting, you could always walk away.”

“We haven’t even been in here an hour yet, Dameron, let a little more time pass before you try and recruit me.”

-

“What’s the verdict?” Poe asked, looking up as the lights went out and Hux moved to sit down next to him, “Bad news, right?”

“Three hours of air, if we’re lucky.” the General sighed, “I’ve turned all the propulsion systems off, leaving only basic life support. An emergency message is being broadcast on a loop on Resistance wavelengths.”

“Why not Order frequencies? Surely they’re closer?”

“They will shoot us down, as is protocol. The Order doesn’t rescue kidnapped Generals, they presume desertion and eliminate the traitor.”

“That seems... harsh.”

“It’s necessary. Anyway, don’t the Resistance travel in packs? Where’s your back-up?”

“This isn’t an official mission. They told me not to do it, I went ahead anyway and now we’re here.”

“Your incompetence knows no bounds.” the ginger murmured, but his tone was teasing, “If you were under my command, I’d have sent you to reconditioning long ago.”

“Since you’re a traitor in the Order’s eyes, it won’t matter if you tell me what reconditioning actually is, right? Finn’s mentioned it, but you’ve probably got more understanding of how it works.”

“It’s a form of coercion designed to prevent thoughts of freedom and rebellion. Subjects are... challenged... with stimuli and encouraged to take a different line of thought.”

“Who designed it?”

“My father.”

“So you’ve-?”

“Yes, I was his test subject for a time. Before it became apparant that the process can be damaging if used repeatedly over a small amount of time.”

“If it was used repeatedly on you, does that mean...?”

“He needed to repeat the process to confirm his results, but yes, there was a point where my thoughts were not particularly positive towards the Order. After his treatment...” he looked down at his hands, “It hardly matters, Dameron. I’m not a victim or someone who can be saved.”

“Everyone can be saved. You may not be able to change your actions or fix the past, but you don’t have to be the same person in the future.”

-

“You seem more okay with this than I would have expected. Being labelled as a traitor and facing certain death, I mean.”

“If we keep talking we’ll use up the air far quicker.”

“I’m not sitting in silence, Hux.”

“While the traitor tag is admittedly somewhat offensive, perhaps my disappearance will give my officers something to consider about their own service to Supreme Leader Ren. Many are loyal to me, losing me may cause them to question the Order which will only help to destabalise Ren’s already shambolic rule.”

“So, in theory, if we were to survive this and you joined the Resistance as a prominent Order defector, would there be a revolt of some kind?”

“Ren’s powers are feared, that would keep many from trying to walk away, but I’d hope that there would be some who would if that were the situation.”

A beep startled them slightly and Poe moved to check the barely functioning radar, “That’s one of ours!” he said with relief, turning to face the ginger, “It looks like we may get to try out that theory afterall!”

“I don’t have to wear the same clothing, do I? I’m far too pale for neutrals.” Hux sighed, getting to his feet and unrolling his sleeves. He carefully pulled on his gaberwool coat and tidied his appearance by touch alone, “And I’d like to keep my coat, even if the General stripes will need to be removed.”

“You want to keep your coat?”

“Only Generals and above are allowed to wear a coat like this, it took a lot of hard work to earn it. I am... was... the youngest General in either the Empire or the Order. It may just be a coat-”

“But it means something to you. I get it. You can keep the coat and we’ll see about the stripes, we could do with an experienced military man.”

“Isn’t General Organa the one to decide on the fate of prisoners?”

“Yeah, but I can speak to her on your behalf.”

“And what’s in it for you?”

The pod shook slightly as it was brought aboard a small Resistance cruiser.

“Maybe I’d like to see you make something of yourself instead of destroying more planets.” Poe replied, looking him over, “And maybe I’d like to get to know the man beneath the cold exterior.”

[glimmerglanger]

Sooo, I got this prompt from @anstarwar

Hi! I just stayed up til o’dark thirty finishing MYB and just had to hop over and say WOW. Love your writing! If you’re still taking prompts for supplemental stories I’m super curious what happened to Bly when he “woke up?” I just can’t help but think it’d be so devastating for him....I wanna give him a hug....anyways thank you!

AND OOOOF. Well, it’s not going to be a...happy time? For anyone? You’re probably going to want to give him more of a hug after this?

This snippet deals a lot with mind-control related trauma, being forced to kill someone against your will, suicidal ideation/a suicide attempt, and survivor’s guilt. People don’t always handle trauma in a neat and tidy way. This is… NOT neat and tidy, anger is one stage of grief, and something people who are hurt lash out, so lots of warnings for all of that. Past Blyla. A lot of hurt.

~~~~

Bly had some information to work with, by the time the thing in his head just stopped working, between one breath and the next. The thing had controlled his body for a timeless stretch, piloting him around the ship, to his quarters and to the bridge.

It read all the reports issued by the Imperial Command, and so Bly saw them, too.

He’d read that the Vigilance had been taken, taken by traitors in a mutiny, and he’d wanted to cheer, because of course Cody had found a way out, a way around the things in their head. 

He’d read that the Emperor wanted the heads of CC-2224 and the traitor Kenobi and so he’d known, too, that General Kenobi had somehow survived. That Cody had been strong enough to - to not pull the trigger on the Jedi he loved.

Not like Bly, who had leveled his blaster on Aayla’s back and squeezed the trigger and--

He wished he could grab his blaster again, but his body fought him, over and over again, until it just stopped. 

Bly was standing on the bridge when the thing in his head just...went away. There was no warning, no way for him to prepare. One moment, there were restraints around every piece of him and the next they were just gone.

Someone whimpered, across the bridge as Bly stared forward, breathing raggedly, swaying on his feet. His hand moved, automatically, towards the blaster at his hip. His fingers curled around the grip and he had it in hand before Ambler hit him around the chest and bore him to the floor, panting, “Don’t - don’t - please.”

“Get off of me,” Bly rasped out and they were poor first words, ragged and wet. He couldn’t breathe properly. His eyes stung and burned. The entire world had gone blurry. He reached for the blaster again - he’d shot Aayla in the back, his General, his everything, he’d shot her in the back and--

“I can’t,” Ambler said, knee on Bly’s wrist, the weight making his fingers spasm open. “I can’t, sir, I’m sorry.”

And Bly tried to say something, anything, else, but the words wouldn’t come, not for a long time.

#

Ambler refused to give Bly his blaster back, even after Bly got his breathing under control. Bly stared at him, the initial surge of emotion that had come with freedom fading away. He could control it. He had to control it.

Ambler had done the right thing, Bly decided, behind his helmet. He had things he needed to do, before he-- 

Made up for things.

He shook that thought aside. His brothers needed him. They didn’t have a General anymore - he’d seen to that - which meant--which meant they needed Bly to keep them safe. To help them figure out what to do.

He cleared his throat, ignoring the tears drying all over his cheeks under his helmet, and ordered the nat-borns on the ship restrained. And then he started looking for the Vigilance. Cody had gotten them free, he had no doubt. Somehow, the crazy son of a bantha had freed them all, and--

And he was wanted by the Empire. Kriff, they were probably all about to be wanted by the Empire.

Which meant they needed to be together. They’d be safer in greater numbers. “We had a message about some kind of attack on Kamino,” Burr said, from across the bridge, as they tried to figure out where to go. “But the message got cut off.”

“Head there,” Bly said, his voice a ragged mess. It was as good a place to go as any.

#

They found ruination on Kamino, but no sign of Cody or the Vigilance. No sign of any of their little brothers. Whatever had happened on the planet was long over by the time they dropped out of hyperspace.

But there was a buoy, tiny and transmitting on a strange frequency. Circuitboard decoded it while Bly sat in his quarters, staring at the wall, trying not to think of anything, definitely not the way Aayla had looked in his bunk, blue skin peeking out from beneath drab gray blankets, lekku curling softly with pleasure, and--

The buoy was transmitting coordinates, Circuitboard said, when he commed Bly. Bly looked down to find that he’d torn his sheets into long strips. He’d been twisting them, winding them into a long rope.

He stared down at his shaking hands, just for a moment, and gave the order to head to the coordinates, rising to his feet. He felt he should be on the bridge, at least for the start of their journey.

By the time he got back to his quarters, someone had taken away the damaged sheets. They’d taken away a lot of things. The room looked almost bare. Prickle - his new medic - was waiting inside the room, arms crossed, and said, “I can stay in here with you, or you can come to the medbay with me, the choice is yours.”

“Do what you want,” Bly told him, hollow inside, and curled up on the bare bed, not thinking about Aayla’s fingers stroking over his brow or the marks on his cheeks or--

Or anything else.

#

Cody left them a trail of breadcrumbs to follow, like they were playing one of the hunt-and-find games they’d indulged in back on Kamino, years ago. Cody’d always been better at hunting than hiding.

Maybe that was still true, because Bly found the Vigilance in orbit around an ugly gas giant on the borders of Wild Space, a small little flotilla around it. There were two other Venator-class ships by the Vigilance, and for a beat Bly wondered if the entire thing was an Imperial trap, his he and his brothers were about to be shot out of the sky.

He didn’t raise their shields. 

And a moment later familiar voices came over the comms, shouting words of welcome and relief.

#

Cody insisted that Bly come over to the Vigilance. Bly wasn’t sure he technically had to obey Cody’s orders, anymore, but if anyone was in charge of all of them, it had to be Cody, and so he went. 

He stared at the wall of the shuttle, even after it landed. He managed to get to his feet when Cody opened the rear hatch, turning to look at his brother - his batchmate - opening his mouth and then closing it again, before asking, “How the kriff did you do it?”

Cody looked back at him, expression tightly controlled, and said, “It’s a long story.”

Bly just stared at him. He felt...hollow inside. Cody winced, a little, and then exhaled. “Come on,” Cody said, reaching out and gripping his shoulder, “I’ll tell you.” 

#

Bly listened to all of it. He had a feeling, deep in his head, that Cody wasn’t going into the details, but it didn’t really matter. Bly got the gist of it. Cody really had saved his Jedi. Nearly blown up his head to do it, but he had, while Bly had drawn his blaster and--

“Where is he?” Bly asked, sitting in General Kenobi’s quarters - the ones Cody had been living in for years - and staring forward, eyes burning.

“On the bridge,” Cody said, with a little shrug. 

Bly nodded. He remembered what Aayla had looked like, last time she’d been on the bridge, her eyes tired as she looked over holos, one hand bandaged from a fall, lovely and alive and--

“I should get back,” Bly said, standing, because his men were in Cody’s care, now, and, obviously, Cody would take better care of them. Cody’d almost killed himself, proving that, while Bly had just raised his blaster and pulled the trigger and--

“You’re going to stay here,” Cody said, like it wasn’t even a question, in the same tone that had led to them fighting more than once when they were shinies on Kamino, Cody always thinking everyone should just listen to him-- “Catch me up on everything. Get some rest, for a day or two.”

“With all due respect,” Bly said, tone too flat to be sharp, “I’m rested plenty.”

“I talked to Prickle,” Cody said, and Bly wondered why, staring forward, not looking at Cody, even when Cody tried to step into his field of view. 

“That so?” Bly asked, trying to muster the energy to care and failing. He should have cared about them whispering about him behind his back, but he just--

Didn’t.

“That’s so,” Cody said. “And so you’re staying here.”

“Fine,” Bly said, gaze flicking momentarily towards the blaster at Cody’s hip. “Whatever you say, sir.”

He caught Cody’s wince out of the corner of his eyes, and a part of him wanted to apologize immediately but-- He’d done so much worse. Things he’d never be able to apologize for, he’d lifted his blaster and--

“Good,” Cody said, firm. “Let’s get some dinner.”

#

Bly pushed mush around his plate. He ate a bite, maybe two. His appetite had died with everything else that mattered, systems and systems away from where he currently was. 

Cody made noises about him needing to eat more, but he’d just have to live with what Bly could manage, unless he planned to bring in a tube and force it down Bly’s throat. Maybe he would. Bly considered the idea dispassionately.

In the end, Cody just frowned over him and took Bly back to his quarters. Cody brought along an extra meal, and something in Bly’s gut twisted hard, just looking at it. He felt like there was something inside him, a dam, perhaps, and that it was starting to crack, all down the middle.

He didn’t want to know what was on the other side of it.

“Why don’t you get in the fresher,” Cody said, and Bly shrugged. The fresher looked the same as the one he’d used for years. There was even a Jedi robe hanging on one of the hooks along the wall and for a moment he could imagine--

But it wasn’t Aayla’s. The weave was too heavy. And she’d preferred darker, richer colors. Earth tones. He stared at his fingers, clenched in the fabric, and made himself release it with a shudder. He took off his armor. Set it aside. Stepped under the water.

Aayla had loved the decadence of a water shower. She’d insisted he join her in one, more than once, the two of them wedged in together, laughing as they jostled for space and it always ended with her in his arms, hands sliding on the slippery walls, her fingers clenching at his shoulders, and--

He’d shot her. In the back. Hadn’t even hesitated. Ordered her body pushed into a shallow grave and she’d probably been ravaged by scavengers and--

Bly jerked out from under the water. He dried off, pulled back on a set of blacks that looked clean. Cody’s, he assumed. They mostly fitted; after years of different experiences, their bodies were no longer exactly the same. They’d built muscle differently. Some of them were stronger than others.

Cody had managed to fight the thing in his head.

And Bly had--

He tried to hold together the splintering dam inside his head, stepping back out into the main room. He wondered where Cody expected him to sleep, and the consideration fell out of his head when he realized they weren’t alone anymore.

Cody was sitting on the end of the bunk, talking to General Kenobi, low and earnestly. And Kenobi--

Was alive. Standing there in his tunic, his hair with more white in it around the temples than Bly recalled, a lightsaber on his belt. And seeing him split the widening cracks in Bly’s chest even further. He felt his jaw grinding as Kenobi looked up and over at him, inclining his head a little as he said, “Commander, I’m...so sorry, I--”

Kenobi cut off at a sharp, ragged-edged sound. Bly realized after a moment that it was coming from him. Laughter. 

Kenobi shifted his weight back, just a little, as Bly rasped out, “You’re sorry?”

He was distantly aware of Cody standing up, reaching out and putting a hand on Kenobi’s stomach. But that seemed like it was happening somewhere else. Everything, the entire world, was Kenobi’s expression, his too-wide eyes and the way all the color had washed out of his face. 

“Bly,” Cody started, and Bly felt his mouth twist up, felt the last little pieces of resistance in his chest wash away. 

“You’re sorry?” Bly repeated, taking a step forward. “She’s dead and--you’re sorry? You?”

Kenobi took a step back. “I--”  

“It isn’t fair,” Bly snapped, moving closer, and oh, it wasn’t, nothing about this was fair, it was brutal and wrong and -- “She’s dead, and you’re still here. Still just fine, aren’t you? Just like always? And you’re sorry?”

Cody stepped between them, one hand extended out towards Bly, mouth moving when he said, “That’s--”

“Why did you get to live?” Bly demanded, trying to bat Cody’s hand out of the way. Cody grunted and reached to grab him. “When she died? Why couldn’t it have been her? Just -- it should have been her, not you, she was--”

His words cut off when his shoulders hit the wall, both Cody’s hands in the front of his blacks, something dark and snapping in Cody’s eyes when he snarled, “That’s enough. Not another kriffing word, do you hear me?”

Bly opened his mouth, and never got a chance to say anything, because Cody jerked back from him at the sound of retching from the fresher. Cody swore, viciously, and pushed him against the wall again. “You stay right there,” Cody snapped, heading for the fresher, reaching for his comm and spitting something into it that Bly didn’t hear.

When Bones showed up, a few moments later, to collect him, Bly went along willingly enough. Whatever anger had moved through him had dissipated as quickly as it had come. He just felt… empty again. Completely empty.

[my-writings-and-musings]

Could you do TFP bots (or just a few of them if you have charcater limit or just don't feel like doing them all, as long as Wheeljack is ingluded I'm good) with a human they just recued and they're like "I'm gonna call my dad hold on" and if they protest they're like "nah you'll like him I promise, just give him a minute" and her dads their old bot friend who went MIA (you can decide who the dad is, or go with Ironhide if you're as indeciceve as me lol)

I miiiiight just have to do this as a short story I hope that's okay! Got my Wrecker boys Wheeljack, Bulkhead, Smokescreen and Ultra Magnus.

Dust was still settling as you realized the threat was over, the collection of vehicons having scattered long before the cave had finished it's partial collapse and leaving you under the gathered team of bots who'd come together to shield you from falling debris. Rubbing off the powdered rocks covering your face, as well as coughing up the taste of dirt, you took a moment to gather yourself as your new giant allies did the same. It wasn't worth thinking about what would have happened if they hadn't come along when they had... In your defense, that ambush had come out of nowhere.

"You okay there?" A deep voice above you rumbled with concern, encouraging you to tilt your head upwards at the big green bot looking down at you. His optics were friendly, and despite his absolutely massive size and hands that transformed into wrecking balls, you immediately trusted him.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Thanks to you guys." You said gratefully, looking to each of the gathered team as they brushed the dust off themselves.

"Protecting organic life is the primary responsibility of Autobots, think nothing of it." The largest of them said, somewhat gruff as he meticulously picked off the worst of the rubble that had showered down upon them. Immediately, you knew he was the one in charge. Towering above the others and with shoulder pauldrons thicker than two of you, he gave off the energy of someone who took no nonsense and had the firepower to back up his authority, yet his gaze was mostly just annoyed as he looked down to you again. "Our second responsibility, however, is remaining hidden from the denizens of this planet. Saving you required us to break cover."

"Give the kid a break, sir. They managed to escape a whole squadron by themselves before running into us. I think we can cut them some slack." A far gruffer voice said, cutting in as the battle scarred mech in question took a protective step your way. Quite immediately the colors on his unique build were familiar to you, but you decided to stay quiet on that fact, reaching for the cellphone thankfully still secure in your pocket. While you hadn't found what you'd been looking for in this mine, at least you had something far more interesting to report.

The big blue bot looked to the other with an impressive frown, unintentionally cementing your thesis as to the scarred mech's identity. The back and forth continued more or less without an acknowledgement of your presence. "They've been seen in our company, Wheeljack. By the procedure Optimus established, we must now secure their wellbeing, and that will be quite the undertaking."

The only one who had not yet spoken, a smaller but solidly built blue bot who seemed the youngest of the group, chose that moment to jump in with a quip. "Doubt docbot will be too happy about another human in the bunker."

"He's all talk. Ratchet wants these little guys as safe as the big guy does, he won't put up a fight." The gruff one, who you were starting to like more by the moment, said with an amused but reassuring smile in your direction. Unable to help smiling back, you suddenly felt that this turn of events might have been more than you could have ever hoped for. If only you could get a word in edgewise...

"You're purposefully missing the point, soldier. We-"

"If it's gonna be such a hassle for you, I'll take 'em myself."

"Jackie..." Once more, the gentle green giant spoke up, looking quite concerned at his friend's purposeful egging on of the bot in charge. You got the sense that this kind of thing happened often by his tone, but personally, you were getting a little tired of being ignored. None of what they were discussing was necessary, and if anyone would have bothered to ask you they'd know that? Finally fed up, you took a breath and raised your arms to draw attention to your tiny self.

"Um, hello? Excuse me!" You shouted, mercifully ending the bickering and securing four pairs of optics on yourself. Relieved for the silence, you pulled out your phone and held it up, projecting your voice to ensure you were heard. The shocked expressions didn't cease when you started to explain, but you didn't let that stop you. Sorting this out would make everything easier for everyone. "I think there's a bit more going on than any of you know. Let me call my dad really quick, he'll set this straight."

The first to reply was the one you knew had to be the rookie of the group, who awkwardly cleared his vents and broke the silence only hesitantly. "Uh, bringing more humans into this really isn't our goal-"

"Who said anything about him being human?" You cut in, grinning from ear to ear at the looks they all gave you. Now that you had their unbroken attention, it was only a matter of summoning your dad and waiting for him to arrive. Dialing his frequency into your phone, you prepared to share just as much information as it took to get him here fastest, wanting to see the look on his face when he arrived and saw who you'd found. This was going to be fun...

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

The roar of a familiar engine had thankfully silenced the second round of bickering to break out amongst the two argumentative bots, who had gone back and forth between listening to you and calling for their superior. It had been entertaining at first, but by the time that roar had echoed down the tunnel you'd been relieved to hear it, and had hopped to your feet from your seat on a convenient rock. The bots had reflexively drawn their weapons, but there hadn't even been any need for you to stop them. A worn red paint job skidding around the corner had made them all hold fire.

In a rush, you'd run out to greet the massive off road vehicle just as it began to transform, and in moments had been embracing the offered hand of a hulking bot who kneeled before you with an expression of happy relief.

"Ironhide!"

"Wheeljack!" Your adopted dad cried out in absolute joy, letting you move safely to the side before approaching the bot who's identity you'd properly guessed. Ironhide had told you so many stories about the Wrecker, it made sense that you'd been able to tell who he was by appearance and mannerisms despite having never met. The two bots greeted one another with an earth trembling chest bump, after which your beaming father turned to the green bot with just as much enthusiasm, shaking hands and crashing their fists together with overwhelming power. "Bulkhead too? Where have you guys been?"

"We might ask you the same thing, soldier." The big blue bot said, cutting in with the same serious look that appeared to be his only expression. On a closer inspection, however, you could see a certain light in his optics. He wasn't altogether displeased to see a new arrival. Standing somewhat awkwardly to the side, the young blue bot appeared delighted if not quite confused.

"Uh, long story, Ultra Magnus sir. I've been on this planet for some time. Found this little troublemaker when they were half their current size, and I've been raising 'em to help with our cause." Ironhide said affectionately, stepping back and dropping to one knee to be more on your level. Before you could puff up proudly at the praise, a single digit tussled your hair as he often did to tease, and you sputtered before playfully pushing him away and undoing the damage. Chuckling, he turned back to his comrades. "Never figured I'd bump into you all here! Jackie, Bulk, and uh..."

The attention turned to the young bot, who only smiled with a wave and a not offended clarification on his name.

"Smokescreen."

Wheeljack gave your dad a playful punch, still buzzing at seeing his old friend alive. The friendship you'd so frequently heard about was clear as day before you. "Glad to see you in one piece, old Rusthide."

"We've been here for years, Ironhide. How come we didn't detect you?" Bulkhead said, looking just as happy but burdened by the question at hand. Ironhide tapped his audial with a somewhat glum smile.

"Communicator's been busted for ages, all I've got is an earth link for cellphones." He said, recalling an injury he'd endured long before meeting you. The line he'd built relied on earth technology, and you still remembered how many tries it had taken to get it right. It was impossible to imagine a whole other team of beings like himself had been out there the whole time... Yet he didn't look at all regretful as he glanced down at you. "If I'd known I wasn't alone, I would have introduced myself and the kid ages ago. Looks like we've got my little one to thank for bringing us together."

You pouted and crossed your arms at the comment. "I'm not little anymore, dad."

"They did alright in a scrap, but how about we get you two back to base? I'm sure the other's will want to hear the story." Wheeljack said, easing your damaged pride with the compliment. You had indeed evaded those Vehicons for a good long while before being rescued... speaking of which, you could use a bit of rest somewhere secure.

Once more, Ultra Magnus stepped in to halt the festivities. "First; I shall communicate with Optimus and let him know what has transpired. He will likely want to meet you in person before we make any rash decisions."

"Seriously? Come on, Mags! Let's get this bot in an actual base!" Wheeljack replied in a huff, bringing back the arguing from before as if it had never stopped. Looking quite amused, Ironhide merely chuckled and offered you his hand, allowing you to get a lift onto his shoulders as was your custom. Clearly not phased by what he was seeing, the only parent you'd ever known let you get comfortable before following the group out of the partially collapsed cave. Who could have thought your simple little scouting mission would end like this?

"Come on kiddo." He said softly, watching the bickering with an expression of nostalgia. "I have a feeling things are about to get pretty interesting."

[the-silentium]

Here we go again

Masterlist - Murphy day - Part 2

Before I introduce you to my story, please note that Fors is an Original planet. I do not give permission to people to use it for their own fics, the planet, the animals, the Nightmares, the lore or anything related to Fors. Thank you.

Pairing: Bad Batch x Reader

Words: 3661 words

Warnings: Hurting animals (predators, don’t worry).

A/N: This is going to be insane. It’ll get gory (not in this chap, but we’ll get there). 

Taglist: @haloangel391​ (still want to be tagged?) + Tag list open

_____________________

"This," Tech paused to find the right words to not insult you once more. "went rather good considering it's your first time." He met your gaze, clearly concentrating on your body language to see if you were insulted or not.

You stared back at him blankly, eyebrow raised, hands joined on your lap. You turned your chair to face him completely and moved forward to get your elbows on your knees, never breaking the eye contact. 

"Cut the crap. Say what you wanted to say." 

"Two things." He immediately followed like the words were dying to leave his lips. "One, this should have been a lot more chaotic. Two, there was no way you actually never flew a ship before." His eyes squinted like this would press the info out of you.

"You accusing me of lying?" You remained stoic, not letting him know yet about your little secret and actually making him squirm in his seat. 

"No!" He straightened in his seat, frowning in confusion as if you'd just slapped him. In the background, you could hear footsteps getting closer to the cockpit door. 

"Are you?" He continued, uncertain.

"No." 

"For a second I doubted it was you piloting." Hunter entered, followed by Wrecker who stood right behind him. "Very good for a first flight." 

"Yeah! We could tell it wasn't Tech because of the landing! It was too smooth." Wrecker chimed in to his smaller brother's dismay. 

"Thanks." You answered with a nod at the same time Tech yelled his indignation. 

"She cheated!" 

"And how can you cheat at piloting a ship?" Crosshair snickered at the apparent attempt to keep his reputation of best pilot of the Marauder. Apparently you were promising enough to be a threat. This was interesting. 

"Tech. She doesn't have a droid. She couldn't cheat." Hunter pointed out, confused. 

"She said she didn't fly a ship before! It clearly isn't the case!" His hands moved around to prove his point, almost causing you to burst out laughing. 

"Again with accusing me of lying?" You inquired innocently. 

"No! I'm not-" 

"You just did." The sniper smirked, enjoying the show. 

Shiny decided to join the troop at this moment, passing its head under Wrecker's big hand for some pat. Your heart squeezed at the prospect that the tiny baby wouldn't be around anymore. He was so sweet. 

"But you can't learn that from the books!"

"I didn't lie." You chuckled, your attention back to the discussion. One of your hands found the engineer's pauldron to calm him down. "I never flew a ship before. Hell, I've never used a blaster before! This planet is still using bows and arrows."  

You heard a snort on your right, clearly coming from the grey-haired trooper, but your eyes were fixed to Tech's who was still trying to get how the hell you managed to get the hang of flying a ship so quickly. You were sure it took hours of training to be able to fly to the GAR standards and you knew you didn't reach these standards. Yet. But it didn't stop your first performance to be quite good, or so it seemed. 

"You're right. I read all the books and they couldn't have prepared me enough." He nodded, already knowing that he was right, waiting for you to continue with barely contained impatience. 

"Remember the trooper who shared my room for a while? Blast?" You didn't wait for him to answer your question before getting to the part of his interest. "He's a gunship pilot. He taught me what to be aware of, what to look for, how to react in what situation, and other stuff." 

You smiled sweetly at his goggled eyes, batting your eyelashes innocently. 

"See? Not a liar. Just resourceful." 

His eyes grew wide in panic, almost making you panic. 

"You blew your cover of being a trained pilot!" Oh. You rolled your eyes in all playfulness, noticing how the rest of the team tensed at his words. 

" 'm not that dumb Techie." You resisted the urge to boop his nose in front of everyone. "Told him I was used to starfighters and not gunships. Wasn't used to the big extra weight behind my ass. He bought it and helped me 'adjust'." You finished by making quotation marks in the air, happy to see his face crumble in relief. 

"It's okay Tech. You're still the best pilot between the two of us." You patted his shoulder and got to your feet, a new energy in your steps as you made your way to the back of the ship. 

You looked around for your knife, going to the last place you remember seeing it; the barracks. Only, you found the beds to be totally empty and your knife was unexpectedly nowhere to be seen in the living area too. Maybe one of the boys had it, you thought. Before you went to ask them, it flashed into your mind. You remembered sliding it into the slot at the side of your boot. You lightly hit your forehead with your palm. Oops. You could keep that to yourself.

You heard the boys argue for a bit, Wrecker laughing at the whole exchange, your lips stretching at his contagious joy. They finally settled, the silence making it obvious that their small discussion was over, so you made your way to the door of the ship. 

"All ready to go drop off our lil' friend." You announced as they joined you, pressing the button to open the door. 

Tech handed you a small device with a flashing round circle as soon as he was within arms reach. 

"What's that?" You took the device, turning it around to inspect it. 

"An improved comm link. If by some bad luck we get separated, we'll still be able to reach you. It is set to our team frequency. Press this button to talk." He pointed at the no-longer-flashing circular button. 

"So I can't dirty talk Hunter." You said in the device, and you could hear your voice echoing from all their helmets under their arms. 

"Definitely not." He deadpanned, disgusted. Wrecker laughed whole-heartedly, one of his hands slapping the back of your right shoulder that moved forward under his strength, Hunter smirked in your direction with a delicious glint in his eyes while Crosshair rolled his eyes and put his helmet on. 

"Fiiiine." You fake whined, eyes and head rolling like a kid before inviting them to get off the ship with a movement of your hands presenting them the outside world. "After you, gentlemen." 

Scoffing, Hunter pulled his helmet on and walked down the steps, followed by the rest of the batch. 

"Good job Y/N!" Wrecker eagerly presented you his fist, to which you keenly answered with a hit of your smaller fist. He descended the stairs to regroup with his team. 

Smiling, you noted that they were fully armored, armed and alert, surely not trusting the fauna around to stay at bay. You found that deep inside, it made you feel safer to have them by your side. 

You pocketed the comm link in one of your deepest pockets before following suit, arms wide at your side to bathe in the warmth of the slowly retiring sun while you could. Space, you'd realized, was terribly cold. 

Tall trees reached high in the blue sky, the green grass grew as far as you could see, a warm breeze stroked your face and all in all, you found yourself not relaxing like you expected. You thought that you'd feel better to be in known-ish territory as opposed to a cold military base, but your mind couldn't find ease. Not even slightly. Maybe it was PTSD following your last experience on Murphy Day. You deeply hoped this was the explanation. 

You made sure that you landed the ship far enough from the Forsian hunting territories and the Waytree, the prospect of meeting one of your peers wasn't very tempting and if you could avoid meeting another Basilisk, you'd definitely take it. The Marauder was now in wild territory, far enough that even you hadn't ventured that far in your exploratory trips, about a couple of hours of walk away from your native village, just enough to stay undetected.

You joined the group, smiling at seeing Shiny running into the greenery, glad that at least one of you was happy to be back. 

Wrecker and Crosshair went ahead, closer to the line of trees to search for predators of some sort, their movements frightening small sunbathing Jerboas that fled back into the jungle. 

"We'll have to do it quick. Can't be here when the sun's down." You informed the sergeant who nodded in understanding. 

Or at least, some understanding. Like everyone else, he must have deduced that this planet was even more dangerous at night. If only he knew to what extends. Or maybe it was best for him not to know. 

"Clear." Came Crosshair's voice from your pocket. 

"All cl-" Wrecker started before his sentence finished in a yelp of surprise. 

All at once, four heads turned towards his position, quick enough to see his torso and helmet disappear into the ground. 

'Wrecker!" You yelled along with Tech, running to where you last saw him, the remaining commandos barely outrunning you. 

"Stop!" Hunter barked, arms extended at his sides to prevent you all to fall off the cliff, cutting your breath for a second when the blaster in his hand hit your chest full force. 

The ground was crumbling under your combined weights, hurrying you to step back from the edge. You dropped on your stomach to redistribute your weight and peer at the open space below. Making sure this time that only your head poked over the edge and nothing else. A hand gripped the back of your shirt in haste, like you would ever decide to throw yourself off a precipice. Again. 

Wrecker sat there on his ass surrounded by trees, passing a hand over his helmet in confusion. You finally took a deep breath in when you registered that he was moving. 

"You okay there?" You yelled with your hands around your mouth, the others replicating your position at your sides to look down, the hand on your back still closed around the fabric. 

"All good." He looked up, flashing you a thumbs up. 

Bending your head to look under you, your blood ran cold as you took in the really thin plate of ground kept together by roots and nothing else. There were only a very few inches of dirt supporting your bodies, creating a gap between the part of the cliff Wrecker could climb and the edge where you all laid on. 

"He can't climb up." You rotated your head to the side at Crosshair's comment and saw the ground disappearing two clicks further down. You landed on a weird ravine top of some sort. 

Your breathing picked up in pace as the image of the sun licking the top of the trees reached your brain, pushing back to the front of your mind all your survival instinct adapted to the hard life on your planet. 

"We have to get him. Quick." Your eyes were fixed to the sun, muscles tensed. 

How long before the last rays warmed the ground? How long until you weren't protected anymore? 45 minutes? A bit less? 

"What's wrong?" Hunter questioned, bringing you back to the land of the living. He looked worried, maybe it was caused by the panic in your voice. Or the fact that your skin paled significantly in a matter of seconds. Or maybe it was both. 

You got on your knees before bolting toward the line of trees, evading the hand clutched around your shirt to look for a spot where the cliff met your own ground. Yells of your name were muffled by your loud frenetic thoughts, warnings to not stay outside at dusk, stories of what roamed the darkness on the other side of the gigantic fence protecting the village, drawings of terrifying creatures that haunted your nights for years.  

You jumped at the something closing on your shoulder, instinct kicking in to lift your hand to threaten the intruder. You were as surprised at Tech when you saw the hunting knife in your hand, the blade almost pressed against his neck. 

"Calm down!" A sharp order reached your ears as a hand pulled your wrist away from the tender skin. 

"S-sorry Tech." Your voice shook as much as your hand, your grip tightening around the handle of the blade.  

"What's wrong? Talk to us!" Hunter ordered again, invading your line of sight. 

"We have to be gone before dusk. We can't survive a night outside." You rushed, eyes lifting to the darkening sky between the leaves. 

"Why?" He pressed, tension building. 

"We are losing time! We have 20 minutes tops to find him and all get our way back to the ship." You turned around to continue your search of a way to get to your teammate. 

"What happens at dusk?" Tech inquired, joining your sides and matching your quick pace. 

"They come out, Tech." You whispered, almost scared to say it out loud in fear that they would appear at their mention. 

"What's 'they'?" Crosshair grumbled, completely done with your nonsense. He seemed unbothered, but you knew your stress was affecting him too, his gun at the ready was secured in a tight grip while his helmet scanned the trees meticulously. 

"Apex predators." You shuddered, the drawing of an Algax invading your mind. 

You noticed Shiny wandering a bit farther ahead, his horns illuminating a couple of Furants watching the group closely. The feline-like owls were perched on low branches, the green light reflecting over their dark feathers and four legs armed with sharp talons. Their ears and eyes followed your movements, their tail intertwined to keep the other close. 

They flew away in silence when Wrecker's voice boomed from your comm link. 

"I hear weird laughs all around." He sounded worried, some of said laughs could be heard in the background. 

As if this situation wasn't already bad! You definitely could have done without Wrecker being surrounded by a pack of vicious opportunist predators.

"Shoot 'em! Check in the trees!" You rushed out. "They'll try to surround you, you can't let them. Run if need be, they're not that fast." You glanced down the edge and huffed in annoyance when it still wasn't close enough to let you jump down to help him. 

"We have to get to him!" You heard the first blaster bolts just below to your right, meaning that Wrecker foolishly ventured the jungle alone on his side when the others started running after you.  

"Wrecker. Continue running North. We'll meet at some point." Hunter ordered. 

"Got that!" 

You jumped over dead trunks, roots and dense patches of tall grass, slalomed between the trees disturbing the small animals tending to their daily routine of surviving the harsh environment and ignored the yelps of Tech tripping over something. 

"Don't shoot that!" You yelled, pointing to the big moss-covered lizard currently digging the ground before you, rushing past it without a care. He barely acknowledged your passage, staying focussed on his task. 

You passed too much time running to your liking, but it all paid off when a very tall tree almost reached your ground level. It was a couple of feet too short, but it definitely was enough for you to jump down to the thick branches below. The top ones weren't strong enough, breaking beneath your feet and scratching your arms slightly. Soon, you reached the level where the wood became thick enough to sustain your weight. You plunged your knife into the trunk to slow down your fall to allow you to grab a branch without dislocating your shoulder and quickly made your way down. 

You heard your name from above, but ignored it. They could make it on their own. Or at least you hoped. 

You heard Wrecker before you saw him, the high pitch snickers and whoops following him closely. He shot some bolts behind him but continued running forward like Hunter ordered him to. He passed below you, not seeing you in the tree but stopped when he heard something fall on the ground behind him. 

You had plunged your knife into one of the Rideat following the clone, stabbing him near the neck as soon as he jumped on your branch to continue its course. It lost balance at the pain, propelling the both of you to the ground. 

You jumped to your feet in milli-seconds, already expertly jumping away from its long clawed prehensile fingers to stab it in the neck. It screeched in pain, jerking it's dangerously powerful back legs forward to push you away and claw at your flesh in the same movement. 

You jumped back and Wrecker used the moment to shoot at the agonizing beast. Groans and grunts resonated all around, brown flashes moving from trees to trees. With your back to Wrecker's, you analyzed their pattern, lifted your hand and threw your knife to where you were sure the brown Rideat would jump next. Its body hit the ground, stunning it long enough for the trooper to shoot it down. 

With snarls, the others retreated, leaving the scene as swiftly as they came. 

"Those things are ugly!" Wrecker let out when you pulled your knife out of the canine-bat's shoulder. 

"They are." 

You pushed the body with your foot, cautious of any movement on its end, they were known to fake dead after all. Its long front legs were motionless just like its smaller back legs. 

When it's large sensitive protrusions on its scapulas didn't move, you allowed yourself to breathe. 

"You okay?" You turned to Wrecker who lifted its helmet to wear it as a hat. 

"Yes! Thanks to you, cabur'ika!" 

You frowned at the new nickname. You opened your mouth to ask what it meant when troopers rained from above, landing on their feet like the perfect elite commandos that they were. You were actually surprised that they didn't fall all the way down with their armor. 

"They're gone." You informed them, almost snorting at their weapons moving along the trees. 

"You sure?" Hunter stayed focused on his surroundings. 

"100%. They're opportunist cowards. Always flee when they realize the prey is too strong." You pushed Wrecker's arm playfully at your last word. 

"What's that?" Tech asked, crouched next to one of the bodies. 

"A Rideat." You looked above, trying to discern the sky above the clouds of leaves but failing miserably as this part of the jungle was way too dense. "I'll describe later. We should get back up and leave." 

Unfortunately, the tree was too short for you all to get back up there, so you had to walk further into the jungle to find a way up. This ravine must have a climbable spot somewhere. It had to. 

Each passing second put you more and more on edge, sharpening your senses and reflexes. You heard the pounding of several Jerboas running to safety around you, a young single Loth wolf passed right next to your group, running towards its den. 

You'd spent too much time walking, running and fighting. You were late. Too late. The sun was down and the diurnal animals fled to their secure home to pass the night. Preys and predators alike. 

"We have to follow it!" You yelled, sprinting after the Loth wolf. Maybe it would lead you to a suitable shelter. Please, please, please.

Desperately, you tried to keep sight of it. Running at your fastest, you took every turn it did, jumped every mud puddle it did, but in the end, its four legs were too fast for the two of yours. 

You lost him for a second. It was a second too much. Your blood ran cold when you lost sight it, but you soon spotted the small crack in the rock where it sneaked in to find shelter. 

"No. Nononononono." You shook your head, eyes widening as fear traveled through your body like fire. 

The fissure was too small for anyone to slip in. You were stuck out past daylight. Too far from the ship and too far from the nearest village.

"Stop running off." Hunter grumbled, joining your side. 

You were on the verge of hyperventilating, too much blood was flooding your head, pins poked your fingers, the quick beating in your skull almost made you dizzy. 

"Can't be out at night. Can't." You whispered, reciting the fundamentals of your previous years of survival. "Never leave the village alone. Don't forget your weapon. Return home before dusk."

You had failed. You'd die. You'd die like everyone else that ventured the night. You'd given yourself a death sentence without even returning to the village. How dumb-

"Y/N!" You were shook back and forth for a moment, trying to get you to focus. 

"Calm your breathing. Now!" You heard the order, it was distant and muffled, but you heard it. It was only then that you regained feelings of your own body and forced your erratic lungs to slower their pace. 

Your vision cleared, the sounds in your head vanished, the ringing in your ears faded, your fingers flexed to regain full feeling in them. You were alive. Still alive. Not for lo-

"Good." You blinked at Crosshair, his worried gaze moving over your face like you'd scared him. As if. 

"We have to find shelter." You told them, coming back from your panic attack. Body leaning on the sniper's hand on your shoulder for stability. 

"Remember I told you guys that Fors feeds on beliefs and basically make them real?” You didn’t wait for an answer. “Now what are common beliefs at night?" 

"Monsters." Crosshair deadpanned, eyes reduced to slit. He must think you went downright crazy.

"Blood-thirsty man-eating monsters." You specified to their horror. 

[babyybitchhh]

This is the anon who commented about yami! I didn't like nozel at first but I can't lie, he kinda grew on me and he's fine asf. I couldn't look at magna in anyway until I saw him with his hair down. Now I'm like 👀👀👀. More than anything, I just want yami to ruin me. Spank me and call me a good girl pleaseee

Yessssssss

Yami was BUILT to be daddy. So strong, so rough around the edges but with a big soft heart, so beefy 💗🥴💗

Words: 3937

Warnings: daddy kink, alcohol, drunk fingering, vaginal fingering 

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27172960

❤️❤️❤️❤️

You probably should have known better than to start drinking with them. No, not probably. You definitely should have known better.

Hindsight was always twenty-twenty though, and you could see now just how grievous a mistake it had been to accept Vanessa’s invitation without stopping long enough to consider the consequences but, well ... she was one of the only other women in the squad and she seemed to like you well enough. You wanted her to keep liking you, of course. So you’d foolishly jumped at the chance, far too eager to be included in this decidedly unorthodox team bonding exercise of theirs.

The Black Bulls were, by nature, sufficiently rowdy enough on their own but adding alcohol to the mix only seemed to fan the flames. They were the very definition of unruly. Clothes had been shamelessly discarded, more cigarettes smoked than you would have thought possible, arguments over nothing at all turned heated with alarming frequency only to be immediately forgotten and you, you were stuck in the middle of it. Thoroughly lost in your own world and floating serenely through the hazy bog of consciousness without a second thought to what chaos was going on around you.

It was kind of nice, actually. Liberating.

“Remember, ya’ gotta’ have at least three matching pairs to discard,” Magna reminds the assembled party as he quickly deals out a fresh hand. “Or you can do the same suit if ya’ want, but it has to go in order. No incomplete sets.”

The worse for wear table everyone had initially gathered around started off cramped, a tight fit for so many people and with little elbow room to spare. As the night wore on, however, most of the plucky squadron had gradually called it quits and retired until eventually only four remained. You were proud of yourself for outlasting the others but you also knew just how in over your head you were with this particular group. Yami could likely drink anyone under the table and Magna appeared to keep up with him just fine. While Vanessa didn’t exactly hold her liquor well , she could certainly put it away. There wasn’t a doubt in your mind that you were on your last leg here even if you were, for all intents and purposes, having a good time.

“Alright, lets see what ya’ got.”

Feeling simultaneously as light as a feather and sluggish under the weight of heavy, invisible chains, you slowly flip your cards over. It was hard to tell which way was up anymore, especially when your inner vertigo was so off kilter. You were warm, too. Almost unbearably so. Clammy in the worst possible way and you teeter forward in your chair, struggling to focus your swimming vision on the cards spread out in front of you.

It was a shit hand.

Grumbling under your breath, you distractedly tug at your clothes. A soft, fitful whine claws its way up your throat when it does absolutely nothing to alleviate just how stiflingly hot you are and, in fact, only seems to make it worse. You were absolutely burning up and this card game was its own special brand of torture, you decide with nothing short of woozy contempt.

“What the hell’s your problem?” Yami asks mildly from his spot beside you.

He was infuriatingly collected despite having consumed even more alcohol than you had, guzzling down mouthful after mouthful while you’d taken your time sipping on the fruity concoctions Vanessa made special just for you. You’d lost track of how many cups he’d emptied quite some time ago but you were still only on your third. It didn’t make sense. How were you so damn tipsy already?

“Hot.” You groan, not bothering to look up from what was possibly the worst hand you could have been dealt. Letting Magna shuffle the deck was, unsurprisingly, yet another mistake to add to the ever growing list.

Turning his head, Yami glances over at you and you catch the movement from your peripheral but still refuse to divert your attention from the cards. Maybe if you just stared at them long enough, hard enough, they’d morph into something you could actually use. You weren’t a magic knight in name only, right? Surely your grimoire was good for something .

“You’re drunk.” He suddenly announces, loud enough to make Vanessa whip her head around.

“M’not.” You grumble.

“Bullshit.”

The inebriated witch inserts herself into the fray before you can respond, wrapping slender arms around your shoulders and pulling you in against her bosom. “Awww, honey! Did’ju really like my drinks that much?” She coos at you sweetly. “I wasn’t tryin’ to get you drunk. Promise.”

“M’not drunk.” You insist, louder this time, much to Vanessa’s giggling amusement.

Heaving a clipped sigh, Yami leans across the table and taps your cards with a thick finger, slowly drawing your attention back to them. “I’m not saying I don’t believe you,” He says around the cigarette in his mouth. “But someone who isn’t piss drunk would probably know better than to lay their hand out on the table like this. Do you even know what game we’re playing right now?”

Mouth tugging into a frown, you wrack your muddled brain for the answer to that question. “Go fish?”

Magna inelegantly snorts at that. You can feel yourself starting to flush in embarrassment as Vanessa begins fussing over you, softly petting your head with murmured, nonsensical endearments. She definitely wasn’t helping matters and you sincerely hoped none of them could see your fluster.

Yami doesn’t seem to miss it though and he purses his lips, pinning you with an unimpressed glower. “That’s what I thought. Sorry, sweetheart, but you’re officially cut off. No more booze tonight, okay?”

Both you and Vanessa groan in unison. Your head immediately starts to spin in earnest now and you slump against the other woman even as she grabs your drink and holds it up to you as if she were bottle feeding a baby. The notion that she might accidentally dump it all over your head when she was just as intoxicated as you doesn’t even cross your mind and you obediently open your mouth to accept her offering.

“Come on, captain! At least let her finish her dr-drink first! I worked really hard to -”

Yami cuts across her babbling with a huff, standing and grabbing hold of the cup so he can pull it away despite Vanessa’s best attempt to keep it in her fumbling grasp. You watch it go, feeling an odd mix of disappointment and relief. The giddy, jovial mood you’d been imbued with was nice, yes, but realistically your body probably couldn’t handle much more. It was likely for the best.

“Just knock it off.” Pointedly setting the drink down towards the center of the table, Yami turns back with a furrowed brow. “Are you trying to kill her or something? What all did you even put in that?”

Vanessa hums a noncommittal sound of guilt, winding a strand of your hair around her finger.

He scoffs and moves closer with an accompanying shake of his head. Your heart gives a little jolt when you realize he’s coming towards you, not Vanessa, and you can’t help the anxious tinge that sparks in your chest. He was probably mad at you for getting so drunk. He looked mad. You didn’t want to be on the receiving end of one of his lectures though and you lean further into the softly swaying witch next to you in search of protection.

Much to your faltering surprise, however, Yami’s tone sounds closer to exacerbated than angry when he says, “Alright, brat. C’mere. You get to sit with me for the rest of the night so I can keep an eye on you and make sure someone doesn’t try to sneak you anything else.”

You blink, thoroughly confused, and it feels like even something as simple as a muscle twitch takes a small eternity to accomplish. Yami either doesn’t notice or he doesn’t care though.

Shooing Vanessa away, he bends at the waist and curls big hands under your armpits, hauling you straight up out of your seat. You outright squawk, flailing weakly in Yami’s grasp when you suddenly find yourself much further from the ground than you were used to. But your panic lasts only a terrifyingly brief moment and you relax when he draws you close, allowing you to curl your limbs around his thick frame. With a slight jostle, he adjusts his hold and secures you to the front of him. You instinctively nuzzle further into his arms, drunkenly whimpering as you tightly lock your elbows behind his neck.

“You’re no fun …” Vanessa whines on your behalf.

He clicks his tongue. “I’m thinking ahead. You’re not.” He says, those rumbled words reverberating inside your skull and further grounding you by some margin. “But if she gets sick, you’re the one who’s gonna’ clean it up.”

With that admonition, he moves back to his own chair and sits down again. It takes you a moment to get situated on his lap, still unbearably hot and fussy now after forcibly being removed from the fun. The last thing you want is to look like a lightweight in front of your teammates but he finally stills you with a large, mindful hand against your lower back. The silent warning in that innocuous gesture is enough to make you quit while you’re still ahead and, mewling something unintelligible, you press your warm face into his neck so you can settle in to pout.

Magna says something then, successfully distracting Vanessa from the subject, and the game carries on without you. The three of them don’t seem to mind the loss one bit as they seamlessly pick right back up where they’d left off.

It's hard to shake the feeling that your presence at the table was nothing more than an afterthought to them, or maybe a simple nicety, and it stung a little. There was no denying that. But you were much too hazy and disoriented to linger on it for more than a moment, molding yourself to the firm weight against you and going pleasantly slack in Yami’s arms. He was surprisingly comfortable, given his hard physique. A little too warm for your liking when you already felt swelteringly hot, but ultimately comfortable.

The even rise and fall of his broad chest is almost enough to lull you into dozing off right then and there with your head resting on his shoulder. Yami’s rough fingers tracing nonsensical, soothing patterns across your spine is the only thing that keeps you tethered to reality and you sit there, eyes closed, just listening to the slurred conversation going on at your back. It sounded far away now. Muted, as if your ears were stuffed with cotton, but you didn’t mind that too much. Magna was loud enough when sober and even worse when he was drunk.

A long moment later, Yami removes the cigarette from his lips and turns towards you when the other two start bickering about the validity of a certain card sequence. “How you feeling, squirt?” He asks, pressing his mouth against your hair.

“Good.” You murmur dreamily.

He laughs, very quietly, and gives you the briefest squeeze. “Yeah? You’re deadweight, baby girl. Sure you’re not gonna’ pass out on me over there?”

“Mmhmm.”

With a soft click of his tongue, Yami focuses back in on the game. The hand resting on your back slips lower, inconspicuously giving your behind a playful tweak that seems to go unnoticed by the table's other occupants given that they keep talking without pause. Magna would more than likely look away, politely pretending he hadn’t seen it, but Vanessa … if she’d caught so much as a glimpse, you’d be hearing about it right now. That was at least one reason (of which there was many) why what you had with Yami, whatever it was, still remained a secret to the rest of the squad even though it was probably a miracle they hadn’t caught on already, especially when he was so damn handsy with you.

Normally you’d err on the side of caution for that reason alone but you felt just daring enough to give him little push back. Emboldened by the liquid courage sitting hot and heavy in your stomach, confident that he wouldn’t have initiated this had it not been safe to do so, you discreetly roll your hips into him. The drag of your pussy across the front of his pants makes your breath hitch and he stiffens underneath you. That’s all the reaction you get for your trouble though, prompting you to lift your head from his shoulder and lean close to Yami’s ear.

“ Daddy …”

It’s nothing more than a tiny, breathless sigh but the effect it has on him is instantly noticeable. Steel chorded arm tightening around you, he breathes out a terse exhale and pulls you more firmly against his chest until you can scarcely breathe. A wavering puff of air slips from you as your thighs flex around his waist, silently trying to urge him on. It doesn’t work though and a shudder works its way down the length of your spine when he turns towards you again, growling right against the outer shell of your ear.

“Watch it.”

You whine, bucking against him more insistently. “ Nooooo .”

Yami snorts and swivels his attention back around to the cards clasped in his other hand. Pressing your face into the crook of his neck, you take a deep breath until the naturally heady scent of him swarms your senses like a fragrant, masculine cocktail. You can taste him in the back of your throat and it just makes you want him all the more.

Another wiggle of your hips is all the incentive he needs, calloused fingers slipping further down to grab a pinching handful of your ass. Roughly nudging you to sit a bit higher up on his thighs, he reaches lower and snakes his hand under your skirt. You squirm at the first touch against your panties, whimpering softly into his skin. Yami merely tightens his arm around you as he ever so carefully pulls the thin layer of cotton aside just enough to slide those sinfully long digits past the flimsy barrier.

“Spoiled brat,” He murmurs fondly, just loud enough for you to hear. “Already so damp and needy for me.”

You bite down on your tongue to keep yourself quiet, shuddering when he casually traces the length of your slit with abrasive fingertips.

Magna abruptly cackles about something and the sudden noise makes you jolt. Yami, to his credit, remains perfectly still though and merely waits a torturously long beat before continuing in rumbling hushed tones. “How long were you sitting over there in your own mess, hmm?”

“I - it’s not a mess.” You warble into his shoulder, your cheeks flushing hot.

“Oh? This certainly feels like a mess to me …” Pausing, Yami dips a finger into the meat of your labia and the slick quality of your pussy suddenly makes itself known. You hadn’t noticed until now, either because you were too caught up in your inebriated stupor or simply too focused on pouting to pay it any mind, but you were absolutely soaked. It wasn’t exactly surprising. Your body always responded eagerly to being manhandled by the captain but even this seemed a bit excessive.

Whining low in your throat, you decide you don’t want to play this game after all and try to angle your defenseless little cunt away from his searching hand. But Yami puts a stop to that quickly enough and shifts his legs further apart, forcibly spreading your thighs until you can’t find the leverage needed to wriggle out of his hold. You lip quivers when he takes advantage of this vulnerable position to worm a finger into the tight, squeezing heat of your body, gummy walls contracting around the intrusion with a pleasant flutter. It takes everything you have not to throw your head back and unabashedly moan up at the ceiling.

“Can’t you feel that, baby? You’re so wet I didn’t even have to work you open.”

Hiccuping, you shove your face against Yami’s neck again. “Dah - daddy … please .”

“Shh.” He warns even as he starts up a slow pace, sedately pumping into you. “Keep quiet or I’ll have to stop.”

As if on cue, Vanessa says something to him then and Yami effortlessly diverts his attention to the slurring witch as if nothing about the situation were out of place. You dig your nails into the broad expanse of his shoulder blades and bite back a groan, suddenly feeling ten times hotter than before. Even with all your concentration focused on keeping as still and quiet as possible, you find yourself imperceptibly arching to give him better access to your sticky cunt. It was certainly a blessing in disguise that she was just as drunk as you were, otherwise she might have given the whole thing a second thought. The way you were sitting on his lap. The smallest twitch of your hips to accompany the shallow quality of your breathing. It was so obvious what you two were doing. How had they not noticed already?

The table.

Neither Magna or Vanessa could see over it unless they came around and stood right next to the chair. You were essentially safe from the waist down and a fresh spark of confidence alights throughout your whole system with this realization, doubling and then tripling your arousal. It was still risky doing something so brazen right in front of them but you were just drunk enough not to care.

Loins twisting and curling, you carefully rear back to meet his shallow thrusts. You’d never felt more uninhibited in your whole life. “Oooh, daddy,” You whisper, choking on it. “Right there.”

Yami doesn’t miss a beat, easily keeping up with the conversation as he allows a second digit to slide in with the first. You feel the stretch in your bones and you quietly seeth, lashes fanning against the apples of your cheeks when it pushes you to just this side of discomfort. Even being as wet as you are, his fingers were just too thick for your eagerly clenching passage to accommodate them without some resistance and you hedonistically bask in the searing burn. It felt good. Almost good enough for you to lose yourself to the pleasure but, somehow, you manage to keep your wits about you instead of shamelessly writhing in his lap.

You may as well have thrown caution to the wind though. Discretion hardly mattered anymore. You already felt like a blatant little slut and the shock of how much that turns you on has your pussy drooling obscenely all over Yami’s hand.

“Hah - harder, daddy … nnghh, harder, please.”

Rather than obliging, he actually pauses his ministrations and you quietly mewl at the loss of friction. You squirm on top of his muscular thighs and desperately try to fuck down on his digits, panting like a bitch in heat against the captains neck. He shifts underneath you, says something to Vanessa that makes her direct a chiding tone at Magna. Their bickering starts up again and with the rise in volume, Yami gives his wrist a good twist that shoves his fingertips into your upper wall. Static electricity shoots through your system at the sudden pressure on that pulsing sweet spot and the tension in your gut immediately starts to toe the line of unbearable.

Your mouth drops open in shellshocked ecstasy but nothing comes out. It’s hard just to draw breath when the dizzyingly sharp jolt of arousal has your toes flexing uselessly in the air and you tremble, quaking in his arms. Unperturbed by the effect this is having on you, Yami takes his time caressing the velvety soft lining of your insides with sedately smooth motions. Those worn fingertips gradually curl up in the general direction of your belly button and press in deeper, harder, making your cunt absolutely gush around him. You weren’t going to last much longer at this rate.

“Oooh god !” You gasp, clutching him in a death grip.

Turning your head, you press your cheek against Yami’s shoulder and fix your gaze to a random spot on the far wall. The room looked like it was tilted on its axis - - spinning, spinning, spinning - - and all you can do is whine and shake when he scissors his fingers, making more room for himself within you.

You weren’t just overheated anymore. It was as if you’d caught flame, burning from the inside out, and it only gets worse when he flexes his hand, jabbing at the spongy soft spot again and again.

A choked off squeal rises in your throat, just barely held back by tightly clenched teeth. You’re almost positive you can hear the greedy, slopping clicks of your pussy sucking him in deeper just below the surface of the enthusiastic argument going on behind you but they don’t seem to notice. They just keep shouting back and forth at each other, oblivious to what was going on at the other end of the table. You have no idea how you’re getting away with this - aren’t even really sure if you will get away with this when all is said and done - but that’s the very last thing on your mind anymore as you haltingly roll your hips into the blinding pressure.

“Ah - ahh - d - dah - ahh - ddyyy !”

“Do it.” Yami murmurs, his mouth pressed tight to your ear. “Come now , baby. Do it while you have the chance. Come on.”

Your eyes roll back in your head and you give your pelvis one good little twist. The drag of your throbbing clit across the front of his rough pants is the last push you need, the resulting friction searing your veins. It sends you spiraling right over the edge into doped out bliss and you squeak, jerking against him when full bodied tremors grip you in earnest and make you shake.

Riding out the cresting waves as discreetly as you can, you blink back an onslaught of reflexive tears. Your pussy squeezes tight, milking your orgasm on his fingers, even though the effort of forcing yourself to remain quiet nearly breaks your resolve. But you manage, somehow, to breathe through it even as your hips weakly buck in unmitigated pleasure, subduedly twisting in his arms. It felt like you were drowning in it, choking on immense, all encompassing relief.

But Yami doesn’t immediately let up on his concerted attack, continuing to work you over until the spasms start to subside and you whine in frazzled distress. Digits finally stilling inside you, he offers a brief kiss to your hair and it makes you breathe out a tired sigh. You immediately slump, going boneless on top of him, now even clammier than when you’d started. The sweat clinging to your skin has you feeling worryingly damp but you were also satiated and comfortable. It was an acceptable tradeoff, as far as you were concerned.

“Such a good girl. You even managed to stay quiet for me. I’m proud of you.”

Smiling at the hushed approval in his tone, you snuggle further into Yami’s musclebound frame. You were floating on cloud nine, no longer concerned about being removed from the card game; not when the pleasant afterglow and the reassuring presence of your captain - your daddy - had you feeling so at peace. There would always be a next time.

[zuffer-weird-girl]

Ardor

"I hate to say it, but I think is the end for the Hassaikai." Chrono said as you walked close to both mens and changed looks of worry to the child on the white haired man. Frowning at the fear she carried and at the man with the jacket on your front.

You couldn't ever be considered a hero, but neither a villain... You were more of a.. agent. The young head of the Shie Hassaikai, Overhaul, only knew you as (Y/n). Young, passionate and most important to him: a true loyal to the Hassaikai, maintaining your trust to him and only him.

You grimaced each time where your mind remembered you that you actually were working for Sir. Nighteye agency for years... you used your true name and were commanded by your boss to get infiltrated on the mafia for about five years.... you had to stay and gain the previous boss's trust and it wasn't that difficult... but the most annoying yet worth part was to get his adopted son and successor's trust.

"(Y/n)?"you gasped and looked away from eru to see one gold eye staring at you over his shoulder "Dont get your emotions over your head, this way we wont be able to achieve out goal..."

'Our goal'... ever since this man developed feelings for you he always talked like that. At first you were repulsed but... eventually it happened what you prayed to heavens to not happen... You actually started liking him...

Getting to know his past, him lowering his walls to see that, on his mind, he is only trying to get the yakusa on a respectful place again, fulfill Pops dream and cure the world on his own way... you had the informations needed, but you refused to tell anything about Chisaki past to Sir, bubble girl or even Lemillion... that was way personal and seeing the cruel and cold man actually cry over his hatred of his own quirk was painfull...

You had hoped after Kai was alerted by the heroes that he would put you to along to fight along with the eight precepts of death... This way you could just show to the heroes your identity and get the fuck out... but no. Kai decided to order that both Chrono and you come with him to escape along with the girl you just wished the heroes just alsnatched away from him and ended this madness.

Chisaki as soon as he noticed you had a way of words with Eri, begrudily he gave you the work to take care of her... for a bit of time.

Your tears got mixed with Eri's ones at nights...

The worst part was the guilt. You actually llcame to love the man Chisaki hidded from everyone else, but despised Overhaul for not following pops morals and doing such a thing to Eri.

Grimacing, you remember how it went your first day as a infiltrated...

.

.

.

"So you want to join the Shie Hassaikai?" The elder asked in shock as you stood in front of his deck, sweating at the feather glare the younger dark brow haired man gave to you as soon a dyou even steeped inside.

"Y-Yeah.." you sighed, a finger lightly stroking your cheek in nervousness "I'm sorry if I appeared out of no where and with such a high request..."

"You should be." You flinched at the male voice as the elder scolded him.

"Well, I dont see why not after what telling me. What is your quirk again young one?" The elder showed his palm at you and you gulped when you felt golden orbs narrowing at his place.

You took a breath before one pair of bright white wings grew on your back.

"The name is angel. Not only I have those wings, but with a simple touch and time I can cure someone's deep ir minor wound... the inly bad point is that if I use the cure I cant use my wings to fly and vice versa..." The elder widened his eyes while observing your wings in awe.

"Such a marvelous quirk..."

"Not quite." You giggled, a hand on your neck "Is pretty annoying to be honest and I would rather not have at all."

"That so?" You let out a confused sound before looking at the sorce of the question. The man whose was looking like he was about to kill you, now had his arms crossed but with eyes filled with interest despite the stoic expression.

"Uh... yeah? I mean. Quirks actually gave the humanity some trouble so..." you smiled in awkwardness "I would rather at least see how people and society worked without it.. like, a quirkless person was considered normal some time..."

"... I see." His arms uncrossed and got into his pockets as he stared at you before the elder let out a chuckle.

"I guess you already are welcome kid. By now this brat would beat the shit out of you if you didn't impress me or him." You let out a shriek as the man deadpanned and scoffed.

"... welcome to the Hassaikai." And with that the man left the office.

"(Y/n), please forgive me sucessor's behaviour." You turned to him and making your wings curl up in your back and crawl back inside you "He takes this place and our work very seriously.. and I hope you take as well, I will let you know that we dont tolerate traitors."

"I want all of my fingers with me." You giggled making the elder snort.

"Very well, your ritual of welcoming will be tommorow by six. That young man you saw there will make you some company since I saw that he took quite a liking on you. His name is Chisaki Kai."

You knew that already but only nodding. Leaving the Hassaikai and after a few blocks away you pressed the device on your ear.

"You have to work a bit harder to get their actual trust, doesn't matter how ling it takes we need to see what is going on inside those walls agent (L/n)."

"Understood sir..."

.

.

.

You could only be thankfull thhat you entered before Nemoto or else your undercovers would be failed and probably you would be dead by now...

Your ears picked up panting and immediately your wings spreaded out, Eri gasping as your two companions stopped walking.

"You sensed something?" Chrono asked and before you could answer, the blond who worked in the same agency as yours appeared.

"Lemillion.." you whispered, half in relief and half terrified.

"I'm here to rescue that girl..." Mirio panted, clenching with two fingers his cape as a signal he recognized you but not blowing your undercover...

Great kid, not get out with Eri already... run. Run for your life Mirio-!

"Now that you know thhe situation you're putting your hero mask huh?" He sighed before opening his eyes again "Mr. Student..."

"Overhaul.. is still a kid." You whispered and he only lifted his palm, a sign you got for you to be quiet for your own good.

Nemoto and Deidoro will be here soon and you couldn't even alert the kid!

.

.

.

"You should be more carefull..." you muttered while using your quirk on one of the injuries on Rappa's arm. "You know how master Overhaul is not someone to mess with..." you sighed as Kendo scoffed, punching his own hand.

"I will get him next time!"

"I doubt that..." you gasped at hearing his voice "(Y/n), you shouldn't be wasting energy with a piece of trash..."

"Say that one more time on my face OVERKERK-" the man stooped when you got up and glared at him.

"Go Rappa." The man scoffed and muttered curses, leaving both of you alone. Just when you were about to leave you heard his footsteps getting closer to you. "Mhn? Need something? Chisaki-kun?"

"Actually I just came here to... talk." You let out a confused sound before snickering.

"You took a liking on me huh?"

"... what if I did?" He arched one of his eyebrows up and soon you remember that not even if Chisaki wanted he could lie very well... at least inside the house.

Oh...

"Uh.. I-I dont know what to say.." you smiled as Chisaki nodded, crossed arms over his chest as he opened them slowly.

"Despite having a quirk, you seem to be the only person I dont see a problem talking to, neither... having any hives on when you accidentaly brush your skin against mine." He chuckled at your shocked expression "So I just wanted to spill this pain out of mt chest is bothering my work after all. Resume, I'm not as disgusted by your presence then the others."

You stared at him as he walked away before you called his name. Him looking at you over his shoulder with a hint of curiosity behind those nonchantly eyes.

"I dont feel disgusted by your presence as well." You smiled as his eyes went a bit wide before scoffing, giving his back to you as he waved.

What a weird guy...

.

.

.

"CHISAKI!"

You widened your eyes at Mirion literally apearing out of no where, managing to both kick Chrono's literal fucking face and cause a minor cut on Chisaki's cheek. You shriek and grabbed Eri, spreading your wings to fly above the males with her in your arms.

"(Y/n)-san... he will kill him! He will kill you!" Your eyes were wide as the girl clinged on your shirt for dear life as while watching the scene from above.

"(Y/N)-SAN!" Lemillion shouted over at you as your blood ran cold, no! nO! NO! "GET ERI-CHAN TO SAFETY!"

Shit was about to hit the fan and you couldn't do nothing about it!

"... how does he know your name..?" You flinched and looked down at golden eyes filled with actual shock and anger towards you and the girl in your arms "Angel?"

You felt your eyes burn at his look.

.

.

.

"Y-You.. can't actually be serious.." you whispered in horror when he finished his plan...

"That is the only way to bring the Hassaikai out of the shadows." He sighed, looking at you and getting in front of you "Can't you see? With that girl's quirk we can make it happen. We can rule the underworld market." He grabbed on your shoulders as you tried your best to not to tremble "I can even cure you... you always said you didn't liked having those angel's wings..."

That was actually true... yet his plan was insane! Terrible, horrible monstrous you name it! Yoh meet the girl when Chisaki called you along to Pops meeting...

On those years you had stabilise a actual relationship with Kai... your worst mistake so far in your mission... you literally ruined the mission when you notice that you actually cared for him...

"K-Kai... is a child no less... Boss's granddaughter! H-He-"

"He will understand in one way or another." His eyes literally were gleaming in happines... hell, only you were able to see such a look with more frequency and you despised for loving it.

Tears started to form in your eyes as you tried your best to not let him notice, but he did...

He always did..

"... despite you not having your wings." He wiped one tear out of your face, even getting so far by touching foreheads "You will still be my angel..."

You gulped, how can a man whose was planning to take a girl's blood to make bullets be so fucking caring and loving to you?! How?!

"Kai p-please..." you sobbed "This will not end well..." you so desperately was trying to make his mind... if he did that then you surely would end up getting against him by force due to your job! You couldn't let him do this and ruin his own life with it!

You.. you couldn't bear to see him behind bars or even worse... killed by a hero... or let him even discover that you were a fucking agent!

You couldn't bear to even imagine the betrayed look he surely would give to you...

"It will end okay. We will be on a word without sickness (Y/n)." He pulled you to his chest making you gasp "As long as I have you my dear, I will end up well. After all, I couldn't ask for a better and precious angel like yourself."

His words sting... badly. You wanted so desperately to not catch feelings... and now you just wanted to die because you couldn't just betray him or dissapear...

.

.

.

"I dont have any children." You widened your eyes and shouted at the top of your lungs.

"KAI NO!"

It was too late, he used the overhaul and and the concrete formed into spikes and plataforms went towards Mirio as Eri clinged onto you tighter.

"AND YOU!" you gasped and dodged a spike, aimed to destroy your wings "HOW DARE YOU EVEN TO CALL ME THAT AFTER WHAT YOU DID?!"

You cried but maintained strong while dodging and flying away from his attackers, protecting the girl on your arms at all cost as Lemillion dodged Chisaki attacks.

"AFTER EVERYTHING I TOLD YOU-!" You screamed when a wave of concrete chased you only for you to do a backflip and get away from his attack "AFTER SEING ME AT MY WORST-!"

You shield Eri with one of your wings and hissing at the little spikes of concrete getting stuck on it.

"WAS THAT ALL A PLAN?! AFTER ALL THESE YEARS?!" You looked at him and widened your eyes at seing the state he was, messy hair, hives on all of his body as he attacked you with all anger you never saw once in your years living with him. "I GAVE YOU EVERYTHING AND YOU PAY ME BACK WITH THIS FUCKING BETRAYAL?!"

You didn't blamed him.

You landed on the ground after dodging more of his attacks, getting to look at him while protecting Eri with one hand on her head and the other supporting her body.

"I TRIED TO TELL YOU! I TRIED TO PREVENT THIS ALL HAPPENED KAI! " You cried but he slammed his hand on the wall harshly.

"YOU LIED TO ME (Y/N)! AND STIP CALLING ME THAT! THAT'S NOT MY NAME ANYMORE!" you clenches your jaw before flying away from his attack one more time.

.

.

.

"Entering~" you sighed in a sing tone before seing Kai sitting on his bed, crunched over and staring at his hands "Uh? Kai?"

He muttered something so shakily you didn't even get to understand as you closed the door behind you in worry.

"Ne ne? I didn't hear you wel-" you stopped and widened your eyes at seing Kai actually fucking trembling, looking at his hands in horror and anger..

"He didn't listened... he refused..." he muttered under his breath before brabbing at his temples and glaring at the ground "I tried! I tried to make him understand and he didn't listened!"

Yojr eyes widened in horror getting that "him", was Pops... today Kai had told you he was going to explain the plan to the man... and you knew it very well that Pops opinion mattered a lot to him, yet he got actually hurt when the elder denied his offers or ideas...

"Hey.." you cooed, sitting down and asking silently if you could hug his shoulders as he continue trembling, surprinsinglu leaning onto you "Don't worry, you can figure it out another plan..."

"Dearest... I.. I didn't wanted to... but he didn't listened..." he spoke between teeth and you sighed, cupping his cheeks and making him look at you, a sense of calm and peace washed over his eyes as his breath started to calm down again "Is that part of your..?"

"No.. I just happen to know my boyfriend is all.." you smiled as he sighed, holding one of your hands there. "What... happened..?"

You wish you hadn't asked... when he explained the whole situation your eyes widened as you tried your best to remain calm.

"... he will see." He muettered, more calm than usual as he interlocked his fingers with yours "Is for the better anyway."

"Y-Y-You know I can-"

"No. Your quirk is unable of reaging his brain back to put him out of a coma. Dont even think about it."

This was getting out of control... everyday you tried to change his mind but it took time to convince Chisaki. But seems like you werent fast enough..

"I dont blame you of being scared of me... you can leave if it is your wish."

You gritted your teeth together before letting out the smallest of the sobs before hugging his neck. Causing him to jump in shock and had his arms stood awkwardly in the air.

"If I didn't know you like I do I would leave..." you sniffled "But that's not the case..."

You could leave but your heart spoke louder at the time... damn him.

.

.

.

You eventually got chances of who was protecting Eri, but just when Mirio had the cake to distract both of them, Nemoto had to just appear and shot the towards Eri.

And mirio was going to throw himself at the way to just protect her.

"TOGATA DON'T!" You shouted but it was too late... but even quirkless the kid fought Chisaki as you crawled Eri in your arms and shield both of you with your wings.

The look of hatred and hurt Chisaki would throw at you now at then absolutely breaked you as you hugged Eri tighter...

"I'm sorry (Y/n)-san! Is all my fault!" The child cried on your arms as you shushed her the best you could even if you were shaken up.

"Is not your fault sweety, a bunch of people came here to take you out of this hell.." just when you spoke Mirion appeared beaten up and you cried, you couldn't even use your cure becaus eyou knew you had to have your wings.

"Mirio!" You cried, grabbing him when he fell on his back and cursing at the injury... now you da to protect both of these kids.

"... onne of my biggest mistakes I always thought it was to fall for you.." You lifted your head with tears in your eyes. He only looked so... hurt, beaten up and hurt... and your cursed yourself for feeling this more than the two kids in your arms.

"I dont want to kill you... you dont even deserve my energies."

"Kai.." you whimpered "I didn't lied to you..!"

"That's." He crouched down "NOT MY NAME ANYMORE!" he slammed his hands on the ground... you gasped, shielding you three with tour wings and closing your eyes at the impact... only to notice the spikes were aiming at you, but stopped in mid air.

You looked at him and could see that he... actually didn't wanted to kill you nor even injure not even your wings. the man you came to love was painting while glaring at you.

“WOULD YOU SERIOUSLY DIE FOR THIS BRATS?! (Y/N)?!” your teras fell on the ground as your gazes were locked.

“I would die for you too... I didn’t wanted this to happen because I KNEW this was going to happem..” You sobbed while hugging Eri tighter in order to protect her “But you didn’t listened...”

He seemed to slow down his movements until they barged in... your boss and the heroes. With one blink Overhaul was back as you and Sir still protected as a green haired kid fought agaisnt Chisaki. 

.

.

.

“You’re telling me no one even said “i live you” your WHOLE LIFE?!” You almost screamed as Kai deadpanned, papers still on his hands as he stared at you.

“Is just three words for Godness sake...” you huffed at his ablant answer before smirking, getting behind him and showing your wings to surround bor him on his chair and you. “What is this? Did you even washed those today?”

“Yes sir.” You giggled, flapping your wings a bit to get upside down on his front without disturbing what he was doing as he only gave you a look.

Sometimes you forgot about the undercover work... your emotions getting the better of you when around Chisaki... all the times.

“Is it wrong of me to quite enjoy this particular pet name?” You giggled while lowering his mask carefully down his chin to reveal a handsome smirk adoring his lips.

“Whaaat? Love bear and Captain cookie isn’t one of your favorites?” You laughed at the flip he gave to your foreheads

“Absosutely not. Disgusting even.”

“Well, my capoo you dont seem to mind it.” You rubbed your forehead, getting flustered when you felt his hand carresing theback of your head and bringing close to him.

“I don’t. Surely.” you blinked before giving a lovely smile back at him

“So you won’t mind me saying “ I love you” then?” the scene in front of you will ever be mesmerized on your mind. Kai blushing almost crinsom red with wide golden eyes at you.

He scoffed, looking away from you as you whined.

“Heyyy! Say it back!”

“Give me a break woman.” He sighed while playfully pushing your face away.

“SAY IT BACK!!!!” you didn’‘t missed his chuckle while holding your upside down face away from him as you shaked your arms in vain to try to slap him.

.

.

.

Go on you both.” You got Lemillion up before spreading your wings “Protect her with the best you can, Lemiliion!”

Things coulnd’t be worse.. Chisaki had fused with Nemoto and was fighting agaisn’t sir with all his forces.. You flew and dodged the many concretes and spikes on there befre you widened yours eyes at the scene. Sir with his quirk activated as Chisaki went to attack him.

No! If Chisaki killed a hero his penalty on Tartarus would be worse than already will be!

Your body moved on your own, your wings helped you fly faster as you extended your hands towards your boss and just secongs it seemed like it was in slow motion... The spike right on your front, golden orbs widening at you entering the way as your hands pushed Sir. Nighteye out of the way and-

“(Y/N)!” both your boss and Chisaki shouted at the same time, one secong before the spike pierced your flesh and got through your body.. making you gag and cough blood.. wings falling at your sides as you fell.

“I.. I didn’t-!” The hero shouted in horror “This wasn’t what I saw!”

“Future... not always... can be seen...” Your body gave out, and when you were expecting to met the floor, a pair of gigantic and monstrous arms grabbed you. “K...K-Kai?”

“Why, Why did you do this?” he asked in venom, potentionally using the quirk of Nemoto, you ggigled.

You had nothing left to hide anyway...

“If you k-killed a hero... your sentence.. would b-be wo-worse..” You coughed and he grimaced, his hands grabbing you tighter as one of your wings shot up to prevent a bullet to hit him as he widened his eyes at your faint hiss.

“You.. You-”

“Kai... I.. was a agent... infiltrated a-at the yakusa ever s-since.. I met you... so-sorry... I sho-should have l-left...”

“THEN WHY DIDN”T YOU?!” his wrathful eyes soften in horror as he saw you giggle, blood spilling from your lips as you stared up above with empty eyes.

“Be...because... I-I fell in lo-love with you... Chisaki Kai... Not.. Overhaul.. I love you, Kai.” His eyes widened in realization, Nemoto’s quirk was activated... you weren’t..” Heh..  ne-never lied about that... is always impressive.. seing your shocked face...Kai...” Your wings that were shielding you both fell on the ground as your vision was starting to fade. 

“Hang on!” he was about to use his quirk until he saw your hands weakly pushing one of his gigantic ones away “Wht are you-?!”

“Don’t.. make me a second... v-version of Rappa... will you? I.. don’t deserve it... after all...” your gaze slowly fade as Chisaki shaked your shoulders desperately, shouting, begging even for you to not close your eyes “H-hey..?”

He felt your cold hand graze of his beak and reach his cheek.

“C-Can you... at least... say it back?” you smiled at the tears falling on your face as wide golden eyes stared down at you.

he sluttered your name as you frowned..

“Pl.. please...?” your hand start to slide down as he grabbed with one of his four hands to keep it there.

“(Y/n).. I lo-!” he couldn’t even finish his sentence as he saw the life draining out of your eyes and your wings giving a last spasm...

He couldn’t eve hear anyoney else... all he did was let out a monstrous and loud shout while his own goal was to kill every hero which was stepping on there.

Fuck the Hassaikai, screw the bullets and his project... Screw everything!

His only love died on his hands because of the fucking heroes, this fucking job of yours whose caused all of this.

Now, he just wanted to watch everyone on there die by his hands...

[im-definitely-not-trash]

Heehoo here’s the first prompt for whumptober! This is the first year I’m determined to complete it on time by posting every day so here’s the beginning of the attempt. Anyway!

Alt prompt #6: Head Injury

Fandom: Voltron: Legendary Defender

TW: vomiting, mentions of vomit

Word count: 2591

“-idge! Pidge, come on! Answer me!”

“K… Keith?” Pidge opened her eyes, squinting at the shadow above her.

“Thank god, Pidgey, I was… I’m glad you’re okay.”

“What happened?” Keith pushed her down by the shoulders as she tried to sit up.

“Green got hit, bad. You crashed on this moon and we couldn’t reach your comms.”

“Where’s everyone else?”

“Finishing off the Galra. It took us a while to spread them thin enough that I could come down here.”

While recapping the events, Keith had been checking over Pidge thoroughly for any injuries, and he seemed content. “Okay. Let’s go. The others are surely done and waiting for us. Can you get Green back on?”

Pidge got up with Keith’s help. She stumbled into him once on her feet.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” she said. “Just got up too fast, just a tick.” Pidge used Keith as a support as the blood rushed to her head, trying to find her footing and balance. It took a bit longer than she thought it should, but eventually, she got her bearings and sat in the cockpit chair. “Go ahead and go back to Red, Keith, I’ll get her up and running. Then I’ll meet you guys at the castle.”

“I don’t want to leave you here, that was a really rough crash. And not only that, you were thrown from your chair and were on the floor. Outwards, your body looks fine, but I don’t want to leave you alone until we’re sure everything is fine internally.”

“Keith, I feel fine. I was a little dizzy when I stood up but I had been on the floor for… I don’t know how long, you know better than me, but whatever! I’m fine!”

Keith’s face was still brushed over with concern.

Pidge sighed. “If you’re really that worried, once we get back to the castle we can do a full scan and if needs be, I’ll go into a pod.”

Keith sighed as well, ready to resign his worries. “Fine, but if anything feels off, you need to tell me as soon as you can. Here’s a communicator if Green won’t wake up.” He handed it to her. “Let me know if something feels wrong, with Green or with you.”

“Okay, whatever you say, Keith.”

“Good. I’ll talk to you later.” He waved and ducked out of the cockpit. Pidge saw him running to Red from the windshield. She sat in the pilot’s chair and groaned. Her head killed. Her stomach rolled. She still felt dizzy.

She tried to shake off the feeling to connect with Green, and Green woke up.

“Hey, girl.”

The lion groaned as it stood, sounding much like Pidge felt.

“Okay, we got hit and crashed hard, but we’re fine now. We need to get back to the team to help.”

Green seemed to say, You aren’t well, paladin.

“I’m just as well as you. Banged up but functional.”

You’re worse off then me. You have a fragile body.

“Your mom.”

Green went silent, knowing Pidge wouldn’t listen.

Pidge steered Green to where they could safely take off without damaging the surrounding ecosystem and off they went. Once in the atmosphere, Pidge grabbed the little communicator. “Paladins of Voltron, this is the Green Paladin and her lion.” The sound of her own voice echoed in her ears loudly.

“I hear you, Pidge,” Keith said. “We’re still fighting, and the others don’t have this communicator frequency. We could really use your help right now.”

“I’m not sure if Green is up to it.” She was lying through her teeth. Green seemed fine if not a little banged up. It was her who wasn’t up to it.

“Then stay still, we don’t want the Galra to see you and target you when you can’t dodge or counterattack.”

“No, I want to help! Green is just banged up and can take all the time she needs to recover in the hangar of the castle. I’m on my way.”

Pidge could hear Keith sigh over the comms. “Okay, but be careful. Don’t get hit again.” Static crackled and Pidge knew she was alone again.

Her vision blurred as she looked up to see where her friends were fighting. There were blurs of pink and blue lights, coming from the Galra and from the Lions. She was too far away to see any of her friends clearly, just the lights from the blasts. And assorted explosions.

For once, Pidge was grateful that space was a vacuum, because if she had been able to hear those explosions, her head probably would’ve exploded itself.

Slowly, she crept up on the battle, trying to figure out where she could possibly go in to help. “Hey, Green, activate the reflective shield.” Invisible, she got even closer.

Her comms crackled to life.

“-m on the left, someone get-” That was Lance.

“-eith, where’s Pidge?! We need to for-” Shiro.

“She said she was coming! I don’t know-” Keith.

Hunk seemed to be quiet but active. Coran and Allura were shouting affirmations for everyone from the castle.

And Pidge was sitting here doing nothing. The yells from the comms were louder than they had been earlier, but that was probably just from the little “time-out” she had on that moon.

“All right,” she said to herself. Then she shot Green forward to the middle of the battle and joined all the chaos on the comms.

The whole team was still yelling, but this time more excited that they had a chance to win this now that they could form Voltron.

The lights were closer now, brighter than before.

Every explosion shook Green, and Pidge inside.

For a minute, everything was quiet and dark.

Pidge gagged and vomited.

It wouldn’t stop, she was so dizzy and everything was so loud and she couldn’t stop moving and her head- oh god her head—

She coughed and heaved and she couldn’t breathe and it wouldn’t stop it wouldn’t stop it wouldn’t stop it—

And then it stopped.

But Pidge didn’t know that.

~~~

Keith tuned out everyone’s voices. They were all saying generally the same thing. ‘Pidge, are you okay,’ ‘Pidge, are you there,’ ‘what’s going on,’ ‘is she okay,’ all the same stuff.

I shouldn’t have left her alone, he thought. I should’ve known that she was lying, of course she would, she never wants to feel helpless.

“Keith!” Shiro yelled through the comms. “It doesn’t matter what you should’ve done, stay focused!”

Was he saying that out loud?

“Yes, sorry.” He glanced again at the Green Lion, eyes glowing and standing in ready position, but not moving at all. No pilot to control it.

“If Pidge is incapacitated, we can’t form Voltron! We need to defend her and beat the Galra,” Lance said. “We can’t separate more than we already have, and we can’t run.”

“I’ll go protect Pidge, my lion can take blasts meant for her until we can overpower them,” Hunk said.

“You can’t take them for long, it would be easier to just get done with the Galra.” Shiro sounded exhausted and worried, reasonably.

The team was still trying to plan amongst themselves when Allura bursted into the comms.

“Everyone, get out of the way, and take Pidge with you!”

The Paladins and their Lions quickly left where they were surrounding the Galra ship, and Keith and Red shoved Green out of the proximity.

A huge blue blast came from the castle and hit dead on the Galra ship.

There was nothing left of it.

A collective sigh of relief made it’s way through the team, and then Lance said, “Why didn’t you do that earlier?!”

Allura moaned at his lack of logic. “It took time to charge up to be that powerful, Lance, and with us helping with the smaller shots from the turrets, it took much longer than it could’ve. Be glad it worked at all before anyone got hurt.”

“Thank you, Allura, Coran,” Shiro said. “Let’s get back.”

It was quiet while everyone was taking a couple breaths, finally done with the battle.

“We can’t take more time, guys,” Keith said. “Pidge… Pidge was definitely worse than she let on to me. I’ve got Green, but Red isn’t strong enough by herself to push Green to the Castle.”

The Yellow Lion showed up at the Red Lion’s side, then Blue too. Together, they pushed Green as fast as they could to the Castle.

~~~

Everyone met in Green’s hangar.

“Green, you have to let us in!” Lance was a bit frantic. “We get you’re trying to protect her but we can protect her too, and you probably don’t have the tools to help her if she’s hurt!”

Lance kept pleading with the Lion while the others stood by, worried about their youngest family member. Allura walked to the Lion and put her hand on its leg.

“Please, Green Lion, I can’t lose another Paladin. Please let us in to help Pidge.”

The Lion didn’t answer.

Allura turned to the Paladins and Coran. “If the Lion won’t open… there’s only one explanation.” Her voice broke and tears welled up as she tried to blink them back. “The Green Lion is waiting for a new Paladin to take Pidge’s place because she’s—”

Everyone finished that sentence in their minds.

Coran started working on something to open the Lion in the corner. Lance kept begging, Allura quietly started to cry. Hunk tried to put on a brave face, but his eyes were watering too. Shiro paced.

Keith couldn’t believe it.

Pidge was like a little sister to him. A best friend. She managed to get him to open up when he wouldn’t talk to anyone else. He trusted her with all his heart. If she had said she was fine, she was fine, not…

Not dead.

He’d had enough.

“OPEN UP YOU STUPID LION!!! YOU CAN’T KEEP HER!! SHE’S OURS, SHE’S HUMAN LIKE US, NOT A STUPID ROBOT LIKE YOU ARE AND YOU NEED TO GIVE HER BACK!!! PIDGE IS OUR FRIEND, AND EVEN IF SHE’S YOURS TOO, SHE WAS OURS FIRST! SO LET HER OUT OR LET US IN!!!!!”

Everyone went silent at Keith’s outburst.

“Keith, it’s okay. We’ll get in soon enough.”

“No, it’s not okay!! She was hurt, and I thought she wasn’t, and if she’s still alive, I doubt she will be for much longer! We need to help Pidge now!”

Tears were falling down Keith’s face, along with some snot down his nose.

A thud echoed through the room.

Green’s maw was opened wide.

~~~

Keith was first to reach the cockpit. He turned the pilot chair toward him and saw Pidge. She was quiet, still wearing her suit, but not her helmet. She hadn’t had it on when Keith had first gone to check on her and Green when they first crashed. Had it come off in the crash or was she just not wearing it? And then why didn’t she put it on again.

There was puke all over the front of her suit. A goose egg showed through her bangs. Pidge didn’t have any good tanning abilities, but she was paler than usual. Keith knelt in front of her and pulled off the pieces of her Paladin suit after unbuckling her.

“Pidge?” His voice shook.

She didn’t respond.

Keith put his hand under her mouth and for a few terrible seconds, nothing happened, but then he felt warmth cover his hand as she exhaled.

Breathing. That’s good.

He checked her over for injuries, just like he had done a couple hours earlier, but slower and more carefully.

Nothing seems to be broken.

Then he got to the back of her head.

It was warm and wet.

“Shit.”

Gently, he let her body flop over him. He saw her flight suit stained red all down her back and her hair matted near the base of her neck.

No wonder she was off balance and dizzy. If she had hit her head bad enough to bleed, surely she had a concussion, at best.

Keith picked her up so her arms were over his shoulders and he had grip on her legs. He made sure the back of her head wasn’t going to hit his chin or anything else and carried her out of the Lion.

Allura, Coran and the Paladins stood waiting as he walked out. The room held its breath.

“She’s alive,” Keith said.

It let out the breath.

“But she really needs a pod, like immediately. She must’ve hit her head without her helmet when she crashed. I missed it when I checked her over the first time. She’s bleeding.”

The room then went kind of crazy. Shiro grabbed Pidge from Keith (with his permission [he has attachment issues]) and ran to the infirmary with Coran. Hunk walked over to Keith and talked to him. Lance paced and Allura sat near Keith to support.

Eventually, they all sat in the common bay with each other. Hunk got up and made some food for everyone and they all ate together in silence.

~~~

A few days passed and the whole team had sort of gotten back into a routine of checking on everything. Checking for Galra outposts on planets that needed help, checking in with the Blades of Marmora, checking on Pidge, checking on the Lions, et cetera.

Almost a week later was when the pod opened. It was the middle of the night and Pidge walked out to discover she was alone.

“Guys?” She was bewildered. The last thing she knew was crashing to the moon that was near their battle with the Galra. “Hunk? Allura?” She walked around the castle in the pod suit. “Guys, hello?”

Making her way around the entire Castle, Pidge made it to the common bay and sat down on the couch and she felt a lump underneath her.

“Ow, Lance, get off. No one else has a butt that bony.”

“Keith?”

“I said get off.”

“Keith! What happened?”

Keith finally seemed to wake up and he flipped the blanked off his head. “Pidge??”

“What happened? And why are you sleeping on the couch?”

Keith stood up, throwing Pidge to the floor, and then jumped on her and gave her a hug. “Pidge!”

“Yeah, that’s me. What’s your deal?”

“It’s been about a week.”

“Since what?”

“Since you crashed.”

Pidge’s demeanor changed and she got off the floor. “A week? All I remember was being on my way down to that moon. That’s it.”

“Oh, Pidgey. You hit your head really bad when you crashed. When I got to you, you were unconscious and thrown from your seat. You woke up and complained about dizziness but you got Green up and came to help but then something happened and you were out, unable to control your Lion. We won and brought Green back to the hangar but she wouldn’t open, so Allura assumed you were…”

Pidge’s hands shook as she reached to Keith. “I’m not though.” She smiled.

“You don’t know how glad I am for that,” he said, laughing.

They hugged again, Pidge pulling Keith tight. “Thanks for protecting me.”

“I’m just glad you’re okay. I can’t imagine losing a little sister, especially since you’re my only one.”

“Too bad you aren’t my only big brother. I could have a favorite that isn’t you.”

Keith pushed her off him so she could see his pout.

Pidge laughed. “Just kidding. I already know my favorite is Hunk.”

Keith was about to protest but then nodded. “His food though.”

“Exactly.”

[thecat-inthehat]

2. Aberrant

Sorry this one’s a bit late, I could not think of a good prompt for the life of me. And then this one ended up being so much longer than I thought.

Anyways, the best known way to make a cat like you is to bribe it with treats. Or previously inaccessible laboratories.

(1574 words) [Masterpost]

--

The door whooshed open, letting out a small cloud of air that had been trapped in the room for some time. The lights started to blink on one by one as they flickered to life with soft red glows, casting the two miqo’te into gentle relief. 

“Finally, I’ve been trying to get this lab open for ages,” the woman said, stepping into the room and adjusting her hat so she could get a better look. “Apparently this was the personal lab of one Stygian Osseous, the primary researcher for the Warring Triad restraints, who then went on to work on the Dalamud project.” 

“Ah, I see,” the man said softly, looking around the room with interest. “And being of such high rank, his room would be closed off to everyone save for the royal family.” 

“After we found Owen’s node and laboratory, I knew there had to be other places that were blocked off,” Nive muttered, starting to flip on switches for more lights to pop on. “I kept finding references to his work while I was digging into the Triad’s restraints on the upper decks of the Flagship, but every time I was confronted with passwords and nodes that tried to fire lasers at me.” 

“So this is why you kitnapped me,” G’raha said with some amusement, his luminous red eyes crinkling at her. “I see, I’m just a key for you to get into nooks and crannies you probably shouldn’t.”

Nive paused for a moment and think it over, only to chuckle. “Yeah, pretty much. Sorry, I don’t like you much at all, Exarch. But this is going a long way to endearing me to you.” 

G’raha blinked at the title, and wondered if it was intentional or not. Truthfully he and the woman were acquaintances at best -- he hadn’t endeared himself to her during his tenure as the Crystal Exarch, and now that they were back on the Source, he hadn’t seen much of her. It was strange, really. She was family-by-proxy, since she was Shining’s sister, but she had had little and less to say to him other than deriding his intelligence or asking a few questions about the Tower. 

Admittedly he wasn’t on her level. She was extremely intelligent, and had an encylopedia’s worth of knowledge stuffed into her grimoires or her head. She knew more about aether patterns and primals than he probably ever would, as well as the sheer math that was required in her chosen profession of being a Summoner. He wasn’t a slouch, having gotten his own archon mark and a century’s worth of experience governing a city, but she was on a different tier entirely. He tried not to take it personally. 

Nive started walking through the lab, carefully noting down things in her grimoire before she went to move various switches or open cabinets. It was a methodical sort of note taking that he had seen before on countless occasions, and he wondered how many books she went through on the weekly. The Ironworks had many of her books saved and used as references, and he had torn through many of them while he was with the group. There were dozens that were piled into the library, but based on what he had seen in the last few months of knowing her, at least a good seventy percent had been lost to time. The historian in him ached to try and figure out pieces that were missing, to study her books and gain some sort of knowledge. 

But here he was, watching the living legend spray herself with ink as the quill nib broke. She spluttered and coughed, then grumbled and yanked another quill out from the feather on her hat--so that’s why she wore the damn thing--and continued writing, heedless of the ink on her cheeks. History was learned and not lived indeed. 

“G’raha, can you--pleh--turn on that light over there?” She asked, pointing to where a switch sat, next to a containment chamber. The man laughed softly at her but did as bid, going to flip on one of the switches. The containment chamber lit up, and he had to stifle a yelp of surprise. 

It was filled with a sort of fluid, and floating inside sat a Lamia specimen staring at him. He jumped back, but the eyes of the creature did not follow him -- and he caught a glance at the vital signs. Dead. 

“I thought this man worked on the containment moons?” G’raha heard himself ask, trying to get his heart under control. 

“He did, why--Oh!” Nive said, coming up to the containment chamber and looking it over. She instantly went to the panel on the side, starting to read the information. “It looks like it was deceased before the Calamity, and he was storing this one for research.” 

“Why a singular Lamia specimen…?” G’raha asked, frowning at it. It looked a bit different compared to most Lamia he had seen, but even he understood what five thousand years in an isolated area could do to a species. 

“I’m not sure…” Nive murmured, and tapped on one of the display panels. Holographic text started to float across the screen, and she started reading aloud. “‘One of the youngest of the batch showed strange genealogy today, well outside the norm. She developed speech and her petrification powers quicker than the others, but seemed to know things she shouldn’t have.’ The next entry… hm. ‘The containment suite for the Lamias was in shreds today. The advanced specimen had killed the rest of her clutchmates, and was playing with the petrified head of one of her victims.’”

“... That’s disturbing.” G’raha said flatly. 

“Quite.” Nive muttered, and went to flip over the last few pages. The text scrawled across the screen, and G’raha could see several dates flip past. “‘After some research, I have determined that she has the aberration known as the Echo. How a simple creature as a Lamia could have it, I know not. The tests unfortunately killed her, but I have stored her body in my lab for further analysis. But with Dis asking me to work on the Dalamud project, I doubt I’ll have the time to truly study what I want. I can’t refuse him though…’ It trails off here, and there’s no other entries.” 

“It seems this man had more to him than even you knew,” he murmured, looking up at the specimen again. “... The Echo though…” 

“It’s been observed in non-spoken, but we have extremely little data on it,” Nive said, making another note in her grimoire. “We don’t know exactly how it works, and Mikoto hasn’t been able to get back to me on what she’s observed in Bozja. We know that it exists, but not to what degree or frequency.” 

“Do we even have those numbers on the Spoken?” G’raha asked, tilting his head. “With the recent resurgence of primals, it seems pertinent…” 

“Admittedly not enough data for my tastes, but out of the sample sizes we’ve found, the Echo can be found in approximately point-zero-five percent of the population, with numbers in Eorzea skewing slightly higher to point-zero-seven.” Nive said, scribbling on her notes. “It’s actually a lot higher than we thought. For a long time, Helisent and I were under the impression that the Echo and the Blessing of Light were congruent, until Midgardsormr proved otherwise. It turns out that theoretically anyone with the Echo can become a Warrior of Light, but those that do are far in between. And, in theory, someone without the Echo could be Blessed.” 

“... And then you have situations such as Elidibus in the First, forcibly awakening the Echo within the population,” G’raha murmured. “Artificially inflating the numbers. Except… Is it truly artificial when we have confirmation that it’s almost all artificial?” 

Nive asked softly, placing a claw on the glass of the containment unit. She stared up at the corpse of the Lamia, tapping her finger in thought. “If Hydaelyn simply chooses to awaken more of them when she needs, has there ever been a point where the Echo has awoken naturally? But… then that doesn’t explain how the Ascians have the Echo. Or what it even is…” 

“The more I think about it, the more the Echo being called an ‘aberration’ seems more and more apt,” G’raha admitted softly. He had witnessed the starshower, and had seen many of his beloved citizens have a gleam of understanding in their eye, of hearing something that was beyond his ken. It scared him, more than a little. 

“Maybe we can find some more information on it in the Triad’s files… But I doubt it.” Nive murmured. “At the least, it’s more information than we had.” 

“So I did well, then?” He asked with a laugh, and felt his stomach flip slightly. He didn’t want to sound so eager to please, but … She was Shining’s sister. He at least wanted to try and get along with her, or maybe be friendly. 

Nive grinned toothily at him, baring her fangs. “Court’s still out on the final verdict, but I think you’ve got good chances. As long as you keep opening doors like that, I think we’ve got a good relationship forming.” 

“Ah, I see, it’s all based around how I can serve you,” he snarked, and was unable to hide the grin from his face. “Maybe you should be the princess of the Allagan line then.”

[calligraphist-artemisia]

Soul of a Lion (Chapter 7)

Sequel to The Smallest Blade.

Summary: After the Red Lion steals them away from the Marmora base and takes them through a wormhole, Shiro, Keith, Katla, and Lance find themselves in front of a majestic castle with nowhere to go but inside. The events that unfold while they’re there will change the fate of the universe.

Also posted on AO3 under the username “kishirokitsune”.

☆ - ☆ - ☆ - ☆ - ☆

7 | Message in a Bottle

Cenalenaex’ye – The Altean Colony

Curtis found Veronica standing near the village limits, staring up into the sky while she clutched a rune stone to her chest, her expression one of guilt and sadness. It wasn't hard to guess why.

He approached from an angle, giving her ample opportunity to see him coming.

“Do you think we made the right choice?” Veronica asked.

“I don't think we truly had any other choice,” Curtis responded calmly. “Lance was going to be chosen no matter what. At least he was prepared for what he might face when he went in there, and he has a way of contacting us when he's able to.” He gestured to the device that Veronica was clutching in her hands. “It's still active, so that's good. It passively charges whenever an Altean holds it. That means Lance is still alive and he still has it with him.”

Veronica relaxed slightly, though her worried expression remained. “But why hasn't he sent us a message? Could he have gotten caught?”

It was a possibility that Curtis hadn't wanted to voice, though it was one he'd thought about quite a bit. He knew that Veronica wasn't asking because she wanted to hear all of the theories he had about what was happening. She wanted reassurance.

“I doubt that Lotor would have let him keep the stone if he was caught. He wouldn't want to risk Lance being able to contact us. The last thing he wants is for us to be fully aware of what he's doing or to have proof of it to convince others,” Curtis said.

“And you're sure Lotor can't recharge the stone?” Veronica asked, not for the first time.

Curtis shook his head. “I never told you but Iverson was the one who helped me test it and he wasn't able to keep it charged, so I doubt it would work for Lotor either.”

Iverson was an older Altean in the colony, but one whose family was relatively new. It meant his blood was a little more mixed and he still displayed a few traits of the Eisal people of Wikeis, which also meant he had more difficulty using his Altean abilities. He also happened to be one of the only elders who was suspicious of Lotor's actions and was the one who secretly taught Veronica and Curtis everything they needed to know in order to prepare for their rebellion.

Veronica slowly breathed out and loosened her grip on the rune stone. “Lance is alive... but why hasn't he sent us a message? And don't say that you don't know! I know you have ideas!”

Curtis had been about to say that he didn't know because that was the truth: for all of the ideas that he had, there was no way of knowing which one was true and he really didn't want to worry Veronica with all of the options. But there was a look in her eyes that told him she wouldn't let it go until she was satisfied with the answer.

“If we go by the assumption that he hasn't been captured by Lotor or any other Galra, then he's most likely in a place where he feels it's too dangerous to send a message,” Curtis said.

“It's just so hard not knowing,” Veronica murmured, tilting her head back to stare at the clouds in the sky.

Curtis stood there with her as reds and oranges began to overtake the blue of the sky and dusk settled in.

☆ - ☆ - ☆ - ☆ - ☆

Blade of Marmora Headquarters

Kolivan sat, stern-faced and back straight at his desk in his office, with Antok standing as ever at his side, mask firmly in place. They were waiting on the newest report on all transmissions sent over Blade channels from the past few quintants, with special care taken to seek out any sent through older channels or with unusual encoding.

The door opened and Colleyn stepped into the room, closely followed by her mate, Samvil. Her green-ringed antennae stood up straight, quivering slightly in anticipation as she came to a stop a few feet from Kolivan's desk. “Have you heard anything yet?”

“We're still waiting for the report,” Antok answered for Kolivan.

Colleyn's antennae drooped, her mouth falling into a disappointed frown as she stepped off to the side to quietly wait. While Colleyn was visibly dismayed by Antok's response, Samvil frowned in thought, his tail curling slightly as he held back his frustration over the situation.

“You're checking all of the sub-frequencies?” he asked. “Even the ones we don't use anymore?”

Kolivan nodded. “We are looking into every possible avenue. I assure you both, if any of them have sent a message then we will find it. I am almost certain that the reason for the delay is because I assigned young Mattox to help with the search and he swore to leave no stone unturned.”

Colleyn's light brown eyes widened in surprise. “Matt is here?”

“He was due for a quick stop on his way to his next assignment. I happened upon him during that time and requested he be allowed to stay and help,” Kolivan said. “Once we have the information we need, Antok will personally escort him to where he needs to be.”

It wasn't something Kolivan normally did. The Blade of Marmora ran as smoothly as it did through careful timing and strategic movement and operating outside of those norms carried a risk with it that was rarely worth it. It was irresponsible of him to use his authority as leader to search for three missing members of their organization, but he couldn't bear the thought of losing his cub because of some ancient lion-shaped weapon. Whatever the cost turned out to be, he would gladly pay it.

Kolivan closed his eyes.

How much would he sacrifice to try and keep Keith safe?

The sound of the door unlocking was the only warning they received as Mattox shoved his way inside, speaking before it was fully open. “I have it!” he shouted as he rushed to Kolivan's desk and all but shoved a tablet into his hands. He was shaking with adrenaline, the soft lavender fuzz covering his skin standing on end.

Kolivan calmly accepted the tablet and turned it so he could view the screen. “Tell me what I'm looking at, Mattox.”

Mattox nodded. “It was a faint signal that was picked up yesterday but dismissed because it's a long-wave frequency that we don't use anymore. I thought it seemed suspicious, since it definitely follows some key patterns, so I looked into it and this is what I uncovered.”

“And you're certain it's from them?”

“One-hundred percent,” Mattox said, his eyes gleaming. “It's a double-encryption using Blade wording when there's a risk of others receiving the message, mixed with the secret code that Katla and I invented when we were kids. If you tap here you can see what it really says.” He reached out and prodded a button to the side, which shifted the screen from displaying a series of numbers to a message Kolivan could actually read and understand.

Red needed to get away for a while, so we went with her. I know it's a surprise but don't worry because we're alright. We'll let you know when we're on our way back.

Love, S.K.K.L.

It was simple. Rudimentary. And yet told Kolivan everything he needed to know.

He breathed a sigh of relief as he passed the tablet to Antok, who handed it to Colleyn. He surmised that the Red Lion let down her barrier after months of silence, allowing the four of them inside before taking off from the base, overriding the hangar doors to do so. It was just as much of a surprise to them – they hadn't meant to leave without saying something – and they couldn't establish full communication because of something and would send another message once it was safe to do so. The fact that they used a long-wave frequency meant that they were a significant distance from the base and wanted to ensure they received it.

“She's alright. She's really alright,” Colleyn murmured, tears filling her eyes.

They were alright.

“What do we do now?” Samvil asked once he had also gotten the chance to read the message.

Kolivan stood. “We carry on as we always have. There is nothing more that we can do until they contact us again.”

And when the cubs did send a new message, they would be ready.

☆ - ☆ - ☆ - ☆ - ☆

The Castle of Lions, Arus

Lance laid in bed, his back to the door as he stared at the rune stone given to him just before he left home. The true color of his skin looked foreign to him after seeing it as a shade of blue-violet for so long and he clenched his fist to make sure it really belonged to him. He sat up with a huff, cradling the rune stone in her palms as he debated what he should do next.

After his escape from Lotor's ship and his crash-landing on the planet full of silver plant-life, but before he was found by Keith, Lance tried to reach out to his sister and warn her about Lotor, only to find that his rune stone was damaged during the crash. There was a dent in the side that went through one of the runes, making the light for it flicker now and then. It made him wish that he'd paid more attention whenever Iverson showed them how to fix things around the village, but at the time it hadn't felt like it was worth it. Why did he need to know when there were others who were so much better at it?

He could probably ask Katla to fix it. Even if it was tech she wasn't familiar with, he bet that she could figure it out in no time. And he did trust her with it.

Lance ran his thumb over the symbol for 'home' that was carved into the top.

It was time for him to decide what to do.

Regardless of how he felt about the other Alteans, it was clear they would be staying and working with them, which meant that he needed to try and put aside his personal feelings rather than keep locking himself in his room. But that also meant having a difficult conversation with Hunk. About feelings. Which meant he needed to figure out how to word things in a way that wouldn't immediately offend Hunk.

He was also about to spend hours alone with the princess in order to discover some invisible link between him and one of the Lions, which made him so anxious that he caught himself daydreaming about running away into the Arusian countryside and trying to live on his own.

Lance couldn't do that. Not only because Keith would hunt him down and drag him back to the castle, but because staying was his only chance to save his family.

What he needed was a plan: a simple one.

Step 1: Make it through his session with Princess Allura without completely messing things up.

Step 2: Ask Katla to fix his rune stone.

Step 3: Talk to Hunk.

Three simple and easy steps.

Okay, maybe they were more simple than easy.

Or just simple.

Lance groaned in misery as he let himself fall onto his back, the bed shifting slightly beneath him. He held onto the rune stone for a moment longer before hiding it beneath his pillow for safekeeping. It wasn't until he rolled over onto his side and began to reach for the blankets that he realized he wasn't completely alone.

Climbing up onto the edge of the bed closest to the wall were three little mice – all of whom began squeaking in a way that could only be delight as they approached him.

“Uh, hi?” Lance said in confusion. He sat up once again as a fourth, much larger, mouse appeared, hoisting themselves up over the edge before joining the others in excited squeaking. They reminded him strongly of the ones they roamed the village, with their pretty coats and friendly natures. He couldn't help but smile as he held out his hand and the smallest of them sniffed his fingers before hopping onto his palm.

A rush of homesickness threatened to make tears fill his eyes.

“You guys are pretty cute,” he said softly. “You can stay here as long as you want. I can make you a little bed, help you get some food. What do you say?”

The small one nuzzled his finger and he took that to mean “yes”.

[gumnut-logic]

Reactions (Bit 13)

Bit 1 | Bit 2 | Bit 3a | Bit 3b | Bit 4 | Bit 5 | Bit 6a | Bit 6b | Bit 6c | Bit 7 | Bit 8a | Bit 8b | Bit 9 | Bit 10 | Bit 11a | Bit 11b | Bit 12a | Bit 12b | Bit 13

We’re getting there ever so slowly. We have some herding of brothers to get through first.

For @soniabigcheese​ who started this one :D

-o-o-o-

From that point onwards, it was all about family.

Virgil threw himself into looking after his brothers with the same vigour he looked after his ‘bird the five days previous.

There was guilt, so much guilt. He had put himself over his brothers, ignored them even and hid away nursing his own wounds.

Gordon yelled at him about it, but Virgil was focussed on Scott. He had never seen his big brother so down. It was almost as if his fire had been extinguished.

John refused to leave orbit, determined to deploy as much energy and equipment he could into fixing this mess. Virgil let him be. For now. He had plans to later climb up into orbit himself to check on his space brother. He had no doubt the astronaut was running himself into the ground.

Alan was recovering and for lack of a better description, reminded Virgil of a pissed off terrier. Angry as all hell and willing to take on the neighbourhood great dane.

There were words.

Emotional words.

Alan continued to snarl.

But his little brother was now mobile and buzzing around the house in a hover chair. Grandma was keeping an eye on him.

Grandma was keeping an eye on all of them.

Virgil got one hell of a talking to about looking after himself and received chicken soup as punishment. At least he thought it was chicken soup. The cucumber was confusing.

Kayo was simply gone. On the other side of the planet, most likely. Virgil didn’t know exactly where. The few times she contacted the Island, he grilled her on her health status and was ignored for the most part.

Virgil worried.

About all of them.

It hit Scott the hardest. The commander saw it simply. He saw it as failure.

This was their father’s dream and somehow it had all crashed and burned. Virgil regretted his absence in those first days more and more. If he had been there to support Scott...

But he wasn’t.

He cursed himself in every language he knew.

Gordon was almost as much a concern as Scott. The aquanaut was fuming. No sorrow, no fear, just anger. He spent most of his time in contact with various people and Virgil had the urge to ask John to monitor his fish brother’s communications in case he was planning a world coup of some kind.

But as the days wore on the picture of exactly what was happening did become clearer.

The scathing media continued. Jack reported in almost daily, apparently his entire practice had been mobilised across several attack fronts. They were winning several, but the battle appeared to be a long one.

One of the worst moments was when a hurricane hit the Bahamas and Florida. IR was refused deployment, no matter what angle John tried. The astronaut directed calls to emergency services as best he could, even called in a few Tracy favours from the Jacksonville plant of Tracy Industries, their machinery switching to emergency supplies and relief production to help the people in the beleaguered cities to the south, but even that received a rebuttal. The head of GDF communications cut into IR frequencies and demanded Thunderbird Five cease interference.

Virgil had never heard John so angry.

Scott was as cold as the Arctic. “Do as they ask.”

“Scott-“

“Do as they ask!” Blue eyes like ice, Scott’s expression was stone.

So, theoretically, Five stood down.

Virgil was on the elevator within the half hour.

Eos pummelled him with questions all the way through the stratosphere and into space. John had stopped answering apparently, so she was looking for another Tracy to help.

Virgil stepped onto a silent Five.

“Where is he, Eos?”

“Communications hub. I honestly don’t understand, Virgil. Why would they do this? John is trying to help.”

Virgil’s lips thinned as he strode to the airlock that separated the gravity ring from the central hub. John had to know he was there, yet, there was no greeting, no acknowledgement.

Virgil drifted through the lock to find that Five had most certainly not shut down.

His brother floated in a sea of information. Aunt Val’s picture cruised past. Another document with the GDF logo at the top darted over Virgil’s head as his brother threw it across the room.

“Eos, I need the results from breach fifty-nine.”

“Not until you rest.” Eos’ voice was determined. “And now I have Virgil to help me look after you.”

Turquoise flickered in the engineer’s direction. “Virgil.” It was a greeting and a dare all rolled into one.

“What are you doing, John?”

His astronaut brother wove code with one hand while reaching for a document with the word ‘classified’ stamped across its header. “Exactly what you suspect I’m doing, no doubt.”

“John, I thought we had an agreement.”

“You thought you did. I’m only doing what needs to be done.” The coding hand finished something off and with a swipe sent it on its way.

It was replaced with a scroll of information, rapidly accumulating in a simulated pile.

John smiled thinly at it before turning to face his brother.

“What do you want, Virgil?”

If Virgil had been in a gravity affected situation, he would have taken a step back. As it was, he hadn’t gotten his space legs quite yet and was reduced to a half-strangled gasp.

John was ever so pale, his eyes little more than caverns, his usually perfect hair looked limp and straggly, hanging down over his face.

“Have you slept at all?!”

“I’m doing what needs to be done.” His brother returned to juggling information.

A beat and an incoming comm flashed up. “Johnny, Brandy says the orders have come down. The launch is set for next week. We should tell Scott.”

Virgil blinked.

A swipe of his hand and John answered. “No need, Gordon. You’ve just told Virgil.” A pause. “And don’t call me ‘Johnny’.”

The aquanaut startled as, no doubt, Virgil’s image appeared in his office alongside John. “Oh.” A shrug. “Hey, Virg. Whatcha doin’ up there?”

“What are you doing, Gordon?”

“What needs to be done.”

“And what exactly is that?”

“Saving International Rescue. After all, ‘saving’ is what we do, isn’t it, Virgil? We don’t sit on the side-lines while people die.” The aquanaut poked at something out of transmission range. “Johnny, you gonna brief our big brother or let him dob us into Scott and tackle both explosions at once?”

“Gordon…” John’s voice spoke of exhaustion. “I will handle this.”

“FAB. Sending you Brandy’s report.” Another document flashed up, this one with the WASP logo at the top.

Hell.

Gordon’s hologram held his stare for a moment before blinking out.

“John?” Virgil put every bit of big brother he had into the name. He wasn’t Scott, but he hoped he was enough.

The astronaut sighed.

“General Strom has commissioned a new rescue force for the GDF.” John waved a hand and an array of aircraft and equipment appeared, floating in the recycled air. “They’ve called it ‘World Rescue’ and on the surface it appears legitimate. Brains is even impressed with some of the technology.”

Brains? Brains was in on this as well?

Virgil eyed the largest ship in the list. It was no Thunderbird Two, but it appeared formidable. “They don’t have our technology.”

John frowned. “No, they don’t…yet.”

Virgil mirrored his brother’s expression. “What?”

Another sigh and John flicked through a series of documents. “Lady Amelia traced the source of the equipment to a project initiated about the same time we lost Dad. It appears that even then, these people had their eyes on us.”

“But why? Running a rescue organisation is not a money-making exercise. We both know that from experience.”

“It is if you are the only one.”

“But-“

A hand caught his shoulder and Virgil’s eyes widened. John was definitely tired if he was reaching out. “Even if they don’t charge for the service, the GDF will gain popularity. Our popularity, Virgil. We have a huge fan following. You know this.”

“But that is just for fun!”

“Virgil, popularity is the key. That list of our weaknesses is also a list of our strengths. The GDF’s popularity has been inversely proportional to ours. We’re stealing their thunder, literally. This has led to budget cuts and a drop in recruitment. They’ve lost money because of us.”

Virgil blinked.

“They want it back.” As Virgil continued to stare, John swallowed. “But that is only part of the equation.” John let go of Virgil’s shoulder. “The call for expressions of interest is a farce. They have a launch planned for the first fleet next week.”

“Next week?”

“To capitalise on our negative press. The world is calling for a replacement service and they are answering.”

“We’re being replaced.”

“By Jim Lucas and Robotics Industries. Eos has found connections between Lucas and Wainwright. Lucas went to college with her. Strond is the only part of this equation we haven’t been able to fully clarify. His is the position responsible for the project funding. Lady Amelia is working on it.” John’s shoulders dropped.

“You need sleep.”

“Virgil, this is important. Aunt Val is in the firing line because of us.” A frustrated sound. “Because of me.”

Virgil drew in a breath. He knew that their Aunt had turned a blind eye for them on several occasions, particularly where John’s fingers had poked into certain pies that perhaps they shouldn’t have. But John only did that to save lives. Aunt Val knew that. She was their support within the GDF and she took that position seriously.

Even Virgil knew enough to know that was why she had been removed from the picture.

Scott had been in contact. Had thrown Jack at her. Tracy money was doing its best to dig her out of the hole they had dug for her.

“She wouldn’t want you killing yourself over this.” Virgil kicked off the wall gently and caught his brother by his arm. “C’mon, John.”

“Virgil, get off me.” John wriggled in his grip.

The holographic display suddenly shut off, leaving the hub a bleak grey. “You’re not doing any more work, John. I have Five under control. Attend to your bodily needs.”

John pushed him away and Virgil let him. A turquoise glare hit him between the eyes.

“I can look after myself.” He glanced at the camera beside the airlock. “Just let me be. Both of you.”

“I tried that and look what happened.” The AI was defiant.

“Eos, turn the hub back on.”

“No.”

“Eos!”

“No! Listen to your brother, if you won’t listen to me. You need sleep and food. Your vitals are a mess.”

Virgil set himself. John could be as stubborn as the rest of them, and as slippery as an eel. “It can wait, John. You either sleep up here, or I drag you downstairs and you can deal with Scott.” Who was just as bad, but John didn’t need to know that.

“Virgil-“

“No, John. Food, then sleep. If Scott isn’t enough of a threat, I have a direct line to Grandma. Don’t think for one second that twenty-two thousand kilometres is enough to keep her out of your hair.”

Turquoise lit on fire. “Fine.”

Virgil wrapped an arm around his brother. “And after we will look at what we can do.”

John just grunted at him.

Virgil drew him closer and led him from the hub.

-o-o-o-

 Next

[fang-wolfsbane]

Transformers Generation One: A Seeker's Triangle: Chapter 05: Adjustment

The drive back to the squishy being’s home had been strange. First Starlit Meadow had learned that Zett’s species were known as ‘humans’. Adjusting to driving on the pavement road wasn’t all that different from Cybertron, which in itself was a release, but after being forced to stay in her newly scanned alternative mode in what Zett called a ‘garage’ was beginning to get on her nervous system.

The first couple of nano cycles had been fine, but after awakening out of what she could only assume had originally been stasis lock, hunger had begun to gnaw at her. She didn’t know how long it had been since she had consumed energon and sitting in this human’s ‘garage’ was working her up more than she liked.

When she had first tried transforming back to her bipedal mode, he’d asked, no, begged, her not to, claiming that he didn’t want to risk her being found out. The thought of that was annoying enough, but she chose to take his word for that. She had to stay out from underneath the Autobots’ radar, at least until she could figure out what to do next.

Zett had a point in her staying in this ‘car’ mode that he’d called her current form. She didn’t have a reflective surface to overlook her said car mode, but from the Earth vehicle she had scanned, she could assume that her frame had followed its usual protocol to turn her into an exact copy of her scan, save for the colouring. No matter which form she took, her colour scheme always stayed the proud black and green she had known since the moment she’d first learned the name of her two colours.

Every morning Zett came into the garage, bid her farewell to attend the Earth version of an academy, then he’d return at night after attending to work on the site he’d found her at. She wasn’t sure if Zett was keeping her a secret from the Autobots like he had promised to do but considering that she still remained incognito in the small, cramped wooden room, she could only assume that he did. Even if the Autobots had won the war against the Decepticons, there was no chance that they would simply leave a stray Decepticon out in the open. They would have dealt with her, one way or another.

Each day that passed, the only indication of time passing being Zett’s visits, seemed to take longer and longer. At first she had planned to wait, to lay low to try and come up with a plan, but her tanks were churning, demanding to be filled. When she had requested Zett bring her some energon, he only looked at her like she had lost her processor. She hated that look. It was the same one Astrotrain had given her once when she had snapped at him to keep his servos to himself when he thought she’d give him what he wanted because she was the only Decepticon femme at base. He had backed off, only after she had to show what her arm blades were capable of.

She should have checked them, ensured that they were still locked firmly into her arm plating, but that would require transforming, something she didn’t have the energy for. Whilst waiting on Zett to return, babbling on and on about how his day was, she took stasis naps in an attempt to conserve what little energon she still had within her. she contemplated forcing herself back into stasis lock to try and conserve more but thought it to be useless. If she did that, she’d be nothing more than an average car, as Zett put it.

She didn’t tell Zett about her thoughts on conserving what she had, but when he told her that not everything moving on the road was an Autobot or Decepticon, questions had popped up one right after the other. She must have spent a good amount of time asking him about his planet, which Zett had decided to sum up for her through video files he called documentaries and homework.

Earth was strange. There was no doubt in her processor about that, but the way Zett spoke about it, Starlit Meadow couldn’t help but find it interesting. She missed Cybertron, just like any other Cybertronian that had possibly gone off planet at some point in their functional life, but there was no use in longing for a planet she had no hopes of returning to. If she ran out of energon, then she definitely didn’t have any hope.

Letting her processor wander, Starlit Meadow felt ashamed of herself for not noticing that Zett had returned, rolling up the metallic garage door as he did. Usually the wide door made enough noise for her to at least be aware of his presence, no longer detectable by the systems she had forced herself to shut down in an attempt to conserve what she had.

“Hey Star. How are you holding up?” Zett asked as he rolled the door back down behind him, a rusted maroon coloured barrel beside him. From the sound of it, there was something inside, possibly a fluid of some sort. It stunk.

Shifting her sideview mirror, she caught sight of the human. If it weren’t for the concerned look on his face, she would have laughed, if she could manage more than a dry chuckle. He must have noticed her eyeing the barrel with her mirror when she didn’t respond because the next moment he was pushing it over towards her, leaving behind a steel-curling screeching noise as he did. She would have scolded him for it, but only watched instead, her curiosity getting the better of her, especially after what he said next.

“I brought you a little something. A little pick-me-up if you will,” Zett said once he had the barrel right beside her. “I know its not exactly that energon stuff you need, but I figured that since you’re, well, a car-”

“Transformer,” she felt herself correcting before her CPU registered her words as they played through her radio. An interesting device, one that she had thought about using to try and contact her old teammates but absolved from in case the Autobots were monitoring radio frequencies.

“Right, sorry. Anyway, since you won’t let me ask someone for help, and said that your kind needs this ‘energon’ stuff to survive, I might have had an idea. You see, when the Autobots set up base here, the government let them have stuff like oil and that kind of thing, so maybe it’s the same thing? I don’t know exactly, but this is the best I could think of,” Zett rambled on, barely able to keep her attention as he scratched the back of his helm, no, head, he had told her when she had asked about the strange covering he called ‘hair’.

“Get to the point,” she said, groaning inwardly upon realisation that she might have used the energy she needed to talk where she could have been conserving it.

“Hn? O-Oh, of course. I, uh… do you remember when I found you almost a week ago?” he asked, taking her silence as confirmation. “Well, I found this old oil barrel and thought that maybe you could… you know, drink it?”

“Oil?” She would have arched an optic ridge at the strange word if she had been in her other form.

“Yeah. I know you said you’re not a car, but it is still something cars use to get around. I thought that maybe it could help, at least until we figure out a way to get you some energon.”

She went quiet once more, this time for longer as her thoughts ran through her processing unit. Finally when she spoke, her voice was a bit more strained than she would have liked.

“Why are you doing this?”

This time it was Zett’s turn to go quiet. At first she thought that she might have fallen into stasis lock and was merely imagining his presence before his hand touched her side window. Her mirror readjusted itself so that she could see his face a little clearer. Due to her lack of fuelling, her vision had resorted to its basic function, making her see everything in a dark red hue, and not the once bright colours everything had originally been when she first onlined on this planet.

“Because… you’re my friend,” Zett said, a small smile spreading across his lips as his hand moved over her red-tined window, brushing away a spec of dust that she’d previously ignored. “That and you looked like you needed help. Something tells me you’re the stubborn sort that even if I went to the Autobots and told them were you were, you’d be out of here before we make it around the corner and the only way I’d see you again is when you come to kick my ass for it.”

She didn’t bother confirming or denying his assumption, leaning more towards the former guess herself.

“Anyway, I know its not the energon you need, but maybe it could help. From the looks of it, no one’s going to claim it anymore either. It’s probably been abandoned for more than a year already.”

Letting a sigh reverberate through her systems, Starlit Meadow put the last of her reserve tanks into forcing herself to transform into her bipedal mode. Usually when a protoform went through their very first transformation, it tended to hurt, only because their joints and mechanisms weren’t used to the process. After at least a stellar cycle of practice, the pain faded, never to be felt again, except apparently on a near empty fuel tank.

When her doors had shifted into her arms and her back end of her car form returned to a pair of legs, Starlit Meadow hunched over in the garage, the wooden building feeling even smaller than before as her hunched back touched the ceiling. How humans could stand living in such small spaces, she didn’t care to know, even if it was big compared to them.

Looking over to the barrel, she wasn’t all that keen on tasting this thing Zett called oil, but considering her situation, it was either go to the Autobots and hope to be helped or swallow her pride with the oil and hope for the best. This time she chose the latter option.

As much as it pained her, Starlit Meadow was relieved to see that at the very least, she still had the blades on her arms, something she had ever since Megatron first found her. The relief she felt was comforting as she used the one on her right to slice the top off the barrel.

The liquid inside was thick, and black, not at all the bright pink she was used to seeing in cube form whenever rations were divided up amongst her former team. She tried ignoring the smell as best as she could, wishing she’d chosen to disable her ol factory sensors as well.

From the corner of her optics she knew Zett was watching her, anxiously awaiting her reaction. She hesitated then tossed back the thick liquid in a big gulp, nearly gagging at the taste. She nearly snapped at the human that he was trying to clog her fuel lines when her tanks grumbled with the need to consume more. Before she knew it, she had swallowed half of the barrel’s contents. It wasn’t energon, that much was certain, but it was still comforting, filling.

“How is it?” Zett asked, taking a step towards her, although judging by the smile on his face, he seemed to be pretty well informed that his decision might have just helped her after all.

“Horrible,” Starlit Meadow admitted, finding a smile on her own lips as she looked down at the human, watching his facial expression fade at the realisation. Before she knew what was happening, she found her servo reaching over towards him, taking a gentle hold of the shoulder that she could crush so easily with a simple flick of a digit. “But… edible, as you humans say.”

Zett’s smile returned to his lips, the moment a pair of words she thought she’d never ever say again crossed her lips.

“Thank you.”

[blackcloverdatabase]

English Translation of Novel 3: Chapter 2 – The Man Known as Julius (Part 2 of 2)

Here’s the second half of the last untranslated chapter from Book of Yuno! More Julius, Yuno, Jack, and Charlotte goodness, plus Mereoleona and Marx!

With this, Book of Yuno is now fully translated!

--- The Man Known as Julius (Part 2) ---

And so, in days that followed, they ran into no troubles at all. The days passed by rather smoothly…… Well, that may depend on your definition of “smooth”. As Yuno predicted, Jack and Charlotte frequently dropped by the lake, Graham still didn’t get along with Julius, and each time that happened, Bell would say something insensitive, so Yuno’s training kept getting interrupted. Though their troubles didn’t grow, his worries did.

Nevertheless, Graham’s wounds healed well, and the amount of time he spent near his parents’ tombstone steadily decreased. It would be a little lonely once they do, but, at this rate, they will be able to return Graham to the wild in a few days.

‘I have to find a safe place for him away from humans as soon as possible……’ Yuno thought as he and Bell were shopping in the village of Tonan. It was still early afternoon.

“Oh, aren’t you Yuno-kun?”

Yuno heard a voice call back from behind him as he was walking. When he turned around, he saw a man with his blue hair cut like a mushroom, standing there with a smile.

“Yes. Umm, if I recall, you use communication magic…...”

“Ah, sorry. I haven’t introduced myself yet. I’m Marx Francois. I’m the Wizard King’s aide.”

He said with a gentle smile on his face as he approached Yuno, seemingly wanting to chat with him.

“I sure do meet a lot of Magic Knights when I’m in an area where patrols are emphasized. Why, just yesterday, I met Captain Jack. A ha ha, it’s surprising to see him buying vegetables like any other normal human being!”

‘I’m still surprised he bought them for Graham……,’ of course, Yuno didn’t say this out loud, instead opting to match Marx’s tone of surprise.

“I’m surprised. I guess that means he must cook, too.”

A more suitable reply. He then tilted his head and said,

“So, what are you doing here, Marx-san?”

“Surveying the field and intelligence gathering. I wanted to see the state of affairs of all areas that have been targeted by those bandits, and I was going to convey my findings to the Wizard King, but…… ah, no, sorry. The chain of command a transmission is supposed to go through got messed up.”

Marx paused for a bit as if to reorient himself.

“For various reasons, the notification that was supposed to go out to each squad was delayed, but half a day ago, we successfully quashed the bandits.”

“……Huh?”

Yuno couldn’t help but stutter. It’s true that a few days have passed since the Magic Knights were deployed to suppress the bandits, so it was only a matter of time before they would completely quash them, but……

“That’s rather sudden. Incredibly so.”

“Yeah. Since it was possible that the Original Sin was involved in this case, we were searching more cautiously than usual, but…...”

Marx’s face stiffened.

“……Captain Mereoleona said “How many days does it take you to capture a few petty thieves!” and kicked the knights who were investigating into high-gear. I was also participating in the search, and it wasn’t long before those bandits were completely annihilated. A few bandits may have escaped, but it’s just about over now.”

‘I feel sorry for those bandits……,’ Yuno thought to himself as he quietly put his hands together in prayer for them.

“However, when we confiscated their belongings, we didn’t find any copies of the Original Sin. Maybe those rumors about them having one was fake, but it’s possible that one of the bandits who escaped ran away with it…… there are still many things we are uncertain about, so I came here in the hopes of finding some clues, but I’ve found nothing so far.”

“……I see. Thank you for all your hard work.”

Yuno thanked Marx while he internally let out a sigh of relief. Now that those bandits have been caught, this area should be safer now. Since a few bandits escaped, the patrols will probably continue for a little while longer, but the frequency of those patrols should decrease. That means it will be easier to take care of Graham. Yuno continued to feel more and more relaxed, even faintly considering taking a stroll through town, but then Marx called his attention as he put his hand in his breast pocket.

“Ah, wait a second! I’m sorry to ask you this so suddenly, but do you know anything about this magic tool?”

“………!!”

Yuno’s and Bell’s eyes widened. They couldn’t believe what Marx was showing them. What he held in his hand was a red jewel, the very one which wards evil away.

“……Marx-san, where….did you……?”

Marx felt a little uneasy about how strongly the two reacted, but he answered their question.

“Huh……? Captain Jack gave this to me yesterday. He said he felt ill when this tool was active. He thought it might be dangerous, so he wanted me to investigate it.”

“…….Did he say where he found it?”

“Ummm……. I didn’t ask for the details, but if I recall, it was in some cabin up in the mountains.”

Yuno had a bad feeling about this.

“I’m going to take this to the Magic Tool Research Institute, but you go on a lot of special missions, so I thought you might know something about this…… w-wait!? Where are you going!?”

Yuno ignored Marx’s pleas as he used his wind magic to fly to the lake. Jack found the jewel yesterday. The bandits were captured half a day ago. Yesterday, he was only with Graham in the morning, and Julius said he was only with Graham briefly in the early afternoon. It was probably after that when Jack found the jewel. After that, it was possible that runaways from the bandits’ hideout may have passed by the lake…… If they did, Graham had nothing to protect him. They might have eaten him. They might have taken him so that they could sell him. There were all sorts of things they could have done to him.

Maybe it was too early to start worrying, but that was the place where Graham and his parents were attacked before. It was possible that those bandits have used that cabin as a rest stop before. If the remaining stragglers go there to rest……

Yuno felt his agitation increase as he sped to Graham’s location without care for anything else.

“……Graham!!”

Yuno shouted once he arrived at the lake. Usually, Graham would have emerged from the cabin, squealing cheerfully, but……

“……No way …….There’s no way this is happening! You can’t be serious!!”  

Bell screamed as she trembled in anger. A portion of the fence they built was broken, and the cabin was partly destroyed. Worse yet, the corpses of Graham’s parents were dug up, with about half of their hides skinned off their bodies. In this cruel picture, Graham was nowhere to be found.

……Their worst fears had come to fruition.

“W-what should we do, Yuno!? What happened to Graham!? What do we do!?”

Bell begged Yuno for an answer with tears in her eyes. However, like her, the sight left Yuno in a state of confusion. This was almost certainly the work of the remaining bandits, so the most practical option would be to team up with the Magic Knights that were hunting them. However, it would be difficult to find the others in a forest as wide as this, and there probably weren’t many knights pursuing them in the first place. Finding them would take too much time. There simply wasn’t enough people or time. He couldn’t contact Julius, either. He wasn’t sure what to do……

“………”

After thinking things through, Yuno closed his eyes and took a deep breath. After calming himself down, he reminded himself of why he was here. After a few more seconds, he opened his eyes and said as he calmly observed his surroundings,

“I don’t see any blood, so I think it’s safe to say that Graham hasn’t been killed. Not here, at least. They must have kidnapped him, probably with the goal of eating him later. While it’s true that they might have killed him en route or seriously wounded him to render him immobile, we can’t let negative thoughts like that get to us.”

If you find yourself unable to move because of all your negative thoughts, it’s sometimes necessary to just try doing what you want before thinking about what you should do…….

This was, without a doubt, one of those times……

“First of all, let’s join up with the knights in pursuit of the remaining bandits and find out where they are in their search. After that, we’ll borrow one of their communication devices and contact the Wizard King.”

They were going to do all they can, believing in the possibility that Graham was still alive.

“Let’s go, Bell……. Full power.”

“Y….. yeah…… sniff!”

Upon Yuno’s words, Bell wiped the tears from her face as she looked him in the eyes. Yuno nodded in response with a small smile on his face. He was about to fly off using his wind magic, but……

“Phew, I finally caught up to you…… Why did you do that of a sudden!?”

For the second time that day, he heard a voice call out to him from behind. When he turned around, he saw Marx approaching him with a broom in his hand and sweat on his forehead.

“Marx-san…… You followed me?”

“Well, if you see somebody’s expression change as drastically as yours and then dash off, of course you have to follow…… wait, what is all this!? What happened!?”

He looked around the lakeshore in a panic. Julius had said that Marx was the last person he’d want to find out what he’s been doing, but this situation was different. Even if this was only by chance, Yuno was glad he was here. With Marx here, he’ll be able to contact Julius right away.

“I’ll explain later. For now, I need you to contact the Wizard King for……”

……He realized it mid-sentence. At present, there wasn’t enough people nor enough time. Even if, for argument’s sake, Julius took advantage of his position of authority to send a large number of knights after the bandits, it would take some time to get that many knights together. There was a faster way to get a lot of knights here, and it would leave him with many more knights, too.

“Huh!? That mischievous magic maniac is…… I mean, the Wizard King is involved in this, too!?”

He was a little intrigued when he heard Marx say something rather disrespectful toward Julius, but, anyway, he quickly conveyed his strategy to Marx, who put it into practice.

 ----- Several minutes later, in a forest on the southwest side of Tonan -----

About ten rough-looking men flew through the forest on their brooms.  

“Hurry it up, you idiots! They’re gonna catch up to us at this rate!”

A bald man named Garo lead the group, spitting harsh words toward his minions behind him, which slowed him down even further. They were the remaining bandits. They slipped past the Magic Knights, and they were currently on their way to their second base, which was in the Forsaken Realm. Moreover, he had a hemp bag tied to the end of his broom. Wriggling violently inside that bag was……

“SQUEA- SQUEAL! SQUEAL!!”

A baby boar they caught by the lakeshore.

“Shut up, ya damned pig! We’re gonna eat ya the second we get to the base, so sit quiet until then!”

As if to let off some steam, Garo yelled his threats at Graham. Then, one of his followers asked him,

“Come to think of it, boss. Why’d ya take that little flame boar? Even if we sold its hide, we wouldn’t get a lotta money. If we just took its collar, then…… Eek!”

His follower shrunk back in fear.

“……Because…... the base…... was DESTROYED!”

Garo said with a roar as he turned his bloodshot eyes toward his follower.

“All our money and food were taken from us! You realize that, right!? Even if it doesn’t give us a lot of money, I’m gonna steal what I can steal! We’re in this mess in the first place because you’re all slackers!”

“I-I’m sorry! I’m so sor-GAH!”

As the others watched from behind as their boss seized their teammate by the collar and shook him, they looked at each other anxiously.

“……H-hey. He’s been…… kind of…… off lately, hasn’t he?”

“Y-yeah…… it’s like he’s gotten more brutal, or maybe more greedy……”

“Hey! You all sayin’ something!?”

Garo looked back and threatened them as he tried to find the people who spoke so insolently……. And then, by chance, he realized it. There was one too many shadows projected on the ground. When he noticed, he looked up toward the sky. At that moment,

“Slash Magic: Death Scythe!”

Large blades of magic swung down from the sky.

“UWOAAAAAAAAAAAH!!”

The blades of green obstructed the bandits from going forward as they flew before Garo’s eyes with a thunderous roar. The trees around them rumbled loudly as the ground beneath them was cut so deeply that one couldn’t see the bottom. What would’ve become of those bandits if such a thing hit them head-on…..?

“……Kah Kah. Jeez, I told you to live and grow up to be strong, didn’t I?”

Above their heads, the bandits heard a voice filled with a malice and intent to kill that made them shiver. Standing above them on his broom was a tall, thin man with ridiculously large blades extending from his forearms.

“You certainly got yourself kidnapped by a group that doesn’t look all that fun to cut up, eh, brat?”

His mouth upturned into a grotesque smile as he licked his lips and stretched his arms before him.

“Well, whatever. I’ll cut down 80 percent of them, so watch and learn.”

“D…….Disperse! Everyone disperse!!”

To escape the onslaught of attacks that were fired at them, the bandit group broke away from each other like baby spiders escaping their nest. Garo veered to the left with two of his underlings in tow.

“B-boss! That guy, he’s…… the Captain of the Green Mantis! Why is a big wig like him coming after stragglers like us!?”

“Hell if I know!! Just shut up and focus on getting outta……. Huh?”

Before he could finish talking, he noticed another ominous sight. Before his eyes was a woman of peerless beauty clad in armor, standing around as if she was waiting for them. Under normal circumstances, this fact would have made him ecstatic. However, Garo’s face grew grim. Just like with Jack, Garo didn’t know her first-hand, but he has heard terrible rumors. That face, and the way she held herself…… there was little doubt in his mind that this woman was the Captain of the Blue Roses, Charlotte.

“Briar Magic: Corpse-Hunting Briar Tree”

As if to substantiate Garo’s suspicions, thorny briars grew from the ground with unnatural speed to the left and right of him, piling into cone-like structures until they projected into the air like a tower.

“UGAAAAAAAAAH!”

Unable to avoid them, Garo’s two underlings fell victim to her thorns. However, Garo slipped through and escaped. No, he had the feeling that the thorns never aimed for him from the beginning……

“…… Relax. I will not strike you. Graham…… no, a wild boar is in that bag, correct?”

He felt a strange feeling from this beautiful woman who spoke with such a clear, concise voice. Even after only seeing her gorgeous face from a distance, he could tell – this woman was furious.

“Hand that boar over right now. If you do, I’ll have mercy on you and tear your corpse to pieces!!”

“EEEEEEEK!”

His soul practically leapt from his body as he shrieked, trying to get away from her. However, in the direction of his escape stood…...

“Wind Magic: Crescent Kamaitachi”

“Woah!”

Four crescent-shaped blades flew through the air with a howl as they cleanly sliced through the trees around Garo. Past the sounds of one tree after another falling to the ground, he heard voices, both male and female, talking above his head.

“With this, nothing is blocking our view…… we can see this scoundrel’s face more clearly.”

“Not that I wanted to! He’s ugly, dirty, and he has a small-fry kind of vibe! That’s three strikes!”

The two voices he heard came from a handsome black-haired boy and a girl about the size of a doll, who was flying around him.

‘What kind of magic tool is that?’ Garo thought.

Moreover, this became evident once his surroundings were cleared, but…...

“……Hey…… What the hell? …….Why the hell are there so many of you!?”

There was a dozen…… no, there were several dozens of Magic Knights, and they had Garo’s group completely surrounded as they stood by on their broomsticks.

“W-we’re just the remnants of a ruined group of bandits…… why, why are you…..!?”

“……Good question. I wonder about that.”

As Garo groaned, the boy swooped down in front of him with a blank expression and said quietly,

“Maybe you took someone’s kid, or their little brother, or their henchman…… perhaps?”

 Truthfully, even Yuno didn’t expect this many people to come. After all, Yuno only said one thing. He had Marx use his magic to report the situation to Julius, and after that, he had Marx contact the headquarters of the Green Mantis and the Blue Roses. Upon getting in contact with them, the only thing he told them was,

“The remaining bandits have kidnapped a baby boar I was keeping at the lake shore and are now on the run.”

That’s all he said before joining up with the rest of the knights in pursuit of the bandits. While they were searching, an astonishing number of Green Mantis knights and Blue Roses knights had gathered. When he asked why they were all here, they said their Captains ordered them to join the hunt. Even the Captains themselves joined the hunt, and they both looked like they were searching for blood.

Thus, their little hunting team became a large and fierce group, and with no hesitation, they utilized their mobility and self-discipline to find and hunt down the remaining bandits in a flash.

“Kah Kah. You damned brat. You used us. You have guts, I’ll give you that.”

As Yuno approached Garo, Jack poked at Yuno’s shoulder with the tip of his blade.

“I didn’t use you guys, I just couldn’t think of another- Ow. That hurts. It’s bleeding.”

“……W-well, it doesn’t matter to me what happens to some wild boar. There have been reports that the remaining bandits carried the Original Sin, so I came here because I thought we should arrest them as soon as possible.”

Charlotte said with a slightly red face as she approached the two of them.

“I just fed that wild boar on a whim……. Huh?”

Charlotte shuddered as if she just realized something very serious. She then grasped the hilt of her sword tightly, summoning briars from her sword that wrapped around Yuno’s neck.

“…….You bastard, don’t tell me…… y-you saw me…… bringing food to that boar?”

“What are you talking about? I saw you two leaving from the lake shore, so I just thought you might’ve met Graha-Ow. That hurts. Um, this really doesn’t suit my character, so……”

“Shit……. Shit! Just a little further…… and yet I get stopped by this group of idiots…… Shit!!”

As he watched those three talk back and forth, Garo cursed in a low voice.

“Ah, I forgot. You’re here, too.”

Bell said, before continuing in her usual loud voice,

“You’re the idiot here! Now, hurry up and return Graham to us!”

“……Wait, Bell. He’s acting stange.”

Yuno stopped Bell, who looked like she could bite Garo at any moment, and studied Garo. His breathing was rough, his eyes were bloodshot, and he was clenching his teeth so hard that a thin trail of blood oozed from his mouth.

‘This is just like that time with Zable……!’

“Shit……. Shit! SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIIIIT!!”

Garo screamed as if he had gone insane. Then, a pure white grimoire emerged from his chest, and from his back spread countless invisible tentacles, which bent and wriggled about. The Original Sin had started going berserk.

“SQUE-SQUEAL! SQUEAL!!”

At that moment, Graham’s voice could be heard from the bag at Garo’s feet. Just being exposed to this much magic must be painful for him. It must be scary.

“Graham!”

Without a moment’s delay, Yuno and Bell activated their mana skin and ran toward Graham.

“H-hey! Don’t be reckless!”

Charlotte called out in an attempt to stop him, but Jack yelled over her.

“No, he has the right idea…… Hey, you all! Stop that bandit’s attacks and support that kid with all you’ve got! Don’t let that bandit lay a single finger on that kid, or the bag at his feet!!”

Under Jack’s command, a massive simultaneous attack from all nearby knights began.

“Shit……Shit, Shit, SHIT!”

Garo’s tentacles repelled every attack that was fired at him as he wreaked havoc on his surroundings. However, each tentacle that tried to reach Yuno and Bell was slashed apart, torn apart by briars, or stopped by some other magic spell. One after another, they vanished before reaching Yuno. Yuno himself used his wind magic to repel any tentacle that made its way toward Graham, but there were too many.

“Graham!!”

Just as he was only a few steps away from Graham, a single tentacle weaved its way through his attacks and swung down toward Graham. At that moment……

“Time Restraining Magic: Chrono Stasis!”

“…… Huh?”

……. Time stopped.

Garo stopped. The tentacles stopped. Yuno and Bell stopped. All the magic knights around them stopped. They were all wrapped in an absurdly large sphere of magic, where all movement ceased. Before Yuno could begin to process what happened, the sphere of magic slowly converged until it surrounded only Garo. The tentacles had stopped moving, but, before long, they lost their power and vanished into the air.  Yuno was released from Julius’s time prison, causing him to fall on his backside, where he continued to stay as he watched.

“……I see. The tentacles disappear if its owner is rendered powerless…… For caution’s sake, I stopped time over a large area, but it looks like that wasn’t necessary.”

The person who created this situation, Julius, said this smoothly as he descended slowly in front of Yuno.

“Sorry I’m late, Yuno-kun, Bell-kun. You did a great job…...”

He said in an incredibly casual tone of voice. With his tranquil smile, Yuno was…… no, surely everyone was overwhelmed by his presence.

As soon as he got here, he cast such powerful magic over such a wide area and, with surgeon-like precision, imprisoned only Garo. Most of all, he did all this in an instant, with no prep work required. Everyone here knew that he was absurdly powerful. However, they didn’t realize what that meant until they saw his power in action before their eyes. He was the Clover Kingdom’s most powerful Magic Knight – The Wizard King. As Yuno thought, the wall he and Asta had to surmount was absurdly high.

……. However,

“Are you hurt?”

Julius turned toward Yuno and held out his hand. By reflex, Yuno almost took his hand, but,

“……….”

He reconsidered, lowering his hand and suppressing the light trembling in his legs as he forced his weight upon them,

“……I’m fine. Thank you for your help.”

And stoop up firmly with his own power on his own two feet.

‘Someday, I’ll climb over that wall.’

He held such thoughts in his heart as he stood with his own strength.

“Ha ha. I guess…… you didn’t need my help, huh…….?”

‘I could have sworn I’ve had a conversation just like this with someone else before…...’

Realizing that this wasn’t the time nor place to think about that, he dropped the idea and started thinking to himself warmly,

‘The next generation after me……. Yami, William, and the others are already actively performing great service as Captains. The generation after them have a strong will, and they are growing steadily but surely.’

Through them – through the power of those who have inherited his will – the Order of Magic Knights, and this country, is gradually being reborn into the form Julius has always wished for. Rather than a few decades, after ten years…… no, less than that. In a few years, the future that Julius has wished for could very well come true.

Faced with such youthful power, these thoughts were renewed within Julius.

“……Well, I don’t plan on giving this seat to anyone just yet~”

“……Huh, what was that?”

“Nothing at all…... This isn’t the time for us to get lost in sentimentality. We have to help Graham.”

Julius said as if to end the subject, grabbing the hemp bag and opening it swiftly. Upon doing so, Graham leaped out in an instant, jumping into Julius’s chest with a happy squeal.

“Graham, are you okay!? Are you hurt!?”

“It looks like…… you’re okay. Thank goodness……”

Once Bell and Yuno came closer, Graham squealed cheerfully once more. It was good that Graham wasn’t hurt physically, but they were also happy that the ordeal didn’t appear to wound him emotionally, too.

……Instead, considering all the aftermath they’ll have to deal with, the reports that will need to be written, and the incoming lecture from Marx, perhaps they’re the ones who are going to come out of this ordeal traumatized……. Well, those are minor problems.

“Graham…… I’m sorry. You must have been so scared. You did a great job getting through this.”

Julius pet Graham’s head with a few tears in his eyes.

“You’re safe now, so let’s go home with Papa and-

“Squeal, squeal!”

CRUNCH

With full force, Graham chomped down on Julius’s fingers.

 “……Jeez, I’ve just about had it with you! So you were raising an unusual pet, huh……? That the kind of thing an extravagant bachelor with too much time and money on his hands would do! Stop playing around and get back to work!”

“……Yes…… Yes……. Yes……. I’m sorry…….”

The others dealt with the aftermath smoothly while Marx continued to lecture Julius. That said, there wasn’t much for Yuno to do. Transporting the bandits they captured, listening to magic tool researchers, he finished all that a while ago, so right now he was chatting with Jack and Charlotte right next to Julius as he was getting lectured.

Specifically…….

“……We plan to release Graham into the wild soon.”

He felt that he should tell them what they were planning to do. As he looked at Yuno holding Graham when he said this, Jack scratched his head and replied,

“I don’t really care, but…… Well, that makes sense. From the start, he’s a wild animal, so he shouldn’t be closed up with humans. Plus, he could get rolled up in some bad news like what just happened today. Once he’s healed up, you should let him go.”

“B-but…….. is there a place where a young boar can live safely without their parents protecting them?”

Charlotte looked a little upset as she said this. Incidentally, a few moments ago, she took Graham away while Yuno wasn’t looking and told him,

“I’m sorry for all the mean things I said earlier. I didn’t mean it when I said I didn’t care about you. I love you!”

Bell happened to see this and reported it to Yuno, but……. Back to the main subject. At that moment, Marx finally took a breath in the middle of his lecture, allowing Julius a chance to join the conversation.

“……We both searched extensively, but we couldn’t find a good place for him. Do either of you know of anywhere good?”

Jack and Charlotte glanced at each other before replying simultaneously,

“Well, if that’s what you’re going to ask, there’s someone more suited to answering your question than we are.”

“Moreover, it’s highly likely that she’ll be joining us any moment now……”

“……Huh?”

Just as Julius tilted his head in confusion, he heard a preposterously loud voice resound through the air.

“Wizard King! I thank you for catching the bandits that escaped!”

The one who descended from the sky with such a loud voice was none other than Mereoleona Vermillion. She was a gallant woman who was serving as a substitute Captain of the Crimson Lions for Fuegoleon. However, before she assumed the role of Captain, she……

“……I see! If I recall, she spends over 300 days a year living her life in the forests and fields of the wild. She probably knows a lot about what we’re looking for.”

“Yes. Then, I wonder if you should give Graham to her.”

As Julius and Charlotte spoke to each other, Mereoleona walked toward them as she laughed heartily,

“And you even managed to capture a copy of the Original Sin without destroying it! As I would expect from our Wizard King! With this, we’ll be able to analyze it easily, and…… hm?”

As she was speaking, her eyes sharpened with a piercing gaze when she spotted Graham. She then licked her lips and said,

“Ho hoh, you captured quite the tasty-looking boar. Once we get back, let’s cook him right away!”

…...For now, at least, they all decided that there was no way they were leaving Graham with her.

 After that, Graham was deathly afraid of Mereoleona, so Yuno and Bell picked Graham up and carried him a little further away to put distance between them while Julius explained their circumstances to her.

“I see! If that’s how it is, then there’s plenty of great places I can show you!”  

Mereoleona struck her chest with her fist as she said this.

On a side note, earlier, Jack and Charlotte guided Marx and the other knights home. Before Jack left, he stared at Graham with a profound gaze. At that moment, Bell dubbed over his thoughts with a whisper,

“Well then, boy. Make sure you don’t lose to those humans.”

Back to the present, Mereoleona continued talking as loudly as ever.

“In the natural realm, there are places that are considered “child-rearing spots”! They are considered as such because they have plenty of food and little territorial conflict. I know of several such places!”

At that moment she suddenly went up to Julius’s face, and lowered her voice as she asked,

“By the way, Wizard King. What kind of trick were you trying to pull this time?”

Julius smiled the same as ever as he replied,

“……..Now, what ever could you be talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb with me…… with the amount of personal connections you have, you could have easily asked plenty of other people to take care of that boar. And yet, you chose that boy.”

Mereoleona glanced at Yuno before giving Julius a smile filled with hidden meaning,

“You created a situation where you would raise that boar with that kid, the genius chosen by one of the great spirits, so that you could see with your own eyes how he trains and what kind of growth he has achieved……. Am I wrong?”

“……You’re half-right, but you’re also half-wrong. It really was a coincidence that I was found by Yuno-kun.”

Julius had a small smile on his face as he gave up on the idea of keeping it a secret. She, too, is probably just asking because of her own personal interest, and he didn’t want to be that secretive, so he figured it was fine to tell her.

“However, to design counter-measures against the Eye of the Midnight Sun……. I wanted to thoroughly understand how he fights with Sylph, Sylph’s own personality, and how friendly she is toward other humans. Since we would be raising Graham together, I just figured I’d use the opportunity to observe him.”

In truth, he would be able to see how Yuno fights at the Royal Knights Selection Exam, and he can create as many opportunities as he likes to talk with Bell. However, that would just be for “work”. Frankly speaking, the quickest way to learn about someone is to do a task together that requires one to rely on the other. It was a little unscrupulous of him to do this, but he took advantage of that accident so that they could work together. Moreover, keeping the fact he was raising a flame boar a secret was never all that important to him in the first place.  His goal was to get closer to Yuno by sharing a secret together. As a result, he was able to watch Yuno train on several different occasions, and he has a better understanding of Bell’s magic and temperament.

Most of all, he thinks that they are on friendlier terms now. Even though this all happened by chance, he gained so much from it.

“So, no tricks from me. I just nudged things in the right direction, just a little bit. I truly did want somebody to help me take care of Graham.

“……I see. Then, what about Jack and Charlotte?”

Mereoleona happily continued hounding Julius for more. It’s not that she wanted to find his weakness or anything, she just wanted to satisfy her intellectual curiosity. After all, she was a woman who put all her energy into everything she did, no matter what it was.

“You said that they just happened to find out, but…… someone of your caliber wouldn’t make a blunder as foolish as letting your magical power get sensed by someone else. Well, even though Jack having an evil soul and taking away your magic tool was a miscalculation on your part, you got them involved on purpose so that you would have personnel who could take action in the event of an emergency like today’s right?”

“……..I wonder about that?”

“Fu fu……….WAH HAHA HAH! You truly are one crafty fellow!”

She slapped Julius’s back and laughed heartily once more…… At that moment.

“Squeal!! Squeal!”

Graham rushed forward with all his strength and tackled Mereoleona’s feet. Over and over. Though he was terrified by her just a short while ago, he continued to crash his tiny body against her.

“W-what’s wrong, Graham? You’re so riled up……”

Julius picked Graham up, but Graham continued trying to threaten Mereoleona.

“I know she’s often called a boorish woman, and I often wonder why I have to be so on guard around one of my own subordinates, but she’s not an enemy.”

“I’m not sure what you’re trying to say about me, but…… most likely, when he saw me hitting your back, he thought I was bullying you.”

“What……?”

He said as he looked at Graham, who pressed his face into his chest.

“Squea-squeal……”

“………..”

It was the sound flame boars make when they want their parent’s attention. The fact he was crying out to Julius in this way meant……

“Ha, ha ha…… that can’t be right. Graham, even now, you keep biting me so hard, and yet……”

He turned his face away from Mereoleona, as well as from Yuno and Bell, who were rushing toward them, as he said this. Mereoleona looked a little surprised before saying,

“Oh? If he was biting you, then that means he really loved you…… Biting is one of the attachment behaviors of young flame boars. The fact he was biting you is proof that he thought of you as his parent.”

Everyone was shocked silent when they heard this. Bell represented everyone when she said,

“Huh? Then…… Graham though of the Wizard King as his father from the start?”

“Graham……”

As if in response to Julius calling out his name, Graham made the same cries as before, as if he wanted his parent to dote on him more.

He recalled all the days he has spent with Graham. He recalled watching Graham enjoy his baths, Graham’s sweet face as he slept, Graham devouring his food with delight, Graham energetically rushing up to his feet. Fond memories came rushing forth, one after another…….

‘I want to be with this child forever,’ Julius thought.

……But, even so……

“……We can’t. If a wild animal stays with humans for too long, they’ll remember their time with humans far too well, and they won’t be able to return to the wild……We shouldn’t stay together any longer than we already have.”

Hearing those words, Yuno couldn’t help but clench his fists, and Bell looked down with tears in her eyes. They only started raising Graham halfway through, yet it hurt this much to say goodbye to him. Surely, the pain Julius is feeling right now must be even worse……

“……But, you know, Graham.”

Even so, Julius only wiped his eyes a single time before smiling at Graham the way he always did.

“I’ll never forget the time I spent with you. And, I truly did think of you like my own child…… Even if we are apart, that will never change.”

He hugged Graham tightly but gently, and told him quietly,

“I love you, Graham. Thank you……. For thinking of me as your father.”

“Squea-squeal…...”

“Now then, shall we go!?”

As if to destroy the moving atmosphere between them, Mereoleona declared this as she smashed her fists together. Seeing her behave so warlike, Yuno had a bad feeling about what she was going to say when he asked,

“Go……? Go where? It’s not like we’re planning to release Graham into the wild this very second.”

“You fool! There are several different child-rearing spots! We’re all going to preview each spot together to find out which environment suits him the best!”

She said as she looked at him with cold eyes. Then, her mouth upturned into a ferocious grin,

“All these child-rearing spots lie past strong magic zones and dungeons. Doesn’t that sound fun!? Wah hah hah! Isn’t this splendid!? You can utilize the results of your training while we visit each power spot!”

“Sorry. I just remembered some urgent business I need to attend to, so I need to go home.”

Yuno and Bell ran away with subsonic speed, but it was futile. Mereoleona instantly created fire magic in the shape of two lion’s paws from her head and caught them.

“S-someone save us! We’re being kidnapped! A spirit and human are getting kidnapped by a wild animal!”

“Please say something, your highness! There’s no way this is legal!”

Bell cried out in tears while Yuno, in an act that was very out of character for him, begged Julius to do something. He was the only one in this situation with the power to stop her, but…….

“………Umm, sorry, you two…….”

Julius said with an incredibly awkward expression on his face as he held Graham lovingly.

“I-I think that being suddenly thrust into a strange area would make him anxious, so…… could you come with us?”

“……..Huuuuuuuuuh?”

The Wizard King – Julius Novachrono.

He's the hero of Clover Kingdom, a source of inspiration for all Magic Knights and all the Kingdom’s citizens……

“Hey Graham~ You want everyone to be with you, too, right?”

“Squea-Squeal~”  

…….He’s a huge softie, overindulgent, and he can be a bit of a bother. He had an ordinary side to him that you could find in any ordinary middle-aged man, but……

That's just the sort of person Julius is.

--- The Man Known as Julius: The End ---

W-what am I supposed to say at the end of this chapter? I’m just too sad that they have to say goodbye to Graham ;A;

I’m also sad that this was the last untranslated Book of Yuno chapter. I’m glad to have finished it, because it’s such a good book, but I…… I want more.

[shotgun--rider]

Fake It Till You Make It - Two

A Sam x Reader Series

PART TWO

Y/N knows it’s a bad idea to try telling her family that she’s dating Sam Winchester. But it’s just for the week of her sister’s wedding, and it’s all fake anyway. What could go wrong?

Word Count: 4100

Warnings: plus size! Reader, fatphobic, & diet comments, Y/N’s family are demons, allusions to drug use

A/N: Significantly more fluffity fluff than I intended this part to have. So enjoy it!

Aunt Abaddon’s garden, like the rest of the house, was oversized and vaguely vintage-designed and expertly manicured by underpaid grounds staff. It was less of a garden and more of a courtyard-esque mingling space, really, and it was currently filled with all of the people you would have been perfectly content to never see again. 

Involuntarily, your hand tightened around Sam’s, and he responded immediately with a reassuring swipe of his thumb over the inside of your wrist. You tugged nervously at your sundress with your free hand for a moment, trying to scope out the least disastrous location to aim for, and winced as your mother immediately came barrelling toward you. 

You dropped Sam’s hand just in time to catch her as she squeezed you (too hard) in an over-the-top hug, squealing in your ear at some kind of bat-radio frequency. “Oh, thank god you’re here. We were beginning to worry, weren’t we, honey?” She beckoned to your father, who sidled up with an awkward grimace and an untouched glass of something very pink in his hand. 

Her hands came up to frame your face, squeezing your cheeks, and she tilted her head critically. “You look...pale. Doesn’t she look pale?” Her eyes rolled impatiently. “You’re not sticking to the keto, are you?”

You exhaled heavily, pulling your face back out of her grip and suddenly feeling very small. “No, Mom.” You had a whole speech you’d delivered many times to other people about how diet culture was all bullshit anyway, but your mother always had a way of making you feel like your words would be wasted if you bothered to speak. 

“How many times do I have to tell you, Y/N? Your life could be so much better--you could look like Ruby, you know, if you put a little effort in. She’s tiny, and now she’s getting married.”

“That’s because she survived on crack in college, Mom,”

Your mother rolled her eyes, waving it off. “Well everybody has to have something,”

Your mouth tightened into a thin line, her words needling into you the way they always did. “Okay, Mom,” you said tiredly. “Whatever you say,”

She hmmed at you like she didn’t believe you, but let go and turned her attention over your shoulder. “Who is this?” Her eyebrows were making an escape toward her hairline and you couldn’t deny that it was a little bit satisfying watching her tilt her head up trying to look at Sam. 

“Mom, this is my boyfriend, Sam.” The lie came out smoother than it had the last time you tried it, but the words still felt like they wanted to stick in your throat.

“Mrs. L/N,” Sam extended his hand toward her, but she didn’t take it.

“Y/N, how did this happen?” she asked dismissively, waving at Sam on the word ‘this’ like he was something inanimate. 

Sam offered her a polite laugh, his hand coming to slide around your waist and tug you into his side, warm through the thin material of your dress. “Uh, the usual way?”

Your mother sniffed, crossing her arms as she looked between the two of you. “The house is all her aunt’s, you know; Y/N doesn’t have money.”

Right. Because the only way you could bring home a good-looking boyfriend (or any boyfriend at all, apparently) was if he was looking for money. You cleared your throat, your hands twisting together anxiously. “He’s a lawyer, Mom, he doesn’t need money,”

You weren’t actually sure if Sam had all that much money, given that Dean was always talking about all the pro bono cases he took on, but it would hopefully shut your mother up.

“A lawyer? But--”

“Yes,” Sam cut in roughly, “and I consider myself very lucky to be with her.” He dropped a kiss to the top of your hair, selling your relationship with more ease than you’d expected, and you focused on reminding yourself that was what it was--two friends selling a lie. 

Your mother sputtered indignantly, unable to come up with any further response, and you took the opportunity to slide off to the side, aiming for the shock of blonde hair you were fairly certain belonged to your most tolerable cousin, Meg. To your surprise, Sam followed without letting go of your waist, though you weren’t really sure what you had expected. You were trying to look like a couple, after all. You just had to remember not to get used to it.

“Sup?” Meg half-slurred when you reached her, immediately holding out a glass of what was probably very alcoholic punch. You took it from her hastily, mostly to keep her from spilling it on herself, and sighed. 

“It’s barely three o’clock, Meg,”

“That’s almost five,” she returned cheerfully. “You didn’t think I was gonna do this shit show sober, did you?”

“I don’t blame you,” you mumbled, cautiously sniffing the glass. It smelled overpoweringly of alcohol, and you figured someone--possibly Meg--had spiked it well beyond the original content.

“So, who’s the hottie?” Her eyes sparkled as she looked up at Sam. “And where do I get one?”

Sam could tell she was harmless, and he laughed easier this time, letting the most-of-the-way-drunk woman tease him. It was kind of sweet to watch, if in a mildly alarming way. Meg had been your only solace growing up, but she’d lived too far away to be more than a buffer at big family gatherings. Still, you knew how she could be, and you weren’t too confident in leaving him alone with her. 

Unfortunately, it didn’t look like you were going to have much choice. A claw-like hand was suddenly digging into your upper arm, and you turned to meet your sister’s cold eyes. “You need to come with me,” she announced, leaving you barely enough time to set the glass you’d been holding down on a table before she was physically hauling you out of the conversation. Sam shot you a slightly concerned glance, but Meg immediately demanded his attention back, and you allowed your surprisingly strong sister to pull you back toward the house.

“What do you want, Ruby?”

The expression on her face was equal parts annoyed and vindictive. “You missed the fitting for your dress. I figured I had better make you do this now,” she sighed, “in case we have to alter it again. Not like you seem to care,” she muttered. 

“Ruby, I already told you I couldn’t get off work--”

“Whatever,” she cut you off. “It’s whatever. I just thought maybe my maid of honor would put in a little effort, you know?”

You gritted your teeth in silence, knowing nothing you could say would change her mind. Everything in Ruby’s life that went wrong, from the time she was a child, was always someone else’s fault. Somehow, neither of your parents had thought to correct that assumption before she grew up and took it into the world with her, but, given the way your entire family was, it shouldn’t have surprised you. 

Following her reluctantly into a sitting room on the second floor, you watched Ruby sift through a standing rack of silvery-gray dresses. None of them were particularly flattering, and you had no doubt that whatever she’d picked for you would be especially ugly, in her passive-aggressive way. It wasn’t like you’d expected a pretty bridesmaid’s dress, because, really, weren’t ugly dresses the stereotype anyway? Still, it was the same kind of thing she’d done to you since you were kids, and it left a sour taste in your mouth. 

Ruby handed you a mass of slippery fabric, and you held it up hesitantly, a cautious sensation of relief in your chest as you realized that it didn’t seem overtly horrible at first glance. 

“Hurry up,” your sister was waving at you, “put it on!”

You huffed, walking behind the conveniently located changing screen with a still-nervous pit in your stomach. You hated trying on clothes, from the time you were a teenager shopping with your mother, and she’d made comments about how the clothes you’d picked would look better in a smaller size. Even now, shopping alone, it was still frustrating and embarrassing to look in the changing room mirror and realize that you looked nothing like what you’d hoped you would when you were picking items off the rack. 

“I’m not wearing the right bra for this,” you warned Ruby, noting that the dress had a plunging back. 

“I figured, it’s whatever for now,” she said carelessly, then, “So how long have you and Sam been together? He’s new, right?”

“Three months,” you returned automatically, recalling the date you’d agreed on in the car as you shimmied your hips into the slinky fabric. It was a bit too clingy for your tastes, but that was what you’d packed extra shapewear for. 

“Huh,” Ruby mused from somewhere beyond the changing screen. You could hear her feet pacing softly, and you didn’t have to see her to know she had her hands on her hips and a smirk on her lips. “That’s like a new record for you. What’d you do, anyway?”

“Do what?” you grunted, twisting your arms behind you like the world’s most painful pretzel trying to grab the zipper. 

“Keep his attention. I mean, come on, Y/N, he’s gorgeous,”

“Why do you care?” you shot back. “You’re getting married,”

You could almost hear Ruby’s too-casual shrug. “I was just curious. I know he’s not staying for the sex. Dick said you never fucked him,”

“You talked about me?” you practically shrieked. It wasn’t enough that your bitchy, entitled sister was marrying your god awful ex, they had to bring you back into it too?

“Duh,” Ruby giggled. “Wait, are you still a virgin? I mean, it wouldn’t surprise me--”

Finally wrestling the zipper into submission, you lifted the hem above your bare feet and stormed out from behind the changing screen. “No,” you snapped out. “Do you like it or not?”

“God, Y/N, I was just kidding,” Ruby rolled her eyes. “You need to calm down. And, yeah, the dress is fine. Just try not to eat anything before Saturday,”

You just stared at her, the brief anger flaming through your chest dying as hurt welled up instead. “Every time,” you whispered. “You do this every time,”

“Oh, quit being so sensitive.” Ruby waved you off. “Hey, remember you’re picking up the cake and the flowers tomorrow, right?”

“Yeah, no problem,” you returned hollowly, watching her bounce out into the hallway, leaving you standing there in an ugly bridesmaid dress, defeated expertly in the way she always knew how. 

And you had promised yourself that you weren’t going to let them make you cry, but your eyes were stinging and your chest felt tight. For what felt like the millionth time, you wondered what it would take for any one of them to actually act like they cared about you. 

You stripped off the dress mechanically, hanging it carefully back up to avoid Ruby throwing a fit, noticing as you did that every other dress on the rack was tailored to accommodate tiny women with tiny waists. The rest of the bridesmaids were Ruby’s crowd of friends, and you knew you were only part of this because it would have looked bad to not include her sister. 

Blowing out your breath, you put your own clothes back on and shook your head. This was a standard day in your house. Last Thanksgiving had definitely been worse. So why are you still letting them get to you? You snapped at yourself. Get over it, Y/N.

You knew that you should be going back outside to Ruby’s little pre-wedding garden party to rescue Sam, who was probably in well over his head by now, but you couldn’t stomach the thought of dealing with any more of it right now. Before you could change your mind, your feet were pointing toward the third floor staircase, and you were making a beeline for your bedroom. 

“There she is!”

You stopped in your tracks at the sound of his voice, swearing a blue streak inside your head. What on earth had you done in your life to deserve this kind of brutal cosmic karma, anyway? Turning slowly, you let out a resigned sigh. “Dick,”

Your stupid ex-boyfriend was smiling with all of his perfect white teeth, hands slid into the pockets of a pair of very nice dress slacks as he meandered down the hallway toward you. “It’s been a long time, Y/N,”

“Best two years of my life,” you confirmed with a nod, well past the point of being nice, even if you knew your entire family would inevitably end up hearing about you sassing the groom. 

He laughed as though you’d just told the funniest joke. “Charming as ever, dearest. You know, I still have a few days before I’m married. What do you say?”

“Ruby would kill you,” you tried, taking a step backward. 

Dick arched an arrogant brow. “Hardly, I’m sure she’d encourage it.”

“Thanks but no thanks,” you said flatly, your skin crawling at the mere thought of him. “Please go somewhere far away from me now,”

“It’s a public hallway,”

“Just leave me alone,” you sighed, turning away resolutely to resume marching toward the stairs. 

“Alright, alright!” Dick muttered. “Damn, I’m glad I chose the other one,”

His words shouldn’t have mattered, but they cut into you anyway. You slammed your bedroom door behind you with tears welling up in your eyes, kicking your shoes off across the room and marching to the bathroom halfway between misery and rage. See? Even slimy Dick fucking Roman doesn’t want you. 

You stared down your reflection in the bathroom mirror, all anxious bitten lips and red, teary eyes. You looked, in your personal opinion, a little bit deranged, and huffed out a breath, trying to control yourself before you went into full-blown ugly sobbing. That would just make you look like a mess for dinner. 

You weren’t sure how long you’d just been leaning on the sink, staring blankly at the outdated gold faucet, when you heard the door in the bedroom open. You swallowed hard, thankful you’d shut the bathroom door behind you, and debated between silently trying to pretend you weren’t there at all and just shouting for Ruby to get lost. 

“Y/N?” 

No, that was Sam’s voice, and that sent a whole new wave of panic through your body. This wasn’t Sam’s mess to clean up, this was so not what he had signed up for, hell, he’d barely signed up at all. What was any halfway decent person supposed to say when Dean and Charlie started ganging up on them?

A soft tap sounded on the bathroom door, and your voice came out slightly strangled as you bargained for time. “Yeah, be out in a sec!” You swiped your hands under your eyes hastily, blinking in the mirror like that was somehow supposed to make you look less emotionally flattened. 

Sam, evidently, wasn’t buying it. “Y/N, can I come in?”

Your emotions had been all over the place for the past week in the anxiety of having to come here and deal with this, and, apparently, just the sound of Sam’s concerned voice was enough to have tears welling up in your eyes again. Damn it. You pressed your quivering lips together, staring up at the ceiling like that was going to convince the tears to drain back into your eyeballs. 

The bathroom door opened behind you, and you opened your mouth on a gasping breath to say something just as you felt Sam wrap his arms around you from behind, pulling you back against him carefully without choking your neck against his forearms. The contact and gentle support broke the last thread on your tenuous control and you let your head fall forward as a sob wracked your body.

“Whoa, hey, what happened?” Sam sounded surprised at your sudden reaction, but he didn’t let go, just tucked you more firmly into his embrace and held on as your body shook with the sudden pain you hadn’t even acknowledged in your chest until now. “I got you,” he whispered just above your hair. “I got you, Y/N,”

You followed pure instinct, wiggling around in the circle of his arms until you could bury your face in his chest instead, and Sam let you, automatically adjusting to make sure you stayed tucked against him. He was warm and solid and safe, and he felt like home in a way you’d never experienced before, a physical barrier between you and the world. 

That thought jarred you out of your mini-breakdown, because you couldn’t afford to think like that. This wasn’t a rom-com and just because you had a stupid crush on Sam before this whole thing started didn’t mean you could let it go to your head. You pulled back from him slightly, wincing as you noticed the damp spot you’d left on his shirt. Your nose wrinkled, and you grimaced as you ducked out of his arms to grab several of the Kleenex on the back of the toilet tank. “Sorry,”

Sam had that look of adorably genuine puzzlement on his face again as he watched you blow your nose, unfazed like he couldn’t figure out why you were saying what you were saying.

You gestured vaguely with one hand at yourself, at the bathroom. “This shouldn’t be your problem, Sam,”

“Y/N,” he frowned, catching you in the web of those hazel eyes that somehow never failed to take your breath away. “I’m right where I want to be. I told you I had your back, remember?”

You rolled your eyes, shaking your head wearily as embarrassment and frustration began to sink in. “This is so stupid,” you whispered turning your body away from him more than you really needed to toss the tissue from your crumpled fist into the trash can. 

“If it makes you upset, it’s not stupid, Y/N,” Sam argued softly. “You don’t deserve that from people,”

You paused at that, staring at him awkwardly as you tried to come up with a response. Finally, you settled on the truth. “I’m pretty sure no one has ever said that to me,”

“I’ll say it more often,” Sam reached out to you, his hand landing on your upper arm to gently pull you out of the bathroom. The sun was starting to set through the big west-facing window, and you let yourself fall back onto the bed with a groan as you remembered that the night wasn’t over yet. 

Sam walked over to peer down at you on the mattress, standing over you with an expression on his face that almost made you burst out laughing. “What?”

“Dinner,” you huffed, throwing an arm over your eyes for a brief moment. “I forgot they were going to expect us for dinner,”

“Do you want to go?” Sam raised an eyebrow, and you almost shot into a sitting position at the question. 

“What? No. Why are you even asking me?”

Sam shrugged, sitting down next to you easily and lacing his fingers together in his lap. “If you don’t want to go, then let’s not go,”

Turning to look at him with a smirk, you propped your head up on one hand. “Sam Winchester, are you suggesting we play hooky?”

His face split into a wide grin, his eyes dancing as if to say why not? “I’ll tell them I missed my girlfriend, and we can stay up here and leave them all downstairs to be jealous of our functional relationship,”

“Our functional relationship that’s so functional it’s fake?” You were laughing up at him now, and Sam Winchester was going down in your book as the only other person besides Charlie who could completely change your mood in under five minutes. 

Sam pouted at you, some of the light dimming from his face. “Exactly,” he cleared his throat.

“There is one flaw in this plan, though,”

Sam turned, flopping down on his stomach on the mattress beside you and making you bounce slightly. “Hm?”

You batted your eyelashes exaggeratedly at him, making your best puppy face. “I’m hungry.”

Which was how you found yourself creeping down the stairs in your bare feet with your hand in Sam’s even though nobody was watching, on a mission to raid the fridge. “I didn’t know you had it in you, Mr. Big-shot Lawyer,” you teased, peering briefly down the hallway to check that it was empty before continuing.

Sam shot you a mock-hurt look. “I’m in human rights law!”

You stifled a fit of giggles, cursing yourself for turning into a girlish idiot around him. “If Aunt Abi catches me down here, she will actually kill me,” you said instead, your voice conversationally sarcastic. 

“I think she’s still fighting with your uncle,” Sam shrugged, following you into the thankfully empty kitchen. “What do you want?”

“Ooh, did Uncle Fergus show up high again? And there should be a bunch of crap in there, just grab whatever.”

Sam blinked at you, holding open the fridge. “Why do you sound happy about that?”

You opened the pantry, lifting out a bag of chips. “Because, a, unlike my sister, he doesn’t try to force other people into drug abuse, and b, the fact that everyone hates him more than me is probably the only reason I’m still alive. Oh, grab the brownies!” you added, peering around him into the fridge. 

Sam just shook his head at you, studying you with an expression you weren’t sure how to identify. 

“What? I like brownies,”

He shook his head, hair sliding into his face with the motion, and pulled out both the pan of brownies and a bowl of tossed salad. “Nothing. I’ve just, uh, never met anyone like you before.”

“What, surprisingly well-adjusted?” you asked sarcastically. 

Sam held your gaze over the dishes in his hands. “I was going to say strong,”

You swallowed, glancing down, not sure how to answer. “Okay. Uh, we should probably get out of here. This is enough,”

Thankfully, he let it go, leading the way back upstairs and smiling at the way you burst out laughing as soon as the door was closed and locked behind you. Then, you watched him pull a spare bed sheet out of the bathroom and throw it down on the floor, sitting cross-legged and waiting for you to join him. “Dean used to do this for me,” he said quietly, sticking a fork into the salad bowl. “Sometimes Dad would leave us in motel rooms and Dean would try to make it like a picnic.” He winced. “Couldn’t cook, though. He was eight.”

You laughed softly, reaching out with a fork to pull a mouthful of lettuce from the other side of the salad bowl, your eyes soft as you looked at him. “Tell me more,”

You let Sam keep talking while you both munched on snacks and sprawled out on the floor, listening to the random stories of his childhood and, occasionally, something from law school. His voice was soothing, and you hadn’t realized you were tired until you were suddenly blinking back awake, the room pitch-dark and the thin carpet making your spine complain. 

Still half-asleep and fuzzy headed, you started to sit up, reaching for your phone, and noticed suddenly that something was holding you down. Your thumb grazed the home button, lighting up your phone’s screen enough to see, and you blinked in surprise as you realized that Sam was asleep beside you with his arm slung over your waist. 

A small smile crept on your lips as you studied his sleeping face in the dim blue light, completely at peace. Waking him seemed like a crime you weren’t willing to commit, and if part of you was unwilling to make him let go of you, well, who would ever know? You turned slightly, pillowing your head on one arm, and let your phone turn itself back off as you felt Sam try to pull you closer to him. Your decision made, you told your spine to shove its complaining. You could totally manage one night on the floor. 

--

tags: @vicmc624​,  @thebookisbtr​